Abi coughed and started to whine, unintelligibly, as she woke from her long sleep. Samuel tried to tell her to go back to sleep with a gentle voice, but her coughs woke Anna, too. She flipped her seat back and spun around to comfort Abi, automatically jumping into mother-mode.
When Abi slipped back into sleep, Anna glanced at the side of the road. “We’re in Washington?”
“Yeah. Crossed the bridge at Astoria. Didn’t see anyone.”
Anna nodded, calmer than he’d seen her in days. He grasped her hand; she put it to her lips, smiling as she reclined on her side in the seat.
A few minutes later, Samuel heard her light snore. But it didn’t last. Abi woke more and more often. Every time she fussed, Anna woke too. Anna’s manner became more and more manic. There was definitely something going on with Abi. He prayed it was just a cold.
Samuel reached over, flicked the radio on to distract himself from the possibility that Abi was sick and they had all been exposed. He scanned with the volume on low, searching for something that wasn’t just a canned broadcast. When the low band NPR stations came in, he stopped and listened. The messages were the same as they’d been for the last few weeks. He listened anyway. There might be something new.
The announcements droned on. The drowsiness returned and Samuel hit the search button, stopping on a heavy metal station. After a bit, he opened his window a crack. The cold would help him stay awake.
But it didn’t. He woke when his wheels crossed the rumble-strip. He gripped the steering wheel as Anna jerked up to a sitting position.
He urged the Suburban back inside the white line. The trailer complained at the rough treatment. His eyes were wide with the new dose of adrenaline he’d given himself by almost sending his family careening off the road. “Shit.”
“Where are we?” Anna glanced around, but all that was visible were the lines going down the road and the evergreen trees lining the ditches.
“Almost to Raymond.”
“Why didn’t you wake me? You just about drove off the road.”
“Yeah. I’m aware of that.” He might kill them before the pandemic got the chance.
“Stop in Aberdeen. See if there’s a motel or something. It’s too late for either of us to be driving. I can’t imagine how James and Ria are keeping awake.”
He wanted to push on and keep going, but she was right. A sign for Artic RV Park made up his mind for him. He turned down through the arch. “Let’s go here. Bathrooms. Showers in the morning. Looks empty too.”
The power was on, but the emptiness of the camp made Samuel remember the apparent emptiness in Astoria and horror movie reels started to play in his mind. At any moment a guy with a hockey mask and an ax might walk out of the woods.
CHAPTER FIVE
SAMUEL WOKE TO A COUGHING Abigail. She started to fuss when the cough wouldn’t stop.
“Hey, Honey. Everything’s okay.” He undid her from the seat belt, lifted her from her booster seat and pulled her into his chest, resting her head underneath his chin and rubbing her back to soothe the coughing fit..
Her arms, surprisingly strong, squeezed him tight as her body shook. When her cough diminished, she spoke, “I love you, Daddy.” Her voice trailed off in a cute little fry.
“I love you, too, Abi.” The dawn was sneaking down through the trees. “Do you feel achy, honey?”
She shook her head and then nuzzled it against his chest. He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of his daughter on his chest. Aches in the joints were one of the biggest symptoms of the virus. The relief of hearing she was ache-free allowed sleep to return a little more easily.
He woke when the sun shone in his eyes. Anna slept in the passenger side with the seat reclined. They were going to need breakfast. He reached for the buck knife tucked in the side pocket beside his seat and Abi stirred and came awake. Her shining smile made everything okay.
“Breakfast, Daddy?” Her voice rattled.
It was a great sign if she was hungry. At least he hoped the saying was true.
When they camped he was the cook. Most of the rest of the time Anna made food. He had no idea what sort of food they had. “I’ll find you something, pumpkin,” he whispered, opening the SUV’s door as gently as possible. “Shhh…” If everyone else stayed asleep he might wake them with food.
Abi nodded, and he gestured with his head as he settled her down to the ground. Ouch. Sleeping all night in limited quarters with a kid on your chest was nice until you tried to move again the next morning.
