“It’s sad,” Audrey said when they had joined them at the trailer.
“What’s sad?” Veronica asked.
“All that food in there is just going to go to waste. Most people won’t know to come here.”
Jackson paused as he went to lift another tray of cans. Kid had a point. Shame that all the stuff inside would probably end up eaten by rats.
“I’ve got an idea,” Veronica said, her eyes bright. “You two keep loading, Claudia come with me.”
The two of them disappeared back into the warehouse while he and Audrey went to work hauling the supplies.
“Yer gonna build up some serious muscles,” Jackson said as Audrey hauled another flat of cans over to the dolly. “Good thing too, yer pretty scrawny.”
“I’m not scrawny,” she said, her face screwed up as she set the cans down, trying not to show that she could barely hold them anymore.
“Well, pardon me then,” he said, hiding a smile from her.
She looked over at the warehouse and when she turned back to him again her face was serious. “Jackson, can I ask you something?”
“Anythin’.”
“That freak that attacked you guys, he ate the other person in there, right?”
“Veronica didn’t want ya to see that,” he said.
“Veronica doesn’t want me to see a lot of things.”
“She’s only lookin’ out for ya.”
“I know.” She sighed deeply. “I’m not mad. I was just thinking...we left my mom and dad back there. Do you think that happened to them?”
He thought about lying to her but what she’d said about Veronica shielding her ran through his head.
“Might have. Important thing is if it happened, they were long gone ‘fore it all went down. Didn’t feel a thing.”
She nodded, though her lips stayed pressed together in a thin line.
“‘Sides, better they go out like they did than end up one of ‘em.”
“I don’t want to ever end up like one of them,” she said, her voice catching on the last word. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder.
“Me neither.”
“We should make a promise then.” She looked up at him with serious eyes. “If you get infected, I will kill you. If I get infected, you kill me.”
It should have been scary to hear a little girl promise to kill him and ask that he do the same to her but the world should be a lot of things it wasn’t. She was making a decision for herself. She was learning the way of the new world and she wasn’t hiding from it.
That took a major set of balls. He was proud of her.
“Promise,” he said, holding out his hand so they could shake on it. That got a smile from her and she turned back to get another load of cans but then looked back at him over her shoulder.
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For always being honest with me.”
“No problem.”
She went back to unloading the supplies and he wondered about what she said. Here he’d been thinking he messed up the girls by not shielding them. Maybe he hadn’t messed them up as much as he thought.
The two of them worked in silence until Veronica and Claudia emerged from the warehouse, laden down with supplies. Veronica had a small aluminum ladder over one shoulder, a length of rope over the other. Claudia had a couple blankets and a bunch of spray paint cans on top of them.
“We can make signs,” Veronica said as she put the ladder down. “Put one at the gate and the other by the tracks.”
Jackson looked up at the sun, gauging its place in the sky and figured they had enough time for it.
“Alright, you girls get to it, I’ll finish loading up.”
He cleared the last hand truck as they spread out the blankets on the asphalt and painted the words FOOD INSIDE in large letters.
He didn’t believe in some higher power dishing out karma but he had to admit that an act of kindness like this might work in their favour. At the least, it showed that they still had sympathy for others even after what they had gone through.
Maybe the signs would make all the difference for another group. Maybe it would make it so they didn’t have to act like the other groups they’d encountered on the road. There was no need to steal or kill when what you needed was free for the taking.
He pulled out the warehouse map that he had stuffed in his pocket. Wasn’t much use to them now but it would be good for others.
He went back into the warehouse, going to the desk and searching through the drawers until he found some push pins. He pinned the map to the front of the desk, the pins sinking easily into the cheap particle board.
He threw the manual lock on the inside of the door so anybody else showing up wouldn’t have to pick the lock or bust down the door. He went back outside and closed up the back of the trailer. He spotted Audrey and Veronica coming from the back of the warehouse where they had rigged up the sign. Claudia was out at the front gate, tying the other sign up there.
“Y’all ready?” he called out. Audrey and Veronica climbed up into the cab of the truck, Audrey squishing herself into the small space behind the two seats as Veronica took the passenger seat and Jackson climbed behind the wheel.
They drove up to the gate, stopping so Claudia could climb up to share the passenger seat with her sister and then they were off, heading towards the road.
“Ya sure you know how to get us back to the motel?” he asked, glancing over at Claudia.
“Head south on this road and we’ll eventually hit Route 12, we take that east and it passes right by the motel. It’s not a straight shot like the tracks but we should be there in about half an hour.”
“Everyone is going to be excited when they see what we found,” Veronica said and glanced back at Audrey. “I’ve got to remember to thank Malcolm for making you come. We never would have found this place without you.”
“Yeah, it seems like Audrey is the hero today,” Claudia said and Jackson glanced back to see the girl blushing from the praise.
“Ya did good today, girl,” he told her.
“Thanks,” she replied. “I’m just glad we’ve got enough food for everybody. Do you think the others found some too?”
He hoped so. They had enough food to get them to the island with full bellies but they had only found those small gas cans. They still needed fuel to make a proper go of it. Hopefully the others were able to do as well as they did.
