The Life of Riley Hunter - The Woman, the Boy and Me

This is part of an ongoing saga of a man that decided to live off the grid and why; and who comes along to live and share his cave home.

The Woman, the Boy and Me

The days went by and I finally decided to ask the woman what her name is. She did a great job taking care of the young boy that had been added to our life. Still I didn't want to push her into telling me things she hadn't wanted to reveal. So as the boy laid in a beanbag looking at one of the childrens books, I decided to approach her.

She was sitting on the couch reading a magazine, so I went over and sat next to her and said “ I see you have taken to the child, have you found out what his name is yet? Oh, and by the way you haven't told me your name either.”

She slowly looked up at me, and saw that I had a big smile on my face. The woman just went back to her magazine reading while shaking her head. After a few minutes she muttered something I couldn't quite understand. So I just sat staring at her waiting for her to speak again. She saw out of the corner of her eyes that I was waiting for her to repeat her name.

“Eve” she finally said.

I retorted, “Eve, you say..... nice to meet you Eve!”

She burst into a loud laughter, as the boy looked over at us. Then as her laughing died down, she shook her head again.

Puzzled by this response, I said “what?”; wondering why she was laughing.

Her smile could light up any room as she looked at me. Then as she tried not to laugh, she said “ my name isn't Eve, but I had you going huh!”

I sat there pondering over this bit of hilarity from her, and why she began to joke around at this time? I shook my head, then began to get up just then she grabbed my hand. She looked up at me as if to say 'I'm sorry'.

So I waited a bit, then replied “ it's okay, you can tell me when you're good 'n' ready. No rush- mi casa es su casa!” Hoping she understood the Spanish that I just spoke.

She turned and said, “ thanks Riley, you are too kind. So what's for supper- fish again? Do you think you could gig some more frogs for us? Not sure if the boy would like them though.”

Funny how quickly she changed the subject of conversation. Its almost like she was hiding something from me or maybe she can't remember. I sat thinking about what she just asked, ' the fish is good despite what happened to the land, but we should try other types of food.'

I finally said “ sure I could gig some frogs, what do you think about snake meat? I have seen a few rattlesnakes, and I believe there are water snakes in the river. Not sure if they are poisonous though, maybe we should check the library to see if I have a book on snakes. Or I could build a rabbit trap, I hear it tastes like chicken.

Just then the boy walked up, and asked “ Can I help you build one?”

“ Well sure you can, but you realize this is for catching our meal- not for a pet” I said sternly explaining the reason.

He shook his head 'yes' and smiled. Then looked down at the woman then replied “You're right he is nice!”

She shook her head 'yes' while smiling.

Then he looked back at me and replied “ I'll go look through the library to find a book about snakes, and go see if you have a book about building traps.”

He quickly turned and began his hunt for the books we needed. By then the woman was standing by the entrance looking out. I walked over to the kitchen area, and poured myself a cup of coffee, and went to sit down in my chair. Then it dawned on my why she said her name was 'Eve', and I quietly laughed.

Being here was like a new beginning for her, and the first real time she could trust a man. And to let her open up on her own terms I think impressed her a lot. I glanced over to where she was still standing at the entrance, I then smiled. I never noticed before, but she was a very pretty woman, even without makeup on. I don't think she has worn any for years either.

After the disaster, many never had the time to stop and pamper themselves. I remember my own wife got to sick to even care, yet she will always be beautiful to me. Oh how I miss her; but it was a blessing that she finally passed on, since the virus had ravaged so many people. The disease took over the land so quickly, that even the CDC was overwhelmed. My lovely wife never was to healthy, so when it grabbed her it held on till she gave in.

I didn't have the time to cry or even kiss her goodbye. The CDC forced me to vacate the home, then they incinerated the whole place. It was a good thing I had already been preparing for years this little hideaway. So after they torched my place, the government gave me some money and a hotel room to stay in for a few days. Although I didn't need their money or a place to mourn, it was a mandatory holding center to make sure I wasn't infected too. They could never figure out exactly why some were infected, while others never did.

