“Yes. I’ve spoken to her and the girls. She said the news is shaky but the authorities say they think there’s another bomb.”
Abby’s face blanched. “Does your wife have access to a vehicle?”
“Yes, why?” Clyde’s brow furrowed.
“Tell her to get to the grocery store and load up on containers of gasoline for the car, water and food that won’t need to be cooked. Tell her to stand by after the shopping. We’ll have a resolution within about an hour. She must get the supplies right away. There’ll be a run at the stores if it hasn’t already begun.”
Clyde smacked his head. “Damn, I should have thought of that.”
Abby guided him to his seat. “We’re going to land any minute now. Why don’t you buckle up?” Abby continued to work her way toward her seat. Arriving next to Cobby, she knew she could count on him. Reaching out, he grasped her hand.
“Is this it, Abby? Is this what you were expecting?” His voice grated; his tone fatalistic.
“I don’t know, Cobby.” Her voice faltered. “It might be. There are reports from the media that another bomb might go off. Clyde seems to think the U.S. may try to strike back at another government. The situation doesn’t sound good.”
“What do you plan to do when we land?”
“Can you help me load everyone into the trucks and head for Sussex? Scotty and I will still head to the Bronx. I need Echo with me. Jose will go with you too. Clyde and Dezi were supposed to help me at the zoo but Clyde is useless now. His wife and grandkids are on his mind. I need to prevent him from trying to return to Florida. It’s no longer safe there.”
“How do you know that, Abby?” Cobby’s face furrowed, his voice laced with skepticism. He glanced over at Kane who sat tensely with Kenya, her hand resting on the bulge of her belly. Abby followed his glance.
“I know you’re worried, Cob. Please trust me. The best thing you can do is get everyone to Sussex as soon as possible. Jose will lead you to safety. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
“Okay, kid. I’m behind you.” She gave him a grateful hug.
“Abby, one more thing. What about Peter? That dude is wound too tight as it is. I think we’re asking for trouble if we take him with us.”
Abby reacted with shock, not believing her ears. “Cobby, I’m not comfortable with what you seem to be suggesting. Don’t worry about him. He won’t cause a problem. I know he appears a bit unstable but it’s just the betrayal talking. He needs time to get over what happened with Ginger Mae and Armoni. Keep your eye on him if you must, but I have him under control.” Well, at least the implants do, she thought.
As she moved away, she could tell from the intractable expression on Cobby’s face that his opinion remained unchanged.
Abby slipped back into her seat behind Jose, his anxious face waiting for an explanation. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she shut her eyes to marshal strength.
“You okay, Abby? How bad is it?”
“Bad. I think this is it. This must be what I was compelled to prepare for. Both Netty and Echo said it would happen quickly, I guess I just didn’t fully understand how quick it would be. I thought we had more time to get situated.” She dropped her head down to her hands to indulge in a brief thought of just running away when they landed; the panicked desire swiftly banished as she raised her head, clear eyed and resolute.
“What’s taking so long? We should have landed by now.” As she spoke, the captain announced they would be landing in ten minutes, please take your seats . . .
“Okay, this is it. Jose, I need everyone to get the animals on the trucks and head for Route 80 to Sussex County. Scotty’s coming with me. So is Echo. Will you be okay? Can you show everyone where to go?” Jose squeezed her hand through the seat.
“I don’t like the idea of us splitting up. We’ve been apart long enough. And what about the bombs, what if one goes off in New York? It’s not safe. Abby, they’ll probably shut down the bridges and tunnels anyway. And if they’re open, I don’t think they’re going to let a convoy of trucks through.” Abby’s lips pressed together tightly. She felt thwarted at every turn as she tried to work out her plan to get to the zoo.
“I’ll be fine. I have Echo if I reach a roadblock.”
A turbulent aura engulfed her, sending her mind reeling. “Sister, Sister we must hurry. The bomb comes. There is no time. It is not far off.”
