The Doomsday Sheriff: The Novella Collection (Includes Books 1 - 3) by Michael James Ploof

Author:Michael James Ploof [Ploof, Michael James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Traveling Bard Publishing
Published: 2018-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Into the Great Wide Open

Max was ready to set out immediately, but there were many in the group who thought it wiser to stay where they were.

“Sorry, Sheriff. I know you want to join your wife, and I ain’t going to try and stop you,” said one of the hockey players from the night before. “But I’m not even from around here.” He pointed to three others. “We’re from Long Island, and we intend on heading back south in the morning. We’ve got family out there too.”

“I can respect that,” said Max. “I can’t tell any of you to come with me, but Fort Drum is going to be our best shot at survival.”

“I’m with you, Sheriff,” said John. “They took my family too.”

“Anyone else?” said Max, eyeing the dozen or so soldiers.

“I came down here from Montreal,” said Valentine. “I’ve got no family to speak of, and none of my friends are drinkers. I’m up for an adventure.”

“Alright then. Once we find out if Fort Drum is secure, we’ll come back for you,” Max told the others.

Together with John and Valentine, Max gathered what supplies he could fit in the Hummer and the Bronco and cleaned the local gun shop of its more lethal weaponry. They brought a case of vodka with them, along with empty wine bottles and rags, though Max prayed that they wouldn’t have to use them.

If everything went smoothly, they would be in Fort Drum in three to four hours depending on road conditions and would find Piper and the rest of them living like post-apocalyptic kings.

The sun was fast setting when Max and Valentine pulled onto Main Street, with John close behind in the Hummer. The back seat of the Bronco was full of canned food, water, liquor, and guns—if Max didn’t know better, he might have thought he was going on a hot date.

“You mind listening to The Tragically Hip?” Max asked as he popped in a CD.

Valentine grinned as “Blow at High Dough” began playing. “That’s a stupid question to ask a Canadian.”

Max laughed. “Sucks what happened to Gord.”

Gord Downie, called by many Canada’s Poet, had been the lead singer for the Canadian band that had topped the charts for more than twenty years, and he’d found a cult-like following in Northern NY as well. After being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2016, he died in the fall of 2017, only weeks after another of Max’s favorites, Tom Petty.

“I must have seen them a dozen times,” said Valentine, her eyes watery.

She reminded Max of his cousin Angie: tall, lithe, strong, with a Victorian face and a quiet strength. Her auburn hair was shaved on the left side, giving her an edgy look.

“Me too. Piper loved them. Used to get drunk and play their music for hours. What’s your favorite song by them?”

“Scared,” said Valentine.

Max sighed. “Me too.”

“We’re going to find your wife. I mean, if it was the military who took them, then they’re safe.”

“Piper was infected, now she’s been cured.

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