Survival (10 page)

It took Noah a minute to digest what he was hearing. He listened to the message several more times, staring at the speakers, unable to believe the man’s words. For days, he’d been struggling to survive, certain the entire world was crumbling, certain he was condemned to die.

And now, in the blink of an eye, there was a chance at rescue.

He removed the key from the ignition and opened the door. He had to tell Caddy. He had to get them out of here. If there really was an evacuation site, they needed to reach it before it was too late. He shut the door and raced for the house.

He’d only gone a few steps when he heard someone scream.

Noah barreled through the backyard. Had someone broken into the house? Was he too late already?

He pushed the broadcast to the back of his mind. If he couldn’t get his companions to safety, there’d be no point in…

The scream rang out again.

Noah reached the back door and did his best to peer inside. The other side of the pane was barricaded with furniture; the windows were covered. Try as he might, he was unable to see inside. He rapped on the door, frantic, gripping his rifle. Had one of the other entrances been breached? If not, how had someone gotten in?

“Caddy!” he yelled.

He stepped back, intending on kicking down the door. Normally Caddy would’ve cleared the entrance, but by the sound of it, she was unable to. He darted toward the door, raising his foot. Before he could strike, noises sprang from the other side.

“Wait one second!” Caddy called.

Confused, Noah stopped and retreated a few feet. He heard the scrape of furniture being moved, and then the door swung open, revealing the pale face of his companion. Caddy glanced past him, perusing the yard, then waved him in.

“Come on in,” she said.

Noah hesitated for a second. He watched as Caddy stepped away from the door and grabbed hold of her mother, who stood shaking in the kitchen. He saw no one else inside.

“What happened?” he asked as he entered. “I heard screaming.”

“Mom just had a…scare. We’re all right.”

He eyed Theresa, who was still trembling. Her face looked like it had aged since he last saw her. She was wearing a bathrobe and slippers and she had a magazine tucked under one arm. She pointed at him as he entered.

“Who’s this?” she asked.

“This is Noah, Mom,” Caddy explained.

Noah waved at the woman, doing his best to look nonthreatening. Realizing he still had the rifle, he laid it on the counter. Then he turned and closed the door behind him.

When he was finished, Caddy was staring at him.

“Any luck?” she asked.

He pulled the box of fruit from his pocket and laid it on the counter. The girl glanced at it. Her face fell.

“That’s it?”

“Unfortunately. Are you both OK?”

“Yes. We saw one of the infected an hour ago, and Mom’s been upset ever since. Then she heard your car. She wants to leave, but I’ve been explaining to her that we have to stay.”

Caddy gave her mother a firm squeeze, and the woman smiled.

“It’s going to be fine, Ms. Stevens,” Noah offered.

“Do you really think so?”

“I do. We’re safe in here.”

“What if one of them gets in the house?”

“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Noah surveyed the woman’s face. She was still smiling, but he saw fear and uncertainty behind her stare. He gave Caddy a glance.

“Do you have a second?” he asked her.

“Sure.”

Caddy led her mother into the living room. After helping her into the recliner, she rejoined Noah in the kitchen.

“I heard someone on the radio.”

“Is that what that noise was?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Mom thought someone was coming to get us.”

“I didn’t mean to scare her. Listen, Caddy, this is good news. There’s a military checkpoint set up on I-70. They’re urging everyone to get there as soon as possible.”

He stared at her for a minute, letting the news sink in. Her eyes, formerly downcast, lit up with hope.

“Do you think it’s real?”

“It sounded real. I mean, there are no guarantees, but I think it’s the best shot we have at getting out of here.”

Caddy glanced back at her mother, who was rocking in the recliner. She walked over to the kitchen counter and slowly placed her palms on the surface. Noah watched as she surveyed the room, studying each of the kitchen cabinets in turn.

“All my life I’ve wanted to get out of here, but I never really thought it would happen. And now that everything has fallen apart…”

She turned, still whispering so her mother couldn’t hear.

“Where are we going to go, Noah?”

“Well, it sounds like the evacuation point is—”

“No, I mean, where are we going to go afterward? What if this thing keeps spreading and spreading?” Caddy looked at him, tears in her eyes. “It’s been hard enough keeping my mother calm in her own home. How can I take her on the road, away from the place she’s lived for twelve years?”

Noah sighed. The girl had a point. Taking Theresa on the road would be difficult at best. Even if he didn’t take into account the infected, the road was filled with lunatics, people who seemed to have lost all sense of right and wrong.

How would they keep her safe?

At the same time, there was no way they could stay. Things weren’t going to get any better; he knew that much.

“I understand how hard this is, Caddy. I really do. But there’s nothing left for you here. There really isn’t. All it will take is one of the infected getting in here and that’d be the end of it. And God forbid those looters come back.”

Caddy covered her face with her hands.

“I know you’re right,” she whispered. “But I can’t imagine taking her out there. It’s been so hard, you know?”

“Maybe once the military gets things under control, you can come back. Maybe once things settle down…”

Caddy let out a heavy breath, wiping her eyes. She gazed around the house. Her eyes settled on her mother.

