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As it turned out, Stan did have something valuable to contribute. The storm cellar beneath the garage was filled with ammunition Stan had taken from the local gun store, so much of it, in fact, they couldn’t fit all of it into the wagon.
Carly took on the task of repacking their possessions to try to save room. It was the first time she’d ever gone through the contents of Justin’s bag. At the bottom, she found something wrapped in a piece of cloth. She unwrapped it, and a small toy fell into her hand. An Incredible Hulk action figure. And then she heard his voice in her memory... A little boy abandoned in front of a fire station with an Incredible Hulk toy in his hands.
Justin had kept it all these years. He had somehow managed not to lose it in all of those moves he’d been subjected to in the foster care system, moving around the world in the military, and wandering like a nomad afterward. The last thing his mother ever gave him. Tears pooled in Carly’s eyes, tears for the little boy who never had the love of a mother or a family.
“Hey.” Justin stood in the doorway.
“Hi. I, uh, I’m sorry. I found this while I was—”
Justin nodded. “It’s not a secret, Carly. I wouldn’t have given you the bag to sort if I were worried about you finding it.”
“You kept it. All these years, you kept it.” Carly didn’t have the words to express what she meant, the symbolism embodied in that little plastic green man.
“I was going to give it to Dagny when she’s a little older,” Justin said, and a touch of wistfulness lingered in his eyes. “A baby who will never grow up without love.”
She didn’t know what to say, and her throat was too tight for words anyway, so she simply hugged him like she’d never let go.
They set out the following morning, heading west, much to Justin’s displeasure. The women rode in the wagon while the men walked alongside, each with a rifle slung over their back and a pistol on each hip. Carly thought it was rather sexist, but she didn’t argue about it. Pick and choose your battles, her father had always said.
Carly was the one who held the reins, though Shadowfax didn’t need her guidance. She stopped whenever Justin stopped and followed him around turns without needing to be told.
Mindy was a talker. Justin had teased Carly for being a chatterbox, but she had nothing on Mindy. At least she was an interesting conversationalist, so it never became irritating.
Mindy had been a dental hygienist, something that interested Justin when he heard it. It was a valuable skill to have, which led to a long conversation about the feasibility of the barter system for services and how much one would “charge” for something like cleaning teeth.
Stan ruefully admitted he had no useful skills whatsoever. He’d been a loan officer and had never so much as gone camping before the Crisis.
“If I can learn this stuff, you can,” Carly said with an encouraging smile. “Justin is a good teacher.”
They moved along at little more than a walking pace. Carly could tell Justin was irritated by the slow speed of their travel, and they were going in the opposite direction than he wanted to go. It took them three days to reach their destination—a drive that would have taken an hour and a half back in the old days.
Carly eyed the glass-fronted building with some trepidation. Having arrived, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know. Maybe Justin had been right. If she found out the Infection had been deliberate, she would have no outlet for the anger that would result.
“Stay here and let us check it out first,” Justin said.
By that time, Carly knew the futility of arguing. In their new world, the men were the explorers, the defenders, and the women waited for them. It was a situation which made Carly grit her teeth, but someone had to stay behind with the baby, and Justin had, very practically, pointed out he was the better shot and couldn’t feed Dagny if something happened to Carly. “Please be careful.”
Justin kissed her. “I always am, honey. Sam, stay here.”
Sam lay down with a huff, obviously of the opinion he should be one of the exploratory team. Carly sympathized.
Justin and Stan walked around to the side of the building, and Carly heard the smash of glass as they broke open the door. After that, they just had to wait. Mindy was uncharacteristically quiet. She chewed on her nails while they waited.
A shot rang out. Mindy reached behind the seat for one of the handguns, jumped out of the wagon, and ran for the building, with Sam charging ahead of her, already snarling. Carly was torn. She couldn’t leave Dagny there alone, but she couldn’t carry her baby into what could be a dangerous situation, no matter how terrible it was to have to sit and wait for answers. Dagny slept in her crib, unaware of her mother’s torment.
Mindy came out with Stan, her arm around his waist. Only a moment later—though that moment seemed to last an eternity—Justin emerged. Carly ran over to him and threw her arms around him. “What happened?”
“Goddam raccoon,” Stan muttered. “Must have had a nest nearby or something because the fucker charged at me. I fired a shot but stumbled backward and fell down the stairs.”
“What happened to the raccoon?”
“Yes, thank you, Carly, I’m fine after my terrifying and very painful fall down the stairs,” Stan said with exaggerated politeness.
“Well, I can see you’re okay,” Carly said impatiently. “Did you shoot the raccoon?”
“No, I missed. Blame your dog for what happened to the raccoon.”
Carly gave Sam an accusing look. “You killed it?”
