Shore Haven

by Reynolds, Jennifer

  I burst out laughing and rolled out of bed, thinking I should probably call David to let him know we’d arrived safely.

  “I didn’t bring anything that vibrates. I promise. I’m only teasing. My underwear is in a Ziploc bag, though. I didn’t want the people at the airport touching them. You’re right. I should do this now because I might not have the energy to do it when we get back. What do you think you want to do for our first night in such a big city?”

  “Eat Italian and go to a bar.” At my dismayed look, she said, “I promise not to pick someplace we can’t hear ourselves think in, all right?”

  “Thank you.”

  I hated loud noises, and she knew it. My primary focus was on her having fun, but I wanted to enjoy the trip as well, and I wouldn’t if I spent the entire week with a headache.

  “Call Mom and Dad, while I call David,” I said, fishing my phone out of my purse.

  She rolled her eyes but did it anyway.

  For dinner, Maddie chose a nice restaurant, not too upscale and out of our price range, and after that, we found a pub where we could drink beer and shoot pool. The place was a little subdued and not busy for a Friday night. We’d noticed the city was quiet and not as populated as we’d assumed it would be. At the hotel and restaurant, I hadn’t paid much attention—just assumed we picked places that weren’t popular—but it was the weekend, so people should have packed the streets and pub.

  After her third beer, Madeline asked our waitress if something was happening on the island that we should investigate.

  “You two aren’t from here, are you?” the waitress asked without looking around the sparsely filled room.

  “We aren’t,” Madeline said, looking quizzically at me.

  “Well, you won’t hear about this on the news. Our government and news stations aren’t acknowledging that anything is wrong, but people all across this city have been getting sick these last few days. One night business was good, the next, half the wait staff at the restaurant I work at during the day called in, and almost no one showed up for the lunch meal. Every day since has brought in fewer and fewer people. Only a few individuals are panicking and going to the hospital because the symptoms are just bad enough to keep people in bed. They are weak, tired, running a low fever, have a little sniffle, and their bowels aren’t working. I talked to my mom yesterday, and she says she hasn’t peed or anything in two days. Something isn’t right about that. Nearly everyone in my family has it, and they aren’t getting better. They aren’t getting worse, but they aren’t getting better.”

  “Why hasn’t the city stopped traffic in and out? We flew in like normal this afternoon,” I said, unsure if the woman was feeding us a load of shit or not. She was most likely making things up to mess with the out-of-towners, but her expression said she believed what she was telling us.

  “I don’t know. Maybe the government isn’t worried about it because no one has died or gotten deathly ill, though if people aren’t careful, they’ll dehydrate or become septic. How long are you ladies in town?”

  “The week,” Maddie said.

  “My advice is to keep an eye on things, and if you can, get out of the city before you can’t leave. Someone will panic soon and lock down the entire island.”

  “You think so?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah. Ever since the quakes turned this country upside-down, our government panics over everything. You know that.”

  We did know it. Every flu outbreak, every hint of inclement weather seemed to send the authorities into a frenzy. The last twenty years or so things had calmed a little, but a sickness like that could cause people to panic.

  “Can I get you two anything else?” the waitress asked.

  We both shook our heads. I paid for our drinks, and we left. Neither of us spoke until we got back to our room.

  “Do you want to go home?” I asked Maddie.

  “Do you think we should?” she asked.

  “I don’t want to. I don’t want to freak out over anything. We could cancel and go home only to find out that the city just had the case of the sniffles. I can rebook the trip, but it would take time and a bit more money, and by then your first school semester would have started. We’d have to wait until next summer. I’m okay with that if it’s what you want to do.”

  “It isn’t. I want to stay. Let’s give it a day or two.”

  The next day was a typical one. We saw fewer people on the street than we had the night before, but as we were from a small town, that didn’t feel abnormal to us. Some of the exhibits at the zoo were closed, but enough were open that we were able to make a day of the visit, and we were able to see a significant number of animals that we’d only ever seen on television.

  We had dinner at a restaurant that boasted to have the best burgers in the country. They were good, but I don’t know if they were the best. They were the biggest that was for sure. I managed three-quarters of the burger and all of my tots. Maddie only ate half her burger and fries.

  Because we were now familiar with the place, we stopped at the pub for a drink again that night. The waitress from the night before wasn’t there.

  “Do you think she’s sick?” Madeline asked.

  “Don’t know. Could be. Most likely it’s her night off,” I said, only half believing that was true. The woman behind the bar was different as well, and if it was possible, the place seemed emptier.

  “Do you want me to see if I can get us a flight home in the morning?” I asked, after watching her look worriedly around the pub for a full minute.

  “No,” she answered, though she didn’t sound confident about her reply.

  “I’ll get on the airline’s website when we get back to the room, and see what I can do,” I said, finishing my beer.

  “Please don’t. I’m not saying this,” Maddie motioned to the room around us, “isn’t creepy, but I’m not scared enough to go home. Are you?” she asked me.

