Anthony Newman - American Survivor

“Cobie laughed and pulled her daughter close with her good arm and hugged her for several minutes, “I love you, Cloe Marie. We would make a great team even if you didn’t obey me back at that ranch.”

“Come on, Mom, let’s hit the dusty trail.”

The vehicle drove up to the ranch house, and no one greeted the leader of their cell, as he was accustomed, as was befitting of his rank in the organization. Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, back home in Saudi Arabia, being the four-thousand one-hundred and seventy-third Prince of the House of Saud, might not be as important as he believed. Still, he was of the Royal Lineage of the House of Saud, and here, he was in charge.

“Omar, find Abdulla and make sure he understands that I am not to be kept waiting.”

Omar took five men and headed into the house with one of the men to find Abdulla; he sent the others to find out what happened to the two that were supposed to be guarding the ranch and their prisoners.

Omar came out of the house and yelled, “Abdulla is dead.”

The three men ran back to report Abdulla’s three guards were also dead, and the captive was missing.

The leader said,” “Find the ones responsible and bring them to me. Alive! We don’t have time for this. We must leave for Portland by Friday.”

Joe woke up with Madison in his arms, they were both naked and sharing the same sleeping bag. She had a slight Lilac smell coming from her hair that drove Joe crazy with desire. She felt fantastic in his arms, and he knew he would keep her there even if it were to use her as she had planned to use him. He was not ashamed of himself for giving into her charms and would think about that first night for many months to come. He thought if two people used each other to get what they wanted then no one is really harmed. Madison now knew exactly what Joe wanted from her, and he knew what she needed from him.

Joe started to get out of bed, but she felt too wonderful in his arms. He stroked her hair and then ran the back of his fingers across her face. Her skin was soft and inviting, so he began making love to her slowly and gently. Madison woke, rolled on top of Joe, and pinned him down with kisses. She then took charge, which shocked Joe at first then drove him crazy for the next hour. When Madison was through, they both lay on top of the sleeping bag exhausted, and she quickly fell back to sleep.

He slid out of bed without waking her and had the fire going in a few minutes. It was still dark outside, and the fire had burned down to a few red coals. He wanted to warm the cabin up a bit for Madison’s comfort. It would be out before daybreak, and he was not worried about someone spotting the smoke.

He was pissed at himself for agreeing to make a scavenging run into Ashland during a weak moment last night. That woman was an expert at manipulating men and Joe thought she was good at many other things also. He couldn’t stay mad at her anymore but knew he needed to keep her from pushing him into anything dangerous.

Joe cut some dried strips of venison into a pot full of yesterday’s soup and let the concoction heat while he shaved and performed his morning bathroom rituals. When finished he went back to the bedroom and woke Madison by gently stroking her face.

“Good morning sunshine,” Joe whispered in her ear.

“I don’t see any sun. Come on back to bed so we can take up where we left off. Our trip can wait a day,” she pleaded.

“It is 1:30 and it will be a beautiful morning with a high of 45 degrees in sunny downtown forest in the mountains. Wake up sleepy head. You are the one who talked me into making another run into town. We have to scavenge, find what we need, and then be back here before daybreak,” urged Joe to a sleepy Madison.

“Oh, yes. Make sure you have that list I put together for you last night. I really need those feminine hygiene products and makeup. Don’t forget the spices. We need to spice up the taste of our food. Pardon the pun,” Madison nagged.

Joe remembered the list and that he would need a semi-truck to haul all of the items on the list back to the cabin.

“I won’t forget, but you have to get your butt in gear if you’re going to be my pack mule,” Joe joked about their deal that he would go into town while she waited at the golf course to help him bring the supplies back to the cabin.

Madison kissed Joe on the neck and said, “Funny you didn’t think I was a pack mule when we were sharing my sleeping bag last night and again this morning,” she joked.

Madison put on a pair of Joe’s pants and had to use a rope to cinch up the slack around her waist. She wore a hat over her ponytail and amazingly was ready in ten minutes, which astounded Joe.

Joe smiled broadly at Madison’s tightly cinched pants and said, “I think we both need some new pants, mine are getting a bit too big even for me.”

In the short time, since Joe began his new life, the work, and exercise he got just from surviving had cut significantly into his girth.

They only took Joe’s rifle and a 9mm pistol for each of them, and empty backpacks along with two duffel bags to haul their booty back to the cabin. Joe added two bottles of water for each of them, and they headed out the door for their five and a half mile hike down to Ashland.

He planned to leave Madison at the Oak Knoll Golf Club then sneak in and out of town before daylight. He would avoid Walmart, Target, and other significant chain stores because they were probably picked clean. He hoped he would find what they needed at restaurants, gas stations, and the golf course clubhouse.

The trip down the mountain was almost as brutal as the trip back would be because their calves screamed at them after a few miles of continually walking downhill. Joe chose to head to town going straight down the mountain to shorten the trip and to avoid encountering anyone on the road. He decided not to drive the Jeep because it could be heard for miles on the gravel roads and the big lugs on the tires made a distinctive whine on the pavement. This had to be a stealth mission.

Madison had a great body that looked like she was in shape but had no stamina at all. She huffed and puffed after a mile and mentioned several times that her calves hurt. They had to stop four times on the way down, and Joe knew they would need those forty minutes of darkness on the way home.

“Come on girl, we have to plod on, or we might as well turn back now,” Joe preached.

“I’m sorry that I’m not in as good shape as you are. Mr. Mountain man, I’m doing the best I can. Let’s go,” an exhausted Madison said in a strained voice.

They finally arrived at the clubhouse without seeing anyone and only a few plumes of smoke coming from chimneys along the way. Joe wondered if the area might be safer than he had thought if people were broadcasting their existence. Joe searched the clubhouse for any people or other dangers; he found none and left Madison to search for items on their list. She ran over to him and gave him a good luck kiss. He waved goodbye, and he was quickly on his way.

Joe walked across the fairways headed west and was very quiet as he walked through a small subdivision beside Highway 5. There were no lights on in the houses, and many of them had burned to the ground. Several had bullet holes and broken glass from fierce fighting. He saw cars that looked as though someone had emptied a machine gun into them. He left the neighborhood and stayed in the shadows as he progressed to his first target, which was a Mexican restaurant. He had eaten there several times while waiting for the lawyers and signing paperwork before the shit hit the fan.

The doors to the restaurant were shattered, and all the windows were broken, but the place had not burned. Joe cautiously entered with his 9mm drawn and ready for a fight. The cash registers were open and lay on the floor. Why anyone needed money, these days escaped Joe as he plodded on through the building to the kitchen. The place was bare of any food, but there were plenty of jars and bottles of spices. He filled his backpack until it was full and was tickled to have found two unopened bottles of Sriracha sauce.