by A. American
“Anything we give them would be a waste. Sounds harsh but that’s just the way it is,” I said.
“Sad but true,” Thad said as he stood up. “Let’s get moving. There’s a little town up ahead, not really a town but a wide spot in the road.”
We all stood, shouldering our respective packs, and then started out again.
We arrived in Salem in late afternoon. Just as Thad had said, it was nothing more than a wide spot in the road. There was nothing left here anymore, not that there had been to begin with. Just the remains of an old motel in the process of falling in on itself and a small store; both had obviously been long defunct. The motel seemed to be the center of activity for stranded travelers. It had been turned into a camp of sorts with an odd collection of people inhabiting the windowless mold-filled rooms. The little store had been broken into and looted, not that it looked like there was really anything in there to begin with.
A number of people were in this little hamlet. The old motel seemed to be the center of activity for the stranded travelers. I wondered how all these new residents sat with the locals. Our little group drew a few looks as we passed through, but there were enough people around; many of them were passing through, and we didn’t get as many looks as one would think. That or the sight of Thad and his old coach gun kept ’em from staring long.
“Gettin’ late. We need to find a place for the night.” Thad was looking around.
“I’m tired too,” Jess said.
“You want to try and stay around here or keep going?” I was looking the area over as well.
“Too many folks ’round here for my comfort,” the big man replied.
“I agree. Let’s keep going and see what we can find,” I said.
Continuing through town, we came to the post office, the only thing that really put this berg on the map. Just past the post office was a little dirt spur off the paved road, running nearly parallel to it. Thad was in the lead and started down it. Not long after getting on it, we came up to a small pond surrounded by a swampy area.
“I need water,” said Thad, dropping his pack.
“Me too; I’m out.” Jess dropped her pack and sat down beside it.
“Yeah, I guess we should fill up while we can.” Thad pulled his Nalgene bottles out along with a bottle of purification tabs.
“Give me your canteen, Jess.” He stuck out a hand for it.
I dropped my pack as well. “Don’t use those, Thad.” I opened my pack and pulled out the Sweet Water filter. “Use this. Save those for later.” My filter had the viral guard on it as well as the silt stopper, it was a great filter. I handed the little bag over to him. “Know how to use that?”
“Oh, I always wanted one of these, but I never had the money. I was looking at the Katadyn.” He was pulling the filter out of the bag and attaching the handle.
“What is that, a filter?” Jess was looking over at Thad as he worked.
“Yeah, it’s pretty good. Keeps all the nastiness out of the water,” I replied.
“Is it safe to drink? I mean, will it get everything out of the water?” She looked a little skeptical.
“Oh yeah; between the filter element and the other attachments there, it’ll get rid of anything in the water.” I pulled my canteens out and set them down beside Thad. “You mind filling these too? I’ll scout out a campsite.” Jess had pulled out the little bag we got from the Walmart parking lot back in Perry and piled all the bottles in it. Thad dropped the filter in the bag and picked up his shotgun.
“Good idea, Morgan. Jess, you goin’ with him or stayin’ here?”
“If you guys don’t mind I’ll stay here,” she said.
“Fine by me, just watch the road while I go fill these up.” Thad walked to the water’s edge.
“I’ll see what I can find,” I said as I started down the little dirt road.
“Be careful,” Jess called out.
I didn’t have to look far to find a decent place to camp. There was a nice open area under some pines. I figured tonight, since there were so many people around anyway, we would make a fire. With three of us in the watch rotation, we could each get some sleep and still keep an eye out. I was just starting to head back when I heard the thunderous explosion of what could only be Thad’s scatter gun, followed immediately by a scream from Jess. I took off at a run, drawing my pistol. Coming back to the pond, I heard Thad cussing. Jess was on her feet, but I didn’t see anyone else.
“I fuckin’ hate snakes!” Thad yelled out.
“What?” Jess yelled out.
“What the hell happened?” I yelled out as I approached.
