A Lucky Find

by Sage du Toit

  Chapter 11

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  10 February 2021

  Munford, AL

  Next morning, Sam took out the fruit cups that were in the cabinet and they each picked out a few to add to their supplies. Sam made hot oatmeal again and they also each ate a fruit cup. She checked the map and saw they had gone about forty miles the day before. She was happy to see the miles were increasing. She checked their route for the day and saw they would be passing near Talladega, they decided to make a wide birth around the city and cut south through the country. Once the route for the day was made, they fell into their normal morning routine that was developing with jointly taking down the tent and then packing the items onto their own bikes and trailers.

  Lucky was up on the back of her bike, over the panniers, before she could even call her. Sam smiled and Tom shook his head in amazement. Just before leaving they talked about the gas masks again. Sam remembered they had some thermal face masks and they also had riding goggles. Tom said it should be safe out in the open but she could see it worried him a little. It had been seven months since N-Day. He suggested they put their masks on before entering any buildings. He said he would also attach his chemical reader to his bike handles and put it in continual scan mode. He said it would drain the batteries quicker but it would be worth it for his peace of mind for now.

  Sam found where the baklavas were packed and pulled two out. She pulled it over hear head and realized how much better it would be to have her ears warm. Plus, it had the added benefit of holding her hair down and her helmet fit over it perfectly. She put her tinted goggles on and glanced across the room at the mirror behind the bar. She was completely covered now and she knew it would be much more comfortable on her neck to not have the heavy gas mask on her face.

  They pushed their bikes outside into the sunlight and made a few last-minute adjustments. They were slowly learning what worked best for them while riding. Sam had to make accommodation for the mask being in its bag now, the added weight on that side threw her off a bit. She didn’t realize how heavy it was until then.

  Lucky jumped down and went off to the grass area since Sam was adjusting her bike. Sam almost didn’t notice until she mounted her bike and saw the bed over the pannier was empty. The bed had high sides and was deeply cushioned with an indent in one side that Sam had faced toward the rear so Lucky could see toward the trailer easily. Most of the time she just curled up inside, sticking her head over the edge for the occasional peek. Sam couldn’t really watch her while she peddled, but from what she could tell, she didn’t move around a lot.

  She called to Lucky and quickly became worried when she didn’t immediately come running. Sam was about to say something to Tom about going to look for her when Lucky came running around the building and made a flying leap to land easily on her bed. Sam gave her a quick scratch behind the ears and they took off.

  At midday they stopped for lunch as usual and Sam checked the map. They showed to be almost directly south of Talladega and she estimated they should be past any chance of running into anyone that might have survived from that large city. She just didn’t trust large cities since they were attacked in both Augusta and Atlanta when they were in Georgia. She hadn’t even really made a note that they had passed into Alabama when they did. The country just all seemed to blend together as they traveled. She stopped to consider that State lines probably didn’t really matter anymore. There were so few people left, they would have to start from scratch.

  They were sitting off the road, in the trees, eating their lunch and drinking coffee from the thermos. They could see a bridge ahead and saw they had two options, a big highway bridge or a lower wooden bridge. They were quietly talking about taking the wooden bridge when Sam noticed Lucky. She had been wandering around the woods but close enough for Sam to see her. Lucky had made her way around in a circle and was facing toward the water and her hackles were raised and was making a low growling noise. She backed up toward Tom and Sam and then ran over and jumped up on top of the trailer. It was the first time she had asked to get in the trailer in two days.

  Sam opened the trailer and let Lucky inside. Tom indicated in sign language that they should put their gas masks on and go check it out. Sam didn’t like leaving Lucky and the kittens alone, but she also didn’t want Tom to go alone either. They put their gas masks on and they both pulled out their handguns and cautiously made their way toward the river. Tom brought his chemical detector and as they neared the water, Sam could see the red light on it was flashing. They walked down toward the wooden bridge and readings showed stronger. They backed up and walked up toward the road, which was higher and the reading showed less.

  They carefully looked around and didn’t see any movement. Tom signed that Lucky must have caught scent of the river and the nerve agent that was pooled below. They had encountered an area previously that was near a waterway that showed signs of contamination. Sam guessed that it must have something to do with the water being stagnant in that area.

  They went back up to their bikes and quickly got ready to go. Sam added the rain cover to the bike trailer and taped the edges down. Tom told her to keep her mask on until they were well clear of the area. He smiled at Sam through his gas mask and said, “Lucky did a good job!” Sam smiled with pride but knew it wasn’t her doing, it was just natural instinct for Lucky.

  They road for several miles, then Tom had them pull over into a driveway, just past a church. One of the many churches they had seen in the area. He said it should be safe to remove their masks now. Sam was glad, she much preferred riding with the warm ski mask. It wasn’t as heavy and it kept her ears warms. They changed out and she checked to see if Lucky wanted to come out. She seemed happy to remain in the trailer for now.

