by Nora Penn
Inside the lighthouse was the sort of quaint environment that James and Hannah might have lived in, if they were in their old age. There were plenty of knickknacks and pictures of family on the walls. Sonja made a point of pointing to the pictures and telling James and Hannah all of their kids’ and grandkids’ names. Sadly, most of their family was presumed dead in the spider apocalypse.
“But not our Dylan,” Sonja said proudly. James and Hannah remembered that the couple had mentioned him on the ride over.
Sonja pulled a picture of a young soldier off the wall. It showed a freckle-faced young man standing in front of the American flag.
“He’s serving in the Army. We haven’t heard from him in a while. Not since the troubles began. But we know he’s out there trying to get our country back on track…”
James and Hannah both nodded.
“He looks like a very brave young man,” Hannah said, smiling.
After they had gotten comfortable, Sonja made a simple yet filling meal for the three guests. Then Bill and James decided to go up to the top of the lighthouse to have a look around before the sun went down.
“Do you want that beer I offered you earlier?” Bill asked.
James was tempted – after all, it might be the last beer he’d have for years, if ever – but still thought it best to pass. He said No, but thanked Bill for the offer.
“Well, just let me know if you ever change your mind.”
They took a series of ladders from floor to floor up to the lookout and surveyed the coast. James was amazed at how beautiful a view it was, even considering the ruins that all the nearby dwellings were in. He covered his eyes with his hand to block the setting sun’s rays and looked for the place where the Happy Clam had been moored, to see if he could see it under the waves. He thought he saw a dark shape, but it was too indistinct to be sure. As James peered at the rolling waves, he reflected that the backpack full of Algopyrin was down there as well. This realization made him burn with anger at his own stupidity. This thought was chased by another realization, which is that Steve’s body was also at the bottom of the ocean. Rather than feel bad about this, the thought caused James to push out his jaw with a sense of resolution. He would kill anybody who tried to harm his family.
Bill stayed silent as James looked around, but then asked the younger man if he had anything on his mind.
James sighed with exasperation. “I have so many things on my mind I don’t even know where to start.”
“Well, you can tell me about them, if you think it would help. Or not. It’s up to you.”
Bill was familiar with the way most men have of keeping things inside. He understood and respected the stoic silence that some men employed when they faced the world’s hardships. But he also knew that sometimes it helped to talk things through.
“Well,” said James slowly. “The main thing on my mind right now is Carol.”
“Carol?” Bill said, somewhat surprised. “I would have thought you’d be more concerned about Hannah and her pregnancy.”
“That’s on my mind also,” James said with a sigh. “But Carol has a brain tumor. Right now I’m just trying to keep her comfortable.”
“I’m truly sorry to hear that,” Bill said with deep concern in his voice. “That’s a mighty big burden for such a little girl to bear. And a big burden for you to bear also, as her father…”
“Yep,” James said and shook his head at the hand fate had dealt his daughter. “She gets really bad headaches and the only thing that keeps the pain away is Algopyrin, which, as it turns out, is pretty hard to come by. Anyway, I had just looted a pharmacy and got some of the stuff. I filled my backpack with it and it would have lasted for a while. But then when our boat sank, I accidentally dropped the backpack in the water. All that Algopyrin is now at the bottom of the ocean.”
“I can see now why you’re so upset.”
“The other day – the day that I had to steal your boat – I had taken Carol to the hospital. I tried to get her more Algopyrin from the staff, but they were all out of it. It seems like the only place to get a large supply of the stuff is in Boston.”
The old man scratched his grizzled chin. “Hmmm. That could be a problem. The spiders are real thick up that way.”
“Yep,” James muttered dejectedly.
“Whereabouts in Boston? Did they say?”
“The warehouse where the medicine is kept is next to the IGE Laboratory.”
“That’s where the spiders all came from, if I’m not mistaken,” the old man remarked.
“That’s right.”
“Jeesh. That’s just about the toughest place to have to get to.”
“I know. That’s one of the things – one of the MANY things – on my mind right now.”
“Well…” the old man drawled. “It’s settled.”
“What’s settled?” James asked, confused.
“Our plan.”
“Our plan?” the younger man repeated quizzically.
“Yep. Our plan to get your daughter the medicine she needs. That algo-whatever-you-call-it. You and I are going to take the RV to Boston tomorrow. If we leave early we can be back by dinner time.” Here Bill took a swig of beer, as if congratulating himself for a brave act that he had yet to accomplish.
James was a bit incredulous, but a smile played at the corner of his mouth.
“Well, if you’re up for it, I am too,” the younger man chuckled. He had to hand it to Bill. The old fellow certainly had a big pair of balls.
Chapter 17
Sonja and Hannah were both fairly incredulous when the two men told them their scheme. Hannah was on the one hand relieved, since she knew how badly her daughter needed the Algopyrin to stop her headaches. At the same time, she was worried sick. If she lost James to a spider attack, her world would come to a crashing halt. Not only was James the love of her life, but he was her protector and father of the daughter she had and the son that she was ABOUT to have. It was crucial that he stay alive.
