Exodus (8 page)

“Can you guarantee that if we leave here, the instant we set foot outside of the valley we won’t die? Will you look me in the eyes and guarantee the safety of my kids?” His words were delivered without emotion or anger, but as a simple question that he already knew the answer to.

“I can’t guarantee anything other than everyone else is dead. There will never be a rescue party. But whatever is happening out there”—her hand fluttered toward the darkened window—“will reach in here at some point and snatch away the lives of you and your kids. Just like it did to everyone else on this planet.”

Simon placed the glass onto the wet bar, its contents untouched, and looked into the darkness beyond the window. “If Elise was here, she would know what to do. It would be simple for her. She would have liked you.”

Emily allowed a smile to part her lips, put her own glass down, and walked over to stand behind Simon. She placed a hand gently on his shoulder. “You know what you need to do, Simon. You have to leave here because it’s your only hope. You have to take the chance because soon you won’t have any choice left.”

Simon turned to face her, his eyes glistening with tears. “This is all just so damn hard to take in,” he whispered. “Jesus. How am I going to explain this to the kids?”

“Don’t worry about it tonight,” she answered. “Just get a good night’s sleep and we’ll deal with it all in the morning, okay?”

Emily woke with a start.

In her sleep-fogged mind, she thought she had heard something. Had she? Or was it just an already forgotten nightmare?

Seconds ticked by, and the only sound was Thor’s deep rhythmic breathing as he continued to sleep, undisturbed.

Only nerves, she told herself eventually, allowing her chest to sink as she inhaled. She was no stranger to bad dreams, she reminded herself. Not since she’d left Manhattan, at least.

She had just begun to allow sleep to claim her once more when she heard a scream, shrill and sharp. It sounded like Ben.

Her eyes flickered open again. Disoriented, heart racing, she fumbled for where she thought the lamp was, cringing as she knocked over the glass of water she had placed there. It didn’t smash, but she heard the water slosh over the carpet.

“Damn it,” she cursed just as her probing fingers found the switch and flooded the room with light. Smarting at the sudden assault on her eyes, she glanced around the unfamiliar room just
to make sure there was nothing in there with her. The place was empty except for Thor, who, in the space of a couple of seconds, had somehow managed to go from sleeping to standing with his nose pressed against the crack of the bedroom door, his hackles raised and his back ramrod straight. The malamute glanced at Emily as she swung her feet out of the bed and stumbled toward the door. The instant she opened it, the dog slipped through the gap and padded quickly toward the sound of the commotion as Emily stumbled behind him.

The screaming continued, but now she could hear Simon’s voice echoing down the corridor as he called out to his boy, “Ben! Ben! It’s all right. Daddy’s here. It’s just a dream. Ben, it’s just a dream.”

By the time Emily reached the child’s bedroom, Ben was clinging to his father, tears streaming down his face as Simon rocked the child back and forth, cooing gently to his son, “Hush! Hush! It’s all okay.”

Ben looked up as Emily entered his room, his hazel eyes moist with tears. “Monsters,” he cried, choking back more tears. “The monsters are coming.”

Thor lay on the bed next to Ben, his head resting gently against the child’s arm. It had taken a quarter of an hour for Simon to quiet his hysterical son, but with a mixture of soothing words and gentle rocking, Ben’s sobs had gradually grown fainter. Finally they faded to nothing but a trembling upper lip. His eyes had begun to droop as Simon laid him softly back down on the bed.

Thor nuzzled in beside the child. Ben opened his drooping eyes momentarily and looked at the big dog. “Love you, For,” the child
whispered, throwing an arm around the malamute’s neck. Moments later the child fell back to sleep. Emily didn’t have to tell the dog to stay; she knew there was no way Thor was going to move from his spot unless she commanded him to. Emily, Rhiannon, and Simon retreated into the corridor and quietly closed the door behind them.

The house was quiet again except for the distant muffled thrum of the generator. Simon sent Rhiannon back to bed with a kiss on the cheek and the reassurance that her little brother had just had a nightmare and was going to be fine.

“I think this is all finally beginning to take its toll on them,” Simon whispered once they were alone, as he walked with Emily down the hall, their bare feet falling silently on the carpet.

Hoping she wasn’t pushing her luck too far, Emily spoke her mind. “All the more reason for you all to come with me.” She caught a glimpse of a smile cross Simon’s face through the dimness and saw his eyes flit momentarily to her legs before looking back to her eyes. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she caught his cheeks flush; then she realized why. In the rush to get to Ben’s room, she hadn’t even thought to throw on her pants; she was only wearing a tee and panties.

