“I’ll wait here with Jan,” he said quietly.
The others nodded and headed slowly to the factory entrance.
Conner noticed as they walked that if they had come this far out onto the asphalt, but to the right or the left of where they had ridden out the night, they would have ended up in the river sometime during the night. Jake and Katie were also looking over the destruction on either side of the factory entrance. Their eyes met briefly, acknowledging the apparent, and then turned to examine the entrance to the factory.
A few loose chunks of brick lay upon the ground, but the pile of loose brick seemed none the worse for the long night, seeming to Conner to be in the same place it had been. Not one brick had tumbled from the pile. How could that be, he asked himself. Jake voiced his thoughts.
“Those bricks look untouched,” he said it softly, like such a thing could not possibly be true.
“I noticed that too,” Conner said aloud. Katie simply nodded, passed the pile by, and stepped into the dark mouth of the factory.
Within a short time she located a box of matches, and lighting small little sticks of flame, found her way to one of the big heavy duty flashlights where it had rolled to a stop among a stack of canned goods that had shifted and toppled over from one of the wooden pallets.
Other than a few bricks that had separated from the back wall, and a few more toppled piles of stored goods the factory looked good.
“What do you think, Conner?” Jake asked.
It was one of the few things Jake had asked Conner's opinion about and it surprised him.
“I think if it was going to come down, it would’ve already,” Conner assured him. Katie nodded her head in agreement.
The light headed feeling was still with them as they moved about the shadowy interior. Katie set about building a small fire while Jake and Conner went out to help James bring Janna back into the factory.
Katie passed out bottled water and energy bars once everyone was back inside, and their stomachs seemed to settle down, but the water only woke the queasiness back up, and no one wanted to try the energy bars. They remained untouched.
~
Jake wandered back outside the factory, rested his head against the coolness of the brick that fronted the factory, and watched the sun in the sky. It described a crazy course across the sky. It did not seem to pick up speed and become more stable as it headed for the Northeast as he had hoped it would.
Eventually Conner and Katie wandered out with coffee, bringing a cup for Jake. He sipped at it cautiously, but his stomach seemed to accept it better than it had the water earlier, and it did help to clear his head.
“James is with Janna. They’re both sleeping,” Katie said between sips of coffee. She looked up at the sun where it seemed to hang in the sky.
“It’s reversed,” Jake said. “Going backwards; or nearly backwards. I was hoping it would straighten out... Be over...”
Conner and Katie both nodded.
“Maybe this is it,” Conner said. Jake raised his eyebrows at him. “Maybe that asteroid knocked the orbit for a loop and now it's all coming back... Just different... Maybe this is the new normal. Could it really have made it go backwards though?”
“They said so,” Jake said.
“Right, they. It's always they, not Doctor whoever, just some they. And there were about a billion theories, and anyway, it was supposed to miss us,” Conner said.
“Well it didn't miss us, that's for sure,” Katie said. “What do you mean, it,” she looked at Conner.
“It, as in maybe it’s done and finally about to start rotating in one direction. You know, stay that way.”
“Maybe that situation will straighten out the magnetic poles,” Katie said thoughtfully. “Maybe electronics, circuits, will work again.”
”Is that what it was,” Conner asked?
“Maybe,” Jake said.
“I don’t pretend to know,” Katie said. “Only the Earth wasn’t spinning right, or at all for a while, and none of the electronic stuff worked. Maybe now it will.”
“Yeah. Yeah, but even after it started back up again nothing worked. At least not when we tried it,” Jake said.
“Did we?” Katie asked.
Jake looked puzzled.
“Hey, you know what? She’s right. We didn’t really check again. We just assumed it wouldn’t work. At least I didn’t check. I assumed it wouldn’t work. I mean it didn’t, why would it?” Conner asked. “Did you guys think the same thing?”
“I did,” Jake agreed “First day or two, but not after.”
