Home: A Stranded Novel (9 page)

When she left the room and secured the door
, she took another look around the rest of the basement. Her footprints stood out clearly in the spilled laundry soap so she picked up the half-filled box and started to toss soap flakes over her prints as she walked backwards to the stairs. As she stepped onto the lowest step she tossed the empty box into the corner and continued up the stairs. Before she left the house, she found the key under the sink to the cellar and stopped in the mudroom where there were blue boxes for recycling. She selected an empty glass jar with a lid and peeked out the backdoor to scan the yard. Finding it clear, she strode across the overgrown grass to the shed and started to search the ground for the cellar doors. Alex spent ten frustrating minutes walking back and forth looking for the doors. She wouldn’t have found them at all if she hadn’t heard the slight creak of boards when she stepped on one area of grass. Dropping to her knees, she felt around the area and found a small depression that her fingers followed. Hooking her fingers under it she heaved up and almost laughed when she saw the flat square board that was covered in soil and grass. She lifted it enough to see the actual doors and padlock before dropping it back down. There was no need to go into the cellar at this time and she didn’t want to disturb the hiding place any more than she already had.

After making sure the grass covering the doors looked natural
, she turned and went into the trees. Directly behind the shed at the tree line was a large evergreen. She went to it and searched the forest floor for a thick stick. She found what she was looking for and took it to the evergreen. Parting the lower branches, she got on her hands and knees and crawled between them. Behind the long draping branches was a large opening around the trunk. These were Alex’s favorite types of trees and they made the best hiding spots. She and Emily had outwitted the boys in many games by slipping into the openings before popping out to ambush them.

Using the stick
, she dug a hole between two of the thick roots and took the key for the cellar out of her pocket and put it into the jar. Making sure the lid was on tight she put the jar into the hole and refilled it. Now if anything happened to Mrs. Moore’s house she would have access to the cellar. Satisfied that her work at the teacher’s home was done, she crawled back out between the branches and settled her pack more firmly onto her back. After tightening the straps and repositioning her rifle, she slowly started to backtrack around the property and headed deeper into the woods. She definitely could feel the extra weight she had added to her pack but was determined to get the small amount of nourishment to her neighbours.

The sun was slowly setting as she crossed the road and made her way through the trees that lined her property. The light filtering through the trees became dimmer and she placed her feet with care until she came to the area the men had been cutting trees in. There were no longer any chopping sounds and the forest was empty. Alex circled around the cleared area and made her way to a large tree closer to the field. She dropped her pack in relief before removing her binoculars. She studied the branches before jumping to the lowest branch and hauling herself up. When she was high enough to see the field between her and the barn she settled into a crook against the trunk and started to scan the barnyard. With the sun behind her she didn’t have to worry about it reflecting off the glass and giving her position away like earlier in the day.

A line of smoke coming from the yard made her heart clench before she realized that it was a cooking fire. A table had been set up and two large pots were resting on it. The workers were lined up holding bowls and as each one stepped up, they received a single ladleful of whatever they were eating for supper. After each man left the line they made their way to the barn and disappeared inside.

Alex thought about the long day of labour her neighbours had just put in and the small amount of food they had been rewarded with. It was not something that could go on. Their bodies would get weaker and weaker before breaking down and she wondered what the guards would do once that happened. She felt immense sorrow when she realized that this was bound to happen soon
, after living like this for a month. She clenched her jaw in anger. They needed to free their people and it had to happen soon.

She stayed in the tree for the next forty five minutes and watched as the yard emptied of men. The food table was taken away
after some of the workers received a second helping. Alex narrowed her eyes in anger as she watched these men take their extra food into her home. She kept a close count on the guards as they moved around the yard. Long shadows filled the barnyard as the sun sank behind the distant mountains and all the guards except one headed into the house. The lone remaining guard entered the barn but stepped out within seconds and closed the big double doors. He used a large beam to secure them by dropping it into brackets on the outside. After he had joined his friends in the house, Alex concentrated her glasses on the hayloft door and the hay elevator that ran from there to the ground. The hayloft door had been secured from the outside with a board set in brackets like the main door. As darkness settled over the land she concentrated her sight on her house. The only light showed from a few windows and she watched for another hour to see if any guards came out to patrol the yard. Each time the door opened and spilled light out her shoulders tensed but after the fifth guard came out and did his bathroom business she hoped they were done for the night.

