The Queen's Pain

Chapter 2-2

Alas, Ken’s prediction was correct. Along with about a dozen other establishments, their favorite ice cream place had crumpled under the weight of a broken nation and general fear. A milk shortage a few weeks back delivered the fatal blow, said a familiar face at the local pharmacy. The owner. He seemed to man the little family-run store all by himself now. They didn’t ask why for worry of bringing up bad memories or invading his privacy. Chances were, at least one of the young faces on the collage of missing people could be a child of his, or an employee. The Crossleys tried to keep their visit friendly and as happy as possible.

Despite their relatively carefree attitudes—and supplemental gathering of bags of candy to satisfy Dakota’s sweet tooth—the pharmacist left them with one dark message that could not be ignored. “I’m gonna go ahead and order more of your meds than usual,” he spoke softly to Dakota. “As much as I can. The distributor told me yesterday morning that it’s getting more and more difficult to find. Especially the syringes. If that dries up, I want you to have a few months to find another source. Denver, maybe.”

Kenna winced. Half of Denver was a complete mess last time they checked. Riots and fires. Food shortages. Makeshift refugee camps. It was unrecognizable.

“Okay,” Dakota replied meekly. He didn’t like the idea of having to scavenge for his treatments any more than the pharmacist feared the day he might lose one of his best and most needy customers.

Continuing, “And, umm, I’m gonna stick it out as long as I can because I’m needed here, but if one day you come by and the place is locked, I want you to go next door. My brother lives on the top floor and swears he’s not going anywhere. He’ll have whatever’s left of your prescriptions. Pay him if you can. Food or trade or whatever.” The man’s light blue eyes betrayed more dread than Kenna initially noticed. “Whichever comes first, I’ll try to help you for as long as possible.”

Dakota nodded solemnly. “Thank you. It means a lot.”

Damn right it did. It meant his life. Those pills and injections kept his immune system in check. Never mind letting him lead a reasonably symptom-free life much of the time.

As they made their departure, Ken couldn’t help but notice that Dakota had gone pale. He hid his concern well, but there could be no doubt. He imagined a world where his medicines were no longer produced, or at least not available. He thought about what it felt like to have all his symptoms come back. He knew he could be in pain and even die. And the thoughts swimming just beneath his façade terrified him.

She couldn’t fix his uneasiness, but she could distract him from it. “Wanna do the rest of the shopping now or get something to eat first?”

“f**k, I dunno,” was all he said at first. But after walking a block or so, he eventually pointed toward a fairly sizable outdoorsy depot—a regular stop on any trip to this town. “Anything on the list here?”

“Always.” She forced a slight smile. “Five pairs of hiking boots, two bicycles,—one adult, one for the younger teens to share—two rifles, general provisions, and quote ‘anything that looks like a solar panel or a generator.’” Darrin insisted that they begin small before trying to order anything for delivery. It would be an expensive mistake if they tried to implement something that, for instance, their power lines couldn’t handle.

Her dad returned the smile. “Let’s get started.”