The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 71

Finding an empty house toward the middle of town, Aurora managed a difficult sleep, tossing and turning, expecting to reach over and find Maya’s warmth next to her. This experience would haunt her for the rest of her life as she tried to make sense of living in a world without her. Happening upon an SUV devoid of the stinking death she found in almost every car, she made certain the tank was full before loading it with essential supplies. They had initially planned to go to Colorado, but that idea had recently lost its attraction. As she drove onto Route 90, Aurora began to wonder what it was that drove them out of Tacoma – why they would leave at all. They could have easily migrated to a less sparse part of town instead of risking their lives in unfamiliar territory. She was, oddly enough, surprised they survived for as long as they did, with largely no skills allowing them to do so. Aurora’s only option was to go back to Tacoma, knowing that in a city that size she would find shelter, food, and water. But the trauma forced upon her by death and loss had changed her. Aurora was no longer the young woman filled with doubt and emotional frailty. She was strong and determined – the warrior woman intent on fighting every battle the venomous world set at her doorstep. And if she chose, she could go back to the apartment she lived in when she was part of something meaningful. But she knew that without Maya and the rest of her friends, that place no longer held anything she wanted.

Choosing against that painful option, she would find a place to rest her head, but for now, she settled for the sensation of smooth asphalt humming under the tires of her newly acquired SUV as she drove the only road available – the road home.

End