by Payne, T. L.
“How many?” she asked.
“I saw two, but I heard two more. They were heading toward the front, though.”
JJ swallowed hard.
“Do you think they’re leaving?”
“I hope so. We need to find what we came for and try to get out through the back,” Scott said.
She could feel his warm breath on her neck and remembered why they’d come in there in the first place. They needed some way to get warm or they wouldn’t make it very much longer.
“Do you even know where to look for sleeping bags or warm gear?” she asked, pulling away.
“I found this,” Scott said, holding up what looked like a child’s sleeping bag or a thick blanket. She didn’t care which. It looked wonderful. “I think we’re getting close to the camping gear.”
“Lead the way,” she said.
When they finally located the camping section, JJ was thrilled to find several tents still on the shelves. She wanted to pitch the tent right there in the store and climb into the sleeping bag. She’d never felt this desperate to get warm in her life. JJ moved a large ice cooler and a charcoal grill on the floor. She was feeling around to see if there might be bags of charcoal when her hand felt something soft. She grabbed it and held it up. It was still rolled so she couldn’t tell, but it felt like a large sleeping bag.
“Thank God,” she whispered. With a tent and sleeping bag, they stood a chance of getting warm enough to survive the night. But the charcoal grill… If she located charcoal, that could be a game changer. They’d have actual heat. JJ placed the sleeping bag next to the grill and felt around again, hurriedly throwing things aside in search of the briquettes. Under a box fan, she located a second sleeping bag. She looked around for Scott. She found what they’d come for and now they needed to leave before anyone spotted them.
“Scott,” JJ said, her tone just above a whisper.
“Yeah,” he replied, finally appearing into her view.
“I found two sleeping bags and a tent. We should go.”
“We need a bag to put stuff in. See if you can find a backpack or duffle of some kind,” Scott said as he disappeared down the next aisle.
JJ was on her knees, rummaging through camp stoves, ropes, and life vests, hoping to find a pack, when she heard a noise behind her. She stiffened and then heard Scott’s voice. He was in the other aisle. Someone else was behind her.
She twisted on the floor and turned her whole body around. Two silhouetted figures stood over her. Without hesitation, she screamed and jumped to her feet. She’d lost her pipe on the floor when she was looking for the backpack. She scrambled back as the figures rushed toward her.
“Scott!”
“JJ, get down,” Scott said. She felt his hand shove hard on her shoulder.
He swung and connected. The figure cried out. It sounded like a boy.
A second figure swung something, and Scott ducked. As he did, he jabbed the attacker in the gut with his bat and then brought it up and connected with the man’s chin. The man screamed and joined his companion on the floor.
“Let’s go,” Scott said, yanking JJ by the arm. She struggled to gain traction as he dragged her down the aisle past the men.
“There could be others. Stay close.”
He didn’t have to tell her twice. She fell in behind him and held onto the back of his coat with all her might as he whipped down the center aisle and through the rubble on the floor. She nearly tripped several times but managed to hold on to Scott.
Voices near the front of the store stopped them in their tracks.
“There are more of them,” JJ whispered.
“This way.” Scott pulled her down the aisle to their left and weaved in and out until they once again reached the back of the store.
“We’re going to have to go out the back,” he said.
JJ’s breath came in quick, ragged gasps so loud that she knew the men could hear her. Every muscle in her body screamed run, but the debris prevented her from making an all-out sprint to safety.
As they quickly moved deeper into the store, Scott let go of her arm and turned a corner. Her pulse raged in her ears as Scott disappeared. The darkness enveloped her. Time seemed to stand still as the feeling of utter helplessness washed over her. Her hand dropped to her right hip. Her pistol should’ve been there. She’d relied on it being there when she needed it. It was supposed to be the great equalizer to give her an advantage over bigger, stronger attackers. But her pistol was gone. She had to find a way to equalize the playing field without it.
“Here,” Scott whispered.
