-II-

"Just sit still and let me get this over with goat!"

The young woman held tightly to the scruff of the goat’s neck with one hand, trying desperately to get a hold of an utter with the other. "MAAHHAHAHH!" The goat belted out, kicking over the milk bucket and butting Anna in the shoulder. "You stupid animal!” she yelled, “If you would just calm down and let me do this then you could go back outside and be...stupid outside!" "MAAHAHAAH!" screamed the goat, jumping up and butting her off the stool.

“YOU STUPID ANIMAL!” yelled Anna in frustration, sliding across the dirt floor. “MAHAHAHAH!” cheered the goat in triumph, running around the small wooden shack, kicking over anything it could find.

Anna got up, wiping the dirt from her jeans. “You’re in for it now.” she whispered, taking a thick rope from a hanger on the wall. The goat had ceased its destruction and began eating some grass that was growing through the rotted walls. She crept behind the goat and slowly lowered the noose around its neck. "I wouldn’t have to do this if you weren’t so damn stubborn goat." she said.

Outside the shack, people were bustling about doing the chores for the night. A few fires smoldered underneath the cover of tents and the buzz of an air compressor droned from within a container. Making his way towards the shack, a large man by the name of Joseph raised his brow at the sound emanating from behind its door. Placing his ear to the shack he listened.

It had become quiet once more. Without warning the wall of the shack shook violently, vibrating through his head. "Get over here you stupid-" murmured from behind the wall. "Is everything all right in there?" He asked knocking at the door as he turned the knob.

Anna looked up towards the entrance grinning mischievously at her father’s quizzical expression.

The goat sat suspended from the shacks rafters, a loop around each leg keeping it secured. It whined in protest, running in place, desperately trying to escape its latest predicament.

"I see you’ve finally gotten that goat to cooperate." He laughed as he sat down on a hay bale. "All it needed was a good stern talking to, that’s all." she replied.

"That and about twenty feet of rope." he said, smiling.

"Well I don’t want to bring your good mood down." His expression shifted to concern. "But we didn’t hear from Robert this evening." Anna stopped and looked at her father, the goat swinging helplessly from the rafters. "Nothing? There was nothing?" She whispered, biting her lip.

“Nothing but static...” he replied somberly, “I’m sorry sweetheart, I just wanted to let you know.”

He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, the circles under his eyes darker than ever.

“In fact there were no transmissions at all...radio silence.” His eyes flickered in the candle light, a pale grey blue piercing across the room to her.

Anna closed her eyes, tightening her grip on the half-filled bucket beneath her.

“I’ll let you know anything new as soon as I do." he reassured her, standing up and moving towards the door.

She looked up at him, tears forcing they’re way out of the cracks that met her eyes. "I’m sure they’re alright.” he whispered, lowering his hands and gripping his pockets, “Robert has our coordinates so I would expect to see him before morning." He smiled at her before leaving the shed. She strained a smile as he left, her eyes falling as the door shut.

The goat was now incoherently bleating as the ropes swayed it back and forth. She untied its legs and let it down. "MAHAHA..." whined the creature, stumbling around the shed hitting the wall and looking back at her in disapproval. “I’m sorry goat.” she whispered, leading it outside to a post with a leash.

-’-

Robert shifted his pack off of his shoulders and stopped, stretching his legs.

The highway had brought them high above the city and around the side of a mountain. He put one leg on top of the guard rail and touched his toes. He could just barely make out the fires from within the city they had come from, the light trickling lightly through the fog that had moved in across the building tops.

"I’m hungry." said Emily, staring at the bag next to Robert.

"There are three more cereal bars in the bag, take out one and I’ll split it with you." he replied.

She reached into the backpack and fumbled through it pulling out a ragged looking protein bar that was far past its date. She removed it from the package and broke it in half shoving her portion into her mouth and handing the other to Robert. He bit into the mushy stick and grimaced at the taste of stale peanut butter. He could feel it sticking to his teeth as he chewed and swallowed the tiny portion. Reaching into the bag he pulled out a chart and compass, looking it over quickly. "That’s where were going Em." He said pointing at a mountain peak.

She stepped up towards the guardrail and looked out where he was pointing.

"That’s about twenty six miles away." she said in a struggled muffle, peanut butter sticking to the roof of her mouth. Robert laughed to himself.

Her skill of perception always amazed him. She was right, it was twenty five point eight miles from where they stood. "That’s right.” he said, “so if we keep moving like this we should make it there in time for dinner." The words didn’t sound convincing but Emily appreciated hearing them all the same.

