by Pete Thorsen
There are electric lights! The brightness causes me to blink and shield my eyes. Electricity! I can now see the bear of a man in the kitchen. He is obviously cooking—or getting a meal ready at least. I take a couple of light small steps into the room and he hears or senses my arrival because he spins around. I have my good hand on one of my knives. It would be a simple easy throw from here and my knife could be buried into his neck.
“I was hoping you would wake up. I have a meal ready for us. Please, come and join me.”
He looks like he is half grizzly bear but it is hard to tell with all the hair. I think he may be trying to smile. I trust him not at all but I can smell the food. My right hand does not let go of its grip on my knife as I walk slowly with my baby steps towards the table. The whole camper is very neat and clean. Something I did not expect. I then realize that I have been passed out for some period of time and he could have done anything he wanted to me and even now I am so weak that I could only put up a token fight if he tried anything.
I make it to the table and sink into one of the chairs. Under the table I draw my knife but leave it on my lap out of sight. It feels very good to sit down.
“What happened to me?”
“I’m sorry. I apparently scared you, and when I did you stepped back and fell into the wash. You hit your head on a rock and broke your left arm. I set your arm as best I could and put a makeshift splint on it. Then I brought you here. I realize that I bear some responsibility for your accident but why were you following me?”
“The camp where I have stayed was attacked and burned to the ground. I escaped with a few others. I am the only one left alive from the whole camp I believe. I was following you and thought I would watch your camp and, if it looked like your people were friendly, I would try and join up. I have some skills and I have some supplies. At least… I did have some supplies.”
“I did not open your pack but I was surprised at its weight and bulk for you to be carrying it. There is no camp full of people here. Only me. You are welcome to stay until you are healed. I will not harm you. Only after I scared you and you fell did I notice that you had never even strung your bow and it was then obvious to me that your intent was not to kill me.”
“Is there a larger camp near here?”
“Not that I am aware of, but I don’t travel all that far in any one direction. Let’s eat while it is hot. I’m sorry about my manners but I have lived alone for a very long time.”
He set a bowl of good smelling soup in front of me. There was also a knife, fork, and spoon. I started eating but watched him the whole time. There was a lot of meat in the soup and not too much in the way of vegetables. It was good though, or maybe I was just hungry. When I finished the soup he got up and brought over a pot and asked if I wanted more.
“Maybe just half a bowl.”
His bowl was empty and he put the remainder of what was in the pot in his bowl. After putting the pot back he returned and ate his soup while I ate mine. We both finished about the same time and he handed me a bowl I never even noticed that was on the table. I looked at the bowl and then looked at him.
“It’s dried fruit. I have plenty. Eat as much as you want. It tastes pretty good and is likely good for you too.”
I moved my soup bowl off the plate it was sitting on and, taking the fruit bowl from him, I dumped some on my plate before handing the bowl back to him. He dumped some of the mixed fruit into his empty soup bowl and started munching on them.
I tried a piece that was obviously from an apple. It was very good. The next I tried was, I thought, another piece of apple, but I realized it was a pear when I tasted it. Next I tried a dark-colored piece then held up another dark-colored piece.
“Apricot. I think,” he said.
All the fruit was very good. It was like a treat from the old days. After a couple of minutes I realized I had quit watching him! I jerked my head up to look at him and that was a bad mistake. My head exploded with the quick movement.
When I again came to my head, I realized, was back on a pillow, but I was still sitting up and not lying on the bed. Smarter now, I moved my head just slightly. I saw my knife lying on the table in front of my eyes. I was obviously still sitting at the kitchen table. I moved my right arm and when nothing bad happened I slowly pushed myself upright. Very slowly.
When I got myself upright I could see the man sitting across the table from me.
“You better take it easy for awhile and not move very quickly. When you passed out your knife fell on the floor. You keep it very sharp I found out. Please just sit still until you feel a little stronger. If or when you want to go back to bed I will help you if you wish. But I assume you do not trust me. I promise not to harm you. I have never hurt or killed a woman. Please, do not do anything to make me do so now.”
My plate of fruit was still there but pushed over to the side to make room for the pillow. There was a glass of water next to it. The bowl of fruit was nearby also. The man absently reached into the fruit bowl and popped a couple pieces into his mouth. He was watching me carefully.
“You have electricity?”
“There are many solar panels on the roof and a few of the batteries still work. There is running water and you can use the toilet, shower, and sink in the bathroom. Please conserve the toilet paper though. I would suggest a shower but I think you should wait until at least tomorrow when you are stronger.”
“Running water and a shower?”
“I even splurged and put out some real soap and shampoo for you to use. Everything pretty much works in here yet but conserve whatever you can, please. I will sleep in a nearby house tonight so you will be alone here overnight. I can make up another bed out here if you want me nearby, but I doubt that will be the case.”
“I don’t want to chase you from your place.”
