There were a few shelves beyond the reach of small children—only toys and books sat upon them. She shrugged off the bunk bed. Not even worth a glance. Earlier, while clearing the room, she had left the closet partially open, but without finding anyone inside, the rest of its contents went unnoticed. This time, however, her attention was on the smaller details.
Atop the shelf, in a plastic grocery bag, she finally found what she had been looking for all this time. Without hesitating, she stuffed the box into her pants pocket and exited the room. Whoa! She startled—a cold, wet nose jammed itself into her hand. A sigh of relief. “Sherman,” she whispered. “Come on pup, get back in there.” She angled him toward the living room and patted him on the butt. “Go, boy!” He traipsed away, and she broke for the master bedroom.
With mixed emotions, she rushed into the bathroom and stripped the box from its contents. A deep breath. This is it... She cringed onto the toilet seat, freezing cold against her skin, and administered the test. Please, please nothing. Please nothing! The trickle stopped. She eyed the stick as her legs carried her off into the master bedroom where she paced uncontrollably. How long does this damn thing take?
She set the stick down on the nightstand and walked off, forcing herself to ignore it. How am I going to do this? Her breathing began to elevate, and she could feel the tears swelling in her eyes. Do I tell Matt if I am? But I can't... I can't tell him. This can't be real. “What the hell do I do?” Forcing herself back to the nightstand, she angled the test's small window into the candlelight. A plus sign. Shit!
“What the hell do I do?!” To hide the results from anyone else, she forced the bathroom window open and flung the test into the backyard. “How the hell am I going to do this? I—I can't do this.” Incomplete thoughts rambled on between her crying and gasps for air. “What if—What if I...” Her face crashed into her hands, unable to bear the weight of the tears any longer. “What if the baby gets Almawt?” She collapsed to her knees. “I can't do this alone...”
Minutes later, still a mess, eyes puffy, sniffling, she foolishly found herself in the front room.
“You alright?” Matt asked.
Jenny didn't say anything.
“Jenny?”
She nudged him over to make room for her in the bay window. He wrapped his arms around her.
“You okay?”
“Shush. Hold me.” Trembling, she stared out the window with him. “I just need you to hold me.”
Chapter Three
“Head count's comin' soon. S.A. Guards gonna know we're missin', and they're not gonna let us go that easy.”
“Come on, Matt, think!”
“I am!”
“Look, there's a reason Xavier left you the note. All these clues have to do with you, not us. Me and Grant don't have the answer. Again, listen closely, 'The old way home. Opposite wall of the ladder. Dig.’”
“I know what it says! I've been staring at it for a week. The old way home, I did get that one. But now I don't know. Opposite wall the ladder...”
“Of the ladder. Opposite wall of the ladder.”
“Same thing.”
“Quit the fightin' you two. It's fixin' to get dark out here. The woods ain't gonna be too generous with light comin’ here soon.”
“I just don't know what he means by ladder. There's no ladder here.”
“If this is the trail you took home, then it has to be here. There's no other reason to mention it.”
“It could just be a hint like take the path up to our house. Maybe it's buried in one of our yards or something.”
“I doubt it. I mean, why wouldn't he just use the street name then or the numbers from your address? It's the path. It has to be.”
“Do you see a ladder?”
“That's not the point. Think outside the box. Did you guys have a treehouse or something? Anything you guys might have climbed to get up or down? Something like that?”
“I don't think—”
“If you're thinkin' of a real ladder forget it. It don't have to be like that.”
“You already said you guys didn't have a ladder. You need to get that out of your head.”
“Hmmm... Alright. Maybe... maybe this way. It's worth a shot.”
“What you thinkin', boy?”
“By the creek up here, we used to climb down on these roots. I guess it was kind of like a ladder.”
“Nothin' to lose. Let's go.”
“It's up here. Right around this bend.”
“Watch your feet. Last thing we needin’ is someone gettin' hurt. Keep it steady, and we'll get there just fine.”
“This is what I was thinking, but I don't know... What do you think?”
“Other side there. Look. That's gotta be it.”
“So, what now?”
“We dig.”
Jenny's eyes struggled to open against the sunlight pouring in through the bedroom's thin curtains. How'd I get back in here? She cleared her throat and rolled over toward the middle of the bed. “Matt...” Pleased to find him next to her, she threw an arm around his side. The light fell across his face, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.
She watched him. Each breath he took. His eyes occasionally fluttered beneath his eyelids like he was tracking something. He shuddered, his body giving a violent shake as if he were falling. His eyes opened abruptly, but he smiled upon seeing Jenny. He pulled her toward him, his patchy beard and sideburns scratching against her cheek. She didn't mind it, and she stayed there with him, both of them staring at each other without a word.
I love you, but how are we going to do this, Matt? Life is already hard enough. She took her arm from around him and placed her hand against his cheek. He smiled, his dopey eyes coupled with hers. I know you love me, but what are you going to think? Obviously, it's going to change things between us. You think you'll be excited? Nervous? Of course, you'll be nervous. How else would you feel? I don't think we're ready for this. I don't think anyone's going to be ready for this.
