by Nelson, Kip
“What does it matter? You think just because he was in jail he couldn't be trusted? People change, Luis, and not everyone who is in jail is a bad person. You shouldn't judge people before you know their story,” and with that she sped up and left Luis standing by himself, wondering what he had said that had been so wrong.
It came as a surprise to him, as he thought after he had seen her bathing they actually had made some progress. He was beginning to think of her as a friend. Yet now he didn't know what to think.
Mack stopped and shouted forward. The rest of them followed his gaze and looked down the river. In the distance, among the frothing water, was a small black mark. They had to strain to see it properly, but when they did they saw that it was two people in a canoe. Mack called out to them and waved his arms, hoping they would see him. Grace looked worried, always cautious when it came to new people.
“Should we be doing that? What if they're with the group?” Luis asked.
“They didn't have anything like that,” Saul said.
Mack sprinted farther up the riverbank and shouted at the top of his voice, gesticulating wildly with his arms, but to no avail. He watched hopelessly as the people in the canoe drifted out of sight, down the river, away to a new area. Mack turned and looked a little despondent.
“Why did you want to talk to them so badly?” Luis asked.
“Because that's the way forward. We have to start thinking about different modes of transportation. We can't walk everywhere,” Mack said.
“They certainly have the right idea. That's the way to go, down to the coast, get a boat, and sail on the seas. If you stay where there are fish you have an endless supply of food, and as long as you have a way to make freshwater out of the sea you'll be fine on that front, too. You can go up and down the coast and not have to worry about other people. Hell, you might even find an island out at sea where you can live in your own tropical paradise.” After he said this he started to laugh.
When Mack asked him about it he replied, “I always used to laugh at the people who stored food waiting for this to happen, but it turns out they had the right idea all along. I bet they're sitting in their bunkers enjoying the comforts they made for themselves. Makes you wonder who the real outcasts in society were. Because now I'd love to have been in their position.”
“I don't know,” Mack said. “Right now they have the best situation out of all of us. Although, I wouldn't have wanted to sacrifice my life by betting so much time and effort on the end of the world.”
After their disappointment at not stopping the people in the canoe they continued walking for the rest of the day, catching and roasting a rabbit for dinner. Things still were tense between Grace and Luis, but for someone who claimed he was a lone wolf Saul integrated into their group quite well. The following day they began peeling away from the river and started making their way back to the road, in the opposite direction from the prison and the mental hospital. The trees began thinning as they emerged next to a road. It was slightly strange to be in a different environment after having been in the woods for so long.
The road was a narrow strip of concrete with more forest on the other side. Mack checked the map and led them toward the city. The road stretched out a long way before them, and again there was a distinct lack of people around. Yet there were lumps in their throats as almost all of them expected something bad to happen. They had come across a few cars, all of them drained of gas, but they decided they still would come in handy as shelter for the night. It was somewhat humbling to see this object that was such a part of their lives reduced to a mostly useless hunk of metal, and it only served to hammer home just how much their lives had changed.
Chapter Six
Now that they were on the road to the city Mack felt a little better. While they had been in the forest it had seemed endless, as if they were making no progress. Now that they could see the road stretching ahead in front of them he knew he was on the right track. The thought of Mr. Smith and other threats out there still concerned him. But he was glad to have seen the people in the canoe, as it reminded him there were still other people like him out there, people who just were trying to make it through the day.
The four of them had split up into different cars after agreeing to set up a watch schedule. Mack volunteered for the first watch as he was used to staying up later than the others anyway. He was sitting in the back seat of a car, looking at the stars through the window. It was still a ways to the city, but soon he would be there, and hopefully he would find something that could help him get back to Anna.
Thoughts of his wife plagued him and it took a concerted effort to avoid becoming engulfed by them during waking hours. But when night fell and all was quiet around him he indulged in thinking about the past, even though it was painful to be reminded that he was not with her. The two of them had spent too much of their relationship apart, always with the understanding that one day they would let go of their careers and focus on each other. When Saul spoke earlier of regrets Mack knew all too well what he was speaking about. Now he wished he had spent as many waking moments with Anna as possible. When he closed his eyes he just about could hear her melodic laugh and taste the strawberries off her lips, but as time went on it became more difficult to visualize. His worst fear was not death; it was forgetting what his wife looked like.
Now that Saul had mentioned winter Mack cast his mind forward and thought about Anna, and if she was going through the same thing. It was difficult to think of her living her life hundreds of miles away when neither of them knew the other was still alive. Would their marriage vows hold true? If they were apart for years would he want her to spend them alone, and would he want to cut himself off from comfort and companionship? They were difficult questions, and not ones that he wanted to think about at the moment. The pain was still too real, and it was too soon to think about anyone else. All he wanted was to be in his wife's loving arms and for her to tell him that she was going to love him until the end of time, just like they had done those many moons ago.
