by Mark Mathews
“Tag, you’re it.”
“How was she? Did she do well?” Wade laughed.
“You could say that. If there was a person trying to sneak up on her, she’d have him dead before he got close enough.” Sarah frowned. Had something happened? Was that why he phrased it that way?
“Why? What happened? Is she okay?” Sarah got to her feet, adrenaline shooting through her like a bolt of lightning.
“She’s fine! Calm down. I rustled a bush as I was walking up to her, and she had that bow and arrow pointed at me before I could breathe. I don’t think anyone could sneak up on her if they tried.” Sarah was soothed by that, and got to her feet, stretching her legs.
“I think it’s almost ready, but I’m not quite sure if there will be anything with it.” Wade just waved her away and got to work, bustling around the campfire.
Sarah felt pins and needles in her legs as she walked around, but she kept her gait long and brisk, anyway. It set her mind at ease that Emily was ready to tackle any threat that came along, but she wanted to be there so the little girl didn’t have to do so. When she got close, she heard the rhythmic thunk of the arrows hitting the target. She paused, just out of sight, listening. It was too bad the world wasn’t the way it should be. Emily would have done well in archery. She would have won some tournaments for sure.
“Hey! Looks like you’re doing great! Much better than I would ever do.” Emily frowned at her. She didn’t want to be better than Sarah at anything, so she came up with an idea.
“How about you try? I’ll help!” Sarah didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of Emily, but the little girl was looking up at her with eyes shining so brightly that she couldn’t say no.
“Alright, but if I hit a tree, I quit. Deal?” Emily laughed, taking Sarah’s outstretched hand.
“Deal!” Emily handed over the bow and the quiver, and Sarah actually felt a thrill as she took them. She felt like an Amazon warrior looking for food or hunting her enemies. Her stark white knuckles stood out as she tightened her grip on the bow, clucking her tongue.
“What? Am I doing something wrong already?” She didn’t expect Emily to nod, but she did. How could she be doing something wrong? She hadn’t done anything yet.
“You’re gripping the bow too tightly. When you do that, it affects your aim. Hold it loosely, but make sure you don’t let go when it twangs, okay?” Sarah bit down her smile. She really liked that Emily was teaching her something. Sarah relaxed her grip on the bow, took an arrow out of the quiver, notched it, and went to draw back.
“No, no, no. See how this feather is a different color?” Sarah bit her lip. She felt really dumb that she couldn’t even figure out how to shoot an arrow.
“Yes, I see it. What does that mean?” She felt like she was the child, but the more she knew the more she learned.
“It means that when you put the arrow on the string, that one is supposed to point out. If you put it on the other way, the feathers will hit the rest,” she pointed to the little strip of plastic that held up the arrow.
“And then it won’t fly right.” Emily took the arrow and turned it over before renotching it. “Okay, now you pull back, aim, using the middle pin, and let it fly!”
“Why the middle pin?” The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to think about it.
“Each pin is a different distance. The target out there is twenty yards away. The pins go in ten-yard intervals. So use the middle pin when you aim, and you should hit right where you want.”
Emily’s face was aglow, but Sarah felt like she was dumber than a box of rocks. Well, at least the lesson was over. Now she just had to repeat the steps, right? That wouldn’t be so hard. She pulled the string back, and Emily gently put her finger in the corner of her mouth. So, apparently, the lesson wasn’t over yet. She kept her hand where Emily had put it.
“When you let go, just pull your hand back. When you’re done, you should have your hand just touching your shoulder.” Sarah did as she was told, and let the arrow fly. She practiced with Emily until it got too dark to see, then the two of them headed back to the bonfire.
Dinner that night was wonderful. The girls told Wade all about the archery lesson, and Wade surprised them with a salad of fresh greens that he’d gathered from the resort’s vegetable garden. He’d been surprised to see it on the map, but he’d hoped that it would give them something useful, and he’d been rewarded. They ate as much of the good food as they could handle, then Wade wrapped up the leftover deer and fish, dug a deep hole in the ground, put the meat in it, and covered it up, making sure to put a big stick in the ground on top of it so he could find it again. They went to the cabin they had chosen, and everyone got as comfortable as possible. Wade went to sleep on the pullout couch in the living room, giving the girls the bed.
The next morning, they were awoken by bird songs and sunshine. Emily stretched languidly, like a little kitten, before shaking Sarah gently awake. The girls snuck out of the room without waking Wade, wanting to raid the kitchen to see what they could find to make him breakfast. They’d decided on it last night before they’d fallen asleep. The kitchen was about halfway between the lobby and their cabin, so they could get to it without driving. That was a good thing, because starting up the paddy wagon was sure to wake up Wade.
They found a tiny greenhouse with fruit trees out by the garden, and Sarah saw where Wade had taken the lettuce and tomatoes from the night before. She sent Emily to the strawberry plants while she picked some apples and oranges. Fruit for breakfast wasn’t really that special, but it had been a while since they’d had fresh fruit, so she was sure Wade would enjoy it. Emily’s little sack was full of strawberries, and Sarah had resorted to pulling up the end of her shirt to carry her fruit. They made their way back to the bonfire where Wade had roasted the deer. Emily went down to the lake to get some water to wash the fruit, and Sarah set about cutting the apples. When Emily came back, she washed everything, peeled the oranges and removed the leaves from the strawberries, and did her best to arrange the fruit attractively in the leaf bowl she’d made.
