Sandra laughed. It didn’t take long for Gaby to join in.
Josh smiled. He was glad to see them both laughing. He knew they had been through a lot, especially Sandra. The end of the world was one thing, but what had happened to her afterward — and almost happened to Gaby — was beyond anything he would ever experience as a man. Josh was ashamed of his species, and even ashamed of himself whenever he thought of Gaby in an overtly sexual way, which was often.
It’s the end of the world, and we’re still thinking exclusively with our dicks. Way to go, mofos.
They heard gunshots around one in the afternoon.
First it was just one shot, then it was two, then three.
At first, Josh thought someone was just shooting into the air. Maybe Folger and the others were bored or trying to lure them out. He wouldn’t put it past them. By now they would have gotten tired of driving all over town searching for them, and they might have decided a new tactic was in order.
But then there was a series of gunshots, and Josh knew it wasn’t a trick. It was a full-on gun battle. After a while, he traced the sounds back to the municipal area, with the courthouse and the police department and the public library. Back to where they had been kept in the semitrailer. Sound tended to carry these days, Josh knew, without all the usual noises and distractions of a city filled with people.
Josh walked over to the basement window, as if he could see what was happening if he stared outside long enough. Gaby and Sandra stood next to him, and they listened for the longest time, no one saying a word.
It went on for minutes. Maybe five minutes.
“Josh,” Gaby said suddenly, “try the radio.”
“Oh, shit,” Josh said, and ran over to the radio.
He had turned it off because no one was saying anything, but now he turned it back on and immediately heard Folger’s voice: “—we’re going around them.”
“Hurry the fuck up, then,” another male voice said. It wasn’t Manley or Del. Josh would recognize them by now. How many were left? Two. Betts was dead. Or probably dead. That left the short man and the Hispanic.
“Just keep them pinned down,” Folger said. “How many do you see?”
“A lot,” the Hispanic said, “but only two seem to be shooting back. Dammit, they know what they’re doing. They’re not straying from the trucks.”
“Shoot the gas tank,” Folger said.
“It’s not that easy,” the Hispanic said irritably. “Just get over here already.”
“We’re on our way.”
There was suddenly a burst of continued gunfire, like someone was firing on full automatic. Then one shot — and a few seconds later, a second shot — and then it was quiet.
“What happened?” Folger said.
“Fuck, I think they got Hiller,” the Hispanic said.
“Hiller? Hiller, come in.” It was Folger again. “Hiller! Shit. Is he dead?”
“Well, he’s not shooting anymore, so probably he’s dead. Are you coming?”
There wasn’t a reply.
“Folger, dammit, are you coming or what?” the Hispanic asked again. He waited for a reply.
Josh and the girls waited anxiously, too.
“Folger? Folger!”
There was no reply.
They waited, but they didn’t hear anything else. The radio had gone dead.
“It’s over,” Josh said.
“What do you think happened?” Gaby asked.
“Sounded like a gun fight. Maybe Folger and his buddies met their match.”
“Maybe the new people shot and killed the fuckers,” Sandra said.
“They killed one, at least,” Josh said. “Hiller. The short guy.”
“How many does that leave?” Gaby asked.
“Four. I didn’t hear Betts on the radio once. Either he’s dead or he’s not running around.”
“Serves him right,” Sandra said, and Josh saw her exchange a look with Gaby, as if to say, “You did nothing wrong.”
Gaby nodded back at the other woman, but said nothing.
Josh glanced around the basement, then at Gaby and Sandra. It was such a small room, and it was so hot. They weren’t going to be able to stay in here forever, he knew that now. Hell, they might not even be able to last the day.
So what other options were there?
“Stay here,” Josh said. “I’m going to find out what happened.”
“What?” Gaby said. “Are you crazy? You can’t go out there. Even if there’s only four of them left, there’s still four of them left, Josh.”
“Or maybe they’re running,” he said, trying to convince himself. “You heard Folger on the radio. He was supposed to go around and get into the gun battle, but he didn’t. I think he’s running. So that leaves the people they were shooting at.”
“We don’t know who those people are, either. They could be just as dangerous as Folger. Or worse.”
“She’s right,” Sandra said. “We don’t know who they are.”
Josh nodded. They were both right.
Not that it mattered. Whatever happened, they still couldn’t stay down here. Not forever.
“I won’t let them see me,” he said. “I’ll hide, sneak around, keep a low profile.”
“This is crazy, Josh,” Gaby said.
He could see how worried she looked, but instead of making him relent, it only steeled his resolve. Seeing her like this made him more courageous, because he had to protect her. He couldn’t do that down here.
I’m the guy…
“We have to find out,” Josh said. “We can’t stay down here forever.”
Sandra and Gaby exchanged a look, and he knew he had gotten to them.
“Be careful,” Gaby said.
“I’ll be back. I promise.”
He headed for the stairs. He had Matt’s gun tucked into his front waistband. He touched the handle now, just to make sure it was still there.
You and me, Matt ol’ buddy, all the way.
Pros and cons: What were they?
Pros: He was still in one piece, and so was Gaby. They were in a place Folger and his people couldn’t find. He liked their chances of staying hidden for a while, living off food in the house. Eventually, they could probably do something about the heat.
Cons: They couldn’t stay down there forever. Eventually they would have to come out. The food would eventually run out. The basement would eventually get too hot as summertime churned on. And cabin fever would eventually get to them. It was why they had never stayed in one town for too long, back when it was just him and Gaby and Matt, and why they had kept moving ever since the end of the world. Eventually, everything ran its course.
Conclusion: He had no choice. He had to find out what had happened along Main Street. He had to find out if Folger and the others were still out there, and who the people they were trading gunfire with were. God knew he didn’t want to leave the basement, leave Gaby, but there was no choice. Sooner or later, they would have to venture back out into the real world.
Or what was left of it, anyway.
The good news? He had Gaby.
Well, he didn’t have her, but he was with her, and that was a pretty good start.
Josh moved through the subdivision slowly, taking his time. The heat was already becoming insufferable, and he didn’t want to think about how much hotter it was going to get in another few hours. He darted between houses, heading south, which would take him back to Chance Road, and from there he could pick his way toward the municipal area. It made sense that the new arrivals would stumble across Folger’s people there, and a shoot-out would erupt. It must have been like stumbling across a nest of snakes. He just hoped the new arrivals weren’t snakes, too, or it was back to the basement.