Tipping Point (2 page)

At this point Mac was almost sure Mitch was convinced. He was an intelligent man, and lately he’d been expressing the desire for a life of peace and quiet. If that was the case, and the world was going to hell, the last thing he would want would be to get stuck in the middle of it. Still, she wasn’t going to beg him to save his own ass.

“Fuck it. It’s not like I’m working my dream job anyway. Send me the directions.”

“I’ll text them to you as soon as we’re off the phone. You’ll have to call me when you get close, though. Even with full directions you’d never find the driveway. I need to be at the road to guide you in.”

If Mitch actually followed through, it’d be one less thing to worry about. She knew what he was like, though. He might intend to do something, but things always seemed to come up. She exchanged a glance with Cam and put the car in gear.

The old BMW 3-series was her long-distance and running-around car. She had a truck up north for any heavy-duty stuff. A four-wheel-drive with a winch and all other vital equipment, including a supply trailer. It would come in handy setting up the new building. They had a building there for temporary shelter, but it was meant to be a garage. The prep work had been done for the main house, but it wasn’t up yet.

As they drove past Gravenhurst, Mac felt happier. She’d been looking forward to this. Cam’s job was the only reason they had remained in Hamilton. Mac worked online, which she could do anywhere, but making money had become unnecessary.

“Do you think he’ll come?” Mac was jarred a bit by her daughter’s abrupt question. The silence in the car had been going on for a while.

“Damned if I know. You know what he’s like. Says one thing, does another, in one ear, and out the other,” she rhymed in a sing-song voice. Cam snorted.

“No kidding. Well, it’s not like I want him to die or anything, but we’re better off without him.” Mac nodded in agreement.

“What made you decide that we had to leave today? I mean, I heard you muttering, and you warned me it might happen soon, but did something major happen on the news or something?”

Mac chewed her lip, trying to find a way to explain it without it turning into the usual educational two-hour lecture she tended to indulge in.

“With the outages, people are already protesting. These aren’t activists working for the greater good. They’re people who only care about their own inconvenience and discomfort. Then you’ve got the people who have loved ones with health conditions adversely affected by the heat and humidity. You heard what I said to Mitch about food. The whole situation is about to turn.”

“So, basically people are turning into animals, and you think it’ll get a lot worse, really fast. What’s the plan then? We’re not going back are we?”

“Not this time.”

“What about my friends?”

“I don’t want to see them get hurt or starve to death. We just need to make sure the garden and bulk supplies are okay first. A quick check should be enough, and then you can give Kirk a call.” Kirk was Cameron’s best friend from high school.

Mac’s own best friend was in the States, and he had a pretty good situation there. She was thankful she’d managed to talk him into setting up an amateur radio station. Even when their phones went down, they might still be able to talk to one another.

“It’s too bad we couldn’t wait until fall before we had to leave. It would have been nice to see the leaves turning as we got into Muskoka.” Mac smiled. She knew how her daughter felt. It was their favourite season.

“Well we’ll be up here for the whole season, so if we want to see the leaves we won’t have to miss a single day. Why do you think I planted so many maple trees? Best fall colours, ever.”

The closer they got to Rosseau Falls, the narrower the road became. It was just barely enough for two cars to pass one another. As soon as they pulled off the main road, however, it became pretty much a single lane.

The road they were on didn’t actually have anyone living on it. Their driveway was the only one. All other properties in the area had their driveways on a different side road. It had truly been the ideal parcel for them. They wanted no interaction with neighbours.

Having Cam’s best friend and his girlfriend come stay with them might be a risk, but it was a calculated one. They were social only with people they liked, much like Mac and her daughter, and she got along with them very well for the most part.

They were getting close to the property, and she’d long since removed the telltale reflective number marking the property entrance, so she had Cameron direct their high-powered UV light ahead of them on the road. Finally she saw the marked tree. She slowed to a stop and got out of the car.