  Tom paid close attention to his chemical reader for the rest of the day. They were making good time when they came to the edge of a small city. They were just cutting north to go around the area and they noticed a railroad bridge that had several bodies hanging from it with nooses around their necks. Sam was shocked and Tom indicated they should move faster. They booth stood up on their bikes and peddled as fast as they could to get out of the area.

  They made wide beeline around the town but Sam remembered they were going to have to come close to the north side to pass over a large river. They passed a few houses and saw they had been ransacked. The windows were broken and the doors standing wide open. They reached an area that was thick with trees. They turned down a side road that the map showed would take them through to one of the major roads and Tom indicated to stop under some trees off the side of the road. He told Sam he was concerned about crossing the upcoming bridge during day. He wanted to park the bikes somewhere and scout ahead.

  Sam didn’t like the idea of leaving the bikes and the kittens unprotected. She took out the map and it showed the rail road tracks they had just crossed over would also take them to the river. She showed him the tracks and they decided to cut through the woods and take the tracks as far as they could. The woods around the tracks should cover them better than staying on the road.

  They had a hard time finding a path through the trees that would accommodate the trailer width but finally they were through to the tracks. They stayed close to the tree line and off the tracks. The ride was a bit rough and Sam took it slow so that the kittens didn’t get bounced around too much. They followed the tracks until they saw the train bridge ahead. They could see that the train bridge wasn’t going to be an option. It was an old bridge and the tracks ran over the railroad ties with large gaps in-between. They couldn’t ride the bikes over that and take a chance of slipping a foot or tire between the gaps. They could see there were a few houses through the woods so Tom went the short distance to get a closer looker. He came back and signed to her that the houses each had several broken windows. Neither of them felt comfortable since seeing the bodies hanging from the bridge. They decided to move the bikes and trailers deeper int
o the woods and scout out the big bridges crossing the river.

  Before leaving, Sam gave the kittens more food and as an extra precaution she took out her camouflaged poncho liner and draped it over the trailer to help hide it. They checked to make sure it couldn’t be seen from the rail road tracks and made their way through the thick woods toward the bridges. She worried how they would get the bikes and trailers through the woods. She remembered passing a highline area and thought it might be a good idea to scout it out on the way back. It was overgrown, but that would be to their benefit to help hide them.

  They came out of the woods and saw there were two bridges. One was higher than the other and they couldn’t see if there was anyone or anything on the higher bridge. They left the wood line and ran underneath the bridge. They could easily see down the lower bridge and they couldn’t see anything other than what looked like a single car about halfway over. The went back to the tree line and followed it until they came to the highline, which is also where the high bridge started is assent. Tom motioned for her to wait and he quickly ran over to the center rail and then up toward the top of the bridge. Sam nervously watched him and kept an eye out in all directions.

  When Tom returned, he told her there was no one on the bridge. They quickly discussed it and decided that the higher bridge would be safer to cross and they should be able to do it right now while it was clear. They made their way down the highline and were back to their bikes in a short amount of time. It was getting close to dusk and they wanted to be out of the area. They hastily made their way back to the road.

  They checked the area and didn’t see any movement so they mounted their bikes and made peddled like mad to the top of the bridge. Once at the top, they coasted down the other side, all the way keeping a sharp eye out for movement. As they were coming up on the end of the bridge, two men with rifles stepped out of the woods with barrels pointed straight at them.

  Sam’s heart stopped. They both applied the brakes to their bikes and came to a stop. Sam took a quick glance at Tom and he motioned a simple sign to stay calm. They both lifted the ski masks covering their faces so the men could see them.

  “Hello Gentlemen, we are just passing through, we don’t want any trouble.” Tom said in a smooth tone.

  The two men looked reasonably clean and well fed. They were both of average height and their beards and hair were a bit long but they were neatly trimmed. They didn’t have a crazed or threatening look to them. They also weren’t wearing any type of gas mask and she realized most people probably thought it was safe now. Sam thought they actually looked bored, or like they just woke up from a nap.

  They both slightly lowered their guns and one of them said, “We’ve had some problems lately with some riff raff in this area. They were looting the houses and businesses and destroying stuff just for the sake of destruction. They also tried to attack some of our women. Maybe you saw them on the other side of town?”

  Sam gulped when she realized he must be referring to the bodies they saw hanging from the rail bridge. Sam glanced at Tom and he didn’t seem to be phased by that information.

  Tom nodded and said, “Sounds like you passed justice as you saw fit. I can assure you that we have touched nothing and just want to pass through.”

  The one talking looked at the other and he shrugged his shoulders. They both lowered their guns. The second man started coughing loudly and then sneezed. Sam tried not to react but when he started hacking and then spit out a wade of phlegm on the ground, she struggled to not look disgusted. The first guy looked back at Tom, “Well, you were riding over that bridge like someone was chasing you. But we’ve given it long enough, if one of our patrol was chasing you, they would have caught up by now. Why were you racing across the bridge like that if you weren’t being chased?”

