The City of Wanderers - No Peaceful North Part One

Chapter Five

It had been so long since Wes had seen the province beyond just Surrey and the Salish Sea. Every time they would leave there would be traffic from Langley to Abbotsford but there was barely anyone on the road. Aditya was driving Wes' truck, which was an old diesel pickup he got in the 90s. Since they left later in the day, their plan was to go to Kelowna first and then head north on Highway 97. Everything was going smoothly until they reached the outside of Hope.
They had made it to the barricade that Knox mentioned. There was police everywhere and a makeshift gate on the road. One of them approached and Aditya rolled down the window.
"What purpose are you leaving Pacifica for?" The officer asked them. Aditya answered "Going to Kelowna to visit my sister."
"How many and for how long?" The officer continued to question him.
"Three and also for three or four days." Aditya continued answering the officer's questions.
"Alright, be back as soon as possible after those days. Kelowna is safer but the rest of the country is not. You may be tested upon return." The officer informed Aditya, who asked him "Just out of curiosity, what kind of dangers are out there?"
Wes motioned for Aditya to remain quiet but it was already too late. He didn't trust police but for some reason Aditya did.
"Let me put it this way. People leave thinking they're in for an adventure now that they have the time. But then they run out of fuel for their vehicle and can't fill up anywhere because nearly every town is abandoned. Then they start to hunger as they run out of whatever supplies they brought. Then they're attacked by road pirates, bandits or a wanderer. If they're lucky enough to survive that then disease, starvation or the climate makes sure they're never heard from again. Be back from Kelowna in four days." The officer explained to Aditya, who only said in response "Oh, I see."
They then opened the barricade, letting them through. They were on the Coquihalla Highway, which Wes always hated driving on sometimes as the visibility always sucked in some parts and always had snow on it no matter what season. He watched as the scenery changed from rainy forested mountains to snowy mountains. Once they were past the summit and approaching the Okanagan, the scenery became burnt. The trees were all black and bare.
"Was this part of the Kelowna fire?" Aditya asked as Knox replied "No, this is a different one."
Wes remembered that fire. It happened the following summer after the world collapsed in 2014. Many fires happened in what used to be British Columbia and with nobody to control them, they got out of control and spread far. It was the smokiest the Lower Mainland had ever been that year.
The destruction from that fire ended once they got closer to Merritt, which didn't seem to have anyone travelling around it either. They were the only ones on the road, which was very unusual. Once they got past the mine on the Okanagan Connector there were more burnt trees that were more scattered until they reached West Kelowna, or what was left of it.
"This was the West Kelowna fire. It shocked me too when I first saw it." Knox told them before adding "It's sad, I imagine this place was lovely before it."
Knox and Aditya started talking about it while Wes was dozed off and not hearing them at all. It seemed like there was still people living on the west side more closer to the lake and the bridge. There were a lot of boats on the water and what seemed to be a floating market on the marina. Still barely anyone on the road, which was unusual as there was always traffic going into town from the bridge.
Wes snapped back to reality when Aditya tapped his shoulder to ask "You feeling okay? You haven't said a word at all since we left."
"Uh, yeah, I'm just tired that's all." Wes responded. He had been up for almost 24 hours at that point with the only thing he's ingested was alcohol.
The city seemed to get less busy the further away from the waterfront they went. Aditya's sister lived on Knox Mountain, which the teenager Knox pointed out as a coincidence. Eventually they arrived as the sun was starting to set over the mountains at the other side of the lake. The place was nice, had a great view of the Glenmore district and Highway 97, the one they had to be on to get to Fort St. John.
Aditya's sister was Riya Gould, she also had russet brown skin, brown eyes and always had her hair covered with a hijab whenever Wes was around. She was expecting them and greeted them on the driveway.
"How long were you waiting out here for?" Aditya asked her after he exited Wes' truck. She answered "Not too long, you arrived a lot sooner than I thought."
Upon seeing Wes, she asked him "Oh no, what happened to you?"
"Work related injury." Wes simply responded, he didn't feel like telling the story. Riya then said "Didn't realize the ferries were so dangerous."
Upon seeing Knox, she asked again "Oh you got someone new? Your kid?"
"No, this is Knox and we're bringing him back to his family up north." Aditya answered as Knox mentioned "But when the cops are around, I am your kid despite looking nothing like either of you."
Riya laughed and told them "I assure you that won't be needed here, my sister-in-law runs the place now. She will get you out of any trouble."
Wes found that kind of assuring. He also knew who her sister-in-law was. Felicity Gould, she used to work for the city council before the outbreak but must have been promoted to mayor or something in the two years since he had last been in Kelowna.
"Come inside, we have a lot of catching up to do. Matt will be home soon as well." Riya encouraged everyone as she headed towards the front door. The three followed her in, though Wes hesitated for a moment while staring back at the highway. He still was not wanting to go back north but it was too late, everyone else was already committed.