And waited for Clutch to come home.
* * *
The following morning
“Still no word from the squadron?” I asked for the third time in an hour as I drummed my fingers on Justin’s desk.
Justin didn’t look up from the papers he was working on. “Not yet.”
Jase stepped from behind me and leaned on Justin’s desk. He had a tissue in one hand, and his nose was still red from being sick. He’d quickly recuperated, but the flu had left him in a rather cranky, groggy mood. “Don’t tell me there was no Plan B? You know, in case they got stuck somewhere?”
Justin’s lips tightened before leaning back. “I’m sure they had some alternative plans worked up while they were on the road. But, we didn’t work on any additional plans in case they didn’t return. It seemed to be a straightforward plan. Low risk.”
The front door opened, and cold wind hit my cheeks. Justin lunged forward to keep his papers from blowing away. A man walked in. He removed his scarf before I recognized him as one of New Eden’s handymen. He crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re not back, are they?”
Justin sighed and dropped his pen. “Not yet.”
The man stomped a couple steps closer. “I told you that they never should’ve left. We’ve lost our last remaining squadron, and it’s your fault. You were greedy to demand a Thanksgiving feast, and now look what’s happened.”
“Calm down, Folsom,” Justin said. “The squadron is probably running late.”
“Late? You mean like Smith’s squadron? Or Martin’s squadron? How many more men have to die before you learn that we shouldn’t send our squadrons out there?”
I winced at the man’s biting words and flashed a glance at Jase, who seemed as uncomfortable as I was to be in the same room as this pair.
Justin seemed oblivious to the remark and gave the man a calm gaze. “Those were extenuating circumstances. The zeds are no longer a serious issue, and the Black Sheep have been broken and disbanded. It’s safer now.”
“Safer?” the man balked. “How about the wild dogs? How about all the bandits we don’t know about? You keep sending men out to die, when we already have everything we need to survive within these fences.”
“You’re only thinking of the status quo. We don’t have enough if we grow our numbers,” Justin replied quickly.
The man waved him off and headed back to the door. He opened it, letting the cold wind blow in. He faced Justin one more time. “I’m raising a vote of no confidence at the next council meeting. Your dictatorship has killed enough men.”
With that, he left and slammed the door shut behind him.
I watched the man walk outside the window and disappear down the sidewalk. Outside, the day was a dark gray, with the sun hidden by layers upon layers of clouds. It was almost as though something were casting a giant shadow over us. It was exactly as I felt.
Justin sighed. “Sorry about the interruption.”
“He’s not exactly one of your cheerleaders,” I said.
Justin chuckled drily. “Folsom voted for the other guy.”
“Ah,” I said. “And, I’m guessing the other guy is campaigning again.”
Justin shook his head. “My opponent was Randy Smith.”
Jase elbowed me, and I shrugged and gave him my I-didn’t-know look.
“Smith’s squadron was overtaken by zeds near Lincoln last summer,” Justin continued.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“It’s okay.” Justin smiled weakly. “I’m sure there are at least a dozen folks out there right now who want to be running this place. But enough about politics. Now, if you don’t mind, I have more papers to read and sign.”
I took a step back but didn’t leave. I eyed Jase, and he returned a hard look. I nodded and then turned back to Justin. “Clutch always keeps his word. The squadron missed their deadline, which means something is up.”
“We don’t leave our people out there,” Jase added.
Justin closed his eyes for a moment. “And what exactly do you propose?”
I began. “I—”
“We,” Jase interrupted.
I smiled. “
We
—Jase and I—will look for them.”
Justin stood. “No way. Absolutely not. There’s no way I’ll let a teenager and a—”
“Woman?” I finished for him, my brow raised. “Really, Justin, the times have changed. Jase and I are scouts. We know how to get around out there.”
“Besides,” Jase said. “We’re new to New Eden. If something happened to us, it wouldn’t be as bad as if something happened to Zach or you.”
Justin shot a hard look. “You’re wrong. You would be sorely missed.” He grabbed his radio and barked a command. “Send Tom to my house.” He set the radio down without waiting for the response. He eyed us. “If you go, I’m sending Tom with you.”
