The First Hours

by Christine Conaway

  “What are we going to do now?” Carrie asked, switching her eyes between the roadway and Tom. “It’s going to be dark soon. Are we going to try for the house?”

  “How are we for gas?” Tom leaned over to look for himself. They were under half a tank, and while his car did run, it was a gas guzzler as was Teagan’s. They had enough to get home as long as they didn’t have to make any side trips.

  “Why’d you ask if you were going to look for yourself?”

  Tom sighed, “I don’t know. Making conversation, I guess.”

  Carrie gave him a small smile as if she knew what he was going to say. “Why don’t you make conversation about what that guy told you?”

  “I heard you ask about Teagan but couldn’t hear what he said,” Nancy said, leaning forward between Carrie and Tom. “He saw them, didn’t he?”

  Tom shrugged, “He may have seen Teagan, but not her friend and I don’t know for sure if it was Teagan. There have to be thousands of red-headed young women around with the college and all.”

  “Oh, don’t blow it out of proportion. Hundreds maybe, but I can tell you think it was Teagan.”

  “He saw a boy and a girl with a woman and some kids. They apparently came by this morning, and he had an issue with them.” Tom was reminded of what the man said and wanted to punch the dash. Through clenched teeth, he forced out, “He said he had to give them a beat down, and Teagan’s friend was a boy.” He turned and looked at Nancy, “I need an answer here, and it needs to be truthful. Does Teagan have a boyfriend? Someone she was planning on meeting down here?”

  “No!” Carrie and Nancy answered together.

  “Guys were always hitting on her, but she didn’t like any of them. She hasn’t had a boyfriend since second grade.”

  Tom relaxed, feeling a little stupid. He was sure she would have mentioned something as important as a boyfriend to him. He looked at Carrie, “I can feel you have something to add.”

  “You know as well as I do that, she probably would have told you, but I know she would have said something to me. She’s been a little secretive lately, but I assumed it was school stuff.”

  Tom was sure Carrie had to be right. He kept his eyes on the road in front of them. He was surprised with the second night coming up that there were still people hanging out with their cars. He also saw evidence that unoccupied cars had been looted. Broken windows and trunk lids standing open. In some cases, baggage contents strewn on the pavement and hanging from the trunk.

  “What do you want to do now?” Carrie asked, stopping the car. She looked at Tom and saw his despair. Their exit lay in front of them and no sign of Teagan. Carrie had expected to find the girl somewhere along the road, but she was smart and capable, and it wouldn’t surprise Carrie to find that Teagan had beat them back to the house. If she found a faster method of getting there, she would, but if she had to walk every step of the way, she would do that too.

  Tom, disappointed they had used the gas and the time and come back empty-handed, sighed, “I guess we go back to the house. If she doesn’t make it home by tomorrow, I’ll go out alone, but I have faith she’ll find a way…if she can.”

  “Do you want to drive?” Carrie asked. She could see the frustration in Tom’s face, but there was really nothing she could say to make him feel any better. They had done everything they could do, and now it was up to Teagan. Carrie believed that Teagan would find her way home. Carrie almost dreaded getting to Tom’s because then she would have to make some decisions of her own. Tom had said she and Nancy could stay at his house, but did he mean it? She thought at the time he did, but what if he’d had a change of heart because they hadn’t found Teagan? What if Teagan never made it home and something bad had happened to her? She couldn’t know Tom’s mind or heart, and the loss of Teagan could push him over the edge.

  Other than the looting of cars and the one fire, they hadn’t witnessed the chaos she had expected would come with a world-changing event. People hadn’t rioted, nor begun shooting each other as Tom had indicated previously. He thought chaos would reign by the second day, but maybe people were too stunned by the events to react yet.

