Chapter Fourteen

Sam

 

Paige hefts her duffle bag into the back of the Suburban while she and Simon each carry a crate full of food and supplies. Sam has never before stayed in the city on a raid. They’ve always stayed in the cabins in the woods. Simon takes her load from her.

“Got it, Sam,” he tells her.

“Thanks,” she says, allowing him to take her crate and backpack. She shoots him an uneasy smile. Today’s the big day, the day the four of them, along with Kelly and John, go to Nashville. The nerves are kicking in. She always feels uneasy leaving the farm, even if it’s just to go to the clinic. The farm has become her safe haven, her sanctuary against the darkness out there.

“No problem,” her best friend says. “Why don’t you go in and see if Cory needs help in the armory?”

“Sure,” she agrees and jogs to the med shed. It only takes a second to find Cory. He’s with his brother. With the two brothers in the small back room where the weapons are located, it feels cramped and crowded. “Hi, guys. Need help?”

They both turn with a smile on their faces. Kelly comes over to her and holds out a handgun.

“Here’s the .38 you like, Miss Sam,” he says and lays a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Thanks, Kelly,” she returns. “Is Hannah ok? She was pretty upset the other day about you going.”

Kelly’s dark eyes show his concern over his wife. He swallows hard and says, “Yeah, she’ll be fine. Doc’s gonna keep her busy while I’m gone. Hopefully, John and I will be back in just a few hours.”

“Can I take anything else out?” she asks after she’s holstered her revolver. She doesn’t like the kick of the .45, so she’s always tried to stick with the smaller caliber .38.

Cory steps toward her, handing over a heavy rifle.

“Sure, kid,” he says. “Why don’t you take Simon’s rifle to him? The Professor’s gonna need his sniper rifle to watch our asses at the oil well company. I’ve gotta get the beanpole’s rifle.”

Paige steps into the armory a second later, which leads Sam to believe that Cory had known she was there. Sam makes a hasty exit before they start at each other. She’s pretty sure Kelly will call a halt to it, though since it’s a mission day and everyone should be moving in sync and keeping their heads in the game as Derek always puts it.

When she gets back to the SUV, John is there with Simon, Grandpa and Reagan. Simon immediately takes the heavy rifle from her and nods.

“Remember, if the hospital is occupied, let it go,” Doc tells them. “We don’t want either of you to come to harm searching for anything. We’re making strides everyday with compounding our own medicines.”

“Right, we’re doing ok on our own without any extra supplies. We’ll keep compounding your hippy herbs. If that fails, we’ll grow pot and give that out,” Reagan quips.

Sam smiles but can tell that her mentor is genuinely afraid for them. Reagan has been out there, too. She knows the dangers. And she’s probably worried about John most of all.

“Now, now, young lady,” Grandpa warns.

Reagan adds, “Just be careful.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Simon answers politely.

“Don’t take unnecessary risks, Simon,” John says. “Especially not with Sam being with you instead of Cory.”

“Yes, sir,” Simon answers without pause.

A moment later, the others come out of the shed, each carrying rifles, shotguns and handguns. They are taking enough firepower with them to stay safe for a month if need be. Hannah and Sue come onto the back porch with their children. Everyone wants to send them off with well wishes. Derek has his head under the hood of the SUV doing last minute checks.

The sun is just rising when they pull away from the farm using the oil well road that will bring them out to the Johnson’s path to the main road. Nashville isn’t far away, but they will need to be extra cautious and go slow to ensure their safety. John is driving with Kelly sitting shotgun. Cory and Simon have the middle seats since they are both watching out their windows with their weapons drawn. The late autumn air hits Sam in the face as they pass through Pleasant View and out onto the freeway, which they don’t normally take. Cory scouted it out the other day to make sure it seemed safe.

“Are you scared?” Paige asks beside her.

Sam looks at her, takes in the soft trembling of her long fingers and shakes her head to give the other woman some encouragement. “Nah, we’ll be okay. Don’t worry. Don’t be scared. You’ll be with Cory.”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna help me feel better,” she says quietly and smiles at Sam. “I still wish I could just go with Simon.”

“Don’t worry about being with Cory. He’s a completely different person when he’s out there.”