Subject File # 744
Administrator: I know I haven’t known you long but you appear to be quite empathetic.
Subject: I am. I think that’s why I got into social work. I hate seeing people hurt so I feel compelled to help them.
Kim stood up by the back of the truck, watching over the road. She had sent Trey up to the roof to take over Lorraine’s spot on watch when they had come back but she couldn’t stop herself from scanning the area herself. She needed something to occupy her time while they waited to find out what was going on with Hillman.
She had given Janet a quick rundown of what had happened out on the road and told her about the new people who had come back with them. She was still in the motel room, keeping the kids occupied with games so they would stay out of the way.
Jenny was sitting with Alan on one of the benches outside the lobby, fussing about the bandage on his head. Kim had to admit that she was impressed with Alan. The man who had come running back to the camp, ready to leave all of them in the dust to protect himself, was gone.
He’d put his ass on the line to help not just their group but strangers as well. Malcolm had been right to give him another chance.
The sound of one of the motel doors opening drew everyone’s attention. Quinton came out with Malcolm behind him, their faces grim and she knew that something was wrong.
Her feet were already moving when they went to stand in front of Jenny and Alan. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but she knew it was bad when Jenny’s hand shot to her mouth and she began to
cry.
“We aren’t positive but we’ll watch for any symptoms,” Quinton was saying when she joined them. “I want to take your temperature and then I’ll stitch up your head.”
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“They think Alan is infected,” Jenny sobbed out as Quinton put a thermometer in Alan’s ear. Kim was dumbfounded, unsure of what to say or do as they all stared at Alan and the thermometer beeped.
“99.5,” Quinton read off and Jenny let out a strangled sob. “Okay, so that isn’t bad. Temperature fluctuates, this doesn’t mean anything. We’ll monitor it over the next few hours.”
“But Hillman is infected?” Alan asked and Quinton ran a hand over his face, frowning.
“He is showing symptoms,” Quinton said. “We’re monitoring him as well.”
Alan’s head dropped in defeat but then his eyes went wide as he stared down at himself. He pushed Jenny away, rocketing off the bench and staggering away as he tried to rip his shirt off.
“Jenny, wash your hands! You were touching me. There might have been some on me. You shouldn’t be around me at all.”
“Alan, no,” Jenny said, moving towards him but he backed away from her.
“You’re gonna get infected!” Alan cried out, warding her away.
Janet slipped out of her motel room, closing the door behind her so the children wouldn’t hear.
“What’s happened?”
“They think Alan might be infected,” Kim told her and Janet put a hand to her mouth, looking at him with a mixture of fear and concern.
“This is ridiculous!” Jenny cried out. “He isn’t going to hurt me.”
“Not on purpose,” Quinton said, “But we don’t know exactly how the transmission works. Now Jenny, this is very important...did you kiss Alan when he got back?”
“Kiss him?” Jenny repeated, confused.
“It’s transmitted by saliva. Did you kiss him?”
“I don’t…” Jenny said, her voice trailing off as she shook her head, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. Kim could see she was getting overwhelmed and she guided her to sit back on the bench.
“She was too worried about my head to kiss me,” Alan told him and then turned to Jenny. “See, you gotta stay away from me.”
“Alan,” she whimpered and Kim pulled her into her arms, both for comfort and to keep her away from her husband but the young woman fought her. “No, let me go! He’s fine, look at him! He’s not infected!”
“Mom, what’s going on?”
They all turned to see Matthew and Mark standing in the doorway looking out at them.
“It’s nothing, sweetheart,” Janet said. “Go back inside.”
“Are you sure?” Matthew asked, his eyes suspicious as he looked over the gathered group of adults.
Janet crossed over to the door and reached out to cup his cheek. “I’m sure, sweetheart, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
The sick room door opened and Kim watched Mendez come out, closing the door gently behind her.
A scream split the air and Kim whipped back to see it had come from Mark. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at Mendez, his scream choked off by strangled sobs as tears streaked down his cheeks.
“Mark, honey!” Janet reached down to pull him into her arms.
Matthew pushed around his brother and mother, zeroing in on his uncle. “Uncle Malcolm, she’s gonna kill us!”
“Matt, what are you talking about?” Malcolm asked.
“Just like before, on the highway!” Matthew cried out and then pointed a finger at Mendez. “She’s gonna kill us like they killed all those people!”
The pieces of the puzzle slid into place when Kim looked over at Mendez dressed in her military fatigues. She looked just like the soldiers that had stormed the highway and killed the civilians. Malcolm seemed to have figured it out too, realization dawning on his face as he looked over his shoulder at Mendez.
Malcolm dropped to his knee so he was eye level with the boys and reached out to put a hand on each of their shoulders.
“Boys, that’s Mendez. She’s a friend. She’s not going to hurt anybody. She came here with her friends Banks and Hillman. They’re all good people. Hillman got hurt so they brought him here so Quinton could help him.”
Mark’s choked sobs lessened to a hitched breathing but he still clung to his mother. Matthew still had suspicious eyes on Mendez and kept himself positioned between her and his brother. He finally looked back at his uncle.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” Malcolm replied, “And you know I would never do anything to put you or your brother and sister in danger, right?”
