Invasion: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Novel (Sympatico Syndrome Book 3) Page 24

  “You shouldn’t be doing all that hard work. You’re six months pregnant.”

  “Seven”

  Cole froze in the act of putting the mop out on the back stoop to dry. “What?”

  “Jenna has been thinking I’m farther along than we thought. With the stress of the virus, I wasn’t…regular, you know? So I wasn’t exactly sure when I could have become pregnant. It looks like maybe the first time…” She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t look so freaked out. What difference does it make? Sophie is due in a month, maybe less, and I’ll be a month behind her.”

  “I just…damn. I wanted things to be more settled before the baby came. Is there a chance Jenna is wrong?” Cole scratched the back of his head as he muddled through the news.

  “I have no idea. I just know that we need to prepare sooner rather than later. We did bring all those diapers you grabbed last fall, right?”

  “Oh, yeah, we have several hundred, but we should get cloth too, right? I mean, the diapers won’t last forever.”

  “You know what? Don’t worry about the diapers. Sophie and I will figure it out. You just go do what you need to do.”

  “I’m going to ask Amanda to come with me. Do you mind?”

  Elly laughed. “No. Why would I mind? You don’t plan to get her pregnant too, do you?” The teasing glint in her eye let Cole off the hook.

  “Of course not. It’s just she knows the area and the guys I’m looking for will know her.”

  Amanda came from a different entrance into the kitchen, a tray with dirty dishes balanced in her hands.

  “Amanda, I know you’re super busy, but can I ask another favor?”

  “Sure.” She emptied the tray in the sink and picked up a sponge.

  “Leave those, Amanda. I can do them. In fact, it will be a pleasure to do dishes with warm running water at hand.”

  “Oh, I can do them.”

  “I know, but this way, you and Cole can get going sooner.”

  She shrugged. “Fine. I’m ready if you are.”

  Hunter, followed by Jake, entered the house. His dad and Amanda stood near the kitchen table, but Hunter made a beeline for the sink. Dust coated his skin and his mouth felt like mud. He should have brought more water, but he and Jake hadn’t planned on being gone so long. “Hey, Dad! You won’t believe this place! It’s gorgeous out there.” He turned on the cold water, sighing as it ran over his hands. Impulsively, he cupped his hands under the faucet, scooping water over his face, rubbing it around his neck, then slurped a few mouthfuls from his hands. It tasted so cold and fresh—not like stale water from a bottle.

  “Ah, you know there are glasses for drinking?” His dad’s voice made him turn around even as he wiped water from his eyelashes “Oh, shoot. I’m sorry for the mess. I was so hot and thirsty—”

  “No worries. It’s Hunter, right?” She found a dishtowel in a drawer and handed it to him.

  “Yeah, that’s me. And this is Jake—who clearly knows how to take a hint,” Hunter joked as Jake opened a cabinet next to the sink, found a cup, and drank from it.

  “I wasn’t raised in a barn.” Jake grinned over the rim of his cup before tilting it and downing the rest of the water.

  Amanda took the towel from Hunter and draped it over her shoulder. With a, wink at him, she said to Jake, “I practically was raised in a barn, so I know how hot hard work can make a person.” She turned on the water, cupped her hands and proceeded to drink from them.

  Feeling at ease, Hunter ran his hands through his hair. He felt better already.

  “Hunter, I’d like you to go with me to see if we can interest some of the other survivors in the area in coming together for a meeting three days from now.”

  “Sure, Dad.”

  “If you’re hungry, there’s bread on the counter there.” His dad pointed to a loaf wrapped in a clean dish cloth.

  Jake beat Hunter to it, but sliced them each a thick piece, spotted the jam sitting beside it and handed it to Hunter. “You’re on jam duty.”

  One of the teens, Derek, came from back in the house, eyeing the bread.

  Amanda shook her head. “That’s not ours, Derek.”

  His face fell, but Hunter edged Jake out of the way and cut the boy a slice. “Here. It’s okay. My cousin, Piper, makes the best bread ever.”

