know it’s there, then you’d never find it.
The kids are huddled nervously on the couch. Even
Trevor is just sitting still, watching everything.
“We’re safe for the moment. If you hear anything, I
want you to come into the bedroom right away. Come on.”
The solemn little troop follows me into a room with
four bunk beds.
Their faces light up, but turn back toward me to see if
they’re actually going to sleep here.
“Yes, you girls can have the top bunks. Carson, you can
have the other bottom bunk.” I lift Trevor into my arms.
“And you, mister, are going to sleep with Mommy until
Daddy gets here, okay?”
“Tay.” Trevor snuggles his head into the crook of my
neck.
“If there are any problems, pull up this rug. Carson, or
Joy, lift the door and scoot underneath the floor. You can’t
make any noise or the bad guys will hear you so put the
plug in Trevor’s mouth.”
They crowd around, looking into the hole at the bottom of the floor.
“Crawl to the edge of the house and follow the bushes
out to the shed. Carson, you know what to do from there.”
Nicole looks ready to burst into tears. “Oh, sweetie.
This is just in case something happens, but we won’t let
anything happen to you.”
I pull my scared group into a one-armed hug. “Always
remember, even when Mommy and Daddy aren’t around,
we love you. Now, enough of this sad business. Let’s go
see what’s in the refrigerator because I’m hungry, and I did
promise a treat tonight, right?”
I stand and head back to the kitchen, hoping my little
angels won’t have to grow up too fast.
-----------
We spent the rest of the evening unplugged from the
world on the couch watching DVDs, waiting for word that
it was safe to return to normal.
I had the kids sleep in their clothes, simply because
things happened in the middle of the night in the movies.
When morning arrived and Cooper hadn’t, I put on a
cheerful smile, knowing his chances of survival had been
cut in half.
“Mom, when is Dad going to get here?” Nicole asks
innocently around the breakfast I had thawed from the
freezer.
“I’m sure he’ll be here as soon as possible. We’re going on an adventure later this afternoon,” I say, trying to stay
positive.
There’s no way I can call him since it could
compromise the position he might be in. I have to be
patient, and I’m horrible at it.
Thankfully, I have four distractions to keep me busy
and not focused on what the outside world looks like at the
moment.
At noon on the dot, I round everyone up and we make
sure there’s nothing to show that we’d been in the house.
The children are super excited because we’re going to
use the underground tunnel to get to the shed.
Carson goes in first, then Nicole, followed by Trevor.
As Joy is climbing in the hole, I go to unbarricade the front
door, just in case we need to come back in a hurry.
The door closes over my head and the short crawl with
only a light shining to show the way is very claustrophobic.
I make it to the end and find all four children watching the
entrance worriedly.
A huge grin lights Carson’s face as some of the
responsibility rolls off his young shoulders.
“Now what, Mom?” Nicole asks, looking around at the
tight quarters.
“This way.” Carson walks to the back wall and pushes a
button.
All the boxes in one stack are moved, revealing a
staircase down into a well-lit area.
“Cool.” Joy and Nicole say at the same time. “Jinx, you owe me a coke.” Giggling, they almost scream it. “Double
Jinx.” Then they realize we’re just watching them in horror
at the noise they’re making.
“Girls, that can never happen again. It could have
gotten us killed. We can’t make noise. It should be all
whispers unless I give you the all clear.”
Nicole bursts into tears and Trevor, sensing his sister’s
distress, begins to whimper.
“Hey, now. It’s okay. Nothing happened this time, but
we have to be more careful.” Kneeling in the dirt, I hug her
tightly until Trevor, not to be outdone, squeezes his head up
between us so that he’s sandwiched in the hug, making us
both laugh.
“All right, everyone. We can keep going. Shh.” I hold
my finger to my lips and they copy it. Carson takes the lead
again, only this time, we walk for what seems like forever
until we reach another staircase leading upward.
The door at the top opens up to a broken-down garage
with a large, super cab truck waiting for us.
This might all seem like a lot of overkill for an event
that might never really happen, but the stuff my husband
has been working on for the past fifteen years or so is top
secret. Only a few people have access to the information he
has in his brain. Not to mention, the computer files he
backs up religiously.
Carson and I had loaded most of the stuff into the truck
this morning, but I double check to make sure it’s all tied
down under the tarp in the bed of the truck.
We keep two gas cans full and ready in the back of the truck, just in case we have to drive a long time without
stopping.
