The Long Road Home

Chapter Twenty

'I'm sorry' it was spoken so low Page thought she had imagined Kidd speaking. They had made camp off the interstate in a hotel room. Kidd was on one of the two queen sized beds starring at his hands. He looked to her with teary eyes. 'I'm sorry we had to leave cause of me. They said you weren't coming back, and I had to live with them. I, I couldn't' He whispered. Page got up off the floor where she had been looking at the map and went to him. She picked him up and hugged him.

            'Don't you dare be sorry.' She soothed. 'This wasn't your fault Kidd. I wanted to leave as much as you did.' She shook her head frowning. 'I didn't want to stay in the settlement with those two. To tell you that,' she shook her head sighing and sitting on the bed. Page smiled to him. 'You big man, I cannot tell you how proud of you I am. You did just like I told you too.' He gave her a weak smile.

            'He didn't turn purple though.' Kidd told her making her laugh.

            'They don't always turn purple smarty.' She tickled his side and tossed him on the bed. He laughed as he bounced on the matrass. 'Come look.' The two got down on the floor and she showed him the map. 'We can move fast on the snowmobile,'

            'Bob.' Kidd told her and Page frowned confused. 'Its name is bob. I was going to all it bouncy, but I think bob sounds better.' She shook her head smiling.

            'Okay, Bob is faster than walking, but we can't push too hard because of the added weight from the sled strains the engine. If we stick to the interstate to cross Idaho, we only need to go fifty miles more or less. Weather and obstacles pending, we could cross the state in a day or less.' He nodded grinning.

            'We could take it to New York.' He said excited.

            'I wouldn't count on it Kidd.' She sighed looking at the state in question. 'We don't know how the weather will hold out, or what is on the road ahead of us. There is a lot of bridges and for all we know, they could be washed out, or jammed with cars. We will have to see.' He nodded his agreement.

Page could not fight the yawn that hit her. She had been running since the raiders woke them back in Redridge this morning. She looked to her watch and saw it was almost ten at night. 'Come on kido, it's been a long day, and I am beat.' She picked him up and set him on his sleeping bag on the bed. Kid crawled inside yawning.

'Goodnight Page.' He said closing his eyes. Page kissed his forehead.

'Night slugger.' She teased, and he giggled. Page went to the other bed and sat down. She turned up the tent heater, which was sitting on a nightstand between them. After crawling into her sleeping bag, she yawned again closing her eyes.

They woke to a massive blizzard outside. Page was not worried; they had parked the snowmobile under the hotels massive awning in front of the lobby. The tarp she covered it with would also help keep it safe from the relentless snow. The sled full of supplies was stashed in the lobby hidden from sight by another tarp. Their room was as close to it as Page could get them.

There was little to do in the small hotel room and they explored the hotel it's self for entertainment. That ended when they found the hotel's kitchen. Twenty screamers had frozen to death when someone had trapped them in the large walk in refrigerator. The blizzard lasted four days. When the skies cleared, both were eager to move on.

As they again hit the road, Page had not counted on how much strain pulling the sled would be on the big machine as it went up the steep hills of Idaho. After an hour of driving, they had to stop when the wind picked up and the snow again fell.

What should have taken them a day, turned into a weeklong trip. As they passed the Welcome to Montana sign, Bob the snowmobile made some unhappy sounds. Page pushed the ailing machine a little farther. She needed to find somewhere they could bed down for the rest of the winter. She could not risk breaking down in the middle of nowhere.