by Roberts, EM
“But, won’t that be dangerous since the New Army is after Parker,” Sully asked, and Ella knew that he wouldn’t be joining her. She was kind of angry because he could possibly work on the vaccine if the survival facility had a medical lab.
“Yes, it will be. We might have to fight to take our place there, but what do you have here?” Ella asked.
Sully angrily answered, “These people have a home here. They have access to medical care, and they are safe.”
“For how long, Sully? For how long?” Ella asked, sadly. The supplies out here wouldn’t last forever.
“I’m leaving in the morning. You have all day today to decide if you want to go with me. It wasn’t my intention to bring disharmony or strife to you. I just wanted to let you know the alternative,” Ella told the group sadly. She knew there was a good chance that these people didn’t believe her and would stay with Sully and his mother.
She turned and walked over to her car where she leaned against the fender, her arms crossed. She watched as the people angrily talked amongst themselves. A young man in his mid-twenties approached her. He was wearing horn-rimmed glasses, a black tee shirt, and black jeans.
“Ma’am. My name is Cage, and I’d like to go with you tomorrow. I’ve learned how to shoot, and I can make a mean stew over the campfire,” he smiled, showing a dimple in his chin.
“Cage, do you have any family here? I don’t want to break apart any families,” Ella explained.
“No, ma’am, my family is all gone now.”
“Ok, then, I’ll see you around eight in the morning. Pack light.” she ordered.
Ella was wondering if she’d done the right thing by telling these people they had a choice. She didn’t even know if Parker wanted the knowledge banded about, but she did know one thing; they needed more people if they were going to challenge Adams.
Jem walked up and smiled at Ella, her hoops flashing in the sunlight. She really did have a spare set. Ella wondered if Mimi was going to sell Jem’s other hoops or if the old woman was going to wear them herself. Now, that would be a sight to see. She laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Jem asked, offering Ella a stick of gum. Ella took it and popped it into her mouth. Gum, drugs, and jewelry—Ella wondered what else Jem had in that bag of hers.
“I was thinking of Mimi walking around with those hoops of yours in her ears; they’re almost bigger than her head,” Ella replied, laughing again.
“You’re fucking crazy,” Jem laughed, and then she paused, “Why didn’t you tell me the President was alive and all that other stuff?”
“Well, I’d just met you, and I didn’t want you to think I was one of those crazy conspiracy theorists,” Ella replied, still laughing because she couldn’t get the picture of Mimi and her getup out of her mind.
“So, did you sleep with the President?” Jem asked, causing Ella to almost swallow her chewing gum.
“Lord no, you sound like my best friend Roe. You two could be sisters except she’s black and you’re really white,” Ella replied.
“Why did you say it that way? Lord No? He’s very attractive. I’d fuck him,” Jem responded, making a wild face and wiggling her eyebrows as she said it.
“I guess he is, but he didn’t really act like he was attracted to anyone on the farm,” Ella said, thinking back to her last conversation with Parker and when they’d awkwardly hugged.
“He’d be crazy to not be attracted to you. I don’t know if you know this or not, but you’re freaking gorgeous,” Jem stated, “If I were a lesbian or even bi-sexual, I’d be all over that ass of yours.”
“Jem, have you been drinking?” Ella asked. Jem was acting just a little too jovial.
“Just a wee bit. I’m Irish. It’s in my blood,” Jem said, fishing in her bag and pulling out a fifth of vodka, half of which was missing.
“Whoa, sister. I think you need to slow down. Give that here,” Ella said grabbing the bottle. She unscrewed the cap and took a healthy swig, feeling it burn as it went down.
“See, wasn’t that good?” Jem asked, smiling.
“Yeah, I think I’ll have another,” Ella said, taking a much bigger swig this time.
“Uh, oh, here comes Amos. Hide the bottle,” Jem grabbed the contained and shoved it back in her bag.
