by R. A. Neely
"We're almost out of the freezer stuff," she said. "We've got some hamburgers left I think, and maybe a roast."
James shrugged. "Let's cook it all. No point in letting it go to waste."
Greg nodded. "Yeah, not sure how much longer it'll be safe to stay in the city."
Laura nodded as she glanced at the kids. Junior at ten, was looking at the whole situation as if it were some big adventure. Maddy at twelve, was taking everything in stride as well. If she had been just a few years older they might have had an irate teenager on their hands. As it was, they seemed to be handling the whole thing better than the adults. Laura had marveled at their acceptance of the situation when she had sat them down to talk earlier.
"Where should we go?" she asked.
"Not sure just yet," Greg replied. "For now though, getting away from any large cities is probably out best bet. Maybe head north or something. Less people that way, right?"
"Less people should mean less infected then right?" Carol asked.
"That's kind of what I'm thinking," he said.
"How can we be sure though?" James asked. "It's not like won't have to deal with this if we go north."
"Hey, dad," Junior said.
"Yeah, son?"
"Couldn't we just check the radio? I still have that c.b. radio you got me last year."
"Does it still work?" James asked. "I don't think I've seen you use it in a while."
"It still works," Junior insisted. "It's been sitting on my closet shelf."
"I'll go grab it," James said. He left and returned a few minutes later, c.b. radio in hand. They set it up on the table but nothing happened when he turned it on.
"It probably needs new batteries, Dad," Junior said. "I haven't used it for a while."
"I'll grab some," Laura said as she left the table. She returned a few minutes later and the radio crackled to life. They cycle through the stations but didn't hear anything they felt was useful. They stayed at it for fifteen minutes before giving up.
"We can keep checking," Greg said. "It's still just the first day. Maybe no one has had a chance to organize anything yet."
"That makes sense," James said. "We can probably check every hour or so until we hear something."
Laura glanced at her watch. "It's after eight. Should we turn in?"
"That sounds good to me," James said. "I'm pretty tired now that you mention it."
Everyone else left, leaving just Greg and Carol at the table. They made small talk while Greg continued to cycle through the stations on the radio. Carol chuckled after he yawned for the fourth time.
"Why don't you go to bed? The radio will be there in the morning."
Greg smiled. "You're right." He stood and stretched.
"I made a spot for you earlier. Come on, I'll show you." Carol took Greg by the hand and led him off to a corner in the basement. There was a pallet set up on the floor with room for two. A blanket hung from the ceiling and enclosed the area to give a sense of privacy.
"What's this?" Greg asked as he turned to Carol.
"What's it look like?"
Greg chuckled. "I know what it looks like. I guess I just wasn't expecting this."
"I could've died today," she said. "You kept me safe. And before you say anything, this isn't about that. I've liked you for a while now. I know you feel the same way about me."
Greg nodded. "I do. It's just...when things were normal I didn't feel right since we worked together."
"That's fine. But normal is gone now. We could die tomorrow." Carol placed a finger on his lips when he tried to protest. "I know you and James will do everything you can to keep us safe. I’ll learn what I need to so I can help with that too. But you don't know what will happen. Something can go wrong despite our best efforts. So, I don't want to waste any more time when we don't know what the next day will bring."
Greg glanced around. "What about the others?"
"I'll be quiet," Carol said with a small smile.
The next morning, James found Greg working with the c.b. radio. "How was your night?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
Greg noted the smirk and chuckled. "So you know, huh?"
"Who do you think helped Carol set everything up?"
At Greg's look, James laughed. "Laura and I have been married thirteen years, man. No secrets there. You are well and truly caught my friend.
Greg laughed. "Well, maybe I don't mind being caught."
"That's the spirit." James nodded towards the radio. "Anything come through yet?"
"Not yet."
"So what's our plan today? I think we pretty much got what we needed yesterday."
Greg nodded. "I'm thinking we stay here until we hear something on the radio. Might as well be in comfort before we hit the road."
James raised his eyebrow suggestively.
"I didn't mean that," Greg said with a chuckle. "I was just thinking that we might as well be comfortable before we start having to sleep in those tents."
"Sure, I believe you," James said.
Greg chuckled again. "I was also thinking we might make small trips outside. Just to keep an eye on things so we have an idea of when it's just not safe anymore and we need to get out of here."
"That makes sense. The radio runs on batteries so we can bring it with us and check things on the road. It would be nice to have an idea of where to go when we leave though."
The next few days passed in relative quiet. They spent time packing and repacking the vehicles. Greg and James made frequent trips outside while everyone else took turns checking the radio. Their peace came to end one day after Greg returned from a trip outside. Greg entered the basement and saw everyone sitting around at the table playing a board game.
"What's wrong?" Carol asked when she saw the look on his face.
"It's time for us to go," he said.
"What happened?" James asked.
"The city's on fire. Looters or something, I don't know. Looks like it's heading this way though."
"Are you sure?" Laura asked.
"It looks that way," Greg said. "Either way, it's not safe here anymore. If the fire doesn't reach here people might come this way looking for shelter."