  Sam saw Tom was having a hard time controlling his face. “Well Sir, we saw the bodies hanging from the bridge and we didn’t want to run into the people that did that so we were high tailing it out of the area.”

  Both men laughed and the talker looked at the other and said, “Good to know the warning to others works.” He looked back at Tom as he slung the rifle over his shoulder. “To be honest with you, some people in our group wasn’t happy about hanging the bodies from the bridge. But if it works…it works. Go on through but be forewarned, the group that we took out came from Birmingham, which is just north of here. If you are headed that direction you should be careful.”

  Tom thanked him and told him they would be sure to avoid the city. Both men stepped off to the side of the road. Sam was thankful to be back on her bike and moving down the road. She noticed that Tom didn’t mention that they weren’t going north but was thankful for the warning from the men, none the less.

  A short distance down the road they took a turnoff that headed straight west. It was already getting dark and they would have to stop for the night soon. But they both wanted to be well out of the area before they did. They went about five miles and they saw a sign for another church. The church was next to an open field and didn’t even have any trees around it. It wasn’t their typical place to stop. But it was a moonless night and it was dangerous to keep traveling. They quickly discussed the church and road the bikes around to the back so they could check it out quickly.

  The windows on the building were all intact, and there weren’t any cars outside, which was a good sign. They tried the back door and discovered it was unlocked. Using their headlamps, they quickly cleared the building and didn’t find anyone.

  Sam was surprised at the size of the church, which was out in the middle of nowhere. There was a large fellowship hall, with a small kitchen, directly in the center of the building. There were no windows in the hall or kitchen and they quickly decided it would be the safest place in the church for them to stay the night.

  They moved the bikes inside and locked the door behind them. There were two doors leading into the fellowship hall and then a single door from the hall into the kitchen. They secured the doors coming into the hall by wedging chairs under the doorknobs. Following their normal routine, they began setting up for the night. The kittens and Lucky seemed a little more subdued compared to normal and sat quietly as she dished out their food. They may have been picking up on the stress Sam was feeling. Sam checked through the church kitchen and found some coffee, creamer and sugar that she decided could refill her stock, but there was nothing else in the kitchen. Thankfully the water worked and the stove was gas. She was happy when the burner lit.

  Sam found a big stock pot in one of the cabinets and filled it up with water and put it on the stove. She propped the swinging door to the kitchen open and rummaged through her supplies. They were only carrying MRE’s and dehydrated foods. She decided on a package of dehydrated Fettuccine Alfredo and a package of dehydrated chicken to add to it. She read the instructions on both packages and found another pot to soak and cook the two packaged ingredients together. She checked the large pot of water and saw it wasn’t even simmering yet.

  Tom had just finished putting their sleeping bag down and stowing their bugout bags inside of the tent. He came in the kitchen to see what she was cooking and to see if she needed any help. She showed him the packages from the food she was making and he seemed satisfied. He suddenly pulled her into a hug and held her tight. She squeezed him back and they just stood there for a few minutes holding on to each other. It had been a stressful day and she was glad it was almost over.

  The water in the large stock pot was finally starting to bubble so she shut it off and went to get the hot water bottles. Tom helped her to fill them up and then they added a little cold water to the make the water bearable and used it to wash themselves with. It was nice to have hot water, even if it was just a sponge bath. Sam didn’t bother washing her hair, but she washed everywhere else and so did Tom. She pulled out clean clothes from the ones she had washed the night before. They each had four sets of under clothes and three sets of outer clothes.

  The food was ready a
nd Sam surprised Tom with some of the grated parmesan cheese she had saved from the night before. She also made some hot chocolate with some of the heated water she had reserved. As they ate, they quietly talked about the day as they normally did. Sam asked Tom if he thought they should take extra measures after the warning about the people up in Birmingham. He said they should be fine since they weren’t going that direction. They decided they would double check the map and make sure they taking roads far enough south to avoid anyone that might come down from the city. So far, sticking to the back roads was working and they were making good time.

  After they were done eating, they both spent some time playing with the kittens. They all seemed to be more relaxed after eating and since the kittens were cooped up all day in the trailer and all night in the tent, Sam tried to give them as much running around time as she could before they went to bed.

  The room was dark, except for their one lantern, but the kittens didn’t seem to have a problem seeing the shoe lace that Sam was dragging across the floor. All three kittens were chasing it as she carefully moved through the chairs and tables that were still out in the middle of the floor. They had only moved one table and a few chairs to make room for their tent. The kittens were running over each other trying to get the string and even Lucky joined in.

  Sam saw Tom watching her with a grin on his face and she offered the string to him but he shook his head no. She shrugged and lured the kittens over to Tom and had them crawling up him as she dangled the string over his lap and then ran it up and over his shoulder. He laughed and took the string from her and did a circuit around the room as Sam watched and grinned.