  “Yes, but I’ll stay for you. I’m sure there isn’t anything major going on. Surely, we’d have heard something on the news if people were dying.”

  “You aren’t worrying about catching it?”

  “Nah. Chances are, if we do, we’ll do like everyone else, stay sick for a few days—a week tops—then we’ll be okay. Look at it this way, with so many sick, we have the city to ourselves.”

  “Very true,” she said, tapping her margarita glass against the lip of my empty bottle.

  I did insist she call our parents while I phoned David when we got back to the hotel. I woke him, but I didn’t care. I had sent him pictures and texts all day, but I was a bit scared and wanted to hear his voice.

  “It’s late, Sam, is everything all right?” he asked, and I could hear him rolling over in the bed.

  “Yeah…no…I don’t know.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Have you heard any strange stories coming out of Liberty since I left? Is anything odd happening at home? Are people sicker than normal?”

  “Nothing is on the news about the island. We had a few people out sick today, but nothing I would think that was out of the ordinary. Why?”

  I told him about how few people were out and about, as well as what the waitress had said. He seemed concerned, but he didn’t ask if I was coming home nor did he request that I do so. That didn’t mean he didn’t care, but I would have felt loved if he had done either. The thought that he was cheating on me had occurred to me, especially at times like this when he didn’t seem to care if I was around or not, but I hadn’t found any evidence that he had someone on the side.

  When Madeline got off the phone, she said our parents hadn’t heard anything either and that everything seemed to be okay at home. I hoped we were worrying for nothing.

  Chapter 4

  ~~Samantha~~

  —Inside the decontamination room.—

  I was in a different room feeling the spray of water on my body when I woke the next time. My body wasn’t as awake as my mind, though, causing me to lie limp on t
he shower bench. I wasn’t sure if any time had passed, but Jason was still with me and naked. That time he had a softer wash rag and soap that was already making my dry, tight skin feel better.

  Since more of my brain was aware of what was happening, it caused me to be more conscious that Jason was touching my naked body. I couldn’t help but wonder what he thought about my full figure.

  David hadn’t complained about the weight I’d gained throughout our marriage, as he saw that as me being healthy enough to sustain an unborn child. Sickness due to pollutants and the occasional shortness of certain foods meant that a large number of the population was on the thin side. These illnesses and food deficiencies also contributed to low birth rates.

  Unfortunately, those people who were on the thin side looked down on those of us who were heavier. People let their jealousy of our ability to hold in foods that made them sick turn to hatred.

  Being on the heavier side was one of the reasons I chose to become a writer. I could do that job hidden away in my home. In the past, a writer would have to go on book signing tours, attend events, speak at different types of functions, but that was no longer the case. Bookstores didn’t exist. They weren’t a necessity and used up precious resources. People ordered electronic books or audiobooks instead, and I could hold an event promoting a new release online. Such an event would have a higher turnout, as well, considering travel to large parts of the country wasn’t easy.

  As I lay there feeling myself slip in and out of consciousness, I wondered if Jason found me disgusting. Was the man cursing me for surviving? He didn’t have to save me. He could have let me die. I no longer minded dying. Maddie was dead. She should have been the one to kill me.

  Oh, my poor Maddie… My baby sister… I felt a tear slide down my face as I tried to whisper her name before falling asleep again.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  — The beginning of the outbreak.—

  Monday morning Maddie and I planned to go to a gallery that featured art from the world before the meteors hit, crashing into the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, setting off the tsunamis and earthquakes that plunged so much of the world underwater. The owners specialized in recovering pieces from submerged cities. I wanted to visit the stained glass gallery next door while we were there. The stained glass store’s website boasted that they had pieces from Disney World that was in a state that no longer existed called Florida, numerous Catholic churches from the old world, and more. Some were still intact.

  That morning I called our parents but didn’t get an answer, which wasn’t surprising. They weren’t overly religious people, but they did go to church every Sunday morning. I had thought I’d called them early enough to get them before they left, but if the church were having a special function or merely having breakfast, as they were prone to do, my parents would have gone early to attend. Usually, they gave us a heads up on things like that, but when I questioned Madeline, she said our parents hadn’t mentioned anything to her about going to church early that Sunday.

  I tried David next. He was home, but he didn’t sound right. He didn’t necessarily seem sick, but like he wasn’t feeling well. His tone immediately set me on edge.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked as soon as he said hello.

  “Nothing,” he said, sounding defensive.

  “Are you sick? Do you have a cold? If you are, you stay home and rest. More and more people are getting sick here.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll be okay. I just woke up.”

  That was probably true, but I knew what he sounded like first thing in the morning, and his voice wasn’t near this rough. Letting it go, I told myself that I was paranoid due to the sickness in the city. I was on an island. The chances of the virus, or whatever it was, spreading that far so quickly was slim.

  “Okay, but if you get to feeling bad or notice too many people sick, stay home. Things are a bit creepy here.”

