by Kate Morris
He nods. “Yeah, outposts. They gather info and track people and keep watch and go on small supply runs. They aren’t the problem.”
“Who is?”
“The boss.”
Sam prompts, “Who’s the boss? The car dealer or the senator?”
“Oh, you know? Yes, both of them. The man, Mr. Rome is what everyone calls him, he runs our camp. He reports to the senator.”
“How many people are at your camp?” she asks, hoping Simon and the sheriff are getting this all down. Mr. Rome must be short for the car dealer’s real last name, which Sam can’t remember just now. She is pretty sure it was something like that, though.
“At last count, I think four hundred and some and I’ve heard more at the senator’s camp.”
Sam’s face falls. That is a huge number.
“See? You guys can’t help. I appreciate you wanting to try, but it just isn’t going to happen. Nobody can take on those numbers. And the senator? His camp has even more, like six hundred. And the bad thing is that his is growing every day. I don’t get it. I don’t know why people follow monsters like them.”
“History has shown us that some people are sheep.”
“Anyone that puts up a fight gets shot and killed. If you agree to the way of life and to work for them, you get a job. You get to live.”
“Sickening,” Sam remarks and takes a sip of her tea. She suddenly feels cold inside, and the tepid temperature of the cooling tea does not provide comfort to her.
“Romano…Mr. Romano is at the Gaylord,” he says.
Sam frowns. She doesn’t understand what that means. “Gaylord?”
“The hotel, the big one in the city. It’s huge. It’s basically its own city. It’s impenetrable, a fortress. As soon as he set up there, he got it fortified. You’d never even be able to find her if you could help. There are hundreds of rooms. The place is a massive resort hotel like at Disney World, but with armed guards everywhere. I mean like everywhere. They have power, electricity, indoor greenhouses, the works.”
“You could tell us where your mother was staying in there with you. Was it a hotel room? Did you have your own room?”
“No, are you crazy? They don’t want family members bunking together. They’d get ideas, plan escapes. No, she was on the third floor. We barely even got to talk.”
“How long were you with them?”
“Two months. I think it was two months. When you’re in there, you lose time. The place is like this big beautiful dungeon. But it isn’t beautiful anymore. It’s just a jail, a prison for the rest of us who don’t want to be there. But there’s no getting out. They make that clear from the start. The only reason I ever got out was ‘cuz I volunteered to help on the runs. I thought I’d escape and find a way to get back to save my mom. Then I realized that would never happen. It was even more hopeless after I started doing the runs.”
Sam says firmly, “Nothing is hopeless.”
He scoffs.
“Where is the senator’s compound?”
“I don’t know.”
She levels him with a look.
“I don’t. I’d tell you. They don’t let us know. I think only Mr. Romano and a few of his closest men know.”
Sam nods with understanding. People like that would naturally have trust issues. They are snakes. They expect everyone else to be one, too. “How long have they been doing this?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “I think from what I’ve heard from other people who also don’t want to be there that they were friends or something before it all fell. Something happened, though.”
“What do you mean?”
He sniffs and says, “I think they’re working for someone else. At least that’s the impression I get. There has been talk, secrets.”
“’Bout what?”
“My friend there, Jenny, she said they talk on a special radio in the command room sometimes. She’s on cleaning duty, so she gets to roam freely in the compound. She’s seen plans, stuff written on maps. One time she said they were talking on the radio to the senator and someone else. She said it was a man, and he was giving orders. She said they were stressed out.”
“Who do you think they were talking to?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Jenny was trying to figure out, but I told her to be careful. I didn’t want her to get caught. They…they wouldn’t show her any kindness. They’re ruthless. They execute people who betray them or who they suspect of doing something that doesn’t go along with them.”
“Yes, we’ve seen their brutality firsthand. Our men have been engaging them in battle. They’ve been very successful.”
“Yeah, they aren’t happy about that.”
Sam smiles, “Good.”
He nods.
“I’m glad you told me this, Adam. We’re going to be able to do so much more now.”
Adam shakes his head, and he says, “I don’t think so. You seem nice, Sam. Be careful of those people. They’re crazy. They’re doing things they’ve never done before I guess.”
“What do you mean?”
His eyes dart around nervously. “Jenny said before they got involved with this other man, they weren’t so bad. She said whoever they’re working for now is pressuring them to build their army and gather more and more and more people. He’s the reason they’re so crazy now. He keeps pushing them harder. Before, they’d rob people but not murder them. Now, they just take and take and take and kill people and kidnap others to work for them. It’s completely out of control.”
“Interesting,” Sam notes. “And we found their camps in the woods, their outposts. Are there others?”
“Probably. I don’t know how many there were. But the main hub for Mr. Romano is the hotel.”
“Got it,” she says. “I’m gonna see what I can do about your situation here, too. You don’t seem like a threat. I don’t know why you’d still have to live in our jail. You’ve been in here a while.”
He nods. “Yeah. I know there were others here, too. I heard them talking to each other from their cells. Where’d they go? Did those soldier dudes kill them?”
“Did you know them?”
Adam shakes his head, “No, I don’t think so. I didn’t know that many people. I was always just busy keeping my ears open and sticking by Jenny. We were just trying to survive so we could get outta there.”
