Redaction: Extinction Level Event (Part I) (56 page)

The man patted his other suitcase. “We’re good. Save it for someone who doesn’t have anything.”

Manny tugged the wagon across the uneven ground toward the next group. “We’ll see you in a bit.”

Rini fell into step next to him. “He was nice.”

“Yeah.” Manny guided the wagon around a large boulder and scanned the darkness in front of him. Without the moon and the stars, he couldn’t see much and the lantern barely penetrated five feet into the smoke. The hair on his neck stood up and he shifted. “I don’t see anyone.”

She raised the propane lamp. “Me either.” Dumping the last two blankets into the wagon, she rubbed her arm. “Maybe we should we go back.”

“Anyone out there?” A rock clattered in the darkness. Manny stepped in front of Rini. His heart kicked up tempo. Something was out there.

“I didn’t notice anyone behind me,” the man said. “Sydney and I were the last. And there were times when we thought we’d lost you.”

A bubble of light washed over Manny’s feet. He spun about.

Rini stepped back. “What is it?”

Mildred appeared. Two propane lanterns sputtered from her hands. “There you are. My, we’ve certainly acquired a few people today.”

Behind her, two men stumbled to a stop—Falcon and Papa Rose, the two men who’d gone with him and Henry to check out the mission. They carried a plank of wood with a large metal pot sitting on it.

Beth, the battered girl they’d found, stepped out from behind the men and adjusted the folded blanket hanging around her neck. Her hands disappeared inside the sling. A heartbeat later, she brought up two tin cans, stripped of their labels. Metal scraped metal as she lifted the lid off the pot. Setting it on the plank, she lifted the ladle hooked to the side and spooned soup into the cans. Another fishing expedition in the sling produced some plastic spoons. Smiling despite her fat lip and bruised face, she offered one then another to the man. “There you go. Please keep the can and spoon for future meals.”

“Thank you.” Accepting both cans, the man nudged the woman next to him. She grumbled and coughed but blinked. “Soups on.”

Mildred peered into the wagon. “Fourteen cans. Everyone has been most generous. We’ll mix it with the rice for lunch tomorrow.”

Lunch tomorrow? Manny’s stomach growled. He hadn’t even had dinner. With a soft smile, Beth offered him and Rini the next two servings. He wrapped his fingers around the warm can, stirred the contents before scooping up a dumpling. “Thanks.”

Falcon and Papa Rose balanced the plank of wood on the rocky ground. “Is this the last of our group then?”

The dough dissolved in a burst of salt and chicken on Manny’s tongue. He quickly swallowed and chased down a carrot. “I think so.”

Papa Rose arranged small boulders in a circle on the ground. His skull tattoo glowed in its nest of inked roses.

Falcon crossed to stand next to Manny and tugged the yellow bandanna down. “What did you see, kid?”

Kid. Funny, how when there were plenty of adults around, he’d be relegated to the rank of child. Chewing on the carrot, Manny turned to face the darkness. The hair on his neck rose. “I didn’t
see
anything, but I feel like something is watching us.”

Falcon nodded. “Trust your gut. It’s your instincts telling you that your brain is ignoring something important.”

Manny nodded. He’d never heard it put that way before. Behind him, wood splintered. He turned to see Papa Rose stomp on the plank used to carry the soup. The board fragmented into jagged edge pieces that the man piled it into the stone pit.

Falcon pulled a plastic lighter from his pants pocket. He offered it to the man on the blanket. “We don’t have much dry wood, so if an animal approaches light the fire. If the lantern keeps them away for the night then we can use the wood to cook breakfast.”

The man’s hand shook as he accepted the lighter. “Okay.”

Mildred set one lantern on a rock near the fire pit before placing the other near the trio of old men opposite the couple. “That should keep most things away.”

“We’ll keep watch.” One of them spoke, huddling in a blanket Rini had given him earlier, while sipping from his can.

A crackling noise sounded overhead.

A few people rose from their blankets. Most didn’t stir.

Manny glanced up. Bulbs of red lights glowed in the sky. As he watched, the crimson circles arced toward the ground. His lungs labored to draw air through his mask.
Please, God, don’t let it be fire
. More lights crackled and glowed to life in a falling circle around them.

“I’ll be damned,” Falcon spoke. “It’s flares. Military flares.”

