Roadies
Grass Valley
The convoy took Highway 20 through the backside of Yuba’s sister city, Marysville. The two-lane road wound up and around the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Pockets of trees with big dark green canopies sprinkled across the rolling hills of golden, wild grasses. They kept forty miles per hour until they past Sicard Flat and came to a tall bridge crossing the Yuba River.
Seth pointed to the roadblocks on each side. “At least this time they’re real police.”
The previous group crossed before the convoy arrived, so Seth sat first in line for the next crossing. The police officer approached his truck. Seth rolled down the window. “Yes sir.”
“Where are you headed?”
Seth pointed his thumb to the convoy behind him. “There’s a group of us going camping until this chaos settles. We planned on taking this road to the 49 in Grass Valley for an early dinner, then up highway 20 toward the summit.”
“You will never make it to highway 80. It’s been a parking lot for two days. People have left their cars and walked. Besides, we’re closing all the local highways shortly.”
“Okay, well, I have a friend who lives in the hills of Grass Valley. We’ll see if he’ll let us camp in his yard for the night, and we can regroup tomorrow.”
The officer sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”
Seth presented a red and white pack. “Swisher Sweet. It’s a light cigar.”
The officer stood and looked over the convoy. “How many did you say was in your group?
Seth held his hand out the window and made a signal. A row of headlights came on behind him. He looked back and pointed. “That’s all of them. All the way to the white truck.”
“That’s a disciplined group.”
“We’ve been through a lot just to get this far. Now we have a buddy system and signals to ensure everyone’s safety.”
The officer pointed at an approaching line of cars. “See that lead car? When it returns I want you to follow it across the bridge. He’ll pull to the side and you can continue on. In forty minutes we’ll be locking down for local traffic only. You won’t be able to come back this way. I don’t want you to speed, but you better get to highway 49 before it’s too late, or you might have to sleep in your cars tonight, and be prepared because you might not be able to leave in the morning either. Things are changing by the minute.”
Once across the bridge they pushed hard for highway 49. Trent signaled to Seth he was going ahead to scout.
When they reached the onramp to 49 the police already started getting their gear ready. Seth led the group across the overpass to turn left and go north into the hills. The turn signal turned green, but several of the police started to walk into the intersection. The first cop held his hand up to stop the convoy, but another cop by the van yelled something to them. The first cop paused for a second, and then waved Seth through before turning back to join the others.
Seth accelerated around the corner enough to make a little squeal from his tires. So did everyone in the convoy. At least they made it on to 49. They cruised right through Grass Valley where the highway dropped from four lanes to two.
Andrew pointed ahead. “Hey, there’s Trent waiting under that streetlight.”
Seth pulled over and rolled down the window. Trent took his helmet off. “Sure enough there’s a roadblock past the last residential streets.”
Seth tapped the steering wheel a few times to think. “Okay, let’s turn into the next street and circle the wagons.
Trent led them to a dark cul-de-sac where they parked and met in the middle of the street.
Jovel started. “What do you think, Seth?”
“No guarantee they will let us go to 80 in the morning.” Seth put his hands on his hips. “I think we can get the trucks in, but we have way too many people.”
West started pacing. “How can we get the trucks in?”
“I used to drive this road a lot. One of my ski buddies lived in a small town, Washington. The turn off is on this road, a little before highway 80. I’ll tell him I purchased a new lot on Washington Road. We’re stocking supplies because things got funny in the city. That should work. What do you think?”
Cruz leaned back and held his arms open. “And what about everybody else?”
“We’ll meet up the road. Megumi will go with you on foot. I’ll drive my truck. Debbie can drive the other truck with Amy. In fact, put Aizu and Duke in the cab with them.”
Debbie put her arm around Amy. “Why us? We can walk with the others.”
Seth held his finger up. “True, but it would look a lot less suspicious to the cops if we appeared to be a simple family after a Costco run.”
Jovel looked to the hills. “Where do the rest of us go from here?”
