Isolation (Book 3): Starting Anew, page 7
part #3 of Isolation Series
Nick felt an immediate dislike for the man. It was obvious that not only did he have zero compunctions about looting people's houses the moment they left, but he was doing it for the most selfish of reasons.
The Mayor wanted his team to work with this guy?
“We don't loot valuables,” he said, trying to keep his tone polite. “Our priority is food and other necessities.”
Chase grinned at him. “Gotcha. Mark the locations of the good stuff and grab it when I'm off duty.”
Nick fought to keep the scowl off his face. “We search houses out of necessity, but only with the utmost respect for the people who lived there.”
The man's smile faltered. “Right, of course. Respect the dead, but make use of what they leave behind.”
For a moment Nick fumbled for what to say to that, not sure if Chase had agreed to his terms or just sidestepped the issue.
In the awkward silence that followed Charlie hurriedly spoke up, changing the topic. “When did you first know you were immune to Zolos?”
Chase shrugged. “Didn't know for sure. I searched a farmhouse that looked abandoned, only to stumble across a dead body in the master bedroom. I hightailed it out of there double quick, I can tell you, but I was hoping I'd lucked out and avoided being exposed. Then I got the sweats and nosebleeds a couple days later, put two and two together, and realized I'd hit the jackpot and was immune to the virus.” He grinned. “Although you folks would know all about that, huh?”
The silence once again descended, more brittle this time. Nick thought of the nightmare of finding Tallie sick and wishing he could've gotten sick in her place. He was certain nobody else here, all of whom had lost loved ones, felt like they'd hit the jackpot either.
The man continued as if he hadn't noticed the shift in mood. “Anyway, first thing I did was head back to that farmhouse and take everything useful. Might as well, right? Being immune gave me so many more options for scavenging, that's for sure. Best thing that could've happened during this pandemic.”
Thankfully, the sound of an approaching truck broke the tension. Darby cleared his throat. “All right, everyone, best of luck with your scavenging. Hopefully by the time you get back we'll have figured out how to get at the gas in gas stations.”
“I can probably help with that,” Chase offered, finally seeming to realize he hadn't made the best impression and looking more sober. “I worked at a gas station for a couple years.” He shrugged. “No idea how to get at the gas, especially with the power out, since I was never involved with any of that. But I should at least be able to point out where the tanks are.”
“Good to hear.” The Mayor motioned in invitation. “Why don't you come out to the road with me and have a little chat, Mr. Brighton?”
Nick hoped Darby planned to caution the man about being more sensitive around people who'd lost loved ones to Zolos. The silence stretched while Chase made his way out of the thicket towards the road.
As soon as he was out of earshot Lila spoke up. “I'm going to go ahead and say it . . . that guy's a dick.”
There were a few grim snorts of agreement, and nobody seemed inclined to disagree with the teenager. “Seriously,” Ben said. “I mean sure, I kind of think we should be taking valuables, since they could really help our town as trade items once things start to settle down.” He shook his head. “But listening to that guy, I'm not so sure.”
“Do we really have to let him join up?” Val asked. “I'm not sure I could stand working with him.”
There were some more noises of agreement at that. Nick looked around at his team, including the newly arrived couple, and with a sinking heart realized what his responsibility as a leader was. “Charlie, you want to go with the Drydens and show them the ropes?” he asked. “I'll team up with Chase.”
The group seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. “You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar,” Tony said. “I was half afraid the new guys would all be stuck together.”
Nick cleared his throat. “Let's at least try to give him a chance. It might be he's hiding pain behind that carefree attitude.” He didn't really want to go to bat for Chase, but the team would function better if everyone got along.
“Or he hasn't suffered at all and has zero empathy,” Val muttered, glaring after the man. She patted Nick's arm. “If he gets too bad, maybe we can foist him off on Chet and Ben.”
“Hey, don't mistake our easygoing natures for being gluttons for punishment,” Ben protested. “The boss has nobly volunteered to take this burden, it would be churlish of us to deny him the chance.”
Chet nudged his brother sharply, giving him an pointed look. “Or on the other hand, maybe we should let the new guy tag along so we can get to know him better.” He glanced almost guiltily at Nick, then lightened his tone as if he'd just been joking. “I mean being with you all the time is starting to get a little old, bro, and if there's one thing Chase isn't, it's boring.”
Nick shook his head and turned to the Drydens, noting a tent among the gear they'd brought with them. “We were just cooking breakfast. You guys want to set up your tent and then eat with us? We'll probably be heading out after that, but if you need a bit more time let me know.”
That seemed to be the cue for the scavengers to get back to their usual morning routines, preparing for a long day of work. The Drydens busied themselves setting up their tent, while Chase came back after a few minutes with the keys to the new moving truck, flipping them to Nick. Then he went to retrieve his own gear and got to work hanging a tarp to make a rudimentary shelter.
“We can keep an eye out for a tent for you,” Nick offered.
The man paused to give him an appreciative look. “That'd be great.” He shook his head ruefully. “With my scavenging I mostly just grabbed enough food to keep going for the next few days, and focused on valuables with the rest of the space.”
