“Carson City was infected?” Alex asked.
“Any place with a large enough airport. Don’t you know? That’s how it spread,” the man said.
“Airports? Transportation?”
“The first stories were out of Florida, I saw those on the news. I thought it was a big joke, or more of the drugs people were on. Then small reports from other places started coming in. Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago….all places with major airports.”
“So you think it was spread by the travelers. They were infected, but didn’t know, and brought it with them on the planes?” Alex asked. The man’s hypothesis was closer to true then he realized. She knew Blake was infected on the plane or in the Las Vegas airport. He was not too sick to find his way home and into bed in their office. If there were multiple people infected at the same time he was, they could have spread all over the country in one flight.
“Absolutely little lady. This is spreading faster because everyone can travel so easily now.”
“How was the road from Carson City?” Alex asked.
“Not too bad when I got beyond the traffic. Leaving the city it started to get congested. I think people were hearing the reports, and making their own conclusions. But once I got through that, it was smooth sailing. But that was before it spread further. I couldn’t tell you now.”
Margaret chatted with the man in a friendly manner a few minutes more, and after thanking him, they excused themselves to continue their walk through the park. Alex was in a contemplative silence when Margaret’s hand touched her arm.
“Any of the information you learn here, will it change your plans at all?” Margaret asked.
“No. We are going to Montana. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the safest place I know. Safer than any other civilian compound is going to be.”
“Then why ask people what it’s like out there?”
“We might need to change to an alternate route. I also just want to have as much information as possible about what we face out there. I feel I can never be too prepared,” Alex said.
“You do have a lot that is precious here,” Margaret said as she smiled at the kids.
“Do you have family somewhere Margaret? Maybe we could take you somewhere?” Again, Alex found herself offering things to Margaret before she thought out the plan. Something about the older woman put her at such ease, and made her worry about her welfare after they were gone.
“I had two sons. My oldest died in Iraq last year,” Margaret said. Alex gripped her hand tightly. The pain a mother felt after losing a child, it was something that wasn’t forgotten. And that feeling was not lost on Alex. She couldn’t imagine losing any of the children.
“Where is the other?” Alex asked quietly.
“He was in North Dakota, living with his wife and his two kids. One of them is about your age,” Margaret said, tilting her head toward Easton.
“Do you know where they would go at a time like this?”
“Unfortunately, no. We didn’t have a plan like your family, though I wish we had now. I have thought of driving up there, but I don’t want to do it alone. And I can’t leave this place, not yet. Not until these people don’t need me anymore,” Margaret said.
“The offer for you to come with us stands. We could get you to Montana at least. And then see what we could do from there.”
“Thank you dear. I’ll keep it in mind.”
They walked in silence for a while. The few additional short conversations they had with other residents there didn’t shed light on much. They did confirm the actions of the military, which seemed to be against everyone that was infected. Also against anyone that had contact with the infected. One man told them he saw an entire family gunned down when the military personnel found out the mother had been bitten. The stories were making Alex ill, and she decided it was enough for the kids as well.
Margaret walked them back to the RV. She said good-bye to each kid, and Henry lingered looking up at her. Margaret crouched down, and Henry whispered in her ear. Whatever he said made Margaret laugh aloud and then agree. Henry threw his arms around Margaret’s neck, surprising the older woman very much, but she hugged the little boy back. After Alex saw Henry safely back on the RV she turned to Margaret with question in her eyes.
“He told me I look like a grandma,” Margaret said with a smile.
“Oh!” Alex said laughing as well. “He’s never really had a full time grandparent. We did have our nanny Lucy when he was born. That was the closest he ever had to a grandmother.”
“I think you should wait one more night Alex, you look tired dear,” Margaret said, turning serious as she looked over Alex’s face.
“Tired? Oh well, yes I’m tired. I think I’m tired every day. But it’s not just physical if you know what I mean.”
“I do. I think you should stay one more night. Sleep where you are relatively safe. You can leave tomorrow, and it won’t hurt your plan a bit,” Margaret insisted.
“I think I’ll take you up on that offer. Thank you. Are you sure I can’t leave some food or supplies behind for you?” Alex asked, but Margaret just shook her head.
“I’m not charging anyone anything to stay here. I know that’s probably the wrong way to do it, but I won’t turn away good people if they need somewhere safe to be for a few nights,” Margaret said. She reached over and squeezed Alex’s hand before saying goodbye and disappearing behind a neighboring RV.
Alex climbed onto the RV and let the kids know they were staying one more day. They were all super excited. Easton decided to take Henry for a walk around the park, to work out some of his energy. Alex covered all the basics with Easton again, as he just smiled and nodded. He had his bat in his hand, and a knife strapped to his hip. Henry was to never leave his sight, and always be within a few paces of him.
Boys gone on their adventure, as Henry put it, left Alex with the girls. They all sat looking at one another for a moment.
“Well, with the boys gone, maybe we should all take this chance to take showers while we have the water hookups? I know I could use some clean hair. And Billie you definitely need a shower,” Alex said, wrinkling her nose at her daughter. Billie laughed and threw a sock at her mother. Alex feigned death at the smell of the sock and all three of them giggled.
