damn cats."
"What?" asked Billy.
"One of her stuffed cats. We were in such a hurry to leave the house we didn't bring any toys for the girls. I should've grabbed one of her stuffed cats."
I stood from the bench in a moment of frustration and threw the bag of chocolate apricots out into the bay. I cursed at them as they splashed down in a series of quiet plops in the distance.
"Hey," said Billy. "I was going to eat those." He tried to joke, but the humor fell flat. "Seriously though, we don't know this stuff is bad. We shouldn't just toss it out."
"Yes we should," I said. "There's no way I'm feeding any of it to my girls again."
"Okay, fine, but we should still keep it."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because it might still be good. If we don't get sick in the next couple days, then we know it's fine. And even if you don't feel comfortable eating it, we could trade it with other people if we need to."
"That's a little fucked up, Billy. I'm not giving this shit to anyone else to eat."
"Why not?"
I couldn't understand why this was up for debate and I let him know it by glaring at him. "Because it might be poisoned."
Billy looked at the shipping label on the pack of spaghetti that the cops had discovered. "Forgive me, babe, but I haven't met too many folks since this started that I'd feel bad about poisoning." He peeled the label off with ease, crumpled it, and threw it aside.
As right as he might have been, I couldn't go along with it. "We're not giving poisoned food to anyone. Period."
Billy tossed the bag back into the pile that Trev had blasted with the shotgun. "Fine. But we're not throwing it out either, just in case. Deal?"
I nodded. "Deal."
Light erupted from somewhere in the city. We barely had a chance to see it before the sound swept over the bay. A deafening roar shook the boat as the blast's brilliance formed into an orange blaze.
"What the fuck was that?" asked Billy in shock.
"Mommy?" said Kim as she opened the door of the cabin. "What happened?"
"I don't know, baby. Get back inside. Stay inside."
The light faded until we only saw an orange glow that emanated above the top of the buildings along the shore. Plumes of black smoke rose over the city and we could hear the crash of something massive hitting the water.
Above the sound of destruction we heard the distinct whine of a jet as it passed overhead. The military had arrived, and the sudden explosion was no coincidence.
"They're destroying the bridges," said Billy. He sprang to action and rushed into the cabin to start the boat.
"What?" I screamed after him.
"They're going to cut off the city."
Kim and Annie moved to the corner as Billy struggled to get The Casper started. They begged us to tell them what had happened but I waved away their question and hushed them. "How do you know that?"
"They're trying to contain the outbreak," he said.
"By stranding everyone in the city? That can't be right."
"I'm not taking any chances." The Casper roared to life and started to tremble as the anchor's chain grinded its gears.
"What are we doing?"
He turned the floodlight on and pointed it out across the murky nightline to reveal a bridge across the bay a few hundred yards ahead. The Casper headed that way.
"Are we turning around?" I asked.
"That's Becken Bridge," he said.
"Okay, so we're going to go away from it. Right? If they're blowing up the bridges then we don't want to be anywhere near them."
"Becken Bridge is built on a strip of raised land. There's a waterway in the middle that leads into the channel."
"But that's not where we're going, is it?"
Billy looked at me with pursed lips and a strained brow. "We need to be on the other side."
"What?" I shouted in shock.
"We need to move up the channel to get to the yard. It's the only way."
"Then fuck the yard, Billy. We'll figure something else out."
He put the throttle up to full speed as we headed for Becken Bridge. "Sorry, Laura, but we've gotta make it. If that bridge goes down, it'll fall on
"What?" asked Billy.
"One of her stuffed cats. We were in such a hurry to leave the house we didn't bring any toys for the girls. I should've grabbed one of her stuffed cats."
I stood from the bench in a moment of frustration and threw the bag of chocolate apricots out into the bay. I cursed at them as they splashed down in a series of quiet plops in the distance.
"Hey," said Billy. "I was going to eat those." He tried to joke, but the humor fell flat. "Seriously though, we don't know this stuff is bad. We shouldn't just toss it out."
"Yes we should," I said. "There's no way I'm feeding any of it to my girls again."
"Okay, fine, but we should still keep it."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because it might still be good. If we don't get sick in the next couple days, then we know it's fine. And even if you don't feel comfortable eating it, we could trade it with other people if we need to."
"That's a little fucked up, Billy. I'm not giving this shit to anyone else to eat."
"Why not?"
I couldn't understand why this was up for debate and I let him know it by glaring at him. "Because it might be poisoned."
Billy looked at the shipping label on the pack of spaghetti that the cops had discovered. "Forgive me, babe, but I haven't met too many folks since this started that I'd feel bad about poisoning." He peeled the label off with ease, crumpled it, and threw it aside.
As right as he might have been, I couldn't go along with it. "We're not giving poisoned food to anyone. Period."
Billy tossed the bag back into the pile that Trev had blasted with the shotgun. "Fine. But we're not throwing it out either, just in case. Deal?"
I nodded. "Deal."
Light erupted from somewhere in the city. We barely had a chance to see it before the sound swept over the bay. A deafening roar shook the boat as the blast's brilliance formed into an orange blaze.
"What the fuck was that?" asked Billy in shock.
"Mommy?" said Kim as she opened the door of the cabin. "What happened?"
"I don't know, baby. Get back inside. Stay inside."
The light faded until we only saw an orange glow that emanated above the top of the buildings along the shore. Plumes of black smoke rose over the city and we could hear the crash of something massive hitting the water.
Above the sound of destruction we heard the distinct whine of a jet as it passed overhead. The military had arrived, and the sudden explosion was no coincidence.
"They're destroying the bridges," said Billy. He sprang to action and rushed into the cabin to start the boat.
"What?" I screamed after him.
"They're going to cut off the city."
Kim and Annie moved to the corner as Billy struggled to get The Casper started. They begged us to tell them what had happened but I waved away their question and hushed them. "How do you know that?"
"They're trying to contain the outbreak," he said.
"By stranding everyone in the city? That can't be right."
"I'm not taking any chances." The Casper roared to life and started to tremble as the anchor's chain grinded its gears.
"What are we doing?"
He turned the floodlight on and pointed it out across the murky nightline to reveal a bridge across the bay a few hundred yards ahead. The Casper headed that way.
"Are we turning around?" I asked.
"That's Becken Bridge," he said.
"Okay, so we're going to go away from it. Right? If they're blowing up the bridges then we don't want to be anywhere near them."
"Becken Bridge is built on a strip of raised land. There's a waterway in the middle that leads into the channel."
"But that's not where we're going, is it?"
Billy looked at me with pursed lips and a strained brow. "We need to be on the other side."
"What?" I shouted in shock.
"We need to move up the channel to get to the yard. It's the only way."
"Then fuck the yard, Billy. We'll figure something else out."
He put the throttle up to full speed as we headed for Becken Bridge. "Sorry, Laura, but we've gotta make it. If that bridge goes down, it'll fall on
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