Hamsikker 2 (2 page)

Jonas returned inside and checked out the downstairs level. He passed through the bar, a lounge, a library, a couple of meeting rooms, and finally found himself in the kitchen. It was a little dirty which surprised him considering how well kept the place was otherwise. A few empty tins lay on the counter, and the dishes from last night still hadn’t been cleaned. Perhaps, with the arrival of new guests, Mara hadn’t found time to clean up. Jonas examined the cupboards and discovered a treasure trove of food. There were canned vegetables and fruit, boxes of pasta, jars of herbs, and a host of cooking materials that would satisfy even the most demanding cook. He ran the tap and poured himself a glass of cool water, finishing it instantly. He poured another, and walked over to a set of doors that he guessed might lead to a pantry. It was a huge double door, set into a recess, and when he opened it he was surprised to find that it was a walk-in freezer. The automatic light flicked on as he walked in. There were boxes and boxes stacked up on metal shelves, and he examined the labels: turkey, lamb, chicken pies, sausages, and beef patties. There was enough meat to last them for months as long as the freezer’s power held out. Gabe had mentioned something about the generator last night, and Jonas was keen to know more. If he was going to leave the others here whilst he went to get Janey, he wanted to know they were truly safe.

What with Dakota telling him she was pregnant, and with everything that had happened in the last 24 hours, he hadn’t thought about Janey much. He doubted that she and her three boys had as much food as this, and with fall rapidly approaching he couldn’t leave it any longer. Her supplies would surely be running low, and he had no idea how well off she really was. She had promised to stay at home in Thunder Bay, and he knew he could take her word on it when she said she would wait for him. But how bad was it up there? Was it any better or worse than Kentucky? He hadn’t even met his three nephews yet, and he wanted more of a relationship with them than a once-a-year conversation over Skype. That was all he’d ever had, and now he didn’t know if he would even see them again. The internet had gone belly-up the same time as everything else, so phone calls and emails were a distant dream. Mike and Chester understood their uncle lived far away, but Ritchie was too young. He was only four, and didn’t understand why Uncle Jonas didn’t visit. Well, he was going to visit them now, and nothing was going to stop him. Jonas decided that Dakota needn’t come with him anymore. It was safer here than out on the roads, and he had all but made up his mind that he was going alone. He could travel faster, and he wouldn’t have to worry about looking out for her or his unborn child. If anything, he was more determined than ever to get to Janey now they had found this place. He could bring her back to Saint Paul’s; perhaps offer her a fresh start.

A rattling sound interrupted his thoughts, and he carefully peered around the doorway of the freezer. He was still cautious about their new surroundings, and he kept silent as he looked at who was in the kitchen. Jonas watched Gabe open up a jar of coffee and begin spooning it into a white mug. There was an electric kettle boiling, and Gabe unplugged it before pouring the hot water into the mug. The aroma of the fresh coffee struck Jonas, and the smell was heavenly. It reminded Jonas of a life before the dead, when he could get up in the morning and get breakfast without having to worry if he was going to be eaten alive by a zombie.

“Think you could spare an extra mug of that, Gabriel?” he asked Gabe as he approached the counter.

“Shit, Hamsikker, is that you?” asked Javier, dropping the spoon on the counter. The clattering sound echoed throughout the kitchen. “You made me jump.”

“Sorry, I was just checking out the place. It’s pretty amazing. You’ve enough food in the freezer to last a good time.”

“Yeah, everything you need under one roof, right? Sorry, I wasn’t thinking, it’s just habit to make myself a cup. I should put the pot on. I dare say the others might want a drink too. And it’s Gabe, not Gabriel. Only my mother called me that, and she’s with the boss upstairs now.”

“Absolutely,” said Jonas, as Gabe took a percolator from a cupboard. He took a sip from his mug as he began to spoon more coffee out and fill the percolator. “Damn, that’s good coffee. I think even Freya might be tempted.”

Jonas chuckled. “I’m sure we can find some milk or juice for her.”

“Right, right,” said Javier as he pressed the plunger down. He looked at Jonas. “If you don’t mind me saying, Hamsikker, you look like shit. You manage to get any sleep at all?”