  When Tom didn’t answer, Carrie drove, her mind on Teagan and what would become of them all. She knew Teagan, and if there were any way possible, she would come home. She looked at Nancy in the mirror. The girl was slouched to the side, her head resting against the window ledge, asleep. Carrie could only imagine how she must feel. Through no fault of her own, she had lost her whole family the day before. She didn’t act or appear devastated, but Carrie thought she had to be. Carrie couldn’t imagine how it must feel for your own mother to choose a man over her child. Carrie had known Nancy almost as long as she’d known Teagan and she had never heard of or witnessed Nancy being cruel, disrespectful or anything but a young woman who loved her Mom.

  Carrie was surprised when she had to stop and think about the route out to Tom’s house. She hadn’t realized how much she had always relied on streetlights, yard lights, and the warm glow of light in house windows to show her where she was. With no light to guide her, she had to pay attention to where she was. The car was old enough the headlights had to be turned on with a switch on the dash, and she had not. Tom hadn’t said to leave them off, but she thought less light would be less attention.

  Carrie automatically slammed on the brakes when Tom slapped the dash, “Hold up!”

  “What?”

  “Someone’s at the house,” Tom strained to see through the windshield. “I could have sworn I just saw a light in the front window.”

  “Maybe it’s Teagan,” Nancy exclaimed from the back seat.

  Shaking his head, “No. She would know enough to close the drapes before lighting the lamps. It wasn’t that kind of light. Maybe a flashlight.” He unbuckled his seatbelt, “I’m going to walk up. You guys stay with the car and lock the doors.” He reached into the glove box and removed his service weapon, automatically checked the load, and climbed out. He shut the door quietly and disappeared.

  “I see it. Someone flashed a light across the window,” Nancy exclaimed. She scrambled between the seats, crossed over the console and slid into the passenger seat. “Are we really going to wait here? What if Mr. Cooper needs help?”

  As much as Carrie wanted to follow Tom to back him up, she would abide by his instructions. She couldn’t take Nancy in without knowing what was going on and she sure wasn’t going to leave the girl sitting alone in the car.

  Five minutes of tension-filled silence. Two pairs of eyes staring at the silhouette of a dark house until gunshots destroyed the illusion that everything was fine, and no one had invaded their safe place.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Teagan gripped the handlebars, now supporting the bike. Sandi held it by the seat, glaring insolently at Teagan. Teagan straightened her shoulders and glared back, trying to put as much, “You can’t intimidate me,” into her return look as she could. Her insides vibrated against her ribs, but there was no way she was going to let her shoes walk or ride away on anyone’s feet, but Deena’s. It didn’t matter that she and Deena had exchanged money for them or that Deena had obviously left them lying around for someone to steal. What mattered is, with the return of Deena, Teagan felt a load of responsibility settle on her shoulders again. She wasn’t about to give the boots on her feet to Deena when the tennis shoes were standing right in front of her. All she had to do was convince the other girl to remove them from her feet or for Teagan to forcibly remove them herself. Either way, Deena was leaving here with the shoes on her feet.

  Keeping one hand on the bike, she unbuckled the chest strap on her pack. She felt Ryan behind her and shrugged it off. He caught it before it hit the ground.

  “Teagan?”

  “Stay out of this Ryan. Those are my shoes, and I want them back.”

  “Eww, …she has a spine after all,” Sandi said with malice. She let go of the bike as did Teagan. It fell, forcing Sandi to jump away. “I just might have some new boots w
hen I get this little matter settled.”

  “All I want is the return of my property,” Teagan said, trying one last time to reason with the girl. She understood why Sandi was determined to keep the shoes, but if Teagan understood the situation at all, the flip flops on Deena’s feet belonged to the older girl. She couldn’t quite picture the girl in the gray sweats Deena wore, but somehow, Deena’s clothes were on the girl, and she did look more like the sweatpants type than Deena. All Teagan wanted was the return of her shoes and her Mickey Mouse socks.

  The girl washed her hands together, and then lacing her fingers, cracked her knuckles in an attempted display of dominance. Teagan cringed at the sound, recognized the gesture for what it was and almost laughed out loud. This girl was trying to intimidate her with her vulgarity. Well, it wasn’t going to work. Her father had always taught her to stand up for herself and never let anyone bully her or other people. This girl was a bully, plain and simple.

