Anthony Newman - American Survivor

“I know what I’m doing let’s head on up in the mountains and hope we find an abandoned cabin.”

“I want to stop here,” the woman said.

Joe heard them and decided to take action. He shook the tree limbs above him then stomped the ground as he moved toward them. Then he yelled, “I see them. Shoot the man, and we’ll take the girl.”

They took off heading northeast along the Forest Service road and were soon out of sight.

Joe laughed, but that was all he had to hear to put a fire under his own butt and get moving back to his new home. Before he cut back down to his property, he saw two more families heading higher into the mountains and wondered if the men who killed the two men back in that clearing were the same men who these people were running from.

He was only a short distance from the cabin when he heard some thrashing up ahead. He saw a woman making camp by the creek close to his cabin. He stopped and watched as she sat on her coat crying. Her face was dirty, and her clothes were ripped in several places. He could tell she was a beautiful blonde about 30 years old and didn’t have a clue about surviving in the woods. She had a short skirt on with a tight white blouse and designer shoes not fit for walking.

The woman looked in her bag, looked disgusted, and started crying uncontrollably. Joe stood there watching the beauty from the bank above her when suddenly his foot slipped, and he tumbled down the hill toward her. The woman was terrified by the sudden appearance of the stranger and waved a knife at him.

He stopped a few feet from her flat on his back and said, “Good afternoon. Put the knife down. I mean you no harm. You are on private property and need to move on.”

The woman stood up and walked over to Joe who was still flat on his back trying to catch his wind, “Please help me, I’m starving. I will do anything for you if you will give me food. I can work for you. Cook for you. Hell, I’ll even sleep with you for food.”

“Whoa, lady. Back up for a minute,” Joe said as he scampered to his feet the added, “Where are you from, and why are you on my property?”

Those terrorists killed my husband, the entire Ashland City Council, and the police. We thought they were FEMA coming to help us. Until this attack, my worst worry was how to direct the help at the country club to decorate for the next social event or if we should travel to Paris or Cancun for our trip that month. Please help me.”

“Why did they kill your husband?”

“My husband tried to reason with them. He was the county prosecutor and from a wealthy family. Those men didn’t even listen to him. They shot him down like a dog, and they rounded up everyone they could find and executed them in front of City Hall. They only kept a few of the women for their… uh… entertainment. I’m starving. Do you have any food?” the lady begged.

Joe asked, “What’s your name and how did you escape?”

She smiled, “My name is Madison Clark, and I escaped when the men I was with stopped the vehicle we were riding in to sample the captured women. While the three men were doing disgusting things to those poor women, I ran into the woods and kept running. Now I’m here with my knight in shining armor sent to rescue me from the terrorist.”

Joe frowned at her fishy story and asked, “Why do you keep saying they are terrorists?”

“Because they spoke in a weird language and kept saying Aly Akber or something like the terrorists always say before they blow themselves up on the news.”

Joe was now in a quandary because he wanted to help the poor woman but didn’t want her to know where he lived so to give him time to think he said, “I’m out hunting for several days and will take you back to my place when I finish hunting. Here take these energy bars and this can of Spam to fill you up until I can cook tonight. We can’t have a fire during the day, or someone might see the smoke.”

The woman wolfed the food down quickly as Joe figured out what to do. He gave her his blanket and told her he was going to finish hunting for the day and would be back before dark. Joe quickly arrived at his cabin and packed the venison in the snow that he carried in from the back of the cabin. He then gathered his sleeping bag and enough camping gear to fool the lady. At the last minute, he filled a bag with stuff to place about the old ramshackle cabin to make it look like he lived there. The old broken-down cabin was filthy but would work nicely since he didn’t want the woman to stay with him long term. He made the cabin look like he had been there for a while and then left to join her back at the creek.

“I’m scared. I’m so glad you came back here for me. You are so strong, and I just know you will protect me.”

Joe wasn’t buying her story but couldn’t figure out what her game was besides getting her belly full, so he played along. He started a small fire and cooked Spam along with a can of green beans and some stale crackers. He didn’t want the lady to become too comfortable or like the food too much. They ate as Madison kept talking about her luxurious life in Ashland and her high society life before the shit hit the fan.

She noticed Joe wasn’t paying much attention to her constant blabbing and became silent for a few minutes then said, “Joe do you have a wife or girlfriend back at your place?”

Joe knew where this was heading and replied, “No and I don’t need one either. I lived alone before the attack and will live alone after you move on. I’ll help you and then send you on your way. It wouldn’t be Christian to let you starve. Look, lady, I don’t have a big store of food, and I have to hunt every day just to feed myself. I would have to hunt twice as much to feed you also, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything that must be done.”

The woman smiled back at Joe convinced even more that this simple guy could be molded into being her provider, protector, and lover until she could find a more prosperous and powerful man. She had never worked a day in her life, and all of her riches were gained by sleeping her way up the social ladder until she found the right rich man. Even in the apocalypse, the woman schemed to start with Joe and keep working her assets until she wound up at the top again.

That night Joe gave the woman two blankets and told her to curl up close to the campfire to keep warm. Joe settled down in his cozy subzero-sleeping bag and slept soundly. He woke up before dawn with a naked Madison curled up in his sleeping bag against his back. It took considerable effort on his part to not shuck his clothes and give in to this temptress. He went back to sleep with Madison trying to get his attention. He slapped her hand, and she stopped moving.

Joe slid out of the sleeping bag waking Madison who begged him to come back and spend the morning with her.

Joe replied, “Sorry but I have to go hunting this morning, and you need to clean up the camp and pack our gear, I’ll be back in three to four hours. Be ready to travel.”

He left the sleepy woman at the makeshift camp wrapped up in his sleeping bag and headed to the oldest broken-down cabin. Joe repaired the front door, boarded over a couple of broken windows, and cleaned up a bit. He then made a couple more trips between his home and the old cabin and thought he was now ready to take the woman to his fake home.

He stuffed two of his Grandma’s letters in his coat pocket and read one before heading back to the camp. It read:

Dear Joe:

It should be mid-winter at your new home in the woods. Remember to keep dry and stay as warm as possible in the bone chilling Oregon winters. Layer your clothes since what feels good in the morning will make you sweat in the afternoon. If you ever fall into the water and get wet make sure you dry yourself and get warm as soon as possible. Start a fire if you can. If not get naked with someone and share a sleeping bag. A woman would be nice but don’t let the ick factor keep you from getting cold. A man’s body will also keep you warm.”