Seth pointed to a path. “Go out the end of this street and follow the hillside. After five hundred yards start looking for the easiest way up to the street, but don’t get on the street. Stay on the shoulder, and hide if a car comes. You will see our trucks off to the side in the first safe place we can find.”
Cruz looked into the dark woods. “Dude, I don’t want to hike through the woods. There are bears out there. Give me the name of another place by Washington?”
“Cruz, I’ve only seen one bear on highway 20, once, and that was way up the road away from the homes. Besides, it was scared. It ran across the road and off into the woods.”
“Yeah, the woods you’re sending us into! I’m going to drive.”
“What? Are you sure you want to try?” Seth scratched his head. “Well, maybe you can tell them Jefferson Creek Road. I see signs for it all the time. He might want to see ID. I’m going to say we just purchased the lot, so I don’t have any records like that yet.”
Cruz shook his head. “Then you wouldn’t have a house. How are you going to explain the supplies?”
Seth grinned. “Easy. We had a fifth wheel included as part of the deal. It was delivered this week, but it’s completely empty.”
Jovel looked at Cruz. “That could work. How about you?”
Cruz pulled out his wallet. He flipped through a few cards. “Here. I have a UC Davis student ID. It has a school address. That’s perfect. I’ll say I’m going home to see my parents on… Jefferson Creek Road, before the turn off to Washington.”
West suggested. “Maybe you can take our minivan. That would help us get more supplies in.”
Seth nodded. “Good idea. Okay Cruz, look for us once you’re clear. We won’t be more than a mile up the road.” He thought for a second. “You should probably wait five minutes or so after we go in.”
Trent added. “I’ll be right behind you Cruz.”
Seth’s eyes widened. “You too? Every additional person increases our chances of getting caught.”
Trent nodded his head. “Yeah. I’m a lot more comfortable telling him I’m going to visit my sister. Besides, with the bike I can scout. Who knows where we’ll end up?”
Steward asked. “What about those of us walking? What if we can’t find the trucks?”
Seth shrugged his shoulders. “Then we must have got caught. At least your group might still have a chance. Don’t worry, we’re not going to leave you. My wife is with you.”
Bruce patted Seth on the back. “Right. So how should we do this?”
Seth looked around the neighborhood. “Everybody pile as much as you can into the two trucks and the minivan. Then park your cars a little spread out so they don’t draw attention. We’ll meet back here in ten minutes and take it from there.”
Jovel dangled his keys. “I’m just going to leave mine here with a note saying ‘Free. New Tires. Half full nitro.’”
Cammy turned to him. “What? I’m parking around the corner in a regular parking spot, and I’m taking my keys with me in case we come back.”
Ten minutes later everyone gathered by the minivan. Seth counted the walkers. “Okay. Bruce is going to lead you. We decided no flashlights. There is enough starlight to see, but more importantly we don’t want to be seen.”
Cruz leaned to Jovel. “Now I’m really not walking.”
Seth put his finger to his lips. “Don’t scare everyone man. There are no bears down here by the homes… I don’t think? Anyway, it is what it is, so let’s get on with it.”
Bruce held a rope in the air. “Pick a spot on the rope to hold like kindergarteners do. We’ll take our time and make sure we all get through together.”
Everyone got in line and grabbed the rope. Bruce led them past the last streetlight, and into the woods. One by one they disappeared into the darkness.
Cruz clapped his hands together and rubbed his palms. “Okay. Our turn.”
Seth reminded them. “Five minute intervals, okay.”
Trent put his helmet on. “It’s going to take them a half hour, so if we spread out we’ll still be there first. Take your time people, and don’t get caught.”
The police asked a lot of questions, but Seth and Debbie made it through. They drove up the hill and around a few corners, before pulling over to wait.
Fifteen minutes later Trent came around the corner. He stopped by Seth and flipped up his helmet shield. “They were still asking Cruz questions when I rode by.”
Seth looked at the time on his dashboard. “Let’s keep moving. If needed you can cruise back once we find a place to rest. I think I remember a place up ahead we can stop.”
