Children of the After: The Complete Series: A Young Adult Postapocalyptic Action and Adventure series (26 page)

* * * * *

Riding in the back seat, Tammy grinned into the darkness of their newly acquired car. She had followed her instincts and been right. Though her parents had cautioned against trusting anyone, she had put her faith in Jack, Sam, and Will and they had not let her down. For the first time in a long time she felt good. Not only about herself, but about the future. Sure she had lost a lot, but so too had she gained. In this world, far from the home of her people, she had found a place where she fit. It wasn’t easy by any means, nor was it without obstacles, but she had high hopes as she looked about the car at her companions.

It had only taken moments to retrace the way they had come and turn back onto the main highway that ran west, away from the Resistance. It was only minutes after making that turn that they realized something was amiss as the car smelled strongly of gasoline. Bringing the car to a stop, Tammy joined all of her companions outside the car, each of them looking under it for leaks, though none of them was able to locate one. It wasn’t until Jack opened the trunk that Tammy realized just how lucky they were as Jack literally began jumping up and down.

Inside the trunk were half a dozen five-gallon gas cans, five of which were completely full. The sixth had tipped over and leaked about half a gallon into the trunk, causing the strong scent to pervade the entire car. It made sense, Tammy supposed, for the boys to have brought extra fuel. After all, they could have only assumed that she and her companions would have driven the pickup until it was out of fuel and they would need it to return to their camp with both vehicles. What it meant now, though, was that they could travel hundreds of miles without needing to walk. Hundreds. Closing the trunk after securing the gas cans in place, Jack turned to them with a serious expression on his face.

“This is an opportunity that we haven’t had since we came out of the vault. I’m guessing we have a good six to nine hundred miles worth of gas, which means we could go just about anywhere,” he said, before turning to look directly at Tammy.

Tammy nodded to his words. They had the fuel to travel and get away from the Resistance. She hadn’t, however, expected what he asked next.

“Tammy, you have been out here longer than we have. Do you know if there is any place left that is safe?” Jack asked.

She knew that Jack understood the difference of safe for him, versus safe for her, but it didn’t matter. She had spent months in hiding, first with her family and then alone. She knew just as little about the current state of their world as they did. The only difference being that she had seen more of the invasion than they had. She shook her head, revealing an obvious look of disappointment on Jack’s face. She was sorry she couldn’t give them news that would make them happy, but she didn’t have any to give.

“I guess any direction is as good as another then. I say we keep going west. Most people looking for answers will head to the coasts, where the big cities used to be, but that also means that those places will be where the most conflict is. Not only will there be more people, but likely more creatures… I mean, other species… as well.”

Tammy grinned at his attempt to correct himself. She also thought that most of the other
species
were monsters, though had once thought much the same about the humans until she had read their histories. Running her fingers through her short, blonde hair, she listened as Jack continued speaking.

“I think the further we are from everything the safer we’ll be. We can stop and look for supplies along the way, and just keep going until we find a place we like where there are people who are more understanding, or a place to hide until everything calms down.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sam added.

“Dinner sounds good to me,” Will said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Nodding her agreement, Tammy climbed back in the car with her friends, who began pulling supplies out of their packs for a quick meal before they hit the road again. She was glad to finally be able to quiet her growling tummy.

Jack watched the miles pass one after another beneath the beams of his headlights as the night progressed into ever deeper depths of darkness. They had passed through several small towns over the past hours, or at least what had been left of them, but had decided that scavenging in the darkness was not a risk that any of them wanted to take. Instead, he drove them onward, ever to the west, in hopes of finding some place safe to call home, at least for a little while. Jack knew that both of his siblings needed some stability. The constant running and never knowing what would happen next had been a drain on all of them. Without any medication left, he knew that they were just one asthma attack away from catastrophe. Hope was no longer enough.

He already knew that there were pockets of people out here in the world, but those people didn’t necessarily mean safety
or
stability. People had become just as dangerous as the invaders. He couldn’t help but wonder if any place was safe anymore. Not only that, but what they had learned while guests with the Resistance, was equally disturbing. They had no idea what the invaders wanted. They came in several species. Everything had been chaos from day one. And no one even knew what happened to all the people that vanished in the initial attack. Jack hoped Davski wasn’t right in his idea that these waves of invading creatures were actually the genetically altered people that vanished initially. Though he knew there had to be answers out there somewhere, and wanted them terribly, he knew in his heart that answers were no longer his priority. No. Instead he had to do what he promised and just keep his siblings safe. Tammy too, of course.

