by Sage du Toit
The last verse was just Sam and she felt a little self-conscious but she just closed her eyes and sang with her heart, “If there is a load you have to bear, That you can’t carry. I’m right up the road, I’ll share your load. If you just call me” and as she said the last call me they stared a round robin of “Call me”, then every few Call me’s someone would sing “If you need a friend”. This went on for just a short bit and faded out.
The room was quiet and everyone laid down. She opened her eyes and Green eyes was still staring at her. He had laid his cardboard bed down right next to hers. She hadn’t even felt or sensed him there until he started singing. She looked down and saw his poncho liner laid out over the cardboard and felt immediate envy. She looked up and he said, “That was beautiful.” She smiled lightly at him and then sighed, closing her eyes.
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17 December 2020 (Continued)
Douglasville, GA
Pouring herself a third cup of coffee she stirred in the sugar and creamer, adding extra sugar this time to make up for the tepid bitter coffee. She took the coffee and headed to the girl's room. She opened the curtains and blinds just like the other room and looked around. There was a single white framed bed with pink and white blankets and sheets. The room was a mess with dolls and barbies and clothes tossed all over the place. She made a cursory search of the drawers and closet and didn’t find anything useful. Standing and looking around the room it reminded her of her sister’s room. The only thing missing was her sister’s large doll house. She closed the curtains and blinds and closed the doors to both rooms. She then went into the bathroom that was in the hallway and decided it would be prudent to plug up the bathtub in this room and fill it up with water just in case. After doing so she looked through the cabinets and drawers in the bathroom and found more toilet paper and another new tube of toothpaste. She turned off the water in the bathtub and took the few items and shut the door, going to put the items away in the Master bath.
She decided she would eat lunch and then check out the house next door. She didn’t want to go any farther than that and honestly, she felt so secure in this house right now she would rather not leave at all but she wanted to find Lucky some better food. Maybe she would get lucky again and next door would be the neighborhood cat lady!
She looked through the food and decided she would make a box of Mac n’ Cheese. She could eat half of it now and then the other half for dinner. She put a pot of water on the stove to boil and waited for the noodles to cook. The noodles were done and she took the pot and drained the water into a big bowl. She would try to give it to Lucky after it was cool, maybe the noodle water would provide her with some more nutrition, no sense in wasting it. She mixed the cheese packet in the noodles and then added a little of the creamer and some of her drinking water to make up for no milk and no butter. She decided to add a package of the flavored tuna too, she needed the protein to help her muscles build back up strength. When she opened the tuna packet, Lucky came running out of the closet. She laughed and said, “Sorry Lucky, this is my tuna!” but she pinched off a small bit of the Lemon pepper flavored tuna and put it in the tuna can from this morning and then sat the bowl of noodle water on the floor.
Sitting in the collapsible chair at the end of the bed she ate right out of the pan with the spoon that she used to stir with. Lucky turned around and looked at her... like she was asking where the rest of her food was. She then sniffed the bowl of noodle water and took a few tentative drinks. Lucky’s tongue flipped in and out of her mouth a few times like she was trying to decide if she liked it but then dipped her head back down and drank some more. Sam finished eating and placed the pot back on the camp stove and put the lid on it. She knew the smell of the tuna might attract Lucky to the pot while she was gone so she made sure the pot was cool and placed the heavy bag of rice on top of the lid. She would need to grab a few more plastic bowls and lids from the kitchen for her leftovers. There were several meals that she would make that she wouldn’t be able to eat all at once and she didn’t want to waste or let Lucky get into her food.
She checked the Sig Sauer that was in the shoulder holster she found in the gun safe and then put it on under the flannel shirt with the 9 mm on one side and an extra magazine in the other. She then grabbed the empty backpack and put it on as well. She checked her Bowie knife that was on her belt and grabbed her small flash light just in case she needed to check a dark area. She slipped her gas mask on, checked the seal and then put her gloves on. She glanced around the room and made sure it was all tidy and then checked to make sure Lucky was in the closet with the kittens and shut door. She then realized she didn’t need to worry about Lucky getting into her food, she could just keep her in the closet. But she liked Lucky cuddling up with her and rubbing up against her ankles so she didn’t want to keep the door shut all of the time!
Taking the step ladder, that she had found in the kitchen, she placed it next to the table and opened up the window all of the way. She had to pull the taped-up bag half way down and it ended up falling all of the way off. She might have to find a better way to black out the windows, the heat and steam from cooking next to it would weaken the tape and she didn’t want to take a chance of the plastic falling down while she was cooking...that could mean disaster! The window had a screen on it and she found the tabs and pulled up and removed the screen, bringing it inside and setting it against the wall. She would replace it later.
The window was about chest high on her so she had to climb on the step ladder and placing a foot on the table she sat on the window sill and swung her legs outside and ducking her head under the window she jumped out, landing on both feet with bent knees. She turned around and looked up at the window, it was much higher from the outside, she would need to get the ladder from the shed to climb back in. She reached up and partially closed the window, she didn’t want the lock to snap shut and keep her out of her new safe house!
