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  “Yes. I had to move around a lot, and that used up a good deal of my gasoline. All the gas stations I passed had signs saying they were out. I was lucky Jo decided to track me down. I hadn’t thought…Well, that isn’t important. She had an emergency gas can in her car, and we used it for the SUV.”

  “Those Parkinsons are handy to have around when the world is falling apart.”

  She smiled, her expression soft and warm. “They are.”

  “Hmm.” He stood observing the other car in the parking lot. “I wonder how much gas is in that car.”

  Althea paused in the act of removing a box containing MRE’s. “I wondered that myself. The door’s locked though, and there’s no way to get inside to toggle the release for the lid of the gas tank.”

  “Hmm,” he said again. He reached for the bugout bag and pulled it out. “I’m pretty sure I saw something…” He found the survival kit that was almost as good as a Bag of Holding. “Got it.” A small piece of wire unfolded to about four times its length. “This should do the trick.” He glanced up at the sky. It was darkening now. “Do you think we have enough time tonight, or should we put it off until morning?”

  She looked at the sky herself, then glanced around at the parking lot. “We’ve got the time now. We may not have it tomorrow. Do what you have to do. I’ll turn the SUV around.” She pulled down the hatch but didn’t slam it shut. Instead, she just leaned her weight into it until the latch caught. “The daytime running lights should be enough for us to see. Hopefully they won’t attract unwanted attention.”

  “Okay.” He jogged over to the car, and while he set about jimmying the driver’s side door, Althea got her SUV into position, and the low-level lights shone on the car, giving Wheat an added advantage. A subdued click signaled success, and once he opened it, he reached down and tugged on the release. Another click indicated the catch was open, and he went to the side of the car, opened the fuel fill door, and unscrewed the gas cap.

  “Well, damn.” He blew out an impatient breath. “This would have to be one of the newer models that has theft prevention measures.” He folded the wire in on itself and tucked it into a back pocket.

  Althea laughed softly. “You’re not the only one who’s prepared for the end of the world as we know it.”

  “Oh, that wasn’t—” But she was striding around to the back of her SUV before he could inform her that was Lync Ryland’s doing.

  He stood to the side and watched as she lifted the hatch and moved around a number of bags and suitcases, then leaned forward until she was almost completely inside the back of the SUV. When she finally wriggled her way out, she straightened and revealed what was in her hands: a couple of clear plastic tubes and the emergency gas can.

  She removed the spout from the can, inserted the tubing into the gas tank, and set about siphoning out the gas.

  “Not to be insulting, but how did a radio personality learn how to siphon gas?”

  “My dad was a mechanic. He taught me.” She grinned up at him. “May I ask how the son of one of the town’s wealthiest men learned how to unlock a car without a key?”

  “I was friends with the daughter of the chauffeur of one of the town’s wealthiest men.” He grinned at her in turn. “She taught me.”

  “It’s an interesting world.”

  “That it is. Do you think we have enough gas?” He looked at the side of the gas can, where the shadow of its contents indicated it was about half filled. “Is that all there is?”

  “I think there’s more, but I don’t want to drain it to the bottom in case there are dregs that will foul the engine.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.” It might have been kind to leave gasoline for someone else who came along and needed it, but there was the possibility those people were just as bad as the looters Laurie had told him about.

  “You want to tell me what’s taking you so fucking long?” Laurie demanded, and Wheat jumped as he was closing the fuel fill door.

  “What are you doing here?” he responded.

  “Walking Vic.” The collie, on a leash, was at his side, more concerned about finding a bush or curb to pee on than the tension that filled the evening air.

  “We decided it would be better to siphon gas from the car tonight,” Althea said as she finished pouring the gasoline into the SUV’s tank.

  “And you couldn’t have let us know? Jo’s a wreck.”

  Althea put the gas can in the trunk and lowered the hatch. “I’ll go talk to her.” She got in the SUV, put it in gear, and drove across to the room where they were staying.