I heard a stack of books fall, and then someone yell “ Sorry.” Thus jogging me back to reality, and the fact I was in my new home. Sharing this place with a woman, and a boy that seemed to be self sufficient. After he put back the books that fell, he found what he was looking for. The young boy came with a book on traps, and said excitedly “ maybe this one has a design we can build!”

I shook my head 'yes',and we began to thumb through the book. I had no idea at the time if we had any of the materials we'd be needing. But it was really nice sitting here and looking, let alone be creating something with this young boy. I glanced up to see the woman watching the both of us with a smile on her face. I smiled back, as the boy studied the cage style and what would be needed.

The boy noticed I was looking over at the woman, and I heard “ oh boy not again.”

I looked down at the boy, then replied “ sorry son, nothing is going to happen. Now let's get this cage figured out, and to make sure I have all the essential parts. We might have to take something apart, to help put it together. Come on let's head to the junk pile or what I call my storage section is.”

We got up and were heading to the farthest corner of the cave. I always had a flashlight handy, just for this purpose. We soon found most of what we needed and began to build the cage. I thought he did a very good job using his hands, and the tools I gave him. We were soon ready to take it down the hill to set it up.

He asked “ what will we use for bait since they are plant eaters?”

“ That's a great question, let's go look to see what the book suggests using” I replied.

As he went to look, I attached a handle to the top of the cage. This way it would be easier to carry up and down the side of the hill. Especially if we did catch a rabbit or two. Then I picked up the cage and started to walk to where the boy was after turning off the flashlight and setting it back into its holder.

I emerged from the darkness with the cage, the woman smiled really big. He was sitting with the book on his lap and reading what could be used. I set the new trap on the coffee table, and she bent down to examine the cage.

She stood up and said “that's a great cage Riley!”

I retorted “ hey all I did was fasten this handle on, he's the one that put the whole cage together! Pretty smart huh.”

She looked over at the boy and said, “ I'm very impressed, you have a great engineering ability. Where did you learn to put things together?”

His smile soon turned into a sad look, then replied “ my dad was a car mechanic, that is before the disease took him. Mom had died the year before, so it was just him and me. Then when the sickness attacked him, he promised me to run if they tried to put me in a state care facility. I just left off after he took his last breath.... I didn't even bother taking anything with me. I heard someone yelling 'stop', but I just kept running.

“oh son, you are so brave, and glad you're with us. Isn't that right Riley, since there are lots of bad people out there. I know some tried to stop me, but I pulled out my knife and that deterred them” the woman said to the boy.

Shocked by what I had just heard, I stammered “ ah, ah.... why didn't you pull the knife on me?”

She looked over at me and laughed, then replied “ I could tell you were a good guy. Besides you didn't try to force yourself on me, or attack me.”

The boy cleared his throat, then asked “ are we going to go set this up before it gets dark or what? I know a great place near the river that might be good.”

She piped in with “ we could get more water, and maybe some sagebrush to use.”

The young boy soon got some of the empty water bottles, and baskets to take down with us. We also grabbed the newly formed cage, then began our descent down the mountainside. We let the boy go where he thought would be a good place. He proceeded to set up the trap with some fresh leaves and berries he had found for inside to trap the prey. The woman went to the edge of the water to begin refilling some of the bottles. I stood and surveyed the land to see if there was any wild life coming back into the area. So far nothing, but I could have sworn I heard a bleat or two. It must have been my vivid imagination working overtime.

As the boy was setting the trap to catch the rabbit, the woman and I fished a little ways downstream. I was thinking how things had changed after the date of October 1, 2013, the day the government shut down. Was it God intervening in how things were going in America? Or were the officials so pious that they couldn't see past the ends of their noses?

I was shook back to reality when the boy tugged at my sleeve. I looked up at him to see a beaming face. Such a sweet young man, I asked him “yes what is it?”

He replied excitedly “ I caught one, Riley; it's small but I got a rabbit!”

I laid my fishing pole down and got up to see this bunny rabbit he was able to catch. He ran over to the cage, and once I reached where he left it. Indeed there was a small black bunny sitting in the corner munching on some greens he put in there. Like a proud father, I smiled down at him and patted him on the back.

