It wasn’t long before the gang was gathered and ready to start moving. Geno would be driving with RC navigating as they changed course to head for town. Tabitha would be taking the first shift with Lily—it only made sense, given that her lack of sleep left her not quite fit for walking in the sun, but able enough to keep watch. Outside, everyone knew what to look for and would be venturing out to find the necessary bark. Geno would be crawling along in the van in the meantime, going ahead a couple of miles and waiting for the others to catch up before moving on again. They couldn’t afford to be too far apart as they approached town.
After the first two-mile stretch, the van came to a halt, allowing Tabitha to get out and stretch her legs. Her neck and back were cramped up from the awkward position she had been in all night. She paced around, appreciating the almost-fresh air outside of the back of the van. It was still early in the morning, but once again, they were dealing with high humidity. Tabitha lifted her hair from her shoulders, walking toward where Geno leaned up against the van.
“How is she?” he asked in a low voice.
Tabitha shrugged. “I really don’t know. She’s in pain. We have to find medicine, Geno. We just have to. You have to back me up if the others try to argue against going into town.”
He wrapped his arm around her, bringing her into his side despite the heat. “Babe, what if it isn’t safe?”
She shrugged against him, swallowing down the anger she wanted to express—she didn’t have the energy to waste on it. “I don’t care. It isn’t safe to leave her unmedicated. She doesn’t have time to wait until it’s safe for someone to get her medicine. This is nonnegotiable, and I’m asking for your support as my husband.”
Geno took a deep breath. She had a feeling he wanted to argue, but he gave a quick nod of his head. “Fine,” he grumbled.
She leaned up and kissed him on his cheek. “Thank you.”
Fred came striding toward the van, his long legs eating up the distance. “Lily?” he asked, slightly out of breath.
“She was sleeping, last I looked.”
Fred peeked in the back of the van and nodded his head. “I’m on next Lily-watch.”
“Keep an eye on her, and if she gets too uncomfortable, have Geno stop,” Tabitha instructed him.
He nodded. “Got it.”
“Dab the cloth over her head and the back of her neck to keep her cool, too,” she reminded him.
Fred was nodding, but Tabitha could tell his attention was on Lily and not her. Still, he knew the routine. With Geno and Fred’s blessing, she sat against the van’s front tire and rested her eyes for a few minutes, trying to gather up what energy she could.
The rest of the group joined them soon enough. They all gathered around her, drinking water. Everyone’s mood was subdued, knowing Lily was in a bad way.
“We’ll stop a couple miles outside of town. We can’t take the van too close,” Wolf said gruffly.
“Good plan,” RC agreed from the front seat.
“Everyone keep your heads up and stick close. We don’t know what we’re walking into,” Wolf ordered them.
They walked another six miles according to the mile markers they were passing before Wolf ordered the van to stay put. The walk had actually been enjoyable so far. It wasn’t an actual highway they were on, but more of an ORV trail that hadn’t been groomed in a couple of months. Tabitha had imagined herself on a nature walk, getting excited as they passed birds of every shape and size frolicking in puddles and swamp marshes on both sides. Of course, she couldn’t actually be excited about the simple beauty around her, worrying about Lily as she was, but it was a beautiful mixture of lush green trees and brush that they’d been passing through, all intermingled with shallow pools of water and grass forming small islands throughout.
She refocused her mind on the task at hand as Wolf scouted ahead. Travis, Geno, and RC were going to stay with the van and guard Lily and the supplies. The rest of them were headed into town in the hopes of finding medicine for Lily. Geno had lectured Tabitha about being safe, but he’d agreed to remain on protection duty. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of her going into town, but hadn’t put up much of a fight once he’d been reminded that he wasn’t all that adept at diplomacy.
“Should we hide the van in the trees?” Geno asked.
RC shook his head even as Wolf answered, “You absolutely must stick to the road now. It’s too swampy here. If you go off-road, we might never get the van moving again.”