Katie nodded in agreement. “If that’s what caused it, the Earth not really rotating, maybe it will work now. Or, maybe it’s something else,” she finished and laughed lightly.
“What?” Jake asked.
“You know, the plug my laptop power supply into the wall and it works thing, and that's all I know about electricity.” They all laughed and then fell silent for a few moments.
“That dust or ash,” Conner said, breaking the silence. “I’ve never seen volcanic ash, but I’ve read about it, and it seems that’s what it was.”
“Yeah, I thought that also,” Katie said. “Really, if there weren’t volcanoes going off somewhere, I’d wonder. All this Earthquake activity, volcanoes just make sense. Wherever it happened, it worked its way here on the air and was dumped on us.”
They looked around at the nearly dry asphalt. Small areas steamed as the moisture made its way back into the air. Conner noticed that both Katie and Jake’s shirts were soaked through with sweat. His was no different.
“Yeah,” Jake agreed. “Getting hot.” Conner and Katie both shrugged. Who knows, the gestures said.
They all leaned back against the sun warmed brick, sipping at their coffee, watching the bloated sun stagger across the sky.
It was Katie who first noticed the small group walking across the steaming pavement towards them. Her gun seemed to magically appear in her right hand. Lying alongside her thigh, just out of sight.
~
Conner and Jake were nearly as quick getting their own guns into their hands, but not nearly as subtle.
“That’s close enough right there,” Jake said.
No one spoke for a moment. The two groups of people appraised one another carefully in the silence.
The group was small, four women, and two men. One of the men was no more than a boy, Conner thought, but after the shootout with the kids a few days prior, no one was about to take any kid lightly.
“We saw you from way back,” one of the women said. She pushed sweaty brown hair from her eyes as she spoke. “If we meant trouble…” She let the implication hang in the air.
As she finished, Katie raised her weapon from her side to let the group know she had also seen them, and had been ready for them. They smiled uneasily at one another. The woman held out her hands, and the others in the group did the same.
“We don’t want a problem,” she said softly. “I’m thinking you’re part of the group that took care of those kids from the north side the other day. We heard it.”
“If you could hear it, why didn’t you join in to help us?” Jake challenged.
“Good question,” Conner echoed softly.
The woman who had spoken first nodded. “We have two guns between us. One’s a twenty-two rifle, the other is a Three Eighty which we only have eight bullets for. We didn’t realize how things were going to go bad so fast,” she looked up at the sky where the sun continued its curving, staggering climb. She looked back at Conner. “We had no way of knowing who you were until we saw the aftermath. Even then no way to know what your intentions toward us might be. We're four women a boy and my man.” She shrugged. “Can't we just talk for now?”
Katie got to her feet, holstered her gun and walked towards the small group.
“Katie,” she said, holding out her hand.
“Amy,” The young dark haired woman answered. She turned to the others behind her. “Sandy, Nell, Dustin, Lilly and,” she poi
nted to a young dark skinned man who was standing slightly back and apart, “That’s my man, Aaron.”
As she finished the introductions, James and Janna came to the factory doors. Katie made the same introductions ending with Conner and making it clear he was also not available.
As her eyes caught Conner's, he seemed slightly amused by it. As she turned around, she poked her tongue out slightly at him and made a silly face as she walked towards him, inviting the others to sit down.
“Does that make me your bitch,” Conner whispered as she sat back down next to him.
“Ha, ha,” she whispered back. “…Bitch,” she giggled, but she didn’t allow the giggle to pass her lips. Conner stifled a laugh, but a smile rose to his face. He turned to the small group.
“We’ve got water inside, maybe some more coffee made, bottled soda... Food...”
“Some coffee would be nice,” Amy said and smiled gratefully. Conner left for two cups of coffee and some bottled water as everyone began to sit down. The party had been traveling with backpacks and gear, and it came off now making a small pile as they sat down, when Conner returned just a few minutes later the silence still held. He handed out the water and coffee and sat back down next to Katie. All eyes turned to him. He glanced over at Jake, but Jake seemed to be studying the small patch of asphalt at his feet. Conner found his voice.
