Jackson had gone to such lengths to protect his plan, even his cell phone was restricted. He’d given the number to his parents but other than that, no one would be alive soon to call.
If Cady took the vaccine, Jackson had a chance at going through this with someone he could get along with. If she didn’t, he had plans in place. He didn’t want to be alone.
He lowered himself from the height of the rig, the slosh of his boots in the snow loud in the silence. After rounding the back of the Bronco, Jackson slipped into the front driver’s seat. He turned on the engine, thinking back to the phone call with Cady. Of course, she’d tried to convince him to go a different route.
Change was scary. They had made terrifyingly awesome plans. He couldn’t let them go to waste. If he stopped his plan now… no, it wasn’t even an option. Maybe six weeks ago at the latest he could’ve stopped it, but not today. Not yesterday. The world was screwed and Cady needed to get on board.
He checked his phone, swiping across to Cady’s email. He’d been monitoring it since he’d grabbed her IP address. She hadn’t contacted anyone since he’d first told her, nothing in and nothing out. Even her tutoring messages had been mundane – business as usual.
He’d found pictures of her and what looked like a younger sister online. He could see that would be a problem, but sisters came and went. Look at his own? He couldn’t wait to see the world rid of his siblings.
Jackson was sure Cady would feel the same way.
Cady was gorgeous. Jackson couldn’t wait for the next phase to begin with her.
Once he sent out the cure, he could search for her.
She would have had to make the final choice by then.
Hopefully, she chose him. His happy-ever-after required her to do so.
That and the end of the world.
He turned on the stereo, grinning at the sign the universe sent him in the form of R.E.M.’s It’s the End of the World. He hummed as he passed by his mom’s driveway. No reason to stop and say anything. He wouldn’t have to deal with the pressures of family or anything else soon.
Life was looking good.
Chapter 5
Scott
Scott’s caller-ID read Cady as the phone buzzed on his nightstand.
Four o’clock in the morning? Why would she call him so early unless something had happened? A sense of panic began to build. Had the virus been released?
He’d been there for her, through her husband’s death, the funeral, the drama with her daughter, and then the bomb she dropped on him about the end of the world coming. He knew she was into prepping to survive the end of the world as they knew it, he just hadn’t expected her to tell him the end was coming sooner than anyone knew or that she knew the guy bringing it on. Wasn’t that like saying your friend was the devil?
Scott took a deep breath and picked up the phone, swiping the answer icon to the side. He leaned back on his pillow, staring out the window at the moonless sky. “Cady, what’s going on?”
“Scott, I’m sorry to call so early.” Cady paused and it sounded like she took a breath, a slight hiccup carrying over the line. “It’s going to start. I just got a call from him. I need you to make sure you’re ready.” Her voice broke on a sob filled with disbelief. “Are you still going to warn the HOA?”
Was he? The HOA was full of Californians who has moved up to north Idaho and increased taxes, cost of living, and so much more. Every time he turned around, Scott felt like he was defending his way of life from people who wanted to change everything. But was that enough to condemn people to what Cady had promised was coming? “I’m not sure. I know I mentioned it, but would they believe me? I’m not exactly the one they come to for political information or tips on survival.” Scott sighed, he lowered his voice, staring up into the dark of his room. “I’m worried about my family in Boise. I asked them to start this way but they don’t think anything is really going to happen. I’m not exactly reliable for solid information since I keep warning them about conspiracies that never pan out.”
“That we know about.” Cady always believed him, she always prepared for the worst based on what Scott warned her about – real or not.
For the most part, he’d done what she’d told him to, but there were things – like not going out into the public – that he just couldn’t commit to. He couldn’t figure out why he was so hesitant to follow her directions, to do what she warned him to do. He set his jaw and decided that he was going to believe her, just like she always believed him.
A long silence stretched between them filled with so many questions and doubts. Scott cleared his throat, tugging at the comforter across his legs. “How are you doing?”
Her forced joviality convinced Scott she didn’t quite have a grasp on things and that she was more worried than he was. “I’m okay. I need to get a few more items. Do you need anything?” She paused, as if she was nervous to say more. After a second, she continued, the somber bend to her tone added a whispery breath to her Ss. “I’m serious, Scott, don’t accept anything from anyone after today. At least by mail. I was told just a few more days and we would need to stay inside. No more chances.”
The warning sent a shiver of dread through him. “I know. Would it be safer to consolidate our homes so we can rely on each other better?” He wanted to ask her to be with him. He didn’t care that her husband had died not too long ago. If things were going to get worse, they needed each other.
“Not yet.” Her voice dropped all the way into a whisper.
Was that a hint of a promise? Scott didn’t want to miss out on a chance he’d been waiting years for. He could miss out on it, if he didn’t man up. He had to grab opportunities while he could. He had to… “We need to talk about us… Cady. I know it’s early, but what if something happens? I need you to know…”
“I… Scott, my husband just died. Let’s talk about this later, okay?” Cady’s pain was palpable.
Scott nodded, but didn’t back off just yet. The intimacy of the moment was hard to let go as they spoke on the phone like teenagers in the dark. “What if there is no later?”
