Sanctuary by Pauline Creeden Page A

man would leave his girlfriend— EX -girlfriend—behind in order to outrun the aliens? But what was he supposed to do? One of them had already taken her down, and there was no way to save her, right?
    What kind of man would have abandoned Carrie, the barista, in the Starbuck’s refrigerator? That really wasn’t his fault though. She had locked herself in there after Steve had started wailing and pulling his hair out.
    He’d had no choice. It was him or them. Right?

     
     

     
     
     
    Something seemed wrong the momen t they pulled onto the neighborhood street. The front door of their house stood wide open. She tried to rack her brain, but she was certain that she’d locked it before they made the run to the hospital. “Dad, have you been home yet?”
    “No, honey, I came straight to the church to get you.”
    “I locked the front door—I know I did.”
    Her father’s grip on the steering wheel grew so tight, his knuckles turned white. He leaned forward into a tense position. “I believe you.”
    Jennie swallowed hard and released her seatbelt.
    “No. You two stay here. I’m going to go see what’s going on.” He pulled the van into the driveway and pulled his seatbelt off. He stepped cautiously out and headed for the door to the house in a half jog.
    “Are we home? Where’s Daddy going?” Mickey asked, looking out all the windows in confusion.
    “Shhh. Daddy’s just going to check on things before we go in.”
    Her little brother crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at her. She ignored him and watched the front door to the house. The fan on the minivan went through its cycles, and a mechanical voice on the radio announced current conditions at the local military bases, urging residents to remain indoors until the bases were prepared to take in civilians.
    The window curtain to the house next door moved. The Cassels were watching. Even though Jennie couldn’t even see a shadow through the window, she knew they had to be there. Her neighborhood seemed as barren of life as the business section of Warwick Avenue. The color had a leeched into the same dull grey. At least there were none of the attack victims around, but the possibility of one inside her house worried her.
    From the gaping mouth of the front door, her father stepped out and waved her in. Jennie nodded and reached over to turn the engine off. Pocketing the key, she got out.
    “Jennie, help your brother inside. It’s all clear,” her father called out from the porch. He headed back inside.
    She pulled open the side door of the minivan and helped her brother down. He’d already let himself out of the car seat. “How come Daddy left the door wide open? Mommy wouldn’t like that!”
    Shaking her head, Jennie smiled sadly. No, Mom wouldn’t like that. With everything moving so fast and the world so chaotic, Jennie hadn’t had time to think about her mother in past tense. Was she gone forever? Would she ever come back? If she did, would she be like the rest of the bitten and hurt her family?
    She squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of it. The wailing of a bite victim broke her reverie. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked down at her brother who had bent over a patch of clovers. “I think I see a four-leaf one!”
    Breathing fast, her eyes darted in all directions, but she couldn’t see anyone. She reached down, scooped up her brother, and jogged for the open front door.
    “HEY! I almost had it.” Her brother squirmed in her arms. “Put me down!”
    She squeezed him tighter. “Dad!”
    The front door still stood wide open, and the jamb where the handle had been was splintered and injured. She called into the house as she stepped in and put her brother down. “Dad!”
    She pulled on the doorknob, and it resisted her tug. It was stuck in the wall on the other side. The force of the person who broke in must have buried it into the drywall. She set her foot against the wall and pulled it with all her strength, screaming.
    It