A short distance down the road from the burning house I see a small convenient store, which looks as though it too was on fire not long ago. Once I'm able to get inside, I luckily found a mini fridge that had been flipped over. Inside it was a gallon of water and some left overs in a tub, I took them and made my way out to the back of the building. Just behind the store is a small shed, "what luck!" I told myself. I carefully crept into the pitch black dark shed, the glow from the fire up the way wouldn't light the inside. I searched my pockets to see if I still had my cell phone on me. I found it in my back pocket unbroken, but no signal. It made a decent light til I was able to find a flashlight on a shelf. The shed was mostly empty aside from a few shovels, rakes, and what looked to be a motorcycle under a cover.
I sat on the ground and closed the shed door so I could eat, drink, and regain my strength. I finished my small meal and my curiosity began to drive me mad, could that really be a motorcycle? I approached the covered bike carefully, always carefully. Slowly pulling off the cover my guess was almost immediately confirmed, it was a motorcycle; an enduro at that. It looked a bit tall for my small frame but nearly new, at this point in time it's important that I manage and make the bike work for me. I began to grow nervous at the thought of firing it up to see if it worked. "I better wait for day light, just in case" I thought to myself. The key was easy to locate, on a hook near the door; I placed it in my pocket. I took the cover from the bike and spread it out on the ground to lay on, sleep will help me then when day light comes I'll fire up the motorcycle.
According to my phone I slept just over eight hours, daylight never came. I stood outside the shed starring up at the sky. It was just as pitch black as it was over nine hours ago, where has the sun gone?
My heart hit my feet, hard. I don't understand where I am or why, and now I feel as though it will be difficult to leave and find Andy. Something tells me that he was not in the house with me at the time of the fire, in fact I don't remember anyone being there with me. But why would I be alone?
I did my best to swallow my fear and get a move on. I went back into the convenient store to gather anything of use. The fire that took place on the store must not have been too great, as I searched I found many things still in tact. I was able to find a small, two pocket backpack, another gallon of water, mechanic gloves, which I immediately put on, potato chips, a bag of jerky, and tissues. In the shed were also several other flashlights I had not seen before, along with batteries for them and a pack for the motorcycle. "This will do fine for a while" I thought. Before I can put the pack on the bike I better make sure it works first. I wheeled the bike out slowly and quietly to the street, I climbed onto it with a bit of a struggle but at least I could reach the ground just slightly. I put the key in place and turned the ignition, I pressed the start button and it fired up immediately. The headlights worked great, but the tail light had been broken. I wasn't worried as long as the headlights were working properly. I quickly shut the bike off and wheeled it back to the shed. "I do not wish to be found by anyone or anything" I muttered quietly to myself. "Something is clearly going on and others may try and take the bike and my supplies from me". I strapped the motorcycle pack on and made sure it was secure. I then placed the flashlights with the batteries, the potato chips, tissues, and jerky in the small backpack and strapped it to my back. In the motorcycle pack I will carry the water and the motorcycle cover.
I hurried the bike back onto the road once again, climbed on and fired it up. Judging by the weight and the slushing sound in the tank, I had enough gasoline to get me by for a while. Thankfully it's a four stroke bike and finding more gasoline won't be quite as hard, in addition to the benefit of having a quiet motorcycle. I lit the headlights and started off down the road, the ride was just right; I didn't need to worry about the tire pressure or anything for that matter. After looking over the bike I learned that the only thing wrong with it was the tail light. It's difficult to see ahead, the trees surrounding the area seem to help make it that much more dark on this road.
As excited as I felt to have some supplies and a reliable motorcycle to get me moving, I still felt terrified and worried for Andy as well as myself. All the positive encouragement in the world couldn't take those thoughts away from me. I did what I could to stay focused and prevent myself from dwelling on the negative.
I must have been out in the middle of nowhere, several miles down the road and no sign of another home or building what so ever. "Be sooo careful Penny" I told myself over and over. For just a short moment I silenced my thoughts to listen to the bike.
