THE END - Book I - Of THE EVENT SERIES

by Marshall Huffman

  It wouldn’t be easy to admit defeat but she simply no longer cared. As she walked along she could see the gas station shimmering down the road but no matter how long she walked it never seemed to get much closer. She put her head down and picked up the pace, determined to not look again until she was there but of course that was impossible. Kim looked up several times and at last she could see the details of the station.

  Several cars were at the pumps and her heart leaped at the thought of ending this whole Death Valley thing. As she walked up she saw three cars sitting at the pump, one with the nozzle still in the fill valve. She went inside but the lights were off and no one was around.

  “Hey, anyone here,” she yelled but no reply came back.

  “Anyone? I need some help,” she yelled at the top of her voice but the result was the same.

  She walked around behind the counter. A door with an employee only sign was on it and she pushed it opened and yelled for help again. No one answered so she went on back. No one was around and a stack of dollar bills were sitting on the desk in the corner next to a deposit bag. That’s when she noticed the slime dripping off the chair at the desk.

  “Oh shit,” she said and went back out front.

  Across the lot was a small café so she walked over but no one was to be found there either. Several piles of goo were all that remained in the café. Whatever had happened had reached at least as far as Furnace Creek. She found a phone on the back counter but it was dead. No dial tone at all.

  Kim decided she might as well get something to eat and drink. She found a self-service coke case and took one of the bottles out and opened it. It wasn’t ice cold but it was better than anything she had tasted since heading out on this ill-fated trip.

  She found some cheese slices and made herself a sandwich. It tasted like a gourmet meal. If she never ate trail mix again, that would suit her just fine.

  With her stomach full and her thirst satisfied she decided to look around. A large RV was at one of the pumps and she looked inside. There in the driver’s seat was the same stuff she had been seeing ever since she left the mountain cave she had hid in. She climbed back out and looked at the other vehicles, deciding to try each one but none of them would start. More than that, they didn’t even act like a battery was connected. They did absolutely nothing.

  She knew she could follow highway 190 to Mud Canyon and then connect with 374 to Beatty. The only problem was that it was a long way from Furnace Creek. Beatty had a small airport and she could charter a flight if all else failed. It seemed like the best way to get back to civilization. Of course the biggest problem was the distance. It would take several days to get there hiking and she wasn’t sure she was up to it any longer.

  Kim decided she needed to find some kind of transportation, even if it was nothing more than a bicycle. She saw an old wrecker truck at the side of the gas station and decided to give it a try. It wasn’t even locked. She checked the seats before climbing in. No key was in the ignition so she looked around. She found it in the glove box.

  Obviously theft wasn’t much of an issue in these parts. She said a small prayer and stuck the key in the cylinder. Kim closed her eyes and turned the key. The truck cranked over, stumbled and died. She had hope. She tried it again after pumping the gas pedal a couple of times. The motor churned over and finally caught and a blue cloud of smoke came out of the tail pipe.

  It made no difference to her at all. She had an operating vehicle. Kim looked at the gas tank and saw that it was over three quarters full. That would be more than enough to get her to Beatty.

  The gears ground when she put it into first gear and it bucked a few times before finally getting enough momentum to shift into second gear. She pulled out and headed for Mud Canyon.

  Now that she was driving she was surprised at how many cars were abandoned along the highway. As she passed the Furnace Creek Visitor's Center she saw several cars in the parking lot along with hers. She pulled up next to it, got in, and gave it a try. As expected, it did absolutely nothing. She saw a police car sitting near the exit and thought about stopping briefly, but decided to keep on going. The sooner she got to Beatty, the sooner she could call her dad, or at the very least, arrange a flight to some major city.

  It suddenly dawned on her that she was a criminal. She had eaten food without paying and worse than that, she was guilty of auto theft. Kim laughed at the thought. She doubted if anyone was going to complain, they were obviously all dead.

  As she drove she also started to think about the larger implication. Was there a nuclear war while she was out there in the desert? Could terrorists have pulled this off? What kind of weapon could just melt people? And then another thought struck her, was her family safe? How far did all of this reach?

  She was still dodging cars and trucks as she made her way toward Beatty. She turned onto highway 374; a sign saying that it was also called Daylight Pass Road was just under it. She crossed the state line, leaving California behind and heading into Nevada.

  A few miles later she saw a sign proclaiming that Beatty was just sixteen miles down the road. Kim wanted to go faster but the number of abandoned vehicles left littering the road was increasing so she was forced to go even slower.

  The last five miles seemed to take forever. Several wrecks had forced her to drive off the highway completely to get around them. She spotted a sign saying Airport Road. Kim stopped the wrecker on the side of the road. Should she go right to the airport or go on into town and try find out what was going on? The town won out. She could always head back to the airport. She put the old truck in gear and bucked off again in a cloud of blue smoke.

  Kim knew instantly that her hopes had been crushed. She was somehow hoping that people would be alive but it was apparent that whatever happened had reached much further than she had imagined.

