by Hamill, Ike
“Where I grew up, Charlie killed you,” Robby said.
She nodded and Robby seemed surprised.
“He wasn’t nearly as good a person as he thought he was. He was capable of terrible things.”
Robby studied her with his probing eyes. His eyes were the opposite of Charlie’s. They moved quickly, darting from fact to fact, gathering information. She felt naked.
“We’re done with him,” Robby said, “because of your choice.”
Carrie nodded.
“In this world, I never met him, never settled down, and never had children. I don’t suppose I ever will.”
Robby sighed and blinked.
“You’re not going to give up on us, are you?”
Carrie looked down at the cantaloupe. She picked up the sticky knife and cut another wedge. The melon felt cooler than the air. Her teeth anticipated the soft flesh before it even reached her mouth.
“This is my world,” she said after she swallowed. “Charlie can have the rest. This one is mine.”
CHAPTER 68: NORTHAM
“I ATE TOO MUCH,” Romie said.
She was lagging behind the others. The headlights of their bikes wobbled left and right as Brad and Lisa struggled to climb the hill. Romie let her bike roll to a stop and then she swung her leg over.
“This was your idea, Romie,” Lisa said. “I just about ruined that pie, shoving it into a cooler and strapping it on my bike, just because you talked about how nice it would be to ride bikes home in the dark. Now you’re quitting on us?”
“I’m not quitting,” Romie said. “I’m just taking a breather.”
She laid her bike down on the pavement and lowered herself to the curb. It was a beautiful night—she had been right about that part. The air had felt crisp all day, but a warm breeze had blown in as soon as the sun went down. If not for the clattering leaves, drying on their branches, she could have believed that it was spring.
Brad and Lisa came back and dropped their bikes next to hers. The three bike headlights merged into a beacon. Lisa bent to turn them off. Before she did, Romie followed the path of the lights and saw the house.
“Hold on,” Romie said. “Give me a second.”
She pushed back to her feet and began to shuffle up the path. The grass was tall on either side of the flagstone walk. Romie just wanted to close the door. She had closed the doors of so many houses on the route. For whatever reason, she had missed this one. It was still wide open, letting the rain, snow, and bugs in. The idea bothered Romie.
The light reflected off the glass in the door and showed Romie the inside of the house. It wasn’t too bad inside. The floor had a little water damage, but the furniture still looked okay. There were no signs that animals had taken up residence inside. The stairway went up the side wall and then took a turn—it was just the kind that she liked.
Romie shut the door and walked back over to where Brad and Lisa sat on the curb. Lisa shut off the lights.
“Are we being stupid?” Romie asked.
“Most of the time, yes,” Lisa said.
“About Gladstone,” Romie said. “We’re packed into one house because the other good ones were burned down. We only have two good gardens and the hydroponic house is going to fall down any day now.”
“We can move the hydroponics. Robby and I have already found a couple of candidates. They’re a little farther away than I prefer, but we’ll make it work,” Brad said.
“What about here?” Romie asked.
“We’re practically in Northam,” Lisa said. “I thought we wanted some distance.”
“We have some distance. None of those folks have come up this hill at all. In fact, there’s nobody west of the creek. We have a nice view of the water, and it’s still a short commute down to the dock. Besides, the wind that whips off the water is murder in the winter. We’d be closer and still have a little buffer.”
Brad peered into the darkness.
“There are some good houses. Newer construction means better insulation.”
“I want us to share a house,” Lisa said.
Romie turned to look at her. In the darkness, she couldn’t make out what was on Lisa’s face.
“I know you have problems with sharing space,” Lisa said. “We’re as close as can be, but sometimes I can tell that you resent sharing living space with me.”
“I don’t resent it,” Romie said. “It’s just not what I’m accustomed to.”
“What?” Lisa asked. Before Romie could respond, Lisa was laughing up towards the night sky. “We’ve lived together since Portland. How can you say you’re not accustomed to it?”
“I mean from before.”
“That life has been over a long, long time. Nothing here is what we’re accustomed to. What are you afraid of, anyway?”
For some reason, the question made Romie think of Thanksgiving. She thought about her family, gathered in a small house and everyone either purposefully or accidentally grating on each other’s nerves.
“I was always the aunt,” Romie said. “Not literally, of course, but it’s the way I was raised. I was the oldest kid and my mom was single, so I had to be kind of a second mother to the others, you know? As soon as I could, I broke away and tried to live my own life. The only problem was that my siblings all started families very young and suddenly I was being leaned on to take care of their kids as well. I really was an aunt to them.”
“And you didn’t like it?” Brad asked.
“I loved it,” Romie said. “That’s what made it so horrible. I loved my siblings and I loved their kids. None of them were mine though. That’s why I need my distance. I need to keep myself intact so I don’t forget that none of this really belongs to me.”
“Forgive me, Romie, but that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Lisa said.
“You didn’t know them. They used me whenever they wanted, but they made sure that I knew my place.”
