Sometime in the early morning, a small beam of daylight crept into their small shelter through the bottom of the door. Beca already dressed up in all her winter gear sans parka and gloves stood over the wood stove. She had been awake for a while now, thoroughly studying the manual and formulating a plan. Once satisfied with her plan, she decided to work on breakfast.
Checking the box of 2% milk Beca was relieved to find it had defrosted overnight. After shaking it and confirming it wasn't spoiled using the tried and true smell test method, she boiled some for her coffee, some for Chloe's tea, and for their instant oatmeal. She chose the milk over the water, figuring they would need the calories.
Beca caught the subtle shifting in the corner of her eyes and turned to the cot. Chloe was stirring, fighting the remnant cobwebs of sleep. Chloe's hand reached over to where Beca would have been, looking for her and after not finding her she whined in protest. Beca held back a chuckle as the adorable mass of wavy red hair slowly rose from the cot. Chloe yawned as she stretched her arms wide. Beca was loving how her black sweater looked on her. But her favorite part about the spectacle was that Chloe wasn't wearing any bottoms.
"Morning sleepy," Beca said with a sly smile as she caught a glimpse of those delectable legs.
"Hmm morning, smells nice," Chloe mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She felt well rested. Ever since she and Beca had started sharing a bed she would always wake up feeling blissfully relaxed. It was remarkable considering everything that happened yesterday. The fact that they had comforted each other probably helped.
"Yeah. It's not much, just oatmeal and tea. It'll be ready in a sec."
"Hmm, yum. That sounds fantastic right now." Chloe reached over to grab the emergency crank radio she placed on the floor by the cot. Thankfully, it still had a charge, so she turned it on and scanned through the channels. There was nothing, just static in each and every station. With a sigh of defeat, she clicked it off.
"Nothing?" Beca asked.
Chloe was crestfallen. "No, total dead air."
"Maybe it's because we're still so away from any major cities. I'm sure we'll pick up a signal soon."
"Yeah, maybe," Chloe said softly, as she grabbed the bedding and wrapped it all around her.
"Cold?" Beca asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, it feels colder than yesterday," Chloe nodded.
With a nod Beca threw more wood on the stove, stirring it back to life. Satisfied with the warmth of the roaring fire, she turned back to Chloe. "Is that better?"
"Much better," Chloe said with a kind smile.
Beca poured the hot milk into the mugs and walked over to Chloe. She very carefully handed her the mug with tea.
"You're an angel," Chloe said as she took a whiff of the tea and recognized the scent of Earl Grey and milk. "Oh, you used the milk?"
"Yeah figured we would need it, is it OK?"
"Better than OK!" Chloe said as she took a sip, the liquid was rich and heavenly, it didn't even need sugar, and the natural sweetness of the milk was enough.
"Um, actually, I have some good news," Beca said as she took a sip of her own coffee and sat on the chair in front of the cot.
"Wow! You made breakfast and there's good news? This day is off to a great start." Chloe beamed at her girlfriend and took a sip of her tea.
"Well, I think I figured out a way to get the pumps working," Beca said with a wide grin.
"What? How?"
"Good ol' fashioned reading, see?" Beca held up the open manual. There was a chapter on working the pumps during a power outage. Chloe glanced at the manual but she was more interested in Beca's smile. She recognized that smile, it was the same proud smile she had when she finished a song or an arrangement. Chloe just loved how proud she looked, it always made her knees buckle. These days it felt like that smile was just for her.
"Seriously! That's amazing Beca!" Chloe said as she leaned closer.
Beca got up to grab the oatmeal from the stove. "Yeah! So like eat up, we have a big day ahead of us."
Beca handed Chloe a bowl of oatmeal and sat in front of her, still smiling and eager. Chloe just looked at her for a second, she could feel her heart warm under her smile and nodded.
After they had their breakfast, Beca got to work on solving their fuel situation. The emergency manual was a literal lifesaver. Beca learned that the gas pumps could be turned on using an emergency power generator, and most gas stations were mandated by law to have one. She found the generator just outside the building. And just as she feared when she inspected it, she found that all the fuel in it had been siphoned out. Not that she could use it anyway because it was diesel. The other option was more complicated, but she had no choice.