Sam nods but does not answer his question. Telling him that John and Kelly probably killed the men who wouldn’t talk could cause him to distrust her. She knows they were killed. Instead, she reaches across the table and touches his hand lightly.
“Finish your food and tea.”
Adam nods with a frown at the lack of information as Sam gets up and leaves the room. She doesn’t make it a few feet down the hall when Simon finds her.
“Sam, that was amazing,” he says with wide eyes and a wider smile. She just frowns at him. “I can’t believe you got him to talk like that.”
Behind him, John strolls up casually with a grin on his face, clapping slowly, “Well, well, well, Samantha Patterson, expert interrogator. Good job, kiddo.”
“John!” she exclaims and walks into his open arms for a hug. “Stop. He just needed someone to talk to that he trusted. That wasn’t really my plan, either. I was mad this morning. I wanted to be angry, but he just seemed so…so defeated already.”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t gonna talk to us. I’ve been trying.”
“You just have an innocent, sweet demeanor,” Simon praises. “You’re an easy person to trust and talk to.”
She hits him with an incredulous expression. He is behaving so strangely lately. Sam had figured he’d be bitter and resentful with her after the letter she gave him ending their relationship and even their friendship. She’d made it quite clear that she wanted nothing to do with him and that she was finally moving on completely from him.
“Good job, kiddo,” John praises. “This is something we need to have a meeting about. You coming back to the house?”
“What if we can’t remember everything?” Simon puts in quickly. “I think you should be there. There’s a lot to go over. And, of course, it’s more economical to come to the farm which is only six miles away. Saves gas.”
John sends him a look as if he can’t believe Simon said that. Sam is probably giving the same look.
He shrugs and says, “Just in case. It’s up to you. Plus, Robert’s doctors are coming tomorrow. We’re supposed to be here to help his researchers while they’re in town.”
“I forgot about that,” she says. “Crap.”
“The girls will be glad to see you, especially Hannie,” Simon adds. “And Paige, of course. She’s always going on about how much she misses you.”
She nods with a frown. “Fine. Just one night. Then I’m coming back to town to work and then going home.”
“Great!” Simon says with enthusiasm. “They’ll be so happy you’re coming, even if it is only for one night. And so will I, of course.”
“Ok, Professor, take it easy,” John says and slaps Simon on the back. “See you two topside.”
He turns and leaves, joining the sheriff. Sam can hear them discussing the fate of the prisoner. She hopes they release him into their community because he does not seem like a bad person or a threat. The others they had taken prisoner had seemed like genuinely bad men. She feels no sympathy for John and Kelly killing them.
“Excuse me,” she says, trying to pass by Simon in the narrow hallway.
“Sam, wait,” he says and reaches out to touch her arm. She evades his hand. “I…I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute.”
He is more nervous and unsure than usual, and for Simon, that’s a lot.
“No, I actually want to check on the sick kids before we go to Grandpa’s,” she says and slides past him.
“Ok, sure. Maybe later?” he calls after her, to which she ignores.
Sam rushes up the stairs and out of the building into the morning sunshine. His behavior is making her regret the decision to go to the farm later today. It’s going to be a long twenty-four hours before she can get out of there. Seeing the family and spending time with the girls are both at the top of her priority list. Being around Simon is at the bottom of the list. It’s not even on the list.
Chapter Five
Reagan
Charlotte Rose gazes up at her from the comfort of her arms and actually smiles. Then her daughter makes a funny gurgling sound, which Reagan is pretty sure is a laugh. It’s like that euphoric feeling she had at sixteen when she breezed through her MCATS to get accepted into a good medical college. She could’ve gone then, but her grandfather didn’t feel she was quite ready for medical school and wanted her to stay the course in regular college. She’d started off in just regular college, but it was boring. Her daughter’s first laugh, or gas bubble, or whatever people want to call it, is better than anything she’s experienced.
“Need me to take her so you can get some sleep?” Sue asks as she comes up onto the porch from the greenhouse.
“No, who needs sleep?” Reagan asks rhetorically and smiles.
“You. You’re still a human, remember?” her sister says and touches Charlotte’s soft head full of dark hair that feels more like fine silk threads than hair.
“I’m doing ok. I caught some sleep this morning at the clinic in the back while I waited for everyone to get finished,” she tells her. It is true, but none of them got a whole lot of sleep at all. She had spent the night at the clinic sewing up people again. Kelly had come home to watch the farm with Lucas, and John had stayed in town with them to protect the clinic. It was a long night and morning.
“Where’s John?” Sue asks and sips her milk.
“He went with Lucas to Coopertown to take a shipment of supplies to those people,” she explains as Charlotte falls asleep in her arms.
“Oh, right,” Sue says with a nod. “They talked about that last night. We definitely had a boom at the end of the season. The drought this summer was bad, but at least we finally got the rain we needed. I’m glad we were able to plant enough to share some of our grains with those people. So terrible. Such a tragedy.”
“Yeah, no shit. Those people are screwed.”
“Maybe not,” her sister reflects.
