Part 3 (1/2)
”I don't. I told you I'm not eating Bambi,” she called back.
He gritted his teeth. How did she get on his nerves so quickly? He pushed open the back door leading out to the small, stone patio. ”Fine. Rare it is.”
Later, when he walked into the living room with two plates of steak cooked to perfection, he was surprised to find Sara already eating. But what she ate was another mystery.
”Here's your steak,” he said, handing her one of the plates.
She shook her head and held up a small bar of some kind, its foil wrapper folded down. It didn't look like anything he'd seen before, and he couldn't detect a hint of smell beyond the venison on the plates he held.
”I'm fine, thanks. Sorry you went to the trouble of cooking me filet of Bambi, but I did tell you I wasn't interested. I have everything I need right here.” She took a bite of the bar and if he wasn't mistaken, she gagged a little at the taste.
He made himself comfortable on the floor again. ”That looks delicious. Well, edible. Well, it sort of resembles some kind of food that was left out way too long and has since spoiled. I'm sure it's tasty. Enjoy.”
The taste of steak melting in his mouth made the annoyance of Sara disappear. He groaned quietly after swallowing, then took another bite.
”Can you please be quiet down there? I'm trying to eat in peace.”
He laughed. ”You actually turned down fresh venison for-what is that, an energy bar? Wow.” He cut off another piece of steak and sat on the edge of the couch, holding it out for her to take. ”Just taste it and then if you still don't like it, go back to eating that thing.”
”No.”
”For a girl who says she's prepared to survive the apocalypse, you're not very adventurous.”
”Will you leave me alone if I do?”
He nodded, smiling.
”Fine.” She opened her mouth, accepting his bite of food. As she chewed, she scrunched up her face.
”You can't tell me that isn't way better than some emergency meal, so what's that face for?”
She glanced back and forth between the plate of steak still waiting to be eaten and the so-called food bar in her hand. ”d.a.m.n it. Bambi is delicious. I'll take my steak now, if you don't mind pa.s.sing it to me.”
”That's what I thought you'd say.”
Chapter Five.
The next morning, Sara woke up more stiff and sore than she'd expected. Dane had been very gentlemanly, insisting she sleep in his room where she'd be more comfortable, while he took the couch. She hadn't slept well despite the soft, welcoming bed.
All night she'd had nightmares about the images she'd seen on the news, waking in a sweat and panic more often than not. She feared whatever the news would tell them this morning wasn't going to be good. In fact, if she were a betting woman, she'd bet her supplies that things were going to be worse today. Much, much worse.
But she was still leaving.
The wooden floor was cold under her feet as she climbed out of Dane's bed. Gingerly applying weight to her leg, she held her breath in antic.i.p.ation of pain. A dull throb bloomed under her kneecap, but otherwise it wasn't as painful as she'd feared it might be. A bandage wrap from her backpack would probably be enough to support her knee so she could make her way to the bunker.
After spending a few minutes wrapping her knee and dressing in the privacy of his bedroom, Sara went in search of her host. She found him in the living room, fiddling with the television.
”Morning. Everything okay?” she asked, crossing the room to get a better look at what he was doing.
”Not really. The TV is out. I'm trying to figure out if it's the signal, the TV, or both.” He unplugged the cord running from the TV, then plugged it in again. He pushed the On b.u.t.ton but still the TV remained silent.
Sara twisted the dial to turn on the lamp, but the light didn't click on. ”It's the power,” she said, feeling her nervousness increase. ”That's probably not a good sign, is it?”
”No. I don't think it is.”
She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and swiped the screen to turn it on. She punched in a speed-dial code for her mom and hit Call, waiting to hear the call ring through. Nothing. Not even a busy signal or a message that all circuits were currently busy. Just dead air. Hitting End Call, she pressed the Internet b.u.t.ton, only to stare at a gray screen with a message that read, ”The page you are looking for is unavailable as you are no longer connected to the Internet.”
”My cell signal is gone and so is the web. This is very bad.”
Dane stood and raked his hands through his hair, staring at the dead TV. ”So I guess things got a lot worse through the night. I left the TV on, but the power must have cut out after I fell asleep. I can't believe I didn't wake up.”
She didn't say anything. What could she say? Their situation was all kinds of bad.
”I've got a generator out back. I'll grab an extension cord and get it up and running so we can see if the satellite signal still works.”
A grin spread across Sara's lips. Finally, she could be useful. She peered into her backpack looking for the right item. ”No worries. I came prepared.”
Dane took the small radio out of her hand and switched it on. Static, white noise filled the air as he turned the dial searching for a clear channel.
”Solar-powered. Every now and then I put it in the sun and it seems to hold the charge for a while.”
A voice filtered through the room, grainy at first then clearer as Dane adjusted the dial. ”This is a message from the Emergency Broadcast System. All residents of the tri-state area are advised to stay in their homes or businesses until further notice. A state of emergency has been called into effect. Shelter in place unless absolutely necessary to leave and wait further instructions. This is a message....”
”That's the exact same thing they broadcasted yesterday. They haven't even updated it with new information. How are we ever supposed to know what the h.e.l.l is going on?” Her frustration rushed out of her.
Things had obviously deteriorated overnight and who knew what state the world was in now? If they left the cabin, would the outbreak get them next? But could they afford to hide out in this room forever and never know?
Tucking the radio back into her bag, she sat on the couch, feeling defeated. ”So what do we do now? We don't have any idea what's happened and no way to find out.”
”We get the generator going and check the TV.” Dane left through the back door. A few minutes later, the rumble of an engine filled the silence.
They'd have to be careful with how much they used the generator. They couldn't afford to run out of gas to power it, nor could they risk the noise of it attracting other people who'd no doubt be in need of supplies.
Dane dragged a cord through the kitchen and plugged the TV directly into it, then hit the On b.u.t.ton again. Sara held her breath, waiting for the screen to flicker to life.
A bright blue background accompanied by the words No Signal Found.
”f.u.c.k.” Dane disconnected the cords. ”How the h.e.l.l does satellite TV stop working?”
”So what now?” she asked. ”We just sit here, blind, with no news from the outside world?”
”We stay put and keep checking the radio and the TV signal. Sooner or later they will update the announcement or someone else will air a new message on a different channel or the satellite will come back again. Until then, we sit tight, here, where we're safe.” Before she could contradict that statement, again, he walked out of the room and back outside. Seconds later the generator fell silent. He returned and wandered down the hall, disappearing into the bedroom.
Making herself at home, she found a jug of milk in the fridge that was still cold and a box of cereal in the cabinet. No reason to try and ration the milk to last longer. They probably only had six to twelve hours before the fridge warmed and everything inside it spoiled. They'd have to try to use up as much as they could before that happened. Food was going to be too precious a commodity to waste anything. There was no reason to use all their gas powering the fridge with the generator, when they'd be better off saving it to run other things like the TV when it came back on, or pumping water from the well to drink, flush toilets, and shower.