Beca also learned that even if the pumps were powered on, they still wouldn't be able to extract all the fuel from the underground storage tanks. They required being manually extracted every few months or so for quality control. That meant that it was just possible that there would still be a bit of fuel in there, not the best quality of fuel but at least it was something.
Thanks to the manual, she was able to find exactly where the crank handle fuel transfer pump was in the storeroom. Then with the help of Chloe, they were able to shovel the snow and find the underground fuel storage tank. The lid looked heavy and it took several tools she'd never used before in her life but after several minutes of hard work, she managed to get it open. She then used the flashlight to check if there was still fuel in it, and she could just barely make out the glimmer of liquid.
Beca dropped the long hose down the pipe of the underground storage fuel tank and started cranking the handle of the pump, while Chloe held the spout to the fuel canister. It took a surprising amount of effort and after a few minutes, she still couldn't feel anything. Beca groaned, her hand was starting to feel sore and her wrist was cramping up. To make matters worse she was already feeling hungry. Beca looked up at Chloe who was staring intently with a concerned look in her eyes.
"Need me to take over?" Chloe asked.
"No it's OK," Beca replied as she stubbornly cranked the handle, her face getting flushed.
Chloe wasn't about to let it go, she could see Beca struggling. "You sure? Come on babe let's switch! I can help!"
"Ok fine," Beca relented and Chloe took over. Beca stretched her shoulder and they switched. While Chloe cranked the handle easily, Beca held the spout secure in the gas canister.
"Oh!" Chloe squealed as she felt the fluid bubble and surge.
"Holy shit it's working!" Beca screamed when the fuel slowly started to flow into the canister.
Chloe and Beca screamed with joy. There wasn't much left in the reservoir tank, there was just enough to fill up Bertha, and the 3 of the gas canisters. They now had enough fuel to last them a few days of traveling. Beca only hoped it would be enough. They tied the gas canisters to the roof rack using some sturdy black cord they found in the tactical bag. Neither of them knew anything about knots but they were able to make due. Once that was done, Chloe who was bouncing in place, couldn't contain her happiness any longer and surprised Beca with a hug and they both fell over onto the snow laughing.
"You're incredible babe! I can't believe you figure it out!" Chloe squealed on top of Beca.
"It's not a biggie." Beca wanted to be humble but she couldn't help herself, she was too proud and grinned. "Oh! Who am I kidding? It is a big deal, I totally just saved our asses!"
"You totally did!" Chloe showered Beca's face with quick kisses.
"Thank you, this is super sweet but my butt is freezing," Beca complained, feeling the cold snow all over her back.
"Hmm want me to warm it up?" Chloe purred as she nuzzled Beca's neck.
"You're incorrigible."
"You have no idea."
Oh, I have some ideas. Beca gave her a playful wink, "And as tempting as that is, could we please get off the snow first."
"Right! Sorry, I'll warm it up later then."
"You better." Beca smiled with a blush.
Chloe got up and then helped Beca to her feet. They were about to get on their way but somehow Beca felt a familiar sensation. Like they were being watched again. She whirled around, scanning their surroundings. Was it another wolf? Oh, God! Please don't let it be another wolf.
"Is something wrong?" Chloe asked noticing Beca staring off into the distance.
"Um no guess not," Beca said as she shook her head. Nothing that I can see at least.
"Okay," Chloe said suspiciously and looked towards where Beca was looking. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, she reached for the door handle but paused as her heart rate quickened. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and quickly jumped into the passenger seat. Once settled in her seat, she finally exhaled, feeling a bit more at ease.
When Beca got in the driver's seat she looked over at Chloe who was already studying the map.
Beca buckled in and turned to Chloe. "So remind me which way are we going?"
"Yeah so, we need to get on this road here, and then it's a straight shot," Chloe said as she pointed at the route she had outlined on the map.
"Got it, let's get out of here," Beca said as she turned the engine over slowly crawled out of the snow, and headed down the road.
