Chapter 12Decisions - Thursday, July 5th to Tuesday, July 10th
The rain stopped sometime during the night and the sun rose to a bright sky that had lots of fair weather clouds. The day’s hike was normal. They crossed two empty roads during the day and walked through a couple cow fields. After one gate, they encountered a herd of cows. They were standing directly on the trail. There were mothers and their calves. The young ones would approach the hikers as they came by as if they were expecting something, then they would shy away and head back to the protection of their mothers. In another field, as they walked small butterflies that were sitting in the low bushes would fly up and envelope the hikers as they walked by. It was an enchanting part of the day where they could sense the magic of the area. Forgetting about the war they were now fighting. They kept the day’s mileage at a reasonable level because they were all still feeling the effects of the excitement and mileage of the day before. The long mileage days were becoming easier to do. Each of the hikers now had strong hiker legs and even though everyone had a daily ache and pain, and when they sat for a while, they would still get a little stiff. The night’s rest would usually regenerate them and they would be ready for another long day. Fic liked this, as each long day got them closer to Brown Shade’s car and possibly a quick dash home. They arrived at Abingdon shelter in the afternoon and once again set up.
Dinner was once again a hot affair, and they even decided to make a small fire in the evening. As they sat around the fire, Gnobbit pulled something out of her pocket and let it drop into the fire as she moved her hand over the yellow flames. This time the flames turned blue. She looked proudly over at Brown Shades and said. “I can do it too mister Mage.”
He smiled at her and nodded his head. “Very good young Padawan. I’m betting you used hand sanitizer for that little trick.”
Gnobbit nodded and smiled back. “Yep. Just like you told me it would. I wonder what color we can change it to next time.”
The Party discussed the next day’s plan. Once again, they would be heading into a town where the trail ran right through the middle. Plan A was to find Brown Shades’ car, find some gas and head north on Rt 81. Drop off Gnobbit, then Fic, then Finn before heading to NJ to drop off Class Room. Rodent Whisperer was planning on keeping Brown Shades company all the way. At that time he would figure out what to do next. It would be a risky venture given what they had seen and what others had told them about the Flarmy patrolling the highways and stopping people, but they would give it a try anyway and hope for the best. They really hadn’t discussed Plan B just yet.
They cleaned and made ready their weapons as best they could. They now had two firearms and some ammunition, a bow with several arrows, two attack sticks and an axe. Not as powerful as they wanted, but better than what they all started out with.
They stood the watch again that night. Each hiker taking a few hours during the night making sure the others could sleep in peace.
The next morning dawned a little cloudy, but the heat had gone up during the night. It was promising to be a warm day. They had ten miles to get to the edge of Damascus. Brown Shades car was on the other side of the small town, near Laurel Creek. They were going to get down near the town in the cover of the forest and see what was going on. From there they would plan their next step.
The walk was not too bad. Everyone was hot and sweaty when they lost the last bit of elevation before the town. Just a few miles out, they came to a sign saying they were leaving Tennessee and entering Virginia. The trail through Virginia is around 550 miles. Fic’s home was about 520 of that up the state. He had walked many miles since this whole thing started. Somewhere around 500 or so. He was only halfway there. Hopefully this next half will be done in a few hours instead of a month.
They sat in the woods. Observing through the trees. Looking for soldiers or other people or any sign of trouble. That part of the town seemed to be empty. They didn’t see anyone or any vehicles on the roads or around the houses they could see.
Gnobbit and Finn snuck down to where the trail dumps onto the streets of Damascus and reported back that they were empty.
The Party continued on. Everyone was at the ready. Fic and Rodent Whisperer were at the front with their weapons at the ready and Finn walked drag, with his bow in his hands and an arrow nocked.
They walked down the middle of the street which was now the trail and turned on to Beaver Dam Road. There they saw the iconic sign that all the hikers who make it this far usually take a picture under. They walked under the sign and continued on. The trail was now traversing a small, slim park that paralleled the road. At the end of that park was a large, red caboose at an intersection where the main road came into the town.
Across that road was a literal wall of cars. They weren’t just parked next to each other to make a barricade like at Boots Off, but they were stacked on top of each other. Some kind of wrecker or crane must have been used to put the cars on top of each other.
No cars would be able to get through that barrier very easily. That explained why there wasn’t any town traffic that they could see.
Still the town was empty. Either the town was deserted, or everyone was staying inside.
