by Sage du Toit
She was glad that most people decided to try starting their own cars or trucks. She didn’t relish the idea of sorting through all their key. She had the rest of the keys to sort out. They had removed the keys and wallets from the deceased as they had wrapped and disposed of their bodies. They collected all the IDs of those bodies that had them so they would have some record of the deceased, just in case someone came looking for them.
Sam was glad the keys at least had the make of the vehicles, that made trying them a little easier. She had five sets of keys, three were Ford, one Chevy and one Kia. She tried the Kia first and it didn’t work. Then she found a Chevy Cruise in the parking lot and the key opened the door but it wouldn’t start either. As she was sorting through the Ford keys, she heard a truck crank up and Charlie pulled his old truck to the front of the store. Sam was glad they had at least one more working vehicle and that it was a truck was great for transporting big items. The people that had already tried their keys were crowding around Charlie’s truck and congratulating him. Sam finished trying the keys and was surprised when a white van pulled around to the front behind Charlie’s truck. Beth got out of the van and said she needed to get back in to Martha, but she was smiling as she threw the keys to Sam.
After talking to the people that were outside, the group decided that two people would go with Sam to Academy in Charlie’s truck and three other people would take the van and go to the International Food Market that was on the other side of the Freeway. James and Chris were coming with Sam to the Academy. Daniel, Madison (a young woman that had been the hostess and that seemed to have a thing for Daniel) and Steve (a quiet man that looked like he was in his sixties) were going to the International Food Market. The Food Market had been Daniels idea once he saw the van, he said they would have a bunch of non-perishable items. Even though they had a lot of food there were some things they were lacking and he wanted to see if he could get them there.
Sam went in to check on the kittens before leaving and found them all crashed out with Noah on his new mattress. She decided she would leave them as they were and went to tell Beth. As she walked up to Beth she saw that Martha was awake and was talking to her and crying. Sam knelt next to Martha and took her hand. She felt sorry for her, but doing the drugs had been her choice and now she was going to have to deal with the consequences. Martha looked at Sam and sobbed, she leaned down and gave her hug and told her they were all there for her. She had a fleeting thought of asking her about the guns but decided now was not the time and she would wait for Tom and Jacob to get back.
She told Beth she was leaving and about the kittens and then headed for the front door. Daniel and his group were just leaving and James and Chris were at the door waiting for her. Just then Tom pulled up with Jacob and they saw the back of the truck was loaded down with more boxes and she saw several large black canvas bags that she hadn’t seen before.
They all went outside and Daniel’s group got out of the van and they all started to help unload the truck. After everything was unloaded and inside, Jacob called his group together and distributed guns and ammo. More than half of the group said they had used guns in the past and didn’t need any instructions. The others they went over the use and safety of hand guns and told those people to just keep the guns on safety and put away in the holster unless they were planning on actually shooting someone.
Sam told Tom and Jacob about where the six of them were going and Tom said he would join Sam, Jacob was going to stay there and find a safe place to store all the ammo and guns. Tom suggested the walk-in freezer where they could be locked up and Jacob smacked him on the back and said great idea! Sam smiled at the look on Tom’s face from the hard smack. She could tell the two men had bonded and were becoming good friends fast.
They all loaded up again and took off. Sam gave the keys to James and told him to drive, Sam and Tom sat in the back of the truck and let Chris sit up front. The drive to Academy was very short but Tom told Sam they had found the dumpster outside the little Country Store was full of stuff, not just garbage. All the guns were in there, plus boxes of alcohol, as well as a backpack full of prescription drugs. That was in addition to the backpack of drugs and paraphernalia that was inside near Hollis’ body. He said they left the alcohol and drugs but took the guns and prescriptions, Jacob said that Beth would know what they were for and distribute them if needed. Some of the older people in their group needed medication.
They arrived at Academy and found the biggest and nicest grills and loaded two of them. They talked about the wood burning smoke grills but decided it would be a waste of wood without actual meat to smoke. They then broke into the cage where all the propane tanks were stored outside and loaded six of them in the truck. They then went inside and each took a shopping cart to go around and look for items that would be useful.
Sam found some large grilling utensils in a fancy box and took that as well as several other grilling accessories. There were also a lot of spices and cast-iron cooking pans. She also took a giant stainless-steel pot used for deep frying turkeys and thought it would be great for boiling large amounts of water. She was reminded of her scavenging trips she did when she was at Fort Jackson and she felt a bit of nostalgia as she thought of the friends she left behind.
The back of the truck was packed and overflowing with everything they had found. They had even loaded the smaller stuff into bags to make it easier to unload, but there was no room left for anyone to sit in the back. They all crammed into the front cab of the truck, with Sam sitting on Tom’s lap, which she enjoyed to its fullest.
When they got back to the Cracker Barrell, James pulled the truck around to the back where they could unload the stuff right into the kitchen and find a place to set up the grills outside. There wasn’t a covered area outside, but James had thought of that and took two big canopies to set up out the back door. The back door was already open and Sarah, Taylor (Ella’s mother) and Latisha (a woman from the Cracker Barrel group that had been a waitress) were all hauling wood inside from the BBQ restaurant that was next door. They had already gone through the wood that was inside. Sam had a fleeting concern that the wood could be contaminated if it was sitting outside, but when she looked next door she could see a big metal container that was open and full of cut wood. Sam thought how convenient!
