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“The country's falling apart, and he’s got more important things to think about. He won't give us a second thought." She took a deep breath and stepped toward him. "It’s my chance to try and help someone, dad. What’s the point of being able to do what I do if I don’t use it for something good?”

He groaned. “Do we have to have this conversation again?”

They'd lost me. And though I didn’t quite follow Iggy’s reasoning, I could see that her father did. And he was caving.

He said, “You’re as stubborn as a mule, Iggy. I know you’re gonna do what you want. But if you go, it’s without my consent.”

She stood on tiptoe and kissed her father’s cheek. “I’ll text or call several times a day. We’ll travel only in the daylight. You taught me everything you know, dad. Now trust me to do this.”

It was on ongoing battle for the rest of the day. Iggy argued with her parents through dinner and the guilt really started to gnaw at me. It was obvious that Chris didn’t want me to go so that the problem would be solved. If I stayed, Iggy stayed. But I hadn't heard from my parents in days, and their car was wrecked in some small town in Tennessee. I couldn't let it go. I couldn't live here day after day not knowing what had happened...not having tried my best to find them. I didn't want Iggy to go, and I even tried siding with her parents during dinner. But she'd given me a traitorous glare and argued even more. Wesley kept his eyes down and said nothing. It literally came down tying Iggy up in her room or letting her go. I believe Chris would have done it, but Kim convinced him it was more cruel than allowing her the freedom to make a bad decision.

I went to bed feeling like I'd caused a rift between us all.

Chapter 6

Cael

I'd gotten up earlier than planned so I could leave Iggy behind. But when I got downstairs, she said goodbye to her parents, shoved a thermos of coffee into my hands and said, "You thought you'd be able to leave me behind, didn't you?"

I said nothing. Kim gave me a hug and Chris remained stoic as we walked out. Iggy was in a hurry, probably tired of arguing with her parents. When I paused outside to glance up at the slate gray thunderheads that filled the sky, she gave me a gentle push toward the car. It started raining as soon as we pulled out of the driveway, and I thought it was fitting considering everyone’s mood. Cody and I sat up front with only the swish of wiper blades and the occasional GPS guiding voice to keep us company. Iggy started texting, and Wesley stared out the window with his typical Ice Man look.

Cody said, “I’ll bet you fifty bucks that Wesley can manage to ignore us and do his imitation of a statue for the entire hundred and seventy miles of this trip.”

“I’ll take that bet,” I challenged. “At some point, he’ll crack a smile.”

“Wait a minute. One of the rules is that his smile doesn’t count if Iggy causes it. That’s too easy.”

I considered this, and then added, “Deal. But even if it’s a smile that doesn’t show any teeth, it still counts.”

Iggy’s blonde head appeared between us. “Hey. I want in on this bet.”

“You betting for or against a smile?” Cody asked.

“Against. I’m betting my fifty on knowing you two are going to piss Wes off so badly the entire time that he won’t stop frowning, much less crack a smile.”

I glanced in the rear view mirror. Wesley was still staring out the window, his expression unchanged save for the muscle ticking in his clenched jaw. “It’s a bet.”

Cody pointed, “Watch out for the car.”

“I see it,” I said, moving to the inside lane. The vehicle, sitting at an odd angle across half the road, was charred and smoking as if the rain had just put out the flames.

Iggy turned to Wes and said, “Maybe we should stop at Walmart and see if we can get some supplies so we don’t use up what we’ve got.”

He nodded. “And then we can let your folks know what’s left in the store before they make the trip into town. It might not be worth the gas to get there.”

Iggy leaned forward and said, “We’re stopping at the – ”

“I heard,” I said. “Walmart. Got it.” I moved back to the outside lane, glanced at her in the rear view mirror, and told her, “You should put your seatbelt on.”

“Why? Do you plan on crashing?”

“You never know what might happen. Besides, you’re odd man out here.” Even Wesley was wearing his seatbelt.