Yawning loudly, Jack shook his head in an attempt to keep himself awake. Everyone but him had been asleep for at least an hour, but he wanted to let them get as much rest as was possible before stopping. He already had plans to let Tammy or Sam drive while he rested, that way they could keep on the move. Stretching as best as he was able, he rolled down the window hoping the cooler air would help to keep him awake. Time and again he imagined himself pulling into a service station and picking up a coffee or soda for an added caffeine boost, but that wasn’t an option any longer. Gone was convenience. Gone was simplicity. Gone was the entire life he had known before the attack. Gone were all the little things. Looking around the small confines of the car he couldn’t help but be happy for it on some level. He had never been this close to Sam and Will, and being so now felt more important than anything they had lost, maybe even their parents. After all, it was only a matter of time until their parents were gone and the three of them were left with only each other as family. Grinning sadly, Jack turned his eyes to the road and carefully guided them around a fallen limb from a nearby tree.

* * * * *

It was sometime in the middle of the night when Sam awoke with a start. Looking around quickly she surmised that there was no danger and returned to her normal stretching routine, at least as best as she was able with the dash in her way and a dull ache in her head. Sitting up she looked out the windows all around, to find nothing but overgrown fields that might have once produced corn or soy beans or some other such crop. Deciding no signs of life was a good thing, she turned her attention to Jack who sat slouched with his eyes only half open behind the wheel of the car, seemingly driving in a zombie-like haze of half consciousness.

“How you doing there?” she asked quietly as Jack blinked several times before responding.

“I’m doing.”

“You look tired,” Sam prodded.

“You could say that,” Jack replied with a smirk.

“Want me to take over?”

“I’ve thought about it, but the idea scares the crap outta me,” Jack said with a wider smile.

“I can drive. How hard can it be?”

“Well, you did have to have Will drive the truck for you.”

“Totally not my fault, scumbag. Pull over and let me drive.”

“Now see here, young lady, that’s no way to talk to an elder,” Jack joked.

“Nope. But it is acceptable for talking to a dork. Lemme drive,” Sam repeated. “At least that way you can get some sleep.

“Yeah, like I’ll be able to sleep with you behind the wheel, swerving all over and slamming on the breaks every time you see a bunny.”

“There’s bunnies?” Sam asked with mock excitement.

“Alright, I’ll let you drive, but take it slow. Whatever you do, don’t get pulled over.”

“Very funny. If I do, I’ll just tell the officer that I’m fleeing an invading force of aliens and trying to survive the apocalypse.”

With that, Jack began slowing the car down, and despite herself Sam started to get excited. No way would Mom or Dad let her drive. Things were different now, though. She supposed kids everywhere were doing things out of necessity that before the invasion would have been considered too dangerous or just for adults. Finally coming to a stop, Jack shifted the car into park and unfastened his seatbelt before opening his door. Waiting for him to step out, Sam slid herself over the center console and into the driver’s seat. Reaching down she pulled the lever beneath her and slid the seat forward so she could reach the pedals before fastening herself in. Waiting patiently until Jack climbed back into the car from the passenger side, they both carefully closed their doors. It was time to drive.

Both giddy and nervous, Sam recalled what she had been told many hours before and pressing the brake she reached up and shifted the car into drive. Exhaling slowly she took her foot off the brake and began to give the car some gas. Jack remained silent, though she could feel his eyes boring into her, watching her every move. It was okay, though. She knew he was just concerned for all of their safety. Though holding onto both the dash and the handle above his head was a bit theatrical to say the least. After just a few moments Sam felt she had a good feel for the car, but tested the brakes and steering several times to be certain. It was an hour before she took her eyes off the road long enough to smile at Jack, having proven that she was capable of driving them safely. Turning to look at him, however, she realized that it wasn’t necessary to brag. Sometime in the hour he had become comfortable enough with her driving and had fallen asleep. Even now his head rested against the window with his mouth open, though he didn’t seem to snore. Not that it mattered, she would tease him and tell him he did when he woke up anyhow.

* * * * *

Will awoke and blinked several times, trying to adjust to the sunlight blasting him full in the face through the window. Turning his head, he realized he was using Tammy’s leg for a pillow and had apparently drooled all over her. He hoped she wouldn’t notice when she woke up. Rising carefully to a sitting position, he looked at her to find her smiling at him. Busted.

“Good morning, Tammy,” Will said groggily, to a replied nod and smile. “Sorry about the slobber.”

Again Tammy nodded at him, and Will remembered something that until just now he had forgotten completely.

“Hey, I know you can talk. I heard you scream. I know that you know English too cause you can write it. So why not talk to us?” Will inquired, sounding just like a cop on TV.

He watched as she pulled her notebook from beneath her shirt and removed the marker from its spine before flipping it open to begin the meticulous process of writing a reply.

I taught myself your letters and can interpret your words, but I don’t know how to make the sounds for your letters and as such I can’t speak the words that I am able to write.