  Derek took it, but not before requesting permission from his sister, who nodded.

  Hunter handed him the jam. “Try it with this. It’s the bomb.”

  “Derek, do you want to go with us? We could cover more ground if you go with Hunter, and I go with Cole.”

  Hunter stuffed the last bite of his bread in his mouth, grabbed a glass and washed down the bread with a long gulp, giving his dad a sly grin. “Let’s go. I’m ready.”

  “Okay. Derek, I’ll take the Jeep, you can take the pick-up.” Amanda tossed a set of keys to Derek, he motioned to Hunter. “Come on.”

  Jake looked at Hunter’s dad. “What about me?”

  “If this meeting comes about, we’re going to need a lot food to share. It might be the only thing that will entice people to show up.”

  Hunter nodded. “Good point, Dad. While Jake and I were out, we came across an empty house along one of the backroads. We didn’t go in because it was getting late, but it was definitely abandoned, but looked like it’s been untouched. It had a mailbox out on the road. It’s pretty out of the way and might be worth checking for supplies.”

  Amanda nodded. “I have a map in my Jeep. I should give it to you guys anyway. Derek knows the area, but he’d just gotten his license when the virus hit. He hasn’t driven a lot.”

  “I’m a good driver.”

  “Did I say you were a bad driver? No. I didn’t.” Amanda headed out the door, tossing over her shoulder to Derek as he caught the screen door behind her. “And it’s not like there’s much traffic to contend with. You just have to go slow to find a path through obstacles.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Hunter rode shotgun with Derek driving. His dad had taken the radios from their vehicles so they had a means of communicating. He’d also given a rundown about some Air Force guys they were looking for. It seemed like a wild goose chase, but Hunter was up for it.

  “So, you’re seventeen?” Hunter opened the map and as they passed roads, he noted where they were and was able to pinpoint the ranch they were staying at, and then find the house on the backroad. It looked as if the road ended at a canyon.

  “Yeah. Just turned. I’m not really sure what the date is anymore.”

  Hunter nodded. “Yeah, I know. Kind of hard to keep track of dates when there’s no reason to. But, my dad has kept track since day one, so he’ll know the exact date.”

  “I could find out here. We still have electricity and all, so, like, my computer still has a calendar, but with no internet, I don’t use the computer much. It’s not like I can Google anything.”

  “I haven’t used a computer since the beginning. In fact, I fried mine the day before the virus hit. I was dreading telling my dad.” Hunter laughed. “Looking back, that seems like such a minor issue? You know?”

  “I guess.”

  “Anyway, we agreed to follow your sister to the first few houses and see if anyone is around. They’re trying to find a couple of military guys?”

  “Oh yeah. I’ve seen them before. I think they’re the ones who drove the steers on to our ranch.”

  “Really? What makes you think that?”

  “Well, I’ve seen them on dirt bikes tearing up the highway. Those things don’t use much fuel and can get by just about any obstacle. They’re way better than a car or even a truck, for getting around now. I want to find one for myself.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “Yeah, so, after the stray cattle showed up, I rode out and saw tire tracks in the dirt. Tracks that were too small to come from a car, plus they made super tight turns.”

  “Why would they drive the cattle on to your ranch and just leave without tellin
g you guys?”

  “I guess they knew we were alive and we’d take care of them? After we butchered a couple, Amanda made up a package of beef and left it out on the road in a big orange cooler for them. The meat was gone, but none of us heard anyone. We think they took it. It was my sister’s way of thanking them.”

  Hunter squinted to see the road sign of an intersecting road, found it on the map and marked how long it had taken to get there on a separate notepad he’d taken from his truck before leaving. “So, what’s with you and your sister?”

  “What do you mean?” Derek sounded defensive, and his hands appeared to tighten on the steering wheel.

