Black Sun by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 39

They took a bit of time to rest their stomachs and after about thirty minutes Abigail got up and, dragging Ryan to his feet, informed him that it was time to plan their escape. Letting out another belch, he crawled over to his backpack and removed a large map. He set it on the floor as Abigail moved closer. “So,” he said. “Where do you want to go?” She was from Ticonderoga and not very familiar with the tri-state area, but studying the map, she found a small town that seemed like it could be a safe place to live.

“What's that place?” she asked.

Ryan leaned over the map.

“That's Gloversville,” he replied. “It's in Fulton County. I don't know much about it, but I have a couple of friends who grew up there.”

Making a closer examination of the map, Abigail became absorbed in the possibility of small town living and, searching the map for anything that could provide resources, found nothing. “It doesn't look like there's anything here,” she said. Ryan pointed out that in comparison to the size of the map, small towns like Gloversville would show themselves as small dots with no discernible features. But towns and cities are never without resources, and upon further discussion it was decided that’s where they would go. Without the malls and shopping centers of places like Albany, they would have to adapt and learn to seek out resources throughout the entire town, as well as the neighboring town of Johnstown. But first, they had to get there and the way to do that was to walk and although Gloversville was not far from Albany, what would normally be an hour’s drive would take days on foot. Certainly, they would have to stop for rest and food on the way and given the circumstances, Ryan knew there was no guarantee they would get there at all and might have to settle for another location.

After breakfast, they took stock of what resources they had collected. Some things would, of course, have to be left behind, limiting them only to what could be carried. But one thing would not be left, and that was Abby’s bag of weed. Her obsession with it was almost comical, but with what the world had become, Ryan couldn’t fault her for having it, realizing that a simple plant could suffice as an emotional Band Aide. As long as she had it, the world would not be such a painful place – especially after she had been assaulted in the book store.

They wanted to travel light, knowing they would be on the road for several days. In spite of the economic toilet Gloversville and Johnstown had once been, Ryan was certain they would find the necessities of life. He also knew that their luck could run out at any moment, and they might be forced to search house-to-house for food, water, and blankets. In all probability, they would not find any weed in a town such as Gloversville. During the 70s, there were about 30,000 people living there. But by the time 2020 came around, the population had plunged to 15,000. Clearly, the town of Gloversville was on its way out and would, at some point, become a ghost town, devoid of the only resource that mattered – people. With this harsh reality in mind, Ryan decided that Johnstown would be a better choice in their search for safety. The town had a history of steady growth, in spite of having been around 8,500 people in residence. This shortly became a topic of conversation and as they finished packing, Abby commented that she was in complete agreement of Ryan’s change of plans.