by Connor Mccoy
“Hey,” Jacob said, calmly, “are you okay? Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
The woman raised her head, enough for her eyes to see up above her knees. Jacob held his palms open to show he was not carrying a weapon. “See?” he asked, “no one else is with me.”
The woman did not seem convinced. Jacob wondered if his tattoos might not be giving the best first impression. He figured he should try engaging her. “I’m looking for the doctor of this office. His name is Doctor Nguyen. Do you know where he is?”
Jacob received no answer. Perhaps she feared what he might do to her. He had to prove his good intentions. “A friend of his told me to go find him. Doctor Samuel of Trapp. Doc Sam said that Doctor Nguyen has supplies that he will give me. Doc Sam, he helped my daughter. I have to repay him for the supplies he used.”
The woman tilted her head a little higher, revealing her nose. “What…happened?”
“My daughter was hit in the arm by a stray arrow. A hunter trespassed on my property and was shooting off arrows.”
“Is she okay?”
“Doctor Sam performed surgery on her, took out the arrow. He believes she’ll be fine. She’s resting at his place with my family.”
“How old is she?”
“She’s going to be sixteen soon.” Jacob smiled. “We were planning her party just before all this hit.”
The woman sat up higher, allowing her face to be fully exposed. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Jacob Avery,” he replied.
“I’m Rose Chen.” She finally stood up, revealing her small, thin frame to Jacob. Jacob backed up, so she could walk out of the closet. She still strode gingerly, as if she expected someone to pop out from the darkness at any moment.
“You were hiding,” Jacob said. “What happened here?”
“I came to see Doctor Nguyen.” Rose coughed. The air in this office was dry and a little warm. The open doors, thankfully, provided some circulation.
“He wasn’t here. Then the men came. I heard screaming, so I ran in here and hid in the closet. They came and took…” She pointed to the office. “…everything. I heard it. I heard their voices.”
“Do you know who they were? I mean, were they a gang, a mob?” Jacob asked.
“One of the men said he was from the mayor’s office and it was by order of the mayor,” Rose replied. “Everything here was to be taken to city hall.”
“The mayor’s office.” Jacob scratched the side of his head. “The mayor wanted all this stuff confiscated? Why?”
“I don’t know. I just know what I heard.”
Jacob shook his head. This made no sense. Why move all the medical supplies out of this clinic? Was it for security purposes? If so, why couldn’t the mayor send police here to provide protection? Was this building at risk for some reason?
“Were there any riots outside?” Jacob asked. “Anything that would put this place in danger?”
“There was some commotion. I heard shouting outside, and probably someone was shot.” Rose crossed her arms over her chest. “Then I heard someone say the mayor had declared a curfew and that he was sending out a new civilian patrol force.”
“A curfew, huh?” Well, that made some sense to Jacob. He also figured a town mayor would reach out to the populace for additional help in maintaining law and order. But Rose clearly did not trust them. Why else would she duck in here? And wouldn’t the mayor post some police here to tell anyone who came by what was going on?
Jacob leaned against the patient table again. “It’s so damn odd.” Returning his gaze to Rose, he added, “I don’t know what your mayor is up to, but I think we should be a little careful about this. Do you live close by?”
“Yes,” Rose replied.
“Do you have family here, too?” Jacob asked.
“No. My parents live in Sideburg.”
“That’s not too far away. Maybe you can make a run for it in the morning. Go home, hunker down, and then peel out when dawn comes.”
Rose trembled. “I-I think I could try that. I just…I just don’t know what is happening to us.”
Jacob sighed. Rose likely didn’t even understand that an EMP had struck. He wished he could do more for her, but time was of the essence. He now was down two options. If he was going to find the supplies Doc Sam wanted, he was going to have to pick someplace that had not been cleaned out yet.
Sitting in the kitchen by the dining table, Cowell zipped up his get home bag. His last inspection confirmed that Moses Travers had stocked the bag with everything that he had promised.
But I can’t take this with me, he thought. I’ll need to move quickly. If I go through with this, it just will weigh me down.
A familiar shadow crossed the threshold. Domino peeked in. “Hey,” she said.
Cowell sat up and tried to look dignified. “I trust you’re doing alright after what just happened?”
“Not too bad.” Domino strolled a little way into the room. “I think we’re all just glad it’s over. He won’t be harming anyone ever again. What about you? You were pretty close to it.”
“It’s not what I expected for my afternoon, but I will manage. I suppose I’ll just have to get used to occurrences such as these.”
“I wish you didn’t have to go to Fall Crossing alone. Are you sure you don’t want to wait here for a few days, maybe find someone to escort you or find a traveling party? Doctor Sam said pretty soon people might start traveling in packs for security. One of them might head south toward Richmond. They could drop you off in Fall Crossing.”
Cowell clasped his hands together. “Tempting, but I think I’d like to end my nightmare as soon as possible. I know I’ll be safe once I reach my sister.”
“Are you and your sister okay? Are you sure she’ll take you in? You didn’t sound like you were on great terms.”
“I’d say our terms are…adequate. I’m sure she won’t turn me away with what’s going on. An emergency has a funny way of reordering your priorities.”
