“This might be a bad time and all, but I’m starving.” Conner throws in.
I can’t decide if he, too, is trying to stir Blake and Ryan away from each other or if he is serious. With Conner, it could go either way.
“Well, let me get right on it then,” Jason says sarcastically. “Look around, man, it’s not like there is a lot of food lying around here.”
“I’m hungry too,” Jose admits.
“Let’s just hang tight here for a couple of hours. After that, we’ll check things out and see if this has died down or if the cops showed up. And then we can get food.” Blake offers reasonably.
Grumbling, the others agree.
Chapter 2
Slowly the hours pass by. None of us say much while we wait; everybody is too occupied with their thoughts and trauma. Jose is still typing away on his phone and exclaims loudly every once in a while, but nobody questions him what he is upset about. We are all exhausted.
We were supposed to sleep on the fifteen-hour bus ride, but I don’t think anybody managed to snag more than a couple of hours here or there; too much anticipation and excitement kept us up on the bus. So, now that we are finally forced to sit down and rest, it’s all catching up with us.
The fighting on the boats finally stops. I don’t know, and I don’t want to know who won, if anybody. But whoever it was, they left a while ago, not once even glancing into our direction. We are well hidden on the stage, and the irony of it is not lost on me. Every once in a while, I catch a gleam of black metal in Blake’s waistband, and my fingers itch to touch the Glock. I would feel so much safer if I had a gun on me.
Even the noises from outside, as muted as they had been, have died down. We haven’t heard any more gunshots, screams, or outbursts for almost an hour.
“Do you think it’s safe to go out?” Ty asks.
But his question is ignored because Jose lets out a soft yell. “Shit, this is so messed up.”
All of us turn expectantly towards Jose, awaiting further explanation. “Okay, so I have been reading updates this whole time.” He enlightens us. “It’s not just at the Amusement Park; it seems to be all over L.A. They are carting in the national guard, for crying out loud.”
“It?” Jason fishes for a more elaborate explanation.
Jose looks up from his screen. “Yeah, It. They don’t know what it is. But it seems like it made a lot of people go bonkers.”
“No shit,” Ryan says sarcastically, which earns him an annoyed glare from Jose.
“I’m just telling you what I read. You don’t have to be a dick.”
“Ah, don’t pout, princess.” Ty punches Jose lightly in the arm, and they snicker at each other.
I roll my eyes. “What else did you find out?”
“Oh.” Jose seems to remember what he was trying to tell us before Jason interrupted him. “They think this whole thing has something to do with the rain from this morning.”
His words confuse us more than they explain.
“Rain?” Ryan echoes.
And then it comes back to me. I snap my finger. “Yeah, you guys. Don’t you remember the rain?”
It started around two o’clock in the morning when we entered the outskirts of L.A. It was a hard rain; Blake’s mom had the windshield wipers on at full speed, and we all worried we might have to pull over. And then we worried it might rain all day and we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our Amusement Park trip
The rain never ceased, even when we reached the hotel. Luckily, the hotel had one of those large canopies over the driveway, so when we got off the bus, we didn’t even get wet. We helped my dad and Blake’s mom unload the luggage before taking the bus into the parking lot. I remember how my dad went with her to help and how soaked they both were when they returned.
“Do you guys remember how weird the rain looked and smelled?” I ask.
“It was almost phosphorene,” Blake remembers. “Before we turned the light on in our room, my mom seemed to glow in the dark.”
A shiver goes through me, and I recount the same thing happening to my dad. My dad! Another wave of loss and pain hits me. I push it down and replace it with anger. Anger at the rain. Anger at Blake’s mom. Why did my dad have to go and help her? He wouldn’t have gotten wet from the rain if he hadn’t gone to help her. There’d been no reason for him to go with her; she could have parked the stupid bus all by herself.
Anger at Blake’s dad. If he and my mom hadn’t started their sordid affair, my dad might not have felt responsible to escort Cynthia –Blake’s mom. If he hadn’t walked to the bus and back, he wouldn’t have gotten wet and contaminated, or whatever it was that happened to him.