“I’ll take my chances.”

I ignored her comment and let the subject drop. She didn’t buckle up. This was one of those mule-headed moments that reminded me of why I used to think she was crazy. Her attitude reminded me of when we were ten and she’d started to climb a rickety wood ladder built into the wall of their old barn. I’d told her not to do it, but she’d wrinkled her nose at me and done it anyway. One of the rungs had snapped, and she’d fallen and broken her wrist.

We all remained silent until we crested the hill into town and could see the gas station her dad said had been robbed. Not only was the place closed, all the windows were boarded up as well. Several empty cars sat in a parking lot littered with broken glass, squashed aluminum cans, busted water bottles, and food wrappers. Across the street at a car dealership, several men in raincoats were toting guns and patrolling the lot, looking more like security guards than car salesmen.

I turned right and we passed a fast food restaurant where employees stood in the doorways, smoking and talking. The parking lot and drive-thru were empty. Iggy rolled down her window and stuck her head out.

“Hey! Deshaun!” She waved and then wiped rainwater out of her eyes.

One of the guys perked up and hailed her. “’Sup, Iggy!”

“You guys open?”

“No. We got robbed yesterday and Jason is having us clean up and close the place.”

Iggy gave him a thumb’s up, and we continued past them into the Walmart parking lot. It was nearly deserted and carts were strewn all over, some of them rolling across the pavement as if pushed by ghosts. I pulled into one of the first spaces and cut the engine. We sat there a moment, looking around.

Thunder rumbled.

“Are they open?” I asked.

“Lights are on,” Iggy replied.

Wesley opened his door. “One of us should stay here with the car. I don’t trust that someone won’t steal our stuff or siphon out the gas.”

“Good idea,” I agreed. “Who?”

Iggy pointed to Cody. “You’re the biggest. One look at you and people will head in the other direction. You should probably stand outside and make it clear you have a gun.”

I slapped Cody on the back. “You’ve got me on speed dial, right?” Cody nodded and I said, “Call me if you need me. I doubt we’ll be long.”

“We should all swap numbers,” Iggy suggested. It was a good idea, and even Wesley told us his cell number without hesitation.

I took a deep breath and said, “Okay. Let’s do this.”

When the store's double doors slid open, I found one armed guard standing near the Coke machine and another one leaning against a crane game booth on the opposite side. Iggy, Wesley, and I all wore jackets that concealed our guns, and even though the guards probably suspected we were carrying, they didn’t say anything.

“Should we split up?” I asked.

Wesley shook the water out of his hair and said, “I’ll take camping and electronics. You take food. And Iggy, you cover medicine and clothing. Whatever you think we might need, grab it.” He looked at the registers. Only one was lit up. “Let’s meet at register five in fifteen minutes.”

It looked like a tornado had hit. In addition to armed guards wandering around, every store employee was focused on cleaning up. Displays were knocked over, shelves broken, products littered the floor. A few shoppers wandered around looking shell shocked as they picked through the aisles.

I jogged to the back of the store, intending to work my way to the front. An employee was mopping up a spill, and he told me to watch out for broken glass as I passed him on my way to the refrigerators. There was no milk, no juice…not even any coffee creamer or half and half. The shelves were so empty that I could see employees through the refrigerator windows, cleaning and organizing the cold storage room. No eggs. No cheese. The freezers were empty too, except for the bags of vegetables that had been torn open.

I stepped through a sea of peas, corn, and carrot cubes and headed for the aisle with the water. Empty. No water bottles, soda, beer, nuts, snacks…nothing. Just shelf after shelf of empty space. On another aisle, I stepped across what looked like freeze dried potato slices and found some useful canned goods. I collected the few remaining dented cans of salmon, sardines, off-brand Vienna sausages, and a can of refried beans that had rolled under one of the shelves. I turned around to find a middle-aged woman watching me. As I walked past her, she scurried over to where I’d been standing and got down on her hands and knees to see if anything else was under the shelves.