“I will actually stay in my real house that I owned before what happened. I usually stay in here though. But tonight I will stay in my old house. Your bow and arrows are in the corner and I obviously did not take your knife. I will not hurt you.”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
“Like I said before, I feel some responsibility for you getting hurt. I will do what I can to keep you comfortable while you are healing up. I have enough food for both of us. At least for awhile anyway that is. We should be able to get by until you are healed and you can continue your journey.”
“My arm was broken?”
“It broke when you fell on it. I set it but I had never done that before so I hope it turns out okay. I tied it to your body but you can use some of the clothes you find here and make a sling for it instead. I would think that would be more comfortable and maybe tomorrow we can rig up a better, more comfortable splint for that arm.”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
I tried to stand a little too fast and when I started to fall he caught me. He got up and helped me walk to the bathroom. At the bathroom he let go when he saw that I could stand while holding onto the doorjamb. When I stepped inside he slowly closed the bathroom door.
When I was done and actually flushed the toilet I washed up a little but I was careful not to touch the spot on my head. Then I opened the door and I heard him get up and come over to me. Without speaking he walked me back towards the kitchen. With his free arm he pointed to the couch and to the kitchen chair I had been in. I thought that if I sat on that couch I would fall asleep, so I pointed at the chair and he walked me over there.
I drank some of the water and it tasted good.
“The water comes from the well here. It is good, pure water. The pump doesn’t work of course but I have a dip bucket that I lower into the well to get the clean water. I fill the motorhome’s onboard tank with the water too.”
“You have lived here the whole time?”
“Yes and no. I only live here some of the time. I stay in other camps much of the time. I gather food and hunt, and I do that over a fairly large area so I do not deplete everything in one spot.”
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“And you lived alone all that time?”
“My wife was killed very early when things went bad. Everyone here either moved away or died that lived here. Most died. I have been alone the whole time.”
“Do strangers ever show up?”
“Sometimes. But not very often. If they are friendly I usually give them a little food and let them go on their way.”
“And if they are not friendly?”
“I have killed. I don’t like it but I am still here and alive.”
“All the people here died?”
“Some drove away. Most died though. This was mostly all retired, older people. Their medicines ran out or their oxygen supplies… and their food of course. And we had a group of bad people come here and kill some of them. They could not kill me though.”
“I see.”
We just sat in silence for some time. I sipped the water off and on. I felt sleepy. I got up slowly and he was quick to help me but I waved him off. This time I slipped my knife back into its spot on my belt before going slowly by myself back to the bedroom.
“I better sleep now.”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
He left out the door and he made sure the door latched behind him. I was too tired to walk to the outside door and lock it and I’m sure he had the key anyway. I was asleep as soon as I pulled the blanket over me I think.
Chapter 11
I slept later than I had in a long time. Looking at the windows I could see the sun was well up in the sky. I then realized that my head did not hurt nearly as bad this morning as it had last night. There was still a dull ache but it was nothing compared to last night. I took no chances though and moved like a hundred-year-old woman as I slid first to the edge of the bed, then carefully lowered my feet to the floor.
Again I got my feet into my shoes but made no attempt at tying the laces. I shuffled slowly to the bedroom door and then directly into the bathroom. I still marveled at the flushing toilet and today I spent some extra time cleaning up. I also washed most of the dried blood from my hair and very carefully washed around the head wound.
I made my way from the bathroom into the kitchen/living area. On the table I found a couple sealed packets of flavored oatmeal along with a small amount of coffee and some tea packets and a neatly-written note.
“Sorry the microwave does not work. The burners on the stove work fine so you can cook the oatmeal and make some coffee or tea. I am out searching for some supper for us both. Explore the cupboards where you are staying and you will find additional food. Use anything you like. Please just rest up… though you are, of course, free to do anything you like.”
Also on the table were two arm braces. One was metal that looked to be aluminum and the other, longer one was plastic. There were also two rolls of that stretchy tan bandage stuff that doctors used to use. Next to that was a bottle of what I thought were vitamins and, reading the label, it turned out to be women’s vitamins with extra calcium. Just what my arm would need to mend that break.
I found a couple of pans and heated water for both the oatmeal and some coffee. It had been quite some time since I had any coffee. The man looked like a coffee drinker and I guessed that he must have really rationed it to have it last this long. I made the coffee weak but it was still an amazing treat and so was the oatmeal. I then realized that he was treating me like some kind of a princess or something. Well I guess that was fine with me!
When I was done with my late breakfast I cleaned up the few dishes and that was when I noticed the pile of clothes on the couch. They appeared to be all women’s clothes. I looked down at my leather pants and the man’s oversized shirt I was wearing and then back at the pile of women’s clothes. No sense in just letting those clothes just sit there.
