Setting the picture down, Wendy saw walk-in closets. Walking into the first Wendy stepped out, since it clearly belonged to the guy. Looking at the back of the door, Wendy saw his duty rig hanging up. Stepping over quickly, Wendy opened the other closet and saw a duty rig hanging from the door. Pulling the rig off, Wendy saw a gun in the holster.
Pressing the release, Wendy pulled it out and put the one she’d been carrying on the bed. “Glock 23,” Wendy said, ejecting the magazine and saw it was full. Giving the gun a press check, Wendy saw brass in the barrel. “My kind of people,” Wendy said, slapping the magazine back in.
Wendy put the rig and the suspenders on and found it was a little large. From the photos and clothes, Wendy knew the woman was near her size but after the flu, Wendy still had some weight to regain. Even going down one size with her wetsuit, the suit had still been loose. Putting the rig on the bed, Wendy adjusted the belt and suspenders and then put it back on.
With the rig on, she adjusted the suspenders because the woman clearly had been much better endowed than Wendy ever would be. Moving into the closet, Wendy grabbed some pants and shirts and tossed them on the bed. On the floor, she saw another pair of tactical boots, but these were well-worn but in good shape. Picking them up, Wendy was shocked to see they were a size seven.
Grabbing the boots and clothes, Wendy picked up the pistol from the bed and headed back downstairs. Tossing the stuff on the desk, Wendy saw the girls playing with Ryan. “You found a holster,” Sally grinned.
“Yep,” Wendy smiled, looking at the girls in their wetsuits. None of them had brought clothes because they’d needed room for diapers and formula, baby food and juice, water and then finally, a little food for them. Wendy had reasoned it would be easier to find the girls stuff than Ryan. “Are you two okay? I’m going to check the truck out.”
“Can I take this off? It’s hot,” Jo Ann groaned, grasping at the wetsuit.
“Not yet, baby. We will look around for some clothes,” Wendy said and then jerked as a gunshot sounded off in the distance.
“Was that close?” Jo Ann panted.
Shaking her head as she glanced toward the windows, “No, that was a mile or so away, but keep an ear out,” Wendy said and they nodded.
Moving back to the garage, Wendy opened up the back of the Tahoe with the fob and saw it was empty. “Oh, I can fix that,” Wendy tittered, grabbing the duffel from the sedan and setting it in the cargo area. Opening it up, Wendy saw a tactical vest and magazines for the M4.
Laying the stuff out, Wendy had to admit that the woman could pack. Reaching the bottom, Wendy found a hard case and opened it up. “Holy shit! Cops around here get night vision goggles?” Wendy gasped, pulling out the PVS 14 monocular. “I bet they didn’t pay what my husband did,” Wendy snickered.
Putting the monocular up, Wendy repacked the duffel bag. Looking further into the vehicle, Wendy saw another duffel bag and climbed in before pulling it to the back. Inside she found another vest, but there was also a satellite phone, crime scene tape, notepads, a tape recorder, cameras, and a video camera.
Taking out the vest and ammo, Wendy set the bag on the sedan. Walking around and looking in the back, Wendy didn’t see another M4. “Where’s his?” she thought out loud. Shrugging her shoulders, Wendy moved to the front of the garage and a workbench.
Seeing a small chainsaw, Wendy grabbed it. “Need this just in case of road blockage, but I’ll have to get rid of this before I get home. Arthur would freak out, seeing me with something other than a Husqvarna.”
Putting the chainsaw in the back, Wendy froze. “I wonder how long I’m a carrier?”
Thinking for several minutes, “We’ll stay at the office house for a month,” she finally said and moved back to the workbench. Grabbing a small gas can, Wendy opened it to see it was mixed fuel. Setting it to the side, Wendy grabbed a large Phillips screwdriver and a hammer.
Setting them to the side, Wendy laid a small crowbar in the stack and dug through a toolbox, pulling out a few other tools. “Thanks to my husband, I know what every tool I’ve come across is used for,” Wendy mumbled. “I wonder if that is alarming to some people?”
Bending down, Wendy saw a plastic oil pan reservoir. Pulling it out, Wendy felt it was empty and after looking at it, she wondered if it had ever been used. The reservoir looked like it would hold well over a gallon with a long spout off the side that was capped off.
