We concocted a plan to put one of our vehicles out in the open and see if it got any notice. Early the next morning, before the sun was up, we drove the car about twenty miles away from our base camp. We left the lights off and drove slowly. He pulled off the road onto a shoulder that was covered with tall redwood trees. I turned to face him. We were still a few miles away from our goal area. We sat in silence for a moment before he turned to me. He cupped my face in his hands. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the comfort and security I felt in his touch.
He pulled my face towards his, kissing me softly, and I realized he had planned this little rendezvous. He pushed his chair back and pulled me on top of him. His kisses quickly intensified as he pulled my body against his, his hands under my shirt, racing up my naked back.
“It’s been a while.” He said, with a little smile and lifted my shirt over my head.
We continued up the coast a few more miles. After leaving the car on the side of the road, we walked about half a mile toward the coast, into the forest, and followed the road back. We were about halfway home when the flyover passed. Nothing. It was a drone. We excitedly began walking back to camp. About four hours later we heard a huge explosion. We turned back and scanned the sky, dark smoke swirling upward where we had left the car. My stomach clenched in fear and I instantly felt nauseous.
Ian’s face grew dark. He explained it was still sending images to some sort of a base camp that obviously wasn’t very far away. We hurried back to camp and told the others. Just as we were explaining it, we saw another plane on the horizon. It wasn’t the right time of the day for that, so we realized we had alerted them to a nearby presence. We quickly hid, and spent the next four days very cautiously. They knew we were here, and now they were looking for us.
CHAPTER THREE
Grandpa and Ian went out to forage only at night, and were having difficulty getting fish. Luckily, the rabbits were now big enough for us to start slaughtering. The first night of slaughtering, Ian vomited, but after that he got the hang of it.
The flyovers settle down a little, but it was obvious they were still looking for us. We started going out again during the day, but we made sure we were covered at all times. The rabbit had kindled again, and things were looking up a bit. Lisa had started doing ‘school’ with the boys, and it was great because it kept all of them busy.
Our little cave looked like it was right out of Swiss Family Robinson. Woven baskets hung in different places, with belongings, roots, and fruits. We had constructed a decent stove top out of pieces of metal and rocks, laid over a fire. It looked like an old kiln, and even with all that was going on, spirits were high.
Another couple of weeks passed, and we marked the time in mid-January. Four months. Things were going great. The garden looked good, and Grandpa still planted seeds every few days. He started some carrots, broccoli, spinach and lettuce. The spinach and lettuce had sprouted right away and he said as long as the weather was good, we should enjoy them soon.
A few days later, Ian came running back into the camp, breathless. He broke into a coughing spell as he told us there was a group of refugees several miles away, traveling down the freeway. They were trying to hide, but there was so many of them he was sure they would be spotted by the flyover. If they sent in a patrol we would be found for certain. He decided to go back out for Grandpa, and we started moving our stuff inside. We brought in the chicken coop and a few of our small things that were sitting in the sun. We tried to make our space as inconspicuous as possible.
Grandpa and Ian got back. Luckily Ian had thought to fill a few water containers. They covered the entrance to the cave. Ian expected it to take the vagabonds a couple of days to get far enough away that we could resume our normal routine, if they were not caught. We ate eggs, and rabbits, slaughtering them in the back of the cave. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get used to the sound. Their high pitched whining as he slit their throats was unnatural and very disturbing.
Ian didn’t seem to be doing well. He was pale, and quickly thinning. I decided he should use this time that we were confined to the cave to regain some of his strength. It was hard to keep him down, though. He would rest a bit, and then start working on a way to make something better; digging new bathroom holes, exploring the caves a bit with the boys, clearing leaves and debris from the back of the cave.
We couldn’t have a fire inside the cave during all this, it was way too risky. We had one canister of propane left, which we felt we should use for light, so we began to eat the canned supplies.
Two days later my Grandpa stopped in the middle of what he was doing. He held still a moment, and then snuck to the edge of the cave. I glanced around and caught my sister’s eyes. They were huge, wide open, and filled with tears. I didn’t know if she had heard something, or what. I looked back at my Grandpa. He raised a finger to his lips and we all held incredibly still. Ian was somewhere deep in the caves with Seamus and Gaiden, and I hoped they stayed back there a while longer.
I silently moved to the edge with him, to find out what was happening. I heard something but I couldn’t distinguish what it was. After a moment, it was followed by a sound that could only be described as distant fireworks. I frowned, trying to determine what it could be when Ian came running with the boys from the back of the cave. He had his hand over Gaiden’s mouth and both boys were crying.
Worried, I almost spoke before I remembered that we were supposed to keep quiet. Ian started mouthing stuff and pointing to his ears. I nodded. We had heard it. He made a gun with his hand. A chill ran over me. That was the first sound. It was so far away I hadn’t recognized it. It must have been some sort of rapid-firing gun.
Just then Gaiden whimpered and Ian squeezed his mouth tighter and bent to his ear. More tears spilled out of his eyes and his little body was trembling. I looked at my sister and mom. My sister was silently sobbing, but my mom still just stared. I was beginning to wonder if she knew what was going on.
My grandpa was waving again from the cave door. He did some things with his hands and arms, and finally I realized that he could hear someone running. We all stayed deathly still. After a minute Ian motioned me over to him. He wanted me to take over with Gaiden, and he made his way to the back of the cave.
I wondered where Ian was going as I quietly reassured Gaiden everything was ok. He had stopped crying and I convinced him to lay down. Ian came back with the gun. I silently prayed he wouldn’t chamber it. That much noise could bring somebody to us, especially if they knew what to look for. And our luck, he would shoot my grandpa, not the intruder.
Time passed eternally slow. It seemed as though whoever it was had gone. Ian quietly whispered to me that the other noise we had heard was a bomb. I could hardly swallow as I felt my stomach turn into an icy knot. We could have all been killed. Just like that. If they had bombed a few miles closer.
For some reason I suddenly felt more serious than I had this entire time. I guess the finality of it was so much more real. All of our wandering around outside and acting like we were on some extended camping trip came rushing back. This was real. This was serious. We needed to kick it in gear or we were going to be in trouble.
The next few days were painfully slow. The fly overs were random and frequent. We had started going out only at night and keeping the cave closed. A couple of times my grandpa went out, but it was so dangerous he came right back. We still didn’t feel comfortable having a fire, and the last of the propane had run out. We couldn’t cook any eggs or rabbit meat without the fire, so all we were eating was canned beans and some canned vegetables.