“I know this is the right thing to do. I just need a few minutes before I tell my mother.”

Without another word, she walked from the room, eyes averted.

“Where are you going?”

“To pack.”

N
oah stayed downstairs with Theresa while Caddy packed. For the most part, the upstairs remained quiet, but every once in a while he heard the dull
thud
of a closet door or the
thump
of a bureau.

He knew enough to give her space.

He couldn’t imagine the girl’s thought process. For the duration of Noah’s journey, his only consideration had been getting home. He couldn’t imagine having to leave home behind.

His thoughts drifted to his apartment in Las Vegas. Had the infection spread there as well? With Kendall gone, he couldn’t picture ever returning. At the same time, all his belongings were there—his clothes, his music, his photographs. He wondered if anyone had happened on his apartment while he’d been gone.

Right now, it was possible someone was hiding out there.

If so, he decided he wouldn’t mind. He wasn’t using it, after all. If it could give someone else shelter, then so be it.

He walked into the living room, where he found Theresa thumbing through one of her magazines.

“Anything good in there?” he asked.

She looked up at him. Her face seemed to have relaxed since the scare a few minutes earlier.

“Not really,” she said, her lips creasing into a smile. “Just the same old garbage.”

She placed the magazine on the floor and looked at him.

“Are we leaving, Noah?”

Noah stared at her for a second, then nodded. He wondered if the woman had heard them or if she’d put the pieces together herself. In any case, the last thing he wanted to do was lie. “Yes. Very soon.”

“I’m going to miss this place,” she lamented. “Did you know that Caddy and I have lived here since she was six?”

He shook his head, studying the woman. In the short time he’d known her, this was the most lucid he’d seen her. It was as if a switch had flipped inside her, prepping her for the journey.

“That’s a long time,” he said. “It sounds like you’ve enjoyed it here.”

“Caddy always loved the woods. We used to take walks all the time. But not so much anymore…at least I don’t think we have…”

“Things have a way of getting hectic.”

Theresa dabbed at her eyes. “I really appreciate all Caddy’s done for me. She’s been a big help.”

“It certainly seems like it.”

“Are you from around here, Noah?”

“No, I’m from Portland. I’m hoping to get back there soon.”

“That’s a long ways away. I’ll bet your parents miss you.”

“I’ll bet they do.”

Noah swallowed. In the days he’d been on the road, this was the closest his plans had come to fruition. He’d already traveled hundreds of miles. If he could survive a few more days, if he could get to the checkpoint, there was a possibility he’d make it home.

His dreams were more tangible than ever. He walked over to the front windows, intent on peering outside.

Quiet footfalls on the stairs interrupted him. He turned his attention to the staircase. Caddy had emerged from the second floor, a duffel bag slung over each shoulder.

“I packed some things, Mom. We’re going to leave for a while.”

Her mother turned to face her. “Thank you, honey. Noah and I were just talking about that.”

“Is there anything special you want to take?”

Theresa looked around the room. Her gaze stopped on a pile of framed pictures.

“How about those?”

“Of course,” Caddy said. She scooped them from the floor and placed them in one of the bags.

Noah could see that Caddy had packed light. If there was one thing they’d both learned, it was that there was little room for sentimentality in their new world. In the heat of the chase, there were only two things that could be counted on: legs to run with and weapons to hold.

There was no telling what they’d encounter on the way to the checkpoint.

“I packed a few shirts for you, as well,” Caddy said to Noah.

“Thanks. Hopefully, they’ll fit a little better than this one.”

He pointed to the T-shirt he’d borrowed from her earlier, which clung to his arms and stomach. It was a size too small, and he’d barely squeezed into it. Regardless, he was grateful to have changed out of his beat-up purple polo.

He pointed at the kitchen counter in the next room, indicating the pile of makeshift weapons.

“Do you have anything we can carry them in?”

“I have another bag we can keep them in. We can put it in the front seat.”

Noah led the way into the kitchen, the two women behind him. The air was filled with silent apprehension. He could only imagine what must be going through Theresa and Caddy’s heads. Once they left the house, they’d be leaving the safety of four walls behind.

He reached for the dried fruits on the counter. He was starving, and he assumed his companions were as well.

“How about a farewell meal?” he asked, giving a thin smile.

His companions nodded. He broke open the box and dumped the contents into their hands, then took a scoop of his own.

“To new beginnings,” he said.

Caddy and Theresa smiled, their eyes brimming with tears.

“To new beginnings,” Caddy whispered.

After a careful sweep of the area, Noah slung the bags over his shoulder and took them to the car, holding the rifle in one hand.

Aside from the creature Caddy had mentioned earlier, Noah hadn’t seen any activity in the neighborhood. He just hoped they could depart without incident.

As he walked to the car, the air felt calm and serene. If it weren’t for the wreckage and the bodies, he could’ve mistaken the neighborhood for a movie set, with cameramen filming from the shadows.

The sun shone strong above him. Since he’d returned to the house, it had moved toward the west. Noah knew it would be wise to get on the road before nightfall. In the dark, they’d have to use the headlights, which would make them too easily seen. They’d be better off traveling in the daytime, when they’d have a clear view of the threats around them.