Paige doesn’t answer but frowns while contemplating her comment.

“He’ll keep you safe. Just listen to him,” Sam suggests.

“That’s easier said than done,” she says with a smile.

The men are discussing the plans and going over potential dangers. John says something that makes the four of them laugh. It’s not a surprise. He always helps to lessen the stress when they’re going into a trouble spot.

“If we can’t meet back up tonight, just take it easy on him. He’ll be worried about Simon,” Sam says.

“And you,” Paige adds.

She smiles at her new friend.

“Cookies?” Kelly calls over his shoulder and passes a brown paper bag from the front seat.

Cory immediately grabs a few out of the bag, but Simon passes. He doesn’t usually indulge in sweets. Sam doesn’t know how he could possibly pass up Hannah’s baking. Darling Hannah always sends them out with snacks, even when times have been hard and supplies limited. Sam’s heart swells with love for her other adopted sister. She sends up a quick prayer to Grams to keep Hannie safe while they are gone.

Paige takes the bag, pulls one out and says, “Mm, what are these?”

Paige hands it to her and she opens the bag to find the round, over-sized cookies. “Yum, these are John’s favorites. Cinnamon and honey cookies. They’re more like a scone than a cookie, but it’s the best we can do without sugar. Sure you don’t want one, Simon?”

“No thanks, Sam,” he says, intently staring out the window through his rifle scope.

“Now these are worth dyin’ for,” Cory says, earning laughter from the men in the front.

Kelly punches his fist to John’s and extends it as far back as he can to Cory, who also bumps it.

“My Hannah can cook,” Kelly says.

“Heck yeah she can,” Cory agrees.

“Reagan has talents, too,” John says.

Before he can add what he’s thinking, Cory says, “What, like cursing and keeping your balls in her pocket?”

“Yeah, but she let me take ‘em with me today,” John says, always one to make fun of himself.

“Hey now,” Simon warns. “We’ve got women in the car with us today, guys. Let’s keep it clean.”

The other three laugh at his distress. Simon is always the perfect gentleman. He rarely swears in front of the women or probably at all, and he doesn’t approve of inappropriate discussions in front of them, either.

“Us women-folk can handle more than you think, bro,” Paige informs him with sass.

“That’s right,” Cory says and glares over his shoulder at Paige. “Better be careful or Paige’ll go into one of her man-hating rants. Then all our balls will be in trouble.”

“Gonna shrivel up like little raisins,” Kelly says.

“Hey,” Simon warns again, this time with more ire in his voice.

After laughing again, they adhere to his wishes. Sam just grins at the back of his baseball hat covered head. She hates all the ball caps he wears. They cover his dark auburn hair. She should’ve put her sketch pad in her seat. Unfortunately, it’s in the trunk.

John takes an off ramp to Route 41 instead of staying on the freeway the whole way, which can be dangerous coming into a big city. They will try to fly in under the radar to avoid being noticed by anyone. She only hopes that it works.

“Are you comfortable with your rifle?” Sam asks Paige about her AR-15, which Cory selected for her as being a good, lightweight rifle. It is one of the rifles that belonged to Grandpa, who had bought a few of them before the fall. He doesn’t care for them as much as his historical military rifles, though. But Cory didn’t want Paige carrying anything too heavy. Sam always carries an M16 and her sidearm. Simon will have his sniper rifle and a short barrel shotgun along with his sidearm.

“I think so. I know how to load it. That’s the most important step, right?” she jokes.

“Yeah, that would be pretty important,” Sam says with a smile.

John slows the SUV down to a crawl as they get closer to the city. When they come to the street he’s looking for, John hooks a left-hand turn and pulls in behind the oil company building. Cory, John and Kelly jump out quickly and do a fast scan of the area, clearing it before any of them go any further. Simon stays in the vehicle with them keeping an eye out for dangers and covering the guys.

“All clear,” Cory reports a moment later, letting Simon know it’s safe to get out.

She and Paige climb out of the SUV and stay close to Simon and Cory. Kelly and John come back with a report a few minutes later.

“I think we’ve hit pay dirt,” John says. “There are four trucks parked in front of this building. Only three of them have any gas in them. We’ll be taking two.”