They continued up the highway for some time before reaching a sharp turn in the road. An owl could be heard in the distance as Robert surveyed the area. "Hoohoo!" mimicked Emily.

Robert looked down the highway following its path.

If they stayed on the road it would eventually come back around to the other side of the valley, but it would take them a good ten miles out of the way. The only other route would be to scale down the mountainside and traverse across the small town that lay below them.

He looked down from the rail and scanned the area with his binoculars. There were no fires burning and no light that he could see. Emily also scanned the darkness before looking up and shaking her head in approval. Robert climbed over the side of the guardrail, getting his footing before helping her to the other side. It was a steep drop, but he could make out a section of rocks they could climb down from. As they descended down the mountain side the moonlight disappeared behind the trees, sending them into darkness. The mountain side was rather barren, covered in rocks and lightly peppered with pines. The smell of fresh dirt floated in the air as they passed several recent landslides, the red earth turned up and trailing to its resting place below. Robert could make out a cliff up ahead and turned creeping slowly sideways towards more level terrain. He looked down suddenly and tightened his grip as Emily lost her footing and slid over the gravel, letting out a small yelp as she grasped for Robert. "I got you." he said, gripping her tightly.

They continued downward until they reached a thin road that led from the town to the highway. The temperature and humidity rose as they passed below the fog line. The smell of fire wafted through out the air. “I don’t like this.” whispered Emily. A couple miles ahead Robert could make out the first building of the town.

It had two stories and a few windows facing them. The windows were all broken and the wall was littered with bullet holes. It didn’t look as if anyone inhabited it, but he wasn’t going to take a chance to find out. They moved off the road and continued towards the town along the tree line, stopping to scan the area every few minutes or so. The smell of fire was getting stronger as they moved closer to the city limits. "This town must’ve been hit." he whispered to her. They stopped once more as they reached the first block of buildings. He was right.

An unmistakable black outline of a circle cut through the street, circling the center of the town. Buildings within the radius of the outline were either badly burned or completely destroyed. Some still smoldering in the night air. “What do ya think?” asked Robert, looking down Emily.

“Seven hours...maybe eight.” she whispered looking around at the destruction ahead of them.

“Probably right before sunset...” he muttered to himself, stepping out of the tree line to get a better view. The opportunity to search for supplies didn’t come as often as he’d liked and he toyed at the notion in his head for a moment. He reached into the backpack and retrieved a beach bag with a drawstring.

"I want you to stay here and keep watch of the bag. If anything happens turn on the buzzer and run." He said placing his hand on her head. She sat down on a tree stump and shook her head in agreement. "I’ll only be a few minutes, then we can get back to it." he said, turning back towards the town.

He entered the street quickly, moving towards a building side and taking out his pistol. The smell of soap and fire made him nauseous as he passed what was once a laundromat. He stooped behind a small concrete wall and peered across the street. Rubble and broken glass was scattered everywhere. The smell of burning flesh made its way to his nose. Placing his sleeve across his nose, he stepped into the street towards the ungodly stench. He could make out a car that was coal black and still smoldering, a few figures sat still inside it.

He approached the vehicle slowly looking into the cab to see three bodies burnt beyond recognition. The roof of the car was completely gone, the melted metal dripping across the sides and passengers. Closer inspection revealed that none of them seemed to have anything of interest. He pulled open the passenger door and jumped back as the body fell out of the seat, landing with a sickening thud on the ground. The bottom side of the corpse remained intact and unburnt. Robert bent down and reached into the back pocket finding four .357 cartridges. He turned over the other two bodies but found nothing. Opening the glove box a small revolver fell out and bounced under the seat. Reaching underneath, he fished it out and examined it. The chamber had been melted shut from the extreme heat. He dropped the gun and turned from the car, sighing to himself, he began walking past the wreck and looking around in the dim lit twilight. Most buildings were bare and dilapidated. A few miles down he could make out the white glow of concrete walls, but it was too far away.

He turned back to where he had started, stopping as he noticed a building at the end of the road that remained fairly intact. It seemed to be just outside of the target radius as he moved closer to it. Stopping, he crouched down behind a melted post box, peering at the entrance. Robert looked back down the street to the trees where Emily was and caught his breath.

Stepping up quickly he moved towards the door and crouched behind it. Holding the gun up with one hand he reached two fingers into the empty door knob hole, pulling it open. He winced as it let out a long loud squeak and finally stopped, resting in the open position. As he peered into the room he could see a few tables and chairs set up along with a long table covered in boxes. After searching the room and finding nothing of interest he turned towards a stairwell leading to the second floor. With gun and light at ready he slowly climbed the stairs, carefully checking the corners as he went.

