Aiden didn’t know how long they’d live there, especially with Connor and Matt out there causing hate and discontent. He didn’t trust them, especially after they acted like animals, rushing Marla and her people for their food. They were supposed to be survivors, but they weren’t. By virtue of their actions, they were showing their true colors. He knew that Connor had a wife, and wondered how he had treated her.
Maybe this situation just brought out the worst in him, but it kept coming back to him, that it was only a matter of minutes, of hearing the words EMP that had set him in motion. Nothing had changed really, had Aiden kept his mouth shut, things would have gone on. But essentially, the moment Aiden told them their lives had changed, Connor had flipped, like a switch. He'd never seen anything like it.
Aiden kept his ears attuned for sounds and he kept scanning the trail, his dark brown eyes never still. If Connor or Matt were going to do anything, he wanted a heads up. He and Sarah had agreed that it could lead to violence, them going to the gorge and he’d offered to leave her at the cave, but she wanted to go. She wasn’t a wuss, that was for sure.
He had noticed that she’d lost some weight, but he knew she was eating well, they both were. He also noticed that he’d lost weight also, but he was gaining more muscles from the hiking and climbing they were doing on a daily basis, looking for food and food sources. His legs felt hard, and his muscles were becoming more defined, as were Sarah’s. She had nice legs and a great ass he had to admit and her skin was turning a light golden color. She looked the picture of health in this post-apocalyptic world. She was adapting very quickly and seemed very at ease with it.
Like most places, the food sources were seasonal, and since they had no idea when a particular food source would run out, they had to be vigilant in discovering new sources. They also had to stockpile what they had. If it came to leaner times, if they didn’t have extra, they’d starve to death. He needed to get better at hunting and find a better way to hunt. They were making a dent in the snake population he was sure.
In a year, they’d know the rhythm of this place and by then they would know where all the best places to hunt and to gather. Sarah had made the door for their cave, she’d gathered saplings, about an inch or so in diameter and she’d woven them together with some of the fronds from the cattails at their small pond. The door wouldn’t keep out small rodents, but bigger animals would have a hard time getting in. They made it so it would wedge into the opening, so nothing could slip past.
Sarah was becoming better at weaving, though most of her projects ended up in the fire, but she kept at it. She always seemed to be thinking and he liked that, it made him feel good that she had their comfort and survival in the upper most part in her mind. Once more, the thought of the stone age came to mind. Would they be wearing animal skins in a few years when their clothing wore out? What about their shoes? It was something to think about and keep in the back of his mind.
He could hear the roar of the gorge in the distance and his heart rate picked up. He knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up, but he couldn’t seem to help it. Leo and Marla slowed their pace and Aiden looked ahead, he could see Connor, Matt, Abby, Joey and Dan. Grayson, Carol, Vana, Sam, and Luke were not there. He wondered at Grayson not being there, he thought sure the man would be there.
“Do you know what time they were suppose to be over here?” Aiden asked Marla.
“They should have already been here this morning; I was halfway hoping we’d meet them on the hike here.” She said, disappointment heavy in her voice, her face thin.
“You don’t happen to have binoculars, do you?” He asked, but knew the answer, and when she shook her head no, he let out a sigh. He held his hands over his eyes and looked but the cage was hanging on the other side and there were no people around. It was such a small speck and so far away from them, as though on the other side of the world. Either they’d already come and tried, and couldn’t get it to work, or they just didn’t bother coming at all. Either way, they were stuck.
“Do you think we could rig something up to maybe get across?” Marla asked hopefully.
“I don’t think so, that cable is metal, and it is rough, we’d need something really strong to go all the way across without it tearing it apart. Maybe wood, but what ever we made would have to be strong enough to hold one or two people. We don’t have screws or nails or bolts. The few nails we have are small, from the crates.” Leo speculated.
“Even if we were to get to the other side, all that awaits us is China, Tibet, mountains and people.” Aiden said softly, his eyes on Connor.
Everyone tensed when Matt and Connor walked over. Aiden could see both men were looking haggard and knew they were unsuccessful in their hunting and gathering. Abby looked despondent, she
