Lethal Seasons (A Changed World Book 1) (18 page)

“Despite the dwindling numbers of human beings on the planet, some members felt it was a time to prey on their brothers and sisters.”

History of a Changed World
, Angus T. Moss

Nick headed back to the lounge to check on the prisoners with Jonas following close behind. Kyle intercepted them, pulling them both into a small office. Ruth had pill bottles and papers spread out on the desk. Jonas leaned over and picked up one of the bottles. He whistled under his breath.

Ruth took the bottle out of his hand and placed it carefully back on the table. “These are very strong drugs.”

“You called them chemical restraint. Do you mean they will keep them passive?” Nick asked.

“And obedient,” Jonas said. He rubbed his hands on his pants like he had something nasty on them. “With enough of this in your system, you'd walk off a bridge if someone told you to.”

“That sounds about right considering how they behaved yesterday.”

“Perhaps that's why they were in cells,” Kyle said. “To keep them safe.”

“I doubt it,” Nick said. He knew the reasons for their incarceration wouldn’t be quite that benevolent. “How long till it wears off?”

Ruth shuffled her papers, but Nick got the feeling she was just stalling. “It may depend on how long they have been taking them.”

“Can you make a guess as to how long it'll take them to get back to normal?”

Kyle pulled the papers away from Ruth and stacked them neatly. “I can make a guess at body weight and dosage, add in the time spent here. It won’t be exact.”

“I don’t think we need exact right now. Ballpark’ll do it. Can you figure out if they will need to be weaned off?”

“Oh, most definitely,” Ruth said, avoiding his eyes. “I need to look at the charts.” She left the room in a hurry.

“Great,” Nick said although she was already gone.

“What do you plan to do with all these people?” Kyle asked. His big brown eyes made him look disarming despite his burly stature.

Nick ran a hand back through his short hair. “If they're drugged, they can't make an informed decision. I don’t want to leave them here for the army to deal with.” He gestured to the papers. “Not sure how long it’s going to take to get them back on their feet. It isn’t just the drugs. They’re incredibly weak. Vulnerable. I can’t walk away and just leave them here.”

Jonas moved closer, knotting his fingers and biting his lip. Nick could smell the nervous sweat on him. “Are you going to take them to your, um, your settlement?” Jonas asked. He avoided Nick’s eyes speaking very softly. “They may not fare well in that sort of a situation.”

“It’s a med center,” Nick said. “They can recuperate there until they they are able to decide what to do for themselves.”

“You won’t restrict them?” Kyle asked.

“They will be free to go or stay.” Nick looked at Jonas and back to Kyle. “What about you?”

“Rutledge assigned Ruth as my Keeper. I must go where she goes.”

“Come to High Meadow,” Nick said, including Jonas in the invitation.

“You have a lab there?”

“No. But you shouldn't make a decision right away. Come back with us for a couple days to recuperate. Then you can take a better look at your options.”

Kyle dipped his head in thanks. “That is good advice. Ruth is deeply shaken by these events. Her job, as a physician, is to make sure our formulas are always beneficial. She had advised against proceeding in the direction that Gold Team took. Therefore, she feels some responsibility for not being able to stop this calamity. I don’t think she should feel that way. She was quite adamant to Rutledge. It was his decision to proceed. That was a very heated meeting.” Kyle shrugged one large shoulder. “She needs to get away from here to think clearly.”

Nick nodded agreement. “High Meadow is a pleasant place.”

“So Wisp has said.”

Kyle gathered up his papers. “I will get to work on this for you.”

Nick left Jonas reading over Kyle’s shoulder and headed out to inspect the vehicles. He was going to need space for about thirty people if everyone wanted to come. The vans could easily hold ten people each, with a good stack of supplies packed in. He’d drive one, Wisp could take the second and if Kyle agreed to join him, he’d trust him to drive the third. Somehow he doubted he’d have more than that many who would want to go with him to High Meadow.

He got outside to find that Wisp had parked a van by the front door and had started loading. That was when Nick realized that Wisp’s priorities differed from his own. Weapons and ammunition were the first things stowed. A stack of body armor was waiting on the sidewalk. Nick hoped there would be room for the food he was planning to take. When he thought about bringing the boxes of coffee, oil, sugar and other supplies that were hard to find, he had to smile. Susan would be delighted. Tilly would be in seventh heaven. It would help to get them through the winter if any of their crops failed completely. Filling up the larder was a small piece of security that he could offer in a world without any sureties.

