Dead Of Winter (The Rift Book II) (32 page)

He came to a stop when he collided with his friend, who lay on his side in the snow. He heard shouts of concern draw near from those who cautiously made their way down the hill. Checking his extremities for damage and finding what he hoped would be only a few bumps and bruises he raised his hand to them.

He turned to find Colin gazing his way. His blue eyes shimmered in the dying light and his body convulsed with spasms of laughter.

“What’s wrong with you?’ Josh mumbled.

“That,” replied Colin as hysteria washed over him, “was the best…fall…ever.”

*
 
 
*
 
 
*

A grocery store took up most of the plaza. The place had been left remarkably intact. None of the storefront windows were broken there were no scorch marks on the exterior. They took that as a good sign and pried the inoperable sliding door open to get in. Though all items in the produce and meat departments were rotten they found food aplenty in the aisles of canned goods. They loaded up, grabbed flashlights and batteries off the shelves, and headed for the rear of the store.

It was in the storage area that the twenty-one survivors from
Dover
made camp for the evening. They barricaded the doors with crates of dry goods, set up their sleeping materials – damp because of Colin’s sprint and subsequent fall – and hunkered down for the evening.

Josh couldn’t sleep. The building’s creaks and moans assaulted his ears. Moonlight streamed in through the bay windows, giving the surrounding area a grayish-blue tint and casting frightening shadows all around him. His heart raced while he worried that some unfriendly
thing
might creep up on them when he least expected. He felt more than a little dim for not searching the place thoroughly before settling down.
If anyone gets hurt
, he thought,
it’ll be my fault.

He pried Kyra’s arm off his chest and sat up. She groaned and rolled to her back, shoving the covers off as she did so. He stared down at her for a long time. After a while his hand wandered to her shirt and he pulled it up, exposing her stomach. There was a very noticeable rise to it now. He placed his palm on her flesh and pressed. It felt strange, like pushing on a water balloon. He cocked his head and listened. Only the haunting sounds of the building returned to him.

“What’re you doing in there?” he whispered to the child inside her. “Are you even alive?”

He covered Kyra up and stood. For the next half-hour he paced around the storeroom, flashlight in hand, scouting for trouble. Of course there was none. The place they found themselves in was a huge rectangle and nothing more. The only place anything could’ve been hiding without his knowledge would be the freezer.

He approached the steel door and grabbed the handle. The cold metal numbed his fingers. As he was about to open it he recalled a similar circumstance back home, when he met up with James Conroy just after the whole mess started. He remembered the bodies stacked on the floor and the mist that rose around them. He heard General Stack’s words, distant and haunting.
The unfortunate ones.
It had been more than four months since that day and yet it seemed like much longer.

Don’t do it
, his brain scolded.
You open that door, and you let everything out.
Everything
.
There’s nothing in there. Just let it be, already.

Josh nodded and pressed his ear to the door just in case. He heard not a sound. Satisfied, he pried himself away and wandered back to the spot where Kyra lay, curled into a ball.
It’s all empty,
he thought.
The world is dead. It’s only us now.

As if answering this thought a distant howl pierced the stillness. It was followed by another, and then another. Soon a far-away chorus emerged. Josh grinned. He knew that particular racket well, growing up around farms as he did.

Kyra rustled and sat up on her elbow. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “What is that?” she mumbled.

Josh brushed the hair from her face and grabbed her hand.
“Nothing to worry about, Kye.
Just coyotes.
Or maybe
timberwolves
.”

“Oh,” she said, and laid her head back down.

Josh sank in beside her and listened to the song of the wild dogs.
I guess not everything die, after all
, he thought.

*
 
 
*
 
 
*

The next morning, amid cracking joints and irritated groans, they all decided the previous evening would be the last one spent in the cold, uncomfortable storeroom.

“There’s
gotta
be
a town somewhere close
by,” Kyra said. “I’m tired of having a stiff back. I’m pregnant, for
Chrissakes
! Let’s see if we can’t drum up some real beds for a change. It’s not like there’ll be anyone using them. I hope.”

Colin nudged her. “But if there is,” he joked, “we can sell you for room and board. What say you? Good idea?”

Kyra rolled her eyes. The smile on her lips betrayed her annoyance, however. “Funny boy,” she mumbled.

After a short walk down a snow-covered main road lined with shops they happened upon a side street. There were houses – rows of snow-covered, solid, safe houses. Shadows fell over them as crows cawed overhead, flying in a cloud of black feathers. The group halted and stared up. Colin felt disbelief wash over him. The birds were the first non-infected living things he’d seen since they left
Dover
.

“Damn,” he whispered. “Would you look at that…
”

Josh stepped up beside him.
“Yup.
Our situation might be improving.”

