“Wow.” Rick nodded, impressed by Jane’s attention to detail and creative thinking. “Nicely done on this find. Five hundred rounds will go a long way, too. We can spare a couple magazines for you two to get used to shooting them.”
“Oh yeah. There were some other things under there, too. I guess whoever wanted this stuff put on hold needed the whole kit and caboodle.” Jane lifted a pair of waistband holsters from the cart, four extra magazines, two flashlight and laser sight attachments and a pack of spare batteries.
Rick quickly loaded both pistols and slipped one of them into his waistband before looking at Jane and Dr. Evans. “Which of you feels more comfortable with this?”
Dr. Evans
held out his hand. “I’ll carry it, if you like.”
“Sure thing.” Rick passed the weapon to Dr. Evans before pulling out his pocket .380 and holding it out to Jane. “That means you get this.”
“It’s cute!” She took the pistol and turned it over in her hand.
“Cute but deadly.” Rick eyed Jane as she examined the pistol. “Just keep it tucked away and don’t shoot anything unless it’s a life or death situation. We only have a couple of mags for it.”
Jane nodded and put it into her back pocket. The three then picked through the supplies in the carts as they tried to decide what to take with them. They stood over the carts talking in low voices for several minutes before a low, barely perceptible rumble was swiftly followed by the distant sound of breaking glass.
“What was that?” Rick whirled around, looking in all directions for the source of the sound. It was far enough away that he couldn’t pinpoint the source and he looked at Jane and Dr. Evans. “Any idea where that came from?” Before either of them could answer there was another crash, this one of glass and metal together, and much closer than the first.
“Spread out!” Dr. Evans whispered, pointing down the main aisle of the store. “Don’t all stand in one place in case it’s an earthquake!”
Jane and Rick moved several feet away from Dr. Evans and then Jane moved even farther down and squatted next to the broken remains of a center display that, before the event, once held hundreds of cans of fruit. As Jane looked warily between the ceiling and the entrance of the store on the opposite side of the building she swore she saw something moving near the front doors where she, Dr. Evans and Rick had entered.
“Rick!” Jane swiveled her head and whispered, her expression a cross between confusion and outright fear.
“What is it?” Rick felt goosebumps rising on his arms as she spoke.
“I saw something down there!”
Chapter 6
The Water’s Homestead
Outside Ellisville, VA
“Jason!” Sarah ran from the front porch of Dianne’s house, shouting at the sight of her husband being pulled from the truck. Somehow Dianne had managed to get them back to the house in just under thirty minutes despite both the rough terrain and having to drive in the dark. She had radioed Sarah on the way back in the hopes of preparing her for what was coming but the line had been spotty as they drove through thick trees and behind hills and she hadn’t been able to get a clear message back. Tina had managed to slow Jason’s bleeding during the drive but he was still doing poorly and as Sarah ran to Jason and tried to grab him Dianne had to hold up a hand to stop her.
“Sarah! Help us get him inside, quick!” Dianne’s stern voice broke through to Sarah and she nodded numbly and took Tina’s place on the other side from Dianne.
“Mom?” Mark stepped off the porch, his rifle in his hands. “What happened?” He smiled and waved as he saw Tina hurrying toward the house. “Mrs. Carson! You’re okay!”
Tina, still wearing her dirty bathrobe and slippers, nodded at him and smiled grimly. “Good to see you, Mark. Jason got hurt pretty badly. Can you round up any hand sanitizer you’ve got and clear off your dining room table? I also need lights. As many as you’ve got. I’ll need to clean out his wound and stitch it.”
“Yeah, I think we’ve—”
“Don’t tell me, just get everything together, okay? We have to hurry if we’re going to save him.” The combination of Tina’s serious tone and her disheveled appearance made Mark realize just how serious the situation was. He nodded and ran back into the house to start getting things ready while Tina followed behind.
“Do you all have running water?” Tina asked Mark. He flipped on a light switch to the hall and Tina squinted at the sudden brightness.
“Water and lights, yeah. We’re running off solar.”
“Fantastic. I’ll wash up at the sink. Can you get me a big plastic trash bag or something? I just need something to wear over this stupid robe while I’m working on him.”
“Yep, got it.” Mark pulled out a black plastic trash bag from beneath the sink.
“Perfect. Cut a hole in the top and sides for my arms. Make sure you clean the table off with hand sanitizer. I want it to be as sterile as possible.” Tina stood in front of the faucet and began scrubbing her hands under hot water, washing off layers of dirt and grime. After Mark finished with the trash bag he hurried into the dining room and cleared off the table before spreading out a plastic tablecloth across the top. Tina pulled her makeshift covering on and started washing her hands again as Mark quickly wiped down the tablecloth with alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
By the time Tina was finishing up with her final round of hand washing Dianne and Sarah had brought Jason into the house. Tina directed them to get him up on the table as she rummaged through a bag of medical supplies given to her by Mark. She pulled out a pair of scissors and quickly cut Jason’s shirt off, having already taken off his jacket when they were in the truck. With the dining room lights and a couple of tall lamps brought in by Mark she could finally get a good look at what was going on.