Deliverance

The ER was very quiet that morning and Carol was able to meet with Chana and David in David's office. She gave David the keys to the jeep and they discussed what needed to be collected. Chana had delivered a baby early this morning and was taking appointments until evening. Blaine was in traction but Lisa was home getting ready to go. She had went upstairs and picked up Carol's pack.

A second wave of soldiers had taken off to meet and destroy the walker herd to the southwest. The town was quiet, almost too quiet. Carol was getting increasingly jumpy, and by early afternoon she began getting visions of walkers pushing against the barricades of the city. She dismissed the visions as what might have happened if the soldiers hadn't taken care of it, but there was this nagging fear that must get out of Savannah while the getting was good.

David took a backstreet approach to her apartment building and picked up Lisa and their packs. He brought Lisa back to the hospital and together they removed the cast and Blaine put his uniform on went to guard the jeep. Their packs were in the jeep and their supplies. It didn't leave much room for anything else.

Carol finished her shift but instead of going back to her apartment she went to Chana's office and changed her clothes. They had intended on waiting until later but the nagging fear escalated and Carol decided that they should start now. The days were longer now and they could use those hours of daylight to get farther on their way. She jumped up and said, "It's time."

Just then the emergency sirens began to blare and Carol said, "We have to go now or we're not getting out. They'll want David to stay here." She and Chana took the back stairway out of the office building and ran two blocks to the Hakim's apartment building. David had parked the jeep behind the building and David, Blaine, and Lisa were already there. Blaine drove and Carol got up front and the others got in the back.

Blaine said, "Where to, Boss?"

Carol said, "The docks, go the back streets." She had an idea of what was happening and she knew that they had to get out now.

The sirens continued to wail as David gave Blaine directions. There were reinforced buildings in Savannah that were designated as safe places during severe storms and if the walkers breached the defenses. Everyone was scrambling to get to those places now. "It's a mega herd of the dead. It's huge and it is going to hit from the south. That herd that the soldiers are chasing is an offshoot but this one is far larger and it will hit the walls in soon." Carol's voice was solemn. Savannah was doomed.

They continued to push through toward the docks. They passed a school with several army buses lined in front of it. They were loading families on the bus to take to a designated area. Carol grabbed Blaine's arm. "Stop here." He stopped and she jumped out and went to the first bus and climbed on. A tense looking soldier was behind the wheel and he snarled, "Lady, get to the back of the line."

Carol leaned close to him, "Listen to me". He looked up into her blue eyes and listened. "There is a mega herd to the south and it is going to destroy Savannah. Don't take these people to the designated area. You know this town like the back of your hand. Take the back streets to the highways that are heading into South Carolina. There will be soldiers along the way and they'll let you through. Pick them up and take them with you. Soldiers will see that you have children and they are going to let you in line at the final barricade. Stop and pick them up." He nodded somehow trusting this woman. Carol gave him the location of the fall back spot for the upper echelon. Mason had told her that the first night on the boat. "If you get on the main streets you will be locked up in traffic and you will be caught when the herd comes through." He nodded again. She hurried back down the steps and into the jeep.

Blaine found that even the back streets were becoming congested but he drove as quickly as he could. David's directions took them in a different way that Carol knew. "There will be guards and you had better let me talk to them". She got the pistol that Mason had given her and checked the clip in it. David and Chana exchanged looks but said nothing.

"Lisa, get the pistol out." Blaine requested and she did and Carol was glad to see that the girl handled the weapon expertly. He turned onto the roadway that went to the section of docks that the General's boat was moored. Carol saw one guard and she leaned out the window in a friendly manner. The sirens were still screaming their warning. "There is a herd coming. You need to go somewhere safe."

The guard was little more than a boy. "I can't leave my post."

Carol sighed, pulled up her pistol, and aimed it at the boy, "I say you can leave it. You have three choices, one, you can take off running. The second choice is that you can go with us on the Graceful Lady. The third choice is that you try to stop us and I shoot you. Which will it be?"