  “You and Madeline should head home before things get out of hand, then,” he said, finally sounding worried about me.

  “We’re talking about it. I think we’re going to try to get a flight home tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” was all he said.

  The line went quiet for a moment, as I thought of something else to say. David wouldn’t care about our trip to the zoo or our plans for the day.

  “I tried to call Mom and Dad but didn’t get an answer. If you talk to them, let them know that we’re still okay,” I said before the silence got too awkward.

  “I will. Your mom invited me over for dinner tonight. That woman loves any excuse to cook. I thought about seeing if I could get her to take pity on me since you’re gone and clean the house, but since you’re coming home…”

  “Don’t you dare. You know mom will do it, too,” I said chuckling. I knew David was serious, and I’d told him on more than one occasion that doing such things was assholish of him, and I’d told Mom that he did it on purpose, but he didn’t care, and neither did she, so I stopped getting upset about it. She liked taking care of people.

  “Well, I can’t now that you’re coming home. Your mom will tell me I can wait and let you do it,” David said, also laughing a bit.

  “I hate to cut the trip short, but this city feels weird right now.”

  “It’ll be okay. Chances are nothing’s going on, but if you come home, we can always plan another trip for next summer. Maybe all of us can go then.”

  And that was why I still loved him. When he said all of us, he meant my sister and both sets of parents. I wasn’t looking forward to spending a week with his mom and dad, but it would be an excellent experience for everyone.

  “That sounds amazing. I’ll call you in the morning to let you know what we plan. I love you,” I said.

  “I love you, too.”

  “I don’t want to leave tomorrow,” Maddie said in a whiny voice the second I hit ‘End’ on my phone.

  That right there was why I still called her Maddie most of the time. Despite having a degree and living on her own, she was still a child in many ways.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Madeline, we can’t stay here if this sickness keeps up. Half the city has closed. We won’t have anything to do if the rest follows until things blow over.”

  “I know, but this might be my only chance to experience the city.”

  “No, it won’t. David said if we cut the trip short, we’d plan to come back next summer. All of us.”

  “All of us?” she asked, not sounding happy about that.

  “Yep. I know the parents put a damper on things, but we can still have fun even if we don’t bar hop every night. Besides, by then you might have someone in your life, and there won’t be a need to bar hop.”

  “Not likely. I’ve seen the men in our town.”

  “Slim pickings, I know, but you never know what can happen in a year.”

  “Whatever. Are you ready?” Maddie asked, grabbing her purse and pushing the food cart toward the door.

  “Whenever you are.”

  I hated just leaving the cart in the hall. Doing so made me feel lazy, but we did. Ours was the only one in the corridor. As far as I knew, we were the only people on that floor.

  The lobby was nearly empty when we got downstairs. Only two people milled around aside from the receptionist. They didn’t look scared or worried. That had to be a good sign, right? The lady behind the desk smiled and waved as we left. I returned the gesture.

  The street outside was damn near empty. No vehicles, not that there were many, to begin with, since mass transportation, walking, and bicycling was the most abundant forms of transportation in most cities. We had a car, but David took it to and from work. I could get to most places I needed to go by foot or could have items delivered. I heard that in the old world some families would have two or even three cars. The notion sounded ridiculous to me.

  I felt as if I was walking through a ghost town, and I would know, I’d toured one before. In high school, we took a field trip to Nashville. After the quakes, mo
st of the city had been underwater for years. As the water lines had receded, city workers cleaned the town of its dead, but there was so much damage that our government had opted out of rebuilding. Because of its historical value, though, classes could take guided tours of the area.

  Madeline covered her nose as we walked. I could smell the sickness in the air as well. The odor made the silence feel scarier. I wanted nothing more than to grab my sister and rush back to the hotel. If I tried, though, she’d probably run from me.

  The gallery was about a five-minute walk from the hotel. We didn’t see a single soul during our stroll. My unease grew the longer we stayed out in the open. I was just about to say, “Fuck it, we’re going back,” when Maddie spoke.

  “This is it,” she said, stopping in front of a four-story square building that had ground to ceiling glass windows. Colors burst from all of them, leaving a prism effect on the ground in front of us.

  “They look closed,” I said, peering into the glass.

  “I think you’re right,” she said, pulling on the door, but it didn’t budge.

  We knew that was a possibility, but I didn’t point that out to Maddie. She’d been too anxious to see the gallery.

  “Are their hours posted?” I asked, hoping for her sake we’d just arrived too early.

  “No. There isn’t anything on the door.”

  “Maybe we’re at the wrong entrance.”

  “Maybe,” she said, walking around the building.

  We found another door, this one with the gallery’s name on it, but no hours of operation. Maddie tried the door but got nothing. She whined in aggravation, as I stepped up to the glass. I cupped my hands around my eyes and looked deep into the building, hoping I would see someone inside who might take pity on us.

  A shadow moved, and I jerked. “I think someone’s in there,” I said, going back to the glass.