She fought the urge to doze off, knowing it could lead to her drowning. She also didn’t want to chance a poisonous snake joining her. Every animal at the edge of the forest fire was desperate to stay alive, just like her. That drove them to do unusual things. A snake could bite her for no reason, just the same as a Tasmanian tiger could attack because it was scared.
She stood up and listened as the water splashed around her legs.
“Aw! Fuck me!” She realized the walkie talkie was still attached to her belt. She snapped it from its link and tested the handheld device. It had been underwater for at least fifteen minutes.
“Dead,” she said as she chucked it on the shore.
She reached into the front pocket of her spacious cargo pants for her phone. Unlike the walkie, knowing it had been underwater didn’t make her angry. Everyone on her research team had phones hardened with waterproof cases that were designed for the rugged backcountry. She pulled it out, turned it on, and tapped the keys.
The discouragement returned as she realized none of the text messages had gone through, and thus no one had replied to her plea for help, but an approaching truck engine made her forget it.
“Yes! There they are.”
She stepped out of the water and stumbled up the rocky bank to the edge of the road. Her mates were coming back.
Destiny looked down the dusty gravel road. A small red truck came up the tree-lined path at a speed that suggested they weren’t in any hurry. She didn’t know who it was as none of her team had red trucks.
She used a tall bush to keep herself hidden at the edge of the road. If it wasn’t her team, it was probably one of the locals, or maybe a tourist visiting the park. But it could also be some rando who would love to get his meaty hooks into someone like her.
The truck drew close, giving her little time to plan.
Was her team coming back? Was the fire worse than it seemed? The campground was still clear, but most of the nearby trees had dots of fire high in their branches. Perhaps the team had had no choice but to leave.
None of it made sense. Even if they had to bug out in a hurry, they would have left a note. They wouldn’t have abandoned her without good reason, but whatever the cause, she was now alone. The only thing she knew was that she needed to get out of there before the fire closed in.
She stayed hidden until the last possible moment. Two large men filled the cab of the small ute, and the cargo bed was filled to the brim with firewood. Her first impression of them was not favorable. She imagined they were serial killers collecting wood so they could burn the bodies.
How badly do I want to live? she wondered.
Eighteen
Modesto, CA Supercenter Walmart
Buck left the aged veteran with mixed emotions. Thinking of his time overseas reminded him of Marnie’s passing and the start of all his troubles with Garth. The sadness never left him. It was a void that continued to steal his joy. But this Walmart reminded him of the one near Staten Island, and of the times he’d been there with his son, so it felt like he was already home. That made him happy.
Let’s do this.
He grabbed one of the small, blue handheld baskets and took off for the pet section.
“Ma’am,” he asked when he saw a retiree-employee pulling dresses off a rack. “Do you know the way to the pet section?”
Most Walmarts shared similar layouts, but this was a supercenter, making it feel vastly larger. It was better to know for sure where to go, so he didn’t waste a second of his time.
“Si,” the woman answered as she pointed the way.
“Gracias,” he responded with a wide smile.
He walked up the main aisle but stopped as he noticed how ordinary it all appeared. Haboobs, service in the sandbox, and the Battle of Coral Sea seemed like events from another reality. This one was full of dull-eyed shoppers, fluorescent lighting, and the smell of plastic. Few citizens had any idea what happened in those overseas deployments, just like no one seemed to know about the violent storm a few miles to the north. With experience comes wisdom, Buck thought. So what the hell are you standing here for?
He shivered as he imagined the weather front getting closer. That made him pick up the pace as he walked toward the pet department.
Keep it together, Buck.
He made for the back of the store. The two main walkways met at an intersection, and he needed to make a left turn, but running footsteps came up behind him and made him turn around.
A bald, middle-aged man in a red shirt trotted the same path as Buck. His heavy work boots made loud clops with each step, which gave him away from a distance. His muscles tensed up at the perceived threat, but the guy didn’t even seem to notice him. He turned right and ran toward automotive.
He shook his head and wondered when his nerves were going to settle back down to normal. There was nothing to do but laugh it off, though he moved even faster once he saw the pet care section up ahead.
Buck trotted by a couple of rows of dog and cat food before he found the one with the leashes and chew toys.
One of his two near-death experiences could have been avoided if he’d had a leash for Mac. It took him about ten seconds to find a nice one with a little box for spooling up the extra length. That would be fine for those times when he could walk his dog, but he also grabbed a red-cased metal wire that was designed to go on a spike drilled into the soil. He intended to keep his golden attached to the lead while inside his truck, so if the door opened again, he could not jump out.
A strange sensation poured over him, like he was being overly protective of the pooch. He considered leaving the red cable, but it was only a few dollars, so he used price as a smart reason to hold onto it.
“Better to have and not need…” he reminded himself. He put both in his basket and absentmindedly tossed in a bag of all-natural jerky treats.
He figured he’d hit the soda aisle on his way out. With proper hydration, he could drive all afternoon and get well clear of the storm.
