by D C Little
~5~
The next few days they fell into a routine. Before breakfast they would work out in some form or another. Tucker had come up with the idea of taking turns leading the exercises. Kris had led them in yoga. Blake, of course, had some military/combat exercises, and Tucker, well, he had silly poses and lots of jumping. Luckily, Blake had put in the linoleum-covered wood floor so the echoing wasn’t near as bad as it could have been.
After breakfast they had quiet time, whether it was reading books, playing solitaire, drawing, or school workbooks that Kris had insisted be brought to the bunker. Before lunch they would play a game together. The rest of the day hadn’t become too routine yet, but it felt like a good transition into their new way of living for the next few months.
Blake spent a good portion of time staring at the security cameras he had set up. Another expense that Kris had been upset about before the world had come crashing down around them. She didn’t ask much about them, though every once in a while she would watch them too, just to remind herself that life still continued. Birds still flew. Squirrels still collected nuts for the coming winter. The sun still shined.
Kris was too absorbed in having her husband near her again to become lost in another panic attack. She felt as if they were honeymooning, only with a special little boy stopping romantic moments. Yet, he brought his own warmth to her mood. He was the true reason she held it together. She would do anything for her child.
Any time she began feeling closed in, she would reset by taking a nap, nothing she had ever done before. Or she would clean, read a book, journal, or something else semi-quiet and non-overwhelming. Blake had been vigilant and thoughtful, reading her moods almost better than she did herself. He would involve Tucker in a quiet card game, read books with him, or let him watch a movie with headphones whenever Kris began to act anxious.
If Kris imagined things just right, she could pretend they were in a fancy RV on vacation. Only this RV never stopped, and it didn’t have any windows to look out at the scenery.
She marked another day off the calendar that had been stored down there. Today was day five in the bunker, five days since the world had changed. For a moment she became preoccupied with thoughts of how others fared. Did Sara and Vinny get to a safe place? Did her parents make it to her brother’s? How were her students faring?
She swallowed some guilt knowing that many of her students could be suffering right now. If Blake’s statistics were correct, most would not survive this catastrophe. A shudder shot through her as their faces popped up in her mind.
A deep cough pulled her from her thoughts. Blake and Tucker were curled up on the bed while Tucker read a chapter book aloud. She squinted, watching them until the cough happened again.
Tucker covered his mouth with his elbow while a hoarse cough bellowed out. Where had that come from?
Blake’s gaze raised to hers, two little lines forming between his eyebrows.
Kris’s heart pounded as she counted five coughs in three minutes. Forcing herself to move slow and act nonchalant, she sat on the edge of the bed pretending to listen to Tucker finish the chapter. When he did, he covered his mouth and coughed again.
“That was great reading, Sweetie.” She laid a hand on his forehead, her face falling as soon as she touched his burning skin.
“It’s a two point nine level.” He looked at his dad. “That’s the end of second grade.”
“Very impressive, Tuck.”
Tucker beamed as he sat back against his dad.
“You feeling okay?” Kris asked, though the glassy look of his eyes told her everything she needed to know.
“I think I caught the cough from Vinny. That’s why he went to bed early during our sleepover.”
Kris bit her cheek. Why hadn’t Sara told her that?
“Do you think he’s okay? He doesn’t have a bunker.” Tucker’s brow wrinkled.
“His parent’s had a plan should things like this happen. They didn’t share in detail, but I know they were prepared.”
“Just like we are,” Blake said as Tucker coughed again. “Even for things like that cough.”
Kris caught his meaning. She headed to the cupboard that held their medical supplies. She shifted through the different over-the-counter medicines and a few different bottles of antibiotics. Finding a thermometer and a children’s cough and cold formula, she pulled them out. Yet, looking further, she saw there was only one bottle.
She set the bottle on the counter and sat by Tucker’s side with the thermometer. He only complained slightly when she had him open his mouth and stick the device under his tongue.
Her heart raced as she saw the numbers steadily climb. Even Blake’s eyes went wide. They stopped around one hundred two when it finally beeped. She reached for his head again, placing her cool hands on his fiery hot skin.
“I’m tired, Mommy.” Tucker snuggled deeper into the bed.
“Rest, Sweetie.”
“Rest is best,” he murmured as he fell asleep.
Once she was sure he was sleeping, she rose and walked a few steps away. She heard Blake untangle himself from their son and reach her.
“Why didn’t you give him the medicine?” Blake rubbed her shoulders and brought her into his arms, showing her he wasn’t mad, just curious.
“There’s only one bottle. This is the beginning. It will get worse. Remember when he caught bronchitis?”
“He was so small then.”
“It was terrifying. What if...” Her voice quivered as she looked at her peaceful son. “What if it’s bad like that again?”
“He’s going to be okay.” Blake’s words held hope, but Kris heard the unsaid fears just the same.
She leaned into his strong chest and let herself feel the fear pulsating through her. For once she allowed herself to freely feel and her body shook with the release.
~*~
Blake once again held his wife while she cried. She had been through quite a bit this last week, but his nerves were fried. Every time she lost it emotionally, he felt like a failure. He couldn’t even keep his wife from crying, and now Tucker was sick.