High overhead, an engine growled to the soft thump of rotary blades.

Papa Rose wiped his hands on his dusty jeans and cocked his head. “That’s an Apache.”

“The helicopter?” Manny ignored the dark sky to focus on the wash. Green eyes glowed in the distance. Coyotes! Would they attack?

“Look!” Falcon bumped Manny’s shoulder when he stepped forward. “They’re dropping something.”

White light blinked on and off, highlighting the small parachute and the package dangling from it.

“Let’s go see what it is!” Papa Rose scooped up a lantern as he raced passed.

Falcon chased over the rocks after him.

“Wait!”

Neither man slowed.

Manny handed his empty can to Rini. “I have to go after them. There’s something out there.”

She opened her mouth, but he turned away and jogged after the two men. The bluish glow of the lantern guided him, but still he stumbled over the ground. He fell and skinned his knees and palms more times than he could count. Branches scratched at him, tore his clothing as he plunged through the brush. He emerged on a dirt ramp leading out of the wash.

Falcon stood at the top in the glow of lantern light. “Come on, kid. We have to find that package.”

He puffed to the top, set his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath.

Papa Rose adjusted the light of the lamp. “I arrived too late to see where it landed. We’re going to have to fan out to find it.”

“Turn it down to a glow.” Falcon stood on a fallen branch. “Maybe we can see the beacon.”

The light of the propane lantern faded to a crimson ring at the burner. Darkness pressed against him and erased Falcon. Manny sucked in a lungful of air. He would not call out. He would not.

A twig snapped to the right.

The hair rose on his neck. Could that be Falcon? The man usually moved so silently...

Another cracked on the left.

Papa Rose hadn’t moved.

Curses filled Manny’s head. He had chased after the men but had forgotten to warn them. “Coyotes,” he whispered.

Papa Rose turned up the lantern. Green eyes stared at them from the shrubs both along the bank and on the other side of the dirt road. A pack surrounded them. A very big pack.

“Hold still.” Falcon whispered back. “The light may drive them away.”

Leaves rustled. Then came the blink of a white light.

Manny raised his hand and pointed beyond Papa Rose. “The beacon. It’s moving.”

Branches parted and the brown and gray muzzle of an animal appeared. The beacon and package dangled from the strings in its mouth. Floppy brown ears twitched back and forth. The light caught the silver round tags on the animal’s red collar.

“It’s a dog.” Papa Rose slowly dropped to his knees. Setting the lantern on the ground, he held his hand palm up to the mutt. “Come here, boy.”

The dog paused to sniff the air and then sneezed. The package thumped to the ground. He retreated a step.

“Dogs.” Manny scanned the sets of green eyes in the bushes. “They’re all dogs.” Pets whose owners had died. “They’re not all dead.”

“Guess people didn’t eat them all.” Falcon crouched low before fishing something out of his pocket. It looked like a twisted piece of brown leather. “Here you go, boy.”

The dog sniffed again. He eyed the food but crept closer to Papa Rose’s outstretched hand. “That’s it a little closer.”

Manny watched a gray muzzle emerge from the weeds on his left. Then another. “You’re not going to eat him, are you?”

“Hell no.” The dog buried his nose in Papa Rose’s palm and stilled. His hind quarters trembled. Slowly, Papa Rose scratched over his jaw to the sweet spot behind the dog’s ear. The dog crouched and thumped one leg against the ground.

Manny waited for the Chihuahua to reach him before petting it. The shivering dog lay down against his leg.

A matted retriever lipped the treat from Falcon’s hand while allowing herself to be petted. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?” The dog woofed softly. “We’ll keep them safe, kid. Because they’re going to protect us and the animals we brought.”

More dogs stepped out of the bushes. Some hung on the fringes. Others inched closer waiting for their turn to be scratched and petted. A momma cat emerged with a close-eyed kitten in her mouth. A German shepherd came next with another one. A gangly puppy stepped out next with yet another.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Papa Rose picked up a yellow kitten and tucked it inside his vest. “Cats, too.”

Falcon accepted the gray kitten from the German shepherd before patting the dog on the head. “They must have been raised together for them to still be together. This will brighten the faces of many of the kids. The colonel was a big proponent of animal therapy.”

