by Tim Moon
“It’s a burner phone. I’ll ditch it later. No one outside of EoT even knows that I have it,” Vanessa said defensively. She was caught off guard. He was right, she had told him about their security. However, she had meant their encrypted internet communications and computer security. His anger made her nervous and it began to dawn on her that he might be right.
“It doesn’t matter. They have ways of figuring these things out. Destroy the phone right now,” Steve said, scowling at her.
“Um…well…we don’t know if that was Black Tide chasing us in D.C. Maybe it was FBI?” Inside, she groaned at her lame excuse and immediately regretted saying it.
“As if that’s better? If anything, the FBI would probably be protecting the company. I told you they have government insiders helping them.” He ran a wet, soapy hand through his shaggy hair. “Christ! They could be on us any time now. This location isn’t secure anymore.”
“Whoa, calm down. We can go drive around and ditch the phone somewhere else. If we put it in someone else’s car, maybe they’ll follow it?” she suggested, realizing that she’d fucked up. Now it was just a matter of not losing Steve’s trust. He was her key to backing up the validity of the documents and the accusations against Black Tide. He would be the freakin’ star witness against those bastards. How had she been so stupid?
“They would still check the house just to be sure, or if they thought they could glean information from whoever might live here. You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” Steve said, pacing slowly around the kitchen. “You have to get rid of the phone now and we have to leave.”
“We just got here. We don’t even know if they’re tracking us. Aren’t they busy managing the mess they’ve made? Their apocalypse?” Vanessa couldn’t believe she was asking that. Is that what she thought this was? She bit her lip, unsure.
Either way, Steve had a point. They could have been tracked, although it was more likely they were tracking him, not her. No one should know about her. She’d only met Steve in-person today and they’d both spent most of the day on the run.
“Are you carrying a phone or anything?” she asked, looking at Steve suspiciously.
He stopped pacing. “I know better than to carry one when I’m spilling the secrets of a powerful military contractor.”
“Seriously, no one should even know about me.”
“Even if there’s slim chance that they know about you, it’s too risky!” Steve shouted. “Since you didn’t ditch the phone when we left, destroy it now, no joke…and let’s get the hell out of here before it’s too late.” He sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I understand you have to keep in touch with your people, and I truly appreciate your help in all of this, but you have to find another way.”
Vanessa knew he had a point. There was no room for mistakes right now, the situation was too fragile and things could move sideways in a snap.
“Fine! I can pick up a new phone later.” She folded her arms over her chest. “Should we go?”
“Yes, we should go,” he snapped. He took a deep breath. “Sorry.”
Vanessa let it slide. She could understand the pressure he felt. Her mistake was a big one, a rookie mistake.
“Do you need anything before we leave?” Vanessa asked.
Steve walked over to the sink and turned off the faucet. “Ready.”
Vanessa was the only one with bags. She had her purse and laptop and Steve was empty handed, since turning over the USB flash drive with the stolen data. They turned all the lights off and peeked out of the window, watching for anyone outside that might be looking for them. It was getting dusky outside. Seeing that it was clear, they went out of the back door and walked around the side of the house to Vanessa’s car.
She wasn’t sure where they could go but probably any place was better than staying and getting caught.
38
The Humvee rolled to a stop in the grocery store parking lot.
“So, this is your spot, eh?” Anuhea asked. She was surprisingly cheerful about it.
Ben laughed. “Yep, it’s time to stock up.”
“Sounds good to me,” Keanu said.
Ben opened the back door for Oliver and took his hand as he jumped out of the tall vehicle.
“Can I look at the toys?” Oliver asked, eying the store greedily.
“Yes, you can. Pick anything you want, buddy. But first, when we get inside stay close okay,” Ben said. “We don’t know if it’s safe. There might be bad people.”
“We should grab baskets and go aisle by aisle. Hopefully the store hasn’t been cleared out yet,” Keanu said.
“Shouldn’t we split up to cover more ground?” Anuhea said.
“I think we should stick together. At least until we check for infected. We’re not in that big of a rush since we’re staying the night here and if something happens it’s easier to defend ourselves without having to worry about mistaking each other for an infected person.” Ben looked at Keanu to see if he agreed.
“Sounds good to me,” he said, before pointing a finger a Ben. “You’re the boss. I’m just along for the ride.”
Ben laughed. “I’m definitely not the boss.”
“If you say so.” Keanu picked up his M203 and opened the door. “Don’t slam the doors shut. Just leave them open for now.”
Anuhea handed Ben his rifle before she grabbed hers and climbed out. He double checked his pouches for ammo.
“Everyone good on ammo?” Ben asked, glancing at Anuhea and Keanu.
“I have four full mags,” Anuhea said.
Ben handed her another one, leaving him four plus the full one in his rifle. “Keanu?”
“I have three plus the grenades. Don’t worry about me.”
“Ty and Charlotte, you two are on cart pushing duty then? Oliver can ride in a cart. I’ll take the front and Keanu follow behind to watch our back? Then Anuhea can walk in between the carts watching our flanks,” said Ben. “Sound good?”
Anuhea nodded.
