by Mark Mathews
“It’ll be alright. I’m going to take care of her so you won’t have to. Other than teaching her to shoot, you won’t even know she’s here. It won’t be any trouble.” Wade looked at her, and his expression was sober.
“I’m going to help you take care of her. I’m not telling you it will be difficult because I want you to leave her behind. I’m telling you so you’re prepared for it a little, and won’t want to leave if the going gets rough. I never would abandon a child, and I don’t want you to keep her away from me. Believe me when I say that sometimes a child is the best medicine you can have. Especially for a broken heart.” He fell silent and stared at the bags, packed and waiting for them to grab on the way out the door. He missed the strange look that Sarah gave him. She was trying to figure out just what Wade’s past had been, but he was being too quiet about it for her really to get a clue. She might get more out of him later, but for now, she had to let him have his secrets. Emily was looking at her in a strange way, and it made her wonder if her intuition was making her curious, or if she’d overheard some of Wade’s conversation.
Chapter Four
It was dark, and Wade was doing his best to navigate the route he’d mapped for them. Sarah was sweating, doing her best not to pant out loud. They’d found a wheelbarrow overturned in a garden at a house on the outskirts of the small town that they had reached. Emily was fast asleep in it, and Sarah had been doing her best to strain her eyes in the darkness so she wouldn’t hit anything big enough to jolt the little girl awake. She was buried in a nest of blankets and pillows, and Sarah had to admit she was a little on the jealous side. She would have loved to go to sleep for a little while and not see the ruined world around her. Wade was on high alert, and Sarah knew his nerves were as taut as hers. She didn’t want to make any undue noise that might startle him. The town was small, and the full moon was out. It glowed brightly, illuminating the streets almost as well as the street lights would have. Unfortunately, they never would work again. The town was deserted, and it was just as silent as the one that they’d come from. More so, actually, because there was no pack of snarling dogs.
The light of the moon reflected off the broken windows of the houses, the roofs of the cars parked in front of the deserted homes, and the surfaces of all the puddles that dotted the ground. They’d collected as much water as possible when it had rained the day before, and now they could see that the puddles might be able to refill any empty bottles that they had. If they could survive the heat of the night. The days had become gradually hotter as they had set off, and puddles didn’t survive very long. It was eerie for Sarah to move through the empty streets, but she sucked it up for Emily’s sake.
The town was deserted, and she half-expected to see dead bodies everywhere, like in a horror movie. Wade was moving with a purpose and a determination that she had had when she’d been a detective, but now, it was gone. It was all she could do to plod along behind him with the wheelbarrow. There was a building to her left with a window broken out, and a dark streak was on the sidewalk next to it. Sarah’s stomach turned over. It looked suspiciously like blood. Maybe it was better that the town was deserted. She thought back to what she’d seen people do when they got desperate, and having Emily with her made her more nervous of things happening.
“Come with me, I have a good idea of where to stay for the night.” Sarah didn’t need to be told twice. She was ready to drop from exhaustion, and so she only could grunt in response. Wade turned down a little side street, crossed through the backyard of a small house, then turned left on the street in front of the house. Sarah went with him, pausing to ease the wheelbarrow slowly over the curbs so Emily wouldn’t wake up.
Wade led them to a little motel. It was cute, and if Sarah had been travelling before the world changed, she would have stayed here. It was quaint, and looked like an old English cottage on the outside, rising three floors behind it. The scale was much larger, but the décor was beautiful. Wade tried the door and found it unlocked. He held it for her as she pushed Emily inside, then closed and locked it behind himself. The lobby was untouched, for the most part, and it gave her a sense of normalcy that she’d been missing for a long time. The elevators wouldn’t be working, so Sarah gently shook Emily awake. The little girl was groggy and didn’t want to get up, but Sarah kept nudging her until she allowed herself to be picked up out of the wheelbarrow.
