by E A Chance
“Like I need more Oxy. Are there any left?”
“Two. I’ll give you one and more ibuprofen. Is that water you’re drinking?”
He shook his head and took a sip. “Reconstituted broth. Not too bad.”
Riley handed him the meds. “An even better sign.”
He swallowed the pills and leaned his head against the wall. “The lung is inflated, and losing the tube will alleviate my pain considerably.”
“Yes, doctor. Lucky for you, I agree. Finish your soup and let the meds kick in first. I’ll eat and get ready.”
Soup sounded good, so she dug a packet out of the backpack and took it to the fire-pit. There was a cup of hot water ready for her. She mixed the soup and sat on a warm rock to drink it. Hannah tossed another log in the pit and sat next to her.
“If we can find food, this will be a safe place to stay until Coop’s better. Not as good as the theater, but better than freezing to death on the road.”
Riley put an arm around her. “I’m glad you feel that way. We were lucky to find this. I hate to think what would have happened if we hadn’t.”
Julia came up with an armload of wood and dropped it on the growing pile. “There’s lots of wood around here. Let’s keep the fire going around the clock. It feels so good to be warm.”
Riley was surprised to see Julia near the fire after the incident at the cottage. Another good sign. Their little band was growing more resilient with each crisis conquered, more than she could have imagined. What they’d accomplished the past few days had been almost superhuman. She’d been a quivering bag of fear less than two weeks earlier. It was hard to remember what had been so frightening in her old life.
Hannah held her hands out to the flames. “Wish we could have a fire inside the cabin.” Julia flashed her a look and stomped off to get more wood. Hannah turned to Riley with a shrug. “What did I say?”
Riley shook her head and smiled over her cup, relieved to see Julia’s healthy teenage reaction. Maybe they were just mere mortals, after all.
She allowed herself an hour of relaxing by the fire before going to remove Coop’s tube. He was drowsy from the meds by then and didn’t fuss when she packed a baggie of snow around the wound to numb it. He flinched when she slid the tube out but stayed quiet while she sutured him. She worked quickly and had the wound dressed fifteen minutes later. She gave him another antibiotic injection and left him to rest.
She found Julia and Hannah chatting quietly by the fire-pit and was glad Julia hadn’t held Hannah’s comment against her.
“Ready for that scavenger hunt?” she asked. In answer, the girls jumped to their feet in unison. “Grab any bags we can fill and put them on the cart. Keep your fingers crossed that they left something useful behind when they closed down for the season.”
They started with the camp store. The shelves had been cleared, but stray boxes with odds and ends had been left in the storage room. They found travel shampoos, soaps, and sewing kits, but no food. They hunted for half an hour before gleaning all they could. Riley was disappointed but not defeated. The camp still had outbuildings to explore. She studied the map and found an area for group camps that looked promising. It was almost a mile from the store, but they had to make the trip even if it meant leaving Coop unprotected for longer than Riley had wanted.
The group camping area had a separate entrance that was too far to backtrack to, so Riley and the girls were forced to hike with their cart over rugged terrain. It took an hour to navigate, but it was worth the effort. The campground had a dining lodge and storage building with shelves stacked with pots and pans, cooking utensils, and boxes full of stale but still edible foodstuffs. They loaded up as much as they could carry and made the trip back to their campsite.
Riley checked on Coop the instant they returned, but he was sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the fact that they’d been gone for nearly four hours. She and the girls unpacked the haul and stowed it in their cabin. They had cornmeal, cooking oil, pasta, spaghetti sauce, large cans of vegetables, and, much to Julia’s delight, pancake mix and syrup. There was even one case of boxed milk. Riley would have preferred more protein sources but figured they could find a way to fish and trap small game.
With the food crisis resolved, Riley sent the girls to gather wood while she fetched more water. By sunset, they’d settled into their new home. Coop was well enough to eat spaghetti and cornmeal cakes. All they lacked was a way to heat the cabins, but at least the sleeping bags prevented them from freezing.
