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“Some people left the country hoping that other places were handling the disease better. It wasn’t a matter of a localized crisis. The flu had been spread worldwide. Countries closed their borders leaving travelers to languish in ad hoc refugee camps on docks and in airports. Once you left, no one would let you back in.”
History of a Changed World, Angus T. Moss
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NICK FOLLOWED THE SOUND of Toad on the stairs. He climbed in the darkness, Willboy hanging on to him. A whisper of sound behind him reassured him that Wisp was bringing up the rear. They dodged through the hulks of machinery and out into the gray, wet morning.
Toad piled into the van. Nick swung Willboy down for him to scramble in. Wisp came right behind him tossing his sack in and slamming the cargo door shut. As Nick got in the driver’s seat, Wisp got in the passenger’s. Nick started the van.
“All present?” Wisp called.
“Everyone’s here,” Ted answered.
Nick pulled away warily, not wanting to get stuck in the wet sand. This van wasn’t as good off-road as the new ones. “Back the way we came?”
Wisp pulled out the paper map they’d marked up on the way in. “Might want to detour a bit off the main roads right now.”
“Got a route?” Nick asked.
Wisp directed him up a steep access road from the river. They took an overgrown dirt lane for a mile then turned into the parking lot of an old factory. Nick had a feeling he knew where they were headed. They bumped back out of the pot-holed driveway onto the road that curved through Clarkston and followed the river. North of here it would run past the factory where the residents of Riverbank had been gunned down by mercenaries. Before those dark memories could take hold, Wisp directed him through a few more turns. Ten minutes later they were back on the road to High Meadow.
Ted’s voice was a little shaky from the back. “How long of a trip is it?”
Nick didn’t want to tell a van full of kids that it would take them all day.
Wisp leaned over to speak through the seats. “It depends on the roads, and if the weather holds. We might be there for dinner. But we’ll stop for lunch along the way.”
Nick slowed the van to go around a pothole the size of a loveseat. A few voices piped up in the back asking questions and arguing. “It’s gonna be noisy,” he grumbled.
“They are more curious than frightened,” Wisp murmured back.
“I guess that’s a good thing.” He inspected the mob in the rearview mirror. “Seventeen kids. More parents missing. This is more widespread than we realized. We need to figure it out fast.”
“Angus is correct that we need more information. If the victim from Barberry Cove isn’t awake yet, I think we need to go looking anyway. We won’t be able to gather any more information waiting at High Meadow.”
“Won’t get an argument from me,” Nick grumbled. He didn’t like the theme that was developing here. Every time he went out on a simple mission, things went sideways, and he ended up with a cargo of frightened people. He didn’t want his world to behave this way, but there didn’t seem to be any way to change it.
Most of the kids fell asleep. The few that were awake talked quietly. Nick wondered if they could feel his annoyance. He assumed Wisp did. The sooner they got back to High Meadow and dropped off the kids, the sooner they could head out to find the missing adults from Barberry Cove.
“Pull over,” Wisp said.
Nick pulled to the side of the road, hoping that Wisp could feel a carsick kid. Wisp got out of the van and walked away.
Ted crawled forward between the front seats. “What’s he doing?”
“Probably checking for trouble,” Nick said.
“What kind of trouble?”
Nick turned to get a better look at Ted. He was a small man, barely shoulder height to his brother. His weathered, tan face made him look older, and his beard gave him the look of a vagabond. His eyes reminded Nick of a dog that had been punished too often. He seemed hesitant to do anything for fear it would be the wrong thing. “Just in case,” Nick said vaguely. He didn’t want to panic Ted because that would affect the kids.
Wisp came back to the car. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Problem?” Nick asked.
Wisp shook his head. “I thought I felt something, but I can’t find it.”
Nick pulled the van back on the road. Light rain pattered down on the roof, barely heard over the sound of the tires on wet pavement. He eyed the cloud cover and checked the power levels. It looked like they had plenty of juice to get them home. The constant drizzle was annoying but not dangerous. The sky was a blanket of monotonous gray, and the temperature seemed to have dropped, indicting a northern front bring in with cooler air. When it hit the humid, hot air coming up from the gulf, they had monster storms. This was an abnormal weather pattern, but he’d take it as a stroke of luck.
Nick stopped an hour later to stretch his legs and swap with Wisp. He took his time going over the paper map, making notes on the condition of the road. Two hours after that, Wisp pulled into an old rest stop to use the shelter for lunch. Nick watched Ted wrangle the children. They were surprisingly obedient. He had them out of the van and distributing food in a very short time. Nixie was awake and limping around with the help of a child or two. The antibiotic ointment had worked fast, or maybe biobots healed faster.
Nick stood next to Wisp in a dry spot under the overhang, leaning against the building, as he ate. “Ugh. Am I spoiled, or does this Stew-goo taste off to you?”
“The quality varies. The packages aren’t dated, but I’d say this one is past its expiration.” Wisp examined his opened but uneaten package.
Nick didn’t like the sound of that. “I thought they were good forever.”
Wisp shot him a curious look. “Realistically?”
Nick sniffed his lunch. It definitely had a bad smell to the concoction. He tossed it in a trash barrel and went back to the van for a different one. He poked through the bag of packets. Some looked a bit more worn than others. He chose one with a crisp, red wrapper.
Toad came over. “Seconds?”
Nick wasn’t sure how he felt about this guy. He was big and looked strong enough to be out on his own. He couldn’t tell if Toad was a helper or a user. He tossed him another packet of Stew-goo. “We have plenty of food at High Meadow.”
“Good.” Toad pocketed the food and slunk away.
Nick’s new meal tasted better. He worried that one of the kids might eat a bad meal and get sick in the van. With another four or five hours of driving ahead of them, that would be a very bad outcome. He went back to stand by Wisp. “Can you tell if one of them might get sick?”
Wisp frowned a question at him. “I can sometimes sense illness.”
“No I mean, if the kids get carsick.”
“I think they’ll let you know that.”
“Well, I want plenty of warning to pull over.”
Wisp gave him an amused smile. “I’ll speak to Ted.”
Nick looked up at the gray sky. “Think we’ll make it back by dinner?”
Wisp didn’t answer. He walked away, hand raised in warning, head cocked in a listening pose. Nick went over to Ted. “Round up the kids. Wisp’s got a scent.”
“A what?” Ted looked around, locating his brother.
Wisp spun back to them. “Get the kids out of sight, something’s coming.”
“Behind the shelter!” Nick yelled. He saw Ted lurch into action, running over to Nixie, helping her up. The children scattered, racing around the building.
Wisp jumped into the van, pulling it behind the building. He fished out a pair of handguns from under the front seat and handed one to Nick. “Here it comes.”