John Baker entered the office around 7:30. The strong scent of coffee hit his nose. He looked around to find Annie pouring coffee beans into one of them small fancy coffee grinders.
The machine made a small wining noise when she pressed the button. She dumped the freshly ground coffee into a filter basket before placing it into the coffee maker.
Smiling to herself, she pressed the play button on a boom box. How in the hell did she get one of them things in here? John thought as Tom Petty's Runnin Down a Dream filled the office.
"Where did you get all this Annie?" John asked.
"My summer home, I went to check on my parents this morning."
"Girl, it's' seven in the morning. How long have you been up?" Annie smiled at him.
"Oh, since five," she replied, switching on the coffee maker.
"I got the coffee and coffee grinder from a grocery store. The clerk helped me out, poor woman sounded like she had quite the cold. She went home when I left."
"Seems like everyone is getting sick, though I feel a bit better."
"I am glad," said Annie. Nick entered the office and smiled at Annie and John. He inhaled the strong sent of coffee.
"It is French roast," said Annie. Nick smiled at her.
"I am looking forward to it. Thank you for making coffee for us. I have never ground my own beans before."
"I never have enough time to do that, I just make the coffee the night before, and switch it on when I have to go to work," said Annie.
"You'll get your hot cakes and coffee when I am good and damn ready to!" John bellowed at the prisoners who were clamoring for their breakfast. "They can have coffee from Ma's," he added to Annie.
"That is good enough for them."
"DO I get hot cakes John?" Annie asked in a sugary sweet voice. She gazed at him, batting her eye lashes. Johnny laughed.
"Your funny girl," he wheezed. "Of course you're getting hot cakes, all your little heart desires." Nick tore off a sheet of paper.
"Your also getting eggs and bacon as well, Nick will make it." Annie grinned.
Nick left a few minutes later, leaving John and Annie to enjoy some coffee and Tom Petty.
"You know good music Annie," said John. "I like this song." Free falling was playing.
Annie smiled as she added sugar and cream to her cup.
"Why thank you John," she said, taking a gulp of coffee.
"Say, are there any good music stores around?" Annie asked.
"Well, there is a record store by Zack's," said John.
"No, I mean ones that sale instruments. I play the drums."
"Oh, that, I believe there is one, over by Ma's truck stop. It is a rather small place I am afraid, sense this is a small town. You can see if Nick will take you if you would like later on."
"By the truck stop? How on earth did I never notice before?" Annie asked in disbelief. John laughed.
'Sometimes we slide past things and don't even know it," he said. "Why didn't you take up music as your career?"
"My parents wanted me to take on a more stable career path, and I rather enjoy journalism."
"That is smart thinking," said John as Nick appeared with trays of breakfast.
Annie rather liked dr. soames. She found him to be kind, funny, and with a no nonsense attitude when it came to his patients.
She cackled madly when he was joking with John about being Horney when he took his shirt off.
"Get away from me," John said laughing as well. Soames laughed, chasing the man round the office with a medical bag.
"I wish my Doctor had a sense of humor," she said to Nick. He patted her shoulder in agreement, she could feel him shaking with silent laughter at the silliness.
Dr. Soames became more serious as he examined John.
"You're a sick man John, I want you to go to bed, and that is an order." John pushed back of course, Annie began to realize what a stubborn man the Doctor was dealing with.
"I have two kids here, I left them here last night because I had to."
"Excuse me, we are both twenty-two years old, which makes us legal adults, not kids," said Annie. "There are men who I think are sexy as hell, and I am sure that Nick here has had some fantasies of his own." Nick make a choking noise beside her.
"Hey now, there isn't any shame in it," said Annie, throwing an arm around Nick shoulders. Dr. Soames was laughing.
"I like this girl," he said. "Straightforward and to the point. You can get the state patrol out here to look after these prisoners John, and until then, I am sure these find people are quite capable of looking after them."
John had to concede after that, Annie could hear the nasal quality returning to his voice.
"All right, I will come check on you two in the evening and bring you a good meal." Nick and Annie nodded. "Take care of yourselves."
"We will John," said Annie. John left with the doctor, closing the door behind them. Annie could hear their muffled bantering as they walked from the building.
Nick hugged her, and gave her a second helping of pancakes.
John Anderson lay, drenched in sweat. He had never been so scared in his life, not when they had lost the child before Annie. Judy had fallen into a depression which lasted a long time.
Those had been dark days, but this, this was a darkness he was afraid they wouldn't be able to escape.
"John." Judy's voice was a croaky sound, not the rich alto that he loved. "I need water, please, thirsty." The pitiful look she wore on her face made him want to cry.
She looked as badly as he felt.
"All right honey, I'll be back with water," said John, wincing at how hoarse his voice was.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom, fighting the urge to pass out.
He leaned against the bathroom sink for a minute, gasping for breath. He grabbed a little drinking glass, and filled it with water from the tap.
He made his way back to her, and slid an arm under her hot head so she could drink. It was like touching a hot furnace.
"Slowly now honey," he said. Once the glass was empty, he crawled back in beside her.
"I'm scared Jhon," said Judy, coughing for quite some time. "What kind of world are we leaving our girl in?"
Hot tears streamed down her face.
"I don't know honey," said John, wrapping an arm around her. "I won't like to you, I am rather scared myself, but our Annie is a strong woman, just like her Mother, and that boy, Nick, he will help keep her safe. He is sharp as they come. I think that people have underestimated him, all because he cannot hear or talk.
He has the look of a man who has lived a hard life, but he has a good head on his shoulders, like our Annie. She will be just fine."
"I like Nick," said Judy, "I am glad that Annie has found someone to be with in these horrible times."
"So am I," said John. He turned on the news, and soon wished he hadn't. There was a program showing from Portland, where a black man was shooting people in a studio audience type show. Horrified at the images of falling bodies, and sounds of screams, he turned it off, now wishing he hadn't bought cable.
Judy had buried her face in his chest, too scared to see.
"What kind of fucked up world is this?" John asked in a high and frightened tone. 'Oh Judy. I hope to God our girl will be okay." He tried to fight back the tears, but it was no use. They came strong and fast.
Judy stroked his hair with a hand that trembled.
David Jackson entered the offices of the newspaper. The place was eerily quiet, the usual babble of voices, ringing of telephones, and typing was gone.
