Contagious Page 74

Chelsea shrugged. It was getting easier to reach out, to find the others. She was in contact with three more dolly daddies. So many things to do—give a soldier smoochies, get past the other soldiers and get to the place with lots of people. How could they do it all?

She had an idea, an idea that Chauncey wouldn’t like. Maybe she just wouldn’t tell Chauncey. She wasn’t sure if the idea would work, though—she needed some help to figure it out.

What she needed was more brain power.

Like a few minutes ago, when they all had that feeling . . .

“Everyone, think with me,” Chelsea said. She closed her eyes. Even though she couldn’t see, she felt the others close their eyes, one by one. Their thoughts melded together, and they started to plan.

INBRED TRAILER-TRASH HICKS WATCHING SPRINGER

Three more cars to go. She could fool them. She had to fool them. They wanted to kill her whole family but Bernadette wouldn’t let that happen.

She had to stay calm, keep the kids calm. William was in the passenger seat, all buckled in. He was scared, she knew, but he was being quiet. Sally and Christine were in the backseat. They were being so good, just perfect little angels. She’d tucked a blanket around them so they wouldn’t get cold.

Two more cars to go. She pulled her Saab up one car length.

Shawn was still back home. The cheating bastard. Let him stay there, let him have the whole house to himself. He’d fucked around on her, she just knew it. Maybe with that little whore secretary at his construction office. He hired a girl who dyed her hair jet-black and wore all that eye makeup to be a secretary? Bernadette didn’t know what a goth was and didn’t want to know. Probably just another term for slut, which is what the little whore most likely was.

She knew he’d cheated, because the voices told her so.

One more car to go. She pulled up again. She rolled down her window. Cold winter air poured in.

The soldiers were everywhere. Soldiers and cops. They wanted to kill her, she just knew it. She didn’t want to go near them, but the voices had told her to go this way, told her she could get past the checkpoint, onto the highway and away from Gaylord.

The soldiers had some kind of test. Maybe it was like a Breathalyzer. She’d passed those before. The voices told her she could pass it, and she believed them.

After all, if you can’t believe the voices in your own head, who can you believe?

“Mom, where are we going?”

“We’re leaving, William,” she said. “Now, I told you to be quiet. Are you going to talk again?”

William’s eyes grew wide and he shook his head violently. No, he wasn’t going to talk again. If he did, she’d just have to deal with him.

The pickup truck ahead of her pulled forward. A state trooper stood in front of her car. He waved her closer. She inched up slowly until he snapped his palm out, signaling her to stop.

She stopped.

Another state trooper leaned down and looked in her open window. He had one hand on her door, the other hand on his gun. Peeking out under that ridiculous cop hat—where did they get these meatheads, anyway?

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” he said. “We’ve set up this roadblock to do a quick test for a bacteria that may be in the area. Are you familiar with the situation?”

“Of course I’m familiar with the situation. You think I don’t watch the news? You think I’m some inbred trailer-trash hick that watches the Springer show? I know all about the situation, and we’re fine, we don’t have the bacteria. We’ll just drive through, then you can get on with it.”

The trooper looked less than pleased that Bernadette would not be taking the stupid test, but those were the breaks. Fuck him.

“I’m afraid we do need to test you, ma’am,” the trooper said. “It will only take a second. We also need to test your children, but let’s get you first.” He held up a narrow foil envelope. He was wearing surgical gloves. “Please open this packet, ma’am, then pull out the swab inside, run it inside your cheek and along your gum line, then hand it back to me stick-first.”

“I’m sorry, Officer, but are you deaf? I just told you we don’t need to be tested. Let’s remember that my taxes pay your salary. Now, unless you want me to take your badge number and make your life a living hell, get your partner out of the way. We’re in a hurry.”

The trooper stared at her for a second. Then he looked at William. Then he looked into the backseat. His brow furrowed beneath the brim of his hat. His eyes widened. He suddenly stood up and took a step back.

His hand stayed on the grip of his gun. “Ma’am, step out of the car, right now.”

He knew. That fucking cop knew.

Bernadette pushed the gas pedal to the floor. Her Saab shot forward. The state trooper in front of her car dove out of the way. The on-ramp to I-75 was only a few hundred feet from here—she could make it. There was a state police car parked across the on-ramp. Maybe there was enough room on the shoulder to get around it.

She heard a popping sound, like cap guns.

Her car lurched to the left. Bernadette turned the steering wheel hard to the right, trying to recover. More popping sounds. The car pulled violently to the right and skidded. It hit the snowbank and stopped suddenly, throwing her forward.

The tires. They’d shot out the tires, like this was a fucking TV show like Frankie Anvil or something. Did they not understand that the voice told her she could go past?

Bernadette opened the door, grabbed her purse and got out of the Saab.

“Down on the ground!” a trooper shouted. More shouts, all of them saying the same thing. “Down on the ground, now!”

They had guns pointed at her. Blue jackets and round hats everywhere, in all directions. They were going to kill her.

Chapter end