OUTSKIRTS OF DALHART, TEXAS
The clang of the door shutting jolted Brienne awake. She opened her eyes to find a strange woman standing in the shadows. The dim light from a single low-wattage bulb gave her the ability to just make out some features. She tried to move her arms but found them bound behind her. Her eyes darted around. She wasn’t in the steel building like before. Instead they had her somewhere else, and by the looks of it, her new accommodations weren’t as bad as the other. “Who are you?” she asked the woman.
“Is it true you came all this way from Europe?” the woman asked.
Brienne furrowed her brow and shifted as best she could in the chair she was bound to.
The woman stepped closer to Brienne and out of the shadows.
With the woman in full view, Brienne noticed she was holding her diary. “I see you don’t honor someone’s privacy,” Brienne snarked.
Holding the book up, the woman asked, “Is it true?”
“I’ll answer your question if you answer mine,” Brienne said.
The woman thought as she circled Brienne. Stopping back in front of her, she replied, “Deal.”
“Yes, I left Germany over eight years ago,” Brienne answered. “My turn, where am I?”
“You’re being held by my brother in a compound in Woodruff,” the woman replied. “Is Europe as bad as the States?”
“It is,” Brienne said.
“Where are you going?” the woman asked.
“My turn,” Brienne said. She cleared her throat and asked, “What does your brother have planned for me?”
The woman answered, “He plans on raping you first. Then he’ll see if he can sell you, and if that doesn’t happen, he’ll just continue to rape you until he decides you’re no good. Then he’ll have you killed and you’ll be eaten at a feast,” the woman said bluntly.
“I forgot, you’re cannibals,” Brienne said with disgust.
“Is that a question?” the woman asked.
“No, it’s a statement,” Brienne said. She’d heard about groups of cannibals but had never encountered them in her long journey until now.
“Now answer my question. Where were you going?” the woman asked.
“To find my husband and son,” Brienne replied.
“Where specifically?”
“Yuma, they were in Yuma.”
“How do you know they’re alive?” the woman asked.
“Nope, my question again.”
The woman smiled. “Go ahead.”
Brienne stared at the woman’s pale skin, not a wrinkle appeared on her face. She was either very young or never saw the sun. It was hard to guess how old she was, but she was curious not only about that but about something else. “Why are you here asking me questions?”
“Because I want you to take me with you,” the woman replied bluntly.
Stunned by the answer, Brienne asked, “Is this a trick? Huh?”
“No, it’s not. I saw how capable you were in handling those guards; plus you’ve survived on the road for almost nine years. I want to leave, I want to get out of here, and you’re the best chance I’ve had in years.”
“Where do you want to go?” Brienne asked.
The woman approached. She opened another book similar to Brienne’s diary and said, “There are rumors of other places, safe places. My brother captured someone a few months ago; he said that there’s a small town in the Baja Peninsula called Loreto that is still safe, free of the virus, and untouched by the war. It’s unscathed. I want to go there. If I let you go, I want you to take me there.”
Brienne’s first reaction was to laugh at the preposterous idea of a town in Baja being a safe zone, but relented. If the woman was telling the truth about letting her escape, this could be her way out of this place. “Isn’t Mexico where the dog flu started?”
“Not in Baja, it started in the deep interior of the main part of Mexico. I’ve looked at Baja on a map; it’s isolated. I suppose I could be wrong, but it sounds hopeful. A small fishing village still thriving.”
“There’s rumors of a town in Oklahoma like that too. Why not go there?” Brienne asked, referring to Deliverance, which itself had become a rumor that people talked about. “I’ve heard solid info about that place more than any town in Mexico.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“But you believe a rumor about some magical place in Mexico?”
“Will you take me with you if I help you escape?” the woman asked urgently. Voices sounded in the hall.
“Is someone coming? Is that your brother?” Brienne asked.
“No, that’s just their voices carrying down the hall.”
“Why do you want to leave? Done being part of a cannibal colony?” Brienne quipped.
“I have my reasons. Let’s just say I’ve wanted to leave almost since arriving here many years ago,” the woman explained.
“You tell me why and I’ll consider it,” Brienne said with a tone of bravado.
“I think you’re confused. You’re the one tied up and about to get raped by my brother. I don’t think you have any leverage here,” the woman declared.
“Fine, I’ll take you, but I need to go find my husband and son first.” This was a lot to ask of Brienne. She had survived by herself for years and had now become accustomed to traveling solo, but if the woman could set her free, why not agree?
“I can do that,” the woman said. “Yuma is on the way to Loreto.”
“I have to ask, and don’t get me wrong, I want to leave, but exactly how far are we going to get on foot?”
“We have old motorcycles, but we recently got a car.”
“You have a vehicle and good gas?” Brienne asked.
“The man my brother captured, he had a car, a newer car.”
“What?” Brienne asked, her tone showing her shock. “Where did he say he came from?”
“The license plates on it say he’s from here in Texas, and he said he was from Corpus Christi, wherever that is.”
“That’s in Texas too,” Brienne said flippantly. She thought it could make sense; if any of the many refineries were running again in east Texas, someone could be refining oil again.