The silence rather scared him. How had everyone fallen sick through the night?
All the radio stations he was hearing were saying that the so called captain trips epidemic was fake. It was just a common cold and everyone needed to calm down and stop listening to fear mongering conspiracy theories.
He entered the elevator and punched the fifth floor. As the elevator ascended, he let out a series of coughs that had him doubled over.
He stamped down his growing fear and exited the elevator, making his way towards his office.
Illness or no illness, he needed to get to work. He was quite certain that Annie had written up a story in spite her vacation. He sighed. The woman worked too damn hard trying to prove herself.
On one hand he didn't blame her, there were whispers running around about the higher ups decision to take her on. David gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to knock something over.
Annie was quite qualified to work at this job. He was hoping that the boss would promote her to better stories than fucking fireworks and shit like that. She needed to be on the front lines, reporting on this fucking flu for instance, she would do a far better job than the so called journalists on the radio.
He grinned at the thought. Annie was whip smart and had a good head on her shoulders. What was it to him if she was blind or not?
He coughed once more, grimacing at the flim that came up. Scowling in disgust, he threw away the tissue and washed his hands in scalding hot water, ignoring the pain.
He was rather obsessed with keeping clean and not getting horrible bugs like this one.
He glanced around at the sound of slow laboring footsteps coming down the corridor.
Labored breathing greeted his ears as his and Annie's boss Jack entered, stumbling along like a drunk.
"Jack, what the fuck?" David said, forgetting to be professional. He was startled at the man's haggard appearance. There were horrible boil looking things under his jaw, and he could see from here that the man was running a hell of a fever.
"Good to see you too David, Jack wheezed before breaking into a coughing fit that shook his skinny frame. He collapsed in the chair behind David's desk, gasping for breath.
"Why in the hell aren't you home in bed?" David asked, suppressing his own coughs with difficulty.
"Fuck being home, this is where the fucking party's at," his voice oozed with sarcasm. "Give me the phone, will you? I wanna call Annie to see if she is okay. I hear the south has this captain trips thing pretty fucking bad. Did you hear about that small town in Texas?" David shook his head.
"Well, to cut a long story short, they quarantined the fucking place after an army guy pissed his pants and left the base with his wife and baby girl." David stared at him.
"Holey fuck," he whispered, face pale. "The radio here is saying it's all bull shit." David winced as Jack slammed down the phone.
"Nobody is fucking answering," he said, voice full of fear. "I hope like hell she and her family don't have this.
As for the radios here, those fuckers who call themselves journalists should be fucking fired." He hacked away into some tissue, which got David started.
They hacked a way for a minute or so before Jack spoke.
"Shit, this is fuckin awful. I was calling her to give her a fuckign promotion from this human interest shit. She needs to be covering the big stuff like this flu."
"I was thinking the same thing before you arrived, but you will be going against the owner of this newspaper."
"I don't give a fuck," said Jack. "He can fire me all he wants to, I really had to put my neck out to give Annie this fucking job, but I won't be kissing his ass anymore. She is far too brilliant to be writing about fourth of July picnics. It's all because she is fucking blind, he didn't want to give her much of a chance, though she will say she's grateful for any fucking job. You know, I wonder why the civil rights bill doesn't cover disability. That law is good, but there needs to be more I think." David nodded in agreement.
"I was thinking of driving down there and seeing if she is all right," he said. "I don't' think many planes are flying right now.
"I think I'll go with you," said Jack. "I don't have anything fun going on, and there isn't any point in working with everyone out sick. Are you going to call Janet and let her know?" Anger flashed in David's eyes.
"The bitch cheated on me Jack, five years as a couple and this is how I am repaid. I was going to ask her to marry me."
"Ain't that a bitch, I'm sorry as hell man," said Jack with a whistling sigh. "I am happily single, been that way all my life."
"You're lucky then," said David, helping his friend from the office. "Come on, let's check on our friend."
"You know, I've been thinking of retiring down south," said Jack. "I hate New York, everyone here is so cold, there ain't hardly no kindness or love. Annie and her family are about the kindest people you could hope to meet."
"I didn't know you met Annie's parents," said David.
"I did," said Jack. "They helped me with my car after it broke down near that movie theater, offered to make sure I got home all right. Annie comes from good folks."
"Well come on then my friend, now is your chance to see the south," said David, helping them into the elevator.
"Yeah, I can have one of those homemade fried chicken meals and some ice tea. That sounds damn good about now, it is going to be hot today." David smiled at the thought of Jack sitting in some redneck bar, drinking a beer and shooting the shit with some new friends.
Jack never got to sit in a redneck bar, he and David were shot by military men with guns as they were driving through the Lincoln tunnel.
Annie clutched the cup of tea in her shaking and cold hands. She was back in the summer home, watching over her dying parents.
They didn't know she was there yet, one of them was delirious, thinking it was their wedding day, while the other was fast asleep.
She gulped down her tea, spilling half of it down her front.
Nick had reluctantly left to see to Jane Baker who was nearly as bad as her parents.
John Baker had been dead for a day or two.
Annie slammed down her cup and ran to the bedroom where her parents lay.
The smell had her nearly running from the room, a horrible smell of decay and death filled the air.
She put a hand over her mouth, fighting back vomit.
"Annie." She let out a small frightened sound at the wheezy voice. Was that her Mom?
"Mom?" she whimpered.
"Yeah, I sound like shit, don't I?" she laughed, a horrible wheezy sound that nearly had her coughing, but she fought it back.
"Can you turn on the radio sweetheart? The silence scares me." Judy coughed. Annie did as he Mom said.
Annie let out a half laugh, half sob as one of her favorite songs came on.
"I have never heard this one," said Judy. "I like it. Who is it by?"
"His name is Larry Underwood," said Annie with a forced smile. "He sounds sexy."
Judy laughed.
"I bet he does honey. Yeah, I like this, baby can you dig your man, he's a richous man." She laughed until tears streamed down her face.
"I love it, it's so damn catchy." Her laugh tur turned into a scream.
"Annie! The dark man is coming for you and Nick!" Annie nearly screamed herself but forced it back.
"Mommy?" Judy gasped for breaths, coughing.
Annie shuddered at the sound.
"Why are you here sweetheart? You Dad and I don't want you to get this," said Judy through gasps of air.
