Tara stretched her arms. “Well, if we can’t find one in the mall, we’re just going to have to break into every car that’s parked outside and raid their glove compartments until we find one.”
“Wonderful. I get to smash into cars like a common criminal,” Preston said with a groan.
Tara, folding her arms, glanced at Preston. “You know we have no choice,” she said.
“Yeah, I get it.” Preston held out his palm. “Believe me. I suppose old habits of civility die hard.”
“Preston, if their owners could come back here, they probably would have. Odds are their owners are probably never going to see their vehicles again,” Carl said. “I hate the idea of having to take other people’s property, but we’re starved for good choices.”
“Like I said, I know,” Preston replied. “I just sometimes wish we could go back to normal –”
A set of voices cut across their path. Carl quickly slowed. His friends followed suit. A male and a female were chatting, quite loudly, inside a shoe store. Carl slowed down. He didn’t recognize this pair, but then again he had not met everyone in the mall face to face. These two appeared to be about Carl’s age, in their early thirties, and judging from their interaction, they could be dating or even married. The woman was short and full-figured, while the man had a broadly handsome face coated with a thin brown beard. Both were dressed in fairly neat and ordinary clothing with no tears, blood stains or dirt, perhaps a sign that they had weathered this disaster fairly well so far.
“I told you that you needed to sleep with your legs elevated,” the woman said. “It helps with circulation. Your back wouldn’t be hurting now.”
The male shook his head. “I couldn’t handle it. If I can’t turn a few times in bed, I’ll never get to sleep.”
“Well, now you’re stuck hobbling around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.” The woman, who was quite shorter than her companion, hunched down and started limping around the male.
The man fought the urge to chuckle. “Alicia, I’m not that bad off. I just need to stretch out and the pain will be gone in no time.”
Alicia then turned her head and noticed Carl’s party for the first time. “Hey!” She quickly straightened up. “Lorenzo! The hero of the hour is here!”
Carl cleared his throat. “Hello. Sorry to bother you.”
“Eh, forget it.” Alicia waved her hand. “Lorenzo and I just were talking about his excruciating back pain and how he barely can walk anymore.”
Lorenzo strode up and tweaked Alicia on her rear. The short lady let out a quick squeal. “My wife loves to exaggerate,” he said. Lorenzo overshadowed Alicia so much that Carl figured he had to be a good foot taller than her.
“I’m Lorenzo Farrell. This is my wife, the lovely Alicia Farrell. And we know who you are, Carl Mathers, Tara Rowe…” He glanced at Preston and his words suddenly failed. “Uh…”
“Preston Wilson,” Preston replied.
“It’s best you don’t know him.” Tara then pressed her hand against her lips and giggled.
Shyanne stepped forward. “I’m Shyanne!” She extended her hand as if for a handshake.
“Oh, how adorable!” Alicia leaned down and grabbed Shyanne with both arms. “She wanted me to shake her hand. Well, I’m sorry, sweetie, but I hug little girls.” Alicia then kissed Shyanne on the top of her head. “I remember when you made those horrible men chase after you. Oh, my heart just leaped into my throat! I’m so happy you’re alright!”
Shyanne flailed in Alicia’s grasp. “Thank you…” She then coughed. “You’re…too tight.”
Alicia released Shyanne. “Sorry, Babe.” Alicia then chuckled. “Oh, I love children. I wish I had some of my own.” She looked at Carl, Tara and Preston. “We’ve been trying.” She then dropped her voice into a whisper. “I’m a health junkie. I study these things. I’ve been trying to refine our performance in bed. I think maybe Lorenzo’s sperm production has something to do with it…”
Alicia then squealed as Lorenzo tweaked her on her behind again. “Lorenzo!” she called out.
Lorenzo gently ushered her aside. “I’m sorry. Alicia is very free with her words.” He glanced at her. “Very free. Anyway, how can we help you?”
Carl was so wrapped up in the couple’s banter that he nearly forgot why he came here. Fortunately, Tara jumped in. “We’re looking for a map of northern Virginia. A street map would be fine, but we really could use a geographic map, something to help us tell landmarks and things like that.”
