It was peaceful and she heard nothing but birds that flitted through the high grass that ran along the turnpike. Invisible insects droned in low conversations. Opening the car, she popped the trunk. She checked the visor, but there were no keys in the car. Her gas cans were full and she’d only used a quarter tank, so she didn’t need any gas from this car. Opening the trunk, she found that it was empty. The previous owner had simply abandoned the car. Looking over, she saw Buddy sniffing around and marking small clumps of grass.
“Make sure you pee on every single one. Yeesh, dogs.” She muttered to herself. Closing the trunk, she then drew several bullseyes on it, then she went back to her truck. She didn’t know if the gunshots would startle Buddy or not.
“Come on Buddy, get back in the truck. I don’t want you running off. She lifted the dish of water and placed it in the footwell on the passenger’s side. The dog jumped up and she shut the door. Going back around to her side, she withdrew the Sig Sauer. Once more, she looked around, bringing her hand up to her eyes to shade them. She could feel the heat of the sun beating down on her. Taking a deep breath, her nostrils flared, she didn’t detect the rotting noisome stench of the city. That was good. In the distance, she heard the strident call of a blue jay. It was almost otherworldly here. Turning in a circle, she looked around her. Alone. Would that be her life? Living alone?
That thought caused tears to suddenly come to her eyes. She wiped at them angrily.
“Don’t be a baby.” She hissed at herself. Clearing her throat, she went in front of the truck. Taking a standard shooting stance, the one her ex-husband had taught her, she brought her weapon up. Aiming carefully, she shot a single round. Missed. She looked over her shoulder at Buddy, he was watching her intently, but didn’t seemed frightened. Good. Turning back, she refocused and aimed once more, trying to relax her shoulders. She fired once more, this time, closer to the target. The third shot was well within the circles she drew and she grinned.
Walking farther back ten feet, she aimed once more, sighting the target. Firing, she was just near her target’s center. She aimed once more and hit within the target’s bullseye. Good. It wasn’t dead center, but she’d at least hit what she’d aim for. Center mass. She didn’t have the ammo to waste target practicing. Once she got to Lancaster, she’d go and see what her father had in his basement. She knew he kept weapons and ammunition. Hopefully, she’d find something for the Sig.
She put the weapon in her homemade holster, which was up by her chest. Easy access for when she drove. She didn’t want to have to search for the weapon if a threat suddenly appeared. Before getting back into the truck, she stepped up on the running board. She laid her arm across the top of the truck and felt the heat of it, she looked around. So damned quiet and so empty. She tried not to think about that. Tried not to think about the loneliness of never seeing another human. She knew people were out there, but more probable than not, they were a threat she’d need to be wary of.
Ӝ
Brian pulled away from the house, he’d shut the generator off. No need wasting fuel, nor did he want drawing attention to his home. It was cool out, the early morning felt fresh and he kept the windows down. He looked over at Cooper, who had his blanket hugged up against his face. The child was still sleepy and stared vacantly, his small thumb rubbing his lower lip. Cooper had stopped sucking his thumb, Jillian had mentioned it last year. Since his parent’s death, he’d seen Cooper sucking his thumb from time to time. It was a comforting mechanism. He’d thought about the car seat in Coop’s father’s vehicle and had gotten it. He didn’t know what was out there, but he didn’t need four-year-old Cooper unsecure in the truck. The child was small and fine boned, he was light and would go through the window, even with a seatbelt across him. No, he’d have the child securely seated.
The air was cool, but he could smell the fug of decomp in the air. It wasn’t as prevalent as it once had been, but it was a reminder that his world wasn’t the same. Time was taking care of that. He just hoped he didn’t see piles of dead bodies. He wove his RAM through the subdivision and looked at the houses. No movement, nor sound. Morning birds were singing away. Many lawns were now overgrown.
“Guess mowing isn’t high on anyone’s list these days.” He said absently to Cooper, who didn’t answer. Ahead he saw something that made him grin. Parked on the side of a driveway was a U-Haul trailer. With his truck bed crammed full, along with the backseat, this would be perfect to hook up to his truck. He could fill it with his list of items from Lowes and the other hardware stores along the way. It would come in handy for storage as well. He pulled over and looked at Cooper.
“Coop, stay put, I’m going to check out that trailer.”
“Okay.” He said sleepily.
Brian turned off the engine and got out of the truck. He walked over and opened the
