Surviving The End (Book 3): New World

by Hamilton, Grace

  “You girls can’t sleep either?” he asked.

  “We heard some kind of noise outside,” Amelia said. “It sounded like a raccoon or something—you know, sort of scratching around?”

  “Raccoon?” Corbin said.

  He’d felt slightly uncomfortable in recent days with Amelia and Owen’s blossoming romance. With everyone sort of crammed together in the house, it made things awkward. Corbin wasn’t quite sure how to act around them. At least Owen was asleep at the moment.

  “That’s what it sounded like,” Amelia said.

  As if to prove her point, there came a strange scratching sound from the porch. Corbin stopped and turned toward the foyer. As the girls had said, it did indeed sound like something moving around out there, the scuff of feet or claws on the edge of the porch. He moved toward the front door.

  “I don’t know if that’s a raccoon,” he said.

  Indeed, as he moved into the foyer, he heard the sound again, and this time he was sure it was something scratching at the door, possibly at the deadbolt. Definitely not a raccoon. Corbin liked to think that he was always prepared for trouble, but he froze for a second, trying to make sense of it.

  “Do you hear that?” Libby said. “What is that? It’s been making that sound off and on for, like, ten minutes.”

  Corbin shushed them both and went to the coat closet, easing the door open and reaching to the top shelf. He grabbed the AR-15 and brought it down, feeling for the safety in the dark. The safety was off. As he swung the closet door shut, he heard the distinctive click of a lock. Crouching, he moved back toward the foyer. Just then, the front door swung open with a soft rush of air, and candlelight from the living room glinted off the tip of a long screwdriver.

  His blood rushing in his ears, Corbin held his breath and waited for the intruder to move into view. The screwdriver was soon followed by a gloved hand, then a bare arm, and finally the intruder appeared. A pale and bony face with an unkempt beard hanging off his chin like some fungal growth. Corbin had a clear shot, but he didn’t want the guy to escape, so he waited until he’d moved fully into the house. Libby and Amelia made anxious noises in the living room, and the intruder moved in that direction. Corbin slipped around behind him, and as he did, he shook the rifle ever so slightly. It rattled, and the intruder froze.

  “You take one more step, and I’ll blow your head off,” Corbin said, in the most threatening voice he could manage.

  The intruder whimpered and dropped the screwdriver, which clattered on the floor.

  “What’s your name?” Corbin asked. When the intruder didn’t answer right away, he added, “Tell me your name, or you die.”

  “Ryan,” the man said. He wore a dark button-up shirt and sweatpants, but his face was pale as milk. “My name is Ryan.” He raised his hands over his head. “Please, don’t kill me. I’m unarmed. I didn’t come here to hurt anyone. I swear.”

  One of the sisters in the living room turned on the electric lamp then, flooding the area with harsh white light. When the intruder saw the rifle pointed at him, his whimper became a moan, and then he burst into tears. At first, Corbin thought he was faking, trying to get him to lower his defenses, but the tears were very real, and the man’s crying quickly worsened until he was sobbing like a baby.

  “Oh my gosh,” Libby said. “What is wrong with this guy? Is he insane?”

  “Possibly,” Corbin replied.

  The intruder backed up against the wall, holding his hands as high as he could. “Don’t kill me. Please, don’t kill me.”

  Doors began to open in the house, and soon Shane and Jodi were moving down the hall. They were quickly followed by Beth, Owen, and Violet. When the intruder saw the crowd of people moving toward him, he cowered. Soon, the entire family, was surrounding the man, all except for Kaylee and Bauer.

  “Ryan, you little creep,” Shane said. “What are you doing in my house?”

  “He picked the lock and walked in,” Corbin said. “Fortunately, I was ready for him.”

  “How did he get over the fence?” Shane asked.

  Corbin peered out the front door. “It looks like he threw a blanket over the spikes on top of the fence. Guess we’ll have to make them sharper next time.”

  Shane produced his Glock and jabbed Ryan in the shoulder with it. “Go into the dining room and sit at the table. Don’t try to run, or I’ll kill you.”