Will thought about her reply for a minute. It explained why she wrote just like a book was printed. It also made sense, if he thought about it. He supposed one could figure out how to read given nothing else to do, a lot of time, and a lot of books. She knew the words, just didn’t know how to say them.

“I can teach you the letters’ sounds if you want,” Will offered.

I have been trying to figure it out while listening to all of you talk, but admit it is hard, especially having never spoken your language before.

“It’s okay. Here, we’ll start with A and work from there,” Will said.

He was excited to be able to help, though never imagined he would be teaching a teenager something he had learned in pre-kindergarten. Just as he had said they would, they began with A and worked all morning learning the different sounds of the letters and how they interacted with one another in conjunctions like CH and SH. Tammy learned pretty quick, but had trouble making some of the sounds, especially R and L. More or less it was like she was a toddler, but as the morning progressed she was making fewer mistakes and even sounding out smaller words. Will found that he liked teaching. It was way better than learning, and tons more fun in a car than in a classroom. A couple of times Sam chimed in with a rule or tip to help him explain something, but for the most part it was just him teaching Tammy how to talk.

“I sure must be a good teacher, you’re learning really quick,” Will complimented himself.

“You aw, Wiw. Thank you.” Tammy replied.

“Are… Rrrrr. Really try and get that R in there,” Will suggested.

“Aw… aw… arrrrrrr,” Tammy smiled.

“There you go. Just keep practicing being a pirate and then we’ll work on your L’s.”

“Arrrrr. Arrrrr. Carrrr. Farrrrr.”

“See, you got it. Just remember, you don’t have to use big words. At least not for now. Small ones are easier and can say just about as much.”

“I’w Trrrry. Trrry. Try.”

For at least a whole hour Will practiced rhyming words with Tammy using words that ended with the letter R. She was getting better and better when he felt the car slowing and looked up to see buildings ahead. Buildings. Jack must have somehow noticed the change too. He woke up like someone had shaken him and looked all around. Sam stopped the car and Will watched as she turned to their older brother.

* * * * *

Tammy couldn’t help as her feelings shifted to being apprehensive about the cluster of buildings ahead. Just moments before she had felt at least a little ridiculous learning to talk from a child, but at the same time, she had been thankful for his effort. Though small, Will was an excellent teacher who was very patient with her and even played little speaking games to help her learn. Now, however, the lesson had come to an abrupt end as they all looked out the windows of their small car nervously. Tammy recognized the structure from pictures in the encyclopedias she had studied for months. The cluster of large silos and other structures were all made of steel with conveyers running this way and that and giant pipes stretching from one building to the next. It was obvious that it had once been some sort of agricultural building or factory of some sort, but being one of the few structures still standing for hundreds of miles, there was no telling what might inhabit it now. There were easily twenty or more of the huge cylindrical structures that rose more than a dozen stories into the sky and along with them at least five other large buildings, each skinned with corrugated metal. The remains of two semi-trucks with trailers sat beside the main building, but beyond that little could be seen.

Still at least a half a mile away, Tammy couldn’t discern if there were any signs that humans or other species of men might be using the building for shelter. As far as any of them knew, it could hold more members of the Resistance. Looking about the small confines they all shared, it was obvious the same questions plagued each of their minds, but it was Sam who spoke first on the matter.

“What do you think we should do?” she asked no one in particular.

“I’m not sure,” Jack said, reaching up to massage both of his temples. “I’m tempted to say we just keep on going. It looks like a grain storage place or something. I doubt we’d find any food there.”

“Might find information,” Tammy added, careful to annunciate her R correctly.

“Holy cow,” Jack nearly shouted. “When did you start talking?”

“I’ve been teaching her,” Will said, sitting upright and puffing out his chest with pride.

“Geez. How long was I asleep?” Jack asked.

“Like forever,” Will replied.

“Okay, Tammy. What kind of info do you think we might find?”

“I don’t know,” she replied slowly. “Maybe something… a map. Show where humans arrrr.”

Her words were still broken, being forced to pick and choose words that were easy for her to say that would get her point across. She still avoided L altogether, but Will had been right. Using small words was easy enough for now.

“I’m impressed. With both of you,” Jack said, looking first to Tammy and then to Will.

She watched him turn then and look out across the overgrown fields to the hulking metallic structure beyond. Tammy looked again too, but nothing had changed. There was no sign of movement, no spray-painted arrows like had been painted in other towns. There were no signs of habitation at all, but if something was in there, that just meant that it was smart enough not to draw attention to itself. That thought alone made the whole thing even scarier. She didn’t want to go in there, but at the same time, what if someone
was
in there, all alone, starving, and afraid like she had been? What if there was more gasoline?

With their supplies dwindling dangerously low, she knew they would have to go and explore. It really wasn’t an option any longer to just pass places like this up. If they expected to find anything they were going to have to look for it.