Chapter 3

Up the dirt road he found one of the gang's cars. The flag it had flown was trampled into the mud, and it had been stripped. Literally stripped, the wheels were gone as was the battery. From the way the gas cap lay open, he suspected the gas had been taken as well ... Someone had even drained the oil out of the pan. The radiator had a big hole in it, and the windshield was shattered.

Farther along, barrels full of rock and dirt blocked most of the road. A car could get past, and from the tracks several had, but it would have to slow down. He left the stroller at the side of the road, and stepped cautiously between the barrels. The valley narrowed to a point here, and a fence ran from one steep hillside to another. The sheer rocky ridge it connected would have to be climbed to get to the other side of the pass, and the fence itself was more than eight feet tall and made of sheet steel. The road led straight up to it, ending in a sliding gate about twelve feet wide. He waited for a minute and when nothing happened he closed half of the last forty yards. Nothing...

He took another step forward, and called out, but not loud enough to echo, "Hello the gate!"

He spotted movement through one of the holes near the top of the wall, and a man's voice answered. "What do you want?"

Joel expected the question and had already thought through his answers, best to start with the truth. "A place to stay, or maybe some food."

"Don't have either, go away and don't come back, we've got you covered." He'd half expected that response, especially after what must have happened yesterday. There were at least two people behind the wall, someone covered him from a loophole while the other talked. Judging by the bullet holes in the wall, there must be sandbags back there as well, or they wouldn't still be using the same position.

"I'll trade for it, you have any canned milk? Or fruit? Juice?"

There was murmuring behind the wall, and his hopes rose for a moment, but the man ordered him away again. It had been worth a try, but it wasn't worth it to keep trying, their next step would probably be a warning shot, but he didn't trust them to miss. Keeping his hands where they could see them, he turned and walked back to the barricade. He retrieved the stroller and started back down the road. He'd only gone a few yards when a shout stopped him. "Wait! Why milk?"

Joel turned around, the new voice belonged to an older woman, a heavyset brunet with graying hair. She held a scoped rifle in her hands, not pointed at him, but not pointed away either. He could just make out the sound of the first voice "We agreed to send him away, He looks just like those others."

Even from fifty yards Joel could tell she was exasperated, She carried out a hushed argument with the man behind the wall and finally cut him off. "That was before, I want to talk to him." She waved one handed to Joel, "Come back here and tell me why you want milk, there's no baby in that."

In answer, he unzipped his coat so Tyler's head and shoulders could be seen. The woman laughed. "I thought you were just fat."

Joel took a chance and walked slowly back to where he'd stood before, bringing the stroller with him this time. The couple were arguing again, but the woman didn't look away from him at all. That was actually a good sign, this group was taking security seriously even if they were somewhat relaxed in their attitudes. He was close enough now to catch some of their conversation.

"How do we know he isn't one of them?"

"Harold, I know you have a nasty suspicious mind, but look at him, he's a nice young man, even if he does need a shave, and he has a baby to take care of."

"I still say no."

"Then Mel decides, we agreed on that when we got here."

"Fine, you go get Mel, and I'll cover him."

The woman shook her head. "I know you, you'll try to run him off. You go get Mel." There was grumbling, but through the holes in the wall, Joel saw someone climb down and walk away. "Young man, if you'll be so kind as to put down your rifle, I'll put mine down and we'll talk like civilized people."

He told her about his escape from the city, the pile up at the overpass, how he'd walked, found the baby and hidden from the MS-13 convoy. Before he finished with the last, several people arrived, but didn't say anything. So he continued, explained about hearing the shooting and why he'd come to them. There was a murmuring discussion behind the wall. The woman, who had long since ceased to be wary of him, looked down and said, "What do you think Mel?"