Old rusted lanterns hung from the walls and the handrail provided nothing more than an opportunity to receive a fresh dose of tetanus. The upstairs room was similar to the first except it had another room walled off, probably an office. More tables and chairs, along with two cots, were set up with bedding near the window. An empty liquor cabinet sat against the wall near a rusty file cabinet and a rocking chair.

“Someone was living here.” he thought to himself, trying not to think of the roasted bodies in the car he had found. He moved towards the office door, turning the handle slowly.

“Dammit.” he said aloud, jumping back as he heard something from behind the door.

He stood back from the entrance way and raised his gun, listening. Some more muffled shuffling and the sound of a box falling. After a moment the sound had ceased and Robert drew up the courage to move his legs. He kicked the door with all his might sending the rusty hinges across the room. Rushing in quickly he scanned the small room, unable to make out anything in the darkness. The room lay still with boxes and file cabinets. As the clouds moved overhead the moon shone through a small window to his right, revealing a large raccoon sitting on the edge of a cabinet, glaring at Robert angrily.

Robert lowered his gun and smiled a sigh of relief. “Go on!” he said, raising his arm at the animal. It looked at him cautiously, stepping slowly towards the open window before hissing and disappearing outside. Robert laughed, leaning against the wall as his heart began to resume its normal beating pattern.

A box of toaster pastries lie torn and chewed up on the floor. He picked up the box and removed a package still safely wrapped in foil, putting it in his bag. He looked around, unable to find anything else of interest. As he turned to exit the room Robert noticed something silver on the window sill. He walked over to the window to find a small key wedged into a crack in the sill. Using his knife he pried it out and looked it over. It was a pretty normal looking key with no markings or symbols of any kind on it. He wanted to search for its lock, but he knew that he had to get back to Emily. He pushed the key into his pocket, walking down the stairs and exiting the building.

Emily was drawing pictures in the dirt when he returned. Her bored expression indicated there had been no problems. Clouds were beginning to form on the horizon and the distant booms of thunder could be heard creeping towards them. "Did you find anything?" she asked.

"Just some ammo and a pastry." he replied, his face dropping as he wondered whether it had been worth the time to stop. Her face lit up. "What flavor?!" Robert laughed. “I guess we’ll find that out when we open it now won’t we?" She frowned at the statement, obviously looking forward to something other than stale protein bars. There was no need to inform her of the charred bodies he had discovered. "Let’s get going. We’ve still got a bit to go before we reach camp." he said, picking up his bag. The rest of the town was completely desolate. The streets were bare and the buildings silent. As they left the tree line and returned to the road Robert stopped and looked back, wondering what the key he found was meant for and why it strangely chewed away at his mind.

A few miles later they arrived at the base of the mountain. Looking up towards the highway above them he sighed, searching for a way up. A small trail wound its way from the roadside, most likely a forgotten bike path. Carefully they climbed the mountainside, weary of the soft dirt that could give way to a landslide. It took about an hour to reach the base of the highway, however there was no clear path to get on it. The giant concrete structure lay upon fifty foot pillars carved into the mountainside. As it wrapped around, Robert could see a small path leading up towards the edge. "See that little path?" asked Robert, pointing it out for her.

"Yes." she replied. "I think that’s where we need to head." he said hopeful. Emily nodded in agreement and they started up the path. Winding through bushes and tall grass.

The ground was littered with trash from off the highway. Soda bottles and beer cans told the story of a different time. Reaching the top of the path there was a rusty ladder leading to the road. It was in pretty rough shape and Robert had his doubts whether or not to even attempt it. It was Emily who ran underneath it first, looking it over quickly.

"Lift me up!" she said, excited to reach the top.

Still very concerned, Robert picked her up and onto the ladder. He had learned to trust her instinct...as it had never been wrong.

Looking up he watched as she climbed up and over the rail and out of sight. He gripped the rungs of the ladder and slowly pulled himself up, listening to the metal creak as he swayed above the boulders below him. Reaching the top he put his fingers over the edge of the rail and pulled himself over. Emily was already leaned over the opposite ledge, surveying the landscape.

This particular section of highway sat at the peak of the slope, towering over the valleys below. Pressing his fingers along the wall of the ledge he looked out in awe at what lie before them. From this point he could see all the places they had stopped and rested over the course of the last few weeks. The small town with the fish, the watchtower over the dam. Even the tiny water tower by the lake was visible. Another mental photograph for the archives. Emily led them up and around the bend, revealing the mountain top Robert had pointed out hours earlier.

"Just a few more miles to go." he said.

Emily placed her hand in his and smiled.

Next Chapter: -III-