“I don’t, I’m not…” he stammered. “I wasn’t sure, that’s all.”
“Sure of what?”
“Milly didn’t tell me you were so young.”
“I didn’t?” Milly said, surprised. “I thought I did.”
“You didn’t,” Peter said.
“Oh.”
“What did she tell you about me?” Gaby asked.
“Not much,” Peter said. “Neither one of us saw you when they first brought you into town. Yesterday was the first time Milly had actually seen you up close.”
“So who did you think I was?”
“I just thought, because…you know.”
“Because of what?” She watched him struggling with an answer. She took pity on him and said, “Because they had me locked up, you thought I was dangerous and you assumed dangerous meant older.”
He nodded, grateful for the rescue. “Yes.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“You didn’t. That’s not what I meant at all. I just couldn’t figure out why they had you locked up in there, that’s all.”
“It has to do with him,” Milly said.
“‘Him’?” Peter said.
“The kid. The leader.”
“Oh,” Peter said. Then, “Is she right? What’s his name? James?”
“Josh,” Gaby said.
“What did he want with you?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she kept walking.
Peter took the hint and didn’t ask again.
I’m not yours, Josh. Get that through your thick head.
I was never yours, and now I’ll never be.
They crouched behind tall grass and watched the boat pass. There were two men in uniform riding on top, both heavily armed. The one up front looked bored, occasionally turning his head left and right.
“How often do they go up and down the lake?” she whispered to Peter.
“Once or twice a day, I think,” Peter whispered back. “In the morning and in the afternoon. Everyone tries to get back to town before nightfall.”
She glanced at her watch. “How far is Dunbar?”
“Probably four more hours of walking.”
“‘Probably’?”
“I’ve never actually walked there. If we pick it up, maybe three hours?”
“So let’s try to pick it up.”
She stood up and started off, but this time made sure to angle left for a bit until they had put more space between them and the lake. Milly and Peter followed as best they could, the girl already looking as if she was struggling with her pack. That didn’t surprise Gaby. The thirteen-year-old was painfully thin, even though she and Peter had been living in L15, according to them, for over two months now.
They’ve had it too easy. Got soft. Meanwhile, I was in the woods with Will and Danny eating bugs and sleeping on dirt.
She sneaked a look back at them. They were moving too slowly, hampering her pace. Every now and then, she had to fight the urge to run off and leave them behind.
They saved your life. You owe them a little bit of patience.
For now…
Hillman’s Lake had ended about an hour back, and they were now walking alongside a two-lane state highway somewhere at the outskirts of the Dunbar city limit. They had passed a dozen or so farm houses along the way, with old structures that appeared barren from the road. Most of the city was still ahead, but at the moment there were just the walls of trees to the left and right of them.
Milly’s pace had flagged even further and the girl was straining, both hands hooked around the straps of her backpack. The heat, simmering against the hot concrete road, didn’t do them any favors, and they were all soaked from head to toe in their own sweat. It was October in Louisiana. When the hell was it going to get cold? She couldn’t wait, though she was starting to wonder if she would actually live long enough to see the seasons change. What she wouldn’t give to be able to wear a jacket these days…
Peter was doing better than Milly, but that was probably because he wasn’t always a cook in a nondescript town in the middle of nowhere. For a former Human Resources manager (whatever that was), he kept up with her well enough that Gaby stopped worrying about him. As he walked beside her, she couldn’t help but think about Nate and that day in Sandwhite Wildlife State Park as they fled the men in Level B hazmat suits.
Are you still alive out there, Nate? Or are you one of them now?
“Was he a friend of yours?” Peter asked, his voice intruding on her thoughts.
“Who?” she said, though she already knew the answer.
“Nate. The man you were looking for. He was a friend of yours?”
“He is.”
Was. He’s dead. Why can’t you accept it?
“Why?” she asked.
“I was just wondering,” Peter said. “I’m sorry. I wish I could have told you more about what happened to him.”
“It’s okay. I don’t even know if—” he survived “—they brought him back to the same town as me. They might have split us up.”
Now you’re lying to a stranger about Nate? Someone’s delusions have gone into overdrive.
“When was the last time you saw him?” Peter asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t even know exactly know how long I’ve been in your town. The days are a little fuzzy.”
“Maybe he’s out there somewhere. You never know.” He shrugged. “Look at me and Milly. Who would think we’d still be around? So many people have died, and we somehow managed to keep going.”
“There’s an island,” Gaby said. “Down south. Have you ever heard of Beaufont Lake?”
“I’ve heard of it, but I didn’t know there was an island on it.”
“There is. I have friends there. After we spend the night in Dunbar and gather some supplies, that’s where I’m going. You and Milly are welcome to tag along.”
“Okay,” Peter said quickly.
“That’s it? You’re not going to ask me any more about it?”
He grinned. “Gaby, you seemed to know a hell of a lot more about what’s going on out here than I do. And you’re damn well more prepared than I am to survive it. If you say this island is preferable to staying out here, then yeah, I’ll take you at your word.”
