“Tell you what, since it’s too early for The Exchange. I’ll put a call in for you at the hotel. You can take care of your business at The Exchange when they open in a couple of hours,” Wilcox said. “Don’t even think of skipping out without paying anyone in this town. You will be tracked down. So, what will it be, the Budget Inn or the Hilton?”
“Budget Inn,” Dean said.
“If you’re running low on assets, you can always sell your vehicle. Looks like an exceptionally sturdy and reliable set of wheels,” Wilcox commented. “The guys at the barracks already started a bidding war.”
“We don’t plan on stayin’ long if it’s all the same to you,” Dean said.
“I understand. If you decide to sell it, see me first,” the soldier said under his breath. “Another suggestion. You might want to rent a safety-deposit box at the bank for your vehicle and weapons vouchers. Without your vouchers, your weapons and vehicle become property of Last State. And, keep your IDs on you at all times.”
“We’ve got banks now?” Justin exclaimed.
“Affirmative, First Bank of Last State.” Wilcox nodded.
They finally reached the end of what seemed to be a never-ending hallway. Four guards lined the exit. Wilcox handed an Enforcer their IDs.
“Don’t forget your personal effects,” Wilcox reminded, looking down at the duffle bags. “That’s about it. Stay safe.” Sergeant Wilcox offered a friendly smile.
The doors opened.
“Wow! Back to civilization,” Justin marveled. It was like opening the huge door to Jurassic Park, only it looked more like West World. “So, everyone’s not dead . . .” A buggy hooked to a team of mules awaited them. It was crowned with a hand-painted sign: MY LITTLE MULE TAXI SERVICE.
“A buggy?” Luther said in astonishment.
“The normal mode of transportation at Boom Town,” the attendant said.
“Where to?” The attendant opened the buggy’s side door.
“The Budget Inn,” Dean said.
They climbed in.
“This was a popular tourist attraction back when I was growing up. Looks like they renovated it. Used to run wagon train tours along the Old Santa Fe Trail. Makes sense to have a protected township next to the trail,” Dean said.
“They’ve got this place hella locked-down.” Justin eyed their surroundings.
“Hope they’ve got cows. I need me a big-ass steak dinner.” Luther rubbed his belly.
“That makes two of us,” Dean said.
“All I want is a super, long, hot shower,” Justin bemoaned.
Tonight, Justin was safe from the hordes. He’d let himself dream about Ella. The moment when they finally found each other, embracing in an endless kiss. He took a deep, relaxing breath, envisioning her gorgeous brown eyes, and her adorable smile, willing it to come to life on the IMAX screen in his mind.
Chapter 13
The river forked ahead. Great. Scarlett checked the compass. They were still heading east. She closed her eyes for a glimpse of her inner vision. Nothing came to mind. “What good is it if it’s not around when I need it?” she muttered. She scanned the river, focusing in on each tributary. The lower outlet led to the outskirts of a small rural town from what she could tell. She spied the four-way stop sign intersection. An Exxon, Ted’s Tires, a Frosty Freeze. “Hmm, Jack’s General Store.” She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. They needed supplies. Shoes for one, fresh clothes, not to mention their food supply needed replenishing. Normally, she avoided towns. People or creepers meant trouble. The harsh reality of it was: How long would they make it without food?
The image of Jack’s General Store flickered in her mind when she closed her eyes. For lack of options, she asked Twila, “Sweetie, do you think it’s safe to check out the store?” She handed the binoculars to Twila. “See it?”
Twila shrugged her off. “Mommy, you’re always scared. I don’t feel any bad people.” Twila crossed her eyes rather emphatically as if Scarlett behaved overly paranoid.
Her paranoia had probably kept them alive this entire time. Why stop now? She almost retorted. Instead, Scarlett said, “Let’s wait until an hour before sunset, then I’ll check out the store.” Meanwhile, she’d surveil the roads and the buildings.
They’d been traveling east for days on end, detouring around countless small towns and rural communities, avoiding the main roads. All she knew was it was probably December, and they were somewhere in California. During their restful two-day stay at the Laura Ingalls’ cabin, an unsettling dream had warned her to avoid SR 49. An image of a river had been the only clue. When they had reached what she thought was the Tule River, the message had suddenly been clear. And, they had followed the river eastwardly for days, always keeping a safe distance from it, only venturing to the actual river when they needed water.
