by Bowman, Dave
He didn't know how they would find one, but he had to try. It would be a long, dangerous journey of 1,400 miles to Central Texas by foot. He didn't have several weeks to spare. He didn't even have the two weeks it might take to get there on bicycle.
But how would he find a running vehicle now that society had collapsed? Everyone else in the country was after the same thing.
He remembered how they had searched a neighborhood closer to downtown LA for a classic car to steal. Brent had been critical of Jack's intentions, but Jack didn't care. He was no thief ordinarily, but things were dire. Still, though, the idea didn't quite sit right with him, either.
Jack's onward march came to an abrupt stop. There was some movement coming from behind them. Naomi, who walked with her head down, nearly crashed into him.
Jack spun around in the direction of the sound he had heard.
Sure enough, he could see someone moving toward them on the street.
He drew the gun from his waistband.
“Get back,” he ordered Brent and Naomi through gritted teeth.
Already, his pulse was racing. Already, there would be a confrontation. He braced himself.
He heard a long, slow whistle.
Jack's eyes flitted around, searching for the source of the noise. Fearing the worst, he raised his gun and tried to steady himself.
Finally, the figure moving toward them on the street began to take shape.
It was someone on a bicycle.
“Slow down there, cowboy,” came the voice, overly melodic in an attempt to be friendly. “I'm harmless.”
As the person approached, Jack could make out the shape of a bent-over elderly man. Still on the ready, Jack looked around for others.
“Relax, it's just me,” the man said, coming to a stop on his bicycle a few feet from Jack and grinning at the three of them. “Just an old man.”
Jack could see he was alone. Still not trusting him, though, he kept his gun out.
“What do you want?” Jack asked gruffly.
The old man whistled again. “In a rush, are you?” He shook his head in mock regret. “Young people today.”
“Let's go,” Jack said to Naomi and Brent. The three of them set out to leave, keeping to the side of the wide street.
“Hey, wait,” the stranger called. He pushed off the pavement with his foot and rode behind them. “Forgive me. I'm just an old man and I haven't seen too many upstanding people like yourselves out these days.”
Jack tossed him a glance. The man was harmless all right, but he was slowing them down.
“I'll get to my point,” the man said, smiling. “I thought you might be interested in a little trade.”
Jack looked at his bike, an old ten-speed. “How about this backpack full of food for that bicycle?”
The old man flinched in an exaggerated show of wounding, then shook his head as he coasted alongside them. “No can do, partner. This here bike's the only thing that'll get me around now.”
“Then what do you have to trade?” Jack asked.
“Riches beyond your imagination,” the man said, sweeping his hand grandly across the sky. “I may look like a pauper, but I have treasures that will make your heads spin.”
“Oh, yeah?” Brent asked, looking over at the man as he pedaled ahead of them on the bike, then coasted as they caught up. “Where are they?”
The man laughed. “I wouldn't carry them out in the open like this. You'll have to come with me to my abode. There you'll find delights from all over the world.”
“And what is it you want in return?” Jack asked, playing along.
“Well, I was hoping to have some alone time with that young filly there,” the man said, gawking at Naomi.
Naomi scoffed. “You're not getting anywhere near me, you disgusting pervert,” she spat.
Jack laughed. “And we're not following you to your abode. So get lost.”
And Jack pushed past him with Brent and Naomi at his side, leaving the old man behind.
The man thought for a minute, then pedaled quickly to catch up with them. “Wait!” he called again.
This time, he caught up to them and rode a big circle around them as they walked.
“I apologize about that,” he said. “You can't blame an old man for trying, though, can you? The world's gone to hell. You gotta look out for yourself.”
Jack didn't answer. Naomi glared at him.
“Listen, seriously,” the old man said, dropping his flamboyant speech. “I've got some information. Some information you need. And I'll trade you for it. A fair deal this time, no joking.”
Jack ignored him as he continued his determined march through the dark street.
Brent looked between Jack and the old man.
“Come on,” the man pleaded. “Just a drink of whatever you got, I swear. That's it. And it'll be worth your while, I promise. I'm telling you, I've got information. A piece of intel you can't afford to miss.”
“I'm game,” Brent said, digging through the bag he carried. They had one soda each, saved from the remains of the convenience store. “I'll give him my soda.”
Brent fished the can of cola out and held it up. “It's yours if you tell me this earth-shattering revelation.”
The man reached for it, but Brent stepped away.
“First, cough up this info,” Brent insisted.
The old man glued his eyes to the can as he coasted on his bike.
“Don't go that way. Turn around now. Ain't nothing but trouble down there.”
Brent frowned. “What kind of trouble?”
“There are some bad dudes down there,” the man said. “About three blocks down, on this street.” He pedaled furiously to get ahead of them, then came to a stop just in front of Brent.
“Deal's a deal. Hand over the loot,” he said with his palm outstretched.
Brent tossed him the can of cola. The man cracked it open and began to guzzle it.
