Page 20

chapter nineteen

Emily

Day Four

I woke alone, sitting up gingerly and groaning as my sore muscles protested my odd sleeping position in the cramped back seat of someone else’s car. The sun hit my eyes and I squinted as I climbed out to see Charlie and Tuck walking toward me. “Where were you guys?”

“Searching the vehicles. A lot of them are unlocked. When the comet hit and the drivers—” Charlie gave me a pointed look “—dissolved, they obviously couldn’t lock their doors,” he said, delivering the line smoothly like the professional actor he was.

He continued to stare at me when I didn’t respond. Finally, I shook my head. “Yeah, no, I’m not going to be able to do that.” Playing make-believe in this situation was going to be more work than anything and I was too tired and uneasy for that.

Charlie sighed. “It was worth a try.”

I looked around at the cars. Obviously whatever electrical situation had occurred to cause this mass breakdown also meant they could only be locked manually or not at all.

He grinned, then handed me something from his pocket.

I looked down. “A granola bar?”

“Yup. I had one too.”

“I don’t have to pretend that you’re my hero,” I said with a smile before leaning up and kissing his cheek.

Tuck pulled open a car door to our left and rummaged through it for a moment before heading our way. I leaned against the car and stretched before peeling open the granola bar and taking a bite. It was stale and delicious and once I got back home, I was never going to take food for granted again.

“Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom.” Charlie pointed off the side of the highway where there were some bushes right before a steep incline. “Be right back.”

I nodded just as Tuck made it to where I was standing. “Good thinking about searching the cars,” I said, holding up the granola bar before taking another bite.

He looked back over his shoulder. “That dude Neil is gone, and he packed up the last of the cereal.”

“Oh. Well, I was sick of that anyway.”

Tuck gave me a wry smile before opening the car door, grabbing his duffel bag, and beginning to unload his pockets of the things he’d collected. I spotted beef jerky and protein bars, some candy and a few packs of gum that I really hoped wouldn’t become a necessary meal at some point. When he stood again, I wiped my hands on my pants and stuffed the now-empty wrapper in my coat pocket. “What’s the plan?”

He stood next to me, leaning against the car like I was. “We set off again. It’s all we can do. There will be a point where we’ll get some answers and know where exactly to go for help. We just have to keep pushing forward until then. I think it’s best, however, if we get off this highway and take more of a back road.” He looked around at all the stalled cars, his expression morphing into a worried frown.

My gaze followed his and I wondered if there was more wreckage up ahead…wondered if we’d smell that scent that had told me people had died. A tiny chill made me draw my shoulders up. But while highly upsetting, dead people were no threat to us. “What type of danger are you worried about?”

He met my eyes again. “I don’t know, none necessarily. But it’s still unclear what happened. I want to be able to see what’s in front of me, and what’s behind. There are too many parked cars here. I’m thinking it might be best to avoid the city where we already know the power’s out and look for a smaller suburb. Or anywhere we can tell has electricity.”

I nodded, squinting in the direction the signage told me was Springfield, wondering what was happening there, and if the people piled up in apartments were helping each other, or…panicking. I felt mildly numb at the thought of more walking, but I knew Tuck was right. Sitting here on this highway full of abandoned cars wasn’t going to help us. We had to search for people who were managing this obvious catastrophe, whoever those people were.

At least now I didn’t have to do it in tattered slippers. “Thanks for the shoes,” I said. I looked over at him and our eyes met, something passing between us that I wasn’t sure what to call. It was an understanding, but of what, I couldn’t exactly say because it wasn’t just one thing. It felt complex and tangled. Then again, how could it not? My emotions for this man had always been deep and convoluted.

“Better?” he asked, glancing down at my feet, and I swore I saw true concern in his eyes.

I shrugged. “Yeah.” They were better, and they felt more supported in the sneakers I was now wearing that were mostly my size. But it would take time for the blisters to heal, and more walking wasn’t going to accomplish that.

“Hey, by the way,” he said. “Not only did we find food in these cars. I found something else.” He took a small bottle out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I pulled in a breath. “Tylenol. Oh my God. Oh my God.” I looked up at him. “I love you, Tucker Mattice.” I grinned, but then it slowly dissolved as we stared at each other, the moment thick with that complex tangle of history and bitterness and other things I just didn’t want to think about and served no one. And so I looked away. “Thank you.”

He handed me his water, and I took two of the tablets, washing them back and sighing as I recapped the bottle.

