The man patted his chest, “Kevlar vest.” He grinned. “Hurt like a bitch, but I’m alive.”

Riley held still, feeling foolish and angry. She should’ve made sure he was dead. Who would’ve figured he had a bullet proof vest on? She had made another blunder. Her mental notebook was becoming jammed with things to never do again. Maybe she was afraid that if the man she shot wasn’t dead she wouldn’t be able to finish him off. No, that was bullshit, she was assuming and careless. (more…)

Realizing what had to be done; Riley placed the tip of the knife on the army man’s temple. She wondered if his brain had been destroyed after whacking him in the head with the pot, but couldn’t take the chance. She’d learned her lesson at the cabin.

She picked up the heavy pot; her heart racing a little for what she was about to do. Relaxing her fingers around the knife’s handle, she readied herself. (more…)

May 18: Riley’s birthday. She was turning thirteen, a ceremonial number in many cultures. The number when a child became a young adult. She packed a small backpack taking with her a flashlight, matches, binoculars, ammo and beef jerky. She brought the .30-30 along, leaving the .38 hidden outside the cabin in a plastic bag under a rock. (more…)

(This story is a sequel to Amongst The Dead)

Riley ate canned fruits and vegetables, beef jerky, and oatmeal, goods from the stored supply in the cabin’s basement or pit as she liked to call it. She hunted wildlife, wisely adding to her food supply. Deer, squirrels, and rabbits were the most abundant edible animals in the area. She’d learned to gut, clean, and treat the hides, all practices taught by her Dad. (more…)

The log cabin sat within a small clearing of the Catskill Mountains, two miles north of the minute town of Roscoe, New York. The hamlet, at one time, had been a resting point for travelers, its location just off Route 17, a busy highway used by people traveling from New York City to Binghamton. The nearby, Beaverkill River, combined with the cabin’s wood stove, supplied drinkable water. The water had to boil at least twenty minutes, making sure all contaminants were killed off. (more…)