There were no meat or bread products, and all of the remaining produce was rotted, wilted, or damaged beyond edibility. I did manage to find a jar of olives and two jars of pickled artichokes before heading for register five.

Wesley was already there, and his luck didn’t appear to be any better than mine. He only had a lighter, a few glow sticks, and a canteen to add. Iggy strolled down the main aisle a few minutes later carrying some boxes of pain relievers, antibiotic ointment, and a couple of knit hats. A woman and her son were talking her ear off. When she saw us, she shot us an apologetic look and said to her companions, “I really have to go. I’m sorry, Mrs. Richards. I’m in a hurry.”

The woman reached out and gave Iggy a hug. “Tell your daddy we said ‘hi’!”

Iggy waved good-bye and jogged up to join us in dumping our goods onto the conveyor belt. After the last item was scanned, Iggy took out a plastic card and prepared to swipe it. The cashier said, “Honey, it’s cash only. Machines ain’t working right, and we can’t take no cards.”

Her eyes widened. “Do you think a lot of stores’ machines will be down?”

The cashier finished bagging. “I reckon’ so. We lost our Internet and telephone connections. I imagine other stores did too, so they won’t be able to process card payments neither.”

Iggy handed the woman a hundred dollar bill, got her change, and then we grabbed our bags and left. After passing the guards and exiting, I saw Cody talking to a few guys around our age. Granger’s black truck was parked beside my Nissan.

“What happened to calling?” I grumbled. “Take this,” I told Iggy, shoving my bag at her. Wesley did the same, ignoring her protest, and then he and I ran to the car.

“What’s going on, Cody? You making some new friends?” I asked, coming to a stop beside him. Wesley already had his Glock in hand, and it was all I could do not to roll my eyes at him.

I recognized Austin, though he was wearing a baseball cap today. He said, “We’re not here to cause trouble.”

“Then what
are
you here for, Austin?” Iggy had tossed the bags into the backseat and come around to join us.

He shuffled from foot to foot with his hands stuffed into the pocket of his jeans. “We used to be friends, Iggy. And I came here to warn you that –”

“
Warn
me? Let me tell
you
who’s gonna warn who around here.” She lunged forward and I grabbed her before she got out of reach.

“Let him speak,” I told her. She instantly turned her vicious glare on me…the same glare she used on me when we were little kids. But I wasn’t that skinny little kid she used to boss around, and I squeezed her upper arm as a warning.

“I don’t mean any harm, Iggy. Honest.” Austin adjusted his cap, rain trailing off the rim. “I wanted to tell you that my dad got an offer from some CDC douche bag in a suit. You and Wesley got bounties on your heads.”

“What?” Iggy shoved away the wet hair that had fallen across her eyes. “Was the guy’s name Jensen?”

“Yeah. He knew my dad don’t like you. Offered him five thousand to bring you and Wesley to him in Atlanta.”

Wesley took aim while Iggy worked to hide her shock. She asked, “And he’s gonna do it?”

Austin shrugged. “Five thousand is a lot of money.”

Iggy folded her arms across her chest. “Jensen’s a liar. He wouldn’t really give your dad the money.”

“He already gave my dad a thousand up front.”

“Psycho bastard!” Iggy closed her eyes and turned her face up to the sky for a moment.

“He wanted us to keep an eye out for you guys and bring you to him. But you know me. I’m not gonna do that.” He looked pointedly at Wesley’s gun. “Hell. I remember when we used to pretend to be super heroes. I was Iron Man and you were Raven, and we used to run around your property fighting off the bad guys. Remember that time Cael wanted to be Spiderman, but you and I forced him to be Green Goblin and we tied him to a tree and left him there until your dad went and found him?”

Beside me, Iggy softened, and a faint smile appeared. “Yeah, Austin. I remember.”

Wesley still didn’t lower his gun.