by David Nadas
on, thank you. Looks like they were up late."
Matt knew not to fix her coffee. Laurie was particular about that, like a chemist getting the right amount of half & half and Splenda, shaking the packets and tearing the tops three at a time, then sipping between careful additions until it was the perfect color and sweetness. He never got tired of her ritual.
"What?" Catching him staring at her.
"Nothing," he commented, adding this scene to his memories.
Dan walked into the kitchen. "Morning."
"Dude, I thought you looked like shit yesterday morning but today wins the prize.” Matt reached into the cabinet to take out another mug and poured him a cup of black coffee.
"He's right, Dan. There are clean towels in your bathroom. Go shower."
"And you might want to shave,” Matt added.
Dan reached up to his chin and stroked his partial facial hair. At 42, he looked youthful. His skin was taut and there was not a line on his face or an ounce of fat around his waist.
"I don't know. I think Asha sort of digs it." He shuffled past them into the back hallway, coffee in hand, grabbing a banana on the way.
Matt looked over to Laurie. Her eyes were glassy and tears began to flow.
"What's wrong?" Matt asked with concern.
"Nothing. It's just that I can tell Dan really likes her and he’s never met anyone. I can see it in his eyes, and now this... this..." And she began to cry. Matt put down his mug and taking the cup from her hand, placed it down on the counter.
"Shhhh... Come on now. It's not that terrible. Besides, no matter what happens, we are all together and as for Dan, well, better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all. Isn’t that what they say?"
"But it's so unfair. It sucks." she said, wiping her eyes and releasing his hold. "By the way, it’s ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’. I'm okay. I just feel sorry for Dan. I hope nothing happens to either of them. I really like her."
"Good morning," Asha said from behind Laurie as she raised her arms up and yawned. She had taken off her blouse and was in an army green sleeveless tee shirt, tight fitting across her chest.
Laurie looked back at Matt, who was raising his eyebrows. "Asha, would you like some coffee?" Matt offered.
"If you have tea, I would prefer that instead.” Asha replied. "We were up so late, watching the news. The TV was in and out for most of the night, but there is a lot happening on the web. These Twigs. They are not harmful, but they are highly contagious. The gray powder is a concentrated form of the crystals that can become aerosol. That is why it is spreading so rapidly." Asha went on to update them about the reports of the CDC and WHO. It was a global pandemic with no cure in sight. The national guard were sent into cities to burn the Twigs, but burning them only seemed to spread the contagion further and they were met with resistance by mobs trying to protect the Twigs.
"There is now real evidence that something is out there, stationary, inside geosynchronous orbit. There are multiples of these around the planet--not just one. From what the astronomers can tell, these objects are three dimensional, geometric in shape and appear to be a rip in space. The government has acknowledged this. No contact has been established. Every observatory around the world is trying to determine if a signal is there. So far— nothing."
The teapot began to whistle and that got Asha off the subject.
"Would you like anything in your tea?" Laurie asked.
"Just some lemon."
"I have lemon juice?" Laurie apologized.
"That is more than perfect. I use that too. Saves time. Having to squeeze those lemons."
Dan walked out from the hallway with a towel draped around his waist. Like his sparse facial hair, he was hairless on his chiseled chest and ropey arms.
Laurie looked at Matt and raised her eyebrows. What really got Laurie's attention was the gaze between Dan and Asha.
"Matt, do you have any spare clothes I can borrow," Dan asked. "Mine are a bit rank."
"Sure, follow me." Matt said and led Dan up the stairs. Asha was glancing at Dan in his towel. On their way up, they passed Cindi and Ed.
"Nice threads, Dan."
"Hey Matt, Dan." Ed said right behind his wife with Jen giggling at Dan in his towel.
Everyone was up and dressed; the sun was rising over the lake and they could see the water and floating platform through the bay windows of the dining room. There was a light cover of snow on the ground and it looked like a perfect day until a series of shotgun blasts rang out, followed by distant screams.
Matt and Dan jumped up, their chairs sliding back along the planked floors.
