No response but another small giggle. It sounded close, so maybe she was on the right track this time.
She searched the couch, behind it, around the chair, and still no one. She tried calling Marco again, but still nothing. She was just about to head into the garage when Mitch’s small arms went around her waist. “I got you, Mom!”
Catherine jumped and spun around. “Woah! Where did you come from?”
Mitch laughed at her. “I waited until you went down the hall, and I hid under the kitchen sink.”
“Wow, that was so smart! I didn't think to look in the room I started in!”
“Yep! Now go find Jake. I am going to start packing up my clothes in my backpack just like Jake said.”
Catherine smiled again at Mitch. “Can I yell Marco again and see if he replies?”
Mitch giggled. “Sure, but he won't. You have to find him he said.”
Catherine watched with an indulgent smile as Mitch ran down the hall to his bedroom. She turned around and continued her search. She walked through the kitchen but didn't bother to search it, there was nowhere big enough for Jake to hide.
The last place to search was the garage unless Jake snuck around behind her too. She pushed open the garage door and stepped inside. “Marco!” she took a few steps towards the automatic door and jumped a foot when a hand went over her mouth. “Shh... I heard something outside. I don't want to give away our position until we know if it’s safe.”
Catherine relaxed when she realized it was Jake but tensed up again as he spoke. She could feel his breath on her neck as they waited. How long they stood there she wasn't sure, but she felt safe, and that was a luxury she wasn't familiar with.
Ten
Jake heard Catherine and Mitch in the house but it was muffled enough he didn't think whatever he heard outside would have noticed. Then she walked into the garage, and he had never felt so afraid in his life. He willed her to not call out and when she said ‘Marco,’ he moved as fast as he could to her side. Now pressed up against her back, he waited to see if she was heard by whatever might be outside. He could feel her trembling, and he hoped he hadn’t scared her too bad when he grabbed her.
After a few moments, he whispered in her ear. “Let’s quietly move to the house, I will try and figure out what that noise was from. I need to scout the neighbor's houses anyway since we need the supplies we might find.”
Catherine pulled away from him, and when she did she nudged something on the floor, the sound screeched across the garage, and they both froze in place again. Outside the garage, they could hear something moving again. Jake assumed it was an animal of some kind since no one called out.
Catherine leaned back against Jake, and he exhaled. This was not how he wanted to get close to her, but he would take advantage of it and hold her as long as he could.
Time seemed to crawl by, and Jake didn't know how long they stood in place, but suddenly he heard the door behind them open.
With a little more force than he intended he yanked Catherine back into the house and slammed the door behind them. Mitch stood there staring at them in shock. “I am sorry to rush at you, Mitch, I heard something outside and wanted to get inside quick. Did I run into you?”
Mitch stared at Jake with a look of shock. “I’m okay, what about you, Mom?”
They both looked at Catherine, she was laughing and crying. “Mom, are you okay?” while Jake spit out at the same time, “Did I hurt you?”
Catherine stepped away from them both and leaned against the kitchen counter. “I’m fine, don’t worry about that. I’m laughing because I don’t think I have ever moved so fast in my life but crying because that scared the crap out of me.”
This got Jake and Mitch laughing too.
“I’m going to give it a bit before I go outside. How did you do packing clothes, Mitch? Should I see what you put in your backpack? Did you remember what I told you, no toys, only clothes you can wear and that fit you?”
Catherine smiled at the last comment. “You have experience with kids I see. I would suggest checking his bag, and while you do that, I will quietly pull the cake out of the oven before the timer goes off and get it cooling.”
Jake waved at Mitch. “Lead the way, little man, let’s see what you got.” Before he walked out of the room, he turned to Catherine. “Stay away from the garage. I will check it out later.”
He turned back to the hallway and walked down to Mitch’s room. “All right let’s see what you packed.” Jake unzipped the backpack and pulled out everything. One by one he checked sizes and repacked or added what Mitch needed. “Looks good, little man. You know it can’t hurt to bring your toothbrush and maybe one special toy. How does that sound?”
Jake walked to the door and waited for a second watching as Mitch debated what toy to bring. He slowly pulled the door shut and went to the living room. He walked to the windows, listening close, then the door. No sound. He went to the kitchen and signaled to Catherine he was opening the garage door. She watched him without a word.
He silently pushed the door open and stepped out and shut it again. Jake stood still listening and waiting. After a moment he heard nothing and moved closer to the garage door and waited again. After a few moments of silence, he headed back into the house.
“I didn’t hear anything else out there. I’m going to scout around outside. Please lock the garage door behind me. Then come in the house and lock that door. I found some walkie-talkies in Mitch’s room. I will only contact you if I am ready for you to unlock the door or I’m in danger. Don’t call me on it okay?” Catherine nodded, and he went on, “Everything will be fine, we are taking these precautions just to be safe.”
Jake watched Catherine walk towards him. She moved as if she was in molasses and the floor made of glue.
“I’ll be back, don’t worry.” Jake could see the worry on her face. “Just finish the cake, keep Mitch out of the presents, and I will be back before you know it.” He handed her the walkie-talkie and turned away.
