“Ingo tipped us off,” Tester said. “The details were easy enough to figure out.”
“Ingo?” Peter said.
“You can hit me when we’re out of here, but I for one am done with the stench of shit. Can we get out of here before we kill each other?” Ingo said.
Milly sighed. “What do you want us to do, Tester?” Milly said.
“I’ll toss the end of a rope over. Tie it off on those pipe cover support brackets and I’ll tie my end to the ladder, and you’ll pull yourselves across,” Tester said.
“No way,” Robin said.
“It’s not too bad. Only ten feet. You can do it. And what’s the worst that could happen? You end up on a Willy Wonka poo-poo chocolate river ride to the leeching fields where fresh raspberries await you.”
“Who the shit is Willy Wonka?” Jerome said.
Tester tossed the rope end over, and it proved to be easy getting across. Nobody had any trouble, and Milly felt relief as she climbed up the rusted ladder to the surface. She passed through an open manhole, and Tye and Kat waited for her.
Soon Jerome, Robin, Peter, Ingo, and Tester joined them. They stood in an alleyway surrounded by rusted buildings.
“If you knew we were coming this way, why’d you let us crawl through shit?” Milly said.
“I’ve been waiting for you to get here for seven years and you blow me off?” Tester said. “Not very nice.”
“We don’t trust you,” Tye said.
“Does this help?” Tester said. He nodded and Kat stepped forward and gave Milly her loaded Glock and a bag of personals, including the compass and synchronized watch, which was still ticking. They gave Peter his axe, and Tye a rifle with eight bullets. Robin and Jerome got knives that looked like small swords. Kat also handed out jackets, gloves and hats. Things they’d need as the weather got colder.
Tester said, “Tye, I didn’t have time to make a bolas, but I have twine you can use to make one when we have time. And FYI – there was no way I could have gotten through the maze with any of you with me. We had to make bribes just for ourselves.”
“You don’t work for Gerall?” Milly said.
“I did.”
Ingo said, “Tester stands with us at the turtle. I’ve foreseen this. He’s been waiting for you. Getting information. Like the map.”
“Why you, Kat? I got the impression you believed the turtle was a joke,” Tye said.
“That’s one way the new world is like the old, you have to keep up appearances,” Kat said. “I’m along for the ride. They say all are welcome, and I’ll work. Don’t care what. I’m just tired of running.”
The rusted metal buildings lined an overgrown maintenance road. The remains of a fence stood before them, but there were gaping holes, and they passed through. They headed east, leaving the decaying city of Houston behind. Sagebrush and weeds filled every open space, and soon they were walking through the remains of old farming homesteads, most of the structures dilapidated and collapsed, but the sharp outlines of the fields were still visible, though completely retaken by the wild.
The air was warm, but not humid, and they stopped to rest on the bend of a great river where a dock had once been. White concrete pilings jutted from the water like broken teeth from dirty gums, and pieces of decking were scattered along a rough rocky beach.
Tester had brought good food, and as they ate, he opened the map.
“I added everything I’ve learned. This is where we must go.” Tester pointed at a spot on an old tourist map.
It was a hand-drawn picture of a mountain with white lines streaming from the peak.
“What’s that at the top?” Jerome said.
“Snow,” Tester said.
“Will we ever see snow?” asked Jerome.
“It’s spring, my boy. You mustn’t think of such things,” Tester said.
Chapter Seventeen
Year 2069, Mississippi
Tester led Tye and company down old interstate ten, which ran along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico. They headed east and stayed off the overgrown road, hiding within the vegetation that had retaken the land. Everywhere Tye looked, signs of the gone world prodded at his memories; rusted out cars, collapsed buildings, and piles of bones. Vine covered square structures blended into the rolling green, but street signs, manhole covers, and bent and broken light poles helped Tye visualize the order of the old world. Deer and fox fled before them, disappearing into dilapidated structures and thickets of brush covered in kudzu vines. A gentle breeze brought the scent of blue-eyed grass and purple blazing star.
They traveled by day and hunkered down at night to avoid virals. Staying close to the old road made it easier to cross rivers, ponds, and swamps, and they made good time, but still took three weeks to walk across Louisiana. Tester called a halt when they came upon an old metal sign that was barely legible due to peeling paint. As Tye read Welcome to Mississippi, he envisioned the major challenge that lay ahead. They had to cross the Mississippi River.
They made camp in an old stone building that had been a water pumping station next to a large creek. The rusted pumps were nothing more than hunks of brown metal, and the water had risen and flooded the lower section of the building. Kat stood watch, and a fire was lit in a secluded corner. Stars blinked down at them through holes in the roof, and the howls of wolves rose above the braying whine of insects and birds.
“Can I look at the map?” Tye said.
Tester eyed him, but pulled the folded piece of paper from his breast pocket. “Careful with it.”
Tester lit a smoke of Stadium tobacco and went outside to check on Kat.
