Lake Yixa (7 page)

     
Sarah dressed and
then began to gather up the rest of the clothes, throwing them into the walk-in
closet. She pulled
the remaining clothes hanging in the closet down
and threw them
on
to the pile she had made with the other clothes,
leaving
her own
clothes hanging in the bathroom to dry out.
Sarah
picked up the
bat and the kitchen knife and headed into the closet
,
pulled the
doors behind her closed.

     
Sarah climbed
under as many layers of clothing as she could without going to the floor. She
made sure as much of her was hidden underneath the clothes as possible. With
the amount of clothes this couple had, it wasn't that hard to do.

     
Sarah had an
uneasy night’s sleep, waking at the smallest of sounds. Only just before dawn,
after the storm had calmed down, did she find a couple hours of sleep.

     
She awoke feeling
better than she did last night. The cold chill and the headache both were gone;
only a rumble in her stomach bothered her. She climbed out of the bed she had
made and slowly pushed the door open a crack. She listened for a long time
before finally leaving the small room she felt a little safe in.

     
Through the
windows, the sun shined brightly. It was a cold day, and she could see her
breath in the early morning chill. Sarah headed into the bathroom and pulled
off the hoodie. She wiped away the small trickle of blood on her arm. The wound
wasn't deep, but if she didn't clean it and wrap it up, it could get worse.
Sarah
looked around
but didn't find much in the way of bandages
,
so s
he used a small
hand towel and the belt again.
Sarah
checked her clothes and
shoes, but both were still a bit damp
, so she decided to
put
only
her shoes
on
and left the
clothes to dry.
Sarah
wasn't planning on staying, but she wanted to find
supplies and maybe a backpack.

     
Sarah grabbed her
bat and knife from the closet. She wandered around the rooms upstairs, looking
for anything useful. She didn't find much of anything; someone had gone over it
pretty well. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen to find a raccoon
eating from a few of the empty cans. It paused for a moment
before taking
off down the small hall
way
to
ward
the garage.

     
"Ugh,"
Sarah said, picking up a can of creamed corn in the corner of the kitchen.
Sarah
looked at the
date—
it w
as
still good
.
Sarah
found a pot
to put
the corn in; she popped the can open
with a can opener
. "Yuck, this stuff is worse when cold."

     
Sarah tried the
stove, but nothing happened. She didn't really think it would work, but she had
to try. She winced and beg
a
n to force herself to eat.
It didn't take her long to get it all down.
When she was finished, she
happened to spot a peppermint lying on the counter. She smiled at her luck and
popped it into her mouth. The flavor quickly overtook the creamed corn taste.
Sarah
began
to
search for
useful items.
She found a handful of
matchboxes, plastic bags, tinfoil, and a single pack of Ritz crackers. She also
found another can of creamed corn, which she wasn't happy about, but she was
still glad to have some kind of food.
 
She set everything she found on the counter.

     
Sarah
left the kitchen and looked around the living room. She saw a bookshelf lying
on its face.
 
She
struggled
to turn it over but was unable to.
It looked a lot
lighter than
it actually was, and she finally gave up on it.
She didn't
think it would be a smart idea to hurt her back or any other part of her body.
She grabbed the bat and started to sweep it underneath the bookshelf.
Sarah
managed to pull out a
cook book, kids
’
books, a few paperbacks
,
and a
good number of encyclopedia books
,
but nothing really useful.
She picked up three of the paperbacks and set them with her small pile of
things. She may read one, but it was more for the paper; it would make starting
fires much easier. She found a few plastic shopping bags from the local store
and put the stuff she had gathered in them.
It
will have to do
, she thought.

     
Sarah stood there,
looking at the two full bags, and then headed back upstairs
,
hoping
to find another set of clothes that may fit a bit better, or at least more
clothes to take with her.

     
"These will
work," Sarah said as she threw another two hoodies, a pair of pants, and a
couple of belts onto the bed. She then grabbed her own clothes from the
bathroom and set them on the bed too. She pulled the dark red sheet off
the
bed, turning it into a makeshift bag. Sarah piled her own set of clothes and a
few other things into it and carried it all downstairs. Sarah filled the
remainder of the stuff she had gathered into it.

     
"It's not
pretty, but it will do," she said with a small smile
,
s
cooping up
the
makeshift bag
and throwing it over her shoulder.
Sarah
looked around
one last time before picking up her bat.
She glanced at
the large knife
on the
kitchen
counter
.
After deciding it was best to take it
with her, Sarah set down the bag, pulled a belt out from it, and worked on
strapping the knife to her leg. Finally, she was ready to go. She
grabbed her
stuff and headed out.

     
As she made it to
the end of the drive, Sarah stopped for a moment, looking up and down the road.
She finally took a right, hoping she was going toward Liam's house and not to
town.
The lake should be on my left side
,
she thought. She did her best to try and picture the map of the area in her
head. Liam had pointed at his road. It was one of the rural areas. She let out
a sigh and hoped to have a little luck on her side.

