Emma absorbed Mrs. W’s warmth as they stood in a bear hug. She’d made it. She was home.
A fresh breeze blew over her, coming through the front window. A branch the size of a small tree lay half in and half out of the house.
Mrs. W held Emma at arm’s length as if to make sure it was really her. “I am so relieved. Is your mom with you?”
Emma went stiff. “She’s not here?”
The one person she had struggled over trees and through no-man’s-lands for wasn’t here? “I found her note on my way home, but I thought—"
“Where—” Mrs. Webster began, but Emma didn’t wait.
She dashed out the front door, flew down the steps, and leapt over Mrs. W’s boxwood hedge. A fight could not be the last thing between them. Not like Dad.
“Emm?” Lilli called.
Emma ran past her and to the front door, yanked on the doorknob. Locked.
“No.” She pounded on the door then reached into her backpack pocket, empty.
She pounded again. “Mom? Sarah?”
“Are we there yet?” Lilli shifted from foot to foot on the sidewalk, her eyes shifting between Mrs. W, who stood on her porch, and Emma, who stood on hers.
“Yes, Lilli. We’re there.” Emma rubbed the back of her neck. Lilli deserved better than a flip remark.
She jogged down the porch steps, clutching her backpack. Where was Mom? Emma headed for the back door, passing Lilli.
“So—” Lilli threw her hands in the air. “Emma?”
She lifted the key from under a brick and reached for the lock, but the door was open a couple of inches. Someone was in the house? The hairs on Emma’s neck stood on end. She pushed, and the hinges screeched.
“Mom? Sarah?”
Tiptoeing through the kitchen, she stopped at her reflection in the shiny floor. The whole room was untouched by the storm, but the dining room windows had all broken, dishes lay smashed where they fell on the wood floor, mail and magazines had blown everywhere. Mom’s wedding crystal lay broken and scattered across the hallway.
Cuddles streaked through the dining room followed by a flash of black.
“Agh!” Emma leaped back. “Tigger, you dick.”
The neighbor’s black cat loved Cuddles’ food, but not Cuddles. Sarah must have left the door open, per usual, and Tigger sneaked in. But where was Sarah? Had they left without her? They wouldn’t do that, would they? She stuck the tip of her ponytail between her teeth and chewed.
She checked the den, the family room, the basement, the bedrooms upstairs. No one was here.
Emma entered the kitchen. Cuddles growled from the backyard. She stepped out the kitchen door. Cuddles stood on the branch of a weeping cherry. Tigger had disappeared. Emma held out her arms, and Cuddles stepped into them.
“I’ve got you.” Emma ran her hand through the dusty fur, but Cuddles stiffened, bounded out of Emma’s arms, and tore around the house.
Tigger shot out from under a bush, and the cats raced across the street and under Mrs. Macalister’s porch. Emma chased after them, dropped to her knees, and gazed into the darkness. Her mind raced as fast as the blood through her veins. Nothing was the same, except for Sarah’s cat.
“Cuddles.” She clapped her hands hoping to lure her out.
Mrs. M hobbled onto her porch. Her wrinkled face and bent shoulders appeared over the railing.
“Emma? Look at your hair.” Her voice quavered but still rang loud for all to hear. “Your mother is looking for you, young lady.”
Why did Mrs. M always seem to be scolding her? Emma rose to her feet, and blood rushed to her head. She wobbled and grabbed the porch rail.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her.” Mrs. W rushed across the lawn to steady Emma.
“Where’s Sarah? Is she with Mom?” Emma leaned on Mrs. W’s shoulder.
Mrs. M swatted the air. “Your mom left to find you the minute that storm ended.”
“I watched Sarah while she looked. She’d go out and return so forlorn without you. A group left for Cedarville first thing this morning, so she sent Sarah with them.” Mrs. W nodded to Mrs. M. “Said she’d follow as soon as she found you.”
