Chapter 21 #2
“She’s right,” Gabriel said with a sigh. He didn’t like to admit defeat, but there wasn’t anyone left to communicate with. Irving was eerily efficient, but even he couldn’t mobilize a rescue that didn’t exist.
No, they’d failed. And there was only one thing left to do.
“We need to get clear of the fighting and try to find a refugee camp or some other safe zone. Preferably one with medical.” Gabriel leaned over the map and gave himself a moment to adjust. He located the fire station and then approximated where he thought they might be.
“Our last reliable intelligence was that the—” he shuddered, still having difficulty saying it out loud.
“Aliens were hitting major cities. We have to assume that’s where the heaviest fighting will be. ”
“Makes sense,” Victoria agreed, her light blue eyes flicking over the map.
“Taking out the cities would leave the country rudderless. Decimating major population centers would be easier than going after individual towns.” Her voice wasn’t cold, but clinical.
Like she wasn’t talking about people but something else far away.
“Right. Which makes heading out of the city our best bet. Civilians were told to evacuate north towards Bethesda. I think we should head that way.”
Judd pulled a marker from one of his endless pockets and pulled the cap off with his teeth.
He made a small X over Bethesda, Maryland, and then he put another to the East of the White House.
Gabriel drew a line between the two with his finger and frowned.
A direct route would take them through some of the more ravaged parts of the city.
Blake seemed to come to the same conclusion. “I don’t see how we could possibly make it that far without a vehicle.” His eyes flicked to Phin and Victoria, and what he didn’t say was loud and clear.
Especially not with injuries.
And they were just the ones with leg injuries. Judd’s arm had stopped bleeding, and he hadn’t complained of pain, but he had lost a lot of blood. Blake had a head injury, and Gabriel’s shoulder still ached. They were in no condition to trek through what amounted to hostile territory.
“What about a boat?” Tommy asked from across the small, yellow kitchen. He was standing by the counter, holding two cans of something. His eyes widened when they all turned to look at him, and he lifted the cans like he wanted to hide behind them.
“If a car’s engine is fried, then a boat’s would be too,” Judd answered, turning back to his map.
“Not a sailboat.”
Judd paused. He chewed on the marker cap for a minute before turning to Tommy. The young EMT squirmed under the scrutiny, his shoulders hiking up to his ears.
“I just mean…a year ago I dated a guy whose dad had a sailboat. He took me out a couple of times. It was really fun, and it didn’t have a motor or anything. So I thought—but never mind. It was probably a dumb idea.”
Blake shook his head. “It’s not dumb. Not at all.” He pulled the map to him and scanned it for a second before pointing to a spot northwest of them. “The Georgetown Dock. It’s a super yuppie area. It’ll definitely have a rich senator’s boat or something.”
Judd studied the map as he worked the pen cap between his teeth. “It’s possible. We could take the Potomac north towards Cedar Island. Hope that gets us out of the fighting so we can either find a vehicle or take our time hoofing it towards Bethesda.”
Gabriel took his time examining the map.
He trusted Judd’s abilities to guide them, and Blake knew this area better than any of them, but it was still a long way to go.
Especially if they couldn’t find a vehicle.
The EMP or whatever it was might be limited in distance, or it might have encompassed the entire country.
And if the Monkey Cat’s ships had reigned terror over the country, then it might not matter if they were in a city or not.
They could get out of DC only to find more fighting and fewer resources.
Still. He didn’t have anything better. And logically, the Monkey Cats wouldn’t have had time to land ground troops to cover the entire country. If that was even their plan. No, the best idea was to head north and try to regroup with some other refugees. Find a place to rest.
They agreed and began planning, sorting what they would take, what they still needed, and going over their inventory. Ammo was sparse, and they’d need to be more than conservative.
Blake insisted he take the time to recheck everyone’s wounds. Victoria’s leg wasn’t any better, but they were able to use some t-shirts to pad it, helping with stability. Her face was stony the entire time; the only sign she was in any pain was the shine in her eyes.
Phin’s injury was another story. The shrapnel had shredded through his skin, likely injuring the tendons and ligaments. He’d also bled a lot. Blake said he was lucky it hadn’t severed the femoral artery.
Even if he’d had the proper tools, wrapping a knee wasn’t as simple as splinting a tib/fib fracture like Victoria’s. Blake tried to focus on giving the knee support, but really, it was a losing game.
“Feels great,” Phin lied when Blake asked.
Blake and Tommy were clearly unhappy with it, but there was nothing they could do.
Phin was too big for them to carry, not with the kind of speed they needed.
And it was unlikely the man would let them even if they offered.
He’d rather limp into battle on the stump of his knee before he accepted any assistance.
Just as the sun was beginning to rise, they opened the apartment door.
Judd took point, creeping up the cement stairs with his gun steady. Tommy and Victoria followed, the EMT helping to support her if needed. Or if she’d let him. Her stiff back and the handgun held in front of her was a strong indicator that she wouldn’t.
Blake had Phin, one meaty arm slung around his neck on his bad side, helping to keep the weight off his knee. Gabriel pulled up the rear, able to keep an eye on everyone, ready to slide in to help Phin if needed.
They chose to go during the day for a few reasons, but primarily because it didn’t seem to matter.
The aliens had no issues seeing at night, but they did.
It would be more difficult to avoid hazards in the dark.
Speed and stealth were the priority. With luck, they could slip out of the city completely unnoticed.
Blake was pretty sure they’d used up all their luck three days ago, but he’d crossed his fingers anyway.
Phin limped beside him. He said he’d rather walk into the street buck naked than go unarmed, so he was awkwardly holding his gun in the hand not around Blake’s neck.
It bumped into him as they staggered along.
