Chapter Four
An Unexpected Meeting
Ray clutched the steering wheel of the minivan tightly, his expression a mixture of determination and shock. For the last fifteen minutes, his mind had not stopped going over the events that had taken place at the intersection.
He had stolen a repaired minivan back in the city, and he, Robbie and Rachel were now making their way down the highway. It was around six or seven o'clock in the evening, and the October sky was beginning to grow dark. He thought they probably had the only working vehicle for miles. There were cars stranded at the side of the road, and people were walking in groups out of the city. He saw a couple point to the van and try to flag it down, but Ray only pressed his foot harder onto the accelerator. They sped down the highway towards the suburbs, in the direction of Mary-Anne's house. He hoped his ex-wife and Tim had not left for Boston yet. He didn't particularly want to see either of them, Tim especially, but it would make things a whole lot easier if he had someone else to help him take care of Robbie and Rachel.
Thankfully, Rachel had stopped screaming. They had been chased out of the city centre by the machines, although neither of the kids had seen one properly yet. Ray hoped they would never have to. At least they were leaving Newark behind, he thought. He doubted the machines would venture out to the suburbs, and if they did, the chances they would stumble across Mary-Anne's house were small. Keeping this comforting thought in mind, he skirted a line of motionless cars and turned off the highway into his ex-wife's road. The houses were dark and silent; nothing was moving.
Rachel bobbed up and down as the car pulled into a driveway at the end of the street. Even before they had come to a halt, the car doors were open and the two kids were running over the lawn towards the house. Ray saw lights on in the ground floor rooms, and felt a wave of relief wash over him. He locked the car, stowed the keys in his pocket, and jogged up to the porch. He could hear Rachel and Robbie shouting for their mother and Tim, but they didn't seem to be getting an answer. A sinking feeling replaced the sensation of relief as Ray stepped into the house. Mary-Anne wasn't here; neither was Tim. What had happened to them?
"Is she dead?" Rachel asked bluntly, standing halfway up the staircase.
Ray shook his head and beckoned to her. "No, Rachel, she's not dead. They must have left for Boston already."
She jumped down into the hall and he shepherded her into the kitchen. Robbie followed, looking worried. Ray figured he would get them something to eat, and then they would stay the night here. If Mary-Anne and Tim didn't show up in the morning, the three of them would head on to Boston. He expected his ex-wife was worried about the kids. She was probably regretting leaving them in Ray's hands. He felt a stab of anger as he glanced at a framed photograph of the happy family on the kitchen windowsill.
He would show her he was a capable father. He would get them to Boston no matter what.
They had walked well into the evening. The plastic bags Sarah was carrying felt like lead weights, and her eyelids were beginning to droop closed. She and Claire were trudging down the highway in the gathering darkness, surrounded by a host of other families that obviously shared her sentiments about feeling safer outside the city. Everybody was huddled together in groups, moving slowly down the road with their supplies and clothing. At some point during their journey they had seen a car zoom past, an event that had caused several minutes of fevered excitement as people attempted to start the vehicles standing at the side of the road. But the power was still out, and Sarah was left to dwell on how the owners of the car had managed to get it running.
Approximately an hour and a half had passed since they had left Newark. Claire had asked a multitude of questions about the alien machines for the first fifteen minutes or so of the journey, and Sarah had done her best to answer them, but both women were now silent and gloomy. The street lamps were not working, so the only light came from the moon, which was almost full. It bathed the road in a silver glow and cast a pale light on the street signs they passed.
Sarah was just beginning to think about stopping for the night, when Claire gave a sudden gasp.
"Mom, look," she exclaimed, pointing to a road that curved away from the highway and led to the suburbs. It looked vaguely familiar to Sarah, but she couldn't recall why. Claire jogged up onto the sidewalk and turned to her mother, beckoning. "It's Madison's street, mom," she said. "We should go see if she's there."
Sarah peered up the dark road. She had driven down here countless times, ferrying Claire and her friend back and forth between houses. How could she not have recognised it? She nodded and followed her daughter down the sidewalk, shifting the weight of the bags from shoulder to shoulder restlessly. Perhaps Madison's mother would allow them to stay the night, if the family was at home.
The house looked dark and uninviting. Claire trotted up the driveway, and Sarah followed her, glancing at the large house next door. It had lights burning in almost all of its windows. She could see shadowy figures moving around inside. Walking past it, she stepped up to Madison's house, where she found Claire banging on the sitting room window and calling her friend's name.
"It doesn't look like they're here, honey," Sarah said, peering through the glass in the front door. The hallway was black; she could barely see the outlines of the furniture.
"Maybe they're in their basement," Claire suggested, continuing to knock loudly. "Hey," she called, staring in through the window. "Madison? Madison, are you there?"
There was no answer.
"Quiet, Claire," Sarah said softly, moving around the house in the direction of the back yard. "We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves."
She looked over the fence into the yard. There was an empty dog kennel on the lawn, and a trashcan had been knocked over. Everything else seemed perfectly normal. It looked like Madison and her family had simply packed up and left, like most other people in the street. But there was that house next door, Sarah thought, with all its lights on. As she jogged back to stand by her daughter, she saw a figure pass the sitting room window fleetingly. The lace curtains covering the glass fluttered.
"Come on," Claire said, taking off over the grass towards the front door of the occupied house.
"Claire, wait," Sarah called, running after her daughter. "We can't just barge in on them at this time of day --"
But Claire had already knocked loudly on the door.
A shrill voice immediately issued from within the house. It sounded like a young girl. "Mom!" the voice called, and Sarah heard footsteps thumping down the hall. "Mom, Tim!"
The door was flung open, and Sarah's eyes widened in shock. Standing in the doorway was a mousy-haired girl wearing a skirt and pullover. But behind her, wearing a dusty brown jacket and an expression that exactly mirrored Sarah's, was Ray Ferrier.
Author's Note: Thank you to everybody who has reviewed. I am aware this is a short chapter, so to compensate there is another one coming very soon!
