Please let me know if this moves too fast.
Chapter Four
“Hey,” Zach stood up, knife in hand. I was happy to see he stayed in charge while we were away. Abby looked totally fine, and for once since I saw her, not in pain. She gave sort of an… angelic appearance, her golden headband shining more than ever. “What did you guys find?”
“The noises you heard came from a radio. A man is positioned on the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. We need to go there.” Joe was already packing. He had a small backpack hidden in the corner of our shelter, and stuffed it with various cans he must have found while rummaging through houses.
“We are going to walk there? We are across the entire bay from there! Without a boat it will take days!”
“Weeks, probably. You two don’t look like the fastest walkers.” His voice was cold, “If anything, you’ll just slow us down.” Joe stood up and walked outside. We followed, having nothing to bring ourselves.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Zack stood up tall and tightened his grip on the knife. I sighed.
Joe ignored him, “We will walk - though I am hoping to find a car or some automobile we can use - along the bay, since being closer to water is safest; we will have somewhere to run. We will go all the way down to San Jose, then loop around the end of the Bay, and back up to San Francisco. We will have to pass National Parks and Woods. If we survived the storm, animals must have, too. So we will have to be on our guard. We will go into each town and area where things don’t look too bad and look for survivors, food, and weapons.” Joe turned around and pointed to Zach, then at me, “Give her the knife.”
Zach handed it over to me, but I just stared at Joe. “He has more use for it than I do. He could protect us-“
“He is also eleven.” Joe grabbed the knife from Zach and forced it into my shaking hand.
I stared down at the sharp blade. The wooden handle reminded me of the knives I used to have in my home. How I only used to chop vegetables and meat with it, and now it could be used to kill something?
“I-“ But, I soon realized that there was no giving in to Joe. When he made up his mind, there was no changing it. And ten-to-one, even though I had little confidence in myself, the knife would be more useful in my hands. “Okay.”
We walked away from the shelter. Our little team: Joe in front, the kids in the middle, Zach half-carrying Abby, and I in back. Joe walked on, but I couldn’t help sneaking one last look at my temporary home.
Its always-moving walls were damper than ever - it had rained the night before - but the wooden roof held strong. Maybe Joe was more useful than I had thought.
But, could his handiness help us with the journey ahead? My entire life from the point of the storm had been crazy, but a walk to San Francisco seemed like a walk to the noose. We had no idea what was out there, or how to defend ourselves against it. I was more afraid than I had been since I found out my parents were…dead.
I swallowed-hard. It was still difficult to except the fact that I would never see them again.
But, like Joe said, we were alive, and we must live. So, I walked away, swallowing down tears, following complete strangers to a new chapter in my life.
And this time, I didn’t look back.
Episode 2
********
“Mrs. Pierce, I can’t help but thinking we are missing some part of the story. I feel like Joe knew something at this point that you didn’t. But, I can’t put my finger on it.” Mr. Colton whispered as if the story was affecting his way of life or something.
“Well, there is something. I mean, you all know the history of your present world…”
“You were that Mary?” Mr. Colton asks, mouth open wide.
“Of course; why else would you be interviewing me?”
“I guess I figured they already knew everything…”
“No,” I shift my position on the couch. “Not everything.”
********
To exit our town, we would have to swim across some body of water. They weren’t big, though.
We had two choices: Go across a deep and ever-moving 15 foot river, or a 30 foot break in the bay, but it was quiet and still. I voted for the still one, but Joe thought it would be easier on all of us the shorter the swim. I had no choice to agree. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and I knew nothing.
So we headed for the tip of the island that I used to call my home. And for once in my life, I regretted growing up on an island.
The rest of the town was just the same as the rest: colorless, odorless, and people-less. I felt so alone, even though I was with three other people.
Zach always seemed confident. He was almost like a miniature Joe, though not as god-like. And Abby’s heel was feeling better, so every so often she would walk on her own. Swimming was going to be easy, and hopefully relieving for her.
And Joe. Joe always amazed me. He now walked with his shirt off, displaying dark abs and a toned back.
But Joe had more than just looks - including perfect hair and deep considering eyes. He was impossible. He was magical, like he wasn’t created by other humans, but by some fantastic source. The way his steps flowed gracefully even though he walked on uneven surfaces told me one thing: he was not from this world.
Up ahead, I saw him stop and turn around. His face was troublesome. I ran up ahead to him and the kids, as quietly as I could, for I didn’t know what was up ahead. Joe held his index finger to his lips and made a “shh” sound. I nodded and stepped in front of him. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I shivered. It was a good, warm shiver though.
I could hear rustling noises, but couldn’t see anything. We must have walked into a property, because small remains of a house lay beneath us. To the left of me, there was even a piece of terra-cotta roof intact. I was standing on checkered tile that I assumed to be from a bathroom. How tacky, I thought - idiotically, I might add.
Then a white animal showed its beautiful face from behind an old kitchen counter a few feet from where I was standing. I jumped, but it didn’t hear me. It was making too much noise searching for something.
“I think there’s food here,” Joe whispered in my ear, the warmth from his breath soothing me. “We need that food. Any ideas?”
“Not get into a battle with a hungry wild dog?” I took a step back, but just ran into Joe’s body.
“It doesn’t look wild. It has a collar.” I looked and, sure enough, a red band rested around its neck. I thought for a moment. It wouldn’t be smart of us to show ourselves to the dog... pampered or not, it was still hungry, and we were food.
“Do you have any more beans?” I asked, because I had a plan.