“I hear you, girl.” Abby’s heart tripped with anxiety as the transport landed and taxied to a stop in the north terminal. She scanned the tarmac for the truck caravan, spotting six or seven clumped together. Where are the rest of them? She had requested forty five trucks. Advances had been extended, contracts signed. In the distance, she could identify the RAF transport. No trucks for the elephants in sight.
Abby stood, waving her arm over her head. “Okay, everyone, let’s get these animals loaded.”
The belly of the transport opened and Abby ran to greet the truckers. As she approached, a lean, muscled pepper-haired woman in her late forties stepped down from her rig with a potbelly pig on a leash. The woman wore a plaid flannel shirt and a pair of jeans; the pig wore a white sequined tutu with a bandana that matched her owner’s shirt. Attractive, it was not.
“Miss Abby Preston?” The woman bent down to fluff her pig’s costume and walked toward Abby, the pig trotting along, happy as can be.
“I’m Crystal and this here’s my pig, Tulip. You said to bring pets, right? Though I don’t rightly think of Tulip as a pet, she’s more like my muse.”
“Where are the other trucks, Crystal? I made arrangements for over forty drivers.”
“Well now, Miss Preston, I guess you all got the news ‘bout the dee-zaster in Vegas? The other truckers got it, too, and most of them lily livers hightailed it outta here. Now how bout we get to work? I plan on gettin’ home sometime today.”
Abby tried to cover her shock, holding back the tears: All those innocent glorious animals. Her stomach clenched as she finally admitted to herself there would be no rescue for the zoo.
“Pull right up to the transport. Open the back of your trucks and please stay inside your cabs. Not all of the cats are in cages. We can handle them just fine but I like to take precautions. Any questions, look for Jose, Scotty or Cobby. Pass the word to the other drivers and let’s get going.”
Crystal nodded her head smartly and headed for the other drivers to pass the word, the pig in the tutu trotting demurely alongside.
Chapter 7
Abby headed at a run to the RAF transport spotted in the distance. All around her sat the evidence of planes brought down in a hurry, disarray everywhere. And this terminal serviced freight. She could imagine what the main terminals looked like.
The smell scorched her lungs as she breathed in the hot exhaust, and the gruff sounds of engines roaring and excited panic in people’s voices assaulted her. Wheezing and out of breath, she spotted Johno and the other keepers sitting on the edge of the transport bay, the babies pushing at their backs to get their attention. Johno himself sat with a large bottle of what appeared to be formula, feeding an infant who sucked greedily on the upraised nipple.
“Forgive me for not rising, Miss Abby.” The other keepers scrambled to their feet, black faces gleaming in the late afternoon light, expressions reverent as they bowed to her.
“Hello, gentlemen. I’m pleased to see you again even under these difficult circumstances. I’m here to see if I can be of assistance. I assume you find yourselves stranded with no way to get to the zoo?” She scanned the surrounding area unsuccessfully, not locating any sign of a truck for the elephants.
“This is true, Miss Preston. We are concerned about the lack of a truck to remove our charges to safety. We have been waiting for some time. I am afraid our transportation is absent due to the emergency.”
“Well, Johno, I have a solution for you. I can move the elephants with one of my trucks. We will have to double up because I’m short m
yself. Can the elephants stand to have other animals ride with them? Just goats, horses and camels. The infants should come with us in the truck with my people—our cars didn’t show either.”
“Yes, but I must have two of my keepers ride with the elephants to keep order with the other animals. It should be workable.” He handed the bottle to one of his men to finish and jumped off the ledge to join Abby, his face joyful beyond all hope.
“But, Miss Abby, what is our destination? The zoo is expecting us.” Johno’s face fell as he realized the impossibility of his own statement. Abby stifled a sob as she herself recognized the fate of all the lives that no longer stood a chance of rescue. Placing a hand on Johno’s arm, she pointed to where her transport sat, trucks lined up to load the animals.
“I’m going to run back to the trucks to make sure we save space for your elephants. Can you walk them over?” She scanned the hustle and bustle of the north terminal with its loud industrial sounds and strange smells, totally inappropriate for gentle creatures from the African plains.
