by Dave Bowman
Anne looked over at her son. She wished she could protect her children from the evil in the world.
“It will never be like it was before,” she said slowly, returning her eyes to the road. “I think the people the virus spared will be forever changed. Some not in a good way. But that’s how it’s always been. Some of us go toward darkness, and some toward light.”
“So you think it’s a choice?”
“Sort of. All of us have some good and some bad in us. We can choose to nurture the good side, or we can nurture the bad side. Some things are out of our control, though.”
“Like bad spirits?” Daniel asked, fighting the fatigue to lift the corners of his mouth in a smile to tease his mother.
Anne nodded, ignoring her son’s playful taunt.
“Or the virus outbreak. A big event like Hosta can bring out whatever was hidden underneath the surface. If a person suppresses the hatred and darkness inside them for a long time, a disaster like this can make it harder to hide. And it can make it darker and uglier. After a certain point, it takes over all the goodness a person has, and it’s out of control.”
Daniel looked out the window. Is that what had happened with the three people back in that small town? When they lost everyone and everything, had they lost all sense of morality and human decency as well?
Then he remembered the people who had attacked Liz and ambushed Nick and the others. Those men had wanted to kill them so they could steal Nick’s property.
“When you add in competition over resources, it makes it worse, I guess,” Daniel said.
Anne nodded. “Yes. When things we need are scarce, it’s easy to turn against each other.”
“And become like animals,” Daniel muttered.
“We just have to keep looking ahead, keep doing the best we can. Your great-grandfather says we have to return to the old traditions. He says they will guide us.”
“But the old ways never prepared us for this killer epidemic,” Daniel said.
“That’s true.”
She ran her hand over his gleaming black hair affectionately, then brought it back to the steering wheel.
“I wish the world was better for you, Daniel.”
He looked at her and smiled.
“Just stay healthy, Mom. That’s enough for me.”
30
“When did it happen?”
“When we were walking out here,” Bethany said. “The floodgates just broke. I don’t know if it was because of the fall, or the stress, or what.”
“She says she doesn’t have any contractions yet,” Jessa said.
Nick stood staring at the two women for a moment, his mind running through possibilities.
“I’m really worried,” Bethany said. “It’s too early for the baby to come. They say after the water breaks, you’re at risk of infection. The baby needs to come within twenty-four hours.”
Nick paced back and forth a bit, trying to remember what he could from Kaitlyn’s pregnancy.
“Is he premature?”
“No,” Bethany said, rubbing her hands over her belly. “It’s been thirty-seven weeks. That’s just barely full-term. But… I don’t know. It feels too early. I don’t feel ready for this at all. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
Nick looked back at the cabin.
“We can clean up in there. I’ll remove his – his body.”
“No,” Bethany said firmly. “I want to get out of here. I never want to go back in that place.”
She suddenly looked at Mia and reached out her arms toward the girl. Mia let herself be embraced.
“It was so awful in there,” Bethany said, her voice trembling. “We were terrified.”
Bethany looked up at Jessa and Nick.
“You should’ve seen Mia in there. She was so smart. She was able to calm him down. I probably would be dead without Mia’s help.”
Bethany’s shoulders shook as she wept with Mia in her arms.
Jessa looked up nervously at Nick.
“It’s starting to get dark,” Nick said. “I’m afraid we don’t have much time.”
“I told her about the cabin we found,” Jessa said.
“I want to walk down to the trucks. I don’t want my baby to be born in that house. We have to go to the other cabin,” Bethany said. Her mind was made up.
“Are you sure you can walk all that way?” Mia said. “It was really far.”
Bethany nodded. “I want to try. Besides, I need to have all my supplies with me. The ones back at the truck.”
Jessa looked up at Nick and eyed the bags he was carrying. “Did you find food?”
“Yeah. And his truck keys.”
Jessa stood up and reached out her hands to help Bethany up.
“Are you ready now?” Jessa asked.
Bethany took her hands and struggled to get up. She took a deep breath, dusted the dirt off her jeans, and nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Bethany set the pace. She walked as quickly as she could, but she couldn’t move very fast through the wooded hills.
Nick pointed out the way through the forest. His sharp focus he had used to arrive at the cabin meant that he was hyper-aware of his surroundings.
Despite the extra weight she was carrying and her discomfort, Bethany continued without breaks for several minutes. They were about halfway through the journey when she stopped to catch her breath. Except instead of regulating her breath, she started to breathe more heavily.
“Is everything okay?” Mia asked.
Bethany exhaled through pursed lips. “The contractions are starting.”
Jessa flinched. “That’s not good, is it?”
Bethany closed her eyes and held her belly for a moment. Then she pushed herself up and started to walk again.
“It’s already over. And it didn’t hurt too bad, so I guess that means the labor is still in the beginning stages,” Bethany said. “Let’s keep going.”
Nick thought of all the remaining terrain they had to cross. Bethany and Mia only had to walk to the truck hidden in the forest. Jessa could drive them down. With luck, Charlie and Trina would be recovered and ready to go.