They crossed a small bridge and walked the three blocks to where Brown Shades had parked his car. They would have to figure out how to get through or around that barricade, but hope was strong as they made their way to the parking lot.
They turned the corner and looked at the empty parking lot. As they stared at the vacant square of asphalt, the barricade came back into their mind's eye.
“Shit.” Was all Brown Shades could say.
They back tracked to the barricade and Brown Shades pulled out his key fob that he had been keeping in his belt pouch in a Ziploc bag. He pressed the lock button three times. They heard a muffled double beep coming from their right.
Brown Shades repeated the button press until they were standing in front of his vehicle.
It was not only on the bottom of the pile of cars. The roof had been flattened by the weight of the other cars. They wouldn’t be driving anywhere in that car.
The Party huddled near the red caboose. It was now time to discuss Plan B. Everyone felt down and defeated. Brown Shades kept staring at his car. Crushed and abused, sitting at the bottom of that pile. He had the look of someone who had just lost their puppy.
They decided that they had to do the only thing possible now. Keep walking. But first, they had a mission to complete.
Fic and the others started off towards the Broken Fiddle. The trail was going straight down the main street named West Laurel Avenue and that was where they walked. The deserted streets was all that they saw.
They crossed the creek on a bridge and looked ahead to where the main street turned to the right and the trail went with it. According to Fic’s guide, the Broken Fiddle was right at that turn. Across the street.
They crossed that street and looking up the road; they saw that another wall of cars blocked the road about two blocks up. This place had become a fortress, but where were the inhabitants?
The hostel was a long one-story house. On the front porch hung a sign that announced the name. Attached to the sign and swinging in the slight breeze, was an actual fiddle, with its neck broken. They went to the porch and looked into the window of the green door.
Once again, they saw no one. Fic tried the door confirming it was locked. He knocked a few times and waited. Nothing changed.
The Party spread out walking around the structure to see if there were other entrances. They found a large, covered area at the back of the house inside a fenced in back yard.
Once again, Fic checked the door and was going to knock, but discovered the door was unlocked.
Gingerly, he opened the door and entered a kitchen area. “Hello?” He spoke. When silence only greeted him, he went further into the building and kept calling softly. Trying to find someone. The building was empty.
“Look what I found on the table over there.” Class Room said. Holding up a piece of paper.
She handed the paper to Fic. It was a photocopy of a hand-drawn sign. Wanted. It said.
A group of terrorists calling themselves The Party. Wanted for the killing of two officers in The Regime Army. Considered armed and dangerous. Reward for information in their capture. Punishment for those who harbor them. Under that was an even cruder drawing of six people. Presumably their likeness. It was hard to tell.
Fic stared at the paper. Where did this come from and how did it get here ahead of their progress?
“The Regime Army left it outside the barricades,” a voice said from the corner of the room. The Party startled and looked over at a slim woman standing next to an open closet. Apparently, the building wasn’t vacant after all.
Fic held up the sign, smiling. “So, are you going for reward or punishment?” He asked.
“Punishment of course.” She replied, smiling back.
“We are looking for Crazy Carl. We have a package for him from Jimbo down at Boots Off.” Fic said.
“Carl’s dead. Killed yesterday by the soldiers that dumped all those leaflets of your wanted poster. I’m Cindy, Carl’s girlfriend.” She had no emotion as she said this awful revelation. She had become numb to the whole situation.
“The army men had come to the barricades demanding to talk to someone in charge.” Cindy explained. “The town had come together as a group that decided to resist the invasion of this Flaherty guy, isolating the town with the barricades. No one person was in charge, the Mayor had disappeared shortly after the war started, but Carl had been one that the townspeople had come to respect, so he and another hostel owner had decided to go see what the soldiers wanted.”
“They had shown them the wanted paper and demanded that they give you up, saying you were wanted for murder. I'm not sure why they thought you would be here. Maybe they don't know you are walking, or they are overestimating your daily mileage.”
“The conversation grew heated, and the leader of the soldiers had drawn his pistol and shot Carl point blank in the face. Carl and Joe had gone out unarmed in good faith and got shot for it.”
“Those who were watching from the barricades were armed and had opened fire on the soldiers who retreated to their vehicles and drove away.”
“Carl lasted about an hour before he died. A lot of the community that had been living behind the barriers became afraid of another attack, so a lot of them decided to leave town and head into the hills for a spell. The rest are hiding in their houses hoping it blows over.”
