Pandemic: The Beginning (Pandemic Book One) Read online

  All Matt could see was the huge black barrel aimed directly at him. He imagined the bullet coming straight out and killing him instantly. Terror wound its way up his throat and he found it hard to push words past his teeth.

  The man jerked the gun toward him. “Answer me!”

  “I…I need some plywood.”

  The man furrowed his brow and tilted his head. “What?”

  Now that he’d found his voice, he felt his confidence growing. “I need a sheet of plywood. That’s all.” Where was Derrick?!

  Using his gun, the man gestured to another part of the store. “You’re in the wrong department.” He chuckled at his own joke before adding, “I ought to shoot you right now.” He laughed and the sound was filled with menace. “This here is the Wild West. I can do whatever I want and there’s no one to stop me.” The man spit on the ground at Matt’s feet. “Least of all you.”

  “I don’t want any trouble,” Matt said. “Just a sheet of plywood.”

  The man squinted at him. “What do you need it for?”

  He didn’t want to get into a conversation about how his house had been broken into. “I just do. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

  The man laughed. “No, I won’t excuse you. In fact, I think you need to meet some friends of mine. You can tell us all about where you’re from, who else is in your group, what supplies you have. That kind of thing.”

  No way was Matt going to do that. He shook his head, but before he had a chance to open his mouth, the man jammed his gun against Matt’s forehead. “I hope you weren’t about to refuse. We don’t take kindly to those who don’t cooperate.”

  “Who you talking to, Will?” one of the men called out.

  The man holding Matt hostage—Will—looked in the direction of his buddies, who were on the next aisle over. “I got it handled.”

  That’s when Derrick came out of nowhere, slamming the butt of his gun into Will’s head. Will crumpled to the floor.

  Matt exhaled, his heart hammering wildly, and when Derrick looked meaningfully at Matt’s gun lying on the floor, Matt snatched it from the ground.

  Derrick zip-tied Will’s hands behind his back, then lifted Will by the shoulders and looked at Matt with raised eyebrows. Feeling like he was slow on the uptake, Matt hustled over to Will, grabbing him by the ankles and helping Derrick carry the man to an area several aisles over.

  Once they dropped him off, Derrick whispered, “There are two more. You take one and I’ll take the other.”

  Did Derrick expect him to take one of the men down? Matt’s eyes widened, but before he could protest, Derrick trotted away to approach the men from another direction and Matt was left trying to figure out what to do next.

  It didn’t take him long.

  “Will!” one of the men called out. “Get over here!” When no one replied, Matt heard the man growl, “Go get him.”

  Knowing everything was about to hit the fan, Matt hurried to the end of the aisle where he would be hidden from view but would still be able to see the man who’d been sent to fetch Will.

  “He’s not here,” the man called out.

  No one replied. The man looked slightly worried as he turned in the direction he’d come from. “Ollie?”

  Derrick must have done his part by taking out Ollie and now it was Matt’s turn. He watched the man, whose face was clouding with alarm. The man turned this way and that before freezing in place, evidently listening, his back to Matt.

  Time for Matt to make his move.

  Quieter than he’d ever been in his life, Matt crept into the aisle and toward the man, who was about twenty feet away. As he got closer he saw that the man held a pistol in his right hand. Terrified that the man would see him before he’d gotten close enough to neutralize him, and that the man would then shoot him, Matt found it hard to put one foot in front of the other. Especially since his legs were trying to turn him around and go the other way, to safety.

  But he had to do this. He had to prove not only to Derrick but to himself that he had the guts to do what had to be done. The first man, Will, had been more than willing to shoot Matt, had plainly stated that he could do whatever he wanted. Did his buddies feel the same way? Matt could only assume so.

  Five feet away. Three feet.

  The man turned, and the moment his eyes met Matt’s, they widened with panic. The man dropped his gun and that’s when Matt realized he was pointing his .45 at the man.

