I cried quietly, pressing my hands against my face.
After awhile, I cleaned myself up. I then watched the security cameras until I fell asleep awkwardly in the chair.
When morning came, I shuffled my way to the restrooms, used it, cleaned up my face and as much of myself as I possibly could. I left the building cautiously, examining the area around me. I didn’t hear anything unusual, and the smell of smoke caught my attention. I walked around the building to see that there were some trailers on fire in the nearby trailer park, and a crowd of people were running from it. I thought they were Rabid at first, but some were carrying children, and men were taking lead. I felt some comfort watching this – a sort of relief that there was still some good in this world.
I didn’t join them – I continued heading west, intent on getting home. I walked Virginia street for some time, anxiously examining the areas around me for signs of Rabid, new aliens, and people. Along the river bank, birds sang. It was almost comforting to hear wildlife carrying on like normal. I crossed the bridge, nearing Kuenzli. I could take that street down to Wells, and I would be instantly closer to home. California Avenue wasn’t that far away from Wells – I felt my heart skip a beat, overjoyed that I was a half day’s walk from home.
I was just coming up the crosswalk between Mill’s End Fabric and the Save mart across from it when I heard a strange noise.
Immediately cautious, I began searching for a place to hide. I turned and ran for the Save Mart, hoping I wouldn’t run into people inside. The store was deserted, dark, and it smelled of death. I had to step over some dead people near the door to get to one of the aisles. I crouched down, breathing heavily, watching outside the glass doors for whatever it was that had scared me.
Some time had passed when I convinced myself that whatever it was had passed by. I couldn’t even define what the noise had been. I left the building, straining my ears to hear something out of place. I did hear the faint rumbles of incoming aircraft. Scanning the skies, I hooded my eyes with my hand and stepped out towards the parking lot. I turned to face the area I'd just left when everything happened at once.
This massive crash of sound and force destroyed the Save Mart. A strange series of noises emerged a distance over my head as heavy feet maneuvered around me. There was a mecha standing proudly above me – how it eluded my senses was beyond me. I had no idea where it had come from.
The noises were coming from it, and its head was turning, following the sight of something in the skies. I looked in that direction, so in awe of the thing that I didn't even think to move out from underfoot. One leg was literally brushing against my arm, and the other had yet to lift, so I was directly between its feet. My mouth fell open and I was visually drinking in what I was seeing. I realized that it was speaking aloud, its words obviously alien and indecipherable, but the way it positioned itself suggested that it was ready for defense, addressing the aircraft in the sky.
The rumbling noises in the sky began to grow louder, and I looked in the same direction as it was. There were fighter jets coming in, and it was then I realized my danger. I dropped my hands, turned, and began running for the adult superstore ahead of me. The mecha moved at that moment, its foot inches from my feet, and I nearly tripped with its proximity. It shifted over me, landing a very short distance away from me. I scrambled to my feet and ran in the other direction as a series of explosions from the sky alerted me to an attack from the jets towards the mecha.
The roar of noise and crashing sounds of impact nearly deafened me. I ran back towards the freeway overpass, covering my head. The mecha stumbled, and as I glanced back at it to judge its distance, it whirled around, releasing bright explosives of its own after the jets as they flew by.
Five small flares leapt into the air from the mecha, and slammed into one of the jets, causing a massive fireball in the sky. Debris rained down onto the city, and at that point, I turned and sprinted back towards Galletti. I was out of breath, weak, but I didn't want to get caught up in that mess. From the heavy roar of sound that began to move away from me, I had to guess that the mecha was moving away from the area, the jets following at a safe distance.
This battle continued on for some time. I could hear the scream of the jets as they circled, releasing their rockets or whatever on the giant robot. I could hear it continue to 'talk' in that weird way it had, the sounds growing fainter as it continued away from the center of the city.
I couldn't run anymore, by the time I reached Victorian, again. I stared in frustration at the casino I'd left that morning, struggling for breath. Hands on my knees, I lowered my head to catch my breath. My heart was beating so hard that I could barely hear over it. I was so sweaty that I knew I'd lost at least half of my foundation and blush. I looked back the way I'd came, giving a frustrated curse. When I looked up in the sky, there was only one jet circling its way upward, and that, too, exploded into a brilliant ball of flame and smoke when the mecha's flare touched it.
I bit my lip, then. Scanned the rest of the sky for any other signs of our aircraft and feeling slightly bothered that there wasn't any. Did this mean anything? Were we truly alone, hopeless to win against the alien threat?
Swallowing hard, I rummaged through my bag for my water, and took a few gulps. I had just savored the feeling of hydration in my dry mouth when I saw the horde coming at me from Victorian. I dropped my water and screamed, running up Virginia, to where it switched to El Rancho. At this point, I was tired, and I didn't think I could run anymore. But when I looked back to see how close the Rabid were to me, I found the energy to stay ahead.