Pointing in all directions, Kelly adds, “Watch our six, Professor, and find some high ground with Sam. Cory, you and Paige set up on the two corners of this street.”

“Yes, sir,” Cory and Simon say in unison.

“We’re going to loot the inside first, see if we can find equipment we might need. Also, we need to take apart that compressor over there where they used to fuel up. We need that at the farm to compress the natural gas,” John explains.

“Got it,” Sam says.

“Stay close,” Kelly warns. “Stay alert. Call it out if you see anything.”

“Yes, sir,” Simon repeats.

He tugs Sam’s jacket and together they jog away. Sometimes when they are out like this with other people, she’ll act as his spotter. This will be one of those times. He takes her across the street and down about a block and into a tall building. Simon sweeps his shotgun left and right, checking for potential problems. Then he gives her the hand signal to move forward. She stays tight to his back. The structure seems to have once been some sort of office building. They pass the reception area, cross the hall and Simon quietly pries open a door to a stairwell. He eases a flashlight from the cargo pocket on his left thigh and flicks it on. Stairwells always creep her out. They are dark, pitch dark and spooky. She always has a jittery feeling like something frightening is going to come running at them from above or from below, grabbing her ankles. It never fails to give her the willies. She also hates abandoned parks. It’s strange, but Sam hates the public parks that she’s seen since the fall. The weeds growing up around the play apparatuses always depress her. The graffiti, the unkempt nature of rusting slides, the squeaky hinges of the swings when the wind catches them, and flower beds that haven’t been maintained just always come off as sinister. She wishes she would’ve never watched scary movies during sleepovers with her girlfriends. Although now real life has turned out to be worse than anything that came out of those Hollywood directors’ brains.

She slides in behind him, closing the door with a soft click. Simon glances over his shoulder at her and nods. They ascend together, keeping close and going slow. Simon takes her up three flights before opening another door and leaving the stairwell behind. They come into a work area with cubicles and enclosed offices. It reminds her of her father’s construction firm.

“Over here, Sam,” he instructs.

They cross the room to a long row of windows. Simon is able to shove one open. Then he pushes hers up too because she can’t manage to get it to budge. The windows haven’t been opened for years and are stuck in place. They have the perfect view of the oil company and about four blocks in either direction. He pokes the barrel, equipped with a silencer, towards the window and immediately starts spying.

“Watch that way, Sam,” he says, pointing to their right.

She does as he instructs, scanning the area. Apparently this district is fairly abandoned.

“Think Paige is nervous?” she asks quietly.

“I’m sure she is,” he confesses. “But she’ll be fine with Cory.”

“I haven’t been off the farm for a while. I’ve even missed a few clinic days lately,” she hints. She’s missed them because he ditched her at the farm before she could even get out of bed in time to get ready to go with them. He doesn’t afford her an answer. Sam grins. He’s so easy to read.

“Looks like they’ve just about got that system disabled,” he says, changing the direction of their conversation.

He occasionally looks behind them to make sure that nobody is sneaking up on them. Sam inches closer to him and spies further down the street. It’s a good thing the sun is high or they may be in a considerably darker building. She doesn’t like the interior parts of the abandoned buildings that are so dark. Those are creepy, too.

“That’s good,” she whispers.

“We…we’ve got company,” Simon suddenly says and then repeats it into his throat mic. “Someone coming in from the south. Maybe four blocks away.”

Sam presses her earpiece closer and listens for John or Kelly to make the call. She sees the car Simon has spotted. She turns the knob on her spotting scope to bring it in more clearly.

“Single driver, no passengers,” she reports into her own mic. The vehicle is an older model, turquoise mini-van. The driver is wearing a jacket that conceals their head. She doesn’t see anyone else inside but continues to watch it closely. She also quickly scans around the area and down the road to make sure this van is alone.

“Cory, move in,” John’s voice dictates over their headsets. “We’ve got ya’ covered.”

She pans right and watches Cory move closer. John and Kelly have scattered behind vehicles and are hunched down for cover.

“Woman driver,” Sam reports. “She’s alone.”

“Don’t think it’s a threat,” Kelly confirms. “Take it slow just in case.”

“Try not to have sex with her,” Paige says into her mic.

