Cassandra kept her smiled to herself and instead made her way back to the kitchen.
She found a backpack that she filled with any supplies that she could find. There were two bottles of water, the rest of the olives, one can of baked beans, and Jack had found the emergency kit and flare gun.
Cassandra split the supplies evenly between the packs and added a stack of candles to each.
Then, after they had both secure their packs to their backs, they went to the garage.
The bikes were in pristine shape. Cassandra hadn’t been on a bike in she didn’t remember how many years, but she recognize that these were well cared for, top-of-the-line. There also surprisingly light, which she hoped would be to their benefit.
“Do we walk or ride?” she asked.
“Were going to walk these out of the neighborhood and back into the park. Once we hit the trail, will ride, but until then we’re on foot.
“Okay,” she said.
She remembered his words from earlier and a very quick lesson he had given her about being light on her feet and not disturbing the underbrush.
She doubted it was something she would be able to put it into practice quickly, especially not with the bike in her hands, but as they walked, she tried to be as quiet as she could possibly be.
Somehow, when they had been inside that house, there was some distance from everything that was happening, which gave her the ability to maybe think things weren’t as bad as they seemed. But now that they were back outside again, that illusion had again been erased.
Ordinarily, this neighborhood would be teeming with parents on their way to work, kids on their way to school, signs of life.
Something.
There was nothing—only that silence that seemed like a living thing, the smell of smoke, more gunshots. Screams.
Always screams.
It was unsettling to say the least, and Cassandra didn’t think of herself as a person who is easily unsettled. She wished she could be more like Jack, more stoic, less affected by what was going on around her, but her mind was swirling. She couldn’t really process this, didn’t know what this was. At least not yet.
He’d found an emergency radio in the kit, but it hadn’t proven useful.
That same message had been playing over and over again, and Cassandra couldn’t help but wonder if there was anyone behind it.
Probably not.
“The world really does go this fast,” she whispered, disbelief almost freezing her in place.
Jack took a moment to look back at her, and then he nodded.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The first couple of miles of the trip were precarious.
They were making far too much noise for Jack’s comfort. Some of it was unavoidable. It was difficult to maneuver the bikes through the leafy underbrush.
Some of it was also because of Cassandra. She didn’t complain and tried her best to keep up, but in her business suit and sneakers that were meant to be seen and not necessarily used, she was at a distinct disadvantage. Add to that the bike, which was light but awkward, and she was struggling.
Jack considered taking the bike from her but knew that wasn’t an option. He needed at least one of his hands free, and if she was going to make it, she needed to take care of herself.
But, as the trip continued, it got a little bit better.
The terrain was still rough, but they were moving farther and farther away from population centers.
Jack worried that the trail Cassandra had mentioned might be overrun, but so far, they hadn’t seen another person.
Fine by Jack, and something he hoped continued.
He knew this luck wouldn’t hold out. It was statistically impossible to think that it would, but he would take advantage of it as long as he had it.
He was starting to feel the effects of being awake for so long, but he pushed past it, and drank half a diet soda that he shared with Cassandra hoping that the little bit of caffeine would give him the extra push he needed.
“Up there,” Cassandra whispered.
He looked in the direction she was pointing and spotted the beginning of the trail. It was the first little plaque that marked some Civil War battle. Beyond that, he saw the signs that pointed toward the trail.
He stopped, and without prompting, Cassandra stopped as well. They paused, looked, listened, seeing if there was anything he could hear.
When he was satisfied there was nothing, he continued toward the trail, and Cassandra followed behind him.
They came through the woods and finally landed on the more well-worn earth.
The trail had some sticks and leaves that he noticed, but it looked relatively well-maintained.
“Let’s try to bike,” he said.
Cassandra looked relieved, but she didn’t express that feeling in word. Instead she set the bike down, and after she examined it, she reached for that helmet that she hadn’t let go of this whole time and popped it on her head.
“You really think a helmet is necessary now?” he asked.
“Safety first,” she responded with a quick smile.
Then she pushed herself onto the bike. It was a little bit too short for her, but of the two, it had been the better fit. He watched as she tucked her pant legs into the trouser socks she wore and then looked at him expectantly.
“Let’s keep it slow. Stay close. Look out for any obstructions on the trail,” he said.
She nodded, and after he got on his bike, they took off.
The first hour of the ride was uneventful, but by the second, Jack could see that the constant motion was beginning to wear on her. She didn’t say anything though, and Jack decided that he wouldn’t either. Every rotation of those wheels put them farther away from the city, and they couldn’t get away fast enough as far as he was concerned.
He was pushing, hard, but that was what he needed to do. The sooner he finished this ride, got Cassandra where she needed to go and got what he needed to continue with his trip, the happier he would be.
“Jack,” Cassandra said during the third hour of the ride.
“Yeah,” he called from the bike that was just slightly ahead of hers. They had decided to ride side by side in the middle of the road. He didn’t like being out in the open, but the position gave him a better view of anything that might lay ahead and made them slightly less assessable to anything that might jump out of the woods.
“I need to stop,” she said.
She’d held out longer than he’d thought, so he nodded.
“Okay. Up ahead,” he said, nodding toward a section of trees.
They pedaled toward it, and when they reached the edge of the trail, Jack got off the bike and then looked around.
The area seemed quiet and undisturbed, and he nodded at Cassandra, who then dismounted and walked her bike to the tree.
She was careful when she leaned it against the tree but far less careful when she popped her own body on the ground.
It was a little chilly out, but not too bad, and he could see her exhaustion.
“You holding up?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she responded.
A lie, but he appreciated she had made the effort.
After he again looked around the clearing, he sat next to her and then offered her the half of a diet soda.
She took it and drank it eagerly, her expression one of near ecstasy.
“I used to take ice for granted,” she said. “Not anymore.”
“So I guess that means something good has come out of this,” he said.
“No,” she said. “Nothing. What do you think this is?”
He had been turning that question over and over in his head, trying to come up with some conclusion, wanting to avoid the one that was obvious but knowing that he couldn’t.
“It’s nothing good, Cassandra,” he said.