Authors: Vannetta Chapman
Alejandro and Maria looked impossibly young. He nodded at Shelby and Bianca before reaching across to shake hands with Patrick.
“Are you new to town?” Patrick asked.
“Caught here when the flare hit.” Alejandro placed a protective hand on his wife's back. “We were travelling from Dallas to San Antonio when our car died. It's lucky that we weren't out on the open road.”
“Where are you staying?” Shelby couldn't imagine how terrified they must feel. They should be home, adding the finishing touches to their nursery and packing Maria's overnight bag for her hospital stay.
“Pastor Tony has found us a small garage apartment to stay in until we can make our way back to San Antonio.”
They spoke for a few more minutes before Max returned.
“What is it? What's wrong?”
He shook his head once, and then he leaned closer and whispered, “Eugene forced an incompetence vote last night. The mayor won, but now Eugene's missing. Apparently he threw out some threats and then stormed out of the meeting. No one has seen him since.”
Shelby wanted to ask more questions, but a hush had settled around
them. Looking out across the square, she saw the crowd was as large as before, but folks seemed differentâmore wary, tired, expecting bad news.
Mayor Perkins stood up and thanked them all for coming. “The neighborhood watch groups are coming along well, our town is safe, and you all are working together. I appreciate that. The reason I called you here tonight is because we've received some reports from folks who have travelled outside of Abney. Although the news isn't good, I thought you had a right to know. Danny Vail will explain what we've learned, and then we'll both take questions.”
Danny walked to the podium, which now seemed like command central for disaster updates.
Shelby felt herself leaning forward as Danny launched into his report. If anything, he looked more tired than the last time she had seen him. She wondered if he was sleeping enough or eating at all before remembering he wasn't her concern.
“We've had families travel to Killeen and Austin, to check on loved ones. This was done against the recommendation of Chief of Police Bob Bryant, but you all are free citizens. It's your decision to stay in Abney or not. It's also for you to decide if you want your children to stay and hear these details. Some of what I'm going to tell you is disturbing, to say the least.”
His pronouncement caused some murmuring, but no one made a move to leave.
D
id Shelby imagine Danny Vail looking her way? When Danny once again had the crowd's attention, he squared his shoulders and began.
“I'll start with some people who attempted to go to Killeen. The Travis family made it as far as their exit off 190, near the mall. There they were accosted by thieves, who stole what money they had. The Travis family was also held at gunpoint while the thieves siphoned their gasoline. Mr. and Mrs. Travis and their daughter were left stranded with no way to get home. Apparently, these types of attacks are happening at many of the exits. Think of the highway as a cattle chute. Once you're on one, it's difficult to escape.”
Now the crowd was deadly quiet.
“Again, whether or not you choose to leave town is your business, but we want you to understand that what you see in Abney may not be what you encounter elsewhere.”
“Where were the authorities?” someone in the back shouted.
Shelby resisted the urge to turn around and glare at the man. The mayor had specifically asked folks to hold their questions until the end.
“That's a good question. Mr. Travis told me personally that he saw no evidence of a police presence, so we don't know what happened to their municipal structure. Perhaps they are simply overwhelmed at the moment.”
“How did they get back?” someone else asked.
“That's the only positive news I have to give you. Some Good Samaritans showed up and gave them a gallon of gas, which was just enough to get them back to Abney.”
Shelby noticed that Danny's face showed no emotion. He was holding it all in, the very picture of calm and authority. It didn't quite match with the man who had come to her home and suggested she get out of Dodge as fast as possible.
“Ted Gordon's experience is even more disturbing. I'm going to ask him to come forward and tell it himself.”
Shelby had never met the man who joined Danny at the podium, but she'd read about him in the paper several times. He raised purebred horsesâMissouri Fox Trotters, Tennessee walking horses, and Morgans. Ted Gordon was known nationally for being a superb breeder and a fair businessman. He looked like the typical small-town cowboyâsporting jeans, a button-down shirt, and a Stetson. She guessed him to be in his early fifties, and something in his quiet demeanor reminded her of George Straitânot that she knew him, either, but King George was a near legend in their area.
Ted gripped the podium and began to tell his story. “I went to Austin because one of my mares has developed a placental infection. We caught the condition early, but if it isn't treatedâthe foal won't survive. The mare needs three drugs that I don't keep at my place, so I decided to go purchase them.”
He stopped and sipped from a bottle of water that Danny handed him. “If you know me at all, you understand how much those horses mean to me. I didn't want to risk losing the foal, and I couldn't let the mare suffer any more than I could let my own kin hurt. I'm not naive. I knew the trip would be difficult, but I thought it would be better to go now than later.”
He pulled off his Stetson, wiped his brow, and resettled the hat.
“I saw the fires before I reached Cedar Park. I can't tell you if they were intentionally set or if they were accidents that had burned out of control, but a blanket of smoke covered from there down into Austin, as far as I could see. I made it almost to the toll road before the highway became impassable.”
“How so?” someone called out.
“Carsâeverywhere. Just abandoned on the freeways. I stopped, locked my vehicle, and walked through them for a quarter mileâtrying to figure out what had happened. No one has attempted to move them or to create a path through.
Shelby felt Carter shift closer toward her. It broke her heart that her son was hearing these things, that he had to grow up in a world that was no longer safe.
