Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 75: Took You Long Enough

Chapter 75: Took You Long Enough

The morning sun shone through the windows of the SUV, waking me up. I would like to say I slept like a log, but even the weird positions I had found myself sleeping in at the hospital did not prepare me for sleeping on the floor of a car.

However, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

I held my breath and listened, hoping that I could get an idea of what was going on outside of the vehicle.

The last thing I wanted to do was pop my head up only to have people around me be aware of my hidey hole.

I couldn’t hear anything, but I still was going to take things slow.

Not to mention, I don’t think my back would go for any speed faster than a turtle.

I pulled the sleeping bag off of me and rolled it up. Shifting my weight so I was still hidden under the seats as best I could; I stuffed the sleeping bag back into one of my two go bags. I was using everything from the bag on my front; the one on my back had yet to be taken off.

I didn’t want to take the chance I would have to leave quickly in the middle of the night and not have the chance to grab both bags.

With everything but the bungee cords put away, I slowly sat up enough that I could look out the back window.

The highway was empty.

Well, not empty, but there was nothing living on them. Only the abandoned cars could be seen, like ghosts of a time long gone.

I quickly unhooked the cords in the front seat and then the ones in the back and stuffed them into the bag.

Opening the back door closest to the woods, I slipped out, using the SUV as cover until I got a better look around.

I couldn’t hear any voices, but that meant jack shit right now.

Crouching, my legs screaming in protest, I made my way to the front and peeked over the hood.

Still nothing.

Coming to my full height, I stretched my back as much as I could.

I needed to get a move on. The cabin was only about two hours away from here, if I were to guess, and I knew I would be much safer there.

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It was closer to three hours later before I was in the woods around my family’s cabin. I could see the building through the trees, but I didn’t approach it.

Anyone could be living in there right now.

No. Whoever it was could have it until I was able to check the cameras inside the bunker to see if it was empty or not.

I walked toward the lake and the starting point that I had mapped out for myself.

Thirty steps from the dock to the tree that was split in two. From there, I needed to turn left fifty steps to the evergreen with a broken limb.

I found the evergreen I was looking for and then walked straight another sixty steps until I got to the wild raspberry bush.

Three steps to the right.

I took off the bags on my stomach and my back and pushed them forward through the bramble. Getting down on my stomach, I crawled through the branches, ignoring the minor cuts that they gave me on my hands and face.

The entrance of my primary was located right in the middle of this massive raspberry bush. It couldn’t even be seen in the dead of winter when the bush lost all of its leaves. I had planted about 20 plants right after I had finished all of the construction two years ago, so they had plenty of time to grow.

Some might think it was stupid to plant them so close to my front door. Most of the animals around here, including the bears, would be interested in the fruit it produced. But this was the only bush with thorns that could be found growing wild in this area.

If I had planted anything else, it would have looked suspicious.

Besides, come spring and fall, I would be able to harvest the berries for myself. It was a win-win as far as I was concerned.

Reaching the middle of the circle of bushes, I laid my right hand to the side, as far as I could reach.

I brushed off the leaves on the ground and found the keypad I needed to open the door in front of me.

Without looking, I typed in the code.

Nothing.

What the fuck was going on?!? There was no reason why this keypad wouldn’t work.

With a huff, I got to my knees and crawled forward.

Technology, like destiny, didn’t always get along with me.

I cleared the leaves off of the metal door buried in the ground. There was a giant wheel, one that looked like it belonged to the hatch of a submarine or something.

I was sure that it would not be easy to hide if it was anywhere else but in the middle of a raspberry patch. But it was my manual backup in case the keypad didn’t work.

I would have to talk to the guy who sold it to me. ’Works under all conditions,’ my ass.

With a groan, I started to twist the wheel. It was slow, painful work that had me dripping with sweat in no time, but I finally managed to get the hatch open.

I threw my go bags down the tunnel and placed my feet on the ladder under me.

Reaching up, I pulled the hatch door closed and then spun it until it locked back into place. It would be covered with leaves and snow in no time, so I wasn’t worried about it being spotted from the outside.

I threaded the chain that was resting against the inside wheel through the bracket I had welded on the other side of the wall. Once that was done, I took a simple lock and locked the two ends of the chain together.

This way, even if someone did come across the entrance, they wouldn’t be able to turn the wheel enough to open the door.

Jumping down the last few rungs and avoiding landing on the go bags, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

I was finally safe.

"Took you long enough."