The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 20

With Eli still shrinking back from the idea of going out at night, given the circumstances, Nathan offered to go and Jackson quickly volunteered as well. Maya commended both, saying that two could work faster than one and safety would, hopefully, not be as much of an issue. They dressed in the darkest clothes they had and, opening the cabin door, started their journey down the access road towards Easton. Nathan, having driven the second car, knew the walk would take a few hours and at night in the mountains, the air would get colder as time went on. Jackson, however, had slept most of the way, and not only was he in the dark about how far the walk would be, but was also unaccustomed to such a lengthy jaunt. Before closing the door, Maya offered a few words of caution. “Guys,” she said. “Be careful out there, and I want both of you back in one piece, got it?” Neither of them were comfortable going out into the night. Even such wandering in the city came with its own risks, but if they were going to eat, someone had to go. As they closed the door, Nathan simply nodded, looking at Maya with obvious concern. The door closed.

The night air was nearly euphoric as Jackson and Nathan walked around to the front of the cabin. “How far are we going?” Jackson asked. “I’m not sure,” Nathan replied. “But it’s going to take longer to get there on foot than in the car.” Keeping their voices low, they continued with their brief conversation, wondering what they might find or who they might encounter. They could have talked about a lot of things—school, their respective industries, or how they would deal with a situation that likely had made its way across the country. But it was with this topic that they decided against any further conversation— that silence is an important piece to the puzzle of survival.

As they continued their walk, they breathed deeply from the cool night air. Neither had ever had such an experience, and both found the sensation of breathing cool, clean air almost intoxicating. Hearing an owl calling from the distance, Nathan and Jackson stopped, hoping to hear it again. But their fascination with the ghosts of the nocturnal woodland came to an end as they became overwhelmed by silence. Only the sound of their shoes scuffing along the dirt road offered the comfort of a connection with the earthly, away from the maddening stillness of the mountain air. Now, in what would turn out to be a lengthy walk, the two discovered that as the road continued it also led downhill, making their journey noticeably easier. But this would come at a price. Should they return with what was hoped for, Nathan and Jackson realized that going back to the cabin wasn’t going to be nearly as easy. They would be carrying a heavy load of food and water uphill, and it would be anything but pleasant.

The only benefit to walking downhill seemed to be that their steps were quicker, and within an hour they reached the edge of Easton soon after. On a map, it could easily be missed, and driving by it, one might mistake it for a simple rest stop. Enter the town, Nathan and Jackson stopped and, surveying the area, saw that if they were going to find what they needed, a search of the town was necessary.

“Where do we go?” Jackson asked. “I don’t know,” Nathan replied. “I’ve never been here before. I guess we just have to look around.” Standing in the middle of nowhere at night seemed foreign, and both suddenly felt themselves filled with tension as they thought of how to proceed.

“There’s a lot of cars around here,” Jackson continued. “Maybe we can get some gas from one of them.”

They spoke in whispers, afraid of being heard. But the only things nearby that could be remotely aware of their presence were the pines that lined the highway and the mountains, standing majestically behind.

“That’s a good idea,” Nathan said. “We can take care of that later. But we need to find food first.” Jackson suggested splitting up, thinking it would make their search go faster. But Nathan was not in favor of such a strategy, given the area's lack of familiarity. Therefore, they would continue searching together.

With eyes scanning every detail, Nathan and Jackson continued their search. Immediately, they noticed how much open land outnumbered the houses. This seemed to be the hallmark of a place that could be described as out of the way. “Jesus Christ,” Jackson said. “Why would anyone want to live all the way the fuck out here?” Still speaking in whispers, Nathan replied with similar disbelief.

“I have no idea. I mean, what does this place have to offer anyway?”

Suddenly stopping, Nathan pointed out a local business.

“Jackson,” he said. “Check it out. It’s a fucking RV store.”

It was as if they had seen God. This could be the group’s salvation. They could go anywhere as long as they had a regular supply of gas, food, and water. But a find like this required discussion, and they would bring it up when they returned to the cabin.

Having felt the excitement of life in an RV, Nathan and Jackson returned to their search and, walking toward the center of town, became discouraged at the lack of any retail stores. The streets were no more than dirt roads, and navigating through the town in complete darkness was difficult. But rounding a corner, they discovered a small store. The sign above its entrance read ‘The Hitching Post’. Nathan and Jackson were ecstatic but withheld any celebration until they determined if the store had anything to offer.

“Do you think the place has been looted?” Jackson asked.

Nathan looked at him as if he had been struck dumb.

“In this area?” he replied. “Are you shitting me? Everyone’s probably dead.”

