“You could wait till you’re sleepy,” Wendy laughed.
Holding her hands up as she shrugged, “But I’m already tired then,” Sally whined.
Sally saw the smile drop off Wendy’s face and jerked her head forward to see a large road that crossed over the road they were on. Grabbing the thermal, Sally lifted it up as she stood up on her knees in the seat. “I see cars on that bridge, but they aren’t moving,” Sally described. “Wait,” she cried out, pointing to the right. “I just saw one drive past heading that way.”
“What about under the interstate, can we drive through?” Wendy asked.
Staring ahead, slowly Sally nodded. “The road we are on we can, but that road beside us looks like it’s blocked by a big truck.”
Dropping her right hand down, Wendy picked up the Glock from the console. “Sally, I need you to sit down in the seat,” Wendy told her.
Swiveling the thermal as she sat down, Sally pointed at a house off to the left. “People under the carport,” Sally said and then turned away, scanning around.
Glancing over, Wendy saw two tall figures and several smaller ones standing around a truck pulled into the carport. “Another car just drove across the bridge, but it was going the other way,” Sally reported.
Nearing the overpass, Wendy could see cars parked under the bridge in the opposite lanes. Turning right and left while looking down the interstate, Wendy saw a truck heading east and nothing moving on the other side heading west. Only a few abandoned cars dotted the interstate and then she lost sight as she drove under the overpass.
Coming out from under the overpass, Wendy glanced at the GPS and saw the small town ahead was Rayville. “That’s a lot of big trucks,” Sally mumbled and Wendy turned to her left where Sally was looking.
“Shit,” Wendy gasped, seeing a truck stop but it and the field beside it were packed with parked trucks. There was a large business behind the truck stop and its parking lot was packed with semis.
“Did they have a sale and everyone got Rudolph there?” Sally asked as they passed the truck stop.
“No, baby. The government stopped all travel and truckers had to pull in. Most I think, would try for a truck stop that they knew,” Wendy explained.
“Oh shit,” Sally moaned and Wendy jerked her head over, looking at Sally. “There’s a naked man walking near the road where it splits apart.”
Turning away, Wendy saw the man just walking across the road, then he jerked his head around. Keeping her foot hovered over the pedal, Wendy watched the man but he just watched them pass by. Seeing the wild glaring eyes, Wendy gave a shiver.
Looking ahead, Wendy saw several dogs in a parking lot eating. Getting closer, Wendy saw it was a human body that had been dead for some time. Still on cruise control, Wendy just held her foot over the pedals.
The road led them into houses and Sally reported seeing several people and Wendy saw a truck cross over the street they were driving. When she reached the road that the truck had been on, Wendy turned and saw the truck driving away.
Ahead, Wendy saw railroad tracks and tapped the brake, knowing there would be a bump involved. In a business area, Wendy slowed to twenty to cross the tracks and was glad she did after feeling the Tahoe lurch about.
“Push the gas, push the gas,” Sally cried out and Wendy stomped the gas and the Tahoe took off. “Push it harder!”
“What is it?” Wendy yelled out, afraid to look back. She didn’t have a long line of sight on the road and was afraid she would hit something as the Tahoe picked up speed quickly.
“Bad guys being mean to some people, but one pointed at us!” Sally cried out, looking behind them.
“Sally, look in front of us for threats,” Wendy said, glancing down and seeing the needle pass seventy. She held it there, letting the Glock lay in her lap as she held the steering wheel tight. “I’ll watch behind us but as fast as I’m going, I need eyes to the front.”
“I’m looking straight, go faster!” Sally cried out, looking ahead and Wendy heard tears in Sally’s voice.
Stomping her foot down, Wendy felt the big engine lurch forward as it let out a roar. Reaching the edge of town, the Tahoe was in triple digits as the road narrowed back down to two lanes. “I’m going fast, baby,” Wendy said softly and cut her eyes over and saw the thermal pulled to Sally’s face, but tears were running down her cheeks.
Keeping the pedal down, Wendy looked ahead and glanced in the mirror for any sign of pursuit. She could feel the tiny trailer almost floating behind them. “Cow in the road,” Sally said.
