Pushing a lock of hair from her face, Maya nodded at Donna as she walked over to Aiden and Laura. She could feel eyes on her as she sat down next to them.
“Everything all right, Mom?” Aiden asked.
Maya smiled. “Everything will be. Get some rest, because we’re leaving here in a couple of hours.”
“Where are we going?” Reno asked.
Maya looked over her shoulder to see Donna still staring at her.
“We’re going to Cincinnati.”
41
“When do we get to stop running?”
Maya looked over at her son, seeing the tears in his eyes. She took a deep breath before she replied, worried that she might give a snap reaction.
“Hopefully, when we get to Cincinnati. Now, get your things.”
“How far is that?” Laura asked.
“I’m not sure.”
“Do you think there will be power there?” Aiden asked.
Maya bit her lip, and then couldn’t hold the words in any longer. “Look, I don’t know! Now get your shit in the truck!”
Laura raised both hands in surrender and Aiden looked at his feet. Seeing their reactions, Maya sighed and shook her head, putting a hand in front of her own mouth.
“I’m sorry, guys. I shouldn’t have snapped at you two. This is all nuts and all I want to do is make sure you’re safe. I know you’re both scared. I am, too, and I promise I’m doing everything I can to get us all to safety. Cool?”
Aiden nodded, but Laura just stared. Maya brought them both into a group hug. “Now, please, put your things in the truck.”
As her kids stepped away, Reno approached Maya with his bag already slung over a shoulder. He glanced at the kids, then back to Maya.
“Everything okay?”
Maya nodded. “They’ll be okay. This shit is wearing on them.”
“Them or you?”
“I think all of us.”
“And you think following these people is the right call?”
Maya raised an eyebrow, staring into Reno’s eyes. “I do. Did you have a better plan?”
Reno shook his head. “I just hope there’s a refuge in Cincy.”
Then Reno glanced over at the trucks. Maya followed his gaze to see Gerald leaning against the side of one of them as the two kids approached. They put their bags inside and tried talking to their dad, but he only mumbled a few words without looking up.
Reno turned back to Maya. “You think he’s going to be okay?”
The truth was that Maya wasn’t sure. She wasn’t looking forward to riding with Gerald after the way he’d been acting. She’d known him for years, and had thought she’d seen every fickle mood and explosive emotion he was capable of. But she’d never seen him this despondent.
“He’ll be fine,” she said. “Let’s get going.”
They walked over to the trucks. The kids had climbed into the one she’d be driving. Gerald would be coming along with her, and Reno and John would be driving the other. She looked at her ex-husband, who was still leaning against the side of the vehicle.
“You about ready to go?”
Maya waited for him to say something as they made eye contact. He glared at her instead, dirt covering his tear-streaked face, but he said nothing as he finally climbed into the passenger seat.
This is going to be one hell of a ride, Maya thought as she rolled her eyes.
Donna approached, and Maya forced herself to smile as the woman put a hand on her shoulder.
“You about set?” Donna asked.
“Ready when you are.”
Donna shook her head. “This isn’t going to be an easy trip.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Maya said, thinking back to some of the ordeals she’d been through. “Let’s just get on the road so we can get it over with.”
“As you wish. We’ll follow you.”
Maya nodded, then got into the driver’s seat of the truck. Within minutes, they were on the highway again, headed north.
Gerald said nothing, keeping his fist to his chin and looking out his window. The kids had sensed his mood, as well, as they hadn’t tried talking to him again. Maya drove with both hands on the wheel, wanting to say something to him, but deciding not to. It wasn’t worth it. She only hoped he would eventually cool down and get back to a somewhat normal Gerald by the time they reached Cincinnati. Normal Gerald was an asshole, but he was better than this guy.
Maya checked her rearview mirror to see Donna’s caravan following closely behind. Reno and John were in the vehicle ahead of her, leading the way. John had family in Cincinnati, and so he had been there plenty of times and knew all the shortcuts—and side roads and detours if necessary.
They’d made it about fifty miles from the rest stop when smoke began billowing from the hood of Reno and John’s truck. This broke the peace, and even Gerald sat up in his seat and looked out the windshield.
“What’s happening?” Aiden asked.
“I’m not sure.”
Maya had lied, of course. She knew, but she had to hold it together. She checked the rearview mirror again. In the car behind them, she saw Donna talking to the person who was driving. Ahead, Reno stuck his arm out of the window to signal that he was pulling over. A gas station was just ahead on the right, though it looked like it had been closed since the invasion began. Reno drifted off the side of the road toward it.
Maya clicked on their emergency lights and put her hand out the window to signal to Donna that she was pulling over.
“Hopefully, she won’t be too upset that we have to stop for a few,” Maya said, thinking out loud.
She pulled into the parking lot, and as she turned to check on the caravan again, she heard their engines roar. Donna’s group continued speeding down the highway, leaving Maya and the others behind. Maya threw the truck into park and jumped out.
Standing next to the road, she waved her arms.
“Hey!”
But the caravan continued speeding off down the road, leaving nothing but dust in their wake.
Her arms fell to her sides and Maya exhaled.
Reno stepped out of the other truck and put his arms out. “What the fuck was that?”
Maya looked down and kicked the dirt. Then she put her hands on her hips and shook her head.
“Why would they just keep going?” Laura asked.
“I don’t know,” Maya said, swallowing the words she really wanted to share with Donna.
She looked to the sky. Luckily, it was still early enough in the day where there would be a minimal threat of aliens, but she also knew they were up against another clock.
“She must be really worried about getting to Cincinnati before they close that stadium down,” she said.
John walked around to the driver’s side and popped the hood of his truck. When he lifted it, more smoke rose from the motor as he coughed.
“Keep everyone away from that until the smoke clears and I can take a look,” Maya said to Reno. “I’m going to run inside and make sure it’s clear, and see if there’s anything useful.”
Maya walked through the shattered glass doors of the convenience store to see that every cooler had been shot out and raided, the only thing left on the floor being a single can of baked beans. But it wasn’t the sight of the store that raised the hairs on Maya’s neck—it was the stench.
As an EMT, she knew exactly what the smell was, but she’d never gotten used to it. She lifted the collar of her shirt up over her nose, breathing through her mouth. Whoever had died in here had done so in the last two or three days. She’d turned around to leave when she heard something.