The family
of four had been surviving on their own since the War of 2012.
Five years
had gone by, the last two without them seeing another person and there were no
signs of their old world returning.
The bombs
had made most of the land unlivable. The radiation and mutations had spread
quickly and this small group was all that remained of normal life for hundreds
of miles around their small cabin in. Set in the hills of Kentucky, it was a
sturdy, nearly airtight shelter that had saved them the fate of their
neighbors.
“What are
ww..we hunt…ttiiin, daddy?”
The seven
year olds stutter was painful to hear. It made the man’s heart hurt but he
smiled at the golden haired child. “Turkey. It’s Christmas.”
That was
something new and the boy grew appropriately quiet as they crept closer to the
pond’s edge. Their movements were and slow and careful and yet wrong, like
something was wrong with their legs. The lack of fresh food was taking its
toll.
“Gobble.”
The noise brought a smile to both their dirty
faces and the father silently pulled his sharpened walking stick from the pack
on his back.
“Gobble.”
“Sniff.
Gobble.”
The sounds
weren't right either, even for this post apocalyptic hell but the hunters paid
it little mind as they sprang up from behind the decaying water plants.
“Dad!”
Too
late, they saw the wolves and the wild
canines lunged toward them, leaving the looted duck nest.
“Get down!”
The father
swung his hand, where a flashing blade now began to blaze through the air. On a
tightly wound rope, the sound of the Caller echoed for miles.
“Oohhh.!’
It was a
howling, high pitched whine with horribly loud tones that made the boy cover
his deformed ears.
The wolves
reacted with confusion too, whimpering, and the man swung it harder.
“Whoo…”
It went
higher and the predators began to back up, snarling their fury. It drove them
back with only sound used and the small pack ducked into the underbrush with a
last lingering glare.
:oohhh…!”
It was
spinning nearly out of control now and the man forced his fingers to let go.
The object was not totally inanimate and the sound lingered for a moment even
after it slid into the grass. It made an awful moan as it ended, leaving an
amazed silence.
“It
worked!"
The child’s
speech was clear as a bell and the father watched him run gracefully to the
Caller. His eyes widened. The ears were normal!
The child
flashed him a grin, an intelligent grin and the father struggled to breathe.
What magic was this?
“The book
was right, daddy!”
Not a trace
of slur. The man took the object carefully, stunned. Now he knew what the
inscription meant. “Your heart’s wish if it is pure.” He’d just been
thinking how much he loved his son despite the deformities and flaws. And his
wish had been granted! The boy was healed!
Later that
evening, the man sat by the fire with a tattered notebook in his hand,
listening to his wife and children talk as they prepared a holiday feast with
almost no food. He thumbed through the brittle pages absently. Had it’s author
survived?
Angela’s
Journal.
The man
rubbed his sore wrist thoughtfully. So many of the things in it were true! What
if the people were also? A refuge for survivors.
“No
turkey?”
“No,
honey.” The nine year old girl nodded resignedly, thin shoulders drooping.
“Oh. Okay.”
The man’s
gust twisted with the need to do something. A refugee camp would have food and
vitamins and water. He ran a calloused thumb over the journal’s weather beaten
cover. The directions said always southeast. Surely a group that big wouldn’t
be hard to find?
“I’m
thankful anyway, momma. Cause Alex got fixed. Now, he can run!"
“We all are
darling. We all are.”
The wolves
had trapped them, starved them. His wrist ached deeper. Had. Now, there might
be a way out and some magic to ease the trip.
“Love you,
momma.”
“Love you
too, sissy.”
“What about
me?”
The three
of them hugged, exchanging their emotions and the man could take no more. He
stood up, ragged journal clenched tightly in his grip.
“Pack it up, woman. “ The hope in his voice
shocked them all.
“We leave
for Safe Haven at first light.”
Check out the book this is based on.
"This
is Safe Haven Refugee Camp. Can anyone hear me?
Hello?
Is anyone out there?"
The Survivors
*Free on all
retailers
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