Anthony Newman - American Survivor

“We need canned food, lady’s undies, and some chemicals for Cloe so she can tan those Rabbit furs,” she said.

That answer made Joe think back to the night he gave Madison the underwear. He got a big grin on his face, and Jane had to say his name several times to get his attention.

“Sorry, I was deep in thought. I’m going to make a quick run back to my cabin and get you another pistol and some ammo. I also have a few of the items on your list,” Joe replied.

Jane put her gear together and added several bottles of water, some dried fruit, and a can of Spam to her backpack for the excursion into town. She washed her face and combed her hair in the cabin’s bathroom so she wouldn’t get catty remarks from Cobie. When she was finished, she had the others gather and asked them to make a list of anything they had to have.

Joe returned as the sun went down and gave Jane a Glock 17, 9mm automatic pistol, and an extra magazine. He then handed her a bag and whispered, “Take these inside and don’t let the others see them.”

Jane took the bag into her room in the cabin but had to look at the contents. There were several bras and panties in the bag, which confused her greatly. Jane came back outside, and Joe helped her put her backpack on.

They started to leave when Cloe ran up and gave Joe a kiss on the cheek and said, “Joe be careful. I don’t want to lose you.

Joe bent down and kissed Cloe on top of the head and said, “Punkin’, do what your mom says and don’t worry about me. I’m finding that I’m hard to kill and won’t get lost. Goodbye.”

The two got in the Jeep and went away from the cabin headed away from town then doubled back a mile from the cabin and drove down the hill toward town. They both had to concentrate on the path ahead with the headlights off, so there wasn’t much conversation.

Joe stopped at the edge of town behind a building to check his map when Jane asked, “Why did you bring Cobie’s underwear to me? That’s just mean.”

Joe laughed and said, “They weren’t Cobie’s. She never wore them. The short story is that before I found Cobie and Cloe, I found another woman who moved in with me. She was kidnapped a week later, and I met Cobie when I went to warn them about the kidnappers. Cobie had already killed a couple of those thugs, and she was shot by another. Sorry for the information overload.”

“Did you love the woman?”

“I barely knew her, but she was good company,” Joe said.

“Good company as in you slept with her,” Jane inquired.

“Yes, but I would probably still be trying to run her off between sleeping with her. She was a high maintenance bossy bitch, but she was outstanding in bed. Well, nosey is there anything else you need to know,” Joe replied.

“No, but I like to get straight to the point. Joe, I like you, but won’t waste my time on you until you get over Cobie,” Jane bluntly replied.

“There is no getting over Cobie because we never kissed much less slept together,” he replied.

She laughed and said, “Men are so stupid.”

He laughed and said, “You sound like Cobie.”

Joe saw the two stores were where he remembered just north of East Main on East Hills Road and said, “Jane, we’re heading over to the airport and taking the Jeep up the runway until it ends. Then we’ll then cut across to East Hills road. The Grange and Co-op stores were just a block up the road. Hey, before I forget, what do you have on your list?”

“I need lady’s underwear, some thermal underwear, gloves, and canned vegetables,” She answered.

“We should find most of that stuff at the Grange if it hasn’t all been looted,” Joe replied.

Joe headed north, turned into the airport parking lot, and then drove on to the runway. The evening was clear, but the moon was just peeking above the horizon, so they drove along without worry of being spotted. Joe had to dodge some wreckage from a plane crash but made it safely to the end and then drove to a gate that opened to the main road. He got out of the Jeep with a bolt cutter and cut the lock freeing them to drive on up East Hills Road to the Co-op. He parked behind the building, cut the lock on an overhead door, and drove the Jeep into the building.

Joe looked around the back storage room and found several pallets of animal feed. He placed four fifty pound bags of Rabbit food on the roof of the Jeep, and another four of dog food on the hood then strapped them down. Joe saw several hand pushcarts, gave one to Jane, and told her what to look for to help with the rabbit ranch. They pushed the carts into the main building and began searching for the other items on their lists. The building had been looted of most of the food, guns and, ammo, but most of the rest of the merchandise was left alone.

Joe found the fencing, T posts, and bailing wire in the farming section and then helped Jane find clothing and gloves in the clothing section up front. She found some men’s and women’s underwear and held up a pair of white large women’s underwear.

“Joe, are you fond of Granny Panties? I’ll bet you like black thongs better.”

Joe saw this coming since he saw Jane earlier that day. She was another Madison and would avoid her in the future.

He said, “I’ll keep that info to myself. Let’s find what we need and move on.”

“Joe, I was just messing with you,” she said but embarrassed that he didn’t like her joke.

They brought several carts full of much-needed supplies back to the Jeep, and Joe said, “I know they sell small cargo trailers here. I’m driving around front to get one. I’ll be right back.”

“Hell no! I’m going with you. Shit man, you have a tendency to lose too many women. I’m stuck like glue to your ass until we get back home.”

Joe laughed a deep belly laugh and pointed at the Jeep. They carefully drove around to the front of the building and saw a whole line of trailers chained together. Joe cut the lock, selected a small 5 x 10-foot trailer, and hitched it to the Jeep.

They drove back around to the open door when Jane pointed and said, “Look, something moved by the dumpster. I think it was a woman.”

Joe stopped and exited the vehicle with his rifle and walked toward the dumpster. He could smell the body odor before he heard or saw any movement. He said, “Come out and show yourselves. I won’t shoot unless you attack us. I won’t repeat it before I start shooting. You have three seconds.”

“Hold up buddy. We don’t want any trouble. We were probably just doing what you are doing. We need food and supplies for our family. Please don’t shoot,” a man’s voice pleaded.

Joe saw a young woman and a man walk to him from behind the dumpster. They were very thin, dirty, and stank of stale beer and sweat. The man had a mouthful of rotten teeth, and his hands were shaking.

“Look, man, all of the food has been stripped from the shelves but look over there in those racks. It won’t sound good, but that dog food will keep you alive until you can get some crops in or hunt for food,” Joe said.

“I ain’t eating no dog food. The government will show up. I just need some real food until they get here. Give us your food; you probably have more than you need,” the dirty man said.

Joe didn’t see the woman raise the gun until too late. She fired but missed Joe when a shot rang out from behind Joe. Jane shot the woman in the chest, and the man pulled a gun from behind him. This time Joe reacted and shot the man twice in the chest. The noise echoed through the night.

“Jane, let’s quickly load what we can because the gang will be here in a few minutes,” Joe said as he jumped into the Jeep and drove it into the building.

They threw everything into the trailer and a few things into the back seat before driving away from the building heading north on East Hills Road. There were several cracks from gunfire behind them, but only one bullet struck the Jeep. Joe didn’t stop to check the damage and crossed Dead Indian Road to head up into the hills when Joe saw the lights far behind him.