“And you’ve been in here alone since then?” Tori asked. “That’s horrible.”
Hartman shrugged weakly. “I’m not just a cantankerous old coot. I really am dying.” He tapped his chest and said, “Congestive heart failure. I’ve been living with a time bomb for years now. Slowly getting weaker. Nothing anybody can do for it. I don’t mean to sound morbid, but given the state of things right now, I’d just as soon the old Reaper came for me sooner rather than later.”
I wanted to argue with him and tell him that he should fight until the end because life was worth living and all that, but given the state of things, it would have been a hard sell.
“What’s going on?” Kent asked as he hurried up to us.
He got a look at Hartman, and his eyes went wide.
“Whoa!” he exclaimed. “Is he alive?”
“Yes, he’s alive,” Hartman snarled.
“Oh, sorry, dude,” Kent said. “No offense.”
“Hello?” Olivia called meekly.
She approached us cautiously. She spotted Hartman over Kent’s shoulder and—
“Boo!” Hartman barked.
Olivia gasped in surprise and took a quick step back. Hartman laughed. He had a sense of humor.
Tori laughed too. I think she liked seeing Olivia look silly. “Mr. Hartman is a patient here,” I explained.
“Oh,” Olivia said, embarrassed. “I’m sorry I screamed at you.”
“Don’t worry about it, missy,” Hartman said. “It was the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in years.”
“That’s just sad,” Kent said.
It was Kent’s turn to get a kick from Tori.
“Ow!”
“What are you kids doing here?” Hartman asked. “Where are your families?”
“That’s a very long story,” I replied. “We came from Pemberwick Island in Maine.”
“Then what ’n hell are you doing in Springfield?” he asked.
“Good question,” Olivia answered.
“We’re going to Nevada,” Tori added with authority. “We hear there are a lot of survivors there.”
Hartman’s eyes suddenly went wide, as if he had sparked to an idea. He smiled, and for an instant I imagined I could see what he looked like when he was a younger man.
“Hey now, you’re not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel or anything, are you?” Kent asked nervously.
“I think I can help you,” Hartman said, suddenly enthused.
“Doubt it,” Kent said with disdain.
“Listen to me,” Hartman said. “Paul. My son. Paul Hartman. He’s the last family I’ve got. Just before I ended up here, he called me on the phone and said the strangest thing. He said he wanted me to go somewhere and meet him. Somewhere that was going to be safe. That’s what he said exactly, somewhere that was going to be safe. I had no idea what he was talking about. There wasn’t anything dangerous about my neighborhood. I’ve lived in the same house for sixty years. But he wouldn’t explain it any more than that. Said he was taking a big risk just telling me. He wanted me to get on a plane and join him. My son’s a practical fella. He’s not one for making up stories, so I was inclined to go. But my heart took a turn, and I landed here instead. The next day the attack came.”
“So Paul knew it was coming?” I asked.
“He must have!” Hartman said. “He knew it wouldn’t be safe here. He knew! I have to tell you, the only thing that’s keeping my mind at peace is knowing my son might still be alive and in a safe place.”
“Is your son in the Air Force?” Tori asked.
“Air Force?” Hartman scoffed. “Nah. He’s an architect. Builds homes. How would an architect know something like this would happen?”
That was a good question. I could ask the same thing about my parents. How did they know the attack was coming? Because they worked for SYLO, that’s why.
I asked, “Did he ever mention something called SYLO?”
Hartman frowned. “What kind of question is that? He wasn’t a farmer. I told you, he builds houses!”
“Did he tell you where the safe place was?” Jon asked.
“Kentucky,” Hartman replied. “He was going to pick me up at the airport in Louisville.”
“But he didn’t tell you exactly where it was?” Olivia asked.
“Said he couldn’t. It was some big secret. He begged me to come to him, promised me I’d be safe there… and that’s what I’m promising you.”
“Us?” Kent asked.
“Go to Kentucky,” Hartman begged. “Start at that airport and search for anything that might look like a safe haven. You’re just kids. If there’s any chance of getting somewhere safe, you should take it. Please. Promise me you’ll go.”
Hartman started breathing hard again as he got carried away with emotion. Tori took his shoulders and eased him back down onto the bed.
“We will,” she said. “We’ll go there.”
“We will?” Kent asked, confused. “I thought you wanted to go to—?”
It was Olivia’s turn to kick Kent.
“Ow!” he complained. “Stop that!”
“Good,” Hartman said. “Maybe that’s the reason I’m still here. Still alive. To give that message to you kids. To tell you about the safe haven.”
“Could be,” Tori said soothingly, as if she were talking to a child. “You did a really nice thing for us.”
“You’re good kids,” he said. “I want you to be safe. Tell my son that I sent you.”
He was starting to sound like a crazy old man again.
“We will,” Tori said. “We will. But you should relax now. You’re getting a little too excited.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right. Good idea.”
His breath quickened again as if he couldn’t get enough air to fill his lungs.
“I’m so tired,” he added. “Maybe I can sleep a little.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Tori said softly. “If you need anything, we’ll be close by.”
Hartman grabbed Tori’s hand and held it to his chest.
“Please, missy, promise me you’ll go.”
Tori hesitated, then said, “We’ll do our best.”
Hartman smiled. Her words were a genuine relief to him.
“Thank you,” he said.
“No, thank you, Mr. Hartman,” Tori replied. “You really helped us.”
“I did, didn’t I?” he said happily.
“Absolutely,” Tori assured him.
“That’s good. But I think I need a little shuteye now.”
“Okay, we’ll see you in the morning,” Tori said gently.
She looked up and nodded for us to leave, so we all backed away from the old man to give him his privacy. I pulled the curtain, and we walked quietly to the far side of the emergency room, where we found a small office. No sooner was the door shut when—
“What a loon!” Kent exclaimed. “Was he, like… hallucinating?”
“Stop!” Tori said. “He’s sick.”
“He’s sick, all right,” Kent said with no compassion. “In the head.”
“What if he’s right?” Jon asked. “What if there’s a safe haven out there?”
“You believe that nutburger?” Kent asked, incredulous.
“Why would he lie?” Jon argued.
“I’m not saying he’s lying. I’m saying he’s out of his mind. He could have imagined all that.”
“And what if he didn’t?” I asked.
“No way, Rook,” Kent said quickly. “It’s a fairy tale.”
“Why are you so sure?” Olivia asked. “We believe some mysterious radio voice being broadcast from nowhere. Who’s to say what’s real and what isn’t?”
Kent had no comeback to that. None of us did.
“I’m too tired to think straight anymore,” I said. “Let’s ask him again in the morning and see if he has the same story.”
“So where do we sleep?” Olivia asked.