“She sent Sarah by herself?” None of this seemed real. Mom would never leave Sarah. Emma folded her arms and rocked herself, her eyes closed to the world.
“She’s not alone. She’s with Trudy Patterson. Aren’t they best friends?” Mrs. M plopped onto her porch swing and rocked with a slow squeak. “Trudy’s parents and a couple other folks have family just like you do in Cedarville. Sarah is going to your grandparents’.”
“Right. Safety in numbers, you know.” Mrs. W helped Emma to sit on a step. “We haven’t seen your mom since they left.”
“She’s still downtown?” Emma put her head in her hands. “What have I done? I just wanted to…”
“You’ve done nothing wrong. Your mom will be home soon.”
“She’ll hate me if anything—”
“Your mom is so proud of you and your work saving the planet.” Mrs. M rocked back and forth, pushing with her feet.
“But we fought before I left. She was so angry.” Emma glanced at Mrs. M’s face, but the old woman was smiling.
“You were standing up for what you believe in.”
“But I didn’t change anything. I was fighting to stop this storm from happening, but it happened anyway, and now I can’t even find my mom?”
“You’re strong, and your mother knows it.” Mrs. W sat on the porch swing. “Right, Mrs. Macalister?”
“Right.” Mrs. M smiled her slow smile. “You’re young. You still have time to change the world.”
Emma swung her arms around in a wide circle, shook her head. “Strong enough to change all this?”
Lilli cleared her throat. Mrs. M and Mrs. W turned to stare at the sidewalk.
Emma turned too. Her friends stood with ratty backpacks, tattoos, and spiked hair. Mrs. M and Mrs. W seemed unfazed.
“Oh my goddess. These are my friends Lilli and Jade.” Emma waited for one of the old ladies to comment on Lilli’s hair or Jade’s tattoos.
Lilli and Jade waved. Jade staggered and leaned on her crutch.
Images of feral dogs, Jinx on the floor, people fighting over loaves of bread and water bottles filled her head. She couldn’t stand to think of mom downtown in the middle of all that. Why had she put Megan before mom?
“Maybe we can catch the Pattersons?” Emma squinted from Lilli to Jade.
“Emma, you don’t need to catch them. Just take your time and stick with your friends.” Mrs. M pushed herself to a stand. She leaned on her cane, like Jade did her crutch, only Mrs. M’s shoulders stooped, and her head wobbled.
“What about you?” Emma asked.
“Oh, I have Mrs. Webster.”
“Yes, she does.” Mrs. W put her arm around Mrs. M’s shoulders and nodded. “Plus, Bill Salazar has an emergency radio, so we’ll get the latest NOAA reports. We’re in good company.”
Mrs. M reached out to hold Emma’s hands. “Besides, you have friends to travel with. You don’t have to hurry.”
Emma nodded. It had taken them almost two days to get from Founders Square home, and that was only about three miles, but Cedarville was a fifteen-mile trek.
The buzz of chainsaws filled the air, cutting branches and clearing trees. Some people were staying. The crisp scent of freshly cut wood teased her nostrils with hints of a normal November day.
Lilli and Jade fidgeted on Mrs. Macalister’s sidewalk, stiff smiles, shoulders back.
Did Emma look like that, fir needles in her hair, hands black from pitch? Add tattoos and combat boots, and she could be their little sister. They had become sisters of the storm.
“We’ll stick together,” Lilli said. “We got this far, right? We can get her to Cedarville.” Lilli wiped her nose. “My folks live up Highway 3. We’ll follow 96 to the junction. Cedarville is just a few miles from there.”
“You’ll be with your mom by tomorrow, the next day at the latest.” Jade rubbed the bandage on her leg, her pain etched in wrinkles around her eyes.
Emma smiled at Lilli then Jade. How could she tell them they were too slow? She’d already missed Sarah, and she didn’t want to miss Mom too. “Maybe I’ll just run ahead.”
