“I’m hungry,” Andy whined.
“I know, buddy,” Malachi said, hating to see the boy starving.
“We need to hunt or fish,” Savannah said.
“Tonight. We’ll find water and we’ll do some fishing,” he stated, feeling like he was the man in charge and not entirely liking the responsibility of keeping a little kid and a girl alive. It was a lot to handle, and he wasn’t doing a great job.
“I think we’re nearing another town,” Savannah said, her voice hesitant.
The last town they’d been through had not been kind. “We’ll go around if you want,” Malachi offered.
She shook her head. “No, it takes too long to do it that way. We can do it.”
The houses were a little closer together as they moved west, heading into another small town. Malachi saw a grocery store, one of the huge ones, to his left. It was too tempting to resist.
“Do we dare?” he asked.
Savannah was staring at the massive building, cars scattered around the parking lot. “Malachi, it’s going to be empty.”
“But what if there’s something small left, something we could use?”
She grimaced, but finally gave a slight nod. “Okay.”
“I’ll go in. You stay here with Andy and the horses,” he said.
“But what if you run into trouble?”
“Then run. Get on the horses and ride hard,” he ordered.
She scoffed. “Like I’m going to leave you. We should all go in.”
“We can’t take horses in a grocery store!”
She burst into laughter. “Why not? Who’s going to stop us?”
He thought about it then, and realized there were no rules. Rules had gone away when the power had gone out. Indeed, there was nothing stopping them from taking the horses into the grocery store. “Alright then. Andy, we’re going to find you something to eat!”
Savannah scowled at him. “Don’t get his hopes up.”
“I will get down on my hands and knees and look under every shelf. We’ll find something,” he insisted.
The horses’ hooves made a resounding clippity-clopping as they crossed the paved parking lot. The store appeared empty, but Malachi knew looks could be deceiving. Andy hugged Raven’s neck as they passed through the double-doors that had been pried open.
“Holy cow!” Savannah exclaimed.
Malachi’s eyes went wide as he looked at the disaster. There were boxes, garbage, and even money strewn about the store. The shelves were empty, absolutely cleared out as far as they could see. Yet, Malachi wasn’t going to give up.
“We go down every aisle, kick over every box, and then we’ll go in back and check the stock,” he said confidently.
Andy made a gesture, indicating he wanted off the horse. Malachi reached up and helped him down. The little boy darted towards the end of an aisle and picked up a plush stuffed animal. He held it close, hugging it to him and murmuring incoherently. Savannah and Malachi exchanged a look as they watched the little boy.
“I guess it was worth it to come in here,” Savannah whispered.
Malachi agreed, walking towards Andy and scanning the shelves. The only thing they were finding was a lot of trash. He wasn’t going to give up, though. He wanted to provide, and kept praying as they meandered up and down the aisles, excitedly picking up boxes and then tossing them to the ground.
“Oat cakes,” Malachi said, pointing to a bag that had been left on a top shelf in the very back.
“It’s food. We can add some water if they’re really stale.”
Malachi grabbed one of the empty boxes and used it to pull the bag forward. It wasn’t a lot, but it gave him hope. Andy was walking alongside them, clutching the plush toy that Malachi was sure was some kind of horse. It was black with a patch of white on the nose and vaguely resembled Raven.
They moved into the condiment aisle, found a bottle of mustard to add to their stash, and kept walking. “I’ll check the back. You two stay right here,” Malachi said.
Savannah was holding her nose. “It stinks really bad,” she grumbled.
Malachi looked at the dead refrigeration units that lined the entire back wall. Milk, cheese, and other refrigerated products had been picked through, but a lot had been left to rot. The products put off a sour, putrid smell that turned his stomach, but he ignored it.
“I’ll hurry,” he said, pushing open the wide swinging doors and moving back into the huge store room.
“Is it bad?” Savannah called out.
“It looks like it did out there,” he replied, his eyes scanning the dark space. He didn’t see or hear anyone. “It’s clear. Go ahead and come back.”
The doors pushed open, flooding the area with faint light. Savannah grabbed a few empty boxes and some of the spoiled containers from the dairy section to put in front of the doors, propping them open to offer more light. Together, they did another sweep of the area, finding an open case of pickles that was half-full. The jars were heavy, but Malachi insisted they take them. The jars would prove useful to carry water once the pickles were gone.
“Look,” Savannah called out, pointing to several boxes.
Not food, but cheap little grocery store toys. They grabbed a few for Andy before moving around the area. They managed to score salad croutons and seasonings, but nothing else.
“This is better than nothing,” Malachi said as they walked out of the grocery store.
“Andy’s happy,” Savannah said, looking up and smiling at the boy who still clutched his new stuffed animal close to his chest.
“That’s a huge plus,” Malachi agreed.
They walked back to the road, each of them gnawing on a stale oat cake, jars of pickles weighing down the saddlebags. Savannah was already planning to make a mustard and pickle sandwich with the oat cakes when they settled in for the night. Malachi wasn’t quite as thrilled by the thought of that, but the idea of eating a sandwich was exciting.
“Do you hear that?” Savannah asked, stopping and cocking her head to the side. “Someone is shouting for help!”
