Mark gave a nod and bent down to double tie his laces. Lisa just smirked and rolled her eyes muttering, “Whatever.”
Mason looked to Emily and David and they both nodded. When Mark stood back up, they continued down the road at a slow jog that wasn’t too tiring. Every other block they came to, they would slow to a fast walk for a break. Emily concentrated on her breathing and kept her eyes on the horizon. If you kept looking up and out, it seemed to be a typical California dreamy day with blue skies and tall palm trees waving gently in the breeze. It was only at ground level that reality set in with the sight of mangled cars and injured people standing or sitting on the roads.
The lack of mechanical sound wasn’t all that disturbing to Emily, having grown up in the country and not spending a great deal of time in cities. It was the human sounds filling the emptiness that bothered her. The moaning and cries of pain were the worst. Emily tried hard not to look at the injured people as she knew she couldn’t help them and if she stopped for even one, they’d never make it to the Marina but that didn’t stop her heart from breaking at all the pain and suffering she was passing.
They had to go around a crowd of people who were standing in the street watching a fire. A house had caught fire and it had spread to the houses on both sides of it. With no electricity, there was no water pressure and no way to fight the flames. After they had cleared the smoky area, Emily looked over her companions and was alarmed to see how red in the face Mark was. His shirt was completely drenched in sweat and his breathing was heavy. Checking the rest of the group, everyone else seemed to be holding up well. She knew Mark had a temper and tried to spare him any embarrassment by putting the focus on herself.
“Hey, guys! I need a water break. Can we slow down for a few minutes, please?” she asked everyone.
Lisa stopped immediately with a moan, “Thank God! I’m a mall star, not a track star!”
She flipped her long chestnut brown hair over her shoulders and stepped further away from Mark when she noticed how sweat-drenched he was and her cat-like green eyes narrowed in disgust. The pale-skinned redhead was flushed bright red while heaving for breath between gulps from his water bottle.
Emily looked around the street corner they had stopped at and scanned the businesses across the street. Seeing a small convenience store in a strip mall, she pointed it out to the others.
“We should try and buy more water bottles and some power bars or other food from there. It seems pretty quiet right now but who knows what will happen as the day goes on.”
She looked to Mason and David to see what they thought and both boys nodded their agreement so they crossed the street and headed towards the store. There were a few cars in the parking lot but nobody in sight. The strip mall also had a computer store, luggage store and a coffee shop on one end. It was dim inside the store without the bright fluorescents on but the front windows still let in enough light to see clearly. It was also very warm without the air conditioning running. There was only one other customer in the aisles, an older lady that had a small suitcase on wheels. She paused in filling it up with canned goods to look the group of teens over, and then quickly resumed her shopping. There was a small Asian man behind the cash counter and he was scowling at them suspiciously
“You pay cash only!” he barked at them with a heavy accent.
David saw Mark’s face darken in anger at the tone and quickly stepped forward to assure the store keeper. “We have cash, sir. We aren’t going to be buying a lot, just some water, and a little food.”
The Asian man continued to glare at them but seemed mollified by David’s respectful tone and he gave a brief nod toward the aisles.
They all headed towards the dark coolers at the back of the store and started to pull out water and juice bottles. They were still cool to the touch but wouldn’t stay that way long with the electricity off. After adding the bottles to the plastic baskets they had gotten from the front of the store, they split up and headed down different aisles. Lisa and Emily went to the small drugstore section and grabbed items to add to their baskets. Emily did most of the shopping while Lisa was distracted by the selection of cosmetics. As she grabbed a small first aid kit and a couple bottles of painkillers, she tried to get Lisa to focus.
“We should really try and concentrate on things we will need to survive, Lisa. Makeup and nail polish won’t help us,” Emily said.
Lisa gave her a condescending look, “You might prefer the natural, plain look, Emily, but I have standards.” She turned back to the display of makeup.
Emily was trying to think of something to say to get Lisa back on track when she heard a muffled laugh. She turned the other way and saw the older lady had joined them in the aisle and was trying to hold in her laughter. Emily smiled and headed towards her when the woman waved her closer.
In a lowered voice the older woman told her, “That cat won’t change her stripes, honey. I know plenty of young missies just like her. You just go ahead and get the important stuff and let her learn.” The woman looked in Emily’s basket and nodded. “Don’t forget the girl stuff, honey. I don’t think you’ll be able to run to the store once a month when you need tampons,” she said with amusement when she saw Emily blush.
In a haughty voice, Lisa spoke up from behind Emily, “I won’t have that problem. I’m on the Depo shot so I don’t get a period.”
The woman looked the smug teenage girl up and down and nodded. “You’re lucky then. You won’t have to worry about coming up pregnant after you’ve been raped a few times.”
Lisa and Emily stared at the lady in complete shock. She shook her head at them like they were idiots.
“What do you think is going to happen, girlies? There will be no police driving around to the rescue and there are plenty of bad men out there that will consider this situation as a paradise. They are going to take what they want and that will be you, young pretty girls. It’s not a matter of if it will happen; it’s a matter of when. You’d best both think on that!”
