Out of the Dark: An apocalyptic thriller (33 page)

     Armani pulled one of the chairs toward him, having been the only one standing while the preliminary discussion had been on. Now that they’d established their goal for a safe zone, the rules and plans of how they were going to get there needed to be addressed and agreed upon.

     “We travel as often as possible,” Dave offered for the first rule. “If we travel
at
night, we travel
through
the night. No stopping to try to get bunkered down in a safe place in the middle of the night. We all know that wouldn’t be safe enough.”

     Nods and vocal agreements followed his proposal. Armani added his voice to them. “If we’re going to stop for a night, we need to have the place established at least an hour before sundown,” he said. “The church is at least a two hour drive from here, in my old hometown. We don’t know how the freeways are, how the back roads are. We don’t know how passable anything is going to be. It might take a day to get there, it might take two.”

     “Or the way could be totally clear and we get there in just the two hours it takes,” Kirby suggested.

     “But we need to stop to supply,” Armani reminded him. “Winter is here, snow is coming and when I say the boonies, I mean mom and pop stores are the only means of supplies around there. By the time we get there, if there are people still alive and sane around the area, they’ll probably already have been raided. We need to stock for the winter if we plan to stay at the church. That means every able-bodied adult excluding Kim driving a vehicle stocked to the brim with supplies.”

     “Damn,” Molly murmured. “That might take this little trek up to a couple of days. We have to be careful with our supply gathering. Bigger stores might be dangerous, especially twenty-four hour ones. Who knows how many people were inside when the Onset struck? Who knows how many are still there?”

     “And that’s why we’ve stuck to smaller stores so far,” Armani agreed. “To survive the whole winter in one spot without risking supply runs, I think we need to consider a bigger store. Somewhere we can get things that are already in bulk, especially canned goods. Another thing we need to consider: does anyone among us know anything about building an outhouse or a latrine?”

     He got blank stares all around, and it almost made him chuckle. It wasn’t something that had been at the forefront of everyone’s minds, but Armani knew if the plague or whatever it was continued, eventually the power was going to go. They had too many people not to consider the fact that there would need to be something akin to an outhouse for them to use if they chose to settle somewhere for the season.

     “So, that’s another thing,” Eric said. “Hell, where would we even find the instructions for something like that? Or the supplies? The internet hasn’t worked for a couple days now, and it feels like we’ve been cut off at the knees as far as information goes.”

     “There’s always a library,” Gwen suggested and her tone was sarcastic in a friendly way. Eric pointed at her and nodded.

     “Great idea,” he concurred, not offended by her sarcastic tone or remark. “We should hit a library and get a bunch of books if possible. Boredom could kill us as easily as those things.”

     “The bulk store we hit should have an entertainment section,” Kirby suggested. “We can get games to play, books to read, stuff like that. What about clothing?”

     “This trip is getting pricey,” Dave joked, and it elicited a small laugh from the rest of the group members.

     “A wash basin and a line to dry might be beneficial?” Ken offered in a questioning tone. “Perhaps bring four outfits per person and then wash every third day or so? It won’t be the most comfortable scenario, but it might work.”

     “It’s a good idea,” Gwen agreed as she wrote it down. “But that would mean we’d need detergent of some kind, as well. How are we going to have room for everything we need to last out there for a few months?”

     “Maybe we should just stay in the store that we choose to raid for bulk items,” Kim said, sounding worried. She just wanted to get to a safe place where Alec wouldn’t have to be on the move and in danger anymore.

     “Too appealing to other looters,” Kirby said, immediately dismissing the option. “If we’re trying to stay away from people, holing up in a store like that would be a very bad idea.”

     Kim frowned, but didn’t offer any opposition to Kirby’s well-made point.

     “Two of the vehicles should pull trailers,” Eric said. “We’d be able to fit a lot more stuff that way, right?”

     “Great idea.” Armani clapped his hands together once and gave Eric an enthusiastic thumbs up. “We just have to find some. Where do you think we could get them?”

     Eric shrugged and said, “The suggestion was my contribution.” He laughed. “I have no idea where we’d be able to get our hands on a couple of them.”

     “I know of an RV dealer not far from here,” Ken said quietly. “I was thinking of getting one and travelling over the summer. Not worth it, I decided. But those that could be pulled behind vehicles would not only have storage space, but extra bedding.”

     “Very smart, doctor,” Armani complimented with a smile. Ken nodded graciously and Armani rubbed his hands together.

     “All right,” he said. “We need supplies and we’ve figured out how we’re going to transport them all. Tomorrow, we get the extra vehicles and the RVs to pull behind the two biggest. That means we need trucks. Then, we stock them up. We hit a library, a bulk store, and anywhere else one of us might think is necessary. The day after that, we’ll head to the church. Then, we stay and wait out the winter. Anyone have any objections, speak up.”

     No one said anything against the plan, so Armani nodded. “All right. As it stands, this is how it’s going to go. Kirby and Molly, you’ve done enough guard duty. Get some sleep and Gwen and I will take over. Everyone else, rest up and be ready to travel in the morning.”

     Gwen spoke up, in a tone that conveyed she’d been hesitant to do so. She didn’t direct her words to Armani, but to another one of the group members. “Dave,” she began. “I feel awful for even asking this, but you shouldn’t be the only one with information on how to get to that office building in the event that something…happens.” She trailed off, obviously uncomfortable by her thought process. Dave gave her a disarming smile.

     “I should’ve thought of that,” he chastised himself. “Of course it should be written down in case we get separated or something and the church is a bust.”

     He and Gwen proceeded to talk about and write down the detailed directions to the office building. Armani noticed that Gwen seemed less tense after she got everything written out, and he was glad to have smart people with him. Getting the directions from Dave hadn’t even crossed his mind.

