Reset (Book 2): Salvation (9 page)

Christian Life Church. That was the name of it and it took Jason a good twenty minutes to remember. That was all he focused on. What was the name of the church? It was one of the first places he did a worship service. A traveling Christian band with Jason as Worship leader, not yet a full-fledged preacher, singing his hit song.
Bring it.

He slipped into the a reminiscent phase after Grace pulled out an older CD.

Jason had longer hair, his face not as smooth since he hadn’t had any peels yet. His eyebrows weren’t plucked. He supposed they’d never be again, and without a doubt, his teeth weren’t as perfect.

“You were young,” Nora commented.

“Not really. Just not polished physically,” Jason replied.

Grace gave them supplies, wished them well, and told them they were welcome back. She drew them a map, which resembled something more like a treasure map from an old pirate movie. Grace also said, while they picked a good spot in Champaign, the survivors were actually in an outlying town called Rantoul.

Rantoul.

That was when it clicked for Jason.

He had been there.

“If she’s right,” Nora said in the drive. “What are we gonna do?”

“Huh?” Jason was preoccupied.

“About the others. We said Champaign. Do we wait in Champaign or do we look for survivors in this Rantoul.”

Jason stared at her. His mind was elsewhere.

“I guess we could leave a note. I mean. We aren’t supposed to be there yet. But for the life of me …”

“That’s it.”

“What?”

“Life.”

“Okay.”

“The name of the church. Christian Life. In Rantoul. I played there.”

“Really?” Nora asked. “That’s actually pretty cool. Is that one of the memories that just popped back at you?”

“Yeah, it is.” Jason sat back.

“I had one yesterday. It was eighth grade. I got my period.”

“Is that a joke?” Jason asked.

“No but it could be.”

“I have no doubt.”

“I have a new one.”

Jason shook his head with a smile. “Go on.”

“Did you hear Fred and Wilma Flintstone found Betty having a good time in a nuclear apocalypse?” Nora paused. “She was under Rubble.”

No reaction.

“Get it? Rubble. Barney. Betty? Barney is her husband. Under …”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” Jason sat up. “Are you writing these down?”

“I am.”

“I figured.”

“So what should we do?” Nora asked. “Go to Rantoul or leave a note.”

“I think we should see if there are people in Rantoul, then if there are, we leave a note.”

“Okay, that’s what we’ll do. So you really were in this town?”

“I was. I remember it was crazy too. It was an election year and for some reason Illinois was a big state in the race.”

“Oh!” Nora said excitedly. “Did you hear about the meteor that fell during the New Hampshire primary?”

Jason groaned.

“It made a big impact.”

“These are so bad.”

“But the best jokes you heard in thirty years.”

Jason smirked. “Best jokes I heard in thirty years, yes.”

<><><><>

Just as Grace indicated, Champaign was a wash. There were no quarantine signs or warnings. At the onset of the city limits in the parking lot of a sporting goods complex were the remnants of an aid station, but there wasn’t a person to be seen. However, the further they drove, the more Grace’s map made sense.

How she knew about things, they didn’t know. She hadn’t left in a long time. Perhaps it was memories of things Bruce conveyed.

They couldn’t wait to meet Bruce. Driving through the tail end of Champaign, they knew they would have to leave notes everywhere.

Jason didn’t remember until that very second that Rantoul wasn’t a hop skip and a jump from Champaign.

“Grace has it’s fifteen minutes on the old highway north,” Jason said.

“So like another twenty miles,” Nora replied. “For sure we’re gonna have to leave notes. No one will find or think to look for the town.”

“That’s if they’ll have us. They may not.”

“Grace says they’re nice.”

“Grace is nuts,” Jason commented.

They passed the sign for Rantoul. The old sign had been weather worn and was hard to read, nearly covered completely with overgrown weeds. Was it a five or an eight mile journey? They weren’t sure. But it was flat land so they were hopeful they’d see the town ahead.

“Where do we want to park the buggy?” Nora asked.

“I say as soon as we spot the town. Keep it hidden. We have to head back to Champaign anyhow, right? And just on the chance they aren’t friendly.”

“How about that. We wander for days and finally we find people. Now we’re worried they may be hostile,” Nora said.

“They may be. Just don’t tell them your jokes.”

“Grace liked them.”

“Again, Grace is nuts.”

“Do you think the others found anyone?”

“We can only hope.”

The time came for them to pull over and park the buggy, it was evident but not by a visual sighting of the small town. They knew it was time when they saw something else. Something different. It was alive. Buildings went from abandoned to useful. Roadside gas stations, fast food restaurants, were dilapidated monuments of the past swallowed by a field of life. Parking lots, roadways had been transformed into farmland.

Not big farms, small farms to reflect a small population.

They pulled over, got out of the buggy, concealing it some, removed the battery and hid that well. The both grabbed a small tote bag and headed into the small town. Neither of them knew what to expect. They banked on Grace being right and that the people were friendly.

At first they didn’t see anyone. That worried Jason.

“Either they aren’t here or they’re up on the roof taking a sniper position,” he said.

A male voice echoed out. “You got that half right.”

Jason and Nora stopped.

Nora whispered. “Something tells me you got the sniper part right.”

“Who are you?” the man asked.

“I am Nora Lane, and this is Jason Rudolph.”

“Are you recruiters?” he asked.

“From?” Nora retorted.

“Salvation.”

“No,” Nora answered. “We’re looking for it.”

