Unthinkable (Berger Series) (11 page)

Yoshi went into the bathroom after Evan came out. Towels had been spread out on the couch where they’d been sitting in their wet clothes.
He sat next to Damien again to finish his meal.

“There are three bedrooms upstairs,” said Paul. “There’s still water in the toilet tanks which should be drinkable too.”

“Oh,” said Damien, standing suddenly. He hurried back into the kitchen. He returned with an armful of water bottles. “I forgot to check the fridge. A few more bottles in there too.”

Evan was glad for the water; the peanut butter was st
arting to stick. Yoshi came out and Damien went in to change, hardly taking any time at all. The clothes hung loose off Yoshi and Evan noticed he was shivering. Damien pulled a fluffy towel off the pile and handed it to Yoshi. He nodded gratefully and wrapped it around himself. The room grew darker as the sun set; there were no street lights any more.

Paul finished his crackers and made his way to the stairs. “I’m
gonna sleep in the master,” he said.

“I’ll take a bed too,” said Damien, following. Paul glared at him as he followed him up the stairs.

“Couch for me,” said Yoshi as he wiped the crumbs away.

“Recliner,”
called Evan as he switched and tilted it back. There was a creak from the stairs. Damien carried a couple of blankets and pillows.

“I thought you guys might want these,” he said, setting them on the edge of the couch before quickly heading back upstairs.

“Thanks,” called Yoshi after him as he pulled a blanket over himself and grabbed a pillow. Evan looked at the pile and decided he was warm enough without a blanket. The world was strangely silent in the dark; even his own breath seemed loud. He was also aware that he was sleeping in a stranger’s house, in a stranger’s clothes. But, he was alive.

“Yoshi?” he whispered in the dark.

“Yeah?” Yoshi sounded sleepy.

“Thanks.”

Yoshi sighed and Evan smiled as he closed his eyes. He never did like being thanked for anything. He’d nearly drifted off when Yoshi spoke up.

“Evan?”

“Yeah?” Evan didn’t open his eyes.

“Thank
you
.”

“What?” His
eyes flew open and he stared at Yoshi in the dark. “I haven’t done anything.”

“Sure you have,” he said. Evan waited for more, but Yoshi’s breathing slowed and Evan knew he was asleep. Evan settled back and closed his eyes. The drizzling rain came to a stop as he slipped into a fitful sleep

In his mind, Evan screamed silently.
The sad eyed soldier and Shelly were the same woman and she lay broken and bleeding in a city street. He looked down, saw his own blood drenched hands and silently screamed again as he forced himself awake, sitting straight up, shaking and feeling his heart race. He rubbed his hands together for a moment before remembering they were clean. Evan forced his breathing to slow as the nightmare began to recede. The night felt like smothering silence against his hammering heart. He listened hard and finally heard Yoshi’s slow breathing. Evan stretched and creaked in the chair, pushing the silence further away. He was wide awake now, looking at the furniture silhouetted in the dim light, though exhaustion tugged at him.

Yoshi moaned and tossed fitfully in his sleep before settling back into other dreams.
He was barely visible on the couch, melting into the darkness, blankets pooled at his feet. Evan settled back into the chair and stared into the dark, feeling every ache and pain in his body. He felt old now, so much older than just a few short weeks ago. What was his old life? Just going to the office? He closed his eyes and tried to imagine it. The image of his coworkers barely registered any more. Even Shelly was hard to picture. Evan realized now the value of a photograph; but it was too late. He started to drift off to sleep again. A quiet voice whispered from somewhere in the house.

Evan’s eyes flew open and he sat up so quickly that he closed th
e recliner with a squeaky thud; Yoshi jerked awake and rubbed his eyes. “Evan?” he asked in a hoarse whisper, “what is it?”

Evan strained to hear, but there was no sound now e
xcept a faint wind. “Never mind. I thought I heard something, but I guess not,” he whispered back.

“Okay,” Yoshi settled back down. Evan stared into the dark for another minute before standing and stretching his stiff body. He shuffled carefully over to the couch. Yoshi pulled his feet up as Evan pushed the blanket
onto the floor, sat on the end and got comfortable.