She shrugged. “Your funeral.”
“Whose funeral?” Milly said behind them.
“Nothing,” Peter said, smiling back at her. “It’s just a figure of speech.” He looked over at Gaby. “Right?”
“Right,” Gaby nodded, but thought, Maybe…
“See?” Peter said.
Milly didn’t look convinced.
“You never told me why the two of you decided to run,” Gaby said, hoping to steer the conversation away from less depressing subjects.
“I was wondering when you were going to ask,” Peter said. “What took you so long?”
“There were more pressing matters until now. Like staying alive.”
He didn’t answer right away. Finally, he said, “Things weren’t what we thought they were. Back in town.”
“What did you think it was?”
“Don’t get me wrong. We went there with our eyes wide open. We accepted the contract with those ghouls, as you call them. But then people started disappearing.”
“Disappearing?”
“Men, mostly. Guys who were more—I guess you would say—opinionated than most.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“They asked questions. Too many questions, as it turned out.”
“Troublemakers?”
“Yeah, I guess you could call them that.”
“Just the guys?”
“Just the guys,” Peter nodded. “One day they’re there, the next they’re gone. Whenever anyone asked, the guards just said they were moved to another town. It wasn’t like anyone could verify it. We were allowed to leave whenever we wanted—or so they said—but you know what’s out there, so no one ever did. Plus, they never t
old us where these ‘other towns’ were.”
“So you decided to run because some loudmouths were going missing?”
“No, it wasn’t until someone I knew disappeared. A guy named Jake. He was a cop from New Orleans. Milly and I met him in one of those camps. Good guy, tough.”
“How big was the camp?”
“What?”
“The camp you were in.”
“Oh. Pretty big.”
“How many people were there?” Gaby asked, remembering the size of the one at Sandwhite Wildlife State Park. All those people in one place, like rats looking for salvation from a sinking ship. Thinking about it always made her angry and sad at the same time.
“A few thousand, probably,” Peter said.
She nodded. “So what happened to Jake?”
“He disappeared one night. Milly saw it happen.”
Gaby glanced back at the girl, who confirmed it with a solemn nod. “What did you see?” Gaby asked her.
“The soldiers took him,” Milly said.
“She has trouble sleeping,” Peter said. “It’s all those nights we spent running after everything happened. It still gives her nightmares sometimes.”
Milly looked away, apparently no longer interested in the topic. Or trying her best to avoid it. In so many ways, she wasn’t even close to being as tough as Lara’s Elise, or Carly’s little sister Vera. Thirteen or not, Milly didn’t have either of those girls’ survival instincts.
“What happened to Jake?” Gaby asked Peter.
“I don’t know, exactly. I asked around—as discreetly as possible—but no one could tell me where they took him. The closest thing to an answer I got was from Howard. He’s one of the guards. A good guy, as far as guards go.”
Gaby wondered if “good guy” guard Howard was one of the men she had shot in the woods while Peter and Milly were fleeing. She said instead, “What did he say?”
“That I should stop asking about Jake.” Peter walked quietly for a moment before continuing. “The day after that conversation, Howard started avoiding me. I figured it out pretty fast that I was going to be next.”
“So you decided to escape.”
“It seemed like the thing to do.”
Gaby sneaked a glance back at Milly, then said quietly to Peter, “Why did you drag her with you?”
He shook his head, clearly offended by the suggestion. “I didn’t. But she wouldn’t stay behind. We’ve been together since all of this began, and I guess I’m the closest thing to family she’s got left. I tried to talk her out of it. Hours and hours of conversation.”
“He goes, I go,” Milly said loudly behind them, with all the confidence a teenage girl who didn’t know any better could muster. “Case closed.”
Peter gave Gaby an exasperated “See?” look.
Gaby almost smiled but managed to stop herself in time.
People die around you, remember? These two can die at any moment. Don’t get too attached.
Don’t get too attached…
The city of Dunbar, according to Peter, had a population of 10,000. That was twice as many as Ridley, Texas, where she had spent the first eighteen years of her life. She expected the city to look more impressive given its size, but it reminded her too much of her hometown—spread out and unspectacular and…country.
After passing the empty acres of unattended farmland, they moved through the suburban areas filled with old and new houses. The bulk of the city was in front of them, gathered around State Highway 190. The highway was flat to the ground and would have looked like any other road if not for the signs. One pointed south toward I-10.
And beyond that, Song Island…
They stuck to the roads, maneuvering around the occasional abandoned vehicle. Homes, businesses, and gas stations flanked them. The afternoon sun continued to beat down mercilessly, further soaking her in her own sweat. All of it just made her miss Song Island more.
For a city that 10,000 people used to live in, Dunbar was abandoned and empty and dead. They waited thirty minutes near the outskirts and listened for noise or anything resembling life but didn’t hear a single thing. The stillness continued as they made their way inside. Instead of making her feel better, the quiet only gnawed at Gaby, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched from the very first moment they stepped foot into the city limits.
