Survivors of the Sun

by Kingslie, Mia

  They stood unmoving for a few seconds, Georgia’s heart racing, and her legs trembling. Once they had recovered sufficiently, they cautiously made their way down the gentle slope to the edge of the river. Georgia nervously feeling ahead of her with her foot, making sure nothing else lay in wait.

  Jamie and Rebecca came hurrying over to help them lower the canoe, and they collapsed onto the grass, the four of them breathing heavily, Badger and Millie leaping all over them, still full of energy.

  ‘Where’s Ruby and Deedee?’ Georgia asked quietly, as soon as she could catch her breath.

  ‘We are right here,’ Deedee’s hushed, disembodied voice came from out of the blackness. ‘Just arranging the shopping caddy, so Ruby can rest on it, and before you ask, Ant is fine.’

  Georgia smiled to herself, how well Deedee knew her.

  ‘We did it!’ Lola whispered.

  ‘Half way there, thank goodness,’ Georgia whispered back, massaging the back of her neck. ‘How are your shoulders?’

  ‘Agony,’ Lola said. ‘No body fat left to pad them and I think I have a lump on my head from when the canoe slipped forwards.’

  ‘From when I tripped? I am really sorry about that.’

  It’s okay, but we definitely need to get some padding before we carry the next one.’

  Once they had regained their strength, they pulled the canoe under some bushes, carefully dragging vines and tangled growth over it. They hid the paddles a little further along, taking care not to knock them together, as sound travels so easily over water. Hopefully no one would find their hiding places.

  They kept up a fairly good pace on the way back. The wind had picked up, rustling the trees around them, and silencing the Katy-dids.

  ‘I don’t think we are going to manage it all tonight, not the crossing as well,’ Lola whispered suddenly.

  Georgia had been thinking the same. It would be pushing it. Especially as once they had done the first crossing, there was no stopping, or going back. They would still have to carry the canoes over land to the Osage River, and time would be of the essence. They would have to complete both crossings, and skirt round the town, before daybreak. They simply could not risk being seen.

  She nodded, then realized Lola couldn’t see her in the darkness.

  ‘I agree,’ she said, ‘it would be best if we were fresh for that part of it, so we will just take the second canoe over there now, and do the crossing tomorrow night. Meanwhile we will just hope like hell that no one finds the canoes.

  ‘Or the paddles,’ Lola added.

  Chapter Forty Three

  August 13th, Day 28

  Georgia woke early, and lay for a few moments relishing the feel of the crisp sheets and the softness of the comforter beneath her. Even though she had slept on the floor, the luxury of pillows made the whole experience almost sinfully indulgent. The others, she saw with the exception of Rebecca were still asleep. She would still be on guard duty. The Apaches were curled up nearby, nearly disappearing in a pile of cushions and pillows, sheets pulled up over their heads.

  She sat up, stretched and yawned languorously, looking over at the bed where Ruby lay on her back, snoring gently, curlers pinned tightly in her hair. The dogs stretched out around her, an occasional paw twitching. Creatures of comfort, they did not see any reason to sleep on the floor when there was a perfectly good bed available.

  She broke off her yawn abruptly as she remembered what lay ahead for them that night, her stomach suddenly in knots. It had been one thing to plan this whole escapade, but it had been quite another to stand by the water itself, no longer just a squiggly line on a map, barely able to see a thing and know that twenty four hours later they would be crossing it.

  Delaying the next step of their journey and staying another night had been a wise decision, Georgia decided. By the time they had secreted the second canoe alongside the first, they were worn out, and not only that, they had been forced to stop several times on the relatively short distance back to their cottage to allow Ruby to rest her legs. The very fact that she had asked to stop at all, had made Georgia realize just how much pain she had to be in. On their return, Lola had gone to make her a strong cup of tea (Ruby’s cure-all), and Georgia had searched through the medical kit, and given her two Ibuprofen from their precious supplies. They wouldn’t be going anywhere if Ruby was unable to walk.

