Joel goes on. “Anyone wants to stick around and keep fighting, stay with me. But hey, I know that’s asking a lot. So if you’re gonna stay, you gotta be sure. No half measures. You’re in, or you’re gone. It’s black and white. If you decide to go, you’re going with half the weapons, and Godspeed. And I mean it when I say whatever group leaves is just as important as the one that stays. Both groups will be in search of answers, and we’ll be communicating what we find. Again, as far as the range allows.”
Joel stops talking, and as if in punctuation, a bolt of purple heat lightning jags across the eastern sky. Thunder arrives seconds later, more like a screech than a typical boom.
“What if they attack us as we try to leave?” Scott says, his voice breaking, betraying his fear.
“Like I said, all vehicles will be armed,” Joel says. “I know that’s not a huge consolation, but the alternative is remaining here, and being pretty vulnerable.”
“Whatever these things are,” says Rachel, “they’re still reeling. You can feel it. It’s like it’s in the air somehow. They’re not going to attack us outside—for now. But if we stay, they will.”
“So we’ll start with you, Rachel,” Joel says. “You going east with me or west with the others?”
Rachel glances around at the rest of the group. “I’m with you. Those things have destroyed my life, so I plan to do the same to them.”
“Fuckin’ A!” comes Kevin’s voice, still groggy.
Rachel glances over and finds that the big man is on his feet, approaching from the triage area, limping. He’s patched up but still a bit wobbly.
“I mean, fuckin-A, yeah,” Kevin says. “Let’s fuck ’em up. But I’m getting the hell out of here. East. I’m with Mai.”
“Jesus, Kevin, are you okay?” Rachel says. “You shouldn’t even be awake.”
“I’ll be fine.” He trudges toward them, looking the worse for wear. His right arm is thoroughly bandaged, and his head is wrapped in a bloody bandage. “And I’ll be even finer once I’m outta here. I’ve had enough of this shit.”
Joel looks around at the gathering. “Those of you going east aren’t immune to attack. Same thing that happened to Ron could happen to you.”
“Hell, same thing that already happened to Kevin,” Rachel says. “He was lucky to survive, but he could easily be dead in front of that hospital.”
“Amen,” Mai says. “C’mon, let’s get this thing in gear. Who else is with me?”
“I am,” comes another new voice.
Chrissy is edging into the lobby from the elevator bay. Around her, several tables are crooked and leaning, their books having tumbled to the tile floor. The young woman braces herself against the corner of one of the tables, stepping over low mountains of novels. She keeps casting humiliated glances all around, as if attempting to gauge whether anyone will accept her back into their ranks.
“There you are!” Zoe says, rushing over to the diminutive teen, whose face melts with relief. “You scared the shit out of us!”
“I’m sorry,” Chrissy says, “I’m so sorry,” but she’s quickly enveloped by both twins, smothering away her apologies.
“Shut up,” Chloe tells her. “Jeez.”
After a moment, Chrissy opens her leaky eyes and finds Rachel.
“Rachel,” she says meekly, “I can’t stay here anymore, I hope you understand, I have to go with Mai …”
“Of course I get it,” Rachel says. “But you’ll still need to stay safe. We’ll get back together when this is over. I promise.”
Chrissy’s gaze moves back to the twins. Chloe and Zoe have been whispering with each other, and now they embrace Chrissy harder, understanding but mournful.
Chloe stares at Rachel over Chrissy’s shoulder. “Zoe and I are going with you.”
“You sure?” Rachel says.
Both twins nod as if to say, We’re with you till the end.
“It’s not often you get a chance to save the world,” Zoe says.
“You guys,” Chrissy says in a small voice, and that’s all she has to say.
Pete Thompson has been hanging at the edge of the group, wiping at his brow with meaty, filthy hands. “There’s something in that rain,” he mutters. “Kinda stings.”
“Felt it too,” Joel says.
“Well, I’m stayin’ with ya,” Pete says, looking up. “You couldn’t drag me away. Those fuckers ain’t gonna get away with what they did. What they did to Jeff. And now Ron. I wanna knock their goddamn heads off. Every last one of ’em.”
