Blown Bridge Valley

  ###

  Vince took a deep breath, and then knocked on his daughter’s door.

  “Come in.” Annalise looked up from her study screen, waving PauseAll.

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “The Valley,” he sighed. “We gotta go.”

  “But dad...now?”

  “I know, I know. We knew this might come, remember?”

  Annalise looked at her father, then out her window. The tears began streaming as he knew they would.

  “The good thing is we are prepped,” he said giving her shoulders a squeeze. “So it’s nine o’clock. Let’s give ourselves two hours to load and then we make a night time leave. Just like we’ve done. ”

  “I have an exam Monday.” Her face was angry. “I have a life here...my friend Kara anyway. No way dad!”

  “Annalise...” He paused. “Look, we’re going.” He walked out, giving her space.

  They would bring bicycles, yes, especially if the road was blocked at the ski resort town. Best option would get them all the way to the valley by car. If a bridge was out, they would continue on bicycle. From resort town to valley would be an exhausting long cycle trip better ridden in two days with an overnight. That would mean living out of backpacks, and cycling through the swarm gang turf. So hopefully not; they really needed to be driving all the way. Backpacks, car camping extras, emergency bags—it all had to go in. He fitted the shotgun into the back seat floor rack he had rigged. What else?

  He paused. That second flood flushing Calgary’s downtown twenty years ago caught some attention—but not the right kind. Frigging adaptation. Why could people not wake up to the need for mitigation? Berm up the river banks. Shit!

  He yanked the door of their hybrid open, touching Induce to ensure full charge.

  The goddam Alberta advantage—hail net installation grew into a thriving business as insurance companies adjusted their rates. And droughts created a demand for expanded irrigation systems—the deep water well business boomed. Of course that massive prairies crop failure four years ago had something of a reverse impact, shooting market food prices through the global roof. One real bonus of the Valley would be local food production.

  Nothing else was working, not around Calgary. The faraway yet global impact geoengineering project got bombed. His years working for Pembina never panned out to anything. No one was doing anything; they were all stuck in the decades old mindset of his father. So why not, why not give this Brad idea a shot? A model of civilization designed to traverse the transition to low carbon, and not only that designed to just work better. So people might have an improved future. A friendly future.

  He slap-checked the two jerry cans strapped in the back corners of the vehicle, verifying the refill dates on the sloshing biodiesel. Hoisting their bicycles down from garage ceiling hangers, he strapped them onto the NearE rack. That 2028 had been a good hybrid design year...long range electric combined with a liquid fuel engine. This one was five years old with almost no maintenance. Importantly now, they had a range of eight hours at highway speed.

  Annalise came down with her backpack, dry eyed, and he threw both their packs into the rooftop carrier. Vince had always kept the Valley option in back of his mind since hearing Brad talk. Prepared had been their pivotal word, so this was kind of routine. They had spent their summer ‘vacations’ in the Valley, even staying in their little cabin until Christmas that once just for rehearsal. They called the cabin their survival cell, like Brad’s, their S cell. Trial runs helped but accepting this reality would take a lifetime.

  “OK, just like August. I drive to the corner an hour south, you drive to BC border. We get as far as we can by car.”

  “Yeah but dad.” Her lips were pressed firm; her arms squeezed in tight. “This is our home, our only home...you know.” As if in her sunken heart she wanted to hug the place goodbye. He could see her doing that. “And what about Kara?”

  They backed out down the driveway, and stopped in the street glancing back at their townhouse. This time it was real, no return. “You can keep in touch with your friend remote.” He waited until she bumped fists, silently knowing they were committing to a pioneer life. He had listened to Brad and Julia enough to be a little excited about the better lifestyle promise in One Valley.