After devouring her dinner, Riley watched the dancing flames and reflected on how their fortunes had flipped in twenty-four hours. She sighed in contentment and went to enjoy a much-needed night’s rest.
Chapter Eleven
Julia and Hannah had found a tattered blanket and hung it in their cabin to block out the morning sun. Julia pushed the makeshift curtain aside and rested her arms on the window frame to let the sun warm her face. For the past three mornings, she’d relished those first quiet moments in the sun before she got up to begin her chores. She loved their little camp, and if the nights hadn’t been so freezing, she would have wanted to stay until summer.
The thought of giving up their sanctuary and getting back on the dangerous roads frightened her, but Coop was almost recovered and kept reminding her that if they found a vehicle, they could be to Uncle Mitch’s ranch in a day. Each time they’d said that before, they’d ended up facing nothing but tragedy. Even her mom didn’t seem to be in a hurry to restart their journey. They had enough food to last weeks. Julia saw no reason to rush.
On their second night in camp, Riley had presented her with the copy of The Hobbit she’d rescued from the wreck. Julia thought it would be fun to read together around the fire pit after dinner. Hannah said her family used to do that in summers on their houseboat at some lake.
Hannah stirred behind her, so Julia closed the curtain and stretched before pulling on her boots to go to the outhouse. She wanted to lounge around, but her mom had hammered in the importance of getting chores done early and going to sleep around seven, so they could make the most use of daylight and not waste the batteries in the flashlights. Julia felt like a little kid going to bed so early but understood that it was necessary.
“Is it time to get up?” Hannah mumbled.
Through a yawn, Julia said, “Afraid so. Mom’s already building up the fire.”
Hannah groaned and pulled the sleeping bag over her head. “Does she ever sleep?”
Julia pulled on her coat and smiled. “I’ve never seen it, but she’s been perkier for the past two days.”
Hannah sat up and rubbed her eyes. “That’s probably because Coop’s better.”
“And we’re not running away from catastrophes every two seconds. I’m going to the outhouse. You’d better get dressed.”
She bounced down the steps and waved at her mom as she passed. She never thought she’d be happy to have an outhouse, but anything was better than that disgusting bucket. The cold temperatures and the fact that the toilets were mostly empty kept the smell down, so it wasn’t too terrible. As she unrolled the toilet paper, she thought of how shocked Emily would be to see her cheerfully roughing it, but everyone has to adapt when the world comes to an end.
Hannah was with Riley at the fire-pit by the time Julia finished. Pancakes were browning in a pan and her stomach growled from the aroma.
She leaned over the pan and took a whiff. “I could eat ten of those.”
“Go ahead,” Riley said. “With what I brought back from the group camp yesterday, we have enough to feed an army.”
She lifted the pancakes with a spatula and dropped them onto a plate for Julia, then poured about a cup of syrup over them. Julia shoveled a pile of the sweet gooeyness into her mouth. She followed it with a gulp of boxed milk.
“Almost perfect. If we only had some bacon.” When Riley handed her a piece of pork jerky, she said, “Close enough.”
Coop poked his head out of the cabin. “Do
I smell pancakes?” When Julia held up a forkful to show him, he slowly descended the steps and joined them. Riley handed him a plate, and through a mouthful of pancakes, he said, “What’s on the agenda for today?”
Riley sat on a stump across from him and held her hands toward the fire. “Are you up to going on that car hunt?”
“I feel great this morning. Slept like a rock. I’m up for anything. Where’s the map?”
Riley cocked her head at the cabin. “In my pack. I’ll get it when I’m done. Don’t overdo it. Those ribs will take weeks to heal.”
He winked. “Thanks, doc. I’ll try to remember that.”
Riley turned to the girls and said, “When you’re finished, you need to make a water run. I want to stock up as much as we can, so we don’t have to spend the day making trips. Take the cart and fill all the five-gallon containers.”
