Chapter 75- Survivor

"Tracy is here?" I leapt out of my seat, looking around frantically as though she'd been here the whole time and I just hadn't noticed her.  Lou shook his head and nodded toward the front gate.  "No, she's gone now, but she lef' ya this." He held out a folded piece of brown paper with torn edges. It was folded in four and had my name on the top. I instantly recognized the curvy handwriting and a flood of emotions filled me all at once. I felt my eyes fill with tears and I choked them back as best I could.  

I turned away from Lou so I could open it in privacy.  I was fairly certain he had already read it, but I needed a moment without his grisly visage staring at me. 

I opened it slowly, unsure of what to expect.  On the paper was a simple letter with a handrawn map below it. I began to read: 

"Glad you're safe, but I knew you would be.  Something told me when you went down that hole that we would see each other again. Below are directions to my parents cabin. I took most of the supplies with me, so bring the rest and meet me here. It's a different world, but I'm still looking forward to sharing it with you.  -Tracy" 

I read it through again, wanting to savor every word. I never imagined I could feel so happy in this wretched apocalyptic world. The map was simple enough.  It was half a day's drive away, but only a few turns, so the likelihood of getting lost was slim. 

I looked around at the supplies stacked around me. To take the rest of this stuff I would need something large, much larger than the van with the empty gas tank outside the fence. "Lou," I asked, looking over at the old man waiting expectantly at me. "You don't have a car do you?"