Sympatico Syndrome (Book 1): Infection (A Pandemic Survival Novel) (25 page)

Laughing, he reached down and ran his hand over the coarse coat. “Are you thirsty? I can pump some for you too.” The trough was too high for them, but Hunter spied a battered metal bucket in the weeds by the back door of the farmhouse. He jogged to it, trailed by the goats, and returned to the pump, filling the bucket. Both animals dipped their heads in at the same time although only one could fit. “Hey there, I’ll pump enough for both of you.”

Sophie laughed and took the shoulders of one of the goats and pulled him away. After a minute, Hunter did the same with the other goat while Sophie released hers to get his turn.

“They’re so cute!”

“Yeah, but we can’t keep them.” Hunter felt as if he was channeling his father.

“I wasn’t going to ask, but why not?” She shot him a petulant look.

“I don’t think they can keep up with the horses.”

“Maybe they can, maybe they can’t, but look how skinny they are.”

Hunter looked and shrugged. While not robust, he couldn’t see their ribs. They seemed okay to him. “I’m going to check out the barn over there.” The driveway led straight to it, and he hoped it doubled as a garage. Braced for disappointment, he stood back in shock when he found a large silver pickup truck. He ran to the back. And it had a trailer hitch. Perfect. Keys. He glanced at the house. It would be worth it to risk going inside if he could get the keys. They had to be here somewhere.

Leaving the doors open, he jogged back to Sophie. “There’s a truck, a good one. But I need to go inside to look for keys.”

She glanced at the house, then to the barn, her lips pursed to the side as though weighing the risk. “Okay, but be careful.”

“I will. I’ve done it before at the first farm I was at.” He ran to Red and dug a mask and gloves out of his pack. “I’m going to try not to touch anything except keys if I can find them.”

Hunter braced for what he’d see inside the home. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked. He grabbed a stone lining the flower bed and broke one of the small square panes. He worried about putting a hole in his glove so he turned to Sophie, “Can you grab that towel out of the pack—the one you gathered the strawberries in.”

She nodded and raced across the yard to where the horses were hitched and found the towel. Before he could take the towel, she elbowed him out of the way. “Let me. If you slice your gloves without knowing it, you could get sick.” She shook out the towel, folded it, and set it inside the window frame, then made a motion to say it was all his now.

He nodded, and reached inside, found the deadbolt and gave it a twist. The lock on the doorknob was still engaged, and he leaned on it, just able to grab it and give it a twist. The door opened. It had been easier than he expected and even though he knew the people inside were dead, he felt guilty for breaking into their house.

The kitchen was neat. Much neater than he expected. He paused. Maybe the owners weren’t dead. What if they had just abandoned their home to escape their virus, just like his dad had done? What if someone was breaking into their home right now?

The counters were clear, and he looked beside the door to see if there was a key hook, but there was nothing. Just a plaque that said, “This Home is Built on Love and Shenanigans.”

Hunter closed his eyes briefly. He hadn’t been raised to be particularly religious, but if he knew a prayer, he’d say one for this family. Drawing a deep breath, he moved into the dining room. A layer of dust coated the dark table. It felt wrong, like the dust shouldn’t be there and he would bet anything that it never had been before.

The well-kept home made it easy to search for the keys, but making his way through the first floor, he came up empty. Hunter stood at the base of the stairs, willing himself to climb to the second floor. The smell of death became stronger with each step, and he stopped on the landing. Dread flooded him, but he took the rest of the steps quickly, just to get it over with.

He opened the first door on his left. It had a single bed tucked under the eaves. Monster truck posters decorated the walls, and a few dusty football trophies stood on the dresser. A red and blue tassel hung from the arm of one of the little plastic football players on top of a trophy. The bed was made, and the room empty. He guessed the usual occupant of the room was away college. Or had been.

The next room was white, with a yellow canopy over the bed that billowed when he opened the door. This room was also empty, the owner of the room probably a teenage girl from all the makeup littering the dresser.