James nodded. "Let's go then. The cars are ready to go."
There was little to do. They'd been ready to leave at a moment’s notice so they wouldn't have to run around looking for things when it was time to leave. The kids packed up their games while Laura and Carol packed up the day's lunch. Greg and James headed for the garage to start the cars. James took Laura and his kids in their minivan while Carol rode with Greg in the SUV. Greg took the lead and led the group away from the city.
Carol looked behind them at the rising flames and shook her head sadly. "Who would do this? The infected are bad enough, why set fire to everything."
Greg shrugged. "I don't know," he said as he rubbed her knee. "All I know is that it isn't safe here anymore."
6 Shirley: Hidden Shelter, Emerald Falls
Shirley sighed in frustration as she headed for the bathroom. She'd just had another heated argument with Jeremy. For the last few days she'd been trying to tell him they needed to be ready to leave in case things got bad here. He wouldn't listen to reason though. The latest argument had been the worst. She'd been trying to explain how Jackson said it wouldn't be safe here but Jeremy wouldn't listen. He started accusing her of cheating on him with Jackson.
She was attracted to Jackson. Maybe even more so now since he'd gotten her safely from her office. But she hadn't done anything with him. She wasn't even planning on it. That seemed to be the only thing Jeremy could focus on. He'd insisted on her moving her bunk to his area and tried to exclude Jackson from meal times. He'd even taken to having some other guys sit with them so Jackson wouldn't have space to sit at their table.
This had been going on for two days now and she was getting sick of it. She wasn't his possession to be told whom she could or couldn't talk to. Jackson was her friend for life at minimum. You didn't just t
urn away from someone who had risked their life to save yours. Fortunately, Jackson was taking the whole situation in stride. In fact, he was acting as if he didn't care one way or another. That probably fueled Jeremy's jealous rage even more.
It also didn't help that there was so much tension going around. People were really starting to complain about the lack of food. It had gotten to the point that an elderly man had been knocked unconscious when he questioned the guards about it. Those thugs had hit that poor man in the head with the butt of their rifle! Shirley couldn't wait until Jackson said it was time to get out of here.
She exited the bathroom to find Jackson waiting for her. "Hey," he said with a smile.
"Hey, Jackson," she replied. "You doing okay?" She hadn't talked to him for the last two days because she hadn't wanted to deal with Jeremy's irrational outbursts.
Jackson nodded. "Just wanted to let you know to be ready to leave. I think things will come to a head soon." He tilted his head as he looked at her. "That is, if you're still coming with me."
Shirley nodded without hesitation. Jackson's instincts had kept them safe when this all started so she wasn't going to start questioning him now. She'd hoped to bring Jeremy with them but maybe it was time to cut her losses. She didn't love him anyway. He had been a means to an end. With everything going on, maybe he wasn't so useful anymore. That sounded callous, and maybe a bit shallow but she wasn't going to risk her life because Jeremy wanted to be stupid.
"I'm still coming," she said. "I was just trying to convince Jeremy to come with us."
"I don't think he's gonna go for that," Jackson responded. "Pretty sure he thinks we've got something going on."
Shirley sighed. Jackson had noticed that too? Of course, it couldn't have been hard the way Jeremy had been treating him. "Sorry about that. I don't know what has gotten into him."
Jackson shrugged. "I couldn't care less about what your boy toy thinks. Why are you with him anyway? He's a moron."
Shirley shrugged. "It made sense before all this started. He had connections, wealth. Figured I'd set myself up before I lost the spotlight." She looked at Jackson to see how he would take this. Would he think less of her? Most people probably would if they knew her true motivations for doing things.
"What about now?" Jackson asked. "Doesn't seem so practical with what's happening. Can he keep you safe?"
Shirley's pulse sped up a bit. Did he leave something off at the end? Like maybe Jeremy couldn't keep her safe like he could? Funny. Jeremy trying to control her pissed her off to no end but she had no trouble following Jackson's lead.
"I don't know," she replied. "Haven't thought about it that much."
"Maybe you should. Anyway, I'll let you go. I don't want to give your boyfriend more reason to whine. Don't worry though. I'm keeping an eye on you even if you don't see me. I won't leave without you."
Shirley nodded as Jackson left. He'd given her something to think about. She'd originally gotten with Jeremy because she thought it would secure her lifestyle. But what good was his wealth now? And that jealousy. She hadn't even known about that. Suddenly, the thought of tying her life to his didn't seem all that appealing. Now Jackson on the other hand...she swiftly pushed that thought from her mind. Now probably wasn't the time to be wondering about a new relationship.
She sighed as she headed towards the common area. Time for their daily sandwich. She hoped today would be uneventful. Another man had been knocked unconscious by the guards. He'd been loudly complaining about the lack of food and had gathered a fair degree of support from the other survivors. Things had calmed down a bit after that, but it was quickly building up again. Putting down the ring leader might not work the second time.
Shirley passed several families on her way to the table where Jeremy was waiting. Many of them had kids and they all looked so hungry. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food. She was pretty hungry herself. They'd only been getting one meal a day and it was really small at that. It provided some nourishment but you were still hungry after. Jackson had been spot on about the consequences of them letting extra people in here.