“Are you all right, Daddy?”
Samuel grimaced. He must have groaned out loud. With his feet on the ground, he glanced back to see if Anna was still asleep. Nope, her eyes were sleepy slits. He blew her a kiss and motioned to her to stay asleep.
He put his foot up on the tailgate and froze. Boot prints overlay the muddy tracks of the truck. Someone had been looking in their windows.
“I have to go potty.”
Samuel sighed and took her hand as they walked toward the main buildings. His eyes flitted from the stacks of firewood to the leaning broken fence choked out by tall grass, all of them likely hiding place. They passed the empty alcove under the edge of the pub’s roof on the way to the restrooms. Everything looked dark and quiet. He helped Abi to the restrooms and waited right outside while she talked about the smells. The pub looked charming, with decorative windows and planters that would be full of begonia’s in the spring. He had always wondered about it when they drove by on the way to Grandpa’s.
When Abi finished, he picked her up and they walked into the pub. “Hello?” The silence remained. He found most of a dozen eggs in the fridge. He took the eggs and left the last couple bucks out of his wallet, not really sure if food for paper was a fair trade anymore. But his family needed to eat and nobody was around to make an issue of it. If they were going to skulk in the shadows and spy in his windows while he slept instead of greeting them like a normal person, then they didn’t get to have an opinion on the matter. Still, he felt guilty.
He picked up a newspaper off a stack. October 12th, 2018. Aberdeen Daily World. It was a single sheet. PANDEMIC in all-caps and then National Disaster Declared - Washington State Follows Suit underneath it. Where was the government now?
Samuel went outside and got an armload of firewood, dropping it by the wood stove. He put the paper down on the floor, pulled out the buck knife, and shaved off strips of the cedar to use for fire-starter. Abi watched intently as the pile on the newspaper grew.
“Can you build a pyramid with the sticks, Abi?” He crumpled up a sheet of the older newspaper and shoved it into the ashes on the bottom of the stove. He changed the direction the shavings flew so she could work. Her hands deftly built a teepee-like frame by leaning the little sticks together. She beamed at him, but coughed and knocked them over. Her eyes teared up as her hands struggled to rebuild it, but the persistent coughs wracked her little body until it fell again. She sobbed as she kept coughing. Samuel pulled her into his arms and patted her back, whispering soothing words as she shook.
With a long raspy throat clearing, Abi clung to him, her arms holding him tight. “I’m sorry, Daddy. The pyramid fell down.”
“It’s all right, Abi. We can rebuild it.”
After a while of gentle sobbing, Abi sniffed and cleared her throat again. “Can I have some orange juice, Daddy?”
“I don’t have any, Hon.”
“There’s some in the fridge.”
Samuel carried her back to the fridge. Sure enough. OJ. in a sealed container. Abi gulped it down.
He helped Abi make a new pyramid. He lit it with a match and a receipt from his pocket. When it was roaring, he closed the door. Abi stared at the flame.
Samuel returned to the kitchen and flipped the gas grill on. When it was hot, he made scrambled eggs. One eye on the door and the other out the window on their vehicles.
The eggs were ready by the time everyone else came in stretching stiff muscles. The mood was palpable.
Everyone was nervous but excited. James kept giving him meaningful looks and staring out the window. He had probably seen the footprints too. He gave James a look that he hoped was interpreted keep it to yourself. They’d escaped Portland, home for so many years, now a cemetery for the dead, and a trap for the living. Most of the people left alive were either insane or senseless with grief and shock. If they didn’t leave, then they may have turned into crazies themselves.
After breakfast, Abi played for a bit with Noah, running around the RV park, but then she slumped against him and asked to get back in her car seat. She was fast asleep by the time they were packed up to leave.
When they were ready, Samuel took a last look around, giving the residents one last chance to come out and say hello—and hoping they wouldn’t at the same time. But as they drove toward the entrance, a large man in camouflage stepped out from behind the Artic Park sign. He had a bushy gray beard, a couple large dogs on leashes, and a shotgun.