A young woman in a blue Walmart smock ran past the end of the aisle closest to the rear of the store. Her long ponytail bounced back and forth in the brief moment he’d watched. He noted she went in the same direction as the man in red. Something is going on. Where’s the best place to be when the shit hits the fan? Someplace else.
“Stay alive, get a prize,” he mumbled.
A female computer voice spoke evenly on the intercom. “Code 99, Department G.”
He laughed at the thought of what constituted an emergency at a place like Walmart. They had endless spills, dropped glass, and God knew what else. There was no amount of money suitable for the janitors doing hard labor in those stores. Maybe the 99 code was for someone puking.
That caused him to chuckle, despite knowing it was immature.
Marnie always said I never mentally grew past seventeen. That memory stirred up his already mixed pot of emotions.
“Code 99. Department G. Code 99. Department B.” The woman computer listed the codes and departments, then repeated herself one more time, as if the person pressing the button really wanted to make a statement.
When he got to the end of his aisle, several shoppers were stopped and faced toward where the running men had gone. He turned to see what it was all about, but the guys were out of sight already.
“What’s going on?” he asked an older lady holding a hand basket filled with nothing but a white bag that might have been a prescription from the pharmacy.
“Probably a damned thief. Store is full of ‘em.”
She cradled her basket like Buck might take it, then turned and went toward the front of the store by cutting through the infant and toddler clothes section.
“Code 99. Depar—” The intercom cut off suddenly and an actual woman came on the line and spoke fast. “Code 99 in G, B, and F. Basically that whole corner of the store.”
Buck thought about following the woman through the baby section and to the checkouts, but he thought of that noble veteran
at the front of the store and was compelled to do right by him. If something was going down, perhaps he could lend a hand.
A thin, frail-looking young man came out of the cat food aisle, glanced at the people standing around, and asked Buck about the commotion exactly as he had done a few seconds earlier.
“I don’t know,” Buck replied. “I’m going to see if anyone needs help. Wanna go with me?” It wouldn’t hurt to have an ally, even if the guy appeared harmless.
“No way, dude. Code 99 sounds dangerous. We should steer clear if you ask me.”
Buck paused for a few seconds, not sure if he was right about the dangerous part.
“Trust me,” the thin man added.
“I do,” he said as he walked away.
Shoppers had gone back to their tasks as he jogged the long aisle toward automotive. He was almost there when a man in a red shirt tumbled to the floor about fifty feet ahead. Boxes of oil filters slid around on the tiles like he’d knocked them off the shelves.
A male Walmart employee came after the guy and got a hold of him. Maybe the guy was a thief, as the woman had guessed, and now he was caught. However, he didn’t roll over and accept his fate. The pair of men traded punches as they ran up against the windshield wiper section.
Buck instinctively moved closer to help the employee but halted when a second worker ran out of the aisle, apparently to support his friend. The new man threw his body against the guy in the red shirt. The thief grunted and cursed while trying to keep his footing, but the pair overwhelmed him, and they all fell sideways toward Buck.
“Shit,” he said to himself.
Another man came out of the aisle with something silver in his hand. He was dressed like a normal person, not a worker. Buck recognized the weapon as a long socket wrench and for an instant saw him as a fellow good Samaritan who was going to help the two employees.
However, the new man held the wrench over his head behind the second Walmart employee.
Buck took a few steps forward, but he was too far away to help.
“Look out!” Buck shouted, knowing no one would know what he meant.
“Fuck you!” the wrench man shouted as he slammed the metal tool on the young man’s skull. “I’m not a thief!”
The woman on the intercom began her next statement with a girly shriek. “Code 99. Code White. Code 300. All security to automotive. We are watching on the cameras.”
He looked up at the black dome almost above his head, then at a few of the shoppers who, like him, were just curious enough to watch the action from a distance. Buck recognized the look of confusion and fear at what they saw.
“All patrons are advised to calmly make their way to the registers.” The intercom woman sounded pleasant and restrained. Anyone not directly watching the fight wouldn’t know of the life-or-death struggle taking place in the same store.
The injured man had fallen to the side with blood pouring out of his wound, and now the two male shoppers worked over the remaining employee, but more Walmart guys appeared in the tire center. Once they saw the fight, most of them headed right for it.
He made a command decision not to get involved. The men from the tire area looked like they could handle themselves, and first impressions were critical in emergencies like this. They all wore blue smocks; he did not. It would be easy to get confused as an enemy if he went over there.
Buck left the automotive area and shifted lanes to get out of sight of the tire guys. By the time he’d gone thirty feet, the mood in the store was back to normal. A group of five or six men stood at the sporting goods counter. They had to hear the punches and grunts from a few aisles over but made no effort to help.
“Can’t you hear it? There’s a fight...” Buck said in a loud voice.
A lone woman worked the counter. She stood in front of a glass case filled with ammo and had a black notebook in front of her that might have been a price chart. She leafed through it like she was in no hurry at all.
