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Chapter 1
Somewhere between Ellisville, VA and Blacksburg, VA
Dianne slowed to a stop, rubbed her eyes and tried to fight back a yawn. After failing in her fight, she stretched and looked at her watch before sighing and putting her truck back into gear. It had taken her the better part of an hour to get as far as she had, though she still wasn’t in Blacksburg proper. Winding her way around the main highway—to give as wide of a berth to the gas station compound and those inside as possible—had taken more time than she thought, and though she was still heading in the right direction she wasn’t sure when she’d actually arrive in the city.
Keeping the use of the truck’s headlights to a minimum had slowed her down, though the terrain had done more than anything else. Going over fields and hills had nearly gotten the truck stuck multiple times and she wasn’t sure what she’d do if that finally happened. When she felt that she had bypassed the gas station compound by a wide enough margin she made her way back to the highway only to find it largely taken up by the burned-out wrecks of vehicles that had been destroyed.
Even with the journey taking as long as it was, Dianne pressed forward. Any thoughts of abandoning her task and heading back home were immediately dismissed. Dianne’s primary responsibility was to her family, but Jason, Sarah and Tina were as much a part of her family as Rick, Mark, Jacob and Josie. The arrival of what felt like the end of the world brought with it an upheaval of priorities and reinforced exactly who could be trusted and who couldn’t. A friend—even if they weren’t a blood relative—who was loyal in spite of everything going on was still family, and Dianne was determined to do anything she could to keep her family alive and healthy.
So lost was Dianne in her thoughts about her children and friends back at the house that she had to slam on the brakes to keep from running into a line of vehicles that branched off of the main highway onto an off-ramp and out towards the first exit into Blacksburg. Grass and dirt were ejected from the ground as the tires sought traction, finally finding it as Dianne pulled the wheel to the right and the rear left tire caught hard on the gravel and asphalt of the off-ramp’s shoulder. She took several deep breaths, her heart racing as she flicked on the headlights and squinted to read the sign at the end of the off-ramp showing which restaurants and amenities were available.
“Looks like I’m here.” Dianne closed her eyes and put her head back against the seat, taking another deep breath while saying a silent prayer of thanks that she hadn’t just crashed the truck. After collecting her wits she starting moving forward again along the grass to the side of the off-ramp. A clear spot in the road up ahead was revealed as she crested the hill and she gratefully got off of the grass and back onto solid pavement.
With a population of nearly one hundred thousand people, Blacksburg had exploded in size in recent years thanks to both the local university and the relocation of several technology and manufacturing companies to the area. Being within driving distance of Washington while simultaneously being outside of the sphere of influence of Northern Virginia had helped to spur growth in the city.
Huge swaths of industrial real estate were repurposed into green manufacturing spaces, commercial and office buildings were constructed and homes, townhomes and apartments were filled as quickly as they could be built. While the growth had meant good things for the businesses and people working for them, the city’s infrastructure had been overwhelmed and the city was in near-constant gridlock between six in the morning and eight in the evening. Construction projects meant to widen and add new roads had only added to the commotion.
The sheer amount of wreckage on the road leading into the city was mind-blowing to Dianne and she shook her head as she looked at it, trying to figure out how she could possibly get through. Only small sections of the road were wide enough for the truck to pass through and the others were blocked by burned-out vehicles. Dianne looked at the map she had pulled out of the truck’s glove compartment earlier and double-checked to see if there were any alternate paths to get where she needed to go. “Nothing.” She sighed and looked back at the road ahead. With no places for her to go off-road she put the truck into gear and moved forward, cringing at the thought of what was about to happen to the old truck.
A loud screech came from the front right panel as the truck collided with its first obstacle. The engine didn’t even strain, though, as the weight of the wreck was inconsequential when compared to the power propelling the truck. The wreck moved to the side as Dianne kept moving, all while the screeching continued down half the length of the right side. The sounds grew louder and more consistent as Dianne pre
ssed forward, using the truck as a makeshift bulldozer to push her way down the street.