“Say, Evan,” said Yoshi quietly, “
lemme ask you something?”

“
Anything.” Evan looked down the couch. Yoshi lay on his back looking up at him.

“Damien. Do you honestly believe we can trust him?”

“Yes.” Evan didn’t hesitate. “He didn’t have to see me safely here. I don’t know what happened in the town, but whether he knew or didn’t know he’s been trying to make it up ever since.”

“Okay.” Yoshi sighed and curled up on his side.

“Yoshi?” Evan asked hesitantly.

“Yeah?”
Yoshi shifted to find a comfortable spot.

“What do you dream about? You haven’t slept well since we left St. Louis. Sometimes you moan in your sleep and stuff.”

Yoshi remained silent.

“I know I’ve been having nightmares,” said Evan quickly, “but I mean it seems like whatever you’re dreaming about is worse.”

Yoshi sighed. “It’s just nightmares, Evan. Nothing I want to talk about.”

“If something happened to you Yoshi, you can tell me,” Evan pressed.

“Nothing happened to me that’s any worse than what happened to you. You don’t sleep so well yourself, as you said. I mean really, the world ended, it’s not like it’s going to make you sleep well at night. Goodnight, Evan.”

Evan
shifted, unsatisfied. But pushing Yoshi never worked. He listened as Yoshi fell back asleep, then settled a little more comfortably into the couch and dozed fitfully until grey light brightened the window. Evan shook Yoshi’s good foot to wake him up. He stood up and stretched as Yoshi slowly opened his eyes. Evan cracked his neck and headed up the stairs.

There was a picture near the top of the stairs of an apparently happy family: Mom, Dad, older son, younger daughter. Evan found himself staring at it and
reluctantly tore his eyes away. He pushed open the door on his left. It was a master bedroom and Paul lay sprawled out on the bed. Evan walked over and gave him a little shake. He opened his eyes, saw Evan and nodded.

Evan walked into the hall and tried the next door. He was assaulted by pink lacy
girliness and quickly closed the door. The next door obviously belonged to a teenager with its “keep out” sign. Evan pushed open the door and found Damien curled in a ball on the bed. Evan started to walk toward the bed, but Damien started and sat up. He gave Evan a little smile and stretched like a cat as he sat up.

Evan made his way downstairs. The smell of food carried from the kitchen. Yoshi was cooking oatmeal on the stove as Evan walked in.
Wanting to be helpful, Evan turned and pulled open the cabinets and drawers, setting the canned goods and non-perishables on the counter. He set a stack of bowls and spoons on the table and grabbed the brown sugar. Damien sniffed the air as he came around the corner, rubbing his hair. He smiled and sat as Yoshi carried the pot to the table. The three of them were eating by the time Paul finally made his appearance. Evidently, he’d found a razor somewhere. He stopped and looked at them, then grabbed his own bowl, and ate leaning against the counter. Yoshi and Evan exchanged a glance while Damien glared at his back. When they finished Evan collected the bowls and took them to the sink. There was silverware in the bottom along with a bowl and cup, remnants of someone’s breakfast. Evan felt a pang of guilt as he put the dishes down. Well, wherever this family was now they’d probably never come home to wonder who’d been eating their porridge and sleeping in their beds. Evan smiled to himself.

Damien walked into the kitchen with a duffel bag and started filling it with the food. Evan helped him and grabbed the can opener and the candle lighter Yoshi had left by the stove. Carrying the bag into the living room they added some of the towels. Yoshi grabbed a couple
jackets from the closet. Paul watched them work from the couch as he finished his breakfast.

They left the house just after daybreak. Yoshi took the lead. Paul shrugged and fell in at the back. Yoshi looked up at the partly cloudy sky and the rising sun. “We’ll head north until we can get clear of the suburbs.”
Still limping, he started off, setting a comfortable pace.

They walked through the morning, passing through the subdivision and back into businesses. Evan kept his ears open for the sounds of another military patrol; the last thing any of them wanted was to get carted back to camp. Damien carried the bag for a while before handing it to Evan. It was heavy, but it was a form of security. When he got tired he handed it back to Damien again.