Anna let out a shriek. “Go. Drive over him if he won’t move.”
The man held up his hand, letting the shotgun droop. He stepped aside.
Samuel eased forward, staring, ready for a quick move, but the man’s eyes were calm, so he slowed the truck.
“Sam, what are you doing?” Anna grabbed his arm.
“He’s fine.” Samuel rolled to a stop and rolled down the window.
“SAM!”
The man’s brows knitted in concern. He stepped back. “You folks okay?” His voice had a rumbly timber to it.
“You’ve been watching us,” Samuel said.
The man nodded his head slowly. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to go so soon, it’s just me here.”
Samuel felt Anna’s nails digging into his arm. “We better move on. We ate some eggs. I left some money.”
The man chuckled. “Not sure where I am gonna spend it. Guess I can use it as fire-starter.”
Samuel couldn’t help a sheepish smile. Anna’s grip on his arm stayed firm.
“It’s not my place anyway. I’m John Brooks,” he said as if that explained it. The man’s brow creased. “What’s it like out there? Where are you coming from?”
“Not good,” Samuel said. “We came from Portland. It’s not as deserted as this place. Some of those that are left, you wouldn’t want to meet alone in a dark street.”
The old man sighed and shook his head. “You sure you don’t want to stay a few days?”
Samuel saw pain wash across John’s face. “Sorry. We’ve got a place to go.”
John nodded sadly. “Good luck.”
Samuel’s chest twisted. He nodded. “You, too.” He stepped on the gas and rolled up the window. John stared after them until they turned the corner out of sight.
Maria drove James’ truck, following the big Suburban and trailer up Highway 101 from their morning camp. She flicked a smile at James as he set the radio on a station playing hip-hop and bobbed his head, grinning.
Evergreens, bare alders, and salmonberry bushes bordered the two lane highway. Maria remembered wandering in the woods with Anna’s Grandpa—the only grandparent she’d ever known. He’d taught her which of the berries were edible and the names of some of the plants: oxalis, trillium and fiddle-head fern.
They snaked through long curves, tree farms and boarded up houses as they came to Cosmopolis, more sad than the greatness of the name implied. Maria was struck by how much more beaten down the properties looked since she was here last. As they entered Aberdeen over the Chehalis River bridge, she spotted someone tottering toward them—a wild-haired person she wasn’t sure was man or woman.
“Step on it,” she muttered.
“Infected?” James asked.
The big SUV in front of them lurched forward, making it to the corner before the suspect did.
Maria accelerated, too, hugging the curb as the person stumbled in their direction. “I don’t know. I mean, this is a virus, not the zombie apocalypse, right? Maybe they lost their mind, or they’re drunk or drugged.” Maria watched the person as they passed, their dead eyes following slowly. This wasn’t the first person she had seen like this since she first hit the road in search of James.
The person, a long-haired male she thought now, wore an Iron Maiden concert T-shirt; his arms were drug-skinny. Sure enough, there were needle tracks in the inside of the elbows—a self-induced zombie.
Maria shuddered at the glazed-over eyes. “We don’t stop for anything. We can’t afford to.”
James nodded, his eyes searching ahead. He pointed as the street curved—another person meandered down the side street. Maria’s phone rang. She hit the speak button. “Yeah?”
“We’re gonna stop at a drug store,” her father’s voice rattled in the truck. “Anna knows where one is.”
“Are you sure that’s safe, Dad? Do you seem them?”
“Yes. But we can’t miss a chance to stock up on supplies before we get to the woods. We may need cold medicine or something to lower a fever.”
Maria didn’t argue. She knew he was worried about Abby.
She followed the trailer, bouncing into the non-thriving metropolis of Hoquiam. Still, things seemed in better repair than Aberdeen’s south-side. They rolled into a parking lot. No weird empty-eyed people hung around. That was a relief. None of them seemed to have an inclination for brains, but Maria had seen too many movies to get out of her car near a shambling, half-dead looking person. Or maybe it was just common sense, reinforced by movies.