She tried not to imagine how the sides and front of the truck would look after being scratched up one side and down the other, instead focusing on the task at hand. She was surprised at how well the strategy worked, though, and continued pushing through, thankful that the headlights were high and protected enough that they hadn’t yet been broken by any of the debris she was pushing out of the way.
The initial group of vehicles soon gave way to an intersection that was relatively clear. Dianne stopped the truck in the middle of the intersection, grabbed her flashlight and the map from the passenger seat and hopped out. She circled around the truck, examining the damage and checking the tires to make sure they weren’t suffering too much damage. While the paint on the front edges and sides of the vehicle was scratched and the metal suffered from small tears in a few places, everything was holding together better than she had anticipated.
Dianne unfolded the map onto the hood of the truck and looked around at the street signs, orienting herself and figuring out where to go next. As she looked at the darkened, burned buildings around her and the signs that still stood, she saw a billboard advertisement nearby for a walk-in clinic that was a quarter-mile down the road. Checking her map she saw that if she made a slight detour down a side street she’d be able to visit the clinic on her way to the Long-Term Acute Care facility.
“Doubt they’ll have much of anything but it’s worth a shot.” Dianne mumbled to herself as she folded the map up and hopped back in the truck. The road ahead looked clearer than the section she had driven on getting from the off-ramp into town so she pressed on, all while keeping a close eye on her surroundings. Everything appeared calm and quiet and she sensed no signs of danger, but she still watched the road and buildings with a wary gaze.
***
“Where do you think that one’s going?”
“Th’ hell would I know?”
“I’m just looking for an opinion!”
“My opinion’s that you need mouthwash.”
“Up yours.”
“Should we follow them?”
“Let ‘em get closer. See how many they are inside.”
The two men sitting in the front of a small hatchback on the top of a hill off the highway watched as the blue truck drove through the grass just outside Blacksburg. They spoke quietly, puffing away at cigarettes and blowing smoke out the windows of the car as they studied the truck. As the vehicle passed close by the hill the man in the driver’s seat sat up abruptly, his cigarette and warm bottle of beer forgotten.
“What color jacket did that lady have?”
“Which one?”
“The one who was at the station the other day. She came in while all that gunfire was going on and took that old woman away.”
“Hm.” The man in the passenger seat frowned. “Green and white? Maybe?”
“I think that’s her.”
“But the truck they drove off in was white.”
“Yeah, but they might have more than one truck.”
Both men watched the truck drive up alongside the off-ramp and onto the road before it turned in towards the city and vanished behind a building.
“She was the only one in the truck, right?”
“Yup.”
The man in the driver’s seat turned on the engine of their hatchback. “Call it in while the engine warms up.”
The man in the passenger seat picked up a portable two-way radio from the floor near his feet. “Base, this is unit three. We need to speak to the boss. Got a sighting on someone he’ll be interested to hear about.”
The voice of the man in the red shirt came back a few seconds later, full of annoyance and frustration that seems to be ever-present. “What is it, unit three?”
“Lady driving a blue truck just went into Blacksburg off the first exit. She had the same color jacket as the one who was at the compound the other night.”
“Did you stop her?!” The red-shirted man’s voice grows even more strained.
“No, but we saw where she went.”
“Then get after her you idiots! Hurry up!”
“Yeah, we’re on it.”
“Don’t get ‘on it!’ I want her caught right this second!” The man in the red shirt screamed into the radio while the man in the passenger seat looked at his compatriot. They shrugged at each other before the man in the passenger seat finally sent back a reply. “We’re going after her now. Will radio back soon.”
Before the transmission was severed, the pair could hear the man in the red shirt shouting obscenities at someone in the background. The man in the passenger seat replaced the radio in its spot on the floor and pulled out a handgun and flashlight while the man in the driver’s seat put the car into gear.
“You ready for this?”
“Absolutely.”
Chapter 2
Somewhere in Missouri
