ARES Virus: Arctic Storm (25 page)

Now, if that can hold the rest of the way
, Brown thinks, rising to wake the others.
I’ll take any obstacle if we get that lucky drop at the end.

The others wake with groans and grunts, each kneading the knots from their sore muscles. Emily proves the most difficult and keeps rolling over to find dreamland again. Amid a lot of protest, she also rises.

“I’m guessing that this creek intersects the highway at some point past the ridgeline. Or at least comes near it. We’ll follow it until then and hopefully be able to get a signal on the phone along the way,” Brown says, turning on the cell and sticking it into his pocket.

Brown checks the carbine before donning his pack. It looks as if it has been through hell, with scratches marring its entire length. Without inspecting it and given the fact that it had been thoroughly immersed during their spelunking, he’s not sure of its capability. At this point, he views it as little more than a misshapen walking stick. The same goes for the other weapons. With a last look around, he signals the others to head down the embankment. Hayward hovers at the edge and looks over to Brown, who gives him a questioning look. Remembering his last trip down an embankment, the hesitation is brief.

The creek flowing over and around stones again blocks out all other sound. While they may get some advance notice of approaching helicopters, Brown knows they won’t hear soldiers on the ground ahead. The high ledge prevents much of a view of the surrounding area, but it also hides them from prying eyes. Brown hopes that there’s still a little luck left in the jar.

After a few meandering turns of the stream, Brown hears a faint chirp coming from nearby. He turns to the left and right, searching for the source.

“I think it’s the phone,” Hayward comments after a moment of watching Brown search for the wayward noise.

Brown digs into his pocket and retrieves the cell from within the baggie. Glancing at it is enough to see that it’s getting a signal.

“Which one is your aunt?” Brown asks, handing the phone to Emily.

She browses through it and hands it back to Brown. “That one.”

Brown sees “Aunt Kathy” pulled up under the contacts. He pushes the dial button and holds it to his ear, thankful to actually hear ringing. After a moment, the phone is answered.

“Oh my gosh. Emily? Are you okay, child? Are you with your mom and dad?” an excited female voices gushes on the other end.

From the excited tone of the woman on the other end, he’s fairly assured that he’s speaking with Emily’s aunt.

“Ma’am. My name is Sergeant Brown and before we go any further, Emily is with me and doing well. As for the other, we can talk about that later. I’m going to put her on and then we can talk afterward,” Brown responds.

He can imagine tears forming in the woman’s eyes and her state of being from the sniffles that form.

“Keep it short, please,” he says, handing the phone to Emily.

He can’t hear much of the other end of the conversation, but he can guess from Emily’s side of it: “I’m fine...We’re by the creek, only way past where I’ve been. We went through a mountain and everything…I don’t know where they are, but these guys are going to help me find them…The bad guys almost got us a couple of times…I don’t know who the bad guys are. They’re just bad guys who broke in and tried to get us.”

Brown can see the conversation growing long and convoluted. He whispers for Emily to end the conversation and return the phone to him.

“Ma’am. Sergeant Brown again. I’m not sure if you’ve heard what happened, but I can guess that you know something. The only thing I can really say at the moment is that we’re in some woods to the north of town, trying to work our way toward the highway,” Brown states.

“I know the creek, but I don’t get it. The news said that the military has quarantined Pineville and surrounded the city. And you say that you’re in the military…” Kathy says, letting the ending drift off. “And, are any of you, well, did you get…”

Brown understands what she’s getting at, but can’t bring herself to outright ask.

“It’s a long story, which I really don’t have the time to fully explain. I’m sorry for that. And, we didn’t come into contact with anything, but I’d like to meet someplace in order to deliver Emily to you,” Brown replies.

“That’s a relief. Okay. Um, I’ve heard that the highway is terribly backed up, but I’m not sure for how far. Where did you have in mind?”

“Do you happen to know if the creek crosses the road?”

“Uh, yeah, it does. There’s a small bridge that crosses over it,” Kathy answers.

“What do you say that we meet at the bridge? I don’t have any idea how long it will take us to get there, but I’m thinking that it will be at least a couple of hours. I’ll explain what I can when we meet,” Brown says. “And ma’am, for Emily’s sake, she was with you the entire time—you never met us. I know this sounds like something out of a spy novel, but it’s for her own good.”

“I don’t really understand, but I’m not sure that I want to. That she’s safe is all that I need. Okay. I’m not sure how long it will take me and her uncle to get there, either, but we’ll leave immediately. How will I recognize you?”

“Um, we’ll have Emily with us, ma’am,” Brown answers.

“Oh, yeah, of course. Sorry. I’ve just been so frantic since I heard the news. We’ll be driving a blue F-150. And, thank you, sergeant. I’ll keep my phone handy just in case you need to call.”

“Same here, ma’am. See you in a little while,” Brown responds and hangs up.

“I thought you were going to help me find my parents. Not drop me off with Aunt Kathy,” Emily scolds, crossing her arms.

“I know, Emily, but your aunt will be able to do a better job of finding them with you,” Brown says.

“You promised!” Emily says, tears forming in her eyes.

“I know we did. But, we’re not just dropping you off. Your aunt will be able to get ahold of them much better than we will. She knows them and they know her. And, it will be a safer place for you while you search,” Clarke comments. “Your parents will call your phone as soon as they’re able to, and you’ll be at a safe place for them to come pick you up.”

“What if they lost their phones and can’t call? What if I hit Mom so hard that she can’t remember? We have to search for them and you said that you’d help,” Emily says. “You’re in the military. Can’t you just call them up and have them look for them?”

“I wish it worked that way. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. I know you don’t like the idea, but the best way to find your parents will be with your aunt. If I thought otherwise, I wouldn’t do it,” Brown states.

