Will of Man - Part Three

WILL OF MAN

PART THREE

By

William Scanlan

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED FOR WILLIAM SCANLAN

This publication is property of William Scanlan. All rights reserved for William Scanlan. Copyright 2013.

No part of this book shall be copied, reproduced, distributed, or transmitted without permission.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Other books by William Scanlan
found at Amazon.com

To purchase WILL OF MAN - PART ONE (click here)

To purchase WILL OF MAN - PART TWO (click here)

To purchase WILL OF MAN – PART FOUR (click here)

Tyler's Journal Entry: 354

Date: May 16

Day: Saturday

Weather: Cold and cloudy

Days Since the LAST DAY: 2yrs, 10 months, 15 days

Stars in the sky have a way calming a person. I laid on the river bank for quite a while before moving. My body ached from being tossed around, but amazingly I dodged any real damage.

I stared up at the stars thinking about how so much has changed and so fast. It seems like yesterday when my biggest worry was getting my homework done. I miss those days. I miss training for triathlons. I miss playing with my little brother outside in the cornfield near our house. Visions of my Mom making cookies and Dad sitting in his chair watching the news or reading the newspaper makes me feel warm inside.

I miss my family so much.

My moment with the stars was interrupted by a swarm of people carrying torches walking down the river bank. They were far enough away from me that they couldn't see me, but I could see them because of their torches.

I was soaking wet and cold. I could feel my wetsuit in my backpack and chose to put it on. I had time before anyone reached me, so I took the chance, and put it on quickly. I pushed my clothes in my backpack.

My hand brushed the pistol inside my bag that Dad placed there. I paused for a moment contemplating pulling it out. But I chose not to. To be honest, I don’t think I could ever shoot anyone. I’ll take my chances outrunning whoever, before I choose to hurt anyone.

My wetsuit is completely black, so I figured I'd be harder to see than if I had on my normal clothes. The wetsuit is 5mm thick (like I said earlier) so I knew it would keep me warm in the cool spring night air. Besides, this gave me the option of diving in the lake if I needed a quick getaway.

I covered myself in leaves completely - except for my eyes. I took some dark mud and smeared it on my face to camouflage my exposed skin.

I figured the people walking down the river bank were the same ones who sabotaged the railroad bridge. I watched them scour the water and river bank for any supplies left from when the train went over the edge into the river. They were grabbing passenger’s belongings and anything else within reach that washed up or floated by.

Other than the ROAMERS, I hadn't seen anyone so heartless. I wondered how people could be so......bad.

I laid there covered in leaves watching them pick miscellaneous things from the river, when I suddenly heard a scream, followed by people shouting. It was a woman who survived the train wreck. She was hiding near the edge of the river bank when she was discovered.

She ran a few yards and was tackled by a couple german-shepherd dogs. The dogs were probably trained to do so. The dogs were pulled off and the woman was put in shackles. She squirmed and begged to not be hurt.

The people surrounding her said nothing. They just looped a rope around her neck like a leash and led her away. To where or what, I don't know. I wanted to help, but there was nothing I could do for her.

I decided staying put was not going to work since they were making their way towards me. I decided to slip in the river and take my chances there.

I took a quick look around and crawled to the edge of the river. There was a lot of debris from the wreckage floating past me. I slipped into the water like a stealthy snake and grabbed hold of what looked like a large baby bed. I swam under and up into it.

I could see the people and their torches as I floated by them. I was able to guide the bed to the middle of the river - out of anyone’s reach. I watched as the people stretched their necks to see if the bed was anything worth trying to get. Some pointed at it, but most just looked away.

I had to work hard to keep the bed from rolling over. It needed to stay upside down, so I could stay hidden.

I floated down that chilly river for as long as I could, even when I couldn't see the torches anymore. It felt like a couple hours at least.

My wetsuit kept me fairly warm. After a while, I let the baby bed go and continued floating down the flowing river. A board from the one of the boxcars floated by with some black grease on it. I took the slimy grease and smeared it anywhere I had exposed skin.

Fortunately, I had the full moon to light my way. Otherwise, floating down that river, in complete darkness, would have been too much to attempt.

I finally pulled myself to the grassy riverbank. The warm sun was beginning to come up and I knew I was going to have to find a dry place to hide and dry off. My exposed hands and feet were in the water so long that they turned tender and felt mushy.

Not wanting to cut my tender feet on anything sharp, I put my shoes on. I know I have a challenging walk ahead of me. About four-hundred miles.

Tyler's Journal Entry: 355

Date: May 17

Day: Sunday

Weather: Cold and cloudy

Days Since the LAST DAY: 2yrs, 10 months, 16 days

After finding a small-shallow cave (about the size of a small walk-in closet), I decided to rest for the day. A nearby tree supplied branches for a mini clothes line, which I hung my clothes to dry upon.

Using some brush, I hid the entrance to my cave. The cave itself was fairly hidden, but I've learned since the LAST DAY to go the extra mile when it comes to safety.

