“Cliff, Smith, you two work on siphoning more gas. I know we didn’t get full cans before we left because of the horde. Let’s see if we can fill up the vehicles now and then get whatever is left,” Alex said.
She motioned to the cars scattered around the parking lot. Cliff nodded and went to the RV storage bin that held the materials needed to siphon the gas. Smith followed eagerly, happy to feel like he was more a part of the group now.
“Rafe, Max, we’ll head into the store. The three of us can get more done together. I’ll ask Issac to come out with his rifle to watch everyone’s backs. I’m sure Margaret will want to help too,” Alex said.
Rafe and Max both nodded and headed back to their vehicles. Griffin wasn’t thrilled about being sidelined and watching Max go into the dark store. As Max grabbed an empty backpack, she strapped on her weapons, prepared for whatever they might find in the store.
“I could keep watch,” Griffin said.
“And if we have to leave quickly? Or you get attacked? You can’t get away from an infected like that, Griffin,” Max reasoned.
“Well, I can at least sit here with a rifle, watching the doorway. Get me one,” Griffin insisted.
Max sighed, she knew he needed something to do, or he was going to start making foolish moves. She went to Margaret’s car, where they kept the majority of the larger weapons. She chose a rifle and loaded it quickly. Griffin rolled down his window so Max could hand the weapon through.
“Please, don’t do anything stupid,” Max said.
“Stupid moves are reserved for Max Duncan,” Griffin retorted.
“I’ll be careful, I promise,” Max said.
“I’m holding you to that. Bring your butt back here, unharmed. We clear?” Griffin replied.
She climbed the truck step so she could bring her face closer to his. Max made sure to look him in the eye, his way of feeling she was telling the truth.
“I promise. I’ll be careful,” she repeated.
Griffin seemed satisfied, so she planted a rough kiss on his lips before stepping back down. Max could almost feel his gaze on her back as she met Alex, Rafe, and Storm near the store entrance. He would have to trust her. They were always working on being equal partners, when in reality Max only knew life on her own with Jack. It was harder for her to adjust to this new normal dynamic than it was for Griffin.
“Ready?” Alex asked.
“Yup. Noticed the doors are broken in already. So no knowing what’s waiting,” Max said as she twirled her tomahawk in her hand.
“Hopefully we already woke any sleeping infected in there, so they don’t sneak up on us,” Rafe replied.
The three of them slowly entered the store. They couldn’t stop their boots from crunching across what was supposed to be safety glass on the ground. The store had been ransacked and Max lost any hope of finding useful items. Rafe had lifted Storm over the glass to prevent his paws from catching anything. Rafe snapped and pointed and the white dog took off, sniffing everywhere. His early warning signs would be helpful searching any building.
When Storm came back and sat peacefully, they knew there were no infected inside the store. The three split up with Storm trailing Rafe. The dog’s bark would warn them should anything turn up to threaten the group.
Max headed straight for the canned goods area. As expected, almost everything was gone. She put her pack on backwards so she could easily slip items in as she found them. People didn’t seem to like canned meats, which Max found humor in. Other’s dislike would be their good fortune, as Margaret knew how to create a stew from pretty much canned anything. Max bagged all the canned meats and tunas she saw.
She moved down and found boxes of candies still scattering the shelves. She added those to the top of the cans. Her backpack was actually filling up faster than she anticipated. She whistled to signal her siblings. They all met back at the entrance.
Rafe had scavenged more supplies for Storm. He had two medium sized bags of dog food on his shoulder and his backpack was full of other things. Alex had headed toward the section that held things like socks and hair supplies. Her bag wasn’t full, but it was also lighter than all the cans Max was holding.
The three went out to empty their packs so they could go back in. The RV was the main source of storage, so Candace opened the side door when she saw them coming. Unceremoniously, they dumped everything on the RV floor. Candace eyed the supplies and nodded her head as she planned where to stuff everything. Alex gave her a sweet smile before they closed the side door again.
Cliff and Smith could be seen off at the end of the parking lot working on a car. Griffin and Issac were both posted with their rifles. Margaret had started to wander from door to door, trying to peer inside the places that were still closed up. She tapped on the glass at the karate studio door and almost immediately a body slammed against the window on the other side. The infected was wearing a gi, ready to attend a class in the studio. Margaret shook her head as she moved to the next business.
Alex, Max, and Rafe went straight back to the 99 cents store. Storm was sitting patiently inside, waiting for them. Rafe rewarded him with a pat on the head before signaling him to be watch. There was a subtle change, but the dog didn’t actually move from his spot. His ears twitched around, listening for sounds, and he lifted his head to sniff the air.
Max went to the back storage area to see if she could find any water or Gatorade-like drinks. Even though Storm had checked the building, she had her tomahawk out as she slid her flashlight from side to side. The beam illuminated boxes of dried goods, which were also a good find. However, they wouldn’t be making pasta if they didn’t track down more water.
After she went through the whole storeroom, Max decided the water had already been scavenged. She pulled the boxes of pasta, rice, and dried beans into the main store. The noise brought Rafe and Alex to help, and together they carried the boxes to the RV. When the door swung open this time, it was Liam at the entrance. Max almost stopped, but reminded herself they were trying to trust him.