"I can't just leave you to die alone," said Annie, fighting back her sobs of utter terror. 'Don't' leave me Momma."
"I love you honey," said Judy before sinking into delirium.
"John, I changed my mind about having Mary at the wedding. I want Sarah instead, that back stabbing bitch called Sarah a nigger." Annie left the room for a minute, trying to get her Barings.
Nick entered the house, closing the door behind him. He found Annie leveling a rather heavy looking vase at his head. He put a firm hand on her shoulder.
"Nick," she said. He stroked her shoulder.
He walked with her into the bedroom, nearly leaving at the smell, but forcing himself to stay.
John was awake, staring with incomprehension at Nick.
"James, can you give me the answer to question five? My Professor is riding my ass about getting better grades."
"They've been like this all day," said Annie. "They go in and out.
I know it sounds horrible, but I want them to die rather than live like this." He ushered her from the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
He didn't like the dark circles under her eyes.
John went first, muttering about a frat party between gasps for air.
Judy's death was more silent, she simply drew in a final gurgling breath and went. Nick let out a shuddering sigh and went to tell Annie.
"They are gone then," said Annie. Nick nodded, pushing her back in her chair and pressing a cup of cool water in her hand.
"I need to bury them," said Annie, tears streaming down her face. Nick tapped her hand on his shoulder, miming digging motions with her hand.
"You will do it?" Annie asked. Nick nodded.
He had already buried Jane one day, this was the least he could do for his friend.
Annie let out a hoars sob Nick couldn't hear. Nick patted her shoulder and left to do the deed.
He buried them in a single grave, closing their eyes, and placing John's arm around Judy's shoulder. They were together at least, and that would bring Annie a small amount of comfort, along with the lasagna.
He knew from Annie that her parents didn't want anything fancy like a funeral, they were simple people who loved their family and friends.
He bowed his head, silent tears leaking from his eyes before heading into the kitchen.
He had to laugh to himself when he saw written instructions about the wine to serve with the lasagna.
The hand writing was shaky, but still legible.
Nick and Annie. I would recommend serving this lasagna paired with a Barbera. There is some downstairs in the basement. Be sure to let it breathe for a bit before pouring.
Love John.
Nick went downstairs and found the bottle of wine, which he placed onto the counter before opening the freezer for the lasagna.
After placing the dish in the oven to warm up, Nick uncorked the wine, allowing it to breathe, whatever the fuck that meant.
With that done, he went to see Annie. He found her opening the windows to air out the house.
"They hated it when the house was all shut in and stuffy, they always had the windows open." Nick gave her a sad smile she couldn't see.
"Is that lasagna I smell?" Annie asked, turning from the windows where a breeze was blowing through.
There was a soft meow as a beautiful cat with long fur jumped onto Annie lap. She sat their rather happily, purring away. Nick sat beside Annie on the couch, and the cat crawled onto Nick's lap, licking his face ad purring.
He could feel the vibrations of the purr. He stroked the fluffy head, a soft smile on his face.
The cat stretched, placing a paw around Nick's shoulder, almost giving him a hug. He saw the protective way the creature was looking at Annie.
"That isn't our cat," said Annie, "She came with the house, the people who stay in this place during the Winter agreed that we could look after her." Nick nodded, wrapping his arm around her. She placed her head on his shoulder.
"My birthday is the 14th of November," said Annie, "When is yours?" Nick Nodded, tapping her shoulder.
She scrunched up in her face, trying to figure out what he meant. He took her hand, patted it on his shoulder, then her own.
"You mean your birthday is the same as mine?" Annie asked. Nick nodded.
"That is so cool, we can celebrate together and not have to deal with separate days." Nick had to smile at this, it would be easier, only having to remember one birthday between them.
"That smells so good," said Annie. Nick had to agree. The thing was piled high with ham, sausage, peperone, cheese, and Canadian bacon on top with a garnish of Italian spices.
The thing was a work of art. Patting her shoulder, he went to take it from the oven.
The cat gave him a sad doe eyed look for dislodging her. She walked with him into the kitchen, investigating what he was doing.
He grabbed the lasagna and placed it on the cooling rack. It was perfectly golden brown on top.
He went back into the living room, the cat following him.
He placed the lasagna on the table, along with a pair of plates, forks, and wine glasses.
Nick went back to the kitchen and was back with the wine. He poured wine into each glass, and handed one to Annie.
They clinked glasses, toasting to the memories of Annie's parents.
As they ate, Annie told Nick about her parents.
"They met in culinary school, and bonded over making the perfect steaks and pies.
That was pretty much that. They decided to go into work together at a steak house in Hell's kitchen. They cooked a lot more simply at home, Judy loved a good bowl of vellveta macaroni and cheese, and my Dad loved eggo waffles.
You wouldn't think it being fancy chefs, you would think they would use homemade ingrediency all the time. They mostly did, but when they had long nights at the restaurant, they stuck to very simple stuff. Well, simple for them, impossible for me." She laughed.
Nick rather enjoyed the lasagna, best meal he had sense the meal with John and Janie Baker.
Nick had many questions for her, but asking them was impossible. He wondered if she got tired of the lack of other human voices, to her, having conversations with him must be like talking to herself.
There had to be some better way of communication, one where they were both equal participants, instead of playing pantomime and pretending to talk to themselves.
It was a frustrating and slow thing to do every day.
They finished the meal in silence.
"I think I am ready for bed," said Annie with a yawn. Nick nodded. He too was tired, after putting three people in the ground.
"Come on, you can sleep with me in my room tonight." Nick followed her, not wishing to sleep alone himself.
He saw the cat following them in her silent way.
They entered a bright and cheerful looking room decorated with flowers. Annie showed him the private bathroom where he could change for the night.
He gaped at the size of the bathtub, it was like one of them fancy hot tubs at hotels he had seen. He put in toe plug and turned on the warm water.
A hot bath did sound nice, but he would let Annie bathe first.
He rummaged through the cabinet, looking for bubble bath, knowing that girls seemed to like that shit for some reason.
He found what he was looking for, something kind of frue frue name was written on the side, it looked like French maybe.
He sniffed at it, grimacing at the flowery scent.
Grow up Nick, he scoffed to himself. This is her house, not yours. She's going to have things you're not fond of, and you're probably going to have stuff she don't like, like black coffee for instance. He found bath salts, some silly ocean scented one.
