Voyage (Powerless Nation #2) (18 page)

Fear clutched at Sena’s chest and she held her breath to listen.

Nothing.

“Mama?” Sena’s voice was a strangled whisper. “Mama, wake up. We’re going today. We’re going to get you help. Wake up, Mama. Please?”

Still nothing.

Sena touched her mother’s cheek, marveling at the sharpness of her cheekbone. She touched the side of her cool neck and then laid her head on her mother’s chest. The arms that had seldom held her daughter remained at her lifeless sides.

All was still, except for the tears that slipped silently from Sena’s eyes and fell unheeded on her mother’s breast.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

S
ENA
WAS
STARTLED
AWAKE
the next morning. “Where did she put it?” demanded Conley. He dug through Songyee’s drawers, tossing articles of clothing over his shoulder, then he cleared the top of the bureau with a single sweep. Perfume bottles and porcelain boxes fell to the floor with a crash.

Sena blinked puffy, tear-stained eyes and wondered what Conley was looking for, and whether he realized Songyee was dead.

She didn’t have to wonder for long.

“The cow used the last of my stash to do herself in,” he complained. He flipped an envelope at her. “It’s Sena, right?”

Sena’s fingers shook as she pulled a note from the already torn envelope, and read:

My dear Sena,

Thank you for coming home to me. You are a beautiful girl and deserve a better life than I can give you. Go to your new family and be happy. I love you always. 

Mama

Sena crumpled the paper with numb fingers. She didn’t understand. She didn’t want a beautiful life and a new family. She wanted her mom and the life together she’d promised her. 

Conley was pulling at the sheets and blankets on the bed, mumbling and ranting about his lost stash. Sena couldn’t bear to see her mother’s body in such disarray, so she stood to leave.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” Conley straightened and looked at her with cold eyes. “If you hadn’t come back and gotten Song all riled up, she’d still be here. This is your fault.”

Sena flinched at the accusation. He was right. Maybe Songyee didn’t have a very good life, however, she’d been alive until Sena showed up.

“The way I see it,” drawled Conley, “you owe me. You got my cook partner killed and now I need another. I’ve got some guys coming to sample my product and thanks to you I ain’t got no product. I’m gonna make a batch right now and you’re gonna help me. Got it?”

Sena nodded. Wasn’t this what she always did? She did what she was told. On auto-pilot, she followed Conley to the kitchen where he started sorting and measuring.

Was this going to be her life now? She’d take her mother’s place in Conley’s life?

“No,” said Sena in a small voice.

“Did you say something?”

“No!” said Sena, shouting it this time. “I won’t stay here and I won’t help you make this stuff and kill more people.”

Conley’s face turned red. Sena was shaking all over and she could feel defiant tears slipping down her face. She wondered if he’d hit her, then she realized he was too much of a coward.

“Go on then, get out of here!” he shouted at her. “You’re useless, just like your mama.”

Sena walked to the front door and sat on the step, breathing the fresh air. She was slightly lightheaded from the fumes, and she could still smell the foul odors from inside, so she stood and teetered down the sidewalk leading away from the house.

A blast of super-heated air hit her in the back and knocked her down. The sound of an explosion filled her ears and for a brief moment she felt the terror of being trapped on the burning cruise ship. As it had on the ship, the massive noise turned to a ringing in her ears that blocked out all other sound.

Sena got to her knees and looked behind her at the house. The blast from the explosion had blown out the living room windows, and flames licked at the curtains. Thick, black smoke wafted into the air and her lungs burned with the foul, acrid odor. 

She rubbed her stinging eyes and tried to see Conley, but no figure emerged from the house and she considered briefly if her relief at not seeing him made her a bad person.

She crept down the sidewalk and across the street, where her legs collapsed and she watched the little house burn.

Neighbors from the surrounding houses emerged and stood in small groups apart from each other, whispering about the fire and what they knew of the people that lived there. Though there were no fire engines or police cars, Sena knew she needed to leave before she attracted anyone’s interest. 