  One by one she woke everyone up, and together they headed over to the kitchen for breakfast. Once they had eaten, washed in the river and dressed in clean clothes, the Apaches had been sent off in search of small game for the dogs. It would be at least two days by Georgia’s estimation before they would be able to hunt or fish again, and while they would manage on the refried beans, she was fairly certain that the dogs couldn’t. And anyway weren’t beans toxic for dogs? She wasn’t sure, but she thought she might have read that somewhere.

  Ruby was back to her cheerful self and apparently pain free. Together they stripped the bed, and hung all the comforters and pillows out in the sun to freshen them. And as Georgia and Lola set off for the river, their arms piled high with sheets, pillowcases and dirty clothes, Ruby was insisting on helping Rebecca to sweep and dust the cottage.

  When Jamie and Deedee finally returned (this time with two ducks and a rabbit), the freshly laundered sheets, which had been hung outside, were flapping in the breeze and nearly dry.

  By the time they were ready to leave, there was little trace that they had ever been there. They had left the cottage much as they had found it, with the beds made up, and a spotless bathroom. The I.O.U. at reception, had been updated to include the canoes, candles, herbs and spices, three rolls of toilet paper, two life jackets (the only ones they had found), and the wall map, which they were also appropriating.

  The waterways would be confusing enough, and without a map, finding their way to Grand Maize Arm, would be even more difficult than trying to get out of the ‘Wandiligong Maze’ back home.

  The very last thing they did before leaving River View Resort was to leave a note for Harold. They pinned it to the welcome sign, where they were sure he would find it, thanking him for all his help and wishing him well.

  It was well after seven p.m. by the time they reached the spot where they had hidden the canoes. Night had fallen and the wind was up. The moon was barely a sliver, and the little light it gave was frequently blotted out by thick dark clouds that scudded across the sky. Georgia was grateful for the wind, it would help muffle any sounds they made, and hopefully the roughened surface of the water would make their presence less visible.

  Silently they slid the canoes down to the water’s edge and began loading the gear, carefully distributing the weight so as not to upset the balance of the vessels. They had rehearsed every step back at the resort, mindful of time restraints and the necessity of not talking or making any unnecessary sounds.

  Georgia had put some thought into who would travel in which canoe. She paired Lola with Jamie, and was not surprised when Deedee demanded to go with them. This left her with Rebecca and Ruby and despite Ruby’s insistence that she was quite capable of paddling the canoe, Georgia didn’t think she would have the stamina this trip was going to require. She kept thinking of that wide open space of water they were going to have to cross. She just hoped Rebecca would be up to the task.

  Once Ruby and Deedee were bundled into the life jackets, they climbed, as rehearsed into the middle seats of their respective canoes. Then it was just a matter of loading the dogs. Millie was tucked down between Deedee’s legs, and Badger not needing any help, leapt in and curled up on Ruby’s feet.

  Georgia kept Ant in her pink bag, arranged so it sat against her chest, and just in case, she had tied a line from her harness to a belt loop of her jeans. Ant had made no protest, but had a slightly bewildered look on her face, that made it very clear that she felt that this time they were taking ‘walkies’ a little too far. And she was not the only one, Ruby also seemed confused by what they were doing, catching hold of Ge
orgia’s arm at one point and asking if perhaps it wouldn’t be wiser to wait for the tour group leader. If only there was one!

  Once everyone was in and everything was in place, Lola and Georgia pushed the canoes out, soaking their jeans to just above the knees. The water was a little choppy, and noisily slapped against the aluminum hulls as they carefully climbed aboard. Georgia regretted not wearing a second tee-shirt. She was already beginning to feel cold, the combination of sopping wet jeans and bare feet chilling her.

  They held back for a moment, waiting for a gap in the clouds, then when it came, Georgia signaled to Lola and Jamie to start paddling. A few seconds later she and Rebecca followed. They had been going no more than a minute, when Millie gave a high pitched howl, the piercing sound reverberating across the water and nearly stopping Georgia’s heart. Ahead of them, barely visible in the blackness, she could just make out the other canoe as it did a precarious wobble. For one horrible moment, she thought it was going to tip over. Then as it stopped dead in the water, Georgia and Rebecca dipped their paddles and slid up alongside.