Geno nodded, and with that Tabitha led the way toward town with Heather and Fred at her side, Regan and Wolf following just behind them.
“Do we stick together?” Tabitha asked, feeling like they already stood out like a sore thumb with their large group as they walked along the two-lane highway, over weeds growing through cracks and along the gravel edges.
Her eyes were constantly scanning the weeds, looking for any medicinal plants she recognized, but so far, they’d had little luck in finding what she needed. All she saw was grass and noxious weeds that the birds and other critters who lived in the area seemed to enjoy.
“Yes, we stay together,” Wolf said, not leaving any room for discussion.
Not bothering to answer, she nodded her head. She could guess what he was thinking, after all. Better safe and together than separated and having another emergency to deal with.
Regan walked up beside her, reaching out to touch her shoulder briefly. “We’ll find something,” she whispered.
“We have to. I can’t express how important it is that we find medicine,” she replied quietly.
Regan nodded her head. “I understand.”
“We can’t lose her,” Tabitha said, just low enough that her words were for Regan’s ears only.
“We won’t,” Regan insisted.
They passed a few houses on the outskirts of town, some of them nothing more than piles of wood. Tabitha vaguely remembered a hurricane devastating the area in recent years. They stuck to the main road, observing the new buildings mixed in with the empty lots between them.
“Stay alert. Something doesn’t feel right,” Wolf said, slowing his pace and walking close to Regan.
“Did everybody move away?” Fred asked.
Heather stepped up closer behind them. “I think it’s more likely they’re hiding from us. They’re probably afraid of us.”
“Sit—”
“Situational awareness,” Regan said cutting him off.
He looked at her and glowered, bringing a smirk to Regan’s mouth. Tabitha had to fight back her own smile. Regan loved to poke at Wolf. It was a good thing, though—he was such a serious guy, he could use a little lightening up at times. Regan seemed to know exactly how to do that.
“There’s a pharmacy,” Tabitha said excitedly, pointing down the road to a Rite Aid on the corner.
“We should split up in case there’s trouble. We need a rescue team on standby,” Fred advised.
Tabitha remembered the little exchange from the night before. He was feeling shut out, and she wanted to let him know he was valued—and that his ideas and suggestions were being heard.
“He’s right. How about I go check the pharmacy and the four of you keep looking for more leads?” she offered. “No one is going to see me as a threat,” she added. She looked to Fred, who looked pleased by her suggestion. It was hard to keep everyone happy while doing what was best for the group in general. There were a lot of people’s feelings to balance, which meant they were bound to hit upon some contradictions.
“I’m not letting you go over there alone,” Wolf said simply, his eyes on a man who was sitting on the curb in front of the Rite Aid—the first person they’d seen.
“I’ll go with you to check it out,” Regan volunteered. “Two women aren’t going to be any more threatening than one, and we all know I can kick some butt,” she said with a wink.
Tabitha rolled her eyes. “I’m not helpless.”
Regan grinned. “Maybe not, but we all know I’m scr
appy and streetsmart.”
Tabitha raised an eyebrow, looking at Wolf for the final say.
“I’ll go, too,” Heather chimed in. “They’re not going to see three women as a real threat. Power in numbers. We’re not carrying weapons, so I don’t see why they would be worried about us.”
“You’re going to be carrying a weapon,” Wolf growled.
Regan shook her head. “We’ve talked about this before. It’s better if we’re unarmed in these situations,” Regan argued.
“I think Regan’s right,” Heather offered.
Tabitha caught Regan’s eye roll. She knew Regan was suddenly on edge with Heather, but didn’t understand why. They needed to stick together, and this mission was the perfect way for them to bond over a common goal. The tension between them would just have to be sorted out later.
“We’ll be fine, Wolf. You and Fred keep searching. We’ll meet back at the van,” Tabitha said, hoping he would agree.
Regan met her eyes and nodded. “It’ll be okay,” she told Wolf.
