“I want a cure. Working on it isn’t my forte. And yes, I am concerned about the Hatched.”
“Why?”
“They can be carriers, like the president.”
“What difference does it make?” asked Malcolm. “You’re behind a great big wall and don’t come out.”
“Is Trey, our military? Farmers? Not everyone is behind the wall. All it takes is one person. One infection. We lucked out with the president. We won’t luck out again. Remember, I told you it was herd immunity, so some are not immune. The children born, the first Generation Salvation are only fifty percent immune. The virus hit us hard and wiped out the world. We saved a portion, we can’t let that happen again.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
Malcolm nodded. “I do. That doesn’t make Salvation sound any more appealing.”
“What?” Maggie asked, shocked. “It’s Utopia.”
“Sans freedom.”
“No.” She shook her head. “There is freedom. It’s a good life. You need to give it a chance. You’re welcome there, you know this. You have immunity.”
“Others that have hatched, as you call it, have immunity.”
“No. No.” She chuckled. “Not immunity to the virus. Immunity.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re helping us. No charges will be brought. Unlike the president. He will be charged for crimes against humanity and genocide.”
“He was part of it,” Malcolm said, “we were innocent bystanders.”
“We don’t know that.”
“We’re telling you. We were taken against our will. Ask Trey he saw a video.”
“If there was such a video, it’s long gone. We go by what we know. You woke up thirty years later. Protected from the horrors of the virus. A vital part of civilization with skills. Tell me, Mr. Lowe. What would you think, if you were us?”
Malcolm wanted to tell her, he would give them the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t. Instead he said, “Well, keep in mind. Innocent until proven guilty.”
Maggie tapped him on the leg. “It doesn’t operate like that anymore. In the old world too many criminals went free.”
He was rendered temporally speechless. Every day that went by he was given another reason to believe the city behind the wall wasn’t all that much of a Salvation. At least not for him.
<><><><>
“Quit playing with your crotch,” John scolded Hunter the second they stopped the buggy in Champaign. “You’ve been doing so since we stepped out of Target.”
“It was not a target, it was a large building of the old world,” Hunter said. “Items inside. Not needed.” Again, he pulled the crotch section of the blue jean fabric. “Tight.”
“Not really,” John said. “You’ll get used to them. You need to look human.”
“Hunter is human,” Hunter said.
“Hunter speaks in third person,” John retorted, “Which makes you slightly different.” He then dropped his voice to barely a mumble. “Of course, your size and appearance don’t help.”
“What does John say?” Hunter asked.
Meredith replied. “He’s just being cranky. You do need to wear clothes. You look different than most, Hunter.”
“Most?”
“Okay, all the people we’re meeting with. You’re different from them.”
“Because Hunter looks different does not mean Hunter is different,” Hunter said.
“That is true. But you wanted to experience the world, wearing clothing is part of it.” Meredith reached out and touched the side of his jeans then his shirt. “Understand?”
“Yes.”
John looked up from the tops of his eyes. “I still can’t believe you wouldn’t let me make him wear the Superman shirt.”
Meredith snapped. “Because you just want another reason to call him Sloth from the Goonies. He doesn’t look like Sloth. If you recall, Sloth had a cone head, eyes at different levels. Hunter does not look like Sloth.”
“You have to admit there are similarities.”
Meredith looked at Hunter. The flat nose, thick lips, rounded mouth and bald head, were indeed similarities, but that was all. “I refuse to give into your bullying,”
“Bullying?” John laughed. “You’re blinded by your toy boy infatuation with him.”
“Oh, stop.” Meredith folded her arms, then looked behind her. Hunter was walking slowly up the road, looking around.
“Where is he going?” John asked.
“You know how he is. Safety first. He’s looking for a good camp spot. Obviously the others aren’t here.”
“We just want to wait?” John questioned.
“What else is there to do?”
“Well, we can become as infatuated as Hunter with old store windows.”
After a double take Meredith saw Hunter. He stood by a store window just staring, “Hunter?”
“Message.” Hunter said. “Dirt is cleared.”
“What?” John asked and walked toward Hunter. “What do you mean?”
Hunter stepped out of the way of the hardware store window. “Dirt gone. Message. What does it mean?”
Hunter was right. Decades of dirt covered the pane of glass, yet a clean spot of letters had been created to write a message.
Meredith replied. “It’s from our friends.” She read the message out loud. “Rantoul is Life. It’s signed Preacher J. That is our friend, Jason.”
“What is Rantoul?” Hunter asked.
John handed Meredith the map and pointed. “About fifteen miles north. That’s where they went.”
“Rantoul is life?” Meredith asked.
John smiled. “People.”
<><><><>
Nora squinted as she looked up to the cloudless sky. It was warm and the breeze carried the amazing smell of meat cooking on an open fire. The Rantoulians ate well. It wasn’t a town crowded with people, only a couple dozen, so things went a long way.
They bred farm animals and not surprisingly, deer were plentiful.
Nora always hated shucking corn. When she used to buy corn on the cob for her family, she paid the extra money to get them already shucked. Yet, there she was, sitting with Marilee, shucking away.