Candace showered first, and she quickly braided her long hair into a braid at the back of her head. Billie fawned over how pretty it was and asked if she would do the same thing to her hair, but three braids, not just one. Candace laughed, but agreed to help. Bathing Billie in an RV was like shoving a cat into a toilet bowl. She squealed and fought the water and soap. However, Alex was equipped and ready, using the showerhead as a water gun, shooting her from every angle to clean off the soap and grime.
The bathroom was covered in water, and Alex swore she would clean it later, but bathing Billie was a huge task and she was tired. Candace was laughing when they exited the bathroom, and then tsked Billie for fighting the necessity. She was true to her word, and sat Billie down to get her crazy three-braided hairdo done. Alex noted that Billie was acting a little more like herself, with wanting crazy hair, and multiple colors on her nails. Something had lit her little spunky candle again, and Alex was thankful.
Abruptly the RV door opened, and Alex wheeled around in defense. Easton and Henry jumped in, out of breath. Henry was still clinging to Easton’s free hand.
“What is it?” Alex demanded.
“We have a problem,” Easton said.
Chapter 17
“We were on a run to town. We go every few days to check on supplies, and get things people might need. But town….it’s not the same,” a woman Alex had not met said. She was telling the story to Margaret when Alex came up, armed and ready for anything.
“Now slow down hon’, what do you mean it’s not the same?” Margaret asked.
“There are those infected everywhere. I saw the doctor and the gas station owner, they were infected, trying to get into the convenience store. I think there w
ere people trapped inside.”
“So the infection has finally gotten here,” Alex said from behind the group. Eyes turned to her. She knew some of these people hadn’t seen the infected at all yet, just were on vacation and heard about this horrible thing happening far from them. Margaret nodded to her and turned back to the panicked woman.
“Ok, so what did you guys do? Just turn and come back here?”
“Well we decided to try and help the people in the store, we were trying to do right, ya know,” the woman said. She shook her head, as if she were in disbelief of her own thoughts.
“Go on,” Margaret prodded her. Patience was not a survival technique for Alex, so she was on the verge of shaking the woman to find out what was going on.
“When we rounded the back, there were none of those things, so we jumped out and opened the back door. But that’s when we found that someone infected was already inside, and everyone was dead! Then we came back here,” the woman finished quickly.
“Was anyone bit?” Alex demanded. The woman paled at Alex’s question, and wouldn’t meet her eyes. No matter her answer, Alex already knew.
“No, no one was bit,” she told Margaret. “My husband is already in our RV cleaning up. We’re tired, we’re going to eat and then rest up. Can we talk more later?” Margaret agreed and told her she would see her in the morning. The group started to disperse, but Alex waited for Margaret.
“Do you believe her?” Alex asked.
“I’m not sure,” Margaret answered, looking toward the RV the woman had disappeared into.
“I would lock up tight tonight, I have a bad feeling,” Alex said. She looked at the horizon and saw the sun was low. She wasn’t comfortable heading out right away without an obvious threat. She looked back at Margaret, and realized she was also a reason she did not want to leave. If something happened, she could help. She couldn’t run away at every sign of trouble.
“You lock yourself up with those precious kids, and we’ll talk tomorrow,” Margaret said with a smile, and turned toward her trailer.
Easton was waiting outside the RV door for her. He was prepared for a fight, bat in hand and knife on his hip. Alex took a deep breath and stood with him for a moment. They watched the general atmosphere of the park. Alex could see things through the view of a survivalist. Though Mitch had taught her that their family came first, a close second was caring for others. Alex felt herself pulled between those rules.
“Well I think the husband was bitten,” Alex finally said.
“The kids are ready to go if we need to. I had Candace start packing things away for travel,” Easton said.
“Smart call. But I think we’ll wait.”
“Wait? Why? The husband was bitten, he’ll turn in a day at the very most,” Easton said.
“Well I didn’t see him. The wife was dodgy, all the signs of lying. So I’m assuming he’s infected. I could be wrong.”
“You’re not. I knew something was wrong with the way they came tearing back in here. And he ran straight to their rig before anyone knew something was up,” Easton explained. Alex just nodded as she looked around. The park was full of the type that should be retired in Florida, 50 or older. Alex knew they had little defense against what was coming
“We’ll wait the night. The people here might need our help if this goes bad,” Alex said. Easton grunted his agreement, and swung his bat to his shoulder.
That night the three younger kids slept in the overhead bed. Alex opted to sleep in the dining table bed, even though she didn’t fit without her knees pulled up. She was not planning to get much sleep. That position gave her the fastest access to the door and the driver’s seat depending which direction she felt they had to go. Easton slept on the couch, without it being folded out, again for the ease of quick travel if necessary. They both agreed it would probably be necessary.
