Scavenger Page 8

  “Jimmy? Jimmy, I’m cold.”

  “Here,” he said, “Scoot your bag and mattress over against mine. We can snuggle up and you can share my warmth.”

  Lucy didn’t hesitate. She scooted over as close as she could get, with her back to him. Jimmy pulled the blanket over their sleeping bags, and then reached over, half rolling onto Lucy to pull the floor blanket up and over her.

  He worked his arm under the two blankets and put it over Lucy’s upper body, pulling her against him. “Thanks, Jimmy. This is much better. I guess my bag isn’t good enough for weather like this. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jimmy replied. “And we’ll be able to warm up the tent in the morning. “I have a few propane cylinders and a Coleman tent-safe heater. It’ll be enough to take the chill off before we get up, but I don’t want to run it during the night…”

  “Okay. Thanks, Jimmy.” It was only moments and Lucy’s breathing was slow and even. She’d fallen asleep. It took Jimmy a while longer.

  When he woke up around five the next morning, he was on his back, and Lucy, sleeping bag and all, was lying half on top of him, her left arm out of her bag, around his chest, under the blankets. She was still sleeping soundly. Jimmy didn’t want to wake her so relaxed and let himself fall asleep again.

  The wind slightly flapping the tent woke him the next time. Lucy was now facing away from him, her back right up against his side. As soon as he moved slightly, Lucy said, softly, “You awake, Jimmy?”

  “Yeah.” He checked his watch. It was 7:33 AM. “If you’re ready, I’ll get the heater going and we can get up and get dressed in a few minutes.”

  “No arguments from me.” She reached over, found her clothes in the faint light and pulled them into the sleeping bag with her with a suppressed squeal when the cold clothing touched her silk layer.

  Jimmy climbed half way out of his bag, enough to reach the bag Lucy hadn’t recognized the evening before. It clanked slightly. He took out the Coleman heater, inserted a propane bottle and hit the built-in striker. When the heater was going he set it safely away from them and snuggled back into the sleeping bag, bringing his clothes in with him.

  It took several minutes to take the worst of the chill off and both Jimmy and Lucy fell asleep as they waited. Another series of wind gusts woke them both. While not toasty, the tent was significantly warmer now and both quickly climbed out of their sleeping bags, used the chemical toilet in turn, and then dressed.

  Jimmy slipped on his boots, but didn’t tie them. “I’m going out to take a look around.”

  “Okay,” Lucy replied. “I’ll get breakfast started.”

  Jimmy was gone a long time, it seemed to Lucy. The water was hot and she’d added some to the oatmeal packets they were having for breakfast, and had filled their cups with tea for Jimmy and coffee for her. She was reaching for the FRS/GMRS walkie-talkie to call him when he unzipped the fly vestibule and entered the tent, sitting down in the entrance to take his boots off and clean them. He dusted the snow on his pants legs off, and then came into the tent, zipping up the door of the tent when he did. He was carrying the two small backpacks he’d recovered in the mall.

  Setting aside the packs and weather instrument he’d taken out with him, Jimmy said, “There’s a good three feet of snow on the ground and it’s still coming down heavily. And you can hear the wind. Blowing pretty steady at twenty-five miles an hour with gusts to over forty. I dug out the Suburban and trailer, but we aren’t leaving any time soon. I left the snow against the tent fly for insulation.”

  Suddenly they heard a loud crack. Lucy jumped and looked alarmed.

  “It’s down below zero. The sap in the trees is freezing and cracking limbs and trunks of trees. I heard some, not quite so loud, while I was out.”

  “Oh. I guess there isn’t much chance of anyone being out in this. “Well, anyone else but us.” She laughed and handed Jimmy his double serving of oatmeal. She had learned his likes and dislikes traveling with him.

  “Wild animals, either,” Jimmy replied, taking the steaming bowl from Lucy. “From what the guys were saying this fall, the wild animal population has made a real comeback. Including predators. And where there is game, there will be predators. Even in the towns and cities, I expect. Maybe even more so in the cities. The animals had better shelter there than out in the open countryside, except for those that den up, anyway.”