  Ryan’s sobbing had tapered off, but he was still making strange, childish noises as he walked across the living room and sat down at the end of the dining room table. Shane and Corbin took up positions behind him, keeping their guns trained on his back, while Jodi, Beth, and Violet sat down at the table. Corbin didn’t recognize the man, but he’d heard the name Ryan plenty of times. This was the loser who kept trying to stir up trouble at the town meetings. Corbin was proud of himself for getting the drop on the guy, and as he was beaming, Shane turned to him and nodded, as if to say, “Good job, kid.”

  “Well, I’m gonna go contact James on the radio,” Beth said.

  “Why get the sheriff involved?” Corbin said. “We can handle this guy. He’s nobody. Absolutely nobody.”

  “The sheriff needs to know what he did,” Beth said, rising from her seat and heading into the living room.

  Some snacks had been set out on the table, including granola bars, a box of crackers, a jar of peanut butter, and a few bottles of water. Beth liked to leave snacks out in case anyone got hungry between meals. Ryan lunged suddenly and grabbed the crackers.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Shane said, jabbing him in the back of the head with the barrel of his gun.

  Despite the threat of being shot, Ryan shoved his hand into the box, pulled out some crackers, and stuffed them in his mouth. “If you want to shoot a guy for starving, go ahead,” he said, spitting cracker crumbs. “I’ll die with a full belly, at least.”

  Jodi started to reach for the box of crackers, then shook her head and left it alone. Ryan pulled out more crackers and ate them noisily. Corbin was struck by the sight of a man who would risk his life for a bit of food. The intruder did look awfully thin and unhealthy. Maybe his home invasion had been a simple act of desperation. If so, it was worthy of sympathy, but not enough sympathy that Corbin felt like lowering the rifle.

  “You’ve got to be the dumbest person in town,” Shane said. “Haven’t you heard the stories about what happened to the last people who broke into our house? Are you trying to get shot?”

  “I’m hungry, and you’ve got the food,” Ryan said a note of bitterness in his voice. “I figured even if I got shot, it would hurt less than this slow wasting away.”

  Beth returned then. “Sheriff is on his way. I woke him up, so he’s pretty grumpy.”

  “Well, if he wants to lock me up, so be it,” Ryan said. “At least he’ll have to feed me from time to time.”

  Shaking her head, Beth walked into the kitchen. “I want to show you something, my dear socialist, since you’re so fixated on my food store.” She opened the pantry door wide to give him a clear view of the shelves. “Do you see this?” She picked up one of the cans and held it up. “It’s mostly canned items from my own garden, which is something you are fully capable of doing yourself. There is no reason on earth why an able-bodied adult man can’t start his own garden or hunt, or do both, and provide for himself. No reason at all, unless he’s just bone-lazy and stupid. Maybe if you would stop obsessing over what other people have and start taking responsibility for yourself, you wouldn’t be in such a pitiful state.”

  The longer she spoke, the more fiery she became, until she was practically shouting by the end. Corbin was shocked, but at the same time, he was impressed. For a woman who had formerly been compassionate to a fault, she seemed to have learned her lesson. The strain had finally broken through.

  “You make it sound so easy,” Ryan said, becoming sullen. He started to grab more crackers, but he seemed to change his mind and pushed the box away. “You make it sound like foo
d just appears if you want it hard enough.”

  “Food does just appear, you moron,” Beth shouted. “It grows on plants. All you have to do is put the seeds in the ground, water them occasionally, pluck a few weeds from time to time, and wait. That’s how nature works. How did you get to be this old and still remain so incredibly stupid?”

  To this, Ryan had no response. He folded his hands on the tabletop, bowed his head, and said no more. Corbin dared to lower the rifle, and Shane followed suit with the Glock. This guy wasn’t some hardened criminal. He was just a pathetic, hungry fool. Again, Corbin was tempted to feel sorry for him.

  The sheriff showed up a few minutes later and came in through the open front door. As he approached the dining room, Ryan looked at him.

