“There was discussion among those of us uninjured about how to best care for those who had been injured. I am fully trained in first aid, so for about an hour, I issued directions and tried to oversee the care of the injured. I went into the store and found a basic first aid kit. I decided we should move the injured away from the store in case further aftershocks brought more of the building down.
“It was at that moment that I detected the change in the color of the air. I saw a black plume rising in the sky toward Colorado Springs.
“In a matter of minutes, the people around me started acting in ways that were beyond my comprehension.”
Mr. Appleton stopped to wipe sweat from his forehead. He was staring straight ahead, as if watching a movie of the events he was describing to us.
“I was helping a young employee of the store carry a female employee who had a broken leg. She was quite heavy. African-American descent. I would estimate two-hundred to two-hundred-fifty pounds.
“As we carried her across the parking lot, the air turned around us. Everything became quite green. The woman’s skin erupted in blisters. They started small, but as we continued to carry her they grew and burst. She began to scream and writhe. We were forced to set her down, not only because she was moving but because her blood was spurting from the many lesions and she became too slick. Just as I realized that she was dead the young man I had been assisting gave a furious cry and attacked me.”
Mr. Appleton was now rocking slightly front and back as he spoke. This small movement was a metronome and the story kept coming out of him at a steady, even pace.
“I fought the young man off for a moment, but he might have injured me seriously if he had not been attacked in turn by another person. It was an elderly man who had earlier told me he was there for chicken wire. I watched as the old man and the young man fought each other to the death. The young man was the winner.”
Suddenly Mr. Appleton seemed to come back to the present moment.
“Are you sure you want the younger ones hearing this?” he asked Niko, pointing toward Sahalia and Alex.
Sahalia huffed.
“It’s okay,” Niko said. “They’re big kids. They have all the rights and privileges of us high school kids.”
Mr. Appleton continued.
“The light got more and more dim and soon it was as if night had fallen. The sounds around me were horrific. I heard screams of rage intermixed with the screams of the murdered and the gurgling sounds of what I assumed to be people choking on their own blood.
“I pulled my sweater over my face and began to walk to my car. I got in my car and took care not to turn on the lights. I turned on the radio and heard the emergency broadcast that explained what was happening around me. I attempted to drive back to my home. The highways had become glutted with cars and none were moving. Around me, in the cars, I could see some people blistering up and dying. In other cars I saw people begin to attack each other. And in a few cases I locked eyes with other people who seemed to be just as sane and frightened as I felt.
“I was sure that if I tried to walk home on foot I would be attacked, so I drove my car over the median and made my way over the land. This was made difficult because of the hail, but my Land Cruiser has four-wheel drive.
“However, as I neared my home, I could see that the development was on fire. All of Woodmoor was ablaze. The fire had spread quickly from house to house. Among the burning homes, I could see many people running and screaming. I decided not to try to get to my house, but instead to go try to take shelter in one of my schools.”
“What do you mean, one of your schools?” Niko asked.
We all looked at Mr. Appleton.
“Well,” Mr. Appleton said, “I’m the chancellor of schools for El Paso County.”
Sahalia groaned out loud, which was so startlingly funny that I burst out laughing.
Everyone laughed, even Mr. Appleton.
“Sorry,” he said. “But it’s true.”
Mr. Appleton went on, in his measured, efficient way, to tell us that he’d met up with Robbie at Lewis Palmer. Robbie had told him that Mrs. Wooly had come to see about getting a bus to get a bunch of kids home who were currently stranded in the Greenway (that was us).
“Yeah, I was at the school during the hailstorm,” Robbie told us. “It was me and some teachers. They left, after the storm, but I stayed. That’s when Mrs. Wooly showed up. She told us you were safe here.”
“Is she okay?” Niko asked. “Where is she?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean?” Josie asked. Robbie looked flustered.
“We were trying to calm people down because some parents were coming, looking for their kids.”
“What parents?” Alex interrupted. “Did Mrs. Wooly tell them we’re here? Do you know the names of the parents?”
“Well, no. Not really. Because, well…”
“There were a group of us there,” Mr. Appleton took over. “We gathered together, sharing the resources and information. We were trying to create a secure, uncontaminated area that everyone could bring their families to. But we were attacked.”