“I don't think anyone would turn you in here, but you might want to get back into the woods.” Cindy continued. “Be careful at all the road crossings and don't trust anyone you meet that is wearing a uniform. The trail might be over 2000 miles long, but it is only four feet wide. If they really try to find you on the trail, a road crossing will probably be where they will set up their ambush.”
The party sat in silence. Shocked at what they had just heard. This was becoming serious and now they would have to continue up the trail. Now as wanted criminals. They hoped that they could outdistance the people who were looking for them. They hadn’t killed anyone, and that was adding to their confusion. What had happened after they left Boots Off? Was that shooting they had heard as they climbed the mountain by the lake happening at Boots Off? So many questions.
It was still early in the day, but they understood that the sooner they got out of this deadly town, the better. They started checking their gear. Fic handed Cindy the envelope and the baby boot. “I guess this goes to you then,” he said.
Cindy took the envelope and put it on the kitchen table. “I have some food, but not much else. Take what you need.”
The Party was ready to go. They headed out of the building and continued down the road which was the trail. The road turned when it got back near the creek and left the town. They had to climb over yet another car barricade to exit the town. “It looks like they used every car in the town to make these walls.” Gnobbit observed.
After following the Creeper Bike Trail for a few hundred meters, the trail headed back into the woods and up a hillside. They thought about using the Creeper Trail for a while to move faster, but it ran next to a road for a while, and they decided not to chance being seen out in the open. Into the woods they walked.
The Party walked another ten miles that day. The trail would head up into the woods, sometimes paralleling the Creeper Trail, other times it would move far away from it. As the day was getting late, the hikers started up the last climb before the shelter was about a thousand feet and they counted nineteen switchbacks to get up to the top.
They rolled into the shelter area and started their nightly routine. They would stand the watch once again. As wanted criminals, even if they were innocent of what they were being accused of, they had to be extra careful. Two people would stay up together. They would keep each other company and also increase their vigilance.
The next two days were nothing but walking. They needed to get as many miles as they could between them and the soldiers down in Hampton. They would get up early, before the sun was up, quickly eat and break down camp, then hike all day long until they would stumble into a shelter area to set up, eat and then try to get some sleep. They continued to keep the watch every night. Two hikers sitting together in the dark with their two firearms. Maybe talking quietly, but mostly keeping quiet and listening to the night sounds. Finn and Gnobbit always stood a watch together. The others traded off on their partners, depending on who was tired and who was alert.
After the 19.7 mile day that included the Damascus stop, they did twenty-four miles the next day to Wise Shelter. The highlight of that day was climbing up 2000 feet to Whitetop Mountain. As they topped the mountain, the wind was whipping across it in a crazy torrent. They were in the clouds as they crossed an open area and the mist just moved past in small streams. The next day was a 20.1 mile day to Trimpi Shelter. The Party had entered the Grayson Highlands and the excitement of this day was seeing a lot of the wild ponies that inhabit the area. The semi-tame ponies would come up to the hikers to see if they had any apples or other food. They would lick your arm for the salt. It was nice to see these beautiful wild animals in this enchanting environment. It almost made them forget the trouble they were in. Almost.
Each time they would come to a road crossing, no matter how small the road was, they would pause and Gnobbit or Finn, sometimes both, would sneak forward to scope out the crossing. If it was clear, the group would hurry across and get back into the woods as fast as they could. Caution was the key.
The weather stayed pleasant these two days. It didn’t get too hot during the day because an overcast sky kept the hot July sun from beating down on the hikers. There were a few short rain showers a couple of times, but they actually helped cool down the hikers as they moved along at the fastest pace they could manage.
After hiking almost sixty-five miles in three days, their bodies were starting to feel the pain of the wear and tear. They needed to find a place to rest that was safe and out of sight. Maybe even away from the trail.
Class Room had been exceptionally quiet the last couple of days. She didn’t want to handle either of the weapons anymore and would sit off by herself whenever they took a break. Gnobbit tried to talk to her, but she would just tell her that everything was fine. Fic could tell that she was anything but fine. The fight at Boots Off was still weighing heavily on her mind. Even though what she did was right and had kept the rest of them from being wounded or worse, she was still having trouble coming to terms with shooting a human.
As The Party lay exhausted in the Trimpi Shelter, Fic looked at his guide. Trying to find a place they could safely rest for the good part of a day. Maybe we can take a break at the Settler’s Museum. Fic Thought. We could do another 18.6 tomorrow, then take a break for a day or so at the farm. The Settler’s Museum was a working farm that had been there since the 1890s. Maybe they had even planted some crops that they could take advantage of.
