Ping - From the Apocalypse (16 page)

Chapter
Thirty

Ben and Rose

(April 18th, Year Two, PA)

Kate lifted her son from the woman’s arms. She seemed much younger than thirty-three, she thought. “It’s so nice to have you here Rose, finally — safe and sound. And another pair of hands for us. We’re going to need them,” she said, smiling. “You arrived just in time for the fun.”

Had
the birth only been three days ago, on the 15th? It felt like so much longer Kate was thinking. And she still couldn’t believe how well it had gone. Ben had come out so quickly. No hospital, no pain medication, no doctor or anything.

“Well,
if only I could have made it a few days earlier. I really tried. Oh, look at him, he’s just like you,” Rose crooned.

Kate
gazed down at her newborn, trying to see the resemblance. “Do you really think so? It's early to tell.”

“
Look at the reddish tinge in his hair,” Rose chuckled, stroking a wisp between her fingertips.

Kate
thought of the stubble on Jack's chin that had glimmered red in the sunlight even though the hair on his head was so dark. Jack knew his son had survived. She had been considerate enough to tell him, but it was lucky the birth had gone so well, that she hadn’t needed him. Now she could put that monster out of her mind once and for all — if only he would leave her alone.

Rose
put another piece of cornbread on her plate and then replenished her cup of tea. “He seems healthy too, you must have done something right, my dear.”

Kate
glanced at the woman as she peered down at her lunch; her face was quite attractive with large, smiling eyes, a soft, chocolate-brown complexion, and shortly cropped hair. Travis sipped his juice, contentedly swinging his legs back and forth beside Sarah, who leaned back in her chair coddling her hot drink.

“Once we arrived at the lake
, Kate’s health turned right around. And I might add, her appetite grew and grew – couldn't keep you satiated, could we Kate?” Sarah laughed.

Kate a
djusted her breast so Ben could latch on. “A pregnant woman has the right to eat whatever the hell she wants, especially when they intend to nurse as long as possible.”

Sarah laughed again.
“But I do think this place has been good for all of us, especially Ben. He’s such a nice healthy weight. We all love it here, don’t we Travis?” she said.

Travis
, who was hunched over the table playing with his straw, nodded shyly and Sarah stretched out her arm and gave him a hug. “Two new members to our clan in just a few days. And all of our telepathic chinwags didn’t prepare us for your arrival, I guess. We didn’t think you were that close, Rose.”

Kate gazed over at Rose.
“We know it must have been terrifying. The road to the resort, in the middle of the night — it’s frightening enough when the three of us are together; so we just didn’t think you’d arrive in the dark. You did scare the bejesus out of us. Ouch! Ben.”

Kate grimaced.
Nursing was more painful than she’d realized and she hoped that her nipples would toughen up quickly. “We were so absorbed with Ben that—”

She gazed at
Rose, who was waving her hands in front of her face for Kate to stop, her brows raised high on her forehead. “I am really, so, sorry my dears,” she said emphatically, “but, I — I simply couldn’t stand another second out there, not by myself anymore; and, I just knew that I’d found you. So I kept on driving and driving, right through the night. Hated myself for pounding on your door at that time. So very sorry.” She had an apologetic grin.

“Don’t be silly
! Don’t even think of it,” Kate and Sarah both insisted at once.

Rose
paused for another sip of tea, and then let out a quick, exasperated sigh. “At first I didn't believe you actually existed.” She raised her brows again. “Unhinged. That’s what I thought I was — probably was for a while, too.”

Then she gazed up at the corner of the room
. “It was difficult to leave. To get up the nerve to do what you were all telling me.” She shook her head, and breathed out, unsteadily.

Kate
leaned across the table with Ben still latched onto her nipple. She stretched her arm out and took Rose by the hand. “We hope things will be better for you now, Rose.”

Rose
’s lips formed a smile but her eyes were barely holding on to their tears. “I want to pinch myself. I… I think I’m going to get up and dance in a minute,” she said.

Sarah pushed a
box of Kleenex so it slid over to her.

“
Bless you,” she said pulling out a tissue. “My baby boy wasn't much older than Ben, you see. Only five months. That’s all. The oldest was nine. And the girls,” she dabbed her eyes, “three, and four years old; my little, princesses.”

Kate peered
at Sarah and Travis, who were both scrunching their brows with concern. “We didn’t realize you had that many; you had four children,” she said, softly.

“I’m so sorry,” whispered Sarah.

Rose took in a deep breath and sighed. “It’s true. I’ve got four baby-angels now. Daniel, Tanisha, Sophia, and William.”

“We're so sorry,
” Kate and Sarah said together.

Rose
’s soggy eyes actually twinkled and her lips curled up in a gentle smile. “Talented. Every one of them. Well the baby would have been, we were expecting him to be.”

She
laughed. “Comedians just like their papa — all of them. Kept me holding my sides, I’m telling you. In stitches, even when I was chasing them around the house,” she squeaked, as if she was holding in hysterical laughter.

The three of them chuckled.

