Sanctuary (20 page)

Karma had already caught up to them.

Several yards past the SUV, he instructed Meredith to stop. He recalled the food they'd had in the vehicle. In all likelihood it was gone, but he'd check in case.

"I'd like to think we'll find assistance in Abbotsville, but we can't rely on it," he said. "I'm going to search for supplies. I'll be right back."

Meredith agreed. She stopped.

"Be ready to move," Dan warned as he disembarked.

He crept back to the SUV and studied the surroundings. Remains were scattered around the grass, but the bulk of the bodies was gone—it looked like they'd been pulled into the nearby field and consumed. The interior of the vehicle was ripped and shredded, the contents strewn everywhere. Dan saw nothing of value inside. The creatures had gotten to the family, and looters had finished the job.

Judging by the dried bloodstains, it looked like the events had transpired much earlier. The infected that had done this were probably as dead as the family they'd feasted on.
 

He gave a final look at the car and walked back to the Falcon. Meredith, Quinn, and Ernie were waiting. Dan got inside and shut the door.

"Find anything?" Meredith asked hopefully.

"No." He held up his empty hands.

"Are they dead, Daddy?" Quinn asked from the backseat.

"It looks like it, honey."

"Even Grant?"

He nodded. Without another word, he locked the door and Meredith accelerated, leaving the gruesome scene behind.

It was late morning when they reached the Abbotsville limits. The sun rose higher, coating the horizon yellow. Dan kept a watchful eye on their surroundings, paying close attention to the sky, searching for the chopper.

It'd been over a day since Meredith, John, and Quinn had seen it. Even if it had been here at one time, it was probably long gone. Dan considered the events that had transpired since they'd left the Sanders'.
 

It felt like they'd ventured out a week ago, rather than a day.

They'd been through so much.
 

They'd
lost
so much.

But his hope hadn't dimmed completely. He couldn't give up now. He desperately wanted to provide a life for Quinn, to pull her through the darkness and to the other side, whatever that side might contain. Whatever life came after, they'd get to it together.

He was ripped from his thoughts by the sound of Ernie whining. Dan glanced backward. The dog had leapt from Quinn's arms and was standing on the backseat, ears cocked. Dan swiveled.

"Dan! Look up ahead!"

Meredith was pointing to the end of the road. An intersection had sprung up about a half mile away. Traveling perpendicular to them, like illusions in the sunlight, were the silhouettes of several army vehicles.
 

The vehicles moved across the road silently, as if they were specters of Dan's imagination. The sun glinted off the camouflage. Dan watched in disbelief, convinced the vehicles would disappear. He envisioned reaching the intersection to find them stopped or stalled out, the occupants ripped apart and scattered. But the vehicles kept moving. There was no question they were real. With each passing second, they crept farther into the distance, and Dan found his old fear replaced by a new one: what if they lost sight of them? What if they missed their chance?

"Speed up, Meredith!" he shouted.

She was already accelerating. The asphalt hummed beneath the tires as the Falcon flew toward the line of vehicles. The army had passed the intersection, but Meredith swung right, chasing after them. Soon she'd narrowed the gap. Dan's heart thundered as they got close.

The last car in the procession was a Jeep.

The vehicle stopped, and the soldiers trained their rifles on the approaching car. One of them barked orders for Meredith to halt. She complied. The ensuing silence was as long and unreal as the entire journey had been. The men stared at them without moving. After a moment, one of them spoke.

"Throw your weapons out of the car! Now!"

Dan slowly lowered the rifle he was holding, and he rolled down the window and called out to them. "I'm going to toss my rifle in the street!" He did, and the clatter still made him cringe. In his old life, he'd lived with a weapon in his holster; now he lived with one in his hand. He felt naked without it.

"Is there anything else in the vehicle?" the soldier yelled.

"We have a few more weapons in here."

"Toss them out. Slowly."

Dan complied, retrieving them from between the seats and tossing them onto the asphalt. The soldiers instructed them to exit the vehicle, hands raised. Dan swallowed and glanced at his companions. Meredith, Quinn, and Ernie stared at him, their eyes laced with emotion. He smiled.

In spite of his anxiety, safety was closer than ever.

"Here goes nothing," he said, opening the door.
 

He stepped out onto the pavement.

"You're a police officer?"

"Yes, my name is Dan Lowery, and I'm a patrolman in the St. Matthews, Arizona police department."

"How'd you get to Oklahoma, Officer Lowery?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm listening, officer."

"I traveled in several vehicles, all with my daughter, Quinn."

"That's a hell of a long way. Were you alone the whole time?"

Dan paused, thinking back to the people he'd encountered on the way—both the people he'd met, and the people he'd lost. There were too many to name.

Their faces and names were ingrained in his memory.

He launched into his tale. He recounted the stories of his loved ones and co-workers in St. Matthews. Julie. Sheriff Turner. Howard Barrett. Mickey Sonstrom. He told of the other survivors who'd assisted him: Sam, Delta, and Noah. He also spoke of Sam and Delta's trip to Salt Lake City, and Noah's journey home to Portland. The events seemed like they'd occurred in some other time, at some place much farther than St. Matthews. It was hard to believe they'd happened to him.
 

Dan paused for breath. The soldier across from him was wearing camouflage fatigues, holding a rifle in his lap. The name on his outfit said Greene. His eyes were dark and severe.
 

"And you said Howard Barrett was a member of the agents?"

"Yes."

"Please continue, Officer Lowery."