“I know you’re tired, but we have to walk now, okay?” The little girl was asleep on her feet, but she managed to walk behind Sarah as they followed Wade up to the second floor. He had three old-fashioned keys in his hand, and Sarah wondered where he’d found them. He must have found them behind the counter while she’d been getting Emily up. He opened a door and walked in. The room was still beautifully made, and other than a thin layer of dust on the furniture, it looked pristine. He opened another door that led to a second room. Walking through it, he crossed the second room to yet another door, which he opened with a new key.
“Okay, so this middle room can be our family room, so to speak, and this one will be mine. The first room belongs to you girls. I think we should get as much sleep as possible before we set out again.” He handed a key to Sarah, and bid her goodnight. “If you need me, I’m right here in this room. The door to the hall is locked both in your room and the community room, so you have nothing to worry about. We’re on the second floor, so no one will be coming through the windows, either.” He was trying to set her mind at ease, protecting her in a sense. Sarah wanted to thank him, but she didn’t want him to think she couldn’t have handled the situation herself.
“Thank you for looking out for us like this.” The words had left her mouth before she’d realized she was saying them, but she meant them. Not sure of the reception that they would elicit, she started putting Emily to bed in one of the twin beds that was still made, complete with a mint on the pillow. Sarah knew that Wade had hoped to get here earlier in the day, but with Emily, it was a little difficult. She was a child with a much smaller gait, and to be honest, she was slowing down his travel plans. She was nervous that he would leave them behind, but she also was ready for it. Yes, it would mean she’d have to go foraging for supplies, because she was sure he’d take his with him, but she wasn’t going to leave Emily. Sarah suddenly had a thought, and she went to knock on Wade’s door. He opened it, immediately looking over her shoulder for signs of danger. “Nothing’s wrong, I just had an idea. What if we look for a bike shop while we’re in town? Maybe we could get places a little faster if we had some wheels?”
“We can look, but just in case, I think I might need to do some thinking before I get to sleep.” The lines of worry on Wade’s face changed to laugh lines as he smiled at her. “If we do find a bike shop, I demand that you can’t laugh at me.”
“Why would I laugh at you?”
“I haven’t been on a bicycle in over forty years.” Sarah bit down on the insides of her cheeks to keep herself from smiling. It was cute that Wade was embarrassed for her to see him on a bike.
“Well, you know what they say. You never forget how to ride a bike.” He smiled at her and bid her goodnight again.
Sarah returned to the room to find Emily hadn’t moved from the spot where she’d tucked her in. Sarah pulled back the blanket and was about to crawl into the other bed when she heard a voice singing. She froze. Trying to pinpoint the direction was impossible, but she darted over to the counter, where Wade had lit a candle for light, and blew it out hurriedly. She went to the window, and did her best to quietly open it enough to listen better. The words to the song reached her ears now, and it was a slow, sad song that would break any heart. The song was about the worst kind of loss, the emptiness that came from it, and the pain of remembering. She was transfixed, listening to the smooth tenor voice. Wade came up behind her, silently.
“The poor bastard. He’s the type who never will survive on his own.” Wade’s voice made her jump, but she calmed herself quickly. Movement caught his eye, and she followe
d his finger with her gaze. There was a man in the street, stumbling around as he sang. If Sarah didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was drunk. He passed by a gap in the buildings, and the moonlight glinted off something in his hand. Even from here, Sarah could tell it was a bottle of some kind of alcohol. The song he sang now was a lament about a beautiful woman he once had loved. Then it asked him if he really did love her, and that was where he stopped singing. Sarah was curious as to the answer to that question, but she wouldn’t be able to get it out of him because the man tripped and stumbled, falling hard to the ground. He sat there for a minute, laughing, then he lay down and passed out. Sarah watched him for a little while longer, wondering if he would wake up again, but he didn’t.
“We can’t just leave him out there, unprotected.” It was Sarah who championed the man. Wade looked up and down the street, listening hard. Nothing piqued his interest, but that didn’t mean they shouldn’t be wary.