Maria had begun to cry, and Alejandro put his arm around herâas if he could protect her from what Ted Gordon had left to share. On an impulse, Shelby reached over and squeezed the young woman's hand.
“I hurried back to my truck at that point and managed to back up until I could turn around. An hour after I first entered Cedar Park, I was headed back this way. I did stop at a vet clinic I'd used before. I knew they wouldn't have the antibiotics I needed, but I wanted more information on what had happened, in case I decided to try another trip. I had it in my mind that perhaps if I went a different way⦔
He shook his head, staring down at the podium for a moment. When he looked up, Shelby thought she saw a layer of steely resolve laid over a deep and profound sadness.
“The veterinarian there told me that over a quarter of Austin has burned, is still burning. The Texas State Guard has set up a perimeter around a sixteen-block area, which includes the governor's mansion and the state government buildings.”
“What about the university?” someone asked.
“Chaos. Some students are barricaded in their dorms. The main buildings have been looted.”
“God help us.” A woman near them began to weep.
“According to this vet, folks in the area were having their horses stolen. The thieves were also taking any old vehicles that still worked. Gasoline is becoming a primary method of trading, as is any type of food. Some people won't take cash anymore. They claim there's nothing left to buy with it. So primarily, it's become a matter of trade. All this in less than a week, which is truly difficult for me to believe.”
“Any good news?” asked an older woman seated near the front.
“No, ma'am. I can't say there is, at least not from what I saw. However, I made it back, and I'm thankful for that. At least now I know that if I need something and it's not here, I'll have to find a way to live without it.”
Ted had finished his story, and the mayor stood to take questions. There weren't many. What was there to ask? Leaving Abney wasn't an option at this point.
Alejandro helped Maria to her feet, and they passed through the crowd without saying goodbye. Shelby wanted to hurry after them, to offer some kind of help. But what could she give them? She barely had enough food for her and Carter.
As her small group made their way back toward home, she pondered Ted's words. The picture he painted pierced Shelby more sharply than a sword. She played his words over and again in her mind, but then she rejected them. Carter needed more medicine, and that medicine was in Austin. She would find a way to get it, regardless of what Ted Gordon said. She would not allow her son to die.
T
he next day, Carter walked home with Kaitlyn after the meeting of the Brainiacs while Jason rode his skateboard in front of them. They'd had a productive morning at school working on Drop AppliancesâJason's name for anything that would help Abney citizens keep going until the lights came back on.
“Our solar oven is ready,” Kaitlyn said. “All we need is something to cook in it.”
“That shouldn't be a problem.” Carter waved toward the trees they were walking under. “Lots of squirrel and dove.”
“Ew.” Kaitlyn scrunched her nose.
“Squirrel is pretty good,” Jason declared.
“How would you know?” Carter asked.
“Read it online.”
“So it has to be true.”
“Yup. And my grandpa told me it tastes just likeâ”
“Chicken,” they all three said at once, and then Kaitlyn was laughing and nudging her shoulder against his. Jason navigated a jump on his board, and Carter realized he was feeling almost normal.
Which stopped when they heard the faint echo of a rifle shot.
Jason pointed to their left. “Came from over there.”
“Should we check it out?” Kaitlyn asked. “Maybe we should justâ”
“Call someone?” Carter shook his head. He was about to suggest that she wait for them, when Kaitlyn slipped her hand into his.
Jason shrugged, picked up his skateboard, and they all walked in the direction of the shot. They didn't have to go far.
Deer had been a nuisance in Abney for years. Folks complained about how the animals ate the landscape plants, drank the water from the birdbaths, and even birthed their fawns in garages. Some people despised the deer because they'd caused so many car wrecks.
Others considered them to be pets and posted a constant barrage of pictures on social media.
Carter had never seen a person shoot one in the middle of town.
An old woman with long gray hair pulled back in a hair band was kneeling beside a good-sized doe and had already begun field dressing it. She held a skinning knife in her right hand and had made a cut from the groin to the breastbone. She didn't stop when they walked up.
As they watched, she sliced up to the throat, rolled the deer, and began removing the entrails.
“It's not exactly deer season,” Jason said.
“No. It is not.” She glanced up. “I could use your help harvesting the meatâneed to hang and skin it.”
“Hard work in this heat,” Jason muttered.
“It is.” She sat back on her heels and studied them. “We can get it quartered in no time, but I'll need your help loading the carcass onto this wagon.”
“And do what with it?” Carter asked.
“Dump it in the field out behind the middle school. I'll give you each a portion of the meat for your labors.”
Carter expected Kaitlyn to be sick. He'd hunted with Max before, and Jason had hunted with his dad. They'd both helped to do what he'd just witnessed. Apparently Kaitlyn had too, because instead of looking horrified, she stepped closer to Carter. “We could cook it in our oven.”
“Some of it.” Carter rubbed at the muscles along his neck. It had already been a long day.
“That's all you're getting, but it's better than nothing.” The old lady had brought along an ice cooler with wheels and a handle. “I need what's left of this deer removed before it starts attracting buzzards.”
“Why did you kill it?”
“Folks on my street are hungry. A few are older than me, and they need some protein.”
“It hasn't even been a week.” Carter was still having trouble believing what he was seeingâan old lady harvesting a deer in the middle of town.
“Does that surprise you? We weren't exactly prepared for Armageddon.”