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“How do wild horses survive, then?”
Justin swore under his breath and turned the wagon around. “I’m going to the goddamn feed store.” As he walked away, she heard him mutter, “...Pied Piper of the Apocalypse...”
Shadowfax stayed in the small grass lot beside the motel all night. Carly got up several times to check on her, peeking through the curtains to make sure she was unharmed. In the morning, Justin slung the bags of feed onto Shadowfax’s back and tied them in place.
“She can carry her own food,” Justin said in a tone that dared Carly to argue.
“I don’t think she minds,” Carly responded cheerfully, still secretly gleeful over her victory in keeping the horse.
They climbed onto their bicycles and set off down the road, Shadowfax and Sam following behind them. Shadowfax seemed a little leery of Sam, but Sam seemed to like her, and a couple of times he tried to engage her in chasing games. Shadowfax didn’t speak canine, so Sam’s play bows and yips didn’t mean anything to her. She plodded on behind her new human herd.
It was a lovely day for travel. The sun shone brightly through the trees, and the birds sang as though the world was still the same. In the woods, Carly could pretend it was.
They passed cars stalled on the road, people who had tried to flee for the countryside and had gotten stuck in some sort of traffic jam. At the end of the line of cars, they saw the accident that had caused the traffic jam. It was not much more than a fender bender, but apparently, the people had waited for the police and tow trucks to come as they would have when the world was normal. Carly wasn’t the only one who hadn’t understood or accepted things had changed. The opposite side of the road was empty, but the cars hadn’t tried to take advantage of the clear lane. She wondered why none of them had decided to simply drive down the other side of the road, but she supposed they had obeyed the law up until the very end, just as she had written checks for the things she took from the store.
Carly was very careful not to look inside the cars. Justin, however, stopped on occasion and took something he felt would be useful. He found a rifle, a gallon of water, a case of canned food...
At her look, he said softly, “Carly, they don’t need it anymore.”
“It still feels wrong.”
Their route went along Tanani Bay, and when they reached their destination, there was a pier with a ferry boat sitting idle in the dock. The ferry was large, with an open back that allowed for cars to be driven onto it. Justin loaded the bikes, the wagon, and one reluctant horse, who didn’t like the way the vessel shifted beneath her hooves.
“Stay back, Carly. She could kick.”
Carly didn’t have to be told twice. She tugged Sam away by his collar. Justin tied a rope to her halter and fastened it to a railing on the wall, where Shadowfax wouldn’t have to look at the water and realize she was somewhere no horse had any business being.
Justin disappeared to the top deck, and in a few moments, Carly felt the rumbling vibration of the engine starting. “Can you really drive this thing?” she called out when he came down to unfasten the rope moorings.
“Drive, yes. Dock, probably no.” He cast her a grin and went back up the stairs. Carly wished she were the praying sort.
“Wouldn’t the gas be bad?” she called.
He paused on the stairs. “It’s diesel, and the tank isn’t as exposed to temperature changes as a car. It may be a little gunky, but not too bad yet.”
The trip was shorter than their first boat ride as it was about fifteen miles to Skagway. Justin cut the engine as they approached the dock, and there was a disquieting CRUNCH when the boat made contact. Justin jumped to the dock and wound the ropes around the moorings before it could drift away. “We made it!”
“You sound surprised.”
“I actually thought I’d have to run it aground. But it turns out these things are easier to drive than I suspected.”
He put down the gangplank and led Shadowfax onto the dock. Shadowfax made for the solid ground and then shook her coat as if she were shaking off the experience. Carly patted her and said soothing things while Justin unloaded the bikes and the wagon.
“Why don’t you let her pull the wagon?” she asked as Justin unloaded the horse feed and put it back onto Shadowfax’s back.
“Maybe later. We’ll stay here in Skagway tonight. It’ll probably be your last chance for a shower and a soft hotel bed for a while.”
Carly smiled at him, knowing he was anxious to move on, but he was giving her one more night of the comforts of civilization before they continued.
The motel was only about a quarter of a mile from the dock. Carly waited outside while Justin checked the rooms. He said in a nonchalant tone he just wanted to make sure they were clean before she went in, but she knew the real reason was probably to keep her from seeing anything that might disturb her, and she appreciated his consideration.
Carly tossed a tennis ball for Sam while they waited, and Shadowfax munched happily on the flowers in the raised beds in front of the parking lot. Justin came back just as Sam was starting to get tired of the game. He jumped up on the foot of the bed as soon as Justin unlocked the motel room door and settled with a happy sigh. He didn’t even get up when Carly put out his food and water bowls, so he must have been tired.
Despite the chilly water, she took a long, luxurious shower while Justin scouted the area and collected a few more supplies. He came back with a Scrabble game, and they played five times because neither one of them was emerging as a clear winner. Carly suspected Justin was cheating, but she couldn’t prove it, and he gave her wide-eyed, innocent protests when she made the accusation. When she started yawning, Justin called a truce and said she needed her rest since they had a long day ahead of them in the morning.
“But we’ll have a fire and hot food, at least,” he said. Neither of them had found their dinner of cold ravioli to be very appetizing.
Justin woke with a start when Sam pressed his cold nose against his shoulder. When he saw he had Justin’s attention, Sam let out a low whine and darted over to the door that led into Carly’s room. There he pranced a bit and whined again, obviously trying to get Justin to follow him.
