Meg

While Rory and I travelled along the little veins on the paper map we'd pass though tiny towns. No one way out here seemed the least bit affected by the plague. Most of them hadn't even shoveled their driveways. "That's odd!"

Rory turned down 91.9 Christian Radio. "How's that?"

"These driveways, sidewalks and even these secondary roads haven't been plowed in weeks."

Rory patted his dashboard. "Good thing ol' Bessie here has four wheel drive."

"I'm grateful for that... but don't you see? The power's not on out here." It was nearing dusk and I didn't see so much as a television through any of the windows.

"Maybe they're off the grid like your dad?"

"No Rory... Something's off. It's as if this town has been evacuated. Let's drive around the neighborhood and see if we find any signs of life."

"There!" Rory pointed.

I gasped. "What is it?"

"Squirrel!"

Rory! This is serious."

"He's alive. Look at him gathering his lil nuts."

I squeezed Rory's arm. "Rory Matterson--you're a little nuts."

"Nuts about you Meg March." He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

That's when we nearly ran over an abandoned road block. Rory stepped on the breaks and the jeep came skidding to a stop then slid slowly into an embankment of snow.

"I'm so sorry babe. Meg are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so... What is that doing in the middle of the street?"

Rory and I got out of the car to move the obstruction and investigate.

"Rory, there seems to be notifications on all of the doors."

We ran up to the closest house and read the notice:

Mandatory Evacuation
All residents must report to
The New Rochelle Testing Center.
Please bring a weeks worth of
clothing/toiletries/medicines
all other essentials will be
provided in the event you
are detained
for further quarantine.
(look up a more official sounding notice.)

Rory turned white as a sheet. "Where have all the people gone? I know that song Meg."

I nodded.

Rory hugged me. "Do you think they took your dad?"

"No, when dad says he's going off the grid he's going off the grid. His place isn't on any GPS or even the paper map we have."

"Then how are we supposed to find it? It's getting dark, there's so much snow."

I took Rory's hand and led us back to the jeep. "When you spend weeks up here every summer for 21 years you learn the way."

Rory teased, "It's just passed the giant rock after the large stump... If you reach the murky pond you've gone a bit too far."

"Something like that." I half smiled hoping we'd find my dad in the cabin near a roaring fire with a pot of bubbling beef stew on the wood stove.

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