Emma wiped her hand across her brow. Jade wanted her in charge? Why did she spend all her time messaging friends and playing games? She could have checked out her surroundings occasionally.
She sniffed and tightened her grip on Jade’s waist. Jade winced, and Emma slowed her pace. How would Jade make it across town? She owed this woman her life, so slow would be her new fast.
Broken glass crunched underfoot with each step, setting Emma’s teeth on edge, like when Sarah ground her teeth in the car. It gave Emma a headache, but Emma couldn’t stay mad at her.
Lilli stopped at the front door. It gapped a couple of inches. “I thought Mikey closed this.”
Jade’s body went stiff. She gazed into the street and swayed. Lilli steadied her.
Emma stepped forward. If she was the leader, she should go first. She stopped trying to make sense of the scene. Litter covered every inch of the sidewalk and street. Piles of debris had blown against cars and storefronts, and two men fought in the middle of it all. A fist seemed to wring her stomach, and she doubled over.
“It’s mine.”
“Give it.”
One of the men drew a gun, and Emma took a step back into Lilli and Jade. A shot rang through her skull, a dull throb. The other man fell to the ground unhurt and cowered, letting go of the water they were fighting over. Emma stood, frozen, and the gunman disappeared around a corner, dropping bottles as he ran.
The cowering man pushed himself to a stand, grabbed some bottles that had fallen, and ran in the other direction.
“Might equals right?” Lilli said, her voice dry and low.
“Does everyone have a gun?” Emma’s voice shook. She glanced at Lilli and Jade, who wore blank expressions as they backed into the shop. Emma followed, and Lilli closed the shop door. Emma pressed her hand to her chest to slow her heart.
“Did not see that one coming.” Lilli chewed the pen to splinters. She leaned against the wall for support.
“We need to get out of this shop and away from here, now.” Jade raised her hand to her scar buried beneath layers of sweater and coat. Lilli brushed dust off of a leather bench, and Jade sank onto it.
“Four days ago, Jim was sitting right here sketching that Celtic knot, remember? Seems like years ago.” Jade’s blank eyes roamed over the bench, to the T-shirt rack lying on its side, to the dragon figurines scattered across the floor.
“So, what’s the plan?” Lines etched Lilli’s eyes and her mouth.
“This will only get worse. We leave now or we’ll be stuck here.”
“Worse?” Emma sat at the far end of the bench. Jade’s dull eyes mesmerized her. Was this what shock looked like? Emma was here because she wanted to pass out flyers, do her part to save the planet, and now look at her. She was leading an expedition across Vandby, but she couldn’t get beyond the shop door. Mom must be out of her mind. The door to the cellar stood open, and the cocoon-like safety beckoned her.
A wooden door with a broken window was the only thing standing between her and looters and people with guns. She stood and took a step toward the cellar. “Is leaving really our only option?” She took another step.
“Hold on there, Missy.” Lilli grabbed Emma’s coat sleeve. Emma struggled to get away, but Lilli held fast and looked her in the eyes. “Jinx is still down there, remember?”
Emma’s eyes flew from Lilli, to Jade, to the cellar door. Another fight was breaking out in the market across the street. “What is happening?” Her head swiveled and she couldn’t focus on any one thing.
“I know that look.” Jade motioned to Emma. “Come here, darlin’.”
Emma sank onto the bench, and with gentle fingers, Jade stroked Emma’s stray hairs behind her ears. Emma wiped her nose on her sleeve, but only smeared tears and snot across her face. “What are we going to do?”
“We’ll just figure it out as we go.” Lilli shook her head. “Because we gotta leave, now.”
Emma wiped her eyes. “You do see the glass half-full.” Heat rose to Emma’s cheeks. She’d never talked back to a grown-up who wasn’t Mom. “What about the guns?”
Jade took Emma’s face in her hands. “We got your back, Emma. We just need to keep a low profile and avoid people. Together we can do this.”
Emma’s shoulders tightened, and her head ached from holding back tears and failing.
“Safety in numbers.” Lilli peered through the blinds, exposing the street.
Emma could make out an alley that ran between the buildings across the street, the green of Johnson Park at the other end a jumble of trees blown to the ground, their branches tangled and chaotic.
“Jade, if you can make it to that alley, we can cut across the park and make a plan when we reach the other side.” Emma put her ponytail in her mouth then brushed it out. Had she just planned something that didn’t suck?
“I can make it. No problem.” Jade stood.
A vise grip twisted her stomach. “I have no idea how long this is going to take, guys. I don’t even know how far—” She gritted her teeth. No one needed to see her cry.