Phin’s breathing was getting heavier, wheezing through his clenched teeth as he ignored the pain to keep pace with the rest of them. His face was ashen and soaked in sweat.
Following the compass set in the stock of Judd’s rifle, they picked their way through the streets.
It was bizarre to see some areas completely untouched.
The building facades and surrounding landscape were in perfect condition, like it was just a sleepy weekend morning where the residents hadn’t yet stirred.
Only to then turn a corner and step into a smoking crater where humanity had once thrived.
Then there were the bodies.
Blake had seen his fair share of dead bodies, and it was easy to gloss over the burned and dismembered ones.
The bodies looked more like wreckage than anything else, and he could trick himself into believing that.
No, the difficult ones were the whole ones.
The people who were so untouched that they could be sleeping.
They’d been killed by cast-off energy from the zappy balls or struck by flying debris.
Their injuries weren’t as obvious, and they looked so human he couldn’t disassociate.
And he didn’t want to. Blake couldn’t explain it, but he felt like he owed it to these people to acknowledge them.
Like a penance for surviving. A toll to pay.
And with every face he memorized, he understood Gabriel a little more.
They were like a weight on his shoulder, and with every step he took that they didn’t, it got a little harder.
The guilt turned to lead on his shoulders, weighing him down.
It was no wonder Gabriel had once found relief at the bottom of a bottle.
After forty minutes or so, Judd led them into a burnt-out corner store.
They crunched over broken glass gingerly, trying to keep quiet as they made their way to the back.
Blake helped Phin slide to the floor, his eyes squeezed shut and jaw working.
Once he’d settled, Blake stood up and rubbed his shoulder.
It ached from Phin’s weight, but his entire body ached, so it wasn’t much of a difference.
Sighing, he turned to look around the store.
It smelled like burned…everything. Rubber, wood, even hair.
It stuck in the back of his throat and made breathing painful.
Whatever color the linoleum had been was now ashy black, melted and streaked with their footprints.
Parts of the ceiling had collapsed, and periodically bits of insulation floated down on them like snow.
Picking his way through, Blake began looking for anything that wasn’t crispy. The plastic bottles of drink had melted in their case, leaving behind a congealed mess reminiscent of Chernobyl.
One section of the store, closest to the brick outer wall, was relatively unscathed. Blake picked through until he found a couple of sleeves of powdered donuts. The wrapping was dark with soot, but when he ripped them open the donuts looked perfect.
Rejoining the group, he handed them out. “Keep your sugar up.”
Judd made a face. “This will totally ruin my macros.”
No one had the energy to politely laugh at his terrible attempt at levity.
Before biting into his donuts, Blake checked Victoria’s leg, making sure her pedal pulse was still strong.
He had no idea the state of her injury. His biggest fear was that the fracture would shift and cut off blood supply or worse, sever something.
Her pulse was still strong, and her capillary refill was good. It was the first bit of luck they’d managed.
When he stood up, Gabriel was there offering him some water. They’d taken every water bottle in the apartment, but they wouldn’t last. Blake only took a few sips before handing it back.
“Drink more,” Gabriel pushed.
He still had his helmet on, but he’d undone the strap, letting it dangle against his neck.
Blake watched it, fixated on the way it brushed against Gabriel’s stubble.
He could still feel it brushing against his skin, scraping it raw.
It had been good, and Blake wanted it again.
He wanted more. He wanted to get out of this hellhole and spend hours and hours letting Gabriel brush his dark stubble against every inch of his body.
Pushing aside his horny thoughts, he jutted his chin. “Is that an order?”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow before bringing the water bottle to his mouth. It clacked against his teeth as he poured it into his mouth. Lowering the bottle, he stepped forward, and before Blake could say anything, he was tugged close and kissed.
Like a Pavlovian reflex, Blake went limp in Gabriel’s strong hold.
His mouth parted to kiss him deeper, only to be flooded with water.
Jolting in surprise, he tried to pull back, but Gabriel kissed him hard, hands digging into his hair to hold him tight.
Blake swallowed, a dribble of water slipping past his lips to run down his neck.
Gabriel kissed him once more before stepping back, leaving Blake to find his balance on wobbly knees.
“Good boy.”
Then he was gone, somehow managing to swagger under all his gear as he went to double-check the map with Judd. Blake was left floundering, definitely not staring at his ass, and wondering what the hell just happened to him.
“Good to know you swallow,” Tommy snickered from behind him.
Blake snagged one of his donuts and blew the powder all over his face, leaving Tommy with white lashes and a wrinkled nose.
They rested for a few more minutes before beginning to get themselves together.
“You know,” Judd said conversationally, like they weren’t in a burnt-out convenience store in the middle of an alien battleground. “We need a team name.”
Blake helped Phin up. He had to use both hands and plant his feet to lean all his weight back to lift him. “We’re not a team. We’re an accident.”
“We’ve been shot at, blown up, melted, and through the magical power of friendship, we’ve survived. That’s a team.”
Victoria sucked her teeth. “You’re an idiot.”
“I’m the heart of this team.”
“You’re the hemorrhoid of this team,” Phin muttered, gingerly putting some weight on his foot.
Judd beamed. “But you admit—it’s a team!”
Phin looked like he was willing to risk intense pain just to launch over Blake to throttle Judd when Tommy giggled slightly. “Team Oh Shit.”
They all paused, staring at the smiling EMT. He looked so happy, with donut dust painting his face and his lips curled into a little self-satisfied smile.
Gabriel buckled his helmet. “Could be worse.”
“Could be Team Dead,” Victoria pointed out.
They gathered themselves up and Judd once again took point. Just as he was about to survey the street, they heard the telltale clicking followed by an explosion that rattled the shelves.
“Give it an hour,” Blake muttered to himself.