“And what about you guys?” said John. “Are you like the resistance or something?”
Bill and the others laughed.
“I suppose so,” said Bill. “Although I don’t think we’ve ever actually said that.”
“And what are your plans?” said John.
“To get out,” said Bill.
“We can’t take them all on. There’s just no way. We’ve been hiding out in basements and stuff for the last few days. But we won’t last long here.”
There was silence for a moment in the dark basement.
“You want to come with us?” said Bill.
“Yeah,” said John, without hesitating, without even asking where they were going. “When are we leaving?”
“Tonight,” said Bill.
The four of them fell into silence for a while longer. Each of them seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.
John tried to think of the journey ahead, and what it would entail. But he knew in his heart that there was simply no way he could predict the coming dangers and trials. He’d already been through so much. His mind and body weren’t ready for more. But there was no other option. He had to keep going.
The light outside was starting to grow dim as the sun fell lower in the sky. It was late afternoon and it would be dusk soon.
The rumbling truck in the distance hadn’t passed down this street, or they would have heard it for sure. There were no sounds outdoors except the chirping of the birds.
Bill had a small medical kit and he put something on John’s cut. It stung, but John hardly even paid attention to it. There was so much to think about, and so much to avoid thinking about, that he’d completely forgotten about the cut, not to mention his stomach problems. Those were simply the least of his worries.
Clear plastic tubs were stacked along one wall of the basement. They were full of children’s toys, stuffed animals, train tracks, and toy soldiers. Next to the tubs, there was a child’s mountain bike.
This had been someone’s house. A family’s house. Children had lived here and played here. Maybe they’d been old enough to go to school. The parents had gone to work, gone to the grocery store, cooked dinner, watched movies, and made love. Whole lives had been lived in this house.
And now there was nothing left but their possessions, hastily abandoned. What had happened to the family here? What had happened to the children? Had the parents waited like John had, until something awful had happened? Or had the parents hastily packed their children and some essentials into the car, only to get stuck on the roads somewhere? Had they all died on some overcrowded, jam-packed highway? Had their car even started? There was no way to know. And it wasn’t fun to think about.
Suddenly, a sound rang out.
It was someone knocking on the door. Knocking loudly.
Whoever it was, they knocked incessantly. Constantly.
John hadn’t heard anyone approaching. He hadn’t heard any vehicles.
John froze.
In the dim light, he saw Bill and the others reaching for their guns, which they had laid on the floor, or against the walls.
Bill and the others rose slowly to their feet, making gestures at each other.
John rose too, but he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have a gun. And no one handed him one. In fact, no one even looked at him. And why should they? It wasn’t their job to protect him. It was everyone for themselves.
John searched blindly with his hand for his knife on the ground. He found it, and his hand formed a fist around its handle once again. It was comforting having something in his hand, even if he knew it wouldn’t do much good against a gun. No good at all, really.
But he clutched it anyway.
John didn’t dare to speak. But he desperately wanted to ask what to do. He wanted some direction. He wanted a plan to follow, something concrete. But he knew that was a ridiculous wish. There were no plans. No certainty. No safety.
Glass shattered on the first floor, the sound coming down loudly to the basement.
Whoever was up there, they’d just broken a window. Soon, they’d be inside the house.
22
The bullet had pierced the glass of the passenger window and lodged itself in Max’s headrest. No one was hit. But that was only pure luck. Maybe they wouldn’t be so lucky next time. And there was sure to be a next time. There always was. There was no rest for them, and Mandy wondered if there ever would be.
The right portion of the front bumper had smashed into the person on the side of the road. The body had crumpled underneath the minivan, and they’d felt the sickening bump as the van drove right over the body.
No one looked behind them. No one spoke. But Sadie screamed, and then fell silent.
They had all been through so much that, strangely, getting shot and running over a stranger wasn’t really that big of a deal. What a horrible reality they were living in, thought Mandy.
Looking straight ahead, Max was driving them quickly down the highway, heading west, towards Ohio.
The sky was darkening. The evening was approaching. Soon they’d be facing the night, and who knew what terrible dangers awaited them out on the open road. Mandy couldn’t help but think about how they were even less prepared than they’d been two weeks ago. When she and Max had left the suburbs, they’d had maps. They’d had a plan. They knew where they were going, and they thought they’d be safe there.
Now, their haven had become dangerous, and their eventual fate was a mystery.
Mandy’s mind turned to the Millers and what awaited them. Maybe they were fighting for their lives right in this moment. Maybe the battle had happened quickly, and the Millers had triumphed. Or maybe the Millers had become nothing but bodies lying on the floor, soon to be pushed aside and forgotten. Or maybe nothing had happened at all, the strangers retreating back into the trees, leaving the Millers to live and fight another day.
Mandy looked over at Sadie and James, in the seats next to her. They were both fast asleep. Sadie rested her head on James’s shoulder. Mandy felt a pang in her chest. They were too young to be going through this. They deserved to be living the normal lives of teenagers. They deserved to have the rest of their lives stretched out in front of them, open books that they could do with what they wished.
“Where are we going?” said Mandy, tapping Max on the shoulder. She sat in the seat directly behind him.
“West,” said Max. His voice was tired, and it cracked a little as he spoke.
“We need a plan,” said Mandy.
“I know,” said Max. “But we also need to get out of this area before something else happens.”
“You’re too tired,” said Mandy. “I can hear it in your voice. Let me drive.”
“I’m fine,” said Max.
“No, you’re not. We all need to rest while we can. Who knows what’s going to happen next. And it’d be better for us all if you’re well rested.”
Chad had joined James and Sadie in falling asleep, and Georgia wasn’t far behind. In the passenger’s seat, Mandy could see that her head kept bobbing back and forth as she jerked herself awake every couple minutes. She was probably too worried about her kids to let herself fully fall asleep just yet.
“You’re right,” Max finally admitted. “I’ll pull over soon.”
Max switched the headlights off and continued to drive for another ten minutes in the dusky darkness. He drove more slowly, since there was just enough light to drive by.
Mandy knew that he didn’t want headlights blazing into the woods, alerting anyone who could be nearby of their presence.