He took some time to go through the rest of the buildings looking for anything that High Meadow could use. He found a couple of first aid kits, two tool boxes and hit the stockroom full of office supplies. That would definitely please Angus. After leaving his findings for Wisp to pack, he went on to the kitchen for a final inventory. There were too many supplies for him to take them all. Oil, salt and sugar were at the top of his list. He’d take everything they had. Spices, flour and canned goods came next. A giddy smile kept appearing on his face. It wasn’t often that he got to bring home such a treasure trove. Finally, he put all the fresh food aside—meat, fruit, vegetables—anything he didn’t think would travel well and planned to serve it for lunch. Once the prisoners were fed, they could get on the road. He wanted to be well gone before any soldiers arrived. There was no way to know if Ackerman had lied about their arrival times.

Ruth came to him as Nick was sorting through the janitor’s room. Cleaners and disinfectants would go, too. Those were extremely difficult to find. He wasn’t sure about the paper products. They were awfully bulky, but toilet paper was in short supply. Maybe he needed to add another vehicle to the caravan.

“You plan to
take
all these people to High Meadow?” Her tone was more accusing than curious.

“I
invited
them,” Nick corrected. “It’s not mandatory.”

“Your settlement will be able to handle this many?”

“We’re a pretty small community,” Nick admitted. “But we’ve planned for growth. There’s plenty of room for everyone.”

“Your...leader, won’t object?”

“Angus?” Nick chuckled. “He feels the more the merrier.” A glance at her frown made him change gears. “Angus is a free-thinker. People come and go as they please, but everyone who remains must contribute to the community as they can. That doesn’t mean we’ll put you to work digging in the fields. People do what they’re best at. You and Kyle are welcome to come test the waters. If it doesn’t appeal, you can move on somewhere else.”

“I’m not sure about any of this,” she said frowning at him.

“That’s nice and vague. Care to be more specific?”

Her eyes were still swollen and bloodshot. From the circles under them, he doubted she’d slept. She was a small woman, but she straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. “I can’t condone your assumption of the prisoners.”

“They are not prisoners anymore.”

“But they aren’t free either.”

Nick put down the box of tissues he was holding. Ruth was scared. He could see it in her eyes and how rigidly she held herself. But she was challenging him because she feared for the prisoners. He gave her his full attention, speaking softly so his words wouldn’t sound like a challenge.”What do you recommend for all those drugged people? Hand them over to the army? Push them out the door?”

“No. No, that isn’t right either.”

“We don’t have a lot of options here. If you’ve got any ideas, I’m open to hearing them, but I meant it Ruth. High Meadow is a safe place. And we have a doctor there. They can recuperate and make a decision when they’re in a better state of mind.”

She looked at him skeptically. “Why are you so altruistic?”

Nick sighed. “Because we are all there is. If we can’t treat each other with respect...” He couldn’t finish that sentence because he knew how rarely it was true.

Ruth looked down the hall, chewing on her bottom lip, while Nick waited patiently. “Very well. I will go with you.”

Nick nodded at her. “We leave after lunch.”

*    *    *

The day’s heat was becoming uncomfortable as Nick helped Wisp finish loading the vans. He’d managed to get almost everything he wanted. Wisp had nodded approval at some of the supplies and given him an odd glance or two on the others, but he’d packed it all in with great efficiency. Once the vehicles were ready, Nick got everyone into the lounge to eat.

“We lost some more,” Wisp said as he joined him at the head of the room.

“Lost how?”

“Some are missing, three are dead.”

“I don’t care about missing. People can make up their own minds. If they can walk away from here, that’s just less for me to worry about. Dead isn’t good. Do we know what caused the deaths?”

“I’m going to assume flu. They didn’t get the vaccine.”

“Which means that the prisoners aren’t special when it comes to flu. I was hoping that might be the reason they were there, some kind of super immunity. I guess we’ll have to leave those bodies and let the army sort it out.”

“They won’t be happy to see the mess we’ve left them.”

“Not my problem,” Nick said curtly. “This government needs to take care of stuff. Not just trains and vaccines. People need to know about them. We need better information.”

