"Can we please see if we can find some warmer clothes?" Katie pleaded.
Edward nodded his consent. "Some food would certainly help as well."
"It looks like there might be some shops up the street a little ways," Katie said, pointing.
Edward nodded again, then turned and began to lead the group up the street through the deserted town. After a few hundred feet, Edward began to admire Katie's keen eyesight. There were indeed some shops that could be useful.
"We should split up," Edward suggested.
"What if we run into trouble?" Melissa asked.
"I'm not saying that everyone should go their own way, just that maybe half of us should cover this side, and half cover the opposite side of the street. It would make our search quicker, I would think," Edward stated.
"How do you want to divide the group?" Katie asked.
Edward thought for a moment before answering. "Melissa and I will search the shops on the left, the rest of you can take the buildings on the right. That way, each group will have someone capable of defending the weaker people they are with."
Melissa frowned at Edward, realizing that he had just called her weak. She thought about opening her mouth to protest, but then realized that he was right. It hurt that he was so blunt about it, but what he said was the truth.
Even though it was obvious to all of them that these buildings were not dwellings, they could not tell what kind of wares might be waiting inside. None of the signs or window lettering were legible anymore. The storefronts were covered in so much dust and grime that they had to open each door to see what was inside.
After searching the right side of the street for nearly ten minutes, Katie came upon a store window that was broken, allowing her to see inside before she got to the door. "Oh my God! Food!" Katie's voice rose excitedly. She ran toward the door of the shop, not even considering possible danger. Her grumbling stomach had temporarily taken over her brain.
When she got to the doorway, Katie wedged her fingers between the sliding doors that would have opened automatically had there been electricity. She pried in futility with her fingertips, but they wouldn't budge. Crying out in frustration, she looked across the street, hoping Edward was in sight. When she saw that he was not, Katie slammed her fist against the glass.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked.
"I can't get the door open!" she snapped. "I guess the only way in is through the broken window over there."
"Before you go cutting yourself to ribbons, why don't you let me try to get it open?" Jack said, nudging her out of the way. Katie moved reluctantly to one side. Jack wedged his fingers between the two sliding panels and used his supernatural strength to pry them apart. "See if you can find something inside to keep these doors from closing," he instructed her. "I don't want to stand here holding them to make sure they stay open."
Katie and Julie ducked underneath his outstretched arms and went inside. A corral of shopping carts stood off to the left. Katie quickly grabbed one and pushed it to the doorway, nosing it halfway through. As soon as Jack released his grip on the doors they began to screech loudly, grating against the grime in their tracks as they tried to close. Just as Jack stepped inside, they suddenly swept closed, breaking free of the restraining grit and slamming into the cart, crushing it. Luckily, the cart wasn't totally destroyed. Its crumpled form still kept the doors from closing completely, leaving an opening that was about a foot wide.
Now that the entrance was wedged open, Katie turned her attention to the inside of the store. Just beyond the row of cash registers were several aisles. Her stomach rumbled loudly as she saw that there were still items on the shelves. She quickly made her way to the closest aisle, which happened to be the one containing breakfast foods. In her haste, she nearly fell to the floor, which was covered in cans and ripped open boxes.
At the first shelf she came to, she quickly snatched a box off, paying no attention to the label on it. She didn't care that it was a cereal that she had never heard of before. The only thing that mattered right now was getting something into her stomach.
As Jack and Julie rounded the corner of the aisle finally catching up to Katie, they saw a frightening look coming from her eyes. It was a wild, crazed look that they had never seen on her face before. Could someone actually go insane from hunger? Jack wondered.
A few moments later, Katie threw down the box and began spitting out what was still in her mouth. "Yuck! This shit tastes like fucking cardboard!" Before either of them had a chance to open their mouths, Katie had turned and continued down the aisle, searching for something to satisfy her hunger. When she got near the end of the aisle, Katie suddenly stopped and clamped her hand tightly over her mouth and nose.
"Holy crap! What is that stench?"
"Smells like rotten meat to me," Jack told her as he caught up to her again.
Suddenly, Katie turned her head and vomited violently, the stale cereal she had eaten moments before now splattered in a steaming mess on the grimy floor. She turned and ran back to the front of the store. At least it didn't smell so bad there.
With the sour taste of vomit in her mouth, Katie turned toward the right, hoping to find something to get the taste out of her mouth. She hoped that she was heading away from the refrigerated section of the store. Fortune smiled on her as she rounded the corner into another aisle. This one was loaded with junk food. The first thing to catch her eye was a box of Twinkies. Those things never go bad, do they? She grabbed a box from the shelf and ripped it open. Cardboard and cellophane fell to the floor at an alarming rate as she greedily stuffed her face with the spongy, cream-filled cakes.
