Just a Little Death (Children of the Apocalypse Book 1) (14 page)

“So what do we tell the college? I’ll be missing two classes tomorrow.” I stretched my legs out in front of me. “You think this is the worst of it?”

He shook his head. “I think we’re going to find a lot more cases like this. It’ll start rural and then move into the cities more. The famine will only push further. People will start getting violent over food. We won’t have to worry about Texas turning on the country, but we’ll have to worry about war over food. Who kills who for a loaf of bread or a pound of meat?”

I imagined what the next few months would bring. Sirens wailed in the distance and I leaned back on my hands. “Why wouldn’t they have gone to the hospital when they showed signs?”

“The nearest hospital is in Mesa City. People who live out here, if it’s possible that their aliment can be taken care of at home, they don’t travel to the city. It’s the way of life out here. They probably thought they had a cold and wanted to wait it out.”

I closed my eyes as the cry of the sirens came closer. “This is going to put a damper on going to my dad’s tonight.”

Kaleb chuckled. “I think Death will understand if you’re in quarantine for the night. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll let us have books or something.”

“Card games to pass the time?” I offered and laughed. “It’s going to be a long night.”

He nodded and stood as the emergency vehicles came closer. The sirens died out as they approached the house. I jumped up and put my hands on my hips as a team of people in white biohazard suits came out of different vehicles. A black van with a biohazard sign in bright yellow pulled up to the house and more protected people came out, dragging out body bags and stretchers, they snipped the chain on the gate and came in.

Kaleb motioned to the house. The ventilator clad faces reminded me of the danger of the situation. A person approached us, protection goggles covered the upper part of their face with the ventilator covering the bottom half. The yellow suit was tucked tight around their face and body, leaving no opening for fluids to get in.

“Are you Kaleb?” It wasn’t until the person spoke that I realize he was male.

Kaleb nodded. “Yes, you’ll find the four bodies inside. Just direct us what to do for the quarantine. This is my research partner, Sammy.”

The man turned towards me. “You two chose a dangerous topic for your project. A second van will be here in a moment to take you to quarantine. From there you’ll receive further instructions.” He went into the house to join the rest of the team.

“Research partner?” I looked at Kaleb.

“Yeah, we’re researching how the famine has affected the lives of rural farmers. We had a previous appointment with this family and came back to follow up.” He looked at me. “The visit went wrong, obviously.”

I snorted. “Obviously.”

As the man stated a second biohazard van pulled up with another team coming out of it. Kaleb motioned. “Ladies first.”

“Of course.” I trekked towards the van. “I guess I can mark ‘ride in an emergency vehicle’ off my bucket list.”

“Yes, yes you can.” Kaleb laughed behind me.

Quarantine. Away from people, away from society, and life. Except now they were running out of places to put people so the CDC bought an apartment complex. Kaleb and I were staring at each other from across a small folding table. We were both dressed in blue scrubs because our clothing had been confiscated and burned in case of infection. He had texted Ruthie on the way over before they confiscated our phones, claiming that the devices could carry infected liquids, even if they were in our pockets. Neither of us had touched the dead bodies, but that didn’t matter to them. With an outbreak on their hands, I couldn’t say I blamed them, but the least they could have let us do was make a few more phone calls.

“No television, no radio, and no computer.” Kaleb stood and started opening cupboards. “At least they left us with some food. I’m assuming if we pop up positive then anything we touch will be burned.”

I leaned the chair back on two legs, using my feet to keep me balanced. “I guess it’s a good thing we can’t get infected then. So they monitor us for twenty-four hours, if we show signs, then what? They didn’t mention any treatment.”

“There may be nothing they can do now. I think they are running out of treatment options because of the high demand.” Kaleb went to the fridge. “No soda, really?”

I’d kill for a cup of coffee at this point, but it wasn’t like they were going to deliver one for me. “So if we have the plague and die, they dispose of our bodies somehow to keep the infection from spreading?”

“Pretty much. They probably ship the bodies to a facility somewhere to be burned and explain to the family that they can’t have the remains.” Kaleb shut the fridge and opened the freezer. “There’s a frozen meal in here. You hungry?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m still trying to get the acid taste out of my mouth from throwing up at the farmhouse.”

“I’m impressed you held it in that long.” He came and sat down in front of me. “I’m also impressed you managed to whip Aeron’s butt in a fight. He’s no joke when it comes to fighting. He has a lot of pressure on his shoulders with carrying on the duties of War.”