Two more rooms to go. He stepped across the hall and found a plain room. Clean, but no personality. Probably a guest room. That left one more, and as he opened the door, the stench almost knocked him out. He found the family. They were all in the room. Three were laid out neatly on the bed, their hands clasped as though they had died taking a nap on the sofa. Except for the holes in their foreheads, they might have been.

The prescription bottles on the dresser told the story. Sleeping pills. The other bottle had pain killers.

The fourth body was sprawled on the floor, a dark stain beneath the head. The wall opposite the bed had a matching stain sprayed across it. It appeared the family had chosen to take their own lives, with the husband and father making sure they all went painlessly, while he died last, at his own hand. The gun lay beside the body.

He started to back out when a glint of metal caught his eye. There, on the night table on the far side, was a set of keys. Shit. He picked his way around the father and grabbed the keys.

Sprinting from the room, he flew down the stairs, gorge rising in his throat. He tried to swallow it, knowing he couldn’t take his mask off inside the house.

Hunter burst through the door onto the porch, tore his glove off and was about to reach for his mask when Sophie stopped him. “Wait!” She squirted hand sanitizer into his palm, rubbing it all around with her glove clad hands.

The scent of alcohol when he ripped his mask off made the nausea he’d tried to hold back impossible to contain. He turned away from Sophie and retched until his stomach was empty and sore.

While he stood bent, waiting for the dry heaves to stop, Sophie took his other hand and repeated the process of sanitizing it, taking the keys he held and dropping them onto the grass.

She gave him a water bottle. “Rinse, and then just take small sips.”

He followed her suggestions and felt better in a few minutes. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She retrieved the keys and doused them in hand sanitizer.

If the keys hadn’t been for the truck, Hunter didn’t know what they would do. He didn’t think he could go through something like that at another house, but the keys worked, and even better, the truck had almost a full tank. The cab had a second seat, and they piled the gear inside. “We’ll go to a few more farms near here and see if we can find a trailer. If we can’t, we have to go.”

Sophie looked out the window at the horses, now unsaddled and grazing in a small paddock. “We have to come back and free them first.”

Hunter agreed. He couldn’t let them die of thirst.

Their luck stayed with them, and the second farm down had a small horse trailer. Hunter and Sophie had to take a few minutes to figure out how to hitch it to the truck, but once they did, they laughed and gave each other a high five.

It was already noon by the time they arrived back at the farm and managed to get the horses into the trailer. Hunter checked the empty barn and found several bales of hay. There were only three bales and a few sacks of sawdust. He grabbed the bags along with the hay. They could use the sawdust if they found a stable for the horses.

The farmer must have been running low on hay or maybe they had set it out for the horses they had freed. He felt like he knew the family and that they probably would have done that. These bales were tucked way in the back of the loft.

Red and Princess must have been in a trailer before because they didn’t balk when Hunter led them in to the trailer. He got them settled and lifted the gate, unable to believe they could be at the island by evening.

As they drove down the winding drive, the goats raced alongside them, and Hunter stopped. “I’ll be right back.”

He didn’t know if they would stay in the truck, but he threw one of his blankets in the area between the bales and spread it over the bed. He hoped they didn’t eat all the hay, but then shrugged. If they did, they did. It wasn’t enough to last the horses anyway.

Sophie came out to see what he was doing. She grinned and coaxed the goats into the bed.

Hunter closed the tailgate. “What if they jump out?”

“We can’t help it if they do, but I think they’re smarter than that.”

C
ole lay in bed
. When he remembered what day it was, he didn’t want to get up. Every morning, his first thought was of Hunter and where he might be. Part of him clung to hope, but the other part, the realistic part, knew chances were slim. Every day, the realistic side took another bite from the hopeful side, and now, there was just a tiny crumb left. When that was gone, what would be his reason to get up in the morning?

“Cole?”