Wendy was looking ahead and didn’t see anything, but took her foot off the accelerator and then saw a dot in the distance. Tapping the brakes, Wendy was down to fifty by the time they’d reached the cow and she continued to slow down. More than once, one of her dumb ass cows had jumped out in front of her for no reason as she’d driven across the pasture.
Going past the cow, Wendy saw it was just standing in the road and chewing its cud.
Hitting ‘Resume’, Wendy let the Tahoe get back to forty-five. Seeing a sign for Oak Ridge, Wendy knew they had been hauling ass. They had covered ten miles in four minutes. “We are a long way from them, Sally,” Wendy assured her softly, but couldn’t glance over as she turned onto another road.
“They were being mean to kids,” Sally whimpered in a small voice, still looking ahead through the thermal.
Just hearing that made Wendy want to turn around. “You did a good job,” Wendy told her and then reached over to squeeze Sally’s leg. “You gave us warning and I was able to take off. They never had a chance to get close.”
Finally, Sally lowered the thermal and wiped her eyes. “I’ll stay awake until we get home,” she sniffled.
Looking in the mirror, Wendy saw Jo Ann was holding a sleeping Ryan. “Can you put him down and come up here with your sister for a little bit?” Wendy asked.
“Noah’s awake,” Jo Ann said and put Ryan down on the pillows in the floorboard behind the passenger seat.
“Noah, come sit in my lap,” Wendy called out and Noah bounced between the seats and over the center console and climbed into Wendy’s lap. He tried to curl up, but the magazines on her vest kept digging into him. “Here,” Wendy said, spinning him around and putting his hands on the steering wheel. “Hold it right there,” Wendy said, tapping the brakes to slow down.
Jo Ann climbed in the front seat with Sally and held her hand as Sally laid her head on Jo Ann’s shoulder. Sally pushed the thermal over into Jo Ann’s lap and Jo Ann struggled to lift it up with one hand. Still holding Sally’s hand, she moved her hand up and helped support the thermal as she looked ahead.
Undoing the side straps, Wendy folded the front of the vest over her head letting it rest over the headrest. “There we go,” Wendy said, taking the steering wheel and Noah curled up against her chest.
“Momma,” he said, snuggling into Wendy.
Tilting her head down, Wendy kissed the top of Noah’s head. “Sally, if I knew you and the others would be okay, I would go back there and kill those bad guys for scaring you,” Wendy admitted as she wrapped her arm around Noah.
With her head still on Jo Ann’s shoulder, “I know,” Sally said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
Lowering the thermal, Jo Ann looked down at her twin. “Wow, she really is,” she said to Sally.
Wendy glanced over, never having heard Sally speak. “I know, but you’re right,” Jo Ann said and Wendy felt jealous that they could have a conversation without words.
“Can I ask what you guys were talking about?” Wendy asked, glad the sun was setting.
Lifting her head up, Sally stared at Jo Ann and then they both looked over at Wendy. “You’re our momma now,” they told Wendy and Wendy turned to the girls with a serious face.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve always looked at you two like my daughters,” Wendy said with a sigh. “I always hoped you wouldn’t get mad, but I see all of you as mine. I love you guys so much it hurts.�
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The twins climbed over the center console to cover Wendy’s face with kisses and Wendy had to struggle to see the road until she could stop. Be damned if she was telling them to wait until she stopped. Finally stopped, Wendy held all three tight.
For several minutes, they just held a group hug. “Guys, let’s do this at home,” Wendy said regrettably. “I don’t like stopping in plain sight.”
“Okay,” the twins said and Sally had a cheerful face again.
“You okay now?” Jo Ann asked and Sally nodded with her customary smile.
After Jo Ann climbed into the backseat, Wendy kissed Noah on the head and squeezed him tight. “Noah, I need you to get in the back, so we can get home,” Wendy told him, pressing the accelerator.
After kissing Wendy on the cheek, Noah climbed in the back and Wendy reached over her head and pulled the vest back on. Tightening the side straps down, Wendy glanced over and saw Sally looking ahead. “Okay, the city of Bastrop is ahead and it is the biggest city we will go through. All the rest are very tiny,” Wendy told them.
“Can we go fast?” Jo Ann asked.
“Not unless we have to, baby. We only went fast for like ten miles, but we used some gas to do it. Besides the fact that we could have a wreck really easy. I don’t want to risk it unless we have to,” Wendy explained.
