Radioactive Omnibus- A Prepper Survival Story (16 page)

              “Annie,” she said.

              The girl looked up at her mother. The toy stopped moving and Tigs pounced on it, trapping it between her paws.

              Samantha walked into the room and sat on her bed, patted the spot next to her. Annie hopped up next to her mother. Samantha took both her daughter’s hands in hers.

              “You know how much your father loved you, right?” Samantha asked.

              Annie looked down for a moment and then back at her mother with wide eyes. She nodded.

              “We’re going to his funeral tomorrow. Do you know what that is?” Samantha asked.

              Her words were gentle, like they were walking on cracking ice and any moment they would plunge her daughter back into the icy cold, stealing her voice again.

              “Yes,” Annie said, “it’s where we get to say goodbye.”

              Tears started to well up in Samantha’s eyes, several leaking out onto her cheeks. Her lips quivered.

              “That’s right,” she said, her voice cracking. “We get to say goodbye.”

              Samantha wrapped her arms around her daughter while tears continued to roll down her face.

***

              Chase went over a blueprint of a new plant opening up on the east coast with six new investors when his brother, Derrick, burst through the door. The look on Derrick’s face was the when he would burst into Chase’s room on Christmans morning. Chase excused himself from the investors, meeting Derrick in the hallway outside his office.

              “We’ve got something,” Derrick said, handing his brother a folder.

              Chase opened up the file and a picture of Kevin Mears stared back at him. Chase grabbed the back of his brother’s neck and smiled. He pulled him close so that their foreheads were touching.

              “Good work, brother,” Chase said.

             
With only a twenty-four hour notice and Samantha not in communication with anyone from her life in Phoenix, there wasn’t a large turnout for the funeral. Matt’s parents had died before she and Matt met and he didn’t have any siblings. An aunt and uncle that lived a few hours east showed up, but aside from that the only other attendees were Coyle, Brett, Twink, and Jim.

              Jim hadn’t slept for thirty-six hours. The bags under his eyes were as dark as the soil being spread over Matt’s coffin. Samantha had avoided Jim’s gaze since he arrived and Annie hadn’t said a word to him. He would have preferred some screaming and cursing as opposed to the silent treatment.

              Once the priest finished his words Jim watched Samantha and Annie each take a handful of dirt, tossing it onto Matt’s grave. Neither of them cried. Jim understood. There weren’t any tears left.

              Jim hung back while Samantha picked her daughter up and crossed the graveyard to a black SUV. Twink opened the rear passenger door for Samantha and she and her daughter climbed into the back seat. Brett hopped into the driver’s seat and pulled out onto the road.

              Coyle and Jim followed in a second black SUV. To Jim’s relief Coyle kept his mouth shut the whole way back to Samantha’s apartment.

              When the caravan pulled into Samantha’s complex’s parking lot, she and Annie headed upstairs with Twink and Brett.

              Jim and Coyle remained in their vehicle. Coyle loosened his tie.

              “God I hate wearing these things,” Coyle said.

              Jim didn’t say anything. He kept his eyes focused on the small balcony where Samantha’s apartment was located.

              “Are you afraid of what she’ll say?” Coyle asked.

              “The only thing I’m afraid of is that she’ll say yes,” Jim said.

              Jim then opened the car door and left Coyle to wrestle with his tie.

              Annie showed Twink and Brett some drawings she’d made. She pointed at the different things she’d colored while Brett and Twink nodded enthusiastically.

              Jim stood at the doorway, unnoticed, for almost ten minute until Tigs came around the corner of the bedroom hallway and saw him. The cat sprinted to Jim and he knelt down, scooping up his old friend.

              Jim scratched behind Tigs ears and the cat purred loudly. The only person in the room that wasn’t looking at him now was Annie. She was still absorbed in telling the story of what the picture was supposed to be while Jim slowly entered the living room.

              “And this is me and Tigs in the tent where I found him at the camp,” Annie said.

              The child noticed the silence, then she saw Jim. It was the first time she’d looked her uncle in the eyes since she watched him kill her father. The look she was giving him was the same look he saw on her face three months ago. She was terrified.

              “Hey, Annie,” Twink said, “Why don’t you show me the rest of the pictures you drew?”

              The girl didn’t move. Samantha kept her eyes locked on Jim. “That’s a good idea. Annie, why don’t you take Twink and Brett to your room and show them what else you’ve drawn,” said Samantha.

              Annie finally scooped up her drawings. Brett and Twink disappeared into the hallway after her. Jim let Tigs to the floor and she too trotted off after Annie. When Jim finally heard Annie’s bedroom door shut he walked over to his sister. Samantha sat motionless on the couch.

              Samantha was expressionless. Jim couldn’t tell what she was thinking, or what she was feeling. The space between them was thick with words waiting to be said.

              “I tried calling,” Jim finally said.

              “I know.”

              Her words hit him like ice; cold, unforgiving, and harsh. Jim peeked around the corner of the hallway toward Annie’s room and then walked across the living room to the sliding glass doors that guarded the balcony.

