shake of his head replying in the negative.
She doesn’t know if she can handle any more of them. Like everyone else, dark buildings scare the shit out of her. She really wishes she had Gonzalez’ courage. Nothing ever seems to faze her. No matter what happens, she always has a ready smile and a joke. They’ve drawn closer over the past few weeks and shared a lot of their feelings and thoughts. That’s helped some. As glad as she is about finding her dad, the loss of her mom still sits heavy within her.
Growing up just outside of Lubbock wasn’t exactly conducive to her being prepared for this situation. Sure, it was Texas, so she was used to guns and started shooting at an early age. However, nothing much happened out her way nor was she really introduced to much. It’s not that her parents were overly protective, it’s just that there weren’t as many opportunities as there were in the city. She mostly hung with her parents and was content to do so. She did ride her bike, and later drove, to her friends and hung out with them, but her life was sedate for the most part. However, she did have her wild moments.
Her life growing up was like any other teen girl. There was the interest in boys and getting together with her friends. She had her crushes through school, but they came and went like the thunderstorms that rolled through. It wasn’t easier or harder than anyone else’s life. The hardest part for her was her height. She was diminutive and grew to a whopping five feet, four inches which always made her shorter than her friends and classmates. She had the weight to match her height. As her friends always teased when the strong winds gusted across the plains, she frequently felt as if she’d blow away.
The crossroads for her came toward the end of her senior year in high school. She ran cross-country through high school. She placed third in the state cross-country meet that year and had a running scholarship to the University of Texas. The problem was that she didn’t want to run anymore. Not competitively at any rate. The training wore her out and she was simply tired. She knew she would run for the rest of her life; but not competitively. Her parents couldn’t afford to send her to college and the scholarship was her only ticket. Running at the collegiate level was more competitive and therefore the training would be more intensive. She wasn’t one to shy away from hard work, but she just didn’t want to work at
That left limited options. She could go to the junior college and transfer later but there wasn’t any guarantee that she could afford it in two years. It’s not like some magical money tree was going to spring up. That left a job in the city, vocational school, and, heaven forbid, marrying one of the high school boys. It’s not that they were bad, but she wasn’t interested in any of them. That’s when the Army recruiter showed up at her school. It was like a veil was lifted and she saw her chance. She could get out of this place and earn money for college. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. However, as time and deployments went on, she discovered that she had found a second home. She enjoyed the camaraderie, and it was people like Gonzalez that made her stay.
Lately, she also had a little something extra to live for. She and Drescoll recently began to hit it off. It started with little talks here and there. They found they had a lot in common and had many of the same interests. Of course, it’s not like they could partake in a lot of those interests now. There just wasn’t any time in the daylight hours nowadays to go kayaking or hiking in the wilderness. Perhaps later but for now, they just share stories of their adventures. They’ve kept it quiet so far and she’s only told Gonzalez about it. It’s not that they are ashamed or even worried but more that they are both private about their personal lives. She’s sure it will become obvious to everyone at some point. She just hopes that it isn’t the stress that is bringing them together as she really does like him. She’s seen a lot of the battlefield romances occur that drifted apart when they were deployed back stateside. Of course, it isn’t like they are going to be relieved of stress anytime soon from what she can see. Looking into the abandoned buildings as she passes them on the way to her position attests to that.
Something catches her eye in one of the small shops that she and Gonzalez pass. Henderson and Denton are making their way parallel to them on the other side of the street. Jack had Robert and Bri stay with him rather than deploy with the rest of Red Team. She doesn’t blame him for wanting to keep them out of harm’s way. It’s odd that he would do that now, though, as he seemed to have let them go with them more as of late. They are actually a welcome addition to the team even if they are a little green. Time and experience will take care of that. And in this new world, gaining experience quickly will not be a problem. With a slight shrug, she nudges Gonzalez to get her attention.
“What?” Gonzalez whispers, looking sideways at her while keeping an eye on the area.
“Look,” McCafferty says, pointing to an object sitting on one of the counters. It’s covered in dust but the side is still readable.
“Holy shit! Are those Twinkies?” Gonzalez incredulously yet quietly says.
“Looks like it. What do you think?”
Gonzalez takes a quick look around and sees that everyone is otherwise preoccupied. She trots across the street to Henderson and Denton.
“Hold up here and keep us covered. We’re going into that building to investigate something. We’ll be right back out,” Gonzalez says.
“Whatcha got?” Henderson asks.
“Never mind. Just keep us covered,” she answers with a small, mischievous grin.
Gonzalez returns and nods inside. McCafferty grins and quickly climbs over the sill partially filled with pieces of broken, grime-covered glass. She feels the crunch of glass under her boots as she makes her way around the tables and chairs strewn about the room. Avoiding the remains of several bodies, she reaches the counter and blows off the dust covering the top of the box. Sure enough, the box is sealed and she quickly grabs it, heading back to the sidewalk. Henderson and Denton look across the street questioningly. McCafferty shakes her head at them and grins, stuffing the box inside of her vest.
“Remember when these became an endangered item?” She asks Gonzalez.
“Yeah. Kind of like all of humankind is now,” Gonzalez replies.
“Only, humankind didn’t go on strike. They were fired,” McCafferty says.
And with that statement left hanging between the two of them, they proceed to the corner to keep watch on the perimeter.
Gathering at the Stryker a short time later, McCafferty sees the soldier whose family they’ve come to find. His face exhibits wonderment mixed with sorrow as he looks on his home town. She knows he must be eager to find his family but, upon seeing what kind of shape this place is in, she notes that his shoulders are sagging in defeat. She knows how he must feel as she had thought she was going to have to deal with the fact that her parents were gone. The nervous energy of wanting to know and the fear of what that answer might be is one she knows well.
The soldier shows the exact location of his family’s house and they are soon piling into the Stryker. It’s not far and they soon arrive. Exiting, McCafferty notes that the condition of the residential area is not much different from the downtown area — drifts piled where the wind has driven them. She observes that there aren’t many cars parked along the street and that there are very few driveways.
They are in front of a white, single-story house with green trim. The walkway leading to the front porch is barely visible due to the long brown stalks of grass lying across it. Dead bushes, that once must have had colorful blossoms, line the front of the house. She watches as Jack stares at the house and gives Gonzalez another shake of his head before engaging in conversation with Greg. She isn’t able to hear what they say but, by their hand motions, it seems they are talking about how to enter the house. After a few minutes, Jack sends Greg’s team to the corners for security and gathers Red Team.
“Gonzalez. I want you to take Red Team in and conduct the search. I don’t sense any night runners inside, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any,” Jack says.
“Okay, sir. Is the soldier going with us?” Gonzalez asks.
“No. Given what we’ve seen so far, I think it’s best that he isn’t inside. He’s still a little shocked by what he saw downtown. I think he might have seen someone he recognized. I don’t know how, but I’ve spoken with him and he just gave a tired nod. He did manage to give us some details on the interior,” Jack says, handing Gonzalez a hand drawn diagram.