“Damn snake in the pond. He was coming right at me! I got his ass, though!” The shotgun was swinging from his right hand, the filter in his left.
“You shot a damn snake?” I couldn’t believe this.
“You damn right I shot a snake; only good snake is a dead snake.” He was indignant.
“What kind of snake was it? That’s a waste of a shell, don’t ya think?” I said.
“It was the snake kinda snake. They all the same to me! I . . . don’t . . . like . . . snakes!” I had to laugh at him now; he was almost shrieking as he yelled that last one out.
“Damn you, Thad. You scared the shit outta me!” Jess yelled at him. “I think I peed a little.”
This made Thad and me both start to laugh. Jess didn’t see the humor in it.
We made our way to the spot I picked for a camp. It was just a little piece down the dirt road to the south of Highway 19. The area was under some large pines at the edge of a little bay head. Under the pines was open with no underbrush. I figured we would make our camp at the edge of the bay head to provide cover but still have a good view of the area under the pines. By the time we got to camp, Thad had calmed down. That guy is truly afraid of snakes.
“Hey, Thad, what do you think about a fire tonight?” I asked.
“I’d love a fire. It’s been so cold. Sitting around a fire would be nice,” Jess piped up before he could answer.
“Sounds like Jess made up my mind up for me. I like a fire at night anyway.” Thad leaned his shotty against a tree, dropped his pack, and looked around.
“I’m gonna get some wood. Do you have anything for a shelter, Morgan?” He picked up his shotgun and started to move out into the pines.
“Yeah, I got a tarp, an’ Jess has one too.” I set my pack down and began opening it up.
“You got anything, Thad?”
“Not really. I’ve got a poncho, but that’s it.”
“Well, you get some wood, and Jess and me’ll set up a camp. Since someone has to be on watch all the time, it only has to be big enough for two of us. My tarp should cover that.” I pulled the bag containing the tarp and the figure 9s out.
“I’ll help you, Thad.” Jess set her pack beside mine and turned to follow him.
“I thought you didn’t like him, Jess?” I teased her.
“Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut, Morgan.” She turned and followed Thad out into the pines. “Can I build the fire? I haven’t done that in a long time. I want to see if still can.”
“Sure, Jess. You can cook dinner too,” Thad ribbed her.
“Speaking of dinner, you have any food, Thad?” Now Jess was going to get her ribbin’ in.
“I have a little, mostly instant stuff, and not much of that.”
Jess called out to me, “Hey, Morgan, you feel like beef stew for dinner tonight?” I looked up to see her stick her tongue out at Thad.
“Sure, sounds good to me.” I could tell she was having fun messing with him.
“That ain’t right y’all; that just ain’t right.” He stood there shaking his head.
Jess was skipping around, “Mmmm, beef stew.”
“Don’t worry, Thad, we have enough for you too.” He gave me one of his
huge smiles.
“I appreciate that, Morgan. It’s nice to have friends.” Looking at Jess, he dropped the smile and glared at her.
“Oh, come on, Thad, you know I was gonna share,” she pleaded.
“Careful, Jess, you probably shouldn’t make something that big mad.” Now was my turn.
“Mess with the bull, get the horns.” Thad couldn’t keep it up, though, and smiled at her. She smiled back, and they went back to piling up wood.
It didn’t take them long to have a nice pile of wood laid up. We weren’t going to have a big fire anyway. By the time they were done with the wood, I had the tarp up in a lean-to configuration. It was large enough that we could all sit under it. I had the open side facing out to the pines, with the back to the bay head. Thad kicked all the pine needles out of a circle and used his heel to kick out a hole. Jess went about building a fire in the hole while Thad helped break up some wood.
I pulled out the two cans of stew from my pack as well as the Grilliput. This little thing was heavy, but I loved it. I set the cans down near the fire and dropped down beside it to start assembling the grill.
Thad looked over at me. “What the hell is that, Morgan, a damn Erector Set?”
