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“But what about Dad?” Mason’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. She leaned across the table and clasped his hand in hers, hoping to give comfort and reassurance that she was struggling to maintain for herself.
“If Dad isn’t home by the time we leave, then he knows where Grandpa’s house is and he will meet us there.”
The sound of a motor starting reached them before they made it past the hedges. Four days ago, she wouldn’t have paid any attention to the noise but now it seemed out of place. Arthur was backing a utility ATV out of the shed at the side of the house and Tessa couldn’t believe how loud it was. Old Blue must sound like a tank. He drove it over to the garage and killed the engine.
“Take off your shoes and don’t break anything,” Tessa called out as the kids raced past Arthur and into the house.
“They’ll be okay.” He chuckled. “Sally’s making brownies. Perfect timing. She was going to have me walk them over to you this afternoon.”
Their thoughtfulness was too much, but she was grateful to have met them and that statement alone was enough to solidify what she wanted to say to them both today.
“What are you doing with that thing?” Tessa motioned to the ATV as they walked up onto the porch.
Arthur wiped the dirt from his hands on his pants and scanned the hill around them before stepping inside. “I’m going to clear the brush for a 200ft perimeter. Been meaning to do it for a while now.” The smell of freshly baked brownies made her mouth water and her feet took her to the kitchen before she had the chance to ask why in the world he’d want to do that.
Sally held up a small white plate with a perfectly cut square of chocolate heaven and handed it to Tessa with her blue eyes beaming with motherly warmth.
“Thank you.” She inhaled it in two bites. The kids had already run out back and Tessa turned to watch them through the glass. They had a full yard of toys at home and still preferred the dirt lot with its single tire swing hanging from the gnarly pine that overlooked the valley below.
“How are you doing?” Sally rubbed Tessa’s arm. “Arthur told me about what happened at base.”
Tessa patted her hand and then put her plate in the sink. “I’ll be okay, but I’ve got to take care of a few things and then I think we need to make a trip up to Idaho to stay with my dad until this all blows over.”
“Idaho?” Sally’s face fell. “Do you really think it’s safe to travel right now?”
“Honestly? I think we should have left days ago. If what Arthur says is true, the roads are only going to get worse as more people leave the cities. Who knows what it will be like next week?”
“And Landon?” Sally asked the question softly, without accusation or implying hope.
Still, Tessa wanted to cry, feeling judgement when she knew there was none. “Landon would want us to be safe.”
“About that,” Sally leaned onto her cane, “I think you and Arthur and I need to sit down to have a serious talk. I’m not telling you to stay if your heart is set on going, but I will tell you there are options.”
“Options?” Tessa arched an eyebrow.
“The brownies are getting cold,” Sally’s voice rang out through the house and Arthur shuffled into the kitchen.
“We can’t have that.” He stooped down to kiss her cheek. “I just went to wash my hands.”
“As I was saying,” Sally playfully swatted him away, “if you saw a few hundred people on the freeway yesterday then that must only be the first wave. There are over a million people in San Diego alone and sooner or later they are going to want to get out of the city. We’re far enough off the beaten path to not be a target to most of them, but not everyone will be content with just passing through.”
Tessa bit her lip. “All the more reason for us to leave soon. If we need to get out of here, I’d rather be ahead of the mass exodus and not in the middle of it. And I actually came over here today to tell you both that you should come with us. Moose City doesn’t have much, but it’s self-reliant and my dad is the sheriff up there. Plus, it’s small enough that no one even knows it exists.”
“If that’s the case maybe you would be better off for the long term back home.” Sally pulled a cloth from her pocket and dabbed it against her eyes. “But I don’t think I can make a journey like that right now.” Arthur stopped chewing and put his plate on the counter.
“Now don’t you start,” Sally cut him off before he could get a word in. “I told you what I was going to say and you will let me finish.” Arthur nodded, picking up his discarded plate, and Tessa tried not to laugh.
“Like I said,” Sally continued. “I don’t blame you if you want to go, but if you want to stay then you have some options. Arthur and I have been preparing for a situation like this all our adult lives and I’m confident we can weather the storm no matter how long it lasts. I’ve made a list of some ideas and we can sit down to discuss them together. Defending two properties might be a bit tricky, but I was thinking we can work out some sort of plan. An easier option would be if you and the kids stayed here temporarily…”
“Slow down.” Tessa held up her hand. “When you say you’ve been planning for this, it makes me a little nervous. Planning for what exactly?”
Sally’s gaze drifted to the backyard. “We planned for everything. At first it was a parent’s instinct. We wanted to keep Anissa safe in case some major crisis were to happen, but the more we learned about preparedness, the more we planned.”
Doomsday preppers. End of the world junkies. She thought of all the labeled bins in the cellar and knew exactly what these words meant. There was a time she would have thought it was crazy, but with every passing moment of this changing world the conversation about survival suddenly seemed like the most rational thing to have. She felt small and unprepared, like all her lists and worry and simple plans weren’t enough to keep her family safe.
“I only have another twenty-six days of food for the kids. Less than that if I feed Moose. There’s some chicken and the last of the frozen vegetables melting in the deep freezer as we speak. I found a few cases of MREs in the garage, but I don’t even know if they’re expired. I don’t have enough to stay here and help you out if this is going to last a long time.” She wanted to take the words back, to scoop them up and live in an alternate reality where she planned for longer. Where she wasn’t a charity case standing in Sally’s kitchen.
Arthur dropped his plate into the sink. His back was to her as he spoke, “That’s how we started too. Thirty days of food and a plan to get some more. Enough ammo to last a while and a list of what we needed to do next. We don’t think you are ill prepared. You are only starting out, but you have the right mindset to survive and that’s why you have options now.”