Mac walked over and placed her thumb on the biometric pad concealed in a hole at the back of the tree. The two halves of the bush-covered gate swung open. She was careful to brush the crisp dead leaves back over the pad, and walked back to the car when she was done.

The scent of pine and spruce saturated her olfactory senses as she inhaled deeply. To her it was the smell of home. She could also smell the water from the small river that cut through their land. It hadn’t been hard to find a property with surface water in Ontario.

White willows grew past the riverbank opposite the building sites. She knew they were there because she’d been the one to plant them. They might need a source for salicylic acid.

The buildings weren’t visible from the road. There was a veritable forest between the road and the current building. She’d spent a lot of time on Google Earth and Google Maps, deciding exactly how to place things, so nothing was left to chance.

She drove through the gate and slowed the car once she’d crossed the pressure plate. Mac waited until the gate closed completely behind her, and then continued on to their temporary home.

It was ugly from the outside. There was no getting around it. She hadn’t bought a steel building that was designed to look like a regular home. She’d bought the A-style that was vaguely house-shaped, but didn’t fool anyone. The two garage doors didn’t help.

“Stay in the car for a minute, Cam. I want to back the truck out, and I’m sure we’d both be happier if I didn’t back into you.” Cameron laughed.

“I’d certainly be happier, and you don’t enjoy playing nursemaid.” Mackenzie laughed. That was certainly true.

Once the truck and car were parked behind the building, out of sight from their overgrown driveway, they started unloading the car. It didn’t take them long. Aside from the ferrets, all they had was some food, a couple of bug out bags, and their laptops.

“Hey babies,” she cooed into their carrier. Unsurprisingly they had fallen asleep. They slept a lot anyway, and when they were confined they took it as an opportunity to get even more sleep.

Her temporary bedroom was the only safe place for them, so she took them straight there and let them out. The bedroom would later be turned into a tool crib, so it had a two-part door. The bottom could be kept closed while the top remained open. It kept the ferrets confined while allowing the air to circulate.

The boys were familiar with the place so the stress on them was limited, but they hadn’t been there in a few weeks and it was exciting to them again. They bounced around, doing their weasel war dance and pouncing on one another.

Squeaker displayed the characteristic that had given him his name, and made chirpy sounds. Pickle let out the odd noise, but mostly splayed his toes and bounced in his extreme happiness, his fur standing on end.

Mac spread some waste pads for them, before she snuck out the half-door to avoid them racing out past her feet. They needed fresh food and water dishes. The ones in their carrier had wet food in both of them from the movement of the car.

“How are they doing?”

“Crazy, as usual. We’d better go take a look at the garden as soon as I get their bowls in place. I’m glad I’m not leaving them alone in an unfamiliar room to get all this stuff done.” Cameron patted her mother’s shoulder.

“There, there. You’ll be okay.”

“Okay, shut up. You’re an adult now. It’s no longer child abuse if I beat you up.” They both laughed, and Mac finished with the ferret bowls. Pickle went straight for the water, but Squeaker had to be nudged away from the door for her to pass through.

“No, you’re not coming out now. Sorry, but you’re stuck in here for a bit.” He tilted his head way back in order to look toward her face. Even though she knew there was no real expression on his face, she still felt like he was guilt-tripping her. They were supposed to be smarter than dogs and cats, so she wouldn’t be surprised if they were capable of manipulation tactics. They’d played tricks on her before, usually to get through closed doors.

“Mom! Are you coming?” Mac rolled her eyes.

“Who’s the parent in this relationship,” she yelled back.

“It’s certainly not you! Let’s get this done so we can relax for the night.” Mackenzie just laughed. She’d raised a kid with sass, and she liked that just fine.

2

T
AKING
S
TOCK

Mac set up a couple of portable lights by the garden. Aside from some damage most likely caused by rabbits, a quick visual scan told her their situation was still good. Blackberry and raspberry bushes circling the perimeter of their cleared property kept most animals from wandering in and eating their food.