Matthew nodded. “You said you’ll always protect us.”
“That’s right,” Malcolm nodded, “And I always will.
Matthew turned to Mark. “It’s okay, Mark.”
His twin’s reassurance seemed to help, Mark’s panicked breathing slowing as he reached up to swipe away his tears.
“How about you two go back inside, make sure Ruthie and Hannah aren’t getting into trouble in there?” Malcolm said and the twins nodded in unison. Matthew reached out for his brother, wrapping an arm around him as he ushered him back into the room.
Janet watched them, her eyes filled with tears. Kim knew exactly what she was feeling. For a mother to see the kind of terror the twins had just demonstrated was devastating. They had all thought they had come off the highway unscathed but apparently that was only in the physical sense. That night had left invisible scars.
“Come on, let’s go sit with them,” Kim said to Janet and then looked back at Jenny. “You should come too.”
Jenny looked longingly back at Alan, clearly wanting to stay by her husband’s side but he was still keeping a healthy distance between them.
“Go with them,” Alan said. “Quinton still has to stitch up my head and I don’t want you anywhere near me while I’m bleeding.”
Jenny nodded reluctantly and let Kim guide her and Janet into the room. Hannah and Ruthie were sitting cross legged on one of the beds, Ruthie’s doll propped up against the headboard. They had the coffee urn from the lobby coffee maker and the room’s ice bucket sitting in the middle of the bed, several Styrofoam cups surrounding them. The twins were sitting side by side on the end of the bed, facing the door and all four of them looked up at the women with wide, fearful eyes.
“They had been having a tea party before,” Janet said, her voice catching and her hand shot to her mouth to try and stop the tears from coming.
“Well, a tea party sounds fun,” Kim said, plastering a wide smile on her face and she walked over to the bed. “What kind of tea are you having?”
“Magic pretend tea,” Ruthie told her. “Hannah says it’s the best.”
Hannah smiled, the worry that was in her eyes before disappearing. “Because it’s pretend, it tastes like whatever you want it to taste like, that’s what makes it magic. My mama and I always had it at our tea parties.”
“That sounds wonderful, can I have a cup?” Kim asked and Hannah nodded, taking another cup and mimed pouring out tea from the coffee urn.
“Would you like one lump or two?” Ruthie asked her.
“Two, please and thank you,” Kim answered. Ruthie reached into the ice bucket with the small metal tongs and pretended to take out sugar cubes and drop them in her cup. Kim blew over the cup and then took a pretend sip, letting out a pleasant sound.
“It’s delicious,” Kim said. “Tastes like cinnamon. Very calming. I need it right now. It was pretty scary there for a minute, wasn’t it?”
“Mark screamed,” Ruthie said, her face serious as she glanced over at her brother who was staring at his sneakers.
“He did,” Kim said, “Because he saw something that scared him.”
“Did you see a monster, Marky?” Ruthie asked her brother and he shook his head.
“We saw one of the bad guys,” Matthew answered for Mark.
“She�
��s not a bad guy, sweetheart,” Janet said, coming to kneel before the boys. “I swear it.”
“But everybody out there is a bad guy. All they do is hurt us good guys. They take our stuff and shoot us. They tried to kill everybody at the park and they killed everybody on the highway. They’re gonna come and do it to us too.”
“Oh honey no,” Janet whispered, tears filling her eyes. “Not everybody is a bad guy. There are plenty of good guys out there and these people, they’re good guys too.”
“Then why are they dressed the same as the other bad guys?” Mark asked quietly.
Janet didn’t seem to know how to answer him. It made sense for the boys to think everyone in fatigues was a bad guy. Not only had the soldiers on the highway been wearing them, the men in Fairview had been wearing cammo as well. Hell, if Kim hadn’t been out there with Mendez and Banks, she’d probably feel the same fear towards them.
“Hey, your mom told me that your dad was a soldier,” Kim said and the boys nodded in unison. “I bet there were times you saw him dressed just like Mendez, right? And your Uncle Malcolm and your grandpa, they were soldiers too. I bet you’ve seen pictures of them dressed like that too.”
The boys nodded again.
“I know you don’t think any of them are bad guys. See, that’s the problem with bad guys. They wear all kinds of clothes and they all look different. You can’t judge someone by what they are wearing. You have to know who they are on the inside. That’s how we know that Mendez and her friends are good guys because we saw who they are on the inside when we met them today.”
She glanced up at Janet, unsure how she would feel about her telling them about the day’s events but Janet nodded for her to continue.
“See, we were all in trouble today and they helped us. Hillman, the friend that Quinton and Lorraine are taking care of, he got hurt because he was trying to help us. That’s why we brought them here. Good guys have to help each other out.”
Janet reached out for their hands. “Sweethearts, I know we haven’t really talked about all the bad things that you’ve seen. I guess I hoped that maybe you would forget about it if I didn’t say anything. I should have talked to you about it all. From now on I promise I will talk to you more. You’re both so grown up now and I’ve a hard time remembering that. Any fears you have, you can tell me and I’ll do my best to make you feel better.”
Sanctuary Page 25
