That was the last thought she had before darkness over took her.
22
GABBY PATTED the bandage on her head and silently thanked her husband once more. She promised herself if they made it home, she’d pay more attention to the details of prepping, and less attention to her passion for shooting. Now she realized there was more to being prepared than learning how to shoot a gun and spending time at the range. She and her sisters were barely more prepared than the average sheeple—as Grayson called them.
Quickly she thought about all their mistakes so far. None of them had the right clothes for an emergency hike down the road; they were wearing summer shorts for Pete’s sake. Olivia didn’t have any walking shoes. They had one small bug-out bag. More of a Get-Home bag really. She wasn’t familiar with what was in that bag beforehand. Everything should have been tested before an emergency. She wasn’t even sure if the Sawyer filter had ever been used before or if they’d done it right—were they supposed to clean it before using it? Was she supposed to use another filter before drinking it? Filter it twice? She had no idea; she’d faked it earlier because she was too thirsty to figure it out. It was still possible they could all end up squatting for hours later for all she knew. And that would be her fault, too. Also, they hadn’t kept the gas tank topped off. She was sure there were many more mistakes and Grayson would be sorely disappointed in all of them before it was over.
She was just thankful her other half had been listening to Grayson when he stressed the importance of an emergency pack. Jake didn’t care much for shooting, but he’d obviously took the whole prepping thing more serious than she had. He’d come through in the end as the half of their marriage that saved the day, just by packing that small bag.
The first aid kit had come in handy again, especially the sterile alcohol wipes, antibiotic cream, and the roll of bandage. When she’d first opened her eyes to find Olivia, Emma and Mei staring at her, she’d forgotten where she was, and who the strange Asian girl was. It’d taken her a minute to assure herself she wasn’t dreaming. Her sisters were alive, well, and in one piece. She took another few minutes to get on her feet and find her bearings.
The sow had run right past her sisters, who’d heard it—or something—coming and had all jumped up on a huge rock, clutching each other. They’d watched it run past in a blur followed by a litter of babies. They’d called out to Gabby that they were okay but in her frenzied state, she hadn’t heard them.
She’d flown through the trail directly into disaster, tripping over a root and knocking herself out. Now she and Olivia would be twins again, both having nearly identical cuts and bumps on their heads.
They’d also put salve on Mei’s burn and wrapped it, much to her indifference.
Back on the trail nearly an hour now, they were exhausted. They’d all thought they were in great shape with their hot yoga, exercise dance classes, and daily walks. But the uneven terrain and long, steady pace was different than flittering around on a gym floor or walking through the neighborhood.
Their ankles, feet, and hips ached. Their arms and legs were scratched and bleeding. Gabby’s lungs felt abused and even her hands hurt; they stung where she’d stumbled several times since knocking herself out, falling and catching herself on her hands in the dark. Her balance was gone. Her head swam with pain. She and Olivia probably both had concussions.
The sow had badly spooked them and slowed their pace by more than half. None of them knew anything about wild hogs. Would it chase them? Would it hunt them? They’d all seen stories of wild boar getting up to three hundred pounds and running thirty miles per hour. But regardless of their fear, they had to keep moving. To keep the fear at bay, they whispered while they walked. Mostly about what was in those other two bug-out bags back at Grayson and Olivia’s house… more water? A tent? A sleeping bag?
If only Olivia hadn’t taken them out of the car, they might be setting up a camp right now to lay down and have a rest.
In Gabby’s bag, they had found cinnamon candies to suck on while digging for first aid supplies, and they’d eaten nearly the whole bag as they walked, giving them some vigor, as well as fixing their stale breath, and keeping their hunger at bay.
Quietly, they crept through the woods. A few steps… then stop. Listen. More walking… then stopping… listening to be sure nothing was chasing them. When they thought they heard a noise behind them, they’d run like hell until they were far beyond or in front of it.
It was an on again, off again merry-go-round of panic, especially for Mei.
Finally, they were out of the woods and were on open ground. The clouds had cleared to allow the full moon the stage, giving them more light than they’d seen in hours.
Gabby ignored the begging to stop for the night until she too couldn’t take another step. She dropped her pack and flopped to the ground, leaning against the trunk of a lone tree in exhaustion.
“My feet,” Olivia said in a rush of breath, joining her on the ground. “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk again tomorrow, Gabby. They hurt.”
“You can. You will. We don’t have a choice.”
Seriously?
What did Olivia think Gabby and Emma’s feet felt like? Or Mei’s? Even with a well-fitted, broken-in pair of running shoes, Gabby’s feet ached so badly that she wasn’t even sure it was pain anymore. The pleasure of getting off of them conflicted with the ache from walking, making her giddy with relief. But her rest was short-lived. She had to get up again, keep moving. Or she’d be done for the night.
They needed a fire. A real fire this time. It was too spooky out here to sleep in the dark, and a fire might keep predators away. She hoped.
Sighing, she pulled herself up to scrape out a spot, while Emma attempted to gather branches for kindling.
“I’ll help. Just give me a minute,” Olivia offered. Gabby looked at her sister, seeing more than pain on her face. Olivia was exhausted. She was clearly weaker than anyone in the group and she’d walked, and ran, all this way in faulty flip-flops, and her feet looked really bad for it. Even in the moonlight, Gabby could see they were crisscrossed in bloody scratches from their trek through the woods.
“No, we got it. You take it easy.”
Olivia didn’t put up an argument. Instead, she pulled off her shoes and rubbed her feet. Emma wandered close by, gathering twigs, and muttering about hating squats as she struggled to dip and bend to pick up each stick. She was in better shape than any of them, yet she too was ready to drop. They were all hot, tired and cranky.
Mei seemed to wander around in a circle, not doing much of anything except shaking, muttering and scratching at her arms—even the one without the newly-burned brand. Finally, Gabby saw her pull something from her small purse and continue her pacing.
As Mei passed by, Gabby caught a glimpse in the moonlight. It was a picture of a little girl no more than one year old. Tiny black pigtails with red ribbons adorned her head and she proudly displayed dimples next to a nearly toothless smile.
“Who’s that, Mei? Is that your little girl?” Gabby asked.
Mei stopped and held the picture up to her face, staring as though she’d never seen it before. She muttered something incoherent and walked away, mumbling to herself.
Gabby exchanged concerned looks with her sisters and they let it go.
Ten minutes later, Gabby was squatting next to the small pile of kindling. Emma didn’t find much. The tree they were under seemed to be the only tree nearby. Everything was green, and they were afraid to move out too far. Each piece they’d found had been hard-earned and their fire wouldn’t be lasting long. Gabby carefully stacked them and struck the lighter repeatedly.