“War of the Worlds?”
“That’s it. Yeah, everything is so science fiction. It’s either apes or aliens, one of the two. Apes or Aliens.”
David returned his gaze to the road, blinking a few times, trying to process what Kip had said.
Apes or Aliens?
The later being the possibility.
All the time he had tried to scientifically figure out what natural cause would make the ocean disappear and prehistoric style monsters come up from an ocean bed. What in the world would cause it? Perhaps the answer was not ‘what in the world’ but rather ‘what out of the world.’
For as implausible as it sounded, it was actually the most probable of possibilities.
That theory, he’d keep to himself.
<><><><>
Lucy heard only a little bit of the question regarding birds, the only reason she heard it at all is because she was listening for David to call out street names.
She had reached the point where she stopped looking.
The second they pulled into the suburb, she closed her eyes tightly, lowered her head, brought her fist to her mouth and prayed.
She prayed with all her heart that there would be something at her house that would let her know that her family had survived.
“Coast Ave?” David called out softly.
“Next street is Brier, make a left,” Lucy replied softly.
‘Please God, please, let me find something positive.’
“What next?” asked David.
“On Pearl, make a right, my house is the fifth house on left.”
A shiver. A huge deep shivering breath shot through her and her heart beat in her throat. Every part of her body shook with each turn the van made. The more it slowed down the worse she became.
Reese had his hand on her head. She could feel his fingers gently trying to massage comfort and calm into her.
The van stopped.
Thinking, ‘Oh, God,’ Lucy swallowed and lifted her head.
“Luce,” Reese spoke in a soft gravel whisper. “We’re here.”
From the window, Lucy could see her house. She expected trees overgrown, but instead, like everywhere else, most life was brown and dead. It reminded her of fall, the leaves lying everywhere.
Doug’s van wasn’t in the driveway. It never fit in the garage so if he was here his van would be parked there.
But the realist in Lucy wouldn’t let her get her hopes up.
She moistened her lips and looked with sad eyes to Reese. “I can’t go in.”
“But, you have to find out.”
“I know. I need to find out. But I can’t do it, Reese. I can’t. Can you . . . can you just . . . for me?”
There was hesitancy on Reese’s face that was obvious. He stared at her for a while, looked away and then back. A single nod and he reached for the side door of the van. “Hawk. Keep watch. Gene, come with me?”
“Sure thing, Colonel,” Gene replied.
Reese stepped from the van, shouldering his weapon. He waited on Gene to step out as well. Then with one more look at Lucy, he slid closed the door and faced the house.
A few steps from the van, Reese stopped, taking in the view of Lucy’s life, her home. What would he find in there, if anything?
“No car in the driveway,” Gene said. “That’s not a bad sign.”
“Not a positive one either.”
“What exactly are we looking for Colonel?” Gene asked as they approached the front door.
With a slight pause, and swallow, Reese answered, “Bodies.”
“And no bodies means?”
“Hope.” Reese opened the front door. It wasn’t locked. The second he stepped in, the floor board creaked and broke under him. “Careful.” He stepped into the room.
Like everywhere else, a thick layer of dust covered everything. The air so dry it had caused items to crack and fall apart.
It was a single story home with a basement, Reese figured. He peered around the living room. “Wanna look for a downstairs and I’ll take this floor?”
“Sounds good, my guess, door would be in the kitchen.” Gene headed toward the kitchen.
The scuffle of footsteps, the creak of the basement door, were the only sounds as Reese looked around.
‘The drop occurred in the evening. Where would a father and kids be?’ Reese thought. ‘Bed?’ What if the kids were still at Lucy’s mothers? Then they would have to get Lucy’s anxiety built up all over again.
Reese walked down the hall toward the bedrooms.
He checked each room carefully, all three of them. He found no one. No bodies.
He walked back toward the living room and Gene’s call of ‘nothing downstairs,’ jolted him some. He met up with Gene in the kitchen.
“I’m gonna look outside.” Gene pointed toward the backyard.
Reese nodded. Clues. He had to look for clues. Did the kids go to the mother’s house? It was in his pass through the living room to the kitchen that something struck him as odd.
It was the book shelf filled with pictures.
The four shelf unit held pictures, but the arrangement looked unbalanced, like one or two were missing. Maybe it was his imagination, but just as he started to think someone took some pictures, and that was a good thing, the tone in Gene’s voice brought him back to reality.
All was not good. It was simple. It was soft, and more important, it was sad when he heard Gene say the one word, “Colonel.”
Reese turned and the look on Gene’s face confirmed Reese’s worst fears.
<><><><>
The sunshine allowed for Lucy to see a bit of the house’s reflection in the van windows as she stood outside. She had resorted to standing there, facing the vehicle, arms folded and leaning close to David for support.
The few minutes seemed like forever. What was taking so long?
Thaddeus spoke out, “Here they come.”
After a hard close of her eyes, and a deep breath for courage, Lucy turned around.
She should have known when David slipped an arm around her. Did they signal him first?