Nick's team once again exchanged disbelieving looks, and he couldn't exactly blame them; the guy was foregoing necessities to accumulate things that might end up worthless if the world never got back to normal? What was he even doing with that stuff, stowing it in his house?
It would be kind of ironic if some looter came and took it all while he was gone.
Chase seemed to guess what he was thinking, or was just paranoid. “I've been burying it all in hidden caches, by the way. In case you were wondering.”
“You're the one telling us, we're not asking,” Charlie grumbled.
The new scavenger seemed a bit abashed by that, and quieted down as he finished preparing his shelter. He even thanked Charlie when the older man passed him a bowl of food.
Before long Nick called everyone to finish up any last preparations, warned the three new members of his team to make sure they had a lunch and provided them water bottles, and picked Tallie up to head to his truck. Chase tagged along with him, carrying a backpack with his lunch, water, and a few other useful items to stow in the trunk.
Nick took note of one thing the man didn't seem to have. “Hey, do you own a gun?” he asked. At the man's surprised look he gestured to the 9mm on his hip. “We've all been keeping back one of the firearms we scavenge, and practicing with them every morning.” He'd need to mention that to Tony and Denna, too.
“Probably sensible,” the man agreed. “We're doing a dangerous job, after all. I'll keep an eye out for something as we scavenge.”
“I'll do the same, since I'm with you.” Nick paused. “I'd recommend a rifle . . . easier to learn to shoot.”
“Fair enough. It's going to take some getting used to, being part of a more organized scavenging crew.” Chase climbed into the passenger's seat and settled in, staring out the window as Nick buckled Tallie into the middle seat and got the truck started.
The man kept quiet as they waited for the others to get in their vehicles and get ready to go, with Charlie driving the new truck. Nick wasn't in the mood to talk, either, and in the silent cab Tallie yawned in her blankets and settled down for a nap. She didn't stir when Nick got them moving, used to being in the truck by this point.
It was a full fifteen minutes into the drive, with the scavengers chatting idly and getting to know the Drydens but pointedly not asking Chase any more questions about himself, when the man abruptly spoke up. “I put my foot in my mouth earlier, didn't I?”
“What?” Tallie mumbled sleepily, nose wrinkling in confusion as she stirred awake. “Babies put their feet in their mouths, but I've never seen a grownup do it.”
The new scavenger smiled wryly at her. “It means I said something really dumb, princess.” His smile faded and he glanced up at Nick. “How bad did I step in it?”
Nick did his best not to scowl. “Well, you told a bunch of people who've watched almost everyone they love die that Zolos was the best thing that's happened to you.”
The man winced. “Ouch. I had no idea.”
“That a bunch of survivors of a virus that kills nine out of ten people it infects might have experienced tragedy?” Nick sighed. “That blunder might take some coming back from, but if you try it's possible.”
Chase swore quietly, then glanced over at Tallie. “Well at least you still like me, huh little lady?”
She gave him a narrow look. “You said a bad word.”
He started to curse again, then caught himself and laughed ruefully. “Fine. Maybe I can prove myself through hard work.”
“People do tend to bond through working towards a common cause,” Nick agreed. “Just try to be a bit more thoughtful from now on and you'll be fine.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Chase said wryly. He reached for the radio and lifted it to his mouth. “So, how's Wensbrook been for scavenging? I heard pretty much everyone there was hit by Zolos and they left their stuff behind untouched when they evacuated, so it's all up for grabs. Maybe I should've headed south myself when I started scavenging.”
Nick shook his head and focused on the drive.
✽✽✽
Even with everything Ellie had experienced since the Zolos crisis started, or before for that matter, this was the first time she'd worn a full, sealed hazmat suit.
Which was a bit of a surprise, since she still hadn't been exposed to Zolos and a suit would've come in handy on multiple occasions; maybe she should ask Mayor Darby to let her keep this one when the job was done.
Or not, considering how unwieldy and uncomfortable it was.
She'd never considered herself very claustrophobic, but as she stared out the faceplate, watching it briefly fog with each puff of her breath, she wondered if she was really going to be able to wear this for any length of time. Especially since she was almost certainly going to be expected to do a lot of heavy lifting, at least to unload the supplies they got from the federal relief stockpile.
As long as they were successful in convincing the relief workers there to give them anything, that was; unpleasant as doing hard work for hours inside a hazmat suit sounded, not being able to help the people in the quarantine camp was completely unacceptable.
At the moment Ellie was thoroughly decontaminating the outside of the suit with chemical wipes, a scowling Darrel watching like a hawk to make sure she didn't miss an inch. She'd already helped Hal with his decontamination so he'd have time to go talk to Mr. Bowman, the truck driver, and get pointers for handling the semi parked just beyond the south roadblock.
And boy, was it a beast. She felt a bit bad about pushing the responsibility for driving it onto Hal, but the fact that he seemed almost eager for the challenge, while she found the prospect unbearably daunting, made her feel a bit better.
Some things she could do without experiencing unless absolutely necessary. Like putting on and decontaminating a hazmat suit to wear for what could end up being all day.
