“I don’t understand…” Trey whispered as they walked from the warehouse. “Why didn’t.”
“Quiet.”
“But…”
“Trey, it’s like a pattern, little things adding up. I can’t see the whole picture yet, but I am certain I am not going to like the picture.”
“Everything okay?” Maggie stopped and looked back.
Shit. Did she hear me? Malcolm wondered. “Yeah,” he answered.
“What picture?”
She did. He shifted his eyes to Trey who had a smug look, as if to convey to his father that he was busted. Then Malcolm replied. “Salvation. Not so sure, I like what you’ve been telling about it.”
“Well, your choices are pretty limited. Salvation, or your son’s farm.”
“There’s a whole world out here.”
“Again,” Maggie said heading into the entrance of building. “Your choices are limited.” She opened the door.
“What the hell was that supposed to mean?” Malcolm asked and followed.
“Dad.” Trey stopped him. ‘I know something inside is screaming at you. Just don’t think too much. Things are cut and dry now in this world. No conspiracies. Honest.”
Malcolm walked in, when he did, Norris stepped from another door.
“Well?” Maggie asked.
“You’re not gonna like it.” Norris replied to her. “This way.”
Again, the wheels started spinning with Malcolm. What wasn’t she going to like? Had the lab burned out, been decontaminated like his lab? Although, unless that lab unit was sealed there was no way to contain the fireball.
Curious, Malcolm stepped through the first door and then through a thick steel one, which brought him into the lab area.
“Whoa,” he heard Trey say behind him.
The walls were the same clinical white. But instead of a super long hallway it looked more like a prison with two floors. The lights were still on and it had the clinical smell that Malcolm remembered very well.
Some of the doors were open. Some looked as if they never opened.
Maggie walked slowly down the hall looking up and down.
“Did you check the storage?” Malcolm asked. “There is a storage room that should have food. You can see if they…”
As if he weren’t even being heard, Norris spoke. “As you can see, the hatching took place.”
“Hatching?” Malcolm questioned.
“That’s what we’re calling it,” Norris said.
“Oh, so now you hear me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.”
“How many?” Maggie asked.
“We estimate twelve unaccounted for. The automatic door looks like it opened five days ago.”
Malcolm stated. “So about the same time as us.”
“More than likely,” Norris said.
“Any indication where they are?” Maggie asked.
Norris shook his head. “They aren’t here.”
“Fuck!” Maggie screamed. “Are you kidding me? Twelve? And they have days on us.”
She veered into a verbal temper tantrum, spouting off more things, Malcolm honestly stopped listening to her when she started stomping her feet like a child. His mind spun again. Trey said there were no conspiracies in the new world, but was Trey right or misled? It didn’t make sense to him at all. If they truly were there to look for a cure, then look for a cure. The whereabouts of the Hatched was understandably frustrating. But the Hatched weren’t the point of the mission.
Or were they?
Marilee had become Nora’s point of contact and source of information. She learned how those in Rantoul lived and had survived all this time outside the walls of Salvation.
“Never really thought about it much,” Marilee said. “I didn’t know the world before the virus. Just the way things run. I know I heard that people die younger now outside the walls. But they can live until seventy in Salvation.”
“Or longer.”
“No. Seventy,” she said nonchalantly.
Nora thought her manner of response was odd, then again, it could have been because Marilee was explaining the ins and outs of Rantoul. How they farmed, canned, tried to get some normalcy, and hunkered down in the winter, venturing out to hunt. That was when they got most of their meat.
Rantoul had three cows they used for dairy. But most farm animals were part of the wild. Cows and pigs, chickens. Which explained the gamey taste to the pork the community served as a meal.
It was a lot of information for Nora to take in. In a way, it reminded her of the stories she read about settlers, or back in the Little House on the Prairie era. Rantoul was not the only community. There were others. None were close and barter exchanges took place about every eight weeks at the trading post which was located about two hundred miles away.
Marilee said everyone was excited about the exchange. They had their best batch of moonshine to date and it was going to be a commodity.
“Exchange is three weeks off,” Marilee said. “Would be wonderful if you guys were back and we could use one of those sun cars you have to draw our cart. We’d be there in a day.”
“Well, you know,” Nora said. “The others are supposed to arrive here. I don’t see us needing three buggies to search for Salvation. Maybe we can leave one. No promises.”
“That would be wonderful. But it would be more wonderful if you stayed. Didn’t leave at all. Everyone is excited about having a preacher and more people in the town.”
“We may be back. I just know we have to find Salvation.”
“They aren’t gonna let you in,” Marilee said. “They are a different breed. Although I hear about them making checks to look for the virus. Other things they can scavenge.” She shrugged. “Just rumors. I never saw Salvation people. But I know they won’t let you in. Even if they believe your story, won’t they blame you?”
Nora produced an awkward smile. “Why would they blame us?”
“Well, you were frozen to ensure you’d live right? Part of a project you said. I’d immediately assume you were the ones who started it because you knew it was coming. Not you personally, but guilt by association.”
“Do you blame me?”
“Heavens no. That’s silly. Salvation is a different thing.”
“I need to find my husband, my daughter, I know they survived and went there.”
Marilee sang out a ‘hmm’ and continued packing jars.
“What was that about?”
“I just have a different point of view. I mean, I know it wasn’t that long ago to you, but it was a lifetime ago for them. They moved on. They have lives now. For you to come back…” she must have seen the look on Nora’s face, because Marilee stopped talking. “Forget I said anything.”
Nora nodded, she was glad to stop the conversation, but it didn’t leave her. Not at all.
The temperature had dropped drastically as soon as the sun dipped in the sky. More so than it had recently. Nora already had a shoestring wardrobe and she found herself at the thrift shop rummaging the racks in the semi dark store. It was kept up. More of another trading place rather than an abandoned shop from days gone by.
People brought their old clothes there and traded them for others. Rantoul had an abundance of clothing. Scavenger hunts in the earlier days filled the business, keeping their doors open as some sort of homage to the days before the virus.
Nora had nothing to leave for payment. She’d ask Jason what he would recommend. After canning with Marilee and a quick stop to grab jeans and a jacket, Nora walked to the Christian Life Church where Jason had spent the evening.
She called out his name when she entered and he responded with, “In the back.”