Abandon (4 page)

“Is that all we need from here?” Jake asked eying the cart.  “I’m pretty sure Katy is going to take longer than this...”

Cort groaned.  “Yeah, but I think we have enough time to run to the other sections of the store and grab what we need before she gets done.”

They did just that.  It took them an hour to get all of the things they wanted, and Katy wasn’t done getting clothes.  Cort was inspecting his carts standing against the videogame sections when she finally came up loading up what seemed to be half the entire stock of female clothes into his cart.  “I couldn’t decide, they were all horrid,” she said shrugging.

“I don’t think I have enough to cover all of this...” Cort said, fingering though the clothes she had picked out.  Most of them wouldn’t be suitable if they didn’t have heat in the house or they were forced to camp, but he didn’t want to wait for her to pick out anything else.  Seeing the price tags on some of the clothes, he did some calculations in his head.  Actually, he probably did have enough money, but he didn’t want to deplete his entire bank account on clothes that wouldn’t be worth anything past the first week they were there, especially for someone who he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand for much longer.

She waved him off, “Don’t worry, I have Daddy’s credit card.  I’ll just put everything on there and you can pay me back for your part in sexual favors.”

Jake coughed behind them.  

Cort sighed.

Katy smiled and turned on her heel continuing to the front check out lanes, oblivious to the frustration of those with her.

Chapter 5:  Annalise

Route 340 West Virginia
December 12, 2012

Annalise hadn’t left Meredith’s until close to four pm.  It had already started getting dark as they hugged in the parking lot before splitting off their separate ways - Meredith heading down 81 towards Tennessee and Annalise taking back roads through West Virginia to the rally point in Cumberland.  Apparently Cort and his party were about two hours out and she could hear a growing frustration in his voice when she had finally called him to check where they were.  She wondered if it was just the stress of the day, or if there was something in particular that was causing his annoyance.  Mostly she hoped the annoyance wasn’t directed at her or that he was already regretting inviting her.

The path she had chosen to take to the rally point was more secluded than the direct route on major highways and she liked it that way.  She was unlikely to see cops on these back roads which meant she could stretch out the engine and go as fast as she wanted.  For a brief second she had considered taking the larger highways, since the state of things in DC made her think she wouldn’t see too many cops on those roads either, but for some reason the back roads still called to her.  She had her music up loud, windows cracked, and was cruising.  There was a freedom to a drive like this, and the only other time she felt this way was when she was on the mountain and a snowboard, earbuds in with the crisp wind blowing through her hair.  Everything about it appealed to the run-away in her.

She had always been a runaway for as long as she could remember.  Perhaps it was growing up with alcoholic parents that consistently ignored her until their bodies began to fail them, or maybe it was the fact that there was something compelling about the idea of going somewhere new where no one knew your name.  Either way, her entire life consisted of beginning in one place until the urge struck and she ran to another.  Every new town had brought new faces, new challenges and new people to meet.  Every new town had been a new adventure.

Because of this she had lived in every small town, city and neighborhood in the Northern Virginia area, and she knew all the roads that came in and out for 500 miles in any direction.  She hardly ever needed a map, and half the time she found herself on autopilot behind the wheel, knowing every landmark that could possibly be on her current path.   In fact, somewhere ahead there would be a Quick-Mart where she could stop and grab cigarettes and gas before completing her journey.  Slowing down slightly and turning her music down so she didn’t miss it she kept her eyes on the road.  It was funny, she thought, that whenever you were looking for something you always turned down your music, like having the music a little softer would actually make the place easier to spot.

About five minutes later she saw the lights from the Quick-Mart and slowed her car slightly, wheels spitting gravel as she turned in.  Pulling up to the gas pump she got out of her car and ran her credit card.  The machine prompted her to enter her zip code and choose her grade, which she did and began to pump gas.  Grinning at the sign that said she wasn’t to leave a running gas pump unattended she walked toward the Quick-Mart.  Did anyone ever pay attention to those signs?  She knew she certainly hadn’t in the history of her time pumping gas.  

Stepping inside she looked around.  Not seeing anyone, she assumed the attendant was in the back.  She searched around the store for a second, grabbing a soda, some chips, and moved to the counter to pay for her goods and grab some cigarettes.

“Hello!” she hollered into the back room from where she stood.  “Anyone there?”  She got no response from the back room, not even the shuffle of feet which would signal that someone was coming to assist her.  She began tapping her drink against the counter impatiently.  “Hello?  Anyone?”

She swiveled a little to look outside.  Maybe the attendant was outside checking on the pumps and she just hadn’t noticed when she came in.  Not seeing anyone, she pivoted back towards the back room.  Still no response, or really any sound coming from back there.  Maybe the attendant had headphones on and couldn’t hear her.  She left her goods on the counter and began to step towards the back room.  The closer she got, the more a smell she was unable to define began to assault her nose.  It was unlike anything she had ever smelled and she wondered what it could be.  When she finally rounded the corner to look in the backroom, she noticed an older gentleman slumped in a chair toward the back, barely visible from the place she stood.  

“Hello, sir, are you okay?” she said, inching towards the man.  Maybe he was sleeping and if so, she didn’t want to startle him considering the fact that a gun was placed precariously next to him.

A gun.  The smell.  Suddenly, her brain connected the dots and she covered her mouth with her hand.  She could see it now, the brain matter on the wall and the way his jaw was slack.  He had shot himself.  Holy shit.  She was staring at someone who had shot himself.  Running to the front she picked up the phone behind the counter and began to dial 911.  The phone beeped back at her letting her know that she could not place that call.  She cursed, slamming the phone in its cradle and ran out the front of the store to her car.

