“Matthew, this man is a drain on your resources and you should either kick him out or kill him before he and his idiotic followers do something to put the rest of your community at risk.” Her words and tone were completely emotionless and made all the more powerful because of it.
Matthew took a tentative step towards her and held his hands up in front of him. “I…I will certainly take that information to the rest of the group. Um, I think this is um, resolved now so if you and your friends want to go into the garage for the night, I can take care of the rest.” His tone was soft and soothing like what you would use on a frightened animal or small child.
Emily pursed her lips like she was thinking about it and then grinned and shrugged her shoulders. “Sure! Thanks for supper and good night!”
She turned her back on Aaron and walked towards her friends, noticing their varying expressions, from shock to slight amusement. She winked and neatly slid back between them and in through the garage door.
Alex tried hard not to giggle at her best friend’s performance as she turned to Matthew. He was still staring at the door that Emily had sailed through.
“Matthew, once you have this mess cleaned up, we would really like to speak to the people who made it to the hospital. I want to be away from here at first light so we need to see them tonight.”
He tore his eyes from the empty door and moved them to Alex before he swung his head to Aaron.
“Um, yeah, one of the people who went is your friend’s dad. So maybe you could get what you need from him.”
Alex’s expression turned stormy but before she could speak, Lisa put a hand on her arm.
“My dad’s inside the garage, Alex. It’s fine.”
Alex gave her a searching look and saw that she really was fine with it so nodded and then followed her inside with the rest of the group.
Once the door had been barricaded again, they all sat around the steaming cook stove. Someone had set water to boil for drinks.
Dara was the first to speak. “Damn, Em, I almost peed my pants at how hardcore you were!”
Josh made a big exaggerated nod. “You kind of scared me a little. I thought you were going to actually kill those guys.”
Emily shrugged a shoulder. “I just get so tired of everyone acting like my age is equal to my competence.” She turned as if to dismiss the subject but then spun back towards the group with a scowl on her face and stomped her foot. “And for the record, I would have shot them if they hadn’t backed down. I wouldn’t have liked it but I would have done it!” She threw her hands into the air. “People, our people, are dying right now and even more will die if we don’t get the meds they need. So, I’ll do what I have to do to make that happen.”
Alex stepped forward and put a hand on her best friend’s shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak but then changed her mind and just gave a hard nod of agreement. She instead turned and zeroed in on Lisa’s dad.
“We need some information from you, Mr. Kelly.”
He squirmed a little when all eyes turned towards him but then he met his daughter’s gaze and gave a slight nod. “How can I help?”
Lisa glanced over at Alex and when she got a nod, took the lead. “We need medicine for the town, for our people. Matthew said you were with a group that had gone to the closest hospitals. We need to know what we are headed into tomorrow.”
He frowned at her and looked around at the others. “I don’t understand why the adults would send a group of kids on such a dangerous trip if it was so important.”
Alex shook her head in annoyance and stepped forward. “That’s not important right now! Just tell us what you saw when you went.” Her tone had a snap to it and his frowned deepened from being talked to in such a way. His expression turned indignant and he sat up straighter. Before he could speak, Lisa held up a hand.
“Dad, if you really want to help me then just answer the question!”
Kirkland Kelly sent one more annoyed look Alex’s way before turning to his daughter and giving her a stiff nod.
“Fine.” He let out a deep sigh. “We went just before the first snow. There are a few pregnant women here in the community and we wanted to get as many supplies as we could for the deliveries before winter set in. There were six of us. Four made it back.” His eyes dropped to the ground and he rubbed at his face before continuing. “The closest hospital to us is Foothills. It’s huge, with multiple buildings for different specialties. More than half of those buildings had burned out at some point but the main building seemed intact so we went there first. It was…it was a hell-scape. There were corpses everywhere. The walls, the walls were covered in blood and feces. Everything had been trashed and destroyed. We should have turned back right then but we kept going. It was the same on every floor and then we got to the fourth floor and…” He looked up at them and the horror that was in his eyes had a few of the teens shivering. “And we found, well, I guess you could call it a nest. A nest of animals that were once human. They had done things to the bodies and put them on display like some sick twisted art gallery. We just stood there, frozen in disbelief and then Andrea, she screamed. That’s all it took to bring those degenerates down on us.” Kirkland glanced around at the teens and shook his head in confusion.
“They were laughing. I don’t know why they were laughing.” He seemed to lose himself in the memories of that day until Lisa stepped over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Dad, you got away? You made it out?”
He refocused on her and nodded. “Yeah, yes, some of us did. They, well, four of us got away.” He swallowed hard and continued. “We thought about going back then but if we did, it would have all been for nothing so we kept going. When we made it to the Children’s Hospital, we were much more careful. Turns out we didn’t have to be. It was almost in perfect condition. No one had looted or destroyed anything in it. All the doors had been barricaded shut but there were people inside. An older man came to the door and talked with us through the glass. When he found out what we were looking for, he made us wait. When he came back, he was with a woman dressed in scrubs. They moved the barricade and opened the door. We were only allowed into the lobby where the nurse talked to us and told us how the hospital was being run by her and a few others. They were friendly but cautious. We had brought some fresh food to trade so we made the deal and left. She did say we could come back if there were any problems with the babies.” He looked at them all and his shoulders slumped. “That’s it. We came home and I haven’t left the zoo since.”
