“Didn’t think you were. But what started as a prank or research has brought a shit storm down on top of us, and . . .” He slowed the cruiser and stopped well behind a handful of cars that were going nowhere. Then he pulled the cruiser across both lanes before he and Ilya got out to study the earth mound that blocked the north road.
He wasn’t sure what disturbed him more—that the Others were able to excavate that much dirt from either side of the road and pile it into a hill that quickly . . . or the smiley face made out of boulders that was pressed into this side of the mound.
Ilya’s mobile phone rang. He reached into the cruiser and pulled it out of his briefcase. “Boris?” He listened for a minute, then ended the call.
“The road heading west is blocked?” Grimshaw asked.
“Yes. Earth mound.”
He blew out a breath. “We’d better see what’s blocking the south road before figuring out what to do.”
“There is nothing to figure out,” Ilya said quietly when they were back in the cruiser and heading south. “We have to survive. That is what we have to do.”
CHAPTER 29
Them
Thaisday, Novembros 1
She had learned long ago how to pitch her voice in such a way that it corroded another person’s willpower, making them malleable. And the beauty of it was that the people she molded into such lovely monstrosities never realized what was happening. She was just an annoyance, an irritant other people were convinced didn’t do any actual harm.
If only the fools in this village knew what she had already achieved.
There was only one person who was immune to her peculiar talent, because he had the same skill. That made him a rival—or worse, a potential enemy. And he was here. He shouldn’t be. They never overlapped their experiments. On the occasions when they met to compare notes over dinner, they met on neutral ground.
This wasn’t neutral ground. This was hers and he knew it.
All those fancy-pants men from the colleges would be packing up and going home by tomorrow, except . . .
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She’d noticed Pops Davies readying a couple of orders when she walked into the general store. Nothing odd about that, except . . .
On impulse, she grabbed two packages of toilet paper off the shelves, prepared to complain that he wasn’t carrying the brand she preferred—something she’d asked him to do several times already.
“Only one package per household,” Pops said, putting the other package behind the counter.
“But I need two,” she whined, pitching her voice in a way that should have drilled a hole right through the damn man’s brain. “Theodore is having tummy troubles, and it’s so messy.”
She saw him waver. He should have given in.
Pops shook his head. “You and Theodore will have to cope. Only one package per household.”
He watched her until she walked out the door, which denied her a chance to slip anything interesting into her purse or coat pockets.
No matter. She would send in one of her lovelies. They knew she always had special treats for them.
CHAPTER 30
Vicki
Thaisday, Novembros 1
The Jumble. Vicki speaking.”
“It’s Pops. Listen, I’ve set aside a box of supplies for you. Things I figure you wouldn’t want to do without. Ineke’s coming over to pick up the box I set aside for her. You should come soon. And pull up behind the store.”
“What’s going on?” It seemed like a sensible question, but I actually heard Pops gulp before he answered.
“Barricades across all the roads,” he said. “Looks like the village is cut off from . . . everywhere. And no one is going anywhere. As soon as enough people figure out they can’t get to Crystalton or Bristol, there’s going to be a run at the store for whatever supplies I have in stock.” Another gulp. “And you’ve got guests.”
Who were supposed to check out tomorrow morning. “You don’t think the roads will be clear by tomorrow?”
“You should talk to Chief Grimshaw. Come soon for the supplies.” Pops hung up.
The good news? I didn’t end up sitting on the floor this time. The bad news? Pops Davies’s general store was the only store in Sproing that carried food as well as a wide variety of other goods. Most folks went to Crystalton or Bristol to do a big grocery haul every couple of weeks and then picked up a bit of this or that at Pops’s when they needed it. But if nobody could get anywhere, everyone who hadn’t already stocked up for winter would panic. Including me. I didn’t have employees last winter and didn’t know how much food they might expect me to provide, to say nothing about having guests. And I hadn’t stocked my pantry with the view of feeding an extra five people three meals each day for several days, and I didn’t know what I’d do with the guests who were supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon—if they managed to get here at all.
Get supplies now. Panic later.
I collected my purse and car keys, asked Natasha to keep an eye on things while I ran to the store—and then whispered that she should contact Ilya ASAP. She didn’t ask why, which made me wonder if she already knew what was going on and hadn’t told me or if this would be her mate’s first lesson in the importance of communication.
I hurried out and caught Julian as he finished loading up empty boxes. He looked pale, distracted.
“Have you heard from Grimshaw?” I asked.
He eyed me, and frowned as he focused on the purse and car keys. “Where are you going?”
“To the general store. Pops has some items on hold for me.”
“Something changed while I was inside,” he said quietly. “It feels . . . different . . . out here. Unsettled.”
“The roads out of the village have been barricaded. I’m going to the store for supplies before everyone else figures it out.”
“I’ll drive you to the village.”
“Then you’ll have to come back here.”
He looked so pale, the scar on his left cheek seemed to disappear. “Vicki . . . don’t go anywhere alone.”
So not what I wanted to hear.
We didn’t attempt small talk on the drive to Sproing. Julian was hyperalert, watching the road and the sides of the road. I watched on my side, not sure what I was watching for or if I could do more than scream before whatever it was pounced on us.
Julian drove behind Pops’s store, loaded the box Pops had already made up for me, then filled up a couple of his empty boxes with canned soups and fruits as well as toothpaste and paper products. I did a quick walk around the store, choosing a few more food items along with two jigsaw puzzles, a few coloring books, and a couple of boxes of colored pencils and crayons. I figured giving my guests safe activities might distract them from realizing they were trapped—at least for a few minutes at a time.
Ineke came in as Pops was boxing up my additional items.
“Good idea,” she said after looking at my additions. “Won’t be much longer before the news gets out, but it’s a bit like snow. People aren’t going to get antsy until they realize they really can’t leave. Most folks are going to expect the roads to be open by morning, so they’ll enjoy simple entertainments this evening.”
“I just talked to Wayne,” Julian said quietly, tucking his mobile phone in his jacket pocket. “Roads won’t be open anytime soon, but Ilya Sanguinati will be meeting with Mayor Roundtree and Chief Grimshaw in the morning and hopes to offer some insight into the situation then.”