THE RED WAKE

CHAPTER 38

  THE WOMEN had been on the road for three weeks. They had taken a meandering route out of Iowa. In places, the Interstate had been blocked, impassable. Iris and Jenny has been forced to exit Route 80 many times as they made their way into the west.

The signs of tragedy, evidence of the chaos that had been visited upon the country, were everywhere. Along the way they encountered few signs of human life as they traveled through the Heartland.

Jenny had begun teaching Iris to drive the Daimler while they were still in Nebraska. Iris seemed to absorb the nuances of handling 'Bessie' with disturbing ease. Her memory for details was prodigious, seemingly bottomless. By their second night on the road, she was able to relieve Jenny when she grew too tired behind the wheel.
 But Jenny had discovered another bittersweet benefit in her association with the strangely powerful young woman.

When she and Jimmy had first set out on their journey, Jenny had been painfully aware of the aches and pains that had made themselves at home in her seventy-year-old body. In fact, her physical limitations, though relatively minor for a woman her age, had nevertheless given her pause many times along the road out of Illinois. Her discomfort had caused her to question the wisdom of two frail old retirees setting out in this decidedly hostile new world.

She had broken a hip several years ago while carrying a pail of water to the house. An active woman, even into her sixties, she'd made it a habit to walk three miles every day when the weather was nice enough. And on the days it rained or snowed, she walked on a treadmill that Jimmy had bought her for her sixtieth birthday.

Her exercise regimen had served her well during her rehabilitation. But even so, the hip had never really been the same. It played up on her every now and again, never failing to lodge a protest when cold weather was coming on.

By the time they had reached the old Iowa farmhouse, the stress of traveling had given her a pronounced limp that no amount of rest seemed to anneal. In her heart of hearts, she had feared that her hip would force them to stay put, remain stationary in the face of the sweeping chaos.

Sitting still was a luxury that Jenny and Jimmy could not afford. Silly old fools who sat still in this new- world wound up dead, she'd told herself.

But secretly, she knew there was another reason she wanted to keep moving; People who sat still had plenty of time to think about the things they had lost.

She had suffered in painful silence as she and Jimmy made their way across Iowa. The night they'd picked up Iris, she had been glad for the distraction. Meeting the strange young woman had given her something else to focus on besides her aches and pains.

Later on, she would have plenty to think about. After Jimmy's heart attack and subsequent regeneration, she'd barely given a moment's thought to the dull throbbing in her right hip.

But after being on the road again, Jenny was aware of the nagging stiffness in her right leg and hip. Even riding in the car, on those occasions when Iris took the wheel, was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She'd been forced to stop several times along the way west to try and ease the pain. By the time they'd reached Central Nebraska, she'd feared that she would be forced to stop for good.

But the next morning, inside an abandoned diner where they'd decided to rest for a couple of days, Iris asked if Jenny felt sufficiently able to continue. Jenny paused, considering her status before answering.

With dull bewilderment glimmering in her brown eyes, she remarked that she had never felt more rested in her life.

In the midst of her confusion, Jenny understated her condition. Even as a young girl, she had never felt so energetic. Her limbs fairly vibrated with a renewed sense of vitality. Her back, which had also been troubling her recently, felt limber and supple. Her vision seemed improved to the point where she no longer needed her reading glasses.