a small ashtray John also kept hidden, Katie leapt to her feet and charged into the house.
“Mike, you still have a plane. Right?” She asked.
“Yeah. Why?” He turned to look at her and she could see the terror in his face from watching the TV.
“Can it make it to Atlanta?” She asked.
“It could. But you really can’t be thinking about going there. The fire is spreading and they’re saying the whole city will be burning by morning.” Katie could hear the panic in his voice.
She rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the vodka out of the freezer, pouring two small shots and carrying them to the couch where Mike and Janice were sitting. Both of them grabbed the glasses like the liquid was their salvation, tipping them up and downing the drinks. Mike coughed once, wiped his mouth and looked at Katie.
“There have to be plenty of airfields in the area that are clear of the fire.” Katie said, realizing how foolish it sounded as soon as she said it. Even if they could make it into the area, where did she start looking? For that matter, John wasn’t going to just sit still and wait for her to come find him. She knew better than to think that. Damn it, what did she do?
3
The Wilsons seemed settled in and Katie decided not to ask them to leave. Together, they sat and watched the news unfolding from around the country as more and more cities began to fall to the nerve gas attacks. By 11:00 PM, Arizona time, the news stations had set up a reporting format similar to what they used on national election nights to tally the number and location of attacks. At a little after 11:30 the anchor said the President would be giving a speech to the nation from aboard Air Force One, but as time wore on they never cut away from the frightening reports from around the country.
Katie made at least twenty more attempts to reach John with the satellite phone, none successful. Looking up numbers he’d given her for co-workers and friends, she tried each of them, but none of the calls were going through. At 12:30 she thought about food. She wasn’t hungry. She suddenly realized that the damage to America’s infrastructure was so significant that deliveries to grocery stores were probably a thing of the past.
Standing in the middle of the kitchen she looked around then opened the pantry and surveyed its contents. Not much on hand, and similar results when she checked the refrigerator. She and John were in the habit of only shopping for a couple of days of food at a time. They primarily only ate fresh foods, preferring organics, and as a result there was no stock of canned or frozen foods in their home to fall back on.
“We need to go get food. Now.” She said to the Wilsons, distracting them from a report out of Memphis that showed a sea of people surging forward to attack a hospital.
“If you’re hungry we’ve got plenty of food at our place.” Janice said, looking confused.
“That’s not what I mean,” Katie said. “Look at what’s going on. There’s not going to be any more deliveries of food for some time to come. We need to stock up before it’s too late. I’m going to the Safeway. They’re open 24 hours. You should come with me. We can fill up the truck.”
“She’s right,” Mike said, standing up. Janice remained seated on the sofa, looking frightened.
“Janice, Mike and I will go. You stay here and see if the President comes on.” Katie was actually relieved to have an excuse to leave the woman at home. She and Mike could move faster without her.
“If you think that’s best, dear.” Janice sounded relieved.
Katie led the way to the garage, grabbing the shotgun on the way through the door. She and Mike climbed into the truck, Katie starting the engine a moment before pushing the button to raise the door. She backed out of the garage and down the long driveway, accelerating towards the gates that guarded access to their neighborhood.
The grocery store was only a few miles away and they drove in silence. There weren’t any other vehicles on the road, which was slightly comforting for Katie. “But this is only a few hours old,” she thought to herself.
Safeway was on the corner of a major intersection, the lot brightly lit when Katie steered into it. It was rare that she or John