Hannah comes onto the porch with Mary clinging to her apron strings. That’s how her sister normally moves around. As if it isn’t hard enough being blind, her daughter is always underfoot, as well.
“Mary, play with your dolls on the floor, ok?” she tells the little one with the bouncing black curls.
“Yes, Mama,” Mary states obediently.
“Phew!” Hannah says and sits next to Reagan on the porch swing. “It’s getting hot in that kitchen.”
“No, you’re just pregnant,” Sue remarks with a laugh.
“Yes, that probably has a lot to do with it,” Hannah admits with a beautiful smile. “I forgot how much our bodies morph into these strangers we hardly recognize for nine months.”
“Aliens,” Reagan jokes.
Hannah reaches up and strokes the backs of her fingertips over Reagan’s cheek.
She turns to Sue and asks, “Grandpa and Simon still in the greenhouse?”
“Yep,” Sue replies. “Still working on what they’re going to take to town tomorrow to meet Dad’s doctors.”
Hannah breaks in to ask, “How is Charlie doing today?”
“Eating and pooping machine,” Reagan says and hands her daughter over to Hannah, knowing she wants her.
“Don’t speak of her personal lady business,” Hannah scolds, to which Reagan and Sue laugh. “She’s a delicate and proper genteel lady.”
“Yeah, right. Not if Reagan’s raising her!” Sue jokes.
Reagan nods and warns Hannie, “She’s got a point.”
“Feels like a cold front’s coming,” Hannah remarks and pulls her shawl closer and Charlotte’s blanket higher to her tiny chin.
“Gross, I’m not ready for freagin’ winter,” Reagan complains. “Can you guys keep an eye on her? I’m gonna catch a quick run while she’s out.”
“Are you sure you’re ready? Should you be running so soon?” Hannah asks, her pale brow knitting together with worry.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll go slow,” Reagan says. “It’s been a month, almost five weeks. I got this. I’ve been doing yoga already.”
She winks at Sue, kisses Hannah’s smooth forehead, and takes off. She spies Gretchen in the horse barn and invites her along. Her little sister easily keeps up and barely gets winded as they jog the well-trodden path. Halfway through her regular route, Reagan has to slow down to a walk.
She groans, winded and sweaty, “Don’t have kids! This sucks! Damn, I’m so out of shape.”
G laughs at her dismay and says, “You don’t have to warn me. I’m never having kids. No offense. Charlie’s cute and all but…”
Reagan smiles at the exaggerated grimace G gives, remembering the way she used to feel about procreation, as well.
“Are you guys really going to my dad’s place again?” G asks. “I mean, our dad. I overheard you talking to Grandpa about making a trip there again this winter.”
“Yes, well, with this Scarlet Fever being so bad in town, we thought we could use the help of their doctors since he’s sending his best. And that means we’ll need to reciprocate the favor. Plus, who knows? By then, maybe something else will come up that they’ll need our help with this time. And Grandpa wants to get back in that lab with them again. I’m not sure yet. We just don’t know which place is going to have the better, permanent research facility. Probably there.”
“I vote here,” she says with a big frown. “I don’t want you guys to go up there. He’s coming, you know.”
“Who? Robert? What do you mean?”
“No, the President,” G answers. “He’s coming. He won’t allow this
. He’s gonna be like super pissed off at our dad. You don’t know him.”
“And you do?” Reagan asks, wanting to know more about this man who is a potential threat.
“Oh, yeah,” she says. “I don’t trust him. He’s…I don’t know how to describe him. After his wife died, he just kinda’ went nutso. He’s like crazy or something.”
“That’s not good,” Reagan says. At the look of pure anxiety on her half-sister’s face, Reagan decides to change the subject. “I’m more concerned about the highwaymen and the sick kids in town right now anyway. We’ve got enough on our plates already without worrying about some power-hungry politician.”
“You mean like this senator asshole that runs the highwaymen?”
Reagan laughs. “Yeah. Guess that’s true. The apocalypse happens, and we’ve still got a bunch of asshat politicians being scumbags.”
“Yeah, no shit,” G remarks with a snort and looks at the sky.
“Better get that out of your system before we head back,” Reagan teases and stares a moment at her half sister, thinking of their differences. The diamond stud in G’s nose winks back at her as if to accentuate those dissimilarities.
“No shit again. Hannah’s got one mean backhand,” Gretchen states with an ornery laugh and rubs the back of her head.
When they return to the house, Kelly is busy putting the storm door on the kitchen entrance, and from what she can tell, has finished hanging them on most of the windows on the back side of the home, as well. A house like theirs with equally old windows needs storm windows to help protect against the cold winter winds that will soon whip through their valley and try their best to get into every crack and crevice of the old house.
Reagan leaves G and jogs to the shed, where she sees Grandpa working with Simon at the counter.
“What’s up, guys?” she asks as she enters.
“There’s my favorite green-eyed granddaughter,” Grandpa states very carefully and then chuckles.
She kisses his cheek and plops down at the counter. “I’m the only one who has green eyes, so your praise doesn’t mean diddly-squat.” He laughs with a nod as she leans in and peers through the microscope, which is turned on. “What are you doing?”
