Passing the bottle back, Jo Ann looked up at Wendy. “I just don’t want to hurt nice people,” Jo Ann mumbled as Sally put the bottle in Ryan’s mouth.
Taking a deep breath, Wendy exhaled to calm her nerves as Ryan stopped crying. “Jo Ann, have we chased anyone?” Wendy asked. “We didn’t stop when we saw them so they should’ve known, we didn’t want to be around people. But that didn’t matter to them, they chased us.”
Getting comfortable in her seat, Jo Ann thought about what Wendy had said. “Person in the other road,” Jo Ann said, still keeping watch.
When they were half a mile away, the figure turned and ran over into their lane. Jo Ann tensed up to see the figure running right at them, waving its arms. “Do you think we should stop?” Wendy asked, not slowing down.
“No,” Jo Ann answered as Wendy guided the Tahoe into the other lane. They could see the figure was a woman now as she moved with them. A hundred yards from the woman, Wendy jerked the steering wheel and crossed through an intersection to the westbound lanes.
The woman continued running and just barely missed running into the trailer. “There are cars everywhere. If she needed one, she could get one,” Jo Ann said with a sigh.
Reaching over, Wendy patted Jo Ann’s leg. “Baby, I know it’s hard, but you and Sally have to know these rules for this new world. Just because that was a woman doesn’t mean she wasn’t bad. You have to be careful, even around other kids unless I say they are all right. When you get older, you and Sally will be making that call for Ryan and Noah.”
“I understand,” Jo Ann said.
“Right turn, US Highway 27,” the GPS announced.
After Wendy turned, everyone relaxed as the houses fell away and fields surrounded them. “Where did you learn to shoot a machine gun?” Jo Ann asked.
“My husband,” Wendy smiled. “He made several because he thinks we shouldn’t let the government decide who has what.”
With a big grin, Jo Ann turned to Wendy. “He sounds cool.”
“Oh, he is,” Wendy said.
Still rocking Ryan with Noah’s head in her lap, Sally asked. “Will Arthur like us?”
“Girls, Arthur is going to spoil you,” Wendy chuckled.
“What if he got sick?” Sally asked.
The burst of happiness left Wendy as she slumped in the seat. “We live way out in the country and he didn’t have to go into town, so I’m betting he never came into contact with anyone that was sick. But if he did, Arthur is a nurse like I am, he knows how to take care of himself,” Wendy said.
For several minutes, the Tahoe was quiet and then Wendy spoke again. “Even if he is gone, we have to wait for Joseph at our home. We can live there,” Wendy told them in a low voice.
Nobody spoke for over an hour until Jo Ann spoke up, seeing a sign ahead. “Lake Placid, is that where that big alligator is from in the movie?” she asked.
“I hope not,” Wendy said as the houses started getting closer together. Seeing a dark billboard ahead, Wendy slowed down so she could read it. “If we can, we are stopping there,” Wendy said, pointing at the sign telling them a truck stop was ahead.
“What if people are there?” Jo Ann asked.
Speeding back up, “Then we don’t stop,” Wendy told her.
Ten minutes later, they saw a group of buildings near an intersection ahead and Wendy slowed to a stop. They all looked at the dark truck stop ahead. “Anyone see anything?” Wendy asked in a low voice.
“A cow,” Sally said and Wendy glanced back and saw Sally pointing out the driver’s side. Turning around, Wendy saw a cow standing in the ditch.
“I missed him,” Wendy admitted, turning back to the truck stop. “I’m pulling up. Everyone, keep your eyes open.”
On pins and needles, the twins scanned around as Wendy pulled up to the truck stop, only going five miles an hour. When she reached the building, Wendy stopped to see the glass door was busted open. “It’s been robbed,” Jo Ann said.
Not wanting to inform Jo Ann that what they had done would be seen as robbing, Wendy stared into the dark store and then around the area. Pulling up sideways to the store, Wendy stopped when the back of the Tahoe was in front of the door.
“Okay, Jo Ann, roll down your window and if either of you see anything, call out and let me know.”
Jo Ann shook her head, “How about I stand at the door, so I can yell in the store and you can hear.”
Looking around again, “Okay, but I want in and out,” Wendy said, getting out.
“What about your machine gun?” Jo Ann asked.
“I have my pistol. I need arms to carry stuff,” Wendy answered, pulling her pistol out.
Walking around the Tahoe as it idled, Wendy met up with Jo Ann as they headed for the door. They both jumped when they heard Sally roll down the back window.
Peeking in the store, Wendy didn’t see anything moving and opened one of the glassless doors. Walking in with the glass crunching under her diving boots, Wendy made a mental note to see if those boots she’d found fit.
Holstering her pistol, Wendy pulled the flashlight off the duty belt and walked over to a clothes rack selling t-shirts. Grabbing a white one, Wendy wrapped the shirt over the flashlight and turned it on. Even that dimmed light made her blink. Walking around and making a mental inventory, Wendy saw all the beer, cigarettes, chips, and most of the candy was gone.
Seeing cases of bottled water stacked by the register,