“Be careful what you ask for,” Wisp said in an undertone.

Nick grunted an agreement. He needed to find out a lot more information before he went looking for the government. He nodded toward the people sitting at tables eating fresh, hot food.”How many have we got left?”

“The guards that left this morning took a couple of smaller vehicles and some equipment. A couple of the lab techs decided to go to the other lab. They all went in one car. We’re down to twenty-five people and us.” Wisp gave him a rare smile. “Looks like we’ll only need the three vehicles, but that frees up some cargo room. I’ve got them all charging now.”

Nick gave him a thumbs up and went to get his own lunch.

*    *    *

They convoyed out with Wisp and Nick in the lead. Nick hoped that Wisp would be able to sense any trouble, so they could avoid it. In that case, he wanted Wisp close at hand. Kyle and Ruth drove the second van. Jonas had asked to come. He and the file clerk, Ellen, had the third van, which had less people and more supplies. Nick planned to stop at a train station around dinner time. They’d eat there and bed down the prisoners in the shelter cubbies. If they were able to find good roads, they could be back to High Meadow in two days.

They followed the train line as best they could. Nick estimated that they would pass two stations before hitting the one where he wanted to spend the night. Around mid-afternoon, he told Wisp to pull into the next station, so they could all hit the restrooms and get fresh water. As soon as they pulled into the parking lot, it was obvious that the station was closed. Nick was stunned. What would happen to the people in the area that relied on it for food and shelter? Wisp led them up the driveway, which was in surprisingly good shape, to the front of the building. There were steel shutters down on the entrance to the lobby. Nick hadn’t seen that before. The other two vans pulled up behind them, but no one got out.

The radio beeped announcing an incoming call from one of the other vans. “Why is it closed?” Jonas asked.

“This line services the lab. Perhaps they felt it wasn’t worth the effort to keep it open,” Kyle offered.

Nick didn’t like any of the other possibilities he was coming up with. If this entire line was down, they might have to find a lateral line that wouldn’t be affected by the shut down. He brought up some maps on the dashboard. There were two immediate options, one being a much longer drive and taking them slightly out of the way. He was debating it when Wisp leaned over and tapped the farther station.

“Avoid the obvious?” Nick asked.

“I’d feel more comfortable with a few more miles behind us.”

Wisp’s words sent a shiver down Nick’s back. He radioed the other two cars to let them know that dinner would be late.

“There were the normal roving bands of evil men who felt the easiest way to survive was to take whatever they needed wherever they found it. When their surroundings became depleted, they moved on to a new source.”

History of a Changed World
, Angus T. Moss

It was full dark and spitting rain when they rolled into Tupelo Station. They had circumvented a small settlement. Nick didn’t want any complications right now. They had been forced to go out of the way several times to find acceptable roads. The driveway into the station parking lot was shattered into hard lumps of broken pavement and barely negotiable mud pits. The vans wobbled slowly through the worst of it up to the drop-off area. Nick was achy with tension and glad to finally be done for the day. Still, he had everyone stay put, engines running, while he and Wisp checked out the station.

The building was fairly new with an extremely low profile. They walked down a short flight of stairs into the main waiting area. The ticket booth was closed up with dusty glass and a door rusted shut. The floors were shiny from a recent buffing, which made Nick relax a little. This station was in use. He checked the supply room and was glad to find it full of the usual stocks of Stew-goo and Crunch. Not the most appetizing dinner but a very convenient one.

“Anybody around?” he asked Wisp.

“There’re two people in the cubbies.” Wisp turned in a full circle frowning in concentration. “Otherwise, no one closer than that settlement we passed.”

Nick huffed out a sigh of relief. “We’ll man a watch for tonight.”

Wisp nodded as he continued a visual inspection of the area. “Let me catch a few hours sleep. I’ll take the midnight to dawn.”

Nick started to say he didn’t need to, but realized he was the best resource for it. And how quickly he had gotten used to Wisp’s talent. He accepted it without a thought now. “Thank you.”

Wisp’s mouth quirked in a half-smile. “Just makes sense.”