Not too far from them there was a white Ford F-150 pickup blending perfectly with the snow. Its occupants were hidden behind the tinted windows. The people inside the very capable truck were locals, and they knew this area well. They had been carefully watching the women for a while now. As soon as they drove away, they followed, but they kept their distance. Good hunters know how to bide their time.
After an hour of driving, both their stomachs started to grumble. They pulled over at a spot called Wallkill Valley Overlook. Overlooks like this were once considered scenic stops meant to provide a brief respite to weary travelers and an opportunity to take in the sights. But for Beca and Chloe right now this overlook was far from scenic. They could barely see anything past the falling snow, and the fog. But what little they could see, was grim. All kinds of plant life around them was either covered or buried in snow and dying.
Both women unconsciously decided to avoid taking in their surroundings too much and just focused on each other. They opened the hatch and sat on the edge, using it as cover from the falling snow. They were still exposed to the elements but they didn't have much choice, Chloe needed the ventilation to use the tiny portable camping stove to cook their lunch.
Beca rummaged through their supplies and asked, "So what are you in the mood for? We have three cans of minestrone left, and two cans of chicken noodle soup. We have one can of chili, one can of beans, a can of mixed veggies, umm, one more can of chicken, a bag of rice, oh! and two cans of tuna.…"
Is that all? Chloe thought. She did some quick calculations and frowned. In this cold that would last them maybe a week. "I think we need to go heavy on the protein, maybe the chicken and the chili? Cuz beans are high in protein," Chloe said, figuring that since their muscles were sore from that morning. She knew that they'd soon experience a calorie deficit and would need the protein to maintain muscle mass for as long as possible.
Beca looked at the can of chili and grinned, "You sure? We're going to be inside that cramped car all by ourselves for a long while."
"What are you- Oh… oh!" Chloe nodded understanding with wide eyes.
Beca laughed at Chloe's reaction as she realized what she was insinuating.
"I see your point, but like… we kinda have to?"
"You think we are ready to take our relationship to that level?" Beca asked with a grin.
Chloe had to laugh out loud at that. This really wasn't new territory for them, they'd lived together before.
"You are such a dude sometimes!" Chloe chuckled.
"I'm just being real, this is going to be an issue later down the road, I just want us to be on the same page here!" Beca said defensively.
"Fine! Well, I guess I'm game if you are," Chloe conceded.
"OK we are officially farting in front of each other," Beca joked. Honestly, she was scared. They'd only been on the road for two days and it had already been incredibly dangerous. She needed to lighten the mood. They still had so long to go and no clue as to what was in store for them. So if Beca had to stoop down to scatological humor to make Chloe laugh, then so be it.
"Gross!," Chloe laughed as she grabbed the two cans and poured them into one of the pots they "borrowed" from the cabin.
They ate the chili plus chicken completely, there was nothing left over. And drank a bottle of water each.
Beca was grateful that Chloe was here with her, she didn't know what she would have done all by herself.
Beca heard it before she saw it. She turned to see a white F-150 truck coming down the road. It stopped some distance away, the engine idling. Too far to make out who the driver was or if there was more than one person inside. The white color blended perfectly with the surrounding snow. She got the impression that it was intentional. And just as suddenly as it had appeared, the truck backed up, turned around, and booked it, disappearing around a curve.
"Did you see that?" Beca asked in a hushed voice.
"What?" Chloe asked as she turned to look at where Beca was staring. Chloe had just missed the truck driving away.
"There was a truck out there Chlo, a white truck."
"Oh, maybe they could help us." Chloe stood up and went to wave but Beca grabbed her hand.
"Stop! I don't think they are here to help. The way they just drove off gave me a bad vibe."
"What are you saying?" Chloe asked with wide confused eyes.
"I'm saying that we're two women alone out here, there's no cops, nothing for miles, and we have to be careful."
"So you think they could have been… like bad people?" Chloe asked a small tremble in her voice.
"I don't know but I don't think we should stick around to find out."
"If you think that's for the best," Chloe responded concerned. She turned to look towards where Beca had gestured. A part of her wanted to believe in the general goodness of humanity. But she knew that was her naïveté speaking. The cruel reality was much different even in the best of circumstances. It'd be foolish to think things would be any different under these conditions.