I shook my head. “Jase and I can move quickly on our own. We’re used to being out there. And, we don’t want to put anyone at risk who doesn’t need to be.”
“Tom is with the squadron. He had the flu the morning they headed out, but he’s doing much better now. If anyone went, I’d prefer it would be only Tom. The squadron may already be lost,” Justin said. “It doesn’t make sense to lose more people searching for them.”
“Bullshit,” I snapped. “It makes a hell of a lot more sense than sitting on your ass and signing your name a hundred times.”
“This is important—”
“Oh, buy a rubber stamp already,” Jase added drily.
“We’re going, and we don’t need your approval,” I said. “The last time I checked, all citizens had the right to pass through the gates at any time.”
“You’re not prisoners here, but if you’re gone for more than a day, you’ll have to sit through quarantine again.”
“Fine,” I said.
“Fine,” Jase said.
Tom strolled in at that moment, and the redhead with a full beard paused to take in the full scene before walking for Justin’s desk. He reminded me of an easygoing lumberjack, and I suspected he even wore a plaid flannel underneath his brown coat and coveralls. Hell, he could’ve been mistaken for a model on the front of a maple syrup bottle. “What’s up, boss?”
“Thanks for coming, Tom. Are you up for a little trip?”
He smiled like he already knew what Justin was thinking. “Sure. I could be ready to head out in thirty minutes.”
“Cash and Jase have their minds made up to go and look for the rest of your squadron. You were involved in the planning. I want you with them.”
Tom nodded. “I’m fine with that. We’ll just be driving, so it should be safe enough. To be honest, I was planning on heading out to look for them today, anyway.” He thought for a moment, then eyed Jase and me. “Are you sure you’re up for heading outside the fence? We could be gone until dark.”
“We’re good,” we replied simultaneously.
Tom shrugged. “If you’re good, I’m good.”
Justin’s eyelids became heavy, as though he were physically drained. “What’s the plan?”
“Easy,” I said before anyone else spoke. “We’ll take a single vehicle with enough fuel to get to Omaha and back. We’ll follow the same route the squadron took.”
“We’ll need the map Clutch left with you,” Tom said to Justin.
Justin ruffled through his papers.
Clutch had talked me through his mission the night before he left. Whenever we planned a mission of some kind, we talked through it together. It helped us think of risks or gaps we hadn’t covered.
Last night, when Clutch didn’t return home, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned in bed and checked the front door every ten minutes. The night’s silence was broken only by the howling of the wild packs. I had tried to draw Clutch’s route from memory, but the truth was, I always had lousy navigation skills. Jase, on the other hand, had a gift for navigating. There was a reason I always took him when I flew over the Fox Park area. But, unfortunately, Jase had been down with the flu when Clutch went through the squadron’s plan and route. If Jase hadn’t gotten sick, we would’ve had a map drawn from scratch and been on the road already.
When the night had given way to a cloudy morning and Clutch hadn’t yet returned, my heart had felt like someone had dropped a hundred-pound weight on it. I’d already made up my mind and was packed to go by the time Jase made an appearance in the kitchen. Though, he’d evidently had the same idea, since he met me in the kitchen fully geared up. “I’m ready,” was all he said, and it was all he needed to say.
“Ah, here it is,” Justin said before flattening a map on the table. He pointed to a line drawn with blue marker. “This is the route they were taking both ways, and these dots are the general area of the big-box stores they were going to check out.” He tapped on two X’s on the map. “The interstate is blocked here and here.” He continued to speak as he drew lines along smaller highways. “If you run into trouble, I recommend you take these roads. We know they’re clear.”
Jase took the map, folded it, and stuck it inside his coat.
Justin looked at Tom. “Is your radio fully charged?”
“I had it on the charger all night,” he replied.
Justin nodded. “Okay, then. Report in every hour until you’re out of range, which is roughly twenty miles. And, as soon as you’re back in range, you better report in.”
“I know the routine,” Tom added.
“I know,” Justin said, sighing. “And, take the F-150. It’ll be the best for the trip.”
Tom turned to Jase and me. “How soon can you be ready? You’ll need food and warm gear to get through a couple days. I’d like to get on the road as early as possible.”
“We’re ready now,” Jase said.