Dan narrated the remainder of their journey, starting with the days after leaving St. Matthews and culminating in their time at the Sanders'. Then he relayed the details of their journey over the past few days, including their battle with Tim Keller and the loss of their friend John. When he was finished, the soldier stared at him, processing what he'd heard.

"Can I ask you a question?" Dan said.
 

"Go ahead."

"Have the agents been captured?"

"I can't give out those details."

Dan recalled the conversation he'd heard in St. Matthews. "I heard their compound was overrun," he said. "One of them said as much. I caught word over one of the vehicles in their van when I was staying at the salvage yard in St. Matthews."

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that, Officer."

"Please, Sgt. Greene. After all we've been through, I need to know that we're safe. I need to know these people have been eradicated."

Sgt. Greene folded his hands over his rifle, his eyes wandering Dan's battered face. After a moment, his expression softened. He spoke.

"I appreciate what you did out there, Officer Lowery. I admire your courage in getting to your sister-in-law, and in keeping your daughter safe. I'm going to share some information with you, but I trust you'll keep it confidential."
 

Dan nodded. Sgt. Greene cleared his throat and continued.
 

"About a week ago, your companions managed to infiltrate the compound in Salt Lake City. In the process of that raid, they managed to free about a dozen people being held captive there, and they were able to wound or kill many of the agents. Our forces arrived shortly after. We managed to contain the rest of them. There are a few agents still out there, but we feel confident the danger has been defused."

"Are Sam and Delta still alive?" Dan swallowed, afraid to hear the answer.

"Yes," Sgt. Greene confirmed. "They made it to a camp outside of Colorado. Last I heard they were still being debriefed. Noah Chambers is there, as well. He was able to corroborate their story."
 

Dan's anxiety lifted.

"What about the infection? Has it been contained?"

"The affected areas are being evacuated, and the contaminated products have been identified. The CDC believes the threat is contained. We'll keep working to ensure that happens. For now, focus on your family, and getting better."

Dan felt a swell of relief.

"Where are we heading now?"

"We might have some further questions for you when we reach camp. We've set up a temporary base on the other side of Abbotsville. You'll be transported there along with the other survivors from the area."

"How many are there?"

Greene shook his head. "Not as many as we'd hoped. There are five other people in the transport vehicle now. About two hundred total at camp."

"How long will we be there?" Dan asked.

"We're still sorting this thing out, as you can imagine," Greene said. "But we'll give you news when we can."

Dan opened his mouth to speak, but was hit with a wave of dizziness.

"You've been through a lot, Officer Lowery. Try to relax. We'll reunite you with Quinn as soon as medical is through," Greene assured him. "We'll have more treatment and supplies at the camp."

Dan nodded. The man asked him a few more questions, and Dan answered to the best of his ability. Once they'd finished, the man told him he'd be moving to the transport vehicle. "Everything's under control, Officer. The worst of it is over."

Dan nodded and thanked Greene for his assistance. He followed the man out of the Humvee. Quinn and Meredith were waiting. When they saw Dan emerge, they ran to his side and clung to him. He gave them a tight embrace.

The soldiers led them to the transport vehicle.

"I can't believe this is happening," Meredith said to Dan. "It seems unreal."

She was clutching a towel to her face, and Dan could see she'd been bandaged. She was in pain, but she'd heal.
We all will
. Quinn hurried alongside him, tugging his arm. She looked nervous and excited at the same time.

"They say they have food there, Daddy. And a place to sleep."

"That's great news."

"You'll even get your own tent," one of the soldiers confirmed. He ushered them to the vehicle. "We have showers set up, and food and water as well. I'm sure you're all starving." He opened the back door and helped them each inside.

"Thanks," Dan said.

"No problem," the soldier replied. "We'll be there in twenty minutes. Hang tight."

When they'd all climbed in, the soldier shut the door.

There were four other survivors already in the seats. They welcomed the newcomers with nervous nods, their faces tearstained, their eyes reflective of the things they'd seen. Dan surveyed each of them. His eyes roamed to a far corner of the truck, where another survivor was hiding in the shadows. It was a young boy. Unlike the other survivors, his face was familiar.
 

"Grant?" Dan asked.
 

He stepped over to the boy. Grant hugged his knees to his chest, covering his face. His T-shirt was stained, torn. He peeked out between splayed fingers, as if Dan might lash out at the sight of him.

Quinn grabbed Dan's arm. "Daddy! He's alive!"

Dan walked through the vehicle and took a seat next to the frightened boy. Grant peered up at him, still afraid.

"I'm sorry for what I did," Grant pleaded, the tears already flowing. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone—"

"I know. It's not your fault," Dan said.

He patted the boy's arm, then gestured for Meredith and Quinn to sit. The rest of the survivors looked on in silence, their faces weary and sympathetic. Grant uncovered his face and looked up at Dan.
 

"Are you alone?" Dan asked him.

"Yes." Without prompting, Grant described what had happened to his parents. "We ran into a group of the infected on the road. My dad tried to swerve around them, but he ended up going off the road. And then they attacked us. There were so many. I tried to fight them off, but there was nothing I could do. I was so afraid. I ran away…but Mom and Dad didn't make it."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Grant," Dan said.

"I didn't mean to leave them behind. You believe me, don't you?"

"I believe you," Dan said. He put his arm around the boy, and the boy sobbed into his shirt. Dan glanced at Meredith and Quinn, whose eyes were wet with tears.
 

"We're going to be okay, Grant. All of us. It's over."