Colony East (4 page)

“Can you take Jordan on your motorcycle?” Abby asked Mandy. “Charlestown’s about four miles from here.”

“I’ll walk,” Jordan grunted.

“Don’t be stubborn,” Abby fired back, zapping him with an angry, big-sister look.

He twisted his mouth and looked away, knowing Abby was right. Walking to the yacht club would take a long time, and it would be exhausting. He needed to save his energy to fix a boat.

Jordan inhaled and turned to Mandy. Surprised, he paused. What had happened to the tough-talking member of a motorcycle gang? Biting her lip and hunched over, she looked like a sad, frightened ten-year-old.

It was at this moment he began to believe Abby. Mandy had saved their lives. It still freaked him out that she gave him CPR, though.

Jordan tried to imagine what had gone through her mind when she abandoned her brother. He understood that peer pressure could be strong, and he did not doubt that Kenny, the leader of Mandy’s gang, could be persuasive. After all, Kenny had tricked him into revealing where the scientists were handing out the pills.

“Fine, Mandy can give me a ride, but she’s not coming with us to the island.”

Timmy blurted out, “Why not?” He appeared to be on the verge of tears.

He heard sniffling, and this time it wasn’t Mel. Mandy was crying.

Jordan gave a little snort. “Oh, all right, she can come with us.”

Abby thanked him with her eyes. Then his sister placed her hand on Mel’s.

“Do you live with anyone? They can come with us, too.”

Jordan shot forward. “We won’t have room on the boat without capsizing it. We can’t invite half the city.”

Mel burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. Jordan could have kicked himself. Everyone was crying, or about to cry, because of him. He felt bad, not for what he’d said, but for how he’d said it. Mel was in a fragile state, and the truth was, they’d be lucky to find a boat big enough to hold five of them.

“Hey, your friends can come to the island,” he said. “Really. My friend Eddie and I will sail back. We’ll make as many trips as it takes. It won’t take long.” He wanted to change the topic. “Shouldn’t we go to the airport to get pills?”

All of a sudden Mel snapped her head up, eyes shining with wild terror. The hair on the back of Jordan’s neck stood up. Mel cried out, “The airport’s on fire.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Mel’s words struck Abby like a sledgehammer. Nobody said anything.

Abby’s eyes darted around the room. Jordan just sat there, pressing his palms against his forehead. Mandy had wrapped her arms around Timmy.

Mel stared right through Abby and spoke in a low, halting voice. “Two jets collided. One was taking off, the other was landing.”

Timmy’s face brightened. “The jet was bringing pills, right?”

Mandy pulled him closer.

“There was a huge explosion,” Mel continued, ignoring Timmy’s question. Abby wondered if Mel was even aware of who was in the room with her. “The flames spread, and then there was a chain reaction. Fuel trucks exploded one after another.”

Jordan leaned forward. “Can you believe that all this smoke is from the airport? Logan is five miles away, but I knew I smelled oil burning.”

“All the terminal buildings caught fire,” Mel said. “It happened so fast.”

Abby gasped. “The adults were in one of the buildings, and so many kids! Did anyone get out?”

Mel looked straight ahead with a deeply creased brow, as if she were watching the horrible event play out on a movie screen.

Abby squeezed Mel’s hand. “When the terminal caught fire, were people able to get out?”

Mel paused a long moment. “I don’t think anyone escaped.”

They peppered Mel with questions all at once. “What did you do?” “What else did you see?” “Did you get hurt?” Abby was about to ask Mel if she got pills, but she caught herself. If Mel had enough pills, they might avoid a trip to the airport, but Abby told herself that she should first focus on her friend. Mel spoke in a lifeless tone. “I was leaving the airport when the jets crashed. I just stood there as everything exploded. Lots of smoke drifted over and I started choking. I took off my shirt to breathe through it. Then I thought about Steph and Alex.”

Abby’s jaw dropped. “Steph Simpson?” Steph was one of her best friends. They’d been in the same sixth grade class at the Monroe School.

Mel hiccupped and started crying. “Steph and Alex are my housemates. I needed to get Steph a pill. She was really sick. I entered the tunnel as fast as I could, and the smoke thinned out, so I was able to breathe. I ran the whole way through it. When I got out the other side, I noticed four kids were following me. One of them was really tall.”