“Okay, go wake him up.” Emily jumped to her feet and ran back to the cabin. She gently shook Wade’s shoulder until he woke up. Instead of smiling back at her, he jumped to his feet.
“I overslept! I’m so sorry, girls! I haven’t gone to find breakfast.” He started putting on his boots and shirt as quickly as he could.
“No, it’s okay! We got up early and made breakfast. Sarah says it’s ready.” Wade stopped and stared at her, looking as though he didn’t quite comprehend what she’d said.
“You girls made breakfast?” It was almost as if he didn’t trust the words coming out of his own mouth. Emily just grinned and nodded.
“Yeah, come on!” She flitted back out the door like a hummingbird, and Wade put his head in his hands, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
They were starting to share the load, and he didn’t know if he liked it. He was the provider, and he wanted to make sure they still needed him. If they ever got to the point where they didn’t, they might leave him and go on without him. He didn’t know if he could handle that. He’d become so attached to them both, and they’d become such a big part of his life, that he didn’t think he could go on without them anymore. His heart in the pit of his stomach, he got up and went outside, trying not to show them how disappointed he was. When he saw Sarah and Emily’s twin smiles, he realized he was being stupid. They hadn’t tried to get by without him at all, this was something they had tried to do for him, to show him that they cared. He beamed at them and sat down, letting Sarah give him the bowl of fruit.
“Wow, this is amazing. It’s been so long since I’ve had fresh fruit! I mean, I’m not knocking the canned stuff, but fresh fruit just has that extra zing to it.” Emily laughed and dug in herself. For the next ten minutes, no one spoke as they devoured their food.
“What do you want to do today, Emily?” Sarah had finished her food and now wa
s trying to plan out the day. The little girl sat there for a minute, thinking, then shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m not sure. I did what I wanted to do yesterday, but I wouldn’t mind going for another hike.” Sarah smiled. The little girl was after her own heart.
“I’ll go with you.” Wade finished chewing his last bite of apple, then got to his feet.
“You girls go ahead. I’ll pack up the paddy wagon and make sure we have everything ready to go. I’d like to get on the road before nightfall, if that’s alright with you?”
Wade had told her that they would get another day, so why was he suddenly worried? Sarah frowned and looked at him, but he just shook his head. Either he would talk to her about it later, or it was something he didn’t want to say. Either way, she had learned to trust his instincts by now, so she decided to go with it. Sarah led Emily back to the hiking trails, and they decided to take the longest one.
There was something about being out in nature that soothed both girls, and they went through the trees silently. The birds called back and forth, squirrels scampered through the tree branches, and every now and then a rabbit would cross their path. How long they were on the path, they didn’t really know, but it was at least a few hours. It seemed as though the trip had taken less than five minutes. Both of them were crestfallen when the end of the trail came into view. Emily looked over at Sarah, and they shared a look. Neither of them had to say anything, because the other one understood. They found Wade lounging against the paddy wagon.
“There you are. I was wondering when you were coming back. I’ve got a late lunch for us, then we can get going. I went to the kitchen and stocked our supplies with as much as I could fit in the paddy wagon.”
They sat down to a lunch of grilled deer that Wade had reheated on the spit, and fried apples. This was a treat that particularly astounded Sarah. Wade had had to search long and hard for a large, flat stone that he put halfway into the fire to get hot, then sliced the apples and cooked them on it. She gave him a rare smile and let her eyes sparkle at him. He returned it, and she felt something warm and fuzzy in her chest. Whether this ever would go anywhere romantically, she didn’t know, but right now she just could take it one day at a time and see how things went.
He packed up their leftovers, and when he put them into the back of the paddy wagon, she saw it was so stuffed with food he had to throw his weight against the door to get it closed again. Sarah and Emily took one last, long look at the lake, watching as the sun turned the surface into a pile of diamonds. It had been wonderful here. Completely peaceful, and almost as normal as a regular vacation would have been months ago. Emily surprised Sarah by throwing her arms around her and squeezing for all she was worth. She didn’t have to say it, but Sarah knew she was thanking them. Sarah put her arm around the little girl and gave her a little squeeze back, just to let her know she understood.
“Come on, girls. Time to hit the road. I know I’m taking you away from the prettiest place we’ve found on this trip, but I promise you I won’t rest until I find you another one just as beautiful.” Sarah believed him, and she was sure Emily did, too.
She led the little girl over to the paddy wagon and helped her into the front. On impulse, she left the door open and walked to the back where Wade was and wrapped her arms around him. She decided she might as well let him know she appreciated everything that he had done for them. She hugged him tightly, then, as a last minute thought, planted a kiss on his cheek. She was nervous, and felt almost like a girl in high school again. Before he had a chance to say anything, she turned tail and walked quickly back to the cab.. She climbed in without looking back, her face burning with embarrassment.
