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Emma put her doll down on the floor, stood up and followed her mother through the living room. Rachel led her to the bathroom. “ Let's wash up, first.” She turned on the water to the sink. Little Emma, who knew the routine, placed both of her hands under the running water. She reached up and pushed the pump down to the soap dispenser. “Mommy. Where is Daddy?” She hesitated to answer, at first. She thought that she was losing her mind. She had to keep reminding herself that she needed to hold it together for her daughter. “He is out working, Baby. You and I are going to eat and then in the tub with you.” She knew in her gut that something was wrong. When Jake had to be away, he called. He was not answering his phone. They ate their supper, then Rachel gave Emma a bath. After putting her daughter to bed, she checked the lock on window. She noticed something moving out in the field. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to alarm Emma. She locked the window and closed the blinds. She kept thinking about the military trucks. There were more crates inside the larger one. She would go back there and see what else was inside. But, how would she get through those creepy zombie people? She needed whatever weapons were in that truck. She had to figure it out.
She left Emma's room, and closed the door. She took one of the guns. She put on a sweater and went outside onto the porch. She stood there, looking around the property. Whatever had been moving in the field earlier, was not there. She thought about all of the crazy things that had happened that day. The people, they were ...zombies. It was like a nightmare. She felt so hopeless. She didn't think that Jake could come back. She started to cry. She new in her gut that he was gone. She looked around. She could not see much in the outer fields, now that it was dark. Her home overlooked the highway. She had not seen a vehicle since, even before she left that morning. She felt such doom, in the pit of her stomach. She went back into the house. She went to every window, and every door and made sure that all were locked. She went into Emma's room, again. She stared down at her daughter. Whatever was moving around in the field, might eventually, make it to the house. She thought of all of those creepy people. In her gut, she knew that Jake was not coming back. She didn't know how she knew. She just knew. What had happened? He must have gone out to check the traps, because his truck was still outside. He had put traps out by the edge of the property, because they were having a problems with some wild animals getting too close to the house. Is that where he went? Why couldn't he make it back? Had some of those things come up on him, and chased him too far? To the point where he was lost and on foot? Yes, that must be it. She was so worried. She could not let Emma know. How could she find Jake? And, her father had not called back. She couldn't go looking for Jake, and leave Emma here alone. She went back to get Emma, then carried the sleeping girl to her and Jake's room. She placed her in the big bed. She took a shower and changed into her pajamas. She checked the window in her room, again. She closed the blinds, and left the room. She went to the military weapons that she had found. She started to go through everything. Most of it was a collection of firearms, and ammunition. And, there were the grenades. What of one of those things went off? She thought. She had to carefully, hide those some place that Emma would never look. She spent the next hour looking for a hiding space that was too high for Emma to reach. She kept thinking that, if any police came to the house, she'd be in a lot of trouble. Then, she remembered the unbelievable events that she had witnessed, earlier. Now, things were different. She had to protect her daughter. And, she needed what that military supply truck held. All night, she pondered about how to get what was inside of that supply truck. She would find a way to do it , and keep Emma safe.
40
NINA LATE FOR WORK
Nina was late for work, again. As she watched the train-cars rolling by. One after one, a voice on the radio blared out about an accident on I-90. The female voice said, “ A Chicago man was shot by police, last night. He charged paramedics, as they tried to treat him. He was involved in a fatal car accident. The man has not been identified, yet. There was a female driving the car, that hit a concrete block under an overpass. She was found dead at the scene. Her body was badly burnt, and authorities are waiting for an autopsy before they know the official cause of death. Police believe that, the man had been ejected from the vehicle upon impact. One of the paramedics arriving on the scene, had to be treated for bite wounds, after the man knocked him down and bit him on the arm. The thirty year old paramedic said, quote; “That it was all in a days work.” And... “I am just grateful that the police were there to help.” Un-quote. Now, for our next story....” The end of the train rolled past. The gates went up, the car in front of Nina started moving. As she started to follow, she heard sirens. Multiple sirens. She blurted out, “That sounds like a lot of sirens.” She scanned ahead, to see where the sirens were coming from. She needed to get to work, so she kept driving. A minute later, three police cars and an ambulance came whizzing by. All of them, lights on and sirens blaring.
