“And you probably want to get answers about Seaver.”
“Absolutely,” Cass said. “We’re not giving up. I’m not. If Seaver isn’t alright, then we’ll try somewhere else.”
“You can be sure if Seaver is down then everywhere else is, too.”
“No.” Cass shook her head. “We know for a fact…” Her attention was drawn from her thoughts and to the police car that pulled up.
Another car was behind him.
“He found someone,” Cass said in surprise.
“No, that man isn’t from Seaver.” Art quickly walked toward the other car. “That man is a colleague of mine.”
Cass started to say “what?” but Kit stepped from the police car. “Well?” Cass asked.
Kit shook his head. “All gone.”
Cass closed her eyes. “Oh my God.”
“Lena’s camera crew was filming. We can see what happened at the end. I mean, that’s something.”
“It is,” Cass said. “Here’s something else. Good news.”
“Please. Tell me.”
“Lena made contact.”
“What?”
Immediately Art and Niles echoed the shock
“What?” Art asked. “Contact.”
“On the phone,” Cass said. “Los Angeles. So you see, Art, we have to keep looking. If someone is alive there, they could be alive anywhere.”
15.
SOUGHT AND REFUGE
Mark wore a white button-down dress shirt, no tie. He looked ready for a day at the office. He paced a little in the station, arms folded, as he listened to Kit. Then he went silent, doing some sort of thinking face before he spoke. “I am going to agree with Cass,” he said. “We need to go out there. Search. Look for people. Create teams. They aren’t just gonna come to us. Those who survived need to stick together. As long as there is no threat to the teams we send out.”
Niles shook his head. “None that I can see or saw. They do need to be prepared in case they run into less than stellar survivors.”
“I want to go with Crazy Ada,” said Cass.
“What?” Kit snapped. “She’s needed here.”
Before an argument could ensue, Lena brightly called out, “I have her. I have her on the phone.”
Mark snapped his finger. “Put her on the speaker phone.”
Lena just stared at the phone. “How?”
With a slight grumble, Mark walked over and pressed the button, placing down the receiver. “Trixie? Are you there?”
“I am.”
“How are you?” Mark asked.
“Scared.”
“That’s to be expected.”
“Trixie, this is Doctor Niles Proctor. Tell me, are you experiencing any symptoms? Rash, trouble breathing, stomach issues?”
“No. None. I’m physically fine.”
“Good,” Niles said.
Art spoke up. “What are you seeing there, Trixie, in LA?”
“Nothing really. My house is pretty set back from the road.”
“Have you left your house at all?” Art asked.
“I haven’t left my room.”
“Not once?” asked Art.
“No, I have everything I need here,” Trixie said. “And the news said to stay put.”
Art looked at Niles. “Did you know the news was broadcasting?”
Niles nodded. “Yes, but not for long. We also don’t know how long communication and power will be up. Trixie? You can leave the house. It is perfectly safe.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes,” answered Art. “You should leave. Pack what you need, bring supplies, and make your way here. It won’t take you more than seven hours. I would suggest leaving first thing tomorrow morning. We’ll give you directions because we don’t know how long things will be up so don’t rely on GPS.”
“I don’t want to be alone,” Trixie said. “I mean no one does. But no one knows it’s safe, they’re scared to leave their homes or apartments. No one has even answered so they’ll be glad to hear.”
Kit looked at Cass curiously. “Trixie, this is Officer Modine. Who will be glad to hear that it’s safe?”
“Everyone waiting inside,” Trixie replied.
“Okay, so you’re not meaning specific people,” Kit said. “You’re speaking in general.”
“I don’t know their names. I know their usernames.”
A huge ‘what’ of shock rang out around the room.
“Usernames?” Kit asked. “As in social media?”
“Yes,” Trixie answered. “I mean I have millions of followers, nothing compared to Lena. And usually when I post I get thousands of answers. I only had fourteen, but we have been talking ever since.”
“Fourteen people replied?” Art asked. “What did you post?”
“I just asked if anyone knew what was going on.”
Niles muttered, “I didn’t even think of social media. We can see who is posting.” He pulled out his phone.
“Useless,” Cass said. “There is no signal.”
“Really?” Niles lifted his phone. “I’m online”
Like it was a rush to a mad sale, everyone grabbed their cell phones.
“Quick,” Mark said with a point to Lena. “That signal can go at any time. You have a lot of followers. Make a post. Put our police station number up. Get them to contact us.”
“Got it.” Lena turned her attention back to the phone. “Trixie, I can’t get a hold of John and the kids. My mom is supposed to be there too. Can you try, maybe even drive over there?”
“Oh, Lena, you know I will. As soon as we get off the phone I will head right over.”
“Thank you. Thank you. I’ll keep trying to call,” Lena said.
“Trixie,” Mark said. “If you can just hang on, grab a pen, I’ll get you directions to our town.”
“I can do that,” she replied.
“Everyone check their social media feeds,” Mark instructed. “I think we need an emergency town meeting now instead of later. People need to know. We need volunteers for search teams, food supply runs, things like that.”
Cass looked up to him. “You’ve been thinking about his.”
“I have.”
Cass smiled. “See, that’s why I married you.”
“Aw,” Lena gushed.
Kit rolled his eyes.
“What?” Cass asked. “What is that look for?”
“Will you need us to speak at the meeting?” Niles asked.
“It would be good if you’re there to answer questions,” Mark said. “Right now, let’s tell everyone to be at the theater in one hour. No exceptions, it’s an emergency.”
“How?” Kit asked. “How are we… oh. Oh.” He shook his head. “So does this mean you want me to ride around making the announcement again?”
“Yes,” Mark stated.
“Son of a bitch.” Kit lifted the keys.
“Oh! Hey, wait.” Cass stood. “I’ll do it. I’ll drive around and announce. I am an official police officer now.”
Kit tossed her the keys. “All yours. I want to go online for the news.”
It didn’t matter to Mark who did it, as long as it got done. He wanted his town together, to plan together. He hoped that Trixie was one of many that would find their way to Griffin.
He found it ironic that a town that was always a communication dead zone ended up being a beacon of light in a world that went dark of life in the course of two days.
It wasn’t as simple as just walking out the door. Trixie had to deal with the fear that had built up inside her over the course of the last few days. She didn’t even realize the extent of it until she reached for the doorknob of her bedroom.
She couldn’t bring herself to walk out.
She kept telling herself that she’d promised Lena she would check on her family, but in order to do that Trixie had to leave.