The shotgun-toting delinquent, clearly not as distracted as they thought, had shot Brent in the back as they ran towards the diner. Sarah and Johnny managed to make it into the alleyway but Johnny had stumbled and fallen. His last words to Sarah had been to tell her to keep running.
His death was the result of the second shot I had heard while retrieving the revolver.
“I made it out the back and hid behind a dumpster,” Sarah said. “Then when he stopped and started going through the stuff in the car out back, I snuck back and tried the door. That’s when you found me.”
There was an old radio in the kitchen. Luke and I had never turned it on, but after hearing Sarah’s story, he checked it and found the batteries still worked. We moved the station bar around for a while, looking for anything other than static, but found ourselves getting no place fast.
“Maybe the place ... this dragon safe place, has been taken out by the Chinese already?” Luke said.
“Just a little bit longer,” I said, moving on to another station frequency. “It was a church retreat, right? Maybe they were listening to AM.”
“Nobody listens to AM radio, man,” Luke said, looking at me incredulously.
“My foster mother did, on Thursday evenings, AM-1107 used to have a gospel hour.”
“Alright, we can try it if you want.”
I pushed the button that switched the radio from FM to AM and began slowly cycling through the frequencies. Nothing. I cycled through the dials twice and was ready to give up.
“Remember it didn’t play all the time. It came on about every five minutes,” she said. “Don’t give up yet.”
I dialed through again three times, ignoring Luke’s sighs. On the third time, the radio beeped as I cycled through.
“Go back!” yelled Luke and Sarah in perfect unison.
We had found it. The broadcast was just as Sarah had described – a sequence of long and short beeps. I knew nothing about Morse code and although Luke had been a Scout he didn’t have a clue either. There was no way we could decipher it, so we simply accepted that the message would be largely the same as Sarah had relayed it to us. For now, that was good enough.
Luke and I sat down at a table in the dining room while an exhausted Sarah slept fitfully in the kitchen.
“We have to go there, right?”
“Sure, maybe … I’m not sure. You do realize New Hampshire is two states away? And we don’t have even a rough idea of where in the state it might be.”
“Do we have a choice? Do you want to wait here for the Chinese ground troops as we run out of food?”
“No – it’s just – it might really suck is all.”
“Oh, it’s going to suck alright,” I replied. “Especially as we’ll have to walk it.”
“What! Why?”
“I think the Chinese are looking for moving vehicles, probably with satellites or something. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the first moving vehicle we’ve seen in days shows up a few minutes before a Chinese chopper. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want to be driving if it’s a possibility we’ll end up like…” I waved vaguely in the direction of the street.
Luke grimaced.
“It could have been a coincidence,” he said quietly.
“Do you want to risk it?” I asked.
“Fine, we walk. We’re gonna need some warmer clothes though,” he said, picking at his t-shirt.
“Yep, our first stop’s gonna be Walmart. Hopefully it’s as well stocked as the grocery store was. Now, what about this ‘dragon’ in the message? Maybe we can work it out and find it on a map.”
“Okay, I’ll think on it,” he said. “We should be able to pick up a map or an atlas at Walmart.”
Luke packed up food to take with us on the road while I carried a linen tablecloth from the diner’s storeroom and went out to the alley. Sarah’s friend Johnny was face down on the cold, hard concrete near the entrance.
It was the third dead body I’d seen in a week and it didn’t get any easier. In fact, this was worse. Much worse. As upsetting as it was seeing the lifeless bodies of people I loved, this was just a poor little kid. The waste of innocent life hit me hard.
Tears stung my eyes as I knelt and draped the tablecloth over him. I sat back on my haunches and took a deep breath, cursing the Chinese and the dumb cruelty of the looters.
I put my hand gently on the shape of his head. I was in no mood to say a prayer.
“Rest in peace, buddy,” I said hoarsely, before heading back inside.
Part Two: We Hit the Road
11
Although we dressed as warmly as we could, we didn’t end up taking a lot of food with us when we left Walt’s Diner. We had decided that travelling light was preferable to lugging overladen bags. Besides, Sarah was suddenly reluctant to leave the warmth and safety of the diner even though it was her who initially encouraged us to head for New Hampshire. Carrying a heavy pack would only make the journey worse for her.
I remember the hard, practical side of me thinking it might be better to leave her behind, to just slip away while she slept ... but I could never suggest that course of action. It wasn’t right, and I knew it only crossed my mind because I was annoyed at the delay.
Luke played the Barbara card and managed to convince Sarah that it was for the best.
“Its what Barb would want.”
“We will we go look for her, right?” Sarah asked, as we got set to leave.
“Sure,” Luke said, before meeting my eye. “I’m pretty sure I know which trailer park it is.”
We hadn’t discussed it, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Besides, I wanted to make up for the horrible thought I’d had about leaving Sarah behind.
The walk to Walmart took us past the shredded remains of the red pickup. We steered Sarah to the far side of the street and Luke and I walked between her and the wreckage to obstruct her view. It was hard not to look at the remains of the truck, which had been literally shredded by the high caliber rounds.
“I think I see something, keep going,” Luke said, before darting across the road to the wreck.