She reached the table and sat next to Jeremy. She grimaced as he took her hand in a tight grip. "Where have you been?" he whispered fiercely in her ear.
Shirley yanked her hand from his. "The bathroom," she responded hotly, "or is that not allowed?"
Jeremy looked unfazed by her anger. He nodded towards the other two men sharing the table with them. "They saw Jackson leaving the bathroom area. You came out soon after? Where you with him? Were you back there letting him touch you?"
"I imagine he has to use the bathroom just like anyone else," she replied.
Jeremy grabbed her hand again, so tightly this time it hurt. "You listen to me. You belong to me. I don't want you anywhere near him, you understand?"
Shirley looked in his eyes and realized in that moment Jeremy had no respect for her. He didn't see her as a person with her own dreams and aspirations, just something to be possessed. Yeah, she didn't love him, but she had figured there would at least be caring and respect between them. She'd even thought she might grow to love him over time. She didn't like what she saw in his eyes right now. She suddenly found herself feeling grateful for the infected.
The attack had brought her and Jackson together in a way they hadn't been during the whole time they had worked together. Without that, she might never have seen Jeremy for the monster he was until it was too late. Any affection she had for him died right then. She didn't care if he died at that moment. The infected could attack right now and she wasn't sure she'd blink an eye if he was the first to fall.
She leaned close to him and let all the emotion bleed from her save for a core of rage. "Let. Me. Go."
He seemed taken aback by the anger in her voice but recovered quickly. He reached for her again but she quickly stood and moved out of his reach. He stopped reaching for her, probably afraid to make a scene. Shirley removed the engagement ring from her finger and tossed it onto the table.
"I'm not yours, Jeremy. I never was. You absolutely disgust me." She turned and walked away from him, not caring that people around them had been listening in to to their conversation.
She saw Jackson sitting at a table and she walked over and sat next to him without hesitation. "Took you long enough," Jackson said with a small smile on his face.
Shirley flushed. "I hate him. I can't stand to even be in the same room as him."
Jackson nodded. "Yeah, he's a prick."
Shirley looked at him and laughed. "You're right. He's a prick. I can tell you for a fact that he's overcompensating."
Jackson laughed. "He looks the type." He looked up as a guard approached with meal boxes for their table.
They accepted their food and made quick work of the contents. Shirley groaned with frustration as her stomach continued to rumble with hunger. "This isn't nearly enough food," she whispered quietly.
Jackson nodded and responded in an equally low voice, “I know. We'll leave soon. Tonight or tomorrow, I think."
They spent the next half hour playing a game of checkers although neither really focused on the game. It was simply something to do to pass the time. They heard a commotion from the front of the common area and looked to see what was going on. There was a small group of people standing in front of one of the guards. Jackson stood go get a closer look and Shirley followed close behind.
"I'm telling you, this just isn't enough food!" a man at the front of the group shouted. "You can't expect us to accept this. I paid good money to be here and I expect better treatment!"
The guard shrugged. "You're welcome to leave whenever you want."
"I'm not going out there with all those crazy people running about! What I want is some more food!"
"Sir, you need to go have a seat. You'll receive more rations tomorrow."
"My children are hungry right now. Stop holding back on us!" A number of people voiced their agreement with this and the group swelled as more people cam
e to see what was going on. The guard started to look irritated and called for backup into his walkie.
"Are you gonna shoot me?" the man asked. "Or maybe you'll knock me out like you did poor Tim the other day. Well, you can't do that to all of us. We've had enough of this!"
The guard started to look concerned then as he realized he was maybe moments from having an angry mob of people on his hands. Roberta Lyons showed up then and tried to placate the group.
"I hear what you're saying she said. It's just that some of you brought people we didn't account for. We're just trying to make sure everyone gets enough to eat."
"Who are you to tell us how much we get to eat?" someone shouted.
Jackson grabbed Shirley by the elbow and led her towards the bathroom area. "Time to go," he said.
Shirley nodded. "It's getting ugly."
"Yeah, if it doesn't go down now, it will tomorrow, or the next day." They stood and Jackson led the way towards the exit behind the bathroom area. They were nearly there when they heard someone behind them.
"Where do you think you're going?"
They turned to see Jeremy standing behind them with his two lackeys. "Just like I thought all along. You're sneaking off with him, aren't you?"
"We're leaving you idiot,” Shirley said, frustration evident in her voice.
"Why would you leave?" Jeremy asked. "Everything we need is here. He waved in the general direction of the common area. "That'll be dealt with soon enough." Several shots rang out and the yelling they'd been hearing was replaced with people screaming.
"See?" Jeremy asked. "They're being put in their place as we speak. No need to go running outside."
"I don't even want to be in the same room with you Jeremy. You disgust me."
Jeremy waved it aside. "So we had our first fight. Everybody does, right? We'll get through this, you'll see."
Shirley shook her head in frustration. Was he just not hearing her? Or was he deluded enough to think there was still something between them? She'd thought she had made her feelings clear when she threw his ring on the table.
