A New Hope: The Districts, #4

1

Broken glass crunched under their feet as Nick and Sutherland walked into the gas station store. Garbage was scattered all over the floor, consisting mostly of empty candy wrappers and crushed soda cans.

I'm going to check for some water, Sutherland said.

Nick nodded as he walked around the corner of the counter that held the cash register. His eyes roamed the nearly empty shelves for anything they might be able to use to get the fuel out of the tank. Nick froze when he saw it—a rack with the copy of the magazine with Dr. Howlins article in it sat alone in the corner. He frowned and picked it up. Nick wasn't sure why the gas station had a copy of such an old magazine... his only thought was perhaps it wasn't exactly the typical reading material for the residents of the small Wyoming town. He picked it up and flipped through it until he found the article.

Find anything? Sutherland said.

No... sorry, I found this magazine and got distracted.

Nick put the magazine back on the rack as Sutherland walked over.

I read the article on the day of the attack, Nick said. It's by this guy, Dr. Howlins, who seemed to have a pretty decent idea about where the attack could have come from.

Sutherland nodded in response. He thought Nick seemed like a decent guy, but he still wasn't sure if he wanted to share what he knew about Dr. Howlins and his location.

I found this.

Sutherland held up a one-gallon red gas can. It looked brand new and Nick was actually a little surprised no one had bothered to take it from the store.

Nice.

Yeah… it was on that top shelf back there, Sutherland said, pointing, behind a bag of charcoal briquettes.

How are we going to get the gas out of the tank?

Sutherland nodded and bit his lip.

I’m not sure… we need something….

Sutherland set the gas can down on the counter by the cash register and started to look up and down the aisles. Nick watched as he racked his brain, trying to come up with some kind of solution. He had the rubber hose from Nathan, but it wasn’t nearly long enough… it was really only good for taking gas out of a vehicle.

I have an idea, Sutherland said.

Nick held his breath as the older man walked back toward him with a spool of fishing line and an empty plastic water bottle.

We should be able tie this around the bottle and just lower it into the tank… then we can pour it into the can and quickly fill up the vehicles.

Nick smiled and shook his head. It reminded him of something Mike would have thought of. He wasn’t sure he would have ever come up with something so clever… and that worried Nick. It was hard enough to survive. Nick knew he couldn’t count on the help of strangers moving forward… he needed to think more about his available supplies and how he could best use them.

Sounds good, Nick said.

Sutherland headed for the door with the fishing line and the bottle while Nick grabbed the gas can off the counter. Sutherland kneeled down next to the tank they had opened and pulled the plastic packaging off the spool of fishing line. Nick glanced over at the truck, but the only thing he could see was the back of Jenna’s head.

Don’t blame yourself, Sutherland said.

Huh?

For shooting her friend… don’t be so hard on yourself.

Nick swallowed and turned back to Sutherland just in time to see him lowering the bottle into the darkness. He couldn’t deny he was feeling some guilt… he had shot her friend, there was no way around that—but at the same time he had just been trying to protect them. He would have never shot if her friend hadn’t shot first… and Nick knew Jenna would have done the same to protect them if she had been in his shoes.

Yeah… she’s been through a lot. I was just hoping we would reach her uncle’s farm and that would all be behind her.

We’ve all been through a lot. Go talk to her.

No… I should help you.

Sutherland smiled and looked up at Nick.

I might be older than you, but I’m not completely useless.

Nick shrugged and returned the smile. He turned and walked toward the truck… and Jenna. He didn’t know what he was even going to say to her. Nick wasn’t sure the words even existed to express to her how he felt… about everything.

He walked up to the passenger door of the truck and paused with his fingers on the handle. Nick took a deep breath and opened the door. Jenna didn’t turn her head to acknowledge his presence.

Are you OK?

Jenna didn’t respond.

Jenna… look… I… I don’t know what to even say. I’m really sorry about your friend.