So I went through the entire pile of clothes. He had apparently already guessed at the sizes and there were no large-sized clothes or any way too small. Some were too big or too small, but all were reasonably close. There were no dresses but instead he had only brought in practical clothes, even including some underclothes in the pile. I picked out several things to put in the bedroom that I was using. I now walked with more confidence and I did not feel woozy or anything. I still tried to make no really quick, sudden moves, but so far I was feeling almost normal.
I changed out of the man’s shirt and removed the makeshift splint he had put on my arm yesterday, exchanging it for the plastic one which fit my arm fairly well. I put the plastic one on the “bottom” of my arm and the short metal one on the “top.” I was extremely careful when I removed the old splint and put on the two new ones and wrapped them in place. I tried not to look at my arm when I was doing that but it looked no different than normal. The break scared me though and I was so very careful with that arm. The two splints should work as well as a plaster cast I would think, and my hopes for a complete recovery went up tenfold.
I could wiggle my fingers on that hand and that also raised my spirits and hopes of a full recovery. The man must have done okay setting the broken arm, or at least it seemed that way to me. I also made a sling to hold the splinted arm. The new, thinner splints allowed me to put on a clean shirt normally then use the sling to hold my arm immobile. I could still bend that arm at the elbow with the new splints in place.
I was doing everything rather slowly. For one thing, I had nothing else to do, and for another I did not want to hurt my arm or risk passing out again. I rinsed out the man’s shirt that I had worn and put it on a hanger and hung it in the shower to drip and dry.
I opened my pack and I could tell right away that the man was telling the truth and had not gone through my stuff. The fact that I had my knives and my bow and arrows put me at ease to a large extent. My bow, of course, was useless to me with only one usable arm. He appeared to be doing just what he said, taking care of me until I healed up. I would be on guard but would take him at his word for now.
Now that I was feeling a little better I was restless. Leaving my bow, and relying on just my knives for protection, I left the motorhome. I slipped on a light jacket that was in the pile of clean clothes he had left for me before stepping out the door. The jacket was a little big so it was perfect with my arm in a splint. Then I stepped outside for a look at where I actually was staying. I had obviously seen nothing when I had arrived here totally unconscious.
I moved gingerly about outside. Not because I was scared but because I was still not very sure of my abilities yet. There were a couple of lawn chairs and I sat in one that was full in the sun so I could soak up the sun’s warmth. Then I looked around. I was in a community of some sort with some real houses and mostly trailer houses all around. I guess the polite term used to be “manufactured homes” instead of “trailer houses.” Most of the trailers were doublewides that looked like a regular home. There was the normal amount of now-worthless vehicles parked here and there near the houses. It looked like typical suburbia in the arid southwest. There was no trash or extra junk anywhere I looked. I suspected the man had picked everything up and tidied the places to look as good as they did.
The sun was bright and it felt nice as it warmed my body. It was winter and, even here, it often got very cool or downright cold at night. I had nothing to do so I just got up and wandered around the community. I discovered it was not very big. I would guess the old population would have maybe been around five hundred to a thousand people at most and more likely way less than that I guessed.
There were two big water storage tanks spaced out around the area. I walked up by one of them and it did not seem to have a well next to it. So they likely had one or two wells to service the whole community. The big storage tanks would give them some leeway for when there was a big draw on the water supply and the one or two well pumps could not keep up with the demand. The water tank I had checked out did have an aboveground pump which was likely used to provide water pressure and drew its water from the big tank.
After the power had gone out years back, many of us had learne
d all about how wells, pumps, and water supplies all worked in our effort to get running water back on again. Here in the desert water was a very precious commodity, and running water, we all learned, was a special treat. Of course, we learned that only after it was all gone.
The man had said he would be searching for our supper but I saw several quail and two rabbits just in the little walking I did around the community. My guess would be that he did no hunting here where he lived and saved the birds and animals here in case of an emergency. Seemed like a very smart move on his part so he would have a local food supply in reserve.
I wandered back to the motor home. My new home I guess. At least for a little while anyway. It was way nicer than what I was used to living in, that’s for sure. I never thought that I would live in a place with running water again. Ever.
I felt tired and laid down in my bed to rest. Apparently I fell asleep because when I woke up I could see that it was late afternoon. I used the restroom and washed my face then stepped out the door. I immediately heard small noises from the other side of the motorhome and when I carefully rounded the corner I found the man working over a gas grill. The grill had no tank and I realized he was burning wood for heat. There appeared to be two big, heavy skillets on the grill. I must have made a noise or he sensed my presence because he turned to look at me.
“I’m glad you’re up. I was just about to wake you for supper. It’s not much but it should keep us alive.”
Only then did I notice that a patio table near the grill had two place settings and other things setting on it. I said nothing and just took a seat where I could easily watch him with the table between us.
“You look more alive today. How is your arm? Can you move your fingers?”
“There is no pain whatsoever in my arm, and yes, I can wiggle my fingers on that hand. So you must have done a good job setting the bone.”