Chapter 4

Once they were inside the shelter, they found a storage locker with just about everything needed to spend the night: a couple of battery-powered lanterns, blankets, matches, and some packaged foods. Sam started a fire in the fireplace to get rid of the chill in the air. His jacket was in his weekender bag, which helped to keep him comfortable until the fire did its work.

Vivien seemed comfortable in her suit jacket as she sat before the fire cross-legged, and spread out a few packets of food she pulled from the cabinet. "It's not that cold, Comm...Sam."

"It is if you're used to Miami, Viv."

The corner of her mouth tipped up. "Okay, I'll give you that."

Sam sat nearby, close enough to see what she had, yet far enough apart that the lamp fit in the space between them. He selected a granola bar, unwrapped it, and gnawed on it. Sarcastically, he remarked, "Oh yeah, this is great. Reminds me of being in the field."

Vivien laughed. "I can only imagine. The last time I had to do any survival stuff was in training. I'm glad someone around here is a little better versed than I."

"I think you're selling yourself short. You did a great job back there evac'ing. You've got good instincts. That counts for a lot in situations like this."

"Thanks." She chewed on some raisins that were more like rubber than fruit and stared into the fire. A bolt of lightning lit up the room, followed by a rumble of thunder. A few seconds later, they heard the hiss of rain hitting the leaves and the cabin roof. "We got here just in time."

"Yeah. I just hope that rain puts out the fire completely. I don't know where we are or how dry this forest is, but if it's as dry as things are in Florida, we could find ourselves in the middle of a forest fire." Sam paused and stood. "Speaking of where we are, there's got to be a map around here somewhere."

In the corner near the entrance stood a desk. Sam picked up one of the lamps and sat in the chair, rifled through each of the drawers, and finally found what he was looking for. Vivien watched and listened to the heavy downpour outside. Once Sam was satisfied with studying the map, he returned to his spot in front of the fireplace.

"So?"

"We're in Tennessee."

"Oh great. I can just hear the theme from 'Deliverance' right now," Vivien joked.

"No, that's just rain on a tin roof."

"Oh, even better. It's kind of creepy sounding." She shivered.

Sam got up, went to the cabinet and returned with a quilt he found in the bottom. "Here, maybe this'll be a little warmer than these blankets."

"Thank you, sir. I mean, Sam." She shook her head. "Are you sure you don't want it? I mean, being from Miami and all, you might not be as acclimated as us northern folk."

Sam laughed and shook his head. "No, you go ahead. I'm going to see if I can get some bars on my cell phone and call for help. Who knows if the homing beacon on this plane works after that crash?" He checked his phone from where he sat. "Nothing here." He stood and moved around the cabin, going to each corner, checking for a signal, and shaking his head in growing frustration.

Vivien wrapped herself in the quilt and lay on the hard wood floor, using her hands as a crude pillow. "In the morning maybe we can walk around a little and find a signal." She yawned. The adrenaline was wearing off fast for her, and she could barely keep her eyes open.

Sam, however, was still running on all cylinders. "Yeah, guess there isn't much else to do tonight." He tiptoed around the cabin looking for some other way to communicate with the outside world. There was an old rotary dial phone on the desktop, but he already checked it. The line was dead. He didn't want to say anything to Vivien, but when he checked the desk for a map, he discovered a good layer of dust on it. If this was a substation, it hadn't been used in years. They were lucky to have lanterns with batteries that still worked. It was no wonder chomping on granola bars was like eating concrete. They'd been there awhile. He pulled out one of the water bottles in the storage locker and looked for an expiration date. It was stamped on the bottom - 2006. Yeah, this place was abandoned, and God only knew if they would be found if they stuck around. For now, though, they had no choice.

Lightning lit up the sky and made strange shadows in the clearing. He thought he saw something moving out there. Of all the supplies, they couldn't leave a rifle or a shotgun? This is Tennessee for crying out loud! There might be moonshiners running around and we're on their turf! That thought kept him awake for hours, even after the fireworks stopped and plunged the forest into darkness. He busied himself with creating a cover for the window pane he destroyed and taped it securely in place with duct tape. Duct tape! But no gun! Then he locked the door and hoped that whatever or whoever was out there stayed out and left them alone. He turned off the lantern, banked the coals, and kept them in the dark as much as possible.