Sam almost blurts out a loud laugh. Simon doesn’t even chuckle. He obviously finds his sister’s humor offensive. He probably doesn’t think she should be talking like that over the mic. Sam thinks it’s funny.

“Got it,” Cory returns with good humor. “No sex with the natives.”

Sam watches as he approaches the vehicle, jogging down the middle of the road.

“Wait a minute,” Cory says. “I think she might be hot. All bets are off.”

John’s chuckle comes over the ear piece. “Hey, get your game faces on,” he reprimands.

“Wait,” Sam says. “I think there’s a baby’s car seat in the front seat next to her.”

“Sam’s right,” Simon confirms.

They watch in tense silence as Cory closes in on the driver’s side door as the vehicle rolls to a complete stop. He has his hand on his mic to allow them privilege to the conversation.

“Ma’am,” he says.

The woman doesn’t answer, so Sam is left to assume that she either nods or is afraid of Cory.

“Where are you headed? That area straight ahead isn’t real safe,” Cory tells her.

They already know this because of their last trip to this city. About another mile down the road and she’s going to be driving into a battle zone. They know from experience. The groups that have formed down in that district are all out for themselves and violent.

“I just need food for my baby,” the woman finally repeats.

“Yeah?” he asks.

Sam watches as John closes in on the unsuspecting woman. Cory just keeps making small talk with her, but his eyes are scanning the vehicle and back seat.

“You need food, huh?” Cory says. “I can probably help with that. What do you need? I have a few provisions I could give you.”

Sam hopes her child is old enough to take solids if she needs food for it. They don’t have baby formula or even goat milk with them. Sam can’t make out the child. The woman has the baby seat covered with a blanket, probably to ward off a chill.

Suddenly the woman says, “He’s cool. All clear here.”

“What did you just say?” Cory asks in a very guarded tone. “What the fuck? Is that a mic on you? Get outta the van!”

He backs up a step and points his weapon at the woman in the car, who has pulled down her neck scarf to reveal a throat mic similar to their own.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t shoot me, dude,” the woman says. “I’m one of you guys, ok? We’re on the same team. I see your buddy sneaking up behind the car. I’m Navy. I’m with men who are military, too.”

She explains this in great haste so as not to be shot by Cory. She even places her hands in the air.

“Don’t shoot me. My friends’ll get pissed if you do,” she says lightly.

“Get out,” Cory orders as John makes his way to the passenger side and opens the door.

He takes the baby doll out and tosses it to the ground. Now that Sam can spy on the woman more clearly since she’s standing in the road next to Cory with her hands still in the air, she can see her combat boots and olive drab camo pants. She has a handgun strapped to her thigh in the same manner that Reagan wears hers.

“I’m with the 4^th Armored Division. What was left of my Navy team joined up with them,” the woman explains. “We’re a hodge-podge crew put together by our leader.”

“And who’s that?” John asks brusquely.

Sam can’t make out what they are saying as clearly as before. A rumble of vehicles in the distance does reach her ears, though.

“That’s my squad coming,” the woman’s muffled voice comes through.

“Who’s your C.O.?” John asks.

“Sergeant Winters, but we call him Dave the Mechanic. What division were you with?”

She’s obviously picked up on John being former military. They seem to be bloodhounds, these military people. They can literally sniff each other out in a crowd.

She doesn’t hear John’s response because Kelly’s voice interrupts, “Simon and Sam, come in closer. Paige, stay on point.”

“Yes, sir,” Simon says into his mic.

They move out fast, leaving the windows open and abandoning their position. Simon takes her back the same way, but they exit to the south and come out behind the group on the street. Now they have a new position where they also can’t be seen but can view the back of the woman’s vehicle and whoever might be coming down the street.

A large Army truck rolls into view, not bothering to attempt silence or stealth. Kelly comes out from behind the gas company truck. John starts laughing, and they call everyone in including her and Simon. They walk cautiously closer, and Simon puts himself between her and the other men, who start hopping down from the truck.

It’s like a family reunion all of a sudden. John and Kelly are bumping fists with some of the other men and laughing.

“Dave the Mechanic!” Kelly shouts at a man who has jumped out of the driver’s seat. “How the hell are you, man?”

“Not bad, brother, not bad,” the other man declares.