One of the guys in line turned to Buck. “Some guy came in and said the store had to be evacuated because a huge storm was just outside.”
Uh oh.
Manhattan, NY
Sam laughed maniacally as the boys ran from the woman with the broom.
“She’ll never catch us,” Sam assured him.
They turned and ran west on the next street, but the woman came around the corner not far behind them. She ran surprisingly fast for someone wearing slippers.
“Stop!” she called out.
A handful of tourists avoided the two boys as they ran along the sidewalk, but a larger group of people stood outside the library up ahead.
“Should we go in?” Garth asked. Even if the woman followed, she wasn’t going to start trouble in a public place.
“No, run through those people,” Sam advised.
“Stop them!” the woman screamed again. “Help!”
Garth knew right away that the group of tourists was going to react to the woman’s urgent cry. Several tall men in red and white tracksuits spread out to block the sidewalk.
“Now go into the library?” Garth asked again.
“No, we can cross—”
The tourist group seemed to be a basketball team, and they appeared anxious to help a woman in need. A few of the young men went into the narrow street as if anticipating their next move. Others fanned out toward the metal-framed front doors of the library.
Garth held up his hands and stopped because there was no way to outrun them all, even if they turned around. If his dad saw him acting like a jackass and running away from people, he would not have any kind words to say about it. He thought it was a better idea to act calm and explain the situation.
Sam went a few paces more, but also came to a stop.
“We didn’t do anything,” Garth professed. “This woman is crazy!”
“A total nutter,” Sam added.
The basketball team regrouped as the broom-wielding woman got closer. Garth turned to her, intending to apologize, but she tried to poke him with the broom handle, so he had to dive to the side.
“Whoa!” Garth exclaimed. “We didn’t do anything.”
A college-aged woman in jeans and a red top jumped in front of Garth to prevent anyone from getting hurt. She appeared tiny next to the giant men flanking her, but she spoke like she was their leader. “What in a New York fucking minute is going on here? Did these two boys hurt you, ma’am?”
Garth was distressed that the woman would ask the crazy lady instead of him, but he was glad someone in authority was involved.
“Those two gave me lip about eating at that deli run by them Koreans. I told them not to do it, but they gone and did it.”
The tourist woman seemed surprised. “You mean they ate there?”
“Yuh huh.” The old woman pointed to Garth’s cheese. “They got that.”
He held up the block like it was a dead mouse. “She told us not to go in after we’d already come out.”
“Mayor Dinkins went in, too. I’m doing my part to raise awareness and get him kicked out of office.”
The young woman put her hands on her hips. “Ma’am, I go to school at Cornell, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Belarus doing work-study with their national basketball team—” She pointed at the tall guys now crowding around them. “—but even I know the Mayor of New York is not named Dinkins. It’s Del Rosario. Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
The woman swung the broom in a sweeping motion, but she was too far from the group to be a serious threat. “I see what’s happening here. One piece of white bread gets with the next, and before you know it, I’m facing the whole loaf!”
She stepped back a few paces but kept the broom between her and the young woman. Once she was about twenty feet away, she paused. “I’m calling the police!”
She took off running.
The young woman from Cornell stood there for a few moments, as if savoring her victory, but then she spun around on her heels to face Garth and Sam.
He assumed she was going to lecture them in some way, but all she did was smile and walk by.
“Wait!” Sam called after her. “Can I get your number, you know, in case we need to follow up about this incident?”
Garth stood there, unsure what to say.
The college girl flashed her star-white teeth. “Nice try. You boys are cute, but as you can see, I have my hands full with twenty-five men already, and we’re late. Enjoy your stay in New York City.”
“We live here,” Sam blurted.
“Da pabachenya, boys,” she said as she waved over her shoulder. “That means goodbye in Belarusian.” The young woman led the team into the front doors of the city library without looking back.
Sam leaned over as the crowd of people went in the doors. “This is some seriously fucked up shit, yo.”
“I know,” Garth agreed, “This city is coming apart. First the airplane. Then the subway. Now we have women chasing us with brooms. Something is wrong with reality itself, don’t you think?”
“No. Not all that.” Sam pointed to the library. “Why the hell would foreign basketball players be going into an American library?”
Yep, the world’s gone mad.
NORAD, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado
“Come in.” General Smith rubbed the bridge of his nose as if to pinch away the headache.
Lieutenant Chris Darren came into his office with his laptop already opened.
“Got something?”
“Yes, sir. You’re going to want to watch this.”
Lt. Darren placed the laptop on the immaculate desk and hit play without preamble. The computer display showed small dots around a digitized globe; it was the constellation of GPS satellites.
“As we discussed earlier, each satellite was .666 seconds out of sync with the rest of the planet, but the 50th Space Wing was all over this, sir. They discovered the sync glitch, as they call it, took place in each satellite at different times.”
“So, it isn’t a ground station calibration error,” the general reasoned.
“No, sir, it’s not, but we know exactly what it is.”
The general glanced up. “I’m all ears.”
End Days Series Box Set [Books 1-4] Page 15