Before either girl could form a reply, the bell above the front door rang loudly as the door crashed open. All three of the women turned towards the front to see who was coming into the store. Two young men in white, wife beater tank tops and low-slung baggy jeans rushed in and went straight to the front counter. The Asian man started yelling at them right away to get out but they kept going straight for him. It happened so fast. Emily couldn’t believe her eyes when the taller of the men pulled a gun from behind his back and shot the shopkeeper in the head. She would have stayed standing there frozen if the older lady hadn’t dragged her down. Lisa had already dropped and was starting to whimper. The older woman grabbed her by the arm and frantically motioned for her to be silent. White-faced and wide-eyed, Lisa took a deep breath and nodded. They could hear the sounds of the cash register being pried open and the sound of glass breaking. Emily was frantic with fear. She didn’t know where the boys were and prayed they stayed hidden until the two men left. They were still laughing and swearing at the clerk they had just killed. The girls were towards the back of the store where the daylight had barely reached and Emily hoped that they wouldn’t be seen in the dimness.
It seemed that they huddled on the floor for hours before the two men finally finished behind the counter and left the store carrying as many bottles of alcohol as they could. After a few minutes of silence, Emily heard Mason calling her name. She slowly stood on shaking legs and looked over the shelves at him. His face was white with shock.
“You and Lisa, okay?” he asked in a trembling voice.
Emily couldn’t find her voice so she just nodded and turned towards the front of the store, making her way to the counter. She felt she had to check on the poor man in case he had survived. Mark was already behind the counter bent over the man. Emily assumed he was trying to find any signs of life when she saw him stand up and tuck something into the waistband of his pants. He pulled his shirt over the object and turned around.
When he saw her standin
g there, he flushed and abruptly said, “He’s dead. Nothing we can do,” and pushed past her.
Having a clear view of the body after Mark moved away, Emily could see the small bullet hole in the man’s forehead. There was a spreading pool of blood under his head and she gagged at the sight. Turning quickly away from the corpse, her attention caught the small cardboard box lying beside it. There were a few small bullets in the box. Distracted by Lisa’s, “So gross!” from behind her, Emily dismissed the box from her mind and moved away.
Everyone was standing at the front of the store. Mason still looked shaken and David was staring at the counter with anger. The older woman was looking the kids over and nodding her head.
“This is just the start. This city is going to burn and everyone with it. You kids better get as far away from here as you can or you’ll burn with it!” she warned.
Emily nodded back at her. “We’re trying. We’re headed to the coast to find a boat.”
“Mm hm, that’s a good idea. If I was younger, I’d take a crack at that plan. You planning to lug all that stuff with you? You’re going to get mighty tired carrying all that weight. You should get one of these little cases with rollers. Works real good for pulling stuff along.” She paused and looked Lisa and Emily up and down. “You remember what I said, girlies. They’re going to take what they want now. You best be ready for it.” Looking over at the dead man, she grabbed a couple packs of cigarettes from the counter and shook her head. Without another word, she left the store.
The silence was heavy after the bell above the door stopped jangling. It was Lisa who got them moving. “The old bat is right. I don’t want to be carrying all these bottles while running. I want one of those suitcases. There’s a luggage store next door. Let’s go get a couple,” she said, looking at the boys.
Mason was nodding his head. Some color was returning to his face and he dropped his basket and headed for the door. Lisa and Mark followed him out. David turned to Emily,
“Come on, Em, let’s get everything ready to pack into the cases they bring back. We need to get moving.”
Emily bent down to the baskets and started to sort through all that they had grabbed. There were power bars, granola bars and beef jerky. The first aid supplies and bottled water and juices were grouped together and she couldn’t help but think they wouldn’t last them long. She started down the aisles and started grabbing a few more things. Cup of soup packages and instant oatmeal were light and easy to pack. Crackers and a small jar of peanut butter went in as well. The store didn’t have a lot to offer as it was not a fully stocked grocery so she did her best, but knew they would need to find a better place to get supplies. There was nothing else worth carrying so she went back to the front of the store and grabbed a couple of lighters from the counter.
David was grouping supplies in piles to evenly distribute the weight when he saw Emily standing at the counter staring out the window.
“We're going to need weapons, Emily. We have to be ready to defend ourselves. That lady was right, things are already getting bad.”
She met his gaze and thought about how easily those men just shot the clerk. David’s right. We need guns, she thought. That jarred her memory and she quickly went around the counter. Trying not to look at the dead man, she reached down and picked up the small cardboard box she had seen. Taking it back to David, she handed it to him. He took out the two small bullets that were left and looked at her quizzically.
“Is there a gun back there? It would be really useful right now.”
She shook her head, “I think Mark took it. I saw him stuff something down the front of his pants and cover it up with his shirt.”
David stared at Emily intensely. “Okay, don’t say anything about it. We will hope he has it but we won’t push him on it. I don’t know why he wouldn’t say anything but I don’t know why the guy would keep so quiet. We need to keep our eyes open for any other weapons we might be able to get our hands on, okay?”
