“Do you think there will ever be another Canada?”
“In our hearts for a short time yes, as a country, I don’t think so. We’ll all become Americans and even many generations from now when Canada can be resettled, I bet it’ll be part of America because it’s going to take hundreds of billions to rebuild a part of it. Every one of our cities is gone. Most will be ground to dust by the glaciers. The very land will be changed. Hills will be gone, rivers changed, and who knows what will be there when the snow melts.”
“Mr. Coa…I mean dad, when do you think the snow will melt? Doesn’t it always melt? We’ve had ice ages before…”
“Those previous ice ages were natural, but this was artificially created by the rock. One of the science programs we watched before the TV broadcasting stations in Canada stopped broadcasting said we were overdue for a natural one. She thought that the rock accelerated the natural process. She said that if her theory was correct, then the natural and artificial ice ages merged into what we’re suffering now, and it may be hundreds or maybe even a thousand years before the snow melts.”
“I don’t understand why it would take so long. The winter snow always melts in the spring…”
“One of the problems with an ice age is the winds have shifted to bring the polar vortex south. Also the ground is covered in bright white snow and ice. The white reflects whatever sun reaches the ground. The atmosphere is still loaded with debris. You can see it just by looking up. The sky at noon is as dark as it used to be at 7. We need the sun to burn through the debris and then we need to find a way to allow the sun to melt the snow. Unless something really big happens, we’re stuck with this crap for a very long time.”
“Where’s all the moisture coming from?”
“Parts of the rock landed in the oceans and they threw billions of tons of sea water into the atmosphere. It hasn’t all come back yet. Remember that one inch of rain equals almost ten inches of snow.”
“I didn’t know that. I see what you mean. We’re really screwed.”
Jon looked in the mirror at his sleeping wife, “Yeah, we are. Who would have thought we’d be fighting an ice age and cannibals at the same time?”
“Why are people shooting at us? Surely they must know they’re outgunned and will die…”
“I’m sure the leaders of this and other convoys would like to know the answer to that question. The only thing that makes any sense to me is these people belong to some new religion. I can’t think of any other reason why people would fight overwhelming odds. Surely, they know their rifles aren’t going to make a dent in a tank or armored vehicle and all they’re doing by hitting SUVs and trucks is pissing off the soldiers who respond with overwhelming force. Did you see those new mini guns fire?”
“Yeah, one is in front of us. It looked like a laser beam from a science fiction movie firing.”
“Yeah, those things have six barrels that rotate. They can throw a hell of a lot of bullets in a very short time. They made mincemeat of whomever was out there freezing in the snow waiting to attack a convoy.”
Erin moaned and Jon touched his lips with his fingers. Frank nodded and stopped talking. Erin slept for five hours. Ariden and Trinity leaned over the second-row seat back to check on their mother. Frank whispered, “Whatever the medic gave her knocked her out.”
Jon nodded, he whispered, “It really did. I don’t know how long she is going to sleep, but the longer the better. It lets her body heal and she’s not suffering. I hope she’ll sleep until we reach the next FOB which is below the freeze line and we’ll finally be able to go outside without the arctic clothing.”
“How far from the base until our new homes?”
“I think it’s around 200 miles. Without the snow, we can easily make it in a four to five hours. We’re close to the end of our long journey. I assume once we reach our new home you and Trinity will want to be married.”
“I would like to, I haven’t asked her yet…”
“What’s taken you so long I thought that the two of you were making plans.”
“Well, we’ve kind of talked about it, but we really haven’t made any plans yet.”
Jon looked sideways at Frank, “You’re not going to sleep with her unless you marry her, am I clear?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll ask her when we stop. I don’t have a ring.”
“Improvise. There aren’t any jewelry stores, so you’ll have to improvise.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll think of something.” Frank adjusted the mirror on the back of the sun visor so he could see Trinity. She saw him watching her and blew him a kiss. He winked at her. His heart sang thinking of her. He decided he would ask her to marry as soon as they stopped.
The balance of the trip south went without event. The roads improved with each mile they got closer to the FOB. Jon and Frank noticed the snow on the ground continued to thin out to the point when they reached a point twenty miles from the base they could actually see the ground cover which gave them hope for the future. It was at the same time when Erin woke. “What happened? Where am I? Why does my arm hurt? Why are we all
