The parking lot to their left would have been a nightmare had a team of pickup trucks with snowplows not cleared away at least some of the deep powder. It was a hack job, no doubt about it. But thankfully someone had had the foresight to see the logistical problems they would face as folks began showing up.
He spotted a natural depression between snow drifts just ahead and pulled the Dodge alongside it. With tires spinning, Carl pushed his snow-battered car ahead and parked in front of him. They got out into the numbing cold and began unloading. A man by the bus was shouting instructions to those beginning to board. “One bag only. Anything more will be left behind.”
A guy with two giant suitcases was trying to argue his case without much success. Nate saw more people loaded like pack mules with backpacks, duffle bags and suitcases to boot. Nearby sat a graveyard of abandoned possessions cast aside in the snow. The sight was unnerving and only added to the growing sense that things in their small, once bucolic little town were unravelling at a rapid rate.
Lauren and the twins appeared next to them, each holding a single knapsack. By comparison to the hordes who appeared to have brought everything they owned, their little group looked vastly underprepared. But Nate and Amy understood, in a situation such as this, the quality of what you packed was far more important than quantity.
They headed toward the line of buses, Nate’s heart seizing up with the thought of watching them step on board. Once he grabbed Evan, he would be right behind them. He knew that. But he couldn’t shake the terrible feeling he wasn’t going to see them again. The image of a bus overturning on the highway flashed before his eyes and he shoved it away. Given the crappy circumstances, this was the only choice that made sense. A traffic jam on the freeway could very well be a death trap. The police escort might just provide the edge they needed.
Nate hugged each family member in turn. “I’ll be right behind you,” he assured them. He reminded Amy how much he loved her. She rarely ever cried. It was one of the strange personality traits he loved about her. That was why the tears he saw threatening to roll over the lids of her eyes and down her cheeks struck him like a sharp blow to the solar plexus. She wasn’t worried about meeting him in Rockford. What was upsetting her was that he was heading toward ground zero of a nuclear meltdown to get a man who might already be dead. But Evan wasn’t just a man. He wasn’t only a brother either. He was a husband and a father and Nate knew if they had packed up and fled town without him, he would never be able to live with himself.
Nate shook Carl’s hand. “Look after them for me, will you?”
Carl nodded. “Sure thing.” He held on for an extra second. “See you in Rockford.”
One by one, Nate watched them board the first bus as others nearby continued to argue the policy on bag limits. The group sat toward the rear, close to the emergency exit. That was the smart play. If anything should go wrong, they could be the first ones out.
“Keep arguing all you want,” the man shouted back. “We leave in thirty minutes with or without you.”
Even though it wasn’t directed at him, the warning got him moving nonetheless. He blew his wife a kiss and hurried back to the Dodge, distinctly aware that in more ways than one, time was quickly running out.
Chapter 20
Nate pressed his foot down on the accelerator, eager to close the two-mile distance between the middle school and the Byron nuclear plant as quickly as possible. The journey to retrieve his brother, however, was going far slower than he had hoped. Turned out he hadn’t been the only one who thought cutting into oncoming traffic to beat the gridlock was a good, if not great, idea. Those with pickup trucks and SUVs had soon been followed by a whole range of vehicles ill-equipped for driving in such extreme conditions, among them sedans and sports cars. With the snow piling ever higher, his own truck was struggling to claw its way along. There was no wonder the roads were quickly becoming improvised junkyards.
Eventually, Nate reached the Rock River bridge, crossing over it and onto the narrow country road that led to the plant. He hadn’t gotten more than fifty yards before he noticed conditions here were different than they were in town. For one, there were few, if any, vehicles. And the one or two he had seen were heading in the opposite direction. Which made sense, for only a fool would be venturing this way, toward the very danger which had caused people to flee town in the first place.
Here’s looking at you, Nate.
His side of the road had been stamped with wheeled tracks from large vehicles. He remembered Evan explaining how the plant had been limping from one diesel delivery to the next, all in a futile attempt to keep the generators going. Could that account for the lack of snow on a country road?
The question was still front and center on Nate’s mind when he glanced up over the tree line. There he spotted the same black cloud in the distance, looking like a giant bulbous demon standing out against the cold, grey sky. The fire at the plant was still burning. As he drew closer, he saw a handful of fire engines sitting idle, the firefighters themselves nowhere to be seen. Unlike firetrucks, engines carried within them seven hundred and fifty gallons of water. It appeared they had run dry without having much effect.
Gripping the wheel with one hand, Nate reached into his pocket and plucked out the Geiger counter. He spun the knob and listened as it crackled wildly to life. Every tiny sound felt like an irradiated dagger, piercing his flesh.
As the Dodge rolled toward the gate, two figures in orange radiation suits appeared and raised their weapons. Surely, Joe and Sam would recognize his truck. That was all Nate had time to think before the guards opened fire. Their rounds riddled his pickup, thudding into the engine block and tearing through the windshield. He slammed the brakes and flung himself over the center console, doing what he could to shield himself from the incoming fire. His truck drifted into a snowbank on the side of the road. Still hunched, Nate reached a hand over and gave the horn three long honks. The guards stopped shooting and began yelling for him to back up. Whoever these guys were, they weren’t interested in chatting. So he threw the truck in reverse and hit the accelerator. The Dodge didn’t respond, other than to begin spewing black smoke from beneath the hood. Soon it was filling the cab. He kicked open the driver’s side door and came out with his hands raised. The two figures wearing inflatable suits approached. Behind them were two MRAP military vehicles.
This isn’t Joe or Sam.
“Sir, this area is strictly off limits,” the first one shouted, his voice distorted by the suit’s built-in communication system. It felt like something out of a sci-fi movie.
“I’m looking for my brother,” Nate began to explain. “Evan Bauer, is he here?”
“Sir, you can’t be here.”
“My brother,” Nate shouted back. “I need to know where he is.”
The two guards glanced at one another and lowered their weapons. The second man brought a handheld radio up to his face mask. He turned to Nate. “Evan Bauer, you said?”
Nate nodded, lowering his hands. He then fished the hat out of his pocket and pulled it down over his head to block out the cold wind biting at his cheeks. With the smoke from the engine thinning out, he popped the hood and waved the remaining black cloud away as he did his best to appraise the damage. It appeared the soldiers’ bullets had shattered the radiator and water hose, among other things. His heart sank with the knowledge that they had effectively killed his only way home. Nate was stranded in the shadow of a nuclear plant in full meltdown.
Seconds later, one of the soldiers returned with some news. “A man named Evan Bauer was taken away by ambulance earlier this morning, but we have no further information.”