Sam was distracted as she helped unload the truck, thinking about all the coincidences that seemed to come together for some people. She thought, what was the likelihood that a group of kids would survive and the only other group of people to be found would have most of their parents. Those were some narrow circumstances that fell just right. The same with this one restaurant where they survived would have a big fireplace to keep them warm and it being right next door to a whole container full of wood. Sam thought of herself finding the one house in the whole neighborhood that had so many things in it that she needed to survive. None of the other houses in the neighborhood had any of those things, but she found the one house that had everything. She had considered herself very lucky but it looked like the luck extended further than herself.
Just as they finished sitting up the canopies, Daniel pulled up in the van and they helped unload the bags and boxes. Daniel said they had even found dried meat, summer sausage, smoked fish and some hard cheeses. He was very excited and said he was going to make a special dinner tonight. Which lead all the locals to discussing where they could get more meats and cheeses. Taylor said there was a butcher place near her daughter’s school that sold all types of jerky and other dried meats. Daniel said they were defiantly going there tomorrow.
Sam was very entertained to see how excited they were all getting and knew this group was going to be just fine. Sam looked around for Tom and found him back inside with Jacob. She wondered how much longer they were going to spend here. She wasn’t in a hurry to leave but at the same time she knew the longer they waited the harder it would be for them to leave.
That evening the group discussed plans for each person to go vis
it their home and get any personal belongings they would need because they all needed clothes. They had discussed returning to their houses and staying but they realized they would all have a better chance of survival if they stuck together for now, especially since it was winter and very cold outside. Charlie kept telling everyone that his bones felt another cold front coming in so they decided they would need to hurry before it hit, right now old Charlie was their best weather forecast.
Tom and Sam decided to spend the night at the Cracker Barrell. They were both interested to see what special dinner Daniel was going to make tonight and the group had an extra mattress for them to use. Sam was also interested in seeing how this group of people operated. The kittens and Lucky had also settled in nice with the group. Even Linda who had seemed to not like the kittens had softened to them when Serena came and curled up in her lap to sleep.
Daniel was cooking and whatever it was, it smelled delicious. Even the kittens kept nosing around the kitchen door and Sam had to put them in the trailer with some food. Noah was especially disappointed that they were locked up but she explained they needed to rest and eat. Tom and Sam had been talking about when they were going to leave and Beth asked them if they would consider leaving two of the kittens with them. Sam knew that she was going to have to part with some of them at some point. They were old enough now to leave Lucky, she was still nursing them occasionally but they were eating solid food without a problem. Plus it was going to be hard to travel and care for six cats. They decided that if they left Serena and Trooper they could become a breeding pair and help to repopulate the cat population.
Sam knew from her time with her friend Nancy’s mom, that had a Cattery, that a sibling pair could breed to maintain a line. It wasn’t like they had much choice unless they found another cat. Noah was over the moon when they told him that Trooper and Serena were going to be staying. They decided they should take a trip to the local pet store to get them set up with all they would need for the kittens. Several other people were excited about the idea as well and thought they should set up a big play area for the cats. While they were all waiting for dinner to be ready, then even picked out an area in the front where they could set up the cat tree by the window.
Daniel came out and announced that dinner was ready and everyone’s mouth was already watering. They all filed into the kitchen to get a plate. There was a big wok of what looked like fish stir-fry and the fish and vegetables in it looked fresh. Sam realized this was why the kittens were so interested in going into the kitchen, Daniel had reconstituted some dried fish. There were also egg rolls and little fried dumplings with a dark sauce that looked like soy sauce, but when she tasted it, the sauce had a garlic flavor. Everyone was so surprised, they had no idea that Daniel knew how to make Chinese cuisine.
They all loaded their plates and asked Daniel where he got the vegetables and he explained that it was all reconstituted dried food that he found at the International Food Market. He also made a dessert with reconstituted dried strawberries and whipped cream from a can of evaporated milk. It was the best meal Sam and Tom had since they left Fort Jackson.
After everyone was done eating and the place was cleaned up Sam watched as they carried several big pots of steaming hot water to the bathrooms. The men and women both headed toward the bathrooms and Beth told Sam to come along. Inside of the bathroom there was a big tub of steaming water and stacks of big empty bowls. There was also a portable propane heater in the bathroom and several of the women commented on it, so she assumed it must be a new addition. The women all stripped down and showed her how they each got a clean bowl of hot water to wash with. They dumped that one out and each got a second bowl to rinse with. They helped each other wash their hair in the sink with a combination of hot and cold water from the tap. The women all helped the younger girls bathe and Beth told her that Noah had gone with Jacob to bath with the men. She said they had found this the most effective way for all of them to bath with the least amount of warm water. She added that the portable propane heater was a nice new addition. She said Jacob had gone to the tool store after Sam and her group had left for Academy. She said Jacob knew the tool store had portable heaters that would hook up to the propane tanks because they used them at the railyard sometimes.