“Naw, it’s a grill. You’ll like this.”
“No way. Really?” He came up and sat down beside me, watching as I worked.
“That thing is cool.” Thad was really impressed with the little grill. Jess got a small fire going and promptly smothered it with too much wood. Thad went over and helped her coax the fire to life.
“We’ll let that fire burn down a little, get some good coals, then heat up the stew.” I set the completed grill down.
“That’s pretty neat, Morgan, but couldn’t we just set the cans by the fire?” Jess was holding the grill, looking at it.
“Yes, we could, but I wanted to use my grill.” I gave her a snooty look.
“Why do you have this thing? You have that stove. Why this? I’m just curious,” she asked.
“Well, I bought that thing for when I go kayak camping. I like to cook fish over it. I threw it in the pack after thinking about the fuel for the stove. It will only last so long. With this, I can cook over a fire easier and grill meat if I need to.”
“I like it. I’d like to have one.” Thad had picked it up, turning it over in his hands, looking at it.
“I guess that makes sense. But you can only carry so much stuff. Seems kinda heavy.” Jess had her arms wrapped around her knees with her chin resting on them.
“Well, right now, what you got is all you got. And who knows, this might make a valuable trade, or cook our dinner,” I replied with a smile.
We piled on a decent amount of wood to ensure a good bed of coals. While it was burning, we enjoyed the fire and made small talk. I would never have guessed that Thad was a college grad, and for accounting no less. Hell, I never went to college.
“You don’t look like an accountant,” Jess said with a laugh.
“An’ that’s why I ain’t behind no desk now. No one would hire me. I always had a thing for numbers. I was always really good at it. Momma wanted me to go to school. She worked hard and paid for it, so I went. Never really thought about not being able to get a job.” Thad’s big hands were folded in his lap. He was staring into the fire; obviously his mind was elsewhere at the moment.
Leaving him to his thoughts, I opened the two cans and used a stick to knock the coals around, moving most of the good coals to one side and larger fuel on the other. I set the grill over the fire and placed the cans on it with their lids poking up. While the stew heated, we sat in silence, each to our own thoughts. The sun was just down past the horizon; the light from the fire cast shadows all around our little camp.
With the sun dropping, so did the temp; the warmth from the fire was really nice. It’s funny how you can learn to appreciate things like a fire so quickly; it was really nice. The stew was bubbling on the grill, and the aroma was mouthwatering. We hadn’t had lunch today, so we were all hungry.
“Man, does that smell good.” Thad rubbed his hands together.
“I’m starving. It smells so good.” Jess dug her spoon out of her pack.
“Why don’t we just pass the cans around, each taking a bite? That way we don’t have any dishes to wash.” I figured this would be the easiest way. I reached into my pack and pulled out the piece of leather I keep in it. It’s a thick piece of cowhide to use for a potholder.
“Sounds good to me. Let’s eat!” Thad pulled a metal spoon from the top pocket of his field coat. I picked up one of the cans by the lid and set it on the leather and held it by the bottom with the leather resting on my palm. I took a nice big bite; it was freakin’ hot!
“Careful, guys, it’s hotter’n shit.” I passed the can to Thad, who learned quickly I was telling the truth.
We were all sitting around the fire; my back was to the lean-to, passing around the second can when I saw movement over Thad’s shoulder. Jess was about to hand me the can when I jumped up, drawing my pistol. Thad didn’t miss a beat; he was on his feet almost as fast. Jess was sitting there, looking at us, oblivious to the four people walking up on us. Thad had his scatter gun leveled in their direction. I pulled out the LED light from my cargo pocket and lit ’em up. This little light was bright; it was brighter than a Surefire G2, and more economical on batteries.
Thad lowered his gun when the light revealed a man, a woman, and two children. The man had his hands up; there was a little boy hiding behind his leg. The woman was holding another child on her shoulder. “Don’t shoot,” the man said. “We’re not armed.”