Since arriving in town, Nora was given the task of working with food because she didn’t have a set skill.
Marilee flashed a fake smile. “Look how good and fast you do that.”
“Yeah, I’m a champ.” Nora looked across the road to Jason who spoke to a group of three men. “Everyone pitches in, right?”
“That’s right. Especially during the warm weather. As good as we eat now, we have to preserve half.”
“But I never see any of the men doing the preparing?”
“They hunt.”
“I see. What about Jason? He hasn’t done any work yet.”
“He preaches,” Marilee said. “He has an important job.”
“Like once a week.”
Just then Jason walked over.
“Hey,” He greeted, casting a shadow as he stood above them. “Do you need help?”
Just as Nora was about to toss him corn, Marilee interjected.
“No,” Marilee said. “You’ve done enough. Wonderful service today. The sermon was uplifting.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much. Nora, did you like it? You didn’t say.”
“Um … sure.”
Jason cocked his head back. “You didn’t like it.”
“I didn’t say that.” Nora defended. “I just been listening to you steadily for weeks so you have little impact on me.”
“Wow.” Jason widened his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’d feel better if you’d shuck some corn.”
Marilee sung out an, ‘Oh’, as if she were trying to empathize. “Is someone a little sour?”
“No,” Nora said. “Yes. I mean, I have no problem doing my share while we’re here and even if we return….”
“When?”
“I
don’t know.”
“No.” Marilee waved out her hand. “I mean when you return. You can’t leave us for good. We like you.”
“Thanks.”
“And we can get you other stuff to do. Do you hunt?”
“No.”
“Make clothes?”
Nora laughed. “No.”
“Well, what did you do before they stuck you in a block of ice?”
Jason nodded. “Go on, tell her.”
“I was a comedian.”
“A what?”
“Someone who tells jokes and makes people laugh.”
“And they paid you for that?” Marilee asked.
“Yes.”
“Well.” Marilee cleared her throat. “I’m confused. Did you do funny things?”
“Yes and told jokes.”
“Well, heck we can use some laughs around here. Please don’t take this the wrong way,” Marilee said. “But you don’t strike me as a person who makes people laugh. Maybe if I heard one of your jokes.”
Nora thought for a moment. “Okay. Where did the virus start?”
“Oh. Oh, that’s a change of subject,” Marilee said. “I thought you were …”
“No. Listen,” Nora repeated. “Where did the virus start?” she paused. “Germany.”
“Hmm. That makes sense. They say it started overseas,” Marilee said.
“No. It’s a joke. Virus started in … Germany. Germ …” She stared at Marilee who looked lost. “Forget it.”
“Maybe if you tried it on …” Marilee stopped when Jason burst into laughter. “Well, someone thought it was funny.”
“Oh, no, not the joke,” Jason said. “Your reaction was awesome.”
Tilting her head bashfully, Marilee wave out her hand. “Thanks.” Her head immediately sprung up when a single air horn blasted a short honk.
“What the hell?” Jason asked.
Before he could get an answer, Marilee reached deep into the un-shucked corn bin and withdrew a rifle. Everyone scurried about, extinguishing the fire pits, grabbing weapons, and racing into the buildings. Unlike the meek person she presented, Marilee, while backing up, confidently pointed her rifle at the church.
“No time to get you weapons from armory,” she spoke quickly. “Get into the church and wait until the two blasts of the horn for clear.”
Nora murmured out a, “What?”
“Go.”
Jason took her arm and led her quickly to the church. As they entered the doors, the street went from being active to a ghost town. It was a well rehearsed routine the people of Rantoul had probably done many times.
“They have enemies?” Jason locked the door.
“They left that information out,” Nora said.
“We’ve only been here two days. But to arm up like that. They’re afraid of something.”
“What’s out there? We roamed and saw nothing,” Nora said.
“Yeah but you know and I know there are other towns they trade with. Scarce doesn’t mean empty.”
“A couple blasts of the horn and it’s safe, what happens if it’s not?”
Jason closed his lips tight and shook his head in an ‘I haven’t a clue’ manner.
The wait inside the church was short lived, the double blast of the air horn rang out, followed by a male voice yelling. “Hey Preacher. Two of your friends are pulling up in one of them future buggies.”
Nora brightly smiled and looked at Jason. “Two people.”
“Has to be Amy and Malcolm.” Jason unlocked the door. “Let’s go.”
The decision to leave Hunter a couple miles behind was a mutual one. Both John and Meredith were worried that his appearance could cause alarm. Then again, what if the entire town of Rantoul were like the Burkians. Also, Hunter was an asset and they liked him. They didn’t want to take a chance he could be hurt.
At first they thought there was a grand welcoming committee. They could see the people walk out into the street. Then they drew closer and saw they were holding weapons.
“This is odd,” John said. “I say stop now.”
Meredith did so about four blocks from the line of people. “Now what?”
“Wait. If Jason and Nora are in trouble, we’ll know and we back up and get Hunter. Plus, we don’t know if we’re contagious.”
“Jason and Nora are with them. They look healthy.”
“They could have just got here. Let’s wait here.”