She was shaking as she opened her car door looking around for her phone.  She almost dropped it multiple times and finally managed to unlock it and press the buttons for 911.  Her phone beeped loudly, telling her that service was unavailable, her call would not be placed.  Cursing, she slammed her phone against the car and tried again.  No luck.

Annalise slumped against her car.  She had seen dead bodies before, but nothing like that.  His head, his lifeless expression, it would be forever imprinted on her brain.  She knew that she was going to have nightmares for years to come regarding that scene, and thinking about it again she doubled over getting on all fours and hurled up the cupcakes and champagne she and Meredith had consumed earlier onto the rocky pavement.  Wiping the corners of her mouth, she sat up and cleared her mind.  She couldn’t call 911.  She couldn’t help the guy in the store.  Through her now blurry vision, she looked back towards the door.  She didn’t even know at this point if she’d be able to go back in there.

It was then that she noticed the Blue Rhino cage to the left side of the store.  There were at least 20 propane tanks in there. If she could get the keys off the body, she could get enough propane to last whoever she was meeting with at least a couple months.  Standing up, she brushed the little pieces of gravel off her hands and made her way into the store.  She couldn’t believe she was going to this, go back into the room with the dead guy, but it would be worth it.  Free propane in the winter had to be worth it.  

Making her way into the back room she covered her nose so at least she didn’t smell the old man’s body.  That was one of the things they always skipped about dead bodies in the movies and TV shows.  When someone dies, they lose all muscle control, in some situations, that includes the muscles that are holding back excrement.  This was definitely one of those situations and she tried to push the thought of what he was probably sitting in from her mind as she reached towards his waist.  Luckily, the keys were clipped to his belt for easy access.  Quickly, she reached out and unclipped them causing the body to shift slightly and fall off the chair.  Annalise supposed if she was in a horror movie she would have jumped back and screamed.  Eventually, some kind of blonde, jock type guy would come to her rescue. Instead she just looked at the body, now crumpled on the floor.  From this view, she could see the way the back of his skull had been blown out by the force of the shot and she closed her eyes to gather herself.  There was nothing she could do for him at this point.  

She stepped over the body back into the main part of the store taking a deep breath leaning a little on the counter to steady herself.  She was about to steal from a dead guy.  Technically, she was about to steal from a dead guy’s store.  There was never a time in her life when she thought she was capable of this. Hell, she couldn’t even steal bubble-gum from the grocery store. Whenever they forgot to charge her for something she always walked back into pay.  This was different though; this was survival and the little Blue Rhino tanks could be the difference between life and death.

Of course, cigarettes could be the difference between life and death too, she mused.  Out of the people likely to come she knew at least her, Jake and Cort were smokers.  If they all tried to quit at the same time the results could be disastrous.  Stepping behind the counter, she started to quickly gather up as many packs and cartons as she could, throwing them in a box that seemed to be conveniently waiting for her to come along.  She paused looking at the box.  Is that what the man had been doing?  Stocking cigarettes when he decided that he needed to end his life?  She had heard of epiphanies happening at weird times, but this was probably the strangest one she had ever witnessed.

Annalise walked outside with the box and put it in her car.  Looking around, she didn’t see any other cars so she walked to the Blue Rhino tank and unlocked it.  One by one, she took as many tanks as would fit in her car and loaded them up.  Five.  That was good enough.  That should last them at least a month or two before they had to find more.  Hopefully this would all be blown over in a month anyway.  She giggled out loud.  If this was all blown over in a month, she’d have stolen from the poor dead guy for nothing.  Tossing the keys to the store by the door, she took the gas pump out of her car, started it and peeled out of the gas station.  She didn’t even stop to think it was only 5PM and there should probably have been someone else stopping at the gas station.  Or that the TVs that had been in the corners had gone black.  All she was thinking about was getting to the rally point and meeting up with Cort.  He’d be impressed that she got the propane tanks.  She just knew it.

Chapter 6:  Cort

Route 70 outside Cumberland, Maryland
December 12, 2012

Pulling the car off the highway just outside Cumberland, Cort couldn’t help but get a feeling that something was very wrong.  There were no lights to be seen other than the headlights from his car.  This area was normally darker than the city and its immediate suburbs but tonight it was pitch black.  The kind of eerie pitch black you see in horror movies before someone is about to killed.  Slowing to a stop, he picked up his phone from the cup holder next to him.  No service.  That wasn’t necessarily surprising, they were in the mountains- cell phone service was notoriously hit or miss up here.  It did add to his impending feeling of doom though.

Opening his door, he got out quietly to stretch his legs.  Somewhere about fifty miles back Katy had finally fallen asleep and he was going to attempt to keep it that way.  If she saw where they were, she’d probably start asking questions about how long they’d be staying here and whine about the conditions of the nearby buildings.  Cort thought the area was charming, rustic even, but Katy was used to a higher standard.  No, it was definitely better to let Katy sleep through this part of the trip.

Closing the door as softly as he opened it, he walked back to Jake’s jeep which had come to a stop behind his.  His shoes crunched on the snow and frost that were normal in the area this time of year.  He really wished they had been able to find a place which had gear in case there was a blizzard.  Unfortunately, it was looking like he would have to rely on Annalise to bring that kind of equipment.  

Jake leaned his head out of the window.  “You gettin’ any service here?” he asked, fiddling with his phone in front of the steering wheel.