Looking around in the debris, he found an old metal hand truck.  Sliding it under the freezer, he tilted it up and wheeled it out to the trailer.  Not having the strength to lift the full freezer, he put down the ramp and wheeled it up on the hand truck.  Stowing both safely in the middle of the trailer bed, he folded up the ramp and sat down.   The sun had moved across the sky, and he estimated it to be about three o’clock.  As he thought about the time, a clock appeared on his interface, the numerals stating it was 2:38 pm.

Resigned to the job ahead of him, Allistor took a deep breath and got back to his feet.  He moved to the front of the trailer and donned the chain harness.  When he leaned into the chains and pushed with his legs, nothing happened.   He backed up a step, then lunged forward, the chains jerking taught as he strained to get some momentum.  The trailer rocked forward slightly, then settled back again.

Turning to face the trailer, he crouched down and grabbed hold of the hitch.  Leaning back, he pushed with his legs while pulling with his arms and torso.  This time the trailer moved slightly, rolling toward him.  He backpedaled, pulling with all he had until the trailer was rolling steadily.  Then he let go, turned back again, and picked up the slack as he pulled against the harness, keeping the momentum going.

Slowly but surely, he kept the load moving as he threaded his way back the same way he’d come.  When he left the street to cut across the grass behind City Hall, the soft earth slowed his progress.  But he dug in and kept pulling until the trailer reached the cellar doors of their new shelter.

With his stamina nearly drained, he unhitched himself and sat on the stairs.  Producing a water bottle from his pack, he took a few big swallows and leaned back on his elbows.   As he was resting, Sam appeared from the tunnel.

“Hey, Allistor.  I was just going out to look for you.  We gathered all the food we could from the diner, but it wasn’t much.  Some hot dogs, prepackaged pies…”

When Allistor grinned at him, he stopped talking.  “What?”

“I found some stuff.  Anybody else down there that could help unload?  I’m kinda beat.”  He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.  Sam climbed a few of the stairs and looked at the trailer loaded with salvaged items.

“You… pulled that thing?  From where?” Sam’s mouth hung open.

“Found it at the car lot.  Pulled it to my house.  That part was easy.  After I loaded it up, well that was not so easy.”

“No shit.” Sam shook his head. “I’ll fetch the others.  Be right back.”