few big bags of Doritos, one of which was open, its contents spilling onto the desk, and a myriad of other goodies.
“There was meat and cheese too. I ate some the first day, but after the power went out I didn’t want to chance it,” he said. “It seemed a shame to waste it, but I didn’t want to get sick.”
“This looks like a feast after what we’ve been eating,” I said. It was true that Clay had generously shared his meal with us the previous evening, giving us a much-needed break from candy bars and assorted bags of nuts. However, with only a small pot of soup and some bread to feed four people, our hunger had returned within a few hours. This veritable Aladdin’s cave of munchies was like hitting the mother lode.
“Ooh, Coco Crispies.” Clara’s eyes alighted on a stack of cereal boxes next to the door. “I haven’t had those since I was a kid.”
“No milk though,” Darwin said. “Sorry.”
“Who needs milk?” She grabbed a box and pried it open, then scooped up a handful of the chocolate cereal, eating with gusto. Then, realizing we were all watching her, she stopped. “What? You’ve never seen a girl eat cereal before?”
I grinned. “Not quite like that.”
“Well now you have.” She dug deep again, coming out with another handful of the small brown pebbles. She held the box in my direction. “Want some?”
“Nah. I think I need something a bit more balanced than chocolate cereal.” I picked up a banana and peeled back the skin, then took a bite.
“Suit yourself.” Clara dipped into the box again. “But you don’t know what you’re missing.”
30
OUR BELLIES FULL, we turned to the more serious matter of where to sleep for the night. It didn’t seem like a good idea to push on further down the road, especially with dusk approaching. It also seemed a shame to pass up the chance for a good night’s sleep in a real bed. The only problem was that the motel lacked inside corridors, meaning we would be more vulnerable than we were in the lobby. After much debate, we agreed that the best course of action would be to take two rooms on the second floor. We came to this conclusion because the ground floor rooms seemed vulnerable to attack and hard to defend, especially with Alice still on the loose.
We made sure to select rooms linked by an interior door. Even though we only intended to use one room, the connecting doors provided a second means of escape should anything happen. Needless to say, we took the time to barricade the stairs with a couple of dressers, and we made a thorough search of all the rooms on that floor lest any hotel guests were still lurking around with crazy fever.
Darwin had spent the last few nights in the lobby, sleeping behind the reception desk, but now he decided it would be safer to stick with us. Four people sharing two beds in one room was not ideal, especially since the beds were only queen sized, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea to use both rooms, and the girls agreed.
Darwin and I took the bed closest to the door, which meant that Clara and Emily would share the other bed. After the sleeping arrangements of the last few evenings, the motel room seemed like luxury. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Darwin and myself would take turns keeping watch on the balcony outside the room, switching over in four-hour shifts. The fact that Darwin was a pothead did concern me, so we made him turn out his pockets, and confiscated all the joints we found. After that, with the light fading fast, we settled in for the night.
31
THE MOON WAS HIGH and full in the night sky. I leaned on the second floor railing and looked up at it, transfixed for a moment. Were other survivors out there looking up at the same moon right now? More to the point, was Jeff looking at it all those miles away in New Haven? I hoped so.
More than once my mind wandered to the unlikely text message. Why was I the only one to receive one? Was
“There was meat and cheese too. I ate some the first day, but after the power went out I didn’t want to chance it,” he said. “It seemed a shame to waste it, but I didn’t want to get sick.”
“This looks like a feast after what we’ve been eating,” I said. It was true that Clay had generously shared his meal with us the previous evening, giving us a much-needed break from candy bars and assorted bags of nuts. However, with only a small pot of soup and some bread to feed four people, our hunger had returned within a few hours. This veritable Aladdin’s cave of munchies was like hitting the mother lode.
“Ooh, Coco Crispies.” Clara’s eyes alighted on a stack of cereal boxes next to the door. “I haven’t had those since I was a kid.”
“No milk though,” Darwin said. “Sorry.”
“Who needs milk?” She grabbed a box and pried it open, then scooped up a handful of the chocolate cereal, eating with gusto. Then, realizing we were all watching her, she stopped. “What? You’ve never seen a girl eat cereal before?”
I grinned. “Not quite like that.”
“Well now you have.” She dug deep again, coming out with another handful of the small brown pebbles. She held the box in my direction. “Want some?”
“Nah. I think I need something a bit more balanced than chocolate cereal.” I picked up a banana and peeled back the skin, then took a bite.
“Suit yourself.” Clara dipped into the box again. “But you don’t know what you’re missing.”
30
OUR BELLIES FULL, we turned to the more serious matter of where to sleep for the night. It didn’t seem like a good idea to push on further down the road, especially with dusk approaching. It also seemed a shame to pass up the chance for a good night’s sleep in a real bed. The only problem was that the motel lacked inside corridors, meaning we would be more vulnerable than we were in the lobby. After much debate, we agreed that the best course of action would be to take two rooms on the second floor. We came to this conclusion because the ground floor rooms seemed vulnerable to attack and hard to defend, especially with Alice still on the loose.
We made sure to select rooms linked by an interior door. Even though we only intended to use one room, the connecting doors provided a second means of escape should anything happen. Needless to say, we took the time to barricade the stairs with a couple of dressers, and we made a thorough search of all the rooms on that floor lest any hotel guests were still lurking around with crazy fever.
Darwin had spent the last few nights in the lobby, sleeping behind the reception desk, but now he decided it would be safer to stick with us. Four people sharing two beds in one room was not ideal, especially since the beds were only queen sized, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea to use both rooms, and the girls agreed.
Darwin and I took the bed closest to the door, which meant that Clara and Emily would share the other bed. After the sleeping arrangements of the last few evenings, the motel room seemed like luxury. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Darwin and myself would take turns keeping watch on the balcony outside the room, switching over in four-hour shifts. The fact that Darwin was a pothead did concern me, so we made him turn out his pockets, and confiscated all the joints we found. After that, with the light fading fast, we settled in for the night.
31
THE MOON WAS HIGH and full in the night sky. I leaned on the second floor railing and looked up at it, transfixed for a moment. Were other survivors out there looking up at the same moon right now? More to the point, was Jeff looking at it all those miles away in New Haven? I hoped so.
More than once my mind wandered to the unlikely text message. Why was I the only one to receive one? Was
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