by Harley Tate
“You mean the guns?”
“Exactly.” Peyton’s smile faded. “After that little performance, we can’t let our guard down. Not for a minute.”
Madison frowned. She didn’t want to think the worst of her parents’ neighbors, but the visit unnerved her. “What do you think he was after?”
Peyton swung the bat around in a slow arc before answering. “Everything we have, I’d guess.”
She hoped he was wrong, but the more Madison thought about the visit, the more she agreed with Peyton. She pushed off the wall and pointed toward the kitchen. “Come on, let’s get Brianna’s Jeep in the garage and hash out a plan.”
DAY THREE
Chapter Twenty-Five
MADISON
Sacramento, CA
11:30 a.m.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. What if someone sees it? What if you need it while I’m gone?”
Brianna slid the unloaded handgun across the kitchen table. “The meeting could just be a ruse to draw you out.”
Madison shook her head. She wasn’t walking into a meeting with a bunch of confused and worried neighbors with a gun shoved inside the waistband of her jeans. She pushed it back across the table. “No. I’m not taking it.”
Brianna scowled, but said nothing. The handgun sat between them, a visual reminder of their differing opinions.
“What’s going on?” Peyton walked into the kitchen, pausing as he noticed the gun. “Staring at that thing isn’t going to conjure up more ammunition, although it’d be a neat trick if it worked.”
Madison cast him a glance. “Brianna wants me to take it to the meeting. I said no.”
Peyton let out a whistle. “What do you think, Tucker?”
Brianna’s boyfriend scratched at the back of his neck. “I don’t know. They both have a point. Madison thinks if someone sees it, it could cause a scene. And if that jerk from yesterday is planning on breaking in, we might need it here.”
“We do have the shotgun.” Peyton nodded at the handgun. “That thing has, what? Ten rounds? It won’t do as much good as the box full of shells.”
“Ten is better than none.” Madison leaned back in the chair as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Besides, just pointing it at someone could get the point across. You saw how Bill reacted when you showed up with the bat.”
Peyton shrugged. “What if he’s armed this time?”
“I don’t know if anyone in this neighborhood has a gun. You saw how hard it was to purchase a firearm here. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were the only house on the block with any kind of weapon.”
Tucker spoke up. “Haven’t you seen that YouTube guy who makes weapons out of anything? He made an air gun out of a Coke can and a spear or something out of a garden hose. This whole ’hood could be weaponized.”
“Too bad YouTube doesn’t exist anymore.” Brianna huffed her displeasure. “I could go for a few more defenses, myself.”
Madison reached for her roommate’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Her chipped nail polish reminded Madison of how much things had changed in such a short time. A manicure seemed so ridiculous when the talk of basic defense and survival was on the agenda.
“You don’t have to stay. If you and Tucker want to get out of here and head for Truckee, do it.”
Brianna pulled her hand away. “And leave you in danger? No way. I’m not leaving until I know you’re safe.”
“Same here.” Tucker eased his hands in his jean pockets. “We’re staying until either your parents make it home or we know more.” He glanced at his girlfriend. “If it turns out you’re on your own…”
Brianna filled in the rest. “Then you’re coming with us. The cabin’s got more than enough room for you and Peyton, too.”
Madison swallowed down a wave of emotion. Her mom had to be all right. Madison had stayed up most of the night waiting for her, hoping she’d hear the familiar rumble of the Suburban pull into the drive. But the sound never came and in the morning, her mom still wasn’t home.
She couldn’t even think about her dad. He could be anywhere. If he was still alive. If he’d been in the air when the CME hit, he’d have been cut off from all communication. Her dad was a good pilot, but could he land a 747 with only his eyes as a guide? Over water?
With a deep breath, Madison pushed the fears aside. Right now she needed to focus on keeping everyone here safe, their supplies secret and secure, and finding out what the neighbors knew. They were in the capital of California; someone who lived in the neighborhood had to have more information.
The chair squeaked cross the tile as she stood up. “It’s almost noon. I’m heading over.”
“I’ll come with you.” Peyton took a step toward her, but Madison waved him off. “No. They need to know the house isn’t empty. Bill didn’t see Brianna or Tucker, remember? For all he knows it’s just the two of us. Let’s keep him in the dark as long as possible.”
She paused, taking a moment to make eye contact with each of her friends. “If anything happens, do what you have to do to survive.”
Brianna nodded as she stood up. She eased around the table and gave Madison a hug, a curl tickling Madison’s nose. “Be safe, okay? I want you back here ASAP and in one piece, all right?”
Madison nodded and Brianna let her go.
“Don’t worry about us, we’ll be okay.” Peyton gave her a pat on the shoulder, his eyes full of emotion.
Tucker managed a nod. “We’re good. Just concentrate on finding out as much as you can. If there’s any word on the solar weather, I’d love to know.”
“Will do. Thanks, guys.” Madison exhaled a shaky breath before turning toward the living room.
Without a single look back, Madison tugged open the front door and stepped outside. She made a show of locking it behind her before stepping down off the front porch and walking toward the street.
