He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and shook his head. “Stella, I don’t think things will ever be like they were. But if the government has found a cure before the Zulus die? We’ll be that much closer to being able to rebuild from what’s left.”
She lowered her eyes and stepped out of his way. “It could be a start though, yeah?”
It was at that moment that Hatcher realized that simply surviving wasn’t enough. The people needed hope.
He gave her a soft smile. “It would be a heckuva start.”
Carol walked tentatively to the front of the building. “This is so eerie.” She kept her voice low, her eyes scanning the area. “All of these buildings…these houses. All deserted.”
“We hope, you mean.” Broussard stepped up behind her and eyed the front of the building. “A women’s center?”
“There are a lot of different medical groups working out of here.” She paused and cleared her throat. “I mean, there used to be.”
“I don’t like this.” He quietly shook a few more of the brown pills into his hand then tried to toss them back. He turned and pointed overhead. “All that parking above the building? That’s a lot of dark places that they could be hiding. Waiting.”
“I fear that anywhere we go, we’d encounter the same problem.” She gave him a tight lipped smile. “Unless you know of an outdoor lab?”
He shook his head. “This sounds more like a biomedical lab. Not a research facility.”
She shrugged. “I only know about these places because I met people at a conference who worked there.” She sighed and stepped back toward the car. “Perhaps the university?”
Broussard seemed to brighten. “There is a university here?”
“Cal State has a campus here.” She gave him a crooked smile. “They have a pretty decent biochemistry department. Surely they have laboratories.”
“One would think.” He hiked a brow at her. “Shall we continue our journey?” He swept low, ushering her toward the car.
She slid into the passenger seat and lifted the large phone directory they had swiped from a laundromat. “I’ll just look up the address and punch it into the car’s nav system.”
“We may not have internet, but we have Garmin.” Broussard patted the dashboard gently.
Carol chewed nervously at her cheek. “Crap. There are a ton of addresses here.” She held the page up for him to see.
“Choose one. Perhaps once we are closer to the campus we can narrow it down.”
Carol snorted. “Hardly. Most schools name the buildings after large donors, not what they actually do.”
Broussard nodded knowingly. “Still, I believe that once we are on campus, we will find what we are looking for.”
“Speaking of looking, you are looking a bit more pale.” She leaned toward him, trying to see his eyes.
“It is nothing.” He pulled a bottle of water from the rear seat and cracked the lid. “Luckily you found these at that washing place.” He tilted it back and almost emptied the bottle. He sat back in the seat and rubbed at his neck. “It must be the cure. My throat is so dry that the tablets feel like they are stuck.”
She placed a gentle hand on his arm. “I should drive. You can rest in the back seat.”
He turned and gave her a surprised smile. “My dear, if we removed the rear hatch and laid the seats down flat, I wouldn’t fit in the back of this car unless you cut me into small pieces.”
She glanced to the rear and winced. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” She turned back to him and raised a brow, jokingly. “But if the pieces were small enough…”
Broussard grunted as he pulled his door shut. “You are not funny.”
“Hey, you were the one who suggested it.” She smiled as she leaned back into her seat. “Onward, James.”
Simon groaned as he rolled off of the dog food bag. The sun was just beginning to set and either the shit puddles had stopped stinking or he had burned out his sinuses from the stench.
He scrambled up from the floor and wandered the grocery store. He avoided the dark splatters where he could and stepped over some of the smaller ones. “You people have no manners.”
Again, what came from his mouth sounded more like an interrupted growl, but in his mind, he knew what he was saying.
He came to the aisle where most of the canned goods had been. Too many people scavenged this place. It might not be able to feed a crew this large for much longer.
He pulled a can of fruit from the shelf and eyed it. He KNEW what this was. He recognized the picture. He just couldn’t think of the name.
He reached for his belt and pulled off his key ring. His fingers fumbled with the old military P-38 but he finally attached it correctly. With a twist he pierced the can and began to work his way around the seal.
Juice flowed up and ran down his fingers. He licked the clear fluid from his hand then sucked the juice from the can. He smiled to himself. Whodathunk that a little peach juice would taste so good?
He continued to open the can when the realization struck him. Peaches. These are peaches! He chuckled to himself as the little can opener worked its way around. He finally angled the tip under the lid and pushed it out of his way.
Tilting the tin back, he felt the cool, wet fruit slide into his mouth. He chewed the bites slowly, savoring each piece before he swallowed.
A grunt behind him made him turn. His naked, anorexic fuck toy stood behind him, her eyes wide. She pointed to the can. “What is that?”
Simon nearly dropped the canned fruit as he stared at her. “You can talk?”
She gave him a slight ‘duh’ look. “What is that?”
Simon stared at her then handed her the can. “Peaches. I think.”
She sniffed the can then licked the edge. She worked the juice around in her