“A geographic map!” Alicia ran up to her. “Oh, we have one! We absolutely have one!”
“Really?” Tara asked.
“Sure! Lorenzo and I go hunting in the country a lot. We were planning a trip next weekend before…” She rolled her eyes. “…all of this happened.”
“I was on my way to a hunting trip the very day everything shut down!” Tara cried.
“You close your mouth!” Alicia then cackled. “Yeah, I saw you with that rifle of yours.”
“Thank God I had it with me,” Tara said.
Lorenzo walked toward the entrance of the shoe store. “Well, how about we go get that map? Now that we’re free and don’t have to worry about getting killed by Jason. The map’s in our SUV in the parking lot. We’ve been meaning to go back out there anyway.”
“Perfect,” Carl said, “just lead the way.”
Carl followed Lorenzo and Alicia. The pair continued chatting during the whole trip from the mall corridor, out the doors, and into the parking lot. It was impressive that they kept their spirits up throughout this ordeal. It was just one more encouraging sign that things could get better for them and stay better.
As they filed through the lot, the path they took felt oddly familiar. They were walking straight back toward the back end of the lot. It was the same path they had taken when they had fled the mall the first time and then when they had returned. After a couple of minutes, Carl noticed the Farrell couple was walking toward a familiar blue SUV.
It was the same SUV Carl and his companions had taken refuge in when they first fled the mall.
Alicia rapidly picked up the pace toward the SUV. “Oh God! Lorenzo!” She ran up to the smashed rear passenger side window behind the driver’s seat. “Someone broke into our vehicle!”
Lorenzo hurried to his wife’s side. “You’re right.” He shook his head. “Damn. I guess I knew this was coming. It must have been a thief or some shithead.”
The back of Carl’s neck burned. Tara appeared even worse, with her cheeks burning beet red.
Alicia groaned. “Oh, let’s see what they stole.” She pulled open the passenger door on the driver’s side while Lorenzo walked around the other side to open the passenger side door there. Lorenzo opened the glove compartment and fished around inside.
“I found it!” Lorenzo said. He pulled out the folded map.
Carl would have been thrilled if he wasn’t mortified about this situation. How in the world could Carl and his friends have happened upon this vehicle’s owners?
Oh please, Carl thought. There weren’t many survivors in there to begin with. Odds were that you would find the owners sooner or later.
“Someone’s been eating in here!” Alicia called from inside the SUV. “There are crumbs in the back everywhere!”
Shyanne grabbed Carl’s arm. “I didn’t do it!” she whispered, “I always clean up! I swear!”
Carl, Shyanne and Tara turned around. Preston was standing behind a red car several paces back and was avoiding direct eye contact.
“What?” he asked.
Carl sighed. “We should tell them.”
“Hell no!” Tara harshly whispered.
“I’m with Tara,” Preston said.
Chapter Four
Alicia laughed. “To think my bullets helped take out those men!” She curled her fingers to imitate holding a rifle. “Yeah, those were my bullets! I didn’t even know I left those in the van!” Then she turned to Lorenzo as she paced around Carl
and his friends, all seated around a table inside the mall’s shoe store. “Lorenzo, did you leave those bullets in the spare tire compartment?”
Lorenzo, standing up and leaning against a nearby cashier’s table, shrugged. “God, I can’t believe I was that absent minded.” Then he snapped his fingers. “It might have been when we needed to switch out the tire. There was some extra space left and I wanted to slip some bullets in there that I had bought that day. I guess the box broke open because I’d be damned those bullets shouldn’t have been rolling around loose in there.”
Carl watched Alicia pace around having a good time. To his relief, the Farrell couple had taken the news that Carl and his companions camped out in their SUV well. They also accepted their shattered window with good grace, though they seemed a bit sullen about it at first. Their moods improved as Carl pointed out that their SUV’s electronics were fried and thus their vehicle had no hope of moving again unless it was significantly refurbished with new electronics.
