Race to Refuge by Kyle Pratt

Author:Kyle Pratt [Pratt, Kyle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781732896437
Publisher: Camden Cascade Publishing
Published: 2019-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Ryan stared to the south. “Yeah, it’s a huge place. They call it the Hanford Nuclear Reservation; it was part of the Manhattan Project, the first nuclear bomb. It may not be operating anymore.”

Amy slowed the car and glanced past Ryan. “I don’t see anything.”

“It’s too far away, but if they hit it with a nuclear missile, we’ll see it.” And feel it. He didn’t know if it would kill them, but when Amy sped up, he didn’t object.

He rolled down the window a bit and closed his eyes to the breeze. The rumble of wind in his ears drowned out the flow of war news from the radio. Despite his efforts to shut himself off from the outside world, a deep gnawing fear grew within him. The day had begun with the usual confidence that all would be well. That had proven to be wrong, perhaps naïve, as the world began to crumble beneath him.

Now even the most basic questions seemed unanswerable. Would he live to reach his parents’ home? Could he protect Amy and get her to safety? Would there be a New York City for her to go home to? Had his brother already died? Would any of them survive the war?

Enough. Ryan rubbed his forehead, trying to dispel his morbid thoughts. He opened his eyes, rolled up the window and, for the next few minutes, calculated the distance home against the remaining gasoline.

It wouldn’t be enough.

He ran more scenarios through his mind, but, unless they found fuel, he and Amy would be walking tonight.

Very little traffic flowed west toward Seattle. Most traveled east, as they did, away from the larger cities. Did everyone in the lanes beside them have the same fears?

Probably.

Did they share the same goal, flee the city and find refuge somewhere, anywhere?

Probably.

That should have made them allies, but in a world swirling into panic and war his fellow refugees were not allies. Many were probably low on fuel and one of those frightened families, desperate to get away from the city, had stolen fuel he needed.

Ryan couldn’t bring himself to hate the man. They thought the Jeep had been abandoned. Still Ryan needed to be ready if something like that happened again.

For the next hour, they continued east and, with each passing mile, traffic congestion eased. Some vehicles turned off at the occasional exits; others rolled to a stop along the freeway shoulder. The cars had thinned, but the number of people along the shoulder increased. Some held out their thumbs, but most trudged along. Many families wore backpacks. Others carried suitcases. Some biked along the shoulder.

“Do you want to stop and eat?” Amy asked. “I’m hungry.”

“Do you really want to stop again?” Ryan frowned. “I don’t want another encounter like last night.”

“No, me either.” Amy pursed her lips. “But sometime today, I’ll need a bathroom.”

Ryan reached into the bag and pulled out a roll of toilet paper. “When you need to, we can stop.”

“You had that in there all this time? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you knew.

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