“Watch it, there’s a ton of glass and sharp metal,” I called, wondering what he had spied as I gently propelled Sarah onward.
“Yep,” he said.
I watched over my shoulder as he ran to the other sidewalk and the far reaches of the debris and bent over. To my surprise he stood and held up one of the looter’s shotguns triumphantly. Miraculously, it appeared undamaged.
“It’s a pump action 20-gauge,” he said, as he caught up with us and handed it to me. “Must have been thrown clear, it barely has a scratch on it. My dad and I used a gun just like this for duck hunting last year. I’m not going to dig through that mess for extra ammo though; hopefully we can find some at Walmart.”
“I wouldn’t mind an extra box of bullets for my .38, too,” I said, handing it back before looking up and down the street. “Come on, let’s get going.”
“Am I going to get a gun, too?” Sarah asked, looking frightened by the prospect.
“No, guns are dangerous,” I replied, thinking back to the first time I had fired one, hitting the sick looter in the leg. “Luke and I will be able to protect you just fine. You don’t need a weapon.”
We continued down Main Street toward Walmart. It was a walk of about four blocks from the wrecked pickup. The wind picked up, its cutting chill piercing right through my coat and the sweatshirt I wore underneath. I hoped that I could find a more heavy-duty jacket at Walmart, perhaps one designed for ski trips or Arctic conditions.
By the time we reached the end of Main, I was starting to second-guess my decision to not take the car. Would it be worse dying in a shriek of twisting metal and hot raining lead or freezing to death in a ditch on the way to New Hampshire?
One look at Highway 102 validated the decision. While in town, the streets had been relatively clear of vehicles, but the highway was absolutely littered with them. It looked li
ke anybody that could drive had tried to escape town and been caught up in the largest traffic jam in history. There was no way we would find a clear path for a vehicle of our own.
“Damn ...” Luke said, shaking his head. I waited for him to continue his thought, but he lapsed into silence. I wondered if, like me, he was pondering how many had succumbed to the illness and died in their cars as they tried to escape.
“I guess there’s no need to look both ways before crossing,” I said, starting across the highway toward Walmart’s parking lot. I meant to be funny, but it just came out weak.
“What if there are more bad people like Bradley, the guy who had us in the truck?” Sarah asked, grabbing my arm from behind. “They could be waiting for us in Walmart ... it’s a perfect place to trap people.”
“There could be bad people any place,” I said, trying to sound reassuring. I could tell that the poor girl was on the edge of breaking into tears again. “We need to get supplies from this place or we can’t head to the safe haven. It’s a risk we’re going to have to take.”
“Besides, if anybody tries to hurt you, they’ve got another thing comin’,” Luke said, holding up his shotgun. I felt a ping of dismay as I recalled how useless the kid’s shotgun had proven to be against the helicopter.
The glass of the large front door had been smashed in. We stopped at the threshold and I kept my hand on the gun in my pocket as we surveyed the scene. We could tell at once that some looting had been done here. Items were scattered all over the floor and in places, the shelves had been pushed over. Still, it seemed to be well-stocked.
I was creeped out that day and, even now, I still haven’t gotten used to empty stores; they are like haunted houses, places that once bustled with people on errands and day-to-day tasks. Remnants of the world that was.
I stepped through the smashed opening, careful not to cut myself on the glass around the edges and waved the others through. Once inside, we stopped to listen for anything that might indicate we weren’t alone in the dark store.
“I think it’s safe. Want to split up, or stick together?” I whispered. That’s the other thing, even though you know these places are empty, you always feel the impulse to stay quiet.
“Together for now,” Luke said, looking as spooked as I felt. “It might take us a bit longer, but I don’t think Sarah should be out of sight. We’re not in a hurry and I don’t know about you, but I’m happy to be out of the wind for a while.”
“Yep. Okay, where should we start?”
“Girls’ clothing,” he said, nodding toward Sarah. “She’s by far the most under-dressed of us for this weather.”
“Girls’ clothing it is,” I said. “After that, some warmer clothes for us and a trip to the camping section might be in order.”
It didn’t take us long to get Sarah bundled up with some good winter clothing, including a pair of galoshes, some extra pants and thermal shirts. We put them in a new backpack for her. She was mostly quiet, nodding her head or shaking it as we suggested various items of clothing to her.
Looking back, it’s easy to see that she was still in shock from what she had seen, heck, from everything that had happened to her. In reality we were probably all in shock, but I guess my history was helping me to adapt more readily than would otherwise be the case. As for Luke, well, apart from the slight crack in his voice when he mentioned his parents, he seemed to have weathered the storm remarkably well. I figured he was just made of sterner stuff than most.
I know better now. Luke wasn’t unaffected, it’s just that he did a good job of hiding it, and the things I’ve seen him do since convince me has the heart of a hero. It sounds corny, but I’m grateful we found each other after the Flu. I’m not sure that either of us would still be here if we hadn’t.
I grabbed a couple extra pairs of wool socks and a quilted parka for myself. Other than that, I didn’t take too long gathering extra clothing, as I already had some good warm clothing in my pack.
