After a pause Thompson said, “I don’t get it. Are you saying . . . shit the . . . I’m lost.”
“What I’m trying to say is that the reason they chose a mother’s brain is because they knew that ultimately, she would want to protect her children. And sometimes people need to be protected from the truth. When she was faced with a no win situation, she picked the ‘smaller monster’ if you will, of keeping the population of earth in the dark about their impending demise, as opposed to the ‘larger monster’ of telling everyone they only had an hour left to live.”
Andy nodded and said, “That’s what I’m thinking. They’re choosing the panic that they know will happen with a communication and information blackout over the panic of letting everyone have access to what’s really going on. Or at least that’s my thought.”
Their eyes had fully adjusted to the dim candlelight, and silent glances were exchanged for the next few minutes as they tried to digest what Andy and Sam had said. Finally Michelle spoke.
“Will that really work? I mean, does our government really have the capability to shut down communications worldwide?”
“EMP?” Thompson asked.
“No. Even with a global saturation of high altitude EMP bursts, you would still have unaffected systems. And we also wouldn’t be having stations broadcasting the ‘stay tuned for an important announcement’ loop. Whatever happened was deliberate and surgical. But as to the question of whether we can do it on a global scale, the answer is no. Which is why I’m hoping that Samantha has been able to find a functioning satellite somehow that will give us some sorely needed information,” Andy said.
“Anything else?” Michelle asked him.
“Yeah,” Andy replied, “there’s been something bothering me about the school, specifically about the military units there.” When no one interrupted him to ask for details he continued, “The thing about it is, there should have been no way in hell that you and I could have pulled off what we did. And that means that they’re as muddled as we are. I would be willing to bet that the situation is very similar at other locations. Major military bases and other high security complexes may be a different story, but outside of them, it’s going to be the same as what we saw at the school. Disorganized chaos. Broken supply chains. Incompetent command structure, that sort of thing. And that tells me that this infection has either caught us with our pants down, or it’s so far beyond our ability to deal with effectively that the government is just reaching into whatever mud bucket they can grab and throwing stuff up against the wall, hoping that something will stick.”
Andy looked around the room for a few seconds before shuffling back to the recliner. The faint ‘sssss’ of air being forced out of the puffy cushion reminded Michelle of the hiss of a venomous snake. She checked her watch again. It was almost 11:00 PM.
“So what now?” Sam asked.
“I’m kind of wondering that myself,” Thompson replied.
Michelle rolled her neck and looked at Andy, who was pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Stress maybe, possibly fatigue, lost in thought . . . it was hard to tell. In any event he didn’t immediately volunteer an answer to Thompson’s question, so Michelle took a deep breath and stood up.
“Thompson . . . Sam . . . I don’t know what to tell you. For that matter, I don’t know what to tell me either. What I can say is this—although I hope Andy doesn’t shoot me for spilling what little bag of beans we have . . .”
Without looking up Andy interjected a quick, “I know what you’re about to say, and it’s OK. As the commercials go, ‘I approve this message’.”
Michelle smiled her pearly whites as she nodded. “All right then.” She turned back towards Thompson and Sam and said, “Guys, none of us know the extent of what’s really happening. But there are a few of us, and Sam, you’ve met some of the others already, who are trying to, I don’t know, ‘do whatever it takes to stay alive’ would be one way to put it I’d guess. It’s not like this is some grand plan that I’ve been on board with for twenty years. As a matter of fact I’ve just been welcomed into the fold myself a few days ago. I have known some of the other people involved for quite a while though. The point is, the only reason we came over here was to get some radios from my office. Through that SNAFU, we met Thompson. Because we met Thompson we learned about Sam’s predicament. Through the good graces of God above we’ve all managed to stay alive so far. But we’ve got to get back. We’re already way overdue, and there are people—friends and family alike—who are counting on us to come back. I don’t really know either of you two very well, and you could say the same about us. However, I’m a pretty good judge of character. What I’m trying to say is that both of you are welcome to come back with us. I can’t promise anything other than we’ll all do our best to do whatever it takes to stay alive. If you choose a different path, then tomorrow morning . . . we are leaving tomorrow morning, right Andy?”
“Yep.”
“If you choose a different path,” she repeated, “then tomorrow morning we’d be happy to loan each of you a truck filled with gas and a gun filled with ammo, and you can go wherever you want. Or you could stay here, just remember to turn off the lights when you leave,” she teased.
