Getting Out

29

The path was tough, and the minutes seemed to stretch into hours. Georgia was worried about her children carrying so much gear with them, such heavy packs. But they held up quite well, and their spirits seemed to be good.

The sun made it all possible. If the storm had continued, or if the sky had been filled with clouds, it would have been much more difficult to marshal the morale necessary for the long trek.

“Only a little while longer until we hit the trail,” said Mandy, who had the maps out in front of her, along with the compass.

Georgia didn’t say anything. Mandy had been saying the same thing for what felt like all day.

Georgia really hoped Mandy knew what she was doing. For all Georgia knew, they could be headed in the opposite direction of where they were supposed to be heading. She hoped against hope that that wasn’t the case.

Max had been bringing up the rear, and he sped up a little to join Georgia, who dropped a little behind Mandy, because there wasn’t always enough room to walk three by three through the woods.

Behind them, her children were silent, their footsteps as light as they could be with their heavy packs. But Chad was making an enormous amount of noise, his sneakers crashing down onto the forest floor heavily. Each step sounded like a herd of elephants. He wheezed and he huffed and puffed with exertion. But there was something new about his attitude. Even Georgia, who didn’t know him well at all, could sense the change. He was silent as he struggled. He kept on, and he didn’t curse and he didn’t complain. He simply kept going. He simply did what needed to be done.

“How are you holding up?” said Max.

Georgia had known for a while that she liked Max. Not in a romantic way, obviously, but just as a person. He seemed to have something about him… some quality. He had what it took to survive. It was something almost indescribable. Georgia had an idea that she herself possessed pieces of these qualities. Max seemed to have the whole package. In another time, he could have been a leader of something great.

“Good,” said Georgia.

“And your kids?” said Max.

“They’re doing as well as can be expected,” said Georgia.

“You know we can hear you, right?” said Sadie.

Georgia ignored her.

“What do you think about this hiking trail?” said Max, in a voice quiet enough that Mandy was unlikely to hear it.

Georgia lowered her own voice. “I don’t know,” she said. “She’s been saying all day that we’re close. I’m starting to have my doubts.”

“Me too,” said Max. “It’s not that it’s necessary, but if we don’t come across it, it could mean that we’re not where we think we are.”

“And obviously that could pose problems,” said Georgia.

“No kidding,” said Max. “I’m going to talk to Mandy about it.”

Max picked up his pace to join Mandy up in front.

Georgia walked closer to them so that she could overhear what they were saying. She didn’t think they would mind, and, plus, she had more important things on her mind than being polite. Survival trumped social niceties.

“No,” Mandy was saying. “I’m sure it’s up here. Trust me, Max, I know where I’m going. It’s just a little farther.”

“Is it possible we’re not where you think we are?” said Max. He said it in a calm tone. He wasn’t being accusatory. He just legitimately needed to know what the situation was.

“No,” said Mandy. “The only possibilities are that we’re a little farther south that I’d thought. Or the trail might have grown over. It is an old map.”

Georgia was keeping her eyes peeled for any trail makers. So far, she hadn’t seen anything that looked remotely familiar to her, even though she’d been to this area before.

“Hey,” said Georgia, suddenly spotting something. “Look! A trail marker.”

It was there, a spray-painted blue mark on a larger tree trunk.

“Yes!” said Mandy excitedly. “I knew it.”

“Good,” said Max, nodding.

He moved ahead of the rest of them. It was amazing to Georgia that he could move so quickly with all the gear that he was carrying. He didn’t seem as tired as the rest of them. He must have been in even better shape than he looked.

Max paused at the trail, waiting for the rest of them to catch up.

Georgia arrived next, then her children, and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Chad arrived, crashing through the underbrush, wheezing heavily.

“Looks like the trail grew over a little,” said Max.

Sure enough, the trail wasn’t exactly what you’d call a hiking trail. There were plants growing where it would have been a clear path a few years ago.

“It’s only a couple years of growth,” said Georgia, examining it. “It’ll still be easier to walk through this, and we can walk three at a time. That would make me feel like we had a little more security.”

“Which way are we headed, Mandy?” said Max.

Mandy pointed in the direction that would take them north.

“Let’s take a break for lunch,” said Max. “I know we’re all tired, and we could use a rest. I know I could really use one myself.”