  “Well, look who we have here,” the sheriff said, laying a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “I can’t say I’m all that surprised.”

  “I didn’t intend to hurt anybody,” Ryan said. “All I was after was a little food.”

  “That’s what they all say.” He gestured for Ryan to stand up. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Ryan rose from his seat, and James dragged him away from the table, pressing him up against the wall. “That’s it,” the sheriff said, as he handcuffed the intruder. “This foolishness is getting out of hand. I’m calling an emergency meeting tomorrow. We’re going to confront this issue head-on. Frank’s weak, waffling leadership has allowed this situation to fester, but I’m done with it.”

  Corbin turned to watch as the sheriff marched Ryan back through the living room. As he did, he noticed Amelia and Owen standing together near the fireplace. Amelia’s eyes were wide as saucers, her mouth hanging open in a horrified grimace. As soon as the sheriff stepped outside, she grabbed her stomach, as if she were about to puke.

  “Oh, gosh, what if we’d been asleep?” Amelia wondered aloud. “What if Corbin hadn’t gotten up for a drink of water? Think about what could’ve happened to us!”

  Owen reached for her, but she made a sudden loud gagging sound and ran out of the living room. A second later, Corbin heard the bathroom door slam shut. Owen hurried after her.

  Corbin went back to the hall closet and placed the AR-15 on the shelf beside Beth’s double-barrel shotgun. When he shut the door, he turned to see Shane and Jodi staring at him.

  “Thanks, Corbin,” Jodi said. “Thanks for being vigilant tonight.”

  He felt embarrassed by the gratitude. Unsure how to respond, he changed the subject, “You figure the emergency meeting will do any good? It might make things worse. People seem so unstable all the time.”

  Nobody responded at first. Corbin saw Shane and Jodi trade a questioning look. Libby sighed loudly and hunched over. Finally, Shane said, “The vote for mandatory confiscation of food almost passed at the last meeting. It won’t take much to push the community a little farther in the wrong direction.”

  “Why would Ryan breaking into our house tip the vote against us?” Beth asked. “Surely people won’t sympathize with a criminal.”

  “They’ll hear the story of a man who was armed with only a screwdriver,” Shane said, “which he dropped on the ground as soon as he was caught. A man who had guns pointed at him, but all he wanted was a few dry crackers. He risked his life for a mouthful of food. That’s what they’ll hear.” He let the words sink in for a moment, before adding, “We have to be ready to defend our lives and our property, possibly against the entire town.”

  “I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Jodi said.

  But Corbin nodded. He was impressed with how Shane had toughened up in the last few weeks. He had no doubt the man would do whatever was necessary to protect his home.

  18

  Jodi had gotten so little sleep that she almost felt like she was floating, but every thought was tinged with anxiety. And still the meeting was drawing near, like some unstoppable lava flow. They had decided to walk to the high school, and she hoped the late afternoon heat and relentless sun would help wake her up. She washed her face with soap and cold water, then dressed in clean clothes. When Shane called the family, she walked like a zombie into the hall and toward the living room.

  Owen was standing outside his bedroom door, his face twisted up as if in agony, and he was rubbing his hands together. He’d asked to come to the meeting, but maybe he was having second thoughts. In fact, Jodi had never seen him look so anxious. She stopped and gently patted his arm.

  “The meeting is going to be just fine,” she said. “Your father wants us to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, but I doubt it’ll go that way.”

  “It’s not that,” he said, glancing left and right. “It’s something else. Can I talk to you privately, Mom?”

  Most of the family had gathered in the living room, but Owen moved past his mother and went into the bedroom at the end of the hall. Jodi followed, feeling a new burst of anxiety. What was this? She braced herself for further bad news. Owen stopped at the end of the bed and turned to her, chewing his lower lip.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Amelia is late.” He said it then left the comment hanging in the air between them.

  “Wait. What? When did you guys…? How did you manage…?”

  “It doesn’t matter, Mom. Don’t ask. It happened a few times. The point is she’s late.”