  “I wonder what happened to all the animals in zoos and parks,” Lucy said, rather absently.

  Jimmy quit eating for a moment. “You know, I haven’t really thought about that. It could be a problem.”

  “Problem? How?” Lucy asked after swallowing a bite of her oatmeal.

  “If the zoo handlers turned them loose, some of them very well might have survived. That includes predators. I can’t feature all that many surviving, especially those whose natural habitat is warmer climates, but animals can be pretty adaptable. I mean, most of them adapt to being in captivity. They aren’t as adaptable as humans, but some of them are pretty close.”

  “It was kind of just an idle thought,” Lucy replied. “I never thought of it being a danger.”

  “Well, I sure would hate to run into a snow tiger without being armed.”

  “Now you’re scaring me.”

  Jimmy laughed. “Don’t be. Almost all the zoos are in cities. The chances really are very slim, even if they are real.”

  “Oh. Okay. That’s a little better. But we were, after all, just in the city. It has a zoo.”

  “That’s true. But I’m not going to worry about it.”

  “Well, if you’re not, I’ll try not to, either.”

  After breakfast, and the cleanup that followed it, Jimmy sat cross legged on his sleeping bag, the small daypacks at hand. “I need your advice, Lucy. You know I suggested you bypass the sunglass store?”

  “Yeah. How’d you get in, anyway? The grate was down. I saw all the shells.”

  Jimmy explained what he’d discovered and his conclusions. He touched the packs. “They were wearing these.” He opened one and Lucy whistled loudly.

  “Quite a haul!” she said.

  “Yeah. I’m still debating on what to do with it all. I’m not too big on jewelry and don’t want much of it myself. But like we talked about the other stuff… I’m not sure to give some of it as gifts, or just turn it over to the Farm. There are certain things I’m keeping.”

  Jimmy showed her the GIA certificates, with a tiny zip-lock bag stapled to each. “These are investment grade diamonds. They may be worth something, someday, for international trading, if it ever makes a comeback.”

  “You think big!”

  “Civilization is continuing, even if in altered form. People’s wants, needs, and beliefs will carry on. Gold and silver are already making a comeback. You get a share, for being with me and standing guard while I scavenged. That includes the good diamonds.”

  “All diamonds are good,” Lucy said. “Take it from a woman. You keep the important stuff. You wouldn’t happen to have something with real rubies, would you? I’m a Cancer. Ruby is my stone.”

  “Go through the stuff and take anything you want as your share.” Jimmy felt just a little bad about not showing her everything that had been in the packs. He cleaned out everything he really wanted before bringing the packs in.

  That had included the bulk of the GIA diamonds, gold and silver coins, and a few jewelry objects that had caught his eye.

  Jimmy enjoyed watching Lucy ‘shop’. “You know, you aren’t limited to just one,” he said at one point when she set aside one item for another.

  “I don’t want to be a hog,” she replied.

  “Well,” Jimmy admitted, “I should tell you I’ve already made my selections. This is just the stuff I didn’t want.”

  Lucy laughed. “Oh, yeah. Tell me that now, after I’ve been through most of it.” She seemed to be having a good time. “Is it okay if I take a few items to give as presents?”

  Jimmy
nodded. “Sure. Whatever you want is yours to do with as you wish.” He noted Lucy went over the remaining stuff with a different eye, and then went back over what she had already been through once.

  “You didn’t take all the gold and silver?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “I thought you might want some, and I think some should go to the Farm.”

  “Okay.” Lucy took half of the remaining gold and silver coins, leaving the rest. “What do you think?” she asked Jimmy finally, holding up to her neck a simple ruby necklace.

  “Nice,” Jimmy said. “Very nice. I actually thought of you when I saw that.” What he didn’t say was that he’d found one even nicer, along with a few other things that had made him think of her.

  “I think the rest should go to the Farm to be distributed or held for trading.”

  “I agree,” Jimmy said, closing up the small backpacks.

  “What about the other stuff?”