The truck starts perfectly, but I quickly realize we
haven’t prepared as well as we thought when the first
question is voiced.
“Where are we going?”
“Crud.” There are no CDs or electronics to take the
kids’ minds off their current trip.
“Well, we’re going to your Aunt Jessica’s.” Then
comes the next set of questions in rapid fire from their
astonished little minds.
“We have an aunt? Where does she live?”
“Does she have children?”
“Why haven’t we heard of her before?” Carson asks
cautiously.
“She’s my sister, and I didn’t know she was alive until
a few years ago. My grandmother gave her up for adoption
when she realized she couldn’t take care of two children by
herself, much less three when my mom got pregnant
again.” I meet their gazes in the rearview mirror.
“She’s younger than me and has two children. They live
on a farm about two hours from here, and I think we should
be safe there until Daddy catches up to us. He knows where
we’ll be,” I answer their unspoken question.
Trevor’s already trying to keep his eyes open as we hit
the outskirts of Charlotte, NC, but that’s where the traffic
starts.
I’d avoided the highway, choosing the less traveled back roads, but it seems that the less panicked people are
taking the same path. The road filled with cars continues to
move steadily, but slowly until the true county roads give
more options for travel.
Even though they’re trying to be really good, I still
hear
one question that I never want to hear again.
“When are we going to be there?”
Thankfully, the three in the back seat finally drifted off,
and that’s probably the only reason I kept my sanity.
Because what should have been a short two-hour drive,
wound up taking close to four hours.
One pit stop at a country store, where we were able to
empty our bladders and refill the tank with gas easily, thus
proving the panic hadn’t hit the rural countryside yet.
The further out we drove, the fewer cars and people that
were around us. I made sure to come to my sister’s farm
from the back direction so no one in town knew we were
there.
Since it was a small town, I’m sure people would find
out eventually, but it would buy us some time.
-----------
With the first steps down from the truck, I try to
remember how old I really am because I feel eighty.
Regaining some movement in my legs as I gently wake the
children, I’m almost back to my normal self, until I see my
sister.
Then the tears I had been holding in for the past twenty-four hours manage to slip out and make their way down my
cheeks.
Jessica runs down the steps and throws herself into my
arms. It’s only been a month since we last saw each other,
but it feels like years after what we’ve been through so far.
Pulling myself from her embrace, I say, “Kids, this is
your Aunt Jessica. Roxanne and Drew are your cousins.” I
gesture to the two redheaded kids standing on the back
porch, unsure of what is going on.
“Jessica, may I present my children, Carson, Joy,
Nicole, and Trevor.”
“It’s so nice to meet you for the first time. Why don’t
we go into the house and see if I have some fresh cookies
and milk for a snack,” Jessica says, knowing the way to a
child’s trust is to give them a sweet.
Four heads nod politely.
“Roxanne, can you take Joy and Nicole with you to see
if the cookies can come out of the oven?”
“Sure, Mom. Follow me, girls.” Seeing the approval on
their mom’s face, they hurry inside, afraid the invitation
will be withdrawn if they linger.
“Well, I guess that means we get to pour the milk and
get the chairs ready. Wanna join me, guys?” Drew offers to
Carson, unsure if Trevor should be included or not.
“Come on, big guy.” Carson picks Trevor up with ease
and carries him up the porch steps to where their new
cousin holds the door open.
With her arm still slung over my shoulder, Jessica turns toward me. “How ya holding up?”
“I’ll make it. What’s the news saying?”
“Other than a quick report yesterday afternoon, there
hasn’t been anything. It’s like the whole city just vanished
off the map.”
“Anything but. The lines to leave the city were worse
this morning. Mostly because people stayed home last
night, then realized the city wouldn’t be safe if this thing is real.”
“Is it though?” Jessica asks as we walk up the porch
steps.
“Cooper never showed up, so I won’t know what he
was talking about until he’s here to explain what he meant
about actors posing as zombies. I hope it’s some big hoax
and we’ll all talk about how crazy people got.”
“The country tends to ignore things that happen in the
big city, and only when it starts to look serious do we
batten down the hatches.” Jessica pokes her head into the
kitchen as she walks past to make sure the children are all
behaving.
“I’m so glad you let us come and stay for a few days. I
had no way to keep the kids entertained cooped up in that
house. We were all so worried, and cabin fever would have
gotten to us way before any zombies could eat us.” I settle
into an arm chair. Slipping my shoes off, I curl my feet
underneath me.
“So, you’re pretty sure this is related to his job?”