  “On the ground,” Matt said, surprised at how calm he felt. “Face down.”

  The man dropped to the floor and pressed his cheek to the cold concrete.

  “Hands behind your back,” Matt said. Crap! He didn’t have a zip tie. Where was Derrick? Moments later he came around the corner wearing a grin. Derrick looked at the man on the floor and at Matt standing over him and nodded with approval, then handed a zip tie to Matt, who put it around the man’s wrists.

  “Found some rope,” Derrick said before tossing it to Matt.

  “What do you want me to…” He let his words trail off. Duh. The man needed to be tied to something so that he didn’t run out of the place and get help to chase Matt and Derrick down.

  After Matt secured the man to the shelving unit that was bolted to the floor, he turned to Derrick with a smile. “Let’s go shopping.”

  By the time they left, they’d gathered a number of supplies, including the vegetable seed packets Jessica had requested, along with potting soil and seed starting trays. Derrick brought his truck right up to the front entrance where they loaded everything up. Before they drove off, they checked on the three men they’d tied up. All three were spitting mad, swearing and threatening Matt and Derrick, but besides a bump on the heads of two of the men, they were okay.

  As they walked toward the exit, Matt spoke quietly. “Should we have cut the zip ties?”

  Derrick laughed. “If they’re smart, they’ll figure how to get loose.”

  Glad he hadn’t had to shoot anyone, Matt worried that the time would come when he would have to kill or be killed. He was just grateful it hadn’t been that day.

  Chapter 27

  Jessica

  Jessica wished she’d suggested Matt take the walkie talkie with him. That way she could at least try to contact him. He’d been gone for hours, and as each minute ticked by, her worry multiplied.

  A knock on the door startled her.

  Leaping to her feet, she raced to the front window to see if she could tell who it was. A woman holding a handful of flyers walked across her lawn and to the neighbor’s house.

  “Who was that?” Kayla asked as she joined her mother at the window. Brooke was right behind her.

  Jessica watched the woman until she was out of sight. “Someone dropping off flyers.”

  “Do you want me to get it?” Kayla asked.

  “No,” Jessica said as she turned to her daughter with a smile. She placed a hand on her arm. “I’ll get it.” Then, after putting on gloves, she went to the front door and opened it a crack. A flyer fluttered to the floor.

  Jessica picked it up, noticing it was written by hand, which made sense since computers and printers would no longer work. Then she closed and locked the door.

  “What’s it say?” Kayla asked.

  Jessica read it out loud. “Neighborhood meeting to discuss an important matter. 6PM at the school.” She looked at Kayla. “I wonder what the important matter is.”

  Kayla shrugged. “Are we going to go?”

  “Go where?” Dylan asked as he walked into the room, then he pointed to the flyer. “What’s that?”

  Jessica read it to him.

  “Maybe it has something to do with that man who tried to break in,” Brooke said.

  Jessica nodded. “You’re probably right.”

  “Then we should definitely go,” Kayla said.

  “What about Dad?” Dylan asked.

  Which reminded Jessica of her worry. She glanced at her watch—she’d had to dig it out of her dresser since she hadn’t
worn it in ages. She’d become dependent on her phone to tell her the time and had stopped wearing it.

  It was nearly two o’clock.

  Trying to reassure the kids as much as herself, she said, “I’m sure Dad will be home soon. We’ll see what he says.”

  Forty-five minutes later, Matt and Derrick arrived.

  The moment she heard Derrick’s truck, she looked heavenward in gratitude, then she raced outside to make sure Matt was okay. Then, to her surprise, she found him more than okay. He was in a fantastic mood. As soon as he stepped out of the truck, she threw her arms around him. “I’ve been so worried.”

  He kissed her soundly. “I’m home now. And I figured out a solution to our security problem.”

  His enthusiasm was contagious. “Oh yeah? What?”

  Grinning, he said, “Take a look at these.” He went to the bed of the truck and opened the tailgate. A number of black steel window security bars were stacked inside.