“No kidding.” Domino leaned against the doorframe. “I guess you’ve been thinking about that, about your priorities?”
Cowell sighed. “I’ve thought about nothing else. It’s been eating at me, actually. You might be shocked to hear this, but now I actually envy you.”
Domino laughed. “Really?”
“This is the world you were born for. What you prepared for, what you trained for. This is not my world anymore. I don’t understand it and I fear I will not survive in it.”
“I’m sure this all has knocked you for a loop. That’s why you should stay and not run off by yourself. You could learn how to take care of yourself. There are people here who would teach you, in exchange for some help.” She exhaled softly. “I’m sure even Jay wouldn’t mind giving you a few pointers.”
Cowell chuckled under his breath. “Your husband is not a great fan of mine. I think you presume too much of his kindness.”
“Hey, I’m the one who’s married to him.” Domino laughed again. “You might be surprised. If you give him a reason, I think he could overlook a lot of what happened between you and our family.”
Cowell looked into Domino’s eyes. “You think that could happen?”
“I know it,” she replied.
Cowell scratched his chin. “It’s a very tempting offer. Thank you. I’ll give it some thought.”
Domino eventually left to check on Jubilee, leaving Cowell once again to ponder his imminent course of action.
So far, so good.
Jacob thought the pharmacy down the street was his best bet. From here, Jacob could discern a few promising signs, not the least of which was that the place had not been ransacked. The glass windows and doors were not broken, and debris did not clutter the front of the establishment. There were also no people around, no angry rioters, but also no policemen either. Jacob might have been disturbed earlier by the lack of the latter, but after hearing Rose’s story, he wasn’t sure about the lawmen of this
town either.
He bristled upon remembering her. Regrettably, he had had to part ways with her, but she seemed okay with the idea of making it home. At least she had a goal to reach. Hopefully, she could escape Middleburg tomorrow and find her family.
Jacob took one last look down the street. Finding it still empty, he decided to make his move. He would leave his bike here and then trek down to the pharmacy. He didn’t want to leave it too close to the pharmacy. Even though having quick access to the bike might be a smart move, he still had to mount it and start pedaling, and that actually would eat up time if he was being pursued. In case he ran into those men from Nguyen’s apartment or some other unsavory character, he wanted to stay on foot. He always could loop around to pick up the bicycle later.
He crossed the road quickly, leaving his bicycle on the other side. The dark shadows cast by the store awnings helped provide his vehicle with some shielding. The continuing nightfall would do the rest.
Even if he made it inside, he still couldn’t be sure he would find everything on Doc Sam’s list. In fact, he was sure he couldn’t, at least not any anesthetic gas. However, Doc Sam had sounded understanding about his chances and offered him the option to bring back items comparable to those on his list. If he couldn’t secure anesthetic gas, he could try locating some lidocaine.
“And if I come up too short, what then?” Middleburg was not very big. He might not be able to find a facility that possessed what he was looking for. Pleasantville was his closest fallback choice but going there only increased the risk factor too high for Jacob to feel comfortable.
He reached the glass doors. He stopped in front of them, half-expecting them to slide open, but he rapidly recalled the dearth of power. At least he was remembering more quickly that the country’s electronics were out.
Damn, I’m actually getting used to this.
He pressed his hand against the door. It would not budge. He pushed a little harder with the same result. Was the door really locked in place when not in use? Or was it manually locked?
There’s one way to find out.
Jacob scoped out the front windows. Soon he discovered what he was looking for—a white sign that was flipped to the “closed” side. These people locked up, perhaps when they realized their store was at risk.
I wonder why the mayor hasn’t cleared out this place? There’s a lot of supplies inside. Or maybe they just hadn’t come here yet. By “yet,” Jacob implied to himself that this location might be next on the list. He would have to move quickly.
Chapter Eighteen
Cowell eyed the garage door. It was now or never. Damn. I can’t believe I’m doing this. But sheer necessity demanded it. He was not a survivor, not like the Averys. He admitted that to himself. Anything else would be a lie, and Alex Cowell vowed if anything else, he would not deceive himself.
He pulled out the lock pick. If Sykes’ instructions were on the mark, it would not take much to unlock the hanging lock that bound the garage door through a hole in a small swinging panel.
So, Cowell slipped the pick into the keyhole and turned it. He kept as silent as he could, waiting for the telltale click that told Cowell he had completed his task.
Fresh sweat poured down his face. He didn’t like this. What if Doc Sam spotted him? Would the doctor shoot him on the spot for theft? Even when the lights were on, when society was still fully functioning, a property owner had broad prerogative to deal with an invader without punishment. Who was going to restrain Doc Sam now?
Focus. Stop sweating it out.
No. I should throw in the towel. This isn’t going to work. It…
The lock clicked. It was loose. A simple yank was all it took to pull the lock’s tongs loose.
That was one lock. Now for the deadbolt.
Cowell fished out the pick Sykes had told him to use for this task. With a little more confidence, he unlocked this lock, and in a shorter period of time.
The third lock, the one in the knob itself, awaited. Cowell gave Doc Sam credit; the man did not skimp on locking up his garage.