Chapter Seventeen
A soft knock at the garage door had Quinn surging to his feet. He looked over his sleeping friends and saw that the knock hadn’t disturbed any of them. He rubbed at tired eyes and made his way to the door in the dim light of the one candle left burning. It had been a long night of listening to gunshots and screams from across the river and he was on the final watch.
Lisa’s dad had left them shortly after he had finished telling his story and they had spent what remained of the evening plotting the best course through the city to the Children’s Hospital and then where to go after that. If they couldn’t find what they needed there, they would be forced to move on to the next closest one and it wasn’t close at all.
He reached the door and called softly through it. When Matthew called back, Quinn got to work moving the boxes and the tool chest away from the door. It was impossible to do quietly, so minutes later Cooper and Josh were there giving him a hand. By the time they got the door open and let Matthew in, the girls had gotten up and were setting up the stove to make breakfast.
Matthew nodded at them all and set a canvas bag down on one of the crates. He pulled a thermos out first and handed it to Quinn before sliding the bag’s sides down to reveal a pot that had been wrapped in towels.
“The wife insisted we send you on the way with a hot meal so I have porridge and some coffee here for you.”
Josh’s head shot up. “Coffee? You would share coffee with us?�
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Matthew chuckled at Josh’s expression. “Well, don’t be thinking that’s a hardship for us. Coffee is something we have in abundance. The zoo had plenty in stock for their restaurants and catering department. There were also almost two hundred coffee shops in the downtown core before lights out. On top of that, we scavenged many office towers and brought it all back. Coffee is the least of our worries.”
Josh shook his head with admiration. “Well, we definitely thank you for the treat and the hot breakfast!”
Matthew nodded and looked around the garage at the others. “I was thinking about your route to the hospital last night and came up with a faster, safer way for you to go.” He pulled out a map of the city and spread it over one of the crates. With a finger, he pointed at their location and then the hospital. “Ok, this is where we are and this is where you need to go. The tracks you were on yesterday are in the middle of Memorial Drive. That road follows the river and would take you just south of the hospital. It’s a fair hike on foot but on your sleds it shouldn’t take very long. The problem is the sheer number of vehicles on that road. It was a main feeder into the core and it was rush hour when the lights went out.” He looked up at them and then moved his finger a few millimeters from their position. “So, the river. For the first time in many years, it’s completely frozen over so there’s no reason not to use it and avoid all the obstacles on the road. It’ll get you where you need to be a whole heck of a lot faster.”
Quinn leaned over the map and traced the river to a spot south of the hospital. “That’s perfect but will we be able to get off the river at that point or near it? How steep are the banks in that area?”
Matthew grinned. “Point McKay is very shallow. You can run up into the park there with barely a bump! Then just jump onto Shaganappi Trail and follow it straight up the hill to the hospital. Even if there’s a lot of cars on that road you can go on the side. That portion of the Trail is not built up. It’s just field on either side. It shouldn’t take you more than half an hour, hour at the most if you take it slow.”
There were smiles all around at this piece of good news. They took a few more minutes with the map and Matthew, planning the next steps of their journey if they were forced to carry on to another hospital. They plotted that route and the one they would use if they were successful at the Children’s Hospital to leave the city. They all agreed that going back the way they had come into the city was a waste of time and that they would go back on the river and follow it west until they had to turn north at a town named Cochrane.
With a firm plan in place, they all dove into eating quickly and packing up. Matthew was relieved that they planned on leaving right away. After the confrontation the night before, he thought it would best that this strange group of teenagers was gone before the majority of the community woke.
He helped them roll up the overhead garage door allowing a blast of cold air in. The temperature was not as warm as it had been the day before. They all stepped out and looked up at the sky in concern. If the chinook was ending and temperatures plummeted back to what they were before they left on the trip, it could mean an even more hazardous run home.
A yell rang out causing them all to swing their gazes to the right.
“Lisa! Wait…” Kirkland Kelly was bundled up against the cold and rushing their way. He was out of breath by the time he came to a stop in front of his daughter. “So…glad…still…here!”
Lisa gave him a sad smile. “Why? We pretty much said all we needed to say last night.”
He took a deep breath and reached out to grasp her hand and shook his head. “No, no there is so much more to talk about. I could spend the rest of my life talking to you, honey. But I can’t do that if you aren’t with me! Please, stay? Stay here with me.”
Lisa took a step back in surprise.
“You want me to stay? Here?” When he nodded eagerly, she glanced around at her friends before shaking her head. “I’m sorry but this isn’t my home. If you want to come back with me we could talk about that, but I’m not staying here.”
