by Boris Licina
Rose organized the quarantine in the front section of the Falcon. Everything by the book. She separated the entrances and isolated the space to the maximum. There was no contact with the outer world. Just like on Rene 9. There was a tunnel leading to the quarantine.
Cody, Kathryn and Martin parked the trucks on the side, away from the runway and climbed the stairs towards the entrance. They stopped again to look at Earth for the last time and entered the Falcon's quarantine. There were already sixteen people sitting inside, nodding at them. All the chosen passengers reached Kennedy without any problem.
41.
Rachel rushed through the Druid Hills settlement, trying to escape the bandits from CDC. The car plowed the road covered with snow and ice. Luckily there were no other cars to avoid. It was snowing heavily, which was good, because car tracks would be covered soon, but there were ice deposits that could throw them off the road in a second. Rachel was not the best of drivers, but she had experience driving in the snow and she knew what to do in icy situations. She and Amanda monitored the road intently, occasionally looking back. The three cars were a mile behind them, but were having hard time in the blizzard. Who knows where they were from. Rachel and Amanda hoped from some warm areas and with no winter tires! They both knew that they would have to ditch them somewhere, but there was no real plan yet.
"Perhaps if we stop in an alley and let them pass by", Amanda suggested something she saw in the movies.
"I don't know", Rachel did not like the plan, "we have that one chance, if we stop and they don't pass by, that's it for us."
Some fresh animal tracks were visible along the road.
"If only we could see the license plate", Amanda turned back, "we'd know if they knew Atlanta and if we could lose them somewhere."
"Unfortunately, I don't know Atlanta that well, either. Shit.", Rachel said. "What does the map say?"
Amanda opened her mobile device and typed in Kennedy Space Center.
"Leads us to the highway!"
"That's not bad", Rachel concluded, "takes us faster from Atlanta. Perhaps also away from the snow clouds."
The sound of an engine roared behind them! The bandits from CDC were getting close. Rachel pressed on the gas pedal while she was looking at the rear view mirror with panic.
ZIP! ZIP! ZANG! The bullets began flying around the car.
"FUCK!", Amanda shouted. "They're shooting!"
"I hear that! HEAD DOWN!"
The cars were speeding by the Freedom Park and Rachel thought to turn sharply into the park and try to disappear there. But, it was too risky. One wrong move and that would be the end of the road! The highway was the smartest solution for now. To vanish on the streets of Atlanta was also an option, but she did not like it. She feared the blocked streets and barricades. At the moment, the city seemed to be one giant trap!
BUMP! One of the trucks hit the rear end of their car that suddenly skidded to the left! Rachel corrected their course and hit the pedal to the maximum! It's now or never! CRASH! The rear window burst under the bullet. The cold air and snow were filling the insides of the car. Amanda, bent over on the passenger seat, extended her arm and turned up the heating. It was an instinctive move, a futile moment of normalcy in the madness of it all.
"Louisiana!", Rachel shouted.
"What?", Amanda did not hear her because of the wind.
"Louisiana! These are Louisiana plates!"
BUMP! The truck hit them again and Rachel could bet she hear their voices! This time she was ready, holding the steering wheel hard, she decelerated a little and let the car come closer. Snow was quickly becoming a blizzard and the visibility deteriorated. Rachel decided to use that. At the last moment she turned towards the highway exit and saw that the truck skidded and hit one of the rails! Behind them, two other pick-ups rushed after Rachel and Amanda. Rachel took the highway a little slower, looking at one of the pick-ups having trouble on the climb. Both pick-ups slowed down.
"Yes!!", she rose her arm in victory, while holding the wheel with the other, "they have no winter gear. This will slow them down."
Amanda turned slowly, but the pick-ups were no longer visible due to crazy snowfall. Visibility was bad. Rachel slowed down, too.
"Shit", she said, "I can't see anything. I hope nobody's parked in the middle of the road."
They were slowly driving on the middle lane. Somewhere in the distance they still heard cars following them. It got colder in the car.
