Read Online Sweetness in the Dark by W.B. Martin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: W.B. Martin
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smoke coming from the side of the engine.
Oil was still squirting out of a crack onto the hot manifold and vaporizing instantly. Oily smoke wafted up under the hood and out into the open.
“Looks like the engine block split. Must have been split before, but the hot driving cracked it open. I’m afraid our ride just died,” Ed said.
Everyone groaned. They had all been excited about riding all the way to Boise. They gathered up their backpacks and formed a line. Ed took the point and started off.
“Look at the bright side. At least we rode halfway there,” Paul said. They all agreed that seventy miles of riding was way better than three days of hard walking. Everyone settled into a steady pace down the valley.
By noon the grandkids were done in. Ed started to load up the four-year-old boy to carry him when Paul stopped him. “You are our security. You can’t be encumbered if we run into trouble. Matt and I will carry the grandkids.”
“And don’t forget us,” Amanda and Meredith both chimed.
“Thank you. If they get to be too much, we’ll stop,” Ed said.
They shifted their loads around and then took two cloth shirts and made head straps to put around each child's bottom. With the load distributed onto their heads, Matt and Paul leaned into their load and started walking.
“Hey Matt. Remember those pictures from my trip to Nepal years ago? Now you know how they felt carrying those big baskets with nothing but their heads,” Paul said.
“Yeah, Dad, I’ve been holding my breath ever since I saw those slides to experience this,” Matt said.
As the sun approached the top of the ridge, they made camp by a creek. They pulled out their food supplies and decided to make a one pot concoction over Ed’s backpack stove. Mixing all sorts of ingredients together, they cooked it up into a stew. Everyone agreed that it was the best meal they’d ever eaten.
Since it didn’t look like rain, everyone rolled out sleeping bags onto pads and settled in for the night.
“Anyone notice something?” Amanda asked as the stars came out.
“There’s no Northern Lights tonight. It’s really dark,” Matt answered.
Everyone stared at the night sky and wondered what this meant. Paul wasn’t sure that it meant the sun calmed down, or that it meant things would start to return to normal.
* * *
In the morning, they all awoke with a start. A vehicle approached their little wayside. A vehicle that was backfiring, but moving. They scrambled out of their sleeping bags and rushed up onto the road.
Approaching from the south was an old 1940’s Ford flatbed truck. It backfired again as it pulled to a stop beside them. The driver switched off the engine and the truck let out one last large bang. About ten people in the back stood up over the stake bed sides to look down on Paul’s group.
The driver climbed out of his cab and stretched his back. “Where you folks coming from?”
“We were all at Riggins when the light went out,” Paul said. “Where you coming from?”
“Boise. Left there early this morning. Finally got this old timer running, but as you can tell, it ain’t running too good.”
Excited for news of Boise, Ed and Paul both stumbled over themselves getting the next question out. “What’s happening in the city?”
“Lights came back on last night. Although they were off again soon after. Seems they were testing things out. I guess the Northern Lights finally settled down and they could put the power back on.”
“That’s great news then, isn’t it?” Meredith asked. “With power, things will get back to normal, won’t they?”
“Hardly likely, honey,” the driver answered. “I ‘spect the water will be running and maybe the sewer will flush and the lights may come on a bit, but all those refrigerators and stoves and microwaves and phones and TVs and radios are all history. Dead as a bug.”
“What? How can that be? What good is electricity if there’s nothing to run?”
Oil was still squirting out of a crack onto the hot manifold and vaporizing instantly. Oily smoke wafted up under the hood and out into the open.
“Looks like the engine block split. Must have been split before, but the hot driving cracked it open. I’m afraid our ride just died,” Ed said.
Everyone groaned. They had all been excited about riding all the way to Boise. They gathered up their backpacks and formed a line. Ed took the point and started off.
“Look at the bright side. At least we rode halfway there,” Paul said. They all agreed that seventy miles of riding was way better than three days of hard walking. Everyone settled into a steady pace down the valley.
By noon the grandkids were done in. Ed started to load up the four-year-old boy to carry him when Paul stopped him. “You are our security. You can’t be encumbered if we run into trouble. Matt and I will carry the grandkids.”
“And don’t forget us,” Amanda and Meredith both chimed.
“Thank you. If they get to be too much, we’ll stop,” Ed said.
They shifted their loads around and then took two cloth shirts and made head straps to put around each child's bottom. With the load distributed onto their heads, Matt and Paul leaned into their load and started walking.
“Hey Matt. Remember those pictures from my trip to Nepal years ago? Now you know how they felt carrying those big baskets with nothing but their heads,” Paul said.
“Yeah, Dad, I’ve been holding my breath ever since I saw those slides to experience this,” Matt said.
As the sun approached the top of the ridge, they made camp by a creek. They pulled out their food supplies and decided to make a one pot concoction over Ed’s backpack stove. Mixing all sorts of ingredients together, they cooked it up into a stew. Everyone agreed that it was the best meal they’d ever eaten.
Since it didn’t look like rain, everyone rolled out sleeping bags onto pads and settled in for the night.
“Anyone notice something?” Amanda asked as the stars came out.
“There’s no Northern Lights tonight. It’s really dark,” Matt answered.
Everyone stared at the night sky and wondered what this meant. Paul wasn’t sure that it meant the sun calmed down, or that it meant things would start to return to normal.
* * *
In the morning, they all awoke with a start. A vehicle approached their little wayside. A vehicle that was backfiring, but moving. They scrambled out of their sleeping bags and rushed up onto the road.
Approaching from the south was an old 1940’s Ford flatbed truck. It backfired again as it pulled to a stop beside them. The driver switched off the engine and the truck let out one last large bang. About ten people in the back stood up over the stake bed sides to look down on Paul’s group.
The driver climbed out of his cab and stretched his back. “Where you folks coming from?”
“We were all at Riggins when the light went out,” Paul said. “Where you coming from?”
“Boise. Left there early this morning. Finally got this old timer running, but as you can tell, it ain’t running too good.”
Excited for news of Boise, Ed and Paul both stumbled over themselves getting the next question out. “What’s happening in the city?”
“Lights came back on last night. Although they were off again soon after. Seems they were testing things out. I guess the Northern Lights finally settled down and they could put the power back on.”
“That’s great news then, isn’t it?” Meredith asked. “With power, things will get back to normal, won’t they?”
“Hardly likely, honey,” the driver answered. “I ‘spect the water will be running and maybe the sewer will flush and the lights may come on a bit, but all those refrigerators and stoves and microwaves and phones and TVs and radios are all history. Dead as a bug.”
“What? How can that be? What good is electricity if there’s nothing to run?”
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