Page 99 of Into the Mist

“Yes, ma’am,” said Ford.

Karen nodded slowly. “I do not usually hold with lies, but these are desperate times, and strangers do not need to know our business.”

“Karen, it’s not just strangers who don’t need to know details about us,” said Stella. “Let me make this perfectly clear. Even if sometime tomorrow you get all comfortable and decide someone here is your friend—even if you realize you want to stay—don’t tell anyone shit about us. Not about Timberline. And most definitely not about our fucking blood.”

“Stella Carver, you do not have to be so vulgar,andyou do not need to take that tone with me.” Karen glared at her through the spitting rain.

“Karen Gay, do you not understand that this is life and death, and your prudish, naive ideas of right and wrong take a backseat to what’s actually best for us?” responded Stella.

Mercury stepped between the two women. “Karen, we’ve been through this already. If you don’t like cuss words, then don’t use them, but it is not your business to tell anyone else what words or what tone they should or shouldn’t use. And it’s ridiculous thatshitandfuckare what you’re focused on instead of what Stella is saying—that it isn’t safe to tell people secrets about us because divulging too much can get us dead. Do you understand that?”

Karen frowned. “Well, yes. Of course.”

“Good. End of discussion,” Mercury said.

They walked on in silence as the stalled vehicles increased. Mercury kept her gaze averted from the cars and trucks and SUVs—as well as the gelatinous looking mounds of clothing that used to be men, which littered the highway. Though the rain was cold andmiserable, she was glad it and the darkness obscured her view of the nightmare around them, especially as they entered the town proper. Buildings had crumbled in the earthquake. Power lines were down across the road, which was one of the few good things about not having any electricity. Some businesses and homes smoldered. Everything was dark and eerily silent.

Ford’s voice sounded muffled by the rain, and Mercury strained to hear him. “Soon we should be passing a street named after a tree—can’t remember if it’s Maple or Oak… I remember because that’s where a hiking trail feeds into town. We might want to—”

Lights blazed so that the four of them stopped abruptly and lifted their hands to shield their eyes.

“Hello, folks!”

A woman’s voice called from behind the blinding light, which Mercury realized was coming from several side-by-side vehicles that blocked the road.

“Hello!” Mercury called back. “We heard there’s shelter in Madras.”

“Is that all there is? Just the four of you?” asked the woman.

“Yeah,” Ford said and then repeated the story Mercury had concocted. “I’m Ford Diaz, a backpack guide. These three ladies are teachers from out of state. They were on a spring break camping trip with me when all hell broke loose. Walking down the highway yesterday, we met a trucker named Sim who told us this was a safe place.”

There was a pause and then the wall of lights extinguished. Mercury blinked hard, trying to clear the spots from her eyes as the warm glow of an oil lantern replaced the glare of headlights. The lantern bobbed toward them, and soon Mercury could make out the figure of a woman, flanked by two men, walking toward their little group.

“Sim! He’s sent us several groups of good people.” The woman’s smile flashed white in the darkness behind the lantern. “I’m Amber Watson, executive assistant to the mayor of Madras, Eva Cruz. Welcome to our town.”

As the woman was smiling at Ford, he extended his hand first. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Watson.”

Her smile was warm. “Oh, just Amber is fine. And who are your ladies?”

Mercury forced a smile as she extended her hand. “Mercury Rhodes.”

“And I’m Stella Carver.”

“I’m Karen Gay. It is s-so l-lovely to finally get here!” gushed Karen through teeth that chattered with cold.

Mercury stepped forward, smile still in place, and offered her hand to one of the two men flanking Amber. “Hi, I’m Mercury. Nice to meet you.”

The man hesitated, glanced at Amber, and then took Mercury’s hand. “Ron Shaddox.”

Mercury noticed Ron kept sniffing and wiping at his nose. Even in the dim light of the lantern the dark stain on the wad of tissue in his hand looked like blood.

Mercury turned to the second man, and Amber stepped forward, gesturing behind her at the line of cars that blocked the road and spoke quickly. “Oh, Karen, your teeth are chattering! What’s wrong with me? I shouldn’t keep you out here in the cold and rain. If you come with us, we’ll get you settled in one of the facilities Mayor Cruz has designated for housing newcomers.” She motioned for them to follow her as she briskly led them to the vehicles that had been blinding them. “I’m assuming you ladies would like to room near one another?”

“Yes,” Stella said. “We can share one room for the three of us. No need to take up more space.”

“And I’d like to be close to the ladies,” Ford said.

Amber tossed her long, strawberry-blonde hair back and grinned over her shoulder at Ford. “Well, of course you would. You’ve been taking care of them all through this nightmare. We’ll be sure to put you in the same building with your ladies.”