He told himself to grow up again as he dumped a handful in the filling tub before adding the flowery bubble bath. An ungodly amount of bubbles appeared as he stirred it.
Grinning, he turned one of the jets, it sprayed, creating supper bubbles. The cat walked in, starred at the bubbles, sniffed, scowled at Nick, and walked away.
Don't look at me cat, I'm not a girl, he thought.
Once the tub was filled, he showed Annie in.
"Bubble bath," she squealed. "Oh Nick, you're so sweet." Nick smiled, giving her a hug.
"Why don't you join me?" Nick gapped at her. Was she for real? When he hesitated, he spoke.
'Oh come on, not everything in this world has to be sexualized. There are nude beaches you know." Nick shrugged.
The water did look inviting in spite of the fru fru bubbles and bath salt. His muscles ached from hauling bodies.
"Stop being a damn baby." He shook his head, that sounded like something Rudy would say if he got frustrated with Nick's stubbornness.
Nick took off his clothes. The cool air gave him goose bumps. He gazed at the water for a second before getting in.
Annie climbed in behind him. They both sighed as the water enveloped them.
Nick felt himself relax, the lavender scented bubbles helping that along. The ache in his shoulders was soon gone, and he relaxed against her.
Nick smiled at her as she got comfortable.
He relaxed as well, placing his head on her shoulder. She gently massaged the muscles and combed the knots out of his hair.
"I'm glad I suggested this, your poor muscles, I should have helped you." Nick placed his hand on top of hers and hugged her. She sighed, blinking back tears.
'Thank you for burying my family," she said. Neck stroked her shoulder.
He found his muscles becoming softened by her massage and the bubbles and bath salts he had scoffed at earlier.
They washed quickly, and worked on one another's hair.
Nick could see that Annie admired the feel of his springy hair through her fingers. The conditioner she used, which he gave her so she wouldn't douse his hair in locian, smoothed his hair quite nicely. It began to look shiny.
Once his hair was done, Nick worked on her hair, gently combing the knots from her brown locks. He smiled at the dirt that disappeared from her head. Her hair looked shiny and pretty once more.
He played with her locks for a minute, twisting them through his fingers into interesting shapes, loving the smooth feel, and how the light shone on it.
Nick smiled at her.
"I love your hair Nick," said Annie, "It is so curly and springy, kind of like those curly shaped pasta noodles." Nick's body shook with silent laughter. He had never heard of his hair being compared to curly pasta noodles.
Annie began to laugh as well.
"It is funny, I know." Nick grinned at her. He rather liked her imagination.
Once their laughter died down, he pulled the plug and helped her from the tub.
They got dressed in pajamas and took turned using the hair dryer that Nick found in the cabinet.
Nick handed her a tooth brush and tooth paste and waited for her to brush her teeth before doing the same.
Nick found some bubbles on her nose and whipped them off with some silent laughter.
The cat was waiting for them when they entered the cool bedroom. She meowed happily as they crawled in the comfortable twin bed, the kind that Annie seemed to like the best by her smile.
Annie stroked her head, while Nick scratched behind her chin. She purred like mad, and walked towards them. Nick could see that she was undecided about which one of them she wanted to use as her pillow.
She moved to Nick, curling up on his chest, and gently kneading him with her claws.
"Her name is No Name," said Annie. "The owners couldn't think of a name for her, and neither could I, so I just stuck with No Name. I rather like it."
No Name licked Nick's face, and then Annie's before curling up in a tight fluffy cat ball to sleep.
Annie followed suite, and then Nick.
Annie was in what looked like a huge field of corn, Nick beside her, strong, handsome, sweet and kind Nick.
She gasped, slapping a hand through her mouth.
"I can see," she choked in utter shock. She had never been able to see in her dreams before, they were as sightless as her waking life.
"I can see," she repeated, voice stronger. Nick clutched her hand, shaking all over.
"I can hear, I can talk!" he yelled, voice full of emotion. Tears filled her eyes.
"I can see," she said. "I can see you Nick, your hair, your eyes, I can hear your voice. It's beautiful, your beautiful." She burst into tears.
He hugged her fiercely, picking her up and spinning her around.
'I can hear you! I can talk to you with my voice," He was crying as well. Their lips met in a joyful kiss, everything was perfect and right in this beautiful dream world of sight, sound, speech, and corn that stretched forever.
A sudden cold chill had her heart nearly stop with terror.
"Get down on your knees and worship me, and all your dreams will come true," came a voice, cold as ice. Annie looked at Nick, so handsome with his black hair, skinny build, and brown eyes that took her breath away, then the sound of his beautiful tenor voice.
She whimpered, wanting this Nick more than anything. They would easily be able to communicate without any pantomime and tiresome guess work.
Their breathing was sharp and ragged in their ears. She could see the fear in his beautiful eyes.
Her stomach twisted at the sight, and she found herself desperate to get rid of it.
She hugged him fiercely as the cold grew around them.
She wanted this Nick, more than anything. Something deeper than her surface want woke in her mind.
A slice of chocolate pie, a cup of coffee, a bubble bath, Nick protecting her from prisoners, Nick burying her parents after a long day at the funeral of Jane Baker.
Most of all, she remembered his gentle comfort, touches, and silent presence.
"No, this is just wishful thinking," she said.
"I want you just the way you are Nick, your sweet kind silent self."
"I understand," Nick whispered, combing his hand through her hair. "I agree, it is a false reality for both of us. He is only giving us what we think we want." He took her hand and they walked away from the cold and the voice.
There was a roar of rage behind them, but they kept walking, in spite the heart stopping fear that sound produced.
Annie and Nick woke at the same time, gasping for breath.
She could no longer see Nick, but she could feel him, his hand, his arm pressed around her shoulder, and his hair brushing her arm. She twirled a curl between her fingers.
Yes, this was the Nick she loved. He hugged her, stroking her hair. She couldn't hear him say that he loved her in his own voice, but he could feel it, in the gentle press of his arms around her, and the hand stroking her hair.
No Name was up, growling and hissing, crouching in a protective manner. Nick gazed at the creature as the dream whirled in his mind, slowly leaving him.
Did she have a terrible dream herself? He shook his head and gazed at the clock. It was 5:00 a.m.
It was time to make breakfast and check on the prisoners.