But Lucy knew the second Reese and Gene moved closer.
She knew.
Their faces said it all.
“Luce,” Reese said softly.
That was all she heard at that moment. It was all she could bear.
Her entire being crumbled as did her body, and from her gut to her heart, she cried out a pain filled ‘No!’ that was an accompanied by an ache that took every ounce of her breath away for a moment.
Into David she turned, collapsing in his arms with one long sob that took it all from her.
One long sob that wouldn’t stop.
<><><><>
It took about fifteen minutes to calm her enough to make a decision, and Lucy truly debated. Go see or don’t go see.
Truth remained, she returned to her to home ‘too see.’ And after Reese told her, that it was something she should do, Lucy followed him around to the back of the house.
David was her support, hand on her shoulder, walking close. In fact, the entire gang went back with her.
By the swing set were two marked graves. No grass had ever grown there; in fact, no grass remained in the world, not at least in the East. Just two mounds of dirt. Upon the two mounds were crosses, homemade crosses, each held a heart shaped wreath of artificial flowers.
Aside from the wreaths, on both crosses were laminated pictures.
Lucy knelt between them, her hands running over the mounds.
To her it was only a week earlier than she had seen her children, held them, kissed them, heard their voices.
They had been gone for five years, but to her it was a blink of an eye.
To the left, the cross held a picture of her daughter Tabitha, to the right, on that cross, a picture of Doug hugging Ben.
There was a silent moment, a long silent moment, and Reese stepped around and closer to Lucy.
He crouched behind her, his voice low and w
hispering.
“You know, when you won the lottery ticket, the media followed you around like you were some famous rock star. Everyone was curious about you, the Walmart girl. I was, I know. Thad was. There was, no is, something special about you.”
David, irritated, spoke up. “What does that have to do with anything right now?”
“Because…” Reese shifted his eyes to David, and then returned his focus to Lucy. “Because there is something too special about you Lucy, to lose it all right now. What’s missing Lucy?”
Again, David interjected, “What are you getting at?”
Reese waved him off. “Lucy?” he inched closer. “Look at the graves. What is missing?”
Lucy only shook her head.
“The crosses, the flowers, those weren’t done by a neighbor. These graves were not created by someone who could care less. These graves were done with care; your family was buried by someone who loves them.”
“I know,” Lucy whispered.
“Who survived, Luce?” Reese asked. “Someone did. Two graves but three people. Obviously, and I am very, very sorry, that Tabitha didn’t make it. But who is in the other grave, Doug or Ben?”
Lucy turned her head to Reese. “Both?”
“I don’t think so. I may be wrong. But if you’re gonna bury Doug and Ben together, why not bury all three together. Why two separate graves? That picture was in your living room, right?”
“Yes.”
“Whoever buried them took the picture from there. They didn’t want to cut it. And if it was Doug who did it, why would he put a picture of himself on the grave? Wouldn’t he know where pictures of Ben were?”
“Reese?” so confused, Lucy just peered at him.
“I told you I would tell you when it was time to give up. My gut isn’t saying quit. My gut is saying . . . only one body is in this grave. I could be wrong, and if I am, for that I apologize with my soul but . . .”
Before he could even finish the sentence or thought, Lucy interrupted him with a look, a wide eyed look that held a hint of hope. After peering for a second, she scurried to her feet, loose dirt flying upwards as she stood, turned and raced to the house.
It was as if David didn’t have a fear of the size difference as he plowed into Reese, palms flush against Reese’s chest, shoving him as hard as he could. “Why did you want to do that to her?”
Reese barely tipped from the push, but after the initial shock, he revved back, ready to sail his tightly closed fist right into David.
“Colonel!” Gene blasted. “Don’t.”
The two men squared off. Not a sliver of paper could be placed between them, the heat of their breaths bouncing off each other.
Reese bit his lip. “Why would I do what?”
“Let her think someone from her family is alive.”
“We don’t know.”
“Come on,” David spat his words with anger. “It’s been five years. I think we know.”
“Colonel,” Gene walked up to him. “With all due respect, can I ask why you would mention it?”
Reese nodded. “Yeah, Omega Man, Statue of Liberty, Tremors. You name it.” He turned his head. “Kip?”
Kip just stood there next to Thaddeus, hands in his pockets.
“Son?” Gene asked. “Did you have a vision?”
“I only saw a dude and a little girl. That’s all. I stand with the captain on this.”
David’s hand went to his face. He traced his fingers harshly downward. “Oh, God, what a mess this is going to be for her.”
Then. . .
Lucy screamed. “Reese!’
David winced and murmured, “See.”
“Reese!” her voice drew closer as she raced across the lawn, something clutched in her hand. “Reese!”
Reese broke through the others and moved to her.
Out of breath, Lucy grinned, and ran straight into him. “You’re right. You are right.”
Reese’s mouth moved, “What . . .?”
“It’s Ben.” She nearly sobbed. “Ben survived.”