“What’s your address? Maybe I can guesstimate.” Lilli’s forehead was creased as she gazed at Jade, who pressed her hand on her injured leg.
“It’s 1417 NE Wilson Street, in the Alphabet District.”
“I’ve been to the Alphabet District, once. You’re right. That’s way across town.” Jade stared through the blinds.
“I’d say it’s probably two or three miles through city streets. Lots of restaurants and shops, and we have to get through the Market neighborhood, which might be a bit rough.”
“Look on the bright side, hon. At least we don’t have to cross the river.”
“Well look whose glass is half-full.” Lilli grinned at Jade and turned to Emma. “We can do this, Emma.”
Emma rubbed her palm with the thumb of her other hand, a trick her grandmother taught her after her dad died. She pushed the clutter of thoughts from her mind and focused on the littered street before her. Sunshine glinted off glass shards and pop cans. She had lived her whole life in Vandby, but she’d never been on this street filled with tattoo shops and hair salons. The market across the street stood open, windows broken. Nobody had emerged in the past five minutes. The shelves must be picked clean by now.
The alley loomed dark and filled with shadows. Anyone could be hiding in there. She cleared her throat, stalling for time. “One block at a time, right?” She glanced at Jade who nodded.
“That’s right. One block closer to home.”
A car door slammed, and Emma spun around ready to run, or scream, or both. A kid Sarah’s age ran from a car to an apartment building. Emma giggled, but every muscle remained tight.
Lilli peeked over her shoulder. She’d found a pencil somewhere. It hung from her lips. “The coast looks clear.” Her dark eyes did not waver.
Emma took a final glance at the shop, her haven until guns happened. Was it safe anywhere now? Home? The rules were changing by the minute. She leaned out the door and scanned the street. All clear.
She couldn’t stall another second. She took off at a sprint, the water bottles and apples in her backpack bouncing, throwing her off-balance. She ducked into the alley and pressed her back against the wall. She glanced back at the shop. The door was still shut.
Lilli gripped Jade, her gaze boring into Emma. How would Jade make it through the piles of wood, broken glass, plastic bags and bottles, metal roofing, lampshades?
The quiet unsettled her. The familiar engines revving, bus brakes squealing, jets flying overhead, people in conversation on the street—none of those noises filled the air.
Her heart battered against her ribs. She motioned to Lilli and Jade, but footsteps echoed in the street, coming fast. Emma held her hand up, and Lilli froze, shielding Jade in the doorway. Emma pressed into the shadows of the alley.
Two men ran by, bulging pillowcases slung over their shoulders. Emma clutched her backpack to her chest. She would not lose her food in the first five minutes of their journey.
The footsteps faded, and Emma scanned the street. The sky was so blue and bright, but what Emma needed was the comfort of darkness and shadows.
Lilli waved from the doorway.
Emma waved back then crossed her fingers.
Lilli and Jade hobbled across the street, a red spot blossoming on the bandage covering Jade’s wound. They slumped against the wall beside Emma.
Lilli and Jade huffed and puffed. Emma let them catch their breath then, with a nod, she raced to the other end of the alley at the park side, scanned Johnson Street in both directions. All clear. She motioned for Lilli and Jade to follow. They hobbled, slower with the safety of shadows surrounding them. They’d already improved their three-legged-run.
The sun blazed on the park, and Emma covered her face with her hands. Where were the lawns, the benches, the statue of Captain Vancouver? Under that tangled mess of maple and Douglas fir? Root systems the size of bulldozers had lifted from the ground, exposing dark soil, the rich earthy aroma filling the air. What kind of storm did this? A badass storm. Emma leaned against the wall of the alley, rubbing her palm until the skin was raw.
Lilli placed a hand on her shoulder, and she jerked away. “Calm down, girl.”
Jade bit her lip, her face a grimace of pain. Lilli gnawed on a pencil, her eyes glued on the park. They had expectations of her, of course, but was she capable? She had to be.
“Right.” Emma focused on the chaos of trees, branches sticking out at all angles. In the tangle of evergreen foliage stood a sign.
“Look.” Emma pointed to the tourist sign, its plaques pointing to The Wharf, The Market, Vandby U, and Founder Square. This was her streetcar route.
“We cross Johnson Park, go right until we hit Market.” She stared at the chaos of trees. But how?
“Good plan.” Lilli winked.
Emma pressed her hand to her temple. Her head might just crack wide open. She took a step, and then another, until she was running.
“You got this,” Emma whispered. She crossed the street toward the branches.
“Hey, kid.”
