Anthony Newman - American Survivor

“Honey, where are you going?”

“I need to run my traps and check to make sure there are no intruders nearby. Don’t worry if I’m gone overnight. Sometimes crap happens, and I have to camp out,” Joe said as he walked to the door.

“But Joe, I planned on a special evening for us.”

“It will have to wait,” he said as he marched out the door and into the woods.

Joe power walked into the woods and didn’t look back at the cabin. His leg muscles burned from the increased walking. He had thought he was in good shape for a fat boy but walking everywhere was kicking his butt. He trudged on knowing that the exercise was good for him and he would eventually get used to it. He hoped.

He finally stopped and took a deep breath to clear his head. The constant talking, flirting and smothering from Madison told him all he wanted to know about her. He already knew she wasn’t for him, but he couldn’t stand her enough to keep her around for friends with benefits. She was just too needy and would be as bossy as Gwen would have been if he allowed her to get comfortable. He was determined to get rid of her when the time was right.

He walked around for a while and found himself northeast of his property in the woods looking out at the quarry. The quarry hadn’t been in operation for a few years and had been abandoned. He searched the machine sheds for anything useful and found nothing. He moved on to the office and found someone was using the building for shelter. He saw blankets, candles, and a few canned goods. He quickly left without disturbing anything.

Joe checked his map and compass and walked northeast cross-country to Dead Indian Road. He wanted to get on Dead Indian Road above the businesses that were northwest of town. He remembered there was a couple of companies and several beautiful homes along the road toward town. The walk was strenuous, but he enjoyed being out of the cabin and away from Madison. He felt he could breathe again now that she wasn’t hovering around him. Then he thought, she did feel very warm and sexy this morning in bed.

Joe had to take a short break after the trek up and down the hills to get to the highway, so he hid in some bushes beside the road. He rested only a few minutes when he heard a vehicle approaching but lost the sound when it turned off the road below him. Joe knew that he had to stay hidden because even good people would turn bad and kill if they thought it would help them survive.

After fifteen minutes, he shouldered his backpack and crossed the highway to scout out the business across the road. The company was abandoned as most were so he surveilled the buildings and parking lots for movement before entering the first building. The company had been a welding shop that catered to the lumber business.

Joe only found a small bag full of tools and a little roll of small diameter wire to take with him from the production building. He then searched the office and found a bottle of Wild Turkey, a few bottles of water and a vending machine full of candy bars and chips. He broke the glass and ate his fill of potato chips and candy bars before loading his booty into his carry bag, which he unfolded from his backpack.

He started to walk away from the shop when he looked back and saw the six new cars and trucks Joe had snubbed his nose at and bypassed because he knew they wouldn’t start. He opened the door of a new Ford pickup, searched the glove box, the console, and lifted the clamshell cover for treasure. He only found a set of golf clubs in the back of the truck and took a nine iron to use as a walking stick.

The next vehicle was a red 2032 Corvette that was locked. Joe looked at the Nine Iron, then the Corvette, and then clubbed the passenger side window to gain entrance. He found a lady’s overnight bag full of lingerie and makeup. He spilled the contents on the driver’s side floorboard and leaned into the car to gather the dropped items when he saw the Ruger LCP in a little holster strapped to the bottom of the seat. He felt on under the seat and found a box of .38 Special bullets for the gun. He tucked the pistol in his waistband and placed the box of shells into his coat pocket.

He finished searching all the vehicles and added two excellent hunting knives, a small backpack, and three car magazines to his growing bag of goodies. He walked around to the back of the business and saw a side road that came up behind the houses fronting Dead Indian Road. He tried to keep hidden in the bushes alongside the road, but there was an open stretch before the first house. Joe didn’t want to be seen, so he left his carry bag and tool bag in the ditch beside the road and crawled into the ditch to get past the open spot undetected.

He slipped out of the ditch when he was able to use a tree to block anyone in the house from seeing him. Again, he watched the house and yard for any signs of danger before proceeding into the backyard. The house had a huge attached garage, swimming pool, and pool house in the backyard, so he started his hunt there. He would have loved to take a swim, but the water was icy cold and full of slimy green algae.

The door to the pool house was locked, so Joe jimmied the lock with a pry bar taken from his new tool bag. The door popped open, but there was nothing of interest in the house.

The garage had several expensive cars and motorcycles that were new but wouldn’t run. What interested Joe was a nice older Jeep Rubicon parked by a well-equipped shop. He got in the Jeep, found a key, and it started right up. Joe quickly shut the engine down, and since Joe’s backpack and carry bag were full, he loaded them all into the jeep. He would search this house, and the next then make a mad dash back to his cabin. He would hide the Jeep in the forest close to his property but not so close people would find him. He nosed around the small workshop and threw some more tools, cans of oil, and a spare gas can into the back seat. The jeep was full of gas and had a jerry can mounted on the back bumper was full.

He watched his surroundings carefully as he moved to the back door and jimmied it open. He found a horrible mess in the house, which had been looted and abused. The house stunk, and he covered his face with a wet handkerchief.

“Damn, this place smells like shit. Human shit at that,” Joe said as the raunchy smell attacked his nose and lungs.

Looters had not only taken what they wanted but knocked holes in the walls and spray painted graffiti nearly everywhere. He did find several bottles of antibiotics and nonprescription pain relievers in the upstairs bathroom that had been tossed on the floor. These looters wanted hard drugs and food. They tore the place up and literally crapped on the floors. He went into one of the bedrooms and selected a variety of women’s clothes that looked to be Madison’s size and stuffed them in a pillowcase. He threw in some toiletries and a pair of women’s boots and then continued his search.

He decided he would only search the next house before returning to the cabin. He had thought about Madison as he searched the house and a beautiful warm body and female companionship were winning out over her poor behavior. He would return and have a frank discussion with Madison. He would set boundaries and expectation on her behavior if she wanted to stay with him.

Joe cut across a field of tall grass to the next house, which was similar to the one he’d just left. It was a large, expensive house with a pool and a five-car garage. Joe searched the garage with zero success and moved into the house. The backdoor was open, and he found the same mess. The strange thing that hit him was that the place looked too trashed and didn’t stink. He walked to the front door and saw it had been forcibly opened, but the lock was intact. He walked into the kitchen, rummaged through the cabinets, and saw a few cans of beans and canned tomatoes but not much to eat.