Eddie winced and jerked away from her. “Damn it. That hurt.”
“Not as much as getting anthrax.”
He rubbed his cheek and set the mask over his face. His brown eyes twinkled. “You have a sadistic streak, don’t you, Princess?”
“I’m a teacher.” Which made her more of a masochist than sadist.
Stuart cleared his throat. “Are we ready now?”
“Not yet.” Grabbing her wadded up jacket that she’d used as a pillow from the seat, she shook it out and stabbed her arms through the sleeves. She zipped it closed and turned up her collar.
Stuart held the flashlight in his mouth while adjusting his green slicker. “What are we waiting for?”
A sharp rap rattled the door.
Stuart fell back onto the seat and the penlight tumbled from his mouth to the floor.
“Relax, Stuie. It’s just our group.” Eddie grinned as he pulled the bar opening the door.
“It’s a regular cloud burst out there.” Mrs. Rodriguez shook her bright yellow slicker as she stomped up the steps. Rain dripped from her matching hat and plopped on the sunflowers decorating her flip flops.
Audra retreated a few steps so the older woman could squeeze into the front seat.
Principal Dunn shook water droplets from his hair as he climbed in. “I brought my gun.” He lifted the garbage bag he’d cut holes in for his arm and flashed the revolver tucked in his waist band. “I don’t want the soldiers to shoot me, but…”
“But there aren’t any soldiers here.” Deputy Pecos took off his hat and ran his fingers through his short hair. “Are we supposed to be wearing our masks? I thought, given the rain and all, we weren’t going to encounter any anthrax.”
Audra’s mother paused on the bottom step to shake out her pink floral umbrella. “It is most disheartening. I had hoped for a warm meal and a soft bed.”
“Plenty of tents.” Stuart dodged Eddie’s hand when he shrugged into his jacket. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t make use of them.”
“They might be occupied.” Audra scooped up the flashlight from the floor. “Who has a working light?”
Principal Dunn raised his hand. “One of Mr. Graham’s folks gave it to me.”
Added to hers, that made two flashlights. Searching for more than the necessities would have to wait until morning. “Alright, we’re going to break into two groups. Eddie, Stuart and Mrs. Rodriquez will accompany me to search the checkin. Principal Dunn, Deputy, and my mother will search the first set of barracks after locating the latrines.”
“What about dinner?” Stuart licked his lips.
He was worried about food? Wasn’t her bread enough for him? She glared at the thief.
“I’m sure some of the children are hungry.”
Mrs. Rodriquez shifted. “I know that last batch of people we picked up hadn’t eaten in a day. If this rain had come a day or two earlier, folks wouldn’t be in such a tight spot.”
Audra sighed. They were all in a tight spot. Food would last only another two days and she didn’t want to think about fuel. “Barracks and check in first, then we’ll get everyone settled and prioritize our needs.”
Her mother unfurled her umbrella with a snap of her wrist. “Who do you have to drive the bus in case…”
“I can do it.” Faye Eichmann stretched to a stand then sauntered down the aisle. Diamonds winked from her ears. “I didn’t do too badly leaving Burgers in a Basket.”
Audra bit her tongue. She’d rather have almost anyone than Faye behind the wheel.
Stuart shook his head so hard his mask slipped. “She almost left us behind last time.”
“Hello!” Faye flapped her skinny arms. “They were shooting at us and I had a bus load of children.”
She’d like to think Faye meant it. Unfortunately, working with teenagers had deprived her of that naiveté. Yet, she’d come up with the rule that had almost left her stranded. “She was just following orders.”
Stuart snorted. “You’re in charge. Did you order her to peel rubber out of the restaurant?”
She nodded. “We’d decided that if things became too dangerous we’d have to leave some folks behind. The children are our priority.”
Eddie’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “We’re all prepared to make the sacrifice to protect the children.”
Struggling for breath, she set her hand on his. God only knew what it had cost him to drive away while his brother was taken out to be shot. She owed him her life for sticking to the agreement.
“That’s a messed up rule!” Tendons roped Stuart’s neck. “Who’s going to raise your precious children if all the adults are dead?”
