WILLA, стр. 5

“Good girl,” he said, genuinely sounding impressed at my foresight.

“I left some stuff throughout the house, but most of it’s in the attic in totes,” I said, letting him know that we would still have to sweep the house before we left.

“Okay. The boys and I’ll start bringing all of that down and double-checking the house. Pack a few bags, then help your mom. I...”

“I got it,” I said.

Mom was probably standing in her room, doing nothing.

After dumping my bags by the front door where the boys were piling our stuff, I checked on her. And she was doing precisely that.

“Mom, what are you doing? You should have been packed and ready to leave twenty minutes ago,” I said, going to her closet to get her suitcase.

She said nothing.

“Should I pack some stuff for Dad?” I asked, emptying her sock, panty, and bra drawers into one of the suitcases.

“Your father?” she asked me.

“Yes. Should I get clothes for Dad, or do you think we’ll be home before he returns?” I said, folding some of her shirts into a case.

“Yes. I’ll call Dad and tell him to meet us at Mom’s,” she said and reached for a pocket that wasn’t there for a phone she didn’t have.

I started to tell her that I’d been trying to reach Dad since yesterday, but he hadn’t answered. Instead, I decided that making the phone call meant that she was doing something.

I busied myself with filling their suitcases and bags with the items I thought they would need.

“He’s not answering,” Mom said, startling me as she came back into the room.

“Uncle Jamie said that the lines were busy. We’ll try him later. I have your stuff packed. We should help Uncle Jamie load it.”

Instead of answering me, Mom began opening drawers and looking through things as if she were trying to find more to pack. I left her to it and carried their bags to the front door.

“Where’s your mom?” Uncle Jamie asked, looking from me to my mom’s room.

“Still in the bedroom. I don’t know what she’s doing.”

“Okay. Just leave your mother alone for now. Chad, you and Kris will be our guards while Willa and I carry all of this to the van.”

Neither boy spoke, but they nodded in understanding. I was the weaker of the group and probably the slowest. Since I’d never fired a gun or had anything resembling training, the boys were better suited for guard duty than me.

Uncle Jamie and I tried to make quick work loading the van while the boys stood by watching for anyone thinking to ambush us.

My neighborhood was quiet. I felt eyes on me from those peeking out behind curtains, but no one left their house as we worked.

“Mom, we’re almost ready to go,” I called toward her room just as we were about to carry our next to the last load to the van.

My mother didn’t respond.

“Mom,” I called again.

She still didn’t answer.

“I’ll get this. You go check on your momma,” Uncle Jamie said, taking a suitcase from me.

I nodded and returned to Mom’s room. I found her lying on top of the covers fast asleep. Sighing deeply, I shook her awake.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Uncle Jamie is ready to go. Come on,” I said, trying not to be annoyed with her.

“Uncle Jamie? Why is he here?”

“He’s taking us to Grandma’s house.”

“Why is he doing that?” she asked, reluctantly sitting up.

“Because of the outbreak. We’re going to wait it out in Grandma’s cellar.”

“Outbreak?”

“Yeah, the one you’ve spent the better part of the last two days watching play out on the news.”

I pulled gently on her arm to get her moving.

“No. I dreamed that. That isn’t real.”

“I wish it were a dream, but if it is one, the entire world is sharing it.”

“Molly. Willa, you two ready? We should get on the road soon. People are starting to move around in your neighborhood,” Uncle Jamie called from outside Mom’s bedroom.

“Yeah. We’re coming,” I said, guiding Mom to him.

“Jamie, Willa says we’re going to Momma’s house. Is that true?”

Uncle Jamie looked from me to Mom, and I merely shrugged.

“Yeah,” he said. “It is. We’ll be safe there. Carson’s and my family are already there. Along with Cousin Mason’s family and a few others. More are coming.”

“Why?”

“We’re going into hiding. The cellar will be cramped, but we should be safe there.”

“Safe from what?”

Uncle Jamie looked at me again, and again, I merely shrugged. I had no explanation as to what was going through Mom’s head.

Nodding, Uncle Jamie decided not to answer. He merely directed Mom and me out of the house.

“I forgot something,” I said, as they walked to the vehicle.

“Willa, come on. We have to get going,” Uncle Jamie called as he settled Mom into a seat.

“I have to leave a note for Dad,” I called back, rushing to the kitchen to pin a note to the fridge letting my dad know where were. When he got home and didn’t find us, he would probably assume we were dead, so I wanted him to know where we were heading.

I also decided to leave another note on the small table just inside the door as a precaution. Once I was done, I locked the door behind me, though I knew it would do no good to do so.