He rolled his head. Sean. Draping his arm across his eyes, he wished he could pretend he was still asleep. It would delay the stab of guilt he felt when he looked at his brother. “Yeah?”

“I know you wanted to have the… the funeral first thing, but I wondered if we could do it this evening instead?”

Cole sat and swung his feet off the bed. “We can do it whenever you like. I only said morning because I thought that would be easiest for your family, but it’s your decision.” He stood and drew on the t-shirt he’d draped over the chair in the room. He’d planned to take a swim this morning to get clean for the funeral, but now he’d swim later.

Sean leaned against the doorjamb and nodded. “Okay, then later this evening. Jenna wants to bake a cake, and we’re not sure how it’ll turn out using the grill as an oven.”

“How can she make a cake without eggs?” Cole hoped to venture onshore and see if they could round up any chickens. While they had some powdered milk, he hadn’t thought to get powdered eggs. It was surprising how many dishes required them.

“We had a couple of cans of soda in the car. They must have rolled out during a grocery run sometime. Anyway, Jenna knows a recipe that uses soda instead of eggs.”

“Interesting.” When Sean remained in the threshold with the silence growing awkward, he asked the first thing that came to his mind, just to break the silence. “What kind of cake?”

“Chocolate. It was Trent’s favorite.”

“Hunter loved… loves chocolate, too.” He stumbled over the tense and Sean picked up on it.

“Cole, I didn’t know how to bring this up, but Jenna thought it might do you good if you laid Hunter to rest today, too.”

His gut reaction was anger. “No!” His hands clenched and his jaw tightened.

“Think about it, Cole. I know it’s hard—God knows, I
know—
but I’ve been watching you. You’re working yourself to death around here. We have enough wood stacked to last two winters.”

“No—” Sean exaggerated. Besides, they needed as much as possible to get through the winter for heating and cooking.

“Yes! We do. Joe even said so, and he knows more about that. He lived in a little cabin up north for a few years. Anyway, that’s not my point. You’re trying to keep your mind from worrying about Hunter and, as much as it hurts, admitting he’s not coming. He tried his best, but the world went crazy. Accepting it can help you move on.”

“Move on? To what? What do I have to move on to, Sean?” Cole’s voice sounded strangled even to his own ears. “I have no wife and if I give up on Hunter, no child.” He waved towards the mainland. “And with no hope of ever having either again. What’s the point?”

“The point is, we need you, Cole. I need you, and I’m going to need you a whole helluva lot more after today. I still have a daughter to protect and a wife. I can’t let anything happen to them, but I’m not sure I can protect them all by myself.”

Cole tried to hang on to the anger because as long as he had that, he could hang on to hope too.

“Piper is like a daughter to you. You’ve said that before.”

Cole nodded, his throat working, but no sound came out when he tried to acknowledge Sean’s point. He loved Piper, but that didn’t mean he had to give up on his son. He wouldn’t do it. He straightened and drew a deep breath. “I can’t give up on Hunter. I may never give up unless I see his body, but I’ll be okay. I promise to be here for you and your family. They’re my family too.”

Sean sighed. “I understand. I’d feel the same if there was any way I could deny Trent’s death.”

He had to bite his tongue to hold back and insist it wasn’t denial. Today wasn’t the day to have this conversation.

“
A
re
you sure this is the place?” Sophie leaned against the passenger door, her arms crossed. “Nobody’s here.”

Hunter shook his head. “Hell no, I’m not sure, but why would anyone be here? They’ll be on the island.”

“Where’s the island, and how do we get there?”

Kicking a rock, he watched it bounce down to the pier and drop into the river. “I thought there’d be a boat or something.”

“How do we get the animals onto a boat?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t expect to be here with horses and goats.” He turned to scan the area, hoping for a solution, but instead, he spotted his dad’s vehicle. “Look! There’s his car.” He jogged over to it, feeling vindicated.

Sophie followed him and spied the note before he did. She opened the door and handed it over to him.

“He says that they’ll be checking the docks every morning.”

