“I’m sorry,” Mr. Appleton said. “It’s just … we’re … I’m a little shell-shocked. It was very chaotic. Outside. And I’m not used to so much … noise.”
“We understand,” said Josie. “You’ve been through a lot.”
“Please sit down and I’ll get you two some food,” I said.
“Are you the chef?” Robbie asked me.
“Ah, yes,” said Mr. Appleton. I could see he was straining to be jovial. Trying to recover. “Who can we thank for this food?”
“I’m Dean. I do most of the cooking,” I said. “But Batiste here is the one who put this together.”
Robbie shook our hands heartily. Then Mr. Appleton shook them as well. His hand was papery but strong.
“Pleased to meet you,” Mr. Appleton said to us.
“Yes, sir,” Batiste said.
“I’m in charge of the food,” I said. “So I guess I will be the one who loads you up with provisions. I’ll be sure to give you lots of good stuff for when you leave.”
Somehow I felt strongly compelled to remind them that they’d be leaving sooner than later.
Maybe it was because they were eyeing the food like animals.
* * *
Everyone ate, but those two men really ate.
Halfway through their meal, Robbie stopped eating and said an impromptu prayer in Spanish.
He winked at Ulysses and then explained to all of us, “I was so hungry, I forgot to give thanks to El Señor for sending us here to this little paradise of a Greenway, filled with angelitos.”
“Amen!” Batiste said. “I’m always telling these sinners we should pray before each and every meal.”
Robbie chucked Ulysses under the chin. The boy shined like a new minted penny.
“Well, now we said thanks, so I’m gonna eat more!”
There was laughter at this and I gave him thirds.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MR. APPLETON’S STORY
Niko and Josie discussed what to do with the little kids while we all met with the grown-ups.
“I don’t want to miss out on the meeting,” she said firmly.
“I understand that, but I don’t think Sahalia will watch them either.”
Sahalia was skulking against the wall, eyeing Brayden with venom.
Niko looked over to me.
“No way,” I said.
“Well, somebody’s got to keep them away!”
“I have an idea,” I said.
I walked over to the kids.
“Okay, you guys, I have a problem and I need your help. Me and the big kids and the men need to have a meeting. But Luna really, really needs a bath. Do any of you know how to give a dog a bath?”
Caroline and Henry’s hands shot up like arrows.
“Oh, oh, oh!” they chorused.
“I do, too!” yelled Chloe. “My nana has a Bernese mountain dog and I wash him all by myself!”
“Great!” I said. “We have three experts. You guys need to get all the supplies and bring them all here. Then wash the dog. Then dry her. Then comb her hair.”
“Then we’ll make her a bed and give her some food!” Max shouted.
“Then we’ll sing her to sleep!” Caroline added.
Josie watched me, nodding her head.
“Nice one, Dean,” she said. “I’m impressed.”
“Let’s start our meeting now,” Niko said to the men.
* * *
So Mr. Appleton and Robbie held court in the Living Room. Robbie groaned as he lowered himself down onto one of the futon couches and patted his belly.
“I feel so happy now,” he said, smiling at all of us. “I thank God he brought us to this place.”
Mr. Appleton chose a straight-backed desk chair. He put his bad foot up on an end table. I tried to ignore the smell.
“What would you like to know?” he asked us.
“Maybe you could just start at the beginning and go from there,” Niko said. “We’ve been here since the hailstorm, so any information you can give us about what has happened outside would be good.”
“Fine.”
He took a moment and began: “The hailstorm caused a significant disruption for everyone, as you can imagine. There was panic when the Network went down, as no one could reach 911. However, it was the news of the disaster on the East Coast that created what I would consider to be a chaotic environment. Many people gathered at the VFW to watch the news coverage, such as it was, on an old television set. It was a time of mourning and there was a sense of camaraderie that was admirable.
“I am proud to say there was no rioting or looting at any of the stores in town. At the stores whose riot gates had not deployed, people stood quietly in lines and purchased only necessities. From what I understand, people in Colorado Springs were not as well behaved.
“I set out for the hardware store first thing the next morning. My Land Cruiser was garaged, so it was undamaged by the hail, which is more than I can say for most of the cars in town.
“I was surprised to find the store was closed. There were some employees gathered in front of the store who weren’t sure if the store would be opening or not. There was a spirit of confusion and discouragement among the employees and the few customers who had arrived.
“Then the earthquake hit. People fell and were hit with some debris. A part of the roof of the store collapsed and the windows shattered. There were some minor injuries among those of us gathered around the store.
“There was discussion among those of us uninjured about how to best care for those who had been injured. I am fully trained in first aid, so for about an hour, I issued directions and tried to oversee the care of the injured. I went into the store and found a basic first aid kit. I decided we should move the injured away from the store in case further aftershocks brought more of the building down.
“It was at that moment that I detected the change in the color of the air. I saw a black plume rising in the sky toward Colorado Springs.
“In a matter of minutes, the people around me started acting in ways that were beyond my comprehension.”
