Free Operation Z-Day (The Raven Falconer Chronicles) by Dennis Larsen

the glass.  Bobi screamed and jerked away as Mick gunned the engine and sped off.
    Bobi yelled at her friends, “What just happened?  Why would he do that?”
    Hannah swung around in her seat and looked at the quickly shrinking figure.  “Must be that aggressive behavior the CDC was talking about,” Hannah answered.
    “ We'll need to avoid them like the plaque,” Mick interjected.  She gripped the wheel tightly; her brow wrinkled and eyes squinting as she glanced between the road and mirror. 
    “ No pun intended?” Bobi asked, shifting back into her own seat.
    “ What?  Oh yeah, right, no pun intended,” Mick confirmed.
    Closer to Banff a light snow began to collect on the road, slowing their progress but certainly not stopping them.  More people were out and about but no sign of the authorities.  A herd of big horn sheep obstructed them briefly near the Tunnel Mountain exit but they were quick to squeeze around them and be on their way.
    “ Hannah take a look at the map and make sure we don’t lose our way,” Mick instructed the designated backseat driver.  “Do you think we should stop and replenish the stuff we lost in the cooler?”
    “ Where?  Do you think anything will open up here?” Bobi asked.
    “ Might be worth taking a look, and didn’t Rave ask us to steal a generator?” Hannah piped in.
    “ Don’t think we’re going to find a Home Depot in Banff but we might find a mini-mart or something where we can get some more food,” Mick noted, swinging the Jeep toward the center of town.
    They drove the near-deserted streets for several minutes, looking for anything that appeared promising.  Most of the shops were closed and many were boarded up.  Signs hastily spray-painted across plywood fronts – Closed Until Further Notice – were everywhere. “It’s much worse than I would have thought,” Bobi said.
    Near the outskirts of town and without finding anything that would be helpful, the friends referred to the map and began the winding trip up the mountainside to the refuge of the cabin.  Mick shifted the t ransaxle from two to four wheel drive, hoping the little Jeep could carry them up the rugged slope without any further delays.
    “ You got cell service?” Mick asked.  “See if you can raise Raven.”
    “ No bars for me,” Bobi said, followed quickly by the same thing from Hannah.  “She knows we’re coming though.  I hope we’re not too early and get her out of bed.”
    There was little chance of that as Raven stared, transfixed on the back entrance of the cabin, the thought of shooting the bear still very fresh in her mind.  If the friends only knew the state Raven was in and the way their lives were about to change forever, they perhaps would have done a better job of trying to steal a generator.
     

Chapter 7
    By the time early morning sunlight was creeping through the narrow gaps in the window’s blinds, Raven had calmed her fears enough to dress in a baggy but warm pair of sweats, with a woven toque pulled low over her ears.  The shotgun was never far away, as she prepared the cabin for the arrival of her friends.  Brilliant flames danced in the fireplace, replacing the cold, crisp air with revitalizing warmth.  A steady stream of pops and crackles sounded from the stone hearth as the searing fire found pockets of hidden sap and air trapped within the split logs.  The thought of writing never entered the young author’s mind, where she relived the events of the night and the horror of shooting the bear.  She’d still not summoned the courage to look out the back of the cabin, afraid the view would confirm what she’d imagined over and over again.  There’d been no further word from her friends but she anticipated their arrival at any minute.  They’d had plenty of time to drive the distance from Calgary and she was anxious to have some company to free her from the snowbound prison she’d been confined to since the snow had begun, days