Mrs. Webster placed her hand on Emma’s arm. “There you go, all in a rush. Slow down, girl.” She gave Emma’s arm a shake, but Emma jerked away.
“I have bandages in my bug-out bag,” Mrs. W said. “That way Jade will be able to keep up. I know I said this already, but there is safety in numbers. Right?”
Emma nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. She’d been rude, and she regretted her words. She glanced at Lilli who massaged Jade’s back. Jade kept her head down. What was she thinking? Jade had gotten shot protecting herself. It wasn’t murder.
She pushed down the urge to race after the Patterson family. Today was the day she was supposed to find Mom and sleep in her own bed. Instead, Sarah was gone, and Mom was out there with the looters and people with guns. She adjusted her pack on her shoulders.
“Okay. Safety in numbers, but I’m bringing Cuddles.”
Emma stood on the bottom step of Mrs. M’s porch her arms crossed. Mrs. M stared at her from the top step.
Mrs. W gave Emma her thin-lipped smile. “Leave Cuddles. She has nine lives, you know.”
Emma couldn’t stage a showdown with Mrs. M or Mrs. W. They only spoke the truth, but she didn’t want the truth. She wanted her mom and Sarah here, and some sense of normal in her life.
Cuddles growled from under the porch, and Emma crawled on her hands and knees, searching the darkness. She sat up on her heels, turned to Lilli and Jade who fidgeted on the sidewalk whispering to each other. They needed to leave soon, but Emma wouldn’t leave the only normal thing in her life right now.
“Here, kitty.”
Something scuffled and growled. Gray fur and a black mask rushed past her and into Mrs. M’s azaleas.
“Oh!” Emma flew onto her seat and crab-walked out of the way.
“Raccoon. Cuddles probably woke him up. He must have gotten caught out in the storm, like you.” Mrs. M peered over the porch rail. “He’s as confused by this topsy-turvy world as the rest of us.
“Come on, kiddo.” Jade shifted her weight on her crutch, making it creak. “We only have about three hours of daylight left. We have to leave Cuddles.”
Hanging her head, Emma nodded. Jade was right. Dark clouds were gathering in the distance, and they had to press on. Cuddles had at least seven more lives.
Lilli held up her half-empty water bottle, shaking it. “Is there any chance we could fill up before we go?”
Mrs. M nodded toward the side of the porch. “We never gave up our well when they built these new houses.” She swept her arm in an arc. “There’s a faucet behind the azaleas.”
Lilli started. “Where the racoon ran?” She gathered Jade and Emma’s empty bottles.
“There’s another way under the porch there, so don’t worry.”
“I didn’t know you had a well.” Mrs. W smiled as she rubbed Mrs. M’s back.
“My Henry installed an emergency generator ten years ago, his last project. I’ll have water until I die.” Mrs. M stood erect, but her gaze never left the azaleas.
Mrs. W placed her arm around Mrs. M, and they leaned into one another. Emma never saw Mrs. M downtown without her friend Mrs. W. Where was Megan? She stuck her hand in her pocket and ran her fingers over the smooth face of her phone. She’d never gone this long without a message from her.
“Thanks.” Lilli ran water into the bottles as Jade shifted on her crutch.
“You’d better sit here on the step while I get my go-bag and bandage that leg.” Mrs. W marched across the street and disappeared into her house.
Mrs. W had just bought Emma some time. “Here kitty, kitty.” This was it. She’d have to leave Cuddles if she didn’t come out soon.
A rush of fur dashed from under the porch and into her arms. “Oh.” A wave of relief washed over her. She stuck her nose in the cat’s fur and nuzzled, ignoring the sting of her lips cracking. She must have smiled. Cuddles purred in her arms.
Holding a black gym bag, Mrs. W charged back to the porch and sat by Jade. A retired nurse, she cleaned and bandaged Jade’s. She and Sarah had been patched up by Mrs. W’s capable hands many times. Cuddles had dozed, and Emma daydreamed as the women talked storms and disaster preparedness.