Georgia knew that it wasn’t quite true. Max didn’t really need a break. He was strong, and he didn’t seem as tired of the rest of them. He must have had a very regimented training schedule in the years before this event. Georgia knew that Max was doing this, encouraging a break, so that the rest of them didn’t get too tired. In her opinion, he was being an excellent leader.

They sat down in a close circle right on the trail, as Max cleared away some of the overgrown branches here and there, so that they could sit more comfortably. Max worked tirelessly with a large knife that he kept on his belt. He refused all offers of help, and encouraged them all to start preparing the food.

There was still some perishable food left. Some chicken that had been frozen, for instance, that wasn’t yet too rotten to eat.

Georgia helped Mandy start the cook stove. Georgia knew that they couldn’t rely on it forever. There simply wasn’t enough gas. But fortunately, she knew well how to make a fire, provided the conditions were good. Max had all manner of camping equipment, like flint and steel fire starters, that would last a long, long time. He had enough to start fires for many years to come. Georgia, on the other hand, had a couple of lighters with her as their supplies. Those wouldn’t last more than a few months if she was lucky. She envied the supplies that Max had. Although, then again, he didn’t have the firepower that Georgia had brought along.

When Max had finished cutting away the branches, he came over to Georgia.

“Georgia, could I have a word with you?”

“Sure,” she said, getting up. “You’re fine with the rest of it, Mandy?”

“I think maybe Sadie can give me a hand.”

To Georgia’s surprise, Sadie was happy to have something to do. She set to work with Mandy, cooking the food and figuring out how to distribute it to everyone.

It made Georgia happy and proud to see her daughter doing something useful, and to apparently take pleasure in doing so. Sadie still carried her broken phone with her, but she no longer checked it. It was a necessary change in attitude, and Georgia was finally able to see it. Maybe the version of Sadie who’d saved them from the McKinneys’ was returning. Sadie was growing up, perhaps more quickly than she would have otherwise done. It was a good change.

Georgia followed Max away from the group, back into the denseness of the woods, away from the trail.

“I wanted to ask you something,” said Max in a low voice, so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Shoot,” said Georgia.

“I’ve been thinking about our destinations,” said Max. “I was so focused on just getting out of the chaos. It seems like, well I don’t want to speak too soon, but it seems like we’ve been through the worst of it for now. There might be more challenges ahead.”

Georgia nodded. Even over the short course of time that she’d known Max, she had a lot of respect for him. She was willing to listen to whatever he had to say.

“I feel the same way,” said Georgia. “While we were walking today, I started thinking about what the future holds for my family.”

Max nodded, listening carefully. “Me, too,” he said. “I’ve been trying to picture what life will be like at the farm house. I think the only way to really make it is to have some kind of agricultural system. You know, get the old farm working again. I’ll need to somehow get some animals, and plant crops. I feel confident that while those are going to be big challenges, there’s some way to overcome them. There’ll be some way to get the animals, and some way to get the seeds.”

“It does sound difficult,” said Georgia.

“But what I realized,” said Max. “Is that it’s going to require a huge amount of man power. A huge amount of work, human hours of labor. So I’ll just lay it on the line for you. Here’s what I’m proposing: that you and your kids come and live on the farm with me, Mandy, and Chad. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a hard road ahead, but I think it’s going to be easier if we all work together.”

Georgia liked the idea immediately. After all, she’d been preoccupied with how she and her kids were going to live. Basically her plan involved hunting for food. But she knew that there would be other problems that would crop up. There would be fresh potable water to obtain. There would be medical emergences. Plus, the biggest threat to their safety could be the invading hordes that would come from the cities, tired and hungry and willing to try anything to survive. They would have a better chance of surviving if they were with Max.

“OK,” said Georgia. “I like it.”

“That was fast,” said Max, laughing.

“Well,” said Georgia. “When you hear a good plan, you’ve just got to go with it. We can work out the details over time.”

“We’ve got a ton of work ahead of us,” said Max. “And what I’m hoping now is that the place is in OK condition. We’ll have to work out the particulars as we go, I guess.”

Georgia nodded.

Suddenly, Max looked over her shoulder, deep into the woods.

“Turn around and look,” whispered Max. “I think we’ve got company.”

Georgia turned quickly so as not to miss it.

It was something way off in the distance, partly hidden behind a tree. It moved quickly, and if it hadn’t had been for Max pointing it out to her, she might have thought that she’d imagined it. But even if she couldn’t make out the object clearly, it was clear what it was. It was a bright red shirt, a color that certainly didn’t exist naturally in the forest.

It was another human.

Another human following them.