(Book 2)What Remains (22 page)

Then the flurries started. Seeing the elegant
flakes begin to trickle down nearly gave me a panic attack.
“Sweetheart,” my voice cracked, “will you come up here?”

Sarah moved the blanket aside and saw the wintry
precipitation. “Oh no…” She knew that snow wasn’t part of our plan.
“If this keeps up will we be safe to stay in the truck
overnight?”

“I don’t know. We can’t leave the engine idling
all night long. Will we be warm enough huddled up?” I asked.

“Without snow? Probably. With snow….” she
sounded as discouraged as I felt. “Doesn’t look like there is much
around this area. Can we maybe find a house? Then if we have to
turn the truck on to warm up we would at least be away from the
road.”

I noticed the white tinge that quickly formed
along the shoulder of the road. “It’s worth a try. Clock is
ticking, though. Sunset is in less than an hour; it’ll be dark even
sooner with the snowfall.”

She stayed up front to lend a second pair of
eyes. “What about that one?” she asked, pointing to a short drive
on the eastbound lanes with a house visible at the end.

“No good.”

“You’re right. Too close to the road. Here comes
a river, that sign says it’s the ‘Dan River’.” She snickered.
“Couldn’t they have come up with a better name than that?”

“That’s not much better than the James River,” I
countered.

“Then we agree, Virginia has crappy river names.
I was thinking,” Sarah teased, trying to distract me from the
stress of our situation, “with this whole ‘end of the world’ thing,
can’t we rename stuff that we don’t like?” I didn’t answer because
I was too focused on the snowflakes that grew larger with every
passing minute. The pavement began to take on the same white hue as
the grass. “I know, I know. Not the best time to joke around.”

A side road ahead on the right came into view.
We started to point it out in unison. Taking our simultaneous
observation as a sign, I sped up towards the road, which looked as
if it veered off in the opposite direction then continued off far
from the main highway. Less than a minute later we were there. The
sign said it was called Elmwood Trail. I eased 522 to a stop at the
turn.

“You sure about this?” I asked.

“No,” Sarah answered timidly. “Are you?”

I gulped. “Not one bit. Let’s get on with it
then.”

Flurries graduated to light snowfall by this
point. Depending on the way the wind picked up it made the world
beyond our chain link armored windshield look like the static
between television channels. Snow periodically dusted the gravel
path making our new course completely nerve racking. I turned the
truck’s headlights on for the first time ever, dread filling my gut
as if I had alerted every monster in the area of our whereabouts.
Between the increasing snow and the buffering forest I hoped that
we would remain hidden from anything on the main road.

We followed Elmwood Trail on its sharp easterly
turn towards the way we came then its slow bend westward around a
dense area of trees. A fork in the road was stationed at a gap in
the forestation where a pond of menacingly dark water was. The turn
would have led us on the line between the water and woods onto an
unknown end. I didn’t slow for the turn because I wanted to keep
the course. I looked to Sarah for confirmation, and her approving
nod kept us going straight.

Soon the trees were gone and open fields of
white made us feel vulnerable once again. A few hundred feet later
brought us to another fork. This time I slowed the truck. “Turn or
go straight?” I asked.

“Turn this time?” she hesitantly said.

“Yeah, turn. We don’t want to stray too far from
the main road if we can avoid it.” I eased the wheel towards this
unknown offshoot. Saplings and bushes bordered the new road as it
narrowed. Every inch we traveled felt more like a driveway than a
road.

“Nathan,” she gripped my shoulder with her right
hand while pointing ahead with her left, “there!” A large house
appeared in the grainy distance.

“Do we try here?” I inquired. “Or should we go
back to see what’s up the road?”

She mumbled a worried hesitation then said, “The
sun is almost down. If we wait any longer then we’ll be moving the
kids in the dark.”

I stopped the car a hundred feet away from the
dark structure. “Some of them could be in the house,” I said softly
so the kids couldn’t hear. “It looks boarded up. Can’t tell a damn
thing from here.”

“Maybe the owners sealed it up before getting
out of town?”

“Maybe the owners are still in there...”