They reached a school, eerie in its emptiness. Swings slowly squeaked back and forth in the hot breeze. They ate their lunch in silence on a covered asphalt courtyard. Evan’s watched the swings and wondered where the children had all gone while Yoshi concentrated on his food. Damien watched Paul as Paul ignored him. They set off again, Evan feeling the sweat soaking through his shirt.

Evan tried to think of happier times as they walked
, like the simple pleasure of sitting on the couch, drinking an ice-cold soda and watching mindless television. It seemed a million years away. Suddenly his drifting mind slammed into sharp focus at the sound of an engine. He stopped, staring down the road. Yoshi and Damien pulled him into an alley. Evan shook himself and looked back toward the road. Paul was walking into the middle of the road, flagging down the vehicle and pointing down the alley.

“Bastard,” cursed Yoshi as they turned and fled. The vehicle drew closer as their footsteps echoed between the buildings. Evan and Damien stayed half a step behind Yoshi, ready to catch him if he fell. The engine stopped, and then sped up again. In front of them the alley opened onto another street, a wide expanse of pavement with another alley opposite. Without slowing, they put their
heads down and kept running. The opposite alleyway seemed the other side of the world. There was a shout and the pop of gunfire. Damien shoved Yoshi off his feet and into the alley before diving in himself. Evan ducked and stumbled in as Damien grabbed Yoshi’s arm and pulled him to his feet. The bag bounced off of Damien’s legs as he led the way down the alley. Damien turned and kicked open a door. They piled inside. Evan yanked it closed behind them.

It was a storeroom with a door on the other side. Damien pulled that door open. They passed through a dusty kitchen, trying to catch their breath. Yoshi stifled a cough. The kitchen led to a tidy dining room. Blinds were pulled down over the front windows. They stopped, straining to hear any sounds of pursuit. The vehicle sounds receded until there was nothing. Cautiously they moved toward the front door. Damien handed Evan the bag and
carefully pulled open the front door. After looking around he turned and nodded to Evan and Yoshi.

They made their way across the empty street. Evan looked at the sky, but it was too close to noon to tell direction.
Sticking close to the buildings, Evan led them up the sidewalk. Yoshi and Damien were a few paces behind him. Running footsteps alerted them to danger.

Evan jumped into an alleyway, flattening himself against the wall as a familiar voice yelled, “Freeze!” Peering around the corner he saw Paul pointing a pistol at Yoshi and Damien as he walked forward. “You’re under arrest for looting.”

“I knew you was no good!” shouted Damien.

Paul ignored the comment. “Oh wait,” he said, taking aim, “looters are to be shot on sight.”

Damien shoved Yoshi to the ground as a bullet shattered the glass storefront behind them. Damien jumped up and charged Paul. Another shot rang out, hitting Damien but not slowing him down. He tackled Paul, grabbing at the gun. Evan watched as they fell to the street.

Yoshi
picked himself up and rushed toward the fray. Seeing Yoshi’s movement, Evan dropped the bag and ran after Yoshi. The gun went off a third time. Damien screamed. Yoshi reached the fight and delivered a vicious kick to Paul’s head. He kept kicking as Damien rolled over onto his back, still screaming and shouting profanities. Paul tried to protect his head from Yoshi’s relentless kicks. He went limp as Evan reached them. Yoshi kept kicking.

“Yoshi!”
Evan grabbed his arms and pulled him away. Yoshi shook himself free and looked down at the ruins of Paul’s face. Damien screamed again before dissolving into tears. Evan looked over and saw the bullet had torn a hole in his gut. There was another hole where a bullet had entered his shoulder. Futilely, Evan dropped to his knees, tore apart what was left of Damien’s shirt and tried to staunch the stomach wound. Yoshi tore Paul’s shirt and gave that to Evan. He knelt by Damien’s head and tried to cover the shoulder wound with his bare hands.

“Oh God, oh God,” moaned Damien.

“It’ll…it’ll be okay,” said Evan, fighting away panic.

Damien whimpered again and looked down at Evan’s hands. Evan shook his head, trying not to believe how much blood there was.