by Riley Flynn
“Not the talking type. I get that. But, you see, there’s a reason you’re following us. And I’d like to know what that reason is.”
He dropped the wrist into the man’s lap. Root winced again with the pain.
“If you tell me the reason”—Alex stood back, his eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light—“then I might be able to help you. Just tell me: what are you searching for?”
Root turned his head. Even behind the goggles, even blind, Alex could feel the eyes watching him. The dull green lenses watched him like a mantis watching its prey. The power was off, he was certain. It had to be pitch black in there.
“Why are you following us?”
As Alex moved back and forth, the goggles tracked him. But the man’s lips were visible. They twisted into a smile.
“Tell me now.” Alex felt his blood beginning to heat up. “What do you want?”
A flat, lifeless smile. Root’s brown skin glowed in the moonlight. Alex could see now. But those green lenses were watching him. He snatched the goggles from the prisoner’s head and leaned down in front of him, one knee weighing on the injured arm once again.
But Root still smiled. Alex eased off, throwing the goggles to the side. Finn rushed over and sniffed at the headset. He growled.
The agent sat still. His breathing a notch above rushed, his head pressed back against the stone wall, Root kept on smiling. Alex had seen that smile before. It was religious. The same way his priest had grinned whenever he’d fielded a question from a child. A smile, a nod of the head, and then an answer that neatly sidestepped the matter and no one realized until the man had walked away from the conversation. Root was used to not talking.
Threats wouldn’t work. Even if they did, leaning on a broken wrist was about the limit of Alex’s abilities. He had been an office worker. That had been a different kind of torture. Nothing prepared him for this.
So he remembered. When Root had been crouched beneath the window, whispering into his microphone, the words used were ‘he’s here’. He. That was the pronoun. Not it. Not them. ‘He’ was Cam, Alex reasoned.
“You’re after Cam.” Alex stepped back and waited for Root to look at him properly. “If you had Cam, would you leave the rest of us alone?”
Needle and poke, Alex thought to himself. Find some kind of crack. An exploit. An entry point. Some way in which to open up the conversation, even if it meant lying.
“We just want to go back home.” A flash of inspiration appeared in his mind. “What if… what if we left Cam with you, would you let us carry on to Tennessee without following us?”
Root opened his eyes and looked at Alex and smiled once more. He shook his head.
What else was there to offer? The flash drive? If they didn’t want Cam and didn’t even entertain the idea, what the hell would they want with the flash drive? Plus, that just made it all the more valuable. Maybe this was what they wanted after all.
“Well, Root, we don’t have anything else. So what the hell do you want? Are you just trying to waste our time?”
The smile didn’t flicker for a moment. Alex was shouting.
“What the hell is it? What do you want?”
Alex stood over Root, booming words at his face. The smile turned into a chuckle.
“Ah.” The words curled out of Root’s lips without any humor, “you don’t even know.”
The chuckle turned into a laugh and grew. It became louder, building through the man’s body. It took his lips, then his cheeks, then his neck, and then his shoulders, all shaking with hilarity.
Suddenly, Alex was worried. Perhaps he’d overplayed his cards. Perhaps he’d given too much away.
“Tell me,” he shouted into the agent’s face, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. “Tell me what you want!”
“Oh, but Alex Early. You must know. Maybe look inside yourself a bit harder. You already have all the answers, right at your fingertips.”
And then he laughed again. Alex picked the rifle up from the ground. Finn barked, leaning down, head below his shoulders, and baring his teeth toward Root.
Alex wasn’t going to shoot the man. He knew that much. Not when Root was tied up and helpless. There were some lines he couldn’t cross. But killing was not the only option. He lifted his arms above his head and cracked the butt of the rifle into the man’s skull.
Root went out like a light. His head lolled back against the stone.
Picking up the agent’s wrist, Alex felt again for a mic. There was a small, hard lump buried beneath the sleeve. He squeezed it.
“I don’t know if you can hear me. Maybe you can. Your man is out. He’s in the woods. Come and collect him.”
Leaving Root out cold with his wrists tied tight, Alex collected his goggles and began the climb up the hill and back toward the airport. He’d planted the seed of a plan and felt proud of himself. For the first time, he felt proactive. He felt like the hunter instead of the prey. He couldn’t help but smile. In the dark, there was no one to notice.
Now, they had to move fast. Soon. No telling how long they had before Byrne found his friend. They needed all the head start they could get.
Chapter 30
Turning around the corner and removing the night vision goggles, Alex saw Timmy waiting beside the terminal. He held a pistol in one hand, his face screwed up into a fearful ball. In a moment, Alex’s conscience started hammering against his thoughts, driving home the guilt and the shame of deserting his duty.
“What the hell happened, man? You were supposed to be on watch. We were looking for you!”
“I caught one.” Alex tried to move ahead of his guilt, tried to cut Timmy off at the pass. “Sneaking around here.”
As Alex drew level with his friend, he could see in through the glass. The gas lantern was lit and Joan sat next to Cam with an arm around his shoulder.
“What? How?” Timmy’s neck craned forward, his eyes glowing with reflected light.
