Stan Morris - Surviving the Fog

When she was almost out of sight, Jacob stood up. He looked down the path to where she had disappeared. He turned, and he looked the other way, to where he had been headed. He wondered what Mike would do if Mike were here. He thought that he knew what the Chief would do. Giving the path to his task one last look of regret, he turned to follow the woman.

Lily was frightened. She thought that she had hidden well, but the man had noticed her. At least he had not attacked her immediately. Will he leave me alone? That was doubtful. She hurried along the path. If she could get far enough ahead, perhaps she could find another hiding place. She looked at the sky. It was still early in the day.

After an hour of walking, she came across a patch of thorn bushes. Carefully, trying to avoid the thorns, she crept into the bush. She waited, trying to control her loud breathing. Less than ten minutes later, she saw him coming along the trail, not hurrying. When he was a few paces from the thicket, he stopped. Lily held her breath, and she kept perfectly still. The man turned, and he walked ten paces back. Then he sat down. He took a drink from his canteen, and then he settled himself. He waited.

Lily drew a breath. He knows I’m here . She needed the rest, so she waited five minutes more, and then she crept out of the thicket. She stood, brandishing her club in front of her.

“Go away!” she said adamantly. “Go away.”

“Are you hungry?” the man asked.

“It doesn’t matter if I am,” she replied. “I’m not trading my body for food.”

She backed away, and then she turned and loped swiftly away from him. Jacob waited a few minutes, and then he followed her.

Lily tried to pace herself. Don’t exhaust yourself, Lily . Another part of her said that she was already tired. She was very tired. She found another hiding place. She waited. Once again, the man noticed her and sat down and waited.

Why? What is he waiting for ? She left the shelter of the thicket. The man remained seated. She wondered if she could attack him suddenly with her club. She rejected the idea, because that would place her too close to the man. Except that he was not a man. Now that she had her fear under control, she could see that he was younger than she had thought, at first. He was a teenager about seventeen or eighteen years old. Still, he was dangerous. She had learned that truth during the last year.

“Are you thirsty?” he asked.

“I told you. I’m not trading my body. Not for food. Not for water. Go away. You’re wasting your time.”

When he stood, she turned and fled down the path. Her panic had returned. She wept as she ran. She stumbled, kept her feet, and hurried on. She was tired. She was so very tired.

Presently, she had to stop. She bent at the waist, trying to catch her breath. There was a pain in her side. Listening, she could hear him coming. She hid behind a tree. He arrived at where she was hiding, and he sat down. He opened his backpack, and he took something out of it. He put something in his mouth, and he began to chew. Lily’s mouth began to water. It had been a full day since she had eaten the last of the food that she had hidden from the men.

The teenager looked at the tree that she was hiding behind. She watched as he took something out of his pack. It was a plastic bag. Her eyes widened as he cocked his arm back and threw it at her. It missed the tree by a foot, so that it landed behind and a little to the side of her. Her heart was beating, but gradually she realized that it was not an attack.

She looked at the plastic bag. It looked as if it had been repeatedly used. There was something in the bag. Cautiously, she picked up the bag and looked inside. She found a roasted potato still in the skin, and a piece of brown bread.

Is he trying to drug me ? She sniffed at the potato and the bread. She didn’t smell anything wrong, but that meant nothing. It could be drugged. Her mouth was watering, and a part of her body was demanding that she eat the food. She convinced herself that he was trying to bribe her, and she wolfed down the food. Let him try a bribe . He won’t succeed . She was not giving in as had some of the other women. When she was finished eating, she regretted not saving some of the food for later.

She felt better. She took her water bottle out of her inner jacket, and she allowed herself two full mouthfuls. She knew that she was becoming dehydrated. There was some snow around the bottom of the tree. Carefully, she wiped off the top layer. She took some of the clean snow underneath, and she worked it into the bottle. With a start, she realized that she had not looked at the man for a few minutes. Anxiously, she glanced around the tree. He had finished eating and was just sitting there.

She left and found another hiding place. He found her. They played cat and mouse for the rest of the day. As the sun settled beyond the mountains, they moved into a more wooded area. Lily found three small fir trees growing tightly together, forming a shallow arc. She sat down in the middle with her back to the center tree and waited. Presently, he found her and sat down. He sat there for five minutes, and then he rose and left. Lily was startled. She wondered what he was doing. Is he trying to work his way around behind me ? Perhaps he’s given up. She tightened her grip on her club. Where is he ?

Her thoughts were giving way to panic again, when he returned. He was holding a skinned rabbit. Lily watched as he built a fire, and a spit, and roasted the rabbit. When it was thoroughly cooked, he doused the fire and left. She waited a long time. She looked at the rabbit on the spit over the remains of the fire.

Is it a trap? Finally she stood, and she moved away from her stronghold while gripping the club tightly. When she reached the rabbit, she grabbed the spit and hurried back to her place of safety. She held the club between her knees as she tore into the rabbit. It tasted wonderful. He had stuffed the rabbit with some kind of leaves that gave it a spicy aroma.

Lily didn’t actually mean to eat it all. As she finished eating the rabbit, he returned. She tensed. She had eaten his food. He’ll be angry and hungry , she thought. She wondered if she should apologize. No, I won’t apologize. If he’s angry because I ate his food; well, tough. Maybe he’ll realize I’m not a nice person. Maybe, he would leave her alone.

He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t seem angry or surprised that she had eaten his rabbit. It was another bribe . Night fell. She leaned against the tree and covered herself with the blankets. She only pretended to sleep, but her eyes were heavy with fatigue.

Jacob found a soft spot on the ground without tree roots. He spread out his backpack and mummy bag and lay down on the sleeping bag, using his backpack as a pillow. He waited. The woman was pretending to sleep, but her body was still tense. Jacob enjoyed the twilight. The wind was soft, and occasionally the leaves of the trees would rustle. He listened to the sounds of the nightlife around him. Crickets were chirping.

He wondered about the woman. S he must be from Eagle’s Retreat . She might know something about the conditions at that place. He hoped he could obtain some information about the conditions there, but he had never seen, other than on television, someone so terrified. Things must be bad at that Retreat.

Presently, he rose and looked at the woman. She was breathing deeply now, and he was certain that the exhausted woman was asleep. He picked up his mummy bag and tiptoed over to her. Carefully, he removed her club from her open fingers. If she suddenly awoke, he did not want her to strike him accidentally, or on purpose. She did not awaken. He regretted the need to awaken her, but the night was going to be cold, so he had no choice.