He hoped that it would just be a quick cold that they always took care of at home anyway, but Kris’s fears echoed within him. What if it was worse?
Once she had calmed, Blake went into action. He pulled out the disinfecting wipes and then dug into the medicine kit. They had stashed some vitamins in there as well as that syrup that Kris said built up the immune system. What was it again? He nodded as he pulled out a bottle reading, elderberry syrup, and set it on the counter too.
Kris had already grabbed the wipes and started cleaning. He knew she cleaned when stressed, and this time it was needed desperately. He and Kris had to stay healthy. They couldn’t catch whatever bug Tucker had.
That night, Tucker’s cough kept them awake a good portion of the time until Blake finally convinced Kris to give him some medicine. Twenty minutes later, Tucker fell into a quiet slumber. Within moments, Blake fell asleep as well.
By the time they woke up, Tucker’s fever had spiked again. He was listless and not really responsive. Fear pulsated in Blake. He clenched his jaw as he paced the small room.
“Stop pacing and make yourself useful.” Kris tossed him a medical manual before returning to place a cool cloth on Tucker’s forehead.
Blake released a low growl before plopping into a chair at the table and scanning the table of contents until he reached cough. He read the few pages dedicated to coughing sicknesses and then set it aside to watch Kris.
She stuffed more pillows under Tucker’s head. Elevate head, the book had said. Well, she knew that. Then she rubbed some white lotion on his chest and a minty smell wafted towards him. Use a menthol, peppermint, or eucalyptus rub, the book had instructed. Check, but didn’t it say to put it on the feet too? He watched as Kris moved to do just that, and he wondered if she could read his mind.
Why did she have him read the book if she already knew it all. The only thin
g she hadn’t done was take him into the steamy bathroom, but he knew she knew about that one because he found them in there many nights when Tucker was younger and had the croup. Even last night she had talked about it, but after the medicine it wasn’t needed.
They had exhausted all of their resources. Now they could only hope and pray for mercy.
~*~
Kris bit her cheeks and closed her eyes. If Blake didn’t stop pacing she was going to tie him to a chair. She wet the cloth and laid it on Tucker’s forehead. His body racked with coughs. It pained her every time to hear it, but she kept her voice soft and soothing.
“Let’s sit you up a little more, Sweetie.” She added a few more pillows behind his head so he almost sat upright.
“Thanks, Mommy,” he whispered weakly before letting his head fall to the side and closing his eyes once again.
Once she heard his deep breathing, she eased herself away from him to rummage through their supplies. They had to have something more to help him.
She squatted near the storage compartment under the bed and looked up at Blake in his umpteenth lap of the small space.
“Do we happen to have a humidifier?” she asked him.
“A what? No. See this is why you should have been more involved in the preparations, but no, you thought I was crazy. You tired of playing the game.” Blake’s eyes seemed to flame as his nostrils flared and sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cool temperature.
Kris watched him with wide eyes as she inwardly went through a plethora of emotions and reactions. Before she could reply, Tucker went into another coughing fit. She turned her back on her fuming husband and soothed her son.
Tucker’s coughing eased as she caressed his head with the cool cloth and spoke calmly to him. She hummed a little song she had sung to him since he was a baby. Soon his breathing calmed and he fell back into slumber.
When she turned back toward Blake, she found him sitting with his head in his hands. Empathy filled her as she made her way to her husband. She sat next to him and leaned into his tough body.
“I’m scared, too.” She concentrated on keeping her words light, unrestricted by his earlier outburst.
“I’m sorry. I just...” His voice trailed off into a growl.
“I know. It’s like being trapped in a cage of our own making with no way to help our son feel better.”
He looked at her then. His tortured eyes pleading into hers. “Could you do anything different if we were on the surface?”
“I could make him some pine needle tea. It’s an expectorant.”
Blake squeezed his lips together, seeming to hide the smile trying to ruin the serious moment.
“What?” Kris asked in mock shock. “I listened to some of those foraging videos you had me watch.”
“I just...” He shook his head. “Would having that make a big difference for Tucker?”
“The tea could keep it from going to into pneumonia.” Kris squeezed her hands together, trying to not get her hopes up. “It wouldn’t take me long to get them, only a few minutes.”
The idea of even a minute of fresh air filled her with euphoria, besides the hope of having something to help keep Tucker’s lungs from turning into something dangerous.
“I’m sorry,” Blake said, resting a hand on her arm. “I can’t let you go out there without me, and we can’t leave Tucker alone.”
Kris’s shoulders dropped right along with her heart. She turned her eyes toward Tucker moaning in his sleep. After a moment, she steeled herself, narrowed her eyes, and met Blake’s again.
“Will you go then?” All that mattered was her son.
She could read the appreciation in Blake’s eyes as he met hers and nodded his head. He rose to prepare, which meant holstering guns all over his body along with a wicked looking knife strapped to his thigh. He peered at the camera screens for a good ten minutes before he handed her the dreaded pistol.
“The area appears secure. Come here.” He held a hand out to her.
When she grasped it, warmth flooded through her as he guided her to the screens. In front of them, he wrapped his arms around her as he pointed to each one.