Nick went out to give them the all clear. He helped with the unloading of the prisoners, who were exhausted by the trip, the change in routine and surroundings. There were nine people from the lab and eleven prisoners. Nick reminded himself to start learning names. These people weren’t prisoners anymore. The sooner he stopped treating them that way, the sooner they would begin to feel normal. On a last trip out to the van, he dug through the supplies until he found some light colored tape and a marker. Then he went back and put a name tag on everyone while they ate.

He should have known it would have an impact on things. The ex-prisoners were delighted to be named. And all but one was able to remember his name. An older man, confused and frail wasn’t sure who he was. Nick couldn’t say if it was the drugs or an underlying condition that made him unable to answer. They agreed on a name in the meantime. Apparently he wanted to be called Cyril. It was such an odd choice that Nick was sure it must be his real name.

The people from the lab didn’t seem to be as pleased about the nametags. Nick didn’t give them a choice. He put one on himself and Wisp also. Then he noticed the looks. Several of the scientists, Kyle and Ruth included, were staring at Cyril.

Nick went over to Kyle. “Is there a problem?”

Kyle turned a thoughtful frown on him. “Is that really his name?”

Nick shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“That was a project name for a...” Kyle paused, his eyes automatically turning to Ruth.

“Classified?” Nick asked.

Kyle made a point of looking around the station at the people gathered there. “It may not matter anymore. It was a research project on blood-borne illnesses.”

“Like West Nile?”

“Mm. More like Ebola.”

“Don’t like the sound of that. Do you think he was involved in it?”

“It was a large project that continued over nearly two decades. Many people were involved.”

“Were you?” Nick asked.

Kyle ducked his head, then hesitantly nodded. “It was the first thing I worked on after the army took possession of me.”

“I’d appreciate it if you would think it over and see if there is any reason why your lab would want to keep someone from that project imprisoned.”

“You mean Dr. Rutledge’s lab.” Kyle corrected him automatically.

“Right.”

“I cannot imagine what it would have to do with the work that was being done there, but I will consider the coincidence and try to form some hypotheses.”

Nick bit his lip to keep the smile off his face. Kyle’s extremely formal response had struck him as remarkably absurd in the current circumstances. Nick started to leave, but Ruth reached out toward him, which stopped him in his tracks. “What can I do for you?” She seemed a little unsure, so he forced a smile for her.

“Well, I was just wondering...it isn’t a criticism, you know, just, I was just wondering...”

“Yes?”

“Are you specifically avoiding towns?”

Nick stared at her, trying to gauge her intent. “How long have you been in research?”

She seemed startled by the change in topic. “Since college. I started working with the army right away.” An honest smile graced her face. “It was where I met Kyle.”

Nick thought about how to phrase it. She was obviously completely in the dark about the true state of the world. He tried to make his voice gentle. “There aren’t any.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Nick licked his lips and the moment stretched a little too long. A worried frown creased her forehead. “I’m sorry, Ruth. There are a few settlements, a couple of med centers within a day’s train ride from the lab. We did circumvent a small settlement two-three miles back. I don’t like to show up at places I haven’t already checked out. But there aren’t any towns as you remember them. Largest settlement I’ve been to is Westridge. They’ve got about fifteen hundred folks spread out. It’s an old summer camp. They’ll let folks spend the night, might even let you stay permanent, but it isn’t like a town.”

Her frown changed from worry to annoyance. “They can’t all be gone. Where are all the people?”

“In settlements and med centers. Angus is working on a census. He thinks there’s only about thirty-three million in the whole country right now.”

Ruth opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out as Nick’s words sank in. “Are you serious?”

“I’ve been all over. Well, anywhere you can get to by train that is. The population is shrinking every year.”

“But that can’t be right!” She grabbed Kyle’s arm and dragged him away.

Nick went to check on the others. Ruth would find out soon enough what the world looked like. His insistence wouldn’t speed that along any. As soon as everyone had finished eating, he herded them all down to the shelter cubbies and tried to escort the ex-prisoners in. Unfortunately, the drugs were wearing off, and they weren’t as accommodating any more. A few people balked at being sent into small rooms. He pointed out that these doors locked from the inside, which calmed most of them. One man refused flat out.

“We’re a family,” he said firmly. His nametag said Mike. He looked to be in his forties, pale and worn out, ragged brown hair with a few streaks of gray framed a square face with sad blue eyes. He had his arm around a woman his age and two teenage girls huddled against them. Nick felt sick. All four of them had been in separate cells at the lab. A whole family, imprisoned.