Most of all, he hoped that the group wouldn’t run into any trouble driving to the cabin.
The four of them walked over the final slope as the sun disappeared. They approached Garrison’s truck, a Silver GMC.
“Jessa, you can drive them down,” Nick said as he tossed her the keys.
Nick charged ahead to begin clearing the path below the truck of large branches and logs. Jessa and Mia started to drag the limbs and tarps off the vehicle.
“Hop in,” Jessa said to Mia and Bethany as she opened the passenger door.
Mia squeezed in the middle. Bethany held her belly as she climbed into the seat. She was breathing more heavily now.
Soon, they were at the cul-de-sac. Nick breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Trina and Charlie up and moving around. All the gear was packed and ready to go.
“Are they okay?” Matt asked.
“They’re all right, but Bethany is in labor now,” Nick said.
Liz drew in air sharply. “Do we have time to get to the cabin?”
“It didn’t sound like that cabin is any place to have a baby,” Trina commented.
He crossed the distance to the Dodge, ignoring the commotion his words had sparked.
“Charlie, Trina, are you both recovered?” he asked as he made sure all the gear was secured in the back of the pickups.
“We’re fine,” Trina said.
“Good,” Nick said. “We don’t have any time to waste. We’ve got to get to that cabin now.”
Everyone piled into the vehicles and drove down the dirt road. Soon, they arrived at the state highway. They pulled out onto the road as darkness fell over the land.
Nick led the way in the Dodge truck. He drove as quickly as the white-knuckle turns in the road would allow. They had to get to the cabin before the BSC sent more of its members to track them down.
/> They could already be out here somewhere, just waiting for us.
Nick’s heart pounded as he drove. The state road was too dangerous. They were out in the open with no hiding places. But they had come too far to fall into a trap now. They had to push on and make it to the cabin.
The turn to the side road that led to the cabin was a welcome sight for them all. A few minutes later, they arrived at the cabin. It was empty, just as they had left it earlier.
They had made it without any sign of the BSC.
Now, Nick had to keep them safe at the cabin. Bethany was right. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. He had counted on having another three weeks before the baby was born. In White Pine Falls, things would’ve been much better. Bethany would have been able to have her baby in a safe place and with trained professionals.
Now, she would have to deliver in an abandoned cabin with no running water.
He parked the truck and walked over to the GMC. Opening the door, he saw that the past hour of driving had brought on more severe contractions for Bethany. She moaned and panted through the pain.
“Let’s get you inside,” he said.
She leaned on him as he helped her inside the cabin. Jessa ran ahead to light candles. As Nick and Bethany stepped inside the front door, Bethany looked around. The surroundings were faintly lit from three candles.
“Oh, no,” she said in anguish.
“What is it?” Jessa asked frantically. “Is the pain worse now?”
“No,” Bethany said, looking around. “It’s just that I never thought of having a baby in a place like this. This place is filthy.”
She began to cry, burying her head in her hands. She sank down into a dusty old wooden chair.
“I don’t think I can do this.”
Nick sat on the couch and leaned toward her. “I know this isn’t the kind of place you had in mind, but we don’t have a lot of options right now.”
Bethany nodded. “I know,” she said between tears. “I’m so grateful for everything, for everyone. I just – I don’t know how I can do this. I’m scared.”
Trina stood behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “You can do this, Bethany. You have to do it. That baby is coming out whether you’re ready or not. And we’ll be right here with you.”
Bethany nodded and wiped her eyes. “Thanks, you guys.”
As the others straggled in the cabin to look around, Liz opened the closet in the kitchen.
“Good, I found a broom. Mia, will you help me clean up the bedroom?”
Mia nodded and followed Liz down the hall.
“We’ll get this place cleaned up, Bethany,” Trina said. “And we can bring the sleeping bag in to put over the bed if you want to lie down.”
Bethany managed a weak smile. “That sounds good.”
Nick stood up. “I’ll go get some firewood. We’ll get a fire going in the wood stove. The heat will make this place feel a lot nicer.”
“What about water?” Jessa asked. “There’s a sink, but no taps. This place doesn’t have any plumbing.”
“I guess the owners just brought bottled water with them when they came out here?” Matt asked.
“I bet there’s a spring out here somewhere,” Charlie said. “I’ll go look for it.”
“Good idea,” Nick said. “Trina and Matt, can you two be in charge of cleaning up the kitchen? We’ll need to cook some food soon.”
“Sure,” Trina said. She and Matt moved to the kitchen and got to work.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes with some wood,” Nick said.
He walked out to the Dodge and found his hacksaw and hatchet. The ax had been in his stolen truck, but the hatchet was better than nothing.
The woods surrounding the cabin were full of ponderosa pines. Pine was a softwood, not hardwood from a deciduous tree like a maple. It was easy to catch on fire, but it burned fast and didn’t produce as much heat. He would need a lot of it.
Nick sawed off several dead underlimbs from live trees. He stacked them in a pile. He walked farther into the woods, lighting his way with a headlamp.
