Slaves Beneath The Stars by Fred Tribuzzo

Author:Fred Tribuzzo [Tribuzzo, Fred]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | EMP | Survival
Published: 2018-10-10T04:00:00+00:00

35

Trekking Through Hell

Lee Ann and a young boy of six were placed in the canoe between Fritz and Cricket. Lee Ann kept an arm around the boy, who rested his head on her shoulder. A few times she shushed him when he started to cry or say something. Lawrence and Ann put the remaining four children in the rowboat that Lawrence manned, following the canoe to shore.

The river was play-acting as a lake. Its calm only made Cricket anxious that logs and other debris would suddenly appear and ram them. Another car at the gravel pit, shining its lights, made her stop paddling.

“Further downriver?” she said quietly.

Fritz, paddle in the water, raised his hand and said nothing. The car lights went out. They were close enough to see a figure approaching the bank.

“Oh, it’s Doctor Claw,” Lee Ann announced, and the boy whimpered. She tried to explain he was a doctor and that “Claw” was only a nickname.

“Good pair of eyes,” Fritz said, and Cricket answered with “ditto.”

They had drifted a bit further downstream and now had to paddle with greater effort. Cricket turned to see Lawrence digging hard into the water.

Carrying enough speed, Fritz paddled with Olympian power and hit the bank hard, running the nose of the canoe onto land. Another figure came into view: Sister Marie with an armful of blankets.

Before separating the kids into each car, Sister and Cricket passed out blankets, coats, bottled water, nuts, and dried fruit and asked their names and ages. Cricket and Fritz held flashlights and had also brought food provisions in the trunk. Claubauf simply observed and kept an eye on the river. Cricket caught his eye and gave a nod of thanks. So did Fritz. Claubauf had been welcomed back into the fold.

One young child fainted and Sister Marie swooped in and caught the young girl from hitting the gravel.

“In the car, Sister?” Cricket knelt alongside the tiny girl of seven, holding her head above the gravel.

“Carry her over to the grass; lay some blankets on the ground. She needs the air.” Sister pointed to the van and Cricket ran to it and grabbed the pillow that Sister had used to sit on to better see out the passenger side. Claubauf carried the child and then brought Sister a lantern.

Ann and Lawrence kept the children back, and one boy cried that his baby sister was on the ground not moving.

Cricket and Sister soon realized the girl was no longer breathing and her eyes had rolled back. Kneeling, Sister Marie began CPR by first placing her hands over each other and pumping the girl’s chest. After a couple dozen compressions, Sister blew her breath into the child’s mouth.

“There’s one on the water.” Claubauf pointed. “He’s signaling with a lantern. I’m going after him.”

“Don’t,” Fritz said. “We need you and the van. This girl is going to need medical attention tonight.”

“She’s getting the best attention right now,” the doctor said. “That kidnapper makes it back to his team, we’ll have bigger problems.

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