Page 102 of Into the Mist

“Well, yes, I suppose that’s true. Anyway, poor Moira is mentally ill. She thinks she has a goat ranch about ten miles outside town. She does live on the remains of what used to be a ranch, but several years ago she went bankrupt. She hasn’t had a goat in years and has been selling eggs and homegrown vegetables at our farmers market to get by. This disaster has unhinged her mind. We’re trying to get her to stay in town because we’re worried about her.”

When Mercury and Stella said nothing, Karen spoke up. “That is sad. I commend you for working to keep her safe.”

“Well, we’re a Christian town. We take care of one another here in Madras.” Amber’s smile blazed at Karen. She included Mercury, Stella, and Ford in her show of exuberance, but when none of them spoke, she cleared her throat and continued. “Ford, the only other classroom here that has men in it is already fully occupied. I would take you to one of our other shelters where there are a few other men you could room with, but you did say you wanted to be close to your ladies.”

“That I did,” Ford said.

“Well, the classroom right next to this one is the last empty one in this wing of the school, and I thought I’d put your ladies there.” She looked through long lashes at Ford and added. “You might not know it yet, but this thing has been pretty hard on men. There aren’t many who have survived, and we want to be sure those of you still with us are happy.”

Beside Mercury, Stella snorted softly.

“This will work perfectly,” said Ford.

“Good! Now, ladies, like I said, your room is just next door. You might have noticed the restrooms are down the hall. Take a right atthe restrooms, and about halfway down the hall you’ll find the gym on your left. We have the doors open so that it’s easy for you to find the locker rooms. The girls’ is marked clearly on the left of the gym—the boys’ on the right. The locker rooms have been fully stocked with towels, soap, shampoo, and such.” She grinned and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “As I already said, we do have hot water, though please keep your shower time to a minimum. You wouldn’t want to make the generator work too hard. When you’re all showered and refreshed, keep going down the hall from the gym, and you’ll come to the cafeteria. I believe there’s still some dinner if you’re hungry.”

“We’re definitely hungry,” said Ford.

Amber laughed and gave his shoulder a little push. “Of course you are! Would you like me to show you to the cafeteria?”

“No, I believe I’ll take a shower first and change into some dry clothes,” Ford said. “Then the ladies and I will see about dinner.”

“Well, I’ll show your ladies next door. Oh, one more small thing. Tomorrow we’d like all of you to stop by our makeshift hospital in the courthouse—don’t worry, we’ll shuttle you there after breakfast,” Amber said.

“We’re feeling fine,” said Stella.

“But I see Ford has been wounded. I’m sure he’ll need that dressing changed. And Mayor Cruz asks that all survivors take a blood test. Just a little stick to fill up a small vial—there’s nothing to it.” Amber waved her hand as if brushing away even the thought that the blood test would be uncomfortable.

“Why does the Mayor want us to take a blood test?” Mercury asked.

“Just to be sure you’re healthy. You know that green stuff is pretty nasty.” Amber paused. “Or do you not know how destructive it is? Did it touch you at all after the blast?”

Ford spoke up quickly. “No. We were camping on the top of a canyon not far from Warm Springs, which gave us a great view and also kept us above the green fog.”

“Though we did see how dangerous it is as it engulfed and killed the people below us,” added Mercury.

“Yes, that is why we avoided it on our trek here,” said Karen.

“And also why it took us so long to hike here,” said Ford. “We had to keep going around the green stuff.”

“That was wise,” said Amber. “Tomorrow you’ll see that Mayor Cruz has directed that industrial fans, the kind used in hemp farming, be placed in key locations in the heart of the town so that if the fog rolls in we can turn them on and keep our citizens safe by blowing away that nasty stuff.” She shuddered delicately.

“That’s a good idea. That fog is definitely dangerous, but like Ford said, we’ve avoided it completely,” Stella said. “So there should be no reason for us to have our blood tested.”

“Oh, it’s notjustto check your health. Mayor Cruz has also set up a blood bank. We’ll be typing your blood and in the event survivors need transfusions, that will help us know who to go to for a lifesaving donation.”

“I know my blood type,” said Mercury. “O negative.”

“Mine is O positive,” said Stella.

“Well, it’s convenient that you know that, now isn’t it?” Amber patted Stella’s arm as she moved past her to guide them to their classroom. “But we all want to be sure, and of course there’s the problem of the green fog. Even breathing in a tiny bit of it can be harmful. You might not have known you were exposed.”

Ford propped the door to his room open with a backpack and went with the silent women, who followed Amber to the next classroom. All four of them peered down the hallway to see Moira standing exactly where Amber had left her. She stared at them expressionlessly as they waited in the hall while Amber turned on another floor lamp, which shined on a room set up very much like Ford’s.

“There you go! Come on in! So, do you have any questions?” Amber folded her hands before her and waited expectantly.

“No,” Stella said. “You’ve been very helpful.”

“And what about you, Ford? Is there anything else I might do for you?” Amber blazed her smile at him.