Tom smiled. “All right then. I left my bag at my house. We’ll head out in thirty minutes.”
We turned to leave, and Jase paused, glancing back at Justin. “Don’t worry. We’ll bring the squadron back with us.”
I kept silent, praying that when we brought back the squadron, we’d be bringing back our friends and family and not a truckload of corpses.
PRUDENCE
Chapter X
The day was cold, but the sun shone brightly. Cold enough and bright enough that two rainbow sundogs appeared on either side of the sun, haloing the brilliant star like celestial gems. I shaded my eyes and slid on my pair of aviator sunglasses.
There was a strange nostalgia about being back on the road. While being on the constant lookout for trouble was exhausting, I found it easier to breathe in the open space. Especially now that any zeds we came across stood frozen in place like statues in a Tim Burton film.
With most zeds having made what I hoped was their final pilgrimage south, I wondered if the worst was over. The fence kept out animals easily enough, but it never could’ve kept out the herds of zeds. If the capital hadn’t nuked the south, it would be a matter of time before the herds had killed us all.
Had it only been nine months since the outbreak? It seemed like ages ago. Yet, it had taken only a sliver of the years I’d lived to see the world decimated.
Jase coughed and popped a cough drop into his mouth. Even though he’d recuperated, it seemed the junk in his chest would linger longer. It was the same with everyone who’d caught the bug, and I worried how many of those cases would turn into bronchitis or life-threatening pneumonia.
Spring couldn’t come soon enough. I remembered the feasts my mother would prepare for each seasonal equinox. It was a tradition that had been passed down through her family for generations. I remembered the dates of the equinoxes as much as the dates of any holiday. After all, they were a holiday in my family. I frowned. “What’s today’s date?”
Jase shrugged. “I don’t know. Why?”
Tom concentrated. “Is it November 24? No, maybe it’s the 25th” His lips tightened. “I can’t remember. Thanksgiving is in two days. That’s all I remember.”
“I’ll find a calendar,” I said. “It’s important to keep track of dates.”
Jase rolled his eyes. “You’re such a nerd.”
I poked my tongue out at him. He grinned and turned away. Tom drove us in silence for the next hour while I stared hazily out the window. Hints of snow bunched in the shallow crevices of the plowed fields. Dozens upon dozens of unmoving, white wind turbines stood watch, silent scarecrows in the endless fields. No sign of the squadron, let alone any remnants of humanity.
Movement ahead caught my eye, and I squinted to make out the shapes. Ahead of us in the ditch were several furred shapes. They were tearing into something. When I saw a piece of blue clothing, I sighed. “Just a zed,” I muttered to no one in particular, hoping that was true.
“I can’t imagine they taste good,” Jase said.
I nodded. “Eating diseased meat can’t be good for them.”
“They’re starving,” Tom said. “It’s hard to imagine. In a single day, there were so many dogs and other pets abandoned by their caregivers. They were suddenly forced to hide from something that looked like their masters and search for their own food. I’m amazed as many survived as they did.”
The dogs looked up as we passed by and cocked their heads, as though they were trying to remember the sound of engines. They didn’t look healthy. Their fur was matted, and their eyes glassy.
“What will happen when they run out of zeds to eat?”
I swallowed. “I’m guessing they’ll either turn on each other or starve to death. Either way, it won’t be pretty. Poor things.”
“Sometimes I’m glad Betsy didn’t make it,” Jase said softly, fingering the small gold cross he wore around his neck. “If something happened to me, I wouldn’t want her out here, living like this.”
I remembered the day he showed up at Clutch’s farm, cradling his injured dog, which had been attacked by Jase’s zed father. The small collie had sacrificed herself to protect Jase from his own father and had paid the price.
“It’s hard to believe,” Jase continued. “All these dogs were someone’s pet at one time.”
“Yeah,” I said, hoping he’d move on to another topic.
“I never see any small dogs. They must’ve been killed by zeds or the packs in the early days.”
I thought of my parents’ adorable Shih Tzu, Peaches. How the little fur ball would curl up in my lap within five minutes of my being in the house. She was the sweetest thing, always happy to see me. And, boy was she smart. That little dog somehow knew my mom needed her insulin even before my mom did.