“Anything ending in ‘cillin’, aspirin, or…just take them all,” she answered.
Zach’s glasses had gotten worse. One of the lenses was cracked, and he couldn’t see much out of it. The tape was not doing a good job of holding it together. When he found a pair of glasses in one of the bedrooms with a prescription close to his, he was ecstatic.
They met back up in the kitchen and searched the cupboards. There were a few cans of beans, beef stock and spices.
“Great,” said Zach, “more beans.”
Ayesha found a walk-in pantry and used her flashlight to illuminate the shelving inside. “Check this out,” she said.
Zach came over to look. “Jackpot!”
The shelves were filled with cans of fruits, vegetables, stews and soups. There were also boxes of cereal, a large bag of oatmeal, crackers and cookies.
They kept checking the window to see if the feral dogs had left. Once, when they didn’t see or hear them, they took a step out the back door. However, the dogs instantly appeared, and Zach and Ayesha retreated back inside. They decided to stay the night.
Zach found a small camping propane stove and a couple of small propane tanks. They brought them into the laundry room so they would have some heat that night. They piled as many blankets as they could find and made themselves a nest on the floor. With Roxie lying between them, they enjoyed a warm sleep.
The next morning, they got up and ate. There was no running water, so they had to pee in the corner of the garage.
The sun came up, and the temperature rose, and much of the snow was reverting to water. Zach stepped outside and looked into the backyard. From between two shrubs, the Rottweiler stepped forward and glared at him. Zach went back inside and closed the door.
“Are they still out there?” asked Ayesha.
“Yes, they are.”
“What are we going to do?”
“There’s a car in the garage,” he suggested with a smirk on his face.
“What!? You can’t drive!”
“How hard can it be?”
When they took the cover off the vehicle in the garage, they discovered a bright pink Volkswagen Beetle. They found keys on a hook in the kitchen. After piling their loot in the back seat beside Roxie, Zach opened the garage door, and started the car.
“It’s not much different from my uncle’s riding lawn mower,” said Zach. “Besides, it’s not that far.” He put the car in drive and plowed through the small drifts in the driveway. Much of the snow had melted, but the slush made the roads slippery.
The car charged out of the garage. Zach turned the wheel hard to the left when they reached the road. The front end of the car veered to the left, but the back end of the car kept going straight. They hit the curb sideways.
“Ahhh!” yelled Ayesha. “Be careful!”
He drove forward towards the parked car in front of them.
“Car!” she yelled, “Don’t hit the car!”
He squinted through his glasses. “I see it.”
“Those aren’t your glasses, are they?”
“No, mine are broken.”
“Those look like girl’s glasses.”
“Yes, and this is a girl’s car, but at least they work…sort of,” he said as he fishtailed down the road.
They drove the few blocks to the museum narrowly missing a few more parked cars and the ditch.
“I feel like I’m on the Tilt-a-Whirl at the Ingerwood Fall Fair!” said Ayesha.
When they pulled into the museum, he was having fun in the little bug, and she was laughing hysterically.
They drove through the parking lot and up to the front of the log cabin.
“There’s Boots!” said Ayesha. “And remember, we still have to find Dora.”
They got out of the car and walked to the cabin. Roxie ran around the cabin sniffing.
Ayesha opened the door to the cabin, and they both stepped inside. The cabin was quiet and empty.
“Where’s Monique?” asked Ayesha.
“I don’t know,” replied Zach.
They looked in the bedrooms, behind the cabin, and walked through the museum. They didn’t see Monique or Olivia. They were gone.
Chapter 33
Joe woke up to a wet tongue on his face and the sound of a harmonica playing. He was laying on his side, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a fire. For a moment, he panicked.
I’m on the train and it’s on fire! Where are my friends? What about the dog? Am I dead? Why do I hear a harmonica?
Then the fire disappeared as a black iron door closed over it with a creak.
Slowly, he started to gain his bearings. Joe realized that the fire was in a wood-stove, and he was lying on a couch. When he tried to sit up, the room began to spin.
He heard Kevin’s voice, “Whoa there, boss. You need to take it easy.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to control the vertigo. “Kevin, is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me. Don’t sit up too fast. Here, have something to drink.”
A water bottle was held up to his lips, and he took a couple of swallows. Some of the water dribbled down his beard. His vision cleared, and he looked around. He was in a tiny one-room cabin with a counter without a faucet, a cot, a couple of chairs, some boxes and the couch he was lying on. The dog was laying on the floor in front of the couch.
“Where am I? How long have I been sleeping?”
Earl stopped playing his harmonica. “You’re in Kansas, and it’s been five years.”
Joe shook his head, trying to clear the fog from his brain. “What? Five years?!”
“Earl, stop it, that’s not funny,” said Kevin. “We’re in a hunting cabin on the Ontario side of the border. You’ve been out for a few hours.”
“I thought it was funny,” Earl wiped his harmonica.
Joe looked around again. “Where are Tank and Camille? And Earl, you made it?”
“Of course, I made it. You can’t get rid of me that easily,” said Earl.
