First 12 Chapters - How I Became A Crazy Cat Lady To Survive A Zombpocalyse

4

Chapter 4

Mrs. Thorpe's order was exactly where he left it. On Bill's desk was a card with her name on it and his keys. It was the kind of romantic card one got on an anniversary, but his note meant more to her than the platitude.

Dearest Babette,

There are so many things I wished we could have done.

I am going to the hospital, I'll call you as soon as I am better.

Please lock the store behind you and feel free to come back

And take what you need from the overhead later.

Thank you for introducing me to the wonderful world of books

And for all the nights you read me to sleep.

I love you,

Bill

Her containers were washed and smelled of sanitizer. Clutching the card to her chest, she breathed out in relief that he did what she wanted. Then she hurried to get Mrs. Thorpe's order loaded into her small car.

She locked the door. Looking around, she noticed she was the only person in the Marketplace parking lot. She put the Upper Fells Point address in her GPS and started driving. She had been to Mrs. Thorpe's every other week for over a year but with the check points, she knew she needed to follow the pandemic route rules. While she drove, she saw a few homeless people wandering around. She was sad that their clothes were dirty and wet, but she doubted any of the shelters were still open. As she drove down US Highway 40, she only noticed a dozen cars on her side of the road waiting for the check point.

A coughing soldier waved her forward. "Paperwork... and destination."

"Upper Fells Point. I am delivering groceries and books to a shut-in senior citizen," Babs shouted through the cracked window.

She pressed the grocery paperwork and her paperwork against the glass showing she was an essential worker, without opening it further.

The soldier nodded then coughed between every third word as he told her, "Stay at your destination once you get there. The No-Travel Curfew starts at noon and this road will be closed. Anyone travelling will be arrested."

"But I don't live there. I can't stay because I am..." She tried to explain about her allergies, but he wasn't having any of it.

He coughed then rasped, "No exceptions. Looters will be shot; curfew breakers will be arrested. Now go and stay there."

Timidly, she nodded as she rolled up the window the half-inch it was open. She sprayed the inside of her car and kept her mask on as she drove away from him and turned into the neighborhood, but she deliberated about taking the side streets back to the library because she wouldn't make it to and from Mrs. Thorpe's before curfew. If she wanted to go home, she would have to break the law because if she stayed at Mrs. Thorpe's she would probably die of her cat allergy.

Driving past a dozen identical brick brownstones on Pratt, she turned between a streetlight and a little tree and drove down an alley called Madeira which served as a one-way street. Mrs. Thorpe insisted she lived here because it reminded her of England, all the homes lined up on either side of the street like terraced houses. Crossing Gough Street, she continued to Bank Street before she turned, and then she backed into the first space to park. Getting out, she glanced down the block at the empty Patterson Park as she went to the door and knocked before going back to start unloading. As soon as Mrs. Thorpe opened the door, a dozen cats rushed out. They walked up and down the sidewalk like they were on patrol, sniffing and scratching at the neighbors' doors on both sides of the street.