  “I’m sorry,” Wheat murmured, rubbing Laurie’s arm. “It didn’t occur to me you’d worry.” He’d never had a boyfriend who had, and he wasn’t certain of what to expect. “Are you…are you going to break up with me?”

  “Ass. Of course I’m not. Although I think your father would like nothing better.”

  “I’ll have a talk with him. He doesn’t get to say who can be my boyfriend.”

  “Just please don’t do that to me again. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when you didn’t come back in.”

  “I’m sorry,” Wheat said again. He slid a tentative arm around Laurie, unsure if it would be accepted or rejected. Laurie turned into him, wrapped his arms around Wheat, and brushed his lips over Wheat’s.

  Wheat shivered and was about to deepen the kiss when Laurie was jerked away from him.

  “What?”

  Laurie chuckled. “It’s Vic. He wants to go back to the room. He’s probably hungry.”

  “If it comes to that, so am I.” He tucked his arm through Laurie’s, and they hurried back to their room.

  His parents were seated on the edge of the bed, while Laurie’s sister sat cross-legged on a blanket on the floor, her head in her hands. Althea stood before the entertainment center, staring at the radio she must have brought in with the food. All that was coming across just then was static.

  “No news?” Wheat asked. Laurie bent to unfasten the collie’s leash.

  “We got something from Prescott before we lost the signal.” She looked at them, a sick expression in her eyes. “The government’s collapsed. He stressed avoiding cities as much as possible. The National Guard is doing what it can, but its members are falling ill at an increasingly rapid rate. Things are in disarray.”

  “What do we do?” Wheat licked his lips, grateful when Laurie reached for his hand. This information left him nervous.

  “What he said. We avoid cities, and once we get to the cottage, we hunker down and stay put.”

  “Do you think it’s likely we’ll get some relief from other countries?”

  “No, and for two reasons. The first is we’ve burned any bridges we had with our allies.”

  “And the second?”

  “They’re in as bad a shape as we are. London’s in flames. Mass riots are taking place in Paris, Berlin, and Rome. As for Moscow…” She shook her head. “We’ve had no word from them in well over a month.”

  “A month? How is it that was never on the news?” Wheat demanded.

  Althea sighed. “We—” She cleared her throat. “Government agencies asked for cooperation from the news media when we—they first began to suspect we had a serious situation on our hands.”

  “Laurie?” His sister raised tear-stained cheeks. “What’s gonna happen with Mom and Pop? With Meg and Beth and Amy?”

  Laurie went to her and pulled her up into a hug. “We’ll have to hope they make it to Aunt Ethel’s okay.”

  She buried her face in his shoulder and wept, and Althea joined them. “Let me have her,” she murmured to Laurie, and he stepped aside. Althea stroked Jo’s back. “We’ll go after them.”

  “But you said we had to stay put.”

  “We’ll do that until it’s safe. According to the scientists, things should get better.”

  “When?”

  “I can’t say, sugar. We’ll see how things go, and then we’ll decide. Now, I want you to eat something. You’
ll feel better with something in your stomach.”

  Althea seemed to know what she was talking about. Wheat just hoped so.

  He handed an MRE to his boyfriend, then took two for his parents.

  Father stared at it as if he had no idea what it was, so Wheat prepared the chicken with salsa for him.

  “Let me help,” Laurie murmured, and he took the vegetable manicotti MRE from Mother. “Here you go, Mrs. Dupuis.”

  “Thank you—”

  “Laurie, ma’am. I’m Laurie.”

  She smiled at him and began to nibble on her meal.

  Chapter 19

  They were up early the next morning and looking forward to leaving the motel room. It had been hot and stuffy, because of course there was no air conditioning. In addition, the windows were the kind that were sealed shut, and it had been the general consensus that leaving the door open overnight was unsafe.

  While Althea hurried out to the SUV to get some MRE’s for breakfast and a can of dog food for Invictus, Laurie and Jo made the bed with quick, efficient movements. Wheat had to smile, recalling his boyfriend tidying the bunker with those same quick, efficient movements before they’d left the day before.