Trust no one and take no unnecessary chances. Double check and then check again. That attitude will keep me alive and return me safely back to my family.

Being in the cold river for so long drained me of my energy. I was tired and decided to try to sleep.

A fire would have been nice, but I held off building one. I didn't want the smoke to attract anyone while I was sleeping. If I was going to take any chances, like building a fire, I was going to be packed, awake, and ready to flee at moment’s notice. Like I said, leave nothing to chance, always be ready to move.

My nap didn’t last long, maybe an hour or two. I decided I was in a good spot to reorganize and gather my thoughts for the day.

I set my two spring traps Dad packed in my bag, set out a fish line with some grubs as bait, and gathered some dry fire wood.

With some scavenging, I was able to find some ripe berries and plump grubs to eat. I'd eaten grubs a few times under Dad's direction. They are a good source of nutrition, but can taste nasty if you chew them. The trick for me is to swallow them whole with a gulp of water.

I don't know if it necessary or not, but I made sure to crush their head before I swallowed them. Visions of them biting the inside of my stomach or crawling around inside me, freaked me out.

After starting a small fire, I boiled some water and purified it. I made sure to use dry kindling. Wet wood creates a lot smoke and can attract anyone nearby.

I kept a look out and an open ear to listen for anyone coming. Mischievous squirrels and birds made a ruckus around me and made it hard for me to relax.

I know this was my first day surviving on my own and I will hopefully relax over time. I thought of everything my Dad taught me. He made sure I was prepared for this day. Now it's up to me to make it on my own.

I will check my traps and fish line just before dark. If there's food, I will cook it and eat it before I head out. I will need the energy. If there‘s no food, I will have to settle for the small amount of berries and grubs I ate earlier.

Traveling under the cover of night will be better than traveling during the day. During the day, people are active and can see me. Fortunately, its spring time and the nights are mostly windy. The sound of the rustling wind will muffle any sounds my clumpy footsteps make. The swaying of the trees will disguise my movements.

There are winding roads all around and I will follow them, but only at night. Dad showed me how to find the North Star using the Big Dipper constellation. I have a compass, but it will be too dark to see. The North Star will take me home (as long as it's a somewhat clear night). If it's too cloudy, I can take a bearing off my compass using my lighter to see. And then gage my direction from the moon.

Once I see a sign or something with an address on it, I can then find my location on the atlas my Dad supplied. I’m excited, yet scared to find out where I'm at. I know I'm far from my destination, but how far is the question?

I contemplated following the same train tracks that guided me here. But the atlas my Dad supplied me, doesn’t have train tracks on it.

I chose to follow the winding roads instead. I figured it would be more to my benefit to know where I am and where I’m heading.

Train tracks branch off in many directions. I won’t know where I’m at and I will need to know when I’m approaching larger-unpredictable cities - so I can go around them.

Avoiding the large cities may take longer, but it may save my life. Besides, there’s no food to be found in the scavenged cities anymore. The people there are violent and I don’t want to have to deal with that.

I tried studying the atlas, but it was really useless until I knew for sure where I was. All I know, is that I am near a big flowing river, in a small-shallow cave, in the middle of a dense woods with a road about two hundred meters away. The road heads north and south, so I will follow it north when night comes.

I had a few hours before night time, so I spent my time boiling water and gathering grubs and berries. However, I ate most the delicious berries and not-so-delicious grubs as I found them. I have two MRE’s (meals-ready-to-eat), but I want to save them for when I really need them.

Earthworms are abundant, and I know they are high in protein, but they are just too slimy for me to take the plunge right now. Maybe I’ll try them later when I’m starving. My plan is to try one or two a day and build up a tolerant taste for them, but no worm sandwiches for me today.

The sun’s nearing the horizon so I decided to check my traps and fish line. No luck catching anything, which was fine since I didn’t feel like cleaning any catch and having to cook it. I just wanted to get started with my walk.

I packed all my gear and waited for the sun to set. I waited an hour before I headed out to make sure it was good and dark. I figured anyone hunting late would have called it a day and headed in for the night.

As I took my first step on that long road, I told myself that this was the beginning of a long and hard journey. I accepted the fact that the days ahead were going to be tough, dangerous, and the hardest journey of life. I’m anticipating starvation, exhaustion, near death experiences, horrific scenes, and even more than I can imagine. But I accept it, so I am ready to face this journey. Maybe I will survive, maybe I won’t. But I will try, and I will not give up until I find my family.

Tyler's Journal Entry: 356

Date: May 19

Day: Tuesday

Weather: Sunny and cool

Days Since the LAST DAY: 2yrs, 10 months, 18 days

I walked for a long time each of the last two nights. The terrain is very hilly and is taking its toll on my legs. Being from Michigan, which is very flat thanks to a glacier millions of years ago, I am not used to ascending such steep elevations.

Thankfully my mind and body are used to pain from training and racing. This type of continuous walking and climbing, I think, would be very hard for someone who sits on a couch all day watching TV or playing video games. Ok, that was a little snobby to say. But I feel as though I am in my element.