Chapter 17: I Am The Fire
December 9th, 2013 - 1130 (11:30 am)
Less than thirty minutes after making landfall, they had managed to find two SUVs that were in good working condition. Getting them started simply involved siphoning gas from the surrounding vehicles and clearing out the belongings of the previous owners. Surprisingly, they didn't run into anyone alive while on the base.
"Are they going to be sending out teams of people to look for their families while we're gone?" Rachel asked as Tom ushered her into the backseat of one of the SUVs. He climbed in after her while Tex settled in on her other side, effectively boxing her in.
She rolled her eyes at their lack of subtlety.
"Yes," Mike responded as he climbed into the drivers seat. The rest of their team got into the second SUV, falling in behind the one they were driving. "They will be sending two teams at a time. Slower than people would like to go, but it's necessary to make sure the ship stays fully staffed."
Rachel nodded in understanding, and settled in for the car ride.
It was slow going, due to the amount of cars clogging the road. There was no main highway on the way to Deer Park, so every time the small, two-lane road was blocked, they had to veer off and make their way through the long grass. Twice the SUV got stuck, and they had to pile out and push it through the dirt.
As the afternoon wore on, Rachel was the first to notice the dark, ominous clouds in the distance.
"Mike," she said slowly, biting her lip. "If the ground were wet, do you think we would be able to keep the same pace we're making right now?"
Mike glanced at her in the rear view mirror, a confused look on his face. "I don't think so. We've gotten stuck already and the ground is bone dry. Can't imagine if there was mud. Why?"
Rachel simply pointed in the distance, and Tom followed her finger, cursing.
"Shit," Mike said simply, and sighed, reaching for his radio. He clicked it on and spoke to the other team. "Storm is coming in. We gotta try to make it to Deer Park before the rain starts or we'll be stuck. We're gonna pick up the pace a bit, follow my lead." He clicked the radio off, and turned his attention back to the road.
Tom leaned forward, speaking quietly to Mike.
"If we get stuck, we only have enough water and food for a few days," he said, frowning. "What's the plan if we make it to Deer Park and no one's there? We won't make it back to port before the rain starts."
Rachel knew what Tom was really asking Mike - should they turn around now, and head back to the Nathan James? If there was no safe zone and therefore no supplies in Deer Park, they would be at the mercy of the weather if they were to use the vehicles. They could always head back on foot, but depending on the storm, that idea had its dangers, too.
Mike sighed. "I'd like to try," he said, and Tom nodded.
"Your call," he said.
The next minutes were filled with tense silence as they all watched the clouds in the distance. They inched closer and closer, and about five miles from Deer Park, the rain began to fall.
Rachel reached out and grasped Tom's hand in her own, anxious. The entire sky was black, and the thunder that had been rumbling in the distance was much louder now. It was going to be a bad storm, she could tell.
"Step on it, Mikey," Tex said tensely. He was holding onto the headrest of the seat in front of him, watching the road ahead.
It was clear for a few miles, and Mike made good time, but as they neared Deer Park they could tell that there had been a rush to make it to the safe zone. There were cars blocking every inch of the road going in both directions, as well as in the grass and mud on either side of the road. The cars were clearly abandoned, many with the doors hanging open, and packed tightly together.
There was no way through.
"Well," Tom said, tapping Mike on the shoulder to indicate that he should stop. "It looks like we're on foot from here. Do you know where the safe zone is supposed to be?"
As they clambered out of the SUV to meet the others, Rachel shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. It felt like the temperature had dropped a good twenty degrees since they had started out.
Tom noticed, and shrugged off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. She smiled at him in thanks, and then turned to open the trunk of the SUV where all of her supplies were.
Having prepared for the possibility of walking, she had packed using backpacks this time. She grabbed one and put it on over her borrowed jacket while Tex and Tom grabbed the other two.
She slammed the trunk closed, and looked up at the rest of the team through the rain coating her lashes.
"All right. Where to, then?"
Mike nodded his head to the east. "Last I heard the safe zone was in the elementary school. Just a few miles from here. On foot, it should take us around an hour to get there."
"Assuming we're not swept up in a tsunami," Tex grumbled, shaking his head like a dog to get the water out of his hair.
"Buck up, Tex," Tom said. "Little rain never hurt anyone."
Rachel grinned, despite the shitty situation, and started walking. She could tell that the others had been coached on how to protect her, because immediately they fell into formation. Tom walked to her left, Danny walked to her right, gun drawn, and Tex brought up the rear.
"Is this necessary?" she asked Tom, nodding her head to indicate that she was referring to her own, personal secret service team.
"You agreed I could protect you however I thought was necessary. This is it. You're too important to risk."
Rachel blew out a breath but didn't argue.
Deep down, she was flattered that Tom, as well as Tex, Mike, and Danny, cared so much about her safety. And, she had to admit, it did make her feel safe. She knew that the lingering anxieties of what had happened aboard the Vyerni, as well as what had happened in Baltimore, wouldn't be leaving her anytime soon. She felt secure surrounded by these men.
