The Fallout (13 page)

“What’s that?”

“Oh, sorry. Bug Out Location. Somewhere to go when everything collapses.”

I sighed. “Nothing is going to collapse. People are trying to cash in.”

“Really?” He paused for a second before continuing. “Look online. Check out some typical seed companies. Even they offer survivalist seeds. Doomsday is coming, and people need to be—”

“God, just stop.” I shook my head. All those people trying to survive. Underground. I’d been there. Been there long enough to realize survival wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Given the choice a second time? I’d stay outside. Die along with all the people who couldn’t afford a BOL. I’d heard enough. “What do you want from me?”

“I was hoping…” He trailed off. “I was hoping you, or possibly your whole family, could act as a consultant on the Trinity Condo project. You’ve experienced survival-living underground, you know what works and what doesn’t, and you—”

“No.”

“But you would be so valuable—”

“No!” I snarled. “I won’t do it. And stop following my family or I’ll call the police and take out a restraining order.” My tone hid the relief I felt at finding out the person following us was just an opportunist, trying to cash in. If need be, our lawyers would chew him up and spit him out. Still, I’d rather send him on his way myself, so no one else in my family would even have to know.

But he kept talking. “I never planned to follow you. But when I got that tip, I just couldn’t resist trying to—”

I froze in my chair. “What tip?”

“Through the YK sightings website. I got a tip that you all were going to that Costco. Of course, I thought it was a joke, people send me tips all the time, but they always turn out to be fake—”

“Wait!” My throat tightened up. “Someone told you specifically what Costco we were going to?”

“Yes.”

I swallowed and tried to keep my voice level, not betray my panic. “Who was the tip from?”

“I don’t know. I mean, the first one was just an online message, but the second time he called and—”

Second time?

No one knew those plans but my family. I gave up trying to pretend calm, and demanded, “Who called? Who was he?”

“I don’t know. His voice was … garbled, sort of? Like he was using one of those voice scramblers to disguise his voice? Heck, maybe it wasn’t even a man…”

Oh, my God. Someone, other than Trinity Condo Idiot, was watching us, knew where we were, knew where we went.

He said, “I hope you’ll think about—”

“No,” I said. “No frickin’ chance. You’re lucky I don’t call the police.” I hung up. My hands were trembling and my breaths were shallow.

Who was watching us? What did they want?

And how was I going to find out who they were, and stop them, before something happened?

I had no idea.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

I sat there, trying to talk myself through it all. Tom Barron wasn’t a problem. But whoever tipped him off definitely
was
. Could it be someone in our security force? I went through the faces in my mind. Joe and Sam who minded the front gatehouse during the day; both joked with us whenever we went around them. Neither seemed capable of stabbing us in the back like that. William, the older guy who took over every night: very buff, with a tinge of gray in his hair. He had an adult child with special needs and was always thanking Mom for the job. No way would he risk his paycheck like that. I could be wrong, but my gut felt strongly about those three.

Then I thought about Lee.

I shook my head. “No way.” Gram had vetted him herself. There was a family connection, a level of honor, and I was sure he wouldn’t cross that. Other than those guards, and a few other loyal people at YK, no one knew where we were living. No one at YK would risk their well-paying job in order to tip off a guy selling survival condos.

And then I stopped trying to think of people who would give us away. Why
would
someone tip Barron off? A commission of some sort? He didn’t mention anything.

And if the tipster was looking for us, well … obviously he’d already found us and seemed to know our every step.

He was watching us.

I went over to my window and looked out, first at the lake, then at the woods. The woods were just outside the fences, but if someone wanted to watch us, that would be a good spot.

Still, that didn’t answer
why
?

Did someone want to mess with us?

No. Mess with
me.

I had been the only one to suspect being followed, and I was the one who had just found out for certain that we were. Was that planned?

I went back to my computer and sat down, then swiveled slowly around in my chair. Should I tell Eddy? Mom? Or no one?

In order to know where we were, someone would have to have connections to YK. “That doesn’t exactly narrow it down.” I stopped twirling and drummed my fingers on the desk. “Who would want to piss us—me—off like this? Who at YK would want…”

Phil.

