Stranded (Book 4): City Escape

by Shaver, Theresa

  Mrs. Moore told them to stay together and wait while she and Liam went in to make sure it was clear. April’s mouth dropped open in shock when she saw that they both had handguns. She hadn’t known that they had weapons and it made her feel nervous and safe at the same time. She just hoped they knew how to use the weapons. It only took a few minutes before Liam came back and propped the double doors open. He helped everyone guide their bikes into the showroom and pointed out where they should park them for the night.

  April was relieved to lean her bike against a wall and she quickly dropped her heavy backpack to the floor beside it. Her shoulders ached from the weight and all she wanted to do was find somewhere soft to sit and stretch out her sore body. She turned and scanned the huge room they would call home for the night. It was surprisingly clean except for some dust and all the glass was intact. There were desks arranged around the walls and six vehicles sat in the middle of the room. Two were deluxe model mini vans; there was also a convertible, a small SUV and two sedans, one with four doors and one with only two. The front reception desk was bigger than the other desks but what caught April’s eye was the two leather love seats arranged in front of it. It had been so long since she’d sat on a couch that her feet unconsciously headed in that direction.

  Mrs. Moore entered the show room from a door that led to deeper in the building and she waved the students towards her. With a sign of disappointment, April changed directions and joined the others to hear what her teacher had to say.

  “This will be a very good building for us to stay in tonight. Other than a vending machine, which has been cleared out, there’s no food here. This means that there shouldn’t be any rats or other vermin in the building. We’d also be safe from any other survivors who are scavenging for supplies. The building looks almost untouched and with nothing but useless vehicles in it, no one should come in here. I’ve checked the washrooms and the good news is that it looks like they haven’t been used since the blackout. Most of the water has evaporated from the bowls but each tank still has some water in it. We’ll scoop out the tank water into a bucket and only use one toilet in the men’s room and the women’s room and use that water to flush the toilet after everyone has done their business. There should be enough for at least two flushes, one tonight and one in the morning and we have hand sanitizer to clean our hands with. Now, we’ll be sleeping in the vehicles for the night. I know they won’t make the most comfortable beds but it’ll be better than sleeping on the hard floor. They are also clean inside and it’ll be one more level of safety against the elements. We’ll also be posting a watch. Mrs. Hardsky, Liam and I will take turns staying up. I would like one more person to help take a turn. We’ll have to rotate a watch every night but for now just settle in and relax for a while and we’ll get a meal prepared.”

  Once their teacher was finished talking everyone scattered and April turned back to the couches. She took a few steps towards them but shook her head. She knew if she sat down now she probably wouldn’t get up again so she turned and followed her teacher to one of the bike trailers where they were pulling out cooking materials and food. It wasn’t fair that they had to do all the work just because they were adults. All the students would have to step up and help out.

  April knelt down beside Mrs. Hardsky and looked at the large empty coffee cans the woman was pulling out of the trailer. The labels had all been stripped off and she wondered what they would use them for.

  “Mrs. Hardsky, what can I help with?”

  The lady turned with surprise in her kind blue eyes and brushed a soft brown curl out of her eyes.

  “April, sweetie, you don’t have to help with any of this. Why don’t you go and find a soft seat to sit on until our dinner is ready.”

  The kindness and pity in the woman’s eyes caused a lump to form in April’s throat and she looked down and spun an empty can, taking a moment to compose herself before answering.

  “Honestly, I think it might be better if I stayed busy for now,” she said in a soft voice.

  Mrs. Hardsky reached out and took one of April’s hands in her own.

  “I’m so sorry about your mom. I don’t know if you know this but before we came on this trip, she was always bragging about you to whoever would listen. I know things were difficult between you two at the end but she loved you so much and what she did with Marco was about loving and protecting you. She died doing the most important job a mother can do.”

  April swallowed hard and fought to keep the tears that filled her eyes from escaping.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hardsky. That means a lot to me.”

  The woman pulled April in to a brief hug before pushing her back and looking into her eyes.

  “Okay, no more Mrs. Hardsky! That’s a mouthful and after all we’ve been through and the journey ahead, I think you should call me Jan.”

  April sniffed back her tears and gave Jan a small smile before holding up the empty can and raising an eyebrow in question.

  “Oh, that’s one of our cook stoves. None of the scouts could ever find any camping stoves but they found plenty of candles. When Jenny was in Girl Scouts we used to do hikes and we’d use empty tuna cans and tea light candles inside them as mini stoves to make grilled cheese sandwiches on the trail. This is just a bigger version of that! They also make great little heaters in the cold.” Jan sat back and chuckled. “Who knew that Girl Guides would help us survive in the apocalypse?”

  April and Jan spent the next half hour setting up their kitchen on a cleared desk. They had three empty coffee cans with holes punched through the sides on the top and bottom. All three cans were set over fat, three wick candles that heated the coffee can tops quickly. They used thin aluminum saucepans on two of the stoves and filled them with soup. The third can had a pot filled with water for hot drinks or just to wash up with hot wet cloths.