They packed up as quickly as they could and got ready to hit the road once again.
Beca shook her head and looked out the window once more. The truck was gone, but somehow Beca got the impression that it wouldn't be the last time they'd see it. Beca glanced over to the black bag stashed on the seat behind Chloe. She reached over and placed it in the middle console, she wanted it and its contents close by.
"You alright?" Chloe asked, noticing Beca's fixation with having the bag close by.
"Yeah, sorry, am I still going the right way?" Beca asked, she needed a distraction.
"Yep, just keep going, we should get off this road here, so take the next exit to the right" Chloe instructed as she frantically examined the map.
"Let's do it then, can't wait to get the hell out of the sticks," Beca put the car on the drive and pulled out. It was slow-moving because of the snow but they would pick up speed soon. She wanted to get as far away from the truck as she could.
Beca Mitchell and Chloe Beale were having one of their regularly scheduled Barden Bella captain meetings. Chloe had insisted they meet at the Starbucks this time instead of one of their rooms. Beca sat down and noticed that Chloe had placed a cup of some fancy-looking coffee with extra whipped cream on top. Beca glared at it and raised an eyebrow at Chloe. She knew exactly what this was about. It was a trap.
Chloe just stared at her, expectantly but not being one for subtlety she couldn't contain herself and with her big signature smile said."Come on! At least try it?"
"No way dude, it's so over the top!" Beca crossed her arms.
"It's just coffee, Becs," Chloe gently nudged the mug towards her.
Beca nudged it back towards Chloe. "You don't even like coffee all that much why are you making such a big deal out of this?"
"Correction I don't like plain old black coffee, this is a Pumpkin Spice Latte with extra foam and a light dusting of cinnamon, this is a masterpiece!" Chloe said as she playfully modeled the picture-perfect drink from Starbucks.
"You're ridiculous," Beca said with a nod but she couldn't help herself and smiled at her friend.
"Come on, trust me! I always have these in the fall they are amazing! What are you so afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of anything."
"Wait! Beca Mitchell, are you worried people will see you drinking this?"
"No of course not! I don't care what people think! You should know that by now."
"Prove it then." Chloe crossed her arms and tilted her head, challenging her.
Beca rolled her eyes."You're not going to let this go until I try it huh?"
"You should know that by now," Chloe retorted with a smirk.
"Fine! If it'll get you to back off," Beca said overly exasperated with a shrug, and took a sip of the coffee. Thankfully it wasn't scalding hot, just the right temperature. Her eyes widened as the pumpkin sweetness overwhelmed her taste buds. She put it back down and stared at it in surprise. She looked up at Chloe who was giving her an "I told you so" smirk.
"Holy shit Chlo…" Beca whispered as she took another sip, this time a little too eagerly, getting the whipped cream on her nose.
"You're welcome! Now say Chloe was right!" Chloe raised her phone and took a selfie of them. In the picture Beca was looking up scowling at the phone as usual, but this time her mouth and nose were covered in whipped cream while Chloe was smiling as brightly as ever.
Chloe stared at that particular picture on her phone with a small smile. Her phone may not work for calls, sending texts, or using the internet, but Chloe still had her pictures. They were magical portals that transported her to better times. The snow couldn't take these away from her. She had no idea why this particular picture out of the hundreds she shared with Beca called to her. She ran her thumb over it as she remembered it fondly. Beca had always been so stubborn but Chloe knew that she was probably one of the few people on the planet that could break through her walls. That was a privilege she did not take lightly.
After that day they made it a point to always get one of these fancy coffees at least once during the fall and then they'd chat for hours. It would always start being about Bellas's business, but it would ultimately end with them sharing about their lives, their dreams, and their aspirations. Sometimes Beca would complain about Jesse and Chloe would listen patiently, ignoring the strange twinge of pain in the pit of her stomach. Chloe found herself wondering if Jesse hadn't been in the picture, would that have counted as a date.
