“Okay,” Connor spoke once they were all seated. “I think we’ve got some explaining to do. But first, can you tell me where you both came from? Do you live in the city?”
“No,” Chase answered before Riley could, knowing that they needed to be careful about what they told these people. Until they gave them a reason to absolutely trust them, Chase was of the opinion that he couldn’t. “We just came in today from outside it—looking for supplies.”
“Ah,” Connor remarked. “That explains things.”
“Explains what?” Riley asked adamantly. She could tell what was happening and she refused to let the adults take all the information from her and Chase for very little in return. She had her own questions and she was determined to get answers for them. “What’s going on here? Where are all the children and what was the siren that went off earlier?”
“Oh, Nate,” Mindy suddenly sobbed. “She’s just like Daisy was.”
“I know.” Nate rubbed his wife’s shoulders. “Deep breaths, babe. Deep breaths.”
“There’s no easy way to say this,” Connor started, looking to his two friends and offering them a weak smile. “All the children who used to live in the city have been rounded up and taken away. When the volcano erupted this place was quarantined for under twenty-ones. The air is toxic—though it looks like you’re both aware of that,” Connor paused, acknowledging the Re-Breathers that both Chase and Riley now wore pulled down from their faces. “All of our children were taken away, while we’ve been left behind. They bring us food and water once a day—that’s what the siren is for—and other than that we’ve been left to die.”
“What?” Chase was shocked, Connor’s explanation seeming too farfetched to be true. “Who did all that? Who took your children away? And where to?”
“To a facility in the center of the city,” Mindy replied, her voice breaking. “They’re keeping them inside to protect them from the air, but we’re not allowed to be with them.”
“Who?” Chase asked again, remembering what one of the women in the street had said in her frenzied state. “Who took your children away? Was it soldiers?”
“Soldiers,” Connor nodded, speaking some sense into the group. “The Army. The government. We’re not really sure. All we know is that people in uniform came and took them away and they won’t let us see them. They installed sirens, raided all the food and water from the city and they come out once a day to give us daily rations, then leave. There’s nothing we can do to get our kids back. We’re allowed to leave the city if we want, but where would we go? We know the air is poisoning us. At least here we’re given food and water. We don’t have much of a choice about this life now.”
“That is crazy,” Riley breathed, trying to picture a place where children were taken away from their families and finding it near impossible. It was a thing you saw on television shows, not heard about happening in your backyard. Houston was the city closest to the farmhouse where her grandparents waited, what would happen if these people—the soldiers—started trying to quarantine children from farther afield too. Riley couldn’t bear it if she and Chase were forcibly removed from their home. It was one thing to leave by choice; it was another to not be allowed back.
“That’s why you need to leave,” Mindy spoke again, her voice more level now that she had dialed back her emotions somewhat. “We lost our children; I can’t stand by and let any more be taken. You need to go back to wherever you came from and never return. Houston isn’t safe for kids of your age anymore.”
“My wife is right,” Nate nodded, massaging Mindy’s shoulder’s gently as he spoke. “We can help get you out. We can make sure that the soldiers don’t find you.”
“How?” Chase asked, a tiny tendril of fear worming its way into his head and holding him in a firm grasp. “We can’t leave without what we came for. We need to get our supplies.”
“If I were you,” Connor spoke again, his voice level and serious, “I’d abandon whatever it was you came into the city to find and be happy to leave with your freedom. The soldiers have taken everything that might be valuable to their stronghold; you won’t find any decent supplies left. Take my word for it, the privilege of leaving the city and having somewhere safe to go is more than you should expect now.”
Chase felt Riley’s hand slide into his own underneath the kitchen island. Her skin was ice-cold with dread, her pulse hammering away as the same fear that threatened to control Chase took over her body as well. Neither of them knew what to do. They didn’t even know if Connor was telling the truth or not. The decision of who to trust was a huge one and neither Chase nor Riley felt like they were prepared to make it.
In an instant, they both became five years old again, longing for their parents or grandparents to scoop them up in their arms, hold them, and tell them everything was going to be okay. But there was no one around to do that. They only had each other and they needed to make sure they made the right choice.
Chapter 9
By the time Mia swapped seats with Patrick the next day, they were already well on their way to Seattle. After a surprisingly good night’s sleep, considering she’d slept across the back of their car, she had volunteered to take the first stint behind the wheel that morning. Route 90 was being incredibly kind to them and they’d hardly had to slow down since they started driving at all. There was one incident where they were forced to stop and move some cars which were blocking the road again yesterday evening, but aside from that it had been very smooth sailing.
The crash they came across wasn’t as bad as the first, thankfully; just a couple of cars that had somehow slammed into each other head-on and skidded sideways to block the roadway. Mia guessed someone had panicked and started driving the wrong way down the highway, colliding with the hood of another car as it appeared suddenly out of the dark cloud.
Both cars were completely destroyed, the metal frameworks having instantly crumpled on impact and crushed together like a can in a press. The people who had been driving were much the same, the sight of them so horrifying that no one had been able to look for longer than a few seconds. Blood splattered the interior of both cars, the drivers not standing a chance at survival.