Jack and Julie had followed her to this aisle, and now all they could do was watch Katie. They kept waiting for her to start spitting the food out again, saying that something was wrong with it, but after a few minutes the crazed look disappeared from Katie's eyes. She tried to smile, but only managed a grin because her mouth was so crammed with food that she looked like a chipmunk with a mouthful of nuts. As she continued to chew, she grabbed more of them from the shelves and threw them to Jack and Julie.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, Katie walked over to where the cash registers stood like dust-covered sentinels. As she moved toward the end of the check-out line to grab some empty bags to load up with food, a headline from a newspaper next to the tabloids caught her eye.
Virus debilitates United States
Curious, Katie continued to read ...
The president issued a press release today, saying that a group of Russian terrorists have claimed responsibility for the recent biological attack on the United States.
This attack released an airborne virus, which may take several months to dissipate. Early reports give no indication regarding the capabilities of this virus, and at this time it is unknown how widespread the epidemic will be. According to the nation's defense advisor, the Russians claim to have targeted all major U.S. cities.
Everyone is being asked to stay inside until further notice. If you must leave your home, please take every precaution possible to prevent inhalation of the virus. The government will be making respirators available soon, and will issue them to those deemed most susceptible. Meanwhile, the government will be working night and day to obtain more information about this virus and how to effectively neutralize it.
Katie looked up from the paper as she heard Jack approaching. "This explains why there aren't any people here," she said, shaking the paper at him angrily.
"What's wrong?" he asked, confused.
"Fucking Russians! They hit all the major cities in the United States with some kind of dirty bombs that released a virus into the air. By the look of things, it must have killed everyone!" Katie ranted, very near to tears.
Jack understood very little of what Katie was yelling about. The one thing he did understand, at least partially, was the virus. However, he had never heard of one that could wipe out every living thing it came in contact with. He looked at Julie and pleaded with his ey
es, hoping she would do or say something to calm Katie down. She apparently didn't get the hint, as Julie continued to stand idly by.
Chapter 7
"Hello? Are you guys still in here?" a female voice called out from the doorway.
"We're over here," Jack yelled, waving his arms above his head as he saw Melissa's face poke through the narrow opening above the crushed grocery cart wedged between the glass doors.
Melissa pushed a large plastic bag through the opening and then scaled the remains of the cart, squeezing her body through sideways. Once she set foot on the floor, Edward pushed another bag into the store to her and then made his way inside.
He looked over to where the others were standing and a chill ran through him. Why wasn't Katie paying attention to him? Did I do something to make her mad? Edward asked himself. He took a tentative step toward her. "Katie?"
Finally, she seemed to come out of her daze. As she turned to face Edward, he saw the mixture of rage and sadness, written like some horrible story, in the depths of her brown eyes.
"What's wrong, Katie?"
"Only this!" she snapped, waving the newspaper at him.
Edward cautiously went to her and took the paper from her hands. He looked for whatever seemed to be troubling her, remembering not so long ago that the mere date had caused a pretty emotional response. He searched the front page, trying to recall where the date would be placed. It only took a moment to locate. There, beneath the large headline of Sault Ste Marie Evening News, was what he figured to be the date. "December 12, 2112?" he asked.
"No! The stuff about the virus!" she nearly screamed in frustration. Then, his words seemed to register. "Wait a minute. Did you just say 2112?"
"Yes I did," he told her, seeing the anger on her face turn into shock.
"That's like ... a hundred years from the time we met!"
"That's not possible!" Melissa blurted out from behind Edward. "We would all be pushing up daisies by now." She began figuring the math in her head. "If it's really 2112, I would be like 150 years old right now!"
"I really wish there were some sort of consistency to these portals," Katie mumbled under her breath. "Every time we go through one there's no telling where or when we will show up."
"Well, obviously none of us are aging as we travel through these portals, so can we please forget about the issue of time?" Edward stated in a raised voice.
Everyone suddenly went quiet and exchanged nervous glances, hanging their heads like scolded children. They remained silent, waiting for Edward to continue.
"You mentioned something about a virus?" he finally asked, looking at Katie.
She moved closer to him and pointed out the story she had just read. Edward quickly read through the article. "So, am I to assume that we should try to find some ... respirators?"
"We have no way of knowing how old this paper is, Edward. The virus could be gone by now," Melissa stated.
Katie thought about it for a moment. "She has a point, Edward, but I think we should at least find something to cover our faces with, just to be on the safe side. If the virus is still in the air, we might be able to keep from breathing it with something as simple as a piece of cloth over our mouths and noses."
"Perhaps now would be a good time to show everyone what Melissa and I found," Edward said with a sheepish grin.
Melissa went back to the doorway and retrieved the large bags they had brought with them. When she returned to the group, she picked them up one at a time and dumped the contents out on the sorting area at the end of the checkout conveyor.
"Holy crap! It looks like you two hit the jackpot!" Katie exclaimed happily. Piled high in the grocery sorting area were an assortment of heavy coats, sweatpants, gloves, scarves, flannel shirts, thermal socks and underwear, and a few pairs of insulated work boots.
"It was more of Melissa's doing than mine," Edward admitted. "I had no idea where to begin, but she seemed to know exactly what to look for."
"You did great, Melissa!" Katie said, briefly patting her on the back before turning her attention back to the pile.
