The front window was broken, like every other one. The building was overgrown with vines, but there was a huge black mark on the brick above where the big front window was.
As soon as Tucker stepped in the store, he knew something had occurred there.
The shelves had been knocked over, the merchandise that hadn’t broken down from time was everywhere, and things looked burnt. Not completely, almost like a flash fire that extinguished as fast as it started.
He scuffled items away with his foot as he made his way to the back and that was when he saw the back wall.
There was a huge hole that was black around the edges.
Clearly something had exploded. It took a second for Tucker to realize the wall didn’t seem right.
When he looked inside, he realized it had been put up over the cooler doors.
Another fake wall?
Why?
Tucker stepped through.
What was up with his friend?
Sam couldn’t explain Tucker’s sudden change of behavior to Finch, nor did he understand it himself.
While he hadn’t known Tucker that long, what he did know from being around him and reading about him, was that Tucker was a carefree guy.
He was always upbeat and positive. Yet, the past twenty-four hours had shown a very serious side to Tucker.
He examined everything closely, finding everything he picked up to be of importance and part of the puzzle.
Sam understood the infatuation with the exercise bracelets. Even he didn’t get why so many were laying around. But the comb and the small metal pipe Tucker had picked up were insignificant. Tiny items he shoved in that bag he carried.
He watched Tucker go into the convenience store. He knew the look on Tucker’s face, he’d seen something or thought he did.
Sam gave it a minute before he went into the beauty salon.
He didn’t expect to find any information there. After all, why would he?
Strangely, only half the front window was busted, leaving half the jagged window in the frame. Sam used the door; the glass was broken and he was able to reach inside to unlock the latch.
He stepped inside. It was weather worn and most of the suspended ceiling tiles had fallen down. They lay across the floor and receptionist counter, wires and an old pipe dangling down.
It was one of those budget cut shops. Pictures of people with various hairstyles graced the walls.
The weather hadn’t been kind to them, some were faded, some hung sideways and broken.
Sam didn’t put much stock into finding anything.
He was about to turn around when he thought about the reception desk. It was completely covered in ceiling tile, and with a swipe of his arm he cleared it.
When the tiles fell to the floor, so did the black appointment book. Finally, a paper trail, he thought. Every other place they went there were very few paper trails.
He lifted the appointment book and placed it on the now cleared desk.
Starting at the back, he flipped through until he found a page with writing. Appointments were logged in by hand, most names were faded, but still readable. The dates stayed consistent with the dates Rey gave.
It was sometime at the end of May that everything had happened.
Looking at the book was the first clue that whatever happened, happened over a short span of time.
The last day with writing had two appointments, the day before six, and for a week before that it was minimal. As he went back farther, he saw the time slots were full, until he arrived in early April.
That was it.
That was when Sam saw his biggest clue yet. Of all the places they were, homes, businesses, it took a little beauty shop to give him some answers.
April fourth.
No appointments.
Just a squiggly line across the time slots and the words “Closed, vaccine day.”
Sam’s mouth moved slowly as he sputtered the words out loud. “It was a plague.” He swiped up the book and raced outside. “Finch! Tucker!”
Finch emerged from the video store. “What is it?”
“Look.” Sam showed him the book. “They closed the shop for vaccines. And over six weeks, the appointments trickled down to nothing.”
“So it was a sickness they were trying to beat,” Finch said.
“It might be.” Sam looked up when he saw Tucker approach. His friend looked pale and out of sorts. “Tuck, did you find something?”
“Um, yeah.” Tucker patted his bag. “I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s a whole situation.”
“What is it?” Finch asked.
Tucker pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Not sure. What about you guys?”
Sam held up the book showing him. “Looks like it was a plague or virus.”
“Really? Wouldn’t there have been like medical stuff set up?” Tucker asked.
“Apparently not,” Sam said. “But this doesn’t confirm anything, it just lets us know they were fighting something biological. Look, see for yourself what I’m talking about.” Sam flipped open the book.
“I’ll look at it back at camp,” Tucker replied. “Commander, can you radio Rey and Nate. We should head back.”
“Sure thing,” Finch replied.
Behaving preoccupied and odd, Tucker didn’t wait, he just turned and walked away. It was then that Sam saw the bag Tucker carried over his shoulder. It was bulging out a lot more than before he went into that store.
Sam knew Tucker had found something, and with the way he was acting, Sam was willing to bet that whatever Tucker found was more significant than the comb or pipe he had previously picked up.
He’d find out when they got back to camp.
TWENTY-ONE
“As much as I want to say that’s what it was,” Nate stated, “I can’t see it anywhere in this town.”
Sam nodded. “But, clearly, whatever it was happened over a short period of time. From April fourth until May twenty-fifth, appointments dwindled. Before that, this shop was always booked.”
Nate shook his head. “From what I have seen. It just doesn’t add up. In this shop…everywhere.”
Finch stood next to Tucker by the inside table, while Rey, Nate, and Sam sat down. “Not disagreeing with you,” Finch