“I was coming back here to switch shifts with Cam. Root was creeping along under the window. I came up behind him with the goggles.”
Timmy’s back straightened. Alex knew he had his friend’s interest.
“Oh, man. Really? I can’t believe they came that close. But, like, that’s pretty cool. What-”
“What’s going on with Cam?” Alex interrupted. They didn’t have much time.
“You know, happens sometimes. They’re just talking. I went looking for you. So this guy, what happened to him? You kill him?”
Alex watched the others through the window. He turned back to Timmy.
“No. He’s tied up. I left him in the woods.”
“Wait, you didn’t kill him? But he’ll come back for us right now.”
“Not if we get moving right away.”
“Sure, but you could have ended it all, man.”
“I think I did something better, Timmy. Trust me. I’ve got a plan.”
Alex walked up to the terminal door. He called for Finn and prepared to enter. Maybe Cam needed another few moments alone. They didn’t look like they were done. Timmy caught up.
“What’s the plan? You gotta tell me.”
Alex looked up at the sky. Already the darkness was fading. Not nearly dawn, but much closer. Past midnight, definitely.
“I told him we were going to Tennessee and that he shouldn’t follow us there.”
“But we’re going to Virginia.”
“Exactly.”
Timmy let out a long, careful whistle.
“My man with the plan.” He stepped around Alex. “So we got to get moving then?”
Together, Alex and Timmy walked into the terminal.
“Hey,” Alex began, moving closer to the others. “I hope you’re ready. We’ve got to move. We can’t stay here.”
Joan looked him up and down.
“Fine,” she said, despite everything clearly not being fine. “We can move.”
They began to pack up everything. They didn’t care about leaving
behind litter this time. It didn’t matter. Leave a trail of breadcrumbs for the agents to follow. Just make sure it leads in the other direction.
As they packed up, Alex noticed Cam helping. He seemed fine, if quiet. He worked quickly, as though someone had flicked a switch in his head. Nothing much they could do now, though. His ghosts would have to wait. As they packed, Alex explained his plan. It didn’t take long.
They were ready to leave in record time.
As Alex started the car, he realized his biggest problem: light.
He didn’t dare use the headlights on the car. An instant giveaway. A lighthouse attracting unwanted people right to them. He tried to drive by the dim stars. It didn’t last long. He needed another option.
Then it hit him. The night vision goggles. They worked when walking, they could work while driving. Alex called for the device and Timmy passed it through. Once it was on his head, he flicked the switch.
Not perfect but it worked. He could see the road. Mostly. For everyone without night vision, the ride must have been cold and dark and quiet. But they needed to put miles into the tires. This was the only way.
Navigation was the next major problem. Alex tried to make Timmy hold the map up but it was impossible to read. Just a hazy blur. As they passed exit after exit, not knowing what to do, Alex began to worry. They might actually end up in Tennessee by mistake.
“I don’t know where I’m going.”
* * *
The words were directed at no one in particular. He was the only one with the goggles. He was the only one who could see in the dark. The others were just blind baby mice, being led along by their leader.
“I can’t find the flashlight, man. It’s too dark to see inside the car.”
“Wait,” Joan said, tapping Alex on the shoulder. “I’ve got an idea. Everyone look out of a window. Not you, Alex.”
Everyone obeyed.
“Right, now look for the brightest star you can see. You should be able to see it, even through the clouds.”
Timmy and Cam joined in her search. They began pointing out glowing dots in the sky. She disregarded them all. Then Cam pointed to one at their eight o’clock.
“Yes! That’s the one. That’s the one. Cam, you keep watching that. That’s the north star. We want to go south. Make sure that’s behind us.”
They all looked up at the stars. Alex laughed, a pure moment, a mixture of delight and pride.
“Joanie.” Timmy said the word slowly, loud enough to be heard. “You genius!”
“It’s not perfect,” she said, waving away the praise. “But it should do for now.”
Not perfect but should do for now. That should be their motto, Alex told himself. He banged the flat of his hand against the wheel and cheered. This plan could work. They drove on into the night, almost blind but for the stars.
* * *
After two hours of driving like this, with the battery in the headset fading to nothing and no one able to sleep for the miserable conditions, the sun began to rise and a town loomed into sight. Once they could read the road signs, they knew it was Princeton.
They had to stop. Just to warm up, to eat, and to spend some time away from the wind, which swept through the car and chilled their bones. Not far now, Alex assured everyone, just on the other side of the park. Stick with it.
No one knew how much time they had. The plan, sending the agents all the way to Tennessee, might work perfectly. If that was the case, they could spend as many hours as they liked in Princeton. If not, any stop might bring the danger down upon them so much sooner.
It rained again.
Not real rain this time. Not the kind of rain that lashed down and partnered with the wind to soak through the clothes and the skin. Instead, the miserable drizzle fell on their faces. Less a rain, more a fine mist, like one of the gray clouds had settled down all around them.
Normally at this time of year, the streets and stores would be coated in Halloween junk. Ghouls and witches poking out of windows. But Princeton was home to different ghosts.
White crosses on doors and empty streets. Places people used to live. The rain would never wash away the stench of decay and abandonment which haunted the town.
