The Morgan Strain Series (Book 2): Point of Proximity

by Max Lockwood

  “I’m sure he’ll be okay,” Victoria said. “We overpower them with numbers. They have incentive to keep us happy. My guess is that this was just a warning to everyone that they have the means to deal with troublemakers. They’ll let him out soon or they’ll have a mob of angry and concerned people on their hands.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “I really do. I suggest you rest. We’ve all been through a lot during the past few days. I think I’m going to do some asanas if anyone would like to join me. I’m a certified yoga instructor, so I can show you some poses that will make you feel like you were never sitting in the back of a cramped truck.”

  Natalia smiled. Of course the optimistic, ethereal woman was a yoga instructor.

  “Maybe later,” Natalia said. “I’d just like to be alone right now.”

  “Sure,” Victoria said kindly, crawling down from her bunk. “I’ll wake you up if I hear anything about Will. I’m giving out positive vibes for you guys.”

  “Thanks,” Natalia replied, hoping that she’d hear some good news soon.

  Natalia closed her eyes, trying to imagine herself next to Will. She wasn’t exactly sure what a good vibe was, but she tried to let all the good feelings she had about him fill her mind. It was all she could do to help him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Are you ready?” Alec asked Elaina as they approached the parking lot of the strip mall.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be. What exactly are we looking for?”

  “Check the door handles. If you can find a car that’s already unlocked, that will make our job a lot easier. If we can quickly find a good vehicle, I’ll need you to hold the flashlight while I hotwire the car.”

  “Sounds good. Should we test them to see if they have enough gas to get us far away from here?”

  “I don’t know if we have time for that,” Alec said, looking around. “With all this smoke in the air, the visibility isn’t as good as I hoped. Let’s get in and get out.”

  “Deal,” Elaina responded, walking in the opposite direction as Alec. She walked briskly through the parking lot, pulling every door handle on a vehicle before moving on. A few times, she spotted dead bodies in the passenger seats, in various stages of decomposition. She hoped that the car they chose was empty—she didn’t feel like washing the slime of a corpse off her seat.

  As she pulled door handles, she walked lightly on her feet and listened carefully for noises that weren’t created by her or Alec. Small explosions popped up in the distance every once in a while and Elaina cringed, knowing they were likely gas stations going up in flame. She had a bad feeling that there would be no gas left by the time they found a car. Worse still, she worried that the stations would blow up while they were trying to fuel up for their escape.

  Every now and then, Elaina heard soft rustlings in the trees. She didn’t know if it was just her imagination getting to her, or if there was something out there. The night was eerily still and any slight sound made her jump.

  She hated the fact that her imagination was overpowering her rational mind. She used logic and science to make sense of the world around her. Usually, if she heard a noise in the distance, she would be able to tell the source of the noise from simply observing her surroundings. Now, when she heard a noise from far away, terrible images of crumbling men and women clawing at her filled her mind, to the point where it was getting difficult to focus on anything else.

  Finally, Elaina pulled a driver’s side handle and much to her surprise, it opened. She peeked her head inside of the sedan to check for any hidden dangers, but it was nearly empty. A folder full of receipts in the passenger’s seat suggested that the driver was on their way to have their taxes done by the accounting firm in the strip mall when they abandoned their vehicle.

  “Alec,” she called, trying not to shout any louder than absolutely necessary. “I’ve got something.”

  She listened as his quick strides came closer. “Awesome. Let’s hope I can get it started quickly.”

  “No need,” she said, reaching into the car. “The keys are still in the ignition.”

  A smile spread out over Alec’s face. “That just made my life so much easier. Let’s get out of here.”

  Elaina scrambled to the passenger’s seat and buckled her seatbelt. Alec turned the keys in the ignition and adjusted his mirrors.

  “Did you hear that?” he asked, rolling down the window.

  “That’s not the engine backfiring, is it?” Elaina groaned. She didn’t want to have to continue her search for a suitable vehicle.

  “No, no, the car is fine,” he replied quietly. He quickly turned the car off and listened.

  Then, Elaina heard two pows from somewhere nearby.

  “Those are gunshots,” Alec said with absolute certainty.

  “Where are they coming from?”

  “It sounds like somewhere up high. Like a sniper, almost,” he said, turning the keys in the ignition once again. He peeled out of the parking lot and sped down the street.

  “There’s hardly any gas left in the tank and I don’t know if we’re going to find a gas station for a while. We need to fill up before we leave town. Keep your eyes open for a gas station.”

  “I’ve seen a few, but they’ve all been on fire,” Elaina said frantically.

  “That’s okay,” Alec said, his voice smooth and calm. “Just let me know if you see a functioning one. We don’t have a lot of options here if someone is armed.”

  “You don’t think they were shooting at us, do you?” she asked as she scanned the streets in front of her.

  “I didn’t see anyone else for them to be shooting at, did you? Either we have good guys who are shooting at infected people, or we have infected people who have gotten a hold of guns. Which do you think it is?”

  Elaina feared she knew the answer to that question. No one in their right mind would stay in a town once the infection hit, especially after seeing what happened to Seattle.