“Almost have my fueler,” Wendy said, grabbing a water hose. Picking up the utility knife she’d laid out, Wendy cut off two sections, one four-foot-long and the other, eight-foot-long. Finding a hose clamp in the toolbox, Wendy put one end over the oil spout after taking the cap off. With a lot of shoving, she got the one end of the shorter hose over the spout. Then she put the hose clamp on and was sure it wasn’t needed, but this was how Arthur had taught her so she would do it.
Putting the tools in a small plastic toolbox, Wendy moved the stuff to the back of the Tahoe. Glancing over at the sedan, “Where the hell are their private vehicles?” Wendy asked out loud.
She knew there weren’t cars in the circular drive at the front of the house, so Wendy moved to the windows on the garage door. The driveway led to a communal cement drive that ran behind the houses like an open alley. Looking down the driveway and with the gate open, Wendy could see the house opposite of the one she was in. The only difference was it was much bigger and didn’t have a six-foot fence around it.
Moving to a door on the side of the garage, Wendy unlocked it and peeked outside. “Oh,” Wendy said, seeing two Harley Davison motorcycles and a Jeep. The Jeep was jacked way up and Wendy knew Arthur would’ve liked it, but there wasn’t a top. Turning to the motorcycles, they just looked expensive to Wendy.
Closing the door, Wendy went and checked on the girls. “I’m going to the backyard, do you want to come?” she asked and the girls grabbed Ryan, flying out of the office.
When they were outside, Wendy looked at the swimming pool. “No, you can’t swim,” she told them.
“I’m kind of tired of water,” Sally admitted and Jo Ann agreed with a nod.
“Have to say, I am too,” Wendy said, walking over to a small shed in the corner. Finding a lawn mower and weed eater, Wendy also found an axe, a machete, and a hatchet and tossed them out the door for road debris removal, but hoped she wouldn’t need them. Seeing two five-gallon fuel cans and a long flexible funnel, Wendy tossed them out after feeling that the fuel cans were empty and grabbed a spool of rope.
Walking out, she saw the twins playing with Ryan in the grass. The twins were being very quiet and like he knew, Ryan was being quiet with his coos. Gathering the stuff on the ground, Wendy carried it to the garage and finished gathering tools, then grabbed a five-gallon fuel can from under the workbench.
Looking at the sedan, “Nope, I’ll just siphon the gas. Punching a hole in the fuel tank will be loud and we aren’t ready to leave yet,” Wendy reasoned and grabbed the long hose.
Shoving the end in the gas tank, Wendy blew into the hose and then briefly sucked and took the hose from her mouth, putting it in a fuel can. Letting that one fill up, Wendy pulled over another one that was empty. When the fuel stopped, Wendy figured she had only gotten seven gallons from the sedan.
Using the funnel, Wendy poured the gas into the Tahoe and then moved up to turn the key on. “That’s bullshit! You didn’t even move up to three quarters of a tank,” she moaned at the gas gauge. Turning the key off and yanking it out, Wendy clipped it on her suspenders.
She emptied the Jeep and found a full metal gas can in the back. Saving that, Wendy emptied the motorcycles and was happy that the Tahoe was now full. Putting the metal gas can in the back, Wendy started arranging the area.
Climbing out, Wendy went inside to the kitchen and started opening cabinets. “What the hell did you eat?” she asked toward the couch. Besides a few boxes of cereal and crackers, the cabinets held dishes and glasses.
Not about to open the fridge, Wen
dy closed the cabinets and headed back to the office. Collecting all the magazines for the pistols she had, Wendy grabbed AR magazines and set them on the desk. Inspecting the rifles as she turned back, Wendy saw four ARs and then looked closer and realized one was an M4. She grabbed it, and one of the ARs that had everything one could put on an AR.
“You must be kin to my husband,” Wendy mumbled, setting the rifles on the desk. Seeing a closet door, Wendy moved over and stopped at the wall that was covered with pictures. One was of the same young man and woman with a date of last February.
On the young man’s collar were shiny sergeant pins. “You got promoted. That’s why your stuff is set up different,” Wendy mumbled as she opened the closet. Seeing metal and plastic ammo cans, Wendy started pulling them out.