“And I have a fifth angel too. My darling Russ… most romantic guy on the entire planet. That man treated me like I was royalty for the whole fourteen years we were married. Do you know of Russell Singer?”

Kate
and Sarah peered at each other.

“
You don’t mean, the actor,” Sarah blurted.

Rose grinned
.

“
Oh yeah,” Kate said, suddenly remembering with amusement. “He was a comedian.”

Sarah put her cup of tea on the table, slapped her palm down
beside it — careful not to knock anything over — and gaped at Rose in disbelief. “He did several movies. You were married to
the
Russell Singer.”

“Well, I was an actor too
, you know — for a brief while. Did you ever watch ‘The Clinic’?”

It didn’t ring a bell; they both shook their heads.

“Oh well. It was just a little sit-com. Russ had a guest role in it — that’s how I met him. On the set, when I was nineteen.”

“That’s incredible Rose,”
Sarah said.

“It really is
.” Kate was trying to recall if she’d seen her before. She didn’t think so.

Rose shrugged her shoulders.
“I played a crazy plastic surgeon,” she giggled. “It only lasted one season, unfortunately. Well, after that, I just did commercials. Taught dance for a few years. Theatre too. But soon it was full-time raising those kids. The nanny didn’t work out; I didn't need someone else raising my babies anyway, was far happier when I was close to them.”

“
Well, Rose. I’m afraid life is going to be much duller around here,” Sarah teased.

Rose
’s brows creased for just an instant. “No it won’t. With the four of you. And that view of the lake right from my bed. All the nice decorating you did for me — you didn’t have to do that, my dears. I do appreciate you for it, though.”

“
Don’t even think of it,” Kate assured her, turning Ben to the other breast. “It was a long wait. The decorating was kind of therapeutic for us.”

Rose smiled gratefully and then sighed. “I just know I’m going to love it here. It feels right already. Really, it does. Well, I think I've been ranting on about myself enough for a while. I guess you’re stuck with me though, you poor dears,” she laughed.

She
got up from the table and pushed in her chair. “Thank you so much for the delectable lunch. What a treat. I'm going to take a long nap now. Then, I’d love a tour around this place.”

Sarah walked over to the door with her.
“Remember, there are blankets, towels, soap; it's all stored in the hotel — so if you need extra, just ask.”

“Thank you so much
Sarah. Kate, your baby is perfection.”

Kate smiled
and nudged the plate in front of her. “Don’t forget the cornbread.”

Sarah
came back for it and handed it to Rose, who was already out on the veranda.

“This
will be eaten before dinner,” she said, stepping outside. “Thanks so much again.”

“Watch your step
.”

Sarah closed the door.
She sat down at the table again. “What do you think of her?”

“She
’s really nice,” said Travis, grinning enthusiastically.

Kate
was too upset about Jack at that instant to barely even think about Rose. As far as Sarah knew, he’d been long forgotten. Not wanting to have to explain why she’d allowed him as much contact as she had, murky and unclear as the communication was — Kate had hoped that once Ben was born, he would leave her alone. But the exact opposite was true.

Sarah looked at her
peculiarly, misinterpreting her aloofness. “She does seem a bit on the dramatic side though,” she said.”

Kate groaned.
“She’s an actress, what do you expect?”

Chapter
Thirty-One

The Last Cabin

(April 19th, Year Two, PA)

After Kate and Sarah had removed the corpses, when they first arrived at the lake, Travis was far more confident going outside to play — accompanied by both of them preferably. As long as he stayed clear of certain dark places. But with Ben’s arrival, he wanted to find his courage again, to become a protective older brother like he’d once been to his little sister, in his other family.

The women had Ben to care for
now, and he no longer needed to be watched constantly. It was time to explore the resort by himself. There had been so many things he’d been longing to do but there had always been at least one pair of eyes relentlessly upon him. He hadn’t even seen some areas of the resort yet.

When the three women were busy that morning, still getting to know each other and involved in what sounded like a complicated discussion about newborns, he snuck out
side, and wandered over the bridge, past the swings and onto the path by the water that led to the three more remote cottages.

He
walked out to the end of the first of three docks and, lying flat on the weathered planks in the sun, lowered his head over the edge. Two rowboats, tied to the side of the dock, squeaked against the wood. He gazed into the shadowed corners, where he knew the giant dock spiders lived, and was not disappointed.

In the
middle of its web, a thick-legged and fat-bodied creature, nearly the size of his hand, tensed, and peered back at him. It was beautiful and he watched it for a while, noticing several more of them as his eyes adjusted.

Then he went along the path to the second dock, and finally the third, where he discovered minnows swimming close to shore. After that there were no more cottages but the trail continued on. As he wandered along it, the colour off the lake shimmered between the thick-trunked maples, the wispy birches, and a veil of branches.

There were no more cottages, just a small cabin
where the trail came to an end. He could see a small section of red trim around a window and some of the white-painted porch nudging through the trees as he climbed on top of a large, rotting trunk that had fallen across the trail.

Huge, black ants scattered from beneath the bark, racing in all directions
, some of them up his legs; he brushed them from his shoe and quickly jumped down, away from them, where he flicked several more from the back of his calf and knee. He wandered to the end of the path a little ways beyond the tree and peered into the dense forest. To the left was the glittery bay.