Tabitha was counting on their close relationship to convince Wolf to trust his girlfriend and the rest of them. And she was also prepared to ignore his orders if he told them they couldn’t go. It was for his daughter, though, so she expected him to understand. Lily needed medicine.
Finally, he grimaced and nodded. “Get in and get out. We’re going to head down that road and wait. I don’t want them seeing us and thinking we’re setting up some kind of attack,” he said, pointing to the left.
Tabitha nodded. “We will. In and out. Same with you if you come across a clinic, vet office, pet supply store—anything. Grab any antibiotic you can find. Look for painkillers. They’ll probably have a ‘make you drowsy’ label on the side. Vicodin, Percocet, Oxy, anything will do,” she instructed the men.
He exchanged a look with Fred, and then nodded. “Got it. Be careful. Don’t negotiate. If they want to trade, we’ll all agree, and we’ll go as a group. I’m not revealing what we have. I don’t want them to get the idea you’re a bunch of helpless women.”
Regan scoffed. “As if.”
“Be careful, Regan, I’m serious. Don’t go in there thinking you’re invincible.”
Tabitha was already headed across the street, ready to do whatever it took to get the meds she needed for Lily. Regan and Wolf could battle it out later. Her eyes were on the man sitting in front of the store. Instinctively, she knew to sway her hips and play up her femininity, hoping Regan and Heather did the same. It was the oldest trick in the book for a reason—it worked.
“Hi,” she said with a friendly smile to the man sitting on the curb. He was in his fifties, and looked able and confident—this was a front guard they were meeting, not somebody passing the time. Two more men emerged from the side of the building as she stepped up closer, each carrying a mean looking gun. At least she could hear Regan and Heather behind her.
“What do you want?” the man on the curb asked, rising to his feet.
“I need antibiotics and pain killers,” Tabitha replied, knowing she probably sounded as if she were ordering at a fast food restaurant.
The man shook his head. “This pharmacy is for locals only. I don’t know any of you. We don’t have any medicine to spare.”
Regan put a hand on her hip, cocking her head to the side and leveling a dangerous gaze at the man. Tabitha turned to look at her, trying to tell her to back down with her eyes. Still, she knew it likely wouldn’t work. There was no backing down for Regan. All she knew was fighting. It was how she had survived for so long.
Regan looked at Tabitha before turning back to the man. “We need medicine for an injured kid. Are you really going to turn us away?” she growled.
“Yep. We’re only allowed to let locals get necessary meds, and you’re not a local. I don’t care if it’s a kid. No card, no meds.”
“Card?” Regan repeated. “Who has cards? Get with the times, buddy. Those days are gone.”
“A card proving your residency. The fact that you don’t know what that is confirms you don’t belong here. You three very beautiful young ladies better take your fine selves out of here before some of my rather undisciplined friends show up. I can’t be responsible for what they might do.”
Tabitha took a deep breath. “I only need a little medicine,” she pressed. “I’d be happy with ten pills. I’ll skip the pain meds. Surely, you can spare some antibiotics for a little girl.”
The man shook his head. “Nope.”
Regan looked at her, slowly shaking her head, telling her to quit asking. “Fine,” Tabitha muttered.
“Let’s go. These losers probably don’t even have medicine,” Regan sneered.
Heather looked from Regan to Tabitha and nodded her head. “Yeah,” she shot out, sounding like a juvenile at a schoolyard fight.
When Regan started to walk down the sidewalk, away from the pharmacy, Heather and Tabitha jogged after her to keep up. Tabitha hoped she had a plan, because as far as she was concerned, they’d walked away far too easily. The only thing pulling her away was the fact that she knew her friend never give up without a fight. She was up to something—she had to be—and, for once, Tabitha was completely on board.
“What are you doing?” Tabitha hissed.
“We’re going around the back,” Regan said, never breaking her stride, her arms swinging as she walked.
“What if there are guards back there?” Heather asked as they passed a restaurant with broken glass all over the sidewalk. “We should go and get Wolf. We need guns!” she hissed.