Thompson and Sam looked at each other for a moment, then at Michelle and Andy. Sam was the first to speak. “I can’t speak for the young man over there, but I already owe you . . . ALL of you . . . my life. And at this particular stage of that life I am finding myself with very few options on where to go. So if you’ll have me, I’ll tag along, if for no other reason than to add some racial diversity.”
Thompson choked down a gurgle at Sam’s remark. “Racial diversity? Look around you chief, I’m a dark-skinned brother . . . IN NORTH DAKOTA! You know, the land of snow and polar bears thirteen months of the year. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb?? If anyone is going to play the race card around here it’ll be me,” he hooted, slapping his knee for emphasis. When the four of them had settled down again Thompson continued, “Ever since this bullshit started, I’ve been wondering if I'll ever see my family again. I got a mom and sister in Orlando, Florida. Last I heard my dad was in Chicago. My granny, she was who I was staying with in Bismarck. You two," he indicated Michelle and Andy, "probably saved my bacon more than a few times in the short time I've been with you. Although if you think about it, the first time you white folks meet a brother, you make him carry all your heavy shit out to the truck." Thompson tried to keep a straight face but soon burst out in laughter, waving his hand and saying, "I'm just messing with you."
"Anybody want a refill of water or tea?” Michelle asked, still giggling over Thompson's remark. Nobody did.
Thompson stood up and paced a few laps, following the same path he had worn into the floor earlier. Stopping, he announced, "Seriously, you've all been straight up with me so far. And just from what I've seen, I have no desire to be anywhere without some backup. So you can count me in as part of your little organization. All I ask is that if things settle down, you'll do whatever you can to help me get back to my granny's."
"Deal," Andy and Michelle said.
“OK then, here’s what I suggest,” Michelle announced to no one in particular. “Even though we’re way out here, I still think we need to post a watch. I’d recommend two shifts of four hours each with two people on each shift. That will cover the rest of the night and still allow us to get some shut eye. In the morning we’ll cook all of the remaining food we’ve got, which really isn’t much, and then get the vehicles prepped and ready. I’m thinking that we shouldn’t take the black SUV. It’s too noticeable, and I don’t want to take the chance that somebody will recognize it. So we’ve got Andy’s truck and my Explorer, both of which are four wheel drive. We’ll head back the same way that Andy and I came here. If we have car trouble then we can just all hop in one truck. Once we get close to the marina, assuming we still have two vehicles at that point, Andy and I will head up to his cabin and pick up Samantha and Garrett.
Sam, you and Thompson can head over to Walter’s house or the campground and wait for us there. Eric will probably be at one of those places by the time we make it back.”
“Let’s just plan on them waiting at Walters,” Andy said.
“Why, do you think something’s happened at the campground?”
“Well ‘Chelle, do you want me to base my answer on our track record or our luck?” Andy replied dryly.
After a brief moment of thought, Michelle turned toward Thompson and said, “Good point, Andy . . . guys, let’s plan on you waiting at Walter’s. Any questions?”
“Yeah,” Thompson said, “who’s cooking breakfast?”
Chapter 37
The night passed uneventfully. Thompson and Michelle took the first watch and were relieved by Andy and Sam around 3:30 AM. A little before 8:00 AM, Michelle was awakened by the squeaking of the staircase. She heard the footsteps continue and get louder, finally pausing outside her door. Her hand closed on the heavily textured grip of her Glock pistol underneath her pillow. There was a soft rapping, followed by a hushed “Meeeeee-shellllllll . . . . Ohhhhh Meeeeeeee-shelllllllllll . . .”
“I’m awake Andy,” Michelle groaned sleepily.
“How do you know I’m not a zombie?” Andy mocked in a falsely deep voice.
“Well I can shoot through the door and find out,” Michelle answered.
“Ahhhh, that won’t be necessary dear, although when you find out what’s for breakfast, you may wish that the zombies got you.”
“Great,” Michelle mumbled.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, Michelle made it downstairs ten minutes later. The smell of burnt spaghetti sauce filling the kitchen and living room made her nose crinkle and brought Andy’s warning back to mind. Andy and Thompson were playing cards on the living room floor and Sam was in the kitchen shuffling several different pots into seemingly random patterns on the stove. Thompson looked up as she approached, nodded his head in greeting before laying down his cards and proclaiming, “Gin.” Andy muttered something underneath his breath that Michelle didn’t catch before he scooped up the cards and started to shuffle. Michelle stood and watched the two of them play another hand, which Thompson also won. Andy’s muttering was louder this time, and she caught the words “No-good-cheating-card-shark” as he poked his finger toward Thompson’s smiling face. Before the war could begin a third round, Sam boldly proclaimed, “Come and regret it.”
