Linda Andrews - Extinction Level Event

Mavis counted to three. This wasn’t her first picnic, yet the man acted like she’d never made a sandwich before. So different from David. David. She sighed. Lister had said he’d been grazed but that he’d recover. She turned her cell phone over and over. Should she call and check on him and… And what? Just because she thought they had something didn’t mean he reciprocated.

But the next time she laid eyes on the man, she’d definitely find out. One way or another.

Captain Doom-and-Gloom cleared his throat.

She swallowed. The pain caused by the simple act scattered thoughts of her army liaison. What had she and the Airmen been talking about? Two Marines carried an occupied litter into the house across the street. Right. Bivouacking the troops.

“You have neither the man power nor the equipment to level the ground to erect the tents. Plus, the sick should not be out in the cold when the homes have some semblance of heat and protection from the elements.”

The captain opened his mouth.

She raised a hand to forestall his arguments. “Furthermore, we’re going to have to bug out of the city in the next few days and there’s no point putting the tents up only to bring them down again.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Sequester the sick in this row of homes.” Angling the map so he could see it better, she pointed to the strip of houses running parallel to her street. “Use these five for the kitchen and mess halls.” She indicated the cul-de-sac that backed up to hers. “We need to consume the perishables first. Save the MREs for the trip out of town.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Doom and Gloom about-faced with military precision.

“Oh, Captain.” She waited until the airman stopped. “Send the farm animal lady to me, will you?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He muttered something under his breath as he stalked away.

With her ears clogged, she couldn’t make out the words but it was definitely unflattering. Oh well, she was here to keep them alive so Sunnie had a chance to live.

She checked the handheld again and backed the map out until the interstate came into view. The screen blanked as the information updated in real-time from the satellites. When the images returned, the display was still the same. The roads out of town were jammed with cars that were out of gas and abandoned.

They needed a route from the city big enough to allow vehicles. A convoy of vehicles. Yet, gas was limited among the military as well. And the big vehicles didn’t get very many miles to the gallon. This meant they wouldn’t get very far.

Could they make it to Campe Verde? If so, they would be able to jog east and maybe make it to the Rim before the nuclear power plant melted down. Following the map north along the interstate, Mavis felt her heart sink at the packed column of cars. Even if they started clearing the vehicles now, they wouldn’t have a clear route for days, maybe even a week.

Shoving aside the abandoned cars and trucks would use up fuel they couldn’t afford to waste.

Mavis crunched on the lozenge and gasped at the explosion of eucalyptus essence. Shuddering, she swallowed the goo down.

“You wanted to see me?” The woman before her was dressed in a paisley blouse and worn, blue jeans. Scuff marks dulled the tips of her brown cowboy boots. In her arms, a baby goat fed from a pink bottle. With her elbow, she pushed up her floppy straw hat and peered at Mavis from behind wire sunglasses.

“Are you the…” Mavis groped for the woman’s name. Nada . The fever was a curtain rising and falling on her thoughts. “… the goat lady?”

“Yep. That’s me.” The kid goat tugged on the nipple until she tilted the bottle higher. “I’m the goat lady. I was told to bring them here for grazing.” She glanced over her shoulder. More servicemen and women crawled from the trucks to make their way to the abandoned houses. “Didn’t realize this was where the military had relocated to. The news just said they were abandoning their posts.”

Mavis closed her eyes for a moment. Crap! She’d forgotten the stupid media. Leave it to them get things wrong. No doubt a few good citizens were panicking and looting and… She shut the thought down. One thing at a time. Anything more and her head might explode.

“Say, are you okay?” Tucking the baby bottle under her chin, Goat Lady reached for Mavis’s forehead as if to take her temperature.

Mavis stepped back. “I’m sick, and you should be wearing a mask. Many of the soldiers have symptoms of Ash Pneumonia.”

Goat Lady shrugged. “I’ve been outside since the Redaction started. Haven’t gotten sick yet.” She juggled the baby goat in her arms. “Neither have my animals, but then again, I’ve been giving them antibiotics every day.”

Antibiotics only worked on bacteria. The influenza was caused by a virus. Not the same thing at all. Mavis shook her head. That didn’t matter right now. The animals were important, although her brain stuttered over the reason why. She coughed and her throat caught fire. She reached into her pocket for another lozenge. Empty. Darn it!

“What did you want to see me about?” Goat Lady adjusted her hold on the kid.

What indeed? Mavis cleared her throat, stoking the fire. After she found her missing thought, she’d go inside and make herself a cup of tea with honey. Then she’d write everything down on sticky notes and plaster them to her forehead so she didn’t have to depend on her brain.

“Dr. Spanner?” Goat Lady pushed the brim of her straw hat up again.

The kid goat eyed Mavis.

Why, by all that’s holy, had God given the creatures square pupils? It was downright spooky. She shook her head. “Animals.” Yes, that sounded right. That was what she wanted to talk about. “How many animals do you have left in your neighborhood?”

“Aside from my personal stock, there’s probably twenty or so horses that I’m taking care of, chickens, roosters and, of course, the peacocks. Not that I take care of them. Mean buggers. They can fend for themselves.”

“Horses?” That could be useful. They could pull wagons of people and supplies. No gas required. Hope rioted in Mavis’s gut. People didn’t need cars to cross the country. And the animals should be able to move faster than people walking, especially, if they were sick.

“Yes.” Goat Lady’s brow furrowed. “Twenty or so that I’m taking care of.” She repeated slowly. “There are more in the neighborhood, maybe another dozen or so. But their owners are still alive.”

“What about wagons?” Mavis licked her lips. She really needed a drink. Brandy in hot tea would quench the fire in her throat. Maybe she’d skip the tea and use the alcohol to combat the fever.

“I don’t think we have any wagons.” Goat Lady settled the kid over her shoulder. “But there are plenty of horse trailers.”

“There’s not enough gas or vehicles.” Mavis refused to be defeated. There was a solution somewhere. “We’re going to need the animals to help us evacuate.”

Goat Lady’s jaw thrust forward as she focused on a gum pepperoni on the cement. “So the military is leaving the city?”

“Anyone who wants to live will need to evacuate.” Mavis glanced west, toward Palo Verde. Blue skies as far as she could see. Somehow she expected to see black clouds and ravens circling the nuclear power plant. The illness was affecting her more than she thought.

“But this is my home.” Goat Lady hugged the kid so tight it bleated. “I raised my children here.”

“It’s about to become a nuclear wasteland.” Mavis swallowed despite her dry mouth. “And the only things those who stay here will be raising are cancers and radiation sickness.”

“If that was true the government would have told us.”