Nick looked back at Sutherland, who was still working on filling up the gas can for the first time.

Are we ready to go? Jenna said.

Nick turned back to Jenna. She was still looking straight ahead.

No… we just started to get gas out of the tank.

She sighed heavily, which elicited a frown from Nick.

I’ll try to hurry, he said.

Nick closed the door and walked toward the store. He needed to help Sutherland or they were going to be there forever trying to fill a one-gallon gas can with a water bottle. He shook his head as he walked into the store and started to look around. Nick knew Jenna was upset by what had happened, but he didn’t think it was fair. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He refused to let himself be angry at Jenna, not after losing her brother and an old friend.

He opened his eyes again as his heart rate slowed and he started to calm down. Nick wanted to get back outside and help Sutherland, he didn’t want the man to think he was trying to dodge the work of slowly retrieving gas.

Nick took a minute to look for anything that might speed up the process of getting the gas, but the store was almost completely empty. He walked behind the counter and spotted a black trashcan tucked in the corner. Nick stood over it and looked inside. There was a plastic soda bottle sitting on top of what looked to be mostly paper trash and Nick quickly picked it up. He jogged back outside and over to Sutherland.

How’s it going? Nick said.

Just got the can full for the first time. I’ll go put it in my SUV.

Nick nodded as Sutherland stood back up, dusted his pants off and walked toward the black SUV. Nick sat down on the ground, picked up the spool of fishing line and looped the end of the line around the bottle and tied it off. Nick pulled on the fishing line to make sure the knot was strong and then pulled off a length of line that roughly matched the one Sutherland had made for the other bottle. Nick put the end of the line near the spool between his fingers and lifted it to his mouth. It took him a couple of tries, but he was able to finally cut the line with his teeth.

Sutherland waited until the last drops of gas left the can before he looked back over at Nick and watched as he lowered both bottles into the tank. He pulled the can free from the SUV and walked slowly back to Nick.

Thanks… for helping, Sutherland said.

Nick looked up at Sutherland as he stopped and set the gas can on the ground.

Thank you… for the help. I wouldn’t have thought of this. I’m sure we would’ve had to walk the rest of the way.

Sutherland smiled and kneeled down next to Nick. He took one of the bottles from Nick and started to refill the can. He passed the empty one back to Nick, who lowered it back down.

You never know, Sutherland said, you’d be surprised what you're willing to do when you have something worth fighting for.

Nick looked over at the truck. He assumed Sutherland was talking about his wife… and Nick didn’t know the feeling—the only thing that kept him going everyday was keeping himself alive and sometimes he felt like that wasn’t enough.

Yeah… maybe you’re right.

What about you? You have any family? Or just her?

Oh… she’s… no… no family. You?

Wife and daughter. I haven’t seen them since the day of the attack.

Nick cringed.

Sorry.

It is what it is. I have complete faith they are still alive… I just have to find them.

Nick handed another full bottle to Sutherland.

It’s full again, Sutherland said, I’ll be right back.

Nick sighed as he watched Sutherland walk away. There was something about the man that made Nick feel at ease… and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He idly wondered what Sutherland had done before the attack, but he didn’t think it appropriate to ask considering they had just met and would never see each other as soon as they left the gas station and went their separate ways.

Nick pulled up both bottles and waited as Sutherland walked back toward him.

You mentioned Dr. Howlins, Sutherland said.

Yeah… that article, he wrote it. Did you read the same one before the attack?

No… I didn’t, but someone told me about it.

Sutherland looked at Nick again. He thought the man honest enough, he liked him and didn’t see any harm in telling him about Dr. Howlins. Sutherland had a feeling the installation of Dr. Howlins had been overrun as they were leaving—the men inside didn’t strike him as trained military and unless they were able to seriously fortify the place it was only a matter of time.

I met Dr. Howlins just a couple of days ago.

Really?

Yes. The helicopter I was on… it crashed on the way back.