We could do another 18.6 tomorrow, then take a break for a day or so at the farm. It would be somewhat close to a road, so they would have to be careful, but their bodies needed a rest.
The next day, The Party continued north on the trail. Fic noticed that Gnobbit and Finn had started to walk together a lot. Talking softly and making each other laugh. He felt that a deeper relationship was developing in the pair. Maybe even something romantic. Fic decided to walk with Class Room for a while. He talked to her a bit to judge her mood and then worked towards mentioning the slump she was going through. “Class Room. I can tell what happened at Boots Off is weighing heavily on your mind and I know there is little I can say that will help, but I’m going to try, anyway. When I was deployed over in Afghanistan, we all went through stuff like this after any kind of engagement. It was hard, but we had the knowledge that we were there to do a job and that job was super hard sometimes.” Fic started.
“This situation we are in now, is a lot like that. Our job now is to get all of us home, safe and sound. What you did was not only necessary, but heroic. You were the one who saw Kirk’s treachery first, and you were the one who did what you had to do. You took him down and luckily you didn’t kill him. Your quick thinking and action kept the rest of us from getting wounded.” Fic looked over at Class Room. A single tear ran down her cheek.
“I just keep seeing that guy get blown over when my shot hit him. It’s not the same as shooting clay pigeons. I think a little of me died when I saw him hit the ground.” Class Room said. “I agree with everything you said, but I just can’t shake the dread I feel now whenever I even look at the weapons. I’m afraid I may be useless if we have to do this again.”
“That’s just fine.” Fic answered. “From now on, you don’t need to worry about shooting. You can help in other ways. I know we have been hiking hard these last few days, and you haven’t played Yuk in a while. Maybe when we get settled at this farm tonight, you can pull her out and play a little for us. We all feel better when you play that Uke.”
“I think I will do that.” Class Room replied. “It always makes me feel better too, when I play her.” She flashed Fic a smile that he hadn’t seen in several days. “Thanks, Fic. This really helped.”
“No problem young lady. Just remember that all of us are here to help in whatever way we can.” Fic assured her.
They continued down the trail. The sun had come out and was shining through the forest, lighting misty beams of light and giving the forest a mystical look.
It was midday. They were approaching VA 16. They knew they were getting close because they could hear the traffic on the road. It didn’t seem like a lot of traffic, but it was the most they encountered since leaving Damascus.
Once again, the scout team of Gnobbit and Finn went ahead as the others waited in the woods. Gnobbit came back fairly quickly. “The shelter is just up ahead. It is out of sight of the road, and no one is around. We can take a break up there. They have a shower in the back.”
The hikers moved up to the shelter. Finn came back reporting the road as empty for now and the visitor center parking lot was also empty.
They each took turns taking a quick cold shower and washing out some socks and underwear which they attached to their pack to dry. Fic sat at the edge of the shelter with his shotgun. Keeping an eye towards where the road was. A few times they heard something drive down the road, but nothing stopped or paused. The road came all the way up to the shelter, but Finn had reported that there was a closed gate at the end of the parking lot.
When everyone was feeling a little fresher, they prepared to move on. Just then they heard another vehicle coming down the road. This one pulled into the visitor center and came to a stop in the parking lot. They could hear its diesel engine idling in the lot. After a few minutes it turned off.
Fic looked over at Finn, who nodded and started to head towards the parking lot, his bow at the ready. Fic motioned the others to get their gear and get behind the shelter. “Stay out of sight for now but be ready to come up.” He advised. He set his pack with the others and readying his shotgun, turned towards the road.
Carefully he moved up the road where Finn had disappeared. He had a feeling that if anything happened, a bow might not be the best weapon to counter an attack.
He saw Finn hiding behind a bush and looking towards the lot. He made a soft sound to get Finn’s attention and let him know he was coming up. He joined Finn and followed his gaze to see a Humvee parked in the lot. Two men were inside. Dressed in military camo. They appeared to be eating lunch.
As they sat there. One of the guys got out of the vehicle and started walking towards a large, green dumpster at the end of the lot. He didn’t appear to be armed or on any kind of alert, but he was heading right towards them.
The two spies remained calm and motionless as the man walked up to the dumpster, opened the lid and then threw his trash into the dumpster. The world had become all fucked up, but this guy was doing his part to keep this new America clean. He walked around the dumpster, getting even closer to the two men and stopped.