Liam took the boxes and set them on the dinette until a place was decided for them. Alex stuck her head inside and checked on Billie and Henry. They sat on the floor next to Easton, who was lying on the couch.
“I could help,” Easton called to Alex.
“Better that you rest,” she replied.
“I’m tired of resting.”
“Of course, you are. It’s not about laziness, East. You need to give your body time to recover from the loss of blood. Be sure to drink the fluids Charlie recommended,” Alex said.
Liam watched the interaction with mild curiosity, but smartly kept his mouth shut. Max had to wonder how this division of parenting was going to work. Liam was their father, however he hadn’t been around much to raise them. Alex wasn’t their mother, but was the closest thing they had. And Alex was the leader of the Duncan group, unspoken, but everyone knew it. In Max’s mind, that gave her the power with the teens.
After the RV door shut again. The siblings quickly discussed next moves. They had a few additional boxes to grab from the 99 cents store. Then they wanted to see if any of the restaurants had waters or other beverages. It was the one thing they couldn’t grow or can. When they were away from the compound with its well water and nearby river, they had to be hyperaware of the limits they were at.
Rafe stopped them just inside the doors of the 99 cent store. He looked around to make sure the rest of the group wasn’t near the entrance. He turned to Alex, his face serious.
“Charlie and I have been talking. I think you should know, Alex,” Rafe started.
“Know what?”
“I didn’t want to say anything in front of anyone else. The implications are too serious. And we don’t know what it could mean in the long run,” Rafe said.
“Just spit it out, Rafe. The anticipation is killing me,” Max huffed.
“Charlie thinks Easton is completely immune.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Com
pletely?” Alex asked, her face surprised.
“The way she described it was instead of the infection taking over his cells, his cells just shrugged off the assault. It was the most she could really tell with the limited resources she had,” Rafe explained.
Alex pulled them deeper into the store, looking over their shoulder again.
“So the infection in his system?” She asked.
“Is completely gone. The last blood sample Charlie took was last night. When she looked at it, she couldn’t locate the infection at all,” Rafe said.
“Holy shit,” Max whispered.
She understood the need for secrecy now. Easton was the only person they had heard of to withstand a bite and not turn. It wasn’t impossible that it wasn’t happening elsewhere, but without modern communication there would be no way of knowing. The implications of Easton being immune and what people would want from him were gigantic.
“Obviously, if his wound had actually been life threatening, he would have died from that wound. But he would have died for real, not the walking dead we see,” Rafe continued.
“What does Charlie think this could mean for him? For all of us?” Alex asked.
“She told me to tell you in secret. She’s worried about the group getting their hopes up, thinking she could just create a cure from Easton’s blood. That’s not really all it takes. She’s also concerned about Liam finding out.”
“Why?” Max asked.
“If his loyalties still sit with Callahan, he might try to take the boy to him. Thinking they will be able to create this imaginary cure,” Rafe said.
Alex paced a little around the small store aisle. Max and Rafe watched her, waiting for her thoughts. Max’s own mind was a whirlwind. Being immune to the disease hadn’t even seemed possible. Every person they had seen bitten turned within a day. No exceptions. Each of them had seen it and had nursed people through it. And then they had to take the step of ending their lives before they woke as an infected.
“We should just say Charlie doesn’t know, but thinks we got to him fast enough to stop the infection from taking hold,” Alex finally said.
“Do you really think that will work? We aren’t all doctors, but this is literally something we’ve never seen,” Max replied.
“I don’t know if it will work, but it’s all I have right now. Easton being immune makes him highly valuable to Callahan and ‘The Suit’. They will not give him some great life while nicely taking his blood to study him. They would rip him apart. And we cannot have that happen,” Alex said, her voice laced with venom.
“Of course not. We’re with you on this, Alex,” Rafe replied.
“Yup. We protect our own,” Max added.
It was clear Alex was shaken by the news. She dropped the first box she picked up and almost stumbled as they left the store. To others it would have seemed just normal clumsiness, however Alex was anything but clumsy. They loaded the last of the boxes into the RV and this time Alex didn’t make eye contact with Easton. As they walked away, Max stepped closer to Alex.
“You are going to need to learn how to keep a secret a bit better, big sister,” Max whispered.
Alex just shook her head and lead the way to meet Margaret in front of a Vietnamese restaurant. When they approached, the older woman looked at Alex critically.
“You alright? You’re pale,” Margaret said.
“Just tired. What did you find?” Alex replied quickly.
Max watched Margaret and was pretty sure the woman didn’t believe Alex, but she let it go. Margaret pointed to the door they were standing in front of.
“So far, this is the only one that I’ve tapped on that doesn’t have infected running to the windows. They might have bottled drinks we could grab.”
Rafe stepped up with a collapsible baton. He motioned for them to step back before he swung it at the bottom of the glass door. It cracked on the first impact and shattered on the second. They all waited to see if the noise brought anything forward. At the windows on either side, infected could be seen beating into their prisons to get to the living.