Everyone surrounded the mound of plundered clothes and began to pick through it. Once they had found one of each item that would fit them, Katie looked at the remaining pile with a touch of confusion.
"Why are there still things sitting here unclaimed? Did everyone get what they needed?" Katie asked, glancing around at the rest of them.
"I tried to be as thorough as possible," Melissa stated. "I knew most of us would likely need only one set, but when I was grabbing things for Jack something dawned on me. When he changes into a wolf, most of the time from what I've seen, the transformation tends to destroy his clothing. That's why I decided it might be a good idea to get more than one set for him," she added, proud of herself.
Wow! She actually thought of someone other than herself, Katie thought. "Impressive! Good thinking!"
Melissa smiled, grateful to finally get credit for doing something positive. Maybe, just maybe, they are finally accepting me as a contributing member of the group, she thought. It's much better than being labeled as a whining, complaining, bitch.
After about ten minutes, everyone in the group had donned their new gear. Katie and Julie gathered up the empty bags the clothes had been in and retreated further into the store to fill them with food.
"So, what's next?" Melissa asked.
"My vote is to get out of this town and head south, hopefully to warmer weather. If I was in wolf form the cold wouldn't bother me so much, but without my fur this chilly weather is almost unbearable," Jack replied.
"At least we're in better shape to survive the elements now," Edward commented. "It might not be fur, but the added clothing should help tremendously."
Just then, Katie and Julie reappeared, each carrying a sack loaded down with the food they had scavenged. The others looked on with renewed hunger as Julie opened her bag so they could reach in. When Edward reached in and brought out a package labeled Sno Ball, he looked at it strangely before unwrapping it and taking a bite. It wasn't what he was expecting, but just getting food in his body after going without for so long felt satisfying. Once everyone had eaten their fill, Edward led the way back to the store entrance.
Jack moved to the front of the group. "Stand back a little," he told them as he placed a hand on each of the sliding doors. They complied, taking a step back as Jack began to push them open further. One by one, they squeezed past him through the enlarged opening. Once everyone was outside, Jack stepped through and released his grip on the doors. They slid shut much faster this time, smashing into the already damaged cart and nearly cutting it in half.
Edward looked nervously at Jack, who shrugged his shoulders and gave him a half smile.
"Which way?" Melissa asked, trying to ease the tension of the moment.
"I think I see a sign over there," Katie said, pointing to the east. "We should at least check it out. Maybe it will tell us where we are," she added, hopefully.
With Katie in the lead, the group made their way over to the sign. As they drew closer, she could make out the familiar red, white, and blue. Without warning, she ran toward it in her excitement. "Oh my God! We're near Interstate 75!"
The others caught up to her a moment later. "What, exactly, does that mean?" Edward asked her.
"It means that we might be close to the place I used to live! The sign says we're in Michigan. I used to live in Ohio, which is the next state to the south," Katie explained.
"I don't mean to burst your bubble, but we have no idea how far it is to Ohio. At least, not until we get on the highway and find a mile marker," Melissa remarked.
Realizing that she was right, Katie's shoulders slumped. She looked past the others, seeing what looked to be the Interstate. It appeared to be about half of a mile away.
"There is another sign just ahead. Maybe that will tell us where we are," Melissa said, trying her best to keep the mood light.
They began moving again, making their way to th
e next sign. When they reached it, Katie became more sullen. The sign read, 'You are now leaving Dafter, Michigan'. "Dafter? Where the hell is that? I've never heard of this town!" Katie began to cry. She wasn't sure why it seemed to be such a big deal. It wasn't like anyone would be waiting to greet her if she did make it back to where her house was supposed to be.
"I guess we will find out once we get to the highway and find a mile marker," Melissa replied, trying not to upset Katie any further, although she had a feeling that the group was quite a ways from the Ohio border. She briefly recalled the newspaper they had been looking at in the store, and if her memory served, the city that the paper was made in was on the Canadian border of Michigan, which would mean they were in the uppermost part of the state.
Chapter 8
Brian had been traveling for more days than he could remember, scouring the countryside for any sign of human life. Ever since the biological attack on the United States, which occurred a few months ago by his recollection, the only people he had encountered were already dead. Disturbingly, some of them didn't stay that way. For whatever reason, the virus had been lethal to almost everyone. Some, however, seemed to lapse into a coma that resembled death. What other explanation could there be? Outside of the improbable scenario that zombies actually existed in places other than movies.
He had seen more than his share of shredded carcasses, bodies savagely ripped apart, but seeing the dead hungrily shuffling through the streets was something he wasn't prepared for. It went against everything he was taught as he grew up, and also directly opposed his beliefs.
At one time, Brian had been a Catholic priest. Those days were long gone now. Many times, as he'd spoken to his congregation, Brian found his thoughts wandering, contemplating whether or not God truly existed. How could a benevolent and loving God allow the atrocities that happened on a daily basis in the world? Where was the divine retribution that should be keeping the evil of the world in check?
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