6
The office building where Milo and Mike had hunkered down in was not good coverage at all, especially not for a storm that seemed to be bringing more and more rain down on them. It was not coming from above, but seemed to be riding in on burst of air that found them. The horizontal rain soaked them both and Michael worried about the tracks being washed away. He knew they were close though and no one was traveling in that kind of weather, so they would not be too far away in the morning.
“Are you sure you don’t want to just go? It doesn’t look like there is going to be any sleep here tonight.”
Michael knew he was right, but going out in it was not that advisable. The rain was like the landscape, foreign. “No, let’s go further back, there has to be a warm place in here somewhere.” Moving towards the back rooms of the building, there were several places where the roof had given in and they could see the dark clouds illuminated by cracks of lightning. It was almost beautiful, if it wasn’t coming down on top of them.
There was one room that had the door pushed in, but it was a noticeable difference. When the door was shut again, the wind was no longer as loud and there was finally peace. “That’s better.” Michael pulled off his jacket and hung it over the side of an old refrigerator. He had learned long ago to not open them and resisted the urge. He wasn’t that hungry and there wouldn’t be anything edible. Perishable foods had done just what they were supposed to do.
“What are we going to do when we find them?”
Michael still wasn’t sure. He had been asking himself the same question and still hadn't come up with an answer. More or less, he was really just going to confirm Billy's death. There would be only a couple of reasons that a group of people would drag someone off into the woods. None of the reasons were that far from each other and none of them were good. Billy was already going to meet his death, Michael was sure of it, but he had to make sure utility had been done. Even though it wouldn’t be by his hands, it would be done and that was good enough.
“We are going to watch and wait.”
He didn’t think they would actually have to wait at all. Billy would not make it through the night. Michael was sure of it and the idea of it made him sleep a little better with the storm raging outside. He tried to look on the bright side. At least they didn’t have to worry about water the next day. They had some collecting while they slept, ready for the next day.
***
“Mike. Let’s go. It’s not raining and the sun is up.”
Squinting his eyes, Michael looked up at Milo. He was always up first, checking everything out in the wee hours of morning. Michael would have rather slept in a while longer and waited for the outside to heat up a bit. It was far too cold to be walking around. He never liked the chill in the air.
“Yeah, okay.” He had to get up though. His mind went to why and it helped propel him up.
“How does it look out there?”
“No tracks, but I know where they went. There is a fire burning not too far from here and I think that is where they are. It won’t take long to get there. Maybe they like to wake up late like you.”
Michael doubted it, but it was a nice idea and it did the trick to get him motivated. Whichever way it was going to end, they would be on their way back and he would be back to Jessa. It had been far too long without her. Milo looked eager to get back together with the group as well. Both groups were vulnerable without the other. “Well let’s get going then Milo. I want to be back to Jessa by nightfall.”
They made their way towards the burning fire that Milo had seen and smelled. As they got closer, it smelled like roasting meat and it smelled good, until they got close enough to see what was really going on. Billy was already gone, in a spiritual and physical way. He was half-eaten and every hair on the back of Michael’s neck was standing up. His hand came out and stopped Milo from taking another step. The young man had yet to see what stopped Michael in his tracks.
He started to back up slowly. He could see several people sleeping on the ground on mats, but there only had to be one awake to see them. It was not a place he wanted to be found in and the feeling from the night before was far worse. He had to get out of there. The sharp intake of breath beside him, told Michael that Milo had seen what he had seen.
Every sense he had was on high alert and there was nothing more that could be done. When they were far enough away that Michael could finally breathe again, it was hard to take those images out of his head. He wished he had gone sooner, somehow stopped the man from that kind of torture. It was inconceivable to him and Michael felt guilty in a way.
“Let’s get the hell out of here Milo and go find the others. Billy won’t be bothering anyone again.”
Milo nodded and Michael was afraid that he was going to be sick. He touched his shoulder and asked him if he was okay. It was just too much for Milo, it seemed, and Michael started to worry about him. He was the one that always took everything as it came so easily. “Are you sure you are okay? We can stop for a while if you need to catch your breath.”
Milo’s shake of his head was even more animated. The last thing that anyone with any common sense would want was to stay where they were. Those men were there and he never wanted to see them again. People that ran into that group did not make it out of it alive, and both agreed that getting some distance between them and the cannibals could only be a good idea. Neither man said a word for over an hour, both trying to come to grips with what they had seen.
Stopping for a rest, Michael was happy to see that they were making good progress. He didn’t know when he would see Jessa next, but he was a lot closer than he had been in days. What he had needed to do was behind them and now he was ready to move on. Get her to the coast where she was convinced life was better. He wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe that he could forget what had kept him going for so long, that it could somehow be forgotten and Michael could remember how to be happy again.