That's when the painful realization struck her, why this picture kept calling to her. Would there even be such a thing as a normal date anymore? Would there be walks in the park? Would there be pumpkin spice lattes in quaint little coffee shops or fancy dinners at chic restaurants? It didn't feel like it anymore. Everything felt so uncertain now and it made her feel uneasy. What would the new normal look like?
"What's that?" Beca asked, gesturing at the phone.
Chloe sighed and as she showed her the picture on her phone said, "Remember this day?"
"Oh yeah, man I'd kill for one of those right now!"
Chloe chuckled and said, "Me too! You know, I wish we could have had just one normal date before this whole thing happened."
"Yeah, I get that, would have been nice."
"What do you think our first date would have been like? Like I know you're not big on movies so not to the movies and dinner right?"
"Yeah, I mean I'd go if you wanted to but I think I would have taken you somewhere else."
"Oh, you would have taken me?" Chloe asked with a surprised smirk.
"Why is that so surprising Beale?" Beca raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know I always figured I'd be the one taking you out!"
"I- well yeah ok that does seem more plausible."
"But keep going, where would you have taken me?"
"Hmm, maybe somewhere with live music, like a small dive bar or something, we could get a drink and maybe go for a walk."
"That sounds like it would have been a nice date. I can totally get on board with that,"
"Glad you approve, what about you? Where would you have taken me?"
"Definitely dancing!" Chloe said animatedly. Talking about this was already doing wonders for her mood.
"Dancing? On a first date?"
"Yep, you can tell a lot by how a person dances, if you know what I mean."
"That a fact?" Beca smiled, knowing exactly what she meant.
"And I've seen you dance," Chloe teased.
"And what's the verdict?"
"That you are a great… dancer," Chloe said with a playful smirk and a subtle raise of her eyebrows.
Beca nodded along, sure she could dance, they'd practiced it for long enough. After a moment of silence, Beca looked over at Chloe who was staring at her intently. Beca frowned for a second.
"Oh! We're talking about sex!"
"There you go! Took you a sec huh?" Chloe teased and laughed, she loved it when Beca was being playfully obtuse. Beca stuck out her tongue at her but she laughed too.
The laughter died when they reached the highway.
The scene before them was something out of a nightmare. They had merged onto I-87 heading south from I-90. The gridlock extended across the interstate as far as the eye could see. It was miles and miles of vehicles of all kinds, sizes, and colors buried in the snow. Some of the vehicles were stuck by the side of the road, some crashed into each other and some had tried to turn around but they all shared the same fate, they weren't going anywhere. Beca parked the Subaru far enough to feel safe but close enough to could take in the nightmare.
Absentmindedly Beca got out of the vehicle and walked a few feet forward. She was so captivated that she forgot to put on her beanie, but that was fine the cold was the last thing on her mind.
Beca pressed her hand against her mouth as she surveyed everything. Some of the vehicles had their doors and trunks wide open. She guessed that people at one point had gotten out of their cars to try to find some shelter, and she had an idea of how that ended.
Chloe walked up to her side, equally transfixed, as the welling tears slowly began to freeze in her eyes.
"Chloe… by straight shot, you meant the highway?" Beca asked in a daze.
"I- yeah… I thought it'd be the fastest way." Chloe stammered, each word more difficult than the last. "Are all those cars stuck?"
Beca nodded slowly. "I guess so, they look like they haven't moved in a while."
"Jesus Beca, how many cars do you think there are?" Chloe slowly raised her hands to cover her mouth.
"Hundreds, by the looks of it, this is- this is insane," Beca ran her gloved fingers through her hair in frustration.
"What happened here?" Chloe whispered as she dried her eyes.
"I think-" Beca started and paused, she could feel her heart racing and she had to take a deep breath to settle her nerves enough to get the words out. "I think, these people had the same idea that we did… but they got trapped in the blizzard."
"Oh God!" Chloe gasped, realizing what could have been.
"Yeah," Beca nodded grimly. That could have been them. If they hadn't had their falling out. If they hadn't decided to go to the Cabin. If anything had thrown them off their path, this could have been their fate.
"Do you think there's people still in them?"
