WayFinder (The Fool's Journey)

Chapter 6: Nothing To Fear

Doing my best to recover from the unexpected shift, I turned back to clean up the mess I had made when tending Dante’s injury.

"I'll put up a makeshift curtain so you have enough privacy to get some new clothes on him," I said, without breaking from my task.

DeAndre came over, took his little brother's hand, and sat quietly with him as I cleaned up. Jace went to sit at DeAndre’s other side to offer his comfort.

I like these two already. 

With the clean up complete and the ‘curtain’, that was most definitely a blanket, hung; I dug out some crew neck sweaters, sweatpants and socks from my trusty duffel bag. Handing a set to the very tired Rachel and Jessie, and another two sets to Jace, for him and DeAndre to wear. Putting up the blanket curtain had been easy, as protruding rusted nails seemed to be the only thing holding the metal shed together. 

"Rachel and Jessie get changed behind the curtain first, so we can get Dante moved over there as quickly as possible," I ordered. 

The young women got up stiffly from their seated positions and quietly did as I asked. In just minutes they came out in the dry clothes and already looked a bazillion times warmer. They both had tired grins on their faces.

“I am so warm right now I could cry,” Rachel dramatically exclaimed.

Jessie laughed in agreement, “The socks are what’s doing it for me right now.” 

They both walked over to me, as I presented them a trash bag to toss their wet clothes into.

“I’m happy to see you both warm. I'll restart the fire as soon as I see that Dante is settled.”

“Thank you!” Rachel and Jessie answered simultaneously, their appreciation vibrating through my energy field.

I laughed at their unison, “No thanks necessary, just doing what I can to help.” 

They both reclaimed their seats near the warehouse wall and talked quietly while I coordinated Dante’s move with the quiet couple. It was fairly easy, as all I had to do was move the blanket over behind the curtain. Jace and DeAndre did all the heavy lifting. It was clear they spent more time in the gym than I did.

 Once the teenage boy was moved and settled under another thick blanket, I built both fires back up to the point of raging. The warmth it gave off drew a collective sigh from Jessie and Rachel. Even Daniel’s sleeping family seemed more comfortable under their thin blankets. After changing Dante’s clothes, Jace rearranged the makeshift curtain so the warmth could be felt where they now resided.

A calm befell the now quiet warehouse. Now that the horror filled excitement had ended, I was made very aware of the fact that no one had checked the water level since arriving, and that everyone in the shed needed thicker blankets to survive the cold pressing in. The rain was now coming down much harder and with it came a strong wind. Because of the many gaps in the roof, it would be impossible to stay warm with just the fires going.

 Blankets. Food. Check the water.

 I mentally recited the list as I partially slid open the door and ran outside to the end of the gravel road. I found that the water level had come up incredibly high in the past two hours. The road I had taken up the hill was entirely submerged, along with the road the rag tag group had taken. The surrounding trees looked as if they belonged in a mangrove as the high water lapped at the uncovered roots. The only other sounds were the increasing rain and determined wind. It was quite desolate if you asked me, but luckily, we were all safe inside.

With that checked off the list, I turned from the sight of the rising water and walked to the back of the metal warehouse. My truck was sitting exactly where I had left it earlier that morning, untouched by the chaos. Brushing some ivy out of the way, I unlocked the trailer door with the bronze key that dangled on my keychain. The thick blankets had been stored in trash bags, with four blankets to each bag. I grabbed two of the plastic sacks and then turned my attention to finding food that could be cooked without too much effort. With that task complete, I shifted a few bottles of water in with the other supplies. Much of what I had in the bags was from the superstore.