Brent stood in the middle of the street looking around. “What do you think, Jack? Should we listen to him?”
Jack came to a stop and craned his neck to see down the street. The old man took off on his bicycle, headed in the direction he had come from and laughing all the way.
“I don't know,” Jack said under his breath. “He's not the most trustworthy type. If we turn around and go back, we could walk into a trap.”
“I say we keep going,” Naomi said. “That guy is a perv and a liar.”
Jack shifted the weight on his back and listened. Sure enough, he could make out the sound of some voices coming from several blocks away, just in the direction they were headed.
He promptly turned around and set off down the street in the opposite direction.
“Better not risk it,” he said. “We'll just go around them.”
Naomi and Brent followed him wordlessly through the dark street.
But as they walked, the faint sound of the voices behind them grew louder. Suddenly, Naomi's voice broke the silence.
“Jack! They're coming!”
Jack glanced back to see several shapes moving in the shadows behind them.
The old man's warning had been too late. They had already been spotted.
Jack knew they only had a few moments to escape.
“Follow me,” he said to Naomi and Brent as he broke into a run.
He could hear the sound of several pairs of feet hitting the pavement. They were still far away, but they were moving faster than Brent and Naomi could run. They would have to hide somewhere out of sight.
Jack ran through the yard of the nearest house, moving quickly between two houses. He just hoped that the people chasing them weren't close enough to see where the three of them disappeared.
The two houses had no fence separating them, and Jack looked wildly around as he waited a moment for Brent and Naomi to catch up.
He rounded the corner to the right, and ran through a couple of backyards until he came to a tall privacy fence.
Trapped.
<
br /> He felt his palms grow cold and sweaty. He had to figure something out, fast.
Brent and Naomi were close behind, and they soon came to a stop beside him, panting. Brent opened his mouth to say something, but Jack clamped his hand over his mouth before he could make a sound.
They had to be quiet.
In the starlit night, Jack motioned for them to follow him. There was a dilapidated back porch on the nearest house, with one corner rotting out. He crawled under it, and the other two followed him.
They sat on the dusty ground in the tiny space with their knees pulled to their chests.
Jack tried to quiet his breathing. He hoped that Naomi and Brent wouldn't give their hiding spot away.
The sound of the people running on the street grew louder.
Must be at least four of them.
Jack clutched his gun. If the group in pursuit had seen them run off the road, the trio didn't have much hope. The porch didn't cover them totally. If someone looked closely, they would be spotted.
And worst of all, there was nowhere to run if they were found.
What did these people want? Their supplies? Or were they looking to get their kicks from murdering them?
There was nothing to do but wait.
“Let's split up,” one of the voices on the street said. “I'll check over here.”
Jack could just make out the widened eyes of Naomi and Brent as they crouched under the porch, terrified. They had stilled themselves now and were taking the smallest breaths possible.
Jack listened as one person approached, his shoes hitting the ground. He was running between the houses.
It would be any second now.
Jack held his breath. He hoped that he would have the chance to shoot first.
5
Annie slammed on the brakes.
For the quick moment she was stopped, she locked eyes with a woman who held a shotgun. The woman's crazed eyes bore into her as she lifted her weapon.
Annie threw the car into reverse.
The Porsche jumped into action. Annie stomped on the gas. The engine revved as the car lurched backward. Charlotte clutched the seat.
A shot fired. Charlotte screamed.
At first, Annie thought Charlotte had been hit, and she wasted a moment looking over at her.
“Go! Go!” Charlotte urged her.
Annie accelerated. She flitted her eyes between the rearview mirror and the group of people in front of them.
Now, several more people were taking aim.
The noise was deafening. Shots rang out all around them. One or two hit the body of the car. Maybe the tire. Annie didn't know, and she didn't stop to find out.
The people were running to catch up with them. They were screaming, shouting, crying out. The kids were throwing rocks, which ricocheted off the windshield.
A couple of guys were close to them. Too close. Annie sped up. One guy threw himself at the open window frame. He grabbed hold of it and tried to pull himself into the car, but he lost his footing. The Porsche dragged him a few feet until he let go. He screamed in agony as he hit the ground.
The shots continued. There was no time to think, no time to strategize. She just tried to keep the car on the road for those few seconds.
Finally, the car was out of the guys' reach, but still within range of the gunfire. The Porsche screeched to a halt in the middle of an intersection. Annie threw the gear stick into first, then whipped the steering wheel around.
The woman with the shotgun fired again. This time, she came closer to her mark.
Annie kept low. The gunfire just missed her.
She straightened the car out, then took off at top speed.
More shooters fired after them. But they weren't accurate or fast enough. Annie steered the blazing car down the road as the sound of the gunfire grew more distant.
To Annie's relief, the car was soon out of their range.
The gang of attackers was tiny in the rearview mirror when Annie looked up. A block later, they were out of sight. She exhaled.
They were safe.
“Are you all right?” she asked, looking over at Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded slowly as she sat up in her seat from her lowered position. “I – I think so. Are you?”