“Miss Ella, I don’t feel so good,” Amos muttered. Ella stood and placed her hand on the big man’s forehead. No fever—that was good. Just as she was about to get him a glass of water, he ran for the bushes and started heaving. Ella looked accusingly at Jem.
“How many sodas did he have to drink?” Ella asked.
“I don’t know. They were all gone last time I checked,” Jem replied, abashedly.
“Oh my Lord, no wonder he’s sick. He’s not used to that much sugar,” Ella explained.
The big man walked back over looking weak. He smiled tremulously at Ella.
“Am I in trouble? I drunk all the soda pop. I didn’t mean to, but it tasted so good. I don’t want to ever drink another one again. This is the second time they’ve made me puke,” he stated vehemently.
“No, you’re not in trouble. You just have to drink it in moderation—you know, a little at a time,” Ella smiled at him.
“I think I’m going to go in the cabin and go to sleep,” he muttered turning away and starting for the cabin.
After he left, Jem pulled the bottle of vodka out of her bag and wiggled it enticingly in front of Ella.
“What say we have a girl party?” Jem asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Ahhh, you talked me into it, but we have to be up early. So, Jem, if you’re a little cry baby when it comes to hangovers, you probably shouldn’t drink with me,” Ella stated cockily.
The two women slammed back the fifth of vodka, and Ella’s head began swimming. Jem pulled another fifth from her bag and offered Ella a drink which she took gladly.
“Whass that, a mashic Aladdin bag, or sumthin?” Ella slurred, pointing at Jem’s bag.
“Yesh, it isshh.” Jem laughed wildly and fell back on the ground. Ella joined her and the two women looked up at the sky. It was evening and hours before bedtime, but the two of them were hammered.
She heard a commotion at the trading post and caught the words Izzy and Parker. She sat up quickly causing her head to spin. She stood even as Sully approached her.
“We know where your friends are,” he said.
“Howssh that?” she slurred.
“Are you drunk?” he asked incredulously,
“Bingo,” Ella said, giving him a thumbs up.
“Where did you get alcohol?” he asked.
“Your mother. Jem traded for it,” Ella replied, shaking her head back and forth. How dare he act all sanctimonious when his mother was the one who was bootlegging alcohol?
‘Whatever,” he said, “Anyway, we have a ham radio. We always get on and check it of the evening. Your friends are on it right now, and they want to talk to you. I remembered you mentioning a friend named Izzy. That name’s not very common, so I asked if she knew you.”
“My friends? My Pawker and Izza?” Ella wobbled after Sully, knowing she would feel like an idiot in the morning.
She followed Sully into a small room at the back of the trading post. He showed her how to work the mic. She marveled that this invention could allow her to talk to her friends who were miles away.
“Izzie, Pawker?” she asked.
“Ella, oh my God, Ella—this is craz-y,” Izzy’s voice came through—a little cracked and garbled.
“You guys hash to be careful, Adams is right behind you. Ahm gonna ketch up to you,” Ella vowed.
“Ella, are you okay? You sound, well, drunk,” Parker’s deep voice came over the radio.
“I sham, but I’ll be better tomorrow,” Ella vowed. She would be better because she would be seeing her friends again—the people she loved.
“Where’s your father?” Parker asked, changing the subject, but Ella thought he might have been laughing at her drunkenness.
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“He’s dead, Pawker, he’s dead.” There was silence from the other end of the radio.
“I’m bwinging friends wif me,” Ella informed Parker, breaking the awkward silence.
“I’m sorry about your dad. We’re staying put for a couple of days. We’re a little past Salina, Kansas. How far away are you?” Parker asked.
Ella looked at Sully who told her if they left in the morning, they should be there by the evening. It might not even take that long, but since the interstates were full of abandoned vehicles, that would be giving them extra time.
“I can be there by tomorrow night if you’ll wait for me,” Ella said, suddenly sobering somewhat. She shook her head to clear the fog.
“Of course, we’ll always wait for you. Listen up, you’ll have to bypass Topeka and Kansas City because they are infested with creatures, and cars are everywhere. We had to haul ass—there,” Parker’s voice cracked over the system.
