Apocalypse Aftermath (14 page)

“Safer.” she said quietly.

“Well alright then.  That’s what we’ll do.”

“You think I’m being silly.” she said unhappily, but feeling better now that she knew some reassurance was coming.

“No.  You’re being sure.” he shook his head.  “Trust me, I understand.”

Jessica looked up at him, almost expecting to see patience or maybe even exasperation somewhere on his face.  But he just looked back at her with a solemn expression.  Jessica had to step firmly on an impulse that threatened to lead to tears, settling for as confident of a nod as she could muster.  “Okay.” she got out after a few seconds, when she was able to speak evenly.  “Sorry, but thanks.  I’m not trying to give you a hard time.”

“You’re not.  Now go hit the restroom, then come back out here and just take it easy while things get set up.”

She nodded again and directed Candice toward the corridor.  She made herself limp past the line outside the men’s room and into the ladies’ like everything was normal, though she was tense as she entered with Candice behind her.  The restroom was as tastefully appointed as the lobby; beige walls with soft indirect lighting and some plant arrangements breaking up the otherwise sterile space.  There were three stalls, and two looked to be already occupied.  Nothing dangerous was in evidence.

Candice lingered next to Jessica uncertainly, her eyes on the feet visible beneath the stalls.  Jessica leaned down, balancing her weight carefully against the cane.  “Go ahead.  I’ll be right out here.” she said quietly, not quite whispering.

“Don’t you have to go?”

“Yes, but you first.” Jessica said.

Candice hesitated, then nodded and went into the last stall.  Jessica watched the door close, waited to hear the latch click into place, then listened intently several more seconds for any sign something was wrong.  Nothing alarming occurred.

“Get a grip.” she told herself.  “Austin’s right.  Everything is fine.  We’re safe.”

Mostly out of habit, and more than a little in an attempt to distract herself, she glanced in one of the mirrors above the sinks.  What she saw was enough to serve as a momentary distraction.

“Oh my God.” she murmured, dismayed.  She was bare-faced and lacking makeup, but even allowing for that, she was a little taken back with how hollow eyed and tired she looked.  Her face was paler than even the missing makeup could explain, and the stress and age lines that had been slowly appearing over the past couple of years were quite evident.

“Austin is a saint to be putting up with me when I look like this.”
she thought, pulling her purse around in front of her.  She pawed past the box of bullets, plus the more normal mom supplies, until she found her brush.  It was a touch awkward having to work the brush across the left side of her head right handed, but she was too tired to stand without the cane.

The dunk in the river last night hadn’t done her appearance much good, and the drying and long hours since without proper tending had left it stringy and limp.  And tangled,
causing her to wince repeatedly as she tried to coax some life back into the long strands.  Or, failing that, some semblance of order.

One of the toilets flushed, and a few moments later a stall door opened.  Jessica glanced over, but it was the first stall.  A middle aged woman, maybe about Trudy Morris’ age but without the benefit of as much plastic surgery and high income lifestyle Dennis’ wife had enjoyed, was emerging.  She met Jessica’s eyes in the mirror and forced a weak smile.

“I don’t know about you, but my kidneys were floating.”

Jessica nodded in agreement.  “Johns Creek was quite a few hours ago.  Uh . . . Amy, wasn’t it?”

“Amber.” the woman replied.  “Amber Redding.”

“Jessica Talbot.”

Amber turned on one of the faucets and began washing her hands.  “You think things will calm down now that we’re out of Atlanta?”

Jessica was unsurprised to find herself hesitating over the answer.  The impulse to reply with an aphorism came and went far
too fast for her to even seriously consider voicing one.  Instead she just thought over what Austin had just told her, then forced a smile that was at least somewhat confident.  “I’m sure of it.  This isn’t Atlanta.”

“I hope so.” the woman said quietly.  “I’m . . . I can’t take much more of . . .” she trailed off, and Jessica nodded.

“I know.  It’ll be better.”

