Looking Back Through Ash - Wade Ebeling Page 0,117
above the other house’s roof tops. As the roar of the retreating vehicles died away, the smoke billowing up into the rare, clear day began. The distant crackling of a roaring fire sang him a brutal lullaby.
Daniel was alone in every sense and meaning of the word. All he had left was the contents of the backpack, the rifle, and tools on the utility belt. The belt was wide, tan, and made of thick webbing. A robust, black plastic clip made it easy to put on and take off. Besides holding the holstered compact pistol, combat knife, and multi-tool, the belt also held a sharpened chisel, flat pry bar, and stout wire-cutters in home-made, padded sheaths.
The backpack, which had a foam sleeping pad tied to the bottom, was loaded down with all sorts of useful items. For warmth and shelter, the main cavity of the backpack held a lightweight sleeping bag, a pair of leather work gloves, a 10’x12’ waterproofed, woodland-patterned camouflage tarpaulin, a poncho with matching liner, an extra pair of socks, and a dark-grey, hooded fleece sweatshirt. The food contained inside consisted of a sports drink bottle filled with a mixture of white and wild rice, a bag of jerked game meat, some dehydrated berries, and three very old packages of almonds, which tasted like salty chalk. Sitting on top of these items was a compact, universal gun cleaning kit, improved first-aid kit, topographical atlas of Michigan, and a camping pot. The handle of the pot folded over and locked the lid in place, and held an alcohol stove, methanol fuel, improvised pot stand, magnesium fire starter, wind screen, scrubbing pad, and folded sheets of aluminum foil packed inside. A waterproof container was packed in last. This held hand sanitizer, a sewing kit, three working lighters, a bar of soap, and body powder. Both the first-aid kit and the waterproof container had their contents immobilized with square, cotton, make-up pads, which could be used for tinder, or for gun and body cleaning.
The largest of the two zippered pouches on the outside of the pack contained his father’s ball cap, snare wire, a taped roll of tea candles, baby wipes, travel sized petroleum jelly, notebook and pens, ace bandages, a bag of batteries and a folded solar charger. The smaller pouch had room inside for 100’ of paracord, duct tape, numerous zip ties, a skinning knife, and a two sided sharpener. Two open pouches on the sides were the perfect size for a 2 quart water bottle in one, and an emergency canteen with a ceramic filter in the other. Finally, in a small zippered pocket under the sturdy handle on the top of the pack was a compass and spare flashlight.
As Daniel stuffed the small pair of binoculars back into the pocket beside the compass, he realized that something was missing. His father’s sunglasses had gotten left behind with the extra water on the countertop. Daniel could see them now, packed safely away in their hard, protective case in the kitchen. Whether the wrap-around, blue mirrored glasses were burnt or stolen made little difference, they were gone. They were as gone as the rest of Daniel’s former life.
Picturing his father, always with those blue mirrors staring back, became the catalyst for the outburst. His recent losses might have added fuel to the tirade, but the thought of the lost sunglasses had set it off. Daniel leaped to his feet and out of the smashed open window. Charging a round into the rifle, he trampled across the overgrown front yard and right into the middle of the street.
He dared the world to come and try to get a piece of him. His tenuous grip on reality slipped loose. Coherent words were not coming out of Daniel. Guttural moans and screams were all that would escape his lips. One long, pain-filled, pitiful scream emptied his lungs. Daniel did not hear the startled bird answering him. Instead, Daniel was face down and passed out, a large gash over his right eyebrow pooling blood around his head. The bird eventually tired of squawking at the prone man and flew off.
Daniel came around a few minutes later, completely devoid of conscious thought and emotion. His brain had raised defenses to protect itself from further injury. He stood up slowly, walking back across the yard to the window. Reaching in, Daniel pulled the backpack out onto the porch. He sat heavily on the window sill and dug into the pack. Finding the first-aid kit