"We have to find another vehicle, or we won't survive this weather", Rachel realized. "What does the map say?"
"There is an airfield close", Amanda read from the map.
"Risky. I don't know", Rachel was unsure.
"Why?"
"Too many people. The Snow Flu's probably hiding somewhere there. And that would be the first choice for the bandits."
Through the blizzard she saw car spotlights in the snow.
"I prefer a small town. I'll go faster, turn off the lights, take the exit and hope they don't see us", she explained the quick plan that seemed the best solution.
"Riverdale, then, exit in ten minutes."
"Is there a hotel?", Rachel asked.
"Regency Inn. On our way. With a big parking. Probably there's a car we can take", Amanda said looking at the satellite picture of the hotel.
Rachel changed the lane to the left several minutes before the exit, then the next one. A little later, just before the exit, she took a local road that ran through Riverdale. She could see neon signs, pizza places, fast food chains, a car rental, a body shop, banks. For a small town of some fifteen thousand people, this was a lot of businesses. The closeness of the airport, only a few minutes away, played a big role in the life of the town. Many passengers spent some time there. A lot of inhabitants worked on the airport. That was probably where the Snow Flu started spreading.
They could not see the car lights behind them because of the snow. Rachel exhaled.
"I think we've got away", she said looking at the rear view mirror. The snow was falling heavily.
"Regency Inn in four hundred meters", Amanda navigated.
The Regency Inn was situated behind a large shopping mall, but was completely covered in snow. There were six cars in the parking lot, all buried under the snow. Rachel and Amanda would have to dig them out. Rachel parked, took their luggage out of the car and started burying their own car in snow.
"If they come, let them think it was parked here for a long time!"
The blizzard raged. They entered the hotel's lobby. It was actually a motel, with rooms away from the reception. Everything was turned upside down, papers were scattered on the floor, just like chairs. The robbers had obviously been there already. There were no car keys.
"Do we have to check the rooms?", Amanda asked while exiting the reception area.
"Yes. But only those without the X sign. It's better to continue on foot, then to enter those rooms!"
They decided to start on the first floor. Only the fourth room, marked 14, did not have the red sign, but they failed to open the door. The same happened to doors on rooms 17 and 19. The door of room 23 was cracked open, so they entered. Heating was not operational, so there was no temperature difference inside. A pressed suit was laid out on the bed. Amanda moved it with her foot. Something clanked.
"Keys?", she looked at Rachel.
"Maybe", Rachel took the pen from the night stand, probed the suit with the pen and took something out.
Car keys. She took the ring with the pen and took it all to the bathroom where she let water run over them. Then she wiped it off. They exited the room. Rachel clicked the button and all four indicators on the largest car blinked.
"There is a jeep down there", Amanda nodded contentedly.
After they had dug it out, the new Grand Cherokee revealed itself to them. Both were pleased. The jeep looked powerful and safe. In this blizzard, it should bring them to safety.
42.
"Professor Archer is dead", Morris told Li
ka on the phone, "Oli and Josh are fine."
Lika sighed with relief.
"Eli, are you Ok?", Oliver asked through the speaker.
"I've been better, but all in all, I'm fine!", Eli responded, glad that Oliver was alive.
"Great, darling!", she heard Josh's voice. "I knew there was something useful from all those video games you play."
"Where are you?", Lika asked.
"At the Jacksonville Arena. After the shooting we went in that direction and stopped to assess the situation. We thought we better find shelter, and not stay out in the open."
"We have to get together", Lika said holding her head with both hands, "and escape from this city."
"Where are you?", Josh said.
"The residential area", Lika replied, "some two miles from you. But, if you come towards us, you'll stumble upon the bandits."
"True", Morris agreed, "do not return the same way. I think we were shot at from the church tower some half a mile from the intersection."
"We could take the river", Eli suggested.
"That's right", Morris exclaimed quietly, "the river is an excellent idea. Look at the map to find a marina. Find a boat and come to Hogan Creek …
"I see it", Lika was looking at her mobile map.
