Chapter 33- Vacancy

As we pulled down the road the car began to sputter.  Tracy tapped on the fuel gauge.  "Empty." She said, crestfallen.  "Of all the bad luck..." I looked over at her and said in a high pitched high-school girl voice "Oh Johnny, you did this on purpose, didn't you?" She smiled and poked me in the chest.  "You wish!" She said in a mocking yet playful tone.  We got out of the car, grabbed our shotguns, and started walking down the road.  "Well, shall we go steal someone else's car?" I asked, kicking a rock on the gravel drive.

We'd been walking about a mile and noticed the sky was beginning to lighten.  "We've been out here all night." Tracy said with a yawn.  I glanced at my watch.  5:23 am.  Walking around a tree lined bend we saw a clearing with a house similar to the others we'd seen in this neighborhood.  It was medium size, with brick exterior and white shutters.  Two dormers topped the roof and a large red door with a brass knocker centered between two long glass windows sat squarely on a wrap around porch.  

Aiming shotguns toward the exterior we watched for a moment from the safety of the trees.  "You know this is the wrong way to approach a house.  We're gonna get the cops called on us." Tracy said in a whisper.  I smiled at the thought of some old man opening the door in his bathrobe to see the two of us aiming weapons at his morning paper.  "I'd take that over what we faced at the last house any day." I said, and watched Tracy's smile fade.  This was real, and we both knew we needed to treat it as such.

I took a few steps toward the house.  I turned to the right, scanning the windows for any sign of movement inside.  The windows were dark.  Tracy followed my example and started moving to the left.  "Wait!" I called out.  "We stick together."  She immediately nodded and sidestepped to her right until she was a few feet away from me.  "Let's move counter clockwise, and stay within 10 feet of each other.  You cover behind us and I'll watch ahead."  Tracy didn't say a word, which I assume meant she was okay with the plan.  I stepped forward again, moving slowly, sweeping my gun left to right, scanning for any sign of movement.  "Remember..." Tracy breathed behind me.  "She moves fast.  Be ready." I nodded and moved forward again.  

We made a full circle around the house.  Facing the front door Tracy took a few paces back while I walked up the steps.  The smell of fresh wood stain filled my nose as the soft creak of the decking arched beneath my weight.  Pulling the screen door open slowly, I held it with my foot as I rapped the hardwood door with my knuckles.  Nothing.  I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered through the glass.  The house was silent, and a bulge lay on the hallway floor.  Was that a dog?  No, too big.  It almost looked like a body.  I knocked again, louder, watching for any signs of movement.  The shape lay motionless.  I pulled out my flashlight from my back pocket and shone the beam into the house.  There on the hallway floor was the body of a man in pajamas.  I couldn't see his face, but there was a pool of red near his head.  I stepped back immediately, looking left and right.  "What is it?" Tracy asked nervously, holding her shotgun up but unsure of where to aim.  "Someone's in there, but they are either unconscious or dead." 

"This is too big for us." Tracy said, shaking her head.  "We need like the CDC or some team of quarantine experts." She sat on the ground, staring up at the house.  "I mean, no signs of forced entry, the door is locked, We'd have to assume that everyone's still inside, right?"  I watched the upstairs windows intently, looking for any sign of movement.  "If they are in there..." I said slowly. "Then we have a chance to contain this here and now."  I looked down at my shotgun.  Only 3 rounds.  I would have to be precise.  I could feel my resolve thickening, my nerves turning to steel.  "Give me your shells." I said, looking at Tracy.  She opened her mouth to argue but saw the look in my eye.  Almost obediently she handed me her shotgun.  I cocked twice, leaving one shell in the chamber for her.  "I want you to stay here." I said to her slowly.  She started to protest but thought better of it.  I looked at her seriously.  "Does your cell phone get service?" She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen, then nodded affirmatively.  "Good." I said.  If something happens to me, get out of here and call 911.  Ask for a detective, say you have information about a murder, and tell them everything." I looked back at the house.  "I sure could use some theme music right about now." I said, smiling.  

I walked up to the door, banging loudly one last time.  Still nothing. Taking a step back I kicked the door as hard as I could below the knob.  It didn't budge, and the resulting shock sent a twinge of pain up my leg and into my lower back.  "I think I just herniated a disc!" I said, laughing but almost crying.  The seriousness of the previous moment went out the window.  "Should we try an easier door, or do you think you can get that one?" Her voice had the subtle hint of mockery and I nodded and accepted defeat. "Yeah, that thing's not going anywhere.  Let's try the back door."

As we circled around the house we saw long trails of smoke pouring out of the top of the forest. "Is that from Mr. Munn's?" but as the words left my lips I knew it was bigger than that.  The smoke was thick and dark, and appeared to several hundred feet wide.  I noticed a few birds, a squirrel, and deer fleeing the woods.  Peering through the trees I saw flickering yellow.  "Tracy..." I said cautiously.  "Is that what I think it is?" Tracy looked and said in an almost whisper "Forest fire?!?"