The car in front of her pulled to the right and stopped. She followed. When she made it to the Dry Cleaners that she managed, she saw a young boy standing on the sidewalk. He could not have been any older than seven. She pulled into her parking spot, turned her car off, and got out as fast as she could. She was late, and needed to get the doors unlocked and the "open" sign turned on. She unlocked the doors, went inside, and went through her usual morning routine. First, the sign, then the lights, then wipe down and sweep, then mop the floors. As she was working through her morning cleaning routine, she noticed the boy still hanging around outside. Only now, he was sitting on the sidewalk. He had a back pack on, and was sitting Indian style. He was holding his head up with his face in his hands. The boy was sitting around ten feet from the door. He looked worried. She stopped her work, then walked over to the door. Partially opening door, and sticking her head out, she called to the boy. “Hey.” The boy looked at her. He looked tired and scared.”You want to come in and watch television?” He shook his head up and down. He blurted out, “ Yes.” He stood up and walked over to the door. When he looked up, he looked so relieved, she thought. Then, he walked through the door, while Nina held it open for him. She said, “ You can sit over there at the table, if you want.” He said, “ Thanks.” The boy went over to the table and plopped down on the closest chair. He sighed, and looked up at the flat screen television on the wall. “Are you waiting for someone?” she asked. He placed his left arm up over the top of the table. He lay his head down on his arm, while watching the screen. “ He said, “ My Mom.” She studied him. He looked exhausted. “Your Mom, huh? Where is your Mom?” He answered, “ By the park.” Nina stood at the counter, just watching him. The park? The park is blocks away. Why was he alone out here? she thought. She looked around outside. Almost no cars were moving along the street, or were parked in the parking lot. She walked around the counter to the window. The security gates on the liquor store, next door to the laundromat, were still closed and locked. Nina had a strange feeling.
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It had been very slow the last week. Too slow. This, was not normal. She looked over at the boy. She walked over to where he was sitting, and sat down across from him. The boy opened his eyes, sat up, and looked at her. He reached up with one hand and rubbed his right eye. She asked, “What's your name?” The boy answered, “ Ian. What is your name?” She answered, “ Nina. That is a nice back pack you have there.” Ian said, “ Thanks.”
“So, you are waiting for your Mother to pick you up, huh?” She stared at him, intently. She could not figure out why this boy was out here, all by himself. He looked down at his hands and started twiddling his fingers. He looked like he wanted to cry. He said, “ Yes... No. I don't think so.” Nina asked, “ Where is your Mom?” Ian said, “Don't know.”
“You don't know?” she replied.
He repeated, “ No. Yesterday, we were at the park and I went to the bathroom. When I came out, she was gone.”
Nina repeated, “ Yesterday? Gone?” She l
eaned back. “Ian, have you been out there, since yesterday?”
The boy continued, “ Trying to get to my house. I hope she is there. She just forgot.”
Nina cut in, “Does your Mom do that? Forget about you, and go home?” Now, Nina could feel the skin on her cheeks getting hot.
Ian said, “ No. That is why I know she is at home. I just don't know why she didn't take the car. I wished that she had waited for me. She always waits for me.”
Nina repeated, “ Take the car... You Mom didn't take her car? Where is her car, Ian?” He replied, “ At te park.”
Now, alarmed that something had happened to this boy's mother, but attempting to remain calm, Nina asked, “Where do you live? If your Mom did not take her vehicle, how did you get here?”
Ian said, “We took the car to the park. I went back to the car and waited for her. I fell asleep in the back seat. When I woke up a little while ago, she still was not nback. I saw the scary man. Then, I got out of the car, and ran as fast as I could. I found my street, and I was going home. Then, I saw a bunch of people. A whole lot of them. They all looked like that man. And I ran, and came here. I got real tired, and I sat down outside. I can't remember where I turned at.”
She just looked at his little face. This little boy was out all night, all by himself. He was trying to be so brave. She thought to herself... He must have been terrified....He must be terrified, now. Something had to have happened to his Mother. I need to call the police. She asked, “Do you know the numbers in your address? I can look it up on the net. I will bring you home, if you know what it is.” His face lit up. She picked up a pen and an old newspaper that she had thrown down on the near by table. He shook his head up and down. Then answered, “ 6790 or maybe, 7609 Gary Street. I'm confused.” He looked down. She wrote the numbers down. She continued, “ Are you hungry? I have some food in the mini-fridge in the back. And I have some milk, too.”
His face lit up, again. He said, “Yeah. I'm real hungry.”
She replied, “ Okay, follow me.” The two walked around the counter, and into the back room of the laundromat. Ian looked around. He saw a large room with a sofa, television, mini-fridge, microwave, counter, and a small stove.