He and Annie got dressed, and headed into the kitchen, No Name on their heels. Nick poured some cat food in her bowl which she happily began to eat, then he turned his attention to their own breakfast.
Something special was in order, yesterday had been hard for both of them. He found a drawer full of cook books. Gaping at the selection, he riffled through, finding a book on nothing but pancakes and crepes.
He skimmed the pages, looking for a simple recipe. Perfect, crepes with blueberry's and cream.
He rummaged through the fridge, grin widening. Luck was on Nick Andros's side this morning. There was an entire drawer dedicated to fruit of all kinds. Her parents had been quite organized.
He selected some blueberry's, and placed them in a bowl before turning to the cook book for instructions.
He could see Annie filling the coffee pot to make coffee, the one thing she could cook without destroying beyond recognition.
He turned back to the fridge, excitement growing at the meat drawer. Hams, sausages, pork chops, steaks, and any other meat he could think of. These people must have thrown a lot of parties, he thought.
This is honest to God real meat, none of that shit you found in the super market. This could only be found either at a butcher's shop, or an Amish market.
Steak and eggs would complete this perfect meal, he thought, lighting the gas stove with a match.
The smell of coffee filled the kitchen. The coffee will be ready soon, he thought.
He selected a frying pan, and placed it onto the stove, adding a touch of oil before adding the steak. He could see Annie's grin as she turned at the sound of cooking food that only she could hear.
While the steaks fried, he got to work on the crepe batter.
Once breakfast was cooked, Annie brought the coffee to the dining room, Nick following her with the platter of blueberry crepes. He had burned the first batch, but had more success with the second.
He placed the crepes on the table, and went to grab the steak and eggs covered in cheter cheese and onions.
Nick laughed in his silent way, watching Annie clapping her hands and bouncing in her seat like a little kid.
She winked at him, and handed him a cup of coffee, almost drooling at the smells of the food.
They attacked the breakfast, enjoying every bite, and every sip of coffee. Nick looked at Annie from time to time. There was that soft dreamy look, the one she had worn when he had given her the pie. He smiled softly at her, she was fucking adorable, and he was glad to have her in his life.
Annie and Nick did the dishes afterword's. Annie closed her eyes, savoring the silence, save for the clinking of dishes and their breathing, there was silence.
It was so damn peaceful. Most couples that she knew talked and talked endlessly, tongues going up and down in an almost obsessive manner. Her parents rest in peace were one of these couples, they were quite extroverted folks, throwing parties with friends, and talking and laughing with each other.
Annie, being rather introverted, loved silence. She didn't realize how much until now.
There was something special about having Nick in her life she was beginning to really notice. They had gotten up from the table, and walked to the kitchen to do the dishes, simple as that.
Yet, she knew of many couples, who had all and out fights over who would do the damn things, even her parents got into that one once in a while. She and Nick however, had mutually decided to do it, no arguments about it.
Sure, she could have objected, and he could have done his pantomime to try and get her to understand his point of view, but it was not how it had gone down.
They were beginning to develop as a team, a partnership. She smiled, loving that word, Nick was her partner in crime. She giggled at the thought of her and Nick in some stupid western movie with guns slung around their shoulders, wearing stupid cowboy boots, and riding horses to shoot up some bad guys.
The image disappeared from her head as Nick passed her a plate for her to rinse and dry.
She enjoyed doing dishes with him, it was almost calming after the frantic events of yesterday.
They were partners, there was no doubt about that.
Nick helped her wash the silver wear, especially the steak knife, he was afraid that she would cut herself, and he would have to play doctor.
"Let's go partner," said Annie after the last spoon was washed. In answer, Nick placed his arm around her and walked with her from the house.
She had grabbed the gun for him that was by the door, and he squeezed her shoulder in silent thanks as he took it and hooked it to his belt.
She was awfully glad that he had it with him.
They walked together, with nothing but the sounds of their footsteps in Annie's ears. The silence that had been peaceful in the kitchen was eary and scary. Nick seemed to feel the same way, for he tightened his arm around her, drawing her closer in a protective manner.
There was no sounds of cars, no sounds of children playing in the street, no sounds of drunks at Zack's bar, just the endless silence from this flu.
Welcome to the corps of Shoyo, a cold voice sounded in her head. She shuddered, and Nick stroked her shoulder.
She could almost hear his voice from her dream speaking to her.
"It's all right Annie, it's all right, everything will be okay, I have you." She leaned into Nick's touch and gave him a gentle smile. Annie tightened her arm around him, she could feel him shaking with fright. She echoed the Nick in her head, saying the same thing to him.
His shoulders grew less tense, and they continued to walk along.
Mike was begging Nick to let him out of his cell so he could see his wife. Annie could hear him begin to cry, which set her off.
She burst into tears, shoulders shaking.
"Please Nick, let him out," she sobbed. "Hasn't he paid for his crime enough? I don't like seeing him in that cage." The word cage ended in a high squeak as her sobs grew.
Nick looked from one crying figure to the other. Annie was shaking, rocking back and forth in her destress.
"Come on man, I don't want you for nothing, I just wanna check on my wife." Nick pointed out that he wasn't married anymore, and Mike explained that she was his ex.
"I'm begging you now, please let me out of here." Annie let out a choked whimper that Nick couldn't see at these words, but he saw the desperate pleading look in her eyes.
Annie shuddered. She could just see it in her mind's eye, poor Mike, huddles in his cell, no food, no water, not a living soul for company. He would simply be a broken miserable thing, an animal in the final dying throws, trapped in a cage. Annie let out a high keening wail at this vision, a sound that startled both men.
Nick could only feel the vibrations of the sound, but what got him was the haunted look in her eyes. He knew that if he kept this man in his cell, a part of Annie would hate him, then again, he would hate himself as well.
Mike wept harder as her tear stained face turned towards him, this woman who he had beaten the shit out of understood the situation he would be in if Nick left him, the thing that had him waking in a cold sweat, a scream of terror on his lips.
She had understood, but better and most surprising of all was the forgiveness in her eyes.
He watched through tear blurred eyes as Nick grabbed the keys, walked to his cell, and unlocked the door. Mike nearly flew out the horrible smelly cell.
He looked at the woman, relief entered her brown eyes.
"Loo man, I am sorry that we went after you, I swear I am, when Ray gets drunk, it is hard to stop him." He could see that Nick had his hand on the butt of his gun.