Mr. Appleton stopped to wipe sweat from his forehead. He was staring straight ahead, as if watching a movie of the events he was describing to us.
“I was helping a young employee of the store carry a female employee who had a broken leg. She was quite heavy. African-American descent. I would estimate two-hundred to two-hundred-fifty pounds.
“As we carried her across the parking lot, the air turned around us. Everything became quite green. The woman’s skin erupted in blisters. They started small, but as we continued to carry her they grew and burst. She began to scream and writhe. We were forced to set her down, not only because she was moving but because her blood was spurting from the many lesions and she became too slick. Just as I realized that she was dead the young man I had been assisting gave a furious cry and attacked me.”
Mr. Appleton was now rocking slightly front and back as he spoke. This small movement was a metronome and the story kept coming out of him at a steady, even pace.
“I fought the young man off for a moment, but he might have injured me seriously if he had not been attacked in turn by another person. It was an elderly man who had earlier told me he was there for chicken wire. I watched as the old man and the young man fought each other to the death. The young man was the winner.”
Suddenly Mr. Appleton seemed to come back to the present moment.
“Are you sure you want the younger ones hearing this?” he asked Niko, pointing toward Sahalia and Alex.
Sahalia huffed.
“It’s okay,” Niko said. “They’re big kids. They have all the rights and privileges of us high school kids.”
Mr. Appleton continued.
“The light got more and more dim and soon it was as if night had fallen. The sounds around me were horrific. I heard screams of rage intermixed with the screams of the murdered and the gurgling sounds of what I assumed to be people choking on their own b
lood.
“I pulled my sweater over my face and began to walk to my car. I got in my car and took care not to turn on the lights. I turned on the radio and heard the emergency broadcast that explained what was happening around me. I attempted to drive back to my home. The highways had become glutted with cars and none were moving. Around me, in the cars, I could see some people blistering up and dying. In other cars I saw people begin to attack each other. And in a few cases I locked eyes with other people who seemed to be just as sane and frightened as I felt.
“I was sure that if I tried to walk home on foot I would be attacked, so I drove my car over the median and made my way over the land. This was made difficult because of the hail, but my Land Cruiser has four-wheel drive.
“However, as I neared my home, I could see that the development was on fire. All of Woodmoor was ablaze. The fire had spread quickly from house to house. Among the burning homes, I could see many people running and screaming. I decided not to try to get to my house, but instead to go try to take shelter in one of my schools.”
“What do you mean, one of your schools?” Niko asked.
We all looked at Mr. Appleton.
“Well,” Mr. Appleton said, “I’m the chancellor of schools for El Paso County.”
Sahalia groaned out loud, which was so startlingly funny that I burst out laughing.
Everyone laughed, even Mr. Appleton.
“Sorry,” he said. “But it’s true.”
Mr. Appleton went on, in his measured, efficient way, to tell us that he’d met up with Robbie at Lewis Palmer. Robbie had told him that Mrs. Wooly had come to see about getting a bus to get a bunch of kids home who were currently stranded in the Greenway (that was us).
“Yeah, I was at the school during the hailstorm,” Robbie told us. “It was me and some teachers. They left, after the storm, but I stayed. That’s when Mrs. Wooly showed up. She told us you were safe here.”
“Is she okay?” Niko asked. “Where is she?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean?” Josie asked. Robbie looked flustered.
“We were trying to calm people down because some parents were coming, looking for their kids.”
“What parents?” Alex interrupted. “Did Mrs. Wooly tell them we’re here? Do you know the names of the parents?”
“Well, no. Not really. Because, well…”
“There were a group of us there,” Mr. Appleton took over. “We gathered together, sharing the resources and information. We were trying to create a secure, uncontaminated area that everyone could bring their families to. But we were attacked.”
“By who?” Jake asked.
“By people with O-type blood,” Niko said softly.
Mr. Appleton nodded.
“They were all killed.”
This landed like a punch to the stomach.
“Mrs. Wooly?” asked Niko.
“I’m not sure,” Mr. Appleton answered. “It was very chaotic.”
“I think she got free,” Robbie said.
“But if she’d gotten free she would have come for us,” Alex said.
“So what’s it like out there now?” Niko interrupted.
All of us fell silent to listen.
Mr. Appleton took a drink off his water bottle. He looked greenish and not at all well.
“It’s dangerous,” Mr. Appleton said. “Most people are staying inside. Those who have no water are out, trying to find it. The O-affected are out and raving mad. They lie in wait and attack foragers.”
“There’s some cadets, from the Academy, that have made, like, a gang,” Robbie added. “They have been attacking people’s houses, if they think people are inside with food and water.”
“All in all,” Mr. Appleton said, “You are the luckiest children in Monument, Colorado. Very lucky to be holed up here with enough food and water to last you for … months?”
“Years,” Alex said. “We’ve been looking at the inventory. I think we could stay here for up to twenty to twenty-four months, given the supplies we have. Fresh oxygen and power are bigger issues than food and water, for us.”
Mr. Appleton rubbed his hand over his forehead. He was sweating.