“Never mind, stupid question. I’ll send a truck over to you. You can relax about your safety. We will have a two-hour drive, northwest. We will all be completely safe no matter how many bombs are dropped. We must hurry though. This area is not safe.”
“Thank you so much, we are very grateful, Miss Abby. We will unload right now.”
“I’ll be right back with the truck.” Abby took off at a sprint, waving down the truck furthest from the transport, thankfully still empty. Opening the side door, she hopped in and directed the driver to pull up to Johno’s RAF transport.
As they approached, she realized John’s herd was bigger than she had anticipated. Her heart rejoiced at the sight of two baby rhinos and what looked like an unidentifiable species of African deer. As she approached the little herd, she noticed one of the rhinos needed special attention from its keeper. There must be a problem. She would attend to that when they arrived at the Hive. Unfortunately, unless it threatened the life of the creature, all healing must wait until they were safe.
She jumped out of the huge truck, instructing the driver to assist with the loading.
“Johno, we’re ready for you. Do you have supplies for the babies?”
Johno hurried over, an inventory list in his hand. “Yes, Miss Abby, we have many pallets with formula and browse.”
“Johno, there’s no room for all of that. Split open a pallet, take enough for two weeks only. Have the animals been watered?”
“Oh yes, Miss Abby. But the formula is critical. It was especially developed by Ms. Elizabeth decades ago. They cannot survive without it.” Johno’s expression brooked no argument. Abby realized a tiny lie would have to do for now.
“Yes, I know. Don’t worry, I have that under control. All the supplies we need are at our safe haven. Two weeks’ worth should help get them over the hump of acclimation.” She felt secure about what they would find to eat and drink. Netty had surely planned ahead for this necessity.
“As soon as you’re loaded, pull over to the caravan and join me. Leave the other keepers with the animals. I want you to ride with us and the three babies. I’ll have a truck ready to transfer the babies. There’ll be a few elderly primates with us and a bird. That shouldn’t present any problems for the babies, will it?”
Johno laughed. “No problem, except for the people maybe. The babies love lots of attention. Perhaps it will be a welcome distraction for everyone.” Abby laughed with Johno, welcoming his irrepressible spirit. She thought he would be a valuable addition to the Hive. Once he adjusted to the shock of the realities, of course.
Abby ran back to her transport, dodging airport vehicles, hand trucks and frightened personnel; the cacophonies of exhaust smell and strident sounds threatening to overpower her. Panting and tired, she arrived in time to observe Clyde as he said goodbye to Dezi.
“Hey, hey, where do you think you’re going? Clyde, do you think it’ll be safer somewhere else? You must come with us for your own good.” She tried to restrain his arm, turning him to face her. Her stomach fell as she assessed the sharp pain in his eyes, his rugged face haggard with worry.
“Miss Preston, I’m worthless to you if I’m worried about my wife and grandkids. I need to be with them.”
“If you can’t make it back to Tampa or if you’re killed on the way there, how will that help them? I have a better idea. Let’s get them up here where we can give them a real safe harbor to ride this out. Come stay with us. We have enough supplies and shelter for everyone. She can drive the kids here, avoiding the east coast cities. Get her on the phone. Tell her to load the car with all her supplies. I’ll help you give her directions. Now call her before the cell towers go down. What do you say, Clyde?” She tried to interpret his indecision as it rippled across his face. Clyde glanced at Dezi to grasp at straws.
“Don’t look at me, dude, I’m going with doll face. I’m no fool.”
Clyde stared at Abby.
“Come on, Clyde. We don’t have much time. We need to get out of here. You need to call her and get her on the road as soon as possible if we stand a chance of getting her to safety.”
Chapter 8
Lorna Calloway left the local gas station after topping off the tank of the rental car and placing the five plastic gas containers in the trunk. That gave her an extra thirty gallons of gas. She didn’t know if she would actually need the extra fuel, but when Clyde said to do something, she did it. She had learned thirty nine years ago when she married him that he possessed an uncanny knack for always knowing the correct path to take when presented with a problem.