  “Too bulky to bring into the tent. We can go through it when we get home.”

  Lucy nodded. “You want to play cards?”

  “Not right now,” Jimmy replied. “I want to catch up my journal.”

  “That’s not a bad idea. I think I’ll do the same. I’ve been trying to keep one, after I saw you doing it last trip.”

  They settled in for the day, and after their journal entries, they began to play two-handed solitaire for something to pass the time. At first there was little discussion, but then they began to talk, first about simple things, then more serious things. They learned quite a bit about one another that day and afternoon, including a teary rendition of how Lucy had lost her husband right after she’d become pregnant.

  The blizzard was still raging when darkness fell and they turned on the Brunton GLORB tent lantern. “Lucy, look…” Jimmy said rather hesitatingly as they cleaned up after the evening meal. “I don’t want you to think I’m trying to take advantage of the situation, or take you up on that offer last summer, but my double bag sleep system will separate and zip together to make a double wide bag. And yours will open up like a blanket.

  “If you are comfortable with it, we can sleep together in mine, and use your bag and the blankets to add warmth.” Suddenly Jimmy hesitated, and then added, “Oh. It just occurred to me. If you don’t want to, and since I sleep pretty warm, anyway, I can use your bag and you can use mine. You should be warm enough that way. That’s probably the better option.”

  “Better why?” Lucy asked, watching Jimmy’s face.

  “Well… because we wouldn’t have the hassles of sharing a bag.”

  “What hassles?”

  “Look, Lucy, you’re an attractive, sexy woman. I can’t guarantee what my physical reaction might be if we’re in the same bag. I can guarantee that nothing would come of it, but still…”

  “I know enough about winter camping to know keeping warm is critical. I’ll make sure I have better preparations next time, but for the moment, keeping warm is more important than modesty or propriety. I think we should share the bag. I know I’ll sleep warm enough that way and that you will, too.”

  Jimmy took her at her word and separated his inner and outer bags to zip them together, while Lucy opened hers out into a blanket. They arranged the bags and blanket and adjusted the blanket on the floor so Lucy could pull it up and over her side of the sleeping bag if she needed additional warmth.

  Jimmy got undressed down to his silk long johns and slid into the sleeping bag while Lucy was using the chemical toilet. He turned his back to the rest of the tent while Lucy undressed down to her long johns. She slipped into the bag beside him and turned off the GLORB.

  “Boy,” she said, squirming around to find a comfortable position, “You are a furnace, aren’t you?”

  Jimmy just mumbled something and turned his mind to everything except Lucy in the bag next to him. Her back up against Jimmy’s, Lucy quickly fell asleep. It took Jimmy longer, but he, too, was soon asleep.

  The wind died down during the night and the two slept soundly, Lucy rolling over fairly early in the night, to snuggle her body against Jimmy’s, her left arm going over his chest, and her head resting on his out-flung arm.

  Lucy woke up first the next morning, in the same position. She made no move to move away from Jimmy, or even change position. She just sighed contentedly and fell back asleep. When she woke up again an hour or so later, it was with her cheek on her own arm, lying face down on Jimmy’s side of the sleeping bag.

  She rolled over and looked around the tent. The heater was going and Jimmy was already dressed. He was making their breakfast in the front fly vestibule. Sliding out of the sleeping bag, Lucy used the chemical toilet for pressing needs, and then hurriedly slipped back into the sleeping bag with her clothes, to warm them up.

  Before she was ready to get dressed, Jimmy carried over a plate with scrambled eggs and ham. Lucy sat up cross legged, pulling the free blanket up over and around her shoulders. “I could get used to this breakfast in bed thing,” she said with a laugh, taking the plate from Jimmy. “You’d better be careful not to start a trend.”

  “No big deal,” Jimmy said with a smile. “You were sleeping so soundly. Take a look at the tent wall.”

  Lucy did so, finally realizing that the snow was almost covering the tent fly. It was actually fairly warm in the tent and Lucy let the blanket over her shoulders slip down as she ate. Jimmy handed her a cup of coffee when she’d finished the eggs and ham.