Where could she go? Although her plans to leave with her mother had been vague and unformed, she’d at least hoped they’d have a backpack and some camping gear. Now she had absolutely nothing except the clothes on her back and the meager contents of her pockets.

She thought about going to Charity’s house, and realized she wasn’t sure where she lived. Kade acted like he hated her; even if he didn’t, she didn’t know where he lived either. There was really only one place she could go. 

Sena stood up on shaky legs, brushed herself off, and set off to find her foster family’s house.

The city was not at all the way she remembered it from before the EMP and it was hard to know where she was once she lost sight of the pillar of black smoke from the meth lab fire she was using as a landmark. The streets were filthy and full of trash. Garbage cans in front of houses were filled to overflowing. Windows of businesses were broken or boarded over, and many houses were vandalized as well. There were a lot of cars on the roads, most of them abandoned.

Being alone in the town made her nervous, and the people she saw on the street intimidated her. They traveled in small groups and kept to their own territories, like gangs. She was the only one traveling alone. 

Footsteps behind her set her heart racing. She glanced back and saw several teenage boys. One had already caught sight of her and he pointed her out to the others. Someone made a comment she couldn’t hear and they all laughed before giving chase.

She darted into an alley and then across several parking lots. The laughter of her pursuers rang loudly in her ears and she knew she couldn’t let herself be caught. They had the advantage of knowing this part of town better than she did, and she was terrified they would split up and corner her.

Ahead of her was a train station, and she hurried towards the open tracks. There wasn’t anywhere to hide, and she pushed herself to a sprint across the tracks and climbed the chain link fence beyond. She dropped down on the other side and was halfway across the parking lot of a strip mall before the boys reached the fence. Ducking between two vans, Sena watched to see what they’d do. The boys paused at the fence, hands on knees, trying to catch their breath. When they turned back and left, she almost cried in relief. 

Sena had taken refuge next to a family van, and on a whim, she tried the handle to the door. It opened. She climbed in and sat in the middle row next to a carseat and tried to get her bearings. She recognized the train station and had a pretty good idea where she was. At least she’d been running in the right direction. 

After she caught her breath, she looked around the van. It had already been stripped of anything useful, and she was about to move on when she had an idea. Lifting the padding of the carseat, she discovered a treasure trove of old cheerios and goldfish crackers. She devoured them. Then she got down and felt under the front passenger seat. Sure enough, there was a half-full bottle of water. It was hot and stale. She guzzled it down.

Climbing out of the van, Sena thought fondly of the many times she’d had to clean up after the mess her foster sisters left in the family SUV. She nearly laughed. Who knew she was learning a survival skill? 

Leaving her hiding place was difficult, but she didn’t want to be on the streets after dark. The areas she passed became more affluent and residential, and now and then she saw children playing outside which reassured her. They looked thin and grubby to her, and more skittish than children should be.

When she finally made it to her old foster home, she casually walked past it several times, trying to determine if anyone was inside. As dusk began to fall, she approached the house and tried the front door. It was still locked, which was a good sign.

Sena found the spare key tucked among the twigs that formed a “Welcome” wreath on the front door and let herself in. She locked the door behind her and leaned on it. In the fading light, the house looked exactly like it had when she’d last seen it, on her way to the cruise, the final conversations she’d had with the family echoing around her.

Jodie had been busy folding laundry and packing her kids’ suitcases for their trip to California. Sena knew if she looked she’d find tiny stacks of neatly folded clothes tucked away in the upstairs drawers.

“Go give Sena a hug,” Jodie had told her youngest. Five-year-old Tessa hugged Sena around the thighs and promised, “I’ll bring you back a thoovy-neer.” She was missing one of her front teeth and had an adorable lisp.

“Thanks, honey,” said Sena, hugging her back. “I’ll bring you something too. Maybe something from the North Pole.”

“Really?” asked Tessa, her eyes wide.

“You can’t take a boat to the North Pole,” said Jamie, with the practicality of a seven-year-old older sister.