  “This morning, before she and my dad left to get your dad, I heard you two talking out by the horses. Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I was taking care of Red, and I guess you were right on the other side of the wall.” Derek had sounded angry and defiant. Hunter wouldn’t normally ask questions, but these weren’t normal times and he didn’t want his family to be caught in some kind of family drama going on with Amanda and Derek.

  “It’s nothing. She just thinks she’s in charge now and I don’t agree.”

  “Who do you think is in charge?”

  “My dad.”

  “And Amanda doesn’t let him take charge?”

  “No, it’s not like she does anything to stop him, but he doesn’t do much.”

  “I don’t understand. I thought he was shot?” He wondered how much they expected a wounded man to do.

  “That just happened in the last week. Before that, Amanda still acted like she was in charge. She wouldn’t let me and Daniel go anywhere. She practically kept us under lock and key.”

  “Sounds like she kept your skinny ass alive.”

  “Nah. I’d have been fine. Not sure about my brother but I have street smarts.”

  Hunter swallowed a chuckle. “Street smarts?”

  “You know what I mean. I know how to take care of myself.”

  “Hmmm…well you sound a lot better off than I was last year. I had no clue, but I had to learn quick.”

  Derek shot him a look then refocused on the road and evaded a desert tortoise on the pavement. “Why? What happened?”

  “I was out west, well, west for me. I was in Colorado at college and my dad called me and told me to get home. Basically, told me not to stop for anything and just drive. This was just before it got bad. It’s complicated, but Elly had given him a heads up.”

  Derek’s eyebrow rose but he didn’t ask about that. “And?”

  “And…I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, but luckily my dad had told me to get a bunch of camping gear before I left, and I had a bit of food. I found more at a farm where the owners had died. That’s also where I got the horses. And Buddy.”

  “That’s your dog?”

  “Yeah. He saved my ass a few times too. And kept me from going insane. I felt like I was the only one left alive. I had to cross several states and I wasn’t even sure that when I got there that my family would still be alive. I’d have given anything to already be home with them when it hit.”

  “But your mom didn’t die.”

  “Not then, no.”

  Derek turned and stared at him long enough for Hunter to motion for him to turn his attention back to the road. Even with no traffic, it wasn’t wise to look away for too long.

  “When did your mom die?”

  “When I was about six.”

  “Wow. That sucks.”

  “Yeah. It does. Every other kid I knew had a mom and my dad never re-married so I never even had a stepmom.”

  “Elly wasn’t there?”

  Hunter laughed. “No. I told you it’s complicated. I’ll tell you about it later, but I think we’re at the first stop.”

  Derek followed Amanda’s Jeep down a winding drive. “I think I know this place. A friend from school lived here.” There was hope in his voice, but then it faded when they saw how overgrown everything appeared. That in itself wasn’t a good indicator as survival didn’t require perfect lawns, but a set of bleached bones in the middle of the drive was a pretty good bet nobody was there. The bones had to have been there a while to be so clean and white. It wasn’t from a human. It was too big. Maybe a horse or cow, but as they drove past, Hunter saw bones cracked in half. Either the animal had died from coyotes or wild dogs, maybe even a mountain lion, or they had fed on the remains. If people had been around, Hunter couldn’t see the animals coming so close to the house.

  Amanda swerved to the right and did a U-turn, shaking her head at them as she passed by. Hunter sighed. It could be a long afternoon.

  It wasn’t until the ninth house that they found anyone alive. A man and a small boy. The man came out on to his front porch, and rifle in the crook of his arm.

  His father stepped out, and Hunter held his breath. Why did his dad always have to be the one to take the risk? He rolled down his window so he could hear the conversation.

  “…Veteran’s Park. You know where that is? Three days. At five p.m.”

  “I want you off my property. Now.”

  His dad backed away, arms raised. “Look, mister. I know it’s hard to trust other people and I know you might be worried about catching the virus, but feel free to wear a mask. Nobody will think twice about it. I’ll probably wear one myself. But there will be food there.”

  The barrel of the rifle lowered a fraction. “Food?”