You still can stop this. Relocking these locks would not be hard. Surely no one has seen you. Doctor Samuel and Domino Avery won’t be the wiser.
He stuck the same pick into the knob lock. No, he was too committed to this. He had to carry through. Besides, he would not see the Averys or the doctor again after this. He likely never would come by this way again. They would not give him much thought except to nurse whatever resentments arose from his burglary.
The lock turned. He had done it! A slight twist of the knob later, and he was inside the garage. He shut the door slowly. He could not allow the door to hang open, even if the garage was very hot inside.
Cowell checked around for the gasoline tanks. They likely would be conspicuous. If Doc Sam had stored a large amount of gasoline, it had to be held in tanks, perhaps handheld portable tanks.
He might have hidden them, he thought. Cowell wouldn’t put it past the eccentric doctor to think that intruders might penetrate his garage and find the fuel. What if Doctor Samuel had placed the fuel in a container with a different label? For all Cowell knew, the doctor could have the fuel in a tank marked “fertilizer.”
“Or maybe the simplest solution is the best one,” he whispered. With all the stuff in this garage, perhaps it was just hard to find anything in here.
Domino stuck her head into Doc Sam’s bedroom. The doctor had given them permission to go inside if he wasn’t around. Interestingly, there was very little inside it anyway, just his bed and nightstand, plus a closed closet door, and a soft chair near the window. Her son was hanging off the chair, his eyes glued to a set of binoculars. He was staring out the back window.
“Now what are you up to?” she asked with a laugh. “Careful, you might fall off.”
“Just looking out to the road,” Brandon replied, “looking out for cyborgs.”
Domino took hold of Brandon and pulled him back onto the chair’s main seat. “So you are. Seen anything we should worry about?”
Brandon took off his binoculars. “Naaah. I just see people walking around, but not lately. I think because it’s getting dark soon.”
“I can understand that.” Domino shivered a little. “It’s so strange to be in a town with no lights.”
Brandon shifted so he was more firmly anchored to the chair. Then he took another look through the binoculars. “Hey, that’s weird. That truck wasn’t there before.”
“What do you mean?” Domino knelt down beside him.
“That delivery truck.” Brandon pointed to the right. “It was all the way over there. Now it’s right there in that intersection.” He leaned off the edge of the chair. “It’s moving!”
“Easy.” Domino caught Brandon before he fell off. “What do you mean it’s moving? Someone’s driving it?”
“No, it’s just rolling.” Yeah, I see it! It’s rolling!”
“Let me see.” Domino took the binoculars and placed them against her face.
“It’s almost out of sight, but yeah, it’s moving. I don’t think it’s actually on. I see them! There’s a man. He’s pushing it from behind.” She tried extending the focus. “I think there’s someone else. Two men, probably just pushing that truck. It’s gone now.” She handed the binoculars back to Brandon.
“What was the deal?” Brandon asked.
“They probably released the parking brake and are moving it someplace out of the way,” Domino said.
“But why did they push it down the street? There’s a parking lot all the way to the right. I saw it yesterday.” Brandon narrowed his eyes. “Unless they are cyborgs!”
Domino wanted to chuckle, but something about Brandon’s comment did puzzle her. Who would go through that much trouble to move a large truck like that? “That street does hit an intersection with the street just outside this house.”
“You think they’re trouble?” Brandon asked.
Domino shook her head. “A couple of guys pushing a deliver
y truck? Probably not.” She couldn’t shake a weird feeling about it, though.
“Brandon, stay inside and look after your sister until I come back.” Domino turned toward the hall.
Cowell huffed. The stifling air in this damn garage was getting to him. His shirt and pants were sticky with sweat. Yet, his search had turned up nothing so far. He had to push aside heavy equipment and tools just to clear away walls and wall corners in the hope the tanks would be there.
“He said he has gas. So, where the hell is it?” Cowell then clamped his mouth shut. What if somebody on the outside heard him?
He leaned against the back side of the truck. “Think! Think!” Doctor Samuel had to have hidden the tanks somewhere, but Cowell was running out of places to look. Cowell even had looked inside the truck itself to see if the doctor had secreted the fuel behind the back seat or under the tarp that concealed the truck bed, but to no avail.
Still huffing, Cowell stood up. He had to have missed something. He had checked the truck, the areas by the walls, near the workbench…
The workbench!
Cowell rushed to the bench, nearly tripping over a few tools in the process. He had looked to the sides of the bench, but not underneath it! With the dim light and the large wooden posts, it was not easy to see underneath it. Cowell squatted down and peered beneath. The darkness made it difficult, but Cowell would not be deterred. He leaned in closer, almost poking his head under the bench frame. He reached inside. His fingers grazed a solid surface.
That might be it! Cowell backed off and looked directly where he had touched something. A solid box lay against the wall. With a laugh, he grabbed the box and dragged it out. Cowell had unearthed a cardboard box.
He yanked open the lid. A red gasoline tank lay inside, full. So, Cowell’s suspicions were correct. The doctor had hidden away some gas in a place where it would not be discovered easily.