After almost two hours in the tree, Alex’s body was stiff and sore and she slowly made her way down to the forest floor. She stretched out her back and legs and looked down at her heavy pack. She had to climb the hay elevator and she had to do it as silently as possible. Shaking her head at the weight, she knew she would have to leave some of her gear behind. Just as she picked up her pack
, sounds of branches cracking came to her from the west. Her heart started to pound and sheen of sweat developed all over her body. Looking around frantically she ran to the closest evergreen and pushed her pack between the branches before crawling into its interior opening. She tried to calm her ragged breathing but her body was filled with adrenaline.

Frustration filled her because she was so close to helping her father and she prayed that it was an animal traveling through the trees. As the sounds moved closer to her, she
closed her eyes and concentrated on it, waiting for what would happen next. After spending years playing in the woods, Alex soon realized the sounds coming toward her were not being made by an animal.

Cooper and Dara had made good time getting to town. They weren’t as familiar with the trails and pathways that ran through the trees on the west side of town but after studying the hand drawn maps their friends had made for them, they were confident they could make it undetected. There was a roadblock on the main highway two miles from town that they had to circle around but they stayed far enough in the trees that they weren’t seen. The community center, school and most of the residential areas were on the south side of town and they would have to cross the main highway at some point to get to those areas. Cooper led the way, as he was more familiar with the business area and back alleys than Dara.

When they came to the tree line
, there was a green space that ran between it and a few industrial buildings. They took their time and watched the area for signs of movement but saw nothing. After twenty minutes of watching, they decided that the area wasn’t being used so they dashed across the green space and through a parking lot. Using the building for cover, they again waited and watched the highway. Directly across from them was an access road that led into a new residential development, under construction when the pulse hit. They planned on using that area to travel deeper into the south side of town and hoped it was abandoned. Still not seeing anyone around, the two crossed over the main road and moved quickly into the construction area. They cautiously walked past half-finished homes that would quite probably never be lived in. The silence was eerie in a place that should be alive with men hammering and sawing.

The construction site was protected by a
chainlink perimeter fence that separated it from the next subdivision. They followed it around until they could see a paved pathway on the other side. They had packed light for the day of scouting with only one small pack with food, water and a notebook and pens. They both carried handguns but had left their rifles back at base. If they were caught, they didn’t want to have to explain where they had gotten the powerful rifles. They also knew that they would have to climb fences and that’d be hard with the rifles. Both of them had brought heavy gloves to protect their hands while climbing fences.

Cooper studied the houses on the other side of the fence and saw only empty windows staring back at him. He turned
back to face Dara.

“After we go over this fence, we can follow the path down the backside of these houses. It
’ll cut between two of them and we can follow it further in to town. I know that most of these pathways lead to Fairways Park and the school and community center both back on to it. If we can get into the school, I know how to get onto the roof and we’ll be able to see all around from there.”

When she just nodded, he stuck his boot into an opening in the fence and hoisted himself up.
Chainlink fencing was easy to climb except for the very top. Sometimes it had a bar running along the top but this fence only had the exposed links sheared off creating many sharp points that needed to be straddled and climbed over. The support posts were set close enough together that there wasn’t a lot of sway in the fence but Dara braced against it to make it even steadier. When he made it over to the other side, he did the same for her and they both headed down the pathway.

