Kyto woke early. It was still dark outside, and he needed the toilet, so he pulled his boots on and headed out of the bedroom. He quietly went downstairs, not wishing to disturb Tabs, and went to the backdoor. He peered outside, listening to ensure no Wild Ones were visiting. You could never be too cautious at night. He could not see anything, so he opened the door and walked out onto a small porched area at the back. That was when he noticed the snow for the first time. There was a thick blanket covering everything. It must have been at least 6 or 7 centimetres deep already and was still falling. Huge intricate flakes fell from the heavy grey-laden sky above. Kyto shivered, wishing he had pulled his jacket on. He took a couple of steps down from the backdoor porched area and started relieving himself.
Kyto froze as he heard a voice from the front of the building. A fence, heavily covered by undergrowth, separated the garden area from the front road, so he could not be seen unless someone decided to either enter the house or climb over the fence.
“I tell you, I saw them around here,” came a male voice.
“What you mean you saw them; did you see them or think you saw them?” stated another.
“I saw two people. They had left the old apartment block and headed down to the waterfront. I didn’t see where they went from there, but we have scouts on all the other roads out of town, and they haven’t seen anything, so they must still be around.” The first voice said.
“Well, I haven’t seen any lights or any signs of footsteps either in the snow leading anywhere.” The other said.
“Maybe they got inside before it started?” returned the first.
“I’m freezing and not staying out looking any longer. We will let the boss know, and she can decide what she wants to do.” The other replied.
“Be nice if someone has walked in. It saves us from going out searching for the bastards. I'm not sure there are any townships nearby now to raid. I think we will be moving on again soon. The boss did mention taking the ones we have down to Scarshot to sell at the final auction of the year. Don’t fancy that run now the weather's turned, though.” He said.
“Yeah, it’s not the best journey normally, but if we want to sell them, it’s the only place on the East Coast, and I am not going all the way to the West side to sell them. It will take us months.” The second man said.
“It will take a couple of weeks anyway just to get to Scarshot.” The first man stated.
The voices started to trail off as they moved away from the property. Kyto quietly returned to the house, ensuring the door did not knock as he closed it. He went straight upstairs and woke Tabs.
“What’s up?” She said, looking at him through bleary eyes.
“Raiders!” he replied.
Her eyes shot open, and panic crossed her face. “It's okay; they don’t know we're in here. One of them saw us yesterday at this end of town, so a couple were snooping around looking for signs of us, " he said.
“Shit, we better get out of here then.”
“Easier said than done. It’s been snowing. We will leave tracks anywhere we go."
“We can’t just sit here and wait for them to find us.”
“Well, it is still night, and the sun isn’t up yet, and whoever they were will have left tracks themselves so we can see what the state is at first light, perhaps."
"But that will make it easier for them to see us. Shouldn’t we move now while it's dark still?”
“I was thinking about it, but we didn’t see anyone yesterday, so there can’t be too many of them, or the whole place would be swarming with them by now. The only place we know to get back out of town was the bridge, and it was bad enough in the light, and I didn’t fancy chancing it in the dark. Also, as it’s been snowing, I can bet it’s even more treacherous to cross.”
“I would prefer to move while it's dark, but it does make sense. I hope it’s not a mistake waiting.”
Neither of them could sleep anymore with the nervous tension waiting for the first signs of light. They sat for at least an hour, peeping out the window until the sun started to creep into the sky. It was still snowing heavily, and the sun struggled to break through the heavy cloud cover. They sat in the bay window of the house, looking out down the street. They could see from their vantage point in both directions, and there were no signs of movement. Thick white flakes continued to fall, and they could see where the men had walked on the street outside, and their footprints were already starting to disappear. They would have appreciated the view from the window if they had not been in such a predicament. It was a stunning vista looking out through the trees at the riverbank and across its expanse to the far shore. The wind whipped up small waves on the river surface, throwing the spray high into the air. It appeared to freeze and glitter when the occasional ray of sunlight did manage to break through.
“This snow really could help if we go now, and if it keeps snowing, it may just cover our tracks.” Tabs said.