“There’s no way I’ll need this much ammo,” Wendy said, looking at the ten cans she had pulled out. “Screw it, I’m taking it.”
Checking the safe before she closed it, Wendy saw a .38 revolver and two compact 9mm Glocks. Tossing them onto the desk, Wendy closed the safe and then started carrying the stuff to the Tahoe. Instead of moving through the house, Wendy walked out the back to check on the kids and used the side door on the garage. Placing one Glock in the door bin on the driver’s door, Wendy put the .38 in an overhead storage rack after removing stacks of forms. The last Glock, she set on the center console. Grabbing the PVS-14, Wendy put it in one of the overhead storage bins so she could grab it fast.
Leaving the AR with all the attachments out, Wendy opened the storage drawer that covered the cargo floor. Removing more stacks of forms, Wendy put the other weapons she was taking inside and then filled the drawer with the other supplies that would fit.
When she was done, Wendy looked at her watch and saw it was just after noon. “It took me three hours to load all that?” Wendy mumbled in shock.
Shaking her head, she walked over and saw the twins eating peanut butter and crackers. That was the staple Wendy had packed for them. Between the twins, Ryan was on a blanket fast asleep.
“We ready?” Sally asked, handing over a cracker loaded with peanut butter.
“We could leave, but I want to check the house next door and the one after it,” Wendy answered and then shoved the cracker in her mouth. As she chewed, Jo Ann held up a bottle of water.
As Wendy took the bottle, Jo Ann asked. “Why do you want to go to the next houses?”
Smacking her lips, Wendy drained half the bottle of water. “They have kids play equipment in the backyards, I saw it upstairs. They may have clothes for you and formula and diapers for Ryan,” Wendy told her and then drained the bottle.
Jo Ann looked over at Sally and then back to Wendy. “We can come, can’t we?” Jo Ann asked.
“I’m not going without you,” Wendy smiled.
Chapter Twenty Six
Miracles can happen anywhere
After filling up on crackers and peanut butter, Wendy put the baby carrier back on and put Ryan in it. As Wendy situated Ryan, the twins packed up the supplies. “Okay, we are going to the houses to see if there is anything we can use. If I say run, you run and climb into the black truck in the garage,” Wendy explained, turning to the twins. “Don’t get out because you don’t see me, because I’m coming and then we will leave.”
“Okay,” the twins said in unison and smiled.
“Why aren’t we going to search other houses like that one?” Jo Ann asked, pointing at the massive house behind them.
“The next two houses have fences like this one and we can move around the backyards without being seen easily,” Wendy explained.
When no more questions came, Wendy headed across the yard and opened a gate that gave access to the next yard. Looking at the swing set and other toys, Wendy could tell they were new. She looked down the driveway and saw the gate was open.
Turning back to the house, there wasn’t a garage but a Mercedes was parked beside the house. The space between the house and Mercedes told Wendy another vehicle had been parked there. “Hope they don’t come back,” Wendy mumbled, moving up to the back door.
Listening for several minutes, Wendy didn’t hear anything then reluctantly, she put her nose next to the door and sniffed. When Wendy didn’t jerk back, the twins sighed. Trying the doorknob, Wendy raised her eyebrows when the door opened.
When the door opened, a cat ran past them and out into the yard. Ignoring the cat, Wendy slipped inside and put her finger on her lips as she looked back at the twins. Walking through the kitchen, Wendy smelled the odor of a very full litter box.
Searching the house, Wendy found a family picture of a man and woman with two boys. One looked around ten and the other about six. Looking at the pictures on the walls, Wendy found one taken in the backyard with the dead couple next door.
Going upstairs, they found the boys’ rooms. “Girls, see if these clothes will fit until we can find more,” Wendy told them. The first was the older boy’s room and he was bigger than the twins. From the pictures, Wendy would’ve called him chunky. Finding a school backpack, Wendy emptied it and handed it to Jo Ann who was going through a drawer full of shirts.
Only grabbing a few shirts, the twins followed Wendy to the next room and started searching. They both pulled out tennis shoes from the closet and shoved them into the backpack. Watching the girls pull out some light jackets, Wendy figured the smaller boy had been very close to their size.