“Jake, we need you. Take care out there.” Jake could hear the tremble in Catherine’s voice, and it took all he had to walk out the door and not back over to her.
“One hour, no more than that. Listen for me to call, okay?” He waited for Catherine's nod, then he walked into the garage, grabbed the backpack he saw on a shelf and filled it with supplies he might need. Then he walked across the room to the small door that led outside. It only took a minute to move the barricade they had erected there. “Sit in the Jeep until you see me go out and shut the door. Are you ready?”
Catherine climbed into the Jeep as Jake watched. He stared at her for a moment longer, took a deep breath, then slowly pushed the door open.
Eleven
Catherine could barely contain her terror as Jake opened the door and peeked out. She watched as he slowly pushed the door farther open and took that first step outside in six months. She couldn’t imagine what he was feeling right then.
With one last look, Jake shut the door gently. Catherine jumped out of the Jeep and ran to the door to lock it. She leaned against it for a moment until she realized she left the walkie-talkie in the kitchen, so she raced inside and slammed that door.
Mitch came running down the hall at the sound and paused in the kitchen. “Where did Jake go?”
Catherine tried to paste a smile on her face for Mitch’s benefit. “He went to see if he could find any usable supplies. Do you want to help me frost the cake?”
Typical eight-year-old behavior dictated Mitch would yell in excitement and he didn't disappoint.
“Now promise me you won’t lick all the frosting, and we will actually put some of it on the cake. We need to celebrate your birthday and leaving the house.”
Mitch grabbed the spreading spatula, that is what he called it at least. “I’m ready, let’s get this cake done. I want to eat some!”
Catherine had never let Mitch frost a cake before. He was always more interested in eating it than decorating one. She realized pretty qui
ck that was a good thing. It took the next thirty minutes, but the cake was finally frosted, along with the counters, their clothes, and especially Mitch’s mouth. He ate as much as they put on the cake.
“All right, monster, you go get cleaned up. Put on clean clothes too! When Jake gets back, we will do presents and have an early dessert.” Catherine watched him run down the hall yelling and jumping around. Too much sugar, depending on how long he took he may end up crashing. Catherine decided that would be a good thing since she really wanted to know what Jake found and she wouldn’t be able to ask in front of Mitch.
She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall and realized Jake should be back anytime. “Mitch, stay in your room. I am going to the garage to meet Jake and help him bring in any supplies he found.”
Mitch didn’t reply so she took it as confirmation he’d stay put, and she slowly walked to the garage door. Why she hesitated, she wasn’t sure, but her nerves were jangling badly. With a deep breath, she pushed open the door and stepped into the garage. Nothing had changed out there, and she didn’t hear any knocking, so she went to the Jeep and sat inside again. The walkie-talkie was clutched so tightly in her hands, her knuckles were turning white.
Every creak and whoosh of the wind against the door had her jumping in place. “Come on Jake, hurry back. We need you.”
Jake was late, it had been sixty- five minutes. Catherine started hyperventilating as thoughts of how they would survive without Jake rushed through her mind. Did they still try and leave? Did they stay and try and gather food as Jake did? Could she protect Mitch or would they starve to death in this house?
Just as she was really working herself up into a panic attack, the walkie-talkie crackled. “I’m fine, I haven’t seen anything yet, so I’m dropping supplies at the door and going back out.”
Catherine cried out in relief, “Oh, Jake, I was so scared. You are late checking in!” Tears poured down her cheeks, and she didn’t even bother wiping them away. “I’m opening the door, I’ll put the supplies in the garage, I would feel better seeing you for a minute.” Catherine needed the reassurance he was okay and not hiding some kind of injury.
She climbed out of the Jeep and ran over to the door leading outside. She opened the lock and pulled the door open. She debated stepping outside to see if Jake was close, but she couldn’t bring herself to make that move. Catherine screamed as she saw a body standing in the doorway, she hadn’t realized Jake had moved into the garage. She threw herself at him. “I’m so glad you are okay. You scared me to death.”
Jake laughed and hugged her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to contact you until I had a good look around to be sure.”
Catherine stepped out of his arms. “What did you see?” She couldn’t control the tears that filled her eyes or the tremble in her hands. What he said next would dictate how they left, if they would be safe, and what to expect out there.
Twelve
Jake had mixed emotions about Catherine's reaction to his being gone. He was happy she was worried but sorry he worried her. This woman had his heart and head all mixed up. “Let’s bring in the supplies, I want to get them in and go back out before it gets dark. I’ll explain as we move stuff around.”
Catherine nodded as he walked back outside and grabbed the first box of supplies.
“I started with the house next door like you said. It was empty, and there were no signs of anyone attempting to enter or loot it. I actually got most of our supplies from there.” Catherine stood in the garage listening to him, she hadn’t stepped outside yet so he hoped she could hear him as he moved around. He glanced at her from the doorway and saw her staring at him. “Do you want me to keep going?” She looked petrified, her face was pale and her eyes huge in her face. He hoped she was up for their journey, she had been so strong up until now. She deserved some time to fall apart.
