by Maira Dawn
"Me too," the woman said. You'd think I'd watch better." She shook her head. "Did you need anything? I work here. I had to slip out to the ladies' room."
"No, I was just looking for someone, but they weren't there. Maybe she was earlier? Sierra—"
"Oh, Sierra! No, she hasn't been in today."
Sonora smiled. "Okay. Thanks."
"I hope you find her."
"Me too!" Sonora took a moment to also warn the librarian about the outbreak. The woman didn't take it any more serious than Sierra's co-worker. Well, she was trying.
Sonora moved back down the long hallway the way she'd come and peeked her head into her sister's still empty office. Taking the elevator back to the lobby, her stomach lost some of its tension once talking and laughter filtered through the doors.
Just in case, Sonora scanned the lobby for Sierra as she crossed it and walked out the door. She took the sidewalk around the building to the parking lot. As she reached the sunny side of the street, Sonora slowed. It was a beautiful day, the only thing marring it was the dark cloud over the ocean that kept getting larger.
From here, though, it still seemed far away. Sonora spotted a park bench and sat down for a few minutes, letting the sun warm her skin. Who knew when she would be able to do this again? Ian promised regular land visits, but that was before all this. Tipping her face to the light, she let it chase any dark worries away. Just a few minutes to enjoy this, and she'd be ready to take on the world again.
A cough, a deep one. Sonora's eyes flew open. A restaurant worker stood across the street smoking, his white apron dangling from his neck. He coughed again. Just smoker’s cough. Now she was just being paranoid.
Sonora scanned the rest of the town's street. A few patrons shopped, but it thinned out this late in the afternoon. Many people were thinking about dinner.
As if on cue, her stomach growled. She eyed the restaurant, wondering if she had time to grab something. It had been a few hours since lunch, and her parents were probably hungry too.
She stood to cross the street. The man coughed again, and she paused. What if it wasn't only a smoker's cough? Sonora imagined the man coughing into her family's drink and food. No, no, thanks.
Still hacking, the worker tied his apron and went back inside the kitchen. On the sidewalk coming Sonora's way, a woman coughed. A child across the street sneezed.
Sonora shuddered and changed direction, going toward the parking lot where her vehicle was parked. She scanned the area. It looked empty. Still, Sonora picked up her pace as she headed for her car.
Fifty
Little Boy
Chapter Fifty-One
Sonora moved as noiselessly as possible, carefully putting one foot in front of the other. What seemed a perfectly acceptable parking spot before going inside the building was now shrouded in shadow and causing ice to trickle down her spine. She shook her head. There was nothing here. She was being silly, still on edge from the library.
Sonora straightened and continued toward her car. It wasn't far now.
Something like metal rattled from the dark alley on the left side of the lot.
Her head whipped toward the sound. Glancing to the left and right, she sped to her car. Sonora pulled the keys from her purse and pushed the unlock button over and over. She readied to jam them into the ignition as soon as she reached the vehicle.
Another tinny clatter from the alley echoed through the lot. Sick people or not, this put her on edge. She kept one eye on the dark mouth of that street. Only steps away from her car, Sonora saw a middle-aged woman step out from the gloom holding the hand of a young boy.
Sonora sagged with relief until the woman coughed, bending with the effort. When she raised herself, blood stained her chin.
Sonora glanced from the woman to the boy. He seemed fine.
The woman waved at Sonora. She seemed oblivious to the stain on her face. "Can you help us?" She coughed, leaving her voice raspy. "I seem to have lost my car."
Sonora backed away as the woman walked across the lot toward her.
The woman put a hand to her head. "It's just—I just feel so lost. Everything's fuzzy. I don't know."
She coughed again, covering her mouth. When she pulled back her hand, it was covered with bloody spittle, and she stared at it. "No! Oh no! Do I have it? That thing going around?"
"I'm sorry." Sonora took a few more steps away. Ian said she couldn't catch it, but what if he were wrong. What if what happened in the lab was just a fluke? What if she could catch it from a person?