They put on their backpacks and headed downstairs. “Let’s go to the riverbank and follow it behind the trees. I don’t think they'd be expecting anyone down there, and they won’t know we know they're looking for us, " he said.
They left through the front door. Kyto led, and they tried to take as few steps as possible in the open areas, with Tabs stepping where he had. They moved across the road quickly and got into the treeline. They pushed through the undergrowth until they reached the shoreline. The bridge was now visible on their left. “We may as well try the bridge. It’s as good as any other way.” Tabs said.
They kept low by the water’s edge and behind the tree line. The wind had picked up, and the snow was being driven towards them. They came where the treeline thinned and could see the bridge now a few hundred feet away. As they moved closer, they heard voices and observed a group of men atop the bridge. They had moved an oil drum there, and it was burning brightly. There appeared to be four of them, and they were huddled around the oil drum, staying warm by the looks of it. They were too far away to hear any conversations being had, and due to the open ground in front of them, they could not continue any further without the chance of being spotted.
“Well, that’s a no then. Let’s head back and see what we can find in the other direction. I don’t fancy chancing going into town itself, though.” Kyto said.
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They retraced their steps and noticed a small jetty they had ignored. Attached to the jetty were several old rotten boats sunk in the river with what remained of the tops of their rusted and rotten cabins showing. At the end of the jetty, there appeared to be a small metal rowing boat that miraculously was floating.
“What about the river? That small boat looks to be still floating?” Kyto asked, pointing towards it.
“I don’t know how to swim.” Replied Tabs, shivering involuntarily.
“Nor do I, but I would prefer to take my chances on the river rather than be caught by raiders.” He replied.
They moved down to the jetty area; snow covered the planks, and as Kyto went to put weight on one, it gave way. His foot dropped, and the toe of his boots entered the dark, swirling water running under the jetty. Tabs quickly grabbed the back of his backpack, stopping him from falling into the freezing water below.
“Thanks.” He said, looking and grinning at her.
He gingerly took a longer step and tried the next plank. As soon as he pushed down onto it, it started to give way. “Damn, they must all be rotten”, he cursed.
“Let’s go back the other way and see if we can find another way out.” Tabs said.
They retraced their route along the shoreline and passed where they had started from. They only managed to travel a few hundred feet when they reached a fork in the river that broke north. They stood on the end of a small peninsula where a tributary fed into the main river. The tributary was narrower, only 150 to 300 feet wide, but there was no way they could physically cross without a bridge. There were thick woods on their right-hand side as they made their way along the bank, and across the far shore, the same overgrown woodland could be seen. They continued north along the tributary until they could see another bridge ahead. As they got closer, they could see that once there had been two bridges spanning the river. One of them had collapsed entirely into the water, and the fallen concrete sections could be seen protruding above the river surface. The remaining bridge was raised above the water by about thirty feet and looked stable, so they continued towards it.
They again saw the glow from a lit oil drum as they approached. This one only appeared to have two men at it. They moved silently and very slowly forward until they got within 50 feet and could see the two raiders from where they were hidden in the undergrowth. One was a tall, thin man with a beard, and the other a slightly shorter, stockier man. They could overhear the conversation between the men.
“Damn, this weather.” One said, rubbing his hands and holding them close to the oil drum.
“Yeah, it sucks, but at least we have not got long left on watch. The others should be here soon to take over.” Came a reply.
“The bitch really has it in for us these days. Just because that little prick tried to escape, she has never let us off since.” The first man said.
“Yeah, and he didn’t even get far. He's an absolute idiot trying to get across the old bridge to the south shore. I saw him fall into the river about halfway across. There was no way he would have survived the fall. Never mind the Wild Ones in that river.”
Tabs was glad they hadn’t tried to take the boat; she didn’t like the sound of the river Wild Ones.
They stayed hidden in the treeline for some time, watching the men talk to each other. They could not tell from their conversation how many raiders were in the area. They knew they had been here for a couple of months. They also mentioned leaving soon, which agreed with Kyto's overheard conversation about Scarshot.
