Chapter 8
Elijah built a fire at night to hide the smoke, and take some of the chill out of the air. He couldn't wait until daytime so he could camp out in a warm car. He could only hope that tomorrow would be a sunny day.
Cooking dog on the open fire at night was not the most convenient arrangement, nor the safest. He was able to fashion a rotisserie out of some sticks that worked fine. "George Foreman has a grill. Now Elijah Williams has one. " He chuckled at his own humor.
The dog wasn't the tastiest thing to eat, but it was filling. Elijah put some salt on some of the leftovers to extend the shelf life a bit. There were a lot of leftovers. It made no sense to leave anything that was edible behind. Yet, carrying any extra weight would take more energy.
At daybreak he was back on the road. The throbs of fatigue were setting in, but it would soon be nap time.
"Crap!" It was starting to rain. It was going to be cold. "Oh hell no!" It was going to be icy. It became terrible to walk on the road. He started taking small steps to keep his balance. Then he decided it was better to walk along side of the road, in the grass instead.
Progress was slow but steady. He thought that if he walked for a few hours in the morning, maybe things would warm up later.
There were some people up ahead, resting under an overpass. They didn't try to hide the fact that they were staring at him. It was two women a guy. Next to them were some smallish packs and they each had a canteen. Compared to Elijah, who's resources were limited, theirs were inadequate at best.
As he got closer, Elijah could see them bundled up and huddled together shivering. Their faces were somewhat skeletal.
"Hi." Elijah said.
They did not return the salutation. The young woman stood behind the man while trying to see Elijah.
"Hey, I've got some food here," Elijah said, moving closer, pulling the dog's leg out of his pack.
"Stay back!" The man said, pulling out a pistol.
The young woman saw the food and ran toward it.
"Get back here, Terri!" the man ordered.
Terri chomped down on the cold dog leg, tearing it up in ravenous fashion.
"Thank you," the older woman said. She started crying. "Thank you so much, sir."
"I've got more here, enough for everyone."
The women moved toward Elijah's helping hand. They thanked Elijah for the meat and the man put down the pistol.
The man looked at the meat. "That is not chicken! Hey! This guy is a cannibal!"
The women looked up at Elijah. Then back at the man.
Elijah held up another dog leg. "Okay folks. Here is what you are eating. You ever seen a human with a joint like that? This is a dog, okay?"
The women went back to eating. The older one said, "Shut up Dale. Eat the dog."
Elijah handed Dale the other dog leg.
"Thanks. . .sorry. Where you from mister?"
"Detroit, then Crawfordton."
"Never heard of it."
"It's kind'a new."
"Sounds to me like you are making it all up."
"Dale! Don't be stupid! Shut up!"
They were too busy eating to talk very much.
The older woman said, "Thank you, mister. . ."
"Elijah."
"I'm Pam. This is my daughter Terri."
"Whoa!" Elijah said, "That's your daughter? You are very young looking."
Dale rolled his eyes.
"Thank you mister," Pam said. She broke a bit of a smile as she glanced at Elijah. "I swear, you saved our lives today. I was on my last nerve."
"You're welcome. It was my privilege to help. What are you folks doin' out here on this fine morning?"
"That's kind of. . . personal," Dale said.
Pam said, "Oh, were just on our way to take that one," she pointed at Dale, " to the mental ward."
"That ain't funny," Dale said.
"Seriously," Pam said, "We're going to Cincinnati to find our son. He was off to the University of Cincinnati on a scholarship."
Elijah realized how hopeless that story sounded. Maybe his own story sounded just as bad. "You must really love your son."
"Yes," Pam said. "What about you?"
"Same thing. I'm trying to find my daughter and son in law."
Dale said, "Well, good luck to ya mister."
"Don't be rude, Dale," Pam said. She looked at Elijah and said, "We want you to travel with us. Don't we Dale?"
"Well. . ." Dale looked at Pam, who was communicating with her eyes. "Yes we do. You should travel with us Elijah."
"That sounds good. Hey, I got some plastic sheeting. Never let a good rain go to waste. Let's collect some rainwater. Then we can warm up."