Family

The route that Soren chose to take did not bring them near another group, at least not that he could sense. The more he saw the more he worried that he was too late to save Jordan's family.

When Soren did drive by a building where he could sense a lot of humans he kept going. His destination was the subdivision where Jordan had lived as a child. A place he doubted they had moved from.

The subdivision was quiet. It was a middle-class subdivision with large houses that looked similar to each other. The individuality of each homeowner came out in the slight deviations; paint color, one or two garage, dark wood edging, landscaped yards, and even toys.

A few of the houses had been left with their front doors wide open. There was an odd assortment of vehicles parked on the side of the road and in driveways.

Soren slowed down as he drove, relying on a memory from sixteen years ago. When he was certain he had found the right place he parked alongside the road.

"Stay here, I'm going alone."

No one argued when Soren spoke. Soren got out and made his way up the walkway. He hesitated a moment before he knocked three times. He knew that people were inside, he could smell the humans within.

Movement could be heard inside, it moved closer and Soren could imagine that whoever it was had come up to the door to see who was outside. He must have passed the initial check because the sound of the door unlocking came soon after. The door was partially opened and a woman's figure was barely visible.

"Charlotte Marsh?"

Soren tried to look as non-threatening as possible. This was also why he had left Avery in the vehicle. Showing up fully armed would not have gone over well.

The door opened wider, revealing a woman in her mid-forties with stylish shoulder-length brown hair. Her brown eyes were narrowed and she was observing him closely. She let out a soft gasp and tilted her head.

"Soren?"

He chuckled, "I didn't think you'd remember me."

"You've grown up, but I can still see the child you were. You look so much like your mother. Why are you here? The whole town has gone crazy, it's not safe to be outside."

"That's why I'm here." Soren took a breath and locked eyes with her, "I promised Jordan that I'd find you. We have a safe place for everyone to go to."

"What do you mean?"

"We have a safe place. Jordan is there."

Charlotte's eyes widened and shone with tears that suddenly threatened to fall. She held her hand over her heart, her breathing sped up.

"H-he's still alive?"

Soren nodded, "I don't have the time to explain everything. I promised to find everyone and bring you with us. Is Mr. Marsh here? Ava?"

She shook her head and looked behind her, "No, Ava is going to the University of Missouri, in Kansas City. Reece left yesterday afternoon to go and find her. W-we were worried about her after the tornado and the monsters that appeared. Reece went to get Ava and I went and got Bentley out of school."

That would complicate matters. Soren was worried that something had happened to Reece since they had not returned yet. It only took about an hour to drive to Kansas City.

"Have you heard anything from him since he left?"

She shook her head, "Not after he let me know that he had made it. Cellphones are still working."

"I've got someone out there, I'll have them look out for them. Do you have a picture that I can send a snapshot of?"

Charlotte motioned for him to come in and walked to the living room. Soren followed her and saw a young woman sitting on the couch, her attention focused on the smartphone in her hands. He was surprised at how much she resembled Jordan, before his change. Her hair was obviously dyed black, it was the type of black that comes from a box job. When she looked up at him he saw that her eyes were heavily lined with black liner.

"Mom, what's going on?"

Charlotte took a family picture from the wall, a recent picture with both girls and their parents. She handed the picture to Soren and went to Bentley to explain what was going on. Soren took a picture and sent it to Issac, along with a brief explanation, and asked him to be on the lookout for them.

"What type of car was he driving?"

"A, uh, black Ford, Camry."

"Thanks."

Soren sent the information.

'It's Jordan's family.'

'I'll keep an eye out and check the campus once I'm done in Raytown.'

Soren put the phone away, satisfied that he had done his best. If anyone could find them, he knew that Issac would, it was just a matter of if they were still alive, or not.

"Pack essentials. We have basics like electricity and running water, even if it goes down everywhere else. If you have a large container I can empty your fridge and bring it with us. We have food, but it won't last indefinitely."

"Is all of that really necessary?"

Charlotte stood up, hands on her hips. She was not certain if she could fully trust him, even after what he had said.

"More than you realize. Storm-wise, Kansas City is worse off than we are. Once my man makes it to the city I'll have a better idea of the mutated picture, but my predictions are that it's just as bad, or worse.

"These 'monsters' as you called them are everywhere, all across the U.S. They've spread to other countries. Our government had a chance to stop it before it got this bad and failed. I don't see it getting any better."

"Y-you can't be certain."

Soren raised his hand to stop her, "I've been in contact with the government about this for nearly a week. At this point, they're more worried about saving their own asses than helping us. We also have a vaccine that'll stop you from mutating. Something that the government also possesses, but has not properly utilized.

"It's not going to get any better until all of the mutated are dead. I'm not confident that such a thing is possible."

"Go pack your things, Bentley."

Charlotte turned to Bentley and motioned for her to get up. Bentley mumbled complaints, but got up and left for her room. Instead of leaving, Charlotte turned back to Soren.

"Were you telling the truth about Jordan?"

"Yes. I'm sorry that things happened like they did. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't have become friends with him. It was because of me that he went missing."

"What do you mean?"

Charlotte hugged herself as if cold, and bit her lower lip.

"When my father took me out of school he didn't want me to be alone. That's why he took Jordan. If we hadn't been friends back then, you wouldn't have lost him."

"You were six, Soren. What your father did or did not do had no bearing on you."

Soren laughed and it was filled with years of bitterness, "You say that now, just wait until you see him. Just promise me that, no matter what state Jordan is in, that you'll only look at him as the child that you love."

"That's not something I need to promise, because it's how I see him. Nothing will change that."

"Just go pack your things. The longer we stay here the more dangerous it'll become."

Charlotte nodded and left the room. Soren made his way to the kitchen and checked out the fridge. He was surprised to find that it was mostly bare; a pack of chicken nuggets and a couple of trays of ice were in the freezer, half a gallon of milk and a handful of condiments were in the fridge.

"We don't eat at home much."

Soren closed the door and turned to face a gothic version of his best friend.

"So, is it true that you know where my brother is?"

Soren nodded. Bentley let out a sigh and shifted the backpack she was now wearing.

"That's so freaky. I've spent my whole life hearing them talk about him, like, all the time. What's he like?"

"He's a great guy, but I may be biased. He's into Japanese cartoons and comics, almost obsessively. He will be happy to know that you knew about him. He was worried that everyone had forgotten about him."

"Nah, man, they left his room intact. It's like a museum there."

"I think I got everything. I sent Reece a text letting him know what's going on. What's your friend's name that's going to be looking for him?"

Charlotte walked into the kitchen, a duffle bag over her shoulder and her phone out. When she looked up she showed surprise at seeing the two of them together.

"His name is Issac. He's probably still wearing a suit."

Charlotte typed a message then put her phone away then she and Bentley followed Soren out.

"Where are we going?"

"My father's place. The bastard disappeared about a month ago, so Jordan and I have taken over the place and made it a safe zone."