  “The snow has stopped and the wind died down. I held up the Brunton past the snow outside of the tent. It’s one degree above zero. The sun is shining. I’ll dig out the door of the tent and clean up around the Suburban after a while.”

  Lucy nodded, savoring the coffee. Her supply was dwindling. She’d miss it when it was gone. Like Jimmy and his M & M’s in the gorp trail mix they so often used as dessert. He’d mentioned how much he would miss them the day before. Jimmy was right. There were many adjustments to be made as certain items became either luxury items, or disappeared entirely.

  When she made a move to get out of the bag and get dressed, Jimmy put down his cup of tea and said, “I’ll start clearing the entrance.”

  As he unzipped the vestibule, Lucy shook her head and looked down at herself. She considered herself very matronly, in the long handles, even if they were silk. But Jimmy was reacting almost as if she was naked, never looking at her when she wasn’t fully clothed. A small smile curled her lips. He obviously found her attractive enough to be a bother to his libido. That was something. His reactions to her during their time together had been anything but romantic. Jimmy had seen to that.

  Her smile faded. “Don’t be thinking such things, girl. You’ve made your peace with being a childless old maid. Best you stick to it,” she thought to herself.

  Lucy followed Jimmy out, after she’d dressed and began to help him clear the snow from off the Suburban, and then from around it again. It took some time, Jimmy insisting that a path be made in front of the Suburban, to give them a good start when they left. He fully intended to leave before all the snow was gone, but not until after at least some of it had melted away. He didn’t want an ice pool around the rig.

  When Lucy asked him about clearing around the tent, Jimmy said, “Not today. Won’t be a lot of melt accumulating under it today. Might as well have the insulation until things warm up and the snow really starts to melt.”

  Both had shed an outer layer, despite the cold, while shoveling the snow. As soon as they stopped, the extra layer went back on. Neither seemed inclined to go back inside the tent after having been cooped up the way they had.

  Jimmy decided to open a path to and around the nearest tree, so he could use it instead of the chemical toilet for part of his sanitary needs. Lucy tried it out first, fetching the urine diverter from her pack in the tent. Jimmy moved to the rear of the trailer and kept himself busy while Lucy was around the back side of the tree.

  “This thing is great,” Lucy said, coming back from the tree
. “Still warm and toasty. Thanks, Jimmy.”

  Jimmy waved his hand and went to take his turn.

  With nothing more to do outside, they both went back inside the tent and got comfortable. They played more cards, wrote in their journals, and since they had plenty of light coming through the top of the tent, both broke out paperback books they’d brought with them for just such an occasion.

  Both dozed off and had a long nap after their lunch of jerky and gorp. When they went outside to go to the bathroom, Jimmy was amazed to note that the temperature on the Brunton weather instrument was up to fifty-six degrees. The snow was glazing over, but melting from below due to the ground still being relatively warm. They shared the sleeping bag again that night, but the following night, with the temperature the night before having been in the low forties, opted to use their individual bags.

  Less than two feet of quickly melting snow was left when they got up that morning. After breakfast they shoveled out the tent and took it down, spreading it out on the Suburban to dry a bit before they packed it away.

  Jimmy started up the Suburban and they left the camp site just after they had a bit of jerky and gorp for lunch. Jimmy had the Suburban suspension lifted as high as it would go, so only the running gear was pushing through the soft, wet snow.

  Going was slow, for Jimmy wouldn’t take the Suburban anywhere on the road they weren’t sure was good, relying on their memory for trouble spots. Jimmy let Lucy drive for the most part, getting out of the truck and taking up a long pole to test the way when they weren’t sure what was under the snow.

  It was back to their normal travel routine. They stopped early for supper and then moved to another good overnight stopping place. The temperature was in the high sixties when they got up the next morning. More of the snow had melted during the previous day, and overnight, with the warmer temperatures.

  They made it back to the Farm late that afternoon and unloaded their things at Jimmy’s motorhome after Lucy asked to leave her scavenged goods there until she could sort through them and get them to her room in one of the farm houses.