There was a cabinet in the corner of the bathroom and Sam had assumed it was for bathroom supplies but when they were done washing the women all crowded around the cabinet to get clean clothes. Sam had her own clean clothes so she declined using any of theirs, but she saw that they all shared whatever was available. She thought how great it was that they cooperated so well with each other and she said it as well. The women laughed and said it took them some time to come to terms with it but when they all did, they realized it was better for all of them. They shared and shared alike.
Chapter 7
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5 February 2021
Douglasville, GA
In the morning Sam woke up and expected it to be exceptionally cold, like normal, but when she got up from the warm mattress where she was sleeping next to Tom, she realized it was only slightly chilly. The group had kept the fire going all night as well as the portable propane heaters on low. When she went into the bathroom, she found that one had been left on there too and it was nice to use a warm bathroom.
There were a few other people awake but when she checked her watch, she saw it was only 06:30. She didn’t want to wake Tom up by crawling back in bed so she went to check on Lucky and the kittens. She wasn’t sure how the kittens would do wandering around loose in the big place at night so she had put them all in the trailer. She parked the trailer near the fireplace so they could stay warm. She was also worried they might get confused at night and not be able to find the litter box, they were still very young. The kittens were all piled up on the top bed and Lucky was in the bottom laying inside of the hideaway sack. She opened the trailer and Lucky came out and rubbed herself around Sam’s ankles.
Sam walked into the kitchen to see who else was up and found Charlie, Daniel and Linda all sitting in the kitchen with cups of coffee. Charlie told her to get a cup and pointed to the coffee pot on the stove. Sam happily poured a cup and used the sugar and creamer that was sitting out on the counter. They were all sitting on chairs that had been brought into the kitchen. Sam realized it was even warmer in the kitchen and saw they were all sitting near the oven that was on.
That’s when she realized there was a wonderful aroma starting to come from the oven and she asked Daniel what he was baking. He said he had a big pot of oatmeal cooking on the stove and there were various flavors of muffins in the oven, including blueberry, lemon poppyseed and strawberry cheese cake. Sam’s mouth started watering just thinking about them.
Lucky had followed Sam into the kitchen and she saw the cat was already up in Charlie’s lap. He was giving the cat all the attention she could desire and even Linda was watching on without saying a word, just a small smile on her face.
When she sat down Charlie asked her if they were still leaving and she told him they would probably leave tomorrow. There were still a few things they wanted to look for before they hit the road. Charlie told her his bones were aching even more and he thought they should wait a bit because he thought there was a big storm coming, maybe even some snow. She respectfully told him she would talk to Tom. She really didn’t want to delay their leaving, but it wouldn’t hurt to wait a day or two more.
Charlie was taking the muffins out of the oven and Sam went to wake Tom. However, when she went out front, she saw that everyone was already getting up, including Tom. The kittens had woken up and were running around pouncing on everyone in their beds like they were circus trampolines. Sam watched guiltily as they ran around and realized she should have closed the trailer back after letting Lucky out. Noah was up and squealing happily as he chased the kittens around and she couldn’t help but laugh, powerless to stop all of them. No one seemed mad, several people even played
with the kittens by moving their feet under the covers, including Tom. There was laughter coming from all over the room.
Everyone was putting on warm clothes for the day and then piling into the kitchen for hot oatmeal and muffins. Daniel had even put out an assortment of things to add to the oatmeal; dried fruits, nuts, jelly, brown sugar and honey. Sam added a little honey and some of the dried fruit and took a lemon poppy seed muffin. The muffins were still hot and steaming and she eagerly took a bite before she even sat down.
As they all ate breakfast, they decided how they would split up in groups for the day and where they were all going. Sam noticed the group didn’t seem to have an individual leader, they all commented and decided together. Martha was recovering well so Beth decided she would go with Sam, Tom, Jacob and Charlie to the pet store since it was her idea for the kittens to stay, she said she was going to take primary responsibility for them. They were also going by everyone’s houses, which is why Charlie was coming along, he lived near Beth and Jacob. They were also going to stop by the bike shop. Jacob had decided that bikes were a good idea for short trips around the area and he wanted to see what type of high-end stuff the bike shop had compared to Academy and Tom wanted to look for a bigger bike for himself. Sam felt like they were going on a friendly shopping trip together and she supposed in a way it was…except there would be no customer service and once something was gone, it wouldn’t be replaced.
Daniel, Taylor and Chris were using the van to go to the butcher shop that Taylor had suggested and then they were going to visit their own houses for items they needed. The rest of the group was going to take turns going out in groups to their own houses but making sure someone was always on site with the kids. Sam asked Beth about Kaitlyn, she didn’t feel it would be good for her to go to her own house and see her mom and baby brother that were in the house dead. Beth agreed and said they would stop by her house and get items for her. The only problem was Kaitlyn didn’t agree. She said there were dead bodies everywhere now days and she thought she was old enough to handle it. So, at the last-minute Beth agreed to let Kaitlyn join them so they could at least be there for her when she went in the house.