“Any kind of cover over the latrine would be dreamy,” said Stella.
“Well, I’d like to go to town,” said Mercury. “I’ve already started a mental list of necessities.”
“Add to that list straw, if you can find it,” said Imani.
“Straw?” Mercury’s raised her brow.
Imani nodded. “Yeah, it’s key to adobe brick making. Sand would be good too, but I have a feeling the clay from those colorful hills may not need the help.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” said Stella.
“I’m really glad you two know what you’re talking about,” said Mercury.
“We absolutely do.” Stella and Imani exchanged self-satisfied grins.
“I’m glad to hear it too, and look forward to you two explaining the process. Cliff dwellings—that was definitely not on my apocalypse bingo card,” said Ford.
“You have an apocalypse bingo card?” Mercury asked.
He smiled. “I do now. And I finished unloading the truck a little while ago,” said Ford. “So there’s plenty of room in the bed to pile stuff, especially if we take off that camper shell.”
“How about we get that shell off while Mercury eats something?” Stella said. “Then the three of us can be on our way to Mitchell.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?” Karen picked at the frayed hem of her cardigan.
Everyone turned to Stella, who cocked her head to the side in the inner listening pose they’d become accustomed to. Then she shrugged. “I’m not getting anything specific except a feeling that we definitely need to go there.”
“Well, good,” Gemma said. “If no one’s gonna almost die again, then I for sure want to stay here and help Imani.”
“The children and I will gather firewood while you’re gone,” said Karen. Then she hastily added, “But we’ll be careful not to roam too far from the cave, and we’ll definitely keep an eye out for green fog, right boys?”
The twins nodded.
“Okay, it’s a plan!” said Stella. “Acorn, shove leftovers from last night into your face, make your morning toilette, and then let’s go!”
“Ooh! I can’t wait! I’m starting to like this hunting-and-gathering stuff.” Mercury hurried back into the cave as she mentally added to her list of necessities.
They checked the map to plot the best path to Mitchell, and because the town was only about twenty miles away, the three decided to follow the regular roads rather than cut cross-country.
Bridge Creek Road fed into highway 26, which went straight through the heart of Mitchell. The section of 26 between the Painted Hills and Mitchell was riddled with sinkholes—so many that Stella drove most of the way on the shoulder of the road or the easements on either side of the highway.
They saw not one living person, though they were able to syphon enough gas to fill their tank and the spare containers they carried in the bed.
“I thought there would be more vehicles,” Stella said. “Twenty-six is a major highway out here, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, for sure,” said Ford. “But this is a sparsely populated area, and the weather did report that the winter storm that hit a couple days ago was going to be a bad one. That seems to have kept hikers and campers to a minimum—at least between Mitchell and the Painted Hills.” Ford pointed at the green road sign that had fallen across the highway. “Says Mitchell is one mile away. We should see it as we drive over this ridge and down into the valley.”
“Are you sure we’re far enough away from this town? If we hadn’t stopped to siphon gas, it would’ve only taken about two hours to get here.” Mercury chewed her lip.
“That’s a Stella question,” Ford said.
Stella moved her shoulders. “I can only tell you what my gut knows, which is what I said yesterday—the Painted Hills are our new home. That hasn’t changed.”
“I have an idea that will help our isolation and safety,” said Ford. “If we can find a tree saw or an axe, I can cut down some junipers and cedars and create road blocks into the Painted Hills. I think it would also be a good idea to bring down that bridge over the creek.”
“Yeah, we definitely need to do those things,” said Stella. “As well as cover the path the truck makes from the road to our cave. Actually, covering the tracks won’t be enough. We need to limit the use of the truck anywhere near a road so that we don’t draw attention to ourselves.”
“And we have to remember to try to reach Jenny and tell her we’ve found a place to stay,” said Mercury.