Then Came War (8 page)

At first Abby didn’t and then it came into ear shot.

It was a car horn. It was steady, as if someone just held it down.

“Someone’s alive,” Foster said.

“Wait.” Abby grabbed him. “They could have just fallen on the horn when they died.”

Foster slowed his pace.

Then the horn stopped. But after a moment, it picked back up, only this time it was sporadic.

“That’s not a body,” Foster said. “Let’s go.”

The young man over ten years her junior took off running at a pace she found hard to keep up with.

The horn was far from where the bombs hit and it was conceivable that here on the outskirts, someone was a live and that someone was beeping the horn for help.

***

Where was everybody?

Just get out … get out of the city, out of New York and everything would be fine. That was the mindset of Ben and Lana.

They immediately got on the highway, dodging the cars that had crashed or pulled over. Outbound traffic was minimal, so it was fairly easy.

But the second they hit the New York state line, they started to worry.

Where was everyone?

The stream of halted cars was no more.

There wasn’t a single car on the road.

Nothing.

Pulling off the highway didn’t give them any more answers. There wasn’t a soul at the gas station and yet there had to be power.

Ben and Lana were deceived by the lit up gas station sign. They were enthusiastic as they pulled over.

Not a car in sight, but the door was open. The sign on the pump, badly handwritten, merely said, “Help yourself.”

The pumps were unlocked and they fueled up.

They searched for a newspaper, anything, but found none.

The radio still played the same music on every station.

That was their first stop after freeing themselves from the confines of the city.

About ten miles into Connecticut, they left the turnpike and headed to Lana’s mother’s home. She resided in a small, tree lined community with lush houses near the ocean.

Lana was confident that this sleepy residential area was just fine. It was about that point that Lana got a signal on her phone. She couldn’t access the internet, but she was able to dial out. She tried her mother, her sister and a couple of friends. No answer from anyone.

The picturesque small town square, more for tourist show, was the first warning that something had happened, at least in town.

The grocery store was dark and its doors stood open. Pewter Drugstore’s doors were open as well and items spilled into the streets.

“Pick up the speed, Ben, I don’t think we have to worry about another car,” Lana said.

Ben drove faster making the turns without slowing.

Lana’s mother and sister shared the same house. It was a Tudor and both cars were in the driveway when Lana and Ben pulled up.

Ben was quick to get out of the car, but Lana was more apprehensive.

Ben took hold of her hand and they walked inside. There was a smell that wasn’t fresh or pleasant. It wasn’t death, but neither Ben nor Lana could put their finger on it.

“Mom,” Lana called. “Mom! Lisa!”

They checked the living room and found nothing. It was in the kitchen that they noticed something was up. A bag from Pewter’s Drugstore was on the counter and an empty box of cold medicine.

There was a bottle of juice that had been opened but never put back in the fridge.

The entire sight was eerie to Lana. As she turned to leave the kitchen to go upstairs to search the bedrooms, she saw Lisa’s cell phone.

The alerts on the screen stated that she had four missed calls and three text messages.

“Read the texts,” Ben said. “Maybe they’ll tell us something.”

Lana lifted the phone, “They’re all from her friend Beth.” She read them aloud:

“First text – Ray is sick, so is Lynnie. How are you guys?

Second Text – can you get back to me to let me know you’re fine. You aren’t answering.

Third text – Everyone is sick, I swear I’m the only one who isn’t.

Fourth text – Ray just died.

The phone toppled from Lana’s hand and without hesitation she flew from the kitchen up the stairs, calling for her Mom the entire way.

She was scared to open the first bedroom door, her Mother’s. The house oozed silence and Lana stopped as she reached for the door.

“I can’t.” She turned to Ben. “I can’t.”

Ben nodded. “I understand. Do you want me to?”

“Yes.” Arms folded tightly to her body, Lana backed away from the door.

Ben knocked once and then entered.

A foot into the room, Ben’s hand shot to his mouth and he closed the door behind him.