I chuckled. “So he has to create conflict in the world.”

“That’s not it though, he also has to influence people to keep people from starting wars or convincing them to end conflict. It’s not an easy job.”

I studied the gray top of the table. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound like an easy job. He seems laid back enough, so I assumed he had a handle on it.”

“None of us have had to handle our full responsibilities yet. We don’t know what it’ll be like to adjust to that. We’re all nervous about what happens if our dads don’t survive this little coup of Lucile’s.”

I put the chair back on all fours. “You guys always seem so calm and collected. It never occurred to me that you might actually be nervous about this.”

“Aeron is the only one who really wants to be a horseman. Pete and I? We can wait our turns. It’s not just about controlling the plague or the balance of the famine, it’s about making sure mankind doesn’t end itself. You’ve seen how far media goes into cultivating fear. Think about how the Sins are thriving off that, the more humanity buys into it, the harder our job is.”

“I’ve also seen how fast the apocalypse can happen. I guess I always figured we’d destroy ourselves slowly and not know what was going on until one day, life was just different and most of us were gone because of our own stupidity.”

Kaleb chuckled. “That’s how it’s meant to be. It’ll go back to that once the world recovers from this collapse.”

“Do you think that’s possible? How is mankind going to come back from this?”

“Man is adaptable and their instincts keeps them surviving. They’ll learn what they can from these outbreaks and use it to better lives once everything is under control. Who knows, they may create a vaccine for the plague.”

The question was, who would trust it? “A lot of people will cry government conspiracy if that happens.”

“It’ll take people awhile, but before we know it, it’ll be back to the thriving society it once was, but only if we free the others.” He stood and paced the room.

I leaned back in the chair again. I had nothing more to add to the conversation and took a moment to soak in the silence. The lack of conversation comforted me as my mind went through the events of the day. Had we not been Children of the Apocalypse then we would most likely have been infected with the plague. The rotting crops confirmed that famine was well underway and I knew that Kaleb was right; mankind would be fighting each other just to get the simple needs to survive.

“What are you thinking about?”

I turned my attention to him. “Just about how the world is going to change. How long do you give it until they declare a state of emergency and the cities start creating borders and quarantines?”

“I give it a week before border patrols start and they’ll start making sure you aren’t showing any signs of the plague when traveling around Thanksgiving.” He shrugged. “The plague has spread to almost everywhere, but I imagine the officials don’t want any more infected in their cities.”

That meant traveling home for Thanksgiving would be interesting. “And food rationing?”

“I give that until after the holidays, we’ll have to see what happens. I’m still holding out hope people found a way to better protect the crops. I doubt it, but I’m hoping.”

He adjusted his glasses and started poking around closets in the apartment. I stood. “I’m going to go grab a nap. I’m tired and it’s not like I have anything else I can do right now.”

“It’s only twenty-four hours, Sammy. It’s not that bad. Take some time and meditate.” His voice sounded from down the hall. “Might do you some good, quiet your mind and all that.”

“So will napping.” I said and went to the room I had been assigned. The glaring white linens and walls made the room brighter. I flung open the curtains to look over the small city. Iron bars crossed over the windows to prevent me from trying to escape. I wondered for a moment what would happen if there was a fire, but I realized that the CDC probably didn’t care. With so many possibly infected, they would probably just take the loss.

I pulled the drapes shut and then laid on the hard bed. I needed to get out of here. My heartbeat sped up and my palms started to sweat. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing. Fear only fed the panic, and the silence of the apartment only fed the fear making me panic more. It was an apartment, not a small box or a closet.

A few deep breaths in and out and I was able to calm my heart. I forced myself to count forward to a hundred and then backwards to keep my mind from wandering, at some point I finally fell asleep.

The rest of the time was about as restless, any time I closed my eyes I saw the dead bodies or felt trapped. Kaleb had found a checkerboard and we played and snacked on what little we found in the kitchen, until they came in to tell us that our quarantine was over and that someone had arrived to pick us up. A cleaning crew came in the moment Kaleb and I signed our discharge papers. I shook my head and walked down the hall with Kaleb by my side. We took the stairs to the exit. Ruthie was in the parking lot, leaning against her car, her arms crossed and her face red.

“I leave you alone for one day and you can’t stay out of trouble? Quarantine for the plague? What did you two do? Go dance in a pile of dead bodies?” Her voice raised just a pitch, but then she hugged me.