Eddie snapped open the shotgun and checked the cartridges. “If you don’t like the rules, you can stay here.”
“I can’t stay here.” Stuart stomped his foot. “Phoenix and the valley have to be evacuated because of the anthrax threat.”
“We can discuss this in the morning.” She squeezed Eddie’s hand, hoping for understanding. “There are a lot of new folks who don’t know the rules, so they should be informed.”
“Some decision. You have the buses, fuel and food.”
But she didn’t have time for his tantrum. Pushing up her sleeve, she checked her watch. “I have ten after seven. I say we report back here in ten minutes.”
Principal Dunn checked the gold watch on his wrist. “Seven twenty. Got it. Let’s go.”
Her mother dissolved in the storm. The principal switched on the flashlight; he and the deputy followed.
“Turn off the lights, Eddie. We can’t afford for the battery to die.” Audra turned the barrel and the penlight came to life.
With a push of a button, darkness swallowed everything but the small beam in her hand.
Keys jingled.
“You know what to do, Faye,” Eddie whispered.
“Let’s go.” Pressing against the steering wheel, Audra shined the light on the steps.
Eddie led the way, followed by Stuart. Mrs. Rodriquez’s shoes squeaked as she passed.
Heart pounding in her ears, Audra stumbled down the steps. The door swished closed behind her. She resisted the urge to shove it back open. Faye was following protocol. Rain cut cold paths across her scalp. She fell into step next to Eddie, leaving Stuart and Mrs. Rodriquez to follow.
“Do you think the coyote is still inside?” Mud squished under her boots. Water chased away the rats as she splashed through the puddles. She spit out the damp fabric. Maybe it was safe enough to remove the covering.
“We’ll find out.” He paused by the opening and settled the stock against his shoulder. “Sweep the light over the inside then I’ll shoot any glowing eyes.”
Her arm brushed his as they inched through the vestibule. The inky interior swallowed the tiny ball of light. Holding her breath, she stepped into the rectangular tent. The orb swept right to left, gliding over bare tables and empty chairs. Wind snapped the canvas and plucked at the ropes. Papers tumbled over the dry floor.
“I think Mr. Coyote went out another door.” With the barrel, Eddie gestured to the dark pit at the fringe of the light’s reach. “I’ll close it in case he decides to revisit.”
She nodded. The last shred of her hope left on the draft. No soldiers. Now what was she supposed to do? This was her plan B. There was no C.
“Why would he?” Stuart scratched down his handkerchief. “There’s nothing here.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Mrs. Rodriquez chuckled, grabbing a handful of papers off the floor. “We’ve got toilet tissue.”
Stuart stepped back and wrinkled his nose.
Where had he lived the last few months?
“Don’t like that, eh, Prince Charming?” Mrs. Rodriquez fished around her pocket with her free hand and pulled out a plastic lighter. With a soft phft sound, a flame leapt from the top. “We can always burn it to keep warm.”
Audra blinked at the letters on the paper. Not…r…sur… She bounced on her heels. Those words mig
ht be a message.
A wooden door banged.
She jumped. The coyote!
Then another.
She aimed the light at the direction of the noise.
Eddie sauntered into the shadows. “The locks are broke so they might slam open again.”
Her heart left her throat and sunk into her chest. She really needed more sleep if she’d forgotten so quickly. Kneeling, she pinched a paper and lifted it.
Footsteps pounded on the wood floor behind them.
The deputy skidded to a stop and wiped his mouth. “We’ve found the soldiers.”
Praise Jesus! She collapsed against the table. It was over. Her job was done. “Where?”
Stuart pumped the air and high-fived Mrs. Rodriquez.
“Two tents down. They’re dead.” The deputy covered his mouth and gagged. “All of them.”
“Fuck!” Stuart punched the table then shook his hand and cradled it against his chest.
Exactly. She stared at the paper, not seeing it.
Eddie shuffled closer, propped a hip against her table. “Are any of the tents useable?”
