Any Means Necessary

Chapter 4: The Trip

     About two hours we finally had everything gathered. We had found three vehicles that would work for us. My SUV, a passenger van, and a cargo van. We loaded all of the extra gas cans that we had filled with gas, about twenty in total, and a good portion of our food and water supply into the cargo van. Brett offered to drive the van because only Frank Marrow and himself were really comfortable driving it and the passenger van.

Brett told Frank to drive the passenger van. As we are waiting to decide who is going in which car Mr. Johnson lights a cigar to calm his nerves. So we all loaded up into the cars. Frank, Jessica, the Johnsons, and Mrs. Perrettis got in the passenger van. Brett and Mr. Perrettis got into the cargo van. Which left me, Anne, David, Jason, and Mary to get in my SUV. Mary insisted that we had to bring her dog, Shadow, with us. He is a giant black lab, but is as friendly as could be so I agree.

We start driving down Route 30. To get out of town we had to cross the bridge. It was full of crashed cars so we crept our way across. My SUV was in the lead since it was the smallest of the three vehicles. When we got about halfway across we feel a sudden shift. Anne looks out the window to see if she can tell what it was.

"Helen, drive faster!"

"Why what's wrong?"

"There is a giant crack in the bridge and it looks like it is getting bigger by the second."

"Everyone hold on!" I scream and I floor the pedal and veer around downed cars. I barely make it across when I hear a loud crash.

"Did everyone make it?" I asked.

"Umm," Anne said as she turned around. "I don't see either of the vans!"

I jump out of the car with Anne right behind me. I run to the edge where I can see down into the river. The spot where the cars landed was a sandbar so there was no water. The passenger van had landed on its wheels and every exited it seeming okay. When they turned and saw the cargo van everyone screamed.

The van had landed on its front end and then flipped upside down.

"Are they okay?" I screamed down to them.

"They both look alive." Mr. Johnson yelled back. "But it's starting to smell like gasoline!"

He threw down his cigar and ran towards the van. Frank, Mrs. Perrettis and Mrs. Johnson followed after him to see if they could help. They started pulling at the seat belts trying to get the two men loose. Finally they are able to get Mr. Perrettis out of the car.

Right as they are about to pull Brett out of the car I see a flame flicker up.

"Fire!" I yell. They didn't hear me in their commotion to get them out. "Fire, there is a fire!" I keep telling over and over. They finally got Brett out of the van when they heard me, but by then it was too late. The fire had traveled up the line of spilled gas that I presume is from the gas cans and ignites the whole van. Then there was an explosion as the van exploded spewing flames everywhere. These flames caught he other van on fire.

"Run up here. Hurry!" Anne yells.

Mrs. Johnson hears her and starts running. When she makes it to the bank the second van explodes.

"Did anyone else make it?" I ask.

"I don't know." She replied.

We stand there for a few minutes to see if anyone had made it. No one came up the bank. We turn around slowly to go back to the SUV. By this time everyone is sobbing.

"By any means necessary we will make the people responsible pay." I say and everyone nods in agreement.

We load back into the SUV with Mrs. Johnson joining us. We get about two miles down the road when a sinkhole opens under the SUV. The front end goes into the sinkhole leaving the car stranded and unable to get back out.

"Alright every, get out of the car and we will figure out what to do." I tell everyone. We start exiting the car grabbing what we can before getting out. The last person out is Jason. He is carrying something that I don't remember us loading up. As he climbs out of the SUV in his arms are two twenty gauge shotguns.

"Where did you get those?" I ask him.

"I brought them from home. I figured we didn't know what was out here or what was going on, we should probably have protection just incase."

"Does anyone know how to use those because I sure don't." Donna Johnson says. Me, Jason, Mary, and David all answer that we do. So Jason hands one shotgun to David and keeps one for himself.

"So what were we able to grab." Mary asks while she is holding on to Shadows collar looking for his leash in her purse.

"It looks like we got about ten bottles of water, ten granola bars, and five bags of beef jerky." David answers.

"That's not a lot for six people."

"It's okay. We will figure out a way to make it. Surely there are people who will help us." I tell them. "Let's keep going."

And with that we continued on our way.