I laughed. “Trust me, I don’t mean to make your job hard. Kaleb wanted me to come along to confirm the famine.”

“He told me that through text. Your father was in a bit of a panic until I came to tell him what happened.” Ruthie let go of me and got in the car. Kaleb motioned for me to sit up front.

“Why was he in a panic? He knows that things happen, and I’m sure he knows I’m not going to get infected.”

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and kept her gaze forward. Her lips pressed together hard enough to turn them a pale color.

“What aren’t you telling us, Ruthie?” Kaleb leaned forward so his head was between the two seats. “I know that look.”

Her chest heaved with a heavy sigh. “Death is worried the Sins are going to start trying to take us out. It would only make sense. Their plan is going so well and we’re the only ones that stand in their way. Death is the only horseman that hasn’t been captured, but the apocalypse can still happen without him. All that is needed for an apocalypse is darkness overtaking the world. We’re already seeing that with three horsemen locked away.”

“So he was worried I had been snatched. I’m so glad you guys have faith in me.” I muttered. “I’ve been at this for almost an entire semester and have yet to get kidnapped.”

“Don’t joke about it.” Kaleb fell back in the seat. “It’s a possibility for us all, not just you, and the Sins are crafty demons.”

“He’s right.” Ruthie turned the car down the road to the school. “We’re all capable of getting taken. Which is why I’m coming home with you for Thanksgiving. Kaleb, Aeron, and Pete are spending the holiday weekend together. No one goes anywhere alone now.”

I didn’t expect to have a babysitter while I was home. “My mom will be there.”

“And look what good she was in a fight against a demon.” Ruthie reminded me and I crossed my arms.

“Okay, but we do normal Thanksgiving stuff. Okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine. I know you long for some slice of normalcy.”

Her tone made it sound like an insult, but I let it go. We were all irritated and all I wanted to do was get back to the dorms and change into my own clothing. I did long for some normalcy before the entire world went at each other’s throats. I didn’t think it was too much to ask for.

Thanksgiving Break

Ruthie and I stepped off the train and found a white tent with plastic flaps for doors and windows set up in front of the baggage claim. People shuffled to the line sticking out from it and I groaned. “They are starting to monitor incoming passengers? Why didn’t they do this when we left?”

“A lot of places are doing both now. I don’t think Mesa has the funds to provide it right now for outgoing passengers.” Ruthie stepped in line. “Holiday travel at its finest. Nothing like adding an exam and interrogation to an already crappy experience.”

I stepped up behind her. “As long as we don’t get stuck in quarantine again, because that sucks.”

“You can mark it off your bucket list now.” She grinned. “I mean, doesn’t everyone want to experience that once in their life?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not amused. I don’t like being locked up.” We shuffled forward as the line moved. An attendee came up and offered us both clipboards.

“If you would fill these out prior to entering the tent, it will move the process along faster.”

We took them and looked through the questions. Things like, have you been in contact with infected bodies or people? We went through them and at the end of mine I wrote down the name and number for the facility I had been in quarantine at. By the time we were done it was Ruthie’s turn to go into the tent. I tapped the pen against the clipboard while I waited.

The thick crowd moved through the train station, feet on concrete muffled the voices, but couldn’t drown out the sounds of whistles and wheels against the tracks. Everyone went about their traveling and no one seemed to bat an eye at the tents that had popped up at each baggage claim.

The plastic flap moved to the side and I was motioned in by a person wearing hazmat gear. Once again, the gender remained hidden behind thick protective goggles and a black respirator.

“Name and date of birth?” The female voice came through.

“Sammy Zadkiel, August 12th 1997.”

They had the paper in front of them, but maybe they couldn’t read my writing through the safety goggles.

“You were in quarantine less than a month ago?”

“Yep, all the information is there. I was cleared.” I stuck my hands in my pockets. “As you can see, I haven’t died yet, I show no symptoms.”

She nodded, which reminded me of an awkward duck moving out of water. “I just have to call the facility to confirm. Wait here.” She walked out of the tent and left me standing there alone.

I waited among the cots and the desk that had been shoved in the tent. The thin fabric did nothing to dull the white noises of traveling people. The woman came back in.

“You’re free to go. Thank you for your cooperation.” She motioned for me to leave out the other side of the tent.

I didn’t hang around, I walked out. I had expected more, a physical exam, but then again, unless I was just infected I would have shown some other signs: sores, a fever, and lack of focus. Ruthie stood a few feet away from the tent with our bags.