  She drove on and 374 became Main Street. The town wasn’t very large but it was hard to believe that everyone could have suffered the same fate. Someone had to be alive. She saw cars strewn every which way and one was sticking out of the side of the Beatty Baptist Church.

  East Main turned into West Main and she found herself leaving Beatty. She stopped and turned back around. While she knew that probably everyone was dead she decided to drive around the town and at least honk her horn in case anyone happened to have lived through it, whatever it was.

  She turned right onto Lisle Street and followed it, blowing her horn on each block. Kim drove slowly so that anyone who heard her would have time to run out and wave but no one did.

  Lisle Street ended at E Avenue and she followed that until it dead ended. She backtracked and drove up and down 4th, 3rd and 2nd Street before deciding to give it up. She found Main Street again and headed back west toward Airport Road.

  She turned left and followed the road back to the airport. A short strip of pavement was all that existed along with a parking lot and a small terminal. She parked the truck and went inside but not a soul was around. Kim walked out back to where a few planes were tethered to the service way but it was just like everyplace else she had been. The devastation had been total.

  She sat down on a chair just outside the terminal door and tried to figure out what she should do next. One thing for sure, it was a long way to any city of significant size and she knew she did not have enough gas.

  After studying her map she decided her only logical choice was to head toward Las Vegas. She could pick up Highway 95 on the east side of Beatty and follow that south to Las Vegas. She was sure the truck could make the trip. The problem was going to be gas.

  She had seen her cousin siphon water off of their pool cover a couple of times after heavy rains but she had never tried it. The one thing she remembered was that the container had to be lower than the supply. Walking around the airport hangar she found two five gallon plastic cans. They had some kind of liquid in them but it didn’t smell like gas. She decided to empty them out and then try to fill them by siphoning gas from one of the other cars along
the road. Kim found a rubber hose and took it as well.

  She drove back to Beatty and through town to where 374 crossed 2nd street which was the junction of 95. She turned right, heading south and started toward Las Vegas. Kim looked at the gas gauge and it had only a quarter of a tank left by the time she had left Beatty behind in her rearview mirror.

  The light was quickly fading when Kim finally decided she was going to simply have to try and siphon gas out of another car. She picked one and took out the hose and gas containers. Sticking one end of the hose down the filler spout she sucked quickly on the other end. Nothing happened. She tried again, sucking harder this time but still nothing came out.

  “What the hell am I doing wrong,” Kim asked herself.

  Maybe she had to really pull harder. She took a deep breath and inhaled on the hose. A stream of gas was in her mouth before she could react. A large mouthful of rank tasting gas went down her throat before she was able to pull the hose from her lips. She retched and some of the vile liquid came out of her nose. The gas was pouring on the ground while she tried to stop gagging.

  She stuck the end of the hose in the bucket and continued to try to get the sickening taste out of her mouth. When the bucket was full she switched over to the other. There had to be a better way of doing this. The taste filled her mouth and she burped up the foul tasting fumes.

  When the second container was almost full she pulled the hose out of the car’s gas tank. Now the hard part, lifting the heavy containers so the gas could be poured into the truck’s tank. It was not easy and a lot of the gas ran down the side of the truck. Finally, both containers were emptied into the truck and Kim turned on the ignition to see how much it added. Disappointingly, the gauge only read a little over half full.

  Checking the map again, Kim thought that maybe she could make it the rest of the way on what was in the tank.

  It became clear after another hour of driving that Las Vegas was going to have suffered the same fate. The closer she got to the city, the more abandoned cars and trucks she saw.

  I-95 became Rancho Drive that ran into Sahara Boulevard. Turning left brought her directly to Las Vegas Boulevard. Kim stopped the truck and got out just looking at the ghost city. No lights, no noise and no people were around. All hope faded at that point and she sat down right in the middle of the road.

  “What the hell am I going to do now?” she said to herself.

  Whatever it was, she knew she had to make a decision fast. It was getting dark quickly and she needed to find a place to stay. Suddenly the paradox of it all hit her. She had as many different rooms as she could possible want and she didn’t even need a reservation or a credit card.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Indian Springs, Indiana

  Randy had wanted to leave earlier but it took longer than he had expected. Rachel wasn’t moving like she usually did and he suspected it was because she was somewhat afraid to leave the security of the little world they had created.

  “Rachel, we need to get going,” he finally said.

  “I know. I know. I really hate to just pack up and leave like this.”

  “We have been over all of this. We need to link up with any other survivors that made it through this,” he said.

  “Still.”

  “You don’t have to go Rachel. You are free to do whatever you want. I know this is the right thing to do and I’m going to see what’s out there,” he said.

  “And you would just leave me here?”

  “Rachel, I only see two options. You go or you don’t go. It’s really as simple as that.”

  “Maybe for you but not for me.”

  “Am I missing something here? Do you have another option?”

  “We could just stay here.”

  “And do what?”

  “Wait.”