Julia frowned. Of all her chores, getting water was the worst. It was freezing at the river, and each morning they had to break the new ice that had reformed during the night. It was hard to fill the containers without falling off the log they’d positioned in the water to they could reach further. She was determined to collect as much as they could that morning, so they’d get a break for a few days.
Her mom and Coop went into their cabin to study the map after they cleaned up from breakfast. She and Hannah bundled up and loaded the cart. She called out to let them know they were leaving and pushed the cart toward the trail. The path was pretty flat, much better than going to the group camp for supplies. She and Hannah wouldn’t have any trouble bringing the water back.
When they got to the river’s edge, Julia was annoyed to see the ice was twice as thick as the day before. “We’re going to need bigger rocks,” she told Hannah.
Hannah put down the jug she’d pulled off the cart. “We’ll have to look farther away this time. All the rocks from around here are at the bottom of the river.”
Julia leaned against a boulder and crossed her arms. “There’s got to be an easier way to do this. Any ideas?”
“We could look for an ax and tape it to the end of a branch.”
“Coop looked for an ax yesterday to chop wood but didn’t find one, so that’s is out. We could make an ax with a flat rock and a piece of wood. See what you can find. I’m going to run back for duct tape. Stay away from the edge of the water while I’m gone.”
Julia left Hannah searching for rocks while she ran to camp. She was surprised at how fast she could run. She’d always hated running, but all the hard work of survival was toning her muscles. She was starting to get why her mom loved running so much.
She bounded up the steps to her mom’s cabin and caught Coop and her making out on his bed. Her mom shot up and blushed tomato red. Coop sat up and stared at his boots. Julia burst out laughing.
“That look was priceless, Mom, but you don’t have to be embarrassed. I’m glad you’re together.”
Coop looked at her and grinned. “Glad to know we have your permission.”
Her mom’s blush faded, but she said, “That doesn’t mean I want you bursting in on us. Knock from now on. What are you doing back here? You couldn’t have gotten the water that fast.”
Julia explained her homemade ax plan in a rush. “I need the duct tape. Where is it?”
Riley held up her hands. “I admire your initiative, but your idea won’t work. Just use rocks for now and we’ll work on inventions later.”
Coop nodded. “Your mom’s right. If you tried your rock on a stick plan, you’d just end up in the river. We’re heading out tomorrow if I find a truck, so we won’t need to worry about breaking ice.”
Julia frowned. “Do we have to go tomorrow? I like it here, and it’s too scary out there.”
Riley put a hand on her shoulder. “I get why you want to stay. We’ve been through terrible things, and it feels safe here, but the ranch will be worlds better. We’ll have a real house, heat, and water.”
Julia studied her mom’s face. Dark circles rimmed her eyes, and she had new creases in her forehead. She may have perked up the past few days, but she was exhausted. When they got to Uncle Mitch’s ranch, she and Coop wouldn’t have to carry the burden alone. It made sense that her mom wanted to get there as soon as possible, even if it meant facing the dangers on the road.
“Okay, Mom, we’ll use the rocks to get the water, but I’m still going to figure out a better way to break the ice, just in case.”
“Fair enough.” She drew a full roll of duct tape from her pack and handed it to Julia. “Get back to Hannah. I don’t like her alone at the river.”
“And you two get back to what you were doing,” Julia said and giggled on her way out of the cabin.
Hannah had a nice pile of potential ax rocks by the time Julia got back. She told Hannah about catching Riley and Coop in a make-out session, and they laughed until they cried.
When they stopped, Julia said, “They gave our ax idea a thumbs down, but after we get the water, we’ll make it and prove them wrong.”
Julia heaved a stone the size of a football onto the ice. The ice cracked, but the rock skidded across the top without breaking it. Hannah tossed hers and got the same result, so they moved closer to the river’s edge.
“Let’s try throwing them at the same time on the same spot,” Hannah said.
They tried her strategy, but their rocks landed feet apart and ice didn’t budge.
Hannah tapped her toe on the edge of the frozen river. “I could walk onto the ice. It looks thick enough to hold me.”
