Pandemic by Ventresca Yvonne

Author:Ventresca, Yvonne [Ventresca, Yvonne]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: 2014-05-06T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Since the East Coast outbreaks, the Blue Flu is hopscotching across America with no rhyme or reason. Some towns are hit hard; others are spared. There’s no correlation to geography, climate, or economic status. While we’d all love an answer, there doesn’t seem to be a scientific one.

—Blue Flu interview, award-winning scientist

At the sight of Mr. B’s car in my driveway, my stomach dropped like it does on an airplane during turbulence. Jay, Ty, and I stood a few houses away from my own, but I wouldn’t move any closer.

“What’s the matter?” Jay asked.

I swayed and he reached out to steady me.

“That car . . . I can’t go home.” I pulled the hood up over my hair and then grabbed the stroller, turning it in the opposite direction. Without another word, I raced TK down the street.

Ty and Jay moved to either side of me, practically jogging to catch up.

He’s at my home. He’s at my home.

“What’s the matter?” Ty asked, and I realized too late that I’d been speaking aloud.

“I can’t talk about it.”

“We can go back to our house,” Jay said.

“Too far. He could spot me any minute.”

“I know where to hide,” Ty said. He steered me toward one of the neighbor’s houses that Jay had said was empty. In the front yard, a short Japanese maple tree fanned out into a dense canopy.

“Here.” Ty took my hand and pulled me under the branches. Jay ducked in with the stroller. The hanging boughs blocked the street from sight.

“It’s a tree-cave,” Ty whispered. “A great hiding spot.”

No hiding spot is safe enough, I thought. Never safe enough.

We sat quietly until Mr. B’s car passed by. I trembled as he drove away.

“Was that a looter?” Ty asked.

“Shh,” Jay said.

Hugging my knees to my chest, I tried to slow my breathing. Rock back and forth, back and forth, inhale. Back and forth, back and forth, exhale. I breathed in the smell of earth and leaves, my eyes closed, until TK started to fuss. Jay unstrapped him from the stroller and I held my arms out, comforted by the weight of him against me.

“What’s green and red and goes 100 miles per hour?” Ty asked.

“Now’s not the—” Jay started.

“It’s OK,” I said. “Tell me, Ty. I give up.”

“A frog in a blender!”

I forced a grin. “Good joke.” The street was quiet since the car had passed. “I can go home soon. I want to wait a few more minutes to be sure.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be alone tonight.” Jay blushed. “That doesn’t sound right. I mean—”

“It’s all right. I know what you mean.”

“You won’t get any sleep home alone, worrying,” he said. “You should stay with us.”

Ty jumped up, nearly hitting his head on a branch. “Like a sleepover!”

It felt reassuring to know I wasn’t completely isolated, that Jay and Ty would look out for me. But even though it was tempting, staying at their house would never work, not with TK.

“Thanks, but it’s hard with the baby.” I thought about

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