“We’ll go in and turn on the pumps.”
“Do you know how?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do. We need to make sure there are no infected inside, once we do, your daughter can wait in there. Maybe you two can load up on supplies. The non-sick daughter I mean.”
Slightly irritated by that, Grace commented, “I figured that’s what you meant. Let’s go check out the store.”
“Do you have your gun?”
“What gun?” Grace asked.
“You brought a gun with you when you left your home, right?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t own a gun.”
“Weapon. What weapon did you bring?”
“I didn’t.”
“You took your kid out in this without a weapon?”
“I don’t need one.”
“Yeah, you do, for her. What do you have in your trunk that can be used?”
“I have a snow brush.”
“Forget it,” Max walked to the store. “We’ll find something in there.”
Before opening the door, he looked into the windows. “It looks clear.” He pulled on the door. “Locked.” He grabbed the garbage can and aimed it at the far window instead of the door.
“Wait, if you break that, won’t the alarms go off? We don’t want to ring the dinner bell for every infected in the area.”
“No, they’ll ring silent to the alarm station. I worked at a Shotz when they first opened up. “Step back.”
Max awkwardly hurled the can into the window. Grace ducked when the glass shattered.
Telling her to hang back, Max climbed through. Grace watched as he fiddled with something behind the register and then walked to the door, reaching up to the arch. When he did, she saw the blood on his hands.
He opened the door.
“Add lacerations to your injury list?”
“Yep.” He wiped the blood on his pant leg. “I’ll check the back.”
It took a few moments. Grace stayed in the main part of the darkened store watching her daughter in the car. Soon the lights all came on and Max returned. He told her it was clear and instructed her to get Candice while he authorized a pump. She went out to get her daughter and brought her into the store.
“Get what food and drinks you can,” Grace said, reaching for bags on the counter. When she did she noticed the rack of phone chargers and she grabbed a few then handed Candice the bags. Candice was literally like a kid in a candy store, she took off down the aisle.
Max and Eugene moved the car to a pump while Grace stayed inside. She wasn’t as diligent in grabbing items as Candice was, her focus still on the car and thinking of Macy inside.
Max came in first while Eugene pumped.
“I’m gonna try to wash up. The refrigerators are still working if you want to grab some premade food from the cooking area.” He walked away, telling Candice not to grab only junk.
Grace acknowledged what he said but when she saw Eugene replacing the pump nozzle, she walked outside and to the car.
“I was coming in,” Eugene said. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m gonna wait out here with Macy. Do you mind?”
“No. Do you need anything specific?”
“Not really, I grabbed these.” She lifted the chargers.
“Excellent. Maybe once we stop I’ll charge mine.” Eugene walked off toward the store.
Grace thought about his words. Once they stopped. Stopped where? She knew they were going to try to find a medical center or hospital in the area, but after that, they were still a short distance from the one shelter.
Without anyone in the car, Macy calmed down. Grace could see the bloodstained clothes of the baby from where the straps cut into her body. She opened the car door, reached for the center console, and pulled out the travel pack of wipes.
After climbing in the back seat, Grace pulled out a wipe, raised the strap, and wiped under Macy’s shirt. The child didn’t react to pain or her touch.
Grace wiped off her fevered face, the moist wipe seemed to dry instantaneously. She stared into her daughter’s eyes, trying to make a connection with her. It was useless. Grace trembled with emotions and at a loss, stepped back out of the car.
She stayed close, standing right next to the window so Macy could see her if she wanted. Not that Macy cared.
The others were in the store a while and Grace had her moments of panic. She didn’t have a clue who those men were. It was only a little over an hour since she’d met the two strangers running for their lives. Yet, she’d not only entrusted her life with them, worse, she’d entrusted her daughters’ lives. A part of her felt insane, then a wave of neurosis hit her. They were taking a while.
All of a sudden worry for Macy turned to worry for Candice. Her nine-year-old daughter was alone in the store with two strange men. What if they were hurting her? Her heart beat out of control. Convinced they were doing something vile to her child, Grace ran for the store.
When she was not even ten feet from the car, they all emerged, all loaded up.
Candice was holding bags in her tiny hands along with a Slushy cup that looked as big as she was.
“Look at all we got, Mommy.”
“Something wrong?” Eugene asked when he got a look at Grace’s face.
“Um, no.” Grace bit her lip.
“You were running. Did you have to use the bathroom?”
“I wanted to make sure you guys got paper towels. Candice, get in the car. Can… can you drive?” she asked Eugene. “I’m not thinking clearly.”
“Sure.” He walked to the driver’s side.
Max toted not only bags, but a drink carrier as well. Grace was ready to get in the back of the car when he stopped her and showed her the carrier with coffee. “I waited until it was brewed.”
“You made me coffee.”
“And a burrito. Heated. I’ll give it to you in the car. I figured you were hungry.”
“That was nice. Thank you.”
Max nodded. The front passenger door was open and he reached in, setting things down and giving them to Candice. “Before we go, you might want to do your thing.” He handed Grace a bag.
Looking at him questioningly, Grace glanced into the bag. She reached in, pulling out a bottle of Benadryl.
“And there’s children’s fever reducer, too. Eugene said that’s all they had.” Without saying more, Max got in the car.
No sooner were the others in the car than Macy began to get agitated. When that happened, Max, Eugene, and Candice quickly exited, waited for Macy to calm down, and then Grace was able to medicate her with ease.
After she had done so, she clutched the bottle of medicine and looked at the three of them. Grace was thankful, and felt a twinge of guilt for thinking the worst of the two strangers.
They all got back in the car, slightly reinvigorated and ready to go.
“Do we know where the hospital is?” Max asked.
“No. I grabbed that atlas in there though. Didn’t even think they made them anymore,” Eugene said. “Why don’t one of you take a peek? I’m sure there’s an index in the back.”
“I’ll look,” Grace said softly, reaching for the atlas.
Max handed it to her then rested his arm on the seat he shared with Candice. “Find that hospital, I’m pretty sure I need stitches. What do you think?” he showed his hand to Candice.
“Oh, gross,” she muttered.
Eugene pulled the car from the gas station. Grace didn’t say much. She had reached a point where she was too emotional, tired, and confused to speak. She sat in the back, hand on her daughter’s leg waiting for the medication to kick in.
They were on their way to find help. God willing, there would be help to find.
SEVEN – SEEK AND FIND
They took what they needed and could carry, but they didn’t empty the store. Myron made it a point to show Paul every time he saw someone in a window. Someone not infected. They were waiting it out, finding a sense of safety on a higher floor.