The last conversation Mack had had with Anna had not been the ideal one. He had spoken to her just before he had boarded the plane, telling her that he was doing one last job before his final debriefing. She was on her way out so they only chatted briefly, as they had been expecting to see each other the following day, but that never happened. That was the last time Mack ever had heard her voice, and since no electronic devices worked, he couldn't even check the last voice mail she had left him, or any of her texts.
Mack was never one to focus too much on the past or what he had lost, he always had been taught to look toward the future. If something bad happened, then it was within your power to turn it into something good. You couldn't control what happened to you, but you could control how you reacted to it and what you chose to do next. Those were the mantras he repeated over and over again in his head while images of Anna lurked in the background. He saw what she had been wearing on their first date together, that simple outfit with the beret perched atop her head at an angle. Somehow she could throw on clothes and they all fit perfectly together. There were few times that Mack had been truly in awe in his life, mostly when he had met foreign dignitaries, but when he saw Anna for the first time he had been paralyzed.
For a long time Mack never thought he would find someone like Anna. He had been a career man, and while he had enjoyed some fleeting relationships, his first love was his country, and the duty that came with it. This meant sacrificing a lot, and though he tried a long-distance relationship with some of his partners it never worked out, and in the end he gave up trying. That was until Anna.
He couldn't believe his luck when they first started talking. He was almost afraid at the end of the first date to tell her what he did for a living, because he expected her to react like any number of other people would and wish him good luck. Anna was a treasure and he was sure she could have had any man she chose, and for some reason Mack still couldn’t figure out why she had chosen him
. They agreed to keep to a schedule of communication, and during the first few months of their fledgling relationships they spoke mostly over Skype while having dinner together, which often meant one of them getting up in the early hours of the morning. But that built a strong basis for their relationship, and when Mack was home on leave, the two of them were inseparable. At least they had been until this disaster had struck.
As the moon hung in the sky Mack looked up at it and wondered if Anna was doing the same, wherever she was. One of the little quirks in their relationship was that whenever they looked up at the moon they would know it as a constant, and that it linked them no matter where they were on the planet. Now it was doing the same thing, and it was an important landmark as Mack really needed to keep that connection alive. For now it was the hope that was driving him, but if it ever became clear that Anna was dead or that there was no way he was going to see her again, well, he didn't know how he would react to that.
The more he thought about her the more his mind drifted back to the first time they met. For all his vaunted skills at profiling people he never quite had managed to figure her out, and that was probably part of what attracted him to her in the first place. He almost could feel her coming to him, calling his name, could almost sense her reaching out to caress his cheek and plant a kiss on his lips, followed by another, lighter one, as if to remind them both that he was hers. Mack sighed and suddenly realized his eyes were closed and he was falling asleep. He jerked himself up violently, resulting in his head banging against the roof of the car. He yawned, and knew that if he was going to keep watch he couldn't stay sitting like that. So he got out of the car and began pacing up and down along the road. He checked on the others and found they were all resting, which disappointed him a little as he would have liked some company.
His eyes had adjusted to the dim light so he could make out rudimentary shapes, such as other cars. As he paced along he thought about this road and how, just recently, it would have been filled with people driving to and from the city. Yet now it was barren and deserted. Just as he thought he was alone with his thoughts he heard a sound from the edge of the forest, a twig snapping. His head jerked around and he peered into the darkness. From this distance the forest was a murky black, and it was difficult to differentiate the trees from anything else. At some points he thought he saw something moving, but moments later he wasn't sure. He crept forward slowly, figuring it was probably just some animal, but one never could be too careful. The closer he got to the edge of the forest the easier it was to see the gaps in between the trees, but he was still reluctant to enter just in case it was a trap.
Although he had been careful to watch their backs, it was possible that people from Mr. Smith's group, or some as yet unknown party, had followed them. He looked back at the cars but didn't see anyone swarming around them. So he decided to venture farther into the forest, keeping his ears strained to listen for any more noises.
Another twig snapped! And then there was the rustling of something moving through the leaves. It was to his right, so he changed direction. Mack moved carefully forward, watching his step as he didn't want to give any clues to his position. He was sure this mystery person was keeping his ears peeled, just as Mack was.
Mack kept his breath low and made sure to check back to keep the road in the same position at his side. The last thing he wanted to do was get lost in the woods in the middle of the night. At one point, he heard a cough. This made the hair on the back of his neck stiffen, and a chill ran down his spine. It was definitely a person, and whether it was friend or foe had yet to be determined.
