Shocked (6 page)

I consider this and munch another peanut. I wash it down with a swig of water. “That makes sense.” I give him a wry look, but perk up to the idea of no longer being traceable. “A lot of sense, actually. How much longer do you think until we’re in the clear?”

“Well, if we weren’t getting close I don’t think that they’d be trying quite so hard to find us.” He pulls out the map. “But if you want an estimate…by the last map we saw of the infection…I’d say one more day, just to be safe.”

Huh. “Then we should get moving.”

We end up walking all night (not very quickly but all night just the same). It’s an unofficial decision when we have our beef jerky dinner. The idea of getting the General off our tail is too alluring for either of us to pass up.

When the sun is high above us once again we stop to eat the last of our food. It becomes obvious that sometime very soon we’re going to need to stop and get some more supplies.

Finally a break in the trees brings us to a road. Both of our mouths hang open in astonishment when not one, not two, but three cars drive by in a row. We’ve done it! We’ve made it out of the infection zone!

Exhaustion and relief make me little weak in the knees. Lucas grabs my elbow to steady me. It dawns on me that we have another problem on our hand. We look like vagabonds and will easily be spotted. “What do we do now?” My voice sounds scratchy.

Maybe Lucas has finally lost it because he grins. “Now we just need to get to civilization.” He notices the expression on my face. “Hey, relax. It’s going to be much easier now.”

I give him back a weak smile before I follow him down the side of the road. More cars pass by while we walk. Soon a sign comes into view. It has a dark blue background and gold writing. It says we’ve reached Eminence Missouri.

It looks much like any other smallish American town. The main drag has multiple small businesses. People look at us a little strangely but nobody says anything. Lucas pulls me closer and says quietly, “If anyone asks we went hiking and got lost. Anything else just follow my lead or don’t say anything.”

I nod in understanding and let him guide me into a small diner-style restaurant. The smell of food makes me ravenous and the laminated menu shows what seems like never ending choices. I half laugh in astonishment. It’s all so incredibly normal.

I look at the menu and it causes me to look at my hands—which are disgusting. “I’m going to the restroom, I’ll be right back.”

I begin to stand when Lucas asks, “What do you want to eat and drink if they come while you’re gone?”

“Something breakfast-y…as long as it includes bacon, I’m good.”

“Okay.”

The place isn’t big so the bathroom’s easy to locate. I lock myself in before attending to things. I try to scrub the last few days of dirt out from under my fingernails. Once they somewhat meet my satisfaction I go back out to Lucas.

On the table sits two steaming cups of coffee and a saucer with some of those small half and half plastic capsule things. I sit back down and inhale the aroma. It smells wonderful so I hurry to add some sugar and creamer. The first sip burns my tongue, but I don’t really care. I have coffee!

Before I can complete reveling in the magnificence of my coffee, our server returns with two plates: piled high with pancakes and bacon. Quickly I push my coffee to the side—its splendor diminishing in the presence of bacon.

To say that we tuck into our food is a gross understatement. It’s more like we demolish it. With a complete disregard for manners we must be quite a sight. When it’s all over I don’t regret a thing, despite the snobby looks we keep receiving from one older woman across the room.

I push my empty plate forward and look at Lucas. “Now what are we going to do?” I ask.

“I don’t know about you, but I think someplace to clean up and get some rest is in order.”

“How?” I counter. “How can we even afford breakfast?”

He leans in over the table and whispers conspirator-like, “Believe it or not, finding cash was the easiest thing to do when scavenging through an apocalypse.”

I can’t hold back the snort of laughter that escapes. “Okay. Then I’ll follow your lead, I guess.”

Lucas pays the bill and we venture back out to the main street. We wander down until we spot a motel offering cabins. Lucas goes into the office and returns with a key. He’s smiling from ear to ear. “My lady, your cabin awaits.”

The cabins are all very rustic and neat looking. Some look much larger than others, but the number on the cabin that matches our keychain is smaller. I’m glad because it seems silly to waste all of that space on just the two of us. Also the last place we spent time in was a cave. This is a definite improvement.

Inside the cabin is clean and very country. The two beds are a relief and will certainly save us any awkward moments later. I walk over to the bed furthest from the door and drop my bag down before I sit.

Lucas drops his bag and checks the bathroom. Always cautious, it’s a sobering smack of reality just when I start to relax.

“I’m going to grab some things. If we have to run again I’d rather it’s with more supplies. Will you be okay for a while?” He asks.

Gee, let me think. A chance to shower, change and lie down?
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Alright…” for a second it looks like he has something more to say, then changes his mind, “Be back soon.”

Alone now I dump out the contents of my pack for assessment. My other outfit is stiff and not really clean from air drying in the cave. I set the clothes aside. I have a clean pair of sweats left over from our short stay with Kim and Scott so I grab them.

After my shower I dress in the sweats. I leave the bathroom vigorously drying my hair off with the towel. On the bed next to my bag and my disheveled pile of belongings, sit a new large paper shopping bag, with a note propped up against it:

Figured you could use them, hope they fit. Be back soon.

Huh. That’s incredibly considerate of him. Once my hair goes from wet to damp, I tie it back and stare at the mess. All I really want to do is sleep, but Lucas is right. If we have to get out of here quickly then we’ll need to have everything ready to go. I move back towards the bed and notice a duffle bag behind the shopping bag that I didn’t see before. How the hell am I supposed to lug this thing around?