     With nothing more to discuss after that, the group settled down to sleep. In the morning, their many tasks on their way to what they hoped would be sanctuary would begin.

Chapter Twenty-Six

     Morning of the third day broke with no further incidents for Shane’s little group. He’d thought to find sleep impossible, but he’d actually slept well. Sometimes, he decided, the body simply knew better than the brain and did what was needed no matter how the organ fought back. He’d expected nightmares, but his sleep had been dreamless.

     When they looked out the window to see how their unwelcome, evicted roommate had faired the night, they saw that the corrupted girl was gone.

     “It didn’t try to get back in,” Stephanie pointed out. “I think we’re safe from that one. It would have to find shelter before daylight, right? Even if it sees where we’re going, it’d have to be psychic to follow us. We aren’t coming back here, so let’s not worry about it.”

     She struggled to convince herself more than the others and she knew it. Bless them both, neither Shane nor Darcy commented on the fact.

    “Shane, do you want me to feed Leila or do you want to?” Darcy asked. She sat on the floor with the infants, both of whom were dressed in warm winter clothes. The children both showed obvious excitement as Darcy pulled out jars of food and plastic spoons.

     “Oh,” he said, and he sounded surprised. “I can do it. That’s not a task I’ve had much experience with, but it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

     Darcy smiled and said, “The
only
thing that isn’t difficult with Dylan is food. Let’s hope Leila here is good about it, too. That’ll be a small blessing, at least. How old did you say she was?”

     “Seven months,” Shane answered as he sat cross-legged near Darcy.

     “And you’ve only been giving her formula?” she questioned with a frown.

     Shane nodded. “That was all I saw for food for her when I…from her house, you know? I didn’t see any baby food.”

     “It must’ve been somewhere you didn’t look,” Darcy said, and her tone was not accusatory. “At seven months, she should be eating some solids for sure. She must have a wonderful temperament not to have been screaming about it. I bet she’s hungry for something with more substance.”

     Sitting in a wrap-around pillow which propped her up, Leila became visibly excited when Darcy opened a jar of bananas, another of pears, and a third of mixed fruit in oatmeal. Dylan, not to be outdone by the younger girl, began clapping happily. Darcy smiled at both of them.

     “Here you go,” she said as she handed a spoon and the pears to Shane. “Give her those and if she wants more, Dylan might not finish all of his. If he does, we can always open another for her.”

     Stephanie watched Shane feed Leila, smiling widely. She was amused at his initial ineptitude, and glad for Darcy’s foresight to put a bib on the infant girl. She noticed that Dylan didn’t have a bib, and that Darcy hadn’t been kidding about the boy. He ate well, with relish, and didn’t make a mess at all.

     Dylan finished all of the bananas and part of the oatmeal before Shane had Leila two-thirds of the way through her pears. He laughed about it, saying, “Wow, this takes some practice, doesn’t it?”

     Darcy laughed with him, feeling much better in the daylight and doing something as normal as feeding her baby. “It’s an acquired skill, I’ll give you that much,” she agreed in a friendly way.

     Leila got a few ounces of formula after the pears, which Stephanie saw Shane was much better at handling. She sat on the bed he’d slept in, watching how he handled the infant and hating how it made her a little warm inside. If she couldn’t trust the world enough to give him the relationship he wanted, what right did her heart have to melt when she watched him?

     Shane caught her eyes and gave her a beaming smile. She knew it was only because he was so happy holding that little girl, but the smile made her even more annoyed. Instead of giving him back the easy smirk she wanted to, a frown tugged at the edges of her lips. Unfazed by it, Shane continued to smile at her, and then switched the expression to Leila, who had one hand on the bottle and reached the other up to touch Shane’s face as she ate.

     “She really likes you,” Darcy told Shane as she positioned Dylan for a short nursing session. Even though she had already started a bit of the weaning process, they always had their morning and evening breastfeeding times.

     “Strange, isn’t it?” Shane asked. “She doesn’t even know me.”

     “Maybe she has good instincts,” Darcy responded. Dylan latched happily and suckled for a few moments, not needing sustenance but still wanting the connection and close time with his mother.

     “Something like that, probably,” Stephanie agreed as she moved over and sat on the floor, as well. “She’s a good baby, and she knows Shane’s a good guy. Everyone can tell that as soon as they meet him.”

     Shane looked embarrassed by her praise and cleared his throat uncomfortably as Leila finished her bottle.

     “So,” he said, changing the topic. “What’s our plan for the day?”

     “Have we decided where we want to go?” Stephanie asked.

     “Somewhere away from here,” Darcy muttered, and Shane nodded in agreement.

     “How far would you prefer?” Shane asked. “Because I have an idea.”

     “Well,” Stephanie said in an urging tone. “What’s the idea?”

     “There’s an island I know of,” Shane began. “It’s near Traverse City, in the bay. It’s a drive, but I’ve camped and hiked there a lot over the past few years. It’s been a summer thing of mine. We can steal a nice enough boat from the marina, stock it full of gas and whatever else we need. We didn’t get the right supplies to survive on the island. We’d have to hit one more store, get camping-type equipment.” He trailed off, derailed by the wary expressions both of the women wore.

     “Do you even know how to drive a boat?” Darcy asked. She wasn’t trying to sound mean, but she needed the question out there. “Because I don’t,” she continued. “I couldn’t even tell you how to start the thing.” Stephanie and Shane exchanged a smirk and Shane laughed.

     “She’s from out of state,” Stephanie explained to Shane in a mock-serious tone. She sent a wide smile to Darcy to let the other woman know it was all in jest. “Both Shane and I know how to start and steer a boat,” she directed at Darcy. Her smile never wavered, and Darcy was moderately encouraged by it.