  “I already told you that I’m not going to do that. Look, I’m leaving in twenty minutes. You can decide what you want to do and if you’re ready, then we go together. If not, then I guess I go alone. I would hate to just leave you like that all alone, but for me, I have to know what’s going on in the rest of the country,” Randy said.

  “I’ll be ready,” she said and went back inside to gather a few more things.

  Randy looked up at the sky. It seemed a little lighter and it looked like the clouds were dissipating somewhat. Seeing the sun would be a good thing. It was still strange not hearing any sounds and there was still no wind.

  Ten minutes later Rachel came out of the house and climbed into the passenger seat. He looked at her for a second but she just stared straight ahead. He shook his head and climbed behind the wheel. Nothing was said as they pulled out and headed for Bloomington, Indiana.

  Still not talking, Randy was soon on State Highway 37 heading north. They turned right off of 37 and took 3rd street into the town and wound their way to Kirkwood Avenue.

  “Where do you want to go?” Randy finally asked.

  “Turn right on Rogers Street.”

  Randy had to dodge cars but he was finally able to turn south on Rogers.

  “Now what?”

  “Go straight until you get to Smith Street. Turn right and it is the first house on the right side of Smith Street,” Rachel said.

  Randy could hear the apprehension in her voice. It was obvious that Bloomington had suffered the same fate as every other place they had been but she needed to see for herself. Randy turned right on Smith and into the first driveway on the right.

  “This it?”

  “Yes,” was all she said, making no attempt to get out.

  Randy waited. He knew she would go when she was ready and there was no use trying to rush her. After several minutes she took a deep breath and got out and walked up to the front door. It wasn’t locked and she went inside.

  Randy laid his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. He already knew what she was going to find and he didn’t see how this was going to make it any better. He knew he didn’t want to go back to his house. It would serve no useful purpose for him. Rachel was wired differently and he decided she needed to do this for closure.

  As some point he must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing he knew Rachel was climbing in the passenger seat. She had obviously been crying. She had a scrapbook held tightly in her hands.

  “You okay?” Randy said softly.

  “No.”

  There was nothing he could say. He reached over and patted her on the arm and then started the Jeep and headed back to Highway 37. They took 37 north until they came to Indianapolis. The magnitude of the destruction was becoming clear. Indianapolis was devastated like the other areas. Getting around the city on I–465 was a real challenge.

  They had to leave the bypass several times and take adjacent roads until they could continue on. It took them over an hour to reach I-70 east. After that it was just a matter of evading the abandoned cars and trucks along the way.

  They finally made it as far as Columbus, Ohio just as it was getting dark. They found a motel just off the interstate and decided to stay for the night.

  “This work for you?” Randy said, stopping the Jeep and climbing out.

  “Looks as good as any as long as we get rooms close to each other,” Rachel replied.

  “We will. I’ll speak to the manager about it,” he said laughing.

  “Good luck sucker,” Rachel chuckled.

  “I would love to go on a little further but I think it is smarter to stop now than try to pick our way through the cars in the dark.”

  “I agree. Hey, are you hungry?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I’ll whip us up something on the camp stove. Anything in particular strike your fancy?”

  “Whatever. I’m not about to be choosy when someone else is doing the cooking,” Randy replied.

  “Pan fried potatoes, and chicken it is then.”

  “That sounds like a winner to me,” Randy said.

  He got four of the lanterns out of the trailer and the camp stov
e for Rachel. He checked the tires on the trailer and the Jeep. He wanted to make sure they were still in good shape after spending so much time off the road or on the shoulder. Everything seemed fine.

  “Where are we going exactly?” Rachel asked as Randy sat down on the curb.

  “I hope we can make it to Pittsburg by tomorrow. We can spend the night there and then start looking for mines around that area. I know some are not far outside of the city. Hopefully we can find some information at the Visitor Center when we get into Pennsylvania. They usually have a bunch of those tourist guide pamphlets. Hopefully one will describe the working mines in the area. Even ones that just take tourists in to show them around could have protected some people. If so, there are probably a lot like us, trying to figure out just what the hell happened,” Randy told her.

  “And then what? We go to all the mines in Pennsylvania looking for survivors?”

  “In a nutshell, yeah.”

  “And what if we don’t find anyone else?”

  “I intend to keep looking. I know others survived and they are just as desperate to find us. Eventually we will find more people.”

  “But Randy, even if we do find others, even a lot of others, how do we start to rebuild an entire country?”

  “I don’t have the foggiest but I suppose it wasn’t much different from when the first people landed in America. They found the place but what the hell were they going to do with it? At least we don’t have hostile forces to deal with.”

  “You hope,” Rachel said.

  “I don’t think there will be.”

  “Then why all the guns and bullets?” she asked.

  Randy didn’t have an answer for that.

  ****

  “That was great,” Randy said after they had eaten.

  It was almost totally dark by the time they found rooms and got situated. He left two lanterns with Rachel and went to climb into bed just across the hall. He wanted to sleep on the outside of the building where he could be near the Jeep. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the question that Rachel had asked earlier.