“We’re not them,” Brad said. “My wife left me because I was always pushing everything away. I wouldn’t take chances and I resisted starting a family. I even resisted when she wanted to get a horse. It wasn’t until after she left that I tried to expand myself, and then I ended up isolating myself in the woods. But even I can admit that we’re a family now. We depend on each other and any of us would die to keep the others safe. If that’s not family, I don’t know what is. Like it or not, we all belong to each other now.”
“And that’s the way it has to be,” Lisa said. “We’re not going back to thinking of it the other way.”
Lisa’s statement was confusing, but Romie knew what she meant. They had all tasted toxic nostalgia. They had all succumbed to the idea that there was a better past than a future. None of them had any intention of entertaining thoughts like that anymore. They were focused on the future. They were going to make the world into a place where they wanted to live. That was their pact.
“Okay,” Romie said. “Let’s find a nice big place and move closer to town. We’ll find the perfect house where we can set up hydroponics next door and a big garden that gets full sun.”
“I’m in,” Lisa said.
“Works for me,” Brad said.
“And if Robby and Gordie ever come back, we’ll let them in on the deal too.”
They all laughed.
CHAPTER 69: OUTPOST
“YOU’RE SURE ABOUT THIS?” Ty asked. Murphy was sitting between Ty’s feet. Even when Ty was able to keep his emotions from showing, Tim always knew when the big man was upset. Tim knew because Murphy knew, and Murphy showed it by squeezing herself between Ty’s feet.
“Of course I’m not,” Tim said. “You’ll hear from me soon. You know that Jackson can’t stay away from Amy Lynne for long.”
Ty nodded.
Cedric was already loaded into the plane. His harness was clipped into the seatbelt. As soon as Jackson pried himself away from Amy Lynne, the young man would have to climb into the rear seat of the plane. Jackson had an iron stomach for flying. It
was a good thing. The back seat could be a little claustrophobic for people who suffered any kind of nausea.
Ty waved Tim in for a big hug.
“Come back in one piece,” Ty said.
“We will. Come on, Jax.”
Jackson and Amy Lynne shared one more quick kiss and then he sprinted for the plane. Tim followed.
Most of his checklist was already done. Tim ticked through the items anyway. Some of it was for Jackson’s sake. He was trying to teach Jackson to be thorough and careful. Those traits weren’t easy for Jackson to pick up.
“Ready?” Tim asked.
Jackson fumbled with his headphones. His exhale rumbled through the microphone.
“You bet.”
Tim sent more power to the engines and taxied to the runway. Once they were in the air, he banked around to the proper heading. They saw Ty and Amy Lynne waving below.
“You think we’ll spot any stray people, the way you spotted us that time?” Jackson asked.
“No,” Tim said. “I think everyone was either killed or brought in by the churn. We’ve met everyone left.”
“Oh,” Jackson said. Static from his microphone came over the headphones for a second. He must have either breathed heavily or made a sound with his mouth. Tim expected another question but none came.
“If you see any trampled areas or signs of large animals, let me know immediately,” Tim said. “I’ll get a picture of it.”
“Sure,” Jackson said.
Tim prepared his maps. He was going to have to navigate by landmarks. It got harder each time he went up. The landscape was conspiring to reshape itself and erase the marks left by people. Ahead, Tim spotted where two highways met in a pretty cloverleaf. He headed that direction. After that, he knew a lake that was shaped like a kidney bean. In the seat next to him, Cedric settled down for a nap. The dog could sleep through almost any amount of bumpy air. That was a good thing. By the looks of it, they would be bouncing plenty as the day heated up.
“What do you think we’ll find?” Jackson asked.
“It was all black before—like it was burned. The reports say that bands of plants have colonized the burned areas. They’re supposed to look like ribbons of green.”
“Yeah, I know that’s what they said, but what do you think?”
“Oh,” Tim said. He was surprised to find out that he didn’t have an easy answer to the question. The landscape beyond the burn had little to do with the trip for him. It was an opportunity to explore. “I don’t know. What do you think?”
Jackson didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Tim was tempted to turn around and get a look at him—to see what kind of expression Jackson was wearing. Even after everything they had been through, the kid was still somewhat of a mystery to Tim. His temper was matched only by his loyalty. Both were frightening in their intensity.
When Jackson finally answered, Tim figured that he had moved onto a new subject.
“You ever shine a flashlight through your hand?”
“Sure.”
“I think it’s like that.”
“Huh?” Tim asked. This time he did turn around. Jackson was looking through the window, studying the ground below.
“One time this guy said that the alien punched a hole through the dimensions and that’s how it got here.”
“Yeah?”
“Well, think about it. It’s like shining a flashlight through your hand. You get this ring of red light and then it kinda trails off around the circle. Your bones and veins and whatnot trace these little lines.”
“Oh.”
“So we have this area and then there’s probably another just like it on the other side of the Earth. Around the edges, we get these little lines. That’s what I think we’re going to find.”
“Huh,” Tim said. It was a strange theory, but it had just as much merit as any other.