The guard shifted his feet. He looked at the people in the jeep. He pondered his choices, "I always wanted to ride in one of those boats."
Carol laughed, "Good answer. Now I'll scoot over and you can scoot in."

Blaine drove down to the docks and they began loading supplies in the Graceful Lady. Aaron Cantrell was seventeen and newly conscripted into the army. He had survived this far into the ZA by making some good choices and he thought joining this group was a better deal. David and Blaine carried the heavy water bottles in while the women carried in supplies and their packs.

Carol was relieved to see that the boat had been restocked and refueled. Aaron found a large container and he crawled under the jeep to drain the gas out of the jeep. Fuel was always a good thing. The sounds of rifle fire were getting closer and Carol knew that the walkers had found a way in. She turned the motor on and thought how painstaking Mason had been to teach her how to handle the boat. Blaine loosened the moorings and she began to guide the boat out to open sea. David and Chana were watching behind her and they warned her that there were other people on the docks trying to get the boats out. She steered the boat toward the north away from the city.

Carol put Lisa and Chana on the tiller and began teaching the men out to get the sails out. The wind was favorable and she headed the boat farther out and to the north. She didn't know what was out there but there was no turning back.

The Graceful Lady was a large boat but it was crowded with people and supplies. Carol sent Blaine and Aaron up on top to watch for any boats that might try to overtake them. They both had their service rifles and ammo. They understood that they couldn't risk losing the boat.

David had handed out the Dramamine patches before they left but Blaine and Chana were still hanging over the sides of the boat. Lisa went up to watch with Aaron and David tended to the sick. Carol held the tiller confidently but her mind was on Mason. He had given her the jeep that they used to get to the boat. He had given her a weapon, and he had shown her how to sail. He had told the guards last night to make sure the boat was ready to go when he knew he was leaving the next morning. He had loved her and he had done all of that for her.

David sat down in a chair close to Carol, "Captain Carol, where are we going?"

Carol glanced down at him, "We are going north and somewhere we are going to find a place to land. Then we are finding a vehicle and we're going to go to the mountains of North Carolina."

"So we have been shanghaied? What are you going to do if we mutiny?" David was half joking but he really wanted to know.

"Then I shoot you and throw you overboard." Carol was half joking too. She had risked far too much to lose the Hakims. "How are Blaine and Chana?"

"Pretty sick, but the medicine will make them drowsy. How long do you think it will take?"

Carol confessed, "I don't know. It will be days and maybe weeks. We have to stay far enough out to keep away from other people and we need to find a place to come in that is not congested. Got any suggestions?"

David shook his head. "Maybe South Carolina. I grew up in North Carolina and there are some places there that we might land. Long way to the mountains though."

They anchored at sunset. Lisa had fixed a simple meal and they ate it outside watching the sky. Carol could see nothing but marshlands and she felt it would be safe enough there. They kept their lights off. Carol had told them to bring jackets and sweatshirts and they put them on. The conversation was light; everyone seemed to know that they would have plenty of time to talk on this trip. Carol explained everything she knew about navigation to everyone and they decided that as long as they traveled north they couldn't get too lost.

Aaron had first watch, then David, and then Blaine. No one slept much that first night. Carol had taken a chair by herself. She needed some alone time. She felt sure that the buses with the families had gotten out. She stared at the stars and allowed herself to long for home, for the sights, sounds, and smells of her home. She thanked her Creator for sending those people who had made this escape possible. Carol believed that the people you meet in your life are there for a reason. She looked over her little band huddled on the deck staring out at the open water and probably scared to death. They would become part of her family by the time they made it to McAllister Mountain.

Aaron came over and sat down on the deck beside her chair, "Are you enjoying your ride, Aaron?" He looked so young in his too big uniform that she wanted to tousle his hair and hug like she did Matthias.