Jessica questions as she sits across from me.
“I don’t see how it couldn’t be. He’s always working on classified projects, and now that he’s the second in
command, the chances go up a lot.” I always knew this was
a possibility, but I try not to dwell on it.
“You’re more than welcome here until he catches up
with you. Heck, I don’t care if you just move in with me,
but the kids might have a few problems with it considering
they just met. They’re just emotional because of the
divorce. When things calm down and they see the world
hasn’t ended, then they can make up for lost time with their
cousins.”
Jessica smiles, knowing it’s not going to be that easy
for her kids to bounce back. “Thanks for trying to make it
seem better. They’re both old enough now. They
understand when Dad shows up to visit with a girl who’s
barely legal that he isn’t thinking about them anymore.”
“Remember what I said last time I was here, that not all
men are like that. Who knows? Maybe this zombie thing
will bring all the good guys from the city out here to visit
the country girls and they’ll want to find a wife.” I wink
suggestively at my sister, hoping to lighten the mood.
“Whatever, crazy lady. There are plenty of guys
around, they’re just taken or have been married several
times.”
“Exactly my point. If they were great guys, they would
still be married so they’re not on the available list.”
For the first time in the past few days, I feel I can relax
and be myself. There’s no one chasing us, and the zombies
are just a figment of my imagination.
The screams, though, are real as they erupt from the kitchen when an oven mitt gets too close to the coils and
catches fire.
Snack time is officially over as we send the children
outside to see the barn kittens.
“Roxanne, Carson!” I call them both over as the others
make straight for the barn. “We may be perfectly safe out
here, but if you see anyone around, or if anything doesn’t
seem right to you, bring everyone straight inside.”
“No problem, Aunt Trish. We can watch out for
everyone.”
“I’ll make sure Trevor doesn’t leave my sight, Mom.”
“Thanks, kids. We’ll call you when dinner is almost
ready so you can wash up and set the table.” Jessica shoos
them out of the house.
“I hate the fact that Carson is having to take on so much
responsibility lately. He’s trying to be the man of the house, but he’s still only a baby.” I take the chicken from Jessica
to start rinsing it in the sink.
“Hey, we have to let them grow up, sis. It’s much better
to allow them to have some responsibility now so when
they’re adults, it won’t be such a shock to them. Maybe
that’s why so many men aren’t great husbands or fathers;
they just weren’t ready when the grown-up stuff hit them,”
Jessica wisely advises as she pul
ls out a fry pan and other
ingredients to place onto the counter.
“I guess. I just feel like I’m letting them down. I should
be the one doing all this stuff, like the oven mitt. If I’d been in here instead of sitting and relaxing, that wouldn’t have
happened.” Shaking my head at my ineptitude, I begin to dice the chicken.
“Now I know you’ve gone crazy. You’re not always
going to be there. They have to learn how to handle
problems and what to do in an emergency. We were both
here in case they needed us, but they didn’t.” Jessica comes
around the counter to stand beside me, shaking her finger in
my face.
“Don’t let others tell you how to raise your kids. They
got the chance to deal with a potentially dangerous
situation and they had the fire out before we could even get
in here. Don’t be so hard on yourself either. You kept it
together during a very crazy situation.”
“You’re right. I just feel so lost without Cooper. He’s
always there when we do the drills, and everyone did a
great job. I just miss my partner, and when he didn’t show
up like he was supposed to, well, I’m terrified that he won’t
make it to join us.” The large knife in my hand continues to
dice while my heart is far away from what I’m actually
doing.
“We’re going to eat dinner, then put the kids in the
living room to watch a movie while we sit on the porch
with a glass of wine. I don’t know about you, but I don’t
plan to face the zombie apocalypse sober.” Jessica tries to
say it with a straight face, but we both burst out laughing.
“You’re right. Drunk zombie fighting hasn’t been done
on TV yet. We can create a new show. I think it’s the
perfect plan for the evening.” Just what I need to keep my
mind off of Cooper and our future.
-----------
The children had crashed watching a movie after hours of fun with water balloons and a water hose, leaving us
moms a few hours to relax before we crashed as well.
As the screen door slams, we shoot up from the chairs
we’d fallen asleep in.
“Who’s there?” Jessica calls out, grabbing the riffle
from over the mantle.
I move slowly behind her as she makes her way toward
the door as the person on the other side tries the door knob.
“You open it while I cover them,” Jessica whispers to
Moms Against Zombies Page 4
