Райан Уэстфилд - Finding Shelter

“Where did you see her last?”

Before she could even get the sentence out, James was starting to answer. “This morning. Dan and I were planning our day’s work, and we saw her drinking coffee. Then she was gone. We didn’t think anything of it, but then she never showed up. Together we checked everywhere with a mile radius of the camp. She’s not here.”

“Shit.”

Mandy let out a groan of pain.

There were two crisis situations coming at her from both fronts.

Georgia needed to think quick.

“OK,” she said. “Cynthia, you stay here with Mandy. Do what you can. Use the book as a reference but remember there’s not much we’re going to be able to do without medical equipment. If the pain gets bad, there’s aspirin, and a wooden spoon for her to bite on. If you want to give her something else, make sure to check in the book to see if it is OK for pregnancy.”

“But… she’s going to be OK,” Cynthia was saying.

“Good,” said Georgia. “But if she’s not, you’re going to be here for her. John?”

“Yeah?” John’s voice came outside the building.

“You’re coming with me.”

“Right,” said John. He didn’t need to ask what they were going to do. He already knew.

“Everyone else,” said Georgia. “You’re staying here.”

“But, Mom! I’ve got to come…”

“They need you here, James. You and Dan are on permanent watch until I get back. John, get your gear together. Quick. Plenty of ammunition. Enough food for a couple days. But not too much. We’re going to pack light and move fast.”

Georgia gave Mandy and Cynthia a stiff nod that she hoped conveyed more than she knew how to say, then she was out of the building, moving through the darkness, headed towards her own gear.

It felt almost as if she had entered into a dream. She’d always done everything she could to protect her kids. And now this? It seemed unreal. It seemed as if it couldn’t possibly be happening.

But it was. It had. Sadie was gone.

There wasn’t any hope in not jumping to conclusions. Better to assume the worst than the best. Better not to be caught off guard.

If Sadie was still alive, wherever she was, Georgia would find her. If Sadie wasn’t still alive, which was a very real possibility, then whoever had done the act would pay. Pay dearly.

Georgia’s heart was reacting, and her emotions, normally under control, were rearing their ugly head. But she managed to pack a bag. Food, water. Water filtration.

She already had her knives on her. Flashlights too.

She grabbed two rifles. Her favorites.

Plenty of ammunition.

An extra handgun.

One of the few working flashlights that still had batteries. Why it worked no one really knew. It was just one of those flukes. Maybe it had been housed in an accidental Faraday cage, protecting it from the EMP.

“You ready?” came John’s voice.

“Just a second.”

Georgia’s eyes scanned the area rapidly, looking for anything she’d missed. No, nothing else to take. She wasn’t the kind of woman who believed in having a lot of trinkets. She had no good luck charms or superstitions. If others believed in them, like Cynthia, that was fine. But they weren’t for Georgia.

There wasn’t time to say goodbye. There wasn’t time to give any more instructions. There wasn’t any time at all.

It was all happening so fast, and her mind was in such an unusual state, that it wasn’t until Georgia and John were leaving camp, that Georgia realized they didn’t know where to go.

They didn’t have a clue where Sadie was. They didn’t have a clue which direction she’d be in.

“We’ve got to pick one direction and just stick to it,” said John.

“It’s only a one-in-four shot,” said Georgia, trying to keep her anger and panic under control. Her face felt red and hot. She tried to focus on her breathing. In and out. In and out.

“Worse than that,” said John. “It’s not like she’s going to be due east.”

“Shit,” exclaimed Georgia suddenly, slamming her foot hard into a tree trunk out of sheer anger and frustration. Pain shot through her foot. It was uncharacteristic of her, doing something pointless that hurt herself. But it just seemed so hopeless. She wanted to just open her mouth wide and scream.

But she didn’t. She kept it under control. She kept it bottled down.

“There’s got to be something we can do,” said John. “Somewhere we can look. Somewhere nearby. Where would you take someone if you kidnapped them?”

“I wouldn’t kidnap anyone.”

“If you had to.”

“The woods. Away from everyone.”

“OK. But that’s you, Georgia. You’re not most people. You’re not exactly normal. And that’s good. It’s what makes you effective. But what about your average person? Your average kidnapper?”

“What would they want to kidnap a kid for anyway?” said Georgia.

John shrugged. It was clear he didn’t want to answer her. The possibilities were all too terrible.

“I think your average idiot kidnapper would take the kidnappee somewhere fairly close by. Sadie’s a tough cookie, regardless of her age. She’s going to be hard to take real far.”

“Well, they took her. She’s missing.”

John had a look on his face like didn’t want to say what he was thinking. And Georgia didn’t ask him. She didn’t have to. She knew that they were assuming the best-case scenario. Kidnapping was the best- case scenario. Death was the worst.

For all they knew, Sadie could be lying dead somewhere just outside the area that James and Dan had already checked. Or she could be just dead, or dying, under a pile of dead leaves. After all, it’d be impossible to check every actual square inch of the surrounding forest.

Georgia had to make up her mind. And fast. There wasn’t any more time to waste on her decision.

She had to go with her gut feeling. Ignore all her thoughts. Ignore John.

“We’ll head to the shopping mall. The one on I-5. There’s a chance she’s there. Max told me he came across some lowlifes around those parts.”

John hesitated, before nodding in agreement.

And with that, they were off, each one trying to keep up with the other. The pace was fast. Very fast. And it had to be.

Georgia’s thoughts were racing. There was no calming her mind. Not now. Not with what had happened.

Something wasn’t right.

Sadie’s suspicion was rising. It had been nonexistent before.

Had she been blinded by her enthusiasm for making a friend, for finding someone her own age to play with?

But now, as she stood outside Terry’s house, and watched his back, she wondered why she’d had to wait outside. And what was Terry talking to his wife for?

Was Sadie really that much of a threat? Sure, she was an outsider, but she was just a child. She knew that she wasn’t big or scary.

Her gun was in her hands again. It felt good there. Just in case something happened, it was good to know she had it.

The safety was off. Her finger was near the trigger. Not quite pressing it. But inside the trigger guard.

Her heart was pounding. Anxiety. Anticipation. Adrenaline, causing a slight shaking in her hands.

She took a deep breath. Held it to the count of three. Let it out. Did it all again. Her hands felt a little better. A little steadier.

Should she leave?

She had just seconds to decide.

Yes. She needed to get out of here. Her gut was clenched up. Her body was reacting, telling her this wasn’t right.

But maybe it was just nerves. Maybe it was just anxiety that meant nothing, like when she’d almost thrown up before giving a school report in front of the class, only to have it all work out fine in the end.