Mack's body went into fight-or-flight mode. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body as his senses heightened and he became more aware of his surroundings. There was another cough and then more rustling. Mack tilted his head to try pinpointing the direction from which the noise had originated. He turned slowly, stepping silently as he approached a bush. He had heard only one person. So it was likely another lonely wanderer, and, hopefully, he wouldn't have to use any kind of force. But he had to keep in mind that there was a mental hospital and a prison in the area, so it was possible this was a first encounter with an escapee from one of those institutions.
Mack weighed his options. He could dive into the bush and drag out whomever was in there, then frighten them into submission before figuring out what they were doing there. This was risky as it was diving into the unknown and he didn't know what kind of weapons this person had, if any. He could wait for them to emerge, as they certainly couldn't stay in that bush all night. But at some point Mack wanted to get some sleep, and if he returned to the car to switch with someone else the person may move, and Mack never would know who it was.
The only other thing to do was to call out and try making contact with this person. Yet that would give away Mack's position, and if they were hostile it would leave him in a vulnerable place. However, it seemed the best way to give him a chance at connecting with this person, so he whispered hello. There was no response. He tried it again, this time a little louder, and followed it up by saying his name.
This time there was another cough, followed by what sounded like a sob.
“Come on out, it's okay, I just want to talk,” Mack said in a soft, soothing voice.
The leaves on the bushes rustled once more and he braced himself for whatever emerged, ready to defend himself if necessary. However, when he saw what came out of the bushes he instantly relaxed, and his heart almost broke in two. What he saw in front of him was a child in rags, a thin, gaunt body that was covered in dirt, carrying a stained teddy bear. The child could have been no more than six or seven years old. Mack was surprised he could be alive after all this time, for it was evident he had been in these woods for a while.
“Hey buddy, are you lost? Do you have any parents around, or anyone looking after you?” he asked, but the little boy didn't respond.
Mack tried a few other things, but either the boy was incapable of talking or he simply didn't want to do so. Mack imagined what it must have been like from a child's perspective. The effects from the EMP were difficult enough to understand as an adult, to a child it must have been utterly confusing. Since talking wasn't working Mack dug into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of beef jerky that he had been chewing on while he had been on watch. It wasn't exactly the healthiest midnight snack and he would apologize to the boy's parents if he ever found them, but the kid obviously was starving. As Mack offered the food the boy looked at it with suspicion, then darted forward and snatched it from Mack's hand, returning to a safe distance as he nibbled and tore at it with his teeth.
“That's better,” Mack said, “I have more with my friends if you want to come with me, and maybe you can tell me your name and where you're from?” he asked.
But, again, the boy only looked at him. Mack stayed there until the beef jerky was all gone, and the boy held out his hands for more. Mack shook his head but pointed to the cars and repeated that he had more food there. He stepped away, and the boy followed him, although he stopped whenever Mack looked back. Mack couldn't help but laugh as he made his way back to the cars and saw the boy looking at him with curiosity. Mack went to his own backpack and pulled out some food, and the boy's ravenous hunger ensured that it did not last long. Mack watched him eat with pity. It was hard enough to survive for himself, he couldn't imagine how this boy would be able to hunt and forage without guidance. Somehow he had survived this long, but how much longer could he possibly last?
When only one morsel remained, the boy looked at it. He scampered up to Mack and offered him the last piece of food, which warmed Mack's heart and almost brought a tear to his eye. In that moment, even though he knew taking care of a child was a difficult and dangerous task in such a world, he realized he had to make sure this kid was safe. In the morning, he would try finding the boy's parents. Although from the look of him, Mack surmised this kid had been on his own for a while. He also assumed his silence was a result of s
ome trauma. Perhaps it was the only way he could deal with the world at the moment.
Mack gave him some water and then went to get a blanket so he could stay warm, but when he returned the boy had disappeared without a trace. Mack ran back into the woods to try finding him. He called out for the boy. He offered more food, but the boy did not return. Mack's heart was heavy with sorrow, for he was sure the boy would be a casualty of the wilderness.
Feeling glum, he thought of the child that he and Anna were planning to have. Now he thought perhaps it was for the best that they had not been pregnant earlier as this world was not the best environment for a child to grow up in. But his gaze lingered to the woods and that child with the stained teddy bear would stay on his mind for a long while.
A few moments later Saul rose and placed a hand on Mack's back, letting him know that he was ready to take the second shift of the night watch.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Mack sighed and nodded. “Yeah, everything's fine. Just...just keep an eye out. I'll see you in the morning.” And with that Mack returned to the car and tried getting some sleep, attempting to find some source of light in the gloom of the apocalypse.
Chapter Seven
The following morning the group awoke. Grace had taken the last shift, so she greeted them all as the sun rose. They soon gathered their packs and started making their way up the road toward the city. Before they left, however, Grace noticed how often Mack was staring into the woods. She asked him if everything was okay, but he replied with a neutral comment.