Across the door of the Harbor Drug pharmacy someone had scrawled a hasty message in what looked like red lipstick. “No more Flu meds. Try the hospital. Sorry.”
Her father pushed on the door. He looked surprised when it gave way; a bell hanging on a pretty green cord jingled a welcome and a warning. “Hello?” he called.
No one answered. Maria followed him in. The lights were on in the drug store as if it was a work day. Her gaze roamed over the merchandise: lovely trinkets, cheesy tourist gifts, charms and fancy pottery mixed with bedpans and fine art jewelry.
Maria slid a waiting chair up to the Rx counter and launched herself over. “What do we need?”
“How should I know?” Her father called. “Epinephrine?”
“For what?” Anna asked. “None of us are allergic.”
“Not that we know of,” he answered.
“I’m going to check out the back room,” James said. “See what supplies might be out of reach.”
Maria scanned the shelves. She really had no idea what she was looking for. “I bet the narcotics are under lock and key.”
“Yeah. If there are any left.”
“We don’t need narcotics,” Anna said, flipping the countertop up and coming into the pharmacy area.
Maria gritted her teeth. She hadn’t meant it like Anna implied. Did she enjoy twisting Maria’s words to make her seem like an evil step-daughter?
“Should I grab anything that seems useful?” James hollered from the main floor. “I got band-aids. There are splints. What if someone breaks a leg?”
“Grab it,” Anna ordered. “Aberdeen is a hell of a drive from Quinault.”
Like we’d drive to Aberdeen to go to the hospital. If someone really got hurt, they would be screwed. Maria shivered at the thought. She set aside her petty issues with Anna and concentrated on finding as many useful medical supplies as possible.
The shelves of medicines meant nothing to Maria. “I don’t know what the hell I’m looking for.” Anna glanced sharply at her across the aisle. “I’m going to get over-the-counters: cough medicine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen. Shi—shtuff that I recognize.”
Maria’s face twitched into a smile and she ducked under Anna’s next glare. As she worked her way around the medications, she heard James talking strangely. Like he was talking to a baby. “James?”
“Maria,” he whispered. “Come here. Quietly.”
She left her bag of loot on the floor and followed his voice out the back door. James was kneeling on the floor, bend
ing over something. Maria looked over his shoulder and saw a dead mama cat in a basket with several week-old kittens cuddled up around her.
James sniffed and swiped his sleeve across his face. “They’re all dead except a little one. Crawled back in under the water heater.” Little paw prints showed in the dust under the platform. “I’m too big.”
Maria slid down and reached in. “Go get me something he’d want to eat.”
“Right.” James hustled out the front of the store.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” Maria cooed.
Wait. She had the Laser Monster. She extricated James’ keys from her jeans. She wiggled the red laser in the wall between them, making sure to not point it directly at the kitten. The kitten moved forward a step. She slid backward as the kitty came forward. The kitten shoved her head into Maria’s hand, seeking the warmth of her body. James was there. He set a little semi-circular plastic dish with white liquid in the bottom near the edge of the heater.
She twisted her head and whispered to James, “Milk?”
“Evaporated,” James mouthed.
The cute little nose peeked out from under the heater platform, twitching. Maria flashed the laser over by the milk. When the kitty reached the dish, it dipped its head, and its tongue came out.
In a few minutes the kitten had lapped up all the milk and was purring loudly.
“More?” Maria asked.
“No. Too much will make him sick. I’ll get some water.” James slid the bowl toward himself and stood slowly. The kitty looked like it was going to run back under, but it didn’t.
When James left the room, the kitten padded after him. Maria scooped him up. He squirmed a bit and cried in weak protest.
Her father and Anna stared at the kitten in her hands.
“Can I keep him, Daddy?” Maria said in her best baby girl voice.
“I found him,” James said.
Deserted Lands (Novel): Toils and Snares Page 4
