Jacqueline Druga - Salvation

Just after crossing the Mississippi River on a bridge, that Maggie called the ‘scariest experience of her life’, they stopped at a strip mall that faced an aid station and made camp inside an old Starbucks.

The self-igniting heating shells were supposed to be easy to use. Pop this, move that, and voila! Trey had a hard time with those as well. But he managed and heated their meals. They reminded him of the quick meals his mother used to buy when he was a kid. Beef Stew in a little plastic tray that popped in the microwave.

Carrying the food he walked over to Maggie. She had been on her Aldervice, but Trey didn’t eavesdrop. He was curious when he saw her demeanor.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Six out of forty had the virus, one carrier.”

“I would think you would feel justified.”

“No. Makes me worry about what is out there. The ones from California. It’s just worrisome.”

“Here. Eat your dinner. I think I got it warm enough.”

“Thank you,” she took it. “And thanks for setting up a camp.”

“Badly, but hey let’s face it, neither one of us are good at this.”

“No, we aren’t.”

“I would think I’d be better. After all, when I was teenager the world was obsessed with the apocalypse. Hell, there were television shows about it.”

“Really? How did they fare in their predictions?”

“Pretty good.”

Maggie sighed out. “You know, Starbucks was one of the last businesses to stop. I remember that.”

Trey nodded. “They stopped being the trendy place and became a place where you could get a cup of coffee and bowl of soup, or oatmeal. They never turned anyone away. After my family died I was always at Starbucks, and I volunteered there, too. Which is funny, because when they were in full swing before the virus, they were a billion dollar company charging people an arm and a leg for a fancy drink.”

“I was born after the first year of the virus,” Maggie said. “I was one of the first to go into Salvation and well, they started priming me for this job. I was maybe thirteen. I don’t remember what the world was like before the virus.”

“I do.” Trey said. “It bounced back a bunch of times. We’d get down, but right back up. Even after the war. I mean, sure you had cities like Nashville and Cleveland that were abandoned, but we were resilient. Until we couldn’t be anymore. It was like the virus was never satisfied and each time it came back it wanted more.”

“Until we had nothing more to give.” Maggie handed him a water.

“Yes. At the end, everything changed. Businesses stopped worrying about the almighty dollar and started worrying about people. Everyone was about helping. I thought, my God, in our darkest hour humanity shone brighter than it ever had. Why couldn’t it be like this before the virus?”

“What do you think of humanity now?” Maggie asked.

“I think the world is less human now than ever.”

“How can you say that? In Salvation we have food, medical care. Playgrounds.”

Trey snorted a laugh. “Play grounds… you say that like it’s a special thing.”

“It is. The children are allowed to play.”

“Children playing should be a given, not a privilege. What Salvation is, and to those of us outside that work for Salvation, that’s not humanity at its best, it’s humanity surviving.” Trey paused. “When you find my father what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Depends what the Council in Salvation wants. We need a solution before they take over. They don’t care if humanity shines, as long as it survives. As you know, they’ll want to ensure that… at any cost.”

A silence encompassed them as they ate their meals. Unspoken thoughts, they both knew what, ‘At any cost’ meant. At least Trey did, and he had to convince his father to avoid getting to the point where ‘At any cost’ included him.

Day Thirteen AR

Maggie and Trey entered the city limits of Champaign from the south. Malcolm, in the stolen Salvation van went west. He never saw Maggie and Trey.

“Where are they going?” Trey stepped from the buggy. “They’re high tailing it. He had to have gotten here yesterday.”

“Maybe his friends left,” Maggie suggested. “Damn it.”

“Or…” Trey took a few steps forward and pointed. “They went there.”

Maggie turned around and looked at the store window with the message about Rantoul. “We don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I’m betting that Preacher is the same one that my father told me about.”

“Okay, so we know where he’s headed.”

Trey arrived at the buggy and grabbed a map. “Doesn’t make sense.”

“What?”

“He went west. Rantoul is north. What do you want to do?” Trey asked.

“Go to Rantoul. We can find out where he went from them.”

“How do you know it’s even viable?”

“Trust me,” Maggie got in the buggy. “It’s viable.”

John cupped both his hands over Nora’s as he guided her in using the short arrow handgun that he acquired on the road.

“It doesn’t shoot like a crossbow,” Nora said. “I can shoot one of those.”

“No it doesn’t. It’s much lighter.”

“I’m missing my target every time.”

“It’s surprisingly accurate,” John told her, “once you learn how to aim. Our big friend can shoot these blindfolded.”

“I’m curious as to how he does with the spears he has.”

“I’m willing to bet Ninja assassins have nothing on him. Now try.’

Nora lifted the weapon.

“No. You’re shooting like a revolver. Your line of sight is lower.”

“Why is that?” Nora asked.

John scoffed. “How the hell do I know? I didn’t design these…”

“John!” Hunter called out loud and sternly, then whistled and pointed. “Friend.”

“Malcolm?” John looked at Nora.

Then Hunter said, “Many. They have big vehicle. Getting in it. Driving here.”

“Is it Salvation?” John asked.

“No, friend. Cole.”

John’s eyes widened. “Dr. Cole. They must have gotten to Rantoul and learned of our destination. Wonderful.”

“Who is Dr. Cole?” Nora asked.

“Part of the group we met in DC.”

With Nora they hurried to the gate. Jason, Blake, and Meredith joined together and they excitedly opened the gate.

The large box vehicle pulled closer and stopped.

John expected Cole to step out with the few others from the DC site. He didn’t expect not only for Malcolm to be the driver, but Marilee to be there as well.

As if she saw a long lost friend, Nora blasted her way to Malcolm. She embraced him tightly. “Oh, God, you’re safe.”

“Yes. So are you.”

Instantly, Malcolm was overwhelmed with greetings.

Nora backed up making room for the others to say hello. “Where’s Amy?”

“Amy passed away early on. She was killed.”

Nora lowered her head. “I’m sorry. So was Grant.” When she raised her eyes she saw Marilee. “What is she…?”

Malcolm held up his hand. “I’ll explain all that. Can we just get inside please? More than you realize,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Go?” Jason asked. “Go where?”

“I believe,” John said. “Malcolm is pretty much saying we should run.”

“I gather that too,” Jason said. “Considering he said we need to go.”

Meredith asked. “Is Salvation that bad? I mean, Nora’s husband is there.”

“Rick is alive and fine he just wanted to know that you were,” Malcolm told Nora. “He’s also remarried.”