Sam inches closer to Simon, who seems fine to have her there. He holds his sniper rifle at hip height. All totaled there are seven men with this woman. Sam doesn’t feel as safe and comfortable as she had a moment ago from inside the building. She notices that Cory steps close to Paige on the other side of the woman’s car. The woman in the car has moved nearer to and is eyeing Cory with interest. Good grief. Everywhere he goes, women do this.

“What the hell, man? What’s going on?” Kelly asks the other man.

“Just surviving, D-boy,” Dave answers. “That’s all us D-boys can do anymore.”

“Yeah, I hear ya,’” John concurs and shakes Dave’s hand. “What was with the decoy?”

Sam assumes he means that the woman in the car with the fake baby was their decoy. She also has no idea what a D-boy is. It must be one of the many military terms they use that she doesn’t understand.

“It’s how we root out the fuck-heads. We do it when we’re moving through a city. If they try to haul her out of the car, we know we’ve got genuine assholes on our hands. I wasn’t too sure when the big guy came up to her car.”

“That’s my little brother,” Kelly tells him, which gets a laugh from Dave.

“Figures, Hulk,” Dave says, using Kelly’s nickname.

“Where you been?” Kelly asks.

“We were deployed out of fuckin’ Fort Benning when we got back to the states. But that got fucked up quick. Some of us left after a couple months of that shit. Some of us wanted to find our families. Some of us wanted the fuck outta there. We weren’t sure if it was gonna stand,” Dave explains as his men stand back and nod. “Shit was gettin’ real.”

John laughs and nods.

“I got to my old lady in Philly and took her and our kid the fuck out of that rat maze, too. We kind of just went around picking up everyone’s families. Then we settled in at Wright Patt with some fly boys I used to know. That ending up being the big suck, though. Fuckin’ civilians were gettin’ fugazi on us. We didn’t wanna’ end up killing a bunch of them, but what the fuck? Then we ended up goin’ black on water. Don’t know what the hell happened to all the water there. Had to get the fuck outta there right quick, too. Where ya’ been, brothers?”

Sam finds his swearing funny, but Simon frowns. She’s not sure if he’s frowning over the sudden influx of strange men or the other man’s love of colorful language. Simon is a lot like Grandpa in that regard. She suspects they both swear when they are around other men, but neither do so in front of the women. He’s just old school.

“They sent us out West,” John explains. “That fell apart fast, too. Then we came back through Arkansas to pick up Kelly’s little brother and sister and then here to get Derek home to his wife and kids.”

“Hey, how is your brother, man?” Dave asks.

Apparently these men have a past or were in the same unit or served together. Sam’s not sure, but he is funny. Dave the Mechanic has a long, reddish brown ponytail, a matching beard, eyeglasses and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth that bobs around when he talks. There is a pair of aviator style sunglasses perched on top of his head, and he’s still wearing mostly military issue clothing. He’s a lean, sinewy man about the same height as Simon with intelligent blue eyes. His hands are covered in dirt or what looks like could be grease. Cory’s hands look like that a lot from working on the tractors or trucks around the farm.

“He’s doing good, man,” John answers. “Has a bunch of kids, the wife, the whole thing.”

“Yeah?” Dave asks rhetorically. “What about you, Dr. Death?”

“Yep, married, kid, the whole nine yards, too,” John says and gets punched in the shoulder by Dave. “Kelly, too.”

“What the fuck?” Dave nearly shouts with laughter. “What’d you find the last blind woman left after the apocalypse, Hulk?”

Silence ensues. A pin could be heard dropping. Kelly and John don’t laugh at all. John looks at his feet with an uncomfortable frown.

“Actually, I did, dickhead,” Kelly says dryly and then cracks a smile.

“Seriously? Fuck! Sorry, man,” Dave apologizes quickly. “Makes sense, though. You gotta admit. It wasn’t like you were ever gonna get one that could see your ugly mug.”

