Dead Of Winter (The Rift Book II) (34 page)

“Why?”

“Because I need you.”

He leaned back and stared at her, wide-eyed. “Excuse me?”

“Not in that way. I need you to be there, to be strong. You’re the one folks look up to, you know. They might fight you, but in the end everyone trusts your choices. You
gotta
be strong. You
gotta
man up. You
gotta
, well, get over yourself.”

Josh leaned forward and chuckled. “You said ‘man up’” he said.

This elicited a laugh from her, as well. “That’s right. And it’s all I have to say right now.” With that she stood up and headed for the door.

When she stepped inside she paused and turned back to him one more time. “By the way,” she said, “I might not love him now, but I think I’m headed in that direction. And honestly, it’s something I look forward to. I think you should, too.”

He stood up and followed her in, this time not allowing his eyes to watch her ass as she walked. He headed straight for Kyra, knelt on the floor, and leaned into the couch. He stared at her sleeping face for a long while, contemplating what Jess had said.

“I have to appreciate you,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll try.”

He removed Meghan, positioned her on the other end of the couch, and wrapped his arm around the woman carrying his child. He still wasn’t sure what he felt but he at least took comfort in her presence. Jess was right. He was using her. Even when he’d acquiesced when finding out about the pregnancy it had been because it was convenient to do so, not because he actually felt it. Shame smothered him. In reply he lay down beside his lover, clutched her tight in his arms, and allowed the steady rise and fall of her breathing to carry him off to sleep.

*
 
 
*
 
 
*

“We can’t stay,” Josh said. Afternoon sunlight poured in through the windows. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the requisite hollers of disapproval but none came. The only sounds were the laughter and bickering of the children, who were in the other room eating lunch. When he looked at his troupe again, gathered in the house he’d spent the night in, they simply stared back. Their expressions were blank.

“Okay, wasn’t expecting that.”

Luanda
stood up. Josh braced for a tirade. She surprised him by not lashing out; instead, she put her hands together and started clapping.

“Bravo,” she said.

“So…you don’t have reservations?” he asked.

Luanda
creased her forehead.
“Just one.
How are we going to do it?”

“Do what?”

“Leave.”

“Well, I hadn’t really thought of that.”

“It would be nice to get that plan in order before we head out,” she said sarcastically.

Josh winced.
“C’mon, Lu.
I wasn’t gonna just start walking. Of
course
we need a plan. That’s why I asked everyone over. So we can get everyone on the same page.”

She nodded before sitting down again. “Good.”

Josh paced back and forth. He didn’t know what to say or which direction to steer them. He felt like he always did, like he was doing things by the seat of his pants. Even the decision to call everyone together had been spur-of-the-moment. He’d stepped outside, seen the sun shining overhead, and decided it was time was right to consider moving on. He never stopped to think of how they could pull it off.

“Let’s see,” he mumbled. “We obviously can’t walk. Too much distance between here and there, and the kids can’t take it…and Emily, I know you can’t, either. But maybe if we find a transistor radio somewhere, we can find out if
there’s
some folks out there. Maybe we can hitch a ride.”

“Or,” Colin stated, “
we
could just drive ourselves.”

He watched his friend sit up on the hearth. His chest plunged outward with pride.

 
“How we gonna do that?” asked Josh.

“We get a car.
Or a few of them.”

“Uh, don’t know if you’ve noticed, but
those’ve
been in sparse supply lately. Shit, we haven’t seen any in
months
…at least
none
that worked.”

Yvette tentatively raised her hand from the back of the pack but then dropped it when Josh pointed at her. She hid behind her hair and burbled to herself.

“What is it, dear?” asked Emily, her old voice quavering.

“
Nu
…nothing,” Yvette said.

“C’mon, woman, out with it!” yelped Colin. He stood up and ushered her forward. “You got an idea, just say it.”

The timid older lady lifted her head and said, “There are dealerships nearby.”

“Oh?” said Josh.

“Yes.” She dropped her head again and started rocking.

“Well, that’s helpful,” muttered
Alice
.

Josh was about to say something insulting, as well, but an idea struck him. “Hold on,” he said. “I think she’s on to something. Yvette, how do you know that?”

“We’re in Norton. My brother used to live near here. I recognized it by the supermarket. There are a few dealerships just past where we came in.
In the other direction.”

“What makes you think there will be any working?” Jessica asked.

Josh answered for her. “Look around you,” he said. “Everything seems to be pretty well preserved. Don’t know why, but I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. And if the rest of the town’s the same as here, I’d say it’s a safe bet any cars we might find out there will be, too. Is that what you were getting at, Yvette?”

