Knowing that I am very close to the cabin keeps me motivated. Our safe location with a stockpile of food and water is less than a mile away now.
There are no cars and people around here. Even the road ends way before approaching the cabin. There are only trees, creeks, bushes, birds, and everything else that I am too exhausted to pay attention to.
While walking, I dream about cooking rice and canned beans at the cabin. Among grains, veggies, and dried fruits, we also have a lot of comfort food, such as chocolate and candies buried near the cabin.
I turn on my phone one more time and check the map. The cabin should be around here. I can’t wait to see Leyton’s familiar face. The last three days have been tough.
I hear someone chopping woods. This must be him. He must be cutting wood to fuel the cooking fire.
I walk toward the sound and see him.
He is facing the cabin. His hunting rifle is on the ground right next to him. He must have gone hunting for rabbits in the morning, and now he is getting ready to cook it in the cabin’s wood-burning oven.
I stop a few yards away from him. He still faces the opposite side.
“What’s up, bro!” I call out with a wide smile.
As soon as he hears me, he reaches to his rifle and turns back. He pauses for a second.
“Go away!” he says with a threatening voice. It looks like he didn’t recognize me. I should have uploaded some recent photos to my social media account.
“It’s me, Matt!” I say.
“I know who you are. Get out of here and don’t come back!” he says.
I have no idea what’s going on. This wasn’t the plan.
“What are you talking about! We made a plan to stay here together!”
“Plans changed. You are not allowed here,” he says while slightly raising his rifle. He is not joking.
The cabin’s door is open. I see a young girl standing at the door and looking at us with scared eyes and bruises on her cheeks.
“Who is she? What the heck is going on here! This is not what we agreed on. I found this fricking cabin! I stocked half of the food... You can’t just steal my plan and my stuff!”
“I can and I am. I won’t say it again. Go away!” he says. He points his rifle at me.
Thinking about his past of dealing with murderers and smugglers throughout his prison job, I don’t have doubts about him using the rifle. And without a gun, I don’t have an option to fight him and get what is mine.
I think about using my bear repellent spray, but he is not in the range. It would be a risky game trying to get closer to him and make a move.
Before things went south, I had read about the “Lucifer Effect.” It was shocking and disturbing to see how quickly ordinary people become evil when the circumstances change and social order breaks.
I forget about my hopeless situation for a second and feel bad for the girl inside the cabin. Who knows what she went through and what he has been doing to her. Leyton is not the person I thought he was.
I should think fast and find a way to make a deal with him.
“Okay, I will leave... At least give me some of my food stock! I will give you these cigarette cartons,” I say, taking the cartons out of my plastic bag.
He looks at the cartons briefly. Then he rolls his eyes down to the bag.
“Why the heck do you have a laptop?” he asks.
That’s a question I ask myself, but I can turn this curiosity to opportunity. I can use the laptop as leverage.
“It will come in handy very soon.” I hope he doesn’t see my bluff. Since he is not very good with computers, I know he has no idea how a laptop could be a valuable asset. He might rethink having the cabin all to himself.
“Why don’t you just leave the cigarettes and disappear now?” he says.
Lucifer Effect. He is not really a human anymore. I don’t think there is a way of agreeing with him. At least not at this moment. I look at this pitiful human one more time.
“Okay… Just take it easy,” I say while slowly stepping back. It’s time to retreat. He will pay for this one day.
He watches me while I turn back and walk toward the jungle.
At least I still have my phone. The battery is almost dead, but I should be able to turn it back on a few more times so I can check the location of the storage unit.
My father is a cautious man. He raised us teaching the importance of backup plans. Backup tire in the car, backup battery at home, backup socks during trips, backup of everything.
I am glad I rented a storage unit nearby to stock about three months of food and water. Leyton doesn’t know about it. I thought about this as plan B in case the cabin was occupied, and our stock was compromised. Apparently, they were.
The storage unit is near a small town called Old Fort. It’s about a four-hour walking distance. I should be there before it gets dark.
I hope nobody raided that storage building yet. Thinking about the loitering in the grocery stores, some desperate people probably broke into the rental storage buildings as well. The Saviors might be attempting it in even a more cruel and organized way. If they are, I hope they haven’t had a chance to visit this small town yet.
Chapter 5
It looks like a ghost town.
I walk on the main street of Old Fort. There are only a few boutique shops and restaurants in the town. They either have a “Closed” sign on their doors, or the entire front window is broken in pieces. Several
