Pandemic
Page 12
The collie bounded up to Laurie and Jo and nudged Laurie’s arm. He reached down and ruffled the dog’s ears. “Hi, Vic.”
Vic gave him a doggie grin and licked his wrist.
Laurie smiled down at his sister. “How are you? I thought you’d be with Mom and Pop and the sibs. Why aren’t you?”
“We’re fine, we’re fine.” She laughed and stepped back, brushing tears off her cheeks. “I couldn’t go. Thea was here, and she couldn’t leave yet.”
“Thea?”
“Um…” Jo blushed.
The driver’s side door had opened, and the statuesque brunette who’d stepped out approached them, her hand extended. “I’m Althea McAvoy.”
“Wow.” He let his sister go and extended his hand to the woman. “Ms. McAvoy, I’m a huge fan.”
“Geez, Laurie.” Jo rolled her eyes. “Embarrassing much?”
But Ms. McAvoy didn’t seem to mind. “Thanks.” She was almost as tall as him, and her grip was firm but not overpowering. She also wore a revolver in a holster at her waist. Her blue eyes regarded him frankly. “But call me Althea, why don’t you? Considering what we’re living through.” Her voice sounded familiar, but then he realized of course it would. How many times had he listened to it on the radio when he was driving home from work?
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned his attention to his sister and stared her down. “How did you get the okay from Mom and Pop to stay behind?” He knew how protective his parents were of all his sisters.
“Um…” She blushed again, and Laurie narrowed his eyes at her.
“Tell me you didn’t do a disappearing act.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Somehow, he didn’t exactly believe her. “Do you know what a wreck Mom was?” He remembered the tone of Mom’s voice on the message she’d left.
Jo scowled at him. “How do you know Mom was worried? You were God knows where, and she couldn’t reach you.”
Suddenly it was if they were kids again, and Laurie felt his own blush. “I’m an adult.”
“Oh, and I’m not?”
He had to agree with her. She was twenty-one.
“Anyway,” she went on, “I called Mom and told her I’d be staying with a friend.”
“Did she think you were staying with Keith?”
“I didn’t tell her that.”
“But did she think that?”
His sister hunched a shoulder. “I can’t control what Mom thinks.”
“But you made no effort to tell her who you were really with, who you’ve been with on those Wednesday nights when you were late for dinner.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Neither did Laurie. It was just a shot in the dark, and he didn’t really mean anything. “What are you doing in Ms. McAvoy’s—Althea’s—SUV?”
“Althea’s my—”
“—friend,” Althea interrupted smoothly. She’d been watching them with an amused smile.
“A friend?” Laurie repeated. He was impressed. He hadn’t known radio personalities became friendly-enough with their listeners to want to spend the end of the world with them.
“Well, you know I had that internship with WLUV last summer,” Jo rushed to say.
“You did?”
“And…and I was lucky and it extended into the fall. And winter.” She blew out an impatient breath. “Really, Laurie? Don’t you remember? Mom had a fit. She thought I’d be coming home too late, especially once the clocks were set back and it got dark so early.”
“Oh, right. Was that why she twisted Pop’s arm to get you the Charger?”
Jo tipped up her chin. “The Charger was a belated graduation gift,” she said in a tone that would have done Wheat at his snootiest proud. “And it wasn’t brand new.”
No, Laurie knew it was three years old. New model cars were just too expensive for Mom and Pop to buy ones for each of their kids.
“It was a very nice car,” Jo said wistfully.
“Huh. All I got for graduation was a puppy.”
Her smile became saucy. “And I wound up with him.”
Just like that their squabble was forgotten, and he grinned at her. “Only because you’re prettier. Wait, what do you mean, was?”
“What?”
“You said it was a nice car.”
Jo turned an even brighter red, and she opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“Jo was so kind as to worry about me, weren’t you, sugar? She came to find me at the studio. My SUV is larger than her Charger, so we packed the supplies she had in her car into mine and headed back to your parents’ house to join them, but they had already gone. We realized it wasn’t safe to follow them at this point, so we knew we were on our own.”
“Where are you going?”
“Vermont, because—”
“It’s the safest state. Cool! My friend and I are heading there.”
“You’ll join us?”
“Yes, please.”
“Excellent. We just have to make a detour first.”
“Yeah, so do we. We have to find his parents.”
“His parents?”
Wheat had come to stand beside Laurie. “Yes. They were trying to reach our summer cottage in New Jersey, and I’m pretty sure they would have taken this road. Might you have seen them? An older, well-dressed couple?”
Laurie started to reach for his boyfriend’s hand, but then stopped, uncertain how Wheat would feel about any public displays of affection. It was one thing in a bunker, with just the two of them, but when there were other people around…“This is my friend—”
“Wheat Dupuis.” Wheat didn’t seem to think there was a problem, though. He threaded his fingers with Laurie’s, and Laurie thought he’d explode with happiness. “And I’m actually his boyfriend.”
“Laurie! Why didn’t you tell me you were gay? I mean, I can understand why you didn’t tell the ‘rents, but your favorite sister?”