“Your mom is waiting for us.”

I grabbed my bag and grinned. “Let’s get our vacation started. Three days away from everything.”

“We all need a vacation.”

But we both knew that vacation or not, we’d all be thinking about the next place to look for a seal and how we’d be able to get into hell if the seals were there. We walked out of the station and found my mom sitting in her car looking down at her phone. Probably a work e-mail or an urgent message from a co-worker who needed help on a case.

I knocked on the window and she jumped, dropping her phone into her lap. She glared at me before swinging the door open. “Sammy Jane, you scared the day lights out of me.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. You were just so engrossed in your phone you didn’t see us approach.” I tried to hide the humor in my voice.

She gave me a big hug and to my surprise she hugged Ruthie. “Thank you both for coming. It’ll be nice to have company for Thanksgiving. I even invited your father.”

So much for it being a normal vacation, I glanced at Ruthie. “Sounds like it’s going to be fun?”

“Don’t worry.” My mother started the car. “He’s only staying for dinner.”

I put my hand against my head. “It’s his way of checking on me and making sure I’m not doing anything stupid while I’m here.”

“Sounds like him.” Ruthie settled back in the seat. “I don’t think he believed you that our plan was to binge watch television and eat popcorn.”

My mom chuckled. “Don’t forget shopping. It’s our tradition to go out on Black Friday.”

I tried to imagine Ruthie wading through a sea of people to buy the cheap goods that went up on sale moments after people were done consuming their Thanksgiving dinners.

“Sounds like an adventure.” Ruthie didn’t miss a beat.

I played with my seat belt and focused on my breathing. Tension knotted up my back, making its way around my spine and into my shoulders. Death, an angel, a fallen angel and a Child of the Apocalypse sat down to dinner…it sounded like a bad joke. I closed my eyes as the car moved over the road. The sun warmed the car enough to give the illusion that the weather was nice.

Pushing my long sleeves up, I settled in for the long drive from the train station to home.

“Wake up, sleepy head.” Ruthie nudged me. “We’re home and you slept the entire ride. Your mother tried to talk to you several times.”

I forced my heavy eyelids open and pushed away from the leather seat. “Sorry, I haven’t been sleeping well since…” I glanced at my mother and shook my head. “Since Kaleb and I went on our adventure.”

“You shouldn’t hide things from me.” My mother closed her door. We got out and pulled our suitcases out of the trunk. “I can help you.”

I shook my head. “It’s done and over with.” I rolled my luggage to the door and heard the scraping of wheels behind me and Ruthie’s footsteps following. I pulled my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the front door.

I motioned for Ruthie to go in first. She went in and my mom stepped in front of me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Really, Sammy, even if it’s just to get things off your chest, you can talk to me. That’s what mothers are for.”

“I thought you were supposed to raise me.” I walked in and put my suitcase next to the entryway. “Guide me in what I’m supposed to do in order to become a functioning adult.” I stepped into the living room that ran right off the entryway. Ruthie lounged on the couch, throwing one arm over the back and half glancing at us over her shoulder.

“I am, but I’m also supposed to comfort you. You’ve just never let me do that.” My mother crossed her arms. “You’ve always hidden your fears from me.”

I turned away before she could see me lock my jaw. “That’s because your solutions were never the best or you didn’t believe what I told you. Now I understand that was because you didn’t want to believe I wasn’t human.” My voice shook and I swallowed the anger that climbed through and tightened my chest. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter. It’s over and I just need to keep moving forward.”

“Fine.” She pushed past me and walked through the living room to the attached dining area. She disappeared around the corner where the kitchen could hide her. I kicked my shoes off. I walked over to the couch, my feet making no sounds against the white plush carpet. The soft fibers of the carpet tickled my feet until I plopped down on the couch next to Ruthie.

“Do you want the grand tour?”

She shook her head. “Nope, I really do intend to watch a bunch of junk TV and relax until we have to help with cooking tomorrow.”

“My mom doesn’t cook. We’ll either go out or she’ll have food catered. You don’t want to know what happened to the last turkey she tried to cook.” I ran my hand over the fabric of the couch, watching the microfibers change with the directions I rubbed it.

My mom came back out with big mugs of coffee. “Cooking was never a human skill I was able to pick up. I tried though.”

“She did try, she gets points for that.” I smiled. “She made memories in attempting to cook dinners for us when I got old enough to start asking about holidays.” The burnt smell from the ham still clung to the kitchen some days, especially if she turned on the broiler.