“So…” He let the question hang, picked up his still warm coffee and took a reassuring sip.
Amy seemed to hesitate, so the girl she’d identified as Lilly spoke up. She flipped loose blond curls away from her face before she spoke.
“We want to join you,” she said finally in a quiet yet firm voice.
Amy, whose hands had been clasped tightly together parted and raised to her shoulders, palms up in a ‘there you go’ gesture.
Katie was amazed at how much Lilly looked like Lydia. She even sounded like her. It must be that age, Katie said to herself. Everyone acts alike. She looked over at Jake to see if he had noticed, but his eyes were already locked on the young woman. Amy continued.
“We’ve been living in a collapsed apartment building over off State Street. We couldn’t find anything better. Now that’s come the rest of the way down. To be honest, we’re afraid to go into any of the buildings. There’s a lumber shed over there, just a roof really. We spent most of last night under that trying to stay out of the weather. Not much to it. We figured we could get out quick enough if it came down.” She took a deep breath. “That’s where we’re at,” she finished.
When the girl finished speaking, Katie’s head was bowed as if in thought. She raised her head, met Amy’s eyes, and then the others one by one. She let her eyes wander around their own group. One by one they all nodded. Everyone on this side was for it; it was easy enough to see. Jake’s eyes were still on Lilly, so it was clear what his feelings were.
“You’re welcome here,” Katie said. A small chorus of welcome from the others echoed her own words. “There’s plenty of space here, and in a few months most of us will be leaving so there will be more room after that.”
The small group of newcomers all seemed to heave a sigh of relief at the same time. Nervous laughter followed, and smiles lit up their faces.
Katie stood along with the others and motioned towards the doors of the factory. “It isn’t much,” she said and laughed. “But it’s home.” The group picked up their gear and backpacks and followed her inside.
Arizona Desert: Billy and Beth
She awoke with a gasp and sat upright. The movement caused pain to flare inside her head and her hands flew to either side of it as if to hold the pain inside.
“Here,” Billy said from beside her. “Drink this...Coffee.” He handed her the paper cup.
“Oh my God... Billy, my head is killing me,” Beth moaned. She sat carefully for a few seconds longer, holding her head steady, before edging open one eye and looking around her. The blanket that had been covering her slipped down and she reached for it unconsciously, catching it before it could slip off and fall to the floor.
She was laying on a table, soft blankets beneath her, her top had been stripped off. Her bra was stiff with dried blood. “Jesus,” she said softly.
“Come on, Beth. Drink the coffee, and,” He held out his other hand. “Aspirin... At least I think it's aspirin. Some off brand, but it'll help that headache.”
Beth tried a small smile on her face, took the aspirin and the coffee and managed to get the aspirin down.
“Billy, that really is coffee. Bad coffee, but real coffee.” Beth said. Her eyes were traveling around the room. Vending machines, including a coffee machine with the front pried off.
There was the powder that it's made from inside... I just liberated it and made it over a fire.” He turned and pointed back through the glass into a garage area where she could see he had dragged a stove of some kind and hooked it up to some bottled propane. The small cook surface looked funny with the giant propane cylinder next to it. Billy laughed. “Yeah... Not exactly made for each other, but it works good enough.”
Beth looked Billy up and down. He was dressed in clean clothes. “Where did you go shopping,” she asked as she sipped at the coffee. She swung her legs off the table and a wave of dizziness swept over her. Her stomach clenched and for a moment she was sure the coffee and aspirin was on its way back up. After a short battle it decided to stay. For how long she didn't know, but she did know she had to take it slower.
“Slow, Beth,” Billy said as if he had looked into her mind and stolen her words.
“Got you... Got you,” Beth agreed.
