Everyone on the boat experienced that. If they had an open cut, it became an unsightly seeping wound.
He was able to sleep a little the night before, but knew things were bad when he woke up. His mouth was so dry his tongue felt like sandpaper to the roof of his mouth. To top it all off, he’d started to hallucinate.
Across the river, on the shore, he thought he saw the Morton Salt girl. Dressed in all yellow, she stood on a pier staring out. Then she multiplied, there were three more of her, giving new meaning to double vision.
Cal watched as the Morton Salt Girl and her trail of clones climbed in a boat.
It’s not real, Cal thought. There was no reason for the Morton Salt Girl to be on the river’s edge.
In his weakness he rested his head on the side of the boat and his hand on Louise’s back. He closed his eyes and started to drift into sleep until he heard the sound of a motor.
He wanted to lift his head, but he lacked the strength, even moving it slightly caused everything to spin.
The motor sound drew nearer and then it cut off and was replaced with voices.
“I knew I saw people,” a woman said.
“The question is, are they alive?” a man asked.
“That one is,” another man answered. “How about those two?”
Cal parted his lips to call out and opened his eyes slightly. Immediately, a bright light nearly blinded him.
“He is. They all are. Barely.”
They continued to talk, and the boat moved a little, rocking back and forth. Cal wasn’t sure if it was real or if it was a sleep deprived, dehydration hallucination. If it was a hallucination it was vivid. Cal’s sense of smell kicked in again, and he could smell rubber and cigarettes.
“Should we transfer?” a man asked.
“No,” the woman answered. “We’ll tow them to shore. I’ll ride with them while you hitch it. Radio Doc and tell him we have four nor’scapes on the way in.”
“You really think they’re nor’scapers?” asked a man.
“Yeah, I do,” she replied. “They all got exposure sickness. The woman is bad. They’re adrift in a stalled boat. So, yeah, they ran from the north.”
“All hitched,” someone announced, then the boat jolted as the motor rumbling sounded again.
The boat began to move slowly, and Cal lifted his head.
“No, no,” she said to him. “Rest. We’ll be there shortly. We’ll get you some help. No worries.”
No worries?
Cal was nothing but worries.
He did as suggested and rested his head down again.
He hoped the second boat, the four Morton Salt people, were real and not some elaborate dream. Because being real meant rescue, hope, and a not-so-imminent death sentence.
Cleveland, OH
Every single bit of their supplies was spread out on the counter top desk in the main security room of the basement bunker.
Harris manned the supplies, separating them into piles, while he nibbled on his afternoon ration for the day. He tried to stay focused on that task, even contemplating going in the other room to do it because Toby sat on the floor, doing this Toby thing… talking.
Marissa didn’t help matters much. When she wasn’t smiling over things he said, she was asking him questions like a talk show host.
“That’s when I took the Mega Bus,” Toby said. “I could have flown. But like, everyone was talking about this Mega Bus on the east. So I had to try it. I mean, after all, I was on the east, right? Was headed to Cleveland.”
“From Atlanta?” Marissa asked.
Toby nodded. “One problem though.”
Harris mumbled. “Mega Bus doesn’t stop in Cleveland.”
“Dude!” Toby shouted with excitement. “Yes. You’re right. No one told me. I ended up in Indianapolis. I thought something was up when we totally missed Ohio.”
“You think maybe you should have checked first?” Harris asked.
“No. I wasn’t in a hurry. I took another bus here. It wasn’t as nice though.”
“What brings you to Cleveland?” Marissa asked.
“Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” Toby held a slender tan pouch, about an inch wide and four inches long. He squeezed the last remnants of its peanut butter contents in his mouth. “So good. You know why peanut butter is in survival stuff, right?”
Marissa shook her head.
“It’s an appetite suppressant. Put a little peanut butter in ya, you don’t want to eat as much. That’s how I lost two hundred pounds.”
Harris immediately stopped what he was doing. “Wait. What? Two hundred pounds. No way.”
“Dude. Right hand to God.” Toby raised his hand. “I was huge. Lost a hundred and eighty-two and when they cut the extra skin off. I dropped another twenty or something like that.”
“From eating peanut butter?” Marissa asked.
“Not just peanut butter. When my dad died, I got depressed and my weight like maxed out. My uncle took me in. You might know him, he’s pretty B-level famous on the west. Fat Joe.”
“Of Fat Joe’s tomatoes?” Marissa said excitedly. “I love Fat Joe’s tomatoes.”
“How did a guy called Fat Joe get you to lose weight?” Harris asked.
“First, he’s not fat anymore,” Toby told him. “Second, he said to me, ‘Tobias, you fat fuck…’ Okay maybe not those words, but he thought it. He told me, ‘You’ll work and eat right and limit the video games.’ And bam, I lost the weight pretty much over a summer. Maybe into fall.”
“Just by eating peanut butter,” Harris said in disbelief.
“Dude, no, weren’t you listening? Peanut butter was part of it. He used to make me eat a teaspoon before each meal. Then I had to eat two slices of tomatoes, any style, a glass of water and then I could have whatever I wanted. By then, I wasn’t hungry. Plus, I was out of school and he worked my butt off. I’m like an ace farmer now. Total asset in an apocalypse world. Dude, do you know how many calories you burn milking a cow?”
“No.” Harris shook his head. “How many?”
Toby shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought maybe you did.”
“Jesus,” Harris said with irritation. “I have to get back to this. So, we all have our stuff when we leave.”
“Since you’re being anti, you could put mine and M’s stuff in one pile. We’re traveling together.”
“And where are you two going?” Harris asked.
“Indiana, her family,” Toby answered. “She said it’s farmland.”
“No,” Marissa corrected. “The name of the town is Farmland.”
“Cool.”
“And you’re going to walk?” Harris asked.
“If we have to. I’m gonna look for a bus and jump it.” Toby nodded. “Where are you going?”
“I live about five miles south of here, I’m gonna see if my house is alright.”
“You’re saying we’re leaving in a couple days, right?” Marissa asked. “Are we sure? I mean I want to get out of here as much as you do but are we sure?”
“Yeah,” Harris answered. “The book says so.”
“But in movies, radiation lasts for decades. Areas are deadly for centuries.”
“Not so,” Toby said. “Radiation has a half-life. Gotta follow the seven ten rule.”
“The seven ten rule?” Marissa questioned.
“Yeah it’s how the radiation falls tenfold every seven hours.”
Harris scoffed in a laugh. “Please, how do you know this?”
“Dude, just because I’m a pothead doesn’t make me dumb. Speaking of which, man I can’t wait to get out of here and smoke.”
“Smoke?” Harris said sarcastically. “I take it you mean the marijuana. How exactly do you plan on getting it? I’m pretty sure your dealer has other things to worry about.”