  “There!” Elaina screamed as Alec turned down street. “I think that’s a gas station over there.”

  “Good eye,” he said, making the tires squeal as he made a sharp turn. He jumped out and put the nozzle to the gas tank. He squeezed the handle, but nothing came out. He pulled the hose from the other pump around and tried it, but it was also out of order.

  “I bet someone turned it off with the emergency shut off button. I’m going to have to go inside and turn it back on. Stay here and start filling the car if it turns back on.”

  “Okay,” Elaina said, her heart pounding. She could still hear gunshots in the distance and wondered if they would be able to leave town before they found out where they were coming from.

  “Give it a try, Lainey,” Alec shouted from inside the store. She squeezed the handle, but nothing came out.

  “There’s nothing in here,” she said, dropping the nozzle. It hit the ground with a crash, but not a drop of gasoline came out.

  “It’s dry,” Alec concluded. “In a crisis, people all fill up at once. This place probably had the cheapest gas when the time to evacuate came. Let’s try another.”

  Elaina hopped back in the car, growing more anxious by the minute. Alec sped down the road before peeling into a new gas station that Elaina hadn’t even spotted yet. She braced herself with one hand on the roof and the other on the door, holding on as the car spun wildly.

  When Alec stopped the car, he had a wicked grin on his face. When he saw Elaina’s terrified expression, he burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

  “Lighten up, Lainey,” he teased, getting out of the car.

  Her heart was pounding and adrenaline coursed through her veins. She wasn’t one for thrill rides and the twinkle in Alec’s eye told her that there would be more of that to come.

  “This one isn’t working either. I’ll try turning the pump back on. Hold tight.”

  “Wait,” Elaina said. “I think I just heard the shots again.”

  “Then let’s make this quick. Hol
d onto the pump and I’ll give you a shout when I have it up and running.”

  Elaina got out of the car and took the nozzle from Alec’s hands. She watched as he sprinted into the store and disappeared from her sight.

  She counted in her head, trying to predict how many seconds it would take for him to find the turn on for the pump. She took a deep breath and counted. When she got to ten, she exhaled the same number of beats.

  It was on her second inhale that hands appeared from nowhere and snatched her. One arm wrapped around her waist and the other grasped her throat. She tried to scream, but there was too much pressure on her windpipe to get enough air. Her strangled cry was lost in the night.

  Then she saw Alec appear from inside the store, being marched outside by two men. He gave her an apologetic look as the barrel of a gun made an indentation in the side of his cheek.

  It seemed strange to Elaina that the men didn’t show any signs of the virus, but were still acting violently. The man holding onto her was gripping her neck so tightly she was starting to feel faint.

  “Hey,” Alec shouted. “Her face is turning blue. Relax, will you?”

  The man released his hand, now digging his fingertips into Elaina’s arms. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your girlfriend.”

  “He’s not—” Elaina started before realizing that the point was irrelevant. “Are you in trouble?” she asked the men softly, hoping they would understand her euphemism. “If you’re not feeling well, I might be able to help you.”

  Almost in unison, the men started cackling. “Are you asking if we’re infected?” the man holding Elaina asked. He smelled of sweat and chewing tobacco, and his close proximity was making Elaina queasy.

  “We’re not infected,” Alec said calmly, trying to clear up what must have been a misunderstanding.

  “Of course you’re not,” Elaina’s captor said. The other two men, dressed in jeans, boots, and t-shirts sniggered.

  “What do you mean?” Alec asked, frowning.

  “I recognized her the moment we saw you two take that car,” the man holding the gun to Alec’s face said. “Wouldn’t it be wild if the girl who released the virus actually came down with the illness?” he whooped.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elaina stuttered, her body suddenly feeling heavy and sluggish. Her heart pounded.

  “I think you do. You’ve been all over the news for quite some time. We’ve been following your story. There were reports that you were on the run with a man and some kids. I reckon we caught the man, but what did you do with the kids?”

  Elaina opened her mouth to speak, but Alec shook his head.

  “Let her speak,” the sweaty man ordered. “Where are the kids?”

  “I don’t know,” she squeaked.

  “Probably infected them,” the gun-toting man answered.

  “Please let us go,” she said. “I didn’t release the virus and we aren’t hurting anyone.”

  “Not a chance, sweetheart. You may have outsmarted the Washington National Guard and the United States Army, but you won’t fool us. Let’s find a better place to talk. Run away from us now, and we’ll shoot you in the head. That’s a promise.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  After a night of restless sleep, Natalia woke up in a terrible mood. No one had given her an update on Will like she’d requested. No one had seen or heard from him since he was placed in special custody. That meant that he had been forced to spend the night in what she assumed was a coat closet.

  She even took Victoria up on her offer to help her through some guided meditation to calm her down. It worked for a little while, but then the feelings of anger returned. It was an impossible task to clear her mind while different scenarios where Will was in danger kept popping to the forefront.