Ella took down the instructions to the house and placed the paper reverently in her pocket.
“Bye Parker, it’ll be good to see you guys again,” she told him.
“No, Ella, it’ll be good to see you again,” Parker quipped placing an emphasis on the word.
Ella smiled and made her way back to the cabin. She felt so happy. Her friends were alive, and she would see them the next day. She couldn’t wait to see Roe—her best friend. She had so much to tell her. And Izzy—she missed the girl’s snarky, little attitude. And Parker--it’d been odd when she’d heard his voice. It was almost like a sense of homecoming. She’d never felt that before around him. Tomorrow would be a good day. She just knew it.
Chapter 8: Breadcrumbs
It was on little piece of paper, but it let Lt. General Ford Adams know he was on the right path in his quest to find Parker Wallace. It was the registration for a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and it had been blowing in the wind. It was his needle in a haystack. The paper indicated the vehicle belonged to one Roe Lewis of Taylor’s Creek, Tennessee. Roe was Ella’s best friend and would be traveling with the group. He’d learned this from Spignelli. Apparently, the man had been friends with Ella once.
They’d been traveling on the interstate when one of the soldiers had spotted about thirty dead creatures in one area, indicating a recent shoot out. Parker had instructed his men to search the vehicles, and one of the soldiers had stumbled across the registration just lying on the side of the road. Adams almost felt like it was a sign from God. How lucky could he be?
He didn’t need to worry about finding Parker just this minute, though. He knew the odds of finding Parker and the group were slim, but he knew where they were going. That was the key. Before, he’d planned to catch up with and torture Parker before he could get to the facility. Now, he realized that this logic was skewed. What he needed to do was get to Yucca Mountain first. He needed to be waiting for Parker when the group got there.
“Get me Captain Spignelli,” Adams ordered of the young officer standing by the tent entrance. A few minutes later, Spignelli entered.
“We’ll be leaving within the hour. We’re only going to be stopping long enough to get sleep. Make sure the people know this,” Adams commanded.
“What’s brought this on?” Spignelli questioned.
“I want to get to that mountain before Parker, and we need to pick up the pace. There’s a lot more of us, and we’re traveling too slowly. Dismissed,” Adams, turned his back and began consulting the maps on his desk to see which way would be best to travel.
He wasn’t sure he could trust Spignelli anymore. He knew he and the man didn’t have the same agenda—the same goals. Plus, he knew Spignelli was friends with that red haired bitch, Ella. It was just like a man to be swayed by a pretty face. Personally, he could do without the softness or the liability of feelings. The only person Adams cared about was himself. Women were good for one thing. On their knees, in front of him. He hadn’t gotten to where he was by being soft.
“Sir….sir. Mullins radioed from the chopper. There’s about three cars traveling in a caravan about thirty minutes back. One has Missouri plates. He swooped low enough to see that it was a woman with red hair driving. She’s traveling with a big black man and another woman in one of the cars. Should we pursue it?” A young officer burst into the tent with the news.
“Yes, stop it. I realize it’s very unlikely that it would be who I’m looking for, but the occupants should be questioned. If it is Parker and the woman, detain them by any means necessary, but do not kill them,” Adams commanded, his heart racing in excitement.
Chapter 9: Fight or Flight?
When Ella left Sully’s farm the next morning, it was with a heavy heart. She really wished more of the occupants would have come with her. Just because she felt they would have a better chance of surviving. However, most of the farm’s occupants decided to stay with Sully and Mimi. She did, however, pick up a few more people to add to her ragtag group.
The young man Cage arrived with a couple of bags in hand and ready to leave. Since there wasn’t any room in Ella’s car, Cage would drive his own truck. Shortly after his arrival, a young man and woman arrived along with two children. Ella was surprised an entire family had survived the outbreaks, but upon introduction, she found this wasn’t the case. Tim Strong had found the two children in an abandoned orphanage and taken them under his wing. He’d met Suri Amari, a young woman of Arabic descent, at the trading post. The two had hit off and fallen in love.