A lump formed in Abby’s throat. Brad and his gang. “Timmy, look out the door, please.”

The boy crossed his arms defiantly. “I took a turn already.”

Mandy gave him a little smile. “Go on. We need to talk about what happened. I’ll join you in a minute.”

Timmy shuffled his feet to the door.

“Mel, why did they follow you?” Jordan asked.

“They figured she had pills.” Mandy said. “Mel, did you hide the bag?”

Mel’s lip trembled. “They saw it.”

Jordan shrugged. “Well, other kids had pills, too.”

Mandy smirked. “She looks like an easy mark.”

Abby shuddered at Mandy’s cold, calculating perspective, but it didn’t seem to bother Mel at all.

Anger flooded Mel’s voice as she continued. “They chased me down Mass. Ave. It was dark, but I could see where I was going in the moonlight. I cut through backyards, and I thought I lost them.” Mel’s eyes glassed over and her tone softened. “Abby, when I got home and saw your note, I couldn’t believe that you and Jordan were really here.”

The hard edge in her voice returned, and rage filled her eyes. “I went through the front door. It was dark inside. I called out for Steph and Alex. When nobody answered, I went straight upstairs. Steph’s fever had been keeping her in bed. But neither of them was up there. I started to panic. Then I figured that Alex might have moved her to the basement. It was cooler down there.”

Mel paused and squeezed her hands together so hard it made her knuckles white. “I heard Alex shout something. She sounded frightened. Then I heard a thud that made me sick to my stomach.” Mel’s breathing quickened. “When I got to the top of the stairs, I saw a flashlight and heard strange voices. They were just coming up from the basement. I went down a few steps. Whoever had the flashlight, shined it on Alex’s face. Alex wasn’t moving, and there was a lot of blood. The beam moved to Steph. She was on the floor, too. Then I saw a boy holding a brick.” Mel pounded the table with her fist. Abby’s heart, already racing, jumped to her throat. “There was blood all over it, but he just tossed it on the floor like it was nothing.

“I ran into my bedroom and locked the door. Then I opened the window. We had practiced what to do if intruders got in our house. I lowered a rope out the window with one end tied to the radiator. The boy kicked the door open just as I swung my leg out. I let go of the rope and fell into a pile of leaves we’d made. He leaned out the window and shouted. Then a girl and a boy came around the corner and started chasing me. I ran straight here. When I got to your neighborhood, I realized I had led them here. First I led them to my house, then here to you. So I hid in the bushes across the street. For a while, I didn’t think they’d find me. Then they saw your motorcycle.”

Abby was trembling. “I saw you, Mel. You ran straight at them. You wanted them to chase you.”

Mel clenched her jaw and nodded. “I ran for miles until I lost them for good.”

Mandy placed her knife on the table. “You’re certainly not as weak as you look, but the gang will be back. Abby, you were right. We should go to a new house.”

“I hope they come back,” Mel said through gritted teeth. Then she reached into her pocket and placed a bag of pills on the table.

Abby couldn’t take her eyes off of the clear plastic bag with the CDC logo. Each tiny blue pill inside could save a life, yet they had already caused so much sorrow. A chill rippled through her. Would greed and fear cause more sadness and death before they could make it back to Castine Island with the pills?

CHAPTER SIX

Jordan watched in shock as Mandy picked up the bag of pills and slipped it into her jacket pocket. He shot to his feet. “What are you doing?”

“They’re safer with me,” she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

He turned to Abby. “Say something!”

Abby, who was comforting Mel, glared at him. “Can we stop fighting?” She had a sharp edge to her voice.

Heat flared in Jordan’s cheeks. His sister’s reaction agitated him, but what Mandy had just done put every life on Castine Island at risk. “They’re not yours,” he stammered. “The pills belong to Mel.” He feared Mandy heard his voice shaking.

She patted her knife. “Nobody’s going to mess with me. Don’t worry.”

Blood pounded in his ears as he cursed his stupidity. He had let his guard down, and Mandy had made her move. Now, the pills were even more valuable than before.

He felt for the tiny paring knife in his back pocket. Then he quickly withdrew his hand, knowing he was no match for Mandy and her long blade.

What if she rode off and took the pills? Jordan thought of those on Castine Island who would require the antibiotic soon. Toby was probably the most at risk. Whiskers had sprouted from his chin and his voice was cracking, sure signs he had entered puberty. Jordan worried about his girlfriend, Emily, too.