The group’s only option had been to attach a rope to the trunk of one of the cars and drag them out of the road. It had taken the best part of an hour to do. They couldn’t avoid the delay, as the work was completely necessary for them to continue. All the while the ash that coated Route 90 continued to fall thicker and faster, Mia worrying about the amount of time they were spending outside—especially with Billy looking no better.
Mia watched the young boy carefully after she swapped seats with Patrick later that day. They only had time for a quick lunch before it was time to get back on the road and complete the final leg of the journey before dropping Patrick and Allie back off as near to their home as they could get.
“I don’t want to make us all go into the city,” Patrick said after he’d been driving for a few minutes, the father starting to recognize the scenery around them. “We don’t know what it could be like and it might be too dangerous for everyone.”
Mia opened her mouth to question Patrick, wondering what he had planned instead, but he continued speaking before she had a chance to enquire.
“There’s a small town just outside the city that I know,” he explained. “It’s just at the end of this,” he gestured to the National Forest that surrounded the road, Route 90 taking them through Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. “And I’ve got some friends that live there. Allie and I should be all right to head out on our own from Tanner.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Patrick nodded with a smile. “I want to see if Vern and Tracy are okay anyway. I think it makes sense for us all to part ways there. Shouldn’t be much longer than another hour now.”
Mia returned Patrick’s smile, though it was bittersweet. She was glad that he was able to go home and take Allie back to where she felt safe, even though Mia would
miss Patrick’s company a great deal. Aside from Jorge—who she had a varying relationship with—Patrick was the person she’d grown closest to out of their group.
There were quite a few of them traveling together, which Mia had mixed emotions about. With Patrick and Allie now leaving, she wondered how much patience she’d have with the rest of them before she wanted to head out on her own. Getting back to Texas was a very winding journey and if she had to make many more pitstops for different people, it might be too late by the time she made it home herself.
With those heavy thoughts, the final hour of their journey passed by very quickly. She kept a close eye on Billy in the back seat of the car, the young boy looking even more unwell than he had the previous day. She’d spoken to Deb at some length about what to do if he did become seriously sick. There was no way for them to tell what exactly had caused it or if he could be cured, so the conversation was a difficult one. Both women agreed they would just keep a close eye on the child and if a decision needed to be made, it would happen when necessary.
“This is it,” Patrick declared after what felt like too short of a time. Mia wasn’t ready. She didn’t want to say goodbye to him.
Pulling the car up onto the side of the road, Patrick switched the engine off and looked around. Tanner looked different from how he remembered it; darker, somehow. He had to remind himself it was probably related to the ash cloud hanging over the whole country and blocking out the sunlight, but other than that the place seemed eerily quiet. A few curtains twitched as people looked out of their windows at the convoy of cars that had arrived. Patrick’s eyes immediately went to the front window of where his friends lived. Their curtain twitched too, filling him with a huge sense of relief.
“They’re in there,” Patrick exhaled. “They’re still alive.”
“Which house?” Mia asked, surveying the area herself. There was definitely evidence of people still living there, but something seemed off about the place as well. No one had come outside to see what the arrival was all about and Mia would’ve thought the small-town residents would’ve been very interested in the sudden arrival of three car-loads of people. Especially after Yellowstone.
“That one.” Patrick pointed to where Vern and Tracy lived, hoping that his friends would come outside.
“Okay then.” Mia nodded. “Let’s go and say hello.”
“Are we going to see Uncle Vernon and Aunty Tracy?” Allie piped up from the back seat, the young girl finally having worked out where they were and what was happening. Patrick looked back at his daughter momentarily, and then over at Mia who gave him the faintest shake of her head. Something didn’t seem right about the town and until they found out what, she thought it was best if the children stayed inside.
“In a bit,” Patrick smiled at his daughter. “Let me and Mia just go and speak to them first, then you can come inside, okay?”
Allie nodded, making Patrick’s life easier as he leaned into the back and gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead. Mia was already out of the car, her scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face as she spoke to Jorge, Deb, and Ethan who had each gotten out of their respective cars. Both Jorge and Deb got back inside theirs as Patrick walked toward them, Ethan and Mia still exchanging a few words.
“All right,” Ethan smiled as Patrick reached them. “I’ll watch the kids while you go inside, don’t worry.”
“Ah, great, thanks,” Patrick nodded, glad that someone would be sitting with them. He was worried about Billy’s health and naturally always had concern for his daughter. She was pretty much all he had left now and Patrick hated to be away from her—even if it was only by a few yards. “You ready, Mia?”
“Yep,” Mia nodded, aware that several people were now watching them from their windows. Surely Patrick’s friends would’ve noticed him by now—half of his face was covered by a scarf, but the man still had to be recognizable.