“Matt...” Her forehead scrunched with thought, unable to decide whether to tell him or not.
“You don't have to say anything. I already know what you're going to say.”
Her eyes went wide. Her heart sank. How could he know?
“Don't be mad at me. I tried. Believe me, I tried. He wouldn't listen.”
Jenny could breathe again.
“I told Danny I was going to get you when my shift was up, and he exploded on me. He said it was more important that you got your sleep. Then you came in last night all upset. You looked like you really needed the sleep. So... so I let you fall asleep and brought you back in here. I'm sorry. I mean, I know you really wanted to do it, but...”
“It's not your fault, Matt.” She couldn't help but smile with relief.
“It seems like you're feeling better.” The weight of his arm fell across her waist. “What happened last night?”
His eyes showed concern, but the pressure she felt in her chest from just the thought of him already knowing, gave her the answer. There was no way she could let him know yet. “I—” She tried to think of something, anything to tell him before the tears forced their way out. “I just… You know how sometimes these houses—the ones that aren't completely torn apart—you know how they get to me. I don’t know. Every time— I can’t help but feel normal again.” A few tears came, but for much different reasons than her words shared. Matt dabbed them away with his thumb. “Seeing this bedroom last night. Reading this stupid—” She took the diary from the nightstand and flopped it down on the comforter.
“What’s that?” He took it, flicked through the pages, and chuckled once it became evident what she had been looking at. “You really can’t help yourself from other people’s business, can you?”
Jenny’s face dropped, displaying very little tolerance for any sort of lecture this morning.
“I know...” His wounded voice trailed. He sighed then tried for a kiss, but Jenny drew her head back. Matt rol
led his eyes and huffed, “I’m sorry, okay? All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t do that to yourself if it upsets you this much. I don't like to see you hurt. It's good to have hope, but don't get carried away with it. You'll just let yourself down. There's already enough out there to worry about without building yourself up with the impossible.”
“I can’t help it. It’s a connection to life before all this shit. Sometimes... Sometimes, I need to feel normal again.”
“But it makes you sad, and then I have to deal—”
Jenny gave him a look. “You can't help yourself this morning, huh?”
“What?!”
She yanked the pillow from behind his head and crammed it over his face. “Much better.”
Matt tossed the pillow aside and reached to stop her as she slid from beneath the comforter. “I was only teasing.”
“Sure you were,” she said over her shoulder, keeping her back to him while taking her boots from beside the bed and sliding them on.
“Where you going?” His hand still pawing for her.
“Checking on why Danny's so hellbent on keeping me from doing anything to help the group.”
“He said he’d—”
But Jenny wasn’t interested in the rest of what Matt had to say—the closed door ensured she wouldn’t have to hear it.
Softly, she padded into the front room doing her best not to disturb the welcomed peace of morning. To her right, Danny sat atop the ledge of the bay window. His attention caught between the street and the disassembled pistol he had sitting in his lap—the rifle stood propped against the window frame, ready at hand. It seemed he hadn’t noticed her staring at him, his hands and eyes too busy. Sherman, however, did, hopping down from the couch which braced the front door. She knelt, and he was only too eager to say good morning. Yawning, he stretched back onto his haunches, curling his claws into the carpet.
“How’d you sleep?” Danny finally broke his gaze from the window. “Did you get enough?”
“I told you to let me take watch.” She didn’t even bother to look at him, instead, burying her face into Sherman's muzzle, embracing his wet nose. “I’m part of this team too. I’m not different from Matt, except I actually train with you outside of these scouts.”
“It looked like you could use some sleep.” He smiled at her when she finally turned toward him. “You’ve been tired lately—dragging ass around town.” The words were stirred by his laughter.
“I have not.” She stood bolt upright. “I’ve kept up this—”
“Look!” Danny threw his hand up and got down from the window ledge “I'm not trying to argue with you. I tried to keep it light with a joke here and there, but truth is, you've been slipping.”
“Danny...” Two steps toward him.
“This isn’t a discussion! My team! My rules!” A redness began to fill his cheeks. “If you don’t like it, you can stay grounded. Stay at the Depot all day and do the shit you said you hated.”
“But...” Jenny started. Danny's glare stiffened. She had seen it before. More times than she’d like to admit. Thinking better of complaining further, she let it go.
“Here, look.” He gestured to the food he had put out on the kitchen counter earlier. “Not a lot left in the house, but you need to take first. Take all you can eat. Me and Matt’ll have whatever’s left.”
“But—”
He only had to raise his eyebrows and Jenny ambled off toward the kitchen in silence, Sherman traipsing after her.
“Platz!” Danny commanded. “Greedy boy. You’ll get yours.”
Danny's eyes followed her into the kitchen, still scowling at her, daring her to make another remark. He's really on a tear this morning. I wonder what crawled up his butt. She began sorting through the food. “Thanks,” she muttered. Only a few things were expired, but she'd learned those dates meant very little. They were more of a... suggestion now.
If she was being completely honest, nothing sitting before her appeared particularly appetizing despite the void in her stomach begging Jenny to rip into all of it—everything—all the canned foods, chips, the torn box of granola bars. They hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and the more she thought about it, the more her mouth began to water. Her hunger began to take over. You are eating for two now. It tried to convince her. She took a deep breath, trying to rationalize with her appetite that she couldn’t take it all.