"I like it fine. The air feels good against my face and the waves don't bother me none." Carol thought he sounded so much like Daryl. "How far am I going with your group?"

Carol remembered the quarry and how Daryl had felt a tug to join the group but how insecure he had been about his role in the group. "Aaron, we need you. You are smart. I saw how you drained that gasoline today. I hope that you go all the way to the mountains with us. You and my husband would get along great I think. Do you like to hunt?"

Aaron seemed to brighten up at the thought of staying with them. "I used to hunt and fish all the time. My dad worked in a garage in town but me and my mother raised a big garden every year. Dad would take me hunting in the evenings or on weekends."

Carol patted his shoulder, "We are just getting our gardens in. We have greenhouses and high tunnels to grow food. We have plenty of room for you." She remembered telling Alia that they were moving to the mountains and how upset she had been until she and Daryl had asked if she wanted to live with them. Here was another lost child that needed a home. She might not even be welcome in that home, but Aaron needed to have something to hang on to. "I live in a big house with my husband and our two children, there is a man and a woman who live in that house and she is going to have twins. We have a friend who lives there too. We are building on more rooms and you'll have a place with us, Aaron".

"That woman who is having the twins ain't going to make it if you don't get these doctors there." Aaron was an observant guy. Why would Carol leave those people that she loved and come down here unless it was to save someone she loved? Her voice had broke a little when she talked about the woman having the twins.

Carol was silent for a bit. "She isn't going to die because we are going to get them there."

Aaron leaned against her for a moment, "You are one determined woman. We'll get them there. Carol." He stood up. "The ocean is beautiful. I ain't never lived in no mountains."

Carol laughed, "The mountains are beautiful too and you'll love them." She thought about the mountains and longed for home. She slept that night surprisingly well. Savannah was behind them and she was on her way to the mountains.

The next morning Chana and Blaine were better and after breakfast she and David plotted their course and they began to move north. Chana passed out sunscreen and they all applied it liberally. Lisa made shorts for everybody by cutting off part of the legs of their pants. David made certain that they drank enough fresh water and they set up tarps to protect them from the sun.

Aaron was able to catch some fish for lunch. Carol knew that they could stretch their food for about two weeks and maybe longer if they could supplement if with food from the sea. They would use the tarps to collect rainwater and make that last longer.

David had brought an expensive looking digital camera and a solar charger. He took photographs all the time and he showed Carol some of the gadgets and features of his camera. She was fascinated by the camera and decided that she wanted a camera of her own. She didn't have any photographs of Sophia and she wanted to capture every detail of her children's lives.

The photographs showed a happy crew. Their smiles seemed to come naturally to their tanned faces. David photographed everything. He wanted to share this someday with his own children.

They saw sailboats every day but no one ventured closer. They went far out to sea to get around Charleston, South Carolina and that cost them days but no one wanted to get any closer. In a matter of days they had all become efficient with managing their resources and sailing the boat. Th

David had chosen a spot to land just barely in North Carolina. It was north of Myrtle Beach and south of Wilmington and in less than two weeks they were off the coast of North Carolina preparing to land. There were more boats around here but they didn't approach the Graceful Lady.

Aaron and Blaine checked their rifles and Lisa and Carol checked their pistols. David and Chana had been practicing with knives to defend themselves. They were ready. Carol maneuvered the boat into a private dock. They had all packed and unpacked their bags until they had everything they needed but were still light enough to carry. Blaine moored the boat and he and Aaron ran up the dock toward an expensive looking house. The others followed quickly. David and Chana were carrying the gasoline from the jeep. It felt odd to be on solid ground again but none of them hesitated. They understood that they needed to find a vehicle and get on their way before they attracted attention.

AN

That is the area that my family goes to when we want to be at the beach so I chose that place to land. I haven't a clue on how long it would take to sail that far but avoiding Charleston and the islands off of South Carolina would take some time.