Going Home Read Free Page B

with the little packs of meds and grabbed a few Excedrin packs, some Rolaids, and two packs of Imodium pills. Since the power had only been out overnight, the cooler was still pretty cold, so I grabbed two Cokes. I was trying to think of what else I would need. This was countered with the thought of how much more I could actually carry. Deciding that I couldn’t carry much more, I took my shopping to the counter; he did the math on a calculator. “Nineteen dollars and seventy-five cents,” he said.
    I pulled some cash out of my pocket and handed him twenty dollars. “Keep the quarter,” I said. I was scooping up the stuff when I had another thought. “Let me have a can of Copenhagen.”
    He reached back and pulled one down and laid it on the counter. “Six dollars.” I handed him a ten, and he made the change.
    I had quit chew last year; I loved the first dip of the day, and the one after a meal. I figure what the hell now. Not like I would be able to get any more anytime soon. He had put everything in a bag, so I carried it outside and walked around the building. I found what I was looking for on the far end, away from the interstate. I set the pack down and pulled the canteens out. Opening up the pack, I took the Platypus bladder out. I topped off all of these from the hose bib on the wall; lastly, I filled the SS water bottle. The water pressure was still pretty good; I know that won’t last either, and that gave me another idea.
    While topping off the bottle, I heard a voice behind me. “Where ya headin’?” I looked over my shoulder and saw a large man in a red flannel shirt, jeans, and a Redman hat with what I was sure was a large chaw of the same in his left cheek. He was over six feet and barrel-chested.
    I stood up and said, “Home, if I can make it.”
    “Whur’s home?” He leaned to his left and spit a large brown puddle on the ground; it actually hit the ground before it broke from his lips.
    “Down near Orlando,” I replied as I stood up.
    “That’s a long walk. I need to get to Dothan.”
    “That’s a pretty good hike too. You driving one of those rigs back there?”
    He motioned with his shoulder. “I was drivin’ that flatbed with the Cat on it.” He spit a string again. “I shore don’t want ta walk ta Dothan.”
    I looked past him and saw an old Cat front-end loader on the trailer. “Well, why don’t you drop the chains on that loader and drive it till it gives out? Get some fuel out of your truck. If you find enough jugs, you might be able to carry enough fuel to make it.”
    “I was thinkin’ the same thing,” he said. “What cha think happened?”
    “Well, I would guess it was either an EMP or a CME. The radios are all out, and I guess no one knows for sure.”
    He looked at me for a minute and drawled out, “I’ve heard of EMP. That’s a nuke that causes that. What’s a CME?”
    “Coronal mass ejection, solar flare,” I replied while putting some of the shopping into the pack.
    “I heard about that on the news. They’s been talkin’ about it fer a week now. An’ that would knock out the powar?”
    “It could. I heard about it too. Didn’t think it would do all this, though. I guess why doesn’t really matter, though.” I stood up and was looking at him.
    “I don’t much reckon it does. Well, good luck gettin’ to Orlanda.” He turned and walked toward his truck.
    I shouldered the pack on one shoulder and walked back into the store. “You got a restroom I could use real quick?”
    The little guy pointed to the back. “Back there. Don’t piss on my floor, and flush it when you’re done.”
    “Thanks.” I figured I should take advantage of the chance to take a dump in comfort.
    I walked out to the road and stopped for a minute. In the distance, you could hear chains being pulled through pad eyes on a trailer. I slipped one of the Cokes out of my cargo pocket and took a long drink. Man, I was gonna miss this. After screwing the lid on and dropping it