Beca's eyes narrowed trying to make sense of the scene, most of the vehicles were buried in the snow but she could make out that some doors had been opened. "I don't know, but I think some of them tried to walk out,"
"How did this even happen?" Chloe whispered.
"I-"
Chloe interrupted her."Where's the government? What the hell? Didn't the president say that he would activate the military and stuff? Where's FEMA and the National Guard? Shouldn't they have planned for stuff like this?" She was starting to ramble.
Beca scoffed, yeah, cuz the government always has its shit together. "I don't know. Maybe panic? Maybe people were more worried about looking after their own families than clocking in. I mean I'm sure some people did but maybe not enough." Or maybe there's some of them in those cars.
"How do you know?" Chloe was surprised by her logic.
"I don't, not for sure, I'm just spitballing here, I know as much about this situation as you do." But had it been me, I wouldn't have gone to work, I would have stayed home and made sure you were safe.
"Is this a dream? There's no way this is real right? Right?" Chloe was starting to panic and started to fan herself with her hands.
"More like a nightmare," Beca said softly.
"Oh, God! Beca!" Chloe couldn't take it anymore, she turned around and wrapped her arms around Beca. She squeezed her tightly and slowly crumbled. "This is so horrible."
Beca returned her embrace earnestly and resting her chin on Chloe's shoulder, she gently rocked her. Beca closed her eyes she couldn't watch anymore. Chloe gently sobbed in her arms and she had to hold herself back from doing the same. Once more the sounds of the love of her life breaking down incited the instinct to protect and she wanted to be strong but still her heart broke.
Not just for those lost to the blizzard but for Chloe. The redhead in her arms whom she had the pleasure of calling her girlfriend was supposed to be the one to stay cheerful, the light to her darkness, the Yin to her Yang, or some other bullshit like that. Seeing her like this felt so wrong, so unjust and unnatural. Beca wanted to do anything in her power to restore Chloe to her normal self.
"Hey, let's get out of here, we'll find a different route or something."
Chloe softly nodded. She could almost feel the misery of those who perished along this massive stretch of highway. And that pain was incredible–either freezing slowly and painfully inside their vehicles or violently as they tried to walk miles in the blizzard. Chloe Beale needed to get out of there, the suffering of all those souls was killing her.
"OK, I'll get us the hell out of here," Beca said softly and still holding onto her, led her back to the car. Beca opened the passenger door and helped her to her seat.
As Beca walked over to her side she took one last look at the highway.
If this is some kind of a messed-up nightmare, can we just wake up already?
Beca shook her head, breaking out of her trance, and jumped in her car. Without saying another word she quickly put the car in reverse and slowly backed away in the opposite direction. She moved far slower than she'd like. She wanted to push it and get the hell out of there fast but she had to keep calm, she couldn't risk damaging the car and getting stranded out here.
Beca looked at the rearview mirror, seeing the road they had taken to get here. She knew what was that way and it worried her but anything was better than seeing Chloe like this.
Back to the sticks, I guess. Damn it.
To be continued.
Author's Note: Author's note: First of all I'm sorry this one came out a few days later than planned. This one required a lot of research and while I'm positive no many people care about emergency protocols of gas stations during power outages, or dietary requirements under freezing conditions, but I like being thorough. This level of technical over-explanation is fairly common in survival fiction.
It's quite challenging maintaining a sense of realism in this incredibly implausible apocalyptic scenario. I keep asking myself how the hell could that highway scene really happen? It doesn't seem possible but then I remembered reading an article about a traffic jam in China that lasted like 12 days. So consider a massive gridlock, and people freaking out (trying to back out, take the dirt road but skidding because of the snow, and crashing into each other), and add hours upon hours of a blizzard and yeah it's plausible. Folks are left with two choices wait it out in their cars, or try to book it on foot during a blizzard (terrible idea). I just wanted this scene to really paint how grim the world has become, and it's only going to get worse.
I'd like to think that in real life the emergency response would be more effective, but if you've ever been in a real-life disaster scenario you know it's never as smooth as we'd like it to be.
Comments are welcome and greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for reading it means the world to me!