The Palmers were an older couple Madison had met a few times while home on break. They lived five houses down and across the street in a little Cape Cod about the same size as her parents’ house. All the houses in the neighborhood were built in the forties, one of the first modern-planned tract housing developments in the area.
Over the years, a few of the houses had been expanded or topped and turned into little castles, but both her parents’ house and the Palmers’ stayed true to their roots. A pair of women she didn’t know were walking on the sidewalk across the street, headed in the same direction. Madison smiled as she crossed the street toward them.
“Are you going to the neighborhood meeting?”
The woman closest to her smiled and nodded. With dark brown hair and freckles across her nose, she couldn’t have been older than thirty. She held out her hand. “I’m Anna, this is Brooke. We live off Verde Villa.”
Madison shook both of their hands before pointing back the way she came. “I’m Madison. Tracy and Walt’s daughter. We live just—”
“I know Tracy.” Brooke held out her hand and Madison shook it, too. “She’s been helping me with beginning reader books for my daughter. It’s so nice to have a librarian in the neighborhood.”
Madison smiled and fell into step beside them as the three of them walked up to the Palmers’ house. “Were you all able to come yesterday?”
Anna nodded. “I came. Brooke was busy with her little ones. I didn’t see your mom or dad. Are they home?”
Madison hesitated. “Not right now, but we didn’t want to miss anything.”
Neither woman said anything, but the glance between them spoke volumes. Madison wanted to tell them not to worry, that as a college student she was a lot more prepared than they were to handle the future. But she didn’t.
They had arrived.
The front door to the home opened and Mrs. Palmer beamed. “Madison! So good to see you. We were wondering if you would make it home all right. Anna, Brooke.” Mrs. Palmer craned her neck, looking for anyone else. “Is your mom not coming?”
“Not today.” Madison eased inside and
Mrs. Palmer shut the door.
“You give her my best, will you? I’ve been meaning to tell her that canning book she found for me at the library might turn out to be a godsend.”
Madison smiled in response. She hoped she’d get the chance to tell her mom so many things. As she walked into the living room, Madison tried to get her bearings. About twenty neighbors stood around the room, clustered into groups of three or four. She thought about the layout of the neighborhood and how many people might have been invited.
There had to be over a hundred little houses in the subdivision. Where was everyone else? Since her parents hadn’t moved in until Madison was already in college, she didn’t know many people. Apart from Mrs. Palmer and the two women she’d just met, Madison couldn’t place a single face. She wished her mom was there by her side.
She would know who could be trusted and who to look out for, who to sidestep and who to befriend. If the power stayed out for as long as she feared it might, these people could be the difference between survival and death.
With a deep breath, Madison walked toward the closest group of people, straining to hear their conversation before she butted in.
A man with gray hair pushed a set of bifocals up his nose as he gesticulated at the street, already mid-sentence. “—have to be coming, don’t they? Isn’t this what FEMA’s for?”
The woman across from him nodded. “The Red Cross, too. They should be here already. When it flooded, the fire department came right away and the Red Cross set up a trailer at the end of the block.”
They wouldn’t be much help. Madison smiled and eased past them, hoping someone would have some information she could use. Another cluster of people huddled around the fireplace as if they would somehow draw comfort from a cold and empty grate.
“I haven’t heard from Monica since the power went out.” The woman speaking tugged a purple knit cardigan closer around her. “She works at the Med Center downtown.”
Madison perked up and stepped close enough to become part of the conversation. “I’m sorry, but is that the UC Davis Medical Center?” Madison smiled an apology and continued. “I go to school at Davis. My mom’s Tracy Sloane.”
“Oh, you’re Madison!” The woman smiled. “Tracy has said so much about you. You’re studying to be a farmer, right?”
Madison gave a sheepish smile. “Sort-of. My mom couldn’t make the meeting so I came instead, but I’m not home much, so I don’t know anyone here.”
The woman held out her hand. “I’m Tabitha.” She nudged the man to her right. “My husband Richard and I live just down the street. The little blue bungalow with the orange door.”
Madison nodded. She knew the one. “Nice to meet you.” She shook first Tabitha’s hand and then Richard’s.
“And this is Jean, she’s our next-door neighbor.”
Jean, an older woman with blonde hair and bright red eyeglasses held out her hand. “Your mom and I started a book club a few months ago.” She glanced at the dark TV. “It might get a whole lot more popular if the televisions don’t come back on.”
Madison let out a little laugh. Everyone she had met so far was nice. Normal. Nothing like that Bill guy who gave her the creeps the night before. She exhaled before testing the waters. “Have any of you heard anything? It’s been a long time to be without power.”
Everyone in the little circle shook their head. “Usually we know something by now, but I haven’t heard a thing.” Tabitha glanced at her husband. “Like I was saying, Monica Fillers lives on the other side of us and she’s a nurse at the Med Center. She hasn’t been home since the power went out. We haven’t ventured outside the neighborhood, but Bill from the street over did. He said the power’s out everywhere.”
Jean crinkled her nose. “I worry about all the sick people in hospitals and all the poor nurses and doctors tending to them.”
Tabitha nodded. “What about the police? How can they cope without radios?”
