The Long Search For Home
Page 25
Mel nodded and looked away. She didn’t believe for an instant Caryn was capable of overcoming her fears, but she was a survivor, and from what they’d seen over the past month’s travels precious few of them were left. Mel would not turn her back on Caryn, but she wasn’t about to go easy on her.
“Come on, we’ll go straight through these woods.”
“What about Tara? She could be in trouble.”
Mel frowned. She’d been thinking the same thing. Tara had taken off in the hopes of leading their pursuit away from them. Since no one followed Mel and Caryn it must have worked. But was she safe? They’d heard no shots, but that might not mean anything. The men chasing her wouldn’t want to shoot, she was too great a prize, but, Tara wouldn’t go down with a fight. Mel could only pray Tara was safe and would come back to her, them.
Caryn boosted the pack higher on her back and moved off. After one more look behind Mel slid the glasses in a pocket and followed. She watched Caryn move. The woman had more physical strength than she realized. Mel knew the pack was heavy, yet Caryn walked quite upright, showing no signs of the burden. Nor did she complain about its bulk.
She was right about them being different though. Where Caryn was tall and willowy, Mel was short and stocky. Caryn was pretty and her hair color was obviously natural. Mel was plain, somewhat muscular and wore her hair almost military short. Tara was a combination of them both.
Tara flew helicopters in the Army. She was on leave, waiting for word of her new assignment when the world changed. To Mel, no one was tougher than Tara. A poster child for the female warrior, she had certainly proved herself since the two had met more than a month ago. A lot of raw power was packed in that small, black frame. She was the ultimate butch woman, except, to Mel’s great disappointment, she wasn’t lesbian. Still, it was hard for Mel to take her eyes off Tara.
Should we leave some sort of trail for Tara?”
“She’ll find us.” Mel pressed forward, passing Caryn to take the lead.
“How? She has no idea where we are.”
“Don’t worry, she’s trained. If we keep walking straight, she’ll catch up to us. She led those animals south. When she loses them she’ll double back. Have confidence in her skills. You’ve seen what she’s capable of.”
Caryn shuddered. She remembered all right … every night in her dreams. “I know she’s good, but I think I’ll throw in a prayer too.”
Mel gave a derisive snort. “Knock yourself out. It can’t hurt.”
They continued on for perhaps an hour. Behind her, a plastic cap clicked open. Caryn had opened a water bottle. “How much water do we have left?” she asked without stopping.
“Eight bottles, I think.”
“Man, we’re going to have to find a new supply.”
Something touched her back. Mel reached over her shoulder taking the bottle. She drank two large gulps, looked at the remains and took a small sip. With a third of the water left she handed the bottle back.
Early September had stayed August hot. The trees still a thick and green canopy making it difficult for anyone to see them. However, the reverse was also true. They might not notice anyone in pursuit until too late. A squirrel darted up a tree. Over head light pierced the green umbrella. Birds chirped, lending the feeling of normalcy. And everything was normal in the world, except for the people—both the lack of and the survivors.
They’d met their share of people along the way. Some were very nice and offered refuge, some, like the band of men they met the night before, had their own agenda. When the three women first came across the encampment they were hopeful, but after looking closer, they noticed the camp was made up of mostly men and a few women. One of them looked to be twelve to fourteen. They all looked haggard and unkempt, their eyes hollow and haunted, expressions blank. But, it was the look of fear and the ever so slight shake of the head of the tall, dark-haired woman that had caught Tara's attention.
They thanked the men, whose eyes wandered freely over the three women, but begged off their invitation to spend the night in the safety of the compound, saying they had to be elsewhere. The men seemed to accept their excuse, but early in the morning, Tara spotted the posse, and the chase began.
“Caryn would you hand me a granola bar, please.” To get the bar, Caryn would have to stop and take the bag off her back. That would stop their progress. “Never mind, I’ll get it.” She went behind Caryn, unzipped a pocket and dug inside. She pulled one out and was about to zip the pocket closed when she stopped. “You want me to get you one?”
“No thanks’ I’ll have one when we break.”
“It might be a while.”
“That’s all right, I’ll survive.”
Mel closed up and took the lead. She crunched and tried to remember the last time she’d seen Caryn eat something. Mel rolled that thought around for a while. The pack held two narrow honey and oat bars. Mel finished one and half of the second. She held it behind. “I can’t eat no more. Finish this for me.”
“No, that’s all right. You should eat it.”
“Why’s that?” She made a sudden stop and turned. Caryn ran into her.
“What?”
“Why should I eat it instead of you?”
Caryn shrugged. “You need it more to keep up your strength.”
“And you don’t? When was the last time you ate?”
She shrugged again.
“You’ve been purposely skipping meals haven’t you?’
“It’s like you said, I’m a burden. You and Tara deserve most of the food.”
Mel looked up and muttered, “I can’t believe this.” When she dropped her eyes they had a hard edge to them. “You think you’re a burden now? How much of a burden will you be when we have to carry you? We won’t leave you. So you’ll just hinder our movements and our defensive capabilities. You think you’re doing the right thing, but you’re not. That food is for all of us to share. We’re a team. Now, eat this before I cram it down your throat.”
With a timid hand Caryn took the bar.
“And you’d better eat all of it.” She turned and started walking again. Behind, the sound of the crunch was hard to hide. She smiled. A few minutes later, Caryn said, “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
They walked on until dusk and found a place to make camp, hoping Tara would appear soon.
All names, characters, places, and incidents in this publication are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Long Search for Home
© 2015 by Ray Wenck
ISBN: 978-1311930286
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