Twila had resorted back to her reticent behavior to the point Scarlett feared for the child’s life. Had she made the deadly mistake of bringing a child on an impossible journey on the whim of a mystical dream-like woman? A dead woman. It gave her the shivers.
After enjoying their last can of vegetable soup, thanks to an abandoned campsite they’d found a few days ago, Scarlett packed their gear and prepared for a fast getaway in case they ran into trouble. However, there had been no signs of activity; the businesses were apparently deserted.
“Are you ready? If something bad happens, I want you to ride Willow to the river. I’ll meet you there when I can. But—” Scarlett faltered, “if I don’t make it back, do you think you can find your way back to the cabin?” Scarlett asked. It was too much to ask a child.
“If you want me to.” Twila yawned; she certainly wasn’t in a talkative mood.
Scarlett never knew if her own uneasiness was due to a lack of confidence or if danger was near. With the reins in one hand and gun in the other, they climbed the river’s embankment in plain view for anyone to see.
As they approached, the cloppity-clop of Willow’s hooves hitting the parking lot’s pavement pounded like drums announcing their arrival. All else was quiet. She peered inside the storefront’s windows. No movement. The low-hanging sun made it difficult to see inside. She pushed on the entrance. The door opened freely.
“Stay on Willow.” Scarlett grabbed the fireplace poker she had salvaged from the log cabin.
Scarlett glanced uneasily at Twila and then tiptoed inside. She briskly walked to the endcap and scanned each aisle for signs of life. It was basically a rural general store with various hardware, farming equipment, tools, camping supplies, one aisle of food, and even a section of school supplies. Of course, the pandemic had started at the end of summer vacation.
Scarlett halted. That smell. She turned the corner of the hardware aisle to find three or more decomposing bodies piled on top of one another. She jabbed the poker into the bodies. The body on top rolled toward her. “Ah!” She jumped back with a tiny yelp of surprise. She didn’t have time to be squeamish. She poked at the mushy-bloated bodies. They were devoid of life.
The store had been raided based on all the items strewn about. She grabbed a cart. A five-minute shopping spree is all I can afford. First, they needed food. She ran to the food aisle. Empty. She absolutely wasn’t leaving without food. The stockroom flashed in her mind. She darted to the door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY and entered, the gun already cocked. Right there at the foot of the door were several cases of Planter’s Mixed Nuts. Someone was planning on coming back. Or, had never made it back. That was it as far as food. She carted one box of nuts to the entrance, checking on Twila in the process.
She ran to the clothing area. All they had were Ben Davis pants. Too big for Twila. Yes! Overalls. She grabbed several denim pairs of the smallest size. She could always cut off the ends and hem them with the minuscule sewing kit tucked inside one of the ALICE pack’s side-pouches.
Shoes were across from the clothing shelf. What Scarlett really needed were hiking boots. As it was, she taped over the holes in hers every other da
y. Hmm, no hiking boots. She eyed a display of women’s hightops, scanning the boxes on the top shelf until she found a size seven. They’d better fit. No children shoes. She flew down the aisle, adding socks and work gloves into the cart.
Fishing rods? She darted to the camping section. She selected a compact fishing rod and a package of lures. Tarps. One could never have too many tarps. They came in handy for all sorts of things. She grabbed several, along with a bundle of cords. She tossed a handful of camping-size hand sanitizers, shampoos, toothpastes, toothbrushes, and soaps into the cart. She didn’t bother with menstrual supplies since she hadn’t had a cycle for a while. A friend of hers, who had been stationed overseas, had told it was fairly common to go without a cycle for months during periods of extreme stress. It was one less thing to worry about. The battery endcap display was empty. She ran down the next aisle. A rack of batteries with the words BATTERIES INCLUDED caught her eye. Perfect. She added several packages.
She was surprised to find a section of children’s hightop shoes in the Sporting Goods section next to roller blades, skateboards, and helmets. She grabbed a size two, knowing they’d be a bit too big. She should check on Twila again. With a racing heart, she pushed the cart to the entrance. Willow pranced about nervously. “See anything?” Scarlett whispered, dropping her finds on the sidewalk.