“I like it,” Keanu said. “You sure you’re not the boss?”
Ben chuckled.
“What about me?” Oliver asked.
“You can help me,” Charlotte said.
“Okay, I can guard you,” Oliver said.
Ben ruffled his hair. Oliver threw up his hands to defend himself.
“Wow, you’re so strong,” Ben said, smiling at him. “Okay, you stick with Charlotte.”
“Can we get moving? My leg hurts,” Ty said. He’d mostly been quiet since Charlotte patched him up at the scenic lookout.
“We can grab some fresh food, like fruit, but we should mostly stick with non-perishable stuff,” Keanu said.
“I’m getting a lot of fruit,” Anuhea said.
The grocery store looked ominous. It was a squat building, spread out and spearheading a small shopping center. With the lights off it would be difficult to see inside but they’d manage.
Ben was astonished that they had yet to run into other survivors. No one drove on the roads, no faces in windows, no one walking the streets, although that would be pretty dumb. A pervasive feeling of abandonment filled the air everywhere they went. It was unsettling, especially for a place that usually so full of life.
He cleared his throat. “Don’t forget supplies like batteries, flashlights, matches, or any other essentials that we might need if things don’t go our way. If the airport is open, we can just leave what we don’t use for someone else.”
Two rows of shopping carts were lined up to the right of the automatic doors. Charlotte walked over to get one while Ty limped behind her. Ben had a feeling he was playing up the injury. From what he’d seen it wasn’t actually that bad.
Keanu was checking out the doors, hoping for a quiet way to open them. With the power out the doors obviously wouldn’t slide open.
“Are they locked?” Ben asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” Keanu said. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and dug his fingers into the t
iny gap between the two sliders. He grunted with effort as he pulled on them and they slid open a little.
Ben slung his rifle and grabbed the other slider. Together they pulled the doors apart so everyone could fit. Ben entered the grocery store and quickly unslung his rifle. He wanted to be ready in case there were any infected inside. So far, it was quiet, but the infected weren’t always loud right away. Keanu crept inside, pushing the door open a little more so he could fit.
Ben turned and waved everyone in. They filed in as quietly as they could. All they could hear was the light rattle of the shopping carts.
Opening the doors let in a little more of the dying light but once they got further back into the store it’d still be difficult to see.
“Hey does your phone still have power?” Charlotte asked.
“I think so,” he said. He pulled his phone almost having completely forgotten about it since the messages from his dad nearly killed him in the parking lot. The screen lit up his face as he checked it. “No service.”
“Use it as a flashlight,” she whispered.
Ben pressed the button and the bright flash on his phone lit up the store. He turned and smiled at Charlotte. “Good thinking.”
She just nodded.
“Let’s go. Move quiet.” Ben turned and started forward. He held the phone in his left hand, resting the barrel in the crook of his elbow. He led them to the left to begin their plunder.
Adrenaline pumped through him. He thought back to the days when he played video games like Dead Space with his friends. Giant monsters would jump out to scare you, or they’d crawl up a wall and spit stuff at you. This wasn’t a game though, this was as real as it got. Anything that jumped out at Ben here would get a face full of lead, for real.
The direction they started was gloomy but had plenty of open space to move through. They passed by a pyramid made out of stacked cases of beer. It wasn’t the best time to drink, so he kept walking. Ben slowly moved his phone back and forth, watching the area for infected. It turned out that he’d led them to the fresh food section of the grocery store. Considering they had no refrigeration system they couldn’t use most of the stuff, but Anuhea said she wanted fruit.
“Hold up here,” Anuhea said. She grabbed a cluster of bananas and Charlotte bagged up some apples. They continued moving along, passing the premixed bags of salad and dressing and various other items. Some of it was already going bad. Rot filled their nostrils.
Ben glanced behind and saw Oliver making a face. He looked like he was about to cry. Ben fought the urge to laugh. To stave off a potentially deadly mistake, he bit his lip. Laughing was a bad habit that had plagued his life, any time he got in trouble or was being yelled at, he’d develop an uncontrollable case of nervous laughter.
Ben wondered where the employees where. Had they all bugged out and just abandoned the place? Had they all made it home or were they part of the infected hordes sweeping across the island? Even more interesting was that apparently no one else had looted the store. Ben got a bad feeling about that. There was no way that everyone nearby had enough food stored up. This was a very touristy area.
“Where is everyone?” Ben asked quietly.
Charlotte shrugged.
They walked to the back wall and turned right. On the left was the butcher, stacks of spoiled meat sat in cellophane packages. Unpleasant odors wafted toward them. Turning right down the next aisle, they came to crackers and chips. These they could use. Ben grabbed a bag of Kettle Chips and a few packages of beef jerky that hung near the end of the aisle.
The crinkling of chip bags seemed so loud that Ben turned and shushed them. Oliver looked happy. He was holding two big bags of Cheetos. Ben could already imagine his tiny fingers coated in the delicious cheese flavoring, making a mess.
They continued to the end of the aisle, turning left to go around the end cap and continue down the next aisle. It’d be slow going with so many people but they snaked along through the store at a decent pace.