Mike bolted out the door, Nick and the woman behind him. Nick had a protective arm around her, ready to shove her behind him at a moment's notice.
Mike gaped in utter horror at the silent and empty streets.
"It's like the Black death or something," he said, "If you are smart Mutey, you will take your woman and get the Christ out of here." He started off, but the woman called to him.
"What is it?" he asked, turning back to them.
"I want you to know that I forgive you," she said gently. "I do hope your ex is doing well, I lost my parents yesterday, and I don't want you going through this." Mike smiled at her.
She started forward to give him a hug, but he stopped her.
"I don't want you getting sick, but I will tell her your regards for her," said Mike.
"I am Annie," said the woman, "This is Nick Andros, not mutey."
"Take care Annie, you too Nick," said Mike. He ran as fast as he could, eager to get as far away from the jail as he could.
There would be no reunion with his ex, she was dead, and he would join her a day later.
Nick and Annie left Shoyo a on July 3, nap sacks on their arms, and No Name walking silently behind them.
She had brought a pair of slates and stylus's with her, along with clothing, braille paper, and some penicillin for Nick's leg, and eye.
The attack from Ray had scared them both half to death, and Nick had nearly lost his life. Nick had shoved her in the closet, and had fought Ray off.
Annie had crouched in terror, flinching at the gun going off multiple times.
She had crawled out, discovering the smell of blood in the air, Ray Booth was dead, and Nick was injured. He had refused point to let her come with him to the drug store, scared out of his mind that she would be attacked by someone else. It had taken days and many restless nights for him to recover enough for them to travel.
Annie tightened her arm around him as they walked, grateful, oh so fucking grateful that he was still with her, eye patch and all.
She kissed him, a sweet lingering thing, and Nick responded just as gently. They had crossed that threshold from friends to lovers. The bullet would saw to that.
"I am going to teach you braille," said Annie. "This will make communication between us easier." Nick hugged her tight and stroked her hair.
Lessons began that evening. She found six flat stones, and arranged them into two sets of three, standing side by side.
She explained to Nick that this was the braille cell, and each letter, word, or symbol came from those six little dots.
They first practiced with the stones. Annie showed him A through E at first, which he got right. This one was a fast learner, she thought, moving on to f, g, h, and I.
He got confused between D and F, but got it after a few times.
She rewarded his progress with kisses whenever he got a letter right.
She let out a cheer when he could form the alphabet on his own.
"You see, it isn't hard at all," said Annie. "Now Nick, let me show you what I write on, and then I will show you how to write."
Nick was amazed at the slate and stylus, it was so portable, and it looked easy enough to understand. He soon got the hang of the slate and stylus as he slowly with Annie's hand on top his, guiding it along, typed his name.
He didn't understand the jumbled looking dots when she showed it to him, so she wrote out each letter, adding a space so he could see each letter.
Nick marveled at the look of the letters. They were so different to the letters he was used to seeing. Nick then tried to write his name. It was slow going, he carefully punched the holes with the stylus, hoping he got it right.
"You got it Nick!" Annie yelled. "You got it! You can write your name."
With that, he burst into tears of happiness.
Nick made improvements with his braille day by day. He slowly began to figure out how to sight read, distinguish between dots. Annie was an excellent teacher.
He was soon writing simple sentences, but slowly, ever so slowly, his confidence grew, along with his speed on the slate.
As his confidence grew, he began writing sweet little letters for her, almost like a diary of his thoughts that was just for her.
They contained his thoughts throughout the day, as well as the things he saw as they walked along.
The lack of a good bike was disappointing to them both. Nick had searched for a good tandem in Shoyo, but none were to be found. They hoped that they would be able to find one in a sports store somewhere.
The dreams of Mother Abby as Annie called her grew more frequent as they traveled.
In spite the lack of a good bike, they made it to May Oklahoma.
Nick too out his slate and began to write.
Nick: I think there is a sporting goods store here, we can see if we can find us a tandem bike.
It will speed things along a bit. Not as fast as a car would be, but faster than walking.
Nick moved the slate down so she could write a reply.
Annie: I hope so too my love, as much as I love walking, the bike will be a nice change.
Nick fell over what looked like a corpse.
Cursing to himself, he grimaced at the scratches on his hand.
"You took a tumble there Mister, laws yes. M.o.o.n, that spells tumble." Nick turned around to see the newcomer in their midst.
Annie ran to Nick, fear in her eyes.
"Are you all right?" Nick patted her shoulder, and placed his arm around her. The stranger, later known as Tom Cullen looked at them. Hie eyes passed Nick, a look of concern at his injuries, and onto Annie.
Nick knew the look that the man wore when he gazed at her, for it was the same look he so often wore himself.
"My name is Tom Cullen. M.o.o.n, that spells Tom Cullen," said Tom Cullen.
"I am Annie Anderson, and the man with the injury is Nick Andros." Tom took her hand in his larger one and shook it gently.
Nick tore off a sheet of paper from his notebook, and handed it to Tom.
"I'm sorry Nick, I can't read," said Tom. Nick bit back a sigh of frustration. Not this again, he thought. What use would this retarded man be to him and Annie?
He was afraid he would slow them down even more than they already were.
Annie couldn't be their translator, the poor woman wouldn't have time for her own thoughts.
Sighing, he left to see if he could find a tandem, leaving Tom and Annie alone.
It took some time, but he managed to find a nice tandem at a huge sporting good's store, along with a bike for Tom.
He came back to where Tom and Annie were, wheeling the bikes with some difficulty. He saw that Tom was playing with a toy garage he had found at another store.
He couldn't leave this man here to fend for himself, Annie would put her foot down on that, and his own sense of right and wrong wouldn't let him do such a cruel thing.
He stopped for a rest and watched them. Annie was singing a song that Nick couldn't hear, but Tom was looking at her with such a tender look that it brought tears to his eyes.
How could Tom wear that look that expressed how he felt about Annie? It was like seeing his love for her on another face.
Tom's blue eyes sparkled at something he saw in the distance. Following his gaze, Nick saw a field of beautiful flowers.
"M.o.o.n, that spells flowers," Tom whispered.
"Annie, I wanna get something for you real quick," said Tom.
"Well, why don't you then?" Annie asked.