  Thankfully, they had heard an announcement over the loud speaker that all residents of the militarized town were required to have medical checks before returning to their bunks. While she wasn’t thrilled at the idea of submitting to being poked and prodded by some stranger, it would mean that she’d have the opportunity to talk to other people. Plus, if everyone was required to have a medical check, then Will would be no exception.

  After a night of being shut in a room with other women, Natalia was ready to stretch her legs and find out more about the town. The community center they were staying in was small, but she wanted to do some exploring. The soldiers made it seem like they were giving their captives a vacation resort experience, so she wanted to find out if they were being truthful or just pumping them full of lies to advance their agenda, whatever it may be.

  When she opened the door to go to the restroom in the morning, Natalia found a barricade in the hallway between the men’s and women’s side of the building. She had planned to peek over to the other side to see if she could get in contact with Will, but there were cement blocks in the way now. She proceeded to the restroom to wash up, an uneasy feeling in the bottom of her stomach.

  Once she returned to the room, Natalia waited for further instructions from the soldiers. Since the barricades were put up, there was nowhere for her to go. She felt trapped.

  Assuming they’d be allowed to go back to the gymnasium for meals, she waited for a soldier to escort them through the halls. Instead, a plate with fruit and pastries was placed on a metal locker in the corner of the room. A plastic cooler filled with bottles of juice and water was dropped on the floor. Then, without any further explanation, the soldier was gone.

  While the other women eagerly ate their breakfast, Natalia was hesitant. She seemed like the only one who wasn’t pleased by the generosity of the soldiers for bringing them a better meal than most had seen in weeks. Instead, she was outraged that they were forced to stay in their bunks. Once the others had taken their pick of the spread, Natalia grabbed an apple and a cheese Danish and ate them while sulking on her mattress.

  After breakfast, the short female soldier entered the room with a clipboard and read off the names of the mother and daughter. They quietly shuffled toward the door without saying a word. When the door closed behind them, Naomi turned to Natalia and Victoria’s bunk.

  “They’re pretty quiet, aren’t they? Do you get the feeling that they want nothing to do with us?”

  “I’m sure they’re fine people,” Victoria said, always the peacemaker. “I imagine it’s been hard for that woman to parent in a crisis like this. I don’t have kids, and in a time like this, I’m so thankful that I never became a parent. It’s been difficult enough to keep myself alive. It must be so stressful to have to take care of someone else.”

  “Yeah,” Naomi agreed. “I know that if my parents were still alive, they would be next to me at all hours of the day. They would put themselves in harm’s way, just to make sure I was safe.”

  “I think any parent would do that in this situation. My parents live in New Jersey, and when the news about the virus broke, they offered to come over here to help me move away from it. Of course, I refused, but they would do whatever they could if they were in the position to help.”

  Naomi nodded. “Parents just don’t abandon their kids if they can help it.”

  Natalia had nothing to add to the conversation. She couldn’t agree with the girls because their experiences were so different from hers. She also didn’t want to give them her complete history. Not only did she want to remain somewhat anonymous, she couldn’t stand the pain of having been abandoned by her father. He had all the resources one could need, yet he ran away from his parental responsibilities in her moment of need.

  “What do you guys think the barricades in the hallway are about?” Natalia asked, trying to change the subject.

  “No clue,” Victoria said.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s for our protection,” Naomi replied. “Think about it, they probably don’t want to keep a guard on duty all night, just to make sure that a man doesn’t try to enter the women’s dorm.”

  “You really think that?” Natalia questioned, screwing u
p her face. She felt like the girl was accusing people like Will of being a threat. “We’re all in the same boat, here. Everyone just wants to survive.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a few bad experiences out there,” Naomi said darkly. “I like being in a room with a few other women. It makes me feel a lot safer than if I were sleeping in a gym full of a bunch of strangers.”

  “I guess,” Natalia said, not completely agreeing with Naomi. She had also suffered bad experiences with being taken advantage of by strangers, but, in general, felt safest when she was in a bigger group. Not to mention, in a time where isolation could reduce the spread of information, she wanted to have as many ears out as possible.

  Shortly after the mother and daughter left, Naomi was called next. She waved goodbye to the others and followed the soldier to her medical check-up.

  “I get the feeling you don’t have the same viewpoint on all of this as Naomi does,” Victoria said, smiling.

  “To be perfectly honest, I think she’s a little naïve,” Natalia replied. “I know we’re probably the same age, but she doesn’t seem to be even remotely skeptical of what’s happening here.”

  “I think different experiences shape the way we see our current realities,” Victoria mused. “Is there something from your past that gives you your unique viewpoint?”

  Natalia bit her lip. She felt like she could trust Victoria out of anyone there, but she still didn’t want to divulge too much information.

  “I was picked up by the military, the real military, not too long ago. At the time, I felt like Naomi does now. I was thankful to be saved and I thought I was home free.”

  “But clearly, something happened.”

  “Long story short, the base was attacked by the infected. There were lots of solders, but there were more infected. They fought for a while, but then were ordered to run for it. All the high-ranking officials hopped into their armored cars and took off, leaving the people they were caring for behind. We’re lucky we made it out of there alive.”