Rolling waves crashed onto white sands with a calming rhythm while fat seagulls squawked and soared in warm morning breezes. Sam loved the sea, always had. He supposed in another age he could have been a sailor, now it was really too late and too dangerous.
It was the middle of spring and already getting uncomfortably hot in Key West. Almost past time to move north to his summer residence at Cape Cod, he figured. It was also a safer place to spend hurricane season than on the exposed southern tip of Florida. He gazed out on the beautiful ocean as The Pack barked and ran, playing in the surf. His dogs made him smile; he didn't want to think about where he would be without them.
The little car was packed; they wouldn't go too far before walking would be necessary. Sam had tried several times to clear a path along the Seven Mile Bridge, but it was an impossible task. He imagined that span would be clogged with old cars until it collapsed from rust hundreds of years from now. At least the cars weren't filled with bodies. Most of the refugees had made it off of the bridge before dying...or jumped into the ocean.
A boat would be more practical, but he wasn't that good a swimmer and didn't have much experience with the sea. A motorcycle would be easier to get in and out of cars on the tight span, but an experiment with a motorcycle several years ago had gone poorly and scared him beyond recovery. Any type of serious accident now would be his death, it wasn't like he could go to a hospital or wait for help.
He had used a bicycle on occasion, but it didn't allow him to carry much gear and the dogs tired after running behind him for several miles. Walking or driving were really the best options and that meant a short drive to Old Seven Mile Bridge followed by a long walk.
Sam whistled for the dogs. As usual Molly was first, the big yellow lab was eager to please. Tanner the black cocker spaniel, Dusty the medium-sized mongrel, and Scotch the giant grey Irish wolfhound followed. As was typical, Sam had to coax Raven the male Doberman who stood there looking at him from a distance as if to say, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, come on you mutt!" yelled Sam.
Raven suddenly sprang into action and ran in long loping strides to catch up with the rest of The Pack who were piling into the old Toyota hatchback. Sam shut all the doors and went around to the driver's side. After selecting a CD from his travel music folder, Bob Marley's Greatest Hits this time, he cranked the little car and began driving north.
It had taken him several years after the Great Plague to settle down into some sort of routine. The first few months had been the worst when the cities stank to the heavens with dead bodies and scavengers of all sorts multiplied by the millions to feed off all the meat. Following the scavenger population explosion, the bodies were mostly consumed and then without a ready source of food, the animals had turned desperate. Sam had been terrified of going outside and never without a gun. It had taken nearly a year for the excess animals to die off and for the environment to reach some sort of natural balance again.
Sam drove past a car with a picked clean skeleton in the driver's seat. Even after all of these years, he didn't like being around the dead. It wasn't superstition or fear of getting sick, it just made him sad, and he didn't like being sad. Before the pla gue there were all sorts of ways to distract yourself from being sad, but not so much anymore. Sadness could kill you as quickly and surely as a bullet, which was another reason he was grateful for The Pack. They always made him smile, especially when he was feeling down. He looked away from the skeleton, let Bob Marley sing to him, and drove on.
As he approached the long bridge, Sam had to more carefully navigate his car around abandoned vehicles. Finally , he could go no further and parked the car in his usual reserved parking spot. He let the dogs out and piled his gear into a
It was the middle of spring and already getting uncomfortably hot in Key West. Almost past time to move north to his summer residence at Cape Cod, he figured. It was also a safer place to spend hurricane season than on the exposed southern tip of Florida. He gazed out on the beautiful ocean as The Pack barked and ran, playing in the surf. His dogs made him smile; he didn't want to think about where he would be without them.
The little car was packed; they wouldn't go too far before walking would be necessary. Sam had tried several times to clear a path along the Seven Mile Bridge, but it was an impossible task. He imagined that span would be clogged with old cars until it collapsed from rust hundreds of years from now. At least the cars weren't filled with bodies. Most of the refugees had made it off of the bridge before dying...or jumped into the ocean.
A boat would be more practical, but he wasn't that good a swimmer and didn't have much experience with the sea. A motorcycle would be easier to get in and out of cars on the tight span, but an experiment with a motorcycle several years ago had gone poorly and scared him beyond recovery. Any type of serious accident now would be his death, it wasn't like he could go to a hospital or wait for help.
He had used a bicycle on occasion, but it didn't allow him to carry much gear and the dogs tired after running behind him for several miles. Walking or driving were really the best options and that meant a short drive to Old Seven Mile Bridge followed by a long walk.
Sam whistled for the dogs. As usual Molly was first, the big yellow lab was eager to please. Tanner the black cocker spaniel, Dusty the medium-sized mongrel, and Scotch the giant grey Irish wolfhound followed. As was typical, Sam had to coax Raven the male Doberman who stood there looking at him from a distance as if to say, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, come on you mutt!" yelled Sam.
Raven suddenly sprang into action and ran in long loping strides to catch up with the rest of The Pack who were piling into the old Toyota hatchback. Sam shut all the doors and went around to the driver's side. After selecting a CD from his travel music folder, Bob Marley's Greatest Hits this time, he cranked the little car and began driving north.
It had taken him several years after the Great Plague to settle down into some sort of routine. The first few months had been the worst when the cities stank to the heavens with dead bodies and scavengers of all sorts multiplied by the millions to feed off all the meat. Following the scavenger population explosion, the bodies were mostly consumed and then without a ready source of food, the animals had turned desperate. Sam had been terrified of going outside and never without a gun. It had taken nearly a year for the excess animals to die off and for the environment to reach some sort of natural balance again.
Sam drove past a car with a picked clean skeleton in the driver's seat. Even after all of these years, he didn't like being around the dead. It wasn't superstition or fear of getting sick, it just made him sad, and he didn't like being sad. Before the pla gue there were all sorts of ways to distract yourself from being sad, but not so much anymore. Sadness could kill you as quickly and surely as a bullet, which was another reason he was grateful for The Pack. They always made him smile, especially when he was feeling down. He looked away from the skeleton, let Bob Marley sing to him, and drove on.
As he approached the long bridge, Sam had to more carefully navigate his car around abandoned vehicles. Finally , he could go no further and parked the car in his usual reserved parking spot. He let the dogs out and piled his gear into a
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