Mac walked through the rows. There was a lot they could pick tomorrow. For now she snacked on snow peas, and stuffed some tomatoes and carrots into the canvas bag she carried. She wasn’t going to dig for potatoes or try to snag enough beans until she could really see what she was doing.

“Everything looks pretty good. We can have these tomatoes for sandwiches once we finish for the night. I’ll just wash up these carrots to munch on until then.” Cam shrugged. Mac knew she wasn’t as keen on raw carrots as she was herself, but it was better than nothing, and they hadn’t eaten since about noon.

“Okay, I think we’ve seen as much as we can see until daylight. Let’s pack up the lights and head inside. While I’m washing the carrots, you can get in touch with your friends. So long as we have our garden, we’re fine for next year, and anything that’s gone bad in the long-term items we can replace tomorrow. It’s all basics that are readily available.”

It was one of many benefits to living in an area with numerous farms. People had livestock and produce for sale, and agricultural supply stores had giant bags of grain. It would probably be best if she took a trip to the feed supplier anyway. She wanted to buy at least a goat or two, and some chickens.

Fencing material was something else she could get tomorrow. She couldn’t circle the whole property in fencing for the moment, but she wanted to at least enclose the animal pens. Mac was a huge believer in respect for animals, so she wanted the goats and chickens to have as much free range as possible, but she knew goats would eat the berry bushes and ruin what was a great natural fence. She also needed to keep the smells away from the area where the main building would be erected.

Once the lights were put away and the carrots scrubbed, she waited for Cam to finish chatting with Kirk, and pondered how to set up the livestock areas. Suddenly Mac was exhausted. Between the animal pens and all the work that would need to be done on their new house, there was a lot to be done.

Technically they didn’t need another building in any desperate way, but whatever happened in the rest of the world it was how she’d always planned things. In recent years she’d kicked her efforts up a notch, feeling like time was slipping away.

She needed to grab a notebook to jot things down, because there were too many things to remember. She had lots of lists on her laptop, but a spiral notebook was easier to carry around.

She was just taking a step toward her daughter’s bedroom, planning to give her a poke to hurry things up, when Cam came shuffling out with her eyes red.

“Hey! What is it?”

“They’re not coming. At least not yet. I feel like I’m never going to see him again.”

“Do you want me to talk to him? Explain why we left when we did?”

“No, it’s not that. He believes me. He’s seeing it in Oakville even. They’re not having quite as much trouble with their power as Hamilton, but people are assholes. Already!” Mackenzie wasn’t at all surprised. Oakville was full of some pretty snotty people, and they didn’t like to be inconvenienced.

“So why aren’t they coming?”

“Their car broke down. They have no way to get here.”

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Now I feel like a shit for not getting in touch with them right away.”

“It’s not your fault, mom. I’m pretty sure he mentioned it to me about a week ago, and I didn’t even think of it. I just figured they would have taken care of it by now. Leigh doesn’t usually let things go when it comes to her car. She does
not
like riding the bus. They’re on a waiting list for the repairs. Their usual garage is backed up, and when they called around they couldn’t find anyone who could do it any faster.”

“No, they wouldn’t. The power outages would mean there’s a lot of work that couldn’t be done, so they’d be way behind. Did they say what was wrong with it?”

“Yeah, but I don’t understand what it means. Here, take a look.” Mackenzie took the laptop from Cam and skimmed the message.

“They need the timing chain replaced. They can’t even turn their car on, or they risk blowing the motor. Don’t worry, Cam. I’ll figure something out. If I have to drive back as far as Oakville, I will. Just let them know I’m working on a solution for now, and I’ll get in touch with them in the morning.

“What about your dad? Have you tried talking to him yet? You know he’s welcome to come.”

Allan was technically Cameron’s step-dad. Mackenzie had never married him, but they’d been together about eight years while Cameron was growing up. She had always called him her dad. Mackenzie had nothing against him, and it had been good between them for a while, but then Mac had wanted more out of life, while Allan was content to coast through it.