     
Every now and
then, Sarah would have to walk around a fallen tree or telephone pole. She
didn't realize how bad
the
storm was last night. As
she walked, she made sure to keep an eye out for anyone or anything. She didn't
hear anything but the sounds of birds singing and chirping. It made her feel a
bit easier to hear them.

     
The sun was high
above as she approached a bend in the road. She started to wonder if maybe she
was going the wrong way—or not even on the right road at all—when she heard the
distant sound of waves slapping against the shore. She turned off the road and
headed toward it.

     
As she made her
way through the forest, she began to see the shoreline. It was a cove with a
small, ruined dock that had an old trail leading away from it.

     
"That has to
be it," she said as she picked up her pace. She looked out at the lake.
Its calm water sparkled in the sun. She was thankful to not see any sign of a
boat or anyone else.

     
Sarah moved back
off the shoreline into the shade of a tree just out of sight of the water. She
didn't know if anyone would come along, but she didn't want them seeing her
before she saw them. She pulled out the Ritz crackers and began to eat them.
They were a bit old, but she was happy to have them. She was dreading having
more cold creamed corn. The soft breaking of the shoreline, the singing of
birds, and the warm weather made it almost seem like everything was okay. She
finished off the crackers, stood up, and headed down the trail away from the
lake.

     
Sarah followed the
winding trail this way and that. It seemed like it went on for ages. The sun
hung low in the sky when she finally saw the small cabin Liam called home. She
was happy to see it with the door still closed. She hoped it meant no one had
looted it.

     
She reached out
and turned the door knob. Locked.

     
"Shit."

     
She looked around
for a
hide
-a-key but saw nothing.
She t
ried above the door
but
still didn't find a key, so she set down her bag and began to work her way
around to each window.
Not one of them was open or unlocked.

     
"Damn it,
Liam. Why is your place locked up so tight?" She let out a sigh.
Maybe there’s something in the shed I can
pry open the window with
, she thought.

     
The shed was
more than just a shed. It had a small workbench and a peg board full of tools
Sarah had never seen before. Each spot had a small handwritten name under them.
From the looks of the workbench and the area around it, Liam carved knife
handles and toys. She smiled.
He never
said anything about it
, she thought to herself. She
suddenly
realized she would never see him again.
She frowned and did her
best not to think about it.

     
Sarah
picked
up an axe sitting in the corner. As she headed out the door, she saw a small
silver key sticking out above the door jam.

     
"Oh, please
be the key for the door," she said loudly as she held it in her palm. She
returned to the door. The key slid in with ease, and with a turn, the door
popped open.

     
"Yes!"
she said a bit louder than she wanted to. She didn't really think anyone was
around, but she wanted to do her best to stay unnoticed.
She
headed back to the front door to try the key. A blue tarp sitting off to one
side of the driveway caught her eye. Liam had told her about the bear attack.
That must be it
, Sarah thought to
herself as she turned back toward the door.

     
A musty smell came
from the house. If that was the only real smell, she was okay with it. She
moved aside the curtains, letting in the evening light. She had maybe an hour
of good light left. She looked around for a few minutes for Tux, Liam's
black-and-white cat. Not finding him, she hoped he was hiding somewhere and not
dead.
Sarah
cleaned out the litter box, which was long overdue,
and refilled his food bowl. She tried the water but no luck.
Sarah
remembered
seeing
a
large
rain barrel
behind the cabin
. She found a
big
bowl sitting in
the drying rack next to the sink
.
Sarah grabbed the bowl and
her canteen
,
and went out back,
fil
ling
both
of them
up.

     
Sarah
filled up the
small bowl for Tux and set the rest on the counter. She went back out and
grabbed a few logs.
Sarah
wasn't sure she wanted a fire, but she wanted to make
sure she had plenty of wood if she did. There was no way she would head outside
after dark.

     
As she opened
cabinets, she found that Liam stocked
his house pretty well
. She hoped most
of it was good, but she decided to check it tomorrow. She pulled a can of chili
beans out and looked at the date.

     
"Damn, no
good," she said as she put it on the floor by the trash. She pulled
another
can from the cabinet, checked the date and set it by
the trash too.
The third can was good. She smiled at the idea of not having
to eat creamed corn. Once was enough for her. She found a box of candles and
set them out.

     
Sarah went back
outside and started to close the storm shutters. She was glad she didn't have
to board the place up.
 
As she moved from
window to window, closing the wooden shutters, she had a sudden feeling of
unease. She stopped by the second to last window and looked around. A heavy
wind blew, making the trees sway and the leaves rustle. She hurried and closed
the last two windows before retreating back into the house.

     
The
sound of the door locking made Sarah feel a little safer
. Even though
there were two locks, Sarah still put a chair in front of the door to add to
it. She lit a few of the candles, and then she closed the curtains and added a
blanket over each window, making sure to do her best to block out any light
that could seep out from inside. Afterward, she sat in Liam's chair. She was
tired but wasn't really ready to go to sleep. Even though she felt safe,
Sarah
was still on edge.