  ‘She’s terrified,’ Lola hissed, deliberately keeping her voice low.

  Behind her, Deedee was struggling to keep hold of Millie, who was desperately trying to wriggle free. Georgia could not believe this was happening. In spite of all her meticulous planning and running through all the possible things that could go wrong, it had never even occurred to her, or any of the others, that their downfall could come from one of the dogs panicking.

  ‘What do we do?’ Lola asked, her voice one of despair.

  ‘Go back,’ Georgia whispered, quickly glancing over in the direction of Warsaw, checking to see if they had attracted any untoward attention. ‘No other choice, If Millie gets free, she will leap overboard, and we will never find her in this darkness.’

  As soon as they reached the shore, Georgia jumped out of the canoe, and wadded over to Lola. ‘You can let go of her now,’ she said to Deedee, as she reached over and took hold of the dog. By now, Badger was ashore as well, leaping up, sniffing Millie carefully all over. We can’t give up now. There has to be a solution.

  ‘Any idea what scared her?’ Rebecca called out as she climbed out of the canoe.

  ‘Shush’, Georgia hissed, ‘sound carries remember.’

  ‘Oh, sorry, I forgot,’ she whispered as she hurried over to join them.

  ‘I think it was just being in the canoe,’ Deedee whispered. ‘She just leapt onto my lap and howled.’

  They huddled together, speaking in low voices and all the while Millie squirmed and dug her claws into Georgia’s arms, clearly wanting to be put on the ground. Finally Georgia relented, half expecting her to make a break for the trees, but she didn’t. Instead, she sat down next to Badger, allowing her to lick her ears. Georgia watched them for a moment, still not entirely convinced Millie would stay put. ‘We need to put her in something so she feels secure.’

  ‘Or maybe she would be okay, if she was with Badger,’ Lola suggested.

  ‘I know what,’ Deedee said, ‘we could put her in the shopping caddy, if we empty it out and lay it on its side.’

  That was actually a good idea, Georgia decided. But this time she would keep all three dogs with her. ‘Okay, let’s try it.’

  They pulled the canoes back on shore, then emptied the cans out of the caddy, one by one and placed them in the bottom of the canoe, moving slowly and silently. Just one can dropped against the aluminum hull and for sure the whole of Warsaw would hear it.

  A blanket was found and stuffed inside the caddy, then they lifted Badger and Millie back aboard. Badger, a great believer in comfort, went straight it and curled up, followed a moment later by Millie.

  They pushed the canoe back into the water, and Georgia gently rocked the boat to see if Millie would react, but apart from pricking her ears up, she seemed perfectly calm.

  ‘Just like an ostrich,’ Deedee said as she clambered back aboard the other canoe. Their second attempt went without hitch. There seemed to be a slight current pulling them a little eastward, but it was more than manageable. They followed the outline of the shore as planned, and finally slid under the causeway, which despite all their fears, sat in total darkness and was clearly unguarded.

  Georgia pumped full of adrenaline, all her senses on alert, no longer felt the cold, or even noticed her wet jeans. It had taken a little while, for the two of them to get the hang of paddling together, but once she had managed to persuade Rebecca, through whispered messages passed back by Ruby, to leave the steering to her, things went much more smoothly. The only sounds, the soft dipping of the paddles, and the water slapping against the hull, were somewhat hypnotic. At times it seemed like they were flying over the surface and once they reached the point where they had to turn and head across the open water, Georgia felt a lot more confident, they definitely had it in them to do this.

  They took twenty five minutes to cross, and she did her best not to think of the distance to shore, or the depth of the black water beneath them, with the potential hidden dangers of submerged rocks or floating logs. Instead, she concentrated on keeping the flickering torch lights of Warsaw slightly to their left.