The cabin door opened, and Tank and Camille walked in. Tank was carrying a small animal carcass that no longer had skin by the hind legs.
“What is that?” asked Kevin.
“Dinner!” answered Tank proudly.
“Hey, your awake, Joe,” said Camille. Her dark make-up was smeared across her face.
The fog in his head cleared, but he had a pain in the back of his head. He sat up and stretched. “Okay, I’m awake. Now tell me what happened.”
Kevin sat down beside him. “After we jumped off the train…”
“Thrown.” Camille corrected him, and Tank rolled his eyes.
“Well, I jumped,” added Earl.
“Me too,” said Tank.
“As I was saying…after we exited the train - some of us with Tank’s assistance - a missile or bomb or something hit the train, and exploded. The train had moved far enough away by that point, and we were spared from most of the blast.”
“Not all of us,” said Joe as he felt the large bump on the back of his head.
“Tank picked you up and dragged you into the woods to this hunting cabin.
“Nobody got hurt when they were thrown – make that exited the train?”
“The drifting snow is deep out here, and it cushioned our fall.”
“What about the soldiers on the train, won’t they be hurt?”
Tank answered. “I’m not sure if many of them made it, but in case the attackers had ground troops, we didn’t stick around.”
Joe looked up at Tank. “Do we know who they are?”
“I was army, not air force, so I’m not an expert on jets. What I do know is that I didn’t recognize them, so I’m pretty sure they weren’t American or Canadian.”
Joe bent down to pet the dog, but it snapped at him. “I see the dog’s back to her old self.”
“She followed us back here and then lay down beside you,” said Camille.
“Tank, I thought you said she had a sprained leg?” said Joe.
“No, I said I thought she had a sprain. I also said I wasn’t a vet.”
“Maybe you healed her when you threw her off the train,” suggested Camille.
“What time is it?” Joe asked.
“I don’t know,” said Kevin, “My watch broke when I exited the train.”
“The sun looks like it will set in another couple hours,” said Tank.
“Maybe we should see if we can find another place to sleep. Something a little bigger than this little cabin,” said Joe. “Are there any cities near here?”
“We found a road,” said Camille, “and there was a sign for a place called Maveth that was six kilometres from here.”
“Can we cook my rabbit first?” asked Tank, still holding the carcass by the legs.
They found some pots, plates and cutlery in the little cabin. They went through the supplies in their backpacks to find some suitable side dishes. Kevin said a little prayer and they had a late afternoon dinner of rabbit, Cheetos, canned peas and chocolate bars. The dog ate the rabbit bones.
“Tank,” said Joe as they ate. “You still have your bow and arrows.”
“Yea,” he grumbled. “A train full of military hardware, and what do I get? Nothing. All I have is my little bow and arrow.”
“Awww,” mocked Earl, “The big warrior can’t find his wittle guns?”
They all laughed.
After they ate, they put out the fire in the woodstove and left. The snow was knee-deep in the woods. The road hadn’t been plowed or driven on and wasn’t any better. It took them almost two hours to trudge the six kilometres to Maveth. Tank took the lead. The rest were able to walk in his footprints, with the dog walking behind them. Finally, they reached a sign that read Maveth. The slogan under it read, The cozy little town you won’t want to leave.
The town looked deserted. They made the first footprints on the fresh blanket of snow down the centre of the main street. There were no cars, people or dogs. There were no lights on or smoke. There were a few cars parked on the side of the road, and several businesses had been looted, but most were boarded up. It was dead silent. The sun had just set, and the town was getting darker.
“This is uber-creepy,” whispered Camille.
“I agree,” said Earl just as quietly, “This is really weird.”
“Where is everyone?” asked Kevin in a hushed voice.
Tank had an arrow knocked in his bow, and his head pivoted side to side scanning.
“Why are we whispering?” whispered Joe. He smiled as he was reminded of Blender. “If we whisper loudly, it defeats the point.”
“Smoke!” Tank yelled, pointing down a side street.
Earl, who was walking next to Tank jumped. “Good gravy man, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought we were whispering.”
They looked to where he was pointing and saw a thin trail of smoke coming out of a small red brick chimney. The chimney was on top of a long bungalow with a curved driveway in front of it. There was a car in the driveway, that was covered in snow.
“There are no tracks in or out of the house,” Tank observed.
They walked down the side street towards the house and up the driveway.
Joe stepped up to the front door. “I guess we should knock?”
He knocked three times. No answer. He knocked again. Then heard movement inside. Tank held his bow and arrow aimed at the door.
Joe looked back at him. “Put the bow down, Tank, we aren’t here to rob the place.”
He lowered the bow but still held it at his side.
The door opened, and an old man with barely any hair left, and a face full of wrinkles opened the door.
“Good evening folks, how may I help you?”
“We were wondering where everyone has gone and…”
“Are you here to rob me? Because that would be stupid, seeing that I’m the only person left in this town, and you can have whatever you want.”
“No, we just saw the smoke and…”
“Well, you might as well come in then, but can the oversized Robin Hood here please put his arrow away?”
Tank complied, and they followed the old man inside. He made them take off their boots and coats. “Is that dog with you?” he pointed to the dog sitting outside.