“It’s a woman!” Malachi said, his natural instinct pulling him to help the unseen voice.
“It’s coming from over there.” Savannah pointed ahead.
They walked faster, Raven and Charlie led behind them. They could hear the screams of a woman mingled with men’s voices. Malachi had no idea what they were walking into, but it sounded like a desperate situation.
“I hear water,” he said, picking up his pace.
There was the sound of splashing, and men hollering at one another to help someone. Malachi looked back at Savannah, silently asking her permission to rush into the situation. She nodded and he took off, pushing through the trees.
A woman was thrashing around in water that didn’t look all that deep, but she obviously didn’t know how to swim. She was crying out for help and heading deeper into the lake. There were three men, as well, one of them following her deeper into the lake while the other two stood on the bank, shouting at him to get her.
“I can help,” Malachi shouted.
The men turned to look at him, surprise on their faces. The man in the water didn’t look happy to see Malachi. “I can’t reach her,” he grumbled.
Malachi kicked off his shoes and socks, hating the idea of getting wet, though it was a hot day and it would cool him off. He walked into the water splashing and holding his arms up as he passed the first man, who had stopped his pursuit of the woman. Malachi ignored him and kept moving.
“I’m going to help you,” he told the woman who was sliding under the water and then coming up, her arms flailing wildly.
“Get away!” she screamed.
“I’m going to help you back to shore. You have to stop splashing,” Malachi said, his voice calm as he moved towards her.
“Don’t touch me!” she gurgled, her head dipping below the water when he reached for her arm.
“Malachi! Be careful!” Savannah shouted from the bank.
> He turned to look at her and saw that the man in the water was climbing onto the rocky shore, the other two already heading up the small incline. He was on his own.
“I’m going to put my arm around your waist, okay?” he said to the woman again.
She looked at him, her brown eyes wild and her long brown hair clinging to her face. “Don’t hurt me,” she whimpered.
“I’m not going to hurt you!” he insisted, wondering what she was doing out here if she couldn’t swim. Had she been trying to drown herself or what?
He reached for her and then pulled her forward. He could no longer touch the rocky floor of the lake, which meant he was going to have to pull her and hope she didn’t tug him under. She seemed to be calming down, though, and wasn’t fighting him.
“Please, don’t hurt me. Let me go,” she begged.
He felt the ground under his bare feet and used it to propel himself forward. The woman under his arm had gone almost limp, her fight gone.
“That’s Savannah,” he said, talking to her and trying to keep her calm.
The woman stared at Savannah and Andy. Malachi was convinced he could overpower her if she got any wild ideas. She dropped to her knees and crawled the rest of the way out of the water. She was on her hands and knees soon enough, sucking in large gulps of air and coughing between breaths.
“Are you okay?” Savannah asked her in a gentle tone.
The woman shot up, getting to her feet and looking back and forth between them. “Are you with them?” she asked.
Malachi shook his head, instinctively taking a step back and holding up his hands. The woman looked to be in her thirties. She was small, very thin, and didn’t look like she’d been eating well at all. She had fear in her eyes, and her movements were jerky. She looked like a scared, wild animal, truth be told, and Malachi didn’t want to be too close.
“We’re not with anyone. We heard your shouts for help and came to investigate,” he said.
Her eyes darted back and forth. “I’m leaving. Leave me alone!” she shrieked.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” Savannah assured her.
“They were going to kill me!” the woman shouted.
“What?” Malachi gasped, looking over his shoulder to make sure the men were truly gone.
“They tried to, to, you know,” the woman whispered, looking at Andy. “They tried to attack me. I kicked one of them really hard and then I ran. I ran right into the lake even though I don’t know how to swim. They told me they were going to drown me!”
“I’m sorry. I promise, we’re not with them. Can we walk you somewhere?” Savannah offered.
“No! Stay away! Don’t follow me!” she shouted.
Malachi looked up at Andy. He was sitting on Raven’s back, staring at the woman. “That’s fine. Go. You’re scaring the boy.”
The woman looked up at Andy, her features softening as she offered him a slight smile. “Thank you for helping me,” she whispered, and then she rushed past Malachi, going in the opposite direction of the men.
Savannah stared at Malachi, apparently shell-shocked. “We need to get out of here,” she whispered, looking around.
She was right. He dropped to the ground and quickly pulled on his socks and shoes. The day was warm enough that he would dry quickly. He hoped his jeans dried before they had time to chafe. He couldn’t afford to be dealing with raw skin. His own sweat would keep the skin wet and that could lead to infection. He wasn’t about to walk in his underwear, though, so he’d just have to hope for the best.
27
Amanda’s stomach was revolting against the putrid air. The smell of fire and rot remained strong as they moved through the city. It was making all of them nauseated. She pulled her shirt a little higher, resting it on the bridge of her nose. It did little to block the smell. She would have killed for a little Vick’s vapor rub to smear under her nose. She remembered working on a stray dog that had gotten an infected leg wound, the skin around it going necrotic. The wound had smelled very much like what they were smelling now.
“I think we’re close,” she said in a low voice, as if that would help conceal their presence as they walked down the sidewalk.
