The Long Road Home

Chapter Twenty One

Page yawned so hard her jaw popped. She rubbed her eyes and crawled out of the sleeping bag. A quick glace told her Kidd was still out cold on his cot. She went to the bathroom and was thrilled to see that not only did the toilet work, but the little shower had cold and hot running water. Page was sure she had just died and gone to heaven. She grabbed clean cloths and took the first hot shower she had had in a year. She felt like a completely new person when she stepped from the bathroom. Kidd was sitting up on his cot rubbing his eyes.

'There is hot water if you want a shower.' She told him. He flinched, and she smiled. 'How do you feel?'

'I'm okay.' He said. 'It's warm in here.' Page nodded her agreement and went to the window. It was still snowing, but had slowed down a lot. The lights in the main house were on and Page was tempted to go visit so she could hug and kiss Stan for the hot water.

Instead, she set up a few of the camping chairs for them and guest to sit on. Kidd vanished into the bathroom as Page pulled out a small cooking pot. She poured some of the bottled water into the pot and set it on the stove. After adding oatmeal, she stirred it together. Kidd came out grinning just as she poured them each a serving.

'That was amazing!' He said excited. 'I don't know the last time I was this clean.' Page giggled nodding. She handed him a bowl and a spoon.

'Page? Kidd?' Elaine's voice came from downstairs.

'Come on up Elaine.' Page called. A moment later, the woman joined them carrying a radio. She paused and looked around the room surprised.

'Well,' she chuckled. 'You have made this into a cozy little home in no time haven't you?' Page smiled amused.

'Living on the road is hard enough.' Page told her 'Little comforts like this go a long way.' She motioned to the chairs and cots. 'Please, sit would you like some oatmeal? I have a bad habit of making too much.' Elaine agreed and sat down putting the radio on the floor beside her.

'Thank you Page,' Elaine said accepting the bowl. 'We didn't really get a chance to talk last night,' she paused when she heard the barn door close down stairs.

'Hello?' Called Victor 'Are your accepting visitors?' Page giggled

'Come on up.' She called and pulled three more chairs. Stan, Victor, and Carrol joined them. 'Take a seat; I have fresh oatmeal if you're interested.' Carrol accepted but the two men declined. Elaine looked to Page.

'As I was saying, we didn't get much of a chance to talk last night.' The woman said 'Can you tell us where you two came from?' Page nodded and sat down and told them about her journey.

'And you're on your way to New York,' Victor said surprised. Page nodded.

'The cabin is kind of like your house here. Running water and electricity, only it's off the beaten path and not at all easy to get too.' She shook her head and looked to Stan. 'I almost ran to your house to give you a hug and kiss when I discovered you had hot running water here.' Stan smiled.

'It's well water.' He told her. 'The water pump and hot water heater are electric.' Page nodded impressed.

'Was this your home before the outbreak?' She asked.

'It was mine and Stan's farm.' Elaine explained with a frown. 'We were what most people called preppers. Although, we were not expecting the end to happen like this.' She shook her head. 'We were all convinced the poop would hit the fan when our economy collapsed. Things were just getting so bad here in the US.' Page nodded.

'My neighbor was a prepper.' She confessed. 'She tried to get me in to it.' Page shrugged. 'Well, I wasn't really much of a believer. Kind of wish I was now. The start of my journey may not have been as rough as it was.' She rubbed the scar between her eyes. Page then motioned to Carrol and Victor. 'How about you two?'