“You know what I’ve been thinking?” Timmy climbed out of the car and looked around. “Where are all the dogs, man? Haven’t seen a single one in ages. Or a cat. No dogs or cats. Apart from our lovely boy, of course.”
He leaned down and ruffled Finn’s head, rubbing the dog’s ears between his fingers. Alex muttered an agreement, too tired to really think or recollect or speak.
“I know what happened to ‘em.” Cam pulled his collar up against the light rain. “You’re not going to like it, though.”
“Oh, boy. Cam. My man. You can’t just leave us hanging like that. You got to tell us. I can’t stand a story that ends on a cliffhanger. It’s horrible. You have to tell us.”
Alex was out of the car. He looked around the town. Nothing for him here. He looked back at the car. He might be able to steal a few minutes of sleep if the others went searching. His eyes lingered on the ever-more-empty space in the trunk.
“They’re dead, Timmy.” Cam’s voice was flat.
“Oh. Man, that sucks.”
“Yeah, they’re dead. Animals like that? When there’s an unknown disease? They’re one of the first things to go. Could be carriers. Could be their fleas carry it. We got told to shoot anything that wasn’t human. Dark stuff. I used to have a dog. They burned them all.”
Alex walked to the rear of the car and opened up the trunk. His thoughts trundled through his mind, processing information like a leaky faucet. A drip, drip, drip of realization.
“So that’s what happened to Finn,” Alex thought aloud. “Someone shut Finn up in a house with food and ran away. Didn’t want him to get hurt.”
“Could be,” said Cam. “Random stuff happens all the time.”
“Their loss is our gain, then.” Timmy said the words to the dog more than anyone, leaning down to stroke Finn.
“People all in camps and they’re burning all the animals.” Joan laid a hand across her belly. “It’s unreal. It’s too real. Sometimes it just hits me, all over again.”
* * *
Nothing moved through the streets except the wind. They waited and ate, watching the road into town with care. Nothing arrived. If Root and Byrne were halfway to Tennessee by now, they wouldn’t know. They had to trust. They had to hope.
By the time the meal was over, Alex could feel his eyes burning. Aching with tiredness. He could barely hear people talk, let alone respond.
“Alex. I’m talking to you. Hello?”
Joan’s voice cut through the haze. He looked up and saw her pitying eyes watching over him.
“Huh? What? Sorry, I tuned out.”
“Yeah, we noticed. Listen, we’ve been thinking. You need to rest.”
She was speaking with a soft, soothing voice. Her nurse voice. She was good at it.
“It’s still morning. We have to drive.”
Alex couldn’t see Cam or Timmy but he knew they’d be lurking nearby. Neither of them possessed Joan’s bedside manner, however.
“We do. But you don’t.”
“What?”
“You don’t need to drive. Cam can do it. We’ve seen it.”
“Then what do I do?”
“We’ve been thinking about that…”
Joan took his arm and marched him along to the car. Cam was stood there, half buried in the trunk.
“See?” Joan gestured with her hand. “We’ve made you some space.”
The trunk of the car was half empty. The bags and boxes they’d welded into place back in Rockton, the packets of rations and supplies they’d stacked in the empty space, it was all pushed to the side. A clear channel of empty space sat in the middle. Enough room for a person. A sleeping bag had been laid down in the space.
“I can’t sleep there.” Alex shook his head. “I’ve got to drive.”
“You’ll sleep there or I’ll shoot you myself, Alex Early.”
As soon as she said the name, Alex’s mind froze. His whole name. Just like the agent had used it. Heart rate soaring, fingers tingling, he shook his head. This was Joan. She wasn’t out to get him. He leaned back, forcing himself to relax.
Joan pushed him into the trunk. It wasn’t comfortable. It didn’t have to be. Alex could feel the promise of sleep carrying him away.
“Well. Maybe for a half hour. Wake me up, okay? I want to know everything. Let me know if anything happens.”
“Sure, sure.”
Joan closed the door of the trunk. Alex pulled the sleeping bag over his shoulder. The tarp, cut open with air holes, rustled in the wind and the rain. It was the last thing he heard. Alex fell asleep, finally.
Chapter 31
Alex woke up when the car stopped and the dog barked. They might have been driving for ten hours or ten minutes.
“Howdy, partner.” Timmy’s voice cut through the drowsiness. “We’re going to explore.”
Sitting up in the back of the car, looking around and rubbing his eyes, Alex didn’t recognize his surroundings. An empty road in front of him, nothing to the left or the right. The weather was better, at least. A cold sun shining.
An empty road meant no one chasing them. Maybe Root and Byrne were already headed to Tennessee. Maybe Root was still sitting in the woods by the airport, shivering and hungry.
If he died, would that be Alex’s fault? He turned the question over and over in his mind, still not fully awake, a feeling of guilt sitting heavily on his diaphragm.
Joan and Cam were already out of the car, walking toward a gas station. Actually, Alex noticed, it was more than a gas station. A few buildings gathered together on the side of a lonely road.
A diner and a store.
A row of trucks away to the left.
“Come on, man.” Timmy tapped his hand on the roof of the car. “Let’s have a look. We should find some gas. One more tank would probably get us all the way there.”