The three vehicles easily detoured around Lethbridge and Fort Macleod which were the two closest cities to the border. They got on Highway Two and headed north. This highway ran straight up through the province and passed through Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton. It was the equivalent of the American Interstate but with fewer car wrecks due to the lower population. Other than detouring around Calgary, a city with a population well over a million, they were done with back road driving. They wanted to go home. Before the lights went out, it would have been a six-hour drive but they kept their speed down and kept alert for ambushes. None of the kids were very concerned about trouble as Canada had very strict gun laws and unlike the American population, the average citizen didn’t have handguns or assault rifles. There were still plenty of hunting rifles and shotguns in the area, but nothing like in America.
As they traveled down the highway, past field after field, they were happy to see people out working in them. There were a few farm machines working in fields that looked like they had been taken from museums. A few people stopped working when they heard the cars go by and waved. None of the kids could stop smiling at the sight of crops being planted. This area would have food before too long.
They circled around Calgary and weren’t surprised to see trash and dropped belongings everywhere. As people walked away from the city and headed out to the countryside looking for food, they had abandoned suitcases and other belongings that had become too much of a burden to carry.
There were bodies lying on the side of the road where people had just given up and sat down to die. Other bodies showed signs of a more violent end. After getting around Calgary without a problem, they stopped and made the decision to cut across diagonally towards their town. The corridor between Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton was always heavy with traffic and they decided to take secondary highways the rest of the way. It was an easy trip and they were approaching a small town about an hour’s drive from their home when they decided to stop and see if they could find out any news about their town. Josh had told the others about what the guard had heard on the radio and they all wanted more information instead of just going in blind.
There was the now routine roadblock on the outskirts of the town that was being manned by three guards. They pulled to a stop and they all climbed out and approached the barricade. The three men didn’t seem all that concerned by the group and none of them aimed their weapons at the kids. The teens had all left their assault rifles in their vehicles but all still had sidearms in holsters.
Quinn limped ahead and waved at the men. “Hello! We’re headed up to Prairie Springs and we were hoping for some news of the town’s status. Will we be able to travel through or do we have to backtrack around your town?” he asked in a respectful voice.
The oldest man studied Quinn thoughtfully and asked, “Aren’t you Harry Dennison’s grandson, Quinn?”
Quinn grinned and thought, “It’s good to be home where everyone knows everyone.”
“Yes, sir, I am. My friends and I got caught in the States on a school trip when the lights went out and we’re just trying to make our way home. Do you have news about my family?”
“Well, that sounds like a heck of a tale to hear, if you kids came all the way up from the States. I haven’t heard anything about your granddad but we’ve heard some things about the town. Hold your hats for a minute and we’ll move this car out of the way. You can give me a lift into the town center where we set up a meeting place and we’ll tell you all we know.”
The man waved the other two guards over and they quickly pushed the broken down car out of the road. When Dara pulled the truck through the roadblock, the older man climbed into the back and they headed into town.
As they drove past homes, they could see many people busy at work. Most of the front lawns of homes had been ripped up and planted as gardens. There were groups of people standing in line with jugs and buckets waiting for water at a pump station. There was another area with tables set up and huge pots of steaming water where people were washing clothes. As they pulled up to the town’s meeting area, they could all smell meat cooking on a barbeque. There were four giant grills set up in a row and each was manned by cooks.
They got out and locked their doors out of habit. The older man led them towards the dining area and took a deep smell of the cooking meat. “Good timing on your part. Supper will be ready in about twenty minutes. You kids must be starved for some red meat.” He smiled proudly at the barbeques.
“Actually sir, we would be happy to contribute our own meat so as not to put a strain on the town’s food supply,” Quinn offered.
The man gave him a sharp look. “Now you kids didn’t steal some poor farmer’s stock, did you? We won’t abide looters in this town.”
Quinn laughed “No, no, we butchered a cow in Montana. The property was abandoned and the cows were going feral. We have a fridge freezer in the camper and brought some with us,” he assured the man.
The man nodded his head. “Alright then, good thinking!” He held out his hand to shake. “Name’s Tom Jacobson. I’ve got a place just outside of town but we finished planting it yesterday so I came into town today for some company. We have a communal supper every day for everyone who works in the fields.” He looked around his town with pride. “Yup, we’ve done real well here. Lots of refugees walked in from the city but we made it clear there would be no free ride. We all work to get the crops planted and we’ll all eat. I imagine we’ll have to tighten our belts between now and harvest but we’ll get by.”
“Oh, there’s Mike now! He’s been organizing everything around here and will know the latest on Prairie Springs. Mike! Hey Mike, I got some people you need to meet over here,” he yelled.
Mike made his way over to the group and introductions were made all around. He grimaced when he heard where the kids were headed.
“We don’t know a lot but what we’ve heard isn’t good. About five days into the emergency, a group of gangbangers and hard cases went into town and took it over. They had fifty or so men and they were all armed. They went out to the farms and rounded everyone up and put them in one place. That’s all we really know. Everyone that walks that way comes back with stories of being shot at from roadblocks and anyone with a working vehicle that goes there doesn’t come back at all.”
“I’m sorry, kids. I wish I could tell you more but we just don’t know what’s happening there. The only other thing I’ve heard is that they’re out planting the fields but no one can get close enough to get more news.” He gave them a sad smile. “You guys are welcome to stay here if you want.”
The group was silent, trying to absorb what they had just heard. Quinn nodded to Mike. “Thank you, sir. We would be grateful if we could stay the night in your town but I think we will head that way tomorrow and scout things out.” He looked around at his friends and they all nodded.
“Fair enough, welcome to Abbotsville. Please enjoy supper with us.” He smiled and headed back to work.
There wasn’t much to say after that and the kids wandered back to their camper to get cleaned up and grab supplies to contribute to the communal supper.