A trip to the kitchen found that all remaining food had been prepared, possibly even with some regard to the directions on the box or can. A big pot of macaroni and cheese with the mixed vegetables added to it sat on the front left burner. The right burner held her large aluminum wok, another gift from her disastrous wedding that she hadn’t seen since it had been stuffed in the cabinet on moving day. The heavy pan held rice and tuna mixed with the contents of the large can of tomato soup. A crisp “sizzle” accompanied by several streamers of acrid smoke gave it away as the source of the burnt spaghetti sauce odor. Sam was sprinkling approximately two thirds of the entire jar of Italian seasoning on top of it, humming to himself as he stirred.
“Where did we get the rice from?” Michelle asked.
Andy answered, “I found it at the bottom of one of the bags that Bernice sent. And speaking of Bernice, we need to make sure that we wash out the coolers she sent with us before we return them. Let me tell you from personal experience that nothing will ruin your day like returning one of her coolers dirty.” The knowing smirk that accompanied his statement told Michelle all she needed to know.
“Was there anything else left over?” Michelle asked.
“There was something like egg salad in a Tupperware container, but the lid had come off and it got all contaminated with the water from the melting ice cubes. It stank pretty bad. Of course, knowing Walter’s taste, maybe that’s the way it smelled right after she made it.” Michelle smiled and shook her head as he continued. “And speaking of things that stink, there’s still about two cups of battery acid left in the thermos from Bucky. You want I should throw that away?”
“Don’t you dare, old man,” she shot back immediately. “I claim that in its entirety for the queen!”
Another round of grins passed between them all as the story of the cowboy coffee and its presumed effects were shared over breakfast. Despite the prodigious amount of food prepared, nothing was left after the four of them had finished. They had about three gallons of water still available in various pots scattered on the countertop, and it was redistributed equally into containers more suited for traveling. After looking around the kitchen one more time, Michelle said, “I’m going to go over to the Glass’s one more time. I want to say goodbye to them and let them know a little about what we think is going on. Plus, I want to fill up a couple five gallon buckets of water that we can use to flush the toilet and clean up the dishes, just in case I ever come back. Anybody want to come along?” Everybody’s hand went up.
Five minutes later they had all piled in Michelle’s Explorer and driven across the road. A quick round of goodbyes and water gathering took place, and the white-haired Mrs. Glass refused to let them leave without a baker’s dozen of canned food. It was a rather odd assortment of jams, vegetables and pickled creations, with three Mason jars of canned venison thrown in as well. Back at the house the men took over KP duty as Michelle packed.
Three large duffel bags, five kitchen sized garbage bags, and two suitcases later her clothes were ready to go. Another duffel crammed full of personal items and memories soon joined the pile, followed by a large plastic tub loaded to capacity containing miscellaneous items that she rarely used but thought she might need if she were away for any substantial length of time. The final items she added were her grandfather’s old Winchester pre-64 model 70 rifle chambered for 30-06, and all of her archery equipment. All three of the guys suppressed their amusement at the amassed pile when they saw the look on Michelle’s face. It very clearly indicated she wasn’t in the mood for any of their comments. Michelle reheated Bucky’s cowboy coffee in a pan on the stovetop while the boys loaded her luggage. By 10:15 AM, both of the trucks were gassed up, checked over and ready to travel. Directions were given in case they had to split up, and each vehicle had a walkie talkie with fresh batteries. Michelle made a final walkthrough before locking up. Andy was in the driver’s seat of his big pickup, and the interior was nicely warmed by the time Michelle slid in. Andy put the truck in gear and had just started to pull out when Michelle said, “WAIT.” A questioning look from Andy provided no answer, and Michelle opened the door and trotted back in the house, emerging a few minutes later. A return to her position as copilot was met with another curious look, followed by the inquiry, “Everything OK?”
Michelle smiled and nodded, her left hip pocket barely showing the telltale bulge of its contents—a pair of lime green, Scooby Doo bikini underwear and matching lace bra.
Chapter 38
Their small convoy traveled the same roads they had taken on the way in. At the site of the school bus wreck, no bodies were seen—dead, alive, or otherwise. The body of the feral they had shot was still laying in the center of the road when they crested the small hill, and they carefully steered around it. Traveling further brought them to the Zeigler farm, although a quick glance through binoculars from a nearby rise in the road showed nothing left of the house or sawmill except burned out frames. The pile of railroad ties on the narrow bridge had been pushed off to the side, and the tractor was parked haphazardly nearby. Slowing down as they crossed over the drainage ditch, Andy said, “Should we stop?”
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