“And put a cache of food in it,” she surmised.
“Yeah, some type of food that’ll last a while, like canned products. It’s good if you have a cold room to help preserve the food. Not a problem during the winter but the summer heat can and will ruin your food wares, even canned products. We stocked this one with a case of canned vegetables in a large Yeti cooler and those blue barrels over there have water.” He then gestured toward one end of the building and the other end.
“You want more than one entry and exit, but not too many. I don’t know if you noticed earlier, but there is a ladder to the roof, and we made up a couple of parapets up there. They have good fields of fire. We have one hundred-meter markers outside and there are strips of rags hanging at various locations to give you an idea of the windage, although they wouldn’t do any good right now because they’re all frozen stiff.”
Nikki thought about it. “You know, I understand the food and water cache, but you’ve gone beyond that. I would have never thought about the range markers and the wind rags.”
“And don’t forget the radio antenna. There are other things we’ve done. I’ll show them to you tomorrow,” Fred said.
“When you say we, who do you mean?”
“Me and Zach.”
“Are you two close friends?” she asked.
“Yes, we are,” Fred said. “We’ve been through a lot.”
“You know where he is.” She declared. Fred did not respond. “I mean, I’m not trying to get any information from you. I’ve heard the president wants him arrested, but I’m not a spy or anything. You know what, forget I asked.”
“We’ll talk more tomorrow. Get some sleep,” he said.
He expected her to keep talking, but to his surprise, he heard her breathing deeply within seconds. Soon, he was asleep as well.
Chapter 29 – Fred and Nikki Continue Their Recon
Nikki sensed movement and slowly opened her eyes. It was still dark and the glow from the barrel was gone. Fred’s cot was empty. She sat up and when the blankets fell away, she was instantly hit with frigid air. She heard a door open and looked toward the restrooms to see Fred emerging. She laid back down and pulled the blanket back over her, but Fred walked up and nudged her foot.
“It’s time to get up,” he said.
“What time is it?”
“Almost five. You need to get a watch.”
Nikki was used to being an early riser, but five o’clock was about an hour earlier than she was used to. She didn’t complain though. Instead, she pulled the blankets off, stood, and stretched.
“I think I’m going to soak in a hot bath for a little while before breakfast. How about you fix us up some omelets and biscuits while I soak?”
Fred ignored her sarcasm and hooked a thumb over his shoulder.
“Let’s feed the horses and then get them saddled up,” he said.
They trotted the horses outside thirty minutes later. Nikki kept watch while Fred shut and locked the bay door. It was still cold, maybe a little warmer than yesterday but not much, and the sky was a dark gray with lots of somber clouds, but there was no rain. She looked up and saw the clouds moving west.
“We’ll need to clean up the stable when we get back, the manure will attract mice and rats.” He glanced skyward for a moment. “It looks like that front’s moving out. Don’t know what’s behind it, but it feels like the bad weather has passed.”
“When will it warm up?”
“Hard to say,” he answered.
“Alright, which way are we riding?” she asked.
He opened one of the pockets of his backpack and produced an old map. Carefully unfolding it, he pointed.
“We’re right about here. We’ll ride in an easterly direction and make a wide loop. If it works out, we’ll be back by sunset.” He gazed out at the empty city. “The last time I was out this way I didn’t run into any people and I don’t currently see any smoke.”
“So, nobody lives around here. Are there zeds?”
“Yeah, I’m sure there are more zeds out there,” Fred said. “We’ll only kill them if we have to. Only use that Ruger.”
“What about my bow?” she asked.
“If you want to risk losing arrows, go ahead,” he replied. “If we come up on any survivors, we start out friendly, but keep your guard up. Most people around here know about Mount Weather and what it offers, but they’ve turned down offers to join. They’re independent types, which can be a positive character trait, but I’ve come across some that haven’t been doing so well. Those types will kill us just so they can eat our horses.”
“I understand,” Nikki said.
Fred started to mount up, but hesitated. “Have you ever heard of cannibalism?”
“People that eat people,” she said. “Yeah, I’ve heard of them. Have you ever known of any?”
“Yep, I’ve bumped into a few. You’ve got to watch out for those kinds as well.”
Nikki nodded. She wasn’t sure if he was being serious or messing with her. She watched as he mounted Aisha and she did the same with Leeroy. Even though Leeroy was bigger and obviously stronger, Fred preferred riding the smaller Arabian. It caused her to smile. Leeroy wasn’t the only one who had a soft spot for the beautiful horse.
After twenty minutes of careful travel, they had reached I-95 at Occoquan Road. Fred led them to an overpass where the interstate went over Occoquan.
“Let’s take ten,” he said and dismounted. They each took a sip of water from a canteen and used a Tupperware bowl to give some water to the horses. It wasn’t much. Nikki offered Fred a piece of jerky. He gave her a micro nod and chewed it in silence. After a minute he gestured upward.
“Why don’t you walk on