Emily nodded just as the others came back into the store. They were carrying three hard-shelled, wheeled cases. Mason’s and Mark’s cases were plain black but Lisa’s was neon pink with zebra stripes on it. Emily closed her eyes and prayed for patience. This girl was a total idiot!
“Lisa, are you trying to get yourself killed or worse? That case screams, “Look at me!” and which one of the boys will want to take a turn pulling it? Can you please start using your head here? We are very close to screwed and all you seem to care about is looking good. Grow up!” Emily was shocked at her tone as soon as the words left her mouth. She didn’t mean to be so hard on the other girl but she was starting to get really scared and it had just come out.
Lisa glared daggers at Emily and threw the case down. She turned on her heel and left the store. Emily was about to go after her and apologise when Mason grabbed her hand.
“Don’t. We both told her the same thing but she just ignored us. She just needs a wake-up call. If she doesn’t get this new reality through her head soon, she’s going to get one of us killed. Let her steam.” He pulled her down and they started to fill up the two empty cases. When Lisa came back a few minutes later, she dropped a plain black case in front of them without a word and walked back down the cosmetics aisle.
It didn’t take long to pack the cases up and Emily kept trying to get a look at what was in Mark’s waistband but with his shirt covering it, she couldn’t see anything. They left the store and started down the street again.
Chapter Two
All their breathing was strained two hours later from the smoky pall hanging in the air from the multitude of fires raging out of control in the city. They kept their pace as fast as they could but all the kids were tiring. Emily’s mind was numb from the horrors they had encountered on the way. Dead and bloody bodies littered the ground around massive car accidents and other bodies showed signs of violence. They had to duck down and take cover at least three times. People shooting at each other and at police had pinned them down twice. One time, a group of thugs was beating anyone they could find and Emily felt like her heart would explode out of her chest at the senseless violence on display. She couldn’t understand how things had gotten so bad so fast. They weren’t the only people pulling luggage on the streets as others tried to make their escape from the battlefield the city had now become. The strangest sights were of people rushing out of stores carrying flat screen TV’s or computers. Didn’t these people understand that those items had no value without electricity? Once they had made it onto the Garden Grove Freeway, the landscape had changed from residential to business and that was where the shooting had started. Gunfire could be heard constantly, and Emily was starting to doubt that they would make it to the coast. They still had so far to go and needed to find supplies.
David and Mason had studied the map that Cooper had gotten before they left Disneyland but they needed to find one of their own. Things were degrading fast and they needed to be able to find alternate routes. They had slowed down to catch their breath when they came upon a small privately owned gas station that had no looters in the parking lot. Three big men that resembled each other were standing guard in front of the pumps. Each man was holding a shotgun pointed towards the street to dissuade any looters from coming closer. The kids stopped at the edge of the lot and had a quick conference. They needed a map and the gas station should have one. Mason was more than happy to let David approach the gun-toting men. David turned away from the group and put his hands in the air, slowly walking towards the men. When all three shotgun barrels swung in his direction, his stomach lurched but he took a few more steps before stopping.
“Please don’t shoot, sir! I have money and was just hoping to buy a map. My friends and I are just trying to find a way out of the city but we’re tourists and don’t know the area.” David took a shaky breath while the men looked him over. The men looked like family to David and it was the older man who finally gave a brief nod. He lowered the business end of his gun toward the pavement bu
t kept it pointing in David’s general direction. The other two men both turned back to focus on the street. The older man waved David forward and started backing towards the store entrance.
“I’ve got a rack just inside the door, full of maps. Where you kids trying to get to?” he asked David in a gruff voice.
“Canada, Alberta, sir.”
The man’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and his face softened slightly. “Me and my boys went and did some hunting in northern British Columbia two years ago. Beautiful country up there and the nicest people. That’s an awfully long ways away. How are you planning on getting up there?”
David was thankful the man had relaxed his grip on the weapon and seemed friendlier. “We’re hoping to make it to the coast and try and find a ride by boat further north.”
The man was thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “Not a bad plan. If you could get clear of the major cities, you’d have a better chance overland.” He opened the door of the store and waved David ahead of him. The spinning rack just inside the door held all types of roadmaps and the man gave it a spin until he found what he wanted. “This one here is a local street map. It’ll help you find your way to the marina.” He spun the rack again and grabbed three thicker map books. “This one’s California and here’s Oregon and this one’s Washington. That way, wherever you land, you’ll know which way to go. Sorry I don’t have anything for Canada but these will help,” he said while handing the bunch over.
David started to reach into his pocket but froze when the man brought his gun back up with a frown.
“Money, sir! I’m just getting my money!”
The gun dipped back down and the man shook his head. “No need, son. Money doesn’t mean anything now. Just take them and get going. You kids have a long way to go. Good luck.”
He ushered David back out of the store and waved him on towards his friends who were grouped at the edge of the lot looking anxious. Halfway back to them, David stopped and turned back. He gave a wave and called out, “Thank you, good luck!” The three men all gave a nod and went back to scanning the street for threats.
STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 21