Sam looked around the backyard, nothing had changed from the day before. She walked over and looked at her handiwork of the ply-boards on the sliding glass door. There were a few nails that had missed the spot and were sticking out around the edges, aside from the ones that went all the way down the center where the two boards were overlapped. The whole thing was a real eye sore and she was afraid that if anyone saw it, it would draw attention to the house. Luckily it was at the back of the house but she didn’t know what she could do to cover it up......maybe she could tack up a tarp over it. Actually, that wouldn’t be a bad idea, it would also keep the rain from blowing in on the boards and inside. She remembered seeing some tarps in the shed so she decided she would do that later today if she had time. If not then she could do it tomorrow.
She went around the back of the shed to see if she could sneak into the neighbor’s yard from the back. The fence went all the way to the tree line and there was an old barb wire fence weaved through the trees that she hadn’t noticed from the house. She looked to see if she could climb through the fence somewhere but the barb wire was taut and she didn’t want to take a chance of ripping her jeans or scratching herself on the rusty barbs. She walked around to the side of the house and peeking through a crack in the fence gate she opened it wand went to the front of the house which is the way she originally came up to the house. It was pure chance that she found this house at the dead of the road. The fact that there were no embellishments or extra gardens or plants is what made her decide to stop in the first place. Plus, she was hanging by her last thread with no hope.
Standing at the front corner of the house she looked out toward the street and down to the corner where the road turned onto this one. She didn’t see any movement and everything was completely quiet. Keeping as low a profile as she could she scurried across the front of the house and stopped behind a big tree to look at the neighbor’s house. There were dying potted plants all across the front porch and empty flower beds around the sides and to the front. The grass was grown up and getting high just like all of the ot
her houses in the area. From her spot behind the tree it looked like the windows and the front door were open. She knew that what she was about to find in that house would not be a pretty sight and she steeled up her never to move across the front lawn and up on the porch, after taking a last look around to make sure there wasn’t anyone around.
There was a screen door but it wasn’t even latched, it was bumping up against the door frame in the slight breeze. Sam looked through the screen door and just inside the door she could see a decomposed body lying on the floor. It looked like an older woman, wearing a house coat and slippers and she noticed that there was something held in its arms and when she opened the door she saw it was a black and white furred body. It was so decayed she couldn't be sure but it was most likely a cat. The owner and the cat must have died together. So many bodies were everywhere, this was not the worst she had seen. Some bodies were mangled from accidents that happened as they died and, in some places, there were dozens of bodies just piled up like trash.
Sam skirted around the body trying not to look too close at it. She was very thankful for the gas mask. There was no way she wanted that smell in her nose. She knew already that she was going to have to throw these clothes away as soon as she got back home. She probably would have anyway, she didn’t want to take any chances. Tom had told her that most of the nerve agent should have dissipated or been washed away by the rains by now. But she didn’t see any reason not to use extra caution when she could.
The front door lead into a small living room. There was cat stuff everywhere; cat trees, cat boxes, figurines of cats, cat pillows, pictures of cats, there was even a cat rug. Looks like her luck was holding out, the cat Lady did live next door! Of course, this is probably where Lucky came from...but the question is how did Lucky survive?
The cat tree was one of those fancy tall ones with the box house on the top and multiple platforms and sisal rope wrapped all the way down the posts. She wondered if she could take that back with her and decided she would look at it later. There was a sliding glass door on the back, but it wasn’t broken, it was just standing open. The kitchen was on the front of the house to the left of the entryway. She walked around the standing bar and noticed another decayed furred body on the floor. She wondered how many cats the lady had and how many of them were dead. There had to be at least two cats that survived in the area, unless Lucky was the Virgin Mary of cats!
Looking in the kitchen it looked like someone had also looted this house for food. But she was OK with that, maybe that’s why they didn’t look as hard in her safe house, besides she wasn’t looking for food for herself, she needed cat food and kitten food. There were several bowls on the floor under the window so Sam opened the closest cabinet and saw stacks of canned cat food. Guess the looters weren’t desperate enough to eat canned cat food. Sam was glad she found the other food before this cat food, or she probably would have eaten it herself she had been so hungry. Now she was glad she could save it for Lucky.
Taking off her pack she loaded the cans inside. On the bottom shelf there were several small purple bags, she pulled one out and held it up to the light so she could see what it was, the writing said Iams Kitten food. She grabbed all the little bags and placed them in the sack. She was getting an idea that this wasn’t just a normal cat lady, she might have been a breeder from all of the kitten food bags she found. Sam looked through the rest of the cabinets just in case there was more food or the looters had missed something. She got excited when she saw the corner L door wasn’t open but when she opened it she saw the looters didn’t miss anything by skipping the cabinet this time, it just had some small appliances and a bunch of random bowls. Just as she was about to pick up her bag and leave she noticed a large plastic container sitting next to the garbage can and when she removed the lid she saw there was a 20 lb. bag of dry cat food inside. And since it was in a sealed container, even though the bag was open, it should be fine.