Jonas shrugged. “Some.” The smell of the coffee had brought back memories of real life when he would spend weekends with Dakota, pouring over newspapers during Sunday brunch at their local deli. He would demolish a plate of pancakes in seconds, whilst Dakota would take her time over a bowl of muesli and homemade plum jam. He felt his stomach rumble. Jonas seemed to remember seeing some maple syrup in one of the kitchen cupboards, but it was unlikely they had any eggs. Perhaps the pancakes would have to wait a bit longer, and he pushed away his hunger pangs. It was something he was used to doing now.

Javier handed Jonas a mug of hot coffee and smiled. “What did I tell you? Sweetness and light, right? You don’t have to worry anymore, Hamsikker. You’re safe. Your family and friends are safe. You can start to relax, okay?”

Jonas raised his mug and chinked it together with Gabe’s. Perhaps Gabe was right. Perhaps this was a fresh start. He reassessed his plans in his head as he sipped on the coffee. A day or two to rest up, and he could leave the others here, happy to know they were safe when he went to find Janey.

Javier reclined against a stainless steel counter-top as Quinn and Mrs. Danick entered the kitchen. Jonas pointed out the fresh coffee, and they poured themselves a mug each.

“Couldn’t sleep?” asked Jonas.

Quinn yawned. “Not over Mrs. Danick’s snoring.”

“Keep it up, Quinn, keep it up,” said Mrs. Danick. “Actually, we slept pretty good considering. Still, it’s hard to let your guard down completely. It’s hard to think we finally made it. Of course, some of us didn’t. I remember…”

“You got any theories?” asked Javier. He wasn’t interested in their sob stories. He knew once they got started they would never end, and he had to get things moving along. “You know, about where it all came from, or why it all started? You know anything?”

Mrs. Danick gave Gabe a stern look but ignored his question and began rummaging through drawers.

Quinn sipped on her coffee. “All I know is that all those debates about carbon emissions, asteroids on a collision course with Earth, and flu viruses without a cure all turned out to be a truckload of bull. In the end, it was good old-fashioned zombies that did for us,” said Quinn. “Who, why, and when is all irrelevant now. What’s done is done. We’ll never know, and quite frankly it doesn’t matter. Questions like that don’t mean jack now. They’re here. We’re here. They can be killed. End of.”

Javier admired Quinn’s response. He noticed her pick up a large kitchen knife, and then she put it back in the drawer where she’d found it. If she was looking for anything specific, she didn’t give a clue as to what.

“This doesn’t have to be the end,” said Mrs. Danick. “There’s plenty of life in us yet. Even in an old fart like me. Like Quinn says, they can be killed. So what’s your story, Gabe?”

Javier chose to ignore the last question. “Maybe so. But we are vastly outnumbered. You all know what it’s like out there beyond that fence. How many of your friends are still out there?”

“We have God on our side, and our faith,” said Dakota as she slipped into the room. She headed straight for the coffee.

Jonas hadn’t noticed her standing there, and he wondered how long she had been listening. He thought she might sleep in, but evidently everyone was waking up. She didn’t look at him, so he stayed where he was, waiting for her to approach him. She never was a morning person, and when she was pissed at him, she knew how to push his buttons. He hated being ignored, and he knew she was deliberately avoiding him.

“We have to think of this as not a curse, but a chance. It’s a chance to prove ourselves to Him, a chance to be rescued and taken into His hands. I can’t believe we’ve been abandoned. I
won’t
believe it,” said Dakota.

“You
still
have faith after all this?” Javier looked at Dakota with large eyes. “You still think someone is looking down on us and looking out for us? Do you honestly believe that someone up there is saving a space for us in Heaven? Darling, we have been screwed. God’s not just on vacation. He’s packed his bags and moved on.”

Dakota appeared to be downcast, and she was only going through the motions. Jonas could see her heart wasn’t in it. She spoke of faith and strength, but if she had any left in her it was buried deep. She said nothing to him as she took a mug of coffee and walked back to the door.

“I’m going to see Pippa,” Dakota announced. “I’ll see if she needs any help with Freya.”

“Hold up, dear,” said Mrs. Danick. “I’ll come with you. I think I’d rather be with you than stuck in here. There’s a nasty smell in this kitchen.”