The two men had started walking slightly away from the riverside and back towards the direction of the town, so they decided to make a move. They crept closer to the bridge footing. The sounds from the river and the wind covered their movements. The wind had not let up once, and the river surface was stirred, throwing fine spray at them. Their exposed hands and faces felt like tiny sharp needles were striking them. They both were wearing waterproof jackets, but they did not seem to be making much difference with the weather as it was, and the wind cut through their layers, making them feel bitterly cold.
They got to the base of the bridge and proceeded underneath. The gap was too tight to walk fully on the land, so they had to step into the water's edge. The water was so ice cold that Tab's feet and legs felt painful from entering it. She looked at Kyto, who had gritted teeth from what she believed to be the same feeling. They went under the bridge and slowly and quietly back onto the snow-covered bank, moving straight back into the treeline. “We need to find some shelter; we cannot stay out in this much longer,” Kyto whispered as they moved further away.
Tabs nodded her head in agreement.
“Oi, Junior. Crystal wants to see you.” A man had shouted from the direction of the bridge.
Tabs froze at the sound of the name; she turned around and strained to listen.
“What does she want now?” the first guy they had heard replied. That must have been Junior.
“Something to do with tracking. They think there are some people south of town.” He said.
“Well, I suppose it gets me away from this damn bridge.” He replied.
They watched the man leaning into the wind and snow, moving away from the bridge mouth from their new position, and saw another replace him.
“Davies thinks he saw two people South of town. He and Gary went out last night but couldn’t find anything obvious. Crystal wants Junior to check it out. You know the guys like a damn beast the way he tracks shit down.” The new man said.
“Yeah, and he looks like one too.” The bearded man said, and they both laughed.
Kyto and Tabs continued further down the river’s edge until they were safely out of earshot. Once they were far apart, Tabs immediately grabbed the back of Kyto’s backpack, making him stop and turn to look at her.
“They said someone called Crystal.” Tabs said, looking at Kyto with a frantic expression.
“I know, but it is unlikely to be your sister.”
“But what if it is?”
“How could your sister be part of the raiding gang?”
“I don’t know if it is her, but I can’t leave without finding out.”
“You do realise that means we have to go into a town full of raiders, and we have no idea where they are holed up.”
“I know, but I have to Kyto. I would never forgive myself if it were Crystal, and I never checked.” She said, her eyes frantically pleading with him.
Kyto let out a deep sigh; he looked into her deep brown eyes; he loved this woman more than anything in his life before. “OK, but we must find shelter from this weather first. I cannot feel my legs due to being in that river, and I am sure my hands will fall off.”
“Thank you.” Was all Tabs replied, with the sweetest smile.
They made their way along the bank until they reached a small path heading back toward the town. They worked their way through the treeline and saw the town lay about a quarter of a mile away across an open area. They guessed there used to be fields, although they were now just overgrown jungles and a road looked disused. They followed what used to be a hedge line of a field, staying off the road itself, and eventually arrived at what was once an old trailer park. About thirty trailers stood where they had been left before the Falling, deserted and abandoned.
They had not seen any tracks in the snow, so they hoped this place had not been visited. They checked a few of the trailers, and they were in a horrendous state. They eventually came to one which seemed half decent and still had glass in most of its windows, so they went inside. The inside was all mouldy and damp, but it was nice to be out of the cutting wind. They dropped their backpacks off and decided they better change their trousers, socks, and boots, which were soaked from the river. Their top halves, even though cold, at least were not wet, and their jackets had done their job. They put their wet trousers and socks on an old table and their boots beneath it. There was no way they could chance lighting a fire, so once they were changed, they sat huddled on the cold floor of the trailer, wrapped up in one of the sleeping bags. Their shared body temperatures eventually kicked in, and the chill started to leave their bones, gradually returning heat into their bodies.
They eventually rummaged in one of the packs and got some of their dry rations to eat. They sat cuddled up to each other, listening to the howling wind and watching the snow fall through the window.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Kyto asked.
“I have to. I could never forgive myself otherwise.” She replied.
“I know, but if we get caught, I could not bear to see you go through what you did before.”
She leaned forward and kissed him. “I know and love you for that, but I must know for certain.”