Margaret was in the bed, covered completely to her neck. She lay on her side, a box of tissue on the nightstand along with cold medicine.

Her hand hung from the edge and tissues were gripped in her fingers.

“Margaret,” Ben whispered. But he knew he wasn’t going to get a response, not by the smell and especially not by the looks of Margaret.

Her eyes were open and grey, her skin was bloated and blotchy with purple spots and a thick substance encrusted around her mouth and nose. Ben grabbed the covers and lifted them over Margaret’s head.

Out in the hall, Lana waited.

It didn’t take long for Ben to emerge with a solemn, “I’m sorry.”

Lana crumbled and with a sob folded herself into Ben’s arms.

“It was a cold or virus or something.” Ben held on to her.

“Should we check Lisa?”

“I will,” Ben said. “Stay here.”

Lana nodded and Ben slipped away to Lisa’s room.

It was more of the same and that was all Ben had told Lana. He didn’t get into details or explained how decimated the bodies were from the illness. He just said it was an illness and they had to move on.

Before they did, Lana grabbed Lisa’s phone. Beth’s last text had come only three hours earlier so Lana tried to call her back.

Beth didn’t answer.

She sent a text to Beth, stating that Lisa had died and left her number, asking Beth to please get in touch with her when she could.

At least if Beth was still alive, she got get some answers.

Ben and Lana left the home, got in the car and continued on to check on Ben’s mother.

Another twenty miles would bring them to her house.

They hoped the boundaries of death and destruction ended before they arrived there.

***

Harry and Tyler weren’t as lucky as Lana and Ben. Their car ran out of gas before they even reached the Connecticut turnpike. Harry tried the few cars left behind on the highway but didn’t have any luck.

They’d walk, he told Tyler. Eventually they’d find something.

They located a convenience store just off the highway and the electricity was on. Harry had Tyler wait outside, just to avoid the bodies and he went in, hit the sandwich area and grabbed some food to take with them on their walk.

Tyler enjoyed the sandwich.

“Do you think my mom’s okay?” Tyler asked.

“I don’t know,” Harry answered. “I hope so.”

“You think she knows about my dad?”

“No, I don’t. I think you’ll have to tell her.”

“That’ll be hard,” Tyler said.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Will you help?”

“Absolutely.”

“Harry, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure can,” Harry said.

“How come no one else asked me to go? How come they just made plans to go? They made me feel bad.”

“Well …” Harry reached out and laid his hand on Tyler’s back. “I don’t think it was they didn’t want to take you. I think they just assumed I was taking you.”

“Did you tell them that?”

Harry hesitated before answering. “Actually I did. I said I was taking you home to your mother.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you’re taking me, Harry,” Tyler said. “You’re nice.”

“I hope.”

“Are you a grandfather?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Do your grandkids live near you?”

“No.” Harry shook his head. “No they don’t. They live all over the place.”

“Then maybe they’re safe.”

“I hope.”

“Do you mind me talking?” Tyler asked.

“Not at all. You just keep talking. It’ll make time pass faster.”

Tyler nodded; bit his sandwich and then after a brief pause asked. “What do you think happened, Harry? Do you think it was Aliens?”

“Aliens? You mean like Mexicans?”

Tyler laughed. “No. like outer space.”

“Nah, it wasn’t outer space. I think if it was, it would be worse. I mean if the aliens can travel here, then they can hit us a lot harder.”

“Then what was it?”

“I don’t know. I can guess. I think. . . I think some people may have gotten mad at us and they’re here to pick a fight.”

“Will it work? Will we fight?”

Harry took a deep breath. “I hope we do.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The honking horn led Foster and Abby. They followed the sound ten blocks from where they were initially headed in a totally opposite direction. The horn would start, stop, and do a pattern. It was without a doubt someone honking it.

Finally they locked in on a location on the horn. It grew louder as they turned the corner,

Had they not been so engrossed in running and finding out the source of the perpetual horn beeping, they might have noticed they had stopped seeing bodies.