With this statement, they, once again, felt the weight of their circumstances. Yet, at the same time, if they were going to help themselves to a store’s entire stock, it was likely better that no one was around.

Carefully walking up the steps, Nathan and Jackson became startled at the groans and creaks screaming underfoot.

“Jesus Christ,” Nathan said. “I almost pissed myself.”

Jackson chuckled quietly at his expense, but soon found themselves at the store’s front door, their eagerness tempered by caution. Looking through the screen door, they found it impossible to see beyond the shadows created by the lack of power. Here was the risk they had earlier contemplated as Maya’s words echoed in their minds. ‘Come back in one piece’.

“Well,” Nathan said. “After you.” When Jackson volunteered, he was unaware of how frighteningly desolate the area would be and the only thing he wanted now was for everything to go back to normal—back to class, to studying, to getting drunk after finals. He had never been so afraid in his life.

“Fuck you,” Jackson replied. “You’re the one with all the guts, you go in first.”

Still, in a whispered voice, Nathan delivered a necessary insult.

“Jesus Christ, you’re such a fucking pussy.” Looking down through the darkness, Nathan found the door handle. It was little more than a curved piece of rusty metal screwed into the side of the plywood door. Opening it slowly, they were once again startled as its hinges shrieked, not having moved for several days.

“God dammit,” he said. “Haven’t these people ever heard of oil?”

Walking inside, they stumbled through the darkness until Jackson struck his head on the edge of a wire display rack.

“Ow, fuck,” he said. “What the hell is that?” Frustrated, Nathan spoke through the opaque black air, scolding him slightly.

“Come on,” he replied. “Don’t be such a pussy.” Backing away from the wire display, Jackson tried to get his bearings, but under a new moon, there was no light to make its way through the windows that could aid them in their search. But Nathan had an idea.

“Jackson,” he began. “Stay still. Try to let your eyes adjust. We should still be able to see something.”

“Okay,” Jackson replied.

A moment went by and with no improvement to their sight, Jackson called out for Nathan. “Hey,” he said. “Where the fuck are you, anyway?”

Patience was not something Jackson was known for, and continued in his attempt to find his way around, knocking over the display behind him. “What the fuck are you doing?” Nathan asked. “Stay there--and don’t move.”

A cat’s eyes can see three times better through the darkness than those of people, but Jackson and Nathan, eventually adjusted. However, the change was not quite enough, leaving the two still wandering the store, barely seeing anything. Following Nathan’s advice, Jackson remained in place while Nathan could see barely enough to find him. Walking carefully up to his side, Nathan touched him on the arm, startling him into a gasp. “God dammit,” Jackson said. “Don’t do that again. Jesus Christ.”

This would take time.

Having regained their bearings, they noticed the darkness was continuing to lighten, allowing them to see with more clarity. Now, the rows of shelves and displays stood out unveiling a host of bread, cereal, snacks, and other goods. Nathan and Jackson were overjoyed at the sight of so much food—ready for the taking. But for the sake of maintaining calm, they withheld any celebration and upon brief discussion agreed to take only what they needed. There was an exception. Seeing nothing wrong with the occasional snack, they opted to take several bars of chocolate, a bag of cookies, and two six-packs of soda. Milk and juices were off the list, having gone bad without refrigeration. Fortunately, they discovered several boxes of powdered milk. Naturally, comments were made.

“Powdered milk?” Jackson began. “Fucking gross.”

As distasteful as it was, Nathan still saw the necessity of having something nutritious and was certain that everyone, seeing the same necessity, would, somehow, be able to choke it down.

Having found a pile of plastic shopping bags, Nathan and Jackson filled several and started out, trying to be as quiet as when they entered. The hinges of the screen door, again betrayed the silence of the night, prompting them to freeze in place, scanning the surrounding area—listening to the night's dead air. They spent so much time searching the town of Easton that they came to believe they had become accustomed to it, but as Nathan’s foot found the first step, he slipped off, landing hard on the steps below. Fortunately, the bags of food he carried were still intact, but the fall left him groaning in pain.

“Fuck,” he said. “Right on my ass.”

Jackson was unable to restrain his laughter and held out a hand to help him up.

Grabbing his hand, Jackson slowly got to his feet and standing in place reached back to rub the pain out of his backside. Seeing an opportunity, Jackson voiced a taunting jab.

“How’s your ass?” he asked.

Nathan, wanting to counter his sarcasm, began unbuckling his belt.

“Why,” he began. “You want to take a look?”

“Nope,” Jackson replied. “I don’t think I want to see your ass.”

Nathan examined the bags he was carrying and, finding no damage, urged Jackson to return to the cabin.