Easing her still trim figure behind the wheel, she turned to her two granddaughters, aged five and twelve, who sat belted in the back seat getting restless. She had promised to take them to the beach late in the afternoon to avoid the harmful rays of the sun, but had had to interrupt their plans when Clyde had called with these instructions. She had known nothing of the disaster in Las Vegas until Clyde had informed her, shocking her to the core.
When they arrived at the hardware store, people were pulling into the parking lot, obviously with similar thoughts. Confusion reigned, the girls getting rudely jostled as people elbowed one another, grabbing at items on the shelves. Clearly, no one knew what might be needed if the whole country faced an emergency.
“Gram, are we going to the beach now?” Her granddaughters resembled their mom: red hair, freckles and creamy skin that tanned well without burning as long as they stayed well protected. They overflowed with enthusiasm and affection but, like most children, possessed the attention spans of a gnat.
“Not yet, baby, we still have to stop at the grocery store. Then we’ll wait for Grandpa to call again.”
“Don’t be a nitwit, Suzy. It’ll be way too late to go to the beach, anyway.” Suzy’s big sister Jen, although she preferred to be called Jennifer, happily used Suzy as her verbal whipping post as she honed her little preteen identification with her mother. Lorna grimaced as she acknowledged just how much Jen was starting to sound like her bossy mother.
Forcing her attention back to the matter at hand, she took a deep breath at how lucky they were to have had only a half-hour’s wait at the gas station. People must still be in shock over the attack. She finally admitted that it really was an attack. If she could just zip in and out of the grocery store they might make it home in time to watch the President speak.
Turning the corner that would put them one block from their vacation home, she prepared to pull into the Publix grocery store parking lot. To her surprise, she judged the line of cars must number over fifty. And that was just to get in the parking lot.
Police cars flanked the entrance to the store, shotguns brandished as angry crowds threatened to overwhelm them. Shocked, Lorna bypassed the scene, regretting her decision to stop at the gas station first. She assumed all the other grocery stores would be experiencing similar mobs. Even if she could manage to get inside this one, she woul
d likely face empty shelves. Hurrying to their rental, she thanked God the refrigerator and pantry overflowed with items she had purchased with Clyde, as they had stocked up for the week before he left for Sarasota to complete his new contract. They would just have to make the food on hand last.
Lorna pulled in to the driveway of their rental, noticing teenagers run from the house across the street with a TV in their arms and a sack of other stuff over their shoulders. Good grief, looting already? She decided not to leave the car in the driveway and pressed the button to open the garage door. As the door rose, she glimpsed a pair of legs, then the full sight of two young men slamming an ax on the doorknob to the door that led directly into the house.
Locking the car door behind her, she jumped out screaming, “Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing? Get the hell out of there.”
As Lorna made a move for the garage one of the men ran forward, punching her in the gut and knocking her to the ground. Watching the men run off, she heard the locks on the car door pop and the girls scramble out, Jen hollering, “Gram, Gram, you all right?”
Suzy threw herself down on Lorna, the little girl crying uncontrollably. Lorna tried to comfort them as she held her stomach, trying not to vomit. Struggling as she pulled herself together, Lorna managed to usher the girls into the house.
After locking the doors and checking all the windows, Lorna gathered with her grandchildren in front of the television, catching the end of the President’s speech. She sat stunned; the girls slow to comprehend the ramifications of the President’s words.
Lorna’s head reeled, her mind on overload. She needed to get the girls out of this city and now. According to the President, major cities would be targeted first. She couldn’t take the chance of Tampa being on the top of any enemies’ lists.
“Girls, please go pack. Jen, can you pull your suitcases out of the closet and help Suzy pack? I’m going to pack Grandpa’s clothes then work on the pantry and fridge. Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done. Just throw everything together, we need to be out of here in thirty minutes.” Lorna began to worry about what the roads would look like with everyone trying to escape the cities. Rummaging through a drawer in the kitchen, she located a map. Scanning the routes out of the city, she decided to drive north, away from the city, avoiding the routes along the east or the west coast, sure to be targets where they passed through the major metro areas. Her heart hammered loudly as her cell phone rang. Oh, my God, please be Clyde.