They began to see more people, all of them headed west. Larry guessed these were thirsty refugees looking for the lake.
“Look up there,” said Blaise a bit later. “See those two men? They seem to be carrying real weapons. Take your guns off safety and keep them ready. Got it?”
“Sure,” said Seth. “But won’t they leave us alone if we leave them alone?”
“You think this is some kind of friendly morning stroll?”
Seth looked wounded. And green with nausea. Maybe Larry could put him out of his misery. His hand drifted to the butt of his gun. He stroked himself.
“No,” Seth said. “But—”
“But nothing. This is a mission through hostile territory to procure supplies. I’ve been watching every group and individual since we crossed the bridge. Have you?”
“Daddy,” Brandon said. “I’m scared.”
Seth grabbed his son by the shoulder and pulled him close. Larry realized his hand was in the wrong place and gave it a rest.
The two armed men were dressed in head-to-toe camouflage, as if splotchy green shirts might help them blend into the dense underbrush of brick houses and asphalt streets. One was portly and the other was nearly obese. Where, Larry wondered, had these men purchased their clothes? Did it make logical or economic sense to produce military activewear in sedentary sizes?
“Can we help you, gentlemen?” said the man on the left.
“Just passing through here,” answered Blaise in his northeastern drawl. Here sounded like Heah. “We don’t want no trouble.”
“Just passing through, huh?” said the other man. “What’s an armed Yankee doing in Little Elm, Texas?”
“I live here,” growled Blaise. “Why is that your business?”
Your sounded like Yaw. The heavyset mercenaries didn’t like it.
“Where exactly do you live?”
“I own a few acres on the peninsula, but I consider myself a citizen of Little Elm. This man behind me, Thomas, lives in Lakewood Village. So does that one. His name is Larry.”
“All right,” said the first guy. “What’s your business this far east?” “We’re scouting for food,” said Blaise.
The two men looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Scouting for food,” said the second guy. “That’s hilarious. You and three million refugees coming up out of Dallas.”
“If you don’t mind,” Seth said unexpectedly, “we’ll be on our way.”
The second man stopped smiling and approached Seth.
“Who the hell are you, asshole?”
“Seth Black. Do you swear like this around your own children?”
Larry waited for one of the fat soldiers to shoulder his weapon. Silence rang in his ears.
“Why don’t you folks move along,” the guy finally said, nodding toward the east. “Can’t wait to see all this food you’re gonna find.”
Blaise looked at Seth with admiration before the group resumed their march. Larry wished Skylar would look at him like that. After they stopped for a water break, hoping to impress his mermaid princess, he offered to relieve Seth of the canvas bag. But Seth refused.
Eventually Larry noticed another glut of people moving toward them in the westbound lanes, threading their way through the graveyard of abandoned cars. Some of them were stopping to inspect the various vehicles, which had surely been plundered days ago.
“We’re coming up on 423,” said Blaise. “It’s the first north-south road that would be carrying a lot of refugees. Stay focused and don’t get caught off guard.”
On their left, a Lowe’s Home Improvement stood well back from the road, and Larry marveled at all the people streaming toward the building. As if today was the day to finally fix those leaky gutters. Ahead he saw FM 423, and sure enough a dense mass of humanity streamed northward, more people moving together in one direction than he’d ever seen.
“Based on what Kirk said about the tollway,” Blaise said, “I think we should head north here.”
They reached the intersection and merged into the river of humans. On Larry’s right, a woman carried a baby girl in one arm and held hands with another daughter who was maybe six. A rope of brown hair was tied behind the woman’s head. She was wearing a tank top and yoga pants, as if the advancing fires had interrupted her pounding miles on the treadmill. She met his eyes with a look that was both pleading and hopeful.
“Hey there, honey,” said a grimy-looking man to the young mother. “You need a rest with that little girl? I could carry her for you.”
“That’s very kind, but I’m doing all right.”
“Why don’t you let me help? A woman got no need to be alone in a world like this.”
“I’m fine,” the woman said in a bright voice. “Really.”
“Things ain’t the same as they was before. You women are gonna need to learn your place again.”
In front of Larry, in an abrupt motion, Seth yanked his handgun free. He pointed it at the man, who was soft around the middle and dressed in a ratty-looking plaid shirt and jeans. The man’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the gun.
“Shit, fella. I’m just trying to help the woman. Put away your piece.”
Around them, the gun seemed to have a ripple effect, as if it were a stone Seth had thrown into the water. People began to spread away from them in all directions. Blaise made grunting sounds of disapproval. The baby girl whimpered and began to cry.
“She said she didn’t need help,” said Seth.
“Well, she does. Even if she don’t know it yet.”
The grimy fellow melted into the crowd and disappeared.
“Thank you,” said the woman. She switched the baby from one arm to the other and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m Melanie.”
“I’m Seth. And I hate to say this, but that guy is right. Things aren’t the same as they were before.”
“I know that,” said Melanie, looking both flustered and frustrated. “Believe me.”
“Where’s your… I mean their…?”
Forgotten in all this, at least for Larry, was the older daughter, who continued to walk straight ahead in robotic fashion. Her face was empty, her features slack, as if she had checked out of reality. Or maybe she was entranced by the ringing in her ears.
“His office is in Arlington,” said the woman. “He is… he was an attorney. We live in The Colony and waited as long as we could, but he never came home.”
“I’m sorry. It’s an impossible situation.”
Larry seethed. Seth had left the safe room unlocked. Seth was a zero. Larry was the hero. Larry was the reason these poor saps knew about the Walmart warehouse in the first place. Why didn’t Skylar realize this? Or anybody? Not one person had thanked him for his generosity.
“Do y’all have any idea what you’re going to do?” asked the woman. “Where you’re going to go?”
“Not really,” said Seth, the lie pouring out of him like cold, fresh water. “You?”
“No. Autumn woke me up. That’s my baby. She was coughing in her crib and I realized we had to get out. Houses at the end of my block were burning. The smoke was like a wall. I didn’t even think to grab my wedding rings. We saw other people headed for 423, so we followed them, and here we are.”
A disturbance of some kind rippled through the crowd. Fifty or sixty yards ahead, people were beginning to shift left, toward the west side of the road. After a moment Larry realized a narrow band of water, nothing more than a creek, passed under the road where a bridge was. From here Larry could see the creek was lined on both sides by refugees, who eagerly slurped water with their hands or directly into their mouths.