From the journal of James Cohen, May 10

May 10, 2017

Rebecca and I are still at the care home. We haven't moved on yet because this place has been so good to us. I have been helping with the immobile patients while Rebecca has been helping to cook make meals for everyone. Over the last couple of days, we have started to fit into this little community and feel like we are part of something larger.

Then, this morning, we heard the sound of bikes rumbling down a street near us. I immediately thought of the bikers that I took out the day I met Rebecca and I got scared for the people in the Care Home.  I immediately went to Jackie and explained my fears and she agreed that we needed to know who the people on the bikes were and if they were bad people like the ones Rebecca and I had dealt with. We called an meeting right away and Jim volunteered to go with me once the situation was understood.
We snuck out the back and Jackie let us through the gate. I made sure that my rig was not able to be seen from the street in front of the Care Home, just in case the bikers came this way. I had this horrible feeling that Rebecca and I might have been followed to this place and I really didn't want it to be true.
We went alley to alley, getting closer to the sound of the bikes with every step. It sounded like there were quite a few of them, all rumbling but the sound was not getting any farther away. Were they moving? Or were they stopping in this town?
We got to a point that there was only a line of buildings between us and the bikers, and I motioned for Jim to go into the remains of a clothing store. We ducked into the dressing rooms to make sure we couldn't be seen if anyone walked by the front or even stepped into the store. In there, I whispered that we needed a way to see them without being seen by them. Jim motioned that he wanted to show me something in the store. He took me to the back room and there was a staircase to the roof. We walked up it carefully, praying that none of the stairs would make too much noise. The door at the top of the stairs was, thankfully, unlocked and didn't squeal as we opened it.
I glanced around the rooftops to make sure that they hadn't put a lookout up there yet but didn't see anyone. We quietly walked to the edge closest to the bikers and cautiously looked onto the side they were idleing in. Wow, there had to be at least twenty of them. Then, I felt a chill go down my spine. At the front of the group was the Mr and Mrs Hairy in the middle of a group of seven men and he was obviously giving orders to them. Shit, we had been followed.

I gestured for Jim to go back to the door and we made our way off the rooftop. Back in the dressing room, I told him that it was the man who was trying to get his people into the building where Rebecca had been living when I found her. We needed to get back to the Care Home, quickly and quietly. And without being spotted by anyone from the biker group. We were really careful to check the street in front of the store and then beat a hasty retreat back the way we had come.
When we were back with the others, I pulled Jackie and Rebecca aside with Jim and we told them what we had found out. Rebecca started to shake and Jackie almost started to panic. I quickly explained that we needed to figure out how to either be unseen and not heard while the bikers were in town, or we needed to make a plan to get everyone out of here, and now.
We called another meeting and made sure right at the begining that all the windows were covered. I explained to the entire group what was going on and everyone agreed that leaving was probably the better option. We didn't know if the bikers had followed Rebecca and I looking for revenge, or if they were just headed in the same direction. But could we take a chance? Would they think to look for medical places besides hospitals looking for supplies? Jackie told everyone that she knew the time would come when they would have to leave the home, she was just hoping that it wouldn't come anytime soon. As the meeting was breaking up, the sound from the bikes died suddenly, which means the bikers were stopping for sure. We just didn't know for how long.
I pointed out that my rig was probably the safest way to get out of here, because it is large and we could just run over anyone in our way. But there was not way to fit all fourteen of us inside the cab, even with the sleeping area. One of the elderly men, Fred, suggested that Jim and I go look in the wherehouses to see if we could find a trailer that would hook up to my rig. Then, everyone else could ride in the trailer. I pointed out that it would not be very comfortable to rid around in an empty trailer, but if we could get some mattresses or something in the trailer, it would make it a lot better for those inside. Talk turned to what would be taken from inside the home and everyone split up to gather the supplies we were going to take.
Jim and I left right after the meeting to search the local businesses and it only took us about an hour to find a trailer that would work for us. It was already mostly empty but had a couple pallets of chips, crackers and soda next to the front of the trailer. Perfect. Now all we needed to do was get the rig here, only four buildings away from the home, get them hooked together and then get everyone and everything we needed inside.
We made our way back to the home to report what we had found. A debate started about whether we should leave right away or should we wait to see if they left in the morning. The group decided that we needed to wait at least over night because the rig is really loud and they would hear it start and come to investigate. Now, if they didn't rumble out in the morning, we would have to decide if we would take a chance on starting the rig and hope we made it out before they found us. But for tonight, we are going to be really quiet, not use any lights, stay away from the windows and pray they didn't come to this part of  town.
Here's hoping we aren't discovered tonight and make it out tomorrow, safely.

As a writer and artist, I appreciate any readers and their comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please, come read the other blog I write for our artisan collective, Raven's Castle Creations, on our website at www.ravencastlecreations.com. It includes posts on art, the mythology of symbols we use in our art, history and more! Also, come see the art we produce in our Etsy store at etsy.com/shop/RavenCastleCreations. Follow us on Twitter at @ravencastleart and on Facebook at @ravencastlecreations.