The woman held out the hand. "Can you help me?"
Sonora's heart ached at the woman's plea. "I can get you help."
"Please, don't leave us. Help my boy, if you won't help me."
Sonora hurried to back away as the woman continued toward her until she smacked into her car. Relief rushed through her, and she pulled the vehicle handle up.
The woman seemed more and more confused. "Please, please help us. Something is wrong. It's so wrong, but I can't—I can't remember what—"
Sonora's heart went out to them as she opened her car door. "I will help. I will find someone or call someone to come for you. Just stay here. I'll tell them you are here."
"No. Please. Help my mommy," the little boy said, tears flooding his eyes.
"I'm going to get help for your mommy, I promise."
The boy scrubbed his eyes with one hand as his mother pulled him along with the other. Seeing Sonora open her door, the mother scowled. "Don't leave us!" she ordered.
"I'm sorry. I will get help. I really will. Someone who can really help you."
Sonora fell into her car, her own eyes tearing up. The mother was clearly losing her reason, and the little boy was so scared. Did he understand what was happening?
Sonora pulled out her cell phone and groaned, then plugged it in. It was dead. The stupid thing.
She looked back at them and started the car. After backing out of the parking space and swinging around, she slowed down beside them.
"Stay here," she shouted through the window and drove on.
Sonora pulled out of the parking lot and circled around to the front of the building. She scanned the area for a police officer without success.
Pulling alongside the sidewalk, she tried to flag down a pedestrian. Maybe they had a phone. But he either didn't see her or ignored her.
Sonora sighed and straightened the car into a parking spot. After picking up her phone, she dialed but got a "circuits are busy" message. Wow, it'd been a long time since that had happened. Maybe a land phone would work. She jumped out of her car, and checked again for police officers, running to each end of the block and peeking down the crossroads. Still, with no success.
Sonora huffed and looked around as she walked back to where she began. She stood directly in front of the pawnshop. She'd been in here a couple of times before, and the guy in here was nice. Rick was his name if she remembered correctly. Maybe he would let her use his phone.
She gingerly pushed the door open. "Hello?"
"Hey! Cool. A customer. It's been a slow day." The disembodied voice became a Hawaiian-shirt clad young man. He swept back long bangs from his face.
Sonora looked him over. In spite of the fact, he looked perfectly healthy, she asked, "Have you been—coughing?"
"What?" He backed away. "No, man. You?"
Sonora shook her head. "No, but I was just down the road, and there was a sick woman. She had her boy with her. He looked fine. I told her I would get them help. Have you seen any police pass by here?"
"Not for a while. Wanna call?" He walked to the phone and held it out to her.
Sonora dialed 911 and waited. She pulled her lip between her teeth as the line clicked a few times, and let it go when it started to ring. After several chimes, someone answered the phone. Sonora reported all she could, but basically, she only knew the location and that the woman needed medical attention.
"We have a unit close to your location," the 911 operator said.
"It will take a few minutes. Please stay at your location."
"Me? But I'm just reporting this. She isn't here. She and her son are at the parking lot behind the accounting firm, and I need to look—"
"I understand that ma'am, but the officer could have further questions. Could you stay at your location?”
Sonora frowned. Her parents were probably waiting for her, but what choice did she have? "Um, okay. Just a few minutes?"
"Yes, a few minutes."
After a couple more instructions, the operator had everything she needed and hung up. Sonora handed the phone back to the young man. When she did, her arm passed through a blacklight he had on the counter.
He gasped. "You're one of them!"
Confused, Sonora frowned. "What?"
"Atlantian." His voice was an awed whisper.
Sonora's stomach dropped. How did this guy know anything about her? "No. I don't know…" Her voice trailed off when he raised an eyebrow and stared at her. He did really know about them. She cleared her throat and got ready to run. "Just... a bit, I guess. How do you know?"