“This one shows the area around the gate. This one the house. And this one the land on the other side of the bunker. These monitors here have no video but if one of them beeps and flashes red it means the perimeter has been breached.”
Kris’s heart pounded. No wonder he had stood over here for hours every day.
“Here’s a radio.” He set down a walkie-talkie on the shelf by all the screens. “I have the other one.” He tugged on the black device stuck in his shirt pocket. “If you see any movement or hear any alarms, relay the location at once. Whisper, don’t yell.”
Kris nodded her head. “No one has come here in the last week. Why would they now?”
“You just never know, Kris. Always be—“
“Prepared,” Tucker choked out before going into another coughing fit.
Both Kris and Blake swiftly made their way to his side. When he could breathe once again, he looked straight at Blake.
“Don’t go out, Daddy.”
“I won’t be gone long, son. Less than ten minutes. I need to get something to help you feel better.” Blake reached out and touched Tucker’s cheek. A look of panic filled her husband’s eyes as he came in contact with their son’s flaming hot skin. “I better go now.” He leaned over and kissed Tucker’s head and then kissed Kris’s cheek.
“No, Daddy! There are people out there! Don’t go!” Tucker sat up in bed, his glassy eyes wide and wild.
“I checked, Champ. The cameras are clear. I’ll be back before your mom has the water heated.” With one last longing look at Tucker, he turned his attention to her. “Keep an eye on the cameras. I love you both. We always come back to each other.”
“We always come back to each other,” both Kris and Tucker automatically replied.
Then Tucker went wild again. “But Daddy, no, don’t go, please...” He pleaded until his outburst sent him into another coughing fit.
Kris soothed him, her heart breaking for her son. He had such trauma from his dad leaving as often as he did. She nodded toward Blake who quickly and quietly escaped the bunker. The clang of the steel door shutting on them once more echoed throughout the small room and brought Tucker into sobs as soon as his coughing spell ended.
“Shh, Sweetie. Daddy’s going to be okay.”
“People. There’s people.” Tucker mumbled in between racking sobs.
Kris held him, petting his head and whispering soothing words of comfort. Her heart broke with every tear, aching with need to take away her son’s pain.
Once he calmed, she eased him back on the pillows.
“Please, go watch the cameras. Watch close, Mommy. We need Daddy.” With glassy eyes barely able to stay open, he looked at her with such determination she couldn’t deny his request.
“I will, Tuck. I will watch for Daddy.”
“Now,” he insisted, no longer pleading but demanding, just like he had when he said that he had heard Blake near the fire.
“Okay, Sweetie.” She kissed his forehead and rose.
He only closed his eyes once she stood in front of the screens and nodded toward him.
Tucker’s earnest plea unsettled her. She found her hands shaking as her eyes flickered over each screen. A silent humming sounded within her as fear pulsed through her every nerve. The only times that Tucker had acted this earnest, his premonitions had come true...just like the catastrophe.
With her heart palpitating, drumming a manic tune against her ribs, she focused on the screens.
~*~
Closing the door on his son’s sobs had caused the hair on the back of Blake’s neck to raise. They still stood on end as he carefully picked his way from the concealing rock outcropping. Something about what Tucker said, or how he said it, had him on edge.
He stalked to the nearest pine tree, barely registering the coolness in the damp air or the li
ngering burnt scent it carried. Instead he listened to every scurry of animal, pine cone dropping, and leaf crackling, processing its source immediately.
He didn’t fear for himself. The prickling sensation of trepidation that rippled along his skin centered on his family. He didn’t want to leave them without protection or inadvertently lead danger into their midst. The ear bud attached to the walkie-talkie remained silent, yet a nervous sweat beaded along his brow—a sure sign something was amiss. He secured the bud in his ear. Kris would follow through if danger was near. He trusted her. In fact, he didn’t know where he would be without her.
Blake ripped off a bunch of pine needles from the end of the branch, hastily stuffing them into the satchel strapped across his chest. Kris would probably have chastised him for his lack of technique, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something, or someone, was coming.
Could it be the same person who had unplugged the solar converter? The last five days of stewing over the scenario, the more certain he was that it hadn’t been his forgetfulness.
Movement across the forest, near the gate, caught his eye. Instinctively he threw his body behind the large trunk of the pine. Maybe it had just been a squirrel or a bird? The bark of the evergreen bit at his cheek as he cautiously peered from behind the trunk.
Shadowy figures milled about at the edge of the property. Five. Ten. A good size group of perpetrators. His heart slammed against his ribs as his gaze longingly sought out the outcropping only ten yards away from him.
“People. There’s a group at the gate!” Kris’s panicked voice crackled over the radio.
“Copy,” he whispered as quietly as possible.
“What does that mean? Can you get back? Where are you? They’re climbing the gate!” Kris’s panic increased the beat of his heart. He clicked off his radio knowing he wouldn’t hear the end his wife’s fury, but now was not the time to communicate. He needed to focus. He needed to make his way back to his family, once again. A panicked incessant chatter in his ear would only encumber him. He would have to give Kris some combat instruction.