She just hoped she didn't have to go to the bathroom much; there was a process for doing so and then safely decontaminating the suit again, of course, but it would be a real hassle. Luckily, living in a quarantine camp for the last three weeks had given her plenty of experience with dealing with the decontamination rigmarole.
Not to mention holding it in when necessary; it was just a good thing she didn't have a tiny bladder.
Finally she'd decontaminated her suit to Darrel's satisfaction. After the man gave her a last dire warning not to remove the suit or do anything that might infect the supplies they were going to pick up, she was able to go join Hal by the semi.
Mr. Bowman offered a few last tips, most of which Ellie vaguely recognized as car terms but couldn't have done much with unless she'd been there for the entire conversation. If then, considering this sort of thing really wasn't her area of expertise.
Then finally she and Hal were allowed to approach the semi-truck.
She paused in front of the massive grille and looked up at the enormous vehicle. She'd seen them all the time driving on highways before the Zolos pandemic, and sometimes felt that slight thrill of nervousness while passing one on a windy day. But she'd never stood right next to one and gotten the full impact of just how big these things were.
“You sure you can drive this?” she asked uncertainly.
Hal gave her a lopsided grin through his faceplate. “Mitch talked me through the basics, and I'll figure out the rest as we go. No problem.”
That wasn't exactly reassuring. “What if we do run into a problem?”
“Then we hope somebody's in CB range.” He started towards the steps, steps plural, going up to the driver's side door. “And while I'm learning to handle this big beast, we be grateful that the roads are mostly empty.”
Ellie was slow to head towards the passenger's side. “Is it too late to back out of this trip?”
“Considering it was your idea and you volunteered us? Nope!” Hal cheerfully ducked inside and slammed his door, then made his way through the cab to open hers, calling out at her. “Hop in, babe . . . let's hit the road!”
She shook her head wryly and accepted his hand as she climbed into the cab. “Have you been hiding a secret dream of being a truck driver from me?”
“Only if you came along for the ride.” He gave her shoulder a playful squeeze through her suit as she dropped into her seat and reached for her seatbelt. Then, whistling jauntily, he settled down in the driver's seat and began inspecting the dizzying array of controls and gauges on the dashboard, leaning forward to get a better look at them through his faceplate.
Judging by her boyfriend's eager expression as he looked it all over, he didn't find the sight daunting in the slightest.
Even so, it took more than fifteen minutes for him to find everything he'd been told to keep an eye out for and get the massive truck ready to move, with Mr. Bowman shouting advice through the open window. Finally, though, the air brakes hissed loudly and they were on their way south.
It was a bit less than an hour to St. Joseph as the semi-truck drove. But they weren't going directly to the city, actually turning off a bit before then and driving on side roads to reach the site of the federal relief stockpile. All in all it would probably take a bit more than an hour, which left them most of the day to get the supplies loaded, get them back to the quarantine camp, and get them unloaded.
A semi-truck trailer was way bigger than a moving truck trailer, but going on what Nick had told Ellie about his work, she was fairly confident that she and Hal working together would get the job done well before sundown.
Especially since she'd give 110%, motivated to get out of this miserable suit as soon as possible.
The reminder of her ex-husband soured her already tenuous mood. They'd probably aired some things that needed saying last night, but in the worst possible way. And seeing the disappointment on her children's faces before she left, especially Ricky's, when she told them she'd be gone all day today like she'd been yesterday, somewhat reinforced what Nick had said.
Well, soon enough her son would be confirmed Zolos-free. Then she could take a page from her ex-husband's book and take Ricky along with her when she went to work at the quarantine camp. And even before then Tallie would be going to Aimee to begin her 21 days, so Ellie would be able to visit her all the time as she worked at the camp.
This might be a bit hard on her kids for a while, but she'd make it up to them before long. And in the meantime she'd be helping over a thousand people.
“You've been a bit quiet,” Hal said after about ten minutes, having to shout to be heard through two faceplates over the noise of the truck. “How you holding up?”
She grimaced. Returning to camp after her argument last night she hadn't tried to hide how upset she was. Not that it would've mattered, since hers and Nick's conversation hadn't exactly been quiet, with both of them talking with raised voices from fifteen feet apart.
Her boyfriend had offered her his support, then left her to it when she made it obvious she wanted to be alone. Still, he had to be worried for her.
“I should've had another talk with Nick this morning, when we'd both had a chance to cool down and get a good night's sleep. He just leaves so darn early, and I wanted to make sure I got some quality time with Tallie.” Ellie sighed. “Maybe tonight, if we're both less tired and irritable. Or tomorrow morning.”
He nodded sympathetically. “Well I'm here if you want to talk about it.”
“Thanks.” She stared out the windshield at the landscape trundling by. “How are your siblings doing with the idea of camping out long term?”
Hal snorted. “Linny asked me to build a house at our campsite. I don't think she realizes how much work it takes.”
“Well finding a house to live in might not be the worst idea, if we're going to stay in Stanberry until this is all over.”
“Guess it depends on if they ever get the utilities back on,” he mused. “Otherwise we'd have to make accommodations for living like they did hundreds of years ago anyway.”