"Oh no," said Tom, "Tom Cullen ain't leaving you hear alone, some scary bad man might get you, laws no. Tom is staying here to look after you." Nick saw Tom whirl at the sound of his approach. Nick approved when he stepped in front of Annie, a protective hand on her shoulder.
He relaxed when he saw that it was Nick. He gestured Nick to come closer so that he could speak to him without letting Annie hear.
"Tom Cullen wants to get Annie some of those flowers, but I don't know what looks best for her." Nick smiled and patted him on the shoulder. Nick pointed to himself, the ground, and then to Annie.
It took a couple of times for Tom to understand what he was trying to say, but he eventually nodded, looking relieved.
He returned a few minutes with something small in his hand.
He watched as Tom approached her, took her hand, and placed the object on her finger.
"It's a ring Annie, I made it myself," said Tom. Annie gently touched the flower ring, let out a squeal of delight, and threw her arms around Tom.
"Oh, that is one of the sweetest things a man ever gave me. I love it, Tom. Tears filled Nick's eyes again. It was the sweetest damn thing he ever saw.
He stepped towards them, and put his own arm around her. He looked at the utter joy on her face, and found himself falling for her even more, if that was even possible.
The company of three traveled on with greater speed due to the bikes. Annie shuddered, remembering the horrible tornado.
Being from New York, she had never had to live through one, but hoped never to do so again. Tom had saved her and Nick that day, ushering them into a barn.
She felt the same stirring in her heart for Tom that was there for Nick. A woman with two men at the same time wasn't exactly common in their western society, but she didn't give a fuck.
She didn't give a fuck that Tom was not all the way mentally there, and she didn't give a fuck that Nick was a deaf mute. Both men freely gave her such love and devotion that it took her breath away. Men could have all the women they wanted, and nobody batted an eye. Salamin had what, one hundred fucking wives, yet she, a woman would be labeled a slut by society if they knew of her relationship with the two men she loved most in the world.
An owl hooted overhead, and No Name curled in her lap. Crickets filled the air with their night song, while Tom and Nick slept on either side of her, their arms around her shoulders.
A loud howl in the distance caused a scream of terror to burst from her. Tom and Nick both jerked awake at the sound, Tom placing himself in front of her, his own breathing fast and terrified, while Nick clicked back the safety on his gun.
No Name was growling, spitting, and hissing, standing in front of all of them. Annie could hear that she was ready to fight off the wolves if any came near.
The sound of a crow had her heart nearly stopping. Nick leapt to his feet, standing beside Tom, both of them blocking the crow from trying to see her, or at least that was their hope.
The crow circled them, the wolves howls growing closer. With a final kah, the crow flew away.
As if this was their signal, the wolves ran too, howls growing farther away.
Annie had her face buried in her drawn up knees. Her hands covered her ears, and she was rocking back in forth, shaking with terror.
She nearly screamed again at the touch of a hand on her shoulder. Another hand lifted her face from her knees.
Nick's lips were on hers, and then Tom's. They took turns kissing her, desperate to bring her back to herself.
Annie burst into hysterical sobs as the Adrenaline left her, leaving her exhausted and terrified.
Nick and Tom exchanged a look over her head. They saw the terror mirrored in the others face. Together, they lifted their woman, and placed her on their laps.
They sat, shoulder to shoulder, holding her, and swaying her back and forth, her sobs filling the air. Nick watched Tom. He saw the terror leave his face, the robotic look coming over him.
"The wolves are his," he whispered. Nick's blood ran cold at these words. Tom stroked Annie's hair as he came back to himself.
They were traveling again, the wolves and crows were a distant memory now, like a bad dream they wanted to forget. As they continued, Nick continued to write love notes for her, and with Nick's help, Tom also wrote love notes for her, Tom dictating, and Nick writing what he wanted to say on her slate and stylus.
Nick often described to her how he would hypnotize himself in order to tell her. Annie didn't care how it came about, she was glad to read Tom's notes as well as Nick's.
Annie grimaced as a cramp seized her. Not the fucking period, she thought.
She sighed, wincing at the pain in her lower back.
She sighed, curling in a miserable ball while Nick packed up camp, and Tom ate some breakfast.
She didn't want to ride today, all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep the whole day long. Annie groaned in annoyance when she discovered she was out of fucking tampons.
"Nick," said Annie. Nick turned to her, a flash of irritation entering his eyes.
What was taking her so long? They needed to leave if they were to make time. He stomped over to her, ready to give her a piece of his mind, but he softened at the look of utter misery on her face.
He soon saw just what was wrong, her jeans were completely stained with blood.
Sighing, he placed his arm around her, holding her gently.
"My jeans, they're ruined, and I'm crampy, and my back hurts," said Annie. "I need to get some tampons." Nick nodded, quickly writing a note for her.
Nick: All right sweetheart, there is a drug store about a mile from here, Tom needs medicine, he ate more of those apples when he shouldn't have. I will be back, you will be fine here with him.
Annie nodded, giving him a soft kiss. He wiped a tear that trickled down her face.
Annie: I'm sorry for being so damn weepy all the time.
Nick: None of that now, there is nothing wrong with crying honey, we've all been through a traumatic experience. You have more than the right to cry whenever you need to.
I love you.
Annie: I love you too Nick.
They exchanged another kiss before he hopped onto his bike, riding towards the drug store.
Annie walked over to Tom, and sat beside him.
"Hey honey, Nick is going to get some stuff for us all right? I'm not feeling well myself."
"What is the matter with you?" Tom asked, alarm in his voice.
"I am on my cycle, my period," said Annie.
"What is a period?" Tom asked. Annie sighed. Of course he wouldn't have had education about sex or puberty. From what Tom had told them, his Dad was a fucking piece of shit who deserved to rot in hell for all eternity.
"Well, it is when a girl bleeds out eggs every month. That helps her have a baby. If she is not bleeding each month, she is either pregnant, or there is something wrong."
"Does it hurt?" Tom asked.
"I am afraid it does, but we get used to it. Our stomach hurt a lot, and we get really sad and want to cry all the time and eat chocolate. We also get quite mad on accident." Tom hugged her as a few tears escaped her eyes.
"Tom Cullen is sorry you have to hurt each month. For how long?"
"Around four or five days," said Annie. "My lower back really hurts today." Tom gave her a gentle kiss. She pointed at where the pain was most severe.
He scooted round, and gently rubbed the spot where she pointed. If she would have been able to see, she would have seen no expression on his face, all the happiness that was usually there was gone.