Suddenly wanting to be invisible like the creatures around him, he crouched quietly in the grass inhaling the funky odours, listening to the gentle lapping of waves on the rocky shore, and watching closely. He felt like a wild animal keenly aware of its surroundings.

Soon
a swish emanated from the saplings and Travis gazed toward it. Then a crunching from the underbrush. Through the tangle of grass and branches, muted colour moved and a large bird waddled out into clear sight. It stood beneath the sun on the rocks by the water.

He
was certain it was a wild turkey. They had listened to gobbling from their cottage the other night. Eventually another one appeared clucking, and then several more. He wished he had his camera to capture the glossy, bronze wings and colourful growths on their necks for Kate.

S
lowly rising above the concealing grass to get a better view, his gaze darted in the other direction as someone had opened the creaky screen door to the last cottage. He heard them walking around inside it, pushing a heavy cardboard box across the floor, then opening a drawer and rattling the utensils.

Maybe Rose wanted privacy. Travis crept
over to the white-painted cabin, and as quiet as a mouse, he stepped up onto the tiny back porch and carefully stood on his toes to peer in through the screened window.

A
man with dark, shoulder-length hair was facing the other direction by the front door. It didn’t seem right. Why didn’t Kate tell him someone was coming to the resort? They probably didn’t know he was there and Travis knew that he must be hiding from them. He needed to warn them.

Taking a step backward,
a rickety plank creaked beneath his foot, the stranger turned, and their eyes met. Travis bolted down the steps and ran back to the trail, his running shoes snapping twigs and crushing pine-needles into the earth.

D
ashing over gnarly roots he sped up as he approached the ant-nested trunk and leaped over it, sprinting and weaving around some rocks. He finally passed the first dock his feet still moving fast, bouncing on the spongy earth as he left the last cottage behind him and approached the playground.

He was wheezing badly. He had to sit down
, his puffers were in the cottage. But he only stayed for a moment. Rushing past the supply and gift store, across the bridge by the hotel and then along the shore toward his dock, he heard something that pricked the hair on his neck and then he realized, it was Kate screaming.

“Get away from me
!”

He rushed up to the cottage, then along the side
of it, and peered around the corner where he saw Rose doing the same from the other side.

“I just want to se
e my kid,” the dark-haired man from the cabin growled. He had left his car in the driveway, and was trying to get past Kate, who was using her body to barricade the steps.

“
You’re not going near that child,” she raged. “Not ever. Do you understand me!!!?”

He paused
for a minute, turning to glance at Rose, back again to Travis, and then past Kate to the cottage door. Finally he started towards her again. When he was a foot from the steps, Kate pounced on him, pushing against his chest so that he staggered backward.

He peered at her with a look of surprise.
“Look, I'm not going to hurt him. I have a right.”

“
You have no rights!” Kate was ferocious. Travis had never seen her in such a state. “There are no laws anymore Jack. But we are doing our best to survive, and that means with you out of the picture. You’re a threat to my child. And I’ll do anything to stop you, trust me,” she seethed.

“
I’ve been trying to get through to you Kate, but what am I supposed to do if you won’t listen? Give me a chance to explain. We could work it out. Come on.”

“You're a fucking psychopath!
When you got me pregnant it was all about you Jack. Just get the hell away from here.”

“
You were equally responsible for that. I told you I didn't want a kid. But you insisted. So I gave you what you wanted.”

“Only so I would stay with you. So you could control me and abuse us
, you sick fuck. As soon as Sarah came along the truth came out. Didn’t it? And I don't even want to think about what you did! What you are still capable of doing.”

Kate backed towards the cottage
and Jack followed, limping. Travis could see a nasty scar across his calf.

“I warn you — if you don't stay back
…”

Jack had
a twisted smirk on his face. “What are you going to do about it?”

“You bast
ard. I—”

Suddenly, an explosion assaulted
Travis’ eardrums. A bullet had ripped through the dirt six inches from Jack's foot. Then he saw Sarah in the doorway behind Kate holding a pistol. She fired again and Travis crouched down with his hands over his ears.

“Back off!” Sarah roared.
“Or I won't miss next time.”

Jack froze,
with that odd smirk still on his face. He finally glanced at Rose and turned towards his car. Travis could see his scowl as he opened the door. “I won't be far,” he snarled.

T
he tires screeched and he left them a wake of dirt. They all gazed after him as he sped down the road and turned left just after the exit.

“He's not leaving,” Kate
cried. “He's heading for the cabin.”

Ben had begun to wail.
Kate pushed past Sarah and disappeared into the cottage while Rose started towards them. “So that's the father,” she said to Sarah, her eyes as grave as Travis had ever seen them.

Sarah
turned her pistol’s barrel to the side and peered at it as if she was sniffing the gunpowder. “Yeah, that's him all right. Sorry if we scared you. We’ll give you the lowdown at dinner, but right now I — I've got to give Travis his puffers. Sweetie, you’re wheezing.”