“Ten thousand people?” she said.
“Doesn’t feel like it, does it?” Peter said.
“No, it doesn’t.” She walked in silence for a moment. Then, “Look for a place to stay the night.”
“Already?” Peter said, glancing down at his watch.
“We took too long to get here. And it’s harder to find a safe place than you think.”
Peter nodded. “What kind of place are we looking for?”
Gaby thought about the pawnshop. About Nate… “Something with a basement. Just to be safe.”
“I’m hungry,” Milly said.
“Can we look through the gas stations for food first?” Peter asked.
She stopped in the street as her own stomach growled. On cue, Peter’s and Milly’s joined in. The three of them exchanged smiles, and this time she wasn’t able to stop herself in time.
“Yeah,” she said. “We should probably find something to eat.”
Gaby took out the Glock and handed it to Peter. He took it hesitantly, as if he was afraid it would go off if he gripped it too tightly. She gave him two spare magazines and he put it in his pocket.
“Be careful,” she said. “If you run across one of them, don’t fight or shoot, just run.”
“Just run?”
“Shooting them will just piss them off. You saw what happened in the cave.”
He nodded and turned the gun over in his hand.
“Have you ever fired a gun before, Peter?”
He gave her an embarrassed look. “Is it that obvious?”
“Just point and shoot.”
“Where’s the safety? I thought guns have safeties?”
“Glocks don’t.” She held up her forefinger and twitched it in front of him, the way Will had done to her all those months ago back on the island during the first phase of her weapons training. “That’s your safety.”
“My finger?” Peter said, slightly confused.
“You don’t pull the trigger, and the gun won’t go off. Simple as that.”
“Oh,” he said.
“Here,” Gaby said, and took the Glock back and handed him Mac’s 1911 instead. “This one has a safety.” She showed him the switch, then took back the magazines she had given him and passed over two new ones. “Be careful.”
Peter felt a little better, and it showed on his face.
“Milly, stay with me,” Gaby said.
The girl nodded quickly. “Don’t gotta tell me twice.”
“Nice,” Peter said.
They settled on an Exxon gas station at the corner of Tripps and Meer and walked around a white pickup truck in the parking lot before passing two more vehicles frozen at the gas pumps. The convenience store was long and advertised “Beer Cigarettes Liquor.” They were just hoping for some nonperishable food.
Gaby went inside first, Peter behind her, while Milly stayed outside on the curb, looking worriedly back at the empty street. There was an auto body shop called George’s on the other side, flanked by two big red buildings, including a Mexican restaurant called Rosita’s.
Peter fidgeted behind her, and she prayed to God he didn’t accidentally shoot her in the back.
“Don’t shoot until you’re sure,” she said quietly.
“Okay.”
“I mean it.”
“Okay,” he said again.
For some reason she didn’t believe him, but she kept that to herself. “Let’s stick together, okay? You watch my back and I’ll take the front. Try not to stray too far.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She rolled her eyes. Was she being bossy? Probably. Then again, she was th
e one who had been out here for the last year. According to him, Peter went to sleep in one of those blood farms on the very first night of what Will and the others called The Purge and didn’t wake up again in one of the camps until two months later. He wasn’t exactly equipped to survive out here, especially dragging around a thirteen-year-old girl who had about the same experience as he did. Maybe that was a bit harsh, but she had no time to pussyfoot around when her life was at stake.
Gaby headed down the first aisle they came to, scanning and listening for sounds other than their own footsteps and Peter’s slightly loud breathing. There was enough sunlight that she wasn’t too worried about ghouls hiding behind the shelves. But there were other things just as dangerous as ghouls in the daytime.
The city’s too empty. So why does it not feel empty?
They went through the aisle and found nothing of interest except some melted chocolate on the floor, little more than puddles of black and brown spots now. The M4 she had taken off one of the dead guards felt more at home in her hands than the AK-47, and it moved in front of her as they finished up with the second aisle. Despite the comfort level, the fact that the rifle wasn’t loaded with the right ammo played havoc with her confidence.
“What’s that smell?” Peter asked.
“Rotten food,” she said.
“Oh.”
“The freezer’s at the back. They should have some water, too.”
“Good, because I’m thirsty as hell. I know I should have prepared something last night, but it never entered my mind. I guess I’m not very good at this.”
“I guess not,” she said. “Stay alert.”
“Can I ask you something?”
She sighed. He was talking too much. She didn’t know why he was talking so damn much. Didn’t he know they were in a precarious situation here? That there could be bad things waiting for them in the next aisle? Or in the next room? Or outside?
Why does this city not feel empty?
When she didn’t answer, he said, “What’s it like to kill someone?”
“You killed Mac,” she said, hoping that would nip the conversation in the bud.
The Purge of Babylon Series Box Set, Vol. 2 | Books 4-6 Page 13