“I worry more about the prisons.” Richard frowned. “Folsom’s not that far from here. What if they don’t have power? How long can it stay secure?”
Madison had all the same concerns. “I drove home from Davis. The power’s out there, too. I think it’s out everywhere.”
Jean’s mouth fell open. “What do you mean, everywhere?”
Madison blinked. Did these people really not know? Did they think it was an isolated incident and everything would just be repaired if they waited it out? She didn’t know what to say. How much information should she give them? The last thing she wanted was to start a panic. That wouldn’t help anyone.
She opened her mouth to say something when another voice called out. “I think everyone who’s coming is here. Let’s get this meeting started.”
Madison turned in time to see Bill, the man from the night before, take up position in the front of the room. Madison exhaled. At least he’s not breaking into our house.
Yet.
Chapter Twenty-Six
TRACY
Sacramento, CA
12:00 p.m.
The smell of fresh blood mixed with the stink of decay, and Tracy fought to swallow the rising swell of saliva in the back of her mouth. She couldn’t vomit. Not over what she’d done.
The horror of it would come later; she knew this much. That night under the bed she’d been eerily calm, too. Just like this.
But later…
Oh, later had been almost worse than the experience itself. So many nightmares. So many screams jolting her out of the relative safety of a foster bed. Tracy swallowed again and bent over the man from the kitchen. Hank.
She reached for his arm, plucking it off the ground with a pincher grip on his threadbare flannel. A jingle of metal on metal rewarded her efforts. Tracy scooped up the keys as the widening pool of blood encroached on the now-empty space. She dropped Hank’s arm.
It squished as it fell, the sticky plop a reminder of the finality of her actions.
Tracy straightened up. “I’ve got the keys. Let’s get back to your place, grab the supplies, and get out of here.”
Wanda leaned against the counter, one arm propping her up like a tent pole at the big top. “I don’t think I can do this.” Her cheeks flamed, two bright spots on an otherwise ashen face.
“Yes you can.”
Wanda’s cheeks sucked in and bulged out, the precursor to what came next. The vomit landed on the linoleum, splashing over Ricky or Richard, whatever his name had been. The man who started it all. Wanda clutched at her belly, heaving until Tracy was sure the blood vessels in her eyes would burst.
At last, she righted herself, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “I'm sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just get ready. We’ve got to go.”
Tracy led the way out of the apartment, past George still lounging in the recliner, his blind eyes oblivious to the violence behind him. Wanda followed a few steps behind, clearing her throat as she went. The sun hit Tracy’s face and she almost hissed.
Too bright. Too real.
She shielded her face, ducking like a hungover teenager as she scurried back up the stairs to Wanda’s floor. Entering the hallway, the smell no longer bothered her. She’d seen so much, done so much. The smell of rot didn’t bother her anymore.
Wanda unlocked her door and the pair of them retrieved the supplies, Tracy balancing the Slim Fast once again on her hip as Wanda rolled the suitcases out the front door. They hustled back down the stairs to the lower parking lot, making two trips with all of the bins and bags.
Tracy beeped the Nissan Leaf unlocked and headed toward it, eyes darting back and forth as she scanned the lot for someone who might cause more trouble. No one appeared. She tugged open the back seat and loaded it up, shoving bags and fully-loaded trash cans into the back until she could barely see out the rear window.
As she shut the door a flash of reddish-orange caught her eye.
Fireball.
He’d run out of the apartment when the fight broke out, the only
sensible creature in the room. Tracy crouched on the pavement, fingers out as she called to him. “Psst, psst. Fireball, come here, kitty.”
She rubbed her fingers back and forth and the little cat eased forward, weaving back and forth as he rubbed himself all over the front fender of the car. “That’s it. Come here.”
One more motion with her fingers and the cat came within striking distance. Tracy scooped him up and tossed him in the car as Wanda sat in the passenger seat.
“Fireball!”
Tracy slid into the driver’s seat and shut the door.
“Oh, Tracy, you found him!” Wanda gave the cat a snuggle before he settled in on her lap. “Thank you.”
Without a word, Tracy started the car. Saving a cat didn’t make up for the two lives she’d taken. Nothing ever would. But she’d survived. Wanda had survived. Together, they’d make it back to her house, their supplies, and hopefully her husband and daughter.
Tracy backed out of the parking spot, almost silent with nothing but the electric motor. Please let this car get me home. Please.
Half an hour later, she had her wish. The drive had been uneventful. No cars on the road. Only a handful of people saw her pass by. She’d kept to the residential streets, only having to back up and turn around a few times. Three days into the end of times and society hadn’t gone completely downhill.
Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she’d feared. Maybe they would survive this without any more carnage. Or death.
Tracy turned into the subdivision and marveled. The neighborhood looked just like she’d left it. Tidy little houses all in a row. Front yards with springtime flowers and green grass. Not a single broken window or dead body in sight.
Nothing like the gated community they had left behind. But looks could be deceiving. Behind all those manicured lawns and swept front porches, her neighbors grappled with this new reality. Not all would take it well. Tracy wondered how long she’d have before all hell broke loose.