I then replied “ good job son, but I don't think he's big enough to eat. Maybe we should let him go find his family, we can always try again for a bigger rabbit.”

“ Oh can't I keep him, he will get bigger in time. I promise to keep him fed and clean up after he goes to the bathroom” the boy stated with big sad, but hopeful eyes.”

I said “ oh alright if you promise to not let him run around all over the cave. The next time I go to town, or what used to be a town I'll get more chicken wire to make a pen for the little critter. Now let's go and show the woman what you caught. By the way what's your name, I feel funny call you boy all the time.”

He answered “ Well my mom and dad fought over what I was going to be called, so I grew up being called 'boy'; but I told my friends my name was Luke. So I guess you can call me Luke, if you don't mind.”

“Luke... I like that name, it fits you well. Now let's go show the lady what we got. Hey, I know what you can do for me, find out what her name is. I didn't want to press her, and thought when she was ready she'd tell me. It's been going on four months now, and she still hasn't told me. She likes you Luke so maybe she will tell you” I spoke almost in a whisper to Luke, even though she was quite a ways from us still.

Luke just smiled and replied “ she was right you are a nice man. Sure I will do this for you, and even more if its alright for me to stay here. This is the first place that I felt at home, and your library is wonderful. I could read for days and never stop learning. We could never afford books either.”

I replied in my nonchalant way “ that's alright, because now you have plenty, and can read as much as you want!”

We soon reached where the woman was, and Luke excitedly said “ Look what I caught, isn't he beautiful.”

As she pulled up another huge fish from the river, the woman paused to look at the cage Luke was carrying. There was a timid blackish brown furry creature inside. She smiled at the boy, then went back to taking out the hook from the fish she caught. She was quite a fisherman, or would it be fisherwoman? I wasn't sure how to refer her to, although she seemed to handle things pretty well so far.

“ you can call me Luke” he said as he spoke to the woman. “ so what do you think, oh what should I call you or is it a secret?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

She smiled at Luke, then spoke to him in a solemn manner “ no secret, I just haven't revealed what it is yet. I wasn't sure if I was going to stay here or move on.”

“why would you leave, seems like a perfect place to make a new beginning, and didn't you say Riley was a nice man? He sure has a great cave home, doesn't he” Luke said as he looked at the lady.

The woman glanced at Riley, then up to where his cane was. Pausing briefly before she replied, “ yes, to you it might seem exciting; I mean living in a cave. Although he has fixed it up nicely, I can't see myself living here forever. I need a ground level house- not something I have to climb a side of the mountain everyday.”

Luke laughed loudly as she said this to him, then he replied back “ so what does all that have to do with knowing what your name is? If you do decide to leave, then that's your decision. I don't think he will stop you from leaving, it would be sad though. I haven't been here for long, but this has been the first time since my dad died I have felt safe. None of the homes I was placed in ever cared for my well being, the just wanted the money they were receiving. I never got a decent meal, unless it was the day that the stupid worker came to check up on me. Even then she turned a blind eye at my condition, then she would stop in front of the house I suppose to tell her superiors that she stopped by. It was such a farce, the whole 'let's put you here so you can have a better life routine. If they only knew how bad it was.... oh what's the use they wouldn't care anyway. So I ran away, and this time I went where they would never think to look. And here I am sitting here with you, and this beautiful black bunny rabbit!”

The woman had listened intently to Luke as he spoke, then replied, “ oh I know about hardship....I watched so many people die from the so-called plague that this government released on the public. See I used to be a doctor, even one of the creators of this terrible condition. We were told to do one thing to help control an illness, but many people were allergic to some of the ingredients and it killed them.... so sad to see. So I left, because I hated myself for what I'd been a part of.”

Luke retorted “ but you thought you were doing good right?”

The lady replied sadly “ yes...yes I did, and I never questioned anything at first. It was only when my parents who had been healthy, started getting sick. Then my husband came down with an unknown illness and died.... they all died.”