She stumbled and glanced to her right. A man stood in the middle of Johnson Street. His hand reaching for her, his eyes glued to her backpack. Did he want to help her?
No. She bolted for the park and tumbled over a tree trunk, her movements quick and stiff. She kept climbing farther into the park. How would Lilli and Jade get by him unseen? She sank into the branches and waited.
Her skin itched and her left calf cramped. Every rustle and crack made her neck muscles spasm. She hunkered.
“Blessed virgins.”
Emma clapped a hand over her mouth. With the grace of two elephants in the bush, Lilli and Jade pushed through the tangle.
“You made it.” She threw her arms around Lilli then Jade.
“That dude. What did he say to you?” Lilli drained half a water bottle before handing it to Jade who finished it. “He finally left, but I thought he was going to follow you in here.”
“All he said was, ‘Hey, kid.’ ” Emma’s hands went clammy, and she sank onto a branch.
“Did you know him?”
“No.” Did she know him? “I don’t think so. Everyone looks like a zombie to me, so maybe?”
“We gotta move in case he comes back.” Jade pushed herself up. “He didn’t have food or water. I don’t think we want to find out what he wanted.”
Emma nodded. She glanced at Jade who gripped her thigh and hissed air through her teeth. Emma slipped under branches and climbed over trees, sweat trickling down her temple. How big was this park anyway? Every patch of lawn was a relief, but she preferred the cover of the branches. They hid them from people with guns, people who wanted their water and food.
She climbed over another trunk, and her thighs ached. She sat to wait for Lilli and Jade. The sun had moved across the sky. It would be dark soon, and this walk through the park was becoming her worst gym-class-obstacle-course nightmare. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against a tree trunk.
“Waiting for us?” Jade had found a branch-crutch.
Emma stood, a smile cracking her dry lips. “You hardly made a sound. And you’re not helping her?” Emma looked from Jade to Lilli.
“So independent, our gal.” Lilli hovered behind Jade, her pencil now a stub hanging out of her mouth.
Independence. That’s what Emma had wanted, but independence was highly over-rated and came at a high price.
Emma nodded, too tired to speak. She pushed through yet another branch, stepping on something soft and lowered her eyes. She sprang back—purple hoodie. Was that an arm? She scrambled under a branch and over a tree trunk.
“What is it?” Lilli stood on a tree and gawked through the branches.
“Nothing,” Emma blurted and rushed through more branches, scratching her hands and face. It was not a body. It was only a hoodie blown here by the storm.
She sank to the ground when she came to a patch of grass. She grabbed her water and drank, waiting for Lilli and Jade. The sun glowed even lower to the west.
“On a good day, that would have been a ten-minute stroll,” Lilli said. “My favorite bench is right over there.” She pointed into the branches.
“I think it took us over an hour based on the sun’s position now.” Jade leaned on her crutch, searching the sky. “It’s going to take days to get to your house, not hours.” Jade held her hand over her eyes, squinting at Emma, out of breath and sweaty.
“We have to keep moving.” Emma left the little piece of exposed lawn and climbed through more branches.
****
Emma stepped onto Park Street, and every muscle in her body hurt. She perched on a tree trunk under the cover of branches and waited for Lilli and Jade. The rustling of branches and an occasional curse told her they were close.
She scoped out Park Street. Fallen trees blocked the road to the left, a familiar sight now. To the right, a giant maple tree had fallen across the tracks, and on the other side—a streetcar? Emma stopped and scratched her head.
The blue line? SUVs and sedans created a logjam of vehicles that blocked the other side of the streetcar. No way for it to move forward or backward. Emma had ridden that very streetcar to marches with Megan. Where was that girl now?
“Here we are.” Lilli burst through the branches, a grin on her face.
“We’re not out of the woods yet.” Emma clamped a hand over her mouth, heat rising from her neck to her cheeks. Did that really come out of her mouth? Ugh.
“I guess someone had to say it.” Lilli helped Jade over the last tree trunk, chuckling over her bad pun.
“Vandby is a city of trees.” Jade rubbed her leg, leaning on her crutch. Lilli reached for her hand, held it. “That’s what drew us here.”
“At least we’re getting exercise. Sitting in that cellar was driving me bonkers.” Lilli flexed her bicep, and Jade grunted.
“But does every block from Founder’s Square to Emma’s house have to have a pile of trees blocking our way?”
“Look on the bright side. We’ll have plenty of cover to hide from looters,” Lilli said.
“There you go again with that glass half-full crap. At least I have my gun.” Jade patted the pocket of her bomber jacket.
Perspiration dripped down Emma’s back, and she shivered. Of course, she brought the gun.