Ezra was walking alongside her, the rifle slung over his shoulder and his own shirt pulled over his face. “I hope so. This smell, it’s too much. I don’t even want to know what it is.”
“I’m guessing poop is the strongest odor,” Mike offered.
Amanda shuddered, knowing the liquid running down the storm drain was likely human waste. The smell emanating from it had the distinct odor of urine.
“Death,” Gretchen said in a somber tone. “We’re smelling death.”
“And garbage. I feel like we’re wading through a landfill,” Tonya complained.
Amanda knew they were all suffering. It was the filthiest city they had been in yet. It was like everyone living in the area had given up on common decency. No one cared enough to bury the dead or dig latrines. It was the worst representation of social breakdown she had ever witnessed, and she hoped never to encounter it again.
“There.” Amanda pointed to a street sign. “We turn left here and go down another block and we’ll be there.”
“Where is everyone?” Jordan asked from the back of the group. “Why haven’t we seen anyone?”
“They’re probably lying low. It’s hot and I doubt there’s much to find,” Amanda said, her eyes scanning the windows above them.
She felt it, too. The city had been very lively at one point. It was a little hard to believe they were the only ones roaming about, as if everyone was lying in wait, ready to attack. The feeling had her on edge, all of her senses on high alert as they continued down the sidewalk. She had a mission, though, and that’s what she was focusing on, drowning out the smells and the sights of trash and death scattered all around them.
“Sniper!” Jordan called out at the same time a shot rang out.
Mike kicked open the door to a small Hallmark store. They rushed in, listening as two more shots were fired.
“I think that came from above us,” Amanda whispered.
“Like in the upstairs of this building!” Gretchen hissed.
“Stay flat against the wall and move. I don’t know that they were even shooting at us. It didn’t feel like it, but be careful; we have to keep going,” she ordered.
She took the first step outside, pressing her body flat against the brick wall. The ledge separating the two floors was about six inches wide—not a lot of shielding, but enough to block them from view from directly above. All was quiet as the others came out, following her lead.
Her eyes moved around the area constantly, looking for any threat. If she’d been wrong and the shooter was across the street in one of the buildings, they were easy targets, lined up against the wall like they were waiting for a firing squad. She came to the edge of the building and knew it was time to cross the street, exposing them entirely.
There was a large rock in front of her; she squatted and picked it up before sliding up against the wall again and tossing the rock into the intersection. Nothing happened. Amanda turned to look at the people trusting her to keep them alive. She drew in a deep breath, held up three fingers, and silently counted down.
They sprinted across the street to the building that looked like they could be the business offices of a CPA firm. Just the sight of it suggested it was unlikely anyone would have guessed it to be a medical warehouse.
“Around back,” Amanda whispered.
They jogged around the massive three-story building until they found a roll-up door and a regular door about ten feet away from the corner. That’s where she ran to. It was locked, of course.
“Now what?” Ezra asked.
Amanda took a deep breath, trying to think. It was a steel door with no handle on the outside. She slapped her palm against the door, angry that everything was so difficult. Then, to her surprise, the door opened a few inches. Her eyes went wide as she stepped back, gesturing
for the others to get back.
Ezra pulled the gun off his shoulder while she reached for her own.
“We don’t want any trouble,” she started.
“What do you need?” a very large, husky man demanded, stepping into the open doorway.
“Uh, we, uh, we’re looking for some antibiotics,” she said quietly, a little intimidated by the man.
“Why would you come here?” he asked.
Amanda couldn’t get a good read on him. His size was definitely that of an NFL linebacker, but his demeanor was that of a large teddy bear. He didn’t appear mean, either—intimidating, yes, but not outwardly cruel or violent. The Glock in his hand added to the intimidation factor, though.
“We know this place is a medical warehouse,” she said, doing her best not to sound accusing. “A man at the hospital told us.”
Gretchen and Tonya stepped forward, standing next to Amanda. “There are sick kids,” Tonya told him simply. “A town, not far from here, they’ve been hit with typhoid. There’s a doctor doing everything he can to save them, but he’s losing the battle. He needs antibiotics. They’re good, peaceful people,” the woman pled, her voice soft and with a sense of truthfulness that came from years of preaching to sinners.
The man looked from Tonya to Gretchen, who was looking at him with a serene smile on her face. “How many of you?” he asked.
Amanda jerked her head around their small group. “This is it. Seven total. We’re not part of the town, but we feel like we have to help them. I don’t know if you’ve been out there, but it’s bad. Good people are hard to find these days, but these are really good people who need help. We feel obligated to help.”
The man looked like he was really struggling.
“Please,” Mike added.
That seemed to be the turning point. Seeing a grown man beg for help was the very thing they’d needed to convince this big guy they were telling the truth.
“Come inside,” he said.
Amanda knew there was still a risk the man could get them inside and shoot them, but it was a risk they had to take. There was a candle burning, casting very limited light in the area. The man picked it up and moved to open another door. Muted light beckoned them. She followed him through with her hand at her side, ready to move for her gun if the guy tried anything.
Small Town EMP (Book 3): Survive The Conflict Page 20
