Duck for Cover (Nuclear Survival: Northern Exposure Book 2)
Page 16
“That’s me.” He wore a robe and slippers and held a mug in one hand. “But I don’t believe I know you.”
Danny smiled. “We’re friends of Dottie’s across the street.”
Dr. Gleason warmed. “Are one of the neighbor’s cats in her geraniums again?”
“I’m afraid it’s worse than that.” Danny swallowed. “Are you aware of what’s happened?”
The man sobered. “You mean the bombs?” He shook his head. “Bit hard to believe, if you ask me.”
Danny nudged Midge for assistance. She stammered to life like a toy with a pull string. “It’s true. Top twenty-five cities, all destroyed.”
Dr. Gleason ran a hand down his face. “We learned all about nuclear war when I was a boy, but I thought that was long behind us.”
“Did you shelter after the blasts?”
He scratched the back of his head. “If you call sleeping for three days straight sheltering, then I suppose so. I had the worst cold the past week. Swear I got it from Mrs. Potter’s Dalmatian.” He glanced down at his robe. “Today’s the first day I’m out of bed. But that’s neither here nor there. What did you say you needed again?”
“Dottie’s real sick.” Midge cut right to the quick. “Radiation poisoning most likely.”
“Oh my heavens. Give me a moment, will you?” Dr. Gleason shut the door and left Danny and Midge standing on the front porch.
“You didn’t have to be so blunt.”
Midge stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Didn’t see any reason to sugarcoat it. Nuclear Armageddon isn’t really something you can small talk your way into.”
Danny exhaled. She was barely keeping it together. “We’ll find your mom, Midge. I promise.”
She turned away, intent on scooting a clod of dirt off Dr. Gleason’s front porch with the toe of her boot. Danny didn’t press.
A moment later, the door opened and a new and improved Dr. Gleason emerged. He’d changed into jeans and a button-down and carried a black bag reminiscent of doctors who made house calls. “I have a clinic down the way. It’s about a half a mile walk if you don’t mind.”
Danny nodded and they fell into step together, with Dr. Gleason pointing out neighbors’ houses and vacation homes and telling him a bit about the town. Midge trailed behind, head down, hands hidden in her sleeves.
They came up to the veterinary clinic and Dr. Gleason paused. The door was ajar.
Danny pulled out the gun he’d lifted off Ted and held it low and ready. “I’ll make sure it’s clear.” He eased inside. The lobby appeared intact with nothing disturbed. He eased behind the counter and pushed open the door to the back with his foot.
Boxes of medicine littered the floor. A cabinet on the far wall stood open, one door bent with a hinge a breath away from breaking. “It’s clear!”
Dr. Gleason and Midge joined Danny in the back room.
“I can’t believe it.” The vet bent down and picked up one of the boxes. “Who would do such a thing?”
“Maybe someone’s pet had an emergency. You mentioned you were at home in bed, right?”
Dr. Gleason held up a box. “No emergency. Just a junkie looking for a fix.”
He tossed the empty box to the floor and Danny bent to pick it up. “Ketamine? Isn’t that an anesthetic?”
“At smaller doses it’s a hallucinogenic and gives quite the high, I’ve been told. Over the past few years, I’ve had the odd run-in with someone looking for a hit, but I’ve never been robbed.”
“First time for everything.” Midge stood in the corner, arms around her like if she squeezed hard enough she could ward off the terrible thoughts parading through her mind.
Danny’s heart went out to her. He didn’t know how to help her ease the fear and uncertainty surrounding her mother’s whereabouts, but he could help Dottie as best he knew how. If Midge’s mother didn’t leave Chicago, or if she left later than Midge thought, the chances of finding her alive were slim. Midge understood that. She had to.
“I’ve got everything I need.” Dr. Gleason held a plastic bag bulging with supplies. “I’ll come back and clean up after we’ve tended to Dottie.”
He shut and locked the door behind him, checking to ensure it held before joining Midge and Danny on the sidewalk. “So how do you two know Dottie, anyway?”
Midge tucked her hands in her hoodie. “My mom and Dottie went to school together. They’ve been friends ever since.”
“Does your mom live around here? I bet I know her.”
Danny spoke up. “Her mom was in Chicago. We expected to find her here, but—” He shook his head and Dr. Gleason sobered.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope she turns up soon.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence, each person tied up in their own thoughts. As Dr. Gleason opened the front door to Dottie’s home he turned to Danny. “Would you mind giving me a hand? Putting an IV in a person isn’t quite the same as in a Golden Retriever.”
Danny hesitated. “Will you be all right down here?”
Midge nodded.
Dr. Gleason pointed toward the kitchen. “Dottie doesn’t like to show it off, but if you move the juice glasses out of the way in the cabinet above the sink, you’ll find some top-shelf bourbon and a set of glasses. I think a day like today deserves a drink.” He winked at her and climbed the stairs.
Danny followed, unsure whether leaving Midge with a bottle of liquor and her own thoughts was a good idea. He stepped into Dottie’s room a few paces behind the vet and waited for his instructions. Together they hooked up an IV, checked her temperature, treated her open sores with antibiotic ointment, and convinced her to drink a bit more water.
When Dr. Gleason finished he pulled up a chair and sat beside Dottie.
She smiled at him. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course. I only wish you’d told me sooner. There I was, moping about inside my house when I could have been making myself useful and helping you.”
“It’s a good thing you stayed inside. Kept you safe.”
“I’d have traded that to take care of you and you know it.”