Luke reached over and gave the woman a hug, then he looked at her eyes and adamantly said “ I forgive you!”

This action took the woman by surprise, and she started crying. This just make Luke hug her again, which got my attention. He hurriedly ran over to see what the problem was, and if he could help.

As he came up on the two, he asked “ is there something wrong, can I be of assistance?”

Luke let the woman go, then confessed to Riley “ oh she was thinking about the past, and how terrible the plague was. She was crying when I said that I forgave her.”

“ For what, and how could she be at fault?” I asked Luke.

Luke looked at the woman, then said “ tell him Doc; he will forgive you too. After all you didn't know the problems it would cause. You were just following orders; like I had to until I got fed up with being treated like an animal.”

Riley stood puzzled, and a bit surprised at how mature Luke was acting. Then he sat down on a rock across from the woman waiting for her to compose herself. Luke bent down and whispered that he was going to find the rabbit some more greens to eat. Riley shook his head, then watched as he gave some space to them both. As always I was patient and waited for the woman to start speaking. Which seemed like it took her a long time, but really it wasn't.

She slowly started to speak “ first I want to say I'm sorry, really very sorry.... I was only following orders, and doing my best to remain objective that what we were doing was helping

people. Yet I soon saw that what we scientist had created had very adverse effects on some of the populace. I was devastated that this was occurring, I lost my own dear loving mother from this heinous drug that we developed. Had I known what I was helping to create.... its to late now for so many died...”

As I let this revelation soak in, I sat there staring down at the dirt below my feet. I wasn't sure exactly what to say or do, as I was literally stunned. I tried to muster up the courage to say something, anything; yet what was there to say. I covered my face after taking a deep breath- all I could think about was my lovely wife who did nothing wrong but ended up in the morgue from what the government had done.

Soon looked up at this woman, and asked “ So what the conspiracy theorist's were saying was true?”

She shook her head 'yes', and I saw tears running down her cheeks.

Then I asked her “ So were you a part of the creators, or just one of the persons who administered this horrible drug? Although it doesn't matter now because that ended years ago. After the United Nations took over, they put a halt to much of what Obama had put in place. So I take it you were a doctor?”

She was still sobbing, but managed to say “ yes, I was the head doctor at the CDC, and we used the ruse of getting flu shots mandatory for everyone. That is except any Government official and their family members. We at the center were exempt too, but to show my mother that it was safe I got one. But mine was a little different since I was younger than my mother; so while I wasn't affected my mom became deathly ill. That's when I began to notice the different strains that had been created. And when I spoke out against what some of the other scientists were doing my life was threatened! I just couldn't stand by and watch people being systematically snuffed out. So I ran and ran, till you found or saw me getting a drink here at this lovely river! Thank you for all you have done for me too.”

After she gave her explanation, I was soon able to smile. Why I am not sure, bit I think because I felt happy that she was or at least here with me. I motioned to take one of her hands, and began saying “ I forgive you for what happened years ago. Let's let bygones be bygones, and we can get on with our life. Now let's get to fishing for our dinner, it will be getting dark soon. We can discuss this more while we eat too, we have lots to carry up the mountainside.”

She dried her eyes, then looked up and said “ alright Riley.”

We turned to finish fishing, and gigging for some tasty frogs. Luke had finally returned from his gathering greens for our newest member to the cave. He also picked some wild berries for our desert. As we gathered all the stuff we had brought down, Luke went up first carrying the trap with the black bunny. Then came back down to help carry some of the water jugs. The doctor went up next with the fish and basket of berries. This would have been a hard trek for most people, but she did it with ease. I carried several jugs, and the fishing poles and gigs.

After going into the cave, we set out to get dinner started. Then we sat down to eat our meal of fish and frog legs, which Luke devoured. The Doc and I looked at each other and smiled, life was finally becoming normal again.

Author's Note

Let me know if there are any mistakes, its taken me a long time to get back into finishing a story. Also this picture was taken by Tom Clark, and is in New Mexico not Az. So if you want to check out more of his pictures of caves here is his link:tomclarkblog.blogspot.com