When he reached out to grab her arm, she took a few steps back.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Grandma always hinted we had some too but look." He stuck his arm under the light. "Nothing."
Sonora glanced from his arm to his face. "What are you talking about?"
He backed away from the counter and leaned against the wall behind it. "Now, put your arm under the light."
Sonora gave Rick the once-over, but his laid-back attitude proclaimed him harmless. She sidled to the counter and laid her arm below the blacklight.
A very faint pattern of colorful lines lay just below the top layer of skin. Why had she never noticed this before?
"What is this?" she whispered.
Rick raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know?"
Sonora shook her head.
"I don't know exactly what it is other than it means you're one of them. You should see it on a full-blooded one! I had a guy in here—lit up like fireworks on a dark night." Rick made an explosion sign with his hands. "Pretty impressive."
"An Atlantian was shopping here?" Sonora looked around, it seemed slightly surreal. Do Atlantians come to the surface to shop often?
"Big guy, dark hair. Ian was his name."
Sonora's jaw dropped. "My Ian?"
"Your Ian?"
“I’m-well, he's my fiancé, I guess."
Rick chuckled. "You guess?"
"No, he is." Sonora giggled. "It's new."
"Congrats!"
Sonora smiled, then looked to the ground. She needed to warn him about the AgFlu. Maybe he would listen. "This disease going around. Have you heard about it?"
"Yes. Nasty. Grandma called right before you stepped in here. She said, shut this place down and come home, we are gonna do some hibernating. That's what I plan on doing. Grandma's not wrong when it comes to these things."
"Sounds like a good plan. There's a cure. It's being taken to the Army base, so they should be dispensing it soon."
"Good. I had to bean two in the head on the way over here. Came after me." At Sonora's perplexed look, Rick pulled a slingshot out from under the counter.
"A slingshot?"
Rick picked it up, armed it, and aimed it down an aisle opposite of Sonora. "You'd be surprised what a deterrent it can be." He let the pellet go. In an instant, an old DVR player across the store rocked off its shelf and fell, exploding into pieces against the hard floor.
"Whoa!" Sonora made a mental note to pick up a slingshot.
The bell on the door chimed as a police officer strode through it. "We found the mother and son. We have them in an ambulance." He looked over Sonora and Rick. "You two feeling alright?"
Both of them nodded their heads.
"Has there been any word on a cure yet?" Sonora asked.
The officer shook his head. "I haven't heard of one yet. You two should head home. No sense in risking anything being out here."
Rick saluted the officer. "Yes, sir. It's what I intend on doing. Happy to do it too, I could use a little downtime."
Sonora stifled a chuckle. Just how exhausting was the pawn trade? She turned her gaze to the officer, who seemed to have the same question. "I'm going home too, officer."
A new home away from all this mess, far below sea level.
The officer left, and Sonora turned to leave. At the door, she turned back. "If your grandma says you're part Atlantian, then you probably are, and it might just be what saves you through this outbreak. I'll see you when this is all over."
Rick frowned, then gave her an exaggerated nod with a huge grin. "See ya then!"
She raced to her car, resolving to ask Ian if Rick could come to Atlantis. She wished everyone could come, but that was impossible. Reminding herself the cure would be given to everyone soon, she drove back to the accounting firm's parking lot. Maybe her family was back.
As she pulled into the lot, the ambulance with the mother and son pulled out. The little boy's face pressed against a small side window. Sonora waved to him, and he returned the wave. Relieved they would get the help they needed, she hoped things would get better for him even if there were little they could do for his mother.
Sonora drove the car through the parking lot. Still no parents. Where were they?
Fifty-One
In The House
Chapter Fifty-two
After finding a place to park, Sonora promised herself she’d wait only ten more minutes before hunting her parents down. She hoped Ian wasn't already at the beach waiting for them. He'd be worried it was taking her so long.