Another toilet flushed.  Jessica finished with what she could do about her hair and decided she was going to have to live with how she looked for at least a little while longer.  She was just tucking the brush away when the last stall door opened and Candice came out.  She paused when she saw Amber at the sinks, looking at Jessica as if wanting reassurance.

“This is my daughter, Candice.” Jessica said.  “Candice, say hello to Mrs. Redding.”

Amber pulled some paper towels from the dispenser hanging on the wall and looked at the girl.  Jessica saw the woman’s face twist a little with sorrow, but she got a smile into place fairly quickly.  “Well hello there Candice.”

“Hi.” Candice said, using the small voice that bespoke uncertainty and fear.  She made no move to approach the sink.

Jessica hesitated, then decided to take a light tack.  “It’s okay sweetie, there’s plenty of time to get to know everyone.  I know you’re tired.”

“I know I am.” Amber agreed.  She put the paper towels in the bin recessed in the wall and gave another half-smile.  “Nice to meet you both.  I guess I’ll go sit in on the planning outside.”

“We’ll be out in a minute.”  When Amber left, Jessica gestured to Candice.  “Are you going to be okay out here while I use the toilet?”

Candice nodded.  “Austin said it’s safe in here.”

Jessica nodded back.  “Okay, hang tight then.”  Candice moved to the sink Amber had just vacated and started washing her hands.  Jessica managed to suppress her sigh as she emptied her bladder, though her bandaged knee made it awkward even in the wide handicapped stall at the end.  A couple of times she thought she heard a faint sob from the stall next to her.  She couldn’t think of anything that might help, but was guilty about leaving the woman within to her grief.

She got her hands washed and splashed some hot water on her face to try and bring a little color back to her cheeks before drying off and limping back out to the lobby.  Candice was hovering close, though she was at least doing it on Jessica’s right side where she couldn’t bump the cane.  Even allowing for the line that had been stacked up waiting to get into the men’s room, she was unsurprised to see she and Candice seemed to be among the last to rejoin everyone.  She saw no one had taken the couch where her suitcase waited, and she sank down into the cushions without making too much of a scene because of her knee.

Vanessa Morris had settled herself behind the reception counter, with Tyler and Austin standing on the client side.  All three were talking quietly, with a pile of keys and a few sheets of paper on the counter.  A few of the people waiting looked like they were dozing, but most were either watching the little conference at the counter or gazing out the windows.  Jessica looked at the windows while she waited for the throbbing in her knee to subside a little, then frowned.

All that glass . . . it made her nervous.  Not just the doors, but the walls flanking them were also glass.  And the opposite wall, what she was thinking of as the back wall, or the wall furthest from the gate, was also mostly glass.  Normally she could see how it would make the lobby sunny and inviting, especially considering the strength of Georgia sunshine.  Now, she just saw wide open avenues for zombies to come crashing through.

She took comfort in the crowd of people, nearly all armed, and told herself again to relax. 
“Give Tyler and Austin a chance to get things organized.  We just got here.”
she thought silently, trying to keep from fidgeting.  She glanced a few times at Trudy Morris, sitting on another of the couches next to Dennis.  She was holding his hand with that same plastic smile still on her face Jessica had noticed back in Johns Creek.  Dennis occasionally patted her hand, and twice leaned in to say something quietly to his wife.  Jessica tried to take further solace that, however worried she was, she was still holding up better than Trudy.

“Okay, are we all here?” Tyler finally said, turning from the counter to face the room.

Jessica looked around.  She was pretty sure the sobbing woman was still in the bathroom, but Tyler was already moving on.  Clearly it had been a rhetorical question.

“I know most of you haven’t been here before.  In case you missed the sign out front, this is the Knoxville training facility.  We use it primarily for firearms training, though we occasionally run some other types of classes.  There’ll be time for everyone to get acquainted with the grounds, but for now please don’t wander around outside unless you’ve a specific task that requires being out there.  There’s a security system we’re going to have fully armed tonight, so if you do go outside you’re going to set it off and probably annoy whoever’s on watch.