Mandy held Emily’s future in the palm of her hand, or more precisely, inside her jacket pocket closest to the knife dangling from her belt.

“They’re back,” Timmy cried.

Abby rushed to the door, with Mel and Mandy right behind.

Jordan gripped the back of a chair and lifted it an inch to gauge its weight. If he swung it hard enough, he could do serious damage. His heart pounded in his throat as he contemplated what to do.

“Oh my God,” Abby cried.

“It’s not them,” Mel said, sounding disappointed.

Mandy put her arm around Timmy’s shoulder and pulled him close. “Those are the kids coming back from the airport. They never got any pills.”

Jordan released his grip. He might strike Timmy. Even if Timmy stepped away, Jordan didn’t think he could do it. Nor could he live with himself if Mandy left with the pills.

Jordan joined the others. His eyes widened at the sight of kids trudging down Pearl Street in a line that extended as far down the street as he could see. With their heads lowered, they looked like zombies, or like soldiers returning from a battle, which they had lost.

Although a few younger kids were in the mix, most seemed to be over twelve. The older ones were walking the slowest. Some kids moved in groups of three to six, but others walked alone, stragglers who were unable to keep up with the pack.

Abby sniffled. “There must be something we can do for them.”

Jordan had a sudden sinking feeling. He knew the tone all too well. His sister wanted to save the world. Abby might well present a bigger threat to the survival of their friends on Castine Island than Mandy.

Abby, her cheeks wet from tears, moved into the living room to watch out the window. They all followed her.

“Take a good look at them,” Mandy said. “That’s how we should act when we go outside. If you walk like you’re sick, nobody will think you have pills.”

Jordan had to admit that was a good idea.

Several kids broke from the line and climbed the steps of a house across the street from them. Jordan stuck his head out the window, careful to avoid the glass shards, and saw more kids entering houses further up the street. “I didn’t think anyone lived around here.”

“They’re going home,” Mel said. “Home to die.”

Abby paced. “We have to do something.”

“There’s nothing we can do,” he said. “Do you see how many of them are out there?”

“Jordan, that was us two days ago.” Her eyes pleaded. “We were that sick.”

Jordan put himself between Abby and the window, trying to block her view. “What’s the most important thing? Getting home to Toucan, right?” He shot Mandy a quick glance. “Taking the pills to our friends.”

Abby stepped around him and answered with a gasp.

A boy who’d been stumbling along, now veered onto the sidewalk in front of their house. He was taking awkward strides, but, somehow, he stayed on his feet. Jordan’s legs tensed and twitched, as if he were the one losing his balance. The boy braced himself against a telephone pole briefly, then placed both hands on his knees. He was wearing black rubber rain boots, and a bottle of water dangled like a pendulum from a loop of rope around his neck. He was making a horrible wheezing noise.

“We need to get him,” Abby said in a determined tone.

Instead of blocking her view, Jordan moved between her and the door to block her from going outside. “There are thousands like him.”

Abby held out her hand to Mandy. “Give me a pill.”

Mandy shook her head. “He’s too far gone.”

Jordan hoped the boy would die quickly to end his suffering.

Abby’s eyes flared with anger. “We saved Jordan. We can save the boy. Mandy, give me a pill.”

Mandy kept her hands by her side.

“Give me a pill,” Abby shrieked. Then she lunged and grabbed at Mandy’s pocket.

Jordan wrapped his arms around his sister. She struggled weakly. His own lack of strength surprised him, and he wondered if he could hold on. Pressed against her, he felt both their hearts racing.

Just then, the boy crumpled to his knees. Abby cried out and went limp. Jordan released her. If any of the marchers heard his sister’s cry, they showed no curiosity. Nobody stopped to help the dying boy, either.

“I’m going outside, with or without you,” Abby told him.

He grabbed her wrist. “Abby, he can get pills in Portland.” He hated himself for lying. The CDC had designated Portland, Maine a Phase II city. The scientists said they would distribute pills there in a month. If he and Abby never made it back, the Castine Island survivors were planning to get pills in Portland, but that boy would not survive another hour, much less a day, and Abby knew it. Jordan also hated himself for deciding who would get the pills—who would live and who would die—but he held onto her wrist. She drilled him with such an accusing look of horror and disgust that he had to look away.