She followed the sound of his voice. It was nearly pitch-black in the warehouse. If it weren’t for the skylights above them, they’d be in total darkness.
A crashing sound from the front of the store was followed by gunfire. JJ dove to her right, landing on something hard and metal. Her ribs hurt. Her knee banged hard against the floor as she fell. She fought the urge to cry out. The pain was so intense it took her breath away. Momentarily, she thought she’d pass out. She felt hands on her arm and yanked away. A hand slid over her mouth.
“Shh,” Scott whispered in her ear. “We need to hide.”
He lifted her to her feet. His tug on her arm sent waves of pain through her ribs. She was finding it hard to catch her breath.
“In here,” Scott said, pulling her inside a large box.
Chapter 10
Red Cross Disaster Shelter
Chesterfield Mall
St. Louis, Missouri
February 19th
Breakfast that day had been the first concrete evidence that all Raine had learned about the shelter was true. For the first time since she’d arrived, people were turned away, and the meals that were served where little more than a snack. Raine had been given a package crackers and cheddar cheese spread. Another woman received only an oatmeal cookie.
Fighting had broken out over a toaster pastry. It was devolving quicker than Raine had even imagined. She feared they wouldn’t have much time to formulate a plan for getting out of there.
Raine waited for Sheena and the others outside the food court. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms as she watched a shoving match at a nearby table.
“Did you get anything to eat?” Tom asked.
She hadn’t even recognized him. His long, black ponytail was gone, and bandages covered half his face. She glanced at his hands. They were wrapped in bandages as well. He held his hands out to her, but she was afraid to embrace him. She didn’t want to hurt him.
“You got one of those for your old roomie?” Gage said from behind her. She felt his hand on her back. His hands were also bandaged. Antonio hadn’t mentioned that.
Raine turned and hugged Gage. She’d never thought she’d be so glad to see him. But now, well, after all they’d been through together, she was happy to know that he’d made it.
“Tom. You’re alive,” Antonio said as he approached them.
Tom and Antonio bumped shoulders and then stepped back.
“Barely.”
“Gage! Tom!” DeAndre yelled as he ran toward them. “Hi, Antonio.”
Tom patted DeAndre on top of the head with his bandaged hand while Gage fist-bumped the boy. Antonio picked DeAndre up and swung him around before placing him back on the floor.
“Hey, Sheena. How’s it going?” Gage said as Sheena joined them.
Sheena looked him up and down then turned to Tom. “Better than you two.”
A man in his forties shoved a thin, dirty-looking man in his chest, sending him to the floor. Antonio picked DeAndre up and moved him over as the man skidded across the floor in their direction.
“I think we should move away from the food court,” Raine said, pointing to the end of the hall near the dayroom.
Raine pulled several chairs from the dayroom and they sat in a dark, quiet corner discussing Antonio, Tom, and Gage’s harrowing escape.
"We were running from the flames. When I looked behind me, the b
uilding we’d just passed exploded. We ran behind one of the stores and dove into the dumpster just as a ball of flames shot out of the building. Tom landed on top of me. We got the lid down and stayed there," Gage said.
"It was hot as hell. I thought we were going to cook in there," Tom said.
"How’d you get the burns?” Raine asked.
Tom looked at his hands "Part of the roof fell on the dumpster. We had to dig our way out. The wood was still smoldering that next morning. My coat caught on fire as I climbed through the debris.”
"That sounds horrible," Raine said.
Gage frowned. "It was."
Raine described her and Sheena's race against the flames and the miracle of Janice's bunker. She left out the part about killing a man. It made her sick to even think about. She felt so ashamed that she hadn't found a way to save Sheena, Janice, and DeAndre without taking a life. After finishing her story, they took turns describing what they’d learned about their situation since arriving at the shelter. By the time everyone had finished, Raine felt sick to her stomach. She’d known it was bad and their situation had been dire, but hearing it from each of her friends made it all too real.