“But it’s afternoon now.”

“Yeah. I guess we’ll have to camp out one more night.” He tried to swallow the disappointment. He’d been so sure he’d see his dad tonight. “It’ll give us time to find a place for the animals. One of these garages might work as a temporary stable. Let’s look around.”

They ended up deciding on the old one-car garage at the back of the property. There was a large fenced yard, and while there wasn’t a pump, the river was close enough to haul water. They’d just have to make sure they got back every day.

They threw down the sawdust and a pile of hay in the corner. The garage was big enough for the goats too, and Hunter tossed the blanket in a corner for them.

A bucket hung on a peg on the wall, and he grabbed it. Two buckets of water would be better for all four animals. He shut the door, grabbed the other bucket they’d been using and headed for the river. Sophie stood on the edge of the river and pointed left. “Did you know that Lake Michigan is right there?”

“Yeah, I figured from the map. I don’t think you can see the island from here, with the way the shore bends.” He thought his dad had said that, but their last few phone calls had broken up so he wasn’t positive.

Sophie didn’t reply but instead, headed left, intent on something. Hunter looked at both buckets. He’d hoped she’d carry one, but then again, the buckets probably weighed almost as much as she did. Shrugging, he grabbed the handles.

“Hunter! Look!” She jumped up and down, jabbing her finger out towards the lake.

He released the handles and raced to her. “What?”

“A boat!”

“Maybe it’s my dad!”

“I know! That’s what I thought!”

They ran out as far as they could, waving their hands and shouting. “Dad!”

At first, it looked as though the boat was going to pass the entrance to the river, but suddenly it veered towards them.

Sophie threw her arms around him. “I wasn’t sure there really was an island.”

Hunter laughed. “I know, right?”

As the boat came closer, a boy Hunter didn’t recognize drove the boat. His smile faded. Then a woman appeared beside the boy. Hunter scanned the boat, searching for his dad or even Uncle Sean.

“Is that your aunt and cousin?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t know who they are.” His first feeling was crushing disappointment, but then he became wary and looked around. They were completely in the open, and he felt exposed. “Let’s get back.”

Sophie nodded.

As they retreated, they kept their eyes on the boat. So far, nobody had seemed threatening, but they hadn’t smiled either. He rested his hand on the butt of the gun.

When the boat was almost even with them, the operator cut back on the throttle and the woman said, “Is this Oconto?”

That wasn’t the question Hunter expected. He didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t something as normal as asking directions. Disconcerted, he simply nodded.

The woman waved, then leaned forward, peering at him. He squirmed under her scrutiny.

“What’s she doing?” Sophie whispered.

“I don’t know, but it’s creeping me out.” He took Sophie’s hand. “Let’s go.”

“Hunter? Is that you?”

He stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned. “Who are you?”

“Are you Hunter Evans?”

It seemed silly to deny it. “Yeah. Why do you want to know?” He walked towards the dock where the boat was inching in.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe it! You’ve grown a lot since the last set of pictures I’d seen.”

Hunter cocked his head feeling he should know her, but he didn’t recognize her at all. His first thought was that she must be a teacher he’d had at some point, but he couldn’t pinpoint her to a grade. He asked again, “Who
are
you?”

She smiled. “I’m your dad’s friend, Elly Jackson. We worked together in Africa.”

He knew the name, and now that she said it, he recalled pictures his dad had sent him on his phone in a few of the lighter moments of his work there. This woman might be the same one who had been in them. She got out of the boat and crossed the pier towards them. “It’s so great to finally meet you.”

“Where’s my dad?” He didn’t intend to sound rude, but he had expected to see his dad when he arrived. What if something had happened to him?

Her smile disappeared. “You mean he’s not here with you?”

“We just got here an hour or so ago. We thought your boat was him coming to get us.”

The guy who had driven the boat hopped out, and Hunter saw he was younger, probably still in high school, or he would have been.