Manny cradled a dachshund, felt the small dog lick his ear, just like Peewee used to do. “The
niños
will certainly be very happy.”

Shucking off his jacket, Falcon created a sling for the two kittens and the puppy. The momma cat sniffed it before climbing in and settling next to her offspring. “What’s in the package?”

Papa Rose added the last kitten to the sling before turning his attention to the package. Pulling a knife from his boot, he opened the box, removed black foam packing, and pulled a tablet computer with a yellow sticky note from inside. “We’re waiting for you. Sergeant Major Dawson.” Gray light washed over Papa Rose’s face as he powered it on. “Hot damn. It’s a GPS with real time mapping.”

Still holding the dachshund, Manny scooped up the sleeping Chihuahua and stood.

“The colonel will be happy when he sees it.” Falcon adjusted the sling as he pushed himself to his feet. “Now we can map a path through the fires instead of being chased by them.”

Manny shook his head as a fissure of unease wrapped around his backbone. Henry needed to see the GPS, not this colonel
vato
. Henry knew where the soldiers were. He cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the men and most of the animals. “I think you should give it to Henry. He’s our leader.”

Papa Rose scooped up the box and packaging before wrapping them in the parachute. “Henry Dobbins is the Colonel, kid.”

“He saved our asses when we came home from Kandahar.” Holding the sling with one hand, Falcon plucked the lantern up with the other. “Only a Vietnam Vet could understand what we went through, could talk us back from those dark places sucking us down.”

Manny followed him down the dirt ramp back into the wash. Soft pads sounded behind him. “I don’t understand. I thought he was retired.”

“The colonel volunteered at the VA seven days a week.” Papa Rose kept one eye on the GPS as he walked. “When he didn’t show up last Monday, we came to find him. We would have been there earlier, but...we got lost.”

Falcon snorted. “
He
got lost. I was just the moron who followed him.”

“What does that make you, asshole?” Papa Rose smacked him on the back with the balled up parachute.

Manny shielded the animals with his body as they walked into the undergrowth.

“Why don’t you use that thing to find a pet store we can raid?” Falcon called back. “These guys look like they could use a good meal.”

“Already ahead of you.” Papa Rose emerged from the brush and stopped.

It took Manny a minute to realize he was counting the animals as they emerged.

Satisfied, he continued walking. “There’s one a couple of miles ahead and it’s on the way to the soldiers’ camp. We’ll have to race the fire to get there, though.”

“Always love a good race,” Falcon laughed.

“Manny!” Irina charged out of the camp and raced toward him. She drew up short at the sight of the animals and nearly fell. “You have dogs!”

“Cats, too.” Turning, he offered the sleeping Chihuahua to her.

Their arrival rippled through the camp. Children stirred from their blankets and stumbled out to pet the animals. Mildred returned with a blanket full of nuggets. “Goat food. Which is weird because I always thought goats would eat anything.”

The dogs and cats converged on the food. People surrounded them, waiting their turn to touch and stroke the soft fur. The dachshund and Chihuahua were passed from hand to hand until they reached the food. Manny blinked back the tears swimming in his eyes. With the return of the animals, things could only get better.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Day Six

“Thank you for waiting for us.” The goat lady standing in front of Mavis adjusted her straw hat.

“I said we would.” Between the sunglasses and the mask, Mavis had only recognized the woman when she’d spoken. Of course, the herd of horses, mules, donkeys, goats and two llamas accompanying her had helped.

Mavis’s watch ticked off the time. Today was day two without electricity. Two. If Palo Verde’s generators had been fully stocked on that first day, they had only one more day left of fuel.

Then rods would start to boil off the water cooling them.

Mavis checked her watch for the fifth time in ten minutes. They’d have five days to walk to safety. Seven tops. And with so many sick, how would they make it?

A billy butted the goat lady’s leg. She staggered a step before absently patting his head. “I had a hard time convincing the others we had to leave. The governor didn’t say anything about it in her statement yesterday.”

“The governor is dead.” As well as the rest of the government—local, state and federal. The underground shelters were now tombs. Mavis watched men unload mares from a long horse trailer backed against the park’s curb. Barbed wire, strung from tree to tree, created a large corral for the animals. In the neighboring set-up, goats chomped on the grass surrounding caged chickens. Nearby, a peacock pecked at the black dots littering the gravel under an olive tree.