The Variables

Lyle cleared his throat. He looked to his dad for a second and then began to speak. It was the first time any of them had heard the man talk and his voice was deep, brutish, monotone.

“Linz and I work in the Palouse together and we got the call from our mom that something bad was happening. By then, we knew it was true...we’re in a college town after all, so there were just these kids everywhere, panicking.”

Lindsey took over. Even in the dark her hair glowed bright and white as the candles flickered. She had chopped it off into a pixie cut, and it only enhanced her fragile features—a tiny nose, thin cheekbones. The woman’s voice was soft and smooth—the opposite of Lyle—but everything about her seemed androgynous. She had a boyish build, absent of curves, and her slim t-shirt exposed the outline of her collarbone and then fell straight down against her flat chest. Where her brother was large, she was slim; where he was lumbering, she was delicate.

Darla was fairly certain it was Lindsey who had zapped her outside by the fire and dragged her body down the steps. She felt a burning desire to just slap her across her thin face; just a quick act of violence as a reply to the stun gun. It wasn’t that she wanted to hurt her, only surprise her, and make her cry. She hated feeling that way. Hated that she could see how afraid they were and still wish them harm. In any other situation, she would have bent over backward to help the Hales feel confident and comfortable, but not this time. Not now. Darla lowered her head and listened to Lindsey tell her story without watching.

“We got out before any major traffic blocked the roads up there. Growing up, I thought my parents were out-of-their minds crazy for their stockpiles. But look at us now, look at where it got us. I’m not saying it saved us, but it’s been easier to deal with,” Lindsey said, but her voice was timid, unsure, like a child’s.

Lou reached out his hand to his wife and she took it and gave his fingers a little squeeze. Then he turned to his kids, “Our turn for di

Lindsey and Lyle nodded in unison.

“There’s no way you’re keeping us here,” Darla pushed her plate away. As she said it, she realized her hands felt heavy and her head groggy. The room tumbled around her—the walls marching toward her, bulging outward. She closed her eyes and kept spi

“Just a small opiate, darling,” Cricket said in a chipper voice. “You’ll sleep well, that’s all.”

“You drugged us?” Ainsley asked. Her words, too, were starting to slur; she put her hand out in front of her and then let it fall to the table with a heavy thud.

“The Sweepers are coming. They will not rest until they’ve destroyed all life. I don’t know who you are or why you’re alive,” Lou said in a whisper. “But I intend to find out. I need to find out. For my family...for our survival.”

“This is not the way,” Darla replied, her eyes drooping.

“I’m content with my way. Safety is my concern—”

“No,” Darla added forcefully. “If safety was your concern, you’d have let us pass by. You wouldn’t have even let us inside your house. So, what’s your game, Lou? Why are we really here?” The orange and yellow glow of the room ebbed and flowed; Lou’s face fell in and out of the shadows, his eyes steady on his visitors, his brow furrowed.

“Please. Please understand. My family has stayed alive until now. I need information,” Lou said. “Tell me what you know and you are free to leave.” Then he pointed at his children. “Get them downstairs and out of sight. Double and triple check your locks.” The drugs had started to make her dizzy, but she thought she heard him add, “I don’t want it to be like last time.”

The basement rooms were cold and smelled of mold and dirt. Dean had been relegated to the room that also housed the rabbits, and they heard his muffled complaints about the smell from down the hall. Soon, however, his complaints died away and thick snores emanated from beyond the wall. Ainsley and Darla were given a flashlight to share, a bucket, and some blankets. As Lindsey shut the door to leave, Darla wedged her foot between the door and the frame, and shouldered her way forward. She fought against the growing throb of drunke

“You know this isn’t right,” Darla said to her. “You’re a grown-ass woman. You can let us go.”

Lindsey held the Taser forward and took a step from the door, her hand on the knob. “Please...I know...”

“Look at me,” Darla whispered. “I have a son.”

“It’s not up to me,” she whispered back. “He’s scared. Paranoid. He thinks you know things—”

“A son,” Darla continued. “Teddy.” His name sounded strange on her tongue. “Theodore,” she tried again. “He’s been kidnapped.”

“Oh, God.” Lindsey held the Taser out and raised her eyebrows. “Kidnapped. See? You have secrets.”

“We all have secrets.”

“I can’t help my father be unafraid.”

“I want to see my son!” Darla pushed harder on the door and Lindsey backed up and let her hand slide to her side. The door opened fully, exposing a dark hallway with faded wallpaper decorated with tiny roses. The woman balked, afraid, and then opened her mouth to yell, but stopped.

Ainsley slipped from the shadows and clicked on the flashlight. The drug-induced sleep had not consumed her yet. She sca

“I was kept alive against my will once before” Ainsley offered as she hit the keys.  “And now I’m being kept in a very strange basement against my will. If there were more people alive, I finally would be able to effectively play that two truths and a lie game.” Her own joke made her giggle, and she put a hand up over her mouth and tried to contain it.

“I’m sorry,” Lindsey said. She lowered her voice to a whisper and stepped one step closer. “I can’t help you.” She trembled and brandished the Taser. “You don’t understand...even if I could help you...” she stopped and clamped her mouth shut.

“My son,” Darla said again, her mouth numb. “I need my son.”

“Step back.”

“You can help us...”

“I can’t.”

Then Darla couldn’t say anymore. The world went blurry and she stumbled backward, and Lindsey seized the moment to slam the door and lock it. As Darla fell to the floor with Ainsley’s giggles in the background, she saw Teddy’s face and reached out to touch his rosy cheeks, but felt only drafty air before the darkness engulfed her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN