Her laugh was full bodied. “Oh mister, this ain’t even the road you’re taking. This gets you onto our land. Go six miles and you’ll see a collection of abandoned sheds. The road through the hills starts there.” She slapped the side of the bus. “Good luck.”
Apprehensive, Les steered the bus onto the dirt road and made sure Ethan was following. As they proceeded, he relayed what the woman had said to his fellow driver. “Guess we’d better be prepared for anything. At worst we could retrace our route to the highway.” In the rearview vids he watched the rancher’s people reconstructing the clever camouflage behind them to hide this service road.
He was relieved to see the tumbled down, weathered buildings ahead but when he reached the site and saw the track they were to use, he was appalled and brought the bus to a halt. Ordering Ethan to meet him out front, he turned the controls over to Devora and stormed out of the bus.
“The rancher expects us to drive this?” Ethan said in disbelief, pointing at the deep, rutted track leading off toward the foothills. “I mean it’s wide enough but it’s going to be one hell of a rough ride. Our shock absorbers aren’t equipped for this.”
Les glared at the sky, hoping one of the rancher’s drones was circling and would relay his disgust. “I wouldn’t call this a road in any sense of the word myself. Once we’re in those ruts, there won’t be any choice. We won’t be able to turn around.”
“Remember Ruger,” the other driver said. “And what the guy told you about Millerville. I think we’d better go for it and hope nothing tears out the undercarriage. It’s badly overgrown in spots.”
“All right, I have to admit you’re talking sense. Warn your passengers about the rough ride. We’ll take it slow.” The two men parted and Les got into the bus. “It’s going to be real bumpy and we’ll have to go at a low speed,” Les reported.
“But it’s doable?” Devora asked anxiously.
“The old man said we could make it,” Les replied, conscious that wasn’t exactly an unqualified yes. The refugees might end up having to finish the trip on foot if the buses couldn’t take the rough conditions of the track but he didn’t feel a need to add the grim warning right now. He could carry Jenny and Devora was strong—the three of them would make it to Glastine even if no one else did. With the vow on his mind, he sat and shifted the engine into drive, moving carefully into the ruts which awaited. The furrows were deep and had obviously been used extensively over the centuries since First Landing on this planet. He ought to be grateful, he knew, but his nerves were on edge. Every scrape on the undercarriage was like fingernails across a chalkboard to him.
The passengers clung to their seats as they were jostled and thrown about by the road conditions. The bus’s designers hadn’t contemplated the vehicle maneuvering on anything but nice smooth, modern roads and the shock absorbing capacities were pretty minimal. As they went on he had to make several stops for passengers to rush outside and throw up. Les kept a watchful eye on Jenny but the little girl was enjoying all the bumps as if this was a ride at a festival. She was positively gleeful each time the bus’s wheels descended abruptly into a deeper section of the rut and she ‘floated’ in the air for a second.
“I’m glad she’s having fun,” Devora said to him. “This is the worst road I’ve ever been on.”
“Me too,” he said. “I wish the Rosewater School District had gone for antigrav buses.”
Devora laughed. “We’re lucky there are school buses at all. Jonny Fafield’s mother ran the town back in the day before the Western Flu hit and she forced the townspeople to do a lot of fundraisers to be able to afford these buses. She made matching donations but not until everyone had done a lot of hard work.”
“What did your tax credits go for then?” he asked, not really caring but the conversation passed the time while he fought the controls and drove in the ruts.
“I’m not sure, although the sheriff’s department was well funded. Mrs. Fafield loved us—we kept her safe, you know. The roads were pretty nice, better than this anyway.” And she chuckled again.
The final part of the first day’s journey was a long, easy climb to a plateau, beyond which the forbidding foothills jutted into the darkening sky. Les stopped the bus and turned off the engine. Rising and stretching he announced to the passengers, “That’s it for today. I’m not risking the foothills in anything but broad daylight. We’ll break out the survival rations and nutrition drinks from the cargo compartment in a minute. You can sleep outside or in the bus tonight.”
“Aren’t you going to sweep for infected before we go out?” asked a timid voice from the back.
“Lady, we can see for miles—there’s nobody here but us and maybe local wildlife. But that’s a good point so stay alert. I don’t expect an attack from an infected swarm but there could be local predators. Don’t wander off too far.” He allowed all the passengers to disembark before he got out. Devora was already supervising the distribution of what was going to pass for a meal. He strolled over to her, noticing with appreciation Sandy was close by, keeping an eye on Jenny while Devora worked.
“I appreciate all your help with the kid,” he said to the woman as he passed.
“Sure, she’s a delight,” Sandy said. “And your woman works so hard for all of us on these stops. I’m glad to help out any way I can.”
As he continued on his way he decided he liked the sound of “your woman”. He hoped Devora would agree and he stuck one hand in his pants pocket to touch the items he’d picked up in the last town. Tonight he and Devora needed to have a serious conversation. He doubled back to Sandy. “Would you watch Jenny for us tonight for a while? I want to take Devora outside and do some stargazing. This high in the foothills the sky should be amazing.”
“Of course, just let me know when you need me.”
Now he went to Devora. “How’s the food supply holding up?”
“Not too bad. A lot of people still have stuff they took from the grocery truck the other day and they’d rather eat the sugary sweet stuff than these dry rations.” She handed one to a man who came up as they were talking. “I don’t blame them. I might have eaten a few cupcakes myself.”
“Hey, want to go on a date tonight?” he asked, heart pounding.
She stared at him, mouth open. “A date? Are you crazy?”
He gestured at the darkening sky. “Star gazing. I’m sure the display will be fantastic out here in the foothills. I already asked Sandy to babysit for us.”
Devora gazed past him to where the woman sat with Jenny. “Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
But her tone was amused so he relaxed. “I want to talk to you about some stuff too,” he admitted. “Privately.”
Ethan came up, frowning and broke into the conversation ruthlessly. “Got a problem with the damn bus, boss. We’re leaking fluids and I think you’d better come check it out.”
