“It’s possible that she wasn’t but I don’t imagine she had dropped out.”
“What’s her name?” I ask with a deep sigh.
Paxton looks at his desk and swallows hard as if saying her name would make her truly gone. Finally he says, “Her name is Jessi.”
Chapter 13 – Waverly
Walter and Barry didn’t let us leave after Hank was bitten. Their mission to pull the greyskins away from the school had worked, but they wanted to be certain that the undead were still moving far away before they let us drive through Foley again. We couldn’t risk leading the greyskins back to the school. The night seemed to go on forever and I drifted in and out of sleep, never getting the rest I desired. Thoughts of seeing the future plagued my mind and no one knew if Hank was going to make it through the night.
Now, the sun shines on my tired eyes as I sit next to Hank’s cot. There are others in the room watching over him. Walter stands behind me and Ethan and Gilbert sit separately on their own cots.
“He’s not showing any symptoms of the virus,” Walter says. “I think he’s going to make it just fine.”
There is more relief within me than there should be, I think. I have only known Hank for a day, but I feel the need to check on him.
Eventually, his eyes flutter awake and his smile beams at me. “You look very pretty,” he says. “When the sun hits your eyes it looks like the Pacific Ocean.
“Have you been there?” I ask.
Hank nods. “I used to live on the West Coast. My heart is there. I moved out here to pursue a career, leaving my family behind.” He lets out a long breath. “I just didn’t know I was going to be leaving them behind forever. Heh, it’s not like I can hop on a plane and go look for them either.”
“They’re probably still alive,” I say.
“Can you see that too?” he asks. “Can you touch my hand and see a future that I will be arm and arm with my little girls again? Will their mother be with them?”
I say nothing.
“I didn’t think so,” he says. “Strange business what you told me yesterday.”
“Tell me about it,” I say. “I don’t know what it is. It comes and goes.” As I want it to, anyway.
“Can’t say I’ve ever met a person like you, Waverly.”
“I hope to meet more like you,” I tell him.
“Likely we won’t be seeing each other again, but if we do, perhaps I will be used to fighting greyskins with just one arm.”
“I think it would be better if you kept at your cooking with just one arm,” I say. “Because that’s what I’ll be looking for when we meet again.”
He smiles at me and closes his eyes. “It was nice to meet you, Waverly.”
Walter leads us to our SUV and leaves us with blunt weapons, food, and a full tank of gas. He says his goodbyes and advises us not to take the interstate if we don’t want to get stuck twenty miles down the road. He also asks us not to mention the town of Foley to anyone. They don’t mind trades, but if raiders get wind of their stash, Foley would be in danger.
This time, I ask to drive and Ethan and Gilbert let me. Ethan sits in the back while Gilbert sits in the front passenger side staring at the map. I don’t look forward to spending hours in a vehicle with Gilbert right next to me, but it’s good to be on the road again. If all goes to plan, we should be at Crestwood in about five hours.
The first couple of hours are long and silent. When I look in the rearview mirror, I can see Ethan nodding off, fighting sleep for some reason. I imagine he doesn’t like the idea of being out in the open and dozing. Occasionally, Gilbert pulls the small canister from his pocket and examines the clear glass cylinder. He is certain that the red liquid is blood.
“Wouldn’t there be a way to open it?” Ethan asks.
Gilbert shakes his head. “Looks like something you’re supposed to break in the middle. Once you break it, you have to use it.”
“But for what?” I ask.
Gilbert shakes his head as he holds it up in the light. “I don’t know. Why don’t you lay hands on it and see what its future is?” He lets out a short laugh as I roll my eyes at him. I knew that once he found out I could see into the future he would find some way to give me grief about it. “Tell me, Waverly, what’s it like being a fortune-teller? I’ve always wanted someone to tell me the future.”
“Leave her alone,” Ethan says from the back.
Gilbert ignores him. I chew on my bottom lip, clearly not wanting to talk about it. He slouches in his seat and yawns. “You don’t need a crystal ball or cards or anything. You’re a palm reader is what you are.” He taps his fingers against the window like he’s playing scales on the piano. “Nah. I don’t believe it. Anybody could have guessed that. The fat oaf was lucky it was only his wrist and not his neck.”
I slam on the brakes and Gilbert lets out a curse as he smacks the front dash, steadying himself with his palms. “I don’t think we’re there yet,” he says.
“Get out,” I say.
“Waverly, what are you doing?” Ethan asks.
Gilbert stares at me and it’s the first time I’ve seen him look afraid.
“Get out!”
I unsnap my seatbelt and open the door, walking to the other side of the SUV until I open Gilbert’s side.
“What are you doing?” he says.
Ethan is out of the car now. “Waverly, we don’t have time for this.”
“Are you really trying to throw down right now?” Gilbert says.
“I’m going to prove to you that I can see the future,” I say.
He rolls his eyes.
“Give me your hand,” I say. “Now, I can only see a few moments ahead, but maybe I can predict something you’ll do or say.”
“Impossible,” Gilbert says. “If you tell me what I’m going to say, then maybe that will be why I say it.”
“Then I’ll tell Ethan, and we’ll both watch for you to do what I see.”
Gilbert looks at Ethan and shakes his head. “Fine. Whatever.” He holds out his hand to me. “Please tell me my immediate future,” he says sarcastically.
I hesitate, but I don’t know why. This is my first time to try this without fear of imminent danger, and I don’t know if it will work. I can’t bear the thought of having to listen to Gilbert the entire way to Crestwood, babbling about how I’m a fake. I shouldn’t let him bother me so much, but everything he says just gets under my skin.
I reach out and grab his hand and the bright light flashes.
I expect to see the three of us riding in the SUV together. I thought that maybe I would see him cough, or sneeze, or maybe he would tell an off-color joke to Ethan, but what I actually see terrifies me.
There is the other me, standing next to Ethan in what looks to be a giant warehouse. She’s cold and shivering, and there is another man there. He looks like he’s in his twenties, but I can’t see him that well in the darkness. The sound of greyskins all around them grows louder.
“There needs to be a distraction,” the man says. “or we’re all going to die.”
There is a long pause. It’s storming outside. The rain falls heavy and the lightning flashes every couple of seconds. They are all cold and full of fear. Each of them looks tired.
As I watch my other self, I see her fingers clutch to Ethan’s clothing. He leans his forehead into her cheek and whispers. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” she says.
His hand reaches for hers and he holds it tenderly, and a blank stare falls on the other Waverly’s face.
I watch from my out-of-body distance as Gilbert stares at the group. I expect him to be angry, but instead, I see him wipe away a tear.