They settled in and started looking around. When they reached the outskirts, they saw a truck pass them going the opposite way. Feeling something on her thigh, Wendy looked down and saw Sally had put the Glock in her lap. “It fell on your floorboard when we hugged you,” Sally said, lifting the thermal up.
Even at forty-five, Wendy thought they were going too fast on the small streets, but kept going. Reaching the square, they saw a courthouse and several buildings looked burned down as the sun continued to drop below the horizon.
Hitting some railroad tracks that crossed the road, Wendy cursed for not slowing, feeling the tiny trailer yanking on them and throwing a fit. Seeing more tracks ahead, Wendy slowed.
“People on the right,” Sally called out and Wendy looked over to see people loading stuff in trucks at a house. The group barely paused as they rode past.
By the time they reached the edge of town it was dark and Wendy put the harness on her head and turned the NVG on. “We only stop to pee and put gas in the truck,” Wendy said, looking at the road ahead.
“Glad we filled the cans before going to sleep,” Jo Ann said.
“It was hard going to sleep after drinking those little bottles,” Sally admitted, looking ahead. “It’s flat here.”
“These are fields where crops are grown, baby,” Wendy told her. “Give me a bottle of the good stuff.”
Sally giggled and passed out the tiny bottles and all three turned them up, threw them outside, and settled in.
Chapter Thirty Six
That is your child
May 21
Taking the harness off her head, Wendy set it on the dash with the M4 as the sun reached over the horizon. Stretching her arms over her head Wendy let out a groan, making Jo Ann jerk beside her and glance over. “I don’t like the roads here,” Jo Ann announced as Wendy finished her stretch.
“Why?” Wendy asked, flexing her legs.
“They twist and turn, going up and down,” Jo Ann said, lifting the thermal up. “You can’t see far ahead of you.”
“True, but that means people won’t see us until we pass them by,” Wendy answered.
Looking over at Wendy, “We’ve almost hit more stuff in the road in Arkansas than anywhere else,” Jo Ann cried out in alarm. “Why do cows get in the road? There isn’t any grass there!”
Laughing, Wendy glanced back and saw Sally holding Ryan and looking out the window. Noah had his head in Sally’s lap and was sound asleep. “Baby, I have to tell you, cows are very stupid,” Wendy chuckled.
“How much longer?” Sally asked.
Looking down at the gas gauge, “Let’s stop and fill up the tank and stretch,” Wendy told her. “I know these roads, but we are still seventy miles from home. We should be there around nine.”
Stopping on a long stretch of road, Wendy put the Tahoe in park. Even Noah jumped out with them. Seeing Noah just run in a wide circle, Wendy grinned while undoing the straps over the cans. “That’s it, Noah, get that energy out,” Wendy said as Jo Ann opened the gas tank and put the funnel in.
With Ryan in her arms, Sally had to watch as Jo Ann helped Wendy lift the gas can up. “Will Arthur be mad if I take a nap before working on the farm?” Sally asked.
Lowering the empty can, Wendy looked over at Sally and laughed. “Baby, Arthur will rock you to sleep if you’ll let him,” Wendy bet, putting the empty can back on the trailer. “Our son is on a delayed timeline giving us grandkids, so you guys will have to fill that role.”
Jo Ann gave a grunt as she pushed up on the next can to help Wendy pour it in. “Can we sleep with you and Arthur tonight, Momma?” Jo Ann asked as Wendy lowered the empty jug.
“Of course,” Wendy said and then hugged Jo Ann.
When the tank was full, they only had one full gas can left, but Wendy wasn’t stopping to fill up shit now. She walked around doing lunges on the road and turned to see Noah copying her. They all climbed back in with Sally and Jo Ann swapping seats.
After Jo Ann handed out MREs, they ate as Wendy set the cruise. Driving with the back of her hand, Wendy ate the cold meal with a grimace, “Last bottles of sport drinks,” Jo Ann said, passing two up.
“We have little bottles of super drinks,” Sally laughed out and Wendy glanced over and could almost see Sally vibrating in the seat.
“I told you, only one every six hours,” Wendy chuckled, opening the package of dessert.