Charlie came stomping out of the bushes, and I had to pee, but I’d wait until we were in a spot a little farther away where there was more cover than some brambles. I was also eager to put some distance between me and the dead woman whose shoes I was now wearing. I refused to wonder if there were people at home waiting for her, having no idea that she’d lost her life on this stretch of highway.

It was a couple of hours later as we hiked through a rural area that clearly didn’t see a lot of traffic, as indicated by the few broken-down cars in the road, that I heard the very distant rumble of an engine. I stopped, putting my hand on Charlie’s arm and meeting his eyes. “Do you hear that?” We’d seen a few people as we’d walked, but they had all been quite a distance away and it was clear they were locals, likely as lost for answers as we were.

“Yeah.”

“Tuck!” I yelled. He’d traveled a short distance ahead, but now he stopped and looked back questioningly, and I saw the moment he heard the sound too. He walked quickly back to us and took my arm, pulling me to the side of the road just as a green vehicle came around the bend and started moving toward us.

Tuck stepped out into the road and started waving his arms and the car came to a rumbly stop before the driver’s window was cranked down. A man in a flannel shirt and a ball cap leaned out. “Howdy, folks. Where you headed?”

“California,” Tuck said.

The man laughed. “Quite a ways from home, eh? I’m Leonard.” He looked beyond Tuck and peered at me and Charlie.

“Tuck. And that’s Emily and Charlie.”

Charlie stepped forward. “You probably recognize me,” he said before running his hand through his hair and offering a large, toothy smile. It faltered, then dipped as Leonard looked at him with zero recognition. Charlie cleared his throat. “I’m an actor,” he said. “A…movie star?”

“I don’t get to a lot of movies,” Leonard said.

“Oh,” Charlie said. “Right. Hmm… Well…” He trailed off, obviously at a loss and deciding not to follow up with whatever he was going to say in the wake of Leonard showing absolutely no recognition.

“How is your car running?” Tuck asked. “All we’ve seen are disabled vehicles. They’re all over the highway.”

“Not sure, other ’n Bridget here don’t got but one electric component in her. I rebuilt the old girl myself, so I should know.” He smiled, showing a large gap where one of his teeth was missing, apparently exceedingly proud of Bridget. As well he should be as she was currently the only working vehicle for miles around. Apparently. “Got a buddy whose car works just fine too. A sweet Caddy. Course it’s been hard to find roads to drive on with all the broken-down cars and big rigs. It woulda been easier if this thing happened in the middle of the night instead of nearly rush hour.”

“Any idea what this thing was?” Tuck asked.

“Few guesses,” Leonard said. “But listen, I gotta be goin’. Traveling by night isn’t the best idea and I got a trek in front of me.”

I eyed his back seat. I could practically feel those soft cush ions beneath my rear rather than the asphalt under my blistered feet. I stepped forward. “We can appreciate that, Leonard,” I said. “If you’d be so gentlemanly as to give us a lift, we could chat while you drive.” I smiled, showing him my teeth, which, even despite all the hardships I’d been through in the last few days, could be counted on to maintain their attractiveness. “I sure would love to hear your theories. Being that you were wise enough to build one of the only cars currently running, I’d imagine your guesses are pretty darn accurate.”

He let out a chuff, his cheeks coloring slightly as he looked away. He tapped his steering wheel for a moment before saying, “Aw, what the hell, you look harmless. Hop in and we’ll chat. I can’t give you a lift all the way to Cali, but barring any blockades, I can get you to Missouri.”

I held back my giddy squeal, grabbed Charlie’s hand and raced around the other side of the car to get in the back seat before Leonard could change his mind. Oh, sweet heaven. A vehicle. A ride. A break from walking.

Tuck appeared less enthused than me, but he still walked around the front of Leonard’s car, eyeing it suspiciously, before climbing into the front seat and pulling the door closed with a loud squeak.

“If we make it somewhere closer than Missouri where the power is on, we can get out there,” Tuck said.

“I don’t imagine that’ll be the case, but okay,” Leonard said before he gunned the engine and then took off.

“Is there a reason you’re heading to Missouri?” Tuck asked.

“Yup. I’m going to my brother’s place. He has a trailer out by a lake. I figure I’ll sit this one out.”

“This one?”

He glanced over at Tuck. “You realize we might be at war, right?”

“I’d considered it,” he murmured.

I leaned forward as Charlie mumbled something about a comet. “You did?” I asked. “You think we’re at war? Why?”

“I didn’t say I think we’re at war,” Tuck said. “I said I’d considered it.”