  Teagan stepped forward and ducked to her left when the girl tried to sucker punch her. Teagan stumbled, righted herself, ducked her head and charged. Before she hit the other girl, she felt the red fill her soul and began to swing. There was no such thing as rules of conduct when you were fighting on the side of right or in the middle of the freeway the second day of the apocalypse. There were no rules of engagement when the red took over.

  Teagan felt like she was fighting for her life. The older girl was relentless in her pursuit, landing blows with surprising rhythm. Teagan felt like a windmill striking anywhere she could with little effect. She realized this wasn’t about the shoes at all. It was about survival. Survival of the fittest.

  Teagan found herself on her back. She could hear Deena and Ryan yelling but not make out what they were saying. Through the sweat in her eyes, she saw the girl coming in for the kill and remembered how helpless Ryan had been with the bigger man on him. She rolled and bounced to her feet. The girl landed hard and scrambled up. Blood ran from her nose, and Teagan thought she must have gotten in some blows she didn’t remember. The red had settled into shades of pink and Teagan felt more centered and capable. When the girl stepped close, Teagan stepped closer, making every punch count. The girl grabbed a handful of Teagan’s hair, pulling her to the ground. Teagan rolled landing on top of the bigger girl. Their eyes met, and Teagan realized the girl had to be stoned on something. Her pupils were large, and she didn’t seem to feel the blows Teagan was landing. With the building rage Teagan saw on the girl’s face, she knew she had to end this quickly or not at all. Teagan closed her eyes and slammed her forehead into the other girl’s face. Teagan saw stars and wanted to cry when she felt the girl’s body go limp under her.

  Bracing herself with straight arms, Teagan blinked away the tears and looked at the other girl. She saw she was alive and breathing, by the bubbles of blood she was making from her nose.

  Teagan rolled onto her butt and sat for a second to reclaim her strength. Every bone in her body screamed in pain. Her muscles felt weak, and her heart was pounding. It was all she could do to breathe normally.

  The sound of a single pair of hands clapping captured her attention. Trevor stood, hip-shod smacking his hands together. The grin on his face made Teagan want to puke. He had enjoyed watching the two of them fight. There was no denying the delight on his face.

  “Damn, I would pay good money to see that again.”

  He grinned down at Teagan, and she felt like punching him next. Somehow, she felt this was his fault.

  “Shut up, Trevor,” Ryan said as he leaned over to help Teagan up. “Are you okay?”

  She reached for his hand and remembering the caustic blows to her face, and head area wanted to hide. If the girl looked as bad as she did, what did her own face look like? Teagan brushed her hair from her face and let Ryan pull her to her feet. She felt the last of the red subside with his gesture of kindness. Teagan didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or triumphant with her victory. One thing she was sure of; it would be the last time she resorted to fisticuffs for anyone less than her own family.

  Deena sat with her mouth hanging open, and Teagan couldn’t tell what her thoughts were. Her eyes were glued to the older girl. She finally looked up at Teagan, “That was awesome,” fell from her lips.

  “Was it?” Teagan stepped toward Deena. “What it is, is the stupidest thing I have ever done, and it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t…never mind,” she growled.

  Teagan was pissed. She was angry; she had let her temper loose. She was angry, she’d even bothered. She was furious at Deena for being the reason for the fight. Now she was responsible for someone she didn’t care to even look at…again.

  “Get your damn shoes changed before she wakes up.” Teagan walked away to stand with her back to the group. Using the hem of her shirt, she wiped her face off and felt the many cuts and bruises. Her tongue tasted the blood from her split lip. It was already puffy, and she knew she wouldn’t be smiling anytime soon.

  “How could you be so stupid?” She ran her tongue around the back of her teeth, “at least I still have them all.” Touching one, in particular, she felt a stab of pain. She couldn’t believe what she’d just done. She had been in a brawl with a girl she didn’t know all because she’d let her temper get the best of her. It hadn’t been to save someone or even to right a wrong…not really.

