Nuclear Winter Series by Akart, Bobby (recommended ebook reader .TXT) 📗

they were for. “I use them to prevent low blood sugar from the insulin. They don’t matter now.”

Peter sighed. If she was out of insulin, the last thing she needed to be eating was Cinnabon sugar-infused buns.

“Do you have anything to eat that is low carb?” asked Peter. “Cans of chicken, tuna, or meat?”

“No, not really,” replied Jackie. “Like I said, we both get paid on Fridays. Saturdays, I go to the store and get her meds. That’s when it all happened.” She hung her head and took a deep breath. She seemed emotionally overwhelmed.

Peter knew nothing about caring for a diabetic. The woman was probably correct in her assessment. He just didn’t know if her death would come quickly and if it was painful. All he knew was that she was going to die and leave Jackie, who was in her late teens or early twenties, with three kids ranging in age from eight to twelve.

Asia explained, “I know what’s gonna happen to me. They tell me in all those classes I go to every year to get my government supplements. I’m gonna start being really thirsty. It’s gonna be hard to breathe, and then I’ll be spending all my time on the toilet. I just don’t know what to do, but Jackie thought there might be something at the store that sells vitamins in the mall.”

Peter addressed her granddaughter. “Were you going to the Vitamin Shoppe?”

She nodded.

He imagined the place would be looted at this point, but likely they were looking for anything edible, not vitamins or supplements.

“What were you going to look for?” he asked, glancing over at the three children on the sofa, who continued to remain quiet and aloof. He was surprised the family was discussing this life-and-death matter so openly in front of them.

She shrugged. “Anything I could find that was high protein without carbs.”

“Jackie wants to starve me.”

Peter’s eyes grew wide, and he once again studied the young kids for a reaction. None of them moved. He suspected they’d live through a lot of heartache in their short time on earth.

“I don’t think she wants to—” began Peter before he was cut off by Jackie.

“It’s the only way to bide time. We’ve had two days to talk about this. I’ve even knocked on our neighbors’ doors to see if anyone is diabetic and would be willing to share.”

“Child, I told you. Ain’t nobody comin’ to answer their door.”

“I know, Mamaw. I had to try.” Jackie began to well up in tears. The young woman was carrying the burden of the world on her shoulders.

Peter faced a crossroads. He needed to leave, but he felt terrible for the predicament this family was in. The grandmother was most likely going to die if she couldn’t get medical attention soon. Even if a hospital was open, he doubted she had the strength and stamina to get there. She had to weigh three hundred pounds.

“Where is the nearest pharmacy?” he finally asked.

Jackie pointed to their north, away from the mall. “Her meds are at the Safeway Pharmacy across the street from the apartments. She rides in her electric scooter, and the rest of us walk with her.”

Peter had noticed the mobility scooter outside the apartment. It had a heavy-duty chain wrapped around its seat support and a porch support post. Maybe the hospital was an option?

“Have you tried the scooter?”

“Battery’s dead,” replied Jackie. “I can’t even get the screen on the handlebars to light up.”

“Have you been over to the Safeway since, you know, everything happened?”

“It’s boarded up, and there were some guys watching over it. They said they were security, but I think they’re lyin’.”

“Is it in a shopping center or by itself?”

“Strip center. There’s a hair salon on both sides of it. Other stores, too. T-Mobile. TJ Maxx. Mattress store.”

Peter paced the floor for a moment, running his hands through his hair as he thought. This would be too difficult. He stopped and turned to Jackie. “What about CVS? Walgreens?”

Asia responded, “There’s a CVS about a mile from here on Fair Lake Parkway. It sits by itself next to the Sunoco.”

“It’s a new store,” offered Jackie.

“Shopping center?”

“Nope. By itself.”

Peter smiled. That meant he knew the floor plan.

Chapter Eighteen

Sunday, October 27

Placerville, California

Owen drove his family south along California State Route 49, backtracking along the Golden Chain Highway toward Placerville, which was located southeast of Auburn. Cars were stalled periodically along the way, but traffic would’ve been light at the time of the nuclear explosions near San Francisco. They reached the outskirts of Placerville right about the time the sun was rising over the mountains. Except there was a murky, gray smoke hanging over the valley like gauze wrapped over a wound. And the wound was oozing all around them.

“Look at all of these people wandering around, Dad,” said Tucker, who’d managed to arrange all the gear so he could sit on the edge of the back seat with his arms resting on the backs of the front bucket seats.

More deceased vehicles had filled the narrow two-lane highway as they entered town. Groups of people were huddled on the front lawn of the Calvary Faith Pentecostal Church as parishioners handed out boxes of food. Others stood in wonderment as the Bronco slowly drove past them. Thus far, the McDowells had not seen any sign of electricity much less another operating vehicle.

As Owen approached Highway 50, which they’d driven on just two days prior, his eyes searched out the Shell station where they’d last filled up the Expedition. Other than a few cars parked haphazardly in the parking lot, there was no sign of life. The Bronco’s fuel mileage wasn’t the best, and Owen had mentally calculated he could barely make the ninety-mile drive to South Lake Tahoe on a full tank. However, as he suspected, the gas stations were closed because it required electricity to pump gas, and the town of ten thousand didn’t have power. If the same was true as far east as