Chapter 24
It didn’t take long after feeding the children for Jamie to start opening up to them.
Sarah watched in stunned amazement as the children ate their way through half of their supply.
It was a heartbreaking story to hear. Jamie showed almost no emotions, though, as she shared how her mother had left them the week before the power outage.
It was bad enough to think of a mother abandoning her children, but when Jamie mentioned they’d lived with her in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city, her heartbreak quickly turned to anger.
Whether or not the children knew it or not, from the way they spoke of their mother, Sarah knew the woman was frequently strung out on something.
Now that the children were with them, she wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to them ever again.
Sarah wasn’t sure what the future held, but the twins were now her responsibility and a burden she wouldn’t take lightly.
Still, she knew Adam had to be shocked by her decision to take the pair with them.
As they loaded the horses back up, he pulled her aside.
“How do you want to do this? We are going to double our time if we try to walk all the way there again. Plus, we’ve only got two days of feed for the horses,” Adam whispered.
“I know. We are going to double up on the horses. We’ll try to give the animals a break as soon as we get on level ground, but until then, we need to get as far away from the city as possible. We’ve got to get to Harmony.”
“Then I suggest we move out sooner rather than later. I don’t like being stationary.”
Sarah nodded in agreement and turned to the kids.
They both looked excited and ready to get on the road, especially knowing they would be going on horseback.
She had to admit the horses looked thrilled with the extra attention they were getting on top of everything else.
She wasn’t going to deny that simple pleasure to either the kids or the animals, given the state of the world.
They could take a few extra minutes for some relaxation.
“How far do we have to go, anyway?” Eric asked.
“Well, if the two of you can stick it out for a little while, we’ll be at the homestead by tomorrow night,” Sarah said. “Do you think you can handle not stopping much?”
“I think so,” Jaime said. “We’re pretty tough.”
Sarah smiled. “I bet the two of you are really tough.”
“Are you guys married?” Eric asked.
“No. We’re just good friends, and he’s helping me get to my parents’ house in Maine.”
“How did you get to know each other?”
Adam laughed. “Well, Sarah worked as a security guard at a prison down in Florida.”
“Wow, really?”
“Yep,” Sarah said. “I worked there for several years and met Adam while I was there. We just hit it off pretty well, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
“That’s so cool,” Eric said. “So, you’re kind of like a cop?”
“I guess you could say that, in a way, I am just like a cop.”
“What did you do before all of this, Adam?” Jaime asked.
The two were too young to understand when someone went to prison for something that they didn’t do.
As much as she believed in Adam’s innocence, it wasn’t the time to try to explain it to their newfound friends.
She knew there was much they needed to learn, and Sarah had to find a way to change the subject.
“All you need to know is that he’s a good friend of mine, and he won’t hurt you,” Sarah said. “Now, it’s time for the two of you to hop up on the horses. We have a lot of ground to cover today, and we should probably get a head start on the day.”
While she knew she couldn’t keep his past a secret from anyone for long, she wasn’t ready to explain everything at that moment.
The conversation could wait until they got to the homestead.
Then, she and Adam could tell everyone about his past and wrongful conviction all at once.
Even with the added weight of Eric behind Adam and Jamie behind her, the horses seemed ready to hit the trail again.
They lurched forward, and she was happy to have the sunlight to see her compass.
Moving north, they continued to make good time until she could hear the ocean and not the city any longer.
She had slowly moved them closer to the water as they had moved away from the city.
By the time they saw the water, she recognized the beach as one she’d traveled to frequently over the years with her family.
Sarah’s heart started to race. They were making fantastic time.
If they pushed through the night, they could reach the homestead by daybreak.
The sun was already started to move below the horizon as her horse stumbled forward onto the sand.
Sarah saw another lifeguard station ahead and thought fondly back to the first night they’d spent together.
They had never done more than talk with each other, but the close bond she shared with Adam was there.
Beyond the lifeguard’s station was the pier another few hundred yards away.
Even from where they were a quarter mile out, Sarah could see that the half-dozen storefronts had already been abandoned by their owners.
It broke her heart, but as the leader of the group, she was happy they would be able to pass beneath it without being noticed.
As she looked on, Adam rode up next to her and smiled.
“Are you thinking about stopping there for the night?” Adam asked. “It looks like it has some good tactical advantages and cover from any passersby.”
“Actually, I was thinking about riding through and making our way right by it. We’re only a few hours away from the homestead, and I’d like to get us there.”
“I know you would, and you will, but Eric is exhausted, and he’s barely hanging in there as it is,” Adam said. “Plus, the horses are already starting to stumble, too. We should stop for at least some rest.”
Sarah knew he was right. As she looked at the children and then down at the horses, she quickly understood they all needed to rest for a few hours.
None of them would make it if they didn’t.
Under normal circumstances and their original plan without the children, they would have made it with ease.
The extra weight from the kids had exhausted the horses long before she had planned.
Still, a little rest would be good for all of them.
“You’re right,” Sarah said. “I think we could all use some rest, and we can pick it up again when we’re done.”
“So, what’s the plan then?”
“I think we should stop at the pier and give ourselves a breather.”
“Will it be safe enough for us to stay for a little bit?”
“I don’t know that anywhere is safe. With the way people have reacted to all of this, I’m not sure of anything. I just think it will be the best place to set up for the night.”
“Well, your instincts haven’t steered us wrong yet. I’m not going to question them now.”
“It’s as good as it’s going to get until we make it to the homestead.”
Sarah wasn’t thrilled about stopping, but she knew Adam was right.
She’d almost moved Jamie around to the front of the saddle a few times when she had started to doze.
Hopefully, there were still rain barrels along the edge of the pier that the horses could use to get some fresh water.
As they made their way closer to the pier, Sarah kept a watchful eye on their surroundings.
She didn’t see anyone right away, but that didn’t mean they weren’t hiding somewhere, waiting for the right opportunity to come along.
With three other people counting on her to keep them safe, Sarah was on high alert.
She wasn’t going to let them down; she wasn’t going to let her parents down when they’d made it so far already.
Moving at a slow trot, she stopped when they came to a shelter house twenty yards from the ramp that led to the pier.
Slipping off her horse, she handed the reins to Adam and signaled for him to wait with the kids while she checked it out.
It didn’t take long for her to visually confirm what she already knew.
The pier and shops had been abandoned already.
While they’d already been ransacked, at least the storm doors and windows would give them all a safe place to sleep for the night.
Sarah smiled, knowing the following night they’d be safely back home.