Hilo was only a few hours’ drive away but nothing had gone smoothly so far, so planning for delays seemed prudent. Better to have too much food than not enough. When they reached the drink aisle, Ben helped put a case of Gatorade on the bottom of the cart. He waited while Ty loaded a couple cases of water on to the carts and then they moved on.
Something crashed to the floor a few aisles down. Ben turned and looked back at his group. Everyone but Ben and Keanu had crouched down as if that would hide them - they were in the middle of an aisle. Ben waved Anuhea over to him. He turned off his phone’s flashlight and whispered to her.
“I’m going to go take a look, you and Keanu wait here with the group. Keep them safe,” he said.
Even though his eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, he could tell she was frowning at him. After a moment’s hesitation, she finally nodded.
“Okay, hurry up.” She turned and padded over to Keanu to pass on the word.
Ben turned without waiting for a response and stuck his head out, peeking around the end of the aisle. He didn’t see anything that would have made the noise. Whatever, or whoever, it was must still be in the aisle or possibly hiding from them. He braced himself for a confrontation. Ben felt his hands getting damp with sweat. His heart raced but he kept going anyway.
There was a crunching sound. Ben froze. He listened for a few seconds trying to determine what the noise was. No doubt about it, something was crunching…eating? He decided to keep going. He looked to the right near the cash registers in case this was some kind of trap. He didn’t want to be ambushed.
He walked quickly looking down the aisles as he passed them. After passing two aisles, he moved close to the end cap of one and froze again. More crunching and the rustling of clothing or a bag, he wasn’t sure. Blood was rushing so quickly through his veins that his ears felt like they were throbbing. He worried that he wasn’t hearing things properly.
The noise was down the next aisle. In all, Ben had moved three aisles away from his group. He licked his lips and gripped his rifle tightly. If it was an infected person, he wanted to put it down quickly and get it over with quickly. The anticipation was killing him.
He turned down the aisle and heard a rustling. Thankfully, nothing came at him. The crunching stopped and all he could hear was his own breath. Suddenly terrified something was behind him, he looked over his shoulder but nothing was there.
Ben aimed down the aisle with one hand while he turned the phone’s flashlight on with his other hand. On the floor, he saw that a bag had fallen to the floor and burst open. Small pieces of food were scattered across the tiles.
“Cat food?” he whispered to himself.
He walked toward the bag and something flashed on the shelf. Ben’s heart nearly leapt into his mouth. He spun toward it and looked closely. Two shiny eyes stared back at him.
“Goddamn cat,” he started laughing. It looked at him a moment longer, before it scampered off. He’d been about ready to pepper the area with bullets and in the end it was just a cat. For some reason it was the funniest thing to happen to Ben in a long time. “It’s all clear guys.”
Ben was wiping laughing tears from his eyes when their shopping cart convoy pulled up at the end of the aisle.
“What’s so damn funny?” Ty whispered.
“It was a cat,” Ben said, gesturing to the bag of food on the floor.
“Can we take the cat with us?” Oliver asked.
Charlotte giggled. Ben thought it was strange, but cute.
“I don’t know, Oliver,” Ben said. “He was pretty scared. I think he ran off to the back of the store.”
“Awww…”
“If we can, we’ll grab him. We wouldn’t want him to be lonely would we?” Ben asked.
“Really?” Oliver asked, his eyes lighting up.
“Yeah, grab a bag of food in case we find him.” Ben moved the phone toward the cat food. “How about that purple bag right there?”
Oliver reached over to the shelf and pulled
the bag off. It was only a medium size bag, but little Oliver struggled with it. His face was set with determination so Ben didn’t interrupt him.
“Good job,” Anuhea said. Oliver carried it over to the cart. He was too short to put it inside, so she took it from him and set it in the cart.
“Can we go now?” Ty looked thoroughly unimpressed by the situation.
“Come on,” Keanu said. “We only have a few more aisles to clear.”
Ben went to the front of their convoy and they moved on to the next aisle. The carts were filling up quickly and he was worried they were wasting too much time. Once they loaded up the Humvee, they’d still have to find a safe place to stay for the night.
Then he thought they could probably find a room in the grocery store to hole up for the night.
39
“It’s already dark outside,” Keanu said.
“I was thinking we could check out one of the office rooms here? We already know the store is clear,” Ben said.
“Right and at this point, driving around with the headlights on would attract too much attention from the infected or anyone else.” Keanu looked around.
“Exactly,” Ben said.
“Should we move the Humvee so people don’t see it and think the army is here?” Anuhea suggested.
“That’s not a bad idea. We’d need to close up the front door. I think we could block it with shopping carts and then clear the stockroom. We haven’t been back there yet and its possible doors back there are open. After all, that cat got inside somehow,” Ben said, looking at Oliver. He was still hoping to find the cat.
“We were supposed to leave here.” Ty crossed his arms over his chest. “We can just stop somewhere along the road to Hilo to sleep, so at least we’re closer.”
“Were you listening? Driving with the headlights on could attract attention that we don’t want.” Ben looked hard at Ty. “Hilo’s not far. We can make it tomorrow during the daylight. It’ll be safer.”