Nick nodded and looked back to the bottles as he started to pull them back up. It was a slow process, getting the gas out of the tank with the two bottles, but it was well worth it and certainly a survival skill he would remember the next time he needed fuel.

Did he say who attacked us? Nick said.

No. He was about to tell us when we were attacked by a group of men who came running out of the trees. Me and… my friend ran back to the helicopter and got away, but I’m not sure what happened to Dr. Howlins.

Nick felt a pang of disappointment—he was still curious about who could have pulled off such an attack. Nick wondered if it was fate that Sutherland hadn’t been able to discover the origin of the attack. He was curious why Sutherland had been there in the first place, but dismissed it as the man could have had the same curiosity about the origin of the attack as he did.

That’s unfortunate.

Yeah….

Sutherland smiled before turning and walked to his SUV again. Nick looked at the sun as it started to drop lower in the sky. They had already been at the gas station for at least an hour and at their current pace it would be dark by the time they filled up the vehicles. He supposed there was nothing to be done about it other than try to pick up the pace.

The men worked for the next hour, doing their best to move quickly, and they were able to fill up the gas tanks of both vehicles. Neither of them needed full tanks, but they had agreed it was better to get the gas when they could because there was no guarantee they would be able to find more at another station should they need it.

Here, Nick said, holding out the gas can to Sutherland.

You sure?

Yeah… you should take it. You’ve got a longer distance to travel than we do… just in case.

Thanks.

Sutherland opened the tailgate of the SUV and put the gas can on the floor. He closed it and slowly walked toward Nick. Sutherland had thought about admitting to Nick the existence of the Districts and the bunkers, but he decided against it. He still wasn’t sure what the future really held and he didn’t want to give Nick a sense of false hope.

All right, Sutherland said, I guess this is goodbye.

Good luck out there… and I hope you find your family.

Thanks… I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for.

Sutherland smiled at Nick as he climbed into the SUV and closed the door. Nick stepped back as the engine roared to life. Sutherland put his foot down and took off in the direction of Lusk. Nick hoped Sutherland had a safe journey.

Nick started to walk back toward their truck and he remembered the rifle Jenna had with her when she found Eric. He turned and walked in the direction she had come from. Nick rounded the corner of building slowly and cringed when he saw the body of the man he had killed. It was a sight he didn’t need to see. Nick quickly bent down and picked up the AR-15 and grabbed Eric’s hunting rifle at the same time. He hurried back to the truck and put both rifles in the bed. He walked over to the driver’s door and stopped. Nick knew he needed to do the right thing.

He sighed and walked back to where Eric had died. Nick pushed the thought of death from his mind and bent down. He put his left arm under Eric’s knees and his right arm under the back of his neck. Nick grunted as he slowly stood up. The man was about his size and it was a struggle, but he eventually was able to stand all the way up. Nick slowly made his way back to the truck and set Eric down to open the tailgate. His eyes flicked to the passenger side mirror and he saw Jenna was looking at him. She quickly looked away as Nick bent back down, picked the body up and put it in the back of the truck. Nick looked down and saw the blood on his shirt as he closed the tailgate and walked back to the door. He got into the truck and started the engine.

Nick glanced over at Jenna as he shifted into drive, but she was looking out the window. He still felt like he should say something to her… like he should try to comfort her in some way, but he couldn’t wrap his mind around what words would even do it justice.

2

I don’t know, Sandra said, it just seems dangerous.

It might be, Nathan said, as he shrugged, but that doesn’t change the fact that there could be supplies there we could use.

But is there anything we can’t live without?

He sighed as he thought about what Sandra was getting at. She was deeply concerned about him going out into the world and he didn’t blame her—but he still thought the risk was worth the potential reward.

I don’t know… it’s impossible for me to answer that without actually going and seeing what they have.

Sandra nodded and lowered her eyes. She knew he was going and nothing she could say would make a difference—the only thing she could do was pray for his safety and keep herself