Nina said, “ Go ahead and sit down and relax. The remote is right there, if you want to watch something.” She pointed at the remote... then, the television. She walked over to the mini-fridge, while the boy sat down on the sofa.
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She glanced back at him, and opened the cabinet. Ian, now flipping through channels. The news seemed to be broadcasting on every one that he clicked on. She said, “Okay. I have salad, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, bananas, apples, chili, and some pudding.” She reached over to another cabinet that hung over the mini-fridge. She opened it, so that the boy could see the items that were stored inside. The boys eyes lit up, again.
“P.B. and J., please.” She said, “ Okay.” She made the boy a sandwich, and a glass of milk. She walked over to where the boy was sitting. She sat the glass of milk down on the coffee table. She handed Ian a plate with the sandwich on it. He took the plate in his hands. Then he said, “Thanks.” Nina replied, “You are welcome. You know, you should wash your hands before you eat. The sink is over there, and the bathroom is right through that door, if you want to go wash up.” She pointed to the sink at the counter, then the bathroom door. The boy looked at the door. He said, “Yeah. Mom makes me wash my hands before I eat, too.” He set the plate down on the table, stood up and walked into the bathroom. She focused on the news report that was airing on the television. The man speaking, sounded calm, but looked pale and frozen. Nina could hear Ian moving around in the bathroom. She sat there, wondering what happened to the young boys' mother. As soon as she could get a minute, she would call the Authorities. She started to take in what the man was saying on the television. He was warning people to stay in, and stay tuned in for further news. Now, he had her attention. She picked up the remote, and started to push buttons. The channels started changing. One would be blank with an “Off The Air” message. The next, would have someone speaking with an emergency ticker moving across the bottom. Nina felt a nervous feeling hit her. Then, Ian came out of the bathroom. He picked up his plate of food and started eating. “Did you wash your hands?” He eagerly moved his head up and down, “ Yes. I really had to go pee. Thanks, Nina.” Nina studied him for a moment. She said, “ You are welcome.” She watched the boy devour his food. “Okay, Ian. I am at work, right now. If you will be patient with me, hang out back here, watch T.V. until my lunch time, I will bring you home... Okay?” Ian shook his head up and down. With that, she stood up and went through the doorway leading to the front of the Dry Cleaner/Laundromat. She picked up the phone and dialed 911. Nina Barone, was a thirty year old divorced manager of Big Suds. One of Lafayette, Indiana's oldest dry cleaners/laundromats. She worked long hours, seven days a week. She heard a busy signal. She looked at the phone, “ 911 is busy?” She decided to call back in a few minutes. She sat down at her desk and started on her log sheets. She thought about Ian. She needed to talk to Mr. lee. She picked up the phone on her desk and tried to call Mr. Lee. She had been trying to get a hold of her boss all week. He told her that he was not feeling well. Then, she had not heard anything else from him. She dialed Mr. Lee's phone number, it went straight to the voice mail. She said, “ Mr. Lee. It is me again. I have the log sheets ready for you. Give me a call when you are feeling better. Thank you.” She hung the phone up and heard a loud thump. She stood up and hurried around the end of the counter. She could see a man with his face up against the window. At first, he looked like a drunk leaning into the window. But, as she stepped closer, she saw blood on the mans shoulder. He was moving along the window. His eyes never left her. He was clawing at the window. She froze where she stood, and watched him for a minute. His face was contorted. He was not right. He started clawing at the window. He moved sideways, towards the door. She ran to the door, pulled her keys out of her pocket, and locked it as fast as she could. The crazy man stumbled to the door. He was trying to get through the door by clawing at it.
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She yelled, “ I am calling the cops!” She ran back to her desk, picked up the phone, and called 911. She heard a busy signal, again. She clicked off the line, and opened the line back up. She called, again. Another busy signal. “What's going on?” she whispered. She looked up at the window. The crazy man was still pressed up against the door. Suddenly, he turned and looked at something that she could not see. He staggered off in the other direction. She dialed the emergency line, again. Now, a voice mail. “Voice mail?” she blurted out. Then, she focused. She said, “This is Nina Barone at Big suds. 4622 Main st. There is a man outside and he has blood all over him. He is acting like he may be on something. He is trying to get inside. Please send a policeman, right away.” With that, she turned the phone around and stared at it for a few seconds. She pushed the off button on the desk phone. Then, she looked around, in shock.”Why is there a voice mail taking emergency calls?”
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