  Amanda put one foot out, standing to look over the door. “Yeah. I have beef, and we’ll see what other stuff we have. If you have something to share, that would be welcome, but if you don’t feel comfortable with that, just come as our guest. The important thing is that we get to know each other. You know out here, neighbors have always depended on each other. We need each other now more than ever.”

  The rifle lowered still more and the man put a hand on the child’s head. “My son hasn’t seen any other kids in a year. He said you guys were ghosts because we thought everyone was dead.”

  “No. There are more survivors than you think.” His dad pointed to Derek’s truck. “That’s my son and her brother. I think have about twenty-five people at the ranch, with both of our families combined?” He looked to Amanda for confirmation.

  She nodded and said, “Plus those guys from on my ranch.”

  “And those two Air Force guys. So counting you two, there are at least thirty-seven of us alive right around here.” His dad’s voice softened. “And some are children. We have three with us. Two boys and girl. They’d love to have another kid to play with.”

  The young boy’s eyes opened wide as he looked at his own father then back to Hunter’s dad.

  The man straightened his shoulders, the rifle inching up, but there was no threat in his voice when he said, “I’ll think about it.”

  “Okay. Hope to see you there, but no matter whether you go or not, if you need anything, we’re just down the road.”

  He gave a noncommittal nod. Amanda gave the man the address but he didn’t write it down.

  Hunter called out to his dad. “Why don’t we split up? I feel like we’re wasting gas just following you.”

  “Are you armed?”

  Hunter patted the butt of his handgun tucked into a shoulder holster. “Always.”

  Today he wore a tank top with loose button down shirt over it. He found it was actually cooler to keep the sun off his skin than to be completely bare. The loose shirt covered the gun, but it was within easy reach.

  Amanda retrieved something from the back of her Jeep and came up to Hunter’s window, throwing an uneasy glance at the man, who remained on the porch as if they intended to storm the house. She called to him that they were just getting ready to leave.

  She thrust a can of red spray paint at Hunter. “Here, mark the front doors with an X if the house is empty. We can come back later and check for supplies. If you can, write the addresses down, too. We’re going to go west and you guys can take this road, go south and then west. We’ll go the opposite wa
y and we’ll be covering a large loop. There will be a gas station on your left so we can meet there. Say, in about an hour?”

  Derek nodded. “Yeah.”

  Amanda turned to go back to her Jeep when Derek shouted, “Be careful, Amanda.”

  She paused in the act of opening her door, stared at her brother for a moment, before nodding. “You too.”

  Derek rolled up his window and didn’t look at Hunter. They drove south, inspected several more homes where all they found were bodies and death. They made their Xs, and if the houses didn’t already look ransacked, they added a smaller S to make it easier to determine where there might be supplies. Hunter noted the addresses for future reference.

  The quiet in the truck grew awkward with only the sound of Hunter’s pen scratching on the notepad to break the silence. He picked up his story where he’d left off after finding Buddy. “My cousin, Trent, died just before I got to the island—that’s where we went to stay away from all the sick people—he would have been almost your age now. Maybe a year younger. I miss him so much. Growing up, my dad and I spent a lot of time at my cousin’s house. All the holidays, birthday, you name it. They always had room for us. Piper’s like a sister and Trent was more of a brother than a cousin. I even lived there when my dad’s job took him away from home for months at a time.”

  Derek seemed lost in thought but then said, “My dad could have been in charge, but he’s not like your dad. He just sat in the house. I’m not even sure he’d have noticed I would have died in the beginning. He watched television hour after hour until it went off the air, and even then, he stared at the screen when it was just that white fuzzy stuff.”

  “Snow?”

  “Is that what it’s called? I never saw it before, but yeah. He finally started acting like he cared if we lived or died about two months ago.”

  “And who took care of things before that?” Hunter knew the answer even before Derek replied, but he let the boy say it anyway.

  “Amanda…”

  Hunter didn’t reply, and just pointed out the next house. This one looked like there might be someone living there, so he told Derek to beep the horn so whoever was there would know they weren’t trying to sneak up on them.