The deputy nodded.”Two so far, enough for all of us to sleep in a cot tonight. Jackie O and Principal Dunn are sorting our people now. The latrines are nearby and aren’t overflowing.”
They’d done exactly as she’d asked. And she hadn’t kept up her part of the bargain. There was no safety. No soldiers. She blinked back the tears.
“So now what are we supposed to do?” Stuart clasped his skull between his hands. “I told them I’d get them to safety.”
Get in line to board the failure train. God, her mother was going to be so disappointed. And Eddie’s brother would have died for nothing. And… The words on the paper shifted into focus. Notice for survivors.
Congratulations. If you’re reading this you’re alive. To keep your ass firmly in the land of the living follow these directions…
Her attention raced over the words… evacuation route…supplies laid in…antibiotics for anthrax…rendezvous in Winslow… She straightened then checked to make certain her feet still touched the ground. Laughter bubbled up her throat and bounced off her tongue.
Four sets of eyes stared at her.
Audra shook the paper at them. “I know what to do. I know where the soldiers went.”
Chapter Nineteen
Day 8
“Dude! I’m trying to work here.” Brainiac fisted Toby’s oversized teeshirt, lifted the preschooler up and set him on the floor two feet away from the makeshift desk.
Papa Rose shook his head. The squid had done that three times already and Toby hadn’t gotten the message. “He’s a kid, not a dude.”
All that energy created a vortex around children, deafening them to adult words.
“I’s a mun’kin, not a dude.” Grinning, Toby pointed his thumb at his small chest. His bare feet slapped the concrete as he ran in front of the construction yellow saw horses holding up a four by eight foot plank of particle board.
Brainiac hunched over his tablet computer, pounding at the keys.
Toby dropped to all fours and crawled toward Brainiac.
“You tell him, munchkin.” Across the room, Falcon grinned and stretched his long legs in a vee. He sketched Olivia’s face on the bare concrete between his thighs with a broken piece of drywall.
Laying on two lengths of recycled denim insulation, Papa Rose bit the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing. Damn, the tyke was persistent and restless. He should have expected the cabin fever. They’d been stuck in this room for the last ten hours while Brainiac and the nuclear tech tried to figure out how they were going to get millions of gallons of water to the generating station.
Olivia and Jillie sat on Falcon’s left side playing Tic-Tac-Toe. Hashmarks filled with X’s and O’s covered the floor on the other side of the room.
Papa Rose cleared his throat.
Falcon glanced up from shading Olivia’s cheeks.
He nodded his head toward the preschooler under the table just as Toby set his hand on Brainiac’s thigh and shoved the top of his head into the squid’s groin.
Brainiac yelped and pealed away from the table. The wheels of his rolling chair squeaked before B stomped his feet down and stopped his flight. “Jesus fucking Christ!”
Falcon’s eye narrowed. “Language…dude.”
Yawning, Papa Rose shrugged into his jacket. The fifteen minutes he’d slept over the last two hours would have to hold him until after the mission.
“What’s going on?” The nuclear tech’s wheezing sounded tinny coming through the phone speakers. The shiny black plastic glinted in the fluorescent lights overhead. “Did you lose satellite connection again?”
“Not this time,” he answered while Brainiac glared at Toby. No doubt the spotty connection had contributed to B’s short temper. He checked his watch. The ticking time bomb nearby didn’t exactly help matters either.
Eight hours until the spent fuel rods were exposed.
If they didn’t get moving soon, lunch would be everyone’s last meal.
His vertebrae popped when he stretched. Brainiac would do it. The squid didn’t have a choice. Failure was off the table. Pushing to his knees, Papa Rose shoved three lengths of the recycled denim insulation side by side—a comfy bed where the kidlets could snooze while they’re away delaying the inevitable.
Olivia yawned. Her dreadlocks slapped her cheeks when she shook her head. “Can we go to sleep now?”
Falcon pealed off the paper backing, exposing more chalk. “In a bit. B?”
Still sitting in the rolling chair, Brainiac duck walked toward the desk and his tablet. “I’d be done in five minutes if someone could keep the munchkin away from me.”
