and Sophia had four kids. Even in the minivan, they wouldn’t all fit once they grabbed Mom and Dad, who had both stopped driving after an accident ten years prior.
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She had no idea how much of a head start Khalid and Sophia had on them. Khalid still had military connections, and New York City and its surrounding areas were the first places in New England to go bad. The phone lines and cell services had been cut shortly before the virus made national news, so Sarah wasn’t able to get in touch with any of her family before the first case appeared in Schenectady. They could have left days before Sarah even knew the virus was a thing.
At least now she knew they’d gotten out alive.
The house was like a fortress. Khalid had hired an architect who was a former Marine with a passion for doomsday shelters reminiscent of the house in Stephen King’s Rose Red . It was easy to get lost if you didn’t know where you were going. With the windows all boarded up, and the house’s insane layout, Sarah and Jimmy would be safe here for the night. They might even be able to get a couple of good meals in them. But then it was off again in the morning.
Sarah folded the note and tucked it in her pocket. Then she reached behind the false back in the gun cabinet and pulled out the little magnetic key holder waiting there.
“Got it,” she told Jimmy as she locked the shed door. “They’re stopping in Philly first to pick up Khalid’s mom, then Aberdeen to grab my folks, then Quantico for some reason. I’ll plug in the solar, and we’ll be in business.”
Sarah intentionally held back Khalid’s mention of Max.
“I don’t think you should.”
“Don’t think I should what? Plug in the solar?”
“Those things seem to be attracted to heat. Lights, cars, animals, people…,” Jimmy looked back at the house. “Looks like they’ve got a fireplace. If we have to, we can start a small fire and cook on that. We’ve got flashlights. Leave the solar panels.”
“Okay, fine. We’ll leave the solar panels. Anything interesting happen while I was in there?”
“Just this weird noise, but it stopped.”
“What kind of noise?”
“I dunno. I’ve never heard anything like it.”
Sarah took a long look at Jimmy. “If there’s somewhere you want to stop, someone you want to check in on, you should speak up.”
“I already found the only person who matters,” Jimmy mumbled, a far off look in his eye.
“Yeah…right,” Sarah replied, assuming Jimmy was talking about her. “It’s getting dark. We’d better grab anything we need from the truck and get inside.”
———————
Sarah dropped the duffle they’d filled onto the couch and fished a flashlight out of her pocket while Jimmy looked around for a hot dog. Jimmy had already checked the refrigerator. Sarah insisted that wasn’t how Khalid worked. Turned out she was right. There were no hot dogs in the fridge.
There wasn’t anything in the fridge, actually. Apparently, Khalid and Sophia were hoping to come home to their home in one piece. So far, it looked like they were gonna get lucky. How that Ferrari was still in the garage was a mystery to Sarah. She and Jimmy carried it, the toolbox, and the car charger inside before locking up for the night.
Sarah made a mental note to put the charger and a few necessary tools in the truck before they left in the morning.
“Sophia would never let Khalid decorate with something so tacky as a hot dog, so what could he be talking about?”
Suddenly, Sarah remembered Yasser’s drawing. Khalid had been so proud that he’d framed it and hung it on the wall in his home office. It was a dog rescuing a cat from a fire. The very tip of the dog’s tail was on fire, and a little boy was running to put it out with a bucket.
When Khalid asked Yasser for an explanation, the boy said, “The cat
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She had no idea how much of a head start Khalid and Sophia had on them. Khalid still had military connections, and New York City and its surrounding areas were the first places in New England to go bad. The phone lines and cell services had been cut shortly before the virus made national news, so Sarah wasn’t able to get in touch with any of her family before the first case appeared in Schenectady. They could have left days before Sarah even knew the virus was a thing.
At least now she knew they’d gotten out alive.
The house was like a fortress. Khalid had hired an architect who was a former Marine with a passion for doomsday shelters reminiscent of the house in Stephen King’s Rose Red . It was easy to get lost if you didn’t know where you were going. With the windows all boarded up, and the house’s insane layout, Sarah and Jimmy would be safe here for the night. They might even be able to get a couple of good meals in them. But then it was off again in the morning.
Sarah folded the note and tucked it in her pocket. Then she reached behind the false back in the gun cabinet and pulled out the little magnetic key holder waiting there.
“Got it,” she told Jimmy as she locked the shed door. “They’re stopping in Philly first to pick up Khalid’s mom, then Aberdeen to grab my folks, then Quantico for some reason. I’ll plug in the solar, and we’ll be in business.”
Sarah intentionally held back Khalid’s mention of Max.
“I don’t think you should.”
“Don’t think I should what? Plug in the solar?”
“Those things seem to be attracted to heat. Lights, cars, animals, people…,” Jimmy looked back at the house. “Looks like they’ve got a fireplace. If we have to, we can start a small fire and cook on that. We’ve got flashlights. Leave the solar panels.”
“Okay, fine. We’ll leave the solar panels. Anything interesting happen while I was in there?”
“Just this weird noise, but it stopped.”
“What kind of noise?”
“I dunno. I’ve never heard anything like it.”
Sarah took a long look at Jimmy. “If there’s somewhere you want to stop, someone you want to check in on, you should speak up.”
“I already found the only person who matters,” Jimmy mumbled, a far off look in his eye.
“Yeah…right,” Sarah replied, assuming Jimmy was talking about her. “It’s getting dark. We’d better grab anything we need from the truck and get inside.”
———————
Sarah dropped the duffle they’d filled onto the couch and fished a flashlight out of her pocket while Jimmy looked around for a hot dog. Jimmy had already checked the refrigerator. Sarah insisted that wasn’t how Khalid worked. Turned out she was right. There were no hot dogs in the fridge.
There wasn’t anything in the fridge, actually. Apparently, Khalid and Sophia were hoping to come home to their home in one piece. So far, it looked like they were gonna get lucky. How that Ferrari was still in the garage was a mystery to Sarah. She and Jimmy carried it, the toolbox, and the car charger inside before locking up for the night.
Sarah made a mental note to put the charger and a few necessary tools in the truck before they left in the morning.
“Sophia would never let Khalid decorate with something so tacky as a hot dog, so what could he be talking about?”
Suddenly, Sarah remembered Yasser’s drawing. Khalid had been so proud that he’d framed it and hung it on the wall in his home office. It was a dog rescuing a cat from a fire. The very tip of the dog’s tail was on fire, and a little boy was running to put it out with a bucket.
When Khalid asked Yasser for an explanation, the boy said, “The cat
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