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The boys did well loading the buggy, getting into dry clothes, and waiting patiently as I trekked back and forth. When we were ready to start, I asked BeLew to turn around, and then peeled away my wet clothes. I was unsure of the rules with kids and nakedness, but I needed to air dry for a moment.
Still only silence.
No animals, no electricity, no cars, no one.
Most people abandoned this place after the first storm. They feared the ocean and the walls of water that came from it, tearing apart everything in its wake.
I pray the ocean is our salvation.
I put on my dry clothes and got out some power bars and nuts for BeLew. They gulped their food down while I loaded the rifle and set it on the side of the buggy.
“I want you both to have your eyes on me. What I have to say is important, and you need to listen.” They chewed and nodded.
“Do not speak on the trail. Do not walk ahead on the trail. You should always be within an arm’s reach of me. Do not touch the gun.” Their eyes shifted to the rifle and back to me.
I exhaled heavily. “If you’re tired, try to keep going. Pretend you’re Captain America, strong and tough. No complaining. We’ll sleep when we get to the ship.”
Lewis finished his food, walked over to me, and grabbed my hand. Beau came to the other side and clutched my leg while I finished eating. I wiped my hands on my jeans, took the handle of the buggy, and started our walk.
They followed at a trot as their little legs tried to keep up with mine.
A little over an hour in, they weren’t slowing down. The sky was completely clear, all the clouds and smog sucked away by the looming storms that had already passed or were on their way.
All we could hear was the sound of our feet on the path. No one said a word, and I pretended my muscles didn’t ache all over as I dragged the buggy with one arm and held the rifle with the other.
Lewis stopped on the path, and Beau bumped into his back. The buggy lurched behind me and crashed into the back of my ankle. Lewis turned in my direction, eyes like saucers.
I scanned the area around us, dropping the buggy handle and holding the rifle with both hands. Lewis turned back and pointed towards a ditch to our left. I pointed the rifle and waited.
I barely saw it at first, just a shoe, muddy with untied laces. Then it moved.
Shit.
We had to pass it. This heavily wooded path provided protection. It would be dangerous on the open road with our supplies.
I squatted down and motioned the boys to come closer. “I’m going to walk ahead. Don’t move from this spot.”
Beau looked down at his feet, and Lewis glanced up into my eyes and whispered, “Okay.”
The boys clasped hands, and I turned, walking towards the shoe that was now unmoving.
I could be imagining things. It’s been weeks since my last full night of sleep.
My breath felt shallow as I approached as if I couldn’t get the oxygen into my lungs. Aware of every sound I made, I crept up to the shoe. My back tensed as I moved forward, lifting my rifle and aiming.
The shoe, which was not covered with mud but blood, was connected to a man’s leg. A leg with a wound so encased in filth, I couldn’t tell if the gash was in his calf or thigh.
I examined the mangled leg for minutes, and not once did it move. His body laid turned away from me, holding himself, and frozen in its place. I questioned what I’d seen earlier.
He was probably dead. If he was out here when the storm hit, he was definitely dead. There were maybe twenty houses between our farm and Dean’s, but that included countless acres of land. He could have come from anywhere.
I stood there, my grip tense on the gun, frozen in time. Then I saw it, the shallow movement of his side. He was breathing. Maybe he was alive, but for how long? In another life, maybe I could’ve played nurse. Six months ago, I would’ve rushed to help him. That woman was a stranger to me now… like this man.
The sun was against us, and there was no time for this shit. I could see the start of the clearing ahead… Dean’s land.
The man twitched again. I raised one hand and signaled for BeLew to come over. Lewis arrived, with Beau trailing behind him. “Grab the buggy,” I said. “Start towards the clearing. I’m right behind you.”
Lewis stared at the man in front of us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look at me and then the man once more. I kept my eyes on the body in the ditch and watched his breath as his ribs rose and fell.
