“Are you crazy? It’s hundreds of miles from here,” said Alexis, in disbelief.
Kyle stood beside Alexis and held her index finger. He traced the river on the atlas, with her finger, from Omaha back to Helena, Montana.
“That’s what I’ve been through to get back to you. Now I’m here, and we have to go. There’s no other option.”
Alexis sat down in the chair again, dropped the atlas to the floor, and began to cry. Kyle gently touched her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He then walked to the kitchen pantry and motioned for Robert to follow him. Kyle opened the door to the pantry and leaned his hip against the kitchen countertop.
“That’s not the reaction I was expecting,” said Kyle, quietly.
Robert whispered back, “Cut her some slack. This past day has been a shock to her. Let her sleep on it. We all need some rest. It’s probably a good idea to eat some more food now, and then try to get a good night’s sleep.”
Kyle nodded.
“Go talk to her. I’ll find some food and bring it out to you,” said Robert.
Kyle groaned. “Cold beans and dry pasta.” He rubbed his stomach sarcastically as he left the kitchen.
Robert walked into the pantry. He looked at the shelves and was impressed at the amount of food he saw. Kyle was serious when he said that they stocked up on food when it was on sale. There were a lot of canned items and plenty of dried goods like rice, pasta, and beans. They would have to take as much food as possible when they left Omaha. The more food they had with them, the less time they would have to spend scavenging for it. He got a chair and closely surveyed each item, to begin prioritizing what food to take. He reached back behind each row of cans and boxes. He turned a small stack of cans around to read the labels, but discovered that it was actually a stack of canned cooking fuel. Robert grasped one can and used a spoon to pry open the lid. He could still smell the gelled alcohol in the can. He lit a match and placed it in the can. A small translucent blue flame instantly appeared. Robert placed the blue flame under a pot of water, and within minutes, it was boiling. Robert found a jar of spaghetti sauce and ten minutes later, he had three plates of hot spaghetti with red sauce. Robert walked back into the living room where Kyle and Alexis were talking. They turned to see Robert approaching with two plates of spaghetti.
Robert leaned over in front of the couple and held the plates in front of them. “Here you go. Two plates of hot spaghetti with a tangy marinara sauce.” Two confused and curious stares greeted him.
Alexis was the first to take a plate. “It’s warm. The plate is warm.”
With a skeptical look, Kyle took the remaining plate. His expression changed and he looked back up at Robert. “How did you do that?”
“Cooking fuel. It was in the pantry.”
Alexis slapped her forehead and laughed. “I forgot about that. It was left from our camping trip.” Her mood was elevated now. She seemed much happier.
Robert went to the kitchen and brought back his plate so he could eat with the others.
“Robert,” said Alexis, with an apologetic tone.
“Yes.”
“Kyle talked to me some more about the trip. I’m okay with it now. He told me about your family. I understand why you want to get back as soon as possible. They have to be worried about you.”
Robert was rapidly eating the hot food while she spoke, and he replied, “That settles it.” Robert spoke to the couple while chewing a mouthful of food. “Pack only essential items, and let’s get a plan for the food in your pantry. We need to take as much food as possible.” He wiped the spaghetti sauce from his beard with a dirty forearm.
Kyle and Alexis got out their suitcases and a large duffle bag. Kyle quickly stuffed his clothes, including winter clothes, into the duffle bag. He then joined Robert in the pantry to help with a plan for the food.
“What do you think?” asked Kyle, staring into the pantry with Robert.
“Dried food first, and then cans. Dried goods are the lightest.”
“We’ve got to bring our winter clothes, so the suitcases are full. How can we move it all?”
Robert leaned on the kitchen counter with his elbows. He slowly tapped on the counter as he thought about a solution. He closed his eyes and concentrated. A few moments later, Robert stopped tapping and opened his eyes, then darted to the living room window and looked outside. “Look, it’s still there.”
“What?”
Kyle looked out the window and saw the tipped-over shopping cart on the road. The dead body was near it from earlier in the day. Robert told Kyle he was going to move the cart inside and would find a dark corner in the lobby to hide it. In the morning, they would use the cart to push the food as far possible, back toward the buried rafts.
Robert went to the street with his rifle slung across his shoulder. He walked past the dead body and tried not to care. It had been a close-range shot to the chest. The image was gruesome. Robert put the cart back on its wheels and pushed it forward. The cart appeared ragged and abused. It was painted black and had some long pieces of different colored strands of yarn tied to the handle. It was ugly, but it worked.
He pushed the cart into the apartment’s lobby, broken glass crunching under its wheels. The corridor to the right was dark and farthest from the light filtering through the broken front doors. As he got closer, he could see the building’s freight elevator in front of him. He tilted the cart to the floor and, as he bent over, he noticed something on the floor at the end of the dark hall. The shape was familiar. As he moved closer, he could see that it was a moving dolly. Robert realized that if they put some of the food items into boxes, they could get it all moved out of the apartment by using both the cart and the dolly.
Back in the apartment, Robert set his rifle against the wall and took a quick peek out the window again. “Hey, the cart works and I found a moving dolly by the freight elevator. Put anything that won’t stack on a dolly into garbage bags. Keep the individual bags light enough to carry.”
The threesome bagged, boxed, and stacked the remaining food in the pantry. They were going to be able to take it all.
Robert was the first to wake the next morning. He peered out the window to see what the world looked like today. The sky was clear and there was a breeze. He noticed that the body in the street had been moved. The clothes were ripped off the corpse and it was left in pieces. It appeared that animals had devoured it. Robert suspected dogs. He knew there are going to be a lot of feral dogs from now on. He quickly glanced back at his rifle for comfort.
From the other room, Robert heard Kyle say, “It’s moving day. Let’s get going.”
Still standing by the open window, Robert cupped his mouth and loudly replied, “Waiting on you.”
Robert turned his head to look out the open window again. He wanted to take a deep breath of the outside air because of the lingering stench inside the building. Robert looked back out the open window and his eyes met the eyes of a man staring up at him. He was a large man covered in filth, standing in the middle of the street. He looked like he had been living in dirt and garbage. Robert ducked from view and ran to Kyle’s room. He knocked on the closed door and told Kyle that there was a strange man outside who must have thought he was yelling at him. Kyle dismissed the event and told him they would be going outside fully armed. He told Robert that they were leaving town and he just did not care anymore. It was not his neighborhood now.