“I’m with you too,” Scott says to Joel, surprising Rachel.
Courage is the last thing that Rachel would have associated with this man. But there’s no denying anymore that the events of this day—and the past few days—have conspired to make him a different person.
The entire group has paused to look at him.
“Seriously?” Joel says.
Scott’s gaze moves from Joel’s to Rachel’s and back, and all he says is, “Yeah.”
Joel shrugs and looks at Rachel. “What about the kid?”
“Kayla is with me,” says Rachel. “No question.”
Joel looks at Kayla. “You good with that, girl? I want to hear it from you.”
“Yes.” Kayla’s voice is strong, and as she confirms her choice, she brings up her chin in kid courage, making Rachel smile despite herself. “No question.”
Joel glances around and does a mental count. “Okay, that’s eight of us staying. Half of the group. I’ll take Rachel, Kayla, Felicia, Pete here, the twins, and Scott. Right? Anyone else? Speak up. Now or never.”
“What about—” Rachel begins, but then—as if on cue—Bill staggers in from outside, drenched and cursing. He appears to be perhaps the most exhausted of all of them, pale and gaunt, with exaggerated bags below his eyes. Rachel hasn’t had the chance to really get to know him, but he has been a tireless help at the library, purely trying to survive—and making sure the people around him survive with him.
“I had to get out of that rain,” he says miserably. “There’s a little bite to it.”
“I get it, man,” Joel says.
“Heard about Ron, man, shit.”
“Yep.”
“I’m not sure how much I have left.”
“Rick told us about the body out there. Any movement?”
“No, it’s just standing there, like it’s waiting for something.”
“Which is exactly what it’s probably doing,” Joel says. “Look, we’re getting out of here. Soon. And we’re splitting up—a group of us heading west, and another group heading east. You want to be a part of that?”
“Yeah,” says Bill, his voice full of gravel. He’s swiping moisture out of his grimy hair. “Rick and I have already talked about leaving, and I decided to head east. Him too. I can speak for him. Just makes the most sense to us. I don’t know if that means we’ll keep up with that group, but we’ll probably be going in the same general direction. Stay mobile, look for others, maybe find some answers.”
“Okay, that’s fair,” Joel says. “All I ask is that we stay in contact, share everything we find. Right?”
“Of course,” Bill says, and Mai echoes the sentiment.
“I guess that leaves me,” says Liam. To no one’s surprise, he says, “I’ll be going with Kevin and Mai. If that’s okay with you?” he asks the big man.
“The more the merrier.”
“All right, so that’s it,” Joel says. “That was actually pretty easy. We’ll take the Hummer and Pete’s truck, you guys have Ron’s Subaru and that Chevy. I hope you don’t mind that we take the more rough-and-tumble vehicles. Let’s get busy divvying things up—food, supplies, weapons. Rachel, Mai, can you oversee medical, make sure both groups have a good supply, including blood, and leave enough here for these bodies?”
Mai nods and takes off for the book-returns area.
“Pete and I will take care of weapons,” Joel continues. “We’ll arm up the vehicles, make sure everythin
g is locked and loaded. Chrissy, you and the twins are in charge of the food and water. There’s plenty of boxes back there, pack them up and load them in the cars tight as you can. Liam, can you take over outside, do a perimeter sweep with Rick, see if there’s anything threatening out there? Good. Take Bill’s radio. Bill, can you help out with medical? I want to get mobile within thirty.”
The lobby is abuzz with activity.
Rachel hangs back, Kayla still clutched against her. As the other survivors shout and scramble all around them, Rachel is left staring anxiously into Joel’s eyes. For a moment, she can feel Felicia watching them, but then the young woman fades back toward the book-return area, a look of worry, or perhaps pain, on her face. Rachel closes the distance between herself and Joel and finds his hand. She holds it tightly.
“Sorry about what happened out there.”
“Me too.”
“We’ll still make it.”
