FORSAKEN: THE SYSTEMIC SERIES (3 page)

“Time to get rolling,” I said softly, but as cheerily as I could to Sharron, who sat inside, eyes open, petting Paul’s head.  “How’d everyone sleep?”

Sharron sat wordless, just stroking Paul’s hair as though she hadn’t even heard my words.

I looked at Paul who lay motionless, his head in her lap.

Sharron looked as though she’d been crying.

My heart leapt into my throat.  Sharron refused to look at me.

“Sharron…” I said as calmly as possible, not wanting to know the answer to my forthcoming question, but having to ask, “…is Paul…”

“Mom, I want to sleep more,” Paul moaned, stirring suddenly.

I exhaled heavily, “Oh…thank god.”  I put a hand to my chest and felt my heart racing.  “I thought…well, never mind,” I said, shaking my head.  “Tell you what, Paul.  Why don’t you stay right where you are?  Just lift your feet up so I can get behind the wheel, then you can put them in my lap while I drive.  Okay?”

“Okay,” he mumbled, still half asleep but lifting his legs up so I could sit.

I climbed up into the cab and Paul put his legs back down on me.  I started the truck and Cashmere jumped up from the floor of the pickup onto Paul’s back and nestled down atop him.

Claire brought Jason up to the front of the truck to get inside, but seeing Sharron and Paul there said, “We’ll ride in the back.”

“Thanks,” Sharron nodded appreciatively.

As I waited for Claire and Jason to get snuggled in the back with the others, I nudged Sharron and whispered, “You scared the
shit
out of me!”

“Sorry,” she whispered back, “I was just so deep in thought…plus I’m exhausted. I don’t think I even heard you.  I didn’t get
any
sleep at all last night.”

“I forgive you,” I smiled at her, just thankful that Paul was okay.  “Just don’t
ever
do that to me again.”

“Okay,” she nodded back and gave me a tired smile.

Dad pounded the top of the pickup’s cab with a palm to signal that everyone was settled and ready and I pulled the pickup and its attached trailer out onto the road. 

We drove slowly on for the remainder of the day, stopping occasionally for bathroom breaks and once to fix lunch.  We made one stop to investigate a location that looked promising for longer-term habitation, but a few distant gunshots aimed in our general direction from a nearby home quickly sent us on our way again.  It was apparent that while the flu might have killed off a majority of the population, those who remained were still quite leery of outsiders.

By late afternoon, I was again starting to lose hope of finding a good spot that we could call home. 

Suddenly there was a knock on the pickup’s back window.  It was Will.

I swiveled in my seat, reaching back to unlatch the small sliding window that opened from the pickup’s cab to the rear bed. 

“What’s up?” I asked, lifting my foot from the accelerator pedal to slow our speed and reduce engine noise so that I could hear him better.

“I have a thought,” he said.

“Well, let’s hear it, because I’m out of them right now.”

“I’ve been looking at the map,” he continued.  “There’s a small town a couple coming up in a few miles.  It looks to be off the beaten track a bit.  Might be worth checking out.”

“Long as we don’t get shot at again,” I said.  “That’s getting old.”

“My ass and I agree,” he laughed.

“How far?” I asked.

“Looks like about another ten miles before the turnoff.  We should make it well before sundown.”

“It’s worth a shot,” I said.

My spirits picked up slightly at the proposition of investigating a new site, but the realistic side of me kept my expectations in check.  We’d been down this road before, and I knew that the chances of finding a small town that was completely uninhabited and suitable for us to live in were slim, and finding one that was inhabited, but welcoming to outsiders, was even more remote.  Still, we had to try.

About a half hour later, we were nearing the outskirts of the town of Olsten – if you could call it a town.  Upon first glance, Olsten appeared to be more of a village than a town.  And upon second glance, it appeared to be even less than that.  It actually kind of reminded me of the tiny town of Avers, back in southern Illinois, outside of which Joanna and Shane had joined us.  Olsten looked to be little more than a few houses nestled in close proximity to one another and joined together by a few small businesses.

I stopped the pickup just short of what appeared to be the town’s miniscule business district.  Ahead of us I could see several larger buildings and then some houses sprinkled throughout the area just past them.  After our previous encounters in new locations, I didn’t want to be hasty in my assessment regarding the town’s safety, and I
definitely
didn’t want to take the entire clan into the danger zone if it could be helped.

“Hang tight here for a minute,” I told Sharron and Paul.  Paul was awake now but still lay resting on his mother’s lap.  She wouldn’t allow him to sit up even if he wanted to, which he did.

“Can I come?” he asked, looking at me and then up at his mother.

“Sorry partner,” I said.  “You need to stay here and rest and get better.”

He frowned and said dejectedly, “Aw man.”

I was just happy to see that he was feeling better.

I got out of the pickup and went around back to get Ray.

“Want to come check things out with me?” I asked.

“Heck yeah,” he jumped up.  “Anything to stretch my legs for a minute,” he grabbed his rifle and hopped down from the back of the pickup’s bed.  “My ass is sore as hell after riding in that bumpy trailer all day.”

We walked the brief distance down the center of the road leading into town towards where the cluster of buildings that comprised Olsten’s miniscule downtown sat.

This little business district consisted of two buildings on each side of the street.  To our right, there was an empty – and by empty, I mean not just devoid of people after the flu but devoid of any occupying businesses before it – two-story brick building that looked to be on its last leg and ready to collapse at any moment.  Beside it sat an aged three-story wood structure that appeared once to have served as the area’s general store.  The building came complete with covered wood-plank front porch where a multitude of various vintage and antique signs were affixed to its exterior.  An old soda machine and newspaper stand sat on one side of the porch.  Across the street from these structures there was a tiny post office and a small one-story building that, according to its sign, had once served as “Mary’s Diner & Thrift Shop.” 