Rafe took Storm into the restaurant first and had him check the space. When the dog came back without a sound, they knew it was empty of infected. The group entered with their flashlights and spread out to check for supplies. They came to a large walk-in refrigerator and hesitated. Rafe looked over at his sisters and both of them nodded, while covering their faces with their arms. The smells from rotten refrigerators was one that lingers in your nostrils long after you closed the door again.
Covering his own face, Rafe carefully opened the door. He lit up the area with his flashlight and his gaze froze on the ground. Max and Alex joined him to see what he was looking at. The smell was different from normal rotten food, and soon Max figured out why that was.
On the floor of the fridge was a couple. Despite decomposition they looked to be older. Bottles of pills scattered the floor of the walk in and it looked like they had laid down in each other’s arms. Tears threatened to spill, and Max had to turn away. It was probably the owners of the restaurant. Instead of facing what was happening, they swallowed the pills and went to sleep together for the last time.
Rafe quietly shut the door again.
“Nothing but rotten food with them. It’s like their tomb,” he said.
“I guess at least they went together. And peacefully,” Alex replied.
Max couldn’t say anything. She nodded to let her siblings know she heard them and then walked deeper into the kitchen area. In the back, an office stood open. Max stepped in and swung her flashlight around. Looking at the walls, she found pictures that seemed to show the owner and different patrons of the restaurant. Soundlessly, Alex slipped in behind Max.
“Check this out, this place was owned by the whitest white guy I’ve ever seen,” Max joked.
The photos had one person in common, an overweight white man who couldn’t have been more than fifty years old. Max studied his face and figured he looked more like someone that would be used to hard work instead of a restaurant. His build and height made Max fairly certain he was the man inside the walk in.
“His name was Steven Overturf,” Alex said.
She had gone to the desk and rifled through the papers sitting on the top. They had never searched a place for information before, it was as if finding the bodies struck them as personal. The computer that sat on the desk was old, but Max imagined it probably got the work done as the man wanted. A paperweight with a saying caught her eye and she moved closer to read it.
“Alcohol, because no great story started with someone eating a salad,” Max read.
“I guess he had a sense of humor,” Alex replied.
Alex picked up a photo of a boy that was framed on the desk. It was a school photo with the name Joshua on the bottom corner. Max could feel the sadness that showed on Alex’s face. Both mothers could feel the pain of a parent losing a child. Max found herself wondering where the boy was, if he had survived, or if the man in the refrigerator gave up because his son was gone.
Max couldn’t handle the investigation any longer. She checked the cabinets quickly, making sure Steven Overturf wasn’t hiding anything worthwhile in the office. When she found nothing, she walked out of the room without another word. She couldn’t breathe when she felt like she was studying the life of a dead man.
Back inside the kitchen, she found packages of rice noodles and slipped them into her backpack. There were rows of canned vegetables as well, so she started to load up an empty tub to make them easier to handle. Carefully, she placed the jars of different condiments in the tub as well. They were unopened and bound to be helpful as they tried to make meals out of the items they were finding.
Rafe whistled to get their attention. He had found two bulk cases of water in the back, as well as a few twelve packs of soda. Though it wouldn’t get them far with the number of people they had, it was better than having nothing. Alex and Rafe carried the drinks, and Max handled the tub of canned food
s.
Back at the RV, Cliff and Smith were just finishing the last car in the lot and met the siblings. Issac, and Margaret came to the RV as well, to discuss next steps.
“We were able to fill all the vehicles, but we only have about five gallons extra,” Cliff said.
“Ok, good. We know we need to stop for the night. We’ll make sure we can get more gas then,” Alex said.
She gave a rundown of what they had found as well. Though they were low on water, she was honest with them about the situation. No surprises were needed when it came to supplies. It was also easier to keep one secret, not many. Everyone nodded and agreed they would be careful with the water supplies until they were settled. The hope was finding a base near a natural water source.
“In California, that can’t be too hard,” Max joked.
That earned a few smiles from the group. Max had never actually been to California. But the basic geography made sense to have plenty of fresh water sources that were feeding into the ocean. She hoped she wasn’t wrong. Not only did they need water to live, water was helpful for cooking. Eating canned meats and vegetables alone all the time could get old.
Everyone loaded back into their vehicles and the caravan set out for the freeway again. Rafe took the lead and the walkie talkies only came to life when necessary details were needed. Everyone was in their own worlds as they drove. Max thought about the secret they were keeping, and she knew she needed to tell Griffin.
Checking the backseat in the rearview, Max found Jack leaning against the window, her eyes closed. She waited a few moments to be sure the girl was really asleep and not just resting. But when her mouth hung slightly open and a small snore came from her, Max felt comfortable that she was in dreamland.
“There’s something I have to tell you. But we keep it between us. Well, and Rafe, Alex, and Charlie,” Max said quietly.
Griffin’s eyes swung in her direction, an eyebrow up in question.
“Charlie has some ideas about Easton. And it’s concerning,” Max said.
Sundown Series | Book 5 | Vengeance Page 23