Toby smiled. “I yike B.”
Shaking his head, Papa Rose tied his boot laces then rose to his feet. The preschooler liked everything. “All right, munchkin and munchkinettes, let’s take a potty break then we’ll tuck you in.”
Olivia and Jillie tossed aside their bits of drywall and leapt to their feet.
Jillie scratched her cheek, leaving streaks of white behind on her dusky skin. “Can we have a snack and drink?”
“I’ll think about it.” He adjusted the handkerchief over his nose and mouth. A snack and a drink meant another trip to the bathroom later, when he and Falcon wouldn’t be around to watch over them.
Jillie’s shoulders slumped and she stared at the floor. “Adults always say that when they mean no.”
Damn. Why was he disappointing them? He swept the curls out of her eyes and checked her surgical mask. “Not always, but we have to make sure you’re safe.”
Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “You are coming back, aren’t you?”
The word yes hovered on his lips. How many adults had said that but had been unable to keep their promise? He scrubbed a hand down his face. He’d broken so many promises at the end. His wife and children hadn’t gotten better. He couldn’t help them to breathe. The nurses and doctors hadn’t been around.
“Of course.” Kneeling on the floor, Falcon wrapped his hands around her waist and spun her around to face him. “I never break a promise.”
She nodded slowly but doubt clouded her eyes.
Olivia slid Toby’s plastic bag shoes over his feet then dusted her hands on her skirt. “You better not.”
Tongue lodged between his teeth, the preschooler beelined for the door.
“Get your slicker on.” Papa Rose scooped Toby up, swinging him in a high arch. Warm, wiggling skin and bones. How did children manage to feel so alive?
When his plastic shoes skimmed the metal door, the munchkin screamed and clapped his hands over Papa Rose’s. “Again. Again.”
Something cracked in his chest. His kids had always loved to be swung. He set Toby on his hip. “Later, munchkin.”
Small legs locked around his waist and thin arms wrapped around his neck. “Okay, Papa.”
Falcon zipped up Olivia’s red slicker and c
arefully tucked her hair under the hood. “Ready?”
She nodded then skipped to Jillie’s side. The two girls clasped hands.
His palm brushed warm metal. He turned the knob and shoved the door open. Water dripped from the eaves and rippled across the puddles dotting the ground. Light blazed across the power plant, turning night into day—just like it had been before the world ended. Rectangular buildings crowded the mushroom-shaped reactors a couple of hundred yards away.
Falcon splashed through puddles as he headed for the two Port-O-Potties near the metal storage sheds. Olivia lifted her hem and jumped over water. Jillie skirted the small pools and slipped on the mud.
Resting his head against Papa Rose’s chest, Toby sucked on his thumb. The door banged shut behind them startling the preschooler, who stiffened in his arms.
The boy’s eyes grew wide and his lips pursed together. “That scared me, Papa.”
“It’s alright.” He stroked Toby’s silky hair. “You’re safe now.”
At least for the next eight hours.
“‘Kay.” The munchkin snuggled against him and resumed sucking his thumb.
He reached Falcon just as the girls disappeared inside the bathrooms. The plastic doors slammed shut and the signed flashed to red-occupied.
Falcon rubbed the preschooler’s back. “How’s he holding up?”
Papa Rose glanced down. Toby’s long lashes lay against his cheeks. Someone had flipped the kid’s switch turning him off. “He’ll be fine.”
“You know B isn’t gonna be able to watch them.”
“I know.” Pressure filled his chest. Did the Special Forces teach soldiers how to read minds? He’d spent the evening chasing after a solution. Falcon wouldn’t like the decision he’d reached. “The squid is still pretty much a kid himself.”
“And he has a mean temper.” Falcon kissed Toby on the head and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “He’ll scar ‘em for life.”
“If he doesn’t kill them first.” He held Toby a little tighter, inhaled the slight floral scent wafting from his hair. “That’s why I’m releasing you from our suicide pact. You need to watch over them, see they get safely to Colorado and join the soldiers.”
Redaction: The Meltdown Part II Page 20