And there is anger at Blake just for being Cynthia’s son. As misplaced as it might be, it fuels me with the energy I need to push down my grief. I know he doesn’t deserve the resentment. He is as much of a victim in all of this as I’m. But right now, I need it, so I hold on to it.
“That’s what they are saying; I guess there was a similar incident somewhere in Russia last week. First the rain, then people acting crazy.” Jose brings me back into the present.
“So, what happened to them?” I want to know.
Jose looks uncomfortably at me.
What is it with the boys thinking they need to protect me from bad news? I sigh. “Just spit it out.”
“They sealed off the town and bombed it. They haven’t had any problems since.” His voice gets quieter as he speaks.
“Shit,” Blake mumbles and pulls out his phone. “Hey, dad…” He trails off while walking away from us.
“I vote we leave now,” Ryan says, his eyes watching Blake as he disappears behind a wooden prop.
Nobody responds; all of us observe Blake expectantly, antagonizing Ryan further. But we all know that Blake’s dad was high up in the Marine Corps. If anybody can help us get home, it’s him. There is no question that we’ll do whatever Blake’s dad, Martin, tells us to do. I think even Ryan realizes that he won’t be the one running the show this time.
After, what seems like an eternity, Blake reappears, and we wait for him impatiently to tell us what his dad said. Blake’s eyes meet mine, and I try to conceal the anger I still harbor for him and his dad. I must not be very successful because he raises an eyebrow, and looks at me questioning.
“What did your dad say?” Ryan interrupts the awkward silence.
Blake breaks our eye contact with an amused smile, which he soon replaces with a more severe expression. “He said he heard rumors. He said we need to get out of the city as fast as we can. He is already on his way to come to get us, but it will take more than twelve hours, so we need to do our part and get moving.”
“Okay, what about your mom and the others?” I ask.
The others are fourteen more boys from the football team. We split off into three different groups when we arrived this morning, but they are out there, as is Blake’s mom.
“I’ll try her phone again,” Blake says.
But his expression tells me he isn’t the least bit convinced he’ll reach her. If the rain really has anything to do with all this, then his mom was as exposed as my dad. And whatever happened to him most likely happened to her too.
“Ace, my man, what’s happening?” Ty’s voice breaks me from my dark thoughts.
Ty’s face offers a wide grin while he listens to his buddy Ace, whose real name is Tyler Gordy. But since two Tylers was just too confusing, especially when they are friends, one became Ace and the other Ty.
“Where are you?......yeah….us too. Man … listen, Blake’s dad says we need to get out of the park ASAP…. yeah….”
Blake hangs up the phone with a grave expression and turns to Ty. “Where are they?”
“Hold on,” Ty tells Ace, turning to Blake. “They are in Tomorrowland.”
Blake pulls out a map, the same we all received when we entered the Amusement Park. Now I realize I lost mine, together with my purse. Both probably still on the boat somewhere. Considering everythin
g that has happened, losing your bank card, driver’s license, and money doesn’t seem that big a deal anymore, though. Blake traces his fingers along the map, while Ryan leans over his left shoulder and points at something.
“Let’s meet in the middle, by that Rodent statue,” Ryan suggests.
Blake frowns but nods. “Yeah, that should work.”
“What is it?” I want to know. If Blake frowns, he must have a reason why. And I want to know what it is. No matter if I’m angry at him, he’s still my best bet of survival.
“Well, it would be easier for us to go east, where the busses are parked. Plus, I think there might be fewer people that way. Meeting at the statue will force us to go west, which is also where I think a lot of people will be.”
“And how do you know that?” Ryan sneers.
Blake sighs: “I was out there, remember? Last I saw they were all moving west.” He holds up a hand. “And before you ask, I don’t know why.”
“Or were,” Ryan interjects. “They could have changed direction by now. And I’m not leaving my team behind.”