"Tom Cullen loves you," he said. 'M.o.o.n, that spells love." Annie smiled at him. That was how he signed his letters to her.
"I love you too Tom," she whispered, placing her arms around him.
"Is it the same love that you have for Nick?" Tom asked.
"yes Tom, the very same, you are both my loves." The animation appeared in Tom's face at these words.
"Tom is so happy to hear that," he said, grabbing her, and swinging her around.
She laughed, forgetting about her cramps and food cravings for chocolate, it was just sweet Tom, holding her.
He sat her on her feet and hugged her close, swaying with her.
After a minute, he sat back down.
"Tom Cullen does not feel good, laws no."
"Nick will be back to help you, he will have something to make it go away," said Annie. "I hope he brings me chocolate, though I don't know if there is chocolate in the drug store." Sighing, she laid down.
"I think I will take a nap, I am sleepy."
"Laws yes, Tom is sleepy too." She let out a moan of pain as a strong cramp hit her, what she wouldn't give for a soft and fluffy bed with a hot bubble bath.
Nick returned with another woman trailing behind him.
"Hi cutie pie," she said. Annie grimaced at the shrill and winy tone of her voice. "I hear you aren't feeling too good." Annie clinched her fists, furry rising inside her at how she was treating Tom.
She got to her feet to stand by Nick. The poor man had to drink the medicine to show Tom that it wasn't poisoned, but Julie's manipulation was getting to him.
Tom begged Nick to not give to him, while Julie laughed her ass off.
"We got big moose over her crying like a baby, Wah!" Two resounding smacks filled the air, one after the other. She and Nick had both slapped her, one on each cheek.
Annie could hear Nick breathing heavily beside her. Lesson learned, do not piss off Nick Andros, she thought as Julie continued to mock, this time going after Nick, calling him dummy.
"Oh hell no!" Annie was running, grabbing her by the shoulders, and shoving her to the ground. She was going to give that piece of shit the beat down of her life, but Nick pulled her off, holding her firmly so she wouldn't do anymore violence.
He patted her shoulder, trying to calm her as the anger coursed through her. This bitch knew nothing of the man that Nick was.
He tore off a sheet of paper, and thrust it at the girl.
"Fine, I'll read your fucking note," she hissed.
"It was a joke stupid, ha ha ha, joke stupid." Nick grabbed Annie's shoulder to restrain her and pulled out his gun.
"You wouldn't dare," Julie hissed. Nick pointed the gun at her.
Tom's pleading voice stopped the fight from escalating further. Julie ran off, vowing her revenge.
"M.o.o.n, that spills kill!" Annie hissed after her.
Annie and Nick went to check on Tom who still refused to take the medicine.
Sighing, Nick threw the bottle away from him.
They were silent for a minute or so, getting their baring's back. Annie jumped out of her skin at the bang from a gun. She slapped her hands over her ears as the gun continued firing.
Tom seized her by the shoulder, hustling her along.
"Come on Mister, we gotta hide." Julie screamed after them, a high pitched wild sound that sent chills down Annie's spine.
She sighed, and let out a whimper of pain. The fucking cramps seemed to redouble as the shock of the moment wore off.
Nick watched her in concern. She was grimacing with pain, and placing her hand on her lower belly.
He handed her the box of tampons, the biggest one in the place and watched as she headed off to change.
Nick turned to see Tom wiping at his eyes. Nick tapped him on the shoulder.
"I don't like seeing her hurt," Tom said, blubbering. Nick's face softened, he didn't like it so much himself.
He patted Tom on the shoulder, pointed to himself, and nodded. It took Tom a minute or two to get the connection.
"You don't like it either," he said. Nick nodded, giving Tom's shoulder a comforting squeeze.
"Tom Cullen things she looks tired. M.o.o.n, that spells tired laws yes." Nick nodded in agreement. She did look rather exhausted with dark circles under her eyes which made her look even more miserable.
She was soon back, tears of pain streaming down her cheeks.
Nick handed her the medicine he had brought and wrote.
Nick: The big bottle is multi vitamins, and the smaller bottle is ivy proofing for the pain. I love you sweetheart.
He then produced another item from a pocket and handed it to her.
"Chocolate bar," she said. "Oh Nick, thank you."
She hugged him. He smiled, patting her shoulder. He had bought as many chocolate bars as he could get his hands on. There was a plastic sack full of them.
Tom whistled.
"My laws, that's a big chocolate bar, isn't it just!" She offered him a piece but he refused. "No ma'am, that's your chocolate bar," he said.
Once her chocolate had been eaten, she stretched out and fell asleep, dead to the world.
Nick and Tom sat together, neither of them sleepy at the moment. Tom was crying again.
"I love her Nick," he blubbered. "Do you think she loves me too? She told me she does, but Tom wants to know what you think." Nick nodded quite firmly.
"Do you love her too?" Nick nodded. He looked at her, nearly bold over by the intensity of his love. It was quite startling in its strength.
Nick expected Tom to be jealous, but he wasn't. He gave Nick a big grin.
"That makes Tom so glad," he said, beaming. "Now she has twice the love. M.o.o.n, that spells twice the love." They fell asleep after that, but it wasn't an easy one.
Tom kept waking up from nightmares about Julie, and Nick had to reassure him. Annie however, slept on, oblivious to everything but her dreams. Both men were grateful for that.
Larry Underwood woke with a start, a scream on his lips. It was that fucking dream about the dark man again.
His Mother woke a minute later.
"What is it, Larry?" she asked, voice tinged with concern. Things between them had gotten surprisingly better sense the world went to hell, Larry had been horribly frightened that she had gotten the flu, but it had just been a bad cold to his relief.
Alice had been quite proud at how firm he had been with Nadine Cross and the pills during the Lincoln tunnel incident. She hadn't been surprised they became lovers, and she hadn't been surprised when the woman left him with a pathetic note in her wake.
"Is it the one about the dark man?" she whispered. Larry nodded, pale as a ghost.
She hugged him, something she rarely did. Larry was both surprised and pleased. Perhaps the end of the world was softening them both, taking away their rough edges, slowly but surely.
"I love you, Larry," she said softly, the abrupt and brisk manner she usually reserved for him was quite gone.
"I love you too, Ma," Larry replied, hugging her fiercely.