“You don’t look surprised,” said Colin when he noticed his friend’s nonchalant expression.

“Nope.
Heard coyotes last night.
Sounded like lots of ‘
em
.”

“What’s it mean?”

“
Winter’s
almost over,” replied Josh.
“Time for the world to wake up.”

In time everyone took their eyes away from the mass of birds and continued down the road. Colin felt an air of expectation rouse in his mates. Even the children seemed hopeful. There were no sniffles or sobs or wails for mommy. It was complete silence from the humans, which stood in stark contrast to the squawking of the birds.

The first thing he noticed when they drew near to one of the houses was its cleanliness. The white siding, still layered with ice, glimmered in the bright late-morning sun, not a burn mark or hole to be seen. The further down the lane they went, this theme repeated itself. The occasional missing shutter and caved-in roof from the weight of the snow and ice were the only signs of damage. Only one of the still-standing houses had so much as a broken window – which had something to do with the fallen tree whose top poked inside the pane – and a creepy aura of familiarity crept across Colin’s spine. It looked like a damned Twilight Zone episode. He half figured they’d enter one of the homes and find a family straight out of the fifties locked away inside.

Luckily there was nothing of the sort. The houses they explored were empty and it looked as if folks had left in a hurry, too. Clothes were still in the closets, dining tables were still set, and cupboards were still packed to the brim.

Hope they had everything they needed when they got where they were going
, Colin thought.

They picked two of the homes, one on either side of the road, and decided to set things up for the afternoon. After hurling their belongings inside they gathered at the largest house – the one
Luanda
, Yvette, Mary, and
Alice
were going to share with Emily – and ate lunch. When that was finished they divvied up the children and parted ways again. Colin, Jessica, Josh, and Kyra brought Andy, Francis, Meghan Stoddard, and little Zachary to their chosen home.

Colin had suggested it because it reminded him of home. It was a two-story colonial with bright yellow siding. The shrubs on the side of the front porch had a comforting, everyday quality. He appreciated their simplicity and shape. Snow nestled between the branches, making them seem fuller than they really were. He turned to Jessica, who was busy watching her son wobble into the house with Kyra behind him for support.

“It’s beautiful here,” he whispered.

She removed her glove and placed her bare hand in his. “It is.”

“You wanna take a walk?”

“Well…”

“Go for it,
Loverboy
!”
came
a shout from inside. Josh stood in the bay window, giving them a thumbs-up. Colin laughed at his friend’s corniness. So did Jessica.

They sauntered hand-in-hand to the rear of the house. The yard was huge and covered in white. The only dark shades to be seen were the silhouettes of the birds. There was a swing set back there, beside a storage shed. It faced a sizeable man-made
koi
pond.

Colin sat down on one of the swings and Jessica joined him. They sat there for a long while in silence, watching the sun as it slowly progressed across a cloudless sky. Colin closed his eyes.

“You know,” he said, “I didn’t realize it before, but I’m tired as hell.”

“Me, too,” replied Jessica.

“And dirty. Shit, it’s been forever since we’ve taken a shower.”

“I thought you
liked
that I smell like old pizza?”

He giggled.
“Real funny.
But seriously, wouldn’t it be nice to be clean for once? I’m sure I’d
love
the way you smelled then.”

Jessica pointed at the pond. “Well, there’s water right there. Jump on in.”

“You’re a fucking comedian,” he laughed, and squeezed her hand.

“Learned from the best.”

A shower, a shower
, his mind sang. All the while he stared at the glossy, iced-over surface of the water. It would be so easy to break through and jump in but he’d surely pay for it later. He didn’t fancy hypothermia in the slightest. He then glanced to his right, where the storage shed lingered like a slumping wooden ogre. An idea came to him. He jumped up without a word and ran to it. The hinges creaked when he slid open the door.

The shed was packed with junk. He rummaged through, tossing useless items aside. Finally he found what he was looking for, a stack of six bulky aluminum buckets. He snatched them with his bare hands and carried them out.

“What’re you up to?” Jessica asked.

“Just…grab…a shovel,” gasped Colin as he struggled to keep the buckets upright. When he reached the edge of the pond he dropped his load and arranged them all, side-by-side. The buckets were indeed ample, probably four or five gallons each. The six of them should do the trick.

Jessica arrived with a garden hoe. “Sorry, this was all I could find,” she said.

“Good enough,” he replied, snatching the hoe from her. He proceeded to hack away at the ice on top of the pond. It broke away with relative ease. When only chunks remained he snatched up a pail and dunked it in, filling it. Then he did the same with a second one. When that one was filled, as well, he picked them up and glanced at Jessica. She appeared confused but eager.

“You get a bucket, too,” he said, grinning as wide as he could. “I hope those douche bags started a fire already.”