Jake thinks we should wait for Mick there. That if Mick is following us, he’ll find us.
That might not be a bad idea.
But I’ll leave another clue here, that we were here. Something to let Mick know which way we went.
For now, we’re all tired. I can barely see to write. Tigger is asleep on my lap and Emmie took the blanket. She fell asleep on the way and we had to take turns carrying her.
We found a convenience store. There’s nothing left in here, so I figured since it already was hit, it was safe.
I also think it’s safe at night. Too dark for anyone to come out.
We have enough food. As soon as it gets light, I’ll feed the kids and we’ll get going.
I have to say I’m scared. I’m afraid I can’t protect the babies if something goes wrong. I hope we find help soon. Or better yet, please let Mick find us.
10. Breakthrough
October 17th
At first light Mick was up and out looking for that trail of footprints by the lake. He followed to the edge, and watched as they veered off. He was hopeful until he realized that the kids were walking in circles. They had lost their direction, then after the tracks went back and forth in the same area, they started a steady course. When they hit the road, Mick knew they had lost a lot of time.
For sure he’d catch up, and he was certain of the direction because the Denny Dynamite tracks weaved a path of mud prints for a long time on that road.
After walking a half an hour, no cars passing him at all, Mick spotted a convenience store. The door was open and he trotted to it, calling out, “Chris! Tigger!”
There was no answer and Mick stepped inside.
The shelves were empty. Completely empty. Someone had come through and cleaned it out completely. He visually searched for clues, and when he heard the ‘squeak’ of a rodent, Mick spun around. On the bare second shelf, right above the sign for bread, a huge bold rat held a snap snack in its grip and nibbled on it.
By its feet were two more. Chris had left them on the shelf; surely he had to, he wouldn’t have just dropped them there. The kids had been there at one point. Probably spent the night. Next to the rat, by the snap snacks, was an arrow written in the dust. It pointed to a word. Problem was, the rat’s tail had erased a good bit of it.
“Are you kidding me? You got to be kidding me” Mick said out loud and reached out to smack the rat away.
The brave rodent wasn’t giving in, but he did budge. Mick was able to make out the first letter, ‘T’ and a bit of the last letter. Using his best ‘Hang Man’ sense, he hoped Chris spelled out the word, ‘Town’.
Arrow, word, it told Mick, hopefully they were heading straight ahead. He left the store and picked up the pace. Wearing down some, getting winded, Mick saw the first sign not ten minutes into this journey.
There was a town ahead, and it was only one mile away. It wasn’t all that far — they had to be there. They had to be. The kids were walking, how far could they have gotten?
“Thanks, mister, for the ride, we appreciate it,” Chris told the older man as they stood outside a small compact car.
The man emptied another huge canister of gas into the tank. “I’m not feeling right about doing this. You guys are so young.”
“Yeah, but we’re good, right?” Chris said. “We don’t have but a few hours left of driving, ain’t that what you said?”
“I know what I said, but you have two babies with you.” He gestured to Tigger and Emmie, both the same size.
“I’m not a baby,” Tigger claimed.
“Nah, he’s just pint size,” Chris added.
“Maybe you guys can travel with me a little further,” he suggested. “We can find help, a radio, something.”
“We can do this, mister, I’m certain.” Chris said. “Heck, we trotted through the woods and ran for our lives.”
The man stared at them.
Chris liked him. He thought immediately that the man had an honest face. He was the only one in the town when they got there, and the man was just pulling in as well. He had come in from another street. He was on his way to Maine to find his daughter and granddaughter. Last he’d spoken to them, they were alive and well.
He, like Chris, was surprised that no one was in the town. It looked as if everyone had just disappeared. Maybe they all went somewhere. Chris quickly learned they had. In the center of town, across from the really cool looking eyeglass place, was a memorial wall.
A brass soldier was the symbol and next to him was a flag, but the memorial wasn’t what caught Chris’ attention. It was the abundance of notes, messages, pictures of people. They covered the wall like wallpaper:
Have you seen her?
Mom, I went north.
Bill and Lacy Jones are in Damon, NY.
Survivors of the flu had plastered their whereabouts on the wall for anyone who might be looking for them.
The gas station in Cambridge was untouched. In fact, it had a ‘help yourself’ feel about it. Power was still on and the man filled his tank, then took cans from the store and filled them with gas. He drove with Chris, Jake and the kids until they hit the next town near the highway.
That town wasn’t empty. There were people there, but they seemed like drones, not even realizing that a car had pulled in.
One woman did talk to them, and explained that those remaining in the town — and it wasn’t many — were packing to leave and join a town of other survivors up north. Rumor had it that civilization was back in business in New York.
She offered to take Chris and the kids there, but Chris declined. They had to get home.
That was Chris’ main goal. He was certain that he’d make it home, he even tore a sheet of paper from his notebook and put it on the memorial wall in Cambridge. Triple outlined his letters that said, ‘Mick Owens, we are fine and on our way home!’
The man, his name was George, found a small car in the new town. It would do well on gas and hopefully be easy to drive, as he explained the basics to Chris.
“I’m leery,” George told him. “Really, I am.”
“No, really, we can do this.” Chris was optimistic.
“Okay, remember what I told you. Not many cars if any on the road. Stay a steady speed, stay on the right, stay diligent and keep your eyes on the road.”
“Yes sir.”
“Buckle up.”
Chris did so.
“Don’t go too fast. Don’t forget to put the car in gear if you stop. You know how to go and brake, right?”
“Yes, sir, I do.”
“Stay on this road and in a few miles, you’ll see the signs for Interstate 90. Take that west and it will take you right to Cleveland. Can’t say if you’ll run into roadblocks, but follow that map. I marked it for you.”
“We got this, thank you.”
“This is my telephone number. Should the cell lines go back up, will you call me and let me know you made it safely?”
Chris took the paper. “Absolutely.”
“My daughter is going to kick my ass for doing this.”
George buckled Tigger and Emmie in the back of the small car, told them to be still and be good, then waited until Chris and Jake got in.
“Thanks, again, mister.” Chris said. “We owe you.”
“Repayment is being safe. Godspeed.”
“You said not to speed,” Chris said. “I’m going slow.”
“I mean…. Godspeed means be careful.”
“Got it.” Chris shut the car door and fixed his seatbelt. George helped him adjust the seat. He was certain he would be able to see over the steering wheel. After all he was as tall as his mother and she drove all the time.