He knew about our new place; he was capable of finding out the license plates of our vehicles. He could have hired someone to follow us wherever we went.

I thought back to the places I’d been in the past few weeks, other than YK.

The Progeria Institute.

People at YK had been aware of that trip, had even arranged for a car. I didn’t know the driver of the company car, and even though Lee ended up driving me that day, Phil could have paid the driver to keep tabs on me.

I shook my head. Too easy. So many people knew I was going there.

Costco. No one knew but Lee and us.

The aquarium. Same thing.

Someone had to be tracking our vehicles. I glanced at my phone.

Or us.

I grabbed the phone and went to Eddy’s room. I held up my hand to knock when I heard him talking to someone. His voice was muffled through the door, but I could still hear what he was saying. “I know! That was hilarious.” He was quiet for a moment. Listening to whoever was on the phone? He laughed. “Totally! We have to do that.”

I stood there, hand frozen in the air. Maybe he was talking to a friend from Hawaii. I glanced down at my own phone, which held less than five contacts. His probably had dozens.

I dropped my hand and went downstairs.

Mom was in the kitchen, waiting for the teakettle to boil. She smiled at me. “How was the ball game?”

“Fine.” I held up my phone. “Where’d we get these?”

Mom tilted her head. “Gram bought them.”

“Where?” I asked.

“Why?”

“I just want to know.”

Mom frowned, as if she were trying to remember. “I think she got them at Costco in Hawaii. They’re not traceable, if that’s what you’re worried about. She made sure of that. They’re just so we could communicate when we’re not together.”

I asked, “Why didn’t you give them to us then? Why’d you wait until now?”

She smiled. “I was hoping you’d never leave the house.”

I smiled back, relieved. Had the source of the phones been YK, Phil could have easily been involved in the phones, somehow added trackers to them. But he was obviously out of the picture. And maybe I was just being paranoid again. Barron could have made up the tipster for any reason. Maybe just to freak me out. Maybe just to make himself seem more serious than laughable, which is exactly what he was.

The kettle whistled.

“Making enough for me?” I asked.

She nodded. “Of course.” She got another mug off the rack. “Lady Grey?”

I nodded and sat down at the counter. She poured water into each mug, then set one in front of me. She bobbed her tea bag up and down in her mug. “So what’s on your mind?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.” Part of me wanted to tell her about Lexie’s quest to find her real parents. Instead, I asked, “Do you think that Eddy is embarrassed by me?”

Mom’s eyes widened. “Why would you think that?”

I didn’t answer right away, because I didn’t know how to put into words the way I felt. Feeling bad about clothes was so stupid, but that was the only concrete evidence I had; he didn’t want to be seen in the same clothes as me, which actually happened to make complete sense. We hadn’t dressed alike since we were kids, a fact that took the air out of my argument. But he seemed so much happier around Tony. Like he couldn’t relax around me. Couldn’t have fun. I shrugged. “Sometimes … I feel like we kind of cramp his style.”

Mom stiffened. “Is this because of what he said this morning?”

“Maybe.”

Mom set a hand on mine. “We’ve been through so much that we expect him to understand. But we have to understand what he’s been through. He had to adjust to us being gone. And now, he has to do the opposite.”

“Wouldn’t that be easier?” I asked. “To know we’re here instead of gone for good? To just be normal again?”

“Who’s to say what’s normal?” Mom drizzled honey into her tea, stirred, and took a sip. “He used to have three siblings, now he has four more. That would be hard enough to get used to. Give him some time, Eli.”

She was probably right. Maybe Eddy’s normal was him and Gram, on their own, and we had messed it all up. We’d even blown Eddy’s whole belief of Dad as a hero. And Phil as a good guy.

I pulled my mug toward me and swirled my tea bag around by the string. Without thinking, I asked, “Do you think Phil is dead?”

Mom froze, then whispered, “What?”

“Phil,” I repeated. “Do you think he’s dead?”

“I don’t know.” She took another sip of tea, then set her mug back down and licked her lips. “Is it wrong of me to say that I hope he is?”