“This isn’t it.”

“Obviously,” Jason quipped.

A single shot fired ricocheting at his feet, causing Jason to jump.

“Hey!” Jason yelled. “We’re not armed. What the hell?”

“Not a fan of sarcasm from strangers or bad jokes.”

“Well,” Jason said. “Apparently Grace thought we were a hoot.”

“No,” Nora argued. “She thought I was a hoot. She didn’t like you.”

“Are you crazy? She loved me. I was her fantasy.”

“Hey, now.” The voice called out. “Enough bickering. How do you know Grace?”

Nora answered. “We met her. She’s all fenced in. Nice woman. Said Bruce is nice to her.”

The unseen man, whistled one short whistle then called out. “Okay, I think they’re fine.”

“Wait.” A woman called out. “They were with Grace, how do we know they aren’t infected?”

“We’re immune.” Nora stated.

Another voice called out. “If you’re immune how come you aren’t in Salvation?”

And another said. “You would have been young enough, orphans or not.”

“It’s just the way things worked out,” Nora said.

“No.” A person argued. “That doesn’t make sense. Are you sure you’re immune?”

“Yes. Our families died. We never made it.”

“Bull,” someone called out. “This tale stinks of lies. Probably members of the Anti trying to infect us with carriers. I told you I heard stories about carriers. Secret biological weapons in the form of people in white.”

“We’re not carriers or weapons,” Nora said. “We’re immune. We had a vaccine.”

“There is no vaccine. Tell us another story.”

Jason shook his head. “This is ridiculous.” Then he shouted. “We’re immune because we did get a vaccine. They knocked us unconscious, told our families we died, and then put us in an underground facility where they kept us frozen for thirty years. We just woke up.”

No response.

“Great,” Nora whispered. “Now they’re gonna shoot us.”

After a moment of silence and nothing, a door opened and people came out of an old hardware store. There had to be close to two dozen.

The pack was led by a burly man in his forties. He had a rifle slung behind his back and walked with an extended hand to Jason and Nora. “I knew it,” he said. “We spotted that contraption miles out. Saw you riding in on it. We knew it was space age or something. Did the Nay-Say bury you and freeze you.”

He shook both of their hands with enthusiasm.

Jason tried to answer. “Not exactly, they …”

“In a sense, yes,” Nora cut him off. “Are you Bruce?”

“I am.” He stepped back and tossed his arms outward pointing to the group of people behind him. “Welcome to Rantoul. Or should I say … welcome to the future.”

It struck Jason as completely off and odd. They try to lie and tell a believable tale and they’re called liars. They tell a farfetched truth and everyone believed without question. It not only was an apocalyptic world, it was a world with a different mindset.

<><><><>

Meredith had walked what she felt was ten hours with Matthew. Although it wasn’t ten hours, it was two. She likened it to just her body feeling the effects of lack of sleep and that she was still healing. Nothing made sense. Matthew invited Hunter to with them. Hunter was not only a.... Hunter but a good tracker who spoke halfway decent and understandable English. He had been under the weather and healed.

After all the reports that Meredith read from the aid station, the fact that so many of the Wreckers got well baffled her. Out of the twenty-three, including the stranger, four died and six were on the fence. She wondered if the stranger brought a different version of the virus or maybe the Wreckers’ DNA had mutated enough to fight it better

Whatever the case, they had Hunter and there was something endearing about the overly large man. He was focused and quiet. During the walk, he merely glanced around. Then after about two miles, he picked up a track.

“Here is where he fell in illness, probably slept.” Hunter said, though not as eloquent or smoothly put.

He proceeded to say he had stumbled for a good mile.

So he was ill for miles. How long really could he walk with the virus? And he did walk. Nowhere did they find a means of transportation. It wasn’t hidden, there really was no place to hide it.

After a couple hours, Meredith suggested they head back. It wasn’t because she gave up, she just wanted to head out again, this time with the buggy and Hunter.

Meredith was convinced that the stranger not only walked into the village, he walked from where he woke or camped. Since he was sick, it couldn’t be that far.

She had no doubt that John would return. Meredith had every faith. She only worried that the delay was because John had gotten held up talking to Rusty ... who loved to talk. She expected his return. She hoped he’d get back so they would have a few hours before sundown to go searching.

When she saw him roll into the village, she was smiling, but that smile dropped from her face.

Meredith watched for a short distance as he interacted with Matthew and handed him a backpack. John acknowledged Meredith with a glance, finished up with Matthew and walked to her.

“Did you find his car?” John asked.

“No. But I think ... I think where ever their Genesis Lab is located, it’s close. Either that or he was camped out close. We just need to go back out with the buggy and cover more area. What’s wrong, you look upset?”

“We have a problem,” John said. “Rusty died.”

“What?”

“He got the virus. The same one as here.”

Meredith stared for a moment, her eyes continuously blinking in surprise. “How ...?”

John raised his hand. “Scooter said that he ran into a sick Wrecker. That was a hundred miles away Mere. There’s no way that Wrecker got sick from these people or that stranger.”

“Oh, John,” Meredith folded her arms. “Do you think maybe it wasn’t the stranger, that maybe it is in the air?”

“No.” John shook his head. “I don’t think it’s in the air. I think... I think it might be in us.”

<><><><>

It was quite a change of pace for Malcolm. At least as far as traveling went. He didn’t know why he expected them all to pack up in his solar buggy, as if it were the only viable means of transportation.