Joel lets out a lengthy sigh. “This whole time, I’ve been making things up as I go. Reacting. It’s gonna be satisfying to get on the other side of the equation. I feel like we have a chance with that girl. Felicia. Something about her. Something still inside her.”
“I agree with you, but is that a plan?”
“I have an idea. And if I had more time, I’d be testing it in a controlled environment. Like right here. But that’s not gonna happen. It’s gonna have to be a field test. I think it’s Felicia that’s making us safe. They’re afraid of her. But I have no idea how long that’s gonna last. I’m thinking—hoping—she’ll continue to ward them off. Just by being with us.”
“She told me as much.”
“So my idea is: We make more Felicias.”
“Um … what?”
“Your dad and I saw another trapped body, another woman, up Remington, caught inside a VW bus—I don’t know, the door must be jammed or something. I’m thinking we bring it down with a tranq dart, give it some blood, nurse her back to health as best we can on the run. See what happens. And maybe there’s more out there like that.”
Rachel gestures for Joel to wait a moment, then bends to Kayla, face to face. She wipes the girl’s face of exhausted tears and smiles bravely at her. “I need you to go to your closet and make sure you have everything you need, okay? We’re leaving in the truck in a few minutes, and I want you to make sure you don’t forget anything.”
Kayla nods.
“Everything will be okay, honey, I promise.”
As Kayla runs for the closet, Rachel makes sure she’s alone with Joel before she asks her next question.
“Joel,” she whispers. “What if Felicia is the target? And by bringing her with us, we’re putting ourselves in even more danger?”
He eyes her. “Have any bodies approached her here?”
“No. But it might be very different out there.”
He sighs. “We have to assume she’s an asset. And if it turns out otherwise, we let her go. Fair?”
“I can’t imagine abandoning her on the side of the road,” Rachel says, frowning.
“Yeah, well, that’s getting a bit ahead of ourselves, right? Let’s get the hell out of here, huh? I’m nervous as shit about this place.”
“But what about a destination? Do you have something in mind?”
“Hadn’t thought that far ahead.” He gestures west. “That way?”
She pauses. “Okay, then one more thing.”
“What is it?
“Like I said, I can’t leave my dad here. I won’t.”
Joel gives a solemn nod. “I know. I remember. What are you thinking?”
“I’d like to take him home.”
“And do what with him?”
“I don’t know … take him back to his wife? Bury him?”
“We won’t have time to bury him, Rachel.”
“I want to at least take him away from here.” Tears threaten to take hold of her, weaken her resolve. “I want to wrap him up and take care of him, even if that means leaving him in his bed for now. I owe him that.”
“Okay, that’s doable. That’s on our way west.” He gives her a comforting squeeze to the shoulder. “We’ll take care of him. I’ll get him wrapped up myself. In fact, I’ll do it right now with Pete.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
“Remember, I want to be on the move. I don’t want to hole up anywhere again, unless it absolutely comes to that.”
“Understood.”
“We’re gonna end this thing or die trying. I want to be clear about that. I think we’ve got an edge here to take advantage of, but I don’t have any real answers. If you’re coming with me, it’s gotta be with that understanding. We’re putting lives on the line. Including that little girl’s. Can you handle that responsibility?”
Rachel stares him down as survivors bustle about around her.
“Yes,” she says, and she curses herself for allowing her voice to break. “I told you, I’m with you.” She lowers her voice. “I’m not running away. I’m all about finding the answers. Have been from the start. I’m going to see this through. And there’s no way I’m leaving Kayla. She’s safer with us and Felicia than anywhere else. I feel that.”
Out of nowhere, Joel embraces her—more an encouraging, motivating embrace than anything—and she feels overwhelmed by his confident strength. At first, she’s startled, but there’s comfort there, and she loses herself in the hug for a moment. And then she understands that he’s also drawn to her own confidence, finding strength in her, and at that knowledge she feels her back straighten and her self-confidence notches up. There’s something else there, too, but she pushes it inside herself even as she reaches up to touch his broad shoulder.
