I could also hear the kid – Sam, I think he'd said – kind of rambling, though in fairness, it was in a fairly helpful way. Apparently he had some equipment and he could see me through the trees. Or maybe he was tracking some signal I was giving off, pinging me somehow. That was definitely a less-pleasant thought; I'd read 1984, after all, and being watched all the time just doesn't end well.
Of course I didn't have the slightest clue where the damn saw mill was, but I slowed a bit and looked around, and sure enough, just like he said, there was a huge sign off to my left, bright red. I sped up again, heading in that direction.
Yes, Sam, I can hear you just fine; there's no point in shouting. Given that I didn't have a microphone or any way of transmitting, I couldn't exactly tell him that. Wasn't even any reason to waste my breath on it. But was he really that green? It was like it was his first day on the job or something.
There certainly wasn't reason for him to sound so… excited. Not like we'd even met. Was Abel that small, that they got excited about a new person?
Another voice came over the radio; naturally, the medic wanted medical supplies. Big surprise there. I already had some, but then, if they were tracking me, they'd know whether or not I went into the hospital like they'd asked me to.
And then Sam tried to talk her out of it. Twice. I don't really understand why…
Not that it worked; I think he actually made the situation worse, because she dug her heels in and said if I didn't bring anything back from the hospital they might not let me in when I got there. Abel Township, the last hope for humanity.
Humanity is screwed.