“Niko,” he said. “Can you show me to the latrines? I think I ate too quickly.”
Niko stood and offered Mr. Appleton his arm.
He led him toward the Dump.
“You guys, get some beds set up,” Niko directed.
“Yes, sir, Niko, sir,” Brayden snapped.
Robbie smiled at Brayden.
“He’s pretty serious, huh?” Robbie asked quietly.
“He’s our very own dictator,” Brayden answered.
“That’s not fair,” Josie protested.
“Come on,” I said to Alex. “Let’s set up the beds.”
* * *
Alex and I made a space in a back part of the Automotive aisle with air mattresses, sheets, blankets, and a little battery-powered floor lamp and flashlights to help them get around in the darkened store.
Niko and Brayden came over with the men a couple of minutes after we’d finished.
Mr. Appleton looked a little better. He had some antibiotic foil packs in his hand.
“Thank you,” Mr. Appleton said. “I’ll sleep for a few hours now, I think. And you have my word, tomorrow morning, we leave.”
“Yes,” Niko said. “That’s our deal.”
Robbie helped Mr. Appleton to lower down onto the wobbly air mattress.
“I have to hand it to you kids,” Mr. Appleton said, looking up at us. “The way you have arranged things here is smart. Ingenious, actually.”
Hmmm. How did this make us feel? It was dark and the only light came from the one table lamp, so I couldn’t see the other kids’ reactions but I thought I saw Niko cross his arms.
He really didn’t like these men.
I felt Alex, who was standing next to me, straighten up somewhat. I could tell he was pleased by the compliment.
And Alex deserved praise. He had worked really hard to help our little colony thrive.
Brayden, I’m sure, was rolling his eyes.
I felt a profound uneasiness.
The compliments seemed like the type of compliments that come when you’re doing something and then a grown-up comes and takes it over from you.
Robbie turned to follow us away.
“Aren’t you going to rest?” Mr. Appleton asked.
“Me? Naw. I want to get a look at that bus,” Robbie answered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
BUSES HAVE TYPES, TOO
As we neared the kitchen, and the bus, the kids swarmed out to greet us with a happy, fluffy Luna.
She was white under all that grime!
Robbie laughed. He had such a broad, good-natured laugh.
“I had no idea you were white, mi angelito!” Robbie said, bending down to gather her in his arms.
All the little kids talked at once, regaling him with the adventures of giving Luna a bath.
I looked at the kitchen. A kiddie-pool full of filthy water stood in the center of the dining area of the Pizza Shack. Water was everywhere, along with towels, empty shampoo bottles. It was a mess. Whatever—it had been an activity that bought us enough time to hear the outsiders’ story.
Josie came and stood next to me.
“I’ll help clean it up,” she offered.
“Good,” I said.
* * *
Robbie went over to the bus, so all the kids, big and little, followed him. He walked around it with an appraising eye, Luna still in his arms. Then he let her down and got on his back and slid under the front of it.
“Oye, can somebody bring me a flashlight?”
Many pairs of little feet went pattering off to fulfill his request.
* * *
Apparently there are several types of school buses—the one that had delivered us all safely into the Greenway was a type D.
Now, the high school bus had been a type C, that’s th
e kind that has an engine up front. The front of it has a hood and an engine. You can open the hood and fix the engine the way you would any car.
But a type D bus has a flat face.
The engine is under the body of the bus. And that’s why Mrs. Wooly’s bus weathered the storm so well. And that’s why it could still run—the hail hadn’t damaged the engine one bit.
The tires were another story.
There were six tires total on the bus. Two up front and four in the back—two on each rear axle.
One of the front tires was flat.
“This one is no problem,” Robbie said, showing Niko. “We patch it with a kit. They have them in Automotive. Then we reinflate.”
Then he walked around and shone the flashlight under the bus, at one of the back sets of tires.
“But the inside one, here, see it’s melted? That’s not good.”
The inside tire was collapsed and had a gaping, melted hole.
“Can the bus run on just the outside tire?” Alex asked.
“Maybe for a short distance,” Robbie answered.
“Well, thanks for taking a look at it,” Niko said.
“I’ll try to patch it,” Robbie said. “I’ll try this crazy thing I saw on TV—they filled a tire with tennis balls and then used fiberlace.”
“Cool!” Brayden said.
“We should fix the bus up,” Robbie said. “Change the oil, tune up the engine. You could have it running in case of an emergency.”
“That’s a really good idea,” Alex said.
“It would probably take more than one day, though,” Niko said. “Thanks anyway.”
“The kids could help me.”
“Niko, we should totally do it,” Brayden urged. “In case of emergency.”
“Of course you can work on it,” Niko snapped. “I just doubt you’ll be able to fix it in one day. And these guys leave tomorrow. That’s all.”
“Aw,” complained Chloe. “I don’t want him to leave. Not ever.”
“Me either!” said Max. The other kids agreed.
Niko walked away.
I looked at Robbie, smiling and rustling the hair of the little kids who were gathered around him.
It didn’t seem to me like it would be the worst thing in the world if Robbie stayed more than one day, either.