Dark Angel

Chapter 3

 The SUV started with a purr and it was music to my ears. The engine brought Blue out of his restful sleep. It was unsettling hearing a car after months of silence. I debated driving through the forest but decided against it. I'd cover more ground faster on the highway, then pull over onto a country road to find a cabin to hunker down in. The Tahoe had 3/4 left in the tank, and with luck that would take me all the way up to the border. I wouldn't have to move for at least a few months, and if I left enough gas in the tank, I could use the car to haul deer and other meat up to the cabin. With enough luck, there might even be gas at a cabin if the old residents had tractors or 4-wheelers. It was already lucky enough finding a car with this much gas in it.

Checking the middle console, I hit another jackpot. Someone who still used CD's owned this car. Shuffling through them, I picked an old Beatles album before putting the car in drive.

It was strange driving 110mph without having to worry about cops pulling me over. It made me feel reckless, yet exhilarated. Like nothing and no one could touch me. It was only 2 hours before I hit Watertown, just on the Canadian border. Kicking the car into 4WD, I pulled off into the forest, the uneven ground shaking the car. It was another 30 minutes of reckless driving before I found a small cabin on lake Ontario. The car only had about 20 miles left in the tank, but I wouldn't need it for anything more than hauling deer. I parked it under an open shed, rubbing some dirt and mud on the side to make it appear abandoned.

Blue leapt out of the car, excited about finally being free. He immediately bounded over to the lake, lapping up the water and tentatively sticking a foot in. I did the same, filling up my water bottle with the ice cold water. It looked clear enough and it was probably cleaner then some of the other water I'd been drinking the past few months. Water bottles were rare, and even rarer that one would actually have water in it. I'd found a few forgotten in the back of pantries or rolled underneath a grocery store shelf. Most plumbing and water systems were shut down, and the few that still worked sometimes had questionably colored water coming from them. It was always a blessing when the showers actually worked, and even more when shampoo or body wash was left behind. I'd been hoarding the ones I found and rationing them carefully. I always took showers for granted, and now, they were a gift.

The cabin was locked but my luck just kept coming. A key was resting in the mailbox, welcoming me into the house. I left the door open so Blue could come in when he was ready while I examined the premises. It was dusty, odds are no one had been here since the arrival. There was some canned goods, stale crackers, and snacks in the pantry while the fridge and freezer contained spoiled milk and frozen meat. If I had a guess, it was deer meat.

Everything seemed a little too perfect. I was anxious. I hadn't been this lucky before, so why was everything suddenly falling into place? There was a bedroom, two bathrooms, and a closet stocked with all the flannels and winter wear that I could ever need. Actual toilet paper rested underneath the sinks, and even better, there was a washer and dryer. Checking around back, I was gifted with another blessing; a generator.

I was beginning to think that someone lived here still, though that couldn't be right. There was no recent tire treads in the ground, no dirty laundry, and the milk was 6 months past due. All the signs pointed to it being unoccupied. Blue tromped in with a stick hanging from his mouth and I went outside with him, tossing it into the water for him to bring back.

Canada might not even be necessary if this worked out. If Ruth found my note in Newtown, she'd know I was settling next to Lake Ontario. With enough luck, she'd find me here, if she was still alive, and we could live out the rest of our days in peace. It didn't hurt that the view was beautiful too.

"Come on Blue, lets go have dinner," I called, the dog currently trying to now catch fish underwater. It took a little bit to figure out how to get the generator on, but once I did, the entire cabin hummed with electricity. I turned on the heater and the light in the kitchen, getting to work. The stove was electric, another blessing, though it made since. This cabin was a sanctuary, cut off from all outside help. The plumbing was set up to a septic tank, the water came from a rain reservoir, and all appliances were reliant on the generator. I'd have to search for a manual later in case anything ever went wrong with it, but for now, I focused on cooking the meat in the freezer.

Blue was slowly drawn in, sitting at my feet waiting for handouts. I put down a small bowl of meat for him when I was finished, then settled down next to Blue with my own bowl. A deer stew made from chicken broth, spices from the cabinet, and the ground up meat. It was a delicious change from the protein bars and beans I'd been living off of. I smiled at Blue, and he panted back, our bellies full for the first time in a while. 

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Thanks for reading! The next part will be coming out tomorrow. I hope you guys like the story and feel free to leave me messages or vote for it! It makes my day when I see that someone likes my writing. 

-Olivia