“Just to give you an idea of the layout, this building is where we’ll be staying.  This floor is mostly meeting rooms, though there’s a limited infirmary down the back corridor here.” Tyler pointed at the hallway next to the reception counter.  “The second floor has the kitchen and dining area, and twenty dorm rooms with beds and so forth.  The top floor has some larger bedrooms and some client meeting areas and office space.”

Tyler picked up one of the key rings from the counter and held it up.  “In a minute we’ll hand out keys.  Room numbers are marked, just like in a hotel.  If you have any bags or other things you want to store, feel free to take them up.  But before anyone settles down, we’ve got a preliminary schedule
set up to take us through tomorrow afternoon.  And we need to get the vehicles unloaded as well.”

Tyler looked at Austin, who nodded and spoke up.  “It shouldn’t take us very long to get everything out of the SUVs.  Some of it is coming in here, and the rest will be going into the warehouse outside.  Then we’ll park everything and get back under cover.  For now, and probably for good, I don’t see any need to do
constant patrols on foot outside, so we’ll mount a watch on the roof where it’s easier to see and is safe.  I’ve got Billy, Darnell and Jamal down for the first shift.  A schedule will be left here on the counter, so be sure to check it before dark to see when you’re supposed to be up there.”

Austin made his face very serious, almost stern.  “We’re all in this together.  If everyone pulls their share, there won’t be a problem.  Please don’t make it hard on everyone else by not cooperating.  Be on time when it’s your turn for a watch, and if there’s something that needs doing
, lend a hand.  I’ll sort other tasks out as they come up, but all you need to worry about for tonight is whether or not you’re on the roof, and when.  Anyone have any questions for me about that?”

Heads shook.  Austin studied the faces for several seconds, then looked at Tyler.  The executive nodded briskly.  “Okay, some bad news, but don’t worry, it’s not really too bad.  There’s only enough food on hand to last us about a week.  The better news is that gives us plenty of time to get settled and do some restocking, which Mr. Carter here will be organizing starting on Tuesday.  And the good news is tonight we’re all having steak.”

Jessica surprised herself by laughing along with most of the others.  Tyler grinned and shrugged.  “One of the things we do here is host clients, so we try to have good food on hand to make sure they feel like we’re treating them seriously.  But it’s silly to let it all go to waste.  Isaac, the facility maintenance foreman, tells me his wife Kay is already working on dinner.  Anyone who knows their way around a kitchen and who isn’t otherwise tasked is encouraged to help her get everything prepared, so we can all get some food in us that much sooner.

“Okay, any questions about the rest of the day, and tonight?”  Tyler looked around expectantly.

Head shook again, though some nervously or hesitantly.  Tyler gave it a few moments, then smiled.  “So, keys, check yourselves in, then get to the kitchen or back down here to help with the unloading.  Then we’ll settle in for the night and keep watch.  I want everyone to take a moment and relax.  We made it.  We’re safe.”

Darryl looked up as the music blasting from the speakers hung on the outside of the clubhouse abruptly died.  He waited a few seconds, expecting it to come back on.  People occasionally hit the wrong switch on the amplifier, or sometimes tripped over one of the cables, but the music stayed off.  A few moments later Monique emerged from the back door of the clubhouse with a worried expression on her face.

“Power just went out.” she announced.

A chorus of groans and curses rose from the people lounging around the patio area in the back yard.  Big Chief set his plate aside and stood up, looking at Bobo.  “Time to fire up the generators?”

“One.” Bobo said.  “And first go through the house with a flashlight and turn everything off.  Nothing runs except Mr. Soul’s TV and enough lights to see by.”

“No AC?” one of the Dogz asked.

“No.  Pulls too much power.” Bobo shook his head.

“Aw man.”

“We ain’t got but so much gas.” Bobo said, unrepentant.  “And tell Jody she gotta alternate the fridges.  Only one plugged in at a time.”