Twila merely patted Willow’s mane. Jeez Louise, Twila needs to snap out of it. Scarlett had a bigger problem. She didn’t have room for her newly-found supplies. Everything wouldn’t fit in her two packs. She dashed back inside, remembering the school supplies. A Beauty and the Beast pack caught her attention on a pegged wall of packs. She grabbed all three. Hmm, coloring books! Just what Twila needed. She filled a pack with coloring and activity books, along with color pencils and crayons.
The tool aisle beckoned to her. So many tools to choose from. On impulse, she grabbed a tire iron. It was better than the poker. The poker reminded her of LuLu; an old regret who still haunted her. She closed her eyes. For some reason, aspirin came to mind. It would help with the constant aches from all the walking and riding. She ran to the aisle and selected a variety of drugs, stuffing what would fit into the coloring book pack.
She dashed back to the entrance, thinking how to load poor Willow. Twila sat on the horse with her head cocked to one side, eyes opened a slit, muttering jibberish in a trance-like state.
“It’s all right,” Scarlett uttered, slashing open the Planter’s box. Something was wrong. But she wasn’t leaving until she secured the supplies. Hmm, the cans of nuts definitely were not going to fit. She ripped off the lids and poured the nuts into one of the Beauty and the Beast packs. The nuts were actually the perfect food source, providing the protein they needed.
She laid out one of the new tarps on the front entrance’s sidewalk. Everything that hadn’t fit in the packs she tossed in the center of the tarp, except for her shoes, fishing rod, and tire iron. While tying the tarp’s ends together with a cord, she finally realized what Twila was mumbling. Scarlett’s heart thudded.
In an eerie monotone voice just above a whisper, Twila said, “I Love Chuck E. Cheese. We’re having a pizza party at Chuck E. Cheese. Meet us at Chuck E. Cheese.”
What on Earth is she talking about? Scarlett frowned and slipped the tire iron into the saddle’s easy access slot. She stripped the fishing rod of its packaging and slipped it next to the tire iron. Shit! There wasn’t room to lug her new shoes. She quickly pulled on the hightops, only lacing a few of the eyelets, and then wrapped the shoe strings tightly around the top.
She stuffed the tarp of supplies into the empty pack from the barn, which she had saved. Now for the tricky part. Getting on the horse without Twila’s help. Scarlett led Willow to a concrete-like trash bin. She stood on it while arranging the pack in front of Twila and draped it around the girl’s waist, letting it sit on Willow. She strapped on the cumbersome ALICE pack, slung the three Beauty and the Beast backpacks over her shoulders and then used the trash bin to mount the mare without toppling over.
Willow whinnied and pranced nervously. Was it too much weight for the old mare? Scarlett held Twila securely between her arms when Twila’s Chuck E. Cheese mantra turned into a sinister rant. Repeating it. Faster. Louder. Goosebumps prickled Scarlett’s skin.
“Leave!” Had it been Twila or her elusive sixth sense? She had planned on staying the night where they had camped during the day. No! Not safe. A wave of dizziness took hold, followed by disorientation. Paralysis. In a sudden listless state, her mind drifted away. Mustering all her mental powers, she pushed back. An invisible force attempted to drain the lifeforce out of her head. A burst of energy shot through her. The invisible force’s grip faltered, giving her the second she needed to snap out of it. The invisible force burst open, and a swarm of blackbirds spewed out of a volcano-like image. Their lava-red eyes searching for Twila and her.
“Willow, take us to safety,” Scarlett croaked, gently nudging her heels into her flanks. The mare swayed her head from side to side as if determining the best direction and then trotted in the opposite direction Scarlett would have gone. Willow went right into the town. The river was no longer safe.
Cloppity-clop, cloppity-clop. With only the light of the moon reflecting off the town’s littered lawns, they passed house after house. Cloppity-clop, they passed a shopping center full of abandoned vehicles. Cloppity-clop, Cloppity-clop was all she heard in an alpha state of consciousness. No energy, no fear, no thoughts, only a numb state of existence. It was the only thing keeping her sane . . .