He unzipped his fly and started to take a piss. He exhaled a long sigh as he emptied his bladder on the bushes behind the dumpster. He finished, zipped up and started back towards the hummer. Fic left out the breath he just realized he had been holding the whole time the guy was pissing. Adrenalin coursed through his body, and he started to shake a little.
The man re-entered the Humvee, and it started up again. The driver put the vehicle in gear and headed out of the parking lot, turning left towards Marion, Virginia.
Finn looked at Fic with a relieved expression on his face and let out his own sigh. They slowly backed out of their hiding place and headed back to the shelter. That was enough excitement for now.
The Party crossed the road with their usual care and caution and continued on the other side. A few hours later, they came to a sign that pointed to the right indicating the Settlers Museum was one tenth of a mile off the trail. They followed that trail and came to an open area where there were several old, unpainted buildings. In the middle of them all was a white two story farmhouse. They sat for about ten minutes, observing the area for movement or people or anything that would be wrong. Nothing stirred, but the bugs and some birds. Finn and Gnobbit did their usual scouting mission and reported back that the place was deserted. The Party advanced towards the farm carefully and made their way to the farmhouse.
The door to the farmhouse was locked, but Gnobbit was inside quickly with her skills. The Party checked out the building. There were a few bedrooms on the second floor and the living room had a couple couches. There was a rustic kitchen. They found places to set up, and the relaxing began. They decided to all stay in the living room. Using the couches and sleeping on the floor. Being close together seemed like the best way to stay safe instead of spreading out all over the house. If anything bad happened, they could always use the second floor as the high ground in a defensive position.
Fic and Rodent Whisperer took a walk around the grounds to see what was there. They found a large cornfield that was still growing. Still too early to have any edible ears. Out by the road was an old schoolhouse that was part of the museum grounds. They went inside to check it out. They found a treasure trove of food and other supplies that are normally kept there for hikers. They gathered a bunch of food and some other things including a mostly full cannister of fuel, and other items that the hikers were running low on or didn’t have at all and brought it back to the farmhouse. Everyone looked through the cache of food and supplies, sorting it and dividing it up amongst themselves.
Dinner was a happy affair as they had some good supplies again and they rewarded themselves after four hard days of hiking.
The Party had a discussion of what to do next and they decided to rest here tomorrow for the whole day. Just to give their bodies some time to recover from the hard days they had just put in.
They didn’t think they were far enough away from that wanted poster, but each day they were a little further north.
As darkness came to the farmstead, The Party sat around the living room and Class Room brought out Yuk. Playing softly as the other hikers sat and listened. Finn sang once again when she played a song he recognized. Gnobbit joined in and the duet was a perfect medley of their two voices. The mellow music once again made everyone feel relaxed and content. Her music definitely had a magical quality that helped them feel better.
Fic could tell that playing made Class Room feel better too. The bags that had been under her eyes the last few days seemed to disappear and she was smiling as they finished the last song.
Brown Shades had searched through the house with Gnobbit and Finn earlier and had found a fifth of bourbon in one of the kitchen cabinets. The Party passed it around as they were sitting in the living room. Each of the hikers would take a small nip and then pass it on to the next hiker. When it came around to Rodent Whisperer, he just passed it on to the next person with a smile. No one said anything, they now understood that Rodent Whisperer wasn’t a drinker, and no one tried to pressure him or even ask him about it.
“I haven’t had a drink in two years.” Rodent Whisperer volunteered. “Before that, I was very close to killing myself. I’m an addict and an alcoholic. Heroin was my drug of choice. I was in pretty bad shape. One day I reached rock bottom. Living on the streets of Edinboro, sleeping under an overpass. Not eating any food, just looking for my next hit. One day I was thinking of robbing an old lady I saw come out of the bank and realized I needed to change the way I was living, or I wasn’t going to be living much longer.”
“I quit cold turkey that day. The next month was a blur filled with pain, and puking, but I came out on the other side sober. I got a job and then a place to stay and started saving up for this hike. I had wanted to hike for a long time, but my habit had made that unattainable until I quit ruining my body. I no longer even have any kind of craving for that stuff anymore.”
Gnobbit had tears running down her cheeks. She went over to Rodent Whisperer and gave him a hug. “We won’t drink around you if it bothers you at all,” she said.
“That’s ok,” he responded. “It has no power over me anymore. I still remember its soothing properties when used in moderation. You all are welcome to imbibe as you wish.”
