Chapter 19 Emery
Chapter nineteen
Emery
“Ijust can’t believe it,” I murmured. “We knew it was happening, but I still just can’t believe it.
” I let go of Miguel’s hand and went to my parents, kneeling in front of them.
They both put their arms around me as we watched the columns of smoke rise into the air, each one marking a bridge or tunnel into New York City.
Now, the only way into the city was by boat or swimming, not that there was any reason to go back. The city belonged to the dead now.
“My name is Geoff,” the Captain said to us after a few more minutes of silence. “This is my wife, Barb. We’re dropping these folks off in Nyack. We’d be happy to take you as far as Stony Point.”
“My name is Felix,” Papi said, standing to shake the man’s hand. “This is my wife Camila, my daughter Emery, and her men, Nico, Luis, and Miguel. I appreciate what you’ve done for my family. You saved our lives.”
“Any decent human would have done the same, but I appreciate your gratitude. So far, the infection hasn’t spread as badly to the mainland, but it’s coming.
I suggest that when you get off, you head as far away from densely populated areas as you can.
I’m not sure we can recover from this, but everyone deserves a chance to try.
” Geoff started the boat and continued down the river at a more reasonable speed.
We learned that they had a boat slip in Stony Point and were heading to their son’s house in Upstate New York.
After a short debate, we decided to get off at Stony Point with them and make our way into the mountains from there.
I curled up in Luis’s lap for the ride. Now that my adrenaline was waning, my body had the chance to realize it was on a boat, and it wasn’t happy. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing to keep from getting sick as everyone talked.
“No matter how many times I shot them, they wouldn’t go down,” the father of the other group said. We barely made it to the evacuation point, but by the time we did, the last boat had left. We begged the Army to take us with them, but they wouldn’t.”
“Hardly even spared us a glance,” his wife spat.
“If Geoff hadn’t come along when he had, well, he will always be in my prayers,” the man added, looking toward the boat captain.
“You have to shoot or stab them in the head,” Nico replied. “Killing the brain is the only thing that brings them down.”
“I’ll remember that for next time, thank you,” the man replied.
“Is she ok?” the wife asked. I didn’t have to look to know she was talking about me.
“Emery gets seasick,” Mami replied. “She’ll be ok once we get back to land.”
“I really don’t know why anyone would ever leave it,” I complained. Luis stroked my back, and I concentrated on his soothing touch. All the shit we’d already been through, and a stupid boat was my downfall.
When we stopped in Nyack, I got off the boat while the other family stepped ashore for a bit of relief.
I almost suggested we get off here, too, so I didn’t have to get back on the boat, but going all the way to Stony Point was the smarter plan, so reluctantly, I got back on board.
When we finally reached Stony Point, I almost kissed the ground.
“Thank you for everything,” Nico said to Geoff as we parted ways. We walked into town, and the difference between here and the city was almost jarring. We were back in civilization, and people on the streets were watching us nervously.
“We’re quite a sight, aren’t we?” Mami asked.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Maybe we should check into a hotel and clean up before we get breakfast.”
“A hot shower would be wonderful,” Miguel replied. I groaned at the thought of a hot shower as we located the nearest hotel. Luckily, we’d all brought our personal belongings and managed not to lose them, including our wallets.
“You guys stay here, and I’ll book the rooms,” I said as we walked into the hotel lobby. “Hi, I’d like three rooms for the night. If possible, can two of them be connecting rooms?”
The front desk clerk eyed me suspiciously, but didn’t comment as I set my credit card down on the counter. We may look rough, but my money was good. When she looked at my driver’s license, her eyes widened. “You’re from New York?!” she whispered.
“I am.”
She looked past me to where my parents and the guys were sitting. “I saw the news. You’re lucky to have made it out. Was it as bad as they said it was?”
“Worse,” I replied. “And if I were you, I’d start packing and look for somewhere safe because it can’t be stopped.
The Army tried and failed. That’s why they blew the bridges and tunnels.
” She nodded, but I could see the doubt in her eyes.
“Listen, everyone thinks it won’t happen to them until it does.