As for Sonja, she too was more than a little worried about Bill. That said, she knew that when Bill got it in his head to do something, it was almost impossible to talk him out of it.
As the men packed up the RV with supplies, the two women talked.
“Sonja, are you sure you’re okay with Bill accompanying James on this mission? I mean, after all, James could go alone. That way we would have at least one man here to hold the fort down.”
Sonja looked at the younger woman with kindness welling in her eyes. “Oh sweetheart, I couldn’t talk him out of it if my life depended on it. He is that set in his ways. And besides, he’s been depressed lately. And not just because of this whole spider apocalypse business. The way he sees it, he’s been sitting on his butt a lot lately. I don’t feel that way, but he certainly does. I know it for a fact. Anyway, this gives him a chance to do something…”
Here Sonja had to search for the right word. Hannah was about to say something when Sonja found it.
“It gives him a chance to do something heroic,” she said in a voice that cracked.
Hannah could feel both the worry and the admiration in Sonja’s voice. She knew that Sonja letting her husband go on this crazy mission was an enormous gamble for her also. Both women were making a sacrifice, that much was certain.
“Well, your husband is already a hero in my book,” Hannah said with misty eyes.
Sonja gave the younger woman a motherly hug.
Meanwhile, outside in the driveway, the two men were loading up the RV while Carol watched.
“Being a big game hunter has proven to be an advantage in this crazy world,” Bill said. Although it was still early in the morning, he already had a beer in his hand.
“I can believe that,” James said, dropping his eye to the can of Budweiser that was sloshing around in Bill’s grip. “You’ve got enough guns and ammo to kill a whole forest of animals.”
“Who knows…”Bill said. “Maybe I’ll end up with a giant spider’s head moun
ted over the fireplace.”
“That would sure be something,” James smiled. “By the way, I should drive.”
Bill dug around in his pants’ pocket and found the keys to the RV. He tossed them to James.
“You got it buddy.”
“Thanks,” James said and pocketed the keys.
Once the RV was all loaded up – with a map of Boston, a day’s worth of food and water, several gallon containers of gasoline, and a collection of hunting rifles, handguns, and enough ammo to supply a small army – the men went inside to give their wives their goodbye kisses.
To say that the men’s bon voyage was emotional would be to put it mildly. Both women had tears in their eyes as they saw the men off. And Carol hugged her father for so long and so hard, he thought that she would never let go.
“Now, now dear,” he said finally, patting her on the head. “Daddy has to get going now or it’ll be late before we get back.”
“Okay Daddy,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
There were plenty of kisses and hugs to go around and then the men were finally off, with James driving. In no time they were on 95 North and barreling towards Boston. With no police and no other cars on the highway, they could go as fast as they wanted.
As they sped along, James kept his eyes peeled wide, as did Bill. The two men chatted as they drove along but they both continued to watch the landscape with careful eyes, perpetually on the lookout for any roving “swarms” of spiders. Once or twice James had thought he spied a giant black stain rolling over the hillside, but each time it turned out to be the shadow of a cloud. Before they knew it, they were inside the Boston city limits and driving through the empty streets of the once grand metropolis.
“My god how this city has changed…” Bill mumbled as they got off the highway.
James muttered in agreement. It wasn’t just that the city had been decimated by the spider apocalypse. It was that vandals had taken over parts of the town. From driving through the ruins of Boston, James estimated that only about 5% of the city’s population had survived. These were the toughest of the tough, he reflected, the thugs and gang members. This hunch was verified by the many examples of gang graffiti that seemed to cover every available surface. On several occasions they passed straggling crowds of young men huddled around trashcans or standing on corners. Each time a young man threw a rock or a bottle as they passed. The survivors of the spider apocalypse were a surly bunch to say the least.
“I was worried about the spiders,” Bill grumbled as they drove through the city. “But now I’m almost more afraid of the humans that are left behind.”
“I imagine they don’t see other survivors too often,” James remarked. “We should be on our guard for an ambush.” As always, his senses were on high alert, not only for roving swarms of spiders, but for roving swarms of young men.
“Do you know where the warehouse is?” Bill asked nervously.
“Yeah, it’s right down by the docks. We’ll be there in a moment.”
Up ahead the Bay could be seen between the intervening buildings. In this grim day and age even the water looked dull and lifeless, as if the world was trapped under a pane of sepia-toned glass. The sun was out, but the sunlight it gave was oddly meager, as if it struggled to get through the atmosphere. James was eager to accomplish their mission and then get back to Bill and Sonja’s lighthouse, where he could relax and be with his family.
“We’re going to have to go down a narrow street,” James said. “Which puts us in danger of being jumped by thugs. Be prepared to shoot if anything happens.”
“I’m ready for them,” Bill said, and tapped the rifle on the seat beside him.
“There’s the warehouse up ahead,” James pointed through the windshield.