As Mrs. Danick and Dakota left, Javier stifled a laugh. He’d apparently touched a nerve and was amused how easily he could wind them up. Dakota could keep her faith. It was useless in this world. It was nothing now but a stick to beat over the heads of others, a tool to make people feel guilty. It didn’t provide hope, just a sense of futility. And when you let fate take over, you were just another person lining up to join the dead.

“You find what you’re looking for?” asked Javier as Quinn pulled a whisk from a drawer beneath a large stove.

“No, I … ah-ha.” Quinn plucked out a small plastic chicken and held it aloft like a trophy. “Perfect.”

Javier studied her face for clues, but when she looked at him all he saw was mistrust. Despite letting them in, despite his offer of help, they still had reservations. Clearly he was going to have to do more to get them on side. Some of them were more important than others, more useful, and he was weighing up how much time to spend on Quinn. He had earmarked Mrs. Danick as a troublemaker from the outset. Something about her irked him. It was as if she could see through his lies.

“Is that a timer?” he asked as Quinn turned the head of the chicken around in a circle. “I didn’t have you pegged as a cook.”

“No?” Quinn smiled as the chicken started ticking.

“No,” said Javier. “Something a little more…dangerous? I’m sure you’ve broken a few rules in your time.”

“Actually, I haven’t had an alarm clock in a while now. When it’s my turn to take watch, I like to know how long I’ve got left. Once I’m properly dressed I’ll go walk around the perimeter, make sure everything’s in shape. I used to have an App, but, well, that went south about the same time as the colonel’s secret recipe.”

“Gabe, you think Mara can help rustle up some breakfast?” asked Jonas. “I’m sure we can help. Quinn, you feel like helping us out before you head out?” Jonas could feel the tension in the kitchen rising, and he couldn’t quite explain what it was, but something was off. Gabe was asking some pretty direct questions.

“There’s plenty of food to go around. We can sort something out for everyone to eat. Mara’s sleeping, but she’ll be up soon.” Javier whistled and proceeded to walk over to Quinn. “There are certain things you miss, and there are certain things you don’t even want to talk about. It’s like an itch you can’t scratch. I know it was junk, but fried chicken is one of those things. You liked it, too, huh? Don’t tell me you worked in one of those greasy places?”

Quinn tossed the ticking chicken from hand to hand as Javier approached her. “Work there? No. I was never much of a fan myself, but my husband couldn’t get enough of it. Roger would eat it every day if I let him.”

Jonas was curious. Quinn had never told them about her past. He couldn’t see her flipping burgers for a living, and this was the first time she’d ever mentioned having a husband. She was a blank canvas, and it seemed that Gabe was pressing her buttons, getting her to open up.

“Roger?” Javier studied Quinn’s face, but she gave nothing more away. It was like his name was a keyword, and she shut down.

“He’s gone now. Anyway, I should get back to the others.”

As Quinn went to the door, Javier held her arm. She twisted it away, but he refused to let her go. “What about the pantry?” he asked. “You want to see all the food we have? I’ve only shown you half of what we have here. This is…”

“Let go,” said Quinn forcefully. She yanked her arm back, and Javier let her free. “Show me later, when the others are here.”

Javier started to tell her that there was so much more to the complex she should see and that he would gladly show her around, when the ticking chicken emitted a buzzing sound.

“Time’s up,” said Quinn, and she left the kitchen.

“You know, she’s smart. You shouldn’t rile her up like that,” said Jonas. “Quinn won’t appreciate you messing with her. She’s strong.”

“Quinn’s a big girl, I can see that. I don’t doubt she can handle herself. I just like to know who’s on my side. We’re all under the same roof now, and I don’t want any nasty surprises. I’m sure you can understand that.”

Jonas nodded.

“Hamsikker, you got a second? I’d like to show you something.”

“Sure.”

Javier led Jonas back through to the library, and he pulled back the thick velvet drapes. Sunlight came streaming in through the tall windows, and they both put down their coffee mugs. Jonas noticed the library walls were lined from top to bottom with books. Around the window frame were photographs, mostly in black and white, of golfers stood outside the clubhouse. The room was cozy and elegant, with furnishings that wouldn’t look out of place in a palace.