“Come, girl,” Joe called, and the dog trotted in.
“She can come in,” said the old man, “but she has to stay off the furniture. The wife hates dog fur on the couch.”
They sat down in the large living room. The house had a slight odour that Joe couldn’t quite place.
The old man grabbed some matches and lit a candle. “Are you hungry? I can get the wife to whip something up.”
“No, thank you,” said Joe, “We already ate.”
Joe introduced everyone. The man shook all of their hands. “I’m John, and my wife is Gale.”
“Where is Gale?” asked Kevin.
“She’s in her bedroom. She’s been very tired these past few days.”
“Did you want Tank here to take a look at her? He’s not a doctor, but he knows first aid.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary, I’m sure she’s fine. Do any of you want some coffee? I have a French press and some hot water.”
“I would love some coffee,” said Tank.
“Yes, please,” said Kevin.
“None for me,” said Camille.
“No, thanks,” said Joe.
John grabbed one of the candles and slowly hobbled around the corner into the kitchen.
Joe was still trying to place the smell. He looked up at the rest of them and whispered, “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” asked Kevin.
Joe didn’t answer. He got up and silently walked towards the hallway. John might be able to see him when he walked in front of the doorway to the kitchen, so he peered around the corner. John was facing the opposite direction, putting a kettle on the stove. Joe took the opportunity and dashed through the doorway into the hallway. With his flashlight he could see that the hallway was long and had doorways on either side. The first doorway on the left led to a bathroom. The next was an office on the right. A large bedroom on the left was empty, so he kept walking. Another smaller room on the right had nobody in it either. There were two final rooms at the end of the hallway. The odour was getting stronger. He put his ear up to the last door on the left, but heard nothing. He turned the handle and slowly pushed the door open. Suddenly he heard voices from the living room.
“Where’s Joe?”
“He went to find a washroom.”
Joe stepped out of sight and into the room. Inside the smell was stronger and he instantly recognized it. It was the same stench as the office of the used car place. It was the smell of death.
His flashlight revealed a woman’s body on the bed. It was not moving, and the lacy white blankets were pulled neatly up to the old woman’s chin. There was a pink silk sleep mask covering her eyes. He slowly crept closer to the body. “Hello, ma’am, are you okay?” He didn’t expect an answer. He gently lifted the sleep mask and found dead eyes staring back at him. The stench was intense, and he replaced the mask, left the room, closed the door and walked back down the hall. When he got back to the living room, John said to him, “hope you didn’t try to flush. The water’s not running, so you have to use the bucket. Gale hates using the bucket.”
“So where is everybody in this town?” asked Tank.
“They left. Most of the town died of the Scourge, but not me and my Gale.” He sipped his hot coffee. “Last week, the army came by with a bunch of buses and took anyone that was still alive to Commerce to some sort of shelter.”
“Why didn’t you go with them?”
“Me and Gale have lived here all of our lives. We’ve raised six kids in this house. We aren’t leaving now. We aren’t leaving, not now, not ever.”
It was quiet for a moment. “Where are you folks headed?”
Joe answered. “We are on our way to Commerce, but we need t
o get to a place to the east of the city first. He pulled out the paper that Callaghan had given him and handed it to John. “We were hoping to get to this address.”
“That’s actually not that far from here. It’s about an hour and a half drive. I can draw you a map.”
“We don’t have a vehicle,” said Joe, “and it would take a snow plow to get through the snow on the road.”
John took another sip from his coffee. “I may be able to help you with that. My kids are grown up now and have moved away, but they loved to snowmobile on the trails out here. There’s a big shed in the back with some snowmobiles. You’re welcome to them. Gale and I are too old to use them anymore, and I don’t think my kids are coming back to visit anytime soon.” He finished his coffee and stared out the window with a faraway look. The light from the flickering candle illuminated his weathered face.
“Anyway, it’s getting late,” he said, finishing his coffee. “Your welcome to find a bed. We have lots of rooms, just not the bedrooms on the left. Those are mine and Gale’s.”
John had a big propane tank, which not only let him cook over his stove but also heated his house. That night they all slept well in the warm house, except for Joe. He tossed restlessly all night, knowing that there was a dead woman just down the hall.
The next morning was sunny, windless and cold. The snow sparkled on the ground. John had fed them a decent breakfast of oatmeal and canned fruit. They were able to start three out of the four snowmobiles in the shed. John insisted on filling all of them with gas and did so with shaky determined hands. John also gave Tank one of his hunting rifles with a box of ammunition. It was the first time Joe saw Tank smile.
Tank took the lead towing a small trailer. In it were the supplies from John and the dog. Kevin drove the second snowmobile with Camille behind him. Joe drove the last snowmobile with Earl. John stood watching them as they were leaving. Joe drove his snowmobile up to him. “You know, you’re welcome to join us John.”
“No, I couldn’t leave my Gale.”
“Uh, John, Gale isn’t…you know…I’m not sure how to say this but…you do know that…”
Black Flag | Book 1 | Surviving The Scourge Page 23