“Go on, eat!” Danny urged.
Go on, leave me alone. She didn't need any coaxing. Forcing a smile, Jenny turned back toward him, but he had diverted his eyes, his hands now busily clinking the metal pieces of the pistol back together.
Why’s he doing this? He’s been treating me differently. When the hell did Matt become his favorite? She shoved a granola bar into her mouth then cordoned off the rest of what she felt appropriate. I'm tired of people being so damn protective. I thought Matt was bad enough, but now Danny's getting so much worse. Telling me what I need to eat. When I need to eat. What the hell? She peered over her shoulder, his hands still tinkering away. It’s only going to get worse once they find out. I should probably keep—
“Jenny.”
Turning, she mumbled through the remaining bite of her granola bar, “What?”
“Here.” He wiped the pistol down with a dish rag then fed a round into the chamber. “You're right about some things. Not a lot of things,” he emphasized, “but some. I'll give you that, but you better not start getting a big head.” He flashed her some teeth. “You train hard. You do. Despite your slipping lately, you deserve this.” Grip forward, slide in his hand, he offered over the pistol. “Overall, you do good out here. Whatever you're going through,”—he winked—“we'll get through it, right?”
“Sure...” Her reply drifted off as she removed the magazine and expelled the round from the chamber. “Wait, this isn't one of yours. Where'd you get this thing?”
“In the garage, locked up in an old Jeep. Looks pretty good to me. Nothing wrong with a Glock.”
“Mine to keep?” Jenny's voice amplified by hope.
“Here's the holster, and no. You know damn well you can't be walking around the Depot with that thing. We can at least get it assigned to you, but that's all I can guarantee for now.”
“Well, it's a start.” At first, she didn't catch Danny's dirty look, but once Jenny had finished placing the pancake holster onto her side, she quickly thanked him.
“What'd you find?” Matt asked, finally venturing in from the master bedroom.
“Found Jenny her own little piece to wear on her hip there.”
“Nice.”
“And, I got you some ammo to fire off.”
“Thanks, Danny!”
“Don't thank me yet. Need to find a spot to use them first. For now, get some food in your stomachs, then we head out.”
...
It was bare trees the rest of the way—the three of them trudging through the woods that led from the highway and up the hill to the Depot, their home. Jenny's face stung with each passing gust sweeping down toward them. She kept her arm across her face in an attempt to shield her skin from the cold, but it was no use—each burst of wind surrounded them with swirling snow.
“How'd it feel?” Jenny muttered through her coat sleeve.
“Had a lot more kick than I thought it would,” Matt said. “Pretty big difference between the nine and that forty-five he found for you.”
“Definitely has some punch to it.” Danny chuckled. “I'm glad we were able to do it, but listen, when we're back we can't mention it. If I catch wind either of you were talking on it, it's over, never again.”
“Deal.”
They continued with their small talk until another blast of cold air turned Jenny from the conversation. Walking with her back to the wind, she caught glimpse of a brown figure in the distance. Nearly sixty yards out, a doe stood steadfast, staring at them, but didn't spook. A salt lick hidden between some fallen trees kept her tethered there by her craving.
�
�Danny,” she whispered. “Danny.”
The howls of wind suppressed her words, so she tugged at his sleeve. Then again, less subtly. Finally, he turned, and Jenny practically shoved him toward the doe. Danny dropped a knee to the snow and leveled his rifle downrange. “Good eye, Jenny.” He adjusted the scope then placed his hand to the stock, trigger finger now waiting.
I can do this. She kneeled. “Danny,” Jenny spoke into his ear, not to be disregarded.
“What?” He kept his eye through the scope.
“Let me do it.”
The rifle bounced with the scoff Danny let slip. “This is not the time for your bullshit.”
Jenny caught Matt shaking his head, pleading for her to drop it. Quit rolling over all the time. He doesn't always have to do everything. “Listen, please,”—she put her hand on Danny's back—“all that training you give me. Let me show you. Let me do it.”
Irritated, he jerked the rifle from his shoulder and twisted back toward her. He took a sharp breath in through gritted teeth, his eyes burning. Unflinchingly, she returned the favor. I'm not giving in.
Precious seconds passed. Danny toned down his death stare and passed the rifle to her. “The scope's adjusted. Get it done.”
Never thought that would've worked. Shit... Now what? The rifle rattled in her hands, partly because of the cold, but her nerves certainly the majority of the reason. She had longed for this moment. A chance to prove herself. The chance to prove all that time spent training had not been wasted. But as she sat there in possession of the opportunity, doubt crept in. No. Don't you dare. You asked for this. Get it done. Never miss when it counts. She braced the rifle and knelt.
“Lay behind this here”—Danny eased his ruck to the ground—“and prop the rifle across it. Settle in for your shot. Remember to breathe.” Jenny creaked her way into the snow. “Don't lock up. You need to breathe until you're ready to fire.”
Almawt Virus Series (Book 3): Days Since...Jenny [Day 986] Page 4