I set the shopping and duffel bags aside and decide to tackle the pile of crap dumped on the bed first. It takes a little bit to separate things that are still useful from the things that can be thrown away. There’s more than I’d thought that fits into the latter category.

I bag the trash and sort the keep pile before I repack my backpack. Before I open the shopping bag, I take my dirty clothes into the bathroom and wash them. I hang them over the shower curtain rod to dry after wringing them until my hands hurt.

The duffle bag is practically weightless when I lift it to place it back on the bed, especially in comparison to the shopping bag. How much stuff did he buy? I open the bag and get my answer…a lot more than I’m thinking.

The top of the bag reveals three new pairs of jeans. They look about the right size, which begs the question of how he knows my size. Of course I’ve left a pair hanging up for some time in the cave…do guys even notice stuff like that? I have no idea, but apparently Lucas does to some degree.

Shirts follow, long sleeve thermal shirts, a few long tank tops and sweaters. I rummage deeper into the bag and heat flushes my face when my fingers brush the undergarments. Immediately I push any thoughts of Lucas and my undergarments out of my mind.

I set out some clothes for later and neatly place the rest of them in the new duffle bag. Once that’s done, I flick on the TV and collapse on the bed. I really want to catch up on news about the infection (along with any other pertinent information.) Unfortunately my body has other ideas. The exhaustion of the past two days finally sets in. The world quickly fades to black.

It’s dark when I wake up and it takes me a second or two to remember where I am. I sit up and look over to see a lump on the bed next to mine, snoring lightly. The digital clock on the nightstand says three-thirty in eerie red glowing numbers. It’s been a little more than fifteen hours since I fell asleep.

Now that I’m awake I have to run to the bathroom and manage to stub my toe twice on the way. Leaving the smaller of the two lights on in the bathroom with the door half-opened keeps me from repeating the process on the way back. This is good because my toe freaking hurts.

It takes another couple of minutes to get comfortable, but try as I may I’m just not tired anymore. I don’t put the TV on because Lucas certainly deserves the rest. The clothes I hung up earlier are dry. Very quietly I roll them up and use the soft light from the bathroom to place them back into my backpack. The duffle might seem like the more logical choice—unless I have to ditch it, which would leave no clothes at all.

There’re still a couple hours until the sun comes up. For lack of something to do I make the bed and plop back down on it. It looks like there’s no chance to escape my thoughts now.

Rather than de-compartmentalize something from the recesses of my battered psyche, I do something even more dangerous and stupid. I let myself hope. I imagine finding everyone one day soon. I hug Brie tight and kiss Mason. I see how big Baby Bear got and how Jared’s doing. It doesn’t matter that it’s been so long. I see their faces fresh in my mind. What about the others who helped us? Is it too much to wish that they can be safe too?

The tears that fall are uncontrollable but at least they’re silent. No sense in waking Lucas up to find me all weepy. He’s another problem all together: far too easy to get along with and to be comfortable around. Lucas is just a little bit too cute and a little too well-built for me (or any other female) to ignore. With him acting all considerate to boot it’s just making things worse. I kind of wish he’s an asshole. It may be easier that way.

What makes me feel the guiltiest is that nothing can ever come of me and Lucas. I love Mason and I’ll never betray his trust. Of course Lucas can just be nice and everything’s all in my head. That’s the most probable possibility.

Everything frustrates me and I pull myself off the bed. I position myself in a chair facing the window and pull the blinds just a crack so I can see when daybreak makes its arrival. I stare into the darkness and my mind is sharper than it’s been in the past few days. It makes me try to put together a few things that have been rambling about inside my head.

The infection hasn’t reached here yet so being tracked by Carch and her goons will become much harder for them. I don’t have the same homing beacon effect as before when we are across the infected line. Then there’s the infection Carch creates with her weapons. It doesn’t seem to be connecting to the original infection. It makes me wonder if anyone else’s caught onto that yet. Not that I have any idea what it can mean—because I don’t.

All that twice the infection means to me is more fighting than before: two enemies instead of one. Who knows what else has gone down since I have been taken?

From there my thoughts go from bad to worse. It doesn’t take long before I break down and walk over to the TV. I use the remote and turn it on. I begin to press the lower volume button like a madwoman. It works; picture and no sound—still better than being alone with my thoughts.

Channel surfing finds me first on an old sitcom. I remember watching it and let it coax me back into the innocence of not-so-long-ago for a few episodes before Lucas begins to stir. The sky’s lightening through the cracked shade of the window now. Morning’s here and brings reality with it.

Lucas stirs a bit more and I flick on a news channel. I kick the volume up just a tiny bit. Not enough to be rude, but enough to hopefully wake Lucas up the rest of the way so that we can get a move on.

I stand and stretch, then move to put the remote back on top of the TV. I spot a small card offering a continental breakfast in the lobby. Coffee sounds promising so I throw my boots on. I open the door when Lucas calls out.

“Where’re you going?” His voice is still thick and sleep-filled.

“I guess there’s coffee in the lobby.”

He sits up and wipes a hand down his face. The sheet pools around his waist and quickly I refocus my attention onto the TV because once again he’s shirtless. “Just wait a few. We can grab breakfast before we leave.” He doesn’t wait for a reply instead gets up and goes into the bathroom with some clothes in his hand.

My bags are already set from last night. I kick my boots off to get changed. The shower kicks on so I should have a few minutes of privacy. I pull off the sweats and pull on some jeans. I fasten the new (suspiciously well-fitting) bra into place. Seriously, I haven’t even bought one for myself that fits this good before.
What’s up with that?