Raine stared at DeAndre, who was coloring on the floor nearby. An image of a little bald boy in a hospital gown flooded her mind. Little Warriors—that was what everyone called the tiny cancer patients fighting for their lives. She’d admired how brave they were as they endured their painful treatments. Raine studied her group. She wasn’t sure if she was brave enough for what they all would soon face.
DeAndre held up his picture. “Look, Mom. It’s a horsey.”
Deep in her conversation with Tom and Gage, Sheena tuned out her son’s excited pleas.
Raine smiled at him. “It’s an awesome horse, DeAndre.”
He grinned ear to ear then ran over and dropped the picture in Raine’s lap. As he ran back to his crayons on the floor, Raine’s heart was gripped with fear for him. He was so small. They’d almost lost him once back when they were fleeing the flames. How would they protect him now? She had no idea what they’d face out there. Raine looked to each of her companions. They were a ragged crew, but they’d made it this far. She was willing to do whatever she could to make sure DeAndre made it—that they all made it—somehow.
“The big question now is, how do we get out of here before all hell breaks loose, and where do we go?” Antonio said.
Everyone was quiet. It seemed no one had an answer for their dilemma.
Finally, Sheena broke the silence. “I think my friend is planning on leaving soon too. She’s that volunteer I told you about, Raine. She’s been doing some digging, and she’s about ready to walk out. She just lives down near Valley Park.”
“Where’s that?” Raine asked.
“Somewhere south of here by Interstate 44,” Sheena said. “Anyway, I think we should talk to her. She’ll know the best way out of this building without attracting too much attention.”
Antonio nodded. “You think she’ll help us?”
“I’ll go see if I can find her. Watch Dee for me?” Sheena said as she stood.
“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Raine said, smiling at the boy.
“Momma will be right back.”
DeAndre jumped up and ran over to his mother. He crooked his finger and wiggled it, motioning for her to bend over. When she did, he kissed her on the lips then threw his arms around her.
“Will you see if Ms. Alicia has any more peppermints?" DeAndre asked as he ran back to his spot on the floor.
Sheena headed for the stairs. “You don’t need any candy, but I’ll ask, anyway.”
While they waited for Sheena to find her volunteer friend, Raine watched the people milling about the corridor outside the dayroom. Everyone seemed so calm. You wouldn’t think that trouble brewed just under the surface. The fights at breakfast were an eyeopener for Raine. If they waited until the food ran out, it would be total chaos inside the shelter.
She spotted Brandon, the young man she’d met in the dayroom, walking toward them. Raine stood and walked out to meet him.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hey, Florida. Friends of yours?” Brandon asked, pointing to her group huddled in the corner.
Raine nodded.
“Did you see that mess at breakfast?" he asked.
She raised her eyebrows. “Yes. We were just talking about that.”
“I got something I think you all are gonna want to hear then,” Brandon said.
Brandon followed Raine back to where her group was seated. After introductions, Raine and Brandon sat and pulled their chairs close to the others.
“After Raine told me that she’d overheard the National Guard soldiers talking about locking down the city, I traded some weed with one of them for information about that.”
Tom scrunched his face and shook his head.
“Oh yeah?” Antonio asked. “Did he talk?”
“Did he ever. That boy sang like a canary. Seems that they’re preparing to pull back away from the city. Said that they were told to meet up with the rest of their unit back at the interstate at four in the morning and they would start pulling troops away from the city before first light,” Brandon said.
“All of them?” Raine asked. “All across the city?”
“That is what I understood.”
“That’s good, right?” Gage asked. “That means we can leave the city.”
Antonio elbowed Gage in the ribs.
“What? What did I say?” Gage asked, holding out a bandaged hand.
“You’re planning to leave?” Brandon asked.
They all looked at Antonio.
“I just think we need to keep quiet about our plans,” Antonio said.
“I won’t tell anyone, but I’d like to join you if you leave this place. I don’t want to be around when it all goes to shit,” Brandon said.