  April enjoyed the work and was happy to learn some new survival skills. Her arm started to throb around the same time that dinner was ready to be served and she didn’t argue when Jan pressed two Advil in to her hand and shooed her away with a paper bowl of soup and some crackers. As the other students lined up for the meal the two couches became empty and April gratefully sank in to the soft leather cushion, using the coffee table between the two for her meal. The warmth of the soup, the soft seat and the pain killers soothed her battered body and she soon drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 12

  April jolted awake to darkness. Her bladder was painfully full and she tried to remember where the washrooms were. Someone shifted beside her and in the dim moonlight she could just make out Jessica sleeping against the armrest on the other side of the couch. She heard footsteps heading towards her and the sound made her want to run and hide. As the person walked past the seating area, a beam of moonlight lit up his face and April’s breath whooshed out in relief as she recognised Liam. He must have heard her as he stopped and turned back towards her.

  “Liam, do you have a flashlight I can use?” she whispered in the dark.

  Liam moved over to her and crouched down beside her.

  “April, are you okay?”

  She nodded her head but realized he probably couldn’t see her so she answered him out loud.

  “Yeah, I’m fine but I need to use the ladies’ room. Do you have a light I can borrow? I have no idea where my pack is.”

  Liam stood up and helped her to her feet.

  “Sure, just follow me. We don’t want to use a light out here because it’ll be seen through all the glass but there are no windows in the bathrooms so you can take one in there to use.”

  April held on to the back of Liam’s sweater and shuffled after him. He was more confident in his steps as his eyes had adjusted to the dark after being on watch for the last few hours. When they reached the woman’s washroom, he opened the door for her and passed her a small flashlight. It was the same cheap novelty kind that had Mickey Mouse grinning from the side of it that she had in her backpack. April was grateful to have working
flashlights but she’d be happy to never see another Disney character ever again. Rolling her eyes at the silly thought, she tugged on her Sleeping Beauty sweatshirt. With almost every piece of clothing they all had covered in the brand, she knew that wouldn’t happen any time soon. April relieved herself and had to quickly snatch her hand back from the flush handle as she instinctively went to flush. It was a habit so ingrained that it would take years not to automatically reach for the flush handle. She was just happy that the bathroom didn’t smell too bad. Moving to the sink she reached for the tap and again pulled back when she remembered that there was no water. With a frown on her face as she coated her hands with hand sanitizer she realized just how lucky they had been the last few months underground with power and a supply of water. They would have to adjust to this new world five months after everyone else had.

  April used her small light to guide her back to the door and shut it off before pulling it open. She flinched back when she bumped into Liam who was standing directly in front of the door. He gave a small laugh.

  “Sorry about that! I just wanted to make sure you didn’t come out here with the light on. This place is like a giant fishbowl with all the glass walls and a light would be seen from far away.”

  April’s eyes widened in concern and she tried to see out into the parking lot.

  “Are there people out there?” she asked in a panicked whisper.

  Liam took her arm and guided her back to the seating area while he explained, “We heard some breaking glass a few hours ago but it wasn’t from close by. I don’t think anyone is around but it’s better to be cautious. The last thing we need is to do is deal with other survivors in the pitch black of night.” He stifled a yawn as he said the last part.

  April was feeling wide awake and alert. Her body was stiff and she had a kink in her neck from sleeping sitting up on the couch. She figured walking around would help loosen her muscles up. Liam was clearly tired so she offered to stay up and do the rest of his watch so he could get some sleep.

  “Wow, are you sure? You just have to walk around and listen for anything strange and help anyone who wakes up get to the bathroom.”

  April had to smile as he was already curling up against the couch cushions and closing his eyes. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the dark but she stayed by the couches and waited for things to become clearer. She listened to the sounds of the others breathing in their sleep punctuated now and again with soft snores until she felt more confident about moving around. As she made her way slowly around outer edges of the room she could make out the vehicles with their doors wide open and feet sticking out of a few. In the next few hours as she walked in circles it seemed like the world outside was empty. She remembered that even in her small town at night there’d be sounds from a car driving by to the soft hum of the fridge or furnace kicking on. Now there was nothing but silence and it was almost enough to drive a person mad.

  April spent those quiet hours thinking about her mom and coming to terms with what had happened and how she’d have to move forward. Over the past few months she’d tried hard not to think of her dad and what might’ve happened to him or how he must be feeling about his missing wife and only child. She prayed he was okay and was waiting for her to come home. April decided that she wouldn’t tell him about what had happened to her mom in the first days. She would just tell him that Laura Davis had protected her with her life.

  She was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear Mrs. Moore get up and found herself flinching again when the woman came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Spinning around, April was surprised at how well she could see her teacher and it was only then that she realized that the dawn had come. Mrs. Moore waved April over to the desk they had set up for their kitchen. It was the furthest away from the vehicles where people were sleeping so they wouldn’t have to whisper.

  “You must have taken over for Liam last night,” the teacher stated as she lit the candles before placing two of the pans on the makeshift stoves and adding water to heat.

