Silent Nights

I can’t believe she let Drew drive. As he banks left onto Belleview, not even touching the brakes, I can tell she’s regretting it. She pushes her foot against the dashboard harder to keep from sliding into Anna and levels an impressive glare in his direction.

“Where are we headed?” Drew asks, apparently missing the hostility directed toward him.

“Away,” she answers sarcastically. She drops her bag to the floor and unfolds the map further, studying it for a minute. “We can probably get to Jasper by sundown.” She looks pointedly at the speedometer. “Maybe further,” she mumbles. She turns her attention back to the map. I take a closer look at it and see that it’s covered with colored markings.

“We have to pick something up first,” she continues. She taps a blue circle on the map and looks out the windshield. “Right on Jackson.” Drew nods and takes the next right. The girl flexes her leg again, and I can actually hear the dashboard creak under her foot. She rolls her eyes and continues directing us out of the residential area and into the center of the town.

“So,” Anna starts, “What exactly are we picking up?” The girl taps the map again, indicating that same blue circle.

“Supply cache,” she says. Anna looks through the back window at the bags in the truck bed, and the girl shakes her head.

“That’s mostly camping gear,” she explains, not taking her eyes off the road. “Blankets, pillows, a tent, tarps, rope. Stuff like that.” She shrugs nonchalantly, like that isn’t a treasure trove of stuff back there. “Stop under the bridge,” she says to Drew. He glances at her dubiously, but slows the truck to a stop under the indicated bridge. The girl tosses the map on the dashboard. Drew puts the truck in park but leaves the engine running.

The girl unclips the strap securing her gun but leaves it in the holster. She gives Drew a look. After scanning the area and checking the mirrors, he nods to me and opens his door. I follow them out, leaving Anna in the cab. The girl heads straight for a three-car pile-up- one car sandwiched between two others- on left side of the road, Drew and I trailing behind her. He fingers his pistol as we walk, but he follows the girl’s lead and leaves it holstered. I keep a tight grip on the rifle and a finger on the safety, ready to flick it off at a moment’s notice.

I keep an eye on the road while the girl reaches under the rear fender of the middle car and pulls out a magnetic hide-a-key. She slips the little black box into her pocket and uses the key to unlock the trunk of the back car. I glance inside and spot three red gas cans and a compound bow right away. I step closer as she pulls out the bow and see a big plastic tote in there too. The girl picks up one of the gas cans in her free hand and carries it over to the truck.

Drew grabs the other two gas cans and nods at me to grab the tote. I shoulder the rifle after one last look around and pull the tote to the edge of the trunk. It’s way heavier than I thought it would be. I pop one side of the lid off and see stacks of soup cans. I just stare at it for a second, wondering how this girl managed to pull all this together. Not only was her house a veritable fortress, but now she’s got piles of supplies hidden around the city in addition to her fully loaded escape vehicle?

I watch as she hops into the bed of the truck and arranges the gas cans Drew passes to her. She doesn’t look much older than Anna, but I’m starting to realize that there’s a world of difference between her approach to this new world and ours. Instead of roaming around aimlessly like us, these people- her and that guy- were fortifying, making a base of sorts to operate from, and planning for all possible scenarios.

“Matt,” Drew calls, “Let’s go.”