Karen had gotten so lost since she'd had to run from the religious Wacks because the dam fools had thought this was their end of the world. Hell who knew they might have even been right but that still didn't give them the right to decide to marry her off to their leader's son. He was a nice enough guy proving it by helping her escape with what she come to them with but he couldn't keep his dad from declaring her as a demon spawn and setting the hunters after her. She'd had to run her horses harder than she'd wanted to but after spotting one of the herds she'd managed to lose them. She was stunned by the speed with which her horse train covered ground and how attached they'd all become to her an her to them. She had even begun naming them; the Paint which she rode was fine boned an not as suited as her four friends to carry a pack Karen had named Maria after a song her oldest brother had loved to sing. She'd named the other four horses after songs as well after starting with Maria her favorite; there was Louie an Eleanor, Annie an Brandy. She knew that at a distance her group must appear odd as they rambled along with her Red Cross banner and Louie's pack covered in a white bed sheet painted with a larger Red Cross on either side. She'd decided to do this in an effort to signal to any that saw her that she was medical hoping it'd make them less likely to just shot. She had gotten lucky three days ago when she'd been spotted by a train of all things. It had been parked on a siding as it waited for the return of it's scouting party sent ahead to check the track and seek a fuel source. The people of the train had been so happy to see her because they'd been faced with a horrible decision. The train's mechanic had been injured and was sure to die which would mean they must make sure to kill him before he turned. He was desperately needed to keep the machine running and he was the grandfather to five of the eight children aboard. Karen worked hard to save the man and even managed to do so then went to work aiding with minor injuries and giving check ups of all 56 people who traveled in the train. When the six scouts returned they themselves were happy to see Karen and a party was held. She knew they would try and talk her into traveling with them but she had to tell them she had other plans. Karen was headed to the coast where she planed on finding a good sail boat and then seeking and island where there was water and she could survive without Them, the Wacks and the Warlords. Soon as she was able to Karen and her horse disembarked the train an she followed the sunset.. She'd found a nice secluded place to make her camp, it was one of those big salt sheds in the High Sierra near a highway with an intact fence and three gates so she could exit if they came. The Salt shed was half full of salt which made Karen think. At one time long ago the Roman soldier was paid in salt because it was more valued than gold. Salt she knew had always been an important commodity so before she left here Karen would add perhaps 20 or 40 pounds to her packs. She was happy to find that inside the fence was a detention pond that held water clean enough for her horses and her once it was filtered then boiled. She built her fire in the shed because it's roof some 35 feet high had a long vent cap that could defuse the smoke making it hard to see. Soon she sat waiting for dry beans to boil enough in a pot so that she could eat them. As she waited for her meal she sang a song from her memory to help calm her and at least make things a semblance of normal I was born under a wandering star I was born under a wandering star Wheels are made for rolling, mules are made to pack I've never seen a site that didn't look better looking back I was born under a wandering star Mud can make you prisoner, and the plains can bake you dry Snow can burn your eyes, but only people make you cry Home is made for coming from, for dreams of going to Which with any luck will never come true I was born under a wandering star I was born under a wandering star It was a song from a musical she'd performed in high school that her father said was his favorite. She knew that singing was potentially dangerous but she had her five watch horses that she'd learned were as good as dogs at warning her of danger. Also sitting beside her was her pump gun to solve her problems Karen checked her beans an saw they were almost ready so she added a touch of rice and some seasoning's to taste. She loved her food spicy so the additions gave her meal a pungent aroma which she savored as it boiled. When it was all finished Karen checked her perimeter before settling down to eat. Though there was no meat with her meal she savored every bite finishing the whole pot so as not to waste anything. After dinner she sat down and repaired an cleaned her horse tack, a chore that took her about an hour. That ritual of camp finished she then took up the Calvary sword she'd found and practiced with it for about an hour. Karen smiled as she considered how some of her old friends would have thought there was no way she could survive on her own but here an now she was living proof. The awakening of them had perhaps forced her to face up to the fact that she wanted to live and would fight till her last breath to live as long as she could but now here she was a survivor. Karen was proud of what she'd accomplished and knew that she could do so much that she was no longer afraid of the future. Karen had begun making long range plans for her future and even the future of man as far as she could effect it. Karen planned on finding a river of a lake with a large island in it or a secluded canyon that could be defended. There she'd make a farm and collect all the paper she could for she planned on allowing not one thing she knew as a Doctor to perish with her. She knew that Medicine was suffering like no other profession Doctors in the beginning did what was expected of them, they tried to heal and when that didn't work they searched for the cause. It was while doing this that those in the medical professions had died, hospitals began to resemble a scene straight out of hell. Karen had been one of the lucky few to escape the place of horror that her local hospital had become. Realising that she was dwelling on the past Karen shook it off an doused her cooking fire before it became dark. The dead might be attracted to it but it was the darker section of the living that worried her more. She moved her camp just before it became too dark to see hiding her things in different locations. Once that was done she put her horses in a small fenced in area once used for what she didn't know, locked the gate with her own lock an moved to the top of a concrete office building. She spread out her sleeping bag and grabbed a medium blanket to sleep under then stood watch till she grew too tired to continue.