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪
Tim flew low over his old house. Cedric woke back up and sniffed the air. Maybe he picked up the scent of some old tennis ball left behind by the airstrip.
“Why did you live all the way out here?” Jackson asked.
The area was remote—surrounded by nothing by rolling green hills and tall fields of grass that had gone to seed.
“It was secure and had good supplies stocked. Plus, there was plenty of fuel stored in that big shed. It was lonely, but I liked living here.”
“You going to make that your base?”
“No,” Tim said. “I’ll pick a place that has access to a river or big lake. And it will be easier if I pick a place that has been farmed before.”
He banked around and lined up with the runway.
“Fuel?” Jackson asked.
“Yup.”
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪
Cedric remembered the place better than Tim had. If he had thought about it, he would have put the dog on a leash. Instead, Cedric ran right for the marsh and was muddy before Tim could even think to call his name.
While Tim fueled up, Jackson wandered inside the little house next to the airfield. The mountain air still smelled familiar to Tim. His stay there had been lonely, but the solitude had been nice. Sometimes, Tim woke up in the middle of the night and imagined himself back in that place. Each morning, he woke with the sun as it streamed in through the bedroom window. In the evenings, he and Cedric would watch the sky change color long after the sun had dipped below the hills to the west.
It was easy to recall the good times at that place and impossible to remember the boredom and loneliness that had driven him north.
“Hey,” Jackson called.
Tim coiled the hose and hung up the pump handle.
Jackson and muddy Cedric came running from the house. Jackson held out a piece of paper.
Tim took it carefully—almost afraid of what had sparked Jackson’s curiosity.
“It’s a letter,” Jackson said.
Tim read it aloud.
“I saw your plane every day, and I hiked to a spot where I could see you land. You took off for the last time the day before I got here. I’ve waited a few weeks, but I suppose you’re not coming back. Based on the maps you left behind, I’m guessing you went north? I was going to head south, but I suppose I’ll follow you. If you ever find this, my name is Caleb. As far as I know, we’re the last two people on Earth.”
Tim flipped the sheet over, hoping for more information.
“Was there an envelope or anything? Was there anything else?”
Jackson shook his head.
Tim’s eyes went to the signature again.
“Impossible,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Tim said with a sigh. He folded the paper and put it in his back pocket. “Nothing.”
“Are we staying here or going back up right away?”
Tim looked at the dog. Without a good rinsing, Cedric would smell like marsh mud and the smell would be overwhelming in the cockpit. On the other hand, the house was now haunted with a new mystery.
“Let’s go back up. We can find somewhere to land closer to the burn.”
If Jackson was disappointed, he didn’t show it.
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪
“It’s big and flat and there are no obstructions,” Tim said. “You don’t see anything, do you?”
Jackson’s eyes were young and sharp.
“Nope—all clear.”
Tim had already rejected the airport. The concrete looked like it had been in bad shape even before the end of the world. Now, it looked ready to eat the wheels right off his plane. In contrast, the highway was smooth and perfect, and Tim had plenty of fuel. Besides, the highway was much closer to the town.
He touched down like a feather. This time, he was careful with Cedric, clipping him to a leash before he opened the door.
“I can get that bike running,” Jackson said as soon as his feet hit the pavement. They were near a house that was just big enough to not have wheels. Jackson hopped the fence and jogged towards the mo
torcycle that was leaning against a tree.
“See if there’s a car,” Tim yelled.
He walked Cedric up the highway. There was a grocery store less than a mile away. Just beyond that, the town had a metal bridge over a river. The land was flat—Tim would have to find somewhere above the flood line.
Tim let Cedric off the leash. A few seconds later, he heard the whine of the motorcycle. He kept walking towards the grocery store—Jackson knew where they were headed.
In the parking lot, Cedric was obsessed with a parked car. The dog circled several times, sniffing under it. One tire was flat, tilting the vehicle to the side. When Cedric stopped to pee on the tire, a fat rabbit streaked from the shadow of the car and ran for a row of bushes. Cedric never even saw him.
Tim stopped several yards from the grocery store. He was still standing there, hands on his hips, when the motorcycle buzzed across the pavement and pulled up next to him. Jackson shut off the engine.
“Croc and Shop?” Tim asked. He pointed at the cartoon crocodile on the store’s big sign.
“Yeah?”
“I never heard of it.”
“My uncle lived in Georgia near a Croc and Shop. I heard of it.”
“Okay,” Tim said. The good news was that there was no sign that the store had been looted. The doors were still intact and locked. Tim fixed that with a big rock that Jackson fetched. Of course, that was also the bad news as well. The air was stale with rotten food. The cans inside would still be fine, but the smell would take forever to clear out.
“I’ll just grab a couple of things. Stay out here, would you?”
Jackson nodded.
Cedric tried to follow, but Tim waved him back.
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪
The green house sat on top of the hill, directly behind the grocery store. It wasn’t much of a hill, but it was better than nothing. It gave Tim a decent view of the horizon and some warning if the river decided to flood. Inside, it was clean enough.