Nick gestured to the next aisle in the shelter which contained a few multi-user cubbies. “Take a big one. You can all sleep together.”

Mike blinked at him, surprised or appreciative, Nick couldn’t tell. Then he shuffled off, his family glommed on to him like limpets. It was a small step, but it made Nick feel that he’d given them back some dignity.

Nick took the first watch. He checked all the cubbies. Then he went upstairs to the main waiting area. He collected enough Crunch for everyone’s breakfast and stacked it on the benches where they had eaten dinner. Then he went to the big map to check the lines. As he had suspected, the entire line from the lateral to Laurel was dark. Although it was true that the lab was no longer in use, there were probably a number of settlements using those train stations. Now they were without food and emergency shelter. That worried Nick. He couldn’t decide if it was vindictive or prophylactic for that line to be shut down. And if it was to prepare for something else, what could that something be?

He walked the perimeter of the station stopping from time to time to listen to the sounds of the night. A rumble underneath his feet told him a train was passing through. Other than that, a few night birds called to one another. The light rain had stopped but heavy clouds moved in, blocking any moonlight. A breeze brought the scent of wet pavement and cooling greenery. The air was heavy with moisture. The lights from the station were all there was in the vicinity. Once he stepped into the deep shadows of the surrounding woods, he could only see what caught the pale glow of the security lights.

He stood listening to the occasional spatter of rain shaken from the trees by an errant breeze. Cicadas started cranking out their deafening call. The night was suffocatingly warm, the humidity making it nearly unbearable. A tropical system must be moving up from the Gulf. There might be rain all day tomorrow. That could make travel difficult. He’d use the ether at the station to check the roads from here to High Meadow. He was just starting a second circuit of the station when he heard the crunch of gravel in the parking lot.

Nick slipped behind a thick tree trunk, into deep shadow. He stayed very quiet. Voices came to him. A man and a woman arguing. “I said we should go this way!”

“Why?”

“Because that’s the way we came. We don’t want to go that way.”

“But I think this way is quicker.”

Nick crept through the undergrowth as quietly as possible. Between the cicadas and the argument, he doubted anyone would hear him. He got close enough to see the two of them, standing in the lights in front of the station. Not intruders, ex-prisoners. They finished their discussion and started walking across the parking lot, after a few feet, they held hands. Nick smiled. They were probably going to get into a whole lot of trouble, but if they wanted to leave, that was their decision.

He finished his circuit of the station and went inside. The sudden change into air conditioning made his clothes feel damp and heavy. He did a quick round of the cubbies, but all was quiet. He went to the ether booths, there was a row of them all along the back wall of the main waiting area. He took one that let him see the room easily. He called up a mapping program. It didn’t open. He tried a geography plotter, to no avail. The weather site responded with information that was already three days old. A chill ran down his spine that had nothing to do with the air conditioning. More sites on the ether were failing. He checked a few more that he used regularly. Two produced errors. Nervously, he requested the site for High Meadow.

A sketch of wildflowers opened into the main page for the med center. Nick breathed a sigh of relief as the usual information scrolled across the page. There was a recent note posted that the center had flu cases and that there would be no vaccine this year. Symptoms were listed and suggestions for simple home remedies. The message bar indicating whether the center was still taking patients was green, which meant they were still open for business.

Nick sent Angus a short, vague text message. He knew that Angus might be awake at this hour, but he was nervous about a live call on a public line. It would let Angus know all was well so far, but not let anyone intercepting it know anything more.

“You should rest.”

Nick jumped, startled to find Wisp at his side. “You scared me.”

Wisp smiled. “Sorry. I move very quietly out of habit.”

“Two people left,” Nick reported.

“For the best, if they weren’t happy with your plans.”

Nick shrugged. He gestured to the console. “Sent a note to Angus. Looks like the mapping program is down.”

“Odd coincidence?”

“Don’t know.”

“We are safe here at the moment. Get some rest. I’ll wake you if anything comes up.”

Nick gave him a salute and headed for the stairs. All of a sudden, he was feeling drained. He stumbled down to his cubby in a fog of exhaustion. The steel shelf felt like a real bed. He was asleep in seconds.