  “Oh! That’s perfect.” Thrilled that they would have a way to secure their home, relief and calm flowed over her. “That means we can all go to tonight’s meeting.”

  Matt tilted his head. “What meeting?”

  “We got a flyer a little while ago that said there’s a meeting at six tonight to discuss an important matter.” Jessica glanced at Derrick, who stood nearby. “Do you think it has something to do with our break-in last night?”

  Derrick nodded. “Probably.”

  “Then we’d better get busy and get these installed,” Matt said. He looked at Dylan, who’d joined them at the curb. “Carry these in the house for me, will you?”

  Dylan got right to work, then Matt took a small box from the truck’s back seat and held it out to Jessica. “Your seeds.”

  She didn’t know why she’d thought of asking him to get them at the last minute, but she was glad she had. Now they could plant a garden. She took the box and held it like the treasure it was. “Thank you.” Then a new thought occurred to her. “Was anyone working there? I mean, were you able to pay for this stuff?” She kind of doubted any employees would be that loyal, but she had to know.

  “Uh, not exactly.”

  “What do you mean? Did you just…take everything?”

  “The world’s changed,” Derrick said as he hefted three security bar sets out of the truck and onto one shoulder. “We would have paid if we could have, but the place was abandoned.” Then he glanced at Matt like there was something he wasn’t saying.

  She waited to see if Derrick would say more, but when he didn’t she decided she would ask Matt about it later. Right now they needed to secure their home. And as far as not being able to pay for the things they’d taken, what else were they supposed to do? Their family’s safety had to be their top priority.

  “I need to charge up my drill,” Matt said.

  Remembering their decision not to advertise that they had a source of power, Jessica looked at Matt with raised eyebrows. One side of his mouth tugged up. “I told Derrick about the RV’s solar panel.”

  “Your secret’s safe with me,” Derrick said with a chuckle.

  Derrick had done so much to help her family that Jessica couldn’t begrudge him knowing. “If you need to use it,” she said, “you’re welcome to.”

  “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” He turned away, carrying the three sets of security bars into their house.

  Jessica helped Matt bring in the rest of the items, then after thanking Derrick, who left, she fixed something for her family to eat while Matt took his drill out to the RV to charge it up.

  After their meal, Jessica watched as Matt and Dylan affixed the security bars to all of the windows on the first floor and the basement. Meant to be secured from inside the house, they had hinges that allowed them to be swung open if access to the window was needed.

  “It will be a lot harder for someone to break in now,” Matt said as he latched the steel bars covering the front window.

  “It looks like we live in a prison,” Kayla said with disdain.

  Matt scowled. “Would you rather have someone take all of our food?”

  “No,” she quickly said. “I just meant… Never mind.” She shook her head and walked away.

  “She never watched The Walking Dead,” Dylan said with complete seriousness, “so she doesn’t know how it is.”

  “How what is?” Jessica asked.

  Dylan turned to her. “How people can get. What people will do for food.” Then he grimaced. “At least we don’t have walkers.” He raised his eyebrows. “That’s what they call the zombies on The Walking Dead.”

  Holding back a laugh, Jessica nodded. “I know. I’ve seen a few episodes.” She couldn’t dispute what he’d said. People did do desperate and terrible things to get food. She just hoped they wouldn’t have to deal with that.

  Chapter 28

  Matt

  At a few minutes before six, Matt and his family left their house and walked the half mile to the elementary school for the neighborhood meeting. Now that all of his windows had been secured, he felt relatively comfortable leaving the house unguarded.

  When they arrived at the school, a fair number of people were already there. Many, like his family, wore something over their noses and mouths. When he saw Tony talking to people at the front of the crowd, he was certain Tony had put the meeting together. He didn’t see Charlie though, so he wondered if this meeting actually had anything to do with the break-in.

