Black Sun by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 49

Knowing the area, Ryan decided their next stop would Rotterdam. It wasn't as far off as Amsterdam, and they could almost certainly find food and shelter. However, getting there demanded they leave route 90 and backtrack to the intersection of route 7.

“So, how far is Rotterdam from here?” Abby asked. Ryan stopped momentarily to examine the map. “Well,” he replied. “It's a shorter distance than going up route 90, and we should be able to find shelter somewhere along the way.” As they walked to the intersection, Abby began to slow in her pace. Ryan immediately took notice.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You're not getting sick, are you?”

“I don't see how,” she replied. “It's not like we've been around a lot of people.”

Taking this into consideration, Ryan was still left with the question of why she seemed to be losing strength and passing out periodically. Then, a thought crept into his mind. It should have been obvious, but he was so busy trying to think of other causes that might be responsible for her behavior. At this point, he dared not say anything about what he thought was the reason for her illness—that she might be pregnant. After all, they had never used any form of protection, and the thought of bringing a child into a world of devastation seemed far more terrifying than the idea of being shot at.

“What the fuck are we going to do?” he thought to himself. “Having a kid? Fuck, this is nuts.”

Regaining her strength, Abby noticed that Ryan seemed preoccupied and out of concern asked if there was a problem. “Oh, no,” he replied. “I just want to get to Rotterdam before the sun comes up.”

It was the perfect lie. They were there anyway, and Abby appeared to believe him.

The road to the intersection was short, and Ryan and Abby made good time in getting there. As the intersection came into view, Ryan saw the way to get onto route 7. From there, Rotterdam was within easy reach and Ryan believed that shelter would be easy to find. But he felt his concern for Abby returning and wondered if she could handle the long walk she faced. He didn't want to be without her, and losing her would be beyond devastating, leaving him to consider the idea of suicide. Continuing to watch her closely, he looked for any other signs that might pull his suspicions away from the obvious alternative. But Ryan was not the only one concerned about Abby's health. She, too, had conducted a silent conversation regarding her odd symptoms and suspected the same assumption Ryan had. Although she tried to explain it away as something else, just under the surface she felt the terror of introducing a new life to an insane world. Then, there was the realization that if she was, indeed, pregnant, she would give birth without medical support and feel every ounce of pain. But, now, the priority was finding shelter and food.