Chapter 15

We run through the woods for what feels like hours before finally coming out onto a highway. Stopping to catch our breath, my body is soaked with sweat and my lungs feel like they could burst. Panting for breath Mikayla turns to me, leaning down to put her hands on her knees.

"What do we do now?"

I sigh. "Well, we don't know where we are so I guess we just pick a direction and hope that we find something that will give us a clue. We need to avoid those guys, I'm sure they'll start looking around the area and nearby for us."

Running my fingers through my hair I realize how bad I need a shower. My hair is stringy and lifeless, more so than normal. My clothes and skin are covered in dried blood and smeared dirt and god knows what else.

I would give anything for indoor plumbing right about now.

Looking back in Mikayla's direction I point to the road.

"Let's head out while we can. I figure we can walk the edge of the highway for a while, that way we can get closer to a town or something. We will have to listen closely for vehicles, so we have time to hide."

She looks beaten down and tired. It must be hard to live this kind of life as a kid. I feel terrible for her. She nods at me and stretches, rubbing the chafed skin of her ankles before moving closer to me. Together, we walk the road for hours making small talk about before and everything we have conquered so far to distract from the thirst and hunger gnawing away at our insides.

"So, I'm thinking that the place they had us in was a penitentiary or compound of some sort. The fence they had and just the whole setup was sketchy."

She agrees with me and we brainstorm ideas on why they had all of those people's belongings and what was going on with the dumpster and trash chute.

"Look, there's a truck!"

I look where she is pointing, and it is. We look at each other excitedly and take off running for the abandoned grey Chevy on the road. We finally reach it and are both panting as we look inside. It seems empty so we hop in and look for the keys. They were in the middle console and I try to start the engine, but it just won't start. Disappointment is thick in the air as we resume walking. There wasn't even a drink of water in the truck.

As we keep walking there are more and more abandoned vehicles littering the road, left behind to rust and rot. We finally get a little Volkswagen car to start and it has a quarter of a tank of gas. We drive maybe six miles before reaching an old gas station that must have been shut down years ago. We park our new blue ride at the back and decide to scavenge for something to drink and hopefully eat.

Slipping the car keys in my pocket I pick up a small metal pipe from beside the trash cans at the back door. I beat on the back door for a second and don't hear anything banging in reply. I motion for Mikayla to stay still and be quiet before walking around to the front of the store. I peek into the farthest window from the door and rap my knuckles against it. Nothing appears so I walk to the back door and open it with Mikayla closely behind. We stop by the employee cubbies to look for new packs. I find a nice backpack that looks like it belonged to a college student judging by the pens and notebooks and calculus textbook that fell when I dumped it. Mikayla found a shoulder bag that just had random stuff in it like a cellphone and some papers. Happy with our finding we decide it's time to fuel up before something else happens.

Most of the lights are broken so it's dark but we manage to find our way to the actual storefront. We work silently. Filling our bags with all the water and protein bars we can find. Deciding to look behind the counter for a weapon I find a small 9mm handgun and one box of bullets.

Better than nothing though. Now we have a gun and a pipe.

I grab a couple of packs of cigarettes just for old times' sake and stuff them in my pack. Some lighters could be useful if we end up spending any time outside, especially at night. I regroup in the middle of the gas station with Mikayla to decide what else we might need. Since I'm used to up close and personal combat, I give her the handgun just in case. She looks nervous handling it, probably recalling the first time we met. I put my hands on her shoulders to reassure her.

"It's for emergencies. If for some reason I can't protect you then you need to use it but hopefully, you won't have too."

She nods at me, not talking much lately.

"I think the only other thing we should worry about grabbing right now is gas. I'll look behind the counter again to see about switches and stuff before we go out. Just wait by the front door."

She does what I said without complaining and I check to make sure the pumps are activated. I tell Mikayla that I'm going to pull the car around before she comes out and once the car is parked, she walks over to meet me. We are still sluggish from being so tired and hungry, but we need to make sure we are safe before we can relax. I fill the car and find a gas can in the back of a truck with a lawnmower nearby. I fill the can and set it in the trunk of our new car before we head out again. In the safety of our car, I turn the radio on with the volume low since there was an old CD left in it and Mikayla pulls out a water bottle and two protein bars. I take a drink first and the lukewarm water never tasted so good sliding down my throat. I sighed in bliss at the luxury of having water in a bottle to drink from. I eat my protein bar while driving and Mikayla dozes off. Passing abandoned vehicles and a lot of wooded areas I feel peaceful. I even crack my window and light up a cigarette, another luxury I thought I'd never get to enjoy again. It's not a shower, but it's something.