Dawn’s early rays entered into the RV through the window Alex watched out of. There had not been any unnatural movement in the RV park, no screams, no panic. No one approached the RV of the possibly infected couple. The couple did not show themselves. Alex had watched the window of the RV she could see, and never saw the curtains so much as twitch. She knew that didn’t mean anything truly. The couple could have gone to bed together, and the man awoke and killed his wife without her even waking.
Movement coming toward her RV caught her attention, and she could see Margaret walking through the park with her shotgun in her arms. She was anticipating an attack, just like Alex. It was more of a matter of time. Margaret kept her distance from the infected RV, but Alex could tell her eyes were on it the entire time. Alex had not looked away often during the night. Even when she did put her head on her pillow, she was too nervous to let sleep take her. Most of the minutes she sat next to the window, watching the darkness around them.
“Anything?” Easton whispered. He had been up and down all night as well. Alex encouraged him to sleep while he could, but his anxiety level was up with hers and neither of them could shake the feeling that things were about to turn gruesome.
“No, all quiet, for now,” Alex said. Easton sat next to her for a moment, scrubbing at his face. He was starting to have a healthy 5 o’clock shadow, which had taken three days to grow. Alex decided it wasn’t the right time to joke about that, and left it alone.
“I’m going to speak with Margaret. Stay alert,” Alex said as she stood and stretched. She opened the RV door quietly and slipped out without as much as a creak of the door. When she rounded the RV’s front, she startled Margaret. Alex put her hands up in automatic defense, and Margaret smiled and let out a huge breath.
The older woman had not slept either, bags had gathered under her eyes. She held the shotgun firmly, prepared to use it, should the occasion arise. She looked Alex over with the same unconcealed evaluation that Alex was using.
“You look like you slept under your RV, not in it,” Margaret said.
“You must have been with me, cause you don’t look any better.”
“Not feeling much better either. Haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary though.”
“We haven’t either. But I can’t imagine it will be before long,” Alex said.
“Do you really think he’s infected?”
“I would rather be wrong,” Alex said. Margaret just nodded, and looked over at the possible infected trailer. They stood in silence for what seemed like quite a while. The sun rose in the sky slowly, casting shadows across the RV in its early morning rays. Alex squinted toward the sun and soaked in the beauty of seeing yet another sunrise, alive and uninfected.
“You all should probably pack up and get ready to go,” Margaret said, breaking their silence.
“I was thinking we could wait, to help with whatever was to come,” Alex replied.
“I think we can handle it. Even if I’m the only one that can shoot, I can take down what needs to be taken down,” the older woman swung the shotgun to rest on her shoulder barrel to the sky.
“I don’t doubt that…”Alex trailed off as she turned and looked at her own RV. The RV that housed her children and her growing family. The first instinct she had was to get into the RV now and drive away as fast as they could. However, that instinct was always wrestling with the one that told her she needed to have compassion and provide for the other humans of the world. The one thing she could provide was security and protection.
“We’ll wait until at least after breakfast,” Alex said, deciding they could not stay forever. However, breakfast would be late enough to know which way the table would tilt. Margaret nodded to her and started back on her path around the park. She didn’t go far from the infected RV, but still kept an eye on the rest of the area.
The kids were all awake when Alex returned. Candace was already pulling out some makings for breakfast. Oatmeal, dried cereal, powdered milk and dried apples. Alex sat with Henry and Billie for a moment, hugging them and hearing them chatter on about dreams they had, and asking questions about where they would go now.
Henry asked about Margaret, about where her family was, and if she was going to see them again. His compassion rivaled Alex’s own, and she was grateful he was naturally a sweet boy.
Their silent breakfast was sliced through by a yell near the entrance of the park. Alex waited a moment, to see if it was just a call of greeting, or someone returning that already belonged here. Then a general commotion could be heard around the park, and Alex stood to look through the window at the infected RV. Nothing seemed to have changed there, all curtains were still drawn, and the door closed. Then, looking closer, she saw a handprint. A handprint on the RV hood. A handprint in blood.
“East, was that handprint there before?” Alex asked urgently. East joined her at the window and immediately began shaking his head.
“I stared at that vehicle all night and morning. If that were there, I would have noticed it first thing. I think it’s fresh.”
“Shit,” Alex said.
“Mommy, you said a bad word,” Henry called.
“You’re right, sorry,” Alex said back in reflex. Turning to Easton she said, “We’re going to have to get out there. Even to get the RV out, we need that gate opened. I don’t know what’s happening.”
Without a question Easton began strapping on his knife, and grabbing his bat. Candace collected the meal items and began getting the RV prepared again for travel. She sat the young children on the floor in the back, with their breakfast items. Alex whispered I love you to them both, and hugged them hard. She then turned and hugged Candace quickly.
“Lock the door after us. Don’t open any door for anyone but East or I,” Alex said. Candace nodded quickly and waited at the door for them to leave. Alex heard a satisfying click behind her when the door slammed. Alex had her bowie on her thigh and her 9 mm on her hip. Deciding the machete had worked well for her in the last fight, she held that in her knife hand.
Sundown Series (Book 1): Prepared Page 17