Raine glanced out at the people in the corridor. “Neither do we. I can’t speak for the others, but I don’t think you joining us is a bad idea,” Raine to Antonio. “Remember what happened at the convenience store where we lost Brice and Stella. Even if we do leave and find a good place to hole up, we can’t defend it with just us.” Raine looked around the group. Tom nodded. Raine tried to read his expression. Could it be remorse? Or guilt?
“I agree with Raine. Tom and I can’t fight like this,” Gage said, holding out his bandaged hands.
Antonio stared at them for a moment. His gaze dropped to Tom’s hands and he nodded. “Okay. If Sheena agrees, then you can come with us.”
Raine felt a sudden rush of relief wash over her and she wasn’t sure why. She’d left her apartment with even more people than would be heading out with her now and look how many they’d lost. Back then, they’d at least had a destination to head for, but now—where would they go?
“Momma,” DeAndre squealed and jumped up to greet her.
Raine looked up to see Sheena and a woman in her late forties or early fifties approaching them. She looked so much like Angela Bassett that Raine had to do a double-take. Raine glanced over to the guys. Antonio was looking the woman over.
“Put your tongue back in your mouth, Antonio,” Raine whispered.
“Ms. Alicia, did you bring me peppermints?” DeAndre asked as he wrapped himself around her legs.
Alicia reached into her sweater pocket and produced the small disk of candy. With great enthusiasm, DeAndre returned to his spot on the floor to eat it.
“Everyone, this is Alicia Wilson. She’s a volunteer with the Red Cross,” Sheena said.
“Have a seat,” Antonio said, standing and offering Alicia his chair. He leaned against the wall as Alicia filled them in on what she’d learned from one of the food service volunteers.
“The majority of the food came up missing last night. The volunteers that were supposed to be guarding it also disappeared,” Alicia said.
“Is there anything left?” Sheena asked, looking at DeAndre.
Raine followed her gaze. H
e looked so content sucking on his peppermint and coloring on the floor. She hated the thought of taking him back out in the cold. She imagined Sheena was thinking about how she’d feed him.
“Not much. They placated people this morning by telling them they were expecting a shipment later this afternoon, but that’s a lie.”
“We’re out of time then,” Antonio said. “We need to be on the way out the door now before everyone finds out.”
“I agree, but we don’t even have anywhere to go. We have no food or water,” Sheena said, throwing her hands in the air.
“What choice do we have? We have better odds of finding food out there, plus it’s safer than hundreds of desperate and angry people,” Tom said.
“You’re welcome to come with me to my house. I don’t have much food there, but it's farther away from this…” Alicia said, pointing down the corridor.
“I thought you were heading to your sister’s?” Sheena asked.
“I am. You guys are welcome to stay at my house until you figure something out,” Alicia said.
Raine turned to Brandon.
“Do you think we could talk that National Guard soldier into giving us some food and water for the road? I’m sure they’ve some held back for their members, right?”
“If you had something to trade, I imagine he would,” Brandon said.
Raine looked to Tom and then Gage. She lowered her chin and raised an eyebrow.
“What?” Tom said, raising his own eyebrows.
“We need food, Tom,” Gage said, nudging him with his elbow.
Tom looked at the floor. He shook his head as he stood.
“Fine. It’s in here,” he said, pointing to the front pocket of his gray sweatpants.
“I’m not going to—” Raine began to say. Sheena stood and reached into Tom’s pocket, coming away with a small pill bottle.
“I needed that for pain, you know,” Tom said.
Sheena opened it and Raine could smell the marijuana. Sheena screwed the lid back on and handed it to Brandon.
Brandon opened it, looked inside, screwed the lid back on, and stuffed it into his hoodie pocket. “It’s not much, but I’ll see what I can get for this. I’ll meet you all back here in one hour. I think I have a way for us to get out of here without anyone noticing, too.”