Embarrassed, she crossed her arms across her chest and tried not to blush. As the light from her bedroom caught them both in its glow, Emily could see Simon’s cheeks had turned a deep crimson, and she couldn’t help but notice his overt attempt to keep his eyes fixed firmly above her shoulders. She felt her own cheeks burn even more fiercely.

Christ, here they were, facing an uncertain future and possible death from an unknown invader, and yet they still found themselves reacting like teenagers at the first glimpse of skin. At least it proved they were both still human, and that was a trait that had become the most precious of commodities in this world.

“Okay,” said Simon, “I think we all need to get some rest. Good night.” He took two steps toward his own room, stopped and turned: “Emily…”

“Yes?” she said, in the process of closing the bedroom door behind her.

“Thank you.” He gave her a firm nod of his head and disappeared down the corridor.

“You’re welcome,” Emily whispered into the emptiness and closed the door, Ben’s cry of monsters still echoing in the back of her mind.

“Good morning,” Emily said through a hand-covered yawn. Her stomach grumbled its own greeting as the smell of bacon sizzling on the skillet filled her senses.

“I’d ask you how you like your eggs, but all we have is this…” Simon shook a carton of liquid egg whites above his head with one hand while he poked at the contents of a frying pan on the stove. “So, it’s scrambled or scrambled, I’m afraid.”

“Sounds perfect,” Emily replied as she moved to join the two children at the breakfast nook table. Thor jumped up from his spot next to Ben and met her halfway across the kitchen, fanning the air with his tail while pushing his head between her knees until she patted his head and scratched behind his ears.

Ben and Rhiannon were bantering back and forth about some comic book hero figure the little boy had insisted on bringing to the table. The boy didn’t seem any the worse for wear after his nightmare.

“How are you guys this morning?” she asked.

“Fine,” said Rhiannon.

“I’m fine, too,” echoed Ben, almost in sync with his sister.

“Here you go,” said Simon as he brought the frying pan to the table, sliding portions of the fluffy eggs onto each plate, closely followed by a couple of slices of bacon.

“Oh. My. Goodness,” said Emily as she swallowed the first bite of bacon. “I never thought I’d taste fried meat again.”

“Why not?” asked Ben, a quizzical tone taking his voice up an octave.

That was a loaded question, Emily realized. Simon had kept both of the kids shielded from the reality of the situation they faced, and until their father had spoken with them, she was going to have to watch what she said. She certainly didn’t want to frighten them.

Emily glanced across the table at Rhiannon; she was busy shoveling the remainder of her breakfast into her mouth, head bopping to some internal melody only she could hear. But Ben, his big hazel eyes regarding her with almost adult raptness, waited patiently for her to answer his question.

Simon must have sensed her reticence. His eyes moved first to Ben and then Rhiannon, lingering momentarily on each of them. “Kids, we’re going on a road trip for a couple of days,” he announced without any kind of preamble.

That got their attention, Emily’s included. At some point during the night, he must have finally decided she was telling the truth. She smiled at Simon as she felt a swell of relief wash over her.

“Where are we going?” asked Rhiannon, her fork paused halfway to her mouth.

“There are some people, a little way north of here, that we’re going to see. We’re going to stay with them for a little while.”

Rhiannon just rolled her eyes and continued eating.

“Is For and Emily coming, too?” Ben asked, spitting bits of bacon onto the tabletop.

“What have I told you about talking with your mouth full? Hmmm? And yes, they are most definitely both coming with us.”

Ben’s eyes drifted to Emily, who smiled and nodded. “Yup, we’ll be joining you guys.”

“Cool,” replied Ben as his face broke into a huge grin.

“Now, why don’t you and your sister finish your breakfast and then, if it’s okay with Emily, you can take Thor outside for a walk. He looks like he could use some exercise to burn off all that junk you’ve been feeding him, Mr. Benjamin Keller. That okay by you, Emily?”

Emily thought about it for a second. She didn’t want to scare the kids, especially now that Simon was convinced of the need to leave, and tell them to stay inside. “Of course it is. Just, don’t stray too far,” she said. Using the kids’ affection for Thor, and his equal exuberance for their company, was about as obvious a manipulation of their emotions as you could get, but it was a means to an end. What the adults had to talk about was not for kids’ ears. Even Rhiannon brightened, quickly finishing the remains of her breakfast in a couple of bites.

Emily noticed Ben sneak the final piece of bacon from his plate and slip it to Thor as the three headed out the back door, the echo of their laughter and excited chatter floating back down the corridor.