  The current had pulled them a little more to the east than they had wanted to go, so once they had reached the shallows, Georgia and Lola hopped out and waded back up stream, towing the vessels behind them.

  ‘I think this is the spot,’ Georgia finally whispered. As previously agreed, they hauled the boats out of the water, one at a time. Then while the others rested, Georgia scouted ahead. She wanted to check if they had come out in the right place. They needed to angle north east to reach the Osage River, but if they were too far south still, then the one and half miles they had to cross was going to be ever so much more. She was gone only a few moments.

  ‘Yes, in the right place,’ she whispered. She was pleased to see that while she had been gone the others had started repacking the caddy.

  ‘Okay guys, let’s do this.’

  Crossing the spit took much longer than calculated. It was so dark between cloud breaks that at times, Georgia was forced to walk with one hand stretched out in front of her, the other desperately trying to keep the front of the canoe in balance; Lola blindly following, trusting that Georgia could see where they were going. Behind them, judging from the suppressed squeals of agony and occasional grunt, the others were not faring much better. She had left it to Rebecca, to guide and assist Ruby as much as possible and she just prayed that the old dear did not step in a hole, or take a tumble. The dogs, meanwhile, raced back and forth between them. Clearly they had no trouble seeing where they were going.

  They came upon a large black pool of water, and heading right, circled round it. ‘So far so good,’ Georgia thought, she had been expecting that. This was one of the landmarks she had been looking for and meant that they had travelled a quarter of a mile.

  One time, during a break in the clouds, they stumbled across a road, and ended up in a flat grassy area, only yards away from a house. The sharp slant of the roof silhouetted darkly against the starlit sky. They paused for a moment, while she got her bearings, damn, too far to the left, then continued on. The route she had chosen was a compromise between the shortest way, and the most sparsely populated and completely avoiding going anywhere near the second bridge.

  They reached a forested area, the best indication so far that they were still on track. Too far to the left and they would end up in a housing area, too far to the right and…, no, she corrected herself, they couldn’t go too far to the right, if they did, they would strike Middle Bridge Avenue.

  Just as she was congratulating herself for remembering all the important landmarks, she walked the canoe straight into a tree, jarring every bone in her body, and smacking her head against the gunnel. Behind her, Lola said something truly unrepeatable, and from above came the menacing sounds of rustling branches and a furious chittering. Clearly some unknown creature just had the living daylights scared out of it. What t
he hell made that kind of a sound? Rearranging her grip, she and Lola carefully backed away from the tree, and then continued on their way, without further incident, until finally they had reached the Osage River.

  Warsaw lay sprawled out before them, much closer now. Mostly it was in darkness, but here and there were flickering torches and now that they were closer, she noticed an unpleasant smell in the air, sort of smoky, with fetid undertones. The smell of too many people living together and other things she did not want to think about.

  For some reason, Georgia had pictured this town as being similar to a walled city, with moats and ramparts and battlements, possibly because of Harold’s portrayal of the manner in which they had quarantined the town, but of course, it was nothing like that. In fact, it was just another sprawling town, like so many others, except with a lot of water around it.

  From across the water, directly opposite from where they stood, they suddenly heard a voice call out. The words were muffled, but as one they froze in place and Millie began to growl. As Georgia hushed her with a prod, the voice called out again, and this time a laughing response came floating back from their left, the direction of the bypassed bridge. The mood seemed relaxed. So they hadn’t been seen.

  After a quick whispered discussion, Georgia and Lola led the others to a hidden hollow about a fifty yards inland and whispered for them to rest there while she and Lola went back for the second canoe. They took the dogs and the shotgun with them.

  Despite their rule that they never split up, it had become clearly apparent to all of them that walking in the dark, over this unknown and treacherous terrain was far too risky. They simply could not afford any injuries, not out here. And Georgia knew that it was no exaggeration to say that if Ruby were to fall and break something it would be a virtual death sentence.

  By the time they had returned with the second canoe (nearly tripping over Millie once), they were ready to set off once more, it was well past eleven p.m.