“You promised,” Emily pouts with tears welling in her eyes, but drops her arms to her sides, indicating that she is beginning to accept what Clarke and Brown had to say.

They trudge along the flowing stream in an awkward silence. Emily pouts and walks with a stomp to her footsteps. Brown feels bad about the whole situation. He knows that the promises Clarke made were a lure to draw Emily out of the house get her to go with them. They might have otherwise had to resort to forcefully carrying her—a potentially very loud process when they needed to be quiet. They could have also just left her if she didn’t want to come, but that wasn’t really an option. Brown would have rather rendered her unconscious than leave a small girl at the mercy of the infected, let alone the bombardment of the town that followed.

No, better this awkwardness than any of the other choices
, Brown thinks, doing his best to listen for any approach.

Within the creek bed, it’s difficult to comprehend the mayhem being conducted just a few miles away, nor what they’ve personally endured. Knowing that, the peaceful scene presents a direct contradiction. It’s as if they stepped directly out of the fires of hell and into the Garden of Eden. Brown’s mind is as tired as his body. In all of his tours overseas, he can’t recall ever having to go through something like this. He now knows what it must be like for a prisoner of war who is attempting an escape. The only real variance is that he only has to make it a few miles and no one is actively searching specifically for him. The thought of what must go through an escaping POW’s mind, knowing that they have to traverse an entire hostile country, is beyond comprehension.

After a brief stop to down some food and rest their weary bodies, they continue their journey. The stress associated with knowing danger lies about is still prevalent, but greatly reduced since their emergence from within the ridgeline. Brown is quite ready for this all to be over, although he knows it won’t be an easy task integrating back into civilization if that’s the course they ultimately decide to take. Handing Emily off to her aunt alleviates having to explain her presence. Brown hopes there is still something left in their bag of luck.

Before long, rising above the sound of the stream, Brown begins hearing the rushing “swish” noise associated with the flow of traffic. Given how noise can be filtered or bounce around in woods, he’s not exactly sure how far away the highway might be. However, with moving vehicles ahead, he’s pretty sure that they will meet the highway past the outer roadblock. With his earlier view, he knows that would have been the case, but he’s held in the back of his mind that they could easily have moved it farther back up the road.

As they round a corner of the creek, the steep embankment on both sides gradually falls away near a low bridge. Vehicles on the far side of the highway inch along in fits and starts, while the ones on the near side stream along. It’s apparent that the cars and trucks that normally traverse the highway are being turned around at a checkpoint. He wonders what might be said of three adults and one child suddenly emerging from the woods. There’s no way to avoid it, but hopes that it isn’t mentioned at the roadblock. The odds are against something of that sort happening, but it remains a possibility. Squatting out of sight to the side of the creek, Brown pulls out the phone and dials Kathy.

“Hello ma’am. We’re close to the bridge,” Brown states on hearing the phone being answered.

“So are we. We parked along the side of the road a ways back near the bridge, but we don’t see you,” Kathy replies.

“We’re still in the woods. We’ll make our way to you,” Brown says.

Brown and the others cross under the bridge and climb a small embankment onto the highway shoulder.

“Emily!” Brown hears.

He turns to see a middle-aged woman running toward them. Without seeming to slow down her rush, Kathy engulfs Emily in a big hug; a hug so fierce and tight that Brown imagines Emily’s eyes bugging out of their sockets. A man trails behind Kathy, and Brown steps forward to shake his hand. From the incredulous expression on the man’s face, Brown can only imagine what he must look like. Certainly not the well-dressed sergeant the man may have had in mind. Once the bear hug and near suffocation is complete, Brown nods toward Kathy.

“Thank you, sergeant. I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” Kathy says.

“It’s no problem ma’am. I’m just thankful we came across her and could help,” Brown returns.

“Aunt Kathy, they promised that they’d help find Mom and Dad, but now they’re not,” Emily states.

“Dear child, I’m sure they would if they could. But, they did bring you safely here, right?” Kathy responds.

“I guess so,” Emily says.

Kathy casts a quick glance at Brown, looking for some affirmation. Brown shakes his head, attempting to convey that he doesn’t know where Emily’s parents are, or what may have happened to them, but that their chances of making it aren’t great. Brown sees moisture begin to form in her eyes.

There will be a lot of those tears shed
, Brown thinks with sorrow.

Brown is thankful that there aren’t a lot of questions asked about what transpired, and what is still happening. He’s not sure he could really answer those. It’s been a difficult journey so far and he just wants to put it behind him. With the exception of Mendez, they all made it in more or less good condition. The mental scars will remain, but Brown knows that even those will fade.

“Thank you again, sergeant,” Emily’s uncle says.

“It’s my pleasure, sir.”

Brown sees the curiosity in the man’s eyes and the hundreds of questions he must have. Emily’s uncle opens his mouth to ask the first of these, but Brown forestalls.

“And these were taken from her home,” Brown adds, handing over the firearms they borrowed. “Well, I’m sorry to have to leave you so quickly, but we need to be going if we’re going to make the checkpoint by dark.”

“I completely understand. Good luck.”

Shaking hands once again, Brown turns to begin the long walk to the police blockade.

“You take care, Emily,” Clarke says, hanging back with Hayward.

No response is given as Kathy wraps her arms around Emily and begins guiding her in the opposite direction.

“We did good, didn’t we?” Hayward says, looking at the retreating back of Emily.

“Yes…yes we did,” Clarke responds, feeling sad at seeing the brave, plucky girl walking away.

“Come with me, sweetie. I have freshly baked cookies waiting for us on the counter,” Clarke hears Kathy say to Emily.

Kathy begins removing twigs from Emily’s hair and attempts to brush off some of the grime. Much of it remains, having been mostly ground in.