“We take them out if we see guards,” Regan snapped.
“How? You said you didn’t need a gun,” Heather argued.
“I don’t.”
They rounded the corner and kept moving until Regan dashed to the right through the restaurant parking lot, sticking to the wall and crushing glass as she moved before rushing to the back of the pharmacy. Tabitha barely hesitated before hurrying after her friend, Heather right on her heels. When she caught up, Tabitha’s heart raced as she watched her friend press herself against a wall before reaching for the handle to the back door. When it moved, Regan looked at her and smiled, holding a finger to her lips.
She slowly pulled open the door as Tabitha held her breath, praying there weren’t more bad guys waiting in the wings. They all waited for shouts or gunfire. They heard nothing but the creak of old hinges.
“Come on,” Regan whispered, stepping through the back door.
Tabitha wanted to kiss Regan for being so brave. She was the bravest woman, the bravest person, she had ever met. She loved her undying loyalty and her willingness to do whatever it took to help those she loved and cared about. In that moment, Tabitha decided that if she ever had a baby, Regan would be the godmother. She knew that if something were to happen to her or Geno, or both of them, Regan would protect the child with her very life.
Without a word spoken, Heather and Tabitha followed Regan inside. The woman was already moving through the pharmacy to the area that had another interior door. That was where all the prescription meds would be. Heather looked like a scared deer, her big brown eyes wide and her head darting left and right as she looked around. Tabitha would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so dire. In any other world, Regan would have been declared a bad influence. And it was true that she was a rebel, but that was what they needed just now.
Regan pulled open the door ahead, gesturing Tabitha inside. Tabitha moved as silently as she could inside the dark interior room, moving by the light of a large window facing before coming to an immediate halt when she looked up to find the barrel of a shotgun leveled at her nose.
“Guys,” she squeaked.
“Shh—” Regan started, but she froze when she saw the man with the gun.
“We don’t want any trouble,” Heather said in a calming voice.
“Is that why you snuck in here?” another guard who had been lying in wait inside the pharmacy asked.
“We’re desperate,
” Heather explained.
Tabitha turned to look over her shoulder at Regan. Right now, she really wished they would have taken the gun with them. Regan gave a brief nod, moving up to stand beside her. She felt tears welling in her eyes at Regan’s bravery. She knew her friend would take a bullet for her if it came to that.
“We really want some medicine for the little girl,” Regan said in a firm voice, her shoulders back.
“I think you were told no,” the man answered gruffly, and Tabitha had to fight her instincts to run away, no matter how much his menacing voice freaked her out. Regan was stalwart as usual, slowly stepping in front of her.
Tabitha wanted to grab her shoulder and yank her back, but trusted that Regan knew what she was doing. She knew that, when Regan did whatever it was she was planning in that brain of hers, she had better react as prompted and not ask questions.
“Look, dude, come on. We’re not a threat. We don’t have guns. We’re three women. You have big guns and we have nothing. So, come on, can we have a few pills?” Regan asked in a syrupy sweet voice.
“Look, lady, I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but medicine isn’t easy to come by. This is ours. You’re going to have to find your own,” he stated.
There was a moment’s stand-off, and then Regan seemed to deflate. “Okay. Fine, we’ll go,” she answered.
The man laughed in Regan’s face. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. My buddies are going to have to decide if you get to walk out of here.”
Regan scoffed. “Whatever. You’re not going to shoot us. I bet that gun isn’t even loaded,” she taunted.
Tabitha watched in horror as Regan reached out and touched one of the white pill bottles on a shelf, daring the man to prove the gun was loaded.
“Don’t touch it, or I will shoot,” he whispered.
“Not even one little touch,” she hissed, putting her finger out and touching the bottle, tapping it with her nail.
Tabitha couldn’t believe she was blatantly provoking him. Regan had lost her mind.
Survivalist Reality Show: The Complete Series Page 64