Free 299 Days VIII: The War by Glen Tate

cover!” Willden yelled. He had his AR
     pointed at the brake lights, which stayed on for a minute or so. It was the longest
     minute of Todd’s life. Finally, they went off and the vehicles drove off.
    “Whew!” Todd said.
    “Except that they’re up there and we’ll probably meet up with them again,” Willden
     said. He was starting to regret taking on this job, despite how profitable it was.
    “We’ll have to go slower now,” Willden said. They crept along at 35 miles per hour
     for a few miles. They saw the pack of vehicles speeding back the other way.
    “Are they coming back for us?” Todd asked.
    “Nope,” Willden said. “If they wanted us, they would do a roadblock up ahead.” They
     kept driving and didn’t see the vehicles again.
    After about an hour, Willden looked at the gas gauge. He had just over half a tank.
     “Let’s get out and stretch our legs,” he said. That sounded good to Todd. The family
     got out and walked around for a bit.
    Willden seemed nervous. “Stay here,” he said, as he got into the Rover. He started
     it up and drove up to the family.
    “Hey, this isn’t working out,” he said, as he rolled down his window. “I’m heading
     back.”
    Todd laughed. Willden didn’t.
    “We’re not at Wenatchee yet,” Todd finally said.
    “That’s your problem,” Willden said. “I gotta get back before dark. See you guys.”
    This isn’t funny anymore, Todd thought. Before he knew it, he had lifted the AK to
     his shoulder, pointed it at Willden, and yelled “Stop!” The girls started screaming.
    Willden laughed. Finally, he said, “Go ahead and shoot, Todd.”
    Todd pulled the trigger, but the gun didn’t go off. Then he remembered that the safety
     was on. He pushed the lever down so it would fire, re-shouldered the AK and pulled
     the trigger again.
    Click.
    Willden started laughing. “It’s not loaded, dumbass.”
    Todd tried pulling the trigger again, but the gun did nothing.
    “The magazine has been empty the whole time,” Willden said.
    “Take care,” he said as he drove off.
    Chloe was screaming and the girls were crying.
    After an hour of arguing and trying to figure out what to do, Todd and Chloe finally
     sat down on the shoulder of the highway. Not a single vehicle had gone by the whole
     time.
    After a long while of sitting there silently, Todd and Chloe heard the sound of approaching
     cars. They felt a sense of relief.
    Until they saw that it was the same pack of vehicles that chased them. Todd shouldered
     his AK again and felt a hot punch in his chest and then heard a loud noise. He saw
     blood everywhere and it felt like someone spilled hot soup on his chest. Then he realized
     he’d been shot. The last thing he saw before he was swallowed by darkness was a group
     of men grabbing Chloe and the girls.

     
Chapter 256
Winter Solstice in Seattle
    (December 24)
     
     
    Professor Carol Matson was having a delicious cup of hot cocoa and listening to winter
     solstice music on NPR. She loved NPR. It was so soothing and civilized.
    Carol was in a great mood. Winter solstice was a marvelous time. It was a time to
     reflect on the year. There had sure been some scares this year. The initial shock
     of the empty store shelves and all the teabagger violence. All the people recently
     coming to Seattle to escape the right-wing terrorism. She had heard that the so-called
     Patriots were rounding up minorities and killing them. But that wasn’t happening in
     Seattle. People were treated right in Seattle. People were taken care of. They had
     equality there: free health care, free food, free everything. Well, when those things
     were available, which meant when the terrorists hadn’t interfered with the supplies.
     The government was doing its very best to provide for everyone, but the terrorist
     teabaggers were sabotaging that, which was why there were supply problems.
    Carol loved diversity; people of all races who, thankfully, all seemed to agree on