Page 46 of A Wilderness Within

“I’ll be back.” She took one of the lanterns and headed into the master bedroom. She sat cross-legged on the bed and turned the radio on. She chose the lowest number channel and then held the button. She felt nervous, talking to no one, or maybe everyone who was left.

“This is Caroline Kelly. I’m hoping someone out there will hear me. If you can, that means you’re a survivor, like me. We are the same—we are in this together. The CDC is operational in Atlanta, and they need survivors. With our help, they can find a vaccine. I know a lot of you are scared. There are people out there preying on others because they can, because they think everyone left in the world is looking out for themselves. But if we stick together, if we trust each other to work together, then we can save humanity. We can rebuild. This is bigger than any of us. Our children and their children deserve a better world, but to do that, we have to stop the chaos, stop the violence and mistrust. So…if you’re hearing this, I’m going up to the next channel tomorrow night to find more people and spread the word. Meet us in Atlanta. If we save each other, we save the world. Caroline out.” She released the talk button and drew in a deep breath. It was a start.

She found Lincoln pacing across the kitchen, their sleepy ward propped on his shoulder. His eyes were half-closed, and he was humming…Metallica? She bit her lip to hide her smile. Ellie was going to be one bad-ass girl with a man like Lincoln for her father.

“She okay?” Caroline whispered as she joined him.

“Yep. Fed, burped, and out for the count.” He nodded at the folded crib. “You take her, and I’ll set up the crib in the master bedroom.”

Caroline took her niece and followed Lincoln into the bedroom. She set up some lanterns and rubbed a hand up and down Ellie’s back while Lincoln set up the crib. Then they set Ellie inside.

“Has anyone talked back to you?” he asked when she handed him the radio.

She shook her head. “Not yet, but it’s just the first day.”

“You’re pretty amazing,” he said, catching her hips and pulling her gently against him.

“Yeah?” She curled her arms around his neck. “How so?” There was something about the way he held her, the way he looked at her. She felt like she could do anything in the world so long as he held her and looked at her just like that.

“You believe in everything. I thought you were gullible and foolish at first, but now? Now I understand. Hope is a gift.” He leaned down, their lips inches apart. “You’remygift.”

They kissed, the hungry raw passion of the moment consuming them as they tumbled back onto the bed.You’re my gift.And hope to him was a gift.

I think I’m falling in love with you, Lincoln.

She kissed him back with desperation, tugging at his clothes even as he was tugging at hers.

They made love hard and slow, as though determined to feel every bit of each other in intimate detail. Lincoln didn’t let her once lose focus on him or her pleasure. In the orange glow of the lanterns, they each made silent vows to one another. Caroline would never give up. She had everything to fight for.

14

@CDC: The governors of the following states have declared emergencies and will be closing major highways in and out to prevent the spread of Hydra-1. New York, Illinois, California, Texas, Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Florida. If you live in one of these states, you are federally mandated to stay in your homes except to secure food and medical supplies. Additional triage stations will be announced shortly in cities in the above listed states.

—Centers for Disease Control Twitter Feed

January 14, 2020

The days passed slowly, the travel arduous and grim as they drove through Missouri. So many of the interstates and highways they would have used were road-blocked or so cramped with abandoned vehicles that they were forced to turn back. Each time this happened, Lincoln’s face darkened, and Caroline did her best to ease his worry and frustration. No one was used to this, the end of the civilized world. The only thing that kept Caroline going was speaking on the radio each night, spreading words of hope that she hoped somebody would hear.

Ellie chirped happily in the back seat, growing more each day, and it filled Caroline with quiet joy to see glimpses of Natalie and Rick in her little face. Whatever this new world held for them, Ellie was bringing her parents with her in some small fashion.

Lincoln stopped the car at a mall outside of a small city in eastern Missouri.

“I saw smoke on the horizon, could be wildfires. We need to get our supplies fast and keep moving.”

“Got it,” Caroline agreed.

Lincoln left Caroline alone with the baby and the dog while he siphoned fuel from the cars. They had used half their extra fuel supply in just seven days due to having to retrace their steps and find new ways to head east.

Caroline picked up Ellie from her car seat and walked around with her, holding her up so she could look about. Kirby didn’t stray far; he marked a few trees by the edge of the parking lot before he trotted back to them. The chickens in the back were silent, clucking every now and then from their pet carriers. A breeze suddenly caught some tendrils of Caroline’s hair, tossing them around. She laughed as Ellie caught a strand and tugged hard.

“Ow…ow!” Caroline winced as she extricated the hair from Ellie’s tiny but forceful grip. “You pull hair like your mama does.” She laughed again, thinking of all the times she and Natalie had fought as kids. Natalie used to pull her hair, and Caroline had been a shover.

A hint of smoke was carried on the breeze, and she turned her head toward the western sky. Plumes of black smoke were billowing upward, blending deceptively with the clouds. If the wind hadn’t changed, she might not have noticed the smoke until it was too late. The sun began to set beneath the layers of clouds, and it looked as if it was wreathed in a crown of fire. The wind must have changed, carrying the wildfire their way.

“Lincoln!” She shoved Ellie back in her car seat, strapping her in. “Kirby, up!” She pointed at the back seat, and the dog leaped inside. Caroline screamed Lincoln’s name again, not seeing him. What would she do if the fire reached them and she still hadn’t found him? She’d vowed never to leave him, but she had Ellie to think of now and—

Lincoln vaulted over the hood of a Taurus fifty feet away.

---