Chapter 10

Brooke stood on the corner of Fifteenth Avenue and Bakers Street. Despite the dangerous situation, she found herself in she couldn’t take her eyes off of a sprinkler in the front yard of some very large, expensive home.

There wasn’t anything extraordinary about the sprinkler. It performed its function to the mediocre standard that was set forth by its manufacturer. But with each drop of water that landed on the green, freshly cut grass of that lawn, she could feel rage swelling up inside her.

The movement of a passing car broke her concentration. Brooke shook her head and continued down Fifteenth Avenue. All the houses she had passed on her walk had nowhere near the decadence of this neighborhood. The rest of Charlotte looked more like what she had seen in other cities on her way here: barely getting by, but still alive.

The well-kempt lawns, expensive cars, and large homes made her think back to when she was a child. But now watering a lawn was the essence of extravagance. Brooke tried to count in her mind all of the ration cards she would have needed to accumulate over a three-year span to water that lawn for one day.

Amy’s car was in the drive, and she hurried up the walkway to the front door and knocked. Brooke looked around her, afraid that the place may be under surveillance, but there didn’t seem to be anyone around. Nobody answered. She knocked again, this time harder.

“Coming!”

Brooke almost broke down at the sound of her sister’s voice, and when Amy opened the door, she didn’t even have time to gasp before she wrapped her arms around her sister.

“Brooke. Oh my god. Are you okay?” Amy said, pulling her inside and shutting the door.

Brooke pulled back slightly, enough to see Amy’s face and the reflection of the tears the two of them shared. She wiped her nose and laughed.

“It’s really good to see you,” Brooke said.

Amy pulled her in for another hug and then led her into the living room for the two of them to sit down.

“Where’s John and Emily?” Amy asked.

“They’re fine. I had them stay with the car. It’s not exactly road safe around here,” Brooke answered.

“Did you just get into town?”

“This morning. I walked here from the outskirts near the forest on Highway 49, in the nature preserve.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

“I wasn’t sure if your phone had been tapped.”

“Jesus, Brooke. We’re not being watched.”

“You could be.”

“Are you hurt? Hungry? Thirsty? What do you need?”

“We need to go and grab the kids and Eric. Is Daniel home?”

“No, he’s in DC for work.”

“What about Gabby and Kevin? Are they home?”

“No, they’re at school. They won’t be home for another two hours.”

“Then let’s go now. We’ll need to wait until night to bring the cruiser back though. Do you have room in your garage for me to store it?”

“Yeah, Daniel and I can just park in the driveway.”