“Clothes in the back, Beth. Lockers. I'm guessing this was some sort of ranchers place... Maybe a big operation... Cattle? Crops? I don't know. Bags of fertilizer, fencing, overalls, gloves, trucks, and about thirty lockers back there, most with clothes still in them.”
Her fingers crept up her head and felt carefully under her hairline. “Are those stitches I feel?” She asked.
“Yeah,” Billy agreed. “Had to. Used dental floss and a needle. You never budged, scared me, Beth.”
“Well if I had moved I would probably have kicked you right in the sac...” She sighed, “Thanks, Billy...” She looked down at herself. You... You took care of me?”
Billy nodded. His face flushed.
“Well, What happened... We were somewhere,” Her face clouded but she could not bring the memory.
“That housing project?” Billy prompted.
“Nope,” Beth said.
“Nicer homes... Back toward Phoenix?”
“Nope,” Beth said again.
“We were running at night...”
“That I remember,” Beth agreed.
“Okay, so we stopped to check out this housing project. Like upscale houses out in the desert. It looked empty, but it was full of wolves. One got you through the window...”
Beth's hand went to her throat. It was bruised and yellowed in the bright light inside the room. Beth looked around and then up. The ceiling lights were on.
“Yeah... So you do remember,” Billy said.
“Yeah... Fuckers.” Her eyes went to the lights and then back to Billy's face. “So we got away.”
“Barely,” Billy agreed.” He followed her eyes up to the lights. “Generator.” He stopped talking so she could hear it.
“Okay... So that's that sound,” Beth said. She cleared her throat, drank some more of the coffee and then cleared her throat again. “It didn't get to bite me I guess, or I'd have some of your stitches in my neck too, right??”
“No... I would have done it if I had to, but no. It didn't get you.” Billy said. “I think the wreck got you, that and the steering wheel when we crashed into the house, or the airbag.” He shrugged.
“Could have killed me?” Beth asked.
Billy nodded. “I thought it did.” Billy swallowed hard and the silence fell, just the generator chugging away.
Beth eased her feet slowly to the floor and tested her weight. Bette
r than earlier, but she decided to sit awhile longer. She drained the cup and Billy took it.
“You want more?” He asked.
“I need water, just plain old water.” She looked around hopefully.
“Got that. A water cooler. You can even have it cold with the power on.” He was back just a few moments later with a new cardboard cup, this one filled with cold water.
“God. Cold water in the desert. I would not have believed that,” Beth said.
“Yeah,” Billy agreed. “Not much longer though. There isn't much fuel oil. That's what it runs on. It was meant for short power outages. It's been on two days now.”
Beth choked on the water. Coughing bought the headache back, slamming into her forehead hard. She nearly passed out. Billy was right there, an arm around her, holding her. She took a breath, another, and she was alright again. She would just have to wait on the headache to retreat once more.
“Come on, Beth. Let me get you in a chair.” Before she could argue he picked her up and carried her to a nearby chair. Not one of the plastic ones scattered around, a leather one. Beat up but comfortable. She sank back into the chair and immediately began to feel better. “Jesus, two days here?”
“No. Three. It took a day to get the generator going. It wasn't designed to run after the initial time allotted. It would come on, run awhile and shut right back off. I had to wire it direct. Maybe some safety feature so it wouldn't completely run out. I had to fill the tank from fifty five gallon drums, that was a bitch, but once I cut out the safety, filled her up, she started and stayed running. We're down to a quarter tank though... No more fuel oil... So I'm glad you're back.”
Beth upended the cup and drained it. It was amazing how good the water could make her feel. Like new life and strength being poured into her. Billy bought her another and then another before she sat back into the chair. Her eyes fell on a vending machine with crackers, cookies and bagged chips. The door was ajar. Billy followed her eyes.
He laughed. “Cookies, crackers, chips?” He asked.
“Yeah,” Beth said. Hunger had suddenly leapt up in her stomach. She was starved. Billy came back with a couple of packs of each and she ate greedily as he talked.
Earth's Survivors: box set Page 29