His eyes shifted about her, and then to her hand and the paper she held.
“It was in a baggie on his dresser.” She handed him the note. “I went in, the picture that was on the shelf told me a lot. I went to his room. Clothes were gone, drawers were open. His book bag gone and . . . this was on the dresser mirror, taped.”
Reese opened the note.
The others had gathered closer.
“What’s it say?” Thaddeus asked.
Reese read it, “To Whom It May Concern, went to Project OJ with Mr. Weston.” He gave curious eyes to Lucy.
Lucy explained, “Mr. Weston is our neighbor.”
Reese nodded then continued. “Dr. Burgess must have called again with directions after the drop. There is only thing to do now. There are people there alive.” Reese handed the note to Lucy.
“I’m so glad I didn’t give up.” She embraced him. “Thank you for believing.”
Gene walked up to Lucy, “May I?” he asked reading for the note.
Lucy nodded and handed it to him.
Gene took it and read it to himself. “Doug probably didn’t want to go when Burgess first called.” He gave the note back to Lucy. “Looks like you have something to look forward.”
“You could, too, Gene. Really, you could, too.”
Gene laid his hand on her face. “Let’s hope.”
“Yeah and . . .” Lucy said, and then looked to Reese. “Let’s go to find Burgess.”
“You go on with Gene.”
Lucy’s mood was slightly better. She held on to Gene and walked with him.
Reese watched. Then started to follow, but not before pausing at David. He, too, was watching Lucy. “Feel like an ass yet?” Reese whispered before walking on.
A brief delay, everyone walking by him, and David answered aloud in a whisper, “Actually, I do, thanks.” And then he followed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SC 11
Squished and crumbled, smoked down until the very last puff, that was the condition of the cigarette butts in the ashtray. Nine of them, a lot, even for the fearless leader, Robo Leader as many called Robi. Emotionless, cold, she was always thinking with her leader's head not with her heart.
That’s how others saw the leader of SC.
Not Jeb. Jeb knew the leader was more than that. Hence, why there were so many cigarette butts?
During a short morning stint in the small office, she smoked nine cigarettes. That told Jeb, Robi was thinking about the tracking bracelets. Thinking about who had them and that whoever had them was the person responsible for killing the criminals.
Robi’s father was a cop before the drop. Robi had been in the military before her children were born. She was a leader with instinct and experience.
So why the desperate worry? It didn’t make sense.
Jeb himself was worried, not about who this person or people might be, but about how their arrival might be connected to the object that had fallen from the sky.
While many said it was coincidental, Jeb disagreed.
The object fell in the East, the exact direction the person holding the tracking bracelets was coming from.
Did this person know where he was going? Did he know what was out here? Or were they clueless?
Were they good? Bad?
Jeb didn’t worry so much because he was certain.
He ran the security.
SC wasn’t a secure location years prior, it was Jeb and his brother and band of merry men, who made it secure.
Whoever had the tracking bracelets of the criminals was making their way West with the bracelets. Jeb was certain. He received updates via Bishop.
But there was something else in which Jeb was certain. Those of SC designed those bracelets.
Jeb was well aware of the fact that not only did the bracelets track the wearers but also those bracelets ‘attracted’ the danger that was the punishment for the criminals.
In a way, he feared for the carriers of the bracelets, because they were so unaware.
But they were moving steadily.
They were doing something right.
But what?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
It was stale, but tasted good. Gene inhaled deeply as he fired up yet another cigarette.
Three of them and then he coughed a fake cough.
Reese shook his head as he drove, making a scouring face of disgust. “Leave the man alone. He wants to smoke, let him smoke. If you don’t like it, stick your head out the window.” Lucy chuckled. One calm chuckle, probably not intended to be heard.
She was sitting in the passenger seat.
Reese reached over, gave a comforting squeeze to her wrist and made eye contact.
Was it his imagination or did she lock in a stare at him, a stare that tried to convey a message? Nah, it had to be his imagination. He smiled at her, and then shifted his eyes briefly to the knapsack she held tightly on her lap.
So much of one life was packed into that knapsack, photos, a piece of clothing belonging to each of her children, perfume. Things she took from home. They all told her that they didn’t care if she took more, but Lucy declined. This was all she needed.
Reese released his grip, gave another quick look at Lucy, the lifted his view to the rearview mirror.
Kip was in the far back next to a sleeping David. He leaned forward like a child between the two middle seats.
“So, dude, you gonna finish the story or do you have to finish another smoke first?”
Gene shook his head. “This is coming from the boy who smokes marijuana on a regular basis.”
Kip snicker red faced. “Yeah, so.”
“So, you don’t think marijuana is worse? We deal with it.”
Another snicker. “But you complain, so I complain. Fair and square, dude. Smoke away, but can you finish your story before I lose my high?”
“For the record,” Thaddeus said. “I don’t need to be high to hear the story. I was wondering. You never talked about your family. I was especially curious as to why we didn’t stop off where you lived to check on your family.”
The Last Mile Trilogy Page 48