“I can’t right now. Let’s… lets plan to talk later, okay? I can plan on that. Then we’ll have to make it.” She choked on the final words, not waiting for his answer. She hung up, not even waiting for him to say goodbye.
Scott had pushed her. He recognized the pressure he’d put her under, but some things needed to be pushed.
He didn’t put the phone down. Instead, he made a late night call himself.
The phone rang. On the other end, the party answered, her voice sluggish and caught up in sleep.
“Mom? It’s Scott. Sorry to call so early.” He gave her a moment to fully wake up. “I need you to come up this way as soon as possible. Don’t pack anything, just get up here.” He didn’t even hide the panic growing in his voice. He couldn’t do it. He had to get them up to his home.
He had a sick feeling it was too late, but that didn’t matter. He had to try.
His mom yawned. “Oh, honey. We just can’t right now. Jason got a job and your sister is at the end of her pregnancy. We think it’s a girl. She won’t get an ultrasound, but you know how Stephanie is. The thing is, we’re planning on heading up, but not right now. Everyone’s plan is next year. Is everything else okay?” She hadn’t heard him – not the desperate truth in his words.
Scott didn’t understand what was happening, but he knew the virus Cady had warned him about was going to be big and it was coming. Cady’s too-early of a call had him panicking before he’d even gotten out of bed. “Mom, I’m worried there won’t be a next year. I really wish you would come up.”
“I know, honey. I miss you, too. If you don’t stop watching those prepper videos or reading those prepper books, you’re going to give yourself panic attacks. I’ve seen it happen. Try to get some sleep. I worry about you.”
Not half as much as Scott worried about them. They ended their call and Scott rolled to his side, his eyes wide open. How was
he supposed to keep his family safe, if they wouldn’t listen to him?
Chapter 6
Cady
The next morning took its time arriving. Cady stared at the floor, already showered and dressed as she sat on the edge of the couch and waited for normal business hours to roll around.
Once the wall clock tolled seven AM, she rushed to the car and climbed in, starting the engine. Pulling up to the gate, she let the motor warm up as she opened the long metal cattle gate. She got back in the car and pulled forward, parked, shut the gate, and drove off again.
No point in having a gate, if she wasn’t going to use it. Plus, leaving Bailey at home without blocking out society would be dumb. Cady was anything but stupid.
On the salt-sprinkled road into town, Cady held her speed at three miles above the limit. She pulled out her phone and dialed her cousin at the FBI office in downtown Coeur d’Alene.
Benedict answered his phone on the third ring. “Benedict.”
“Benny, it’s Cady. I need to meet with you for an early breakfast.” She wasn’t demanding, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer and her tone made that clear. She glanced in her rearview mirror, then back to the road.
“Cady! I heard about Scott. Cynthia was really upset. I hope you’re doing good. I have an opening next week, will that work?” His tone was friendly, but professional. Papers rustled in the background as if he checked a calendar Cady knew he didn’t have.
She shook her head. “No. That won’t work. Today. I’ll meet you at the Iron Horse in twenty minutes. If you don’t show up, I’ll come to the office, sound good?” She didn’t wait for him to answer and hung up. Benny didn’t want her at the office. None of the officials did. She didn’t have the best history and she was willing to make a point of reminding them all of that.
Cady maneuvered through the streets in no time, grateful for once that the Californians who moved to north Idaho didn’t know how to drive well in the inclement weather and for the most part stayed indoors or ditches during the cold months.
She parked in front of the green awning building down on Sherman in downtown Coeur d’Alene. She was a few minutes early, but didn’t mind.
Inside, she asked for a booth in the corner and waited for Benny to show up.
He wasn’t even thirty seconds late as he walked in with a tight suit and tie fitted snugly to his form. He’d kept himself in shape as not even a slight bulge betrayed the crisp lines of his white shirt.
Sliding into the seat across from her, he held his expression neutral in otherwise nondescript features. “What’s going on? How’s Bailey?” He folded his hands above the table, leaning his elbows on the linoleum-like surface. Was it possible for a table to look like a floor?
Cady shrugged, unwilling to fill the space between them with platitudes. “Her father is dead. She’s not doing great, but she’s young. She’ll survive.” Because refused to believe otherwise.
Benedict shifted uncomfortably while Cady stared him down.
“I’m not here because of that. I have news that someone is releasing a virus for eradication purposes.” Cady maintained a normal volume and nonchalance, using her own professional demeanor to pass along just how important the meeting was.
Benedict glanced around, pushing his hands flat against the table. He tucked his chin. “Is this like the AIDs scare you released in college, Cady?” He arched his eyebrows at her, his voice almost a whisper but strong with warning.
Cady fought the shame wanting to storm through her. He’d shaken her. She’d expected it and with his first question, she’d succumbed. How would she be taken seriously, if she couldn’t hold it together? She shook her head. “No… I didn’t… I mean, that was nothing like this. That was a dumb prank.” She’d been trying to gain points with a sorority she was trying to get into. She had used her microbiology interests to create a university-wide scare and she’d gotten arrested instead.
The sorority didn’t let her in. That was when she’d turned toward the forums and met Jackson.