Everyone starts laughing again, but Sam doesn’t. He’s her older, adopted big brother, and Kelly is hardly ugly. He’s such a dashing, handsome man. Sam allows her eyes to scan the crowd of men. A few of them are looking at her, looking at her with interest. They aren’t looking at her in a sinister manner, but it still makes her uncomfortable. Simon has relaxed slightly and slung his rifle over his shoulder. He takes her hand into his own in a protective way. Perhaps he is showing that Sam is his territory. She’s not sure, but Sam does appreciate it. She doesn’t like strange men, even ones who are ex-military and probably have good hearts. She presses against his side. He pulls her even closer. These men may be friends of John and Kelly, but that doesn’t mean they are completely trustworthy, not in her eyes. Simon apparently feels the same.

“So, where are you holed up now, man?” Dave asks of John.

“Got a small farm, not far from here. It’s safe, protected,” her adopted big brother answers. John must trust this man implicitly if he’s talking about the farm.

“Cool, bro. We’re hunkered down up above Hendersonville. Got the same kind o’ setup. Gunny’s folks had a place there. It was too late when we got there. Somebody killed his parents, but we’re set up on his farm. It’s good, different.”

They talk for a short while in the middle of the street, completely oblivious to danger or threats. Of course, two of the men are standing in the bed of the big truck with huge machine guns.

“There’s about thirty of us up there now,” Dave tells them.

“We run a medical clinic over in Pleasant View if you ever need help with that sort of thing. My wife and her grandfather are the doctors,” John tells his long lost friend.

“Yeah? Married a doctor, huh? She ever figure out what the fuck’s wrong with you?” Dave jokes.

Sam even smiles at this one.

“Not even close,” John says. “But if you ever need help, come over. We’re securing the town so it’s getting safer.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Never know when one of the kids in our group’s gonna get sick. But at least I don’t have to worry about my kids being safe; we’re locked down tight over at our place. Got three of those little fuckers now. Keep me up at night with that responsibility shit, that’s for sure,” Dave swears, earning more laughter.

“Yeah, we hear ya,’” Kelly confirms.

“Does your wife do sterilizations? Think I need gelded. Don’t need any more of those little shits to worry about,” Dave asks with an ornery grin.

John laughs loudly. Kelly shakes his head and slaps Dave on the shoulder.

“That ain’t right, man,” Kelly says, still chuckling. “So you guys are doing all right then?”

“We’ve got supplies that we trade for shit when we need it,” Dave offers with a friendly nod.

“Yeah? Like what?” Kelly asks.

“Ammo, drugs- not the fun kind- toilet paper,” Dave says with a wink.

They all laugh again. Sam can understand why they like him so well. He has an easy, infectious way about him.

“Toilet paper?” Kelly asks. “What the hell, man? You’re a bonafide pirate.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a good gig I guess. Better than tracking down terrorists in the Middle East sweatin’ my balls off,” one of the other men says.

“No shit,” Kelly agrees.

“Where the heck did you guys get everything?” John asks.

“We found a tanker truck full o’ gas up on the freeway ‘bout ten clicks from here,” Dave tells them. “Been usin’ that for about a year now. We trade some off now and then for shit we need.”

“Good, that’s smart,” John says.

“Found a semi full of shit laying on its side over in Virginia in this massive cluster-fuck pile-up of cars. We loaded all that shit into a deuce and a half and brought it back here,” Dave explains. “It was full of meds and toilet paper, just about anything a pharmacy would have. Glad we checked it out. Lucky find.”

“Yeah,” John agrees, “no kidding. I don’t think we’ve ever thought of that. We’ve raided about every town in this part of the state. We’ve been lucky, too.”

“Good. We should set up trade with your town. We might have some shit you need and vicy-versy,” Dave jokes and stamps out his cigarette on the pavement.

“That’s a real good idea,” Kelly agrees.

John adds, “We trade medical care with people sometimes if they have anything they can give. We don’t enforce it. My wife’s grandpa wouldn’t go for that. He’s too generous to enforce it. But people are pretty good about offering something.”

“That’s cool. Yeah, I figured you guys were still out there somewhere. Shit, what’s it been since we last saw each other? Four years, five?”

“Right,” Kelly says. “It was when we were last in Bragg.”

“I think you’re right, man. Time flies when the shit hits the fan,” Dave jokes.

“Have you had trouble with people, groups?” John asks.