Luke grabbed a few pairs of ‘Long Johns,’ as he liked to call thermal underwear, and at his insistence I packed a pair for myself as well.
“You never know,” he said. “These Long Johns could save your life someday.”
After gathering our clothing, we headed to the back of the store to look at camping gear. This part of the store had been more thoroughly picked over, but I still hoped to find a tent that was light enough for one of us to carry. I didn’t relish the idea of sleeping exposed to the elements in the New England winter if we couldn’t find a house.
While I looked for a tent, Luke went over to sporting goods, the next section over, to look for ammunition. I sent Sarah into the next aisle to look for sleeping bags.
Her scream caught me completely off guard.
12
Tearing around the corner with my revolver in my hand, I almost collided with Sarah as she backed up, still shrieking. A boy and girl about my age were standing at the far end of the aisle, each holding a bow with an arrow nocked to the string.
Both were aiming at me.
I shoved Sarah behind me and stepped forward, trying to appear much braver than I felt, with the .38 raised.
“I was just trying to ask her name,” the boy said in a clipped accent, as he eyed my handgun warily.
“Perhaps we should ask yours?” Luke’s question from behind them was punctuated by the sound of the shotgun’s pump racking. “Drop the bows and we’ll have a friendly chat.”
A look of frustration crossed the boy’s face. He was clearly upset at having been outmaneuvered, but his arrow stayed unwaveringly trained on me. It was the girl, who shared the same proud features and blonde hair as him, who lowered her weapon.
He glanced at her and she nodded.
“We don’t have a choice.”
The boy slowly lowered his bow.
“Good move,” said Luke. “Now un-knock the arrows and put your bows on the floor.”
They followed the order, the boy looking more and more uncomfortable at the turn of events. I couldn’t blame him, if the situation had been reversed and I had the guns of strangers trained on me I would have been terrified.
The boy eyed us defiantly as Luke skirted them and joined Sarah and I. The girl simply smiled and said, “Well, this is awkward isn’t it?”
That’s how we met Ben and Brooke.
Ben and Brooke are twins, both tall, good looking and blonde. Although they aren’t identical (I guess that’s obvious, how could they be when one’s a guy and the other’s a girl?), they do look alike. They also tend to think alike. Not only that, they are English, having come to the United States to spend Christmas with their maternal grandparents. They sure picked the wrong year to take that holiday.
Tension was thick there in the Walmart at that first meeting and things could have ended up very differently had the twins, especially Brooke, not been so level-headed.
“You chaps look a little tense, can we offer you something to eat?” said Brooke.
“Sure, why not,” said Luke, immediately and lowered his gun, smiling goofily at the pretty English girl.
I looked at him incredulously.
“What?” He said defensively. “They’re obviously decent people.”
I shook my head with a grin and pocketed my own weapon.
The twins, Ben still looking a little leery of us, took us back to their ‘lair’, the employee break room. They did their best to make us feel welcome and we shared a cold meal and spoke of our experiences.
Their grandparents had succumbed to the Flu quickly and the twins had stayed in their home as long as they could before hunger had forced them to leave.
While they were realists, they were still hopeful that the rest of the world wouldn’t just let the ‘bloody’ Chinese get away with it and that, at some point, they would be reunited with their parents.
As soon as we mentioned travelling to the safe haven we had heard about, they wanted in. Ben even had a solution to the walking problem: bicycles. Walmart ha
d a huge range of bicycles.
“Do we have any idea where this place is located?” asked Ben after we finished picking out bikes.
“Not really, have you remembered anything else about the message, Sarah?” I asked, turning to her.
“Not really,” she replied. “Barbara just kept talking about the ‘dragon’ clue. She said we would look for it when we got to New Hampshire. That’s all I can remember ... wait! There was something about the dragon being on a white mountain!”
“Dragon on a white mountain? Sounds like something from The Hobbit,” said Brooke.
“There’s a White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire!” Luke said and grabbed the atlas he had found in the book section of the store. We all stood up and hovered over the table as he leafed through the pages until he found New Hampshire. “See? It’s huge though. It almost cuts the state in half. Unless we have more details, it’ll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”
“Well done, Luke, that’s a start,” I said. “Unless someone has a better idea of where to go or what to do, I vote that we should head there. Maybe there’ll be other travelers. Surely we can’t be the only ones that heard the message.”
“Neither of you happen to be good with Morse code, do you?” Luke asked, glancing back at the twins. They shook their heads.
“Alright then,” I said. “Let’s find some baskets for these bikes. That way we can carry more supplies. I think we should leave in the morning and head north. Agreed?”
No one dissented.
“We should avoid big cities if we want to avoid the Chinese army,” said Brooke, and we all agreed.
“It looks like we can avoid Woonsocket,” Luke said, after turning the atlas back to a map of Rhode Island. Woonsocket was the nearest ‘city’. It was much bigger than Fort Carter but would barely rate as a city in some of the other states. He flipped to the Massachusetts page. “It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to skirt around Worcester as easily though.”
With a little over two hundred thousand people, Worcester was a real city, the second largest in New England after Boston.
America Falls (Book 1): Hell Week Page 6