Blake almost rolls his eyes. “I’m not asking you to.” He turns back towards Ty. “Put Ace on speaker.”
“I heard you guys.” We hear Ace’s voice through the speaker. “And what Blake says makes sense. There’s no reason for you guys to come towards us.”
“Except that we are a team, and we are not leaving you.” Ryan intercedes.
“You won’t be leaving us; we’ll just make our way to the parking lot separately.” comes Ace’s reasonable voice.
“But the more there are of us, the stronger we are.” I put my five cents in for all it’s worth.
“Viv, is that you? Man, am I glad to hear your voice. Is Coach there too?”
We all look at each other uncomfortably. But before anybody can say anything, Blake agrees with me. “Vivian is right; we’re stronger together. Let’s meet at the statue.”
I ask the question I know Blake won’t. “Have you seen Mrs. Thornton?”
There is a heavy silence. The same silence we gave Ace when he asked about my dad, and suddenly, I know, and I can see on Blake’s face, so does he. His expression turns agonized, and I feel my heart go out to him.
Another voice comes on the line, “There was something wrong with her guys. She attacked Kyle. Just hit him over the head with somebody’s camera. Over and over. He was dead before we could stop her.”
“Cory, is that you?” Jason asks.
“The one and only.” Cory laughs nervously.
“So, what happened to her after you guys… stopped her?” I ask with a shaky voice, avoiding Blake’s eyes.
“I dunno, she took off into the crowd.”
Blake clears his throat. “Listen, guys; we can catch up later; we don’t have time for this. Let’s get going.”
I finally turn to look at him and find his face etched with grief. My anger at him evaporates. At least I know what happened to my dad, but he has no idea where his mom is; he only knows that she is one of them. There is a hollow pit where my stomach used to be. Cynthia was like an aunt to me. All of us, Blake, his older brother Colin, Blake’s parents and mine, and my sister Lexy and I, we used to be this big, huge happy family.
I want to say something, but I don’t know what. All I know is that no amount of words can console me right now. So, it’s easy to deduce that nothing I say will make one lick of a difference to Blake right now either. All I can do is gently squeeze his arm and give him an encouraging smile.
“Hold on.” Ryan stops everybody from hanging up. “So, it’s Cory and Ace; Kyle was killed, who else is with you guys?”
Cory’s voice comes back on. “That’s it, just Ace and me. I don’t know where the others went. It was chaos here after Mrs. Thornton… we just ran.”
“Okay, let’s keep trying to get a hold of the others before we head out. Text us if you make contact with anybody and send them to that statue. We’ll do the same.”
After Ace and Cory agree, Ty hangs up, and everybody goes through their contact list, trying to reach the rest of the team. But the only other two we can contact are Drew and Alex. we tell them to make their way to the statue.
Drew is the furthest away from it; he was on the railroad with three other boys when the train stopped by Goofy’s playhouse. His voice is filled with pain when he informs us that the other three didn’t make it. We don’t ask how; there will be plenty of time, later on, to find out all the gory details.
Alex is already by the statue and says he’ll wait for us. He confirms two more dead, which leaves four unaccounted. We text them to let them know the plan and where to meet us. Alex has good news too, though, explaining that everything is quiet where he is, says he hasn’t seen any movement for over an hour. But he warns us to be prepared for what we are about to see.
His warning reverberates in my mind after we leave the Pirate’s ride. But I don’t think anything could have prepared us for what we find. An unbelievable stench assaults us, even before our eyes even have a chance to adjust from the semi-darkness to the blinding light of the mid-noon sun.
And then we see the bodies. Dead bodies are everywhere. No, not just bodies; there are body parts littered all over the place. A wave of nausea rises up in my throat while Conner turns his head and heaves into one of the trash cans.
I think all of us turn a shade lighter or greener. Nobody speaks while we slowly and carefully make our way towards the middle of the park. Blake leads us, not even bothering to glance at the map again. It’s eerily quiet; no bird is singing or rustling in the bushes. Even the ducks from the lakes around us have left.