  Jodi had so many questions, and such a confusing array of feelings, she didn’t even know where to start. The world seemed to be tilting beneath her, and she wasn’t sure how long she would be able to maintain her balance. She stumbled over to the bed and sat down.

  “Mom, please don’t freak out on me,” Owen said. “That won’t help. Do you think you could find us a pregnancy test? We have to be sure.”

  Jodi felt like she was tipping over the edge of a cliff, but she knew she had to get control of herself. She wanted to yell at Owen, to grab and shake him. What is wrong with you? How could you do this when we’re already dealing with so many problems? Why were you so selfish?

  Through a heroic exertion of will, she swallowed these questions, restrained her worst emotions, and stood back up. Looking at her son, she spoke in as normal a voice as she could manage.

  “Are you absolutely sure you’re the father?”

  “Yes,” he replied, staring at his shoes. “I’m the only one she’s ever been with.”

  “And why were you two so careless?” she asked.

  He didn’t answer. In truth, Jodi didn’t need an answer. She understood all too well how it felt to be young, careless, and in love—well, in lust, anyway. She had made her own reckless choices and had her own romantic misadventures in high school and college, but she’d never gotten pregnant. She had been responsible enough to avoid it, and part of her wanted to lash out at her son for failing in this regard.

  It won’t do any good to scold him now, she reminded herself. You’ll only push him away.

  He hadn’t answered her question, so she carefully reconsidered her approach and said, “Okay, Owen, the old pharmacy is on the way to the high school. I know the drugs are all gone from there at this point, but they might have a few basic supplies left. Maybe I’ll find a pregnancy test. I don’t know. I’ll swing by when I get a chance.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” he replied, his shoulders slumping. Clearly, he knew he’d disappointed her. “You won’t tell Dad yet, will you? I’m not sure how he’ll take it.”

  Another thing Jodi didn’t like. Withholding vital information from Shane seemed like a bad idea, but Owen was right to be wary. With so much danger in the community, Shane wouldn’t respond well. “I won’t tell him yet,” she said, after a moment, “but we can’t keep this from him for long. You should take Amelia to see Dr. Yates. She needs prenatal care.”

  “Okay.” Suddenly, he rushed forward and hugged her. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  “We’ll be fine,” she replied, mostly because she thought he needed to hear it. She wasn’t so sure that anything would be fine.

  As they ma
de the now-familiar walk to the high school, Jodi did her best not to let her anxiety show. Owen’s timing couldn’t have been worse. The emergency town meeting had the potential of turning into a disaster. They needed to be on their toes. Shane, Jodi, Beth, and Mike walked together, managing a fairly slow pace.

  “What’s on your mind?” Shane asked her.

  The question caught her off guard. She’d been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice when he sidled up next to her, and his voice made her stumble. Shane put an arm around her to keep her from falling.

  “Thanks,” she replied. “I’m fine. Nothing is on my mind. I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well.”

  “Are you sure that’s all it is?”

  He was leaning down, trying to make eye contact, but she fixed her gaze on the sidewalk in front of her. “Yes, Shane, I’m sure.”

  East Side Pharmacy had been a fairly busy place before the EMP, a favorite location to pick up prescriptions for the community’s many elderly residents. It stood on a street corner not far from the high school.

  “I need to pop into the pharmacy real quick,” she said to Shane. “Keep walking. I’ll catch up.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes, it’ll just take a minute.” She stepped away from the group, hesitating a moment to make sure Shane, Beth, and Mike continued walking. She gave Shane a smile and nod, and he seemed to accept this. Then she stepped inside the pharmacy.

  It had the musty smell of a long-unused building, and Jodi saw immediately that it had been practically picked cleaned. The shelves at the front of the stores were bare, and the drug counter in back was empty. In fact, she was surprised that the building was still unlocked. She took a moment to search the aisles anyway.

  “Well, the doctor did tell us that all of the drugs were relocated,” Shane said, startling her for the second time since they’d left the house.

  Somehow, he had slipped into the store behind her, and she spun around, catching herself on the end of the aisle.