With that business taken care of, Lorenzo unfolded the map on the table. To Carl’s relief, the map offered both a geographical layout of the state all the way to the D.C./Maryland border and the state’s main road system. Carl picked out Earhart and from there extrapolated where the mall was located. Then he marked the spot with a little marker.
“So, what are you looking for?” Lorenzo asked. “I’ve heard rumblings around here that you were planning to leave.”
Carl nodded. “I’m looking for Camp Jefferson. It’s a military base not far from here. I don’t know if the place still is operating, but it’s the best place I can think of that might provide shelter for survivors.” He shook his head. “If anything like that even exists.” He pointed his finger in the area just south of Loudoun County and traced his finger down. “It’s somewhere near Road 32.” He traced the path toward Road 32 and then stopped at a small period by the road.
Alicia leaned closer. “Hey, I think I see a little fence there. What’s that for?”
“It’s used to mark military bases.” Lorenzo then looked up at Carl. “Hey, I think maybe we found your Camp Jefferson.”
“I think we have,” Carl said with a smile. “And it’s not too far from here, maybe two or three days. But we’d have to travel almost nonstop. We would stop to sleep at night, but otherwise it would have to be a straight shot over there. The less time we spend trekking out in the open, the better.”
Tara leaned closer to the map. “Adam’s Point, where is it?”
Carl quickly pushed his finger to the right. “Right there. It’s not far. The trees kind of block it off.”
“Oh.” Tara blushed. “Thanks.”
Carl had spotted Adam’s Point early, but had not said anything. Adam’s Point was his hometown, and Tara’s as well, a tiny town that only broke a thousand residents. The farm of Carl’s parents was just a few miles away from it.
On paper, Adam’s Point didn’t seem very far, but Carl recognized navigating the terrain would take a few days. He would have to handle anything, man or nature, on the way, with Michael in tow. Carl also did not know how many people he would be bringing along with them. The more people they brought, the longer the journey. Carl would have to keep track of everyone and make certain no one got lost. That likely meant they would have to hike at a slower speed.
On the other hand, more people meant their journey would be safer. Bandits spying a large caravan trekking through the woods would feel more reluctant about launching a raid. Unless, of course, the bandits possessed a lot of firepower and felt cocky enough that they could take the risk.
Ultimately, Carl’s decision would go easier if he had an idea of how many people would be accompanying him. “I think we need to get serious about asking the other survivors if they want to go,” he said. “That way we can plan properly.” Although Carl had made no secret of wanting to move on, he had not heard from the other mall survivors about coming with him. Although he got the sense that many of them might elect to stay or move on to their own planned destinations.
“Speaking of planning, what about camping gear?” Alicia shrugged. “I mean, are we going to sleep out under the stars and be at the mercy of mosquitoes? We could use a tent or two.” She chuckled. “And if we get a big party going with us, a lot of tents.”
“Good point,” Carl said. “Is there any place in here that sells camping gear?”
“Yep.” Alicia’s grin grew wide.
The heavy door was lowered to the ground, barring access to Great Outdoors, one of the few stores in the mall that had remained sealed off. This store must have been closed at the time the catastrophe struck and its owner either was not here to reopen it or had fled the mall. Carl pushed his hand up on the metal. It did not budge. “I guess no one’s got the key to this place?” he asked.
“I thought maybe you knew how to open it,” Alicia said. “You know, being a Marine and all. I’m sure they taught you how to break open locked places and all that?”
“Yeah, but usually I have a squad with me. A couple of Humvees and probably a helicopter to repel down from usually don’t hurt either.” Carl backed up toward his friends.
“I guess nobody else has the keys to the stores in cases of emergencies?” Tara asked.
“I asked. Some of them got lost in the chaos,” Lorenzo said. “We’d have to comb this entire place for the keys and we still may never find them.”
“Well, we can’t waste time looking for keys that might be gone for good,” Carl said. “What about the rear entrance to this store? We could go outside, look for the back door, and try our luck there?”