“I haven’t seen or heard any packs of dogs since we left, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. And there are other dangers in today’s world.” He glanced over at the sleeping Emily, biting his tongue so he wouldn’t say the wrong thing, just in case the little girl was listening.
“We’ve got to bring him inside.” Wade nodded and led her out of the room. Sarah felt guilty for leaving Emily alone in the room, but Wade locked the door behind them, just in case, and assured her nothing would happen to the little girl. The two of them found the man slumped over on the sidewalk, head pillowed on his arm. The plaid shirt he wore had holes in it, was crusted with something that Sarah would rather not know about, and smelled like a laundry basket of dirty socks that had sat in the sun for weeks. Sarah wrinkled her nose, but hooked her arms under one of his and helped Wade pull the man to his feet. He mumbled something unintelligible, but never opened his eyes. His legs moved of their own accord, and he walked obediently with them to the hotel. He wore beat-up sneakers and jeans with as many rips in them as the shirt. Sarah got the feeling he hadn’t exactly been getting along with the way the world worked now.
The two of them managed to get the man into a room and onto the bed. Sarah pulled the blanket up to his chin to try making him more comfortable. He never even woke up, just started snoring as the two of them left. Sarah wanted to giggle.
“Well, that’s how some people deal with the change, but that type of behavior will kill them in the end.” Wade’s voice was gruff, and it was easy for Sarah to tell that he didn’t approve of the way the man approached this particular problem. The two of them got back to their rooms, and Sarah headed straight to her bed. She was exhausted. That man wasn’t exactly light. Her eyes glanced at the other bed out of habit, checking on Emily. The bed was empty. Not caring who heard her she shrieked Wade’s name. He came tearing through the connecting door, eyes wide, breathing hard, almost as if he’d sprinted the fifty feet.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah couldn’t even say it. All she could do was point at the empty bed. Wade didn’t say a word, just left the room again, and Sarah was hot on his heels.
“We’ve got to split up. I’ll go up to the third floor, you stay here and check the second floor. Then we’ll meet up in the lobby.” Sarah nodded and was gone.
Panic swelled in her chest like a balloon, and she was afraid it might kill her if she couldn’t find Emily. She ran to one end of the hallway, starting to try every door that she came upon. They all were locked, and she didn’t think Emily would have gone downstairs to find a key, then come back and unlock, then relock a door. As every door came up locked, Sarah’s heart raced faster and faster. Where could this little girl be? Wade was still on the third floor, but Sarah went down the stairs to the lobby. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she started to think of all the horrible things that could happen to Emily if she couldn’t find her.
Wade came down the stairs a few minutes later, and Sarah ran over to him, asking the question with her eyes. He shook his head, and it felt like someone had punched through her chest and ripped her heart out.
“We’ve got to find her. How far could she have gone?” Wade didn’t answer, because a whimper reached their ears and they both spun in that direction. Emily was hiding behind a very large potted plant, eyes wide with fear.
“Emily!” Sarah ran over to the little girl, falling to her knees and embracing her. Emily was crying now, holding on to Sarah’s neck for dear life. “Where did you go? Why did you leave?” Emily had to take a couple of deep breaths before she could calm down enough to talk.
“I woke up and you weren’t there. I tried to go to his room, but there was no answer. I got scared.” Sarah felt horrible. Something could have happened to Emily just because she’d woken up alone and gone to try finding them. Sarah swore to herself right then and there that she never would leave again without telling Emily. She wasn’t going to risk the little girl’s life like that again. Looking over Emily’s shoulder, Sarah saw Wade’s face. The look of relief on his face told her he cared about the little girl, too. Relief flooded her and she couldn’t believe that this had ended so well. With as much that had gone wrong in her life, Sarah thanked her lucky stars that nothing had gone wrong this time. She hugged Emily tighter to her, and felt the little girl’s body shake with silent sobs. Picking her up, Sarah started back up the stairs to their rooms.
