Strange new machine

This is truly a fantastic invention!

But I should really explain how it came to be that I am now writing on it.

Two weeks ago, we came across a pair of travelers who were stopped. The man, who called himself Adam, explained that when his wife, Lorna, came down with a fever, they could no longer travel with the rest of their group. They had fallen behind, and so, when Lorna's fever intensified the week before, they were forced to stop.

Of course, we were suitably nervous to be around someone so sick, but it is our duty to help others where we can. My herbs were coming along nicely, and I thought I had something that could at least reduce her fever. I made a tea for her to drink, and we agreed to stay with them for 3 days. After which we would move on regardless of her condition. Luckily, she responded to the herbs almost immediately and her fever came down enough for her to rest.

Although low on supplies ourselves, we shared what we had with Adam, who was very grateful. By the second day, he trusted us enough to tell us his secret. He had a contraption with which he could monitor the movements of the soldiers! Steve, of course, was very interested in such a miraculous device, and Adam did not disappoint. Not only could his machine predict the movements of the soldiers, it could also show approximate locations of cities and towns, weather patterns; it even had books to read! Adam called his machine a Discrete Terminal, or DT for short. Ian misheard him, however, and now everyone calls the device a Dotty.

On the dawn of the third day, Adam had horrible news. A troop of soldiers he had been monitoring had changed their direction and were now heading almost directly towards us! We had to move, fast! But Lorna was still very weak, and their equipment was worn out. There was no choice. They had to come with us.

We broke camp as quickly as possible, and set off for a nearby town that we knew existed, although it didn't show on Dotty. Traveling was rough for poor Lorna, so we couldn't push as hard as we would've liked. I only prayed that the soldiers were far enough back that they wouldn't be able to see the dust kicked up by our wagons.

Fate, it seemed was on our side.

We rolled into the town after 2 days of travel. We had had to stop twice at night to tend to Lorna, who's fever started creeping up again with the harsh pace we had to keep to to make sure to avoid the soldiers. This town was newly established, though, and none of the cities knew about it, yet. Adam and Lorna would be safe here until she recovered.

We were able to trade for the supplies we needed, but we were anxious to be on our way. The close call with the soldiers had made us nervous. Even an unknown town could be a death trap if the cities found out.

As we secured our wagons and bid farewell to the town, Adam came running out of a dusty torn wagon he had bartered from one of the town's members, clutching a battered brown leather bag to his chest. He shoved it at me saying, "Take it! Please. She'd be dead without you." Then he turned and hurried back to the wagon.

It was Dotty. This was truly a treasure. I wasn't sure if I could accept such a generous gift, but Steve insisted.

I'm still clumsy on this thing. It in turns seems to have a mind of its own like a teenager, and at others needs absolute care like an infant. Steve has become incredibly adept at deciphering the weather maps and soldier movements. Lola has discovered that she can use it to access music. Even Ian has found games to keep him entertained while we trek across the terrain. I love the books, though. Each evening, after our meal, we gather together and read a passage from one of the many stories available. We've started with a classic called The Passage. It's strange how people of the long past thought the apocalypse would happen.