“Not too much anymore,” Dave says. “We were gonna go after these dickheads over in Coopertown holed up in a fucking Target store of all places. One of those fuckers killed one of our guards about six months ago or so when he was watching the farm at night. Someone beat us to it, though.”

John and Kelly raise their right hands with smirks.

“Guilty,” John says with a full smile.

Dave laughs and slaps John on the back, “Ha! Looked like your handiwork, guys. Torched it, too, I saw.”

“Yep, scores were settled,” Kelly says.

“You guys went full-on fucking scorched earth on those pricks. Fuck them, man,” Dave adds. “They were real shitbag turds if you ask me.”

“There’s still a few stragglers out there somewhere, so watch your asses,” Kelly advises.

“Got it. Good to know. Haven’t had any target practice in a while. Well, not the moving kind. Right, Gunny?” Dave says with a wicked grin, shouting to one of the men on the back of the truck.

The man doesn’t say anything but salutes casually and gives a curt nod. He looks over at Sam and winks. She can barely manage a friendly half grin. He seems nice, but she clenches Simon’s hand more firmly.

John explains why they’ve come to the city. He tells them about the CNG idea for the gas trucks and why the ‘kids’ have come with them. Dave laughs and says that Cory and Simon don’t look much like kids. Then he calls them badass looking mother-hummers. Cory laughs, but Simon does not. They agree to meet again soon. Then Dave’s crew leaves as noisily as they came in.

Kelly and John talk a few minutes more, reminiscing some of the fun times they’ve had with Dave the Mechanic. Then they all get back to work. She and Simon return to their position in the building but this time on the roof. Cory and Paige return to their street corners. The men work for nearly an hour to get two of the trucks running and the compressor system that is attached to the wall unhooked and placed in the bed of one of the trucks. They call them in again.

“Simon and Sam will take the Suburban from here,” John dictates.

Simon utters a single, “Yes, sir.”

“We’re heading back. You kids are on your own,” Kelly says. “Cory, you and Paige get your gear out of the Suburban before Simon leaves.”

“Yes, sir,” Cory answers. “We’re on it.”

A moment later they are all standing in a circle. Sam walks over to John and hugs him and then Kelly.

“Be careful, kid,” Kelly tells her. “Keep an eye on the Professor for us.”

“Yes, sir,” Sam says and gives him a silly salute. He ruffles her hair, probably messing up her braid.

“Call if you need us,” John instructs, referring to the satellite radios.

“Got it,” Simon says.

“Everyone clear?” Kelly asks one last time.

“Yes, sir,” Cory says in a serious tone.

Kelly walks over, lays a hand on his brother’s shoulder and turns to leave. They don’t communicate their emotions very well, or openly, or much at all. Most of the men in the family are the same. Sam, on the other hand, hugs Paige goodbye. She doesn’t like to leave the people in her life without at least a hug. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. She’s learned to tell her friends and loved ones farewell.

She and Simon get in the SUV. Kelly comes over to the window.

“Call if you need help. Cory’s gonna be closer. Call him first. Then call us,” Kelly instructs.

Simon bumps his fist to Kelly’s and says, “Yes, sir.”

Cory comes over next and says, “We’ll meet at eight o’clock, ok?”

These plans have been gone over many times, but she knows they just want to be one hundred percent clear on them.

“See ya’, kid,” Cory says to her.

“Bye, Cory,” Sam says. “Keep Paige safe for us.”

“You got it,” he says.

“We’ll meet you at eight and have a nice dinner in the city together,” she jokes as Simon starts the vehicle. Cory laughs.

“That’s a plan, kid,” he says and taps twice on the roof before stepping back.

Simon pulls away, his mind clearly occupied with the mission and not their lighthearted jesting. He’s always the most serious one in their group. They will be skirting the city and heading northwest. There is a hospital and two smaller medical facilities in that area which they need to raid.

Sam stares into her rearview mirror. A cool rush of air hits her from the open window. It causes a shiver to course through her. Another one ripples down her spine as she watches her family disappear from her line of sight. She pulls the collar of her jacket closer as a feeling of impending disaster comes over her.

“Don’t worry, Sam,” Simon says beside her as he steers the vehicle around debris in the road.

Sam attempts to say something positive in return, but the words get stuck in her throat and all she can manage is a grim nod.