“It’s worth considering,” Leonard said as he avoided a car sitting in the middle of the road. “The government done war-gamed this. You wanna know the quickest and easiest way to take over a country? You set off an EMP, right? A real big one high up in the sky using a couple nukes. That high up, they don’t affect humans but what they do is shut down the entire grid. Whole country goes dark. Even the majority of generators get knocked out. No gas. No water. Eventually, no food. The attackers simply wait for the majority to die and then they move in and finish the job.”

“An EMP. An electromagnetic pulse, right?” Tuck asked.

“Another man we talked to mentioned an EMP as well,” I said, worry making my skin feel itchy. But Leonard had to be exaggerating about the rest of it, right? He was clearly more than a little kooky.

“Yup. It’s a wave of energy that knocks out grids and other electronics. Musta been powerful as hell, because I’d never heard vehicles would be affected, but here we are.” He gave a small laugh and patted Bridget’s steering wheel affectionately. He looked over at Tuck. “The thing about warfare like that? It’s not bloody. No one has to look a person in the eye and pull a trigger or drop a bomb that means instant death. All you do is launch a missile from some ship out in the sea, straight up into the sky. There’s a certain distance from a crime like that, you know? Even though it’s one of mass extinction. Because the blast doesn’t hurt anyone, it’s too far away for that. It’s the aftermath that does the damage.”

“You think that’s what happened?” Tuck asked. “That’s your theory?”

“No idea. Like I said, I’m gonna wait this one out at the lake. Do some ice fishin’. See what’s what. If you’re smart, you’ll do the same.”

Tuck glanced back at me. “Our people are farther away than that,” he murmured.

Our people. Only what he really meant was my and Charlie’s people. Not that my parents didn’t care very much for Tuck; I knew my mom had written to him religiously even when he was locked up, though he rarely wrote her back. But old friends—even loyal ones—weren’t the same and it suddenly struck me what a kindness he was really doing. He was taking me and Charlie home, but where did that leave him? He had an uncle in LA, but he’d left his house and gone to my family for help when he really needed it. And should I even wonder about Tuck’s future plans anyway? He was doing me a kindness, but he’d also betrayed my trust, and put me at risk. And himself. And he was so damn reactive and…ornery. God, he spun my mind around and right now, there were too many other things spinning my mind as well.

“…you gotta do what you gotta do,” Leonard was saying when I tuned back in. “What I can tell you is all those minivan moms in their fancy electronic vehicles are shit out of luck.” Then he let out a guffaw.

The loud noise made me cringe, and a chill moved over my skin. I glanced at Charlie, but he rolled his eyes and brought his finger to his ear and made a gesture that clearly stated he thought Leonard was less than stable. I gave Charlie a weak smile and looked out the window.

Tuck and Leonard chatted as we drove past farms and exits for what looked like small towns. Several times, Leonard had to pull into a field or section of brush as abandoned cars blocked both lanes of the road we were traveling. And we also saw a few cars heading in the opposite direction, the drivers slowing and peering at us with wide eyes as they moved past.

It seemed obvious that they were out looking for answers, or maybe supplies, lucky like Leonard that they had never upgraded their old vehicle to something more modern with all the newfangled bells and whistles that had promptly gone kaput right when people really needed them.

God, I sounded like my mom. Those were words she would have used. And with the thought, a swell of grief expanded my lungs and made it difficult to breathe. Was she okay? Were she and my dad safe? Did they have enough food? Calm down, Em. They’re all the way in California. They’re fine. But they were probably worried sick about me. Distraught with no way to get answers because there was no power where I was.

I lay my head on Charlie’s shoulder, the rocking of the car lulling me into a fitful sleep where I dreamed of bomb blasts and seas of screaming people. I woke with a start and Tuck looked back at me, his brow dipping as he took me in. Next to me, Charlie let out a soft snore. Then Leonard said something, and Tuck turned around, focusing back on their conversation. I tuned it out as best I could. I was already deeply disturbed by the fallout of this power outage and knew that at least in two cases, it had resulted in death. The shoes currently on my feet were a continual reminder of that. I didn’t need to let my mind spin toward war and mass starvation.

From what I’d heard Leonard say to Tuck, a drive that should have taken three hours, had so far taken us closer to five because of the slow nature of having to weave through broken-down traffic that became heavy in some areas. But I was deeply grateful for the ride, and though the lack of working traffic lights all the way from Springfield, Illinois, to the middle of Missouri, told me that we hadn’t escaped the power outage, we were closer to home than we’d been.

And I hadn’t had to walk.

The rocking of the car made me realize that I hadn’t emptied my bladder since right before we’d flagged down his car. “Uh, sir, would it be possible to stop for a short bathroom break at the next convenient spot?”

