Everyone was excited, and though none of them — excluding, perhaps, Noreen — had truly thought they were the only ones left on the planet, hearing that others were alive was a huge relief. There were tears and laughter and smiles.
At some point, Valerie ducked into the kitchen and returned with two bottles of wine.
“I’m not sure we should be drinking this,” Riley said. She was the youngest, but none of the other girls or Craig were of legal drinking age, either.
“Why not?” Valerie asked. “You think the cops are going to bust us?”
Several of the girls laughed.
“No,” Riley said. “I mean…you know…” She frowned. “Never mind.”
“Here,” Amanda said, holding a bottle out to Riley. “It’ll make you feel better.”
“I don’t want any, thank you.”
“Come on. Just a little sip.”
“I said no.” Riley pushed out of her chair and stood up.
“Whoa,” Valerie said. “Don’t get all hurt. We friends here.”
Martina put a hand on Riley’s back. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to drink anything.”
Riley hesitated a moment before retaking her chair.
“Martina,” Amanda said, swinging the bottle in her direction.
Martina took it and raised it to her mouth. But instead of drinking, she merely let the liquid touch her lips, and then handed the bottle to Ruby.
It wasn’t long before the volume in the room increased to the point they almost had to shout to be heard.
At some point, Martha slurred, “So do we leave tomorrow for this survival place, or what?”
“Idiot. They haven’t broadcast the locations yet,” Amanda said.
“Right, right. But when they do, we’re going, right?”
She was looking at Martina, so Martina said, “When they do, we can figure it out then.”
“Or we could figure it out now,” Valerie said.
“Sure, if you want.”
“Yeah,” Valerie said. “I think we should take a vote now.”
“What’s there to vote on?” Craig asked. “Of course we’re going to go.” He looked at Martina. “Right?”
“Why you looking at her?” Valerie asked. “It’s not her decision.”
Martina donned a disarming smile. “I think we should save this for the morning, don’t you? We’re just having some fun tonight, that’s—”
“Screw you, Gable,” Valerie said. “I don’t care what you think. You are not the boss here.”
Smile still in place, Martina said, “Never said I was.”
“You don’t have to say it,” Amanda threw in. “You just act like it.”
It was amazing how old rivalries never died. Martina had been playing sports with or against Valerie and Amanda and most of the other girls since they were all kids. Some she got along with better than others. Valerie and Amanda had always proven more difficult. Martina had assumed their current situation had changed that. Apparently not.
To keep the peace, Martina excused herself to use the restroom, and had instead gone to bed. The next morning, there was no talk of the tension from the night before. Partly that was due to varying degrees of hangovers the others had, but mostly, Martina guessed, they just didn’t remember.
When the location of the nearest survival station was finally broadcast — the parking lot of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles starting on December 31st—the discussion of what to do had come up again. Fortunately, everyone was sober this time, but to avoid any problems, Martina let others lead the conversation.
When Martina had seen which way the vote was leaning, she had thrown in with everyone else, making the vote unanimous. They would caravan to Los Angeles the afternoon of New Year’s Eve.
Until the evening before they were to leave, Martina had still thought she’d probably go with them. As she lay in her bed that night, she turned on her phone, hoping it would have a signal now and she could try to reach Ben.
At first, the same NO SERVICE message was at the top where it always was. But as she was about to turn off her phone, a single bar appeared. She stared at it, hoping for more, but that was all it gave her. And then her phone vibrated, letting her know she had voice mail.
The message on the screen indicated there were actually seven, all from Ben. The last had been sent earlier that day. She decided to listen to them in order received and brought up the earliest one.
But as it started to play, the reception bar was replaced by NO SERVICE, and a message appeared on her screen: VOICE MAIL UNAVAILABLE.
“No, please!” she said.
She waited, hoping the bar would come back, but it stayed on NO SERVICE. She turned off the phone and turned it on again, but that didn’t change anything. Though she desperately wanted to hear his messages, she felt elated.
If she and the other members of her softball team who’d contracted the Sage Flu the previous spring were now immune, she’d assumed Ben would be, too. He’d gone through it with them, after all. But she’d had now way of knowing for sure. Until now.
Ben was alive.
When the afternoon of New Year’s Eve came, Martina helped the others finish loading the cars, while leaving her own bag hidden behind the Carriage Inn’s reception counter. Once they were done, they gathered in the parking lot.
“We need to keep in sight of each other in case anyone has car trouble,” Valerie said. As had been happening more and more over the last several days, she was taking on the self-appointed role of leader. “Plus, we have no idea what kind of mess we might run into when we reach the city. Could be the roads are jammed up.”
“Wait,” Jilly said. “What would happen then? Would we have to walk?”
“Anything’s possible at this point, but what won’t help is whining about it, all right?”
She stared at Jilly, daring her to respond, but Jilly kept quiet.
“Good.” Valerie shifted her gaze to the others. “Everyone has water? Something to eat?”
Nods and yeses.
“Then no time to waste, I guess.”
As Valerie took a step toward her car, Martina said, “Hold on.”
Valerie stopped and looked back, her eyes narrowing as if expecting a challenge. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Martina said. “I’m just…I’m not going with you.”
“What?” both Noreen and Riley said.
The group instinctively moved toward Martina.
“What do you mean, you’re not going?” Noreen asked.
“Just that,” Martina said. “I’m not trying to stop you or anything, but—”
“You’re going to stay here?” Riley asked.
“No.” Martina paused. She hadn’t really thought this part through. She had hoped saying she wouldn’t be going would be enough. “I’ll meet you guys there eventually, there’s just something, um, I have to do.”
“What could you possibly have to do?” Valerie asked.
Martina frowned. “Someone I need to look for.”
A burst of laughter jumped from Valerie’s throat. “Are you kidding me?” She looked out at the road and the desert beyond. “There’s no one left to look for. Almost everyone’s dead.”
That may have been true, but all Martina said was, “I still need to try.”
Valerie stared at her in disbelief. “Your funeral, I guess. Have fun.” She started walking again.
“Can I go with you?” Riley asked Martina.
Martina cringed. Taking this kind of chance on her own was one thing, but putting others in danger? “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“But my father, my…my sister. They might be out there somewhere.” Riley’s father and her twin sister Laurie had left the cabin where her family and Martina’s family had been hiding from the flu before the others had died. Riley and Martina had searched for them when they returned to Ridgecrest, but had found no sign of them.