“It’s probably locked too,” Preston said as he approached the door. “Face it, we’re blocked either way.” He smirked. “Unless we were to pick this lock.”
“Pick the lock?” Tara chuckled. “Uh, Preston, I don’t think we have any superspies or thieves among us.”
Preston knelt down next to the lock. “You want to bet I can’t do this?”
“You?” Tara laughed. “You picked up lock picking skills in between political rallies?”
“You got anything on you? Paper clips? Anything thin that can fit in there?” Preston asked.
Tara rolled her eyes. “I think I may have a few bobby pins.” She reached down to her lower pants pocket and opened it up. After a little fishing around, she produced a few bobby pins. “Knock yourself out.”
Preston took them. “Thank you,” he said.
As he started his work on the lock, Tara glanced at Carl and the others. “I don’t believe this.” She focused on Lorenzo and Alicia a little more closely. “If you know this guy, he comes from a rich family. Now, I got no problem with money, but where does he pick up how to pick a lock? Is he training to be a Batman villain?”
“Hey, if I’m in the Batman universe, then I should be Bruce Wayne since I’m rich,” Preston replied.
Tara looked over her shoulder. “But that would make you a rich capitalist! I thought Preston Wilson hated the rich.”
“Ah, but Bruce Wayne doesn’t charge money to fight crime. He gives of himself freely without thought of compensation or reward,” Preston said. “So, I’m cool with being Batman. You, on the other hand, would make a fantastic Joker.”
Alicia pointed to Preston, then to Tara. “Are you two married?”
Tara flinched. “What? No way!” she retorted. Behind her, Preston suddenly coughed loudly.
Alicia glanced at Lorenzo. “What? Don’t you think those two are acting like a married couple?”
Lorenzo raised an eyebrow. “They sound worse than us, actually.”
Tara shook her head. “No, no, God no. I have a boyfriend. He’s way better than him!” She pointed her thumb at Preston. “He’s a bleeding heart commie snowflake! Me, I’m a constitutional conservative. There’s no way I’d hook up with him!”
“Yeah, I think my standards are a little too high,” Preston said. “I prefer a woman who’s well-read, gives to charity, and recognizes we need to keep a clean envi
ronment or it’s pointless to have kids since no new generation’s going to survive on this planet.”
Tara turned her head in Preston’s direction. “Okay, you must be done by now or you’re just faking it. And by the way, I do give to charity. In fact, conservatives are more generous with their money than liberals. You guys are only generous with other people’s cash!”
“If you’re so generous, why did you give me a bobby pin that sucks? If I’m not going fast enough, I blame you. You’re giving me substandard materials to work with,” Preston replied.
As Preston spoke, Alicia whispered in Lorenzo’s ear. “I am telling you, those two really do act like they’re a couple.” Lorenzo just chuckled.
Tara marched over to Preston. “Here. Let me do it. I know you’re screwing up.”
“Damn.” Preston pulled the pins out. “Guess you’re right. Guess I couldn’t do it.”
Tara grabbed the pins, gave him a smirk, and then knelt, ready to pick the lock. Preston then grabbed the door and pushed up on it.
The door rose before Tara could jab a pin into the lock. “Uh oh, what do we have here?” Preston pushed up a little harder, raising the door past Tara’s head.
“Looks like Preston Wilson had the magic after all.”
Tara’s face turned red. “You planned this!”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you didn’t see me push down the door handle. You just assumed I couldn’t do it,” Preston said as Carl and Lorenzo stepped up to help raise the door all the way.
Tara grumbled. “Seriously, why did you learn how to pick locks?”
“Even guys with a lot of cash get bored sometimes,” Preston replied. “I wanted to see if I could do it.”
With the door raised all the way, the store’s interior now was visible. The store showed no signs of having been looted, as Carl had expected it to be. The store’s closed overhead door had protected it well. Looters would go for the easy stuff. There was no sense in breaking into here unless they had the proper tools, or there were resources of such vital importance that the effort was worth it.
Silent Interruption (Book 3): An Uncertain Passage Page 3