“We are out of time for maybes. Let’s go check
it out so we can get them into cover.” Sarah said briskly, right to
the point.

“I’ll go. If something happens to me then
another adult has to be here to drive them away.”

“You expect me to let you go in there by
yourself? Are you flipping kidding me!?”

I waved to remind her that the kids could hear
every word. “Stand outside the truck with the rifle. Keep me
covered from there but
do not follow
. If I don’t come back
or if something does happen then you have to go. Find a place to
park and wait out the night.” She glared back, saying nothing.
“Maddox, Calise, listen up. We’re going to check this house out to
see if we can hide here overnight. Stay in the truck -
NO MATTER
WHAT
. Mommy is going to be right outside the truck watching
over me but she won’t be farther than the door.”

“I don’t want you with the snow monsters!”
Calise pleaded.

“Mommy is right,” Maddox immediately
interjected. “You shouldn’t go alone. I can do it. I can come help
you. I’m brave enough.”

“I know you are, big boy. Not this time though.
This time I need that bravery here looking over your sister.”

The truck was in park with the headlights on.
Sarah was already holding the rifle in front of a disapproving
glare. We slipped out of the truck into the cold. She carefully and
quietly closed the door behind us then raised the weapon with the
house in her sights. I pulled my hood up to stop the pestering of
every snowflake’s stinging touch. Every shadow in the fading light
taunted my imagination as a potential attacker. The house rose
higher with each crunchy step.

Visibility was so poor. I couldn’t make out a
damn thing of this place we needed to take shelter in. There could
be an entire horde of the undead waiting beyond the fortified doors
and I wouldn’t have known it until it was too late. I was shaking,
not because of the cold, but from anxiety over having to search the
inside alone. My boot caught a hidden step causing me to stumble. I
regained my composure, waved my Kukri towards Sarah to let her know
I wasn’t hurt, then I turned back towards the house.

“That’s far enough!” said a voice, seemingly
from everywhere and nowhere all at once. I could see no change in
the blustery tempest that surrounded me. I saw no ghoulish shapes,
no new lights, nothing other than the beaming columns from our
truck headlights and Sarah’s frantic searching for a target.

I was blinded from above.

“I said that’s far enough! You don’t need to die
tonight, mister. Turn back NOW!” the voice ordered. I squinted
through the brightness. A figure was outlined in front of a
floodlight that inexplicably had enough power to be as luminous as
the sun itself.

“Drop the gun or I
will
shoot you!” Sarah
said. I spun back towards the lights of the LLV where she was
aiming the rifle at the mysterious man above me.

Every tense second allowed my eyes another
moment to adjust. Then I processed what she said.
Gun
, I
thought.
Oh fuck! She said gun!
I looked back upward at the
flood lamp and recognized the distinct outline of an AK-47 held at
the man’s side.

“
NO!
Wait!” I shouted. “No one
shoot!”

“You come on
my
property, point a gun at
me
and ask
me not to shoot?!
” His voice had shifted
from commanding to pissed off.

“Sarah, please lower the gun.” I held the Kukri
in a wide berth from its previous ready-position hoping to
demonstrate my disarming intent then eased it back into its
scabbard. She hesitantly disarmed as well. “I’m sorry, sir. No one
needs to fire a gun. We’ve drawn enough attention already.”

The figure didn’t move an inch. He never exactly
raised his weapon at us, yet it was clear he stood at the ready.
“Smart move. But all that attention you speak of has been brought
to my home. Now kindly return to your vehicle and go.”

I took a step forward. He instantly raised his
weapon causing Sarah to do the same. “I’m sorry for our intrusion
and our hostility. We’ve come so far and been through so much to
get here. The weather has made it too dangerous for us to sleep
outside.” His stance didn’t budge. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I
don’t want whatever you have. All I want is to get my family to a
place that’s safe to spend the night. In the morning we will leave,
you have my word.”

He remained still. After a few seconds of
silence he asked, “Only the two of you?”

“No. The woman who has,” I tried to convey an
irritated message back to Sarah, “
insistently pointed a rifle at
you
is my wife. Our two kids are in the back of the truck.”

