New Developments, Fresh Supplies and More Problems

Posted on Fri Jul 14th, 2023 @ 5:57am by Hale Stratton & Vienna Quinn & René Rouen

1,361 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Bangor or Bust
Location: Trout Mountain Cabin, Twin Pines at NEOC, Millinocket, ME
Timeline: 27 August 2010 - 11:00 a.m.

Dominic was frustrated with the situation at hand. The attack on the church was still pending an investigation. The Mayor's office had informed him that the Governor was still adamant about the travel ban on all highway traffic. Rumors had elements of the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York being deployed to Maine to assist local National Guard and Army Reserve units in maintaining order. The loss of the main power grid was a concern, but mitigated for the most part by the numerous generators owned by local residents and businesses. Power outages were rather common during Maine's brutal winters.

Dominic had tried contacting the parishioners to ascertain the status of the other refugee students stranded in Millinocket at the start of the current crisis. He had limited success in that endeavor, only finding out about a dozen or so students in addition to the ones that were at the lodge.

Dominic was returning to the lodge with Courtney, his backseat and trunk full with boxes of food, supplies and a little bit of camping gear. He pulled his car off the main road and drove up to the lodge. He parked in front of the cabin the group had stayed in the night before.

Nicole had a warm cup of coffee in her hand as she leaned against cabin wall on the porch. The past few days had been hectic to say the least. From this virus that was taking over the world to her current situation, there was a lot going on for everyone. While she felt it was her job to protect those she was now with, there was one person that she hadn't had any contact with that she was immensely worried about. Her Father. She hadn't seen him in nearly a week which normally would be fine except for the fact that this virus got so much worse in just a few days. She felt powerless in the moment. She'd find a way to know where her father was. She just didn't know how.

As she watched Father Dominic and Courtney pull up she quit resting against the wall and took a sip of her coffee before setting it down on the railing at the edge of the porch. She had noticed the supplies in Father Dominic's back seat and she figured her assistance would be needed. She stepped down the steps until she was standing on the gravel.

Dominic and Courtney exited the vehicle. The girl grabbed a box of supplies from the back seat and headed for the porch as Dominic approached Nicole. "Food is in the back seat and I grabbed camping gear from my house which is in the trunk." He looked over Nicole's shoulder to Courtney. "Miss Wynn, please let the others know we have stuff to bring in." Courtney sighed, but nodded and carried her box inside.

Nicole nodded and leaned into the backseat to grab a box of food. She picked it up and carefully lifted it out of the car before walking up to the lodge. She got the food first so it would be less likely to spoil. She entered the house and brought the box into the kitchen.

Vic heard the vehicle pull up and stepped out onto the porch, one hand resting on the grip of her pistol until she saw who it was that was driving and then she relaxed and moved to the back of the vehicle to give assistance in unloading, calling to Dominic. "What's the news Dominic? Anything good?"

Dominic let out a sigh as he carried a box of canned goods onto the porch. His expression relayed that he had little to no good news to report. "I will tell everyone once we're all together."

Jordan and René stepped out of the cabin and grabbed the last two boxes in the back of the car. They followed the adults into the cabin and put things down in the kitchen.

Doing circuits of the area, his own patrol route, had become a thing with Hale and he arrived back in time to see the goods being unpacked. With the vehicle empty, he followed the group in. "Okay, Father, what's up?"

Vienna was sitting sipping her drink when Hale had followed the others in, she heard him ask his question and waited to see what the response would be.

Dominic took a seat at the table and popped open a can of Pepsi before going into his summation of his morning excursion. "Travel ban is still in effect. Word is only first responders such as fire, EMS and law enforcement are allowed to travel. Some distribution centers are being contacted to resume over-the-road shipping with police escort for convoys. The military is mobilizing National Guard and Army Reserve units throughout the state and rumor is the Tenth Mountain Division at Fort Drum is being mobilized as well for security patrols all along the northern Atlantic seaboard. That's the big picture news for the most part. Locally it's not too bad, most of the businesses and homes around here have their own generators, so stores are open. There have been groups that are trying to leave, most heading to Medway to catch the interstate south to Bangor. Not really sure if that will work."

Nicole had just set the box of food onto the counter. Overhearing the Father's response, she had a question of her own. "With at least three of us currently active duty, would we have some sort of permission to travel?"

Dominic turned to Nicole and shrugged. "I don't know. You would have to talk to the Mayor, maybe even the Governor. I don't know enough about how the military works that way." He glanced at the two officers.

"If the roads are closed to everything but official vehicles, I doubt we'd get far," Hale said. He sat down at the island in the kitchen, idly turning a water bottle that had been sitting there, while he thought. "The three of us, sure, but not the civilians. Might be possible to get everyone there if we hike down, stay off the roads ..."

René had done a few backpack trips throughout Europe. It was over an hour long drive to Millinocket from Bangor. Walking back would take a minimum of two days, most likely more due to the heavily wooded and hilly terrain between the two locations. That was barring any issues along the way. "Capitan Stratton, are you sure that hiking back is the best option?"

"Best or not, I think we'll end up hiking at least part of the way," Hale said, "since they've closed off the roads going into Bangor. If we drive part of the way, we can leave them in a parking lot somewhere, hopefully not in view of the road, and with luck, everything will still be there later. Once you are returned to your families, Vic and I can hike back to the vehicles and see about getting back to base."

He paused a minute measuring his own pace against the group's and nodded. "The more we do by car the better," he said. "So, the plan is ... to leave at first light ... get as far as we can by vehicle and then walk the rest of the way in."

Dominic felt conflicting obligations. He was a spiritual leader in the community, but he had accepted responsibility for the teenagers that had arrived at his church. He felt a duty to get them home safely, after that he could return to Millinocket. "We should be able to make it as far as Medway on the 157. The I-95 South to Bancor is a pretty straight shot. If we stay within a quarter mile of the highway it shouldn't be two bad, though it will be a two or three day walk and another two or three back to Medway."

"Sounds like a plan," Hale said. "We'll go get the weapons we talked about and spend the rest of the day training with them. After that, its dinner and early bed time. We're on the road back to your families at first light."

 

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