“I don’t know anything else. The man is dead, but the car works,” the woman said. “My brother was driving it around the lot outside earlier today.”
“He’s dead? Let me guess, you ate him,” Brienne mocked.
The woman shot Brienne a look that said she wasn’t amused by her mocking humor.
“Aren’t you going to untie me?” Brienne asked.
“I will, but I need to go arrange everything. It won’t take me more than an hour.”
“An hour? Do I have an hour?”
“You do. My brother and his friends are drinking. He’s nowhere close to coming for you,” the woman said. She turned away from Brienne and disappeared into the shadows.
“And if you’re wrong?” Brienne asked, her tongue sharp.
“Then I’m wrong and let me apologize now,” the woman said, giving Brienne a snappy reply.
“How do I know you’re not like your brother or the others? How do I know you won’t get desperate when we’re on the road, that you won’t kill and eat me?” she quipped.
“I’m not like my brother. I’ve only done what I’ve done to survive. This life isn’t me,” she replied.
“What’s your name?” Brienne asked.
“Emily,” she said, opening the door. More light poured in, as did laughter and other festive sounds.
“Hurry back.”
“I will.” Emily stepped out and closed the door.
Brienne sighed loudly. If Emily was telling her the truth, then the good luck she’d had over the years hadn’t left her just yet.
DELIVERANCE, OKLAHOMA
Reid rapped his knuckles against the heavy wooden door. Inside he could hear movement. “Open up, c’mon, hurry.”
“Who’s there?” Thomas asked.
“It’s Reid.”
&nbs
p; Thomas unlocked the door and cracked it just a bit. He peered out and said, “What are you doing here at this hour?”
“Do you know about the dog found today?”
“How do you know about that?” Thomas asked, opening the door a bit wider to show he was wearing a robe.
“Just tell me,” Reid insisted.
“Who’s at the door?” a female voice asked from the back of the house.
Thomas craned his head back and hollered, “No one. I’ll be right back.” He looked back to Reid and said, “This isn’t a good time.”
“What do you know about the dog that was found today?” Reid asked, his face showing the stress of the situation. “I need to know.”
Thomas stepped out onto the front step and closed the door behind him. “Why do you need to know?”
“We’ve known each other for years; I consider you a friend. I haven’t asked for anything from you until now,” Reid replied.
“You’re putting me in a situation, you do know that?” Thomas said, his thin gray hair blowing in the evening breeze.
“Is the dog a carrier?”
“Has someone been bitten?” Thomas asked, as he sensed that was the reason for Reid’s unannounced visit.
“Is the dog a carrier?” Reid asked again.
Thomas reached out and touched Reid’s shoulder gently. “Easy, my friend. Tell me what happened.”
A wave of emotion washed over Reid as he assumed the answer to his question was yes.
“Is it Hannah?” Thomas asked.
“She saw the dog earlier, said it was whimpering. She’s a sweet girl; she only meant to take care of the thing. What am I going to do?”
Seeing Reid in pain, Thomas said, “Oh no.”
“So the dog was a carrier?”
“Yes.”
Tears welled up in Reid’s eyes. “What am I going to do? I lost Evelyn; now I’m going to lose Hannah.”
“I need you to bring Hannah to the infirmary.”
“No!” Reid barked.
“Reid, you can’t keep her at home.”
“She’s staying at home. No one needs to know.”
“But you know that’s not the law. She needs to be taken in, you know this,” Thomas insisted.
Reid gave Thomas a hard look and asked, “Are you my friend or not?”
“Of course I’m your friend, but you must do what’s right for her,” Thomas said as he reached out again. “And what’s right for the town.”
Reid rebuffed Thomas’ touch and said, “They can’t save her, you know that. They’ll just watch her die, nothing more; then when it’s too much, they’ll put her down like she’s some rabid animal.”
“It’s the humane thing to do, not only for her but for Deliverance. I know you love her, I love her, but you can’t risk her contaminating anyone else.”
Reid wiped his tears off on his shirtsleeve and said, “I won’t take her to the infirmary. If she stays with me, she won’t risk contaminating anyone else.”
Thomas sighed. He didn’t know what to say to Reid if he wouldn’t listen.
“Have you heard about a cure, a vaccine of some sort? I heard just today of rumors about one back west on an island off the California coast,” Reid asked.
Shaking his head, Thomas replied, “I’ve heard all the rumors, but no such cure or vaccine exists. Think about it, we’d know by now if the government was up and running; we’d have soldiers stopping by at our gates, not malnourished stragglers.”
“So you won’t help me?”
“Help you do what, Reid? What exactly are you asking me to do?”
Reid paused as he thought, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blinds move. He looked and saw it was a woman, no doubt Thomas’ guest. “Your friend is at the window.”
With a wide-eyed look, Thomas turned around and opened the door. “Don’t be a busybody. I’ll be back in soon enough.”
The woman disappeared from the window.
Thomas closed the door and said, “Sorry about that. We’re just limited for time is all.”