Laurie felt his own cheeks turn red. “Um…”
“Everyone comes out in his or her own time,” Wheat said sternly, and Laurie tightened his grip on his boyfriend’s hand.
Jo shifted, her discomfort obvious. “I didn’t mean—”
Althea eyed Wheat coolly. “Dupuis? Any relation to Edison and Constance Dupuis?”
“They’re my parents. We were separated a few days ago, and as Laurie said, he and I are looking for them.”
“Well, you’ve found them.”
“Excuse me?”
She gestured toward her SUV. “They’re asleep in the back seat. We ran into them about fifteen miles back.”
“Are they all right?”
“Just exhausted. From what I understood, they’d been on the road for a couple of days, but their car ran out of gas this morning, and they were on foot when we spotted them—”
“Excuse me.” Wheat took off running, and skidded to a stop beside the SUV. He opened the rear passenger door and looked in, then turned to stare at Laurie. Wheat’s lower lip trembled.
Oh God, are they dead? Laurie raced to his boyfriend’s side. “Wheat?”
Tears streamed down his cheeks. “She’s right. They’re asleep.”
Laurie opened his arms, and Wheat fell into them. “It’s okay.”
Wheat nodded and buried his face against Laurie’s shoulder.
Althea came up to them. “I hate to disturb this touching scene, but we can’t stay here.”
Laurie raised his head and listened for anyone approaching but heard nothing. “Prescott said…Shit. I thought after all this time it would be safe. Safer.”
“It’s not going to be safe for a long, long time. Are you aware of the necessity of taking antibiotics and antivirals as prophylactics?”
“Yes. Laurie had some,” Wheat told her. Laurie was relieved his boyfriend had pulled himself together. “We’ve been taking them for the past four days.”
“Good.”
“What about my parents? Do you know if they—”
“Oh, hell.”
Laurie stroked his boyfriend’s back. It would be beyond cruel to find them only to lose them so soon. He knew how it was with family: they could drive you batshit crazy, but still, they were your family, and you loved them in spite of everything.
“I have room in my SUV for you and any supplies you have,” Althea told them. “But we have to hurry.”
“Thanks.” Laurie risked a quick kiss to Wheat’s cheek, then ran back to the piece of shit and took the keys from the ignition. Wheat was right behind him. “Get the bags out of the backseat, please.” They’d found a bin to dispose of the bag of trash a few miles back, so that was one less thing they’d have to worry about.
“Got it.” His boyfriend yanked open the passenger door and retrieved the backpack while Laurie went around to the trunk and opened it.
“Let me help you,” Jo said to Wheat, obviously trying to make up for her earlier attack of foot-in-mouth, and Laurie watched for a minute.
“Thanks.” Wheat handed her the lightweight backpack and the pharmacy bag, then took the bugout bag and slammed the passenger door shut.
Relieved his boyfriend and his sister seemed to be getting along, Laurie hoisted up the case of water. Because bottles were missing, it was awkward, but he managed to get it to the SUV’s hatch without any falling out.
“Whoa.” The back of the SUV was piled with suitcases and sealed boxes. He’d have to jam the bottles of water in wherever they would fit.
“We’ve got to get out of here. Is there anything else?” Althea asked, keeping a wary eye on the road behind them. Her hand was on the butt of her revolver. Wheat stood beside her, holding his own revolver.
Laurie swallowed hard. If things fell apart now, after he’d found his sister and Wheat had found his parents…
“Just a box of food and my tool belt. Would you take care of the rest of these?” He handed Althea the case with the remaining bottles of water, then raced back to the piece of shit. “Jo, get Vic in the SUV and stay there,” he called. The collie had always been a curious dog, and he’d been bouncing back and forth between the piece of shit and the SUV. “Wheat, you get in, too.”
“Not without you.”
“Then here, take the food. Fit it where you can. Thanks.” Althea had eased his tool belt off his shoulder, where he’d draped it. “I want to get the piece of shit off the road.”
Althea looked startled, but Wheat said, “I’ll explain later.”
She nodded and dashed to the SUV.
Laurie shut the trunk, got into his car, and put the key into the ignition. He took a breath and twisted it.
Nothing.
“Oh, shit. Don’t do this now.” He turned the key again and again, but it was as if, having gotten them to a decent vehicle, the piece of shit had given up the ghost. “Damn it.” He rested his head on the steering wheel for a second, then sighed, sat up, and patted the dashboard. “I know I’ve called you a piece of shit, but you’ve been a good car.” He took the keys—even if his car couldn’t run, he’d be damned if he made it easy for anyone else to try to drive it—and made sure all the doors were locked. The way the piece of shit was situated on the road, it would block any cars coming this way.
“Laurie, come on.” Wheat stood beside him, tugging his arm. About a hundred yards down the road a mob of people had suddenly appeared. From the way they walked, Laurie had a feeling they were sick.
He gave the piece of shit a final pat on its fender before he and Wheat ran to the SUV. Jo sat in the front next to Althea, while Invictus sat on the floor with his head on her lap, whining deep in his throat. Wheat’s parents held each other in their sleep in the middle row of seats, but Laurie was able to ease back the outer seat, making a space for Wheat to get to the last row of seats.