She smiled softly at the ground, and then reached out to squeeze Tom's hand. She knew he wouldn't let her keep a hold of it, because it impeded the use of his gun should he need it, but she wanted to touch him in that moment.
"Thank you," she whispered quietly, for his ears only, and then let go of his hand. He simply nodded to her, and then focused his attention back on their surroundings.
It was slow going, and not only because of the rain. Due to the sudden darkness brought on by the storm, Tom was on constant alert, jumping at every noise that he couldn't ascertain the cause of. More than once he had pointed his gun in the distance, just to realize that the noise was an animal or one of the team.
"Shit, but you're jumpy," Tex observed, and Tom shot him a glare.
"We don't exactly have the best track record, now do we?" he asked, rolling his shoulders to try and convince himself to calm down. It didn't help much, but it released some of the tension he hadn't known he'd been holding. "Rachel is like a magnet for trouble."
"Says the pot to the kettle!" she replied indignantly. Tex and Tom both laughed at her, and the tense mood was somewhat broken. "Besides, we made the second trip to Baltimore without any incident."
"Hush, woman. Don't jinx us," Tex said, and Rachel scoffed as he continued, "We're gonna find this safe zone, medicate everyone, and then after we trek back to the ship I'm taking an hour long, hot shower."
Rachel almost groaned at how good that sounded. At this point, the jacket that Tom had given her was all but useless. She was soaked to the bone, shivering, and couldn't feel her fingertips.
"I'd kill for a hot shower," Danny lamented, and Tom hummed in agreement. He leaned over, and spoke directly into Rachel's ear.
"I'll take any temperature shower if you're in it," he whispered, and she was sure that her cheeks were bright red. It was a good thing that no one could see her face clearly in the darkness.
"Hush, you," she said. He chuckled, and she rolled her eyes fondly at him. When he wasn't being a Very Serious Captain, he sometimes acted like a little boy.
"I can do that thing that with my tongue that you liked so much," he continued, and Rachel sputtered, mortified. "Followed by that other thing that you liked."
"Honestly," she hissed, and Tom laughed out loud. She was seriously contemplating hitting him if he kept talking in such close proximity to their friends when a thought hit her.
She was thinking about that other thing that she'd liked so much, and while it was a very pleasant memory that she would like to revisit when the time was more appropriate, a single aspect of that encounter caused her to stop in her tracks, frozen.
Tom was immediately on alert, gun up, scanning the area for whatever had caused her to stop moving.
She swallowed and waved him off. "I'm fine. Sorry. Just remembered something."
Bollocks. We didn't use protection.
She was a scientist, which was close enough to a doctor for her to know better. Not that, she reflected, there was likely any protection on the entire Nathan James. But he could have at least pulled out, oh holy god.
Tom frowned, still wary. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head. Now was, clearly, not the time, though they would definitely need to talk at some point to come up with a plan. She didn't think abstaining was a viable option for either of them.
"I'll tell you later," she promised, trying to push the worry out of her mind. They had bigger things to focus on, most immediately being the elementary school they could now see in the distance.
"It's promising that we can see lights," Mike said, speaking up for the first time since they'd left the SUVs.
Tom nodded in agreement, though he tempered his hope, just in case. "Let's get closer before we get our hopes up too high," he cautioned.
Mike didn't respond.
They trudged through the rain slowly, on alert, and when they could clearly see the doors of the elementary, as well as the two men guarding those doors, Rachel finally let herself get excited.
"Tom," she said, and then stopped walking, looking over at him. "I should go in first."
Tom looked very much like he disliked her idea, but she pressed on before he could voice his concerns.
"You all look scary," she said, waving to the guns and the navy gear that they all carried. "Having a team of military men walk up to their front door is going to cause panic. I am unarmed, unassuming. I should go first. You can keep an eye on me from back here."
Tom shook his head. "No. I'm going with you."
"Tom," she said, hands on her hips. She was sure the image she was trying to project was ruined by the fact that she was soaked to the bone, and swallowed up by Tom's large jacket. "I go first."
"No dice," he argued, and then began unbuckling his gun and his vest. "We go together. I will make myself look less 'scary', but there is no way in hell that I'm letting you walk up there alone. Compromise."
"Fine. But do it quickly. I'm freezing and want to get out of this rain as quickly as possible."
Tom finished stripping all of his gear, re-shouldered the backpack he was carrying, and tucked his knives into his boot and his waistband.
"I should go, too," Mike said quietly, but Tom shook his head.
"Wait here, Mike. If your family is inside, I promise they're not going anywhere. We'll explain who we are and why we're here, and then you can join us to find them. Rachel is right, we shouldn't go up there all at once. We don't want to spook the locals."
Mike saw the logic in his statement. He didn't have to like it, but he understood it. "Aye, Captain. Good luck."
Tom nodded in acknowledgement, and then turned to take Rachel's hand. "Ready?"
"Ready," she agreed, an they walked forward slowly.
They had made it halfway across the parking lot of the school before the men noticed them. They were immediately on alert, pistols drawn.