Trust me, this will happen to everyone.”
“Here are your room keys,” she said, ignoring my warning. “This is the single room, and these are the connecting room keys. Check out is at eleven A.M., and if you need anything else, let us know. Enjoy your stay.”
I took back the keys, my credit card, and my license from her, rolling my eyes as I walked away. She’d learn soon enough. I handed out the keys, and we took the elevator to our floor.
“Meet back in the lobby in an hour?” Papi asked.
“Sounds good to me,” I replied as I let myself into my room.
I tossed my bag down on the desk and immediately started the shower.
I looked at my reflection with little surprise.
My face still showed the bruises from where Justin had hit me.
My wrists were still marked from the restraints.
I was dirty head to toe, my clothes had dried blood, dirt, and zombie guts all over them.
It was a miracle they let us into the hotel.
I stripped out of my clothes and threw them right in the trash.
No amount of laundering would help them now.
I moaned as I stepped under the hot water.
Nothing had ever felt as fantastic as this shower.
I stood under the stream and let it wash over me, the water at my feet quickly turning brown.
Grabbing a washcloth, I pumped some soap onto it and started scrubbing every inch of my body.
When I finished, I tossed that cloth aside and grabbed another to repeat the process.
Three dirtied washcloths later, I finally felt a semblance of clean.
Then I started on my hair. Wash, rinse, repeat until the water at my feet was clear and sudsy.
When I stepped out of the shower, I saw I had spent nearly every minute of that hour in there and needed to hurry.
Redressing was tricky. Even though my clothes were packed away, they were still a bit dirty.
I found the cleanest ones I could, slipped my feet into the flip-flops I’d packed, grabbed my wallet and room key, and headed downstairs.
We would need to do some shopping after breakfast for clothes and essentials.
I already had a plan for where to go that I needed to pass by the rest of the group.
As I suspected, everyone was waiting for me in the lobby when I got there. “Sorry,” I apologized, “It took a while to get clean.”
“No need to apologize, Princess. We haven’t been waiting long,” Nico replied, kissing my forehead.
We walked down the street to a diner, and the smells that hit us as we walked through the door instantly made my mouth water.
It had been days since we had a hot meal, and quite a while since we’d finished off the rest of the food.
I wasn’t the only one hungry, and as we ordered, the waitress’s eyes grew wider and wider at the amount of food we’d ordered.
It was far more food than six people could eat under normal circumstances, but as one of those six people, I had no doubt we’d finish it all.
I’d ordered eggs, bacon, toast, chocolate-chip pancakes, a biscuit, and hash browns.
When our food arrived, I dug into mine, and the table fell silent for several minutes, save for the sounds of eating.
Finally, I paused to take a big gulp of my orange juice and then looked around the table.
“I have an idea I want to pass by you.” I laid out my plan and then waited for their thoughts.
It was based mainly on the belief that the rest of the world would become like New York.
“I think it’s a sound plan, Piccina,” Papi replied.
“We’re going to need a lot to make it work,” Nico hedged, “but I think it’s the right move. We know what’s coming; we’ve already lived it, so we need to get ourselves into a position to survive.”
“Not only survive, but defend,” Miguel added.
“So we agree, then?” I asked.
“Sounds like it, Sweetheart,” Luis replied. “It’s a good plan.”
After we finished breakfast, Mami and Papi went back to the hotel, while we headed to the nearest big-box store to pick up what we’d need over the next day or so.
Once we got settled into our new place, we could start stocking up for the end of the world.
The first item on our list was cell phone chargers.
We needed to reconnect with the world to pull this off.
We also grabbed clothes and shoes for everyone, along with new luggage.
Once we’d gotten everything we needed, we grabbed lunch and went back to the hotel.
I dropped off food for my parents, then went back to my room to get everything squared away.
The first thing I did when my phone turned on was to book a cabin in the mountains through my rental app.
I booked it for several months out, paying with my debit card.
All that money I had saved would come in handy after all.
And in a way, I was still using it for its initial purpose—getting my parents out of the city.