  Teagan shook her head, “All that for a stinking pair of shoes.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. If it weren’t the shoes, it would have been something else. She took an attitude as soon as she saw us and especially with you.”

  “It was so stupid,” Teagan told him. “I feel so…” She shook her head, “I don’t know what I feel. I was mad at Deena for having to wear my shoes in the first place and when she showed up wearing the flip flops and that girl was wearing my shoes…I think my brain went on overload. All I could think about was getting the shoes back.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s over, and Trevor is going to ride Deena, we’re leaving the other bike for her. You can ride with me.” He was already wearing his backpack and handed Teagan hers. “I put the stuff from the plastic bag in mine. We can sort it out later.”

  Trevor rode up to them with Deena sitting across the bar in front of him, “Hey, I can take one of those packs.”

  “No!” Ryan and Teagan said in one voice. As soon as she had her pack on, Teagan realized just how hard it was going to be riding double. She would have to perch on the cross bar like Deena with her bag hanging off her back. She thought it would make them unstable.

  “It’ll be okay. Put it on backward so the weight is on the front of you. As soon as I get us moving just lean back into me. It’ll help balance the pack.”

  Teagan hoped Ryan knew what he was talking about. Her face felt like someone had used it for a punching bag, which they had, and every muscle in her body hurt. Her knuckles were raw and sore and all for a pair of stupid shoes. When they finally reached home, Teagan would never want to see Deena or the shoes again.

  Ryan pushed off, and after some brief wobbling, he got his balance, and they were off. Teagan didn’t look to see if Trevor and Deena were with them or not. The truth was she didn’t care one way or the other. She didn’t look to see if Deena had gotten the shoes or if Trevor was riding her. Her father had always preached that if you have to be anything, be nice, but nice wasn’t something Teagan was feeling right then.

  To Teagan, it felt like they’d been riding for hours. She could no longer feel her feet, the circulation cut off from sitting across the bar. Her eyes refused to stay open, and she felt herself slipping backward. If not for Ryan’s arm behind her, she would have been picking herself up from the pavement.

  Ryan leaned close, “I’m going to find a place for us to stop. My butt can’t take this seat anymore.”

  “Where are we? I think I fell asleep. I’m not sure if I can stand when we do stop. I’m numb from my butt down.”

  “We’re through Salem and not that far left to go, bu
t it’s too dark to see well, and I think it’s going to rain.

  Ryan was right. As soon as he stopped the bike, the rain began with a few spatters. Before Teagan could walk off the stiffness in her legs and butt, the spatters turned to a deluge. Within seconds the temperature fell several degrees. Her cotton hoody soaked up the drops as if it were dying of thirst and she felt the weight of it dragging her down.

  There wasn’t enough light to see where they were, but she heard Deena’s nervous giggle from somewhere behind them. There were trees, and she thought a picnic table in front of her. Turning to take in their surroundings, she spotted a building of some sort half-hidden by large trees and bushes.

  The rain and the colder temperature quickly washed the lethargy of sleep away. “The rest area?”

  She didn’t see the parked cars she would have expected if it were the rest area, but she thought that’s where they had to be. She didn’t think Ryan would have left the freeway and he did say they were almost there. In this case, if she was correct and they were in the rest area, almost there, meant they only had about thirty miles to go.

  “Yup, but it’s closed for construction, so hopefully, we have it to ourselves.” Ryan pushed the bike toward a cinderblock building.

  “Aw,” Teagan said as if it was the perfect explanation as to why there were no cars or trucks. She followed Ryan to the building and pushed on the door to the lady’s room. It began to open and then slammed closed. The shock of the door slamming back at her bent her wrist backward. Teagan cradled her wrist in her other hand and stepped away from the door. Hurrying back to where Ryan stood to remove his pack, she whispered to him, “There are people here. Should we move on?”