“I’ve never liked salads, but I’d eat just about anything now.” Tilly said, a leaf hanging from her mouth.
“Same here. See those women up there, I overheard that a couple in their group had been assaulted. You know, raped.” Megan said, her voice filled with sorrow and shock.
“I’m so glad we joined up with this bigger group. It’s just crazy. I’m also glad you brought your bat.” Tilly said.
“Me too. I wish I had a gun. My old boyfriend tried to get me one, but I didn’t want anything to do with it. Now, I wish I had.” Megan bemoaned.
“That can be a double edge sword, especially if a bad guy takes the gun away from you.”
“Yeah. A no win situation.” Megan nodded. Fear was widespread. Megan could see it etched in every face they passed, every mile they walked. Her bones hurt and all she wanted was a bed and a hot meal. The ground was usually damp and cold when they stopped and slept for the night. She was second guessing her decision to head to Topeka. But it kept going back to the fact that there was nothing for her at home.
Megan and Tilly had decided to head to Topeka, as word had spread that there was a refugee camp located there and there was power and food. Tilly’s boyfriend, Mike, had wanted to stay put, but there wasn’t much in the way of food. There had been a lot of looting and ransacking in the first days. Megan had witnessed a murder at the grocery store, while she waited in line. She’d been shocked and horrified at the amount of violence right after the power went out.
There were gangs forming and Megan thought it was best to get out of that situation. She didn’t think it would be safe for a woman. She and Tilly had hoped that getting to the refugee camp would keep them safe.
“Once we figure out what’s going on, maybe we can head farther east. Maybe we can go to Florida, where it’s warm.” Megan had suggested, shivering from the constant cold.
“God, that sounds wonderful. Maybe the refugee camps will have transportation to places farther east?” Tilly said.
It was their hope, that from Topeka, they might find a new home to settle in and rebuild their lives. Tilly’s parents were in California, but that was too far to walk. Topeka was their only hope. There were a lot of rumors flying around the group and others they’d run into along the way to Topeka. Most of the rumors and conjecture Megan didn’t believe. It was just too farfetched.
Word was spreading that the United States had been targeted and destroyed. West of them was a wasteland, nuked. Neither of the women were sure what was speculation, rumor or truth. Tilly had wept bitterly, her parents, so far west.
“Do you think they are alive?” She’d asked tearfully. Megan didn’t know what to tell her but gave her a small bit of hope.
“I think so, California is a big place. They might not have power, like us, but I’d say chances are, that they are safe.” She wasn’t lying. It could be true. Besides, it could all be bullshit, she just didn’t know. It did keep at her though, niggling. What had really happened? She hoped once they got to Topeka, they’d get some answers, real answers and not speculation.
When they came to the outskirts of Topeka, Megan was ready to drop. Her feet were blistered, and her body ached from lack of water and food. She’d only had sips here and there. She’d seen a few people become desperately ill from drinking unfiltered water. She hated getting wet but prayed for rain and used an extra pair of socks to filter the water she drank from puddles. They’d not come across many fast-moving streams.
When Megan and Tilly arrived, they found a large area, thousands of tents dotted the landscape. She wanted to kiss the ground; they’d made it. The women followed others, who seemed to know where they were going. Around them, thousands of people milled about, they all looked as bad as she felt. Ahead, she saw a large construction trailer, like a mobile home, that had a large sign above, that read, Headquarters. There was a long line of people standing outside.
With all the talk of fallout, Megan had been terrified that they’d be killed by radiation. It made her skin crawl. She looked around at the people, they looked tired and thin. She hoped they would get settled quickly, she was so tired, she was about to drop. Her mind wandered and she thought back at the beginning of their journey.
On their way out of town, leaving for Topeka, there had been twenty men with guns, overrunning the Walmart. There were screams, shouting and fighting. She and Tilly had run until they could barely breathe, she wanted no part of the violence and it had frightened her badly.
“Do you think we should have stayed at home?” Tilly had asked Megan, three days into their trek. Both women were frightened, when men watched them as they walked alone, Megan carried a baseball bat. They’d found a group and joined up with them, three men and two women. It was then that they’d been robbed of their food by the small group. At that point, Tilly had wanted to go back.
“We can’t go back. There’s nothing there for us. There is just too much violence and danger. If we run into a large group, we’ll join them.” She’d assured Tilly. Luckily, they’d found the larger group and had joined in. It was a hell of a lot safer, and they’d had no more incidents of theft, though there was little left to steal.
In the days leading up to