Reid thought about asking who she was but refrained. “I’ll let you get back to your evening.” He gave him a frown and turned away.
Thomas again reached out and this time grabbed Reid by the shoulder. “Don’t go, not like this.”
“What am I supposed to do if you won’t help me?” Reid asked, his back to Thomas. He looked down the street, lights from neighboring houses shining out from closed windows.
“There’s no cure, Reid. I wish I could tell you there was one. All I can do is give you advice, and that is to take her in to the infirmary,” Thomas said. “She’ll get good care.”
“She’ll be prodded, tested, then killed,” Reid snapped.
“I don’t have to tell you, but she doesn’t have long as it is.”
“I’m quite aware of how long she has, Thomas. If you’ll remember, my wife died from this too,” Reid growled, his back still to Thomas.
“I know you’re upset, but she’ll need comfort, especially when the symptoms get bad, she’ll—”
“I know,” Reid said, interrupting him.
“I know this is tough, but she only has—”
Finally facing Thomas, Reid said, “Seven days, I know.”
***
Back at the house, Reid found Hannah asleep, her favorite stuffed animal, a calico cat, curled up underneath her arm. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her. He couldn’t imagine losing her like he had Evelyn. The thought of watching her waste away while he stood around doing nothing wasn’t a solution. There weren’t many certainties in life, but it all but seemed certain that Hannah would develop the disease. The one thing that wasn’t certain was if she’d die. The fatality rate for the dog flu was high, hovering close to ninety percent, and she might even have a better chance, being that he’d survived. But could he risk those odds? Could he gamble knowing she had maybe a ten percent chance?
In life he never thought of random encounters or chance opportunities as happenstance; he looked upon them as signs. Was his meeting earlier with Kaitlyn Stone one of those signs? Was he being given a way to cure Hannah?
Hannah mumbled under her breath and rolled over.
He touched her cheek and marveled at how smooth it was. He tenderly tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “I love you, Hannah.”
She turned her head and shifted.
Not wanting to wake her, he left her alone and got up. Before he exited her room, he glanced back at her and whispered, “I promised I’d do anything to protect you, and I’ll honor that pledge.” He closed the door, leaving a crack, and walked to his office.
He rummaged through his bookshelf and desk until he found what he was looking for, a map. He unfolded it and laid it out, smoothing the creases. He found the Oklahoma panhandle and with a highlighter circled Deliverance. With his finger he traced a route to the southern California coast, marked it with the yellow highlighter, and finished by putting a circle over San Clemente Island, the island he suspected housed the facility. He sat back and stared at the map.
The route had to be over a thousand miles. It was a doable drive before the war, and he could easily have made it in less than two days, but that was then. What were the road conditions? What threats would he encounter? Where would he get a vehicle that could make that long a trip? If he got one, he’d have to find detours and stay clear of the cities he knew had been nuked. Time, he thought, was on his side, but he would have to take her with him, there wasn’t enough to go and come back.
Traveling outside the gates was against the law, and if he could leave, even a sanctioned trip with Kaitlyn’s approval, there was no guarantee he’d be allowed to return. It appeared that if he could leave, his journey would be a one-way trip. But what were his options? As he sat and pondered, he knew there weren’t any but to go with her.
He got up from his desk and made for the door. He opened it and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Thomas
standing there. “Shit, man, you scared the hell out of me.”
“I was about to knock, but you beat me to it,” Thomas said, now clothed in something other than a robe. In his right hand was a large paper sack.
“What do you want?” Reid asked.
“Can I come in?”
“If you’re here to convince me to turn her in, then please go,” Reid snapped.
“I’m not. I’m here as a friend and here to help.”
Reid grunted and stepped aside. “Come on in, but keep it down. Hannah is sleeping.”
Thomas entered the house, and by his body language, Reid could tell he was apprehensive. “Did you see me coming, or were you leaving?” Thomas asked.
With the door closed, Reid answered bluntly, “I was leaving.”
“I’m not going to ask where, but know that an investigation concerning the dog’s presence here is underway. I need to know if anyone was with Hannah.”
“She wasn’t alone. Her friend Allister saw it.”
Thomas sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
“I know I don’t have much time to figure something out before they come for her.”
“I’m shocked they haven’t come yet. That must mean the boy hasn’t said a word, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of when,” Thomas groaned.
“Thomas, why are you here? There really isn’t much you can do. You answered the question I needed answered, so how can you help me now?”
“You said she has seven days, that’s true when the first symptoms appear, but in reality you have longer. There’s a short incubation period of about twenty-four to forty-eight hours. So whatever you’ve got planned, you’d best start working on it.”
“You heard about the rumor today, then?” Reid asked.
“I did. The council likes to pretend what they say behind closed doors stays that way, but not an hour after, I heard about the traveler and his journal. Do you really think the government is around and has a cure?”
“How do I know? But as it looks, I don’t have much of a choice but to go find out,” Reid said.
“I know you made that promise to Evelyn, and we made promises to help each other, so I’m here offering something that you can use on your trip,” Thomas said, holding up the sack.
Seven Days: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel Page 5