“Jake, tell me what you saw outside first. I need to know how to prepare Mitch. That is all I care about at this moment.”
That made sense and explained her fear. He hadn’t thought in terms of a child seeing the outside for the first time and what it could be like. “Honestly, I’m not sure how to say this. I am still shocked by it.” He paused, and Catherine started tapping her foot impatiently. “It’s a ghost town out there. I saw no one, all the cars have a layer of dirt on them. No animals roamed, not even birds flew overhead. I could see lights on in some of the houses... But no movement.”
Catherine’s gasp brought Jake out of his recounting. “Everyone’s gone? How could we be the only ones around? I don’t understand.”
How could he explain something he didn't understand? He wasn’t privy to the details of what was planned for the town after it was quarantined, but he was sure they would have gone door to door before barricading it off.
Jake’s head snapped up. “I was just thinking the military would have gone door to door to ensure the community was evacuated before they closed the town down... Do you remember when we heard the soldier, and then he stopped? What if that was our evacuation chance?”
“What does this mean, Jake? Can we get out still?” Catherine’s voice held an edge of panic to it.
Jake couldn’t fault her for the slip in her composure because he was panicking on the inside too. “Let me finish scouting for supplies from the houses across the street. Then we will do cake, presents and talk after Mitch goes to bed.” Jake turned and grabbed the last two boxes from outside and set them down inside the garage. “Would you start adding these supplies to the Jeep? Maybe sort the stuff, so food is together etcetera.”
Catherine nodded. “When you leave again I will get Mitch to help me. That way I can explain why we have this stuff and what to expect.”
Jake paused at the door and looked over his shoulder at Catherine, she was bent over the boxes rummaging through them. Without another word, he walked out and shut the door. With a deep breath, he walked away from the house to explore more of the neighborhood.
He realized he was walking with a bit more confidence and less trepidation than earlier. This could lead to trouble, so he slowed down and looked around carefully. He hadn’t seen anything earlier, but they had heard something moving around.
He paused at the edge of the house and peered around the corner. When he didn't see anything, he moved into the driveway and started across the street to the houses he saw with the lights on earlier. He glanced around as he moved, hoping and fearing he would see something or someone out here. Could they really have been left behind by everyone? Wouldn’t someone have come looking for them? What about Catherine’s family? Or would Vincent wonder why he never showed up at work after his weekend mission?
As he neared the house directly across from Catherine’s, he saw out of the corner of his eye the red circle with 2/4 in it. He was afraid he knew what that meant, but he had to look to confirm. He stopped at a window and peeked in. At first, he couldn’t see anything through the dust and grime. Using one of the towels he had put in his backpack, he wiped off the window pane so he could see through the living room into a kitchen. The table held rotting food, and he could see a drink of some kind in a glass. These people left in a hurry. Hopefully, that meant supplies were left behind that they could use. With any amount of luck, they would have more than enough for their trip.
Jake decided to try the front door and take a chance the former residents didn't lock up as they evacuated or the military didn’t lock up after taking the bodies out. A two-slash-four typically meant two dead, two left alive, but since he didn't know the details of what was happening he could only speculate. With a deep breath, he turned the handle and let the air whoosh out of his lungs as the door swung open easily. Then the smell of rot entered his nasal passages, and he fought not to gag. Even with the AC on, food would rot after six months. Jake imagined it was much like death would smell like.
He vowed when he went home he was burning these clothes. The stench would never come out, and he feared he would always smell it. Thankfully he had
packed a second towel. This one he used to cover his mouth and nose. Once it was tied around his head, he stepped into the living room and looked around. To his surprise, it looked normal, nothing out of place, no evidence of anything happening here. To his right, he could see into the kitchen… that was another story completely.
Thirteen
Today is Day 152 also known as Mitchell’s 8th birthday. Tomorrow we leave the house for good. Jake has been out scouting around today. Looking for supplies and just checking to see what it’s like out there. I stood in the garage, and the sun that came through the door hurt my eyes. I am going to find sunglasses for all of us. We will need them until we adjust. Six months in a house is a long time.
Mitch is excited about his birthday, and we are trying our best to make it awesome for him. I used the last of our supplies to make a cake, and we decorated with supplies I had on hand. Jake said he would look around while scouting to see if he could find anything else to give Mitch for a present. Times have changed and the stuff I bought six months ago aren’t good presents anymore. They aren’t broken, but it's not feasible for him to take his video games with us or go outside and play basketball. With hope, we can find stuff usable and maybe enjoyable. I am against the idea of him carrying a knife or a gun, but Mitch would feel better. Maybe Jake will find something he can carry to help.
I remember as a kid those survival knives that had compasses in the handle and a holster. That I could get behind.
I guess I need to tell you what you really are curious about. The outside world. Jake said he would tell me later but what he said so far… It’s a ghost town. No one is around, the houses are empty, no animals are around, not even birds flying overhead. Everything has a layer of dust on it. The cars, and even the windows of the houses, it’s as if everything was just left behind.
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