Walking through the abandoned nei
ghbourhoods was surreal. They kept to cover as much as they could and watched carefully before crossing into the open but they never saw anyone. They took a break in a small playground and seeing the empty play structure with its lonely swings swaying in the breeze made Dara sad. She was desperate to know what had happened to her little brother and prayed she would she would get some idea of his fate today. Sipping from the water bottle she studied Cooper, who was gazing off in the distance. He had been very quiet since he had talked to his father’s friend at the roadblock. He helped out around the base camp and offered his opinions on their plans, but there was an emptiness to him. The spark from his eyes was gone and he hadn’t laughed or joked since he found out that his father had been killed.

“Did you want to go to your house? Maybe you could find some of your stuff to take back or get some family pictures or something?”
she asked, trying to bring him out of his funk.

Cooper didn’t look at her. He just let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. “I don’t want anything from that place. The only reason I would go there now is to burn it down!”

Dara frowned in concern. There was so much anger and bitterness in his tone.

“I’m sorry about your
dad, Cooper.”

He finally turned to look at her with shocked confusion. “What? Why would
you
be sorry? I’m the one who is sorry! My father did all of this! He’s the reason all of your families are suffering!” His sharp blue eyes were filled with anguish and a sheen of tears before he turned away.

Dara couldn’t believe they had missed it. All this time
, Cooper had been blaming himself for what his father had done. He kept his distance because he thought they all blamed him. She had to try and fix this and make him understand that he wasn’t to blame. Dara rubbed at her face and tried to come up with the words that would reach this sad boy.

“Did you know that my
mom is a drunk? She doesn’t just drink. She guzzles the stuff until she’s passed out. She spends more time in an alcoholic coma than she does awake. She’s been doing it for years. My little brother and I have been taking care of ourselves for so long. I hope he’s okay but I wasn’t here when the pulse hit so he might be…dead. That’s my fault.” Her voice broke on the word dead.

Dara felt guilt for not being here to protect her brother but she knew it wasn’t her fault. She had done her best to take care of him
, but it was her parents that had failed him. She was trying to make Cooper understand that he wasn’t to blame for what his father had done and the incredulous look he gave her made her hope he would.

Cooper kneeled down in front of D
ara and took her hands. “That's not your fault! You didn’t make your mom drink. It was her and your dad’s job to take care of you and your brother. This is their fault, not yours!”

Dara lifted her head and met Cooper’s eyes. She raised her eyebrows and her expression said “SEE?” Cooper was confused by her response and asked “What?”

Dara tilted her head and asked him softly, “How come it’s not my fault what my mom did, but it is your fault what your father did?”

His eyes darkened and he tried to pull away from their joined hands. Dara wouldn’t let him go and told him, “This is not your fault! Your father sold out this town. He was a very bad man and that has nothing to do with you! I don’t blame you for any of what he did and no one else does either. Let this poison go
, Cooper.”

His expression softened and he looked hopeful for a split second before the sound of a motor starting up came from close by. They dropped hands and quickly scrambled around to the opposite side of the structure and crouched under the slide. The motor sounds were getting louder and it was clear that it would pass close to them
, so they flattened out on the sand and kept their heads down. The vehicle traveled past them on the street and as it drew away, Cooper risked raising his head enough to get a look. The car was an old antique convertible that had been restored and he could see two people in it. When the car turned the corner and traveled parallel to the small park they were hiding in, he got a better look at it occupants. There was a woman driving and it looked like a teenage girl in the passenger seat.

Cooper stared at it in confusion until it was out of sight and then helped Dara to her feet.

“That was really weird. I don’t know who they are, but there was a woman and girl in that car,” he told her.

Dara’s face showed surprise.
“Really? Maybe there are some people that are free!”

Cooper looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. If there were people free we would be seeing more of them around. Let’s get going. The only way we are going to figure out what’s happening here is if we go look.”

Dara nodded, and after taking a good look around, they left the playground and entered the pathway system that ran between two houses that faced the playground park. Moving closer and closer to Fairways Park, they still didn’t see any movement. When they came to a street that was only two blocks from their school, Dara turned down an alley and motioned for Cooper to follow.

“Where are we going?”
he asked.

