by Dawn, M. K.
“Axel. Just Axel.”
“Axel. Trust me when I say there isn’t anything under your clothing I haven’t seen before.”
He tossed his clothes on the counter, leaving him standing in the cold room in his boxers. “All stripped down ready to be examined.”
She chuckled as she turned back around. “I’ll take your vitals, do a quick skin check, and then tend to your cut.”
“Whatever.” He’d let her do whatever she wanted if it would get him out of this town.
After his temperature, blood pressure and breathing all came back normal, she started on the visual exam.
“If you could please bend over so I can check your head.”
He complied, holding back the inappropriate remarks that popped in his head.
“Everything looks good so far. Now if you would please pull down your boxers.”
“Do the physical symptoms normally start in the genital area? Or is this more personal curiosity?”
The corner of her mouth twitched. “Have to say, I haven’t heard that one before.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”
“Please, your boxer shorts.”
He dropped them to the ground as she crouched before him and then behind.
“Everything looks good. You can pull them back up.”
He didn’t bother with a witty comment. “Can I get dressed?”
“Not yet. If you could take a seat on the edge of the tub, I’ll inspect your arm.”
“The toilet too high?” He straddled the narrow edge.
“There’s no room for me to move next to the toilet.” She bent over and examined his arm with a pair of tweezers. “How did you say this happened?”
“Debris.” He winced as she poked and pinched at the already tender skin. “What are you doing?”
“See this?” She showed him the tweezers. “It’s a splinter I pulled from the skin.”
“Okay. What does that mean?”
She grabbed a few more supplies from her bag and cleaned his wound. “It means a piece of wood caused this injury. I can stitch it if you want.”
“Do you have something to numb it?” He hated needles.
“Sorry.”
“I’ll pass.”
She dug in her bag again. “Most men do. You aren’t allergic to penicillin, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Good.” She tossed him a bottle. “Take this twice a day for ten days.”
He shook the bottle. “This is ten days' worth of pills?”
“Closer to three weeks. Just in case you need them.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. You can get dressed now.”
He slipped on his clothes and stuffed the bottle in his pocket. “Does this mean I’ve been cleared to leave?”
“Yes, when they open the roads again.”
“Any idea when that will be?”
“Sorry. Your arm, please.” She snapped a green band on his wrist. “This will be your ‘get out of jail free’ card.”
“Seems a little simplistic. What’s stopping someone from taking this off and giving it to someone else?”
“The only way this comes off is if it’s cut. Now if you don’t mind, I need to check the rest of your group.”
“Sure.” He went back into the main room and pointed at Gunner. “You’re up.”
Gunner grumbled but didn’t argue.
“Everything okay?” Gus asked Axel.
Axel held up the wrist with the green band. “Ready to get the hell out of here.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Mom,” Blake screamed from the living room, “what channel are the cartoons on?”
Britney took a drink of her cold coffee and sighed. One hour into the canceled school day and already she prayed for a miraculous reopening.
“Mom,” Blake whined again. “There’s only the stupid news on. Can you come fix it?”
“Comin’.” She stuck her mug in the microwave and hit thirty seconds. Maybe she’d get to drink it hot this time.
“Look.” Blake pointed the remote at the TV and flipped through the channels. “I can’t find the cartoons.”
It wasn’t like they had cable. Most of the time, they streamed everything, but for some reason, Blake loved the PBS cartoons and spent most of the mornings when he didn’t have school glued to the TV.
“If there aren’t any cartoons on, why don’t you just turn on Netflix?”
“No!” He flipped through the channels again. “They don’t have my favorite.”
“How do you even know if you’re on PBS? You haven’t stopped long enough on a channel to see what’s on.”
“Ugh,” he groaned, “didn’t you see! It’s the same thing on every channel. Stupid news.”
“Are you sure?” Britney held out her hand. “Give me the remote and let me look.”
He slammed it in her hand more forcefully than necessary, and she glared. “Why don’t you go play.”
“But—”
“Don’t.” Nine o’clock and she’d already heard enough backtalk. “Go upstairs or outside, or I’ll find you somethin’ to do.”
“Fine.” Blake rolled his eyes, and Britney forced herself not to notice. “I’ll just go play on my tablet.”
“No,” Britney snapped. “Toys or outside. Carson is shootin’ baskets. Why don’t you go play with him? It’s a pretty mornin’. Before long it’s goin’ to be cold and snowin’, and you’ll wish you had played outside more.”
“I guess.” Blake headed outside, the screen door slamming behind him.
Britney went to turn off the TV when she noticed the news reporter standing in front of a burning building. She upped the volume and sank to the couch as she realized where they were.
“Oh my God.” Less than twenty-four hours ago, they’d been sitting in that hospital’s waiting room. What if they had seen John? Or admitted him?
“Britney?” Debra, her mother-in-law, came down the stairs, wet washrag in hand. “What’s going on there?”
“The hospital I took John to.” Her words cracked. “There was a gas leak, and it exploded.”
“Exploded?” Debra sat down beside her. “What do you mean?”