Another tense minute passed. It was completely
dark by then. The pulse pounding in my chest made it hard to tell
if the truck was still running. Then the flood lamp cut off and the
man said, “Drive around back. I’ll meet you at the garage door.
Keep her rifle and that bent sword of yours in the truck. I mean it
- NO weapons. If you can’t be in here without a weapon then you can
take your chances the way you came. Assuming you agree to my terms
then I’ll see you in a moment.”

His shape disappeared into the house.

I backtracked quickly with little regard to the
slick ground. Sarah almost had to catch me as I slid towards her.
“Are we staying or are we going?”

“I can’t say I feel great about it,” I
responded, “but I feel better about being in there than out here.
The house looks big; probably enough room for everyone.”

“What if he’s trying to get us in there to kill
us?”

The same thought had crossed my mind, though I
chose to not dwell on it. “If he wanted to kill us he could have
already. The guy had an assault rifle at the ready from an elevated
position - we didn’t stand a chance if he wanted us dead.” A
beastly howl emanated from somewhere far within the pitch-black
distance. “Anything back the way we came wants us dead a lot more,
so if this man wants the same then I’d rather risk it indoors.”

She nodded, begrudgingly agreeing to the lesser
of two evils. “Come on, we better move quick. He didn’t seem like
the type to wait long.”

We hustled inside the truck. The kids, having
heard much of the commotion outside, bombarded us with questions.
Sarah kept them calm while I guided 522 around the driveway markers
then towards the house past the dual garage door. Our host stood in
front of the doorway with a flashlight in one hand pointing down at
his feet; his other hand still held the AK-47 at the ready.

I turned to Sarah, speaking loud enough for the
kids to hear. “We stick together. All four of us stay within sight
until Mommy or I say otherwise. Got it?”

“Who is that man?” Maddox asked. “Are we staying
here?”

“
Tell me that you understand!
” I snapped.
My volume startled Calise, who stifled the tears I knew she wanted
to let out and nodded that she understood.

“I understand,” Maddox pouted.

“Grab your backpacks. Make sure they have what
you need until morning. Leave the machete, Maddox. Let me go talk
to the nice man. I’ll signal Mommy when you can come out, so be
ready.” I undid my belt to remove the scabbard then tossed it onto
the dashboard so the man outside could see my passive intent. Then
I cut the engine and handed the keys to Sarah. “Wait for my signal
before coming out.”

Leaving the truck without the Kukri on my person
made my stomach burble. I slowly approached the man extending both
arms to the side.

“Y’all are out at sun up,” he said bluntly.
“That clear?”

“Perfectly.”

“You disarmed?” I nodded, remaining silent. “We
shouldn’t be out here past sunset. The rest of your crew coming
in?”

I turned towards the truck and gave thumbs up.
The headlights shut off then the dome light in the driver’s cabin
illuminated. Sarah came out first, followed by Calise, then Maddox.
Each of them had their backpacks on with Calise squeezing both
guard kitties tightly to her chest. Our host moved inside, holding
the door open for us all to pass. Once all four of us were in the
garage he closed the door and locked it with a deadbolt. Then he
slid a two-by-four stud into a bracket that barred the door.

We all looked around, wondering what was in
store for us. The only thing we knew for sure was that it felt
wonderful to be out of the snow. The man wasn’t very talkative,
which made his presence unnerving. He fiddled with something
cylindrical on a wall-mounted table then the room lit up. I scanned
our surroundings to see walls covered in a variety of tools, stacks
of wood boards beneath them. A black Land Rover was the only
vehicle in the double garage.

“Thank you for your kindness,” Sarah said. “We
didn’t think anyone was here so—”

“That was the point, ma’am. Most of the
travelers that come through here aren’t just looking for a safe
haven. A house with the lights on at night has a way of attracting
all kinds of guests.”

“Our plan was to stay in the truck overnight,” I
said. “Then it got cold and the snow started. We didn’t want the
kids in a freezing car all night long.”

“That’s the only reason you’re in my house. If
it were just you and your wife I would have sent you on your way.
Sending kids out there is something that wouldn’t sit right with
me.”