The trailer park fire was brilliantly hot, searing the cold air as I ran up El Rancho, running towards the Drive-In. The Rabid's barks, snarls and screams echoed throughout the area, and I struggled to run faster, trying to think of a place to hide in time. The Usher's scream pierced the air – it echoed in the buildings around me. Birds took flight, and a dog barked. The undead were running so fast and hard that their bodies showed their strain. Tendons flexed in what necks were left, teeth were bared, arms swung. Even those that looked as if they shouldn't be running were sprinting with all the power and energy of some trained athlete.
I knew at that point I couldn't outrun them. I had to either hide or climb, and they were rapidly catching up to me. I was breathing hard at this point, finding it difficult. By the time I reached the stoplights, I knew I couldn't do this pace, anymore. The vehicles here were smashed together, victims of unstoppable traffic accidents. One of them caught my eye – an open gas tank, with a bright red canister sitting below it, as if someone had been syphoning what was left of it.
An idea came to mind, and I ran straight for it, willing numb fingers to dig into the side pockets of my bag. I pulled out the matches, and the can of hairspray. Fumbling with the can, I stuffed it under one arm, panting heavily as I struggled to pull out a few matches. Upon approaching the vehicle, I uncapped the hairspray, tossing the top away. I then jerked out the Security jacket I had taken, and stuffed one sleeve into the open gas tank. It immediately swelled with liquid, so I took a match to it.
As flames ripped along the material and caught onto the tank, I expected a Hollywood style explosion – but I remembered dad telling me that it was the fumes that caught caused explosions, not the actual liquid. The air was too cold for the fumes to rise, so I needed to help it along, and that was setting the jacket on fire.
I looked back to see how close the horde was to me, and shrieked because they were mere feet away. I unleashed the hairspray in their direction, catching one in the face. He jerked, stumbled and fell, causing others to trip with him in their haste to get to me. I then stuffed the can into the gas tank as well, then scrambled over the trunk, muttering, "OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod!"
I held my breath as I climbed over a smashed Ford Focus, scrambled over the hood of a mini-cooper, then sprinted like mad away from the snarling sounds of the pursuing Rabid. The Usher screamed, loud and long, and it was moments later when the ex
plosion took to the air. It was a deafening sound that was accompanied with a mini-shock wave I felt clear into my chest. I turned to see the work I caused, and gaped at the fireball rising into the air. Rabid stumbled about, engulfed in flames, scratching at themselves.
The Usher itself was screaming hoarsely, jerking about, crashing into the vehicles around it in a panicked haste to save itself. Flames licked the air, burning hotly, and I scrambled backwards, giving these breathy sounds of near laughter filled with relief.
As black smoke curled upward towards the sky, I caught my breath. Rabid hit the pavement with weakened movements, unable to escape the flame. The Usher itself collapsed against a small pile of moving bodies, and finally died with a screechy gurgle.
That was so awesome. I was so amazed at myself!
I stared at my work, pausing in place with my hands on my knees to watch those suckers burn.
I noticed that the Usher must have mind-control over these things – once it lost control, the Rabid didn't continue their pursuit. They wandered about with a dazed expression, burning brilliantly, not noticing their body's peril. I wondered about that as I straightened and prepared to leave the area.
I stopped short because three people were standing so close behind me that I bumped into the guy standing in front. Startled, I jerked backward, unable to gasp because my throat and mouth were so dry. They were observing the damage with stony faces, trying not to look impressed. All of them were armed with crazy military-style weaponry, dressed in urban camo jackets, jeans and worn hunting boots. Their packs were desert camouflage, and one of them had a bloody cinchpack tied to his waist, suggesting some sort of kill.
"Good job," the guy in front said, nodding his head. When he looked at me, I swear I knew him from somewhere – his dark hair was almost stylish, floppy on the forehead, with a slight wave. But his face had seen too much sun, so he had wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. His eyes were huge, which I knew instantly was the effect of some drug – dad had pointed out drug user characteristics from time-to-time, forcing me to take note "just in case."
I missed him so much.
The other guy was an ethnicity I couldn't place, but he looked a lot more friendly than this guy did. He smiled at me, with both eyes and mouth, so I immediately felt okay with him. He had salt and pepper hair, which was shorter on the sides, and the beginnings of scruff on his jawline. The chick had short cropped hair and I immediately placed her as butchy because…well, I can tell these things. Her entire demeanor screamed 'man in training'.
"Where's the rest of your group?" the man in front asked me. I couldn't help but stare at him – I knew I knew him from somewhere, but I just couldn't place…
"I don't have one," I mumbled, looking for an escape route. But it felt like no matter what move I did, these predators would destroy me at first action.
"You're out here alone?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow. "That's really stupid for a female like you."
"I just…I just wanted to go home, and – and the people I was with, they didn't think too much of that decision," I continued to mumble. I had to admit, I felt intimidated by these guys.
"So, you want to get eaten? You like the thought of being raped by a pack of men?" he then asked, and his partner hit him on the shoulder as the delivery, given in monotone, made me feel thissmall. Almost…almost similar to the way Harley had. "That's why you're out by yourself? The packs of the living aren't like those herds of dead."