“Quit talking like that, Lloyd, or it’ll go to my head.”
Danny eased out of the room. He didn’t need to be a third wheel to their private conversation. He found Midge sitting at the kitchen table staring at a glass half-full of bourbon. He eased into the chair opposite her and reached for the bottle.
“Do you really think this will solve anything?”
“Might numb the pain.”
“You seem numb already.”
Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “I’ve got to find my mom.”
“I know.” Danny picked at the label on the bottle. “Do you think she left Chicago?”
Midge tucked a leg beneath her. “I don’t know. If she did, I bet she headed north and planned to take the car ferry. I remember she told me it cuts down on the driving.”
“Where does the ferry dock?”
“Traverse City.”
“Then we head there as soon as possible, see if it’s still running, catch a ride if it is. Then we can follow her usual route down into Chicago.”
“What if we never find her?” Midge’s voice cracked on the last word. “What if she’s out there somewhere and we miss her?”
Danny reached out and stilled her bouncing fingers. “It doesn’t matter if it takes weeks, Midge. We’ll find her.”
She pulled her hand away. “We don’t have weeks.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The place I mentioned before—the one in Canada—it’s a limited-time option.”
Danny frowned. What kind of town only lets in people for so long? “That doesn’t make sense. What kind of place is it?”
“A sanctuary of sorts. For people like me.”
Danny scrunched up his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She picked at a nail. “You know, hackers. Most of us aren’t exactly on good terms with law enforcement.”
“It’s not like you’re in the Fresh Boys or Affiliated. How dangerous can a bunch of kids behind computer screens be?”
“We found out about the attacks when no one else reported on them.”
“That doesn’t strike me as wildly against the law.”
Midge tugged on her lip, a myriad of thoughts practically parading across her face as her mouth tipped up and then down. At last, she shrugged. “Some of our methods aren’t exactly legal. And some of the people I know,” again she paused, “are in it for more than idle curiosity.”
“You mean money.”
She nodded.
“Well, I don’t care what they’re into. If they’re your friends, then they’re all right by me.”
Midge’s eyes went wide. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.” Danny reached for her hands again despite her reluctance. “If we need to leave tonight, then let’s do it. I meant it when I said I’d help you find your mother, and if we need to be quick about it, then let’s do just that.”
Danny wanted to say so much more, but he held back, letting Midge come to terms with his willingness to help without any added pressure. Over the course of the eight days they had been together, Danny had come to think of Midge as his closest friend.
If she needed to leave Suttons Bay that minute, he would do it. They would find her mother and make it to Canada no matter what.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
MIDGE
Saturday, 11:00 am CST
Suttons Bay, Michigan
Midge stood on the steps of Dottie’s house staring at the M-ATV while Danny and Dr. Gleason said their goodbyes. It seemed all she did since the bombs detonated was meet people and either watch them die or leave. All except Danny.
He opened the door to the cottage and joined her on the last step. “Ready?”
She nodded. “You sure you want to come with me?”
“We’re not going through that again. I told you we’re in this together.”
Midge wanted to ask him why he’d stick with a girl who wasn’t very nice and didn’t even like to hold his hand, but she didn’t say a word.
“So we’ll retrace your mother’s route, starting in Traverse City.”
“Seems like the best option.”
“What should we be on the lookout for? A Jeep? Subaru?”
Midge smiled through the pain. “A gray-haired lady who can barely see over the steering wheel of a bright blue Mini Cooper.”
Danny raised an eyebrow and Midge’s smile turned into a grin. “What? I take after my dad.”
He shook his head and picked up the bag of food Dottie and Dr. Gleason insisted they take. “You’re full of surprises Margaret Anne Sinclair.”
Midge’s eyes widened. “How did you?”
“Know your full name?” It was Danny’s turn to grin. “Turns out Dottie’s a lovely conversationalist.” He hopped down the step and headed toward the M-ATV. “She also told me you have a thing for guys with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes.”
Midge’s mouth fell open and Danny hopped up into the M-ATV. As he pulled the driver’s door shut, he winked.
Thank you for reading Duck for Cover.
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If you found out the world was about to end, what would you do?
Four ordinary people—a computer specialist, a hacker, a reporter, and a private investigator—are about to find out.
Each one has a role to play in the hours leading up to the worst attack in United States history.
Will they rise to the occasion or will the threat of armageddon stop them in their tracks?
Acknowledgments
Thank you for sticking with me for the second book in Midge and Danny’s journey. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed figuring out these characters and can’t wait to get started on book three.
Although I’m sad to leave Chicago so soon, I’m thrilled to write some adventures on the lake and with some crazy new characters. As I mentioned before, writing this series has brought back many fond memories of a part of the country I lived in many years ago. I’m sure places have changed and a few things aren’t quite as I remember, but I hope you’ll go along for the ride and indulge me a few liberties with names, places, and the like.
If you enjoyed this book and have a moment, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. Every one helps new readers discover my work and helps me keep writing the stories you want to read.
I’ll be back with the third book in Nuclear Survival: Northern Exposure soon. Midge and Danny have said goodbye to new friends, but they just might run into a few they met in book one soon.
Until then,
Harley
About Harley Tate
When the world as we know it falls apart, how far will you go to survive?
Harley Tate writes edge-of-your-seat post-apocalyptic fiction exploring what happens when ordinary people are faced with impossible choices.
The apocalypse is only the beginning.
Contact Harley directly at:
www.harleytate.com
harley@harleytate.com