  “Welcome,” Tony said a few minutes later. The crowd quieted. Tony’s gaze swept the assembled group. “I hate to say it, but I think there are fewer people here than we had at yesterday’s meeting. Does anyone know if there were new…deaths?”

  No one said anything, but everyone looked around.

  “I was hoping the virus was petering out,” he said, “but my hope may have been premature.”

  Matt frowned behind his face mask. He’d been hoping the same thing, but since it looked like the virus was still active, he was glad he’d had his family wear protective masks.

  “I think my neighbor got sick,” one man offered. “He was outside earlier today, coughing, and he’s not here now.”

  Tony shook his head. “Has anyone, uh, checked on their neighbors to see their status?”

  Matt, like everyone else, shook his head. No one was willing to risk their lives to check on their neighbors.

  “Okay,” Tony said, “let’s move on.” He cleared his throat then nodded at a man who Matt recalled was one of the three men who was ex-military. “Chris,” Tony said. Chris walked away, going to an SUV parked along the curb. Everyone watched as Chris opened the rear door of the SUV and pulled another man out of the back seat. It was Charlie.

  Most in the crowd gasped. Had they heard about the break-in attempt?

  Matt felt Jessica’s hand slip into his. He gently squeezed to let her know everything would be okay.

  “So,” Dylan murmured beside him, “it is going to be about that guy.”

  “Told ya,” Brooke said.

  Everyone watched with rapt attention as Chris led Charlie to stand near Tony.

  “You may be wondering why this man is handcuffed,” Tony began. A number of heads nodded. “I’ll tell you why.” He pointed at Charlie. “This man, Charles Swenson, was caught attempting to break in to an occupied home.”

  A low murmur filled the air.

  Matt was glad Tony hadn’t mention that it had been his home that had been involved. He didn’t want to get dragged into this.

  “Charles confessed that he’d planned it,” Tony went on, “waiting until the husband and father would be away before he struck, breaking a window in his attempt. He was only stopped because men on patrol caught him in the act.”

  The murmur of the crowd grew louder.

  “Tonight,” Tony said with dramatic flair, “it is up to you to decide what should happen to Charles.”

  “Why’d you do it?” someone called out.

  Tony turned to Charlie. “What do you h
ave to say for yourself?”

  Charlie shifted from one foot to the other, his gaze glued to the blacktop in front of him. Finally, he looked up, his eyes beseeching. “I’m sorry for what I did. I know it was wrong. My family…” His chin quivered. “They’re starving. I was…I was desperate, but I was afraid to go into any of the houses with dead bodies in them. I mean, they still have the virus, right?”

  “That’s no excuse,” one man shouted.

  “Give him a break,” a woman said.

  “Why didn’t you ask for help?” another man asked.

  “So, you admit it?” a man near the front of the crowd asked.

  Charlie looked at the ground again as he silently nodded.

  “Since law enforcement is non-existent,” Tony said, “it is up to us to decide what to do with him.” He paused. “Before you decide, keep in mind that your decision will set a precedent for any future crimes in our neighborhood.”

  “We should help him,” a woman said.

  “You go right ahead,” a man somewhere in the middle said, “and when your food is gone, don’t come crying to me.”

  No one else suggested giving their food to feed Charlie’s family.

  Though Matt felt sorry for the man and his family, there were other options—trading, bargaining, scavenging. But outright stealing couldn’t be tolerated. Especially when it had put his family in danger.

  “What if we pool all of our resources?” a man shouted. “We could divide it among the neighborhood.”

  “Spoken like someone who has nothing to lose and everything to gain,” another man shouted.

  “I think that’s a good idea,” a woman said.

  Tony nodded. “Okay. Those who vote for pooling our resources, raise your hands.”

  About one third of the people raised their hands.

  “All right,” Tony said. “Those of you who voted yes ought to get together and pool your resources to distribute among yourselves.”

  “But we’re almost out of food,” one of the women who’d raised her hand said.

  “Right,” a man shouted. “Which is exactly why you want those of us who were prepared to contribute.”