Julia stepped in front of her. “No, Hannah. That’s too dangerous. We just have to throw the rocks harder.”
They collected the biggest rocks that weren’t too heavy to throw. Julia picked up a bowling ball-sized one and heard a loud crack behind her. She spun around to find Hannah on the ice ten feet from the shore.
“What are you doing?” she yelled. “Come back.”
Hannah had gone pale and began to tremble. “I’m afraid to move. The ice is cracking. Julia, what do I do?”
Ignoring her own fear, Julia frantically tried to think of a way to save her. The ice made another loud pop and reminded her of a scene from a movie. The person was stuck on the ice and laid flat to distribute their weight. “Hannah, slowly get on your stomach.”
Hannah shook her head. “I can’t. I’m too scared.”
“You have to, Hannah. Do it now!”
Hannah swallowed and slowly lowered herself to her knees. As she pushed her legs out to get on her stomach, the ice opened, and she disappeared into the water. Julia screamed Hannah’s name as she laid on the ice and inched herself toward the hole. When the ice started to pop and creak, she slid back to shore.
She ran along the river’s edge for what felt like an hour before she spotted Hannah clinging to a small island of boulders twenty yards downstream.
She cupped her hands to her mouth and cried, “Hold on, Hannah. Don’t let go. I’m going for Mom and Coop. Promise you won’t let go.”
Hannah yelled something, but the words were drowned by the rushing water and wind. Julia turned for the trail just as her mom and Coop burst out of the treeline.
Her mom ran straight for her. “We heard you screaming. What happened?”
Julia pointed to Hannah. “She broke through the ice. How are we going to get her?”
“Whatever we do, make it fast. Looks like she’s losing her grip,” Coop said.
Without a word, Riley stripped down to her underwear and plunged into the river. When she reached Hannah, she wrapped an arm around her and fought the current to swim her to shore. Hannah slipped away twice, and Riley had to go after her. She was shivering uncontrollably by the time they reached the side, but Hannah was limp.
Coop tore off his coat and handed it to Julia. “Wipe your mom down with this and help her get her clothes on.”
Riley resisted, trying to get to Hannah while Julia dried her, but she ordered her mom to take off her wet underclothes. “Get dressed first, the
n help Hannah.” Riley’s teeth chattered as she changed into her dry clothes while Coop went to work on Hannah.
“No breath sounds or pulse. We need to start CPR. Julia, please, give me your coat.”
Riley and Coop stripped off Hannah’s wet clothes and covered her with Julia’s coat. Coop kneeled near her torso to start compressions, but Riley shoved him out of the way.
“Not you. You’ll rebreak your ribs and open your sutures. I’ll do it.”
Julia watched in horror as her mom performed CPR on Hannah and almost vomited when she heard the sound of her bones cracking from the pressure.
Without stopping compressions, Riley said, “Julia, do you remember how to do mouth-to-mouth?”
“Yes, Mom,” she said, as she dropped to her knees by Hannah’s head. She placed a hand under her neck and tipped her head back before prying her jaw open.
Coop put his hand on Julia’s shoulder. “Breathe when I tell you.”
Every thirty compressions, Coop told Julia to breathe twice. Julia closed her eyes so she couldn’t see Hannah’s purple face. She cleared her mind and focused on Coop’s voice. She and her mother worked as a team as the minutes passed, but Hannah didn’t move. Every few minutes, her mom stopped and listened to Hannah’s chest, shivering violently as she did.
After the third pause, Coop said, “You’re hypothermic and fatigued. Let me take over. Run back to camp and sit near the fire wrapped in a sleeping bag.”
“I can keep going. I’m not letting you do this. I can’t lose both of you today.”
Julia climbed to her feet. “I can do it, Mom. I’ve been watching.”
Riley stood and handed her watch to Coop, then traded places with Julia. She gave her a five-second instruction before they went back to work. Julia felt a rush of adrenalin as she pressed on her friend’s chest and willed her to live. Hannah’s color went from purple to gray to white, but she didn’t breathe or move.