Carefully we traipse around the puddles of blood. When my eyes fall at a bloody stroller, I quickly turn away. I don’t want to know what’s inside of it. No way do I want that kind of image imprinted on my mind.
Nobody speaks while we keep moving. Conner finally gets his stomach under control and is keeping up. I think of all of us he is the whitest right now; he looks like a sheet. I have read descriptions like this in various books and have always thought they were exaggerations but seeing Conner now; I realize they are true.
Blake stops by an upturned lemonade stand. We pile around him curiously, and he starts handing out water bottles. Happily, I notice they are still cold. Not to be outdone, Ryan darts into a small store on the other side of the street.
I had no idea how thirsty I was until the liquid hits my mouth. Emptying the entire bottle, without coming up for air, I soon greedily stretch my hand out to Blake for more.
He looks warningly at me. “Slow down; otherwise, you’ll chuck it all back up.”
Nodding my understanding, I open the cap of the second bottle. This time I pace myself a bit more, but the container is empty in no time. Before I can ask for a third, Ryan reappears with several backpacks hanging from his arms. He throws one at each of us, and I barely manage to catch mine.
“Tinker Bell? Really?” I snort.
He grins at me. “Always thought you looked like her if it wasn’t for the red hair.”
“Haha.” I mock. “Because I’m short?”
Wisely Ryan stays quiet at my question. But I really don’t care what’s on the backpack. It was a good idea. And Blake acknowledges his Captain Hook backpack with a crooked grin.
“Good thinking, McCarthy.”
We fill the backpacks with the last of the water bottles and soft pretzels Jason brings over from another upturned cart. “Five-second rule.” He states wryly.
“As long as there’s no blood on them, I’m good,” Conner replies. Nobody laughs, and Ryan punches him in the arm.
“Ow, what? Too soon?”
Blake gives him an intimidating arch of his eyebrow. “Listen upchuck….”
“It’s okay,” I say, knowing Blake is thinking about my father and probably his mother as well. “We need to keep moving.”
After another scorching glare at Conner, Blake turns around and resumes the lead.
My backpack
is heavy. With the hot sun beating down on us, I’m sweating in no time. With a jolt, I realize my short shorts and tank top are quite pathetic for the end of the world. In my defense, though, my frame of mind was slightly different this morning. With a sigh, I stare at my white skin that will turn beet red in no time. My eyes fall onto another cart.
“Wait.” I interrupt the silence.
I make a mad dash for another cart –grateful for at least having chosen sensible shoes when I got dressed this morning. This particular cart holds all kinds of sunscreen, making a choice I grab several of the spray bottles. I’m not the only one who will burn to a crisp in no time.
“Worried about a sunburn?” Jason mocks.
“Whatever, you don’t have to use it.” I sneer back.
I spray my arms and legs before holding the bottle out to Ryan to spray my back.
“Thank you.” I smile tentatively at him after he doused my backside.
“No problem.” He smiles back, just as cautiously, because our situation really holds nothing to make you smile. Even our blossoming romance can’t compete with the devastation around us or the fear for our lives.
“Let’s go,” Blake growls with more force than necessary.
It is slow going; our heads constantly whip right and left, waiting, wondering, if somebody will attack us and where they will come from. We have to be watchful and guarded, but also careful not to see too much of the carnage everywhere, made worse by the fact that everything is geared towards small children.
Blake stops by the corpse of a police officer. Thankfully the man lays on his stomach, so we don’t have to see his face. His gun dropped a little further away; Blake takes it, checks it. “It’s empty.”
“There might be a spare magazine in his holster,” I say with a shudder.
Blake doesn’t hesitate and searches the dead man’s pockets. Gleefully, he holds up two magazines a few seconds later.
His face is full of respect and concentration, while next, he pulls up the cop’s pant legs.
“Bingo.” He whispers, just as Ryan hisses: “What are you doing?”
The Rain | Part 1 | The Beginning Page 3