  April nodded. “I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I gave him my spot on the couch. Mrs. Moore? Are we going to have enough water?”

  She had seen the empty jug they had used last night and now a second jug being half emptied. They had far to go and not a lot of water.

  Mrs. Moore nodded at the empty jug.

  “No, we won’t have enough to get very far but I plan on finding more as we go. There are water sources on the route we plotted but we’ll have to boil it before drinking it. There are also many places to find water that a lot of survivors might not have known to look for like in the toilet tanks like we found here as well as many hot water heaters have tanks that contain drinkable water. It’s time consuming to scavenge it but we should always be able to find water in an urban area. At this point, food will be our biggest challenge. Almost every area will have been completely picked clean. We have enough for the next five days and it’s my hope that we’ll be well out of the city and have found a community that will assist us at that point. I’d hoped to leave a little later into the fall harvest but we should be alright. I do have knowledge of hunting and gathering so we may be able to supplement our food with fresh meat sometimes. Things might get tight, April, but I believe we’ll make it.”

  When the teacher talked about hunting it reminded April of the two handguns she’d seen the previous day.

  “Um, I saw the guns you and Liam had yesterday. Does he know how to use one?”

  Mrs. Moore nodded.

  “Yes, he went out with the scouts quite a few times and they taught him how to shoot. We actually have three more guns in the trailer and plenty of ammunition. The scouts said it was easier to find guns and bullets than water in the first few days. Once we’re out of the urban area, I would like to teach most of you girls how to shoot. In this dangerous new world, it is a skill that everyone should have.”

  April didn’t like the idea but she understood why they needed to learn. The sounds of a car door opening alerted them to the rest of the group waking up and they added oatmeal to the heated water for a simple breakfast. Mrs. Moore shooed her away with a hot wet cloth for washing so April took care of her morning business after she went in search of her back pack. She eyed the almost flat tube of toothpaste as she brushed her teeth and sighed at the knowledge that she most likely wouldn’t be able to replace it. After so much time had passed, scavenging for any luxuries like toothpaste, deodorant and feminine hygiene products would be next to impossible. Forget showers or enough water to even bathe regularly. They were about to become a dirty smelly bunch. April tucked her precious tube of toothpaste away and pulled her brown hair back into a ponytail. She studied her face by the dim light of a flash light. She didn’t know if it was the shadows in the dark room but she looked much older than her seventeen years.

  Breakfast went quickly and everyone washed out their paper bowls with as little water as possible. They wouldn’t last very long but they were trying to conserve every resource they had. The glass showroom was very bright with warm California sunshine and looking around at her group, April saw that they all looked older than the teenagers they were. She also noticed that almost all of them had varying degrees of sunburns. From pink to bright red, everyone’s faces had been affected by the sun yesterday after spending so much time sequestered in the tunnels. Her mind flashed to the bottle of sunscreen she’d brought in her suitcase so long ago. She hadn’t even thought of it when she’d packed her backpack. Pressing her fingertips gently against her cheekbones, she felt the slight sting of a burn and her shoulders slumped. Another day biking in the hot sun and it would change to a fierce burn.

  April was ready to go but the others were still packing up so she started searching through the desks in the hope of finding anything useful. Paper clips, business cards, pens and financing forms were all she could find. Finishing up her empty search at the reception desk, April leaned back in the comfortable desk chair causing her legs to stretc
h out under the desk where they knocked into something. Pushing the chair back on its wheels she leaned over and snagged a medium-sized cardboard box from where it had been hidden. Setting it on the desk top she searched the drawers for something to slit the packing tape. A long letter opener slid through the delivery stickers and tape holding it shut. She didn’t expect anything important to be in the box. It hardly weighed anything so she wasn’t disappointed when she pulled the flaps back and found a wedge of baseball caps with the car dealerships logo on them. Pushing the box to the side she got to her feet and took a step away before stopping. She closed her eyes in frustration at herself. She had just made a great find and dismissed it! They might not have sunscreen but the hats would protect their faces from the sun. She scooped up the box and headed back to the group. She needed to start thinking things out more. Survival could depend on the simplest things and she needed to get her mind to consider everything differently now. Her feet came to a stop once again and she turned back to the desk and grabbed the long letter opener and slid it in to a side pocket of her pack. It might not be the best weapon but it could probably do damage if she needed to protect herself. She had an extra bounce to her step as she handed out the hats to her fellow students. Her mind and body felt lighter somehow. April knew they had miles to go but she felt more confident about handling what was ahead.

  With everyone finally ready to go they wheeled their bikes out of the glass showroom and into the hot morning sun of the parking lot. April was not looking forward to the numb butt she was about to get from the bike seat but she was more than ready to make some miles to put them that much closer to home. As they got started back on the freeway, she pushed aside exactly how many miles they had between them and their hometown so far away. She looked around at the others and was happy to see Jenny and Jessica had taken on the bike trailers so Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Hardsky didn’t have to pull them for the second day in a row. Liam was still pulling his trailer so she planned on asking him to switch off when they stopped for a meal later. Her arm still hurt from the bullet graze but she was determined to pull her weight.