Leonard glanced in his rearview mirror, and I gave him a smile. “Sure thing. I could use a stretch myself.” He drove for a few more minutes until we came upon a wide area on the side of the road that was easy to pull off on.

A section of pine trees provided a spot to find some privacy, and Tuck got out and pulled the seat forward so I could exit too. Next to me, Charlie sat up and yawned. “Bathroom break,” I told him. He nodded and followed me from the car.

Charlie and I began heading toward the trees when I looked up to see a man emerge from the brush to my left. My heart seized, and I grabbed for Charlie, both of us stumbling back toward where Tuck was still standing. The man waved the weapon in our direction and then pointed it toward Leonard. “Show your hands and move away from the car,” he said.

My pulse spiked, heat blasting under my skin as my gaze darted to Tuck, who was watching the man with narrowed, wary eyes and then to Charlie, whose mouth was hanging open. We all raised our hands and shuffled to the side of the road, Tuck positioning his body so it was mostly in front of me.

“I only want the vehicle,” the armed man said as he moved toward Leonard’s car. “I got family I need to get to, and I need that car now. Step out,” he demanded, and Leonard did, standing slowly and moving around the open door.

“Her name’s Bridget,” Leonard said. “Rebuilt her myself. Put a lot of time into her.” He raised his hand and ran it along the top of the open driver’s side door and then leaned against the body. “And a lot of love.”

Then before I could even blink, he leaned into the car, stood back up with a rifle, and fired it at the gunman just as the man yelled, “Hey!”

The word was cut off as the man’s body jerked. I sucked in a breath that got lodged in my throat as the man’s chest blossomed red, his eyes bugging as he made a choking sound, dropping his gun and falling backward to the ground. I let out a scream, and Tuck stepped more fully in front of me. Oh my God, oh my God. What the hell just happened? I felt like I was suddenly floating, that heat spreading along my nerve endings, making me feel like I might pass out. I can’t breathe.

“Which means,” Leonard said, staring down at the man who was jerking, blood leaking down his chin, “that I’m not giving her up without a fight.”

“You murdered him. Oh my God, you murdered him.” Had that been my choked, incredulous voice?

“I saved myself,” Leonard said, looking up at me and letting me know that indeed the words had come from my mouth. “And I protected my best girl. You think I was just gonna let this sonabitch rob me?” He waved his rifle in the air. Where had he pulled it from? Under his seat?

The man had stilled now, the front of his jeans dark with urine, blood already spreading far beyond his body.

“Get on back in the car,” Leonard said. “We’ll take a bathroom break down the road.”

“Uh, we, uh…might—” Charlie stammered.

“I think we’re good here,” Tuck said.

I kept staring, trying to understand what had just happened. It felt like my eyes might bug right out of my head.

“Nah. Get in. We was having a nice time. Don’t look at me all scared. I’m not gonna harm any of you unless you’re planning on trying to steal Bridget.”

Tuck pointed at the sign up the road. “It looks like there’s a town close by. This seems like as good a stop as any.”

Leonard peered down the road and then shrugged. “Well. I’m not gonna kidnap you. If this is where you wanna get out, fine by me. I still got a ways to go.”

He sighed and took the few steps to where the man’s handgun had fallen, picked it up, and put it in the back of his jeans. “I’m gonna take this,” he said. “You’d be wise to find yourself a weapon too if possible.” He put his rifle back in the car, then he leaned on the doorframe and looked at us. “The world’s gonna be different for a while,” he said. “You either adapt, or you die.” Then he smiled and gave us a salute. “Good luck.” We watched as he got in Bridget, pulled back onto the road, and disappeared around the bend.

I let out a squeak, and Tuck’s breath released on a whoosh. “What the fuck ?” Charlie said.

“Should we…” I pointed at the man. My voice was shaking. My whole body was shaking. And I had no idea where to go with that question. Should we what? The man was clearly dead. There was a hole the size of a baseball in his chest, and he was staring blankly at the sky.

“There’s nothing to do for him,” Tuck confirmed. “Let’s get out of here.” He looked at me. “Walk off the shakes. It’s just adrenaline. You’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

I gave him a jerky nod. I couldn’t even think straight. We’d just watched a man die in front of us. He’d been shot point-blank over a car and now he was dead on the side of the road. What the hell was happening? I couldn’t get a grip on this reality I’d suddenly found myself in. I was mentally flailing.

“This is fucked ,” Charlie muttered. He linked his arm with mine and we held each other up as we walked past a sign that told us we were headed toward Silver Creek situated somewhere in a world I no longer recognized.