  God, it had only been the day before. Time seemed to be flashing by in a blur.

  With the bed made, Laurie and his sister folded the blankets and stacked them and the spare pillows at the foot of the bed.

  “We’re gonna have to hurry,” Althea said as she handed out the MRE’s and the morning’s dose of meds. “I don’t like the looks of the sky.”

  Jo popped the lid on the dog food and set it down for the collie. “I’ll take Vic out as soon as he’s done eating.” She rushed through her own breakfast.

  “I’ll go with you,” Laurie said as he finished his breakfast.

  Althea heated up her scrambled eggs, seasoned them, and took a bite. She sighed, and Wheat could understand. He’d wound up with scrambled eggs also. How did the military do it? Were these meals an acquired taste?

  She saw Wheat observing her and gave a shrug and a wry smile. “It’s a good thing we filled the gas tank last night.”

  “Yes.” He noticed his parents were having difficulty heating their breakfasts. “Let me help you with that, Mother.” Once her meal was prepared, he turned to his father, who stared at him with an indiscernible expression.

  “I’m sorry, this is the best we can do—”

  Father shook his head. “I’m…impressed.”

  “Laurie showed me how to use them.” He waited to hear what his father would say to that, but although his lips tightened in disapproval, he accepted his coffee and cinnamon scone in silence.

  Mother cleared her throat. “This is delightful, Morrison.” She turned to Althea. “Thank you, Ms. McAvoy. You’ve been most kind.”

  “It’s the least I can do.” Althea suddenly seemed tired, and not simply because of a poor night’s sleep—Father’s coughing had kept them awake for most of the night. “I tried to…” She shook her head. “Once we’re finished, I suggest we all use the bathroom. I’d like to be on the road in about twenty minutes.”

  * * * *

  Wheat was the last one to use the bathroom. He’d arranged it that way on purpose. He closed the door, turned on his flashlight, and placed it on the toilet tank. It illuminated the room enough so he could see what he was doing and not piss all over his shoes.

  He thought of Prescott’s words. If you haven’t become ill by this point, you may have a chance. The key word, though, was “may.”

  After he relieved himself, he washed his hands and stared into the mirror. The odds were his father wasn’t going to make it. His mother probably wouldn’t survive either. Althea McAvoy, Laurie’s sister, Jo. Laurie. Him. Not that it mattered. If his boyfriend didn’t live, Wheat didn’t want to go on without him.

  As for face masks…There was no point in putting them on. By this point, they were either all exposed or all immune.

  He picked up the flashlight and gazed a final time at his reflection in the mirror. “It was nice knowing you, Wheat. And if you’re going to die, make sure Laurie will be proud he’d let you be the first one ever who spanked him.” He opened the door and walked into Laurie’s solid form. “Um…Aren’t you supposed to be waiting in the car?”

  “I’m here.”

  Yes, obviously, he was, and the question was how much had he heard?

  “Two things, Wheat. You’re not going to die. And I’ll always be proud I chose you.” He slid an arm around Wheat’s shoulders. “Always.”

  * * * *

  It was a good thing they left when they did, because as they drove away from the motel, it began to drizzle.

  “Are we going to reach the cottage today, do you think?” Mother asked. “The drive generally takes us less than four hours.” She was always the one who seemed so fragile, the one who had to be shielded from the harsh realities of life, but now she sat with Father in her arms, murmuring words of comfort against his hair as he coughed.

  “Not if this keeps up. It isn’t raining hard enough to defeat the windshield wipers’ purpose, but these roads are like an obstacle course. Laurie, are you familiar with any motels this far north of Laurel Hill?”

  “I’m afraid not. We may have to spend the night in an abandoned house. Or maybe a convenience store if we can find one that hasn’t been looted.” Laurie leaned forward. “Why don’t you let me take the wheel for a few miles?”

  Althea glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

  “Thea?” Jo reached across and touched her girlfriend’s arm. “Please? You’ve been driving for so long.”

