Read Online Fuel (Best Laid Plans Book 1) by Nathan Jones - Free Book Online
Authors: Nathan Jones
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morning's excitement he was surprisingly tired. It felt good to just shut his eyes.
When his cousin's ringtone sounded Trev was almost annoyed, even though it signaled help he desperately needed. He fumbled his phone out of his pocket. “Hey. On your way?”
There was an uncomfortable silence. “Um, actually . . . I'm having a bit of trouble with the gas.”
“You've got to be kidding me,” Trev said in disbelief. Lewis, who thought of everything, caught as off-guard as Trev had been by all this? “I thought you had a 50 gallon tank that you kept full.”
“I've got my tank, sure, but the last time I refilled it was a year ago and I just topped off what was already in there, going back over two years.” Lewis made an annoyed sound. “It's not that the tank's even empty: I've still got over 30 gallons in there, give or take. It's just I haven't had to use any of it for months and, well, it's old gas.”
Trev did his best to control his rising dismay. “But you had fuel stabilizer in there, right?”
“Duh.” His cousin sounded equal parts sheepish and impatient. “That only does so much though. I didn't even realize there was a problem with the gas until I filled the truck and tried to start the engine, and let me just say it wasn't a pretty sound. I might be able to get away with using gas this old for chainsaws and other small tools, maybe even ATVs that have more leeway with that sort of thing, but I wouldn't want to try it in any more vehicles.”
Trev stared at his windshield. “I've got most of my most important stuff I've been gathering for years with me, not to mention I spent the rest of my money, emptied my bank account, and maxed out my credit card buying a ton of food at a store before starting down. My car's filled with things we could really use.”
Lewis was one of the most pragmatic people Trev knew, not one to just walk away from useful supplies. “Well I guess I could take my wagon cart and make a trip of it,” he said slowly. “But that would be a lot of effort and we probably still wouldn't be able to take everything. It would also take me a few days to get up there and I'd have to leave the shelter unguarded just when people might be most tempted to ransack it. Is it really enough to be worth it?”
Trev thought of all the stuff in his car, over five thousand dollars worth of incredibly useful and important items. Then he estimated how much he and his cousin would eat on as many round trips as it took to bring everything, even if for later trips he'd be able to bring his own wagon cart. He thought they'd still definitely be able to ferry down way more than they'd use, a net gain.
Then again, compared to the stores of food they had piled in the shelter what he had in his car was just a bonus, not to mention that at any point while he was away somebody could come and loot his car and make any further trips a waste. Lewis was right that it was better not to risk themselves any more than necessary when it came to the difficulty of travel and possible attack. Besides, if he had to he could just pack down his most valuable stuff like his guns and a decent a mount of ammo and still be fairly well off with what he had down in the shelter.
“I guess it's better not to travel in an emergency situation if you can avoid it,” he admitted reluctantly. “Especially not if somebody stole our place out from under us while you were out bringing down my junk.” He sighed. “I just hope whoever finds this stuff sitting on the side of the road gets good use out of it.”
There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence before his cousin finally spoke. “Um, I hate to point out the glaringly obvious but why don't you just cache everything? You've got a shovel and some tarps, don't you?”
Trev slapped himself on the forehead. “Right, I really should've thought of that.” But then his mounting excitement faded. “It would still be sitting right here, though. We'd have all the same problems
When his cousin's ringtone sounded Trev was almost annoyed, even though it signaled help he desperately needed. He fumbled his phone out of his pocket. “Hey. On your way?”
There was an uncomfortable silence. “Um, actually . . . I'm having a bit of trouble with the gas.”
“You've got to be kidding me,” Trev said in disbelief. Lewis, who thought of everything, caught as off-guard as Trev had been by all this? “I thought you had a 50 gallon tank that you kept full.”
“I've got my tank, sure, but the last time I refilled it was a year ago and I just topped off what was already in there, going back over two years.” Lewis made an annoyed sound. “It's not that the tank's even empty: I've still got over 30 gallons in there, give or take. It's just I haven't had to use any of it for months and, well, it's old gas.”
Trev did his best to control his rising dismay. “But you had fuel stabilizer in there, right?”
“Duh.” His cousin sounded equal parts sheepish and impatient. “That only does so much though. I didn't even realize there was a problem with the gas until I filled the truck and tried to start the engine, and let me just say it wasn't a pretty sound. I might be able to get away with using gas this old for chainsaws and other small tools, maybe even ATVs that have more leeway with that sort of thing, but I wouldn't want to try it in any more vehicles.”
Trev stared at his windshield. “I've got most of my most important stuff I've been gathering for years with me, not to mention I spent the rest of my money, emptied my bank account, and maxed out my credit card buying a ton of food at a store before starting down. My car's filled with things we could really use.”
Lewis was one of the most pragmatic people Trev knew, not one to just walk away from useful supplies. “Well I guess I could take my wagon cart and make a trip of it,” he said slowly. “But that would be a lot of effort and we probably still wouldn't be able to take everything. It would also take me a few days to get up there and I'd have to leave the shelter unguarded just when people might be most tempted to ransack it. Is it really enough to be worth it?”
Trev thought of all the stuff in his car, over five thousand dollars worth of incredibly useful and important items. Then he estimated how much he and his cousin would eat on as many round trips as it took to bring everything, even if for later trips he'd be able to bring his own wagon cart. He thought they'd still definitely be able to ferry down way more than they'd use, a net gain.
Then again, compared to the stores of food they had piled in the shelter what he had in his car was just a bonus, not to mention that at any point while he was away somebody could come and loot his car and make any further trips a waste. Lewis was right that it was better not to risk themselves any more than necessary when it came to the difficulty of travel and possible attack. Besides, if he had to he could just pack down his most valuable stuff like his guns and a decent a mount of ammo and still be fairly well off with what he had down in the shelter.
“I guess it's better not to travel in an emergency situation if you can avoid it,” he admitted reluctantly. “Especially not if somebody stole our place out from under us while you were out bringing down my junk.” He sighed. “I just hope whoever finds this stuff sitting on the side of the road gets good use out of it.”
There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence before his cousin finally spoke. “Um, I hate to point out the glaringly obvious but why don't you just cache everything? You've got a shovel and some tarps, don't you?”
Trev slapped himself on the forehead. “Right, I really should've thought of that.” But then his mounting excitement faded. “It would still be sitting right here, though. We'd have all the same problems
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