“Interesting combination of businesses,” I said to Ray, nodding to the diner and thrift shop sign.

“Guess people do what they can to make a buck in a town this size…” he said, “…or at least they
used
to,” he added.

“Yeah,” I agreed somewhat absently and not really listening to what Ray was saying because I was so intent on watching for signs of movement and listening for the sound of gunshots.

We kept walking on past the buildings to where the street we were on intersected with a small paved side street.  “Oak Street” its sign read.  On past this a ways we came to a dusty gravel side street.  Its street sign read, “Maple Drive.” 

A few houses were scattered among the two streets.  It appeared that they had once been nice little homes but they hadn’t endured the effects of time and weather well.  I had a feeling that their worn looking condition had begun to take hold well before the flu had ever struck. 

Most of the homes were wood sided, and the majority of them looked to be well-constructed little bungalow-style structures.  I would guess that most had been built somewhere between the late-19
th
and early part of the 20
th
century.  The paint on most of them was peeling.  Several had porches that angled slightly to one side.  A few of the yards were ringed with small stone walls that leaned precariously out towards the sidewalk in spots.  The yards themselves were overgrown and small trees had begun sprouting up in several.  We counted a total of seven of the single-family homes.  Several lots where the previous house had either burned or been torn down were now occupied by mobile homes.

After this residential area, the main road through town continued on, but the land reverted to scrubby brush-filled fields and woodlands. 

We stopped at the edge of town and turned around.  I could see our pickup truck sitting in the middle of the road about a half mile away.  “Not much to see, is it?” I said to Ray.

“Nope,” he agreed.

“Time to take a chance?” I asked, looking at him.

He shrugged, “Guess so.”

I cupped my hands around my mouth.  “
HELLLLOOO!!!
” I yelled as loudly as I could, my voice echoing through and around the tiny town.  “
HELLLLOOO!!!
” I called again after several seconds.  Then I raised my rifle at an angle and fired off a single round.  We stood waiting for another minute.  No one appeared from any of the homes or businesses.  “Just wanted to be sure,” I said, giving Ray a shrug. 

“Doesn’t mean no one’s here,” said Ray.

“I know,” I agreed.  “We’ll have to go structure by structure to be sure.  Tell you what, let’s walk back to the pickup and get the others who are able to help us.”  I paused, thinking, and then smiled, “Guess, that won’t be many at this point.  Let’s see, Claire can come with me.  Joanna can go with you.  Otherwise everybody else is either too young, too sick, too injured, or too pregnant.”

Ray nodded, “Yeah, our list of able bodies is really starting to dwindle.  We need a place like this to be able to recoup and hide out for a while.”

“Or maybe longer,” I said hopefully.

We walked back to where the others had stayed with the truck.  They watched us with curiosity.  I noted some signs of anticipation as they waited for an indication of what our next move would be.

“Looks like a decent spot,” I said, loudly enough for all to hear as we stopped beside the pickup.  “Seems like the place is deserted, but we’ll have to check the surrounding homes and businesses to be sure.  We don’t want any unpleasant surprises as we’re settling in.”  I looked around at the group.  “Claire, Joanna, we’ll need your help to check things out.  You up for it?”

They both nodded that they were.

“Good,” I said, as I rummaged inside the cab of the truck and brought out two flashlights, one of which I tossed to Ray.  “Claire, you’re with me.”

“I’m with Ray,” Joanna interjected before I could get it out.

“Yes, you’re with Ray,” I said.  “We’ll start on this end of town, each team taking a side.  We’ll hit the businesses first, regroup back here, and then check the homes.  Keep your eyes peeled and be ready.  That goes for the rest of you to,” I added, looking at those who sat in the truck. 

Before we got started, I pulled the truck and trailer a short distance back down “Main Street” as I was now calling it, and off to one side behind a large grove of trees in order to give the rest of our group some cover.  I set dad and Will up on guard duty – Will taking a stationary position near the truck while dad roamed the perimeter – and made sure that Sharron and Pam were also armed. 

Before we began our search, we stopped out on Main Street between the two sets of business buildings where I told Ray and Joanna, “Be careful, but also be on the lookout for anything of use.  You guys know what we need, so I won’t go through the list.  If you do come across something though, you don’t have to take it right now; just be sure to make a mental note of what and where it was if you decide not to bring it along.  We can come back later and collect it when we have time should everything pan out alright here.”

“Will do,” Ray agreed.

“Meet us back out here when you’re finished, and then we can move on to the houses.”

Ray and Joanna went off to investigate the side of the street where the post office and Mary’s Diner and Thrift Shop sat. 

Claire and I began our search with a peek inside the dilapidated structure that appeared to serve no other purpose than space filler.  In the center of the building was an entry door with big plate glass windows on either side of it.  I had Claire wait a safe distance away as I kicked the front door in as carefully as I could, if such a thing is possible.  I didn’t want the rest of the building coming down on top of us while we were trying to get inside. 

After I got the door open, I mentally berated myself, realizing that I should have just thrown a big rock through the glass portion of the door or through one of the big front windows.  It would have been a heck of a lot safer.  My hesitation to do so came as a result of pre-flu exercises in self-restraint that were no longer necessary in this new world of ours.  I’d been taught for so long that such things were the acts of vandals or looters that it seemed taboo.  I guess kicking open a door wasn’t much better; it just seemed a little less destructive. 

I left Claire on guard duty outside, largely to keep her out of harm’s way, while I took a very quick look around inside the building.