“Yeah, no. We just like living in a rest area,” he answered sarcastically and then sighed and rubbed his hands over his face in desperation. “Look, we got kids. Lots of them, and they’re in no shape to walk.”
There were dozens of kids, and they did look lethargic and weak. Kids didn’t normally lay down in the middle of the day on road trips. They ran, played, and laughed. Life was usually one big game to them, regardless of the situation. But everywhere they could see, these kids were huddled up on dirty blankets and pillows, or laying with their heads in their mother’s laps on the ground, or in cars.
They couldn’t help them all. They might be able to squeeze one or two in between them, but they’d need a bus to move this many children. Gabby nodded. “I understand. But like I said, we’ve only got enough to get a little farther down the road, and then we’ll be parked and stuck too, and we’ll be walking. I’m sorry we can’t help you.”
“Got any water?”
“No.”
“Any food?”
Gabby looked at Emma. She nodded and reached into the car, pulling out Gabby’s backpack. She dug through it, pulling out random food stuff.
The men hurried forward.
“No! Stop where you are. We’ll throw it over to you,” Gabby insisted, pulling out the gun and letting it hang beside her in full view, ready to aim.
Not surprisingly, they listened.
As Gabby kept a close eye on the men, Emma and Olivia threw the food; a bag of gorp, a can of spam, and a few energy bars. They gave them everything they could quickly find.
Larry wandered up just as they finished passing the food over. “What’s going on?”
Gabby stepped in close to speak to him, cringing at his breath. “These guys were asking about the car and gas. We can’t help them, but we gave them some food.”
“Yeah. Hell no, I can’t help ‘em. Let’s go,” he whispered, his eyes darting all over in fear.
“Uh… what about us, Larry? We need to use the… we need to pee,” Gabby whispered.
Olivia stepped up to whisper too, “I can’t wait another mile. Look at that end over there. Let’s drive that way as though we’re leaving and get away from this crowd, but then we can pull over and hurry into the woods and back. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
On the exit ramp leaving the rest area, there were only a few vehicles, looking long-abandoned, and only two women were in that area, far away from the group. They were laying down under a tree and appeared to be asleep. It was a good plan.
Or good enough.
Larry sighed as though it was a huge inconvenience, ignoring the fact he’d also needed and had taken a pit stop. “Alright, but you girls better hurry,” he grumbled.
They piled back into the car and slowly drove to the other end, almost to the on-ramp to re-enter the interstate. Larry pulled over and the girls jumped out. Gabby grabbed her bag and seeing her map and picture had slid to the floor, she snatched those up too and slid them into her back pocket.
“Why are you taking all that just to go pee?” he asked.
“Toilet paper,” she snapped at him, and then turned to run behind her sisters to the nearby stand of trees. The truth was, she didn’t trust him.
The two women lying near the trees weren’t asleep after all. Clothes torn and dirty, and hair in knots, they were in terrible shape. They wore low-cut shirts and too-tight shorts with strappy, high heels. They both gripped their arms just below an angry-red mark on their shoulders, like a fresh burn, in the shape of the number “2.”
The women were clearly prostitutes, yet they cast narrowed and judging eyes upon Gabby and her sisters.
One of the ladies shook her head in disgust as they ran by, and Gabby wondered what that was all about, but it was too late. Her bladder had anticipated relief and she was on a countdown at the moment. She hurried to catch up with Olivia and Emma.
If only they’d heard the words thrown at them as they ran by, they might have stopped and avoided the disaster about to come their way.
“Ass, grass, or gas…” the woman called after them.
16
JAKE SKID to a stop at the closed gate to QualPro Auto & Marine, a local repair shop that shared property with a used car and marine dealership—both owned by the same guy. He jumped off the 4-wheeler, and made his way around the closed gate to the door. The shop was less than five miles from his house, and if he was going to be stuck out a Grayson’s for any period of time, he’d need something to do to keep busy, and he needed his own truck anyway. One more part and Ruby would be ready to roll.
He scanned the parking lot as he walked. What the heck? He took it all in as he reached for the door handle.
“Stop right there,” a female voice barked out.
Jake stopped abruptly and whipped around, looking for the voice.
Most of the cars from the front lines had been pulled into the middle of the lot into a haphazard cluster, barely seen behind the wall of boats that surrounded them. On top of an old Pontoon boat was a woman, laying prone on the sun deck behind a deer rifle mounted on a tripod, hair tucked beneath a camo-colored ball cap. Even from this distance, Jake could see one big blue eye opposite the other eye hovering behind the scope. He caught a glimpse of her jet-black pony-tail riding behind the cap.
It was Rena, Nick’s girlfriend and office manager.
“We’re closed! What do you need?”
“Where’s Nick?” Jake asked.
“Right here,” a deep voice boomed from a few boats over.
A hand waved from the cabin window in the belly of a cuddy cabin, long enough for Jake to see it, and then pulled back in. “Like she said, we’re closed, unless you’re trading. You looking to swap in that 4-wheeler?”
Jake squinted at the face in the window, seeing nothing but the short salt & pepper-colored beard and dark sunglasses, but it was definitely Nick. He shook his head. “Naw, man. I’m just here to pick up the part for my truck.”
“Unless you got something other than money to trade for it, I ain’t open for business. I’ll take food, ammo, gas or guns. Or the 4-wheeler, like I said.”
“Trade? I already paid for the part. It’s me… Jake. That part is for my ’57 Chevy. You said it’d be here a week ago. I just got around to getting here.”
There was a long pause during which Jake spotted one of Nick’s mechanics, sitting portside of another boat, still as a statue, with a long-gun pointed Jake’s way. A rustle of fabric drew his eye to yet another mechanic, who up until now had been quiet as a mouse standing in the back of a 4x4 truck, gun resting on the top of the cab—again, pointed at Jake.
Jake slowly raised his hands against the four guns pointing at him. “What’s going on here, Nick? Why you got all your cars and boats jammed in together like that? And what’s with the sniper patrol? You see some trouble already?”
Jake spoke to the boat he’d glimpsed Nick in, but the window was empty. A few thumps later and Nick jumped out onto the concrete, swinging his rifle to let it hang from the strap behind his shoulder. “Yeah dude, I’m sorry. I forgot all about you already having paid for that part. I got it for you. All hell has been breaking loose. This is the first break I’ve had from looky-loos, criminals and assholes trying to get a’ hold of one of my cars for nothing. Everybody needs gas and they’re hoping my cars and boats are all filled up. Their cars are broke down all over town.”
“They all running?” Jake asked.
“Hell yeah, they ran. Not many men will stand still with a woman pointing a rifle at ‘em!”
Jake laughed. “No, I meant the cars. They’re all gassed up?”
Nick shrugged. “They’re not all full, if that’s what you’re asking. If a person was to siphon all the gas, they’d probably get more than a few tanks out of it. But everybody seems to think I’m giving my shit away for free,” he grumbled as he approached the door, jumbling his keys around to find the right one. “They’d just as soon take one and drive it as far as it’ll go.”