“Understood.” Meredith hands gripping the wheel, stared outward.
Nora leaned into Jason. “That’s Meredith and John. Where’s Grant?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they left him behind.”
Marilee asked. “Where were they coming from?”
“East,” answered Nora. “New York.”
Doug, a Rantoul resident, heard this. “Bad things out east. Hope the friend didn’t meet up with an accident.”
Jason shook his head. “I don’t know. I hope not. What are they waiting for?”
“Why don’t you guys go and find out,” Doug suggested.
Thinking it was a good idea, Nora led, she started walking first and Jason caught up. Two blocks from them, John and Meredith stepped from their buggy. Another block, the four of them walked toward each other.
As soon as Nora saw them, she got a sickening feeling in her stomach. John’s face was blue from bruising. Meredith’s as well, plus she had abrasions. “Oh my God, Jason, what happened to them?”
“I don’t know. But I am guessing we can figure out now what happened to Grant.”
Like visiting a friend in the hospital, no matter what John and Meredith looked like, Jason and Nora placed on a smile.
<><><><>
“Grant met with a horrible death,” John said after embracing both Jason and Nora. “The east is a bit different than let’s say Ohio. Once we hit there, it was pretty empty.”
Jason nodded. “We didn’t run into a soul until we got near here. They tell us there are other communities.” He took a step back and pointed to the townspeople waiting a few blocks down the road in a line. “They’re dying to meet you.”
John cleared his throat. “That may be an understatement.”
“What?” Jason asked with a confused chuckle.
John shook his head.
“Why don’t you come meet them,” Nora said. “They are really nice people. You can’t be that shy.”
Meredith asked. “How long have you two been here?”
“A couple days,” Nora replied.
Meredith looked at John. “A couple days. They’re all healthy enough to bear arms. So … Nora and Jason are not.”
Jason asked. “We are not, what?”
John didn’t answer, instead spoke to Meredith. “But it doesn’t mean we’re not.”
“We’re not,” Meredith stated.
Again, Jason asked, “we’re not, you’re not … what?”
John shook his head. “We are. I believe it.”
“It was Grant, he was,” Meredith said.
Nora shifted her eyes. “Grant was what? And we aren’t? What are you two …?”
“I’ll give you that. But we don’t know if we are,” said John.
“We’re not. They aren’t.”
Nora whistled. “Hey. Stop. What are you two talking about?”
Meredith explained. “We found another Genesis lab.”
Eyes wide, Jason sounded excited. “That’s great.”
“No,” Meredith said. “They all didn’t make it and one of them was sick. Or got sick with the virus. We have reason to believe that we could be carriers. But I say we aren’t because that virus shows symptoms in twenty-four hours. None of these people are sick.”
John continued, but again, directed his comments to Meredith. “The DC person yes, he brought the virus and infected the Wreckers. But what about Rusty?”
“His son said he found the sick Wrecker and then he got sick. That Wrecker was a bad one, one of the ones that probably killed Grant. Grant inf
ected him.”
“All right. Ok!” Jason shouted. “Enough. What is a Wrecker?”
John and Meredith looked at each other.
<><><><>
“Yeah,” Jason cleared this throat looking at Hunter. “Okay.” To him, it wasn’t an understatement when he conveyed to Marilee that John and Meredith had found someone that may not be welcome in Rantoul. Jason wasn’t so sure the big, visually different man would be warmly welcomed at first. Rantoul was pretty sheltered.
Jason should have been prepared. After asking what a Wrecker was, John responded, ‘Ever seen The Goonies?’ And especially after finding out they left Hunter a half a mile outside of Rantoul sitting on a duffel bag waiting.
Meredith scolded John on his Goonies comment. But in a sense, John was right, it was a good way to warn Jason of Hunter’s appearance.
Nora seemed more amazed than frightened, or taken aback. “He’s different. Seems nice though.”
“Very sweet,” Meredith said.
Hunter was spellbound by Nora for some reason. He stared at her, then reached out and lifted her arm. “Uh …” He grunted. “It will break with ease.”
Nora smiled. “Oh my God, he is insinuating I’m thin. No one has called me thin since seventh grade. Thank you, Hunter.”
He touched her hair then cheek. “Soft.”
Meredith quickly commented. “She’s young, that will change.”
“My,” John walked up behind Meredith. “Has someone been bit with the jealousy bug? Perhaps our Hunter is really the Wrecker equivalent of Casanova.”
Hunter spun to John. “No Wrecker.”
“Whoops. Sorry.” John lifted his hand.
Jason asked. “Why do they call them Wreckers?”
“They …” John pointed to Hunter. “Do not call themselves Wreckers. The other population of survivors do. Because the ones we ran into … wreck. They wreck, rape and kill. Hunter’s people do not.”
“No Wrecker,” Hunter repeated.
“You know,” Jason said. “If you all just give me a few minutes to go talk to the folks in Rantoul, I am positive they’d be very interested in meeting Hunter.”
John shook his head. “I can’t with a clear conscience do that. I’m not sure I’m not a carrier.”
Reset (Book 2): Salvation Page 15