Glimmer of Hope (Land of Tomorrow Book 1)

Part I, Chapter 18

Nathan was as relaxed and calm as he could remember being in a very long time. He didn’t feel like the entire weight of the world was upon his shoulders and that every mistake might be his last…or get one of his family killed. Now he was part of a pack.

Nathan had always been a dog person and studied how they socialized. A dog’s world is the pack and one of the cruelest things you can do to a dog is to isolate them. Nathan always considered himself more of a loner, but he now appreciated being part of a large group.

Twelve days out of Hancock Prison, Nathan sat smoking the last of Harold Buchannan's Vegas 5 cigars with Harold and the prison doctor, Bobby Wilson.

"How are your patients doing?" Nathan asked. The burden for the women and girls was another he gladly shared.

"Physically they're fine," answered Bobby. "They're finishing up the rounds of antibiotics I prescribed all of them."

Harold said, "Those are going to be hard to come by. Did they all need them?"

"Need, well, better safe than sorry. I really couldn't do any lab work or anything. Besides those pharmaceuticals have a limited shelf-life. And honestly I think the pills are helping in other ways too. What ails them isn't all physical, but sometimes being under a physician's care and following directions can help in other ways as well."

The men sat quiet for a moment, and Nathan contemplated what else could be done. Everyone tried to do their best to support and help, but no one knew how, except to make sure the women and girls understood they were safe and that people cared about them.

Since leaving the prison, travel on the road was slow going at times, but it felt like they were flying after months on foot. "Will they be okay walking? The bus is down to fumes and won't go further," said Nathan.

Bobby said, "Oh yeah. They'll be fine. A couple could still ride in the truck if they needed to, couldn't they?"

They looked at Harold who insisted on bringing both vehicles even though it meant siphoning gas whenever possible. The truck had a hitch for the trailer full of supplies and a winch they used a few times a day to pull jammed cars out of their path.

Harold said, "Certainly. Anyone in particular we should assign to drive the truck?"

Nathan smiled because he knew his sons were always vying for positions behind the wheel. "There's no shortage of volunteers. Doc, you can keep an eye out as we have more walkers and let us know if someone looks like they need a break."

"Be glad to," answered Bobby.

Nathan shook the ash from his cigar. "I really appreciate everything you all are doing. I mean that. A couple weeks ago we were struggling, and now..." He raised his chin and sniffed the air. He guessed it was rabbit cooking on the grill, but regardless it smelled wonderful. A few more meals before the propane ran out, and he knew the two guards who were hunters would continue to provide for them. "Now I'm camping every night in good company. What more could a man ask for?"

"Uh, how about cable television?" said Bobby.

"Or cold beer," added Harold.

"Maybe some deep dish pizza," quipped Bobby.

Harold put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes with a smile, "A nice hot tub."

"Okay, okay," admitted Nathan, "there is room for improvement, but at least we don't have someone trying to cut out throats or in danger of freezing to death or of having to eat our boots."

"Yet..." said Bobby.

"What a bunch of optimists I hitched up with," said Nathan in mock disgust.