  “All right.” She steered the SUV to the side of the road, put it in park, and she and Jo and Vic exchanged seats with Laurie and Wheat.

  Wheat settled himself into the passenger seat as Laurie got behind the wheel. But while Wheat didn’t have to arrange his seat, Laurie had to adjust not only the driver’s seat to accommodate his long legs—for a moment Wheat permitted himself to enjoy the memory of those legs wrapped around his waist…

  “What are you grinning at?” Laurie demanded, and he gave his boyfriend a salacious grin.

  “I’ll tell you later.” He leaned closer and rested his palm high on Laurie’s thigh.

  “Oh.” The corners of Laurie’s eyes crinkled, and he stroked his fingertips along the back of Wheat’s hand before he reached up to adjust the rearview mirror as well. They both buckled up, but then Laurie sighed.

  “What?”

  “It looks like we have a little more than half a tank of gas.” He met Wheat’s gaze. “I know you siphoned the gas from Carla’s car, but it doesn’t seem to have been very much.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I think we’d better keep an eye out for a gas station.”

  “I’m sorry,” Althea said. “The Valkyrie isn’t a gas guzzler, but she gets much better mileage on the highway.”

  “They usually do. Okay, everyone buckled up?”

  There were murmurs of assent, Laurie put the SUV in drive, and they continued on, the silence disturbed by Father’s cough.

  Chapter 20

  It wound up taking them another day and a half to reach northwest New Jersey. It wasn’t the on-and-off rain that delayed them, but more the roads that were like continuous obstacle courses.

  “Just a few more hours,” Wheat told Laurie, who was still driving.

  Laurie kept his gaze on the road. “We’re gonna need gas.”

  They were fortunate enough to find a small gas station off the beaten path. “There’s no sign saying they’re out of gas,” Wheat said.

  “Okay, let’s keep our fingers crossed.” Laurie positioned the SUV beside the lone pump.

  “I’ll check to see,” Althea volunteered. She let herself out of the SUV and walked around to the pump.

  “She’s a remarkable woman,” Mother murmured.

  “She is. She knew all along this was going to happen and tried to warn people but—” Jo gasped, and when Wheat glanced behind, i
t was to see her biting her lip, her face scarlet.

  Just then, Althea returned to the driver’s side and tapped on the window, and Laurie rolled it down. “Any luck?

  “There is gas. Pop the gas cap and unlock the hatch. Jo, get the emergency can from the trunk. I’ll fill that as well as the gas tank.”

  Jo hopped out, taking the collie with her. “Stay close, Vic.” The dog wagged his plumed tail and trotted to a nearby patch of grass to investigate.

  “Between the tank and the emergency can, that should give us almost forty gallons in total. Will that be enough, Wheat?”

  “It should.” He worried his lower lip.

  “But you’re not positive?”

  “No.” These people couldn’t afford to be coddled. They had to know what they might be facing. “Normally it only takes one tank to get from Laurel Hill to Hyacinth.”

  Althea blew out a breath. “And these aren’t normal times.”

  “No,” he said again.

  “We’ll just have to hope for the best.” She went to the pump and inserted the nozzle into the tank.

  “Do you want to get out and stretch your legs, Mother?” Wheat asked.

  “That’s a good idea. Edison?”

  “Eh?”

  “We’re going to walk around a bit,” Mother said.

  “All right, my dear.”

  But it was easy to see things weren’t all right. “Just a second, Mother. I’ll come around and help you.”

  It was telling that she didn’t assure him that wasn’t necessary. By the time Wheat arrived at the other side of the SUV, Laurie had the passenger door opened and Wheat’s mother standing beside him. Wheat helped his father out. Oh God, he’s so hot.

  “What a pretty house,” Mother said. Beyond the gas station stood a white clapboard farmhouse with maroon shutters and a small porch. She looped her arm through Laurie’s and urged him closer. “Do you think they’ll object to us staying with them?”

  “We’ll go ask, Mrs. Dupuis.” Laurie glanced at Wheat.

  “Would you mind staying with Father?” he asked his mother.