They were not expecting what they saw.

Instead of massive amounts of bodies, there were massive amounts of people. Their moans and cries had been drowned out by the horn. Some held their heads and sat on the ground, while most wandered aimlessly, arms extended reaching at the air.

Foster and Abby slowed down their pace and walked to the car where a man still beeped the horn.

His back was to them and Foster reached into the car.

“Sir,” Foster called to him. “Sir.”

The man kept beeping the horn.

Abby reached out her hand, laying it on his arm. The man quickly swatted her way.

Despite the beeping, he spoke and did so loudly, almost unnaturally loud. “Whoever is touching me, back off! I’m trying to get help here.”

“Help for what?” Abby asked.

He didn’t respond.

Foster grabbed hold of him. “Sir!” he spoke loudly.

The man stopped beeping the horn.

“Sir, what’s happened here?” Foster asked.

No reply.

Again, Foster tried, only this time he yelled. “What’s happened here?”

Slowly, the man retracted his hand and turned around.

His eyes were not only blood shot, but stained with dried blood. Blood that streaked his face like tears.

His hand reached out and his fingers trailed over Foster’s face. “Can you see?”

“Yes,” Foster said. Then he noticed the man wasn’t focusing on anything, his eyes just blinked and shifted about.

“Speak up. I can barely hear,” the man, who was barely older than forty requested.

“I can see!” Foster said. “What happened here!”

The man sighed. It sounded almost like a laugh of excitement and disbelief. “Thank God. Thank God.” He touched Foster’s face. “Help us. Please. We’re all blind.”

Hearing his words, both Abby and Foster turned around to look at the people. How did they not notice, how did they not put two and two together? Everyone whether reaching out or sitting still had blood streaked faces.

What had happened to them all?

***

Ben recalled when he first introduced his mother to Lana’s mother. He suspected they would hit it off and become the best of friends. He was not wrong. Both women came from the same stock, the same well to do families.

They lived only a few miles from each other in mirror houses.

Ben often stated their relationship was stronger than his and Lana’s. That was why it came to no surprise to Ben that when he arrived at his mother’s home, she had gotten a text from Lana’s mom.

“Pray our kids are fine. God be with you.”

Ben’s mother didn’t respond. Of course the time of the text was shortly after the train crashed, so their parents knew something had occurred.

But were they as much in the dark as Ben and Lana?

Ben’s mother had passed away. She exhibited the same flu symptoms as Lana’s mother and sister.

Ben expected as much.

But again, the bodies gave no clue as to what had happened and Beth hadn’t returned the text or call to Lana.

Lana just wanted to go home to their own house and mourn.

What else was there to do?

“Get answers,” Ben suggested. “Find Beth.”

Lana knew where Beth had lived and they turned around and headed back.

Beth lived in an apartment complex just a few blocks from the shore. Lana had been there a few times and it took checking the mailboxes to figure out what apartment was hers.

The security doors were locked and there was no answer at Beth’s apartment.

Ben broke the glass on the doors and they entered the building.

The alarm blared, but they didn’t care. They hoped it drew attention.

It didn’t.

On the second floor they found Beth’s apartment and knocked on the door. There was no answer.

Oddly the door wasn’t locked and they walked inside.

The smell was far from pleasant. Death lingered in the air and was putrid.

The three bedroom apartment had a hallway just to the right of the main door and Ben and Lana took that hall.

The first bedroom was Lynn’s. They entered.

The bed was unmade but there was no sign of the teenage girl.

Next bedroom.

Ben knew before opening the door they were going to find someone. The smell was predominate and strong as Ben turned the knob.

Lana gasped, turned her head and involuntarily vomited right on the carpet.

Ben only got a glimpse before began to shut the door, but then stopped.

“Stay here,” he told Lana.

Lana held up her hand and conveyed through her motions that she wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, she couldn’t stop heaving.

Lifting his shirt over his nose Ben stepped in the bedroom.