She put the heavy backpack on her back and picked up the plastic container of food. She got what she came for...she debated searching the rest of the house but she decided to put it off until later. She already had a heavy load and she wanted to put the tarp up over the back door. Clutching the plastic container in her arms she went back out the front door, careful to step around the decaying bodies.
Quickly surveying the area, she didn’t see anything new or moving so she headed straight across the front of the house and around the corner to the gate. She carefully closed the wooden gate behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. She kept expecting someone to find her...and the thought scared her more than anything. She opened the window and leaned the ladder from the shed against the sill. She left the large plastic container outside and climbed up and dropped the backpack inside the window. She thought it should be safe enough now that she was home and she removed her gas mask and also dropped that in the window. She realized how difficult it was going to be climbing in and out of the window and knew she would need to rethink the front door being nailed shut. She certainly wouldn’t be able bring the large scratching post over and through the window.
Leaving the ladder leaned up against the window she went back to the shed and found the tarp she had seen. The green tarp was still in the bag and it showed the dimensions were 10’x12’ Medium Duty tarp. Now she just needed to find a way to secure it to the outside so it wouldn’t blow away with the first heavy wind. Looking around the shed she saw some long boards stacked up in front of the few plywood sheets that were left, there were various sizes but when she found the 1”x2” boards she remembered how her dad used those to secure the tarp to the roof when the last hurricane blew a tree on the roof. She remembered seeing some screws and an electric screw driver in the metal cabinet. She didn’t relish the idea of putting that many screws in by hand, she tested the screw driver and it was working, there was also an extra battery and she checked it and it was charged as well.
Taking the long board that fit perfectly across the 10’ side of the tarp she wrapped the tarp around the board a few times and put screws threw the tarp about 2’ apart all the way down the board. She then rolled the tarp up on the board until a small section was left and then she did the same thing with another board on the opposite end. She stuffed some screws in her pockets and took the rolled-up tarp and the screw driver to the back door. She unrolled the tarp and laid it out on the ground in front of the boarded-up door. The house had Vinyl siding on the top half and brick on the bottom. She took one of the wrapped boards and pressed it vertically against the side of the house close to the corner of the house. The board just barely fit under the eve of the house. She reached up and put a screw through the board as high as she could reach. She then picked up the other board and stretched the tarp out as taut as she could and placed a screw in that board securing it to the wall. She then went back and forth putting screws in the boards and adjusting them to make it as tight as she could get. She tried putting screws through the board into the bricks but the screws wouldn’t go in. The center of tarp at the top had a bit of sag to it so she got another long board from the shed and using the ladder she placed the board across the very top and placed screws about every 2 feet.
She stood back and looked at the tarp, it covered a large portion of the back of the house. You couldn’t even tell where the broken door was unless you pressed your hand against the tarp and found the empty space or a nail. Hopefully the nails wouldn’t tear the tarp when the wind blew it. There was a stack of cinder blocks next to the shed and she hauled them over and lined them up along the bottom of tarp. She thought it looked very professional and hopefully if anyone saw it they would think it was from some remodeling project that started before N-day.
The sun was getting low in the sky so she put everything away and quickly hosed off the large plastic container and her boots. Sam carefully stripped off her outer clothes and gun holster. She wrapped her wet boots in her t-shirt and climbing up the ladder to the window with her teeth chattering from the chilly wind, sh
e carefully tossed everything through the open window, making sure her dirty clothes were wrapped up tight together. She lowered the large plastic container down to the table that was just under the window. Climbing in the window while half naked off of the ladder was a lot more awkward than it was climbing out. But after scrapping the back of her leg and an arm getting inside she decided she would make the front door her exit in the future. Once inside she pulled the ladder in and leaned it against the wall next to the closet and shut the window and put the plastic back up over the window with some additional tape.
Sam put what was left of the coffee and the Mac over low heat on the stove. She was about to take a quick shower and she knew she would be chilled to the bone when she was done. Not bothering with the candles, she just grabbed the electric lantern and took it with her to the bathroom. After a very quick cold shower she came back out and turned off the burners on the stove. She realized she forgot to crack the window when she had the stove on but maybe it was OK since it wasn’t on long. Wrapped in a towel she quickly made her cup of coffee and hearing Lucky scratching at the closet door she opened the door and apologized to her for locking her in the closet all day. Lucky rubbed against her ankles and didn’t seem any the worse for being locked-up.
Taking clothes out of the dresser she put on clean underclothes and a sweat shirt and sweat pants that were in the bottom drawer. Her boots needed to dry out and she wouldn’t be going anywhere else tonight. She was starting to feel more relaxed and didn’t feel the need to be dressed ready to take off any moment. Tonight, would be the first night she slept without her boots on in a long time. She opened a can of the cat food that was still in the backpack and dumped it in a bowl for Lucky. Sitting down she finished eating the rest of the Mac while Lucky polished off the whole can of cat food. Sam also put the empty can down and let Lucky lick it clean.