Ella cautioned them that the trip might be dangerous and challenging.
“We talked it over, and we know that. But, we feel in order to give the children the best future possible, we should try to make it to the survival facility,” Tim replied earnestly, looking over his shoulder at Suri who nodded her agreement.
“That’s admirable, Tim, but are you willing to fight against other survivors—even kill them?” Ella asked, trying to impress on the man the danger he could be facing.
“Yes, we still believe it’s the best option for the future.”
Ella took him at his word and helped him load the small SUV. They would be taking three cars. Hopefully, when they made it to Parker’s hideout, they could condense some of the vehicles and formulate a plan. Gas was beginning to be harder and harder to come by, and so was food. But, they were getting closer each day to their destination. Hopefully, the survival facility would be their salvation.
The three started out and had driven a fair piece when the helicopter swooped down close to them. Ella’s heart sank. She’d hoped the army would be ahead of them and they could make it to Salina without running into anyone. They’d waited a whole day to give Adams the time to be long gone. She hadn’t thought that the man would waste fuel by sending a chopper to backtrack his trail. She sped the car up and then eased on the gas. What was she thinking? She couldn’t lead the chopper to Parker’s destination.
She also couldn’t let the Army take Amos, Jem, and the others. She grabbed the CB radio. Sully had been insistent that the three cars have them installed before leaving, so they could communicate to each other. Ella supposed it was his way of making amends.
“Cage, Tim, listen up-- that’s one of the choppers from the Army. There’s no way we can outrun them, and there’s nowhere to get off the road. It looks like they’re landing to block us. I’m getting out and letting Jem take over. She will take you to Parker.” As Ella said the words, she looked over at Jem.
“Ella, are you sure? We can go the other way. We can outrun them,” Jem pleaded with her.
“No, I don’t think we can. By now, they’ve notified Adams-- if he isn’t with them. If we start the other way, they’ll do the same thing. They want me and Parker. I’m sure they won’t follow you if you take off the other direction. Go to the last exit and take the side roads until you get to Salina. It’ll take a little longer. Just follow that alternate route on the map.”
“What should I tell your friends?” Jem asked.
“Tell them to go without me. T
ell them I mean it. Make sure Roe knows I want her to take care of Amos. And tell Parker…I wish it could have been. That’s all.” Ella said, slowing the car about a hundred feet from the helicopter. She jumped out.
“Turn around, turn around, and go,” she yelled over her shoulder as she walked toward the helicopter with her hands in the air just as two young officers jumped from the plane.
Six hours later
Ella sat in a chair, her arms tied behind her back. She could no longer feel her hands, the circulation having been cut off hours ago. A huge man stood in the corner, his arms crossed in front of him. She didn’t want to admit it, but he scared her. He was just a little smaller than Amos, but the similarities ended there. Where Amos usually had a jovial countenance on his face, this man looked anything but. He had a small, sarcastic, evil smile on his face anytime he looked at her. There was no other way to describe it, and Ella knew given the chance he would love to torture her.
“So, Ella, where is Parker?” Adams asked from his chair directly in front of her.
“I don’t know. After you burned my house, he went his own way, and I stayed behind with my father,” Ella replied. It wouldn’t hurt to tell some truths.
“I don’t believe you. If that is the case, where is your father?” Adams reasoned, as he leaned back in his chair calmly.
“My father died two weeks after Parker left.”
“And, you just up and decided to take a road trip? You have to know where you were going?” Adams smiled, one side of his mouth curling up.
“I was going to Yucca Mountain. I assume that’s where you’re going?” Ella asked. She knew Adams was aware of the facility’s location. He’d already be there if he had the code. She would play his little cat and mouse game.
“Have you met my friend, Hector? Hector loves meeting new people, don’t you Hector?” Adams asked, looking over at the other man.