Mrs. W brushed her hands together and placed a hand over the bandage. “You’ll live,” she announced and squirted sanitizer on her hands.
“Better?” Lilli held out a hand to Jade.
“Much.” Jade rose to her feet.
“Thanks.” Jade shook Mrs. W’s hand, but Mrs. W pulled her into a hug.
“It’s time then.” Lilli handed Emma three dripping water bottles. Put these in your pack. Then she shrugged into her own.
“Well, I guess we’re off. Over the river and through the woods.” Emma passed Cuddles to Jade and loaded the water into her pack then took Cuddles, who appeared to have recovered from any trauma of being chased under the porch.
“Until we meet again, my girl.” Mrs. M stood on her porch, Mrs. W’s hand on her shoulder.
Emma nodded and fell in behind Lilli and Jade. She cradled Cuddles in her arms and cast one last glance over her shoulder at Mrs. M and Mrs. W. Would they be here when she got back, and when would that be? She brushed her tears on her shoulder and clung to Cuddles.
****
They trudged down Wilson to Perimeter Road, and Emma quit trying to put houses back together and trees where they belonged. The houses could be repaired, but the trees were gone forever. It would take a lifetime for them to grow that tall again. Would she be around then?
Jade held up a water bottle. “We scored with Mrs. M, but we’ll need to find more tomorrow. Keep your eyes peeled for faucets, Emm.”
“But Lilli gave me three bottles?”
“Remember Frieda, the Zumba instructor?” Lilli grinned at Jade.
“Crazy old Frieda. I’ll never forget her or that panther tattoo I inked from her ankle to her thigh.” Jade seemed to take larger steps since Mrs. W cleaned and wrapped her wound.”
“‘She’d preach water every time she came to the shop. ‘Are you drinking your water? You need two-and-a-half quarts of water a day.’ She carried gallons of water rolling around in the back of that Saab.”
“Frieda was on to something.” Jade gazed off into the distance, a grin on her face.
“My mom always warned us not to drink from the creek behind our house or we’d be sorry.” Lilli shook her water bottle.
“You have a creek?” Jade’s eyes twinkled.
“Yeah, I heard something about that.” Emma didn’t want to be sorry. “You packed some tablets to clean the water? Could I have a couple, just in case?”
“Purification tablets, yes, enough for six more bottles. That should be enough to get us to Franklin and you to Cedarville. I’ll give you some when we get to the junction.” Jade rubbed the scar under her coat sleeve.
The junction. That’s where they would leave her and go north, and she’d have to hike to Cedarville on her own. At least she had Cuddles, and besides, it wasn’t far from the junction to her grandparents’ farm.
Jade plodded down the road. With her backpack and her crutch, she could have been right out of one of Emma’s history books. There was one photo with the caption, A Civil War Soldier Heading Home.
Was the storm their war, and now they were heading home? A tremor started at the nape of Emma’s neck and ran down her back. Would life ever be the same?
“Mrs. M had a well. Other places will too.” Lilli kept a steady pace, and Jade tapped along beside her. Emma walked beside Jade.
“Just think, Emma. You’ll be at your grandparents by tomorrow.” Jade nudged her with her shoulder.
“And Mom will be there.” Emma nodded. Positive thinking was all she had right now. It had taken over two days to hike this far, and they weren’t even out of Vandby yet.
The roof collapse in the Burger Bomber would give her nightmares, and so would the dogs. Emma hugged Cuddles to her chest, her warmth and deep purr calming.
Lilli led them around a corner and onto Perimeter Road. Devastation spread out before them all the way to the foothills, a tangled mass of downed trees and litter. What kind of storm did this? A speaker at one of her marches had talked about changing weather patterns and stronger storms in the future. Was it the future already?
“It’s been four days. Where are the National Guard, the Red Cross, the police? That’s not normal, is it?” Lilli asked.