The building was fairly ugly and non-descript, with graffiti covered walls and boarded up windows. It sat next to the exploded remains of the IGE laboratory, which was more of a pile of bricks than an actual building. Seeing the ruins of the laboratory brought back unpleasant memories of the day the spider apocalypse began. Now more than ever James wished he was back in Hannah’s arms with Carol at their side.
He parked the RV in front of the warehouse, trying to make as little noise as possible as he guided the vehicle across the gravel parking lot. Before he and Bill got out of the vehicle they each armed themselves. In addition to their rifles, and the always present fishing knife that he kept strapped to his leg, James tucked a snub-nosed revolver behind his belt. He moved the safety over and made a silent prayer that the gun wouldn’t accidentally fire and change him into a eunuch.
When they were both armed and ready, he and Bill stepped out of the vehicle and closed the RV’s doors quietly behind them. There was an ominous silence to the place that made him think they were experiencing a proverbial calm before the storm. James cast a glance around to see if there were any adversaries – either human or spider – lurking about, but the place seemed desolate.
As they walked up to the warehouse, they noticed that a slot was cut into the front door. This slot suddenly opened and a voice called out.
“Step back motherfucker!”
Both James and Bill stopped in their tracks.
“We came for supplies,” James said firmly. Although his voice sounded confident, he was feeling distinctly on edge.
“What’s the password?”
Bill and James shot each other quizzical looks. “Password?” James repeated, sounding a little dopier than he intended.
“Yeah motherfucker. Say the password or get the fuck out!”
James could have sworn he heard a gun being cocked behind the door and figured they had about two more seconds before bullets started flying.
“Look,” he said in an earnest. “I don’t know about any password. I’m here because my daughter has a brain tumor and I need a certain drug to keep her from getting severe headaches. If I could just get what I need, I’ll get out of your way.”
There was a pause while whoever was behind the door considered James’s words.
“Why the fuck should I give you anything?”
James thought about this. “I guess just to know that you’re helping a little girl?” Even as he said these words he knew they would have little effect.
“I don’t give a fuck about no little girl! Unless you got some bitches you want to trade for the drugs you need you can march your old ass right back outta here.”
James was formulating what to do next when he heard a sound that chilled him to the marrow. It was the last sound that he ever wanted to hear. It was the sound of boiling pretzels.
He shot Bill a quick glance and saw that he heard it too. Before they had a chance to get back to the vehicle, a swarm of spiders tumbled into the parking lot. Although the spiders were all different sizes, they all had the same black hatred burning in their eyes.
James paid no more attention to the man behind the warehouse door. Instead he lifted his gun and started firing. Bill did the same. The parking lot was filled with crackling gunfire and the smell of gun smoke.
The spiders, recognizing that their would-be prey was armed, stopped in their tracks. One of the larger spiders at the front of the swarm crumpled up as the bullets hit him. Another spider crawled over its dead body and then halted as its head exploded. Black blood sprayed like a broken open water balloon.
“Holy shit!” the voice from behind the door called out. “What are those? Semi-autos?”
James didn’t have the time or the inclination to respond. He just kept firing at the beasts. Soon a pile of dead spiders had started growing at one end of the parking lot. A pool of thick black blood began to spread outward like a tipped-over barrel of crude oil.
Bill kept firing also. James was amazed at what a good shot the old man was. The older fellow made it back to the RV, firing steadily all the while, and paused to open up the rear hatchback. He pulled out another gun which was already loaded, tossed the old one in the back, and started firing the new weapon.
Scattered among the larger spiders were some of the smaller varieties. These were still large by normal standards. In other words, they were about the size of squirrels. What these smaller types lacked in sheer size, they made up for in ferocity. They scuttled forward with breathtaking speed and, because they were so damn small, they were that much harder to hit. Even so, Bill did a fine job of picking them off as they came charging towards them.
“Good thing I’ve spent a lot of time at the shooting range!” he shouted out to James, answering the question that lurked in the back of the young man’s brain.
Another aspect of the smaller spiders’ attack was they could jump great distances. They would suddenly spring themselves into the air, with their eight hairy legs spread out, and land grasping on whatever target they aimed for.
James continued to cock and blast, taking out the larger spiders, and generally left picking off the smaller ones to Bill, who was better at it. But because there were so many of the pesky things, Bill had to pause at one point and reload a second time. As he turned to grab a round of ammo from the back of the RV, a lone spider, smaller than all the rest, launched itself in a spectacular leap, clearing the distance in an instant, and landed on the old man’s back.
“Bill! Look out!” James shouted.
Bill spun around, scattering the ammunition, and clutched at the spider that clung to his back. The spider, meanwhile, avoided Bill’s grasp but scuttling around his back until it reached his shoulder. Bill’s shirt was a short sleeved one, which left a swath of his upper arm exposed. Not that this mattered much. The fangs of the spiders, even the small ones, could penetrate any kind of fabric, or even a tin can for that matter.