“By who?” Jake asked.
“By people with O-type blood,” Niko said softly.
Mr. Appleton nodded.
“They were all killed.”
This landed like a punch to the stomach.
“Mrs. Wooly?” asked Niko.
“I’m not sure,” Mr. Appleton answered. “It was very chaotic.”
“I think she got free,” Robbie said.
“But if she’d gotten free she would have come for us,” Alex said.
“So what’s it like out there now?” Niko interrupted.
All of us fell silent to listen.
Mr. Appleton took a drink off his water bottle. He looked greenish and not at all well.
“It’s dangerous,” Mr. Appleton said. “Most people are staying inside. Those who have no water are out, trying to find it. The O-affected are out and raving mad. They lie in wait and attack foragers.”
“There’s some cadets, from the Academy, that have made, like, a gang,” Robbie added. “They have been attacking people’s houses, if they think people are inside with food and water.”
“All in all,” Mr. Appleton said, “You are the luckiest children in Monument, Colorado. Very lucky to be holed up here with enough food and water to last you for … months?”
“Years,” Alex said. “We’ve been looking at the inventory. I think we could stay here for up to twenty to twenty-four months, given the supplies we have. Fresh oxygen and power are bigger issues than food and water, for us.”
Mr. Appleton rubbed his hand over his forehead. He was sweating.
“Niko,” he said. “Can you show me to the latrines? I think I ate too quickly.”
Niko stood and offered Mr. Appleton his arm.
He led him toward the Dump.
“You guys, get some beds set up,” Niko directed.
“Yes, sir, Niko, sir,” Brayden snapped.
Robbie smiled at Brayden.
“He’s pretty serious, huh?” Robbie asked quietly.
“He’s our very own dictator,” Brayden answered.
“That’s not fair,” Josie protested.
“Come on,” I said to Alex. “Let’s set up the beds.”
* * *
Alex and I made a space in a back part of the Automotive aisle with air mattresses, sheets, blankets, and a little battery-powered floor lamp and flashlights to help them get around in the darkened store.
Niko and Brayden came over with the men a couple of minutes after we’d finished.
Mr. Appleton looked a little better. He had some antibiotic foil packs in his hand.
“Thank you,” Mr. Appleton said. “I’ll sleep for a few hours now, I think. And you have my word, tomorrow morning, we leave.”
“Yes,” Niko said. “That’s our deal.”
Robbie helped Mr. Appleton to lower down onto the wobbly air mattress.
“I have to hand it to you kids,” Mr. Appleton said, looking up at us. “The way you have arranged things here is smart. Ingenious, actually.”
Hmmm. How did this make us feel? It was dark and the only light came from the one table lamp, so I couldn’t see the other kids’ reactions but I thought I saw Niko cross his arms.
He really didn’t like these men.
I felt Alex, who was standing next to me, straighten up somewhat. I could tell he was pleased by the compliment.
And Alex deserved praise. He had worked really hard to help our little colony thrive.
Brayden, I’m sure, was rolling his eyes.
I felt a profound uneasiness.
The compliments seemed like the type of compliments that come when you’re doing something and then a grown-up comes and takes it over from you.
Robbie turned to follow us away.
“Aren’t you going to rest?” Mr. Appleton asked.
“Me? Naw. I want to get a look at that bus,” Robbie answered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
BUSES HAVE TYPES, TOO
As we neared the kitchen, and the bus, the kids swarmed out to greet us with a happy, fluffy Luna.
She was white under all that grime!
Robbie laughed. He had such a broad, good-natured laugh.
“I had no idea you were white, mi angelito!” Robbie said, bending down to gather her in his arms.
All the little kids talked at once, regaling him with the adventures of giving Luna a bath.
I looked at the kitchen. A kiddie-pool full of filthy water stood in the center of the dining area of the Pizza Shack. Water was everywhere, along with towels, empty shampoo bottles. It was a mess. Whatever—it had been an activity that bought us enough time to hear the outsiders’ story.
Josie came and stood next to me.
“I’ll help clean it up,” she offered.
“Good,” I said.
* * *
Robbie went over to the bus, so all the kids, big and little, followed him. He walked around it with an appraising eye, Luna still in his arms. Then he let her down and got on his back and slid under the front of it.