Everyone else came over and hugged the large, dark Scotsman. There were tears all around.
The next morning dawned like your typical midsummer day in southern Virginia. The promise of a hot, sticky day was clear.
Fic walked out onto the porch of the farmhouse. A cup of steaming coffee in his hand. Today was going to be a do nothing day. Gnobbit and Finn were on the porch. Sitting next to each other on the top step of the stairs to the porch. Gnobbit had stood the last watch of the night. She had relieved Finn.
Fic looked at the pair. “Good morning you two,” he said smiling. “Did you ever go to bed Finn?”
“No. We started talking when Gnobbit relieved me and before we knew it, the sun was coming up. It was a good conversation,” he said. Looking at Gnobbit and smiling.
She looked back at him in an interesting way. Something’s brewing here. Fic thought to himself. He smiled at them and said. “There’s coffee in the kitchen. Brown Shades has been finding all kinds of goodies. This is real coffee. Not instant. Class Room is cooking pancakes and summer sausage for breakfast.”
“Yum, I’m hungry,” said Gnobbit. She stood up and looked at Finn. “So, after breakfast?” She asked Finn, her eyebrows raising in a questioning look.
“That sounds like a plan,” replied Finn. Smiling at her again.
Gnobbit went into the farmhouse and Finn stood beside Fic. His tallness was evident this morning. When he stood, it seemed to Fic, that he just kept getting higher and higher.
“We are going to go for a walk around the grounds after breakfast,” he explained to Fic. “Check out the buildings and see what’s around.”
“Make sure you take either the shotgun or rifle,” Fic replied. “And have fun,” he added with a wink.
After breakfast. Fic, Brown Shades and Class Room were sitting on the porch enjoying another cup of coffee, when the pair of scouts came out onto the porch. “We will be back in about an hour,” Finn said. Gnobbit had the shotgun over her shoulder. Finn had his bow.
Watching the tallest member of The Party walking beside the shortest made a smile come to the observers’ faces. “Now there’s a cute couple,” said Class Room. Watching the two young hikers walk down the path towards the barn that was across a courtyard in front of the house. They noticed that just before the couple turned a corner by a building, Finn reached out and took Gnobbit’s hand. Everyone on the porch looked at each other with smiles all around.
When Gnobbit and Finn hadn’t returned in two hours, Fic and Rodent Whisperer went out looking for them. They circled around the property and made their way to the road. Looking for the two hikers or some sign that they had been there. When they got to the road, they walked along it towards the old schoolhouse. Being ready to move off the road if they heard anything coming.
The two seekers arrived at the schoolhouse and still hadn’t seen any sign of the two scouts. As they sat discussing their next move, they saw Finn and Gnobbit come fast walking down the road towards Fic and Rodent Whisperer. They had baskets of vegetables in their hands. “We found some stuff.” Gnobbit said, a large grin on her pretty face.
“I see that,” replied Fic. “Can we help?”
They divided up the freshly picked vegetables between the four of them and started walking back to the farmhouse. “Where did you find these?” Fic asked.
“There is a house just around the corner that had a very large garden,” Finn explained. “We liberated some ripe ones. No one seemed to be around. The garden looked like it hadn’t been tended to or weeded in several weeks,” continued Finn. “If we didn’t take them, they would probably be starting to rot soon.”
They returned to the farmhouse to everyone’s delight and the rest of the day was spent just relaxing and eating. Snacking of things that they had found in the schoolhouse or around the grounds.
Finn and Gnobbit continued to hang out together to everyone's amusement. “Trail love,” Fic said softly to Class Room. She nodded her agreement and gave him a wink.
Class Room picked up Yuk and started strumming a soft tune. Fic sat listening. Thinking about his family back home. Wondering if Lori and the kids were doing ok or were they dealing with the rogue Flarmy. Were they in danger? So many questions and so many miles to go before he could find out.
That night they cooked up some vegetables and made a salad with the rest. It felt great to eat fresh produce instead of dry stuff, reconstituted with water. Everyone sat around after dinner and just vegetated. There was no fire to stare at, but the setting sun put on a beautiful show as it moved behind the mountain to the west. Lighting up the sky in bright reds and oranges before fading to purple then black. “Red sky at night. Sailor's delight,” Brown Shades chanted in a soft voice.
They slept as they had the night before. All in the same room with a watch set on the porch. The night passed quietly, and The Party slept peacefully.