Moving to the closet, Wendy pulled out several pairs of jeans and held them up next to Sally. Going through seven pairs, Wendy found two that looked close and shoved them in the pack. Then she moved over to the dresser and grabbed socks. Finding a few more items, Wendy led the girls to the kitchen.
Seeing a few cans of soup, Wendy put them in the pack.
Not finding anything else in the house or the keys to the Mercedes, Wendy led them back outside. Walking over to a shed, Wendy saw a small utility trailer with two plastic gas cans strapped on the front. Shaking them, she found one was full and the other almost half full.
Opening the shed, she found a lawn mower and other stuff, but nothing they needed. “Let’s go to the next house,” Wendy told them in a low voice.
“What about the cat?” Jo Ann asked.
“If we wouldn’t have let him out, the cat would’ve died,” Wendy answered, heading for the side gate. Opening it, she led the girls in and moved to the garage. On impulse, she looked back and saw the driveway gate closed.
Stopping at the garage door, Wendy stood up on her tiptoes and saw a massive SUV and a minivan parked inside. “Oh, now I find another SUV,” Wendy mumbled, but liked the Tahoe much better.
Leading the girls across the patio, Wendy grabbed her nose and looked at a window that was open. Gritting her teeth, Wendy moved to the window. Not only could she smell it, Wendy could feel the stench rolling out of the house. Glancing in, she looked at a kitchen that had cereal everywhere.
Stepping back from the window, Wendy turned and looked at the yard and saw a very small swing set and other small toys. Almost talking herself out of facing another house of stench, Wendy shook her head. “We’ll just look fast,” she mumbled.
Reaching for the back door, Wendy tried the knob and found it was locked. “I can get in through the window,” Sally offered, taking her backpack off.
Before Wendy could tell Sally that it wasn’t worth it, Sally was gripping the window ledge and pulled her body in. Watching Sally climb in Wendy sighed, knowing she would search the house since Sally had put in the effort to get them inside.
Hearing the deadbolt unlock, Wendy turned to the door as Sally opened it and the stench rolled out. Walking past Sally, Wendy looked at the kitchen again. In with the cereal poured on the floor were animal crackers. “Ryan would’ve liked those,” Wendy sighed.
A thump sounded from inside the house and Wendy yanked the pistol out, shoving the girls behind her. “We won’t hurt you,” Wendy called out. “I’m with kids and looking for food. We thought everyone inside was dead beca
use of the smell.”
The thump turned into a patter that was closing in. Gripping the pistol tight, Wendy held it low while staring at the corner of the kitchen. All of a sudden, a naked boy toddler popped out from the hallway grinning. He was filthy, with feces down both legs and dried food over his face.
“Hey,” Wendy said, letting the pistol hang at her side. “Is your mom and daddy here?”
“Da,” the little boy said and took off.
“Girls, stay close,” Wendy said, following the boy around the corner. Going down a short hallway, Wendy stopped in the living room and saw the little boy standing beside the couch, smiling.
“Da,” he said, pointing at a corpse on the couch.
“Oh my God,” Wendy gulped. Holstering the pistol, she moved over to the boy and looked down at the dead man. “Where’s your mama?”
“Ma,” the boy said and took off for the stairs, running up them on all fours.
Wendy took off after him with the girls right behind her. Reaching the top of the stairs, Wendy saw the boy climb up on a bed and she ran into the room. She stopped as the boy curled up next to a dead woman. “Momma,” the boy said, smiling.
Stumbling back into the wall, Wendy could tell the mother had been dead longer than the father. “They’ve been dead over a week, how?” Wendy asked, panting and watching the toddler curl up next to the corpse.
Pushing off the wall, Wendy clapped her hands, “Come here,” Wendy said with a smile and the boy jumped and ran across the bed. Reaching the end, he leapt into the air and Wendy caught him while turning her body and pulling him to her side so he wouldn’t hit Ryan.
“Oh,” she said, jerking her face back at smelling the stench from the boy. As Ryan woke up, Wendy saw an open doorway and a bathroom inside. She took off to find anything to wipe the boy down and then remembered the swimming pool at the first house. Walking in the bathroom, Wendy stopped.
Viral Misery (Book 1) Page 29