He came to a dead tree that had fallen over. Luckily, it was propped up in the air by another log. He began to saw off chunks of the dry wood. The portion of the trunk on the ground was rotten and wouldn’t burn. He left it behind. He only took the wood that was off the ground and dried by the circulating air.
He hauled the chunks of the dead trunk and the limbs back to the cabin, stacking them near the porch. Using the hatchet, he chopped the chunks of wood into smaller pieces.
Nick carried the wood inside, stacking it neatly on the floor next to the wood stove. He opened the chimney damper and the door of the stove, then arranged the kindling and smaller pieces. With a lighter, he set fire to some newspaper he found and used it to light the kindling. Soon, the fire had caught.
He looked around. Matt was sweeping the kitchen, and Trina was unpacking the food. He heard Bethany and Liz talking in the bedroom.
“How’s Bethany?” he asked Trina.
“She’s doing okay,” she said. “Her contractions are about fifteen minutes apart now.”
“It’s been a while since my wife had our son,” Nick said. “I’m rusty. What does every fifteen minutes mean?”
Trina walked over to the wood stove and reached out her hands to warm them by the crackling fire. She spoke in a lowered voice.
“It means she still has a long way to go. Especially since this is her first baby, she could be in labor a long time.”
Trina glanced back at the bedroom.
“I wish we had some kind of painkiller for her. I had three babies, but they gave me epidurals for all of them.”
“She seems to be handling it pretty well so far,” Matt said, drawing closer to the stove so he could hear.
Trina looked back at him. “She’s still in the early stages. When those contractions get three or four minutes apart, she’ll really be feeling it.”
Nick closed the door to the stove but left the flue open for airflow.
“It’s such a horrible way to go into labor,” Trina said, shaking her head. “She’s in a totally new environment, and after what she went through today, she must be reeling. She really needed a few days to recover from that.”
“Not to mention the threat from the gang members,” Nick said. “We’re still a little too close to their territory for comfort.”
Trina frowned. “Yeah. I was trying not to think of that.”
Nick looked around the cabin. There was no denying its shabbiness, but at least it was a bit cleaner now.
“I’m going to stand guard outside,” he said. “We’ll need to have someone out there on watch at all times. Let me know if Bethany needs anything. And Trina, close this flue in about ten minutes.”
“Sure. Hopefully we’ll have some food ready soon if Charlie finds any water out there.”
“That would be great,” Nick said as he walked outside.
Nick almost bumped into Charlie as he walked down the front steps. He looked at the two full plastic gallons of water Charlie carried in his good hand. He carried a backpack with more bottles over his shoulder.
“Looks like you found the spring,” Nick said.
Charlie grinned. “Sure did. It’s a good hike from here, but the water’s running pretty good.”
“That means we’ll have some dinner pretty soon,” Nick said. “And we’ll need a lot more water. Ask Matt to help you fill up whatever empty bottles and containers we have. It will all need to be boiled on the wood stove.”
“Got it, Nick. Are you putting yourself on first watch?”
“Sure am. I’ll be at the top of the driveway.”
“Ten-four. We’ll bring you some food when it’s ready. I know you must be starving like I am.”
Nick gave him a quick nod, then turned to walk up the long, unmaintained driveway.
The others seemed to have everything under control at the cabin. The baby wasn’t coming under the best circums
tances. But at least they had found shelter, warmth, and water. Soon, they would have food. And for the moment, they were safe.
It was up to Nick to keep them that way.
31
Bobby’s convoy turned on to State Highway 311 just as it was getting dark. It had taken them hours to get this far.
Bobby hadn’t been out in these mountains in over a decade. It didn’t look like much had changed.
“There’s a whole lot of nothing out here,” he said to Clark.
His driver nodded. “Just trees and hills as far as the eye can see. How much farther you want to go, boss?”
Bobby chuckled. “You want to turn back already, Clark? You giving up already?”
Clark bristled. “It’s not that, Bobby. It’s just – I don’t know. We’ve been driving all day and we haven’t seen anything. We’ve been down every single back road and checked out all the cabins. I mean, we checked the cabins thirty miles back. We haven’t even seen a single house out this way.”
“What’s your point?” Bobby asked.
Clark darted his eyes to the side, then back to the road.
“Maybe they’re just not out here. Maybe they made it to the interstate. Hell, they could be back in New Mexico by now.”
Bobby’s hands closed into fists. His shoulder twitched.
“You got something better to do, Clark? Is there some place you’d rather be than driving me through these mountains?”
Clark hesitated. “No – no, boss. Of course not. It ain’t that.”
“Because if you have something more important than searching for and taking out enemies of the BSC, then don’t let me get in your way.”
“Bobby –”
“I mean, you can get out right here and walk your ass back to Denver.”
Bobby’s breath was coming in short spurts now.
Bobby’s most trusted man was doubting him. He didn’t think their mission was important enough. He was second-guessing Bobby’s authority.
How dare he?
“Hey, man, I didn’t mean nothing by it. There’s no place I’d rather be than looking for these sons of bitches. The BSC means everything to me. You know that, Bobby.”
Bobby looked out the window. He let go of his fists and crossed his arms over his chest.