“Exploded,” Britney repeated. “All the patients, the staff… they’re all dead.”
“You’re kidding.” Debra rubbed Britney’s back. “When did it happen?”
“Hours after we left.” Britney leaned into her surrogate mother. Debra had been a godsend after her mother died, taking care of Britney and Sloan’s womanly needs when their father didn’t know what to do. “Can you believe that? A few hours. We could have been there.”
“God works in mysterious ways.” Debra kissed her on the top of the head. “John’s resting peacefully now. I’m going to go home and check on Martin. Lord knows what he’s been up to since I’ve been gone.”
“Haven’t you spoken to him since yesterday?” Debra had brought the kids home from the bus stop. One look at John when they got home and she stayed overnight to help Britney take care of him.
Debra’s main concern, as was hers, was keeping the kids away from John so they wouldn’t become ill.
“I spoke with him last night but not this morning.” She grabbed her purse and keys from the table. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Most likely he’s out checking cows, but with that virus going around, I want to make sure he’s all right.”
“Oh.” Britney rose from the couch to walk Debra out. “I didn’t know he was sick.”
“He’s not. At least he wasn’t when I left yesterday.”
“How about you?” Britney followed Debra until she reached her beat-up truck. “You feelin’ okay after spending so much time with John?”
“I am. A little tired, but that’s nothing more than age.”
“Thanks again, Debra.” Britney closed the driver door for her mother-in-law.
“Call if you need me to come back.” She started the diesel truck. “Oh, and John men
tioned something about filling up the gas cans. Something about the generators.”
“The generators?” They had several but hadn’t used them in years. “Why would he mention those? He just had the tank filled up.”
“I don’t know. I guess all the craziness going on has gotten him worked up.”
“What do you think?”
Debra brushed Britney’s cheek in true motherly fashion. “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt. With the schools closed and the nearest hospital destroyed… you know how crazy the world can be when scared.”
Britney spotted the kids in the tree house her father had built in the ancient tree out front. “There’s half a dozen gas cans in the barn I can get filled up.” She needed to stop by the store anyway. “What about John? I’m not sure I should leave him alone.”
“He’ll be out for a while. I gave him a mild sedative.”
“Debra!” Britney couldn’t believe she would so such a thing. “Why would you do that?”
“He was being aggressive, snapping at me like a wild animal. It’s not safe.”
“Did he bite you?”
Debra waved a dismissive hand. “Nothing to worry about.”
Britney sighed. Stubborn woman. “I’ll call you when I get home. Do you need anythin’ from town?”
Debra pulled out a twenty from her wallet. “I don’t, but get the kids some treats on me.”
Britney took the money, knowing better not to enter an argument she’d never win. “Thank you. And leave the gate open. We’ll be right behind you.” She waved as Debra drove off.
“Go get some shoes on!” Britney yelled at the kids, who pretended not to hear her. “Grandma gave me money for snacks.”
That got them out of the tree. They rushed in the house and were back before Britney loaded the last gas can.
“Are we going to leave Daddy all alone?” Molly asked. “What if he needs us?”
“Grandma gave him some medicine that will help him sleep while we’re gone.”
Molly climbed in the back, followed by the boys. “Should we get him some chicken noodle soup, Mommy? That’s what you always give us when we’re sick.”
“Sure, baby.” She checked to make sure they were all buckled before heading off. “I think chicken noodle soup will make him feel much better.”
***
“Why are there so many cars?” Molly said with an exaggerated whine. “Can’t we go back home? This is taking forever.”
Britney glared at her daughter from the rearview mirror even though she had just been thinking the same thing. Too bad she had to be the adult of the family. “It hasn’t been that long, sweetie. Besides, if we go home, you won’t get any special snacks.”
“I don’t care. I’m bored and squished.” She kicked the back of Britney’s seat. “I have no room,”
“You have more room than me!” Carson knocked his knees into the back of the passenger seat.
“Enough. Both of you have plenty of room.” Britney’s eye twitched. It was bad enough that she’d hardly slept last night, but to sit here in traffic with the kids bickering? She’d be lucky if she made it home without having a nervous breakdown.
“How long until we get there?” Molly and her damn whine. It grated on Britney’s nerves.
“Can you please talk like a big girl?” Britney tapped on the steering wheel, praying they would move again soon. In her entire life, she never remembered the road into town being so backed up.
“Maybe there’s an accident.” Blake leaned forward. “Do you see any dead bodies lying in the road?”
All three of the kids busted up laughing.
Britney swatted at her son. “Knock it off. That is not funny.”
“I’m just kidding. Gosh, Mom. Take a joke.”
“Ugh.” Britney dropped her head on the steering wheel. “You guys are drivin’ me crazy.”
The kids laughed again. They loved getting under her skin.
“Can’t you find somethin’ to do? There are colorin’ books back there, word searches and God knows what else.”
“Why can’t we just go home?” Carson asked. “We can get snacks another day.”
Britney looked over her shoulder. “I have to fill the gas cans.”
“Why?” Molly’s favorite question.