His expression and shoulders fell and Lisa was surprised to see a glimmer of wetness in his eyes. “I’m so sorry Lisa, I can’t leave here right now. Maybe in the spring but not now.”
Lisa’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t get it. You said you wanted a second chance at being a good father so what’s so important that you would want to stay here instead of coming home with me?”
He glanced behind him at one of the buildings before answering. “I’m with someone, someone I care very deeply about and…well, we’re having a baby. I can’t leave her and she can’t travel so close to her due date.”
Lisa’s face was blank for a moment before it cracked into a sneer. “Well, there you have it! You got yourself a replacement family. Enjoy your do-over!”
He started to shake his head. “It’s not like that…”
She cut him off with a slash of her hand. “It’s exactly like that! And now that I know, I can leave and never look back.” She spun around and started to walk back into the garage calling over her shoulder to the others. “Let’s get going, we’re done here!”
Kirkland stood dejected while his daughter’s friends walked past him one by one. He received a few sympathetic glances but no one spoke on his behalf. Matthew finally stepped over to him and gave his arm a squeeze and then nodded for him to leave. There wasn’t anything more he could do or say to get Lisa to stay so he turned and slowly walked away.
Matthew walked into the garage and watched as the teens loaded the last few items on their sled trailers and then he climbed on behind Quinn to take them down to the river.
The sound of engines filled the garage and then broke the eerie silence of a dead city that not so long ago rang out with sound and life every moment of the day and night.
Following Matthew’s pointed directions, Quinn led them through the zoo and down a pathway that led to the river. Matthew jumped off and removed a lock on a chain link gate that blocked the boat launch and held it open as they drove through with nods and waves. He yelled out, “Good luck!” as the last sled drove through. It was with relief that he closed the gate and relocked it. As interesting as it was to have guests and learn of the broader world, he was happy to see them go so his small community could go back to the daily fight of surviving without the drama and temptation they had brought into it.
Josh was once again driving the UTV with Dara and Lisa as passengers. He kept his eyes on the river ahead and stayed in the tracks that Quinn and Alex were making ahead of him with Cooper following in the rear. He couldn’t help but shiver as they passed under the shadows of Calgary’s downtown high-rises. With thousands of windows facing the river, it was hard not to feel like they were being watched by a million soulless eyes. He was so spooked that he flinched when Dara spoke. She turned in her seat and gave Lisa a penetrating look but hid the wince she felt at the lost look in her friend’s eyes.
“How are you doing, hun? That must have been hard.”
Lisa turned her head away from the sympathy she saw on Dara’s face. The last thing she wanted to do right now was let the tears she felt pressing on the back of her eyes free. She shrugged one shoulder and shook her head.
“Whatever. It’s not like he was much of a dad to start with anyways, so it’s not all that surprising that he replaced me.”
Dara opened her mouth to dispute that but then changed her mind and just reached back and squeezed Lisa’s gloved hand.
“I’m sorry. There’s nothing else I can say that would make it any better. Just know that you’re not alone in having deadbeat parents and I know how much it hurts, even after you think you’ve stopped caring. It still bites you in the butt!”
Lisa let out a small huff of a laugh at her words and then squeezed her friend’s hand back.
Chapter Eighteen
The river was an excellent surface for the sleds to drive on and was wide enough that even the curves it took around and through the
city didn’t affect their speed by much. Twenty minutes into the drive and Quinn slowed right down until he and Alex were on either side of the UTV. Quinn pointed ahead and yelled out over the engines,
“That’s the last bridge we go under. Point McKay should be just after it by a few kilometres. Keep your eyes open for the park and statue Matthew said marked it.”
At Josh’s nod, Quinn and Alex sped back up and took the lead. As soon as they passed under the bridge there was a gentle bend in the river and then several small islands they had to navigate around. Once past those, the river curved again and the land opened up to the north giving them a good view of a large hill. Sitting halfway up that hill was a very distinctive building that looked like it was made from giant Lego blocks.
Josh led out a laugh and pointed it out to the girls. “There it is!”
Dara squinted her eyes in that direction and asked, “How do you know that’s the hospital?”
He tried to look smug. “Because I’m verrry smart!” At her disbelieving look, he just grinned. “Actually, my dad bought one of those hospital home lottery calendars and there was a picture of it on the cover. I remember thinking it was the coolest hospital I’d ever seen. The caption under the picture said that they actually had kids help design the building so it wouldn’t be as scary for them to go there for treatments. Cool, right?”
Dara smiled and nodded in agreement and then pointed ahead of them where Quinn and Alex were angling towards the northern bank of the river. Josh adjusted and followed them up off the river and into a park. Except for their sleds, there was no movement in the area. They left the park and drove onto a nearly empty road that ran up the hill leading to the hospital. The higher they drove the better the view of the surrounding neighborhoods. Where there should have been smoke trails from countless chimneys and cars warming up for their morning commute, there was nothing. A city of over a million people appeared deserted.
STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 91