***
Scarlett sat under the bridge overpass and watched Willow drink from the river while Twila searched for pebbles along the river’s bank. They had stopped there after sunrise for a few hours of much-needed sleep. Try as she might, she couldn’t remember much of last night’s dreamy horseback escape through town. Escaping from what, she couldn’t say. Something intangible.
She rolled up the tent, contemplating their impossible quest. She needed to know where they were. Go north. Go south. Go east. Jeez Louise. What an idiot for dragging a child on this impossible journey. At the rate they were going, it would take a year to get to Texas. The roadsign by the bridge read SAN JOAQUIN RIVER. She didn’t know much about the river, other than it was a rather long river in Central California. And there was a large town ahead. Fresno—it came to her out of the blue. So they must be close to Interstate 99. All they had to do was go east.
“Look!” Twila held out a clear, river-washed rock. “Magical quartz crystal. It’s for you, Mommy.”
Scarlett smiled, glad Twila’s reticent behavior had finally gone. It was time for another two- or three-day break. Twila hadn’t been able to work out her issues with her drawings or imaginary friends. No playtime was detrimental to Twila’s well being. She recalled the Silver Lady saying something about the importance of a normal childhood. What kind of normal life is this? She made up her mind. They’d follow this road toward the town and search for I-99 despite the hordes. Hordes might actually be a nice respite compared to the inexplicable force shadowing them. However, they’d rest a few days at the first secluded house they came to.
Relieved she had made the impulsive decision, she kissed Twila on the cheek, smoothing out the girl’s long, golden-honey hair. She had meant to grab a pair of scissors at the general store. Afterall, Twila was to masquerade as a boy.
“Remember the warning ca-caw sound we practiced?” Every day Scarlett taught her something about survival.
Twila’s prized finds fell to the ground; her face went white.
“Shhh, mommy, the bad people are trying to find us.” The words sounded eerie coming from a child.
A blast of energy exploded into Scarlett’s forehead. Probing? That’s it; it feels like someone’s invading my mind.
“Disguise your thoughts!” An urgent voice from the Silver Lady penetrated her mind.
“Mommy!” Twila shrieked. “Think of a faraway place. They’re close.”
Tw
ila’s tone gave her the heebie-jeebies. Quickly, she closed her eyes and envisioned a peaceful ocean. The probing continued, pulsating her frontal lobes with currents of electricity piercing into her brain. As if in retaliation, her peaceful ocean transformed into a turbulent mass of raging waves and storm clouds with jagged bolts of lightning illuminating the raging waves.
***
Scarlett had no idea how long she had been in that meditative state. When she awoke, the probing was gone. And, so was Twila. Willow pranced around nervously under the bridge and chewed on a patch of new grass. All of their supplies were there, everything except for Twila. She reached for the binoculars still around her neck and then scanned the horizon in every direction. No one. She focused in on a parked car several yards from the bridge. She swore she had seen movement? The car door opened. Twila!
Scarlett ran. She was in tears when she reached the child. Instead of scolding her, they walked briskly back to the bridge.
“They’re gone,” Twila whispered.
Scarlett’s heart skipped a beat. “Who?” was all she could say.
“The bad people.”
Scarlett didn’t say anything. She was beside herself. It was all so unbelievably bizarre.
“Mommy, you have to try harder. They saw us. Don’t you remember anything the Silver Lady said? Sometimes the Ancient Bloodlines can see our thoughts. I pretended we were driving to Chuck E. Cheese,” Twila chastised.
Funny, Scarlett should have been the one doing the scolding. She let it pass. What if the child was right? Twila seemed to comprehend all of this so easily. To Scarlett the actual existence of the Silver Lady was only an illusion she clung to, giving her the strength and courage to keep going day after day. The things the mystical woman had spoken of were beyond her belief system. Then again, the existence of creepers had been incomprehensible. And now all too real. She supposed there must be some truth to what the Silver Lady had said. “There’s a bit of truth in everything. You just have to find it,” Aunt Marge used to say. Strangely, she felt truth resonating in her soul. She had felt the probing. That part was real.
The Hunger's Howl Page 13