“No, they are all down there, fighting. Once the fighting stops, everyone will hightail it with their stolen goods until it runs out. They will more than likely try to hit up the others who stole the MREs, and try to take theirs. They will go back to look for more and then they’ll come back in four days to go to the gorge. We’ll go back then as well, but better armed. Let’s go.”
They began walking and she noticed they were going back to where they’d gone earlier in the day. It was a good choice, there was food that way and in abundance. Aiden paused by a bush and dug up the headless snake and threw it around his neck like a scarf. She almost laughed but didn’t, she was afraid she’d cry. Her emotions were raw.
She was just now starting to process what he had said about the EMP. She would never go home again, she’d never see her friends, she’d never see her parents. She bit down on that thought, she didn’t want to start crying, she was afraid she’d never stop. Then the thought of the EMP bringing down all those planes, all those people dying. And the people in the cities.
She was so overwhelmed, she still held on to Aiden, he was like her anchor. They didn’t speak much, and she kept looking behind her, her eyes scanning the trees. The viciousness she’d witnessed had shaken her to her core. It brought forward the primitive fear in her, her body recognized it. She’d felt the hair raise on her body when it had happened.
The backpack was heavy with the water and the nuts they’d gathered. She stopped a couple of times to dig up some tubers, shoving them into her pockets. It helped her to concentrate on looking for food. She’d fix those with their dinner tonight. She took note that it was getting late and the sun would be down within an hour.
“Should we stop somewhere for the night, and then keep going in the morning?” She asked him, worry in her voice, she felt him squeeze her hand and finally let go.
“Yeah, I hate to say it, but I think we’ll have to. I think I know where there might be some caves, but it is about another two hours from here and I sure as hell don’t want to blunder around in the dark. Let’s find a place where we can build a fire with some cover. We don’t want anyone to see it.”
They walked for about twenty more minutes until Aiden found a huge rhododendron patch. It was at least fifteen feet tall and nearly twenty feet in length. They walked around and found a fairly large gap that they could go into, it was a space that was big enough for both of them to lay down and make a camp. Aiden laid the bundle of wood down.
The night was slowly closing in around them and the temperature was dropping. They could hear the night sounds begin to surround them, and it calmed Sarah down and she could feel the tension of earlier melting away from her.
“I’m going to dig a pit, that will keep the majority of the light from the fire hidden. I doubt that anyone twenty feet away from this bush would see it, but the pit will ensure that. We have plenty of water, so let’s make some snake steaks and snake soup al-la-tubers.” He grinned. She looked at him and then her eyes filled with tears and she flung herself at him, hugging him hard.
“Thank you for being so strong and thank you for not panicking. Thank you for not being like them.” She said, she didn’t know why she was crying, but she couldn’t seem to stop.
She felt his arms wrap around her and he held her for a long time, saying nothing. She began to calm down and laugh deprecatingly at herself. She pulled away and wiped her face, she cleared her throat.
“That sounds good and I think I might put a couple of the nuts in the ashes and see if we can roast those as well.” Sarah said smiling, feeling better now that she had let the pent-up emotion out and pleased that they were a good distance away from the group. She was sure no one would have followed them and less likely now that it was getting dark.
At least she could sleep tonight and not worry that someone was going to steal their food. She was stunned at the thought, how quickly they had turned. Not all of them, but now that it was no longer a game, no longer for fun, for five million dollars, it became ugly.
Once the fire was going in the pit for a good while, Aiden fashioned a spit over the hot coals, cutting up chunks of the fat snake. Sarah filled the small pot with water, she cut up the tubers she’d collected and added chunks of snake. She put in the onion grass and a small nob of ginger she’d dug up. There was a bigger piece in her backpack.
She raked out a few coals and set the pot on it. From time to time, she lifted the pot, and raked over more coals. It was completely dark now and quiet, except for the crickets and night birds. She felt peaceful and safe.
“What do you think everyone is doing right now?” she asked quietly.
“If they’ve not killed each other, then they may have split into small groups, dividing. I think maybe if they are smart, they’ll stick with Leo. I’m sorry, I never asked if you wanted to stay there. It just got ugly quick and I know from experience that it can go