Knocking on Vern and Tracy’s door, Patrick held his breath. For some reason he felt nervous. He had expected his friends to come out and greet him, but their silence and reluctance to do so worried him. The town was normally full of people puttering about in the streets; he had expected a vestige of that old life to remain despite the toxic air. This small town on the edge of the National Forest was full of nature lovers and explorers—it was designed for people who hated to be trapped indoors. Vern and Tracy were always outside; they lived for hiking and camping in the forest surrounding their town. Everything so far was very out of their usual routine.
“Vern?” Patrick called as he knocked again, no reply coming after the first rap of his knuckles. “Tracy? It’s me, Patrick. Are you home?”
“They’re definitely in,” Mia confirmed. “I saw a woman at the window when we pulled up.”
“Me too,” Patrick muttered, confused as to why his friends weren’t opening the door to him. “Vern,” he shouted into the house again. “Let me in. Allie is in the car waiting. I really need to speak to you.” Patrick paused again before finishing his statement. “Harriet and Tilly are dead.”
Mia cringed as she heard Patrick refer to his dead wife and child, hearing the tremor in his voice as he said their names. It worked though, a noise finally coming from inside as the door creaked open and revealed a man and woman standing there.
“Vern!” Patrick smiled, throwing his arms around his old friend and giving him a hug. Mia followed him inside, the door then closing behind them as Patrick released Vern and went to give Tracy a hug as well. “How are you guys? Did you not hear me knocking?”
Vern and Tracy looked at one another with sad expressions on their faces, their mouths opening as if they were about to speak then closing again. Both shook their heads, shrugging and trying to convey some sort of apology without using their words.
“What’s up, guys?” Patrick asked, his tone suddenly laced with worry. “Are you all right?”
Tracy opened her mouth again to speak, a breath of air coming out in a raspy and choked manner before Vern put a hand on her shoulder and stopped his wife. He turned his back on everyone then, walking away into the dining room of his house to pick up a piece of paper and a pencil. Scribbling something down on it, he looked at his message with a forlorn expression before finally picking it up and bringing the page back over to where Patrick, Mia, and Tracy waited.
Looking at his friend, Patrick grew incredibly confused and concerned by what was going on. He looked at Vern strangely as the man handed him the piece of paper, his scrawl only just legible as both Patrick and Mia read at the same time. Patrick felt his heart sink as he read the words, hardly able to believe what was written. But as he looked up at his friends and saw the devastated expressions on their faces, he knew it was true. Mia gasped. She had believed she’d known how people would be affected by the volcanic eruption. Even she had never anticipated this. Reading Vern’s letter again, her bottom lip began to tremble.
We can’t speak. The air here is deadly. Something in it has taken our voices from us. Doctor Reeves says our larynxes are destroyed. He says we’ll never speak again. Our days are limited now. Our voices are gone already, and our lives are not far behind. I’m sorry, Patrick. I’m sorry about your family, too. I wish we could have met again in happier circumstances. I’ll understand if you don’t want to stay here now. We could only have a matter of days left.
“Doctor Reeves lives down the road,” Patrick explained. “He moved out here when he retired. Nice man. Vern,” he turned his attention back to his friends. “Tracy. I don’t understand. Has this happened to everyone?”
Both Vern and Tracy nodded, the only way they had of communicating anymore. Mia couldn’t believe it. She wanted to speak to this doctor; she wanted to hear what he had to say about how everything had happened. She knew the particles in the ash cloud could lacerate someone’s lungs if they breathed in too many and didn’t protect themselves properly; she’d never imagined it could silence a whole town. Vern and Tracy looked weak—perhaps them losing their voices was
only just the beginning of things. Surely there was no way their larynxes could be so badly damaged and their lungs spared. Mia shook her head. What kind of a life was it when you were forced to live out your final days in silence? No wonder the town had seemed so eerie and quiet. Its voice had been taken from it.
“I’m so sorry,” Patrick whispered to his friends, hearing both of their voices in his head as he looked at them. Tracy had been the most beautiful singer. Now her songs would never be heard again. It was such a cruel fate. Every day that passed, more devastating effects of the eruption seemed to appear. He could only guess at what happened to Seattle. Was going back there even the right decision anymore? Patrick felt the weight of the world on his shoulders as he looked at his friends and tried to figure out what to do.
“Which number does the doctor live at?” Mia asked, the scientist inside her keen to uncover more answers about how all of this had happened. “I’d like to ask him a couple of questions about all of this, if that’s okay?”
Tracy nodded after a moment, holding up seven fingers on her hands to indicate the number the doctor lived at. Mia thanked her and made her way to the front door, feeling like she ought to give Patrick some time alone with his friends anyway. He caught up with her just before she stepped outside, placing a hand on Mia’s shoulder and whispering in her ear. Mia understood what he said, nodding and giving her friend a brief smile before stepping back out into the street. She needed to speak to the doctor, but first she had to explain things to the rest of their waiting convoy.
“They what?” Jorge exclaimed after hearing the news, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” Mia shrugged. “I’m going to speak to a doctor who lives here now. You can come with me if you want.”
Escaping Darkness (Book 3): Landslide Page 7