A mile down the road Trent pulled into a turnout. He stopped by a little information board. Seth pulled beside him. “Hey, I think this is the place. I’ll look around here, you go scout the road a bit for something better.”
Seth walked back to Debbie and Amy in the other truck. “I’m going to check it out. You two wait here, and keep the doors locked.”
Seth retuned fifteen minutes later to find the minivan parked behind Debbie. Cruz was talking to them through their driver side window, so they didn’t see Seth approaching on the other side. He tapped the passenger window with the butt of his flashlight. Both of the girls jumped and screamed, making Aizu and Duke bark.
Amy rolled down the window. “You almost made me wet my pants.”
Seth laughed. “Sorry. I tried to make some noise ‘not’ to scare you.” Seth shined his light on Cruz. “That was a close one, Cruz. I’m glad you made it.”
Cruz stood up. “What? You didn’t think I couldn’t get through that? Come on Seth?”
“We need you man.”
“It’s all good bro. What did you find?”
Seth shined the light toward a shack. “There’s a small ranger’s station back in the trees. It looks like it was closed down by the state. There’s a no trespassing sign in the window. I think we can regroup and crash here.”
“What about the trucks?” Amy asked.
“We’ll get them out of sight. Move them around to the back. There’s plenty of space. Hey Cruz, see if you can card the door. I’ll sit here with Aizu and Duke to take the first watch. The others should be here soon.”
Seth sat in the dark for twenty minutes. The trees blocked any starlight. He focused on the point where the yellow line disappeared into the darkness until the distance played with his mind. Did something move? Is that a shirt? What’s that noise?
Cruz came back to give a report. “All the windows are locked. I carded the door, but there’s a deadbolt. Do you want me to go through a window?”
Seth kept his sight focused on the road. “No. We don’t want any damages. In fact, our rule will be to always leave something better than we found it. Here, you take watch. I’ll go take care of the deadbolt.”
Less than five minutes later Seth opened the door and turned the lights on. He quickly scanned the small room and noticed a little television. He turned it on to find the commercial for heaven playing.
*****
Aizu and Duke started to bark. Cruz watched them run off down the street. He barely saw Aizu’s white chest and legs as she jumped up and down on something. A little closer and he saw the white triangles on Megumi’s sleeves. The white tip of Aizu’s tail wagged back and forth, while Duke trotted beside her. One by one the others came into view.
A smile grew across Cruz’ face. “They made it.” He stood and yelled toward the ranger station. “Seth! They made it!”
The hikers came to a stop. Everyone stayed in line until Bruce commanded. “Break.”
They released the rope at the same time, except Bruce who rolled it into his hand. “How’s that for teamwork?”
Cruz laughed. “I hope you don’t do that at home with your wife and kids.”
Bruce started to laugh, but his face dropped. He stared at the ground. “The way this camping trip is going makes the distance to my family five times farther.”
Cruz nudged him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry man, I didn’t mean to…”
Bruce smiled. “It’s okay. I believe we are here for a reason, and they must be there for a reason too.”
Cruz smiled. “The soldiers go off to war.”
“I know.” Bruce wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “I just miss my wife and kids. I would still be with them if it wasn’t for work.”
Seth returned to the group. “Okay everyone. We’re in luck. We have access to the ranger station. It has a desk, couch, a little kitchenette, and a bathroom. The vehicles are parked on the other side. It’s very small so we need to open a few tents. I’m sure it’s possible to dog pile inside, but everyone is going to need a little privacy when we go to the bathroom, or whatever.”
Steward raised his hand. “Can anyone sleep inside? I don’t know what kind of animals are out here.”
Seth smiled. “Sure. You guys can find anyplace you like. There’s just no way everyone will fit. Megumi and I are going to camp in front of our truck.”
Steward shook his head. “I think I’ll sleep on the floor inside.”
A little after midnight Cruz gazed at the dull reflection of moonlit tents sprinkled all around the shack before crawling into his own tent. Only the occasional tent zipper interrupted the peaceful quiet. They survived another day of travel.