Emily didn’t question her when she got in and slammed the door, just smiled quietly to herself. It took a few minutes until Wade came and climbed in the driver’s side, but his face was a little pink, too. Sarah decided to try ignoring the whole situation by looking out the window as Wade turned the key and eased the paddy wagon along the road and through the resort’s exit gate.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS, the trio drove through deserted towns and empty streets, and Emily caught herself daydreaming about the resort. She kept wishing they just could have stayed there forever. It was just…normal. She wished they could have stayed there, even more than the lakes. She still wanted to see them, but it somehow didn’t feel as important anymore after the time they’d shared together. After the fourth day on the road, things began changing. They almost were running on fumes and Wade was worried they wouldn’t find any gas. If they couldn’t, they would have to abandon the vehicle and walk. They drove by a town that Sarah wanted to stop in for supplies, but as they drew closer, they started seeing more and more people. Wade was a little nervous, as he had been from the very beginning. He just still had a bad feeling about going to the lakes, but whatever his girls wanted, they got. The more people they saw before hitting the outskirts of the town, the more nervous Sarah became as well.
“Do you think this is a good place to stop? I didn’t realize there were this many people here. I guess everyone thought the same thing.”
It made her feel a little sad, to be honest, because she had liked having it be just the three of them. If they had to go into something akin to a regular society again, she didn’t know if she would make it. She’d become used to doing things the way she wanted, knowing that Wade supported her, and that Emily was the main focus of everything she did. She wanted to protect the little girl above anything else, and a society meant rules. Rules that some people might not follow, and if she repaid the favor, she would end up in trouble. It wasn’t fair, but that was how societies worked. She started getting an uneasy feeling in her gut. Looking at Emily, she wanted to ask the little girl to use her special intuition to figure out if this would be a safe place.
“I’m not sure. If this large group of people can work together, maybe it means there’s a good community growing here. If that’s the case, they should be able to let us have some gas and move on.” Sarah looked over at Emily. Yes, she was afraid to ask, because she didn’t want to look like a worrywart, but it was for their safety.
“Emily? What do you think, honey? What are you feeling about this little town?” Emily closed her eyes, scrunching up her brow in concentration. The seconds ticked by in absolute silence. Sarah held her breath.
“I think it’ll be okay. But we should be quick about it. There are so many people here that I can’t get a really good reading. Most of the people here are good, but there are some bad apples and I don’t think we should stay here long enough for them to find us.” Sarah privately agreed.
“Okay, I’ll just pull into the gas station and see if we can find some gas. If we can’t find any extra gas cans, then we might be walking soon.” Emily nodded, letting Wade know that was a good idea.
He smiled at the little girl and ruffled her hair affectionately. Sarah’s heart started pounding as she watched every person who walked by. They passed people in older-style cars, some on motorcycle, others on bicycles, but the majority of them were walking. Most of the people waved to them. Emily and Sarah happily waved back, but there were some who looked up at them with disgust or anger. It was people like them that made the girls cringe and back away from the window, and made Sarah lock both of their doors. Some completely ignored them, and she decided they would be lumped in with the unsavory lot. However, seeing all of these people just confirmed one thing. They were getting close. Wade made it to the gas station, parked, and shut off the engine. He locked the girls and their supplies into the paddy wagon as he walked around the pumps, looking for abandoned gas cans that might still have something in them.
“Hello there, neighbor. What’s that in the van?” The voice was friendly, and a little shaky, either with age or fear. Wade didn’t know which, but when he turned, his hand was on his pistol. A middle-aged man faced him, and Wade realized they both must be around the same age.
“Hi. We don’t wan
t any trouble. We were just looking for more gas.” Wade was hoping things would stay cordial and polite, and that he wouldn’t have to fight anyone. The man put his hands up in surrender, showing that he wasn’t armed.
“I understand. But I have to feed my family, too. So how about I sell you that gas for some food?”
“Does that mean you have some?” Wade was starting to hope they might get out of this with what they needed. The man looked around, as if making sure no one was listening, then nodded.
Behind the man, Wade could see two little boys and a woman looking through the window of the old gas station house at them. He gave them a friendly smile and a wave. As a cop, he’d had a sense of when someone was telling the truth. His unit used to make fun of him and say his superpower was knowing when someone was lying and that he should get a job as a lie detector test. He didn’t get any negative or dangerous vibes from the man, so he decided to trust him.
“That sounds like a good plan. I’ll be right back. He knocked on the window, since he’d locked the keys in with the girls, and Sarah opened the door.
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s got some gas cans.”
Her voice was nervous, and he got the feeling that she would jump out of the paddy wagon and go fight the man for the gas if necessary. She wasn’t feeling so good about this town, and he wasn’t either, to be honest. So he understood she wanted to get the hell out of there.
“He’s asking that we pay for the gas with some food. Can you unlock the back door? I just want to give him some for his family.”
Sarah looked back at the man, letting her gaze go past him to the family with their faces pressed against the glass. Wade watched as her eyes softened and she nodded. She reached around and unlocked one of the doors. Wade opened the door and took out five cans of food, a small sack of apples, and two oranges. Then he locked and closed the door. The man got the gas pump working and put it in the paddy wagon. Wade gave over everything but the oranges.