Annie gave a quick nod. Her ears were ringing. She swallowed the acid that seemed to be rising in her throat. When she glanced down at her hands on the wheel, she saw that they were shaking.
“I think the car's okay,” Annie said.
“Lucky for us, they had bad aim,” Charlotte said. She took a deep breath and blew it out through her mouth.
Annie took a long detour, then headed back in the direction of Charlotte's office. It was several minutes before she could get the shaking under control. She still felt nauseous from the intensity of the encounter, though.
In the passenger seat, Charlotte jumped. “Look over there.”
To their right, Annie saw another, smaller group of people. When they saw the Porsche, they started running after them. But this time, they were too far away.
Annie's heart was pounding. Once they had left Dan's side of town, it seemed like they were in a war zone. Groups of people were roaming the street in search of anything to steal. They were bloodthirsty. They reminded Annie of a pack of wild dogs.
Now, the women were passing more and more signs of violence. There were dead bodies on the streets and sidewalks. Each time Annie spotted one, it was a jolt to her system.
Then, they passed two men stripping the clothes off a dead body. The men looked up and stared as Annie sped past.
Small groups of people picked through the ruins of the shops, scavenging for anything valuable. There were at least a couple of fights breaking out that Annie saw as people argued over what they found. Gunshots rang out from hidden nooks and crannies of the city.
And everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the Porsche tear through the streets.
Many would chase them, running after the car in a futile attempt to catch it. Some would try to block the street and jump on the vehicle. Annie charged ahead until they jumped out of the way.
Whatever happened, Annie knew she couldn't lose the vehicle. Dan's Porsche was their only hope for getting out of the city and into safety.
And Annie longed to leave the city. Each mile they traveled seemed to bring new terror.
Finally, they turned onto Charlotte's street. Charlotte gasped as they passed by several burned-down buildings. It appeared fire had swept through several city blocks.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted her own apartment building. Luckily, it was still standing.
“You know the plan, right?” Annie asked as she approached the building.
Charlotte nodded. “Ten minutes. Meet you back here.”
“Right,” Annie said as she came to an abrupt stop in front of the building. “I'll be circling around the neighborhood. When you're done, wait by the door. Don't leave the building until you see me pull up. Okay?”
“Got it,” Charlotte said as she opened the door. She threw one last glance at her friend and gave her a quick smile. “Good luck.”
Annie watched as Charlotte ran to the building. Charlotte unlocked her door and disappeared inside. Annie waited a moment as her friend checked all the rooms to make sure they were empty.
A block behind her, two people sat on the curb. Watching her.
Annie's eyes darted nervously between them and Charlotte's door. Night was falling on the city, and Annie strained to see clearly.
Finally, Charlotte reappeared at the door to wave Annie on. That meant the place was safe. She stepped back inside and locked the door.
Annie took off quickly down the street. Thankfully, Charlotte's neighborhood was quieter than the areas they had just driven through. But that couple staring at her made her nervous.
It wasn't safe to stay in one place for too long with the car. She half expected to be ambushed at any moment by violent people desperate to get
their hands on the Porsche.
The car blazed down the road in a streak of blue, slowing only to dodge the wrecked and abandoned vehicles left behind two days ago when most of them had suddenly stopped working. Maybe forever.
Annie shivered.
She watched an old woman and a young boy standing grimly on a porch, glaring at her as she drove past. On the other side of the street, two men made obscene gestures as she passed them. A block later, a group of kids chased after her, slapping the sides of the vehicle as she sped off.
A few blocks to the south, there were more groups of people. These didn't attack her, at least, but they did gawk as she barreled down the road. Annie figured they were displaced from the fires that had spread through the neighborhood. Or perhaps they had been forced from their homes by intruders.
God only knows what has happened here. The whole world's gone crazy.
She was supposed to be counting the seconds until she was due back in front of Charlotte's apartment. But it was hard to keep her mind focused. Everywhere around her, she saw scenes of suffering and ruin. And insanity – it seemed as if there were more people on the streets gone crazy than ever before. People ranting, screaming, thrashing around. Many of them were sick, too. Even dying. Injured from the blast, or violent neighbors, or radiation, Annie guessed.
Charlotte was lucky that apparently no one had broken into her apartment. What would be waiting for Annie at her own home?
If only they were out of the city. If only they were safe and secure at the ranch in the country, two hundred miles away from all this chaos and ruin.
But a horrible thought suddenly entered Annie's mind. What if something had happened to Jack's family's house in Loretta?
She felt silly that the thought hadn't even occurred to her before then. But through all the horrors of the past two days, she had clung desperately to the hope of safety out in the country. If she could only escape Austin, she had told herself, everything would be fine. She only had to get to the ranch.
But now, she realized that she might have been wrong all along.
No, she told herself. It couldn't be. Based on the nature and timing of the EMP and nuclear attacks, she had supposed that only large cities had been attacked. Surely rural areas like Loretta had been spared.
