“Good,” replied Fiona. “Don’t waste time. You have no more than twelve hours in our estimation before that storm makes landfall and starts heading inland in your direction. You’ll want to be out of there well before then to stay ahead of it.”
Jacob added, reinforcing the commander, “Whatever you two are going to do, you need to do it quickly, guys.”
“We will,” Emily said, then added, “And, commander, thank you.”
Emily glanced across at Simon as she hung up the sat-phone. His face was ashen, and she wondered how she would be handling the same news if she had been in his position.
Simon looked up and met her stare. After a few moments he gave a single solemn nod of understanding.
“Let’s get started.”
As soon as they were off the sat-phone, Emily followed Simon into the living room. Simon called Rhiannon and Ben in and told them they would be leaving within the next hour or so.
“Is For still coming?” said Ben.
“Yes, he’s still going to be coming with us,” said Simon, smiling at his little boy.
“We’re leaving now?” Rhiannon asked. She had a look of incredulity on her face that telegraphed she was going to have a hard time believing anything she was told unless it was the absolute truth.
Simon looked at Emily for support, but she just smiled back at him. The ball was completely in his court, and he had to tell the children what he chose to tell them.
“There’s a very big storm coming,” Simon said. “So, we have to leave sooner than I thought.”
“Why?”
“Because, if we stay, we might be hurt…or worse. Do you understand what I’m saying, Rhiannon?” said Simon, glancing at her brother.
Rhiannon took a moment to analyze what had been said. “I suppose,” she said finally.
“Okay, well I need you and your brother to stay out of Emily’s way for a while. She’s going to pack some clothes for you both for the trip.”
“Where are you going to be?” Rhiannon asked, suspicion back in her voice.
“I’m going to go and see if we can borrow the Jeffersons’ SUV. I won’t be long.”
As much as Emily hated to split the family up, they had decided it was for the best if Simon took the Honda Accord over to the Jeffersons’ place, located the keys to the SUV, and brought it back to the house while she packed some supplies and got the children ready to go.
“It’s not perfect, but under the circumstances…” she said.
Simon nodded. “It’s our only option.” He picked up his car keys from the table in the hall and headed out the front door. “I’ll be back soon,” he said and closed the door behind him.
Emily moved from bedroom to bedroom, carefully pulling a selection of clothing from hangers and packing it into a couple of small travel cases Simon had set aside. When each case was full, she placed them in the hallway near the front door so they could be quickly loaded once Simon returned with the SUV.
She did the same for Simon, quickly selecting and packing enough clothes to last him at least three days. One side of the master bedroom’s walk-in closet was filled with slacks, designer jeans, and summer dresses—they were all his wife’s clothes. How long had she been gone? Two years, or so, and he had never gotten around to emptying her side of the closet. It was a painfully sweet observation of a man who was still deeply in love with the memory of his wife. By the time Emily had filled and added several cardboard boxes of food supplies to the luggage waiting at the front door, she was beginning to worry.
Where the hell was Simon? It had been at least ninety minutes since he had left on what should have been no more than a thirty-minute round trip, an hour tops if he had to track down the keys for the Jeffersons’ SUV. Either way, he should have been back long ago.
Maybe there was some kind of problem with the SUV? Something he thought he could fix but had taken longer?
Something was wrong here. He could have had an accident or run into something else that delayed him. Emily didn’t even want to think what that “something” might be.
She gave him another thirty minutes, just in case.
But when there was still no sign of his little silver Honda, Emily realized she was faced with two choices. She could stay put and hope that Simon showed up, but if he hadn’t come back by dark then they would be stuck there at the house until morning. Then they would have to go searching for Simon and, if he was injured, they might be too late, and with the storm less than eleven hours away now…
On the other hand, if she left now, she could make it to the house in twenty minutes, locate Simon, and, hopefully, figure out what to do next. But that would mean she would have to take the kids along with her, because there was no way she was going to leave them alone in the house, not even with Thor to guard them.
Every second she wasted brought the red storm closer and would make it even harder for them to get out. It was too late for her to leave by bike now; she would never outrun the storm, and it would mean having to leave the kids behind to whatever fate was heading their way. No, she would have to risk heading to the other house. She’d take the kids with her but leave the supplies here. Hopefully, they would be able to swing back once they had found Simon.
She found pen and paper and left a note on the kitchen table, where it couldn’t be missed.
Simon,
You’ve been gone for over two hours. I am heading to the house, through the valley. The kids are with me. If you read this, that’s where we will be.
Meet us there.
The kids had both fallen asleep on the sofa, Ben’s feet resting in the lap of his sister, her arm draped over her little brother. Beyond them, through the window, Emily could see they had about an hour of daylight left. That would be enough for what she had planned.
“Rhiannon. Ben. Wake up,” Emily said, gently shaking the girl’s shoulder. Rhiannon opened her eyes and sat up, looking a little confused. She pushed her brother’s feet off her lap and scowled at him as his eyes fluttered open and he yawned. Rhiannon’s scowl grew deeper when she saw it was Emily who had woken them.
“Where’s Dad?” the girl demanded.
“Grab your jackets,” Emily said. “We’re going to go find him.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
By the time Emily and the children were halfway to the Jeffersons’ house, the sun had dropped closer to the crest of the valley’s ridge. In the rapidly dimming light, long shadows stretched through the woods, crisscrossing over the path ahead, and Emily was beginning to reconsider her decision to go look for Simon.
“I want my daddy,” said Ben for the umpteenth time since stepping outside. She couldn’t blame him, of course, but dear God, it was annoying.
“Shut it, dweeb,” his sister shot back.
Emily suppressed a smile. The banter between the kids was rather cute, she had to admit. The constant poking and prodding of egos that were as fragile and underdeveloped as the children themselves. That same malleability would ensure no damage was done…probably.
“Okay, you two. That’s enough. Let’s concentrate on where we’re going. This ground is pretty rough.” Emily clicked on her flashlight and shone it into the growing darkness ahead of them, highlighting the uneven ground and occasional rock that poked through the earth. “The last thing I need is for one of you guys to trip and break something. ’Kay?”
Both kids nodded back at her.
“All right. Stay close to me and Thor.”
Emily was surprised when she felt a small hand reach for her own free hand, clasping it tightly in its soft warmth. She looked down at Ben; his full-moon face looked up at her with such utter trust. Her heart missed a beat, and for a second, the pain and loss of an entire race that was carried within her softened. In the eyes of this little boy and his sister resided the hope of humanity. If there was to be a future, it would be through these kids. And, who could tell, but if this family had survived the red rain and carnage that followed, there must surely be more survivors. More kids. Hope.