“Oh right, I forgot,” said Sena. “How about I bring you a baby penguin then?”

“Wrong!” said Jamie, jumping up and down. “They only live at the South Pole.”

Sena hid a smile and reached into her pocket for some change. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll find you something good, if you’ll bring me back one of those flat pennies with Mickey Mouse on it.”

“It’s a deal,” said Jamie.

“I want one!” said Tessa. So Sena had to look through her change again to find a shiny penny for Tessa.

“I’m going to miss you guys,” said Sena. 

Although they said they’d miss her too, Sena was certain they’d be too busy with rides and Disney princesses to think of her. They’d given her one last hug, and then she’d gone out the front door to get on the shuttle to Seattle. 

That was the last time she would ever see them, or their parents. And now her mother was gone, and so were Claire and Ted and her friends from the cruise ship.

Sena was more alone than she’d ever been in her life, and the knowledge was stifling. Exhaustion overtook her. She climbed the stairs to her room with feet that dragged, and curled up on her bed with a heavy heart and fell instantly sleep.

She slept late the next morning, not waking until the mid-morning sun was full on her face. She stretched and luxuriated in the forgotten comfort of a soft bed and clean sheets. Was it possible the house hadn’t been broken into since the EMP? Her good night’s sleep made her optimistic, and she decided to go down to the kitchen and see if she could find any supplies.

She walked slowly, knowing if the kitchen had been looted she was in serious trouble. She had no food or water, no idea where to get them if there wasn’t any in the house, and nothing useful to trade. For a brief moment she had a flash of understanding why her mother had gotten involved with drugs again. Just as quickly as it came, it was over. She would rather starve than do drugs or sell them.

Family photos caught her eye as she descended the stairs and she thought about trips she’d taken with the Clarks, particularly one camping trip to the mountains when she’d caught her first fish. Ross had taught her to clean it and then they’d baked it in tinfoil in the coals.

She wished she’d told him how much that had meant to her. The Clarks hadn’t ever really warmed up to her. Not fully. They did their best. She should have been more thankful. She had her own room, plenty to eat, she went to a good school, and most of the time they included her in their family plans.

Sena paused in front of a piano covered with family photos. She’d planned to take a picture of the kids, but instead reached for a photo that included everyone, even herself. The Clarks had been her family for a while, and she wanted to remember them.

She removed the photo from its frame and tucked it into her pocket. Then, knowing she’d stalled long enough, she took a deep breath and went into the kitchen. Apart from a layer of dust on everything, it was pristine. Her heart began to beat faster when she pulled open the door to the pantry. Boxes and cans of food neatly lined the shelves, and two cases of bottled water were stacked on the floor below. 

Sena laughed out loud at the sight. 

After wrestling with the plastic shrink wrap on the water, she drained an entire bottle and then, out of habit, put the empty plastic bottle in the recycling bin. It clattered to the bottom and she wondered if there would be recycling again in her lifetime.

The fridge lurked in the corner of the kitchen. Would opening it be a big mistake? She braced herself for a wave of putrefied air and pulled it open. 

Luckily, it wasn’t
too
bad. Jodie had gotten rid of most of the perishables before leaving for their trip, so there were mostly condiments and things like pickles and a block of fuzzy green cheese.

Sena took a box of crackers to the kitchen counter and munched thoughtfully, trying to decide what she should do next. Now that she had food and water, she could survive on her own for a while at the house. Maybe for a few months if she was careful. Rationing food was second nature to her after being on the life raft for so long. 

Her main concern was self-defense. She was certain it was only a matter of time before the house was broken into, if not by residents of Arlington, then by the masses of people that were sure to leave Seattle and come looking for food in the suburbs. Ross had owned a gun, but he kept it locked up in a gun safe and she didn’t have the first clue how to get it out or use it.

She could load up a backpack with supplies and gear and try to find Claire's hometown. It was called Lookout Falls, and she knew it was somewhere east of Arlington on the 20. How could she carry enough food to get her over the Cascade Mountains though? She was sure she’d be robbed before she got out of town.