“No.” I swallowed. “But … I think he’s alive.”

She looked at me, her forehead wrinkling. “Why do you say that?”

“Just a feeling I have.”

She set a hand on my face for a moment. “He’s gone. Whether he’s still out there or … not…” She took a quick breath. “He’s gone as far as we’re concerned. He’s out of our lives. For good.”

I only hoped she was right.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

I ended up with whatever stomach virus the other kids had, and with all of us recovering, we didn’t go anywhere that week. Besides feeling sick, I was kind of relieved. Going out was stressful.

I had to be the only teenager in the world who preferred staying home to going out, and I wondered if that would ever change.

Mom and Lexie were busy planning Quinn’s birthday party, an event that caused a bit of tension in the house, ever since Eddy had asked Mom, “Can I invite Tony to Quinn’s party?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said.

“Why?” He frowned. “We can trust him.”

Mom shook her head. “I’m just not ready to invite a stranger. The ball game was one thing.”

Eddy said, “He doesn’t know who we are.”

Mom swiped her hand through the air. “He’ll figure it out as soon as he meets all of us.”

“Fine.” Eddy rolled his eyes.

On Friday, Mom sent Els and Lee out to get supplies for the party. They came home with a penguin cake, and shopping bags from Whole Foods. I helped unpack drinks and whole-wheat buns. There were a bunch of chips and snacks as well.

Els said, “There are balloons in the car you could bring in.”

I went out to the SUV and found almost a dozen silver Mylar balloons, all with various designs, all proclaiming
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY!
I grabbed a handful of balloon strings, holding on tight so I wouldn’t lose any to the breezy day. Inside, the kitchen was chaos. Gram was at the oven, checking on her Kalua pork for sandwiches, while Els arranged buns on a glass serving tray. Lucas was running around the tiled floor, Cara running after trying to catch him, both of them screeching so loud that Cocoa was curled up in a corner, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else.

Eddy set the cake on the counter, where Els immediately pulled off the cover and frowned at the penguin, obviously not happy with the workmanship. “Hmmph.” She stuck a candle, a large blue 1, in the center of the cake and went back to stacking buns.

I walked up behind Gram and told her, “That pork smells wonderful.”

She shook her head. “Roasting in the oven for a few hours is not the same as roasting in a pit for three days.”

I hugged her. “It’ll be delicious.”

She patted my arm. “Go help your sisters. They’re setting the table.”

“Okay.” The dining room table was spread with a bright blue tablecloth covered with penguins. “I’m sensing a theme.”

Lexie was bent over a pile of silverware. “What was your first clue?”

I split up the bunch of balloons, tying some on to a few of the dining-room chairs, then I went back into the kitchen. Lucas and Cara had disappeared, and Gram was pulling apart her pork with two forks, which she set down on a towel when she saw me. “Can you fill a pitcher with ice water and take it in?” She wiped her hands on her apron.

I found a pitcher and filled it, then carried it into the dining room.

Everyone else was inside the dining room, clustered around one end of the table, except for Cara. She was stopping at each chair with a balloon, untying each and watching it float up to the fifteen-foot ceiling. Five already bounced around up there. “Hey!” I said. “Does no one see what she’s doing?”

No one looked up from whatever they were doing. I set the pitcher on the table and picked Cara up. “If you let all the balloons go, you won’t have any to play with.” She scowled and wriggled her way out of my arms, back to the ground where she ran over to Mom.

“What are you guys doing?” I asked.

“Quinn is opening a present,” said Reese.

“Aren’t you gonna wait for all of us?” I asked.

Eddy said, “It’s from me. Just a little kid’s skateboard.”

Just then Gram walked in with a platter of pulled Kalua pork on whole grain buns. Els followed her with coleslaw and a fruit salad, which she set on the table. She said, “We’re ready.”

Dinner was nice, with no arguments or tension, and everyone just enjoying the food. When we had finished, Eddy and I went into the kitchen and lit the candle on the cake. Then we carried it into the dining room. Lexie turned off some of the lights, so it was dim, the light of the small candle glowing.