"Everyone, down!" Matt called out. "Dan, follow me." Matt led Dan to the mudroom off the kitchen. He pulled open a small seascape oil painting on hinges, revealing a combination lock countersunk into the wall. Matt calmly dialed the combination, and then pulled up a latch, revealing a hidden door in the cedar paneling. As he opened it, a light turned on automatically as they entered the chamber.
"Whoa!" Dan said taking it all in. The walls were stocked with shotguns and ammunition, some of the firearms not so legal. A display of fully automatic rifles was the main attraction, with a white Bushmaster arc in the center of them all. In the corner stood a bench with mounted ammo loading mills and a short-wave ham radio on a shelf above that.
Matt could read Dan's mind. "Yeah, Laurie's old man was a bit of a prepper. Go figure."
"Bill? A prepper? I'll be damned.”
"It used to skeeve me knowing it was all right here. He showed me this room one day while Laurie and Gail were in town for lunch and shopping. We were only married two years. For three hours, he gave me an instructional lecture on every piece, where it was made, by whom, how to use, maintain, and what color coded drawers the ammo was stored in. He had me memorize the combination and quizzed me on everything until I got it right. Then he said to me, 'Hope you never need to use any of it. But if you do, use it and protect my daughter.' He shut the door and that was the last time he ever spoke about it. This is the first time I've been back. Neither Laurie nor her mom knew this room existed. Laurie still doesn't. She would freak if she knew these were in the house."
Matt handed Dan a Moss modified over-and-under .12 gauge with laser spotter and a sash of cartridges, the blue cartridges being solid stock. Matt removed a 9 mm FN Five-seven semi-automatic pistol and fully automatic Bushmaster arc assault rifle from the wall and a duct taped end to end magazine in addition to the one already loaded, then shut the gun room door behind him but left it unlocked.
Returning to the dining room, Matt handed Ed the FN Five-Seven.
"Ed, here." And he demonstrated how to pop the magazine out and back in, before loading a fresh round into the chamber. Ed looked like he was gripping the head of a rattlesnake.
"Matt, where did you get those?" Laurie questioned.
"Remember the story I was going to tell you about your dad. Well, your dad was a prepper and I’ll fill you in later but right now I need all of you to stay put. Dan and I are going to scout around a bit.”
"Matt you can't go out there!"
"Laurie, we're just going to look. It might only be hunters.”
"It sounded like the shots came from The Point." Dan reasoned.
Before he and Dan left the room, Matt instructed everyone to lock the doors and not to open them for anyone, no matter what.
"You hear anything other than from Dan or me, you fire through the door."
"Matt!" Laurie cried out.
"Laurie, we'll be OK— I promise we won't use these weapons unless we have no other choice. You know me. You’re much better at killing flies than I am. Trust me."
Matt led Dan out to the side porch where they crossed the backyard through the trees and entered the garage. Inside, Matt removed a couple of the white Tyvek suits and masks they had brought with them.
"Put these on. It will help us
blend into the birch and snow and who knows about the air quality." They exited the back of the garage and followed the deer trail along the water toward the Point. Ahead were the private cottages and they crouched down along a stand of birch.
"No tracks, and the nearby branches are still holding snow so no one has been here in a while." Dan observed. Matt was grateful for Dan's hunting and tracking skills. Dan had ventured into many a sleeping bear’s den to perform husbandry on black bear while attaching tracking tags. He was crazy to do things like that, but that sort of crazy was just what might save them. They eased their way closer to the first cottage and into view of The Point. At the base of the lobby steps face down in the snow was a body with blood splatter and steam rising around it. Matt flipped the safety off his Bushmaster as Dan chambered a round into the lower barrel of his Moss.
They heard a single shot from inside the lodge and more screams. In the driveway was an early model tan Ford pickup, raised on lifts to compensate for its oversized tires. They could see someone dressed in camo standing on the far side of the truck and holding a rifle.
"Looks like locals." Matt said. I think they figured The Point would have supplies.
"I'm thinking the same thing.” Dan replied.
Another two figures came out through the front, each with a large duffle slung over their shoulder, one carrying a sawed-off shotgun, the other with pistol in hand.
Dan had started to raise the Moss when Matt placed his hand on the barrel for him to lower it.
"Let's not get into