Chapter Five
When Sarah woke up, the silence around her pressed on her ears. She sat up in a panic, thinking that she’d gone deaf. Getting out of bed, she looked out the window. The rain that had started in the middle of the night had ended. The pavement glistened from the moisture, and little tendrils of steam rose from the hot surface as the water evaporated. It made Sarah feel like they were living in a little town in the middle of hell. Wade had decided that one of them should keep an eye on the man sleeping downstairs, while the other one rested and stayed with Emily. Wade was down there now, and Sarah went over to wake Emily. True to her word, she wasn’t going to leave without telling Emily where she was going when she left the room. The little girl was in a dead sleep when Sarah started to shake her shoulder. She snapped out of it immediately, however, scared, and alert.
“It’s okay, honey, it’s just me. I’m going to go change watch with Wade, okay? Don’t be scared, he’ll be up in just a few minutes.” Emily’s face relaxed and she nodded. Laying back down, she yawned widely and rubbed her eyes. Emily had dark circles under her eyes, and Sarah could tell she hadn’t recovered fully from the night’s ordeal. Emily was asleep almost instantly, and Sarah smiled at her. This was going to work out just fine. She liked playing mommy to this little girl. When she got downstairs, she was met by Wade, and the man from the middle of the night.
“Morning, Sarah. This is Tom.” The man was dirty and ratty, still smelled strongly of whisky, but now he smelled of urine, too. Sarah did her best to give him a smile and not wrinkle her nose in disgust.
“Now that you’re here, we can talk a little about what happened here. Tom?” The man was hung over, and there was pain in his bleary, bloodshot eyes. He sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands. At first, Sarah thought he wasn’t going to answer at all, but after a few minutes, he looked back up at them and sighed heavily.
“This was the perfect little town. I was an IT manager at the little store down the road, and I was engaged to the most beautiful woman in the world…Christina.” His breath hitched on the woman’s name, and Sarah felt her heart contract. He’d lost someone he loved, and it broke Sarah’s heart. She immediately thought back to her ex-husband, and how they’d lost their love for each other because things had gotten in the way. She pushed those painful memories aside and focused on Tom.
“Go ahead.” It was a gentle prompt from Wade, and Tom took a deep breath before he continued.
“The people left, thinking it would be better in the bigger cities. This little place couldn’t sustain itself because it was off the map, but surely it would be better in the bigger cities where more people l
ived? There was no way anyone would let those big cities lose power with all those people in them, right? That’s what we thought at least. It was like a beacon of hope to everyone who lived here. Christina didn’t want to leave, so I stayed.” Sarah only could imagine what kind of love these two had had.
“People left in hordes, almost like clowns stuffed into cars that were too small for them. It was comical for us at first, but once the town got more and more empty, we thought we might change our minds. Christina went out to look for extra supplies one day, and never came back. I didn’t know if something had happened to her, or if she’d just left without me. I couldn’t make myself think she’d really leave me behind, not after all the love we had for each other. So I stayed behind and waited for her to come back.” Sarah was burning to ask how long he’d been waiting for her to come back, but she held her tongue. He was reliving the heartbreak, and she didn’t want to make it worse than it already was.
“I’m very sorry about everything you’ve gone through.” Wade’s voice was gruff, and Sarah knew Wade was remembering his own horror story, whatever it was. She was glad she’d found Emily instead of losing a family, but then again, she didn’t have a family to lose.
“I couldn’t leave. What if Christina comes back? She would be here all alone.” He looked completely distraught, and Sarah could see Wade wanted to tell him Christina was gone. He wanted to tell Tom she had left him behind and gone to fend for herself. He just didn’t know how to say it in a way that wouldn’t hurt Tom. Sarah felt that maybe she should be the bad cop this time and let him know that she wasn’t coming back, and that he’d be better off coming with them when they left.