“I was getting sleepy,” Sally whined, pausing her eating and lifting the thermal. “There are more cows in the road,” Sally groaned, feeling Wendy tap the brake.
“That’s a herd in the road,” Wendy corrected, putting her MRE package down. Slowing to a crawl, Wendy had to use the push bumper to ‘help’ a cow out of their way.
Rolling down her window, Sally stuck her head out. “Move, stupid cows!” None of the cows moved, but several did turn and look.
“Our cows better be smarter,” Sally grumbled, rolling the window back up.
It took them ten minutes of crawling before they reached the end of the herd of cows and Wendy resumed her speed. Hearing Velcro rip apart, a smell assaulted Wendy’s nose. “Oh,” she gasped and reached up to cover her nose.
“Ryan, don’t move,” Jo Ann whined in the backseat, but Ryan just laughed. “This is so gross.”
“You have to do it fast or Ryan puts his hands in it,” Sally instructed, cracking her window.
Taking her sister’s advice, Jo Ann grabbed Ryan’s ankles and held him up while using handfuls of baby wipes. “Roll my window down,” Jo Ann gagged out. Sally hit the button and rolled down the window behind her.
Not even closing the diaper, Jo Ann just tossed it out along with the wipes she’d used. “Leave it down,” Jo Ann gasped, taking deep breaths. She finished cleaning Ryan off and then grabbed a new diaper and put it on. “One box of wipes left,” Jo Ann informed, grabbing a bottle of water and washing her hands over the towel she had changed Ryan on.
When she was done, the towel went out the window. Leaving the window down, Jo Ann picked Ryan up. “I should throw you out, but you are too cute,” Jo Ann said and then blew a raspberry on Ryan’s stomach, making him squeal.
Trying to keep her mind on the task of keeping alert, Wendy couldn’t help but feel excited about being so close to home. “This is the Arkansas River, girls,” Wendy told them. “That is the town of Ozark on the other side. Arthur and I bought some of our pigs there.”
Crossing the bridge, the girls did glance at the water but turned, scanning around them. Reaching the other side, Wendy turned onto another road and everyone saw a man as he got out of a truck that was parked. With a pistol on his waist, the man put his hand on it
as they drove past and then turned and headed inside a house.
“That man doesn’t live there,” Wendy told them. “The family that lives there buys quilts from me.”
“We can come back later,” Sally suggested.
“Nah, I’m sending Arthur,” Wendy chuckled as they drove out of town.
Driving over Interstate 40, Wendy slowed on the overpass and looked to the east at a vehicle that had been blown up. “Did they have a war here?” Sally asked.
“I hope not, that’s a Stryker,” Wendy mumbled, easing the pedal down.
When the GPS told them to turn and Wendy didn’t, Sally looked up as Wendy turned the GPS off. “I know where we are. I told the GPS to take us to Clarksville. In case we had to leave the Tahoe, I didn’t want anyone to know where we were going,” Wendy explained.
They rode on as the girls felt the excitement building and tried to keep an eye out. Then they felt Wendy slow and stop in front of a house. Sally looked at the mailbox. “Alicia Sutton, is this the Alicia that was with you on the ship?” Sally asked.
“Yeah, I was hoping she would be home, since she got off the ship a week before I did,” Wendy said and then gave a long sigh. Turning around, Wendy left the dark house and continued on. The twins could tell Wendy knew where she was. The way Wendy turned from one dirt road to another and would weave around unseen bumps.
When she turned on a dirt road that headed for hills to the north, both girls felt like they were about to explode as trees closed in on both sides of the road.
“You really do live way out,” Jo Ann said from the backseat with Noah and Ryan in her lap.
“Yeah, it took us forty-five minutes just to run to the closest real store, just over twenty minutes for a gas station,” Wendy told them. “But I love it out here.”
Rolling along the dirt road, the twins noticed a creek that ran along the side of the road. Coming around a curve, Wendy tapped the brakes and came to a stop. Sally saw her staring at a yellow sign that said, ‘Dead End’. “What?” Sally asked.
“That sign has never been there,” Wendy admitted, taking her foot off the brake and letting the Tahoe roll away under the idle. “This road leads into the valley,” Wendy mumbled, trying to figure it out.
Viral Misery (Book 1) Page 40