Department of Student Loans, Kidnap & Ransom

Chapter 14

The Executioner had decided to do a land crossing back into the United States, as he had never been in Washington State before. He enjoyed his time in Seattle, more so the trek up Mount Rainier than the city itself. The hiking made him feel better, and the angst that had slowly been setting in had now receded. Feeling in a good mood enabled him to get work done efficiently, so he immediately set out to buy a car for his cross-country drive to his hometown. Not being a fan of progress, he did a quick online search of Seattle cities and neighborhoods to find the one with the lowest level of electric car use. The petrochemical-loving city of Renton filled his need for a non-electric car, which he would need if the vehicle was to be of use in his hometown.

The Executioner finished his chore quickly and drove his new diesel engine car east out of Seattle. After about 30 minutes, the disapproving looks ceased as his politically incorrect choice of transportation became more acceptable with the changing demographics. And the changes were a surprise. He had assumed all of Washington State was electric cars, vegan aquaponic farms and marijuana kiosks. But, not too far outside of Seattle, the sights from the Interstate 90 highway revealed a blue collar and rural population. And in the new America that was not a good thing. 'Blue collar' was term from a forgotten era when there were still factory jobs to be had. Rural now meant only one thing: poverty. All rural areas were mired in poverty – unless they were sitting on top of oil and gas. Then they were mired in moderate poverty and environmental contaminants. The people throughout the area that The Executioner found himself driving through were, if they were lucky, employed in some sub-contract or service work for the Chinese logging companies working the forests. But most could only dream of steady work.

Farther east, over the mountains and into the rain shadow, the sun came out and the farms began, although it was nearly impossible to actually see a farmer. The circular fields with their center-pivot irrigation sprinklers were dotted out in all directions, with not a single house visible. The massive combines and the labor migrants would harvest in one methamphetamine-fueled harvest later in the year. Until then, only an occasional tractor or crop drone could be seen.

The interstate highway soon started to feel eerily empty. The trucks that were once common were now a rare sight. And with people no longer feeling the need for a personal car – or feeling the need but not having the cash – other motorists were few and far between. Most normal people would fly. Few would bother driving across more than one large state. Even fewer would consider the long drive that The Executioner was undertaking.

The Executioner was used to empty rural areas, but not areas as exposed and treeless as eastern Washington State. Back home in The Executioner's part of Midwest, a thick line of trees paralleled the roads, leaving you to imagine that perhaps there was something still alive beyond the green barrier. Here there was nothing to obscure the procession of dead towns and abandoned houses along the interstate highway. The death of rural America was on full display.

Despite the lack of drivers, advertisers still dotted the roadside with billboards. Of course, none of the ads were attempting to sell a real product – unless you consider religion a product. Aside from the religious exhortations, there were various migration and work scams: 'Work in Russia for top wages!' 'Guaranteed immigration to Australia!' 'China needs English speakers!' and other false offers littered the roadside like trash.

As The Executioner got closer to the city of Spokane, he spied his favorite series of video billboards so far. The first billboard featured a fluttering Canadian flag and the question 'Thinking of sneaking into Canada?' in both English and Spanish. A hundred yards down the road the next billboard read 'Think again! You won't make Canada your home!' The next billboard after that featured a video loop of a Canadrone border patrol UAV firing a missile that flew low to the ground and then sprinkled mini cluster bombs over some unfortunate group of...whoever. The Executioner chuckled, approving of the Canadian approach to undocumented border crossings. The final billboard in the series then cited the grim statistics. It seemed that everybody who illegally enters Canada is either caught, killed, or deported soon after – at least according to the numbers released by the Canadian Prime Minister's office.