“In case we need to run the generators.”
Molly scrunched her nose. “What’s a gentorator?”
“Generator,” Carson corrected.
“That’s what I said.” Molly stuck out her tongue. “Stop correcting me all the time.”
The car in front of them moved forward a few feet. “That’s it? What the hell is going on in town?”
Carson lifted himself off his seat. “All I can see is a lot of cars. Where do you think everyone is going?”
“Maybe there’s a parade.” Molly’s eyes grew wide. “Or a carnival! Or a petting zoo. Can we stop, Mommy, pleeeease?”
“Sure, honey. If there are any of those three things, we’ll stop.”
“Yay!” She bounced in her seat. “I hope they have pony rides. No, elephant rides. Or the best would be unicorn rides.”
Carson snickered. “You’re so dumb.”
Britney whirled around. “And you’re so grounded if you don’t apologize to your sister right this minute.”
“Fine,” Carson sighed. “Sorry.”
“Apology not accepted.” Molly crossed her arms.
“Looks like Blake is goin’ to be the only one gettin’ a treat at the store.”
Molly and Carson whipped their heads at Blake, who was busy doing a word search. As the quieter one of the three, she could usually count on him to set a good example.
“I’m being good, Mommy.” Molly pulled out her favorite coloring book and crayons. “See? I’m going to color a picture for Daddy to make him feel better.”
“I think he would like that very much.”
Carson, being the oldest, wasn’t as easy to manipulate. “Can I play on your phone? I need to check one of my games.”
“No.” They moved another few inches forward. “Why don’t you play with your Legos or draw?”
Carson threw back his head and closed his eyes. “I’ll just take a nap.”
Even better. Not that she dared say that out loud. “If you feel like it.”
The line of cars moved again, this time far enough in town that Britney could sort of see what was going on. “Is this a line to get into the med clinic?”
“I thought you hated that place, Mommy.” Molly remembered every word Britney said, especially if it was negative.
“I don’t hate that place. I just don’t think they’re very good at their jobs.”
“Yeah.” Carson crossed his arms with a huff. “Like when I had a sore throat and they said it was just allergies, but really I had strep throat.”
One of the many examples of their incompetence. The first time, Britney had played off the miss as an innocent mistake. When it happened again and Blake had ended up in the hospital with pneumonia, it took everything she had not to go back to that place and wring somebody's neck.
“So we have to sit here and wait in line even though we aren’t going to that stupid place?”
“Don’t say ‘stupid,’ Carson.” Britney maneuvered the truck enough to the left so she stayed in her lane but could look around the traffic. There was no way she could drive around with the line of cars spanning twenty deep and visibility of oncoming traffic limited.
“Go around. Go around,” the kids chanted in unison.
“Please stop.” Her request came out more like a groan. Sitting in traffic for the past thirty minutes had fried what little patience she had left. “I can’t go around. It’s not safe.”
But she could go through the neighborhood, an advantage of living here her entire life. Checking for cars, she veered left.
“Where are we going now?” Molly threw up her hands. “Can’t we just go home?”
“I’m taking the back way. And no, we’re already in town.
I’m not going home and coming back later. Just settle down. We’ll be there in a few minutes.” More like fifteen, but she wasn’t telling them that. Whoever designed this neighborhood knew what they were doing. There were only two ways in and out, a deterrent to keep people from doing exactly what she was doing.
It had been years since she’d driven from one entrance to the other. Many of the houses she’d once used as directional markers had been updated, making it hard for her to remember the turns she needed to take. The neighborhood reminded her of a fall corn maze—one wrong turn and you’d be stuck going in circles for hours.
Molly screamed, not her dramatic scream but a soul-piercing one.
Britney slammed on the brakes and whirled around meeting the faces of three terrified kids. “What happened, Molly? Are you okay?”
Her little body trembled. “I saw a monster.”
“What the hell?” Britney threw her head back. “A monster? Are you freaking kidding me?”
“I did, Mommy.” Her voice cracked and tears rolled down her cheeks. “I promise.”
As dramatic as Molly could be, real tears were never part of the act.
“I’m sorry, sweetie.” Britney reached back and squeezed her hand. “Tell me what you saw?”
“I… I…,” Molly stammered and then sobbed.
“Boys, did you see anything?”
Both shook their heads.
Britney scanned the surrounding area but saw nothing. “Maybe it wasn’t a monster. Maybe just person in a costume.”
“A costume?” Tears shone in her big eyes. “A monster costume?”
“Yep. It’s gettin’ close to Halloween. Someone was probably just trying their costume on.”
“And their makeup?”
“Makeup?” Britney forced a smile. “What kind of makeup?”
“The monster had gray skin and blood all over his mouth and chest.”
Britney forced a smile, but inside her pulse raced. When she had suggested a costume, she thought more on the lines of a mask, but full-blown makeup?
“Mommy?” Molly pressed. “Do you think it was a monster?”
“No.” Britney started back down the road. “There are no such things as monsters. It was probably just someone playin’ a trick on their friends.”
