Days 9 to 16 by Amy Cross

Author:Amy Cross [Cross, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic
Published: 2018-07-31T04:00:00+00:00

Elizabeth

Pennsylvania

As soon as the sun rises, I start getting ready for the journey back to the farm. The fire lasted most of the night, and my clothes - although a little smoky - are now dry. I get changed quickly, refill Toad's backpack as best I can, and then finally I kneel next to him and check his pulse. He's still alive, and there's no sign of a fever. With the rain having passed, I figure I just have to get him home as fast as possible. It's not going to be easy.

Based on the position of the sun, I figure the farm is somewhere beyond the line of trees directly facing the cave. It takes me a couple of minutes to gather Toad up in my arms. He's not particularly heavy, but I'm the kind of person who's never really had to carry anything heavier than a fully-loaded shopping bag, and even then I complained all the way home. I can feel my body struggling to hold Toad's weight, but I can't leave him in the cave, so I start to slowly stagger out into the forest.

Within a couple of meters, my feet slip on the wet leaves and I crash to the ground, with Toad landing on top of me. My first thought is that I might have made his injury worse, but he seems to be okay. I crawl out from under him and get ready to pick him up again, but at the last moment I'm struck by the realization that I can't do this. Sure, it'd be great if I had the strength to carry the guy for hours and hours, all the way back to the farm, but I physically can't, and there's no point getting us both killed just because I want to prove a point. I can move faster if I'm alone, and I figure I can get Patricia and bring her back here.

After I've placed Toad back in the cave, I work on getting the fire restarted. I use his technique to strip wet bark from the wood, and finally - after not too much effort - I get the fire going. I arrange him as close as I dare, and then I turn and hurry out of the cave. I don't have long, and I need to get back here with help well before nightfall.

The journey back to the farm is long and slow, and at times I'm not certain that I know the right way. At the same time, I'm careful to make sure that I know how to find the cave again. After all, there's no point making my way back and finding Patricia and the others, only to discover that I've no idea how to get us back to Toad. Hurrying through the forest, I force myself to cling to the hope that somehow, through some kind of miracle, I might actually manage to save Toad and prove that I can survive in hard times. The odds are low, but I can't give up just yet.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.