She turned on the radio and leaned back in her seat, determined not to worry about what she couldn't control. But when the ten minutes went by, her nerves were stretched almost to the breaking point.
Straightening in her seat, she started the car and pulled onto the road. As she headed to the main library, where her parents should be, she reassured herself, everything would be okay. Still, a frown settled and refused to leave her face.
After pulling into the library parking lot, she circled it, then drove around the block. Her parent's car was not here. She huffed out a breath. Now what?
There was a spot close to the door, and she took it. The full sun eased her worries. There was no murky alley here.
Sonora rushed inside, letting the hushed atmosphere calm her. She breathed in the scent of books, old and new, and smiled. Heading straight for the front desk, she scanned the area for a librarian. Maybe someone had seen her parents or sister.
The young librarian behind the counter raised her head and asked, "Can I help you?"
Sonora smiled at her. "Yes, my parents should have just been here looking for my sister. Sierra? Do you know her? Now I am looking for all of them."
The librarian chuckled. "Yes, they were here. They all flew out of here a little bit ago."
"Okay, thank you." She walked away, distracted. A bit ago? Why hadn't they made it back to her?
Once Sonora was back in her car, she pulled out her cell phone. A voice message notification showed on the screen. Why hadn't it beeped? She rolled her eyes. This old phone was always a problem!
Sonora pushed the alert. Her mother's voice trembled, ending on a high note. "Sonora, honey, we made it back, and you aren't here. Where are you?" Sonora could hear her father speaking in the background, then her mother talking with him. Azurine spoke into her cell phone again, "Dad just talked to a police officer who was here. He said you're okay. We have Sierra. We are meeting up with Bruce at their home so they can get a few items they want to take. Dad says, do not come to their house, it's downtown, and there are rumors there are more sick people there. He is adamant. Do not go downtown. He is already freaking out that you're alone. He says meet us at—" The message stopped. Sonora pulled the phone from her ear and watched it die. What? No! She just charged it!
Sonora banged it lightly on the steering wheel, then took out the battery and put it back in. Nothing.
She groaned in frustration. She let her head bounce on the headrest and shot a glance at the library.
She raced back up to the desk and the same librarian. "Can I use your phone?"
The young librarian frowned. "Well, we really aren't—"
"It's an emergency."
The librarian looked at Sonora, doubt written over her face.
"It really is," Sonora said, leaning on the desk. "Really."
The librarian scanned the room. "Do not let my supervisor know this happened."
"I won't. I promise."
Sonora took the phone and turned her back to the central part of the library in case some irate supervisor tried to yank the phone from her hand. She dialed her mother's number. It rang three times, and the voicemail came on.
She put a hand to her head as she left a message. "Mom! I'm at the library, the one you went to. Yes, I'm fine, but your message cut off. I don't know where I'm supposed to meet you. My phone is dead. It died right before you said where to go." The woman frantically gestured at her, and an angry grey-haired woman barreled up to the counter. "Okay, well, be careful."
Sonora almost threw the phone at the young librarian and rushed out of the building. She didn't have the time or energy for a confrontation.
She rushed out to her car and plopped down in the seat. After pulling onto the road, she stopped along the side of it. Where was she going? She laid her head on the steering wheel. She hadn't even told them where she was going. Putting a hand to her face, she scolded herself about her oversight and stupid fear of grey-haired librarians.
Home. They would have to be going home, wouldn't they? That was the original plan. Get Sierra and Bruce, go home for some of the things they still had there and might want, meet Ian at the beach. If she went home, she could charge her phone. Then she could call her mom again if they weren’t there.
With a plan in mind, Sonora wiggled herself upright on her seat. A car tapped on their horn behind her, and she waved them an apology. Sonora drove home at the speed limit, barely. Light-headed from lack of food, and with a rumbling stomach, she reached into her purse, looking for the only food-like thing she had. Grabbing and discarding small items until she found what she was looking for, she sighed when her fingers felt the cellophane wrapper.