Carl looked at Preston, who simply glanced back at him with renewed bitterness. “I don’t know if there’s any world after this that’s better than this, but if there is, you have to wonder if whoever’s running the whole operation wasn’t asleep yesterday. A lot of bad shit could have been stopped, if you get what I mean.”
Carl stepped in between Shyanne and Preston. “Not now, Preston,” he said. A new storm was rising, but Carl wanted nothing to do with it.
Tara smirked. “So, the EMP is not the country’s fault, it’s God’s. Okay, I get it.”
“Hey.” Preston picked up the pace, passing one step beyond Tara. “I think I have a right to ask some questions of a cosmic nature. And don’t tell me you’re not wondering the same thing. There’s an awful lot of dead people all around us. If I had a tenth of the kind of power God has, I’d say ‘No, this isn’t going to happen on my watch.’”
“Maybe God doesn’t treat us like wind-up robots. Maybe he lets us have free will. Don’t you lefties go on about how God is an overbearing bully who doesn’t want to let you do what you want? And now you want to come crying to him when bad things happen?”
Shyanne looked up at Carl. “Are they saying God wanted all these bad things to happen?”
Carl scowled. “No.” He broke free of Shyanne and dashed around Preston and Tara, barring their path and getting in their faces.
“Look,” he said, quietly, “You want to argue about God, fate, the nature of the universe, fine, but do it when Shyanne’s not around. You’re saying a lot of things that a small girl isn’t ready to understand, and right now you’re confusing the hell out of her. I won’t let that happen. Got it?”
Preston shrank back a little, clearly embarrassed. Tara simply nodded. “Sure,” she said, before smiling. “You’re a regular papa wolf, aren’t you?”
Carl said nothing. Instead, he returned to Shyanne, who suddenly had stopped and was pointing to their right. “Mister Carl!”
Carl followed her gaze. A band of men were trudging through the field parallel to their path. It wasn’t immediately clear if they were trailing Carl’s party. The group was far enough way that Carl wondered if the men had noticed Carl’s party at all.
Tara took out her binoculars. “Damn. These guys look like they’re looking for trouble. Some of their faces…holy shit.”
“Let me take a look,” Carl said. Tara obliged. Carl observed their faces. The men were looking around intensely, as if they were searching for something. Some of the men had dirt covering their faces. One of them had a nasty gash down his right cheek.
Carl handed the binoculars back to Tara. “Those men are on a hunt, and I think we may be the prey.” He turned back to Shyanne. “C’mon, we got to move quickly.” He reached down and scooped her up.
“Bad men?” the girl asked.
“Yeah.” Carl turned to the line of buildings up ahead. They were much closer. In fact, Carl bet he could make out a shopping mall just beyond the field. The property was within running distance.
“Alright you two, time to feel the burn. We’re going to make a dash to the property, but head through the tall grass. If there’s a chance we can stay hidden, we should go for it.” Carl started marching forward. “And follow me. If I decide to, we’ll change direction to cover more ground.”
“Got it,” Tara said.
“Whatever you say,” Preston added.
Carl patted Shyanne on the back. “Cling tightly, because you’re going for a ride.”
The little girl hugged Carl. “Okay.”
As he started his run, the tall grass batted against his body. At first Carl vowed to ignore it, but once his shoes started to slip a little, he slowed down. He was used to making quick runs down open roads. At times, he would run quickly in urban areas, taking cover, but he never had been so obstructed as he was running through this field. Clutching a small girl wasn’t helping.
“Tara! Keep an eye to our right! Tell us if they’re pursuing us!” Carl called.
Tara whipped out her binoculars and took a quick look in the group’s direction. “They’re still pretty far away. They’re not turning to us, I don’t think.”
Carl decided to risk slowing down. He didn’t want to trip and fall with Shyanne in his arms. “Okay.” Instead, he turned slightly to the left. The grass was shorter here. He was able to keep up a good pace, even though it would take longer to reach the mall.
Tara and Preston tailed Carl all the way to the edge of the field. Only when the grass gave way to a parking lot did fatigue claim Carl’s legs. He panted as he reached the edge of the lot. Tara and Preston halted beside him.
“Mister Carl, am I too heavy?” Shyanne asked.
Carl shook his head. “No. I’m getting too old.” He laughed, then patted her on the back. “How about you get down for a minute so I can look around?”
The little girl obeyed. Sucking in fresh breaths, Carl gazed at the property around them. Cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles packed the lot. If it wasn’t for the fact that shoppers weren’t streaming in and out of the mall building, no one would think this wasn’t anything other than an ordinary shopping day. However, with the EMP, it was as if this scene was hit with an eternal pause button. These vehicles never would move again. The owners of these vehicles likely fled yesterday.
Or maybe some of them still are inside that building, Carl thought. That could be good or bad. If they were ordinary people, Carl might find some people who could help them. On the other hand, quite a few of the rioters and looters out here used to be ordinary people themselves before they gave in to whatever immoral desires the fall of society had unleashed.
“This could be a sanctuary or it could be a trap,” Carl whispered. He wondered if coming here was such a good idea after all.
“Hey!” Tara was looking behind them through her binoculars. “They’re getting kind of close here, Marine! Are we going to move our asses?”
Carl spun his head around. The group of men definitely had turned more in their direction, though they still were quite far off. But at their rate of hiking, that wouldn’t last. Carl realized that fleeing into an open area might not be a good idea. They would tire out before long, and he knew neither Tara nor Preston possessed his kind of physical endurance.
“Let’s make a break for the mall,” Carl said as he reached down for Shyanne.
Carl led them close by a row of vehicles. In the few minutes it took to arrive at the mall’s concrete wall, nothing appeared to challenge them. No one shot at them from the mall. No one ran toward them or shouted at them. Perhaps the mall truly was deserted.
Or maybe someone inside is waiting for us, Carl thought. He highly doubted any mall in a heavily populated area could be deserted. The stores inside would be easy targets, and malls provided shelter from the elements.
Carl led the party along the wall. Soon they arrived at a set of glass double doors. The panes remained clear, free of any cracks. This mall did not appear to have been assaulted by any rioting mob. Oddly, Carl might have felt better if the doors had been busted. At least that would signify the place had been looted. Other looters might have judged an already ravaged property as not worth the trouble and moved on.
It’s sad when you’re suspicious when things look normal, he thought.
Preston tugged on the door handle. The door pulled open easily. “It’s not locked,” Tara said.
“The EMP hit during normal operating hours. I don’t guess anyone would have bothered to lock this place up,” Preston said.
Carl bit his lip. Perhaps he should go in first and scout the place. If he was only concerned about himself, he could dart through quickly while risking only himself.
Meanwhile, Tara turned around and checked their trail with her binoculars. “They’re almost at the edge of the field!” she shouted. “They’re on the other side of the lot.”
“Damn.” Whether the group of men was searching specifically for Carl’s party or not, staying out in the open was no lo
nger a viable option. It was into the mall or run until they were worn out and at the mercy of evil men.
Carl walked forward. He took the door handle, while Preston withdrew his hand. Carl would be the first to head into possible danger.
He glanced at Preston and Tara’s faces, probing their expressions for any doubt, fear or even anger. Instead he read acceptance. They were ready to follow Carl into this building.
Finally, he glanced down at Shyanne. The little girl looked back at him, doing nothing for a second. Then, she smiled and saluted at him.
Carl laughed silently. Well, that’s all I need to go forward, he thought.
Sergeant Carl Mathers pulled the door fully open, then walked inside.
Find out what happens in part two here: https://amzn.to/2INeFhm
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