Dylan, in a hushed tone. “Let’s
see if they say anything to us. I want to get a feel for how other people are
reacting to what has happened.”
They
could smell the wood smoke from a campfire close to the edge of the water.
There were also some cooking utensils near the fire. Dylan gently paddled
closer. He warned the others to stay back away from the shore. If the lakeshore
was free of hazardous obstacles, he would wave them in closer. Dylan’s raft met
the edge of the lake and rubbed bottom. Taking his shoes off, he stepped into
the cold water and pulled the raft onto the shore. He motioned for his two
companions to come in closer and sat on the edge of his raft. A man with short
hair and thick razor stubble came out of a camper and, looking down at a rectangular
pan in his hands, stepped toward the campfire and Dylan sitting on his raft.
When the man glanced up, he was surprised by Dylan’s presence.
Startled,
the man looked around and said, “Oh, buddy, you scared me to death. I didn’t
see you there.” Then he asked, “Are you camping around here? I didn’t hear a
car pull in.”
“No,
we’re just floating by and thought we might stretch our legs for a second.”
Kevin
and Richard were almost to the shore. The man stopped in front of the tent
closest to him, put a large pan of cleaned and filleted raw fish down, and then
whispered something into the tent’s opening. A woman whispered back from inside
the tent, “Just ask them.”
“Can
we borrow your cell phone? I can’t get my truck started and it seems like the
batteries went dead in all of our stuff. I need to call a tow truck to get a
jump start.” The man looked back toward the fish. “We ran out of ice and I’m
going to have to cook all this fish now or it’ll spoil. It’s really more than
we can eat. You’re welcome to have some. There are paper plates on the table.”
The man looked toward Dylan and asked pleadingly, “Do you care if I make a
call?”
“I’m
sorry, we’re just roughing it. We don’t have a cell phone with us,” Dylan said,
with remorse.
“Damn.
I’ll keep waiting for someone else.” The man picked up the pan of fish. “I
better get this fish cooked up. Tell your friends to come ashore. It’ll be
ready pretty quick.”
Dylan
felt sorry for the man and wanted to tell him everything he knew about the EMP
and the collapse of the electric grid, but was afraid of what his reaction
might be. Right now, even though most electronics were not working, he still
might sound crazy to the stranger. He wanted to avoid all confrontation, and
with firm resolve, reminded himself that his only objective was to get back to
his family. He could not save the world.
The
man placed the pan of filleted fish over the fire and in moments, the cooking
fish smelled delicious. As the aroma wafted his way, Dylan felt his mouth fill
with saliva. He had an impulse to devour the half-cooked fish. Sharing food
with a stranger was an unexpected bonus; it could help to stretch their supply
of food for the journey. He knew they had some food in the rafts, but it would
be good to conserve as much as they could.
Kevin
approached their cook and handed him a bottle of water. “You look thirsty,”
Kevin said, smiling at the sight of a hot meal.
“Yeah,
my truck won’t start, so I can’t drive anywhere to get drinking water. We’ve
had to boil that stuff. It’s a real hassle,” the man said, as he pointed to the
lake.
“Grab
your water jugs. I have a filter. It’s the least I can do for some of that
fish,” said Kevin.
“Deal,”
the man said quickly, just before turning the fish and dashing over to get the
water jugs so he could be back in time to keep the fish from burning.
Kevin
retrieved the filter from the raft and proceeded to wade into the shallow
water. The man had brought every container he had that could hold water. Kevin
lined up the man’s containers near the water’s edge and began to fill them with
filtered water.
see if they say anything to us. I want to get a feel for how other people are
reacting to what has happened.”
They
could smell the wood smoke from a campfire close to the edge of the water.
There were also some cooking utensils near the fire. Dylan gently paddled
closer. He warned the others to stay back away from the shore. If the lakeshore
was free of hazardous obstacles, he would wave them in closer. Dylan’s raft met
the edge of the lake and rubbed bottom. Taking his shoes off, he stepped into
the cold water and pulled the raft onto the shore. He motioned for his two
companions to come in closer and sat on the edge of his raft. A man with short
hair and thick razor stubble came out of a camper and, looking down at a rectangular
pan in his hands, stepped toward the campfire and Dylan sitting on his raft.
When the man glanced up, he was surprised by Dylan’s presence.
Startled,
the man looked around and said, “Oh, buddy, you scared me to death. I didn’t
see you there.” Then he asked, “Are you camping around here? I didn’t hear a
car pull in.”
“No,
we’re just floating by and thought we might stretch our legs for a second.”
Kevin
and Richard were almost to the shore. The man stopped in front of the tent
closest to him, put a large pan of cleaned and filleted raw fish down, and then
whispered something into the tent’s opening. A woman whispered back from inside
the tent, “Just ask them.”
“Can
we borrow your cell phone? I can’t get my truck started and it seems like the
batteries went dead in all of our stuff. I need to call a tow truck to get a
jump start.” The man looked back toward the fish. “We ran out of ice and I’m
going to have to cook all this fish now or it’ll spoil. It’s really more than
we can eat. You’re welcome to have some. There are paper plates on the table.”
The man looked toward Dylan and asked pleadingly, “Do you care if I make a
call?”
“I’m
sorry, we’re just roughing it. We don’t have a cell phone with us,” Dylan said,
with remorse.
“Damn.
I’ll keep waiting for someone else.” The man picked up the pan of fish. “I
better get this fish cooked up. Tell your friends to come ashore. It’ll be
ready pretty quick.”
Dylan
felt sorry for the man and wanted to tell him everything he knew about the EMP
and the collapse of the electric grid, but was afraid of what his reaction
might be. Right now, even though most electronics were not working, he still
might sound crazy to the stranger. He wanted to avoid all confrontation, and
with firm resolve, reminded himself that his only objective was to get back to
his family. He could not save the world.
The
man placed the pan of filleted fish over the fire and in moments, the cooking
fish smelled delicious. As the aroma wafted his way, Dylan felt his mouth fill
with saliva. He had an impulse to devour the half-cooked fish. Sharing food
with a stranger was an unexpected bonus; it could help to stretch their supply
of food for the journey. He knew they had some food in the rafts, but it would
be good to conserve as much as they could.
Kevin
approached their cook and handed him a bottle of water. “You look thirsty,”
Kevin said, smiling at the sight of a hot meal.
“Yeah,
my truck won’t start, so I can’t drive anywhere to get drinking water. We’ve
had to boil that stuff. It’s a real hassle,” the man said, as he pointed to the
lake.
“Grab
your water jugs. I have a filter. It’s the least I can do for some of that
fish,” said Kevin.
“Deal,”
the man said quickly, just before turning the fish and dashing over to get the
water jugs so he could be back in time to keep the fish from burning.
Kevin
retrieved the filter from the raft and proceeded to wade into the shallow
water. The man had brought every container he had that could hold water. Kevin
lined up the man’s containers near the water’s edge and began to fill them with
filtered water.
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