The woman nodded.

“Good.” He clapped his hands together. “So what do you say we get some grub,
then
Colin and I head out exploring?” He stared directly at
Luanda
when he said, “You think that’s a good enough plan, Lu?”

She beamed. Josh felt like he could faint.

*
 
 
*
 
 
*

Josh didn’t have a watch and had to rely on the position of the sun to tell the time – a skill he’d never needed and therefore never came close to mastering. As they walked down the snowy, wet street, he tried to calculate it in his head.
The sun’s lower on the horizon.
Might be
two o’clock
.
Then again, I think we’re into March now, and I’m not sure if we’ve set the clocks forward yet. Does that happen in March? Damn, I can’t remember.
All he
did
knew was they still had a few hours of sunlight left. With a shake of his head he focused on running his tongue over his teeth, clean for the first time in what seemed like forever. That fact alone brought him solace. It didn’t matter that his gums were still sore and bleeding.

Colin treaded quietly beside him. Neither had said a word since they left the house. Not that this was uncommon. There was an unspoken understanding between them that sometimes no conversation was better than a bad one. Colin was fond of saying that sometimes small talk was more uncomfortable than no talk at all.

They passed the supermarket and followed the twisting road as it crossed yet another residential section. Time ticked silently by. Josh began doubting Yvette’s memory. But before long, when the sun started to dip towards the mountains, they found themselves on a straightaway. Ahead they spotted a row of traffic lights and, further in the distance, large buildings. There were also parking lots filled with automobiles.
Lots
of automobiles.

“Looks like we found ‘
em
,” whispered Colin.

They strode up the steps of the first dealership they came upon, an upper-end used car lot. Josh stared with wonder at the hundred or so hunks of steel and fiberglass resting idly in their spaces. The snow that surely covered them only a few days before had melted away, leaving their bodies polished and gleaming.

“So, how we gonna get one?” he asked.

Colin bent over and picked up a piece of broken concrete. He gritted his teeth and hurled it at the door. Glass shattered and rained down. “After you,” he said.

They strolled into the building. Josh allowed Colin to take the lead. He saw the look of determination on his face and decided it best to let him have his way. After all, just like always, Josh felt at a loss for answers.

The reception counter ended. Colin led him to a large door marked
Garage
and shoved it open. Inside were twenty or more cars, from a few compacts to sedans to a fleet of SUVs.

“The ones outside have been sitting out there all winter,” explained Colin. “Who knows what kind of damage the weather did to them. Most of the batteries are probably fucked.” He spread his arms wide. “These babies, however, have been safe and sound.
And probably gassed up, too.
All we need are the keys.”

“And where do we get those?” asked Josh.

“Manager’s office.”

“How do you know that?”

“C’mon, man,” he replied with a grin. “It’s not like I didn’t do every job under the sun back home.”

It was only a short walk down the hall before they found what they were looking for. Colin tried the door but it was locked. He grunted and tried again. The veins in his neck bulged as he tried to force the brass knob to turn. It wouldn’t budge. He stepped back and kicked the door. It shook but nothing else happened.

Josh put a hand on his shoulder. “Step back, brother,” he said. “Let me try.”

He took a running start and rammed his shoulder into the door. The wood creaked under his weight and his shoulder yelped in pain. He backed up and tried again. This time he heard the wood crack.
One more
, he told himself. Again he gathered his feet, bent at the waist, and collided with it. Only this time he didn’t stop moving forward. The door flew open as the frame splintered. He went tumbling to the ground.

Josh rolled over and raised his fists in the air. “Yes!” he shouted. “Just like
Harruq
!”

Colin stepped up to him.
“
Harruq
?
Who’s
Harruq
?”

“C’mon, you know.
The half-
orc
.
From that fantasy series I was reading?”

“Sorry, bro, but I don’t read fantasy no more,” said Colin with a smirk. “I went and done
growed
up.”

The room was surprisingly small given the huge dimensions of the building. On one side was a tall filing cabinet and water cooler, on the other a desk. Colin stormed upon the latter and tore through the drawers.

“They
gotta
be in here somewhere,” he muttered as he searched one after another. His frustration grew and he hurled papers across the room. “
Dammit
!”

Josh leaned against the filing cabinet. He pressed the release on the top drawer and slid it open. Inside was a metal box. He flipped up the top. Keys attached to bits of paper stating make and lot number dangled from the felt interior.