"Who goes there?" one of them shouted out, and Rachel dropped Tom's hand, holding both of her palms in the air. She began to walk forward as she spoke. Tom cursed and followed her quickly, copying her movements.
"My name is Dr. Rachel Scott. This is Tom Chandler. We are seeking knowledge of the safe zone here in Deer Park."
"Well, you found us," the second man said, narrowing his eyes. "You guys sick?"
Rachel shook her head. "No, we're not."
The man looked skeptical. "You guys are soaked. Have you been walking in this weather?"
Rachel nodded, her steps slowing as they reached the front doors. They were less than ten feet away from the men, hands still in the air. "We come from a Navy ship, the USS Nathan James. I'm a virologist, and I've been working aboard the ship on a cure for these last months. We're here to offer it to you and all of the people here. We're all vaccinated, which is why we're not wearing masks. We're also looking for families of the men and women aboard the ship. Most of them lived in Norfolk or the surrounding areas."
The man lowered his gun, and held out his hand in welcome. "The Nathan James, huh? My name is Cole. Nice to meet you, Dr. Scott."
Rachel smiled and walked forward, taking the man's offered hand. "You as well."
The second man lowered his gun as well, though he kept an eye on Tom as he approached.
"There's more of us," Tom explained, gesturing to the edge of the parking lot. It was hard to see through the rain and the darkness, but because she knew where they were, Rachel could make out the general shape of the rest of the team. "We mean no harm. We're here to help."
Cole nodded, and said, "You can tell them to come on outta this rain."
Tom grabbed the radio he had taken, and called to let the team know that they could approach.
Cole continued, "You said you made a cure? No shit. I know lots of people were working on it when the shit first hit the fan. How'd you manage it?"
"The reason the Nathan James stayed out of the hot zone and wasn't infected was because we were on a top secret mission to the Arctic to find the primordial strain of the virus. Many have tried, but the primordial was necessary to the creation of the cure," Rachel explained.
"No shit," Cole repeated, and then, as the rest of the team approached, he said, "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave your weapons here before we go in. We'll give 'em back, we just don't want you to scare everyone inside."
Tom wanted to argue, but knew that if it came down to it, he could protect himself and Rachel with just the knives he had hidden. Instead, he relayed the message to the team, and introduced them as they began unclipping their weapons and handing them over.
"You got enough of this vaccine for everyone here?" Cole asked as he opened the doors to the elementary school.
"That depends," Rachel said, allowing Tex to walk in front of her while Tom took a spot right next to her, with Danny following behind. "How many are here?"
Cole tapped his fingers on his chin for a second, considering, and then said, "Round about a hundred, I guess. We've lost some and gained some. A lot of us have been here since the beginning."
Mike jogged forward several steps to walk beside Cole and Rachel. "My family might be here," he said, his eyes glimmering with hope. "Christine, my wife, and my daughters Hannah and Lucy."
Cole's eyes lit up, and he laughed. "Yeah, man! Lucy is a hoot! She's real fun to be around. Good kid. 10 going on 30, that one. Real old spirit."
Mike let out a noise of surprise, and his legs almost gave out under him. He could feel tears filling his eyes, and he reached out with a shaking hand to touch Cole's arm. "Where are they?" he asked desperately, and Cole grinned, opening a door and gesturing inside to the wide open gym. The space was full of make-shift beds, organized into family groups. Children were running around, laughing, while men and women sat and talked, or worked on mending clothing, or helped cook in the far left corner of the gym.
The room was loud, and teeming with life.
"Christine and the girls are somewhere in here," Cole said. "This gym is kinda like our home base."
Mike took off immediately, calling out, "Christine! Lucy! Hannah!" his eyes darting across the people in the room frantically. It didn't take him long to find his family, the shout of "DADDY!" stealing his attention immediately. He turned to see his smallest daughter, Hannah, standing on a chair and waving to him, her little face lit up with a huge grin.
"Hannah," he sobbed, and ran to her.
Rachel watched as Mike scooped up his little girl, holding her close, and felt tears in her own eyes as an older girl and a woman that must have been Christine joined the embrace.
Tom took her hand in his, and squeezed it. "A happy ending," he observed, and Rachel nodded.
"Yes," she agreed, and then turned to kiss him softly on the cheek. "And we get to save all of them."
"Yes, we do," Tom said, nodding, and squeezed her hand once more before turning back to Cole.
"Is there somewhere we can set up for vaccinating?"
Cold nodded, and led them to a corner of the gym that was mostly empty. Rachel set about unpacking the bags, handing vaccine injectors to Miller, Danny, Cruz, and Tex. Tom took the fifth one from her hands, smiling, and she couldn't have stopped the tears from gathering in her eyes if she tried.
"What's wrong, love?" Tom asked, cupping her cheek in his free hand.
She shook her head, smiling. "Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all. I'm just so happy."
"Me, too," Tom agreed, and pulled her gently forward to kiss her on the forehead. "Now, let's vaccinate everyone and then see if these good people have hot water somewhere in this place. Maybe we can get that hot shower after all."
Rachel laughed, her grin growing, and nodded.
It sounded like a great idea to her.