“My house is just down here. I want to go in and grab a few things.”

Jogging down the alley, they stopped at the fifth yard down and slowly peeked over the gate, looking to see if anyone was around. It seemed just as abandoned as the other houses they had passed, so they entered through the gate and made their way to the back door. Dara tried not to look at Jake’s toys scattered all around the backyard. She didn’t really need anything from the house. She was hoping there might be a clue inside to tell her what had happened to him. When they got to the door they looked through the window but couldn’t see anything. Instinctively, Dara reached for her pocket to get her house keys. She almost laughed out loud when she remembered that they were in her suitcase in California. Cooper gave her an inquiring look but she just waved it away before trying the knob. She wasn’t surprised when it turned freely in her hand and the door popped open. Her mother wasn’t very good about remembering to lock the doors.

They stepped into the dim house and stood still listening for any movement. They both felt that the house was empty and when Dara went further in, Cooper closed the door behind him. The kitchen had been cleaned out and most of the cabinet doors had been left hanging open. She walked further into the house and expected to see her
mom passed out on the couch like always. Dara felt nothing when she walked around it and saw that it was empty. The coffee table in front of the couch was piled with empty wine bottles and an overflowing ashtray. Turning away with disgust, Dara left the room and went down the hall to her brother’s bedroom. She knew right away that some of his things were missing but she didn’t know if he had taken them on his sleepover when she left for her school trip or if it was later, after the pulse. She huffed out a frustrated breath and left his room. She went to her own bedroom and grabbed some clothes and personal items before joining Cooper back in the living room.

Cooper turned around when he heard her come in and held something out to her. It was a piece of paper
, but it was too dim in the room to read it. They went into the kitchen and Dara opened the blinds over the window above the sink to let some more light into the room. When she finished reading the words in the note, she wordlessly handed it to Cooper and closed her eyes in relief. Tears streamed down her face as she said a silent prayer of thanks to Josh’s parents for taking care of her brother. She might not know what happened to him after the gang took over but she knew that Josh’s parents would have done everything they could to protect him.

Cooper gave
her a one-armed hug before pulling back. “Let’s get to the school and see what’s happening at the community center. You never know, we might even get a glimpse of your brother!”

Dara gave him a grateful smile. “Do you want to go to the high school or the middle school?”

Prairie Springs had three schools in town. The high school and middle school were separated by the community center making it easy for the students to walk across the parking lot to use the center’s pool. The third school was an elementary school for the younger grades and it was located further away.

Cooper thought about it for a minute and came back with, “High school. I know how to get on the roof if we can get in. The back playing fields all connect so we can circle around to the middle school if we need too. We will just have to see what we find when we get there. We don’t even know if they are still being held at the center so let’s play it by ear for now.”

Dara nodded and took a final look around the house she used to live in. Even if they freed the town, she didn’t think she would ever live here again.

“Let’s get out of here. There’s nothing here for me anymore.”
She walked out and closed the door firmly behind her. They stayed in the alleyways as they made their way closer to their school. This was Dara’s area of town and she knew the best way to approach the back playing fields. She had traveled this path every day to and from school for the past few years. When they came to the last street of houses that butted up against Fairways Park, Dara pointed out the pathway that ran between two of them.

“If we take that path it leads to the main park and the sch
ools are on the other side,” she told Cooper. “There are a few sections that have good tree cover we can use.”

“Good idea. I wish we had binoculars but hopefully we can get close enough to see what we need
,” he said.

They ran down the street and turned on to the pathway between houses. They had only gone halfway when Dara skidded to a halt. She turned and waved Cooper back the way they had come. He didn’t waste any time asking why
, just turned and followed her back to the street. Dara cut across the lawn of one of the houses and paused at the gate to the houses backyard. She turned to Cooper with a concerned look.

“There’s a
chainlink fence blocking the path. It wasn’t there the last time I walked this way to school, so we need to get a look at what’s happening in the park before we try and go into it.”