I lowered my pistol but kept the light on them. Jess had stood up by now.
“We smelled the food. We haven’t eaten in days. Please, the kids are hungry. I’m worried about them. Can you spare something for them? The man was pleading; the look on his face conveyed his sincerity. For a moment, no one moved, we were all just standing there. I heard the woman say, “I told you this was a bad idea,” quietly to the man.
Thad was the first to move and speak. He set the shotgun down against a tree and stepped toward them. They took a step back in fright.
“Y’all bring them babies over here, get ’em warm, and we’ll get ’em something to eat.” He was holding his arms out, trying to usher them toward the fire. He looked over his shoulder at us. “Them kids can have whatever I was gonna eat.” His jaw was set; there was no discussion on this issue.
“Don’t worry, man, we’re with you,” I told him. “Come on over here by the fire. We can certainly spare some for the kids.”
The couple came up a little hesitantly, but they did walk up, stopping a little short of the fire. “I’m Robert; this my wife, Brenda. This here is Nathan, and that is Zach.” He pointed to the little one his wife was holding.
“My name’s Thad; that’s Morgan, and this is Jess.” He held out his hand as he made the introductions. “Come on, y’all, sit down.”
The family took a seat around our fire. Little Zack was in his mother’s lap, with Nathan leaning against his father’s shoulder. Thad went into his pack and pulled out a quart Ziploc bag full of rice.
“Morgan, you got a pot we can cook this up in? All I have is a small stainless cup.” He held out the bag of rice.
“Yeah, sure, I have a good pot.” I pulled the pot out of the outside pocket and dumped out the contents after unstrapping the lid. Using my measuring cup/spoon, I measured out two cups of rice and added the water and then dropped in three bouillon cubes and set it on the fire.
“Let’s cook this rice, and then we’ll dump the stew in with it. Make it go a little further,” I said as I put the lid on the pot.
Thad was digging around in his pack and pulled out an item. “Ma’am, would your little ones like a cookie?”
The couple looked at one another and then at the kids. “Uh, sure. Thank you
,” Brenda replied.
“Well, I only got chocolate. You guys don’t like chocolate, do you?” He was looking at Nathan. From the looks on the boy’s face, he did indeed like chocolate.
Thad tore open an MRE package containing a big chocolate mint cookie and broke it in half. He handed one-half to Nathan and the other to Brenda, who gave it to Zack. “Thank you,” she said.
“Thanks for doing this for us,” Robert said. “We haven’t had much to eat. It’s been hard. I mean, what the hell happened? Do you guys know?”
“No one does for sure, but it sure has put us in one hell of a spot,” I replied.
“Where are you guys going?” Jess asked.
“We live just the other side of Perry. We were in Chiefland when everything went out. We hung around there for a couple of days till things got out of hand, and we left.” Robert was staring into the fire.
“What happened there?” I had to ask, as we were heading that way.
“It was okay at first. Things were kinda normal. You could get food an’ all if you had cash. But we ran out of money pretty quickly, and then people started thinking this may be some big deal and started to get weird. Then the looting started. The Walmart was trashed. The police tried to stop it. It was stupid; people were taking TVs and Blu Ray players; it was just stupid. I mean, they were taking everything, but seeing someone running out with a flat-screen under the circumstances was stupid. The cops tried to stop it, and then someone started shooting. Only like three cops were there, but when the shooting started, it was bad. There were people piled up at the front door. They were just gunned down.”
“The cops just shot ’em?” Jess asked.
“Once the shooting started, it was nuts. We saw a cop get hit, so someone was shooting at them. It was bad. After that, people went ape shit. They declared martial law in town. You couldn’t be on the streets. We didn’t have a place to stay, so it was leave, or they would put you in the high school gym. I just wanted to get home, so we left. We got lucky and got a ride in an old army truck. This old guy was driving it down the road and picked us up and took us to the turnoff to Steinhatchee. That’s where he was headed. We started walking after that,” Robert said.