"I just…avoid them," I said lamely.
"He's been very mean, lately, but it's only because of the stress," his partner finally spoke up, his voice heavily accented and strangely comforting. He introduced himself with a warm handshake. "My name is Diego. This is Chuck. Our partner here, her name is Chloe. We can take you to safety. There are others, like you, in a safe group on the other side of Sparks. We shall take you there."
"But my home's over there," I pointed. "It's off South Virginia, off California – "
"Near Reno High?" Chloe spoke up, snapping gum. "Not safe. That's where Camp 7, is."
"The vaccinated," Chuck added, giving my outfit a frown. Obviously, he didn't approve of pink and ruffles. "Are you vaccinated?"
"Not…not that I know of…what do you mean, Camp 7?"
As he spoke, Chuck surveyed the area, looking for danger. He reminded me of a predator on the Discovery channel – a lion, or something. The way his facial features shifted, the tone of his voice – he was the quiet, dangerous character on a video game that went ninja on everybody, but definitely on the side of good. The other two relaxed a little, allowing him to talk while they took positions that allowed them good eye of the area.
“Listen. There are three large camps out here. One is ours – we’re in the Sparks area, just off the boulevard, here. The other two camps belong to the vaccinated – they are the majority with weaponry. They have a strong prejudice against those that aren’t vaccinated.”
“So…there was a vaccine,” I said, mainly to myself. “I thought they were just stories.”
“No. It was true. They," Chuck pointed up at the sky, indicating our invaders. As he spoke, he began moving for the sidewalk, and I followed because he had some sort of magical leash on me, and I felt compelled to listen, "attacked first with releasing the flu strain on us. The military began killing everybody that didn’t have it. And because it’s not certain that this virus is completely dead, they’re still intent on killing us.”
The situation was so similar to the second edition in a zombie survival series, where the bodies of the uninfected puzzled the survivors in New Orleans. I wish I could point this out to stupid Harley, who refused to believe in the things that I did.
“They’re set up in the center of Reno. Also, they're on Damonte, Camp 2,” he said as he pointed down South of Reno. “These are the only military run camps to survive the uprising so far. Civilians have attacked the others, revolting against their law."
Chuck was then leading us up towards the K-Mart shopping center, which was strangely abandoned. There were no vehicles anywhere. Trash fluttered about, and I felt uneasy with the lack of bodies, of presence in this area. I continued to follow, but I looked over my shoulder with a worried expression, noting that I was moving away from the direction I wanted.
“They don’t come this way much, but sometimes we run into them when we’re out scavenging,” Chuck continued. “Our camp is still relatively new, but we got rules in order to survive. Clear with me, so far?”
I nodded, feeling anxious as we kept moving. They had a brisk pace – I practically had to jog to keep up with them.
“The camps keep track of everybody coming in and out. This one has documented every person that made it so far.”
“I need to find my parents,” I said, almost on automatic. "We live – I know they're safe, my dad works for the Reno Police Department, homicide."
Chuck frowned at me. We ended up stopping right outside of a Payless shoe store so that he could get his thoughts in order. He looked at Diego.
Diego touched my arm – he was like a motherly type, and it started to dawn on me that these two had a relationship of some kind. The way they looked at each other was the same way dad and mom would communicate before adding words to their lecture. “Well…some of the cops we've talked to at the camp mentioned that they were vaccinated months earlier. Their families were offered this same vaccination. We have come to assume that this is what makes them immune. It sounds as if it were preplanned.”
Government conspiracies, I assumed silently. Working in cohoots with each other. Who knows, probably next year’s president was some grey alien with human officers. I tried to think of dad ever mentioning his flu shot. Mom did bother him for one every year, but…I don’t remember them ever saying anything about getting flu shots.
“The only dangerous things to watch out for are other humans,” Chloe said with a heavy sigh. “And you look like easy bait, princess.”
“Were you offered one?” Chuck asked me po
intedly.
“No,” I replied, a little sheepishly. I cringed, finding it rather absurd to admit one of my biggest fears at a time like this. “No, I don’t…I…I’m afraid of needles. But my dad never mentioned anything about getting one. I usually know when, because…mom – she always pestered him to get one. They're an older couple, so…”
“Then they could be at one of the military-run camps,” Diego murmured, looking at Chuck.
At one hand, I felt better thinking that this vaccination saved them from becoming Rabid during the first assault. On another, it meant that they were in places I couldn’t get to without being shot down by militant forces. But maybe they were waiting for me, there. Maybe I wouldn't get shot, with their forces knowing I was going to show up.
"Should we take her?" Chloe asked Chuck. "Or just leave her?"
"I could just…go on my way," I said, a little too quietly. "I just…I just want to find my parents. That's all. I don't – I don't have anybody else."
"What about the other party you were with? Where are they?" Chuck then asked me. "We're collecting as many people as we can away from here. If you don't want to go, then we're not going to make you."
The Long Way To Reno Page 19