              “I didn’t know she started talking again,” he said.

              “It started a few days ago,” Samantha replied.

              “Samantha…” Jim started.

              “There isn’t anything you can say, Jim,” she said. “Whatever you planned on saying, or thought about saying…it won’t change what happened.”

              “I know,” Jim said. He glanced over the balcony onto the parking lot below.

              Samantha shifted herself on the couch and rested her face in her hands.

              “Tell me why you’re here, Jim.” Samantha pleaded.

              Jim turned around and saw his sister’s first look of pain since he arrived. Her face was tired, hurt and angry. He knew that face because it was the same one he’d been staring at in the mirror for the past three months. There was only one thing that Jim knew could combat the symptoms of loss; action.

              “You received something from Matt a few days ago?” Jim asked.

              “Yeah, I already sent it Locke’s office,” she said.

              “I know,” Jim replied. “That’s why I’m here.”

              Jim sat down on the couch, keeping a foot of distance between them. He tried to place his hand on her leg, but she jerked it away and scooted further down the couch. He fumbled with the awkwardness of his hand hanging in the empty space between them once she moved.

              “We think the code you gave us was for another attack. It could be chemical, and it’s a big one. Once we finish deciphering it we should know who’s been behind all of the attacks since San Diego. When we figure out who that is we want you to give them the codes,” said Jim.

              Samantha stayed quiet for a long time. Jim watched her squeeze both of her hands until they were rubbed red. She rose from the couch and walked over to the balcony doors.

              “If I do this, Annie doesn’t get anywhere near the trouble. Understand?” Samantha demanded.

              “I won’t let anything happen to her,” Jim said.

              “Promise me then.”

              “I promise, Sam.”

              Samantha nodded. Jim looked at his younger sister and realized for the first time how strong she really was. She’d been in the reserves and a police officer, but he never really saw her resolve until this moment.

              “When do we start?” Samantha asked.

              “Tomorrow,” Jim said. He pulled out a cellphone and extended to her. “We’ll call you on this moving forward. We’ll have somebody stationed nearby to keep an eye on you.”

              Samantha walked over to him and grabbed the phone, but Jim held it tight as she looked her in the eye.

              “If you feel like there is anything wrong just click the power button three times. It’ll send us a distress signal that we’ll be able to track.”

              “What about Annie?” Samantha asked.

              “We’ll use Matt’s aunt and uncle as cover to keep her somewhere safe. Samantha,” Jim’s voice was calm and low, “if you do this, there isn’t any going back.”

              “I need to know, Jim,” she replied. “I need to know why my husband kept this from me for so long. I need to know why he did what he did.”

              Jim understood.

              The truth can haunt you and follow you for the rest of your life if you don’t try and face it. The truth can be hurtful, frightening, unforgiving… But it’s a necessary step,
Jim told himself. As much as he wanted to protect her, he couldn’t bring himself to stop her from getting to what she needed to feel whole again.

              “Sometimes the truth tricks people into thinking it’ll make them feel better,” Jim said.

              “I’ll call you if I need anything,” Samantha said.

              Samantha retrieved Brett and Twink from Annie’s room, leaving Jim alone in the living room.

              Twink and Brett came out of Annie’s room. They both gave Jim a half smile as they passed him on the way out the front door. Samantha came after and then Annie peaked her head around the corner of the hallway that lead to her room. Jim watched her inch out until she was fully exposed. Annie stood staring at her uncle and when Jim moved forward to hold her she immediately ran back to her room. Jim had been shot, burned, and stabbed before, but none of that hurt compared to the sight of his niece running away from him.

              “Let us know if you anyone contacts you,” Jim said.

              “I will,” she replied.

              Jim lingered by the door wanting to tell her that he didn’t have a choice in killing Matt. He wanted to scream at her and tell her that it wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t bring himself to cause her more pain and since he couldn’t find the kind words he gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

              Jim walked out into the hallway and headed for the stairs. Samantha was closing the door behind him and just before he got to the steps he turned around.

              “Samantha,” he shouted.

              The door opened back up and she poked her head out.

              “I’m… What happened back in Phoenix…” Jim stumbled.

              Sorry wasn’t enough, but it was all he had.

              “I’m sorry.”

              “I know, Jim,” Samantha said, her eyes beginning to water. Jim stared at the gold apartment numbers etched in the door once she closed it, leaving him alone in the hallway.

              Jim wanted to go back over and knock, but he decided against it. He’d said what he could, and that was all was able to muster for now.

              Coyle was still waiting for Jim when he climbed back into the SUV. Jim shut the door and then glanced up at the balcony through the vehicle’s windshield.

              “So, what now?” Coyle asked.

              Jim kept his eyes on the window above.

              “Now we get to work,” he replied.

              The SUV exited the parking lot and passed a parked grey sedan. Once the SUV had faded from sight the driver’s side door of the sedan opened and Derrick stepped out. He wore a black suit and tie with a white dress shirt and sunglasses. Walking through the entrance gate of the apartment complex, he fastened the top button of his jacket.