At that moment, Mai hurries past with a postal bin full of medical supplies.
“Get a room,” she says, in an emotionless voice, as if she’s trying for a smirk but can’t muster it amid the current circumstances.
Joel pulls back, ignoring Mai. “All right, let’s get going, huh?”
“Right.”
She watches Joel hurry out into the rain, calling for Pete to join him, and she feels somehow embarrassed. And angry with herself for the embarrassment.
Jesus, Rachel, knock it off. Get to work.
She shakes herself out of her fluster and jogs to the book-returns area, where Mai is already taking stock of the situation.
“So the cop, huh?” Mai says over her shoulder.
Rachel is shaking her head with an embarrassed flush. “You’re right, he is a policeman.”
“A little by-the-book for my taste, but I can see it, I guess.”
“What happened?” Bill asks from the other side of the small room.
“Nothing happened!” Rachel says, irritated. “Good lord. So what are we doing?”
CHAPTER 16
Darkness is falling now.
Rachel can almost feel the collective heartbeat of the group. There’s an intake of breath and then—
“Let’s go!” Joel calls.
Bill and Rick pull back the double doors, and the way is clear to the vehicles. The rain is collecting in the gutters and making sizeable puddles on the grounds. The survivors’ feet slap the wet concrete as everyone makes a beeline for their designated vehicle. Rachel’s insides seize up as she runs. The grounds seem suddenly wide open in the evening dimness, reaching out into a malevolent nothingness.
Kayla’s arm is wrapped around Rachel’s waist, and her other hand is holding a flimsy newspaper over her head. The girl is crammed against her side, her small arm wrapped around her. The two groups of eight survivors huddle under their own newspapers, gathered from the reference area upstairs, near where Rachel found Chrissy. The survivors have protected themselves from the rain, for the most part, as they’ve filled the vehicles with everything they need. But some bare skin has been exposed, and those areas sting as if burned with a mild acid.
“What is that?” Chrissy cries.
“Who knows what’s in that shit,” says Pete, “what it
’s doing to us.”
“One more thing, right?” Mai says. “One more thing to hurt us with.”
“It’s only rain,” Kevin calls out, ready to get going. “Rain and ash from the foothills. Come on, let’s stay positive here.”
Joel has hold of Felicia, and he boosts her into the rear passenger seat of the Hummer within seconds. Rachel situates Kayla in the middle, next to Felicia, then holds the door open for Scott, who hops up and in. Then she hurries to the front passenger seat, climbing in as quickly as possible but feeling the sting of the rain on her arms. It’s ashy and very slightly caustic, leaving vague black streaks across her skin. She wipes it off on her jeans, repulsed.
“Everyone groovy?” Joel asks loudly, slamming the door shut.
Through the rear window, she can see the cab of Pete’s truck. Its windows have been partially fixed with cardboard and packing tape—it’s wounded but still going strong. Pete is already behind the wheel, and Chloe and Zoe are talking to him as they fasten their seatbelts. The big man still looks morose, but Rachel supposes the presence of two pretty (if dirty) girls can only help his situation.
The Hummer fires up after the truck. Rachel doesn’t even hear the other two vehicles start up, but they’re quickly inching down the concrete path toward the street. The rain is a steady pulse on the windshield, and Rachel notices that it’s the slightest bit thicker than the rain she’s accustomed to. The moisture slides down the window a bit more slowly—almost like sleet, except that the temperature is quite the opposite of freezing. In fact, the innards of the Hummer are uncomfortably warm and humid, fogging the sealed windows.
Joel blasts the AC into the defrost vents to clear the glass, then flips on the windshield wipers, and the liquid slices away as if reluctant. The glass is more smeared than clear.
“That’s weird,” he murmurs. “Those things decide to attack, we’re not gonna be able to see them until they’re right on top of us.” He pauses, then presses the gas. “Maybe that’s the point.”
“It’s entirely within the realm of possibility that they’re using this rain as a weapon,” says Scott, looking down at his damp arms.
Blood Dawn (Blood Trilogy Book 3) Page 16