“Mrs. W was filling us in on the latest info. One of your neighbors has a radio, and he heard the storm had wiped out the entire West Coast, from Alaska to Baja. It cut out power lines, cell towers, washed out roads, and not just on the coast but all the way inland to the Rockies.” Jade’s clipped report stopped Emma, and Lilli stood in the middle of the road scanning the landscape.
“What? The Rockies are hundreds of miles away.” Emma twirled her ponytail in her fingers.
“I’m just the messenger. Updates were coming in from cities and towns up and down the coast. No one has electricity unless they have a generator.”
“If it’s that bad, it might explain why we haven’t gotten help yet.” Lilli grabbed the short stick she’d tucked behind her ear, flipped it between her fingers then popped it between her lips.
“That would also explain why Mom sent Sarah to Gran’s. She lives in farm country. People have wells, food, and generators.” Emma clutched Cuddles, but what she needed was her mom.
****
Cuddles settled into Emma’s arms as they plodded down the middle of Perimeter Road to Highway 96. The rhythm of her steps wound through her brain like a melody. Cuddles stopped purring, and Emma clung to her. Barks and growls echoed on the distance.
“Lilli?” Jade tensed, and Lilli clamped her hand over Jade’s mouth.
A pack of dogs raced around the corner and ran straight toward them. They were chasing a smaller dog that disappeared through a hole in a fence. The dogs, all much larger, milled about, sniffed at the hole, some dug.
One of them sniffed the air, spotted Cuddles, and growled. All the dogs stopped to sniff.
“Not Cuddles, you dicks.” Cuddles’ claws dug into Emma’s arm, making her cry out, but Emma hung onto her fur. Cuddles twisted, and Emma lost her grip as the dogs rushed her.
“No!”
Cuddles leaped out of Emma’s arms and ran. Emma watched, helpless, as Cuddles streaked down the road and around a fence, the pack of dogs after her. Their barks faded into the distance.
“No,” Emma sobbed.
“Cuddles has skills,” Lilli said, and Jade punched her. “What?”
Emma couldn’t move. “What will I tell Sarah?”
“Tell her, Cuddles was alive the last time you saw her. Cats have nine lives, remember?” Jade cleared her throat and shook her head.
Emma swayed, her arms numb, hanging at her side. She missed Cuddles’ purr against her chest.
“I think you needed Cuddles more than Cuddles needed you,” Lilli said.
“Those dogs will never catch that cat.” Jade’s slow drawl soothed Emma’s nerves. “Did you see her fly around that corner?”
Emma opened her mouth to speak, but her throat had closed, and she coughed instead. She clung to Jade’s words. The dogs were long gone, and only bird song filled the air. Emma fell in behind Lilli and Jade, and they trudged down the road.
Had “normal” vanished with Cuddles? Her head pounded with the effort of holding back her tears. Once they started falling, she wouldn’t be able to stop them. She stumbled over boxes and branches, her vision blurred, her nose running.
“Jade has to rest, right hon?” Lilli helped Jade settle on a log, took Emma by the arm, and sat her between them. Jade handed her a tissue. Lilli leaned in on Emma’s other side, and Emma closed her eyes. Just what she needed, a friend sandwich.
Emma cried. She cried until hiccups started. She cried until the tightness behind her eyes had been washed away. She cried until she couldn’t breathe.
Lilli and Jade rocked her between them, and she dried her eyes. A metal baseball bat lay in the road before her.
“Where were you when I needed you?” She marched to the bat, grabbed it, and gave it a swing. “Next dog I see—”
“That’s my, girl.” Lilli grinned and helped Jade to her feet.
Emma rested the bat on her shoulder then, with a final glance behind her, Emma followed her friends down 27th. A stiff breeze lifted several strands of her dirty hair, and she looked to the sky. Dark clouds gathered in the south.
“No, no, no.” Jade shaded her eyes and glared into the sky. “Not again.”