“Hey, Hunter. I’m Jake. Elly has told me almost nothing about you.” He put out a fist.

Hunter bumped it. “Hi, Jake. Is Elly your mom?” He hadn’t known she had kids, but then again, he hadn’t paid much attention to what his dad said about people he worked with. They were just names to him other than to remember the look on his dad’s face when he spoke of her. He’d totally been crushing the lady. “This is Sophie. We met on the way here.”

Sophie nodded at the boy but hung back and Jake, to his credit, just smiled and lifted his chin. “Hey, Sophie.”

Elly had a mask, but it was around her neck. Hunter had left his packed since he hadn’t seen signs of anyone. Sophie carried hers in her back pocket. Jake had slid his up his arm, and it wrapped around his left biceps.

Hunter felt almost naked without his on. He glanced towards the truck, and stepped back. “We should probably…” he made the motions of a mask.

Elly nodded and slipped hers up, indicating that Jake should do the same. “I’m sorry. I should know better.”

Jake rolled his eyes but put the mask on. “Kind of pointless now since we’ve already breathed around each other.”

Hunter explained how he had just arrived and how they had horses and goats with them, but that he expected his dad to come in the morning. Or he hoped he would. “I’m so much later than he thought I would be, he probably thinks I screwed up along the way.”

“I don’t know about you, but I know I’ve made a ton of mistakes the last few weeks, but somehow, I survived. So did you. We couldn’t have screwed up too badly.” She offered him a smile. “We could take the boat out there. We’re getting low on gas, though, so wanted to stop and find some.”

“I don’t know how you got gas. I got lucky, and the truck was almost full, but it’s close to empty now.”

“We’ve been siphoning from other boats, but there aren’t any here.”

“How much do you have left in the boat? I know my dad said it was only about a fifteen minute boat ride south of the river.”

Jake and Elly exchanged a look then Elly nodded. “We have enough for that. Your dad told me about the island and invited me up here, but I thought I was going to get back home to Atlanta. That didn’t happen as you can see, but I hope his offer is still standing.”

“Can we go with you?”

“Of course!” Elly laughed. “Can you imagine the look on your dad’s face if I showed up and said I left you back on the mainland?”

Hunter grinned. He liked Elly. She was nice. He could see why his dad was friends with her. “We just have to take water to the horses.”

Jake helped him, and it took only a few minutes. Then they grabbed all of their gear from the truck and stowed it in the boat.

Before he knew it, they were on their way. Excitement churned through his stomach, and he waved away the granola bar Jake offered him. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”

Sophie took one and looked a little more relaxed as she sat in the back of the boat, laughing as the wind blew her hair.

Just like his father had said, once they rounded a bend, the island came into view. It wasn’t big, but a large house and a row of smaller cabins spread out along a beach. A dock with a couple of boats was south of the beach. Was his dad watching them even now?

Hunter waved, just in case, but he didn’t see any return movement. He thought of the virus, unable to shake the nagging fear that it had reached the island, but he did his best to ignore the worry. He refused to consider that they might all be dead.

C
ole buttoned his white shirt
. It was one he used to wear to the office when he worked, and he wasn’t even sure why he had packed it, but it seemed appropriate today. He didn’t have a tie, but he wore a clean pair of khaki pants. His last clean pair. Laundry had been far down on the list of things for any of them to do.

Both the shirt and the pants were loose on him, and he had to draw his belt in two notches. Maybe Sean was right, and he was working too hard, but on the other hand, he had never been more fit.

Piper sat in the kitchen, her eyes still red, but she had combed her hair and wore what would normally be considered regular school clothes, but now seemed like formal wear.

“Are your mom and dad still dressing?”

She nodded. “I heard you and Dad arguing this morning.”

Cole started to look out at the bay. It was habit to check for more boats, especially after what had happened to Trent, but he froze at her comment and faced her. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

She shrugged. “My dad’s probably right, but I’m glad you still believe. Hunter would like that.”