Chapter 16
Veronica wasn’t sure how long she’d slept, but when she woke, the sun hadn’t yet started its slow progression across the sky.
Instead of waking Bella right away, Veronica decided to let the girl sleep a little longer before they had to hit the road.
There was no coffee to greet the day, but she knew if they could make it to the homestead before nightfall, the caffeinated liquid would abound.
She couldn’t believe how much she missed such a simple thing.
It was a little baffling to think about how much they had taken for granted just a few hours ago.
She couldn’t help but think of her friends back in California, especially Gregory and his family.
Praying for their safety didn’t feel like enough.
As soon as she reached the homestead, she had every intention of fixing whatever was needed on the ham radio to try to reach out to her friend.
If he was able to get his up and running, they would at least have a bit of news to share across the states.
After getting their bags packed up and ready to go, Veronica opened the barn door and let the rising light filter in.
Bella groaned and rolled over as she sat up, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleep.
“I told you we were going to get an early start,” Veronica said.
“I know, but I was having the most wonderful dream I’ve had in a very long time. I guess I just didn’t want it to end.”
“Those are some of my favorite ones. What were you dreaming about?”
Bella smiled. “I was dreaming that you and I both were in Florida, and it was just so peaceful there. We were on the beach with the waves crashing on the shore. The whole thing was just amazing.”
Veronica chuckled. “I know it was a dream because you’re not going to find that kind of peace anywhere in the country right now. I would venture to say that the entire nation is in shambles at the moment.”
“Do you really think it’s just our country without power? Do you think there are other countries that haven’t lost anything?”
“I wouldn’t even begin to try to make those kinds of assumptions, but I really hope that other countries are doing just fine and weren’t affected in the slightest. It’s sort of hard to believe that the entire world is without power.”
“It’s hard to imagine that everyone was affected, but what makes you hope other countries have power when we don’t?”
“I just think that if there are other countries out there that weren’t affected and are still up and running, it’s just going to make it that much easier for the United States to get help. It could just mean we can get everything we need to be up and running again in a lot shorter time frame.”
She was happy to bounce different theories off of Bella and supported the young girl’s asking questions, but she knew the odds of their allied nations getting out of the crosshairs unscathed was incredibly slim.
If the United States had truly been attacked, there was no way they were the only ones.
It was hard to fathom that anything so dramatic and dire could happen to one of the greatest nations on the planet.
They had obviously been unprepared for the disaster.
Now their only saving grace was each other and people’s desire to survive.
It wasn’t the ones working together to survive that worried her.
No, It was the people who saw the nation’s hardship as an opportunity to do whatever they wanted.
She wanted to believe that the good would prevail but had seen too much in her life to truly have faith in that notion.
Until they knew more about what was happening, the safest place for them was going to be her family’s home.
No matter the differences between Veronica and her mother, it was time to put them aside for the greater good.
She was willing to extend that olive branch if her mother was as well.
Before they could work on their relationship, though, Veronica had to get Bella and herself safely to the property.
They had to get moving soon. The longer they waited, the better chance they had of running into people who were up to no good.
Though the bike wasn’t worth her life or Bella’s, she didn’t want to lose it, either.
With each passing day that the power was out, Veronica knew people would grow more desperate.
Friends and family would turn on each other without the government guiding them.
In small communities like Dodger Run, that sort of thing would be less prevalent.
Yet the larger metropolis they had to traverse was a danger she wasn’t looking forward to.
“I certainly would like to get an early start. So, do you think you’re ready to get back on the road again?”
Bella nodded her head and stood up. “I think I’m about as ready as I’m ever going to be. How far is it to the city?”
“From here, I’d say it’s about a two-hour drive, and then after that, it’s another hour’s ride to the village. It could be longer or shorter, just depending on if we run into anything.”
The girl nodded in understanding and started to get ready for the journey ahead of them.
Though the longest portion of the ride was already passed, Veronica couldn’t help but wonder what they were going to encounter along the way.
So far, the trip had mostly gone without incident, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any danger lurking ahead of them.
“Have you made your decision on whether you’re going to take us through the city yet?”
“I’m still not quite sure what we’re going to do.
I figure when we get about a mile outside of the city, we’ll get off the bike and walk along the outer edge to see how things look inside.
If I don’t notice any trouble, I would much rather shorten our trip as much as possible.
If it looks like it’s going to be too bad or rough to get through, then we’ll go the long way. ”
Bella laughed. “That’s actually a really smart idea. If I had still been on the road on my own, I don’t know that I would have ever thought of it.”
Without a passenger, navigating through the city streets in a zigzag fashion to avoid being stopped or shot would be simple, given Veronica’s experience with motorcycles.
With a passenger, though, even if Bella had been an experienced one, it was a dangerous feat on the best of bikes.
The massive antique beast weighed considerably more than she was comfortable throwing around casually.
As the pair loaded up onto the bike and Veronica started the engine, she looked around at their surroundings once more.
It would take a few minutes for the motorcycle to warm up, and that made her nervous. They were sitting ducks.
Veronica had gone through the entire checklist in her mind and made sure everything was strapped down tightly.
Their stuff was secured, and the motorcycle was ready to take on the last stage of their journey when Bella suddenly tapped her on her shoulder.
She smiled and quickly turned around to see what she wanted but was shocked by the freaked-out look on Bella’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I could have sworn that I just saw something in the woods to the left of the barn.”
“Did you get a good enough look at it to see what in the world it was?”
Bella shook her head. “I can’t be certain, but I’m pretty sure it was a man in camouflage.”
“You need to hold on tight.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to get us out of here as fast as possible,” Veronica said. “If what you saw was actually a man in camouflage, then I wouldn’t be surprised if there are others with him waiting to pounce on unexpecting prey. I’m not taking any chances.”
Bella’s arms wrapped around her, and Veronica kicked the bike into gear.
Seconds later, they were peeling out of the gravel driveway as she struggled to keep the bike upright.
They raced away from the barn and onto the blacktop road.
When there was a half mile between them and the barn, Veronica glanced back just in time to see three others in camouflage emerging from the forest. Her stomach lurched as she quickly spun back around and focused on the road, speeding up as they moved.
She hoped that Bella didn’t turn around and see the man, not wanting her friend to know just how close they had come to danger.