"… where we can pick you up. We'll escape Jacksonville and think about transport later", Morris suggested.
"Sounds like a plan", Lika said. "We'll set off as soon as it gets dark."
"Deal!"
After Morris and Lika had reached the agreement, Josh and Eli, then Lika and Oli had a short conversation. They also allowed Oli and Eli a few minutes, but otherwise they agreed on total radio silence. If the bandits were military, they might have the ability to eavesdrop on their conversation or get their signal. It was difficult to say who was shooting, all options were open. In the end, it would only take one lunatic with a wish to kill anything that moved, just for fun.
The bullet hit professor Archer as they were running away, tearing his jugular artery. Morris saw disappointment in his dying eyes, but also a short cynical smile in his eye, for the fact that death had found him in Jacksonville of all places, the city he had never liked. Oliver and Josh were surprisingly well. Their reaction to professor Archer's quick death was a shock, but they pulled together as soon as they reached the Arena. Adrenaline worked well, Morris knew that. Only later, when everything was far behind them, the real emotions and thoughts would come. At that moment they simply did not have the time.
Although it was logical to go on and run as far as possible, Morris decided to stop and think. Take in some air and rest for a while. Perhaps this enemy expected them to flee and set a trap somewhere along the road. Besides, Josh would never leave Eli behind, neither would Lika leave Oli. Not to mention Oliver and Eli. As they were moving away from the Edge and the trumpet resounded through Jacksonville, Morris knew that Diego was dead. He dared not even ask.
Lika, Eli and Benjamin watched the window. Dusk was turning into darkness. They had an hour walk to the first marina.
"It is time", Lika said.
They exited the same way they entered, through the back door and decided to stay close to the houses, walk through back yards, avoid even the thought of main roads until it was necessary. Public street lights were still partially functional, but enough the light their way. The silence in the dead city was incredible. They heard only their own steps. It was weird. Somewhat scary. As they were walking in line silently, some rustling surprised them. Lika held up her arm and everybody stopped. A black cat passed by; looked at them for a few seconds and then ran away. So, they walked on in silence among the Jacksonville's one-storey houses. Besides the cat, nothing surprised them anymore. Lika hoped it would stay that way. She was not eager to meet hungry dogs, other animals or people. In another life, her past, Lika was not an overly sociable person. She liked to be among people, but not talking to them. That was the reason her job as the photo journalist was ideal for her. She was always in the center of the event, never had to communicate too much. She could never work in an office, she had to be outside, in the field, in action.
The marina was dark, only some lamps illuminated ten boats tied up in the marina. Lika took them to the main building to find keys for at least one boat engine. The door was open, so Lika carefully entered the building. Eli and Benjamin followed her. The main hall was large, in a semi-circle and filled with various shops with nautical gear. At the end of the hall there was a reception and an office behind that was locked. Benjamin took a chair from the reception and threw it into the large, glass wall separating the office from the hall. The glass shattered in thousand pieces and fell all over the floor. Lika raised her hand to indicate them to stop. She went over the glass to the office, careful not to cut herself on the glass. All the keys were in the small desk with the monitor and a large book of arrivals and departures that was filled in by hand. Lika smiled to herself. She put several keys in her pocket and exited the office in the same way. Glass was cracking underneath her feet.
They decided upon a smaller boat, mainly for fishing, named Axa. It had slots at the back where fishing rods could be fixed. There was a covered cabin and a small room for two people, used mainly as storage. Benjamin started the engine, turned off the lights and sailed down the river towards Hogan Creek. He used to have a boat, while they lived close to San Diego. But, the boat turned to be a burden. Not financially, but the ownership. He got tired of maintenance, each year some new repairs. He decided that it was better to rent a boat, if they would feel like sailing. So, that was the deal, they still took to a boat each year, only in some other parts of the world and only chartered. He asked himself, as Axa smoothly traveled on the river, how many ships were at see at that moment? Who was smart enough to avoid the Snow Outbreak by hiding in one of the oceans? Whoever had done so, was saved. To sail off to an island with none or very few inhabitants, that would have been his plan, too. They only had four nautical miles to Hogan Creek. Their boat was fast, but loud, so Benjamin decided not to drive it fast. He preferred to drift as silently as possible.