She sighed. “You can’t keep bringing that up, Benny. I’m going to talk to Aunt Judy and tell her what you’re doing.” Cady pursed her lips. He was family and she wasn’t above pulling any punches. She leaned close, her eyes narrowed. “Benny, you have to believe me. This isn’t a joke. I’m terrified. There’s… it’s going to happen. I’m not sure what exactly the steps are, but I can promise you, it will spread across the world.”
Benedict stared at his hands, unable to look at Cady. He finally nodded. “I can see you’re scared. But no one is going to believe you… or me.” He shook his head sadly as resolution straightened his shoulders. He glanced up, terror in his own eyes
“You believe me?” Cady leaned back, resting her hands in her lap.
“I know you. I know when you’re lying. This isn’t one of those times.” He sighed, checking the cuffs of his shirt and trying to appear unaffected, but his fear came off him in waves. “How bad is it?”
Cady wiped under her eyes. Between Zach’s death and the new developments from Jackson, she constantly had tears coming out and she wasn’t a crier. “It’s supposed to wipe out 75%.”
Benny’s voice came in a soft whisper. “When?”
“I’m not sure. Weeks? Days? You should know… he altered smallpox with chickenpox. He did something… I’m not sure. I’m still trying to go through all of the notes. There’s something in there… a weakness, but I’m only a third of the way through our notes and it’s been a while since I’ve been in the industry. Things have changed.”
“Is there a cure?” Benny turned hopeful eyes toward Cady, his hands clenched above the table and he slid them out of view into his lap.
“No. I doubt it. He wants to wipe out the population. I wouldn’t trust a cure, if there was one.” She shook her head and reached across the table for him, but his hands weren’t there. There was no connection and she didn’t want to believe that she had no other option. “Please, take this seriously.”
“What does he want? Can we negotiate?” As reality dawned on Benny’s face, Cady realized she had only made things worse for him instead of helping him.
“No. It’s hopeless. I’ve tried everything. If… If you believe me and you thought there was a chance, who would you tell? Who would believe you? Will you warn anyone?” Cady held her breath. Could he tell someone who could stop it? Did Benny have that power?
“There’s no one to believe me. Trust me. I’m not high enough up. I am a no one. None of us are big enough in this office.” He stared at the lines of the table as Cady’s heart sank. He reached across the table and grabbed her hands. His eyes intent as he searched her face. “How do we protect our families?”
She had to ignore the fact that she knew his wife, his kids. Cady had to push a stone into the place her heart was. She shrugged. “I don’t know. Get out of town and stay as rural as you can. If there’s any way to cut off your contact with people, do it. Don’t wait.”
“Do we…” Benny pulled from her, placing his hands in his lap. He looked as lost as Cady felt.
“I don’t know…” She scrunched her lips to the side and dug her fingernails into her palm. She was letting everyone down.
Her failure was the end.
How could she go gracefully into the night when her failure would hurt so many?
Chapter 7
Bailey
Listening to her mother’s constant crying at night was taking its toll. Bailey was tired and burnt out from all the sadness in the house. She didn’t want to face the fact that Dad was dead and the last thing she wanted to think about was the virus her mother kept talking about.
Walking around in a depressed slump, Bailey’s mother was just looking out for herself. She was the one who had encouraged the guy with the virus. Cady should be in jail.
But every time Bailey’s thoughts turned that way, she shrank from pursuing it further. If what her mom was saying was true, Bailey needed Cady around more than she wanted to admit.
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When the phone had rang that early, Bailey hadn’t been sleeping. She couldn’t. Rest came for her in short spurts. She had to pretend to be awake and chipper when she was around anyone else – Scott, Mom, anyone.
At least she could get out and be around her friends that day for lunch. As much as Cady kept saying she shouldn’t leave the house, she also mentioned that there were a few more days left before quarantine would set in. Whatever that was.
Bailey waited until the gravel crunched under her mom’s tires before climbing from bed. She didn’t have anywhere to go – that early. Not if the world was going to end any minute.
Did her mother really believe that they shouldn’t help anyone? That was just more than Bailey could comprehend – that and the fact that her own mother was involved in the virus creation or whatever she’d called it. None of it made sense.
As long as she could remember, Bailey had been told to tell someone in authority when she was scared or when there was something wrong.
Who did she tell? Her mom’s warnings about the sickness scared her. At least enough she didn’t want to leave the house without a plan. She wanted to warn her friends at lunch. That was the only reason she was going. Plus, her mother was the only person she knew in authority who would understand what was happening.
First thing she had to ask herself was who she wanted to warn which led to who she wanted to survive. Well, everyone, of course. She didn’t want anyone to die. Well, except for Marilee. That girl was just a bad egg. And the fact that she kept pushing Bailey’s best-friend, Becky, around didn’t make things any better.
Pulling on her pants and shirt, Bailey looked out the window. She watched the Polish rooster crow at the feeble sun. Okay, she had to make a plan. When she told her friends that day, she had to be able to tell them what to do. What would she say? How would they react? Would they hug her and thank her for warning them? Would they cry and rush home to tell their parents?
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