Wheat hesitated. “Laurie…”
“Get in,” Laurie ordered, and as soon as Wheat was in, he climbed in himself and pulled the door shut.
There was a subdued click as Althea locked the doors from the master lock on her door, and then she put the SUV in drive and got them out of there.
Chapter 16
“Monotony is vastly underrated,” Wheat murmured. They’d been on the road for a couple of hours, and the monotony of the drive was making them drowsy.
They kept their voices low, when they did speak, in order to avoid disturbing his parents. From time to time, his father would cough in his sleep, but not enough to wake him.
“It is,” Laurie agreed as he twisted in his seat and nestled against Wheat’s shoulder. “The last thing we want is to have a bunch of sickos popping up and coming at us.” He turned his head and brushed his lips against Wheat’s throat.
Wheat shivered and hummed deep in his throat. He enjoyed having Laurie beside him like this, but he enjoyed the feeling of his boyfriend’s lips on his throat even more.
“You missed out on the excitement when I first got you out of the Rolls and into the piece of shit. Y’know that Chinese curse about living in interesting times? Well, seeing a mob coming at us had that beat hollow.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t more helpful.”
Laurie reared back. “Are you serious? Dude. You were unconscious.”
That was true. He pulled Laurie back against him. “Althea,” he said softly, so as not to wake his parents, “do you need us to spell you?”
“No, I’m good. But thanks.”
“Okay, but let us know.” He slid down onto his spine and stretched his legs out, not that they could go far with his father sitting in front of him
He had to laugh when Laurie whispered, “Are we there yet?”
“It doesn’t look like it.” He gazed out his window. They were on the two lane service road that ran parallel to the interstate, and from time to time he was able to see what a parking lot the interstate had become, a combination of abandoned cars and wrecks. They were fortunate in that the service road wasn’t as bad, but Althea still needed to weave in and out of the obstacle course of vehicles that had been left behind.
Wheat’s parents began to stir. “That’s the best sleep I’ve had since we left home,” his father said as he stretched.
Wheat reached over the seat and touched his father’s shoulder gently, so as not to startle him.
Father turned his head to glare at him—for as long as Wheat could remember, his father had never cared for being touched—but then his face took on the most relieved expression Wheat had ever seen. “Morrison!”
“What—” Mother looked over her shoulder, and her eyes widened. “My son?” She reached back and cradled his cheek. “Oh, my son. Thank God you’re alive.”
“I’m so relieved you’re both all right.” He knew his parents loved him, although sometimes he’d been uncertain if they’d liked him. “We were coming to look for you.”
“We?”
“This is Laurie Parkinson. He’s my boyfriend.”
Father frowned. “You never mentioned him.”
“That’s because I only met him the other day. He’s the one who got me out of the Rolls, otherwise I might still be there.”
Mother caught Laurie’s hand. “Thank you for my son’s life.”
“It was my pleasure, ma’am.”
Wheat was glad Laurie didn’t sugarcoat it and say something ridiculous like Wheat being able to get out of that situation by himself.
“Boyfriends already, though, Morrison?” Father demanded. Wheat knew he was studying Laurie’s clothing. They was in good condition, but they were a little large and had probably been purchased at a department store like the one Adam had had planned for the Laurel Hill Mall and not from a personal tailor.
“Actually, yes.” He hated when his father questioned his judgment. He hated more that Laurie was pulling away from him.
“This is hardly the time—” Father started to say.
&
nbsp; “The world is ending, Father. When would you suggest was the time?”
His father opened his mouth, but instead of responding, he started to cough, deep and hacking.
“Edison.” Mother began fussing over him, searching her pocketbook until she found a handkerchief and then offering it to him, along with a bottle of water she’d also taken from her own version of the Bag of Holding.
“Are you all right, Father?” Wheat asked.
His father held the handkerchief to his mouth, then nodded and drew in a cautious breath as if he was afraid he’d start coughing again. “S-sorry.” He uncapped the bottle and gulped down about half its contents. “We’ll discuss this later, Morrison.”
Before he could object, before he could say they wouldn’t be discussing this at all, Althea said, “We’re going to lose the light soon. I’d keep driving, but we’ll have to spend the night in the SUV, and it will be easier to find a safe place to pull over while I can still see where we’re going.”
“Why?” Laurie asked, and Father muttered something about idiocy, something Wheat hoped his boyfriend hadn’t heard.
“Excuse me?” Althea risked a quick glance at Laurie over her shoulder.
“Why do we have to sleep in the car?”
“Aside from the fact we’re running low on gas? I’m not familiar enough with this area to be able to locate a motel, even if it’s safe, and we can’t be sure of that. In addition, having the headlights on will draw attention to us.” This time she glanced at them through the rearview mirror. “And our phones are good for nothing.”
Wheat sighed. They were so used to depending on their cellphones for everything from getting directions to finding the best place for sushi. It was going to be difficult not being able to use them anymore.
Laurie straightened and looked around. “I know this area.”
“What?”
“We’re just outside Bartlettville, yes? Keep going another four blocks, then turn right and bear left. It’s right off the service road.”