The Silverado was parked at Hogan Creek. Lika sent Morris their estimated time of arrival. He tried to see them through the darkness, but it was not easy because of the turned off lights. So they sat in silence and waited. Ten minutes later, he heard the engine approaching from the distance. Morris went out of the car, turned his mobile device towards the ship and flashed. There was a light response from the boat. At the same time, the shooting started!
ZIP! ZANG! ZIP! ZIP! The bullets were hitting the boat's hull!
"Ben!", Lika shouted as she saw Benjamin falling down.
Morris jumped in the Silverado, turned the engine on and rushed down the E Bay street towards the east! At the same time, Eli took the wheel, pushed the power to the maximum and speeded off into the night!
"Ben's been hurt", Lika shouted, taking off her jacket.
"I'll be fine, OK", Ben repeated, "I think it's just a through and through."
That was right, the bullet hit his leg. His fall looked more dramatic than it actually was. Lika wrapped his leg with her jacket and started looking for the first aid kit on the boat. Eli drove the boat fast, taking only an occasional lamp on each side of the river as a sense of direction. Her cell rang in her pocket. She answered.
"It's Morris! We're OK! Speeding down the highway northwards, get as far as you can out of Jacksonville!", he shouted. "We're going to Sandusky, you go back to Kennedy."
"OK. I'll tell Lika. We'll be in touch", Eli replied briefly.
"What's happened?", Lika asked her.
"They're leaving for Sandusky. He told us to go back to Kennedy."
Lika sighed. From the distance they could hear a boat engine closing in on them.
43.
The Silverado was driving fast on Road 95 towards Charlotte. Since they had managed to leave Jacksonville, Morris did not stop at all. Josh and Oliver were sleeping. When they reached the bypass around Charlotte, morning would
have broken. After that, they had eight more hours to Sandusky. They would have to stop for gas, because the tank was almost empty. Morris slowed down to conserve gas and stopped at the gas station after some ten minutes and a few miles, just like there was nothing extraordinary happening in the world. All the lights were on, pleasant music could be heard from the speakers. Even the neon sign advertising some local lager beer was cheerfully on. Who knows how it managed to withstand the flu and the local robbers. Probably it was isolated enough to survive on its own.
"Oliver!", Morris woke him up, "go inside and take as much food as you can. After that, you're driving."
Oliver went into the shop and started putting things into his backpack, everything that seemed edible and nourishing. He took many chocolate energy bars. He took a lot of them, and a half would be enough to feed them. He took some other stuff, too - Listerine to wash their mouths, Fisherman's Friends candy, water. It was weird to be able to just choose what to take and pay nothing. The world became a completely different place.
"The car's filled up with gas, when you get tired, Josh or me will drive. I also took some gas canisters in case we need more gas", Morris told him, lying down on the back seat where he fell asleep almost immediately.
Oliver took the wheel and started the engine. He had been driving since he was sixteen, not much, but enough. And the traffic rules were no longer important. Besides, the road was more or less empty. On his right side, there was a screen with a map showing him where to drive. Oliver pressed on the gas pedal. He was rushing through Virginia thinking about small towns they were passing by. Max Meadows, Bland. Hicksville. Wytheville. Some only had a few hundred inhabitants, some a few thousand. What was life like there? Was there life there at all? Oliver's knowledge of "small American towns" stemmed mostly from the movies he had watched. Usually teen comedies or romantic flicks. He loved those with the main character, somebody big from the big city somehow ending in a small town. And trying to escape as soon as possible, but the town and its people winning him over soon! Then there was the love interest, so slowly the hero or a heroine fall in love with the town … If that was how it was really happening, who knew. But, it was surely a simpler life, he concluded driving through Chesapeake towards Charleston where he would drive around along the river Kanawha.