Ruthie took her mug and blew over the top of it. “You tried, that’s more than most fallen angels can say. Most end up working for Lucile or end up trying to play for both sides.”

The tension shot through my shoulders into my neck. I didn’t want to talk about my mother being a fallen angel. I opened my mouth to say something, but my mother beat me to speaking.

“I didn’t want a part in either side. I wanted to be human more than anything, so I refused all temptation Lucile threw my way until she finally left me alone. That was long before Sammy came along. I felt she would have continued to press if she had known what kind of child I would bear.”

I tried to imagine my mother and Lucile being friends over the centuries and couldn’t. Though it would have been the Sins that came to tempt her, not the Devil. “Seems like it turned out for the best for me.” I sipped my coffee. “Is there anything new and fun on television? Because I’m over the talk of angels and demons on my holiday vacation.”

“There is, I’ve put a few of them in the queue for you, some with zombies, some with superheroes and, of course, some with mysteries.” She settled into an overstuffed chair near the couch. “I opted to have a catering company deliver dinner tomorrow so we wouldn’t have to worry about going out.”

Which meant we could all hang out in our pajamas and catch up on shows Ruthie and I missed by living in the dorms without cable and spending our time fighting off the forces of evil.

“Don’t forget, we have to take some time to study for finals.” Ruthie set her mug down on an end table. “You don’t want to fail your classes.”

No, I didn’t. As it was, I was going to have to take college algebra over because of Lucile being my professor, I didn’t want to worry about the other classes as well. “Yes, studying will happen this weekend too. Way to ruin the mood, Ruthie.” I nudged her with my foot.

“You can worry about that later, for now, we relax.” My mother turned on the flat screen television hanging on the wall. The black screen flickered to life showing all the options we had for streaming. Icons for television shows and movies flipped over the screen while my mom searched for one to watch. “Here.”

The doorbell rang before she could say anything else. We exchanged glances and my mother put the remotes down on the table with a small click of plastic against wood. She walked to the door and leaned up on her toes to check out the peephole. Lowering herself back down to the floor she put a flat hand against the door. She pressed her lips together and didn’t look up.

Her hand trailed across the door and wrapped around the doorknob, turning it. She swung the door open and on the step stood a woman.

The brown tattered clothes hung off her frail frame and over her hunched back. She balanced her weight on a cane that she cupped with two bony and wrinkled hands. Her black beady eyes swept over what she could see from the entryway, landing on Ruthie and I.

I jumped up and over the couch, landing on my feet as I summoned my scythe. Behind the woman appeared long black wings and a tail. “Stand down, daughter of Death.” Her words creaked as they came from her throat. “I am not here to hurt you, but to deliver a warning to you and your mother.”

Ruthie appeared next to me, her staff in her hand, but she placed a hand of warning on my shoulder. It’d become her silent sign to keep me from attacking. “What do you want, hag?”

“To tell you Lucile has devised a devious plan. That her Sins will no longer be standing down, but they will complete the mission they were all assigned, and to let you know that no one can stop the fate that awaits his daughter and keep her life.” She met my gaze. A shiver of fear racked my body and pulled sweat from my skin. I’d seen her before, I couldn’t place where or why, but my mind and body sure remembered.

My mother turned towards me and then back to the visiting demon. “You’ve delivered your warning, go back to hell, gatekeeper.” She shut the door and I let my scythe disappear.

“The Sins were sent to kill the retired horsemen. That’s what Greed told us when she killed Pete’s grandfather.” I leaned against the back of the couch. “That’s nothing new.” I made sure to keep my voice even. “There’s no reason to panic about this warning.”

My mother turned to face me. “Who’s panicking?” She clasped her hands in front of her and stood straight, her chin tilted up slightly. “Your fate is the same as the others, to find the horsemen and put a stop to this apocalypse.”

I expected her to break down at the idea that someone thought a worse fate was going to befall me, but maybe she’d become comfortable with the idea of what I was now. If she did, that made one of us.

“The question I have is why is a gatekeeper warning us about that? She works for Lucile and I doubt Lucile would want us warned. Unless she’s trying to get us to slip up and fall into a trap.” Ruthie walked around the couch and sat back down. I joined her, grabbing my coffee off the table.

“Everyone keeps saying each creature has freewill, doesn’t that mean a demon might choose to switch sides and work with us instead of against us?” I wrapped my hands around the mug and watched the dark liquid ripple with my small movements.