“Sir, I don’t want to sound like a sissy, but can we, like, leave town?” Shawn asked, feeling his mouth was bone dry.
“We are, but we have to make one stop,” Arthur told him, pressing the accelerator and getting up to fifty.
“That man was never that close to us,” Vicki said from the back.
“He had tracked you down and was waiting on you to go back inside,” Arthur mumbled, but everyone heard him.
“There are a lot of dead birds,” Kirk noted, but didn’t mention the dead bodies everywhere that dotted parking lots and the road.
“Flu is killing a lot of them as well,” Arthur said, turning onto a bigger road and picking up speed while dodging a stalled car.
“I thought you said to go slow,” Kirk called out, but didn’t look away from his window.
“Can’t here. Too many people. You shoot at something, you better hit it or it might hit you. Kids, I want you to get a little lower in the seat,” Arthur advised, seeing his destination ahead.
When he started to slow down, Shawn looked around to see a car dealership on one side of the road and a building on the other. Glancing around, he didn’t see any people as Arthur turned into the dealership.
Pulling up behind a row of brand new trucks, Arthur put the Blazer in park. “Can you drive that?” Arthur asked and Shawn followed his finger to a gray Suburban.
“Holy shit, that’s big,” Shawn gasped. “Um, I’ve never driven anything but a truck. Can I just drive this?”
“It’s pulling a trailer,” Arthur said and Shawn shrugged.
“I’ve never driven a truck without one,” he admitted.
“Boys, have your radios ready, I’ll be right back,” Arthur said, getting out.
Walking around to the back of the Blazer, Arthur opened the cargo gate and grabbed the box with the protruding arm. “Donald,” he said and Donald jumped out.
“Why’s he getting another car?” Jim asked.
“Because there’s so many, goofy,” Kirk laughed, watching Arthur walk up to a door and shove the arm in it. The others watched as the arms popped the door open and Arthur walked inside with Donald.
“That box is so cool,” Pat said in awe, looking around.
“Are we going to get in trouble?” Jodi asked Vicki.
“No, Arthur knows what he’s doing,” Vicki said, bouncing Pam in her lap.
Only gone a few minutes, Arthur came back out the door and raised his hand at the massive Suburban and they heard it crank up. “Wow,” Kirk said.
Walking over to the idling Suburban, Arthur pressed the fob and the back hatch opened up. He put the box inside and motioned for Donald to jump in. After Donald was in, he hit the button to close the hatch and walked around the Suburban.
It was completely loaded with off road tires and lights, side bars, four-inch lift and a nice cattle guard and winch. When Arthur stopped at the passenger window, he gasped. “Six figures for a Suburban, are they insane? I better be able to push a button and get a blow job for that kind of money!”
Continuing his walk around, he opened the driver’s door and saw a quarter of a tank. Knowing that was enough to get home, Arthur headed back to the Blazer. He opened Shawn’s door, “Give me Lucas and everyone but Kirk, get in the new truck,” Arthur told them.
The kids piled out as Shawn scooted over and Kirk got in the front passenger seat. Reaching over, Arthur grabbed Kirk’s arm. “You are his eyes, so keep them open. Use your radio if you see anything, okay?”
Nodding with a gulp, “I will,” Kirk promised.
Arthur climbed in the Suburban and pulled out with Shawn following. Shawn and Kirk both jumped when the radio in Kirk’s hand went off. “We are taking a different route home Kirk, so don’t get worried,” Arthur called over the radio.
“Okay,” Kirk answered.
“Man, Arthur is cool,” Shawn said with a grin.
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. He has a huge house and all kinds of farm animals that he just hits with his knee and they run off,” Kirk cried out in wonder.
Chapter Nineteen
I may be weak but you’re dead
May 11
Feeling someone shaking her, Wendy cracked her eyes open. “Wendy, the power went off,” Jo Ann whispered. “We think Anthony did it.”
Smiling as she sat up in the bed, “No, baby, the ship makes its own power and probably ran out of fuel,” Wendy said, seeing it was late in the afternoon. Waking up this morning, she had picked back up on doing simple exercises and knew she had pushed too hard. After lunch, she had only intended to let Ryan take a nap, but had passed out with him.
Not leaving the room at all yesterday, Wendy would pace and do lunges while trying to clear her lungs. During the day between her limited exercises, they ate and played cards and then Wendy had the twins shower, then took one herself with Ryan. With all of them clean, they’d piled up in the bed together going to sleep. During the night, Wendy thought she heard something in the stairwell and got up to put another chair in front of the door.
With the spear gun clutched in her hands and sitting on the edge of the bed, Wendy had waited up for over an hour but the sound never came back, so she’d gone back to bed.
Still feeling weak but much better both mentally and physically, Wendy leaned over to check on Ryan on the floor, lying on a blanket. Ryan was kicking his legs as Sally sat beside him, shaking a stuffed doll over his face.
“Are you sure?” Jo Ann asked,
