The Long Way To Reno

by Mix, Michelle

Once a bed was laid out for me, some lady apologizing for me sleeping on the floor, I simply curled up and went to sleep. I was too tired to be cautious, anymore. It seemed that as soon as I laid down, I just crashed. I didn't care that a sleeping bag was my only divider from the hard, foul smelling carpet floor, and that my pillow was my lumpy bag. I slept and dreamt of being at home with dad, hearing his brisk, firm voice lecturing me about wandering away from safety, for being too stubborn.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked grumpily, yanking my blanket high up to my chin. "I'm fucking tired, and you're calling me stupid, again."

  "I didn't say you were stupid, Edith. I just said you were unrealistic."

  "Whatever, dad. You made me get this job. It's your fault I had to walk all the way out here because you wouldn't let me stay home."

  He must've felt guilty after that, because he stopped lecturing me. Even in my dreams, my dad knew his boundaries with me. But it made me incredibly sad after that, because it was only a dream, and I cried because I just wanted to be with him and mom again.

  : :

  When I woke up sometime later, I was alone. My eyes were puffy, and, as I looked around myself, I saw that the room was prepped for sleep. Sleeping bags, blankets, pillows and belongings were posted everywhere in neat stacks. I was in the far corner of the room, and sounds of life were coming from the halls. I brushed my hair from my face, for once uncaring of what I looked like.

  Though there were heavy boards crisscrossing the windows, the sunlight filtered through. I could hear the pulsing noise causing the glass to tremble. The whole building seemed to ebb with it, despite the screams of laughter of kids, and the murmurs of adult voices. For a second, things seemed okay. It felt like I hadn't just gone through all the horrors that I had, and I was somewhere safe.

  I was only reminded of the present as I looked down at my burned hand, skin peeling on my palm. I made a face at it, and slowly rose from my bed.

  I busied myself pestering one of the supply ladies for some cuter clothes, and walked away with things that made me happy. I didn't mind the pink cardigan over an extra-long blouse with the skinny jeans that I could roll over some nifty, brilliantly colored Adidas hi-tops – I thought I looked rather cute. Add to that a green, James Sunderland-like jacket with a furlined hood, and I was set. I took advantage of the showers in the locker rooms, borrowing someone’s toiletries to do so, and by the time I had fresh makeup on and my hair was down to dry, the clocks on the walls told me it was nearly three in the afternoon.

  There were young guys and men carrying guns, talking amongst each other about who was going to which sector – they all performed double takes once they saw me, but none of them suited my standards, so I didn’t bother giving them second looks.

  I found the ladies’ area, and scanned the chicks that were standing around, cleaning rooms. Peeking into every one, I didn’t find Sandy, so I figured I’d run into her later. I asked a guy in a Sparks PD uniform where I could gain roof access, and he gave me directions with a confused expression.

  Once I made it up, startling a couple of people sitting at watch near the roof ledges, I ignored them once I looked out at the Reno-Sparks area from another point of view. It wasn’t a metropolis anymore – it was a dump. My throat tightened at the sight of destroyed neighborhoods, of the missing buildings down town – down south were burning ruins of destruction.

  The air smelled heavily of snow and rot – dogs barked frantically near the south end of the school, and people were already headed over in that direction to check it out. Armed with hand-held radios that had Radioshack stickers on them, the two on the roof calmly relayed that the dogs were fighting each other over a carcass of some kind.

  I returned to looking over the devastation. Heavy clouds were crawling over the mountains to the southwest, over the Galena area. It looked to be snowing, and in the west, towards Robb Drive, was a fresh coating of snow. Something was burning brightly in the Virginia Street area, past UNR. Despite the snow, there was still material that burned.

  I strained to see past the ruined columns of unrecognizable casino towers, but I couldn’t see anything. I had to get over there - but I wasn’t sure how, or even if I should without checking the other camps, first. But how was I going to do that if they were shooting people on sight?

  It was so weird looking at a city that had been flooded with twenty-four hour activity and seeing absolutely no sign of this particular life now. I blinked hard every so often, hoping the picture would change back to the way it was. It was cold and this sharp freeze in the air had me cringing, tucking my hands underneath my armpits and shivering. I looked down at my feet, at some stranger’s shoes that I had to use. I wanted my old life back. I wanted my parents. I wanted to be home, hearing my dad lecture me and having my mom stroke my hair.

  I felt my eyes burning with building tears, and I let them fall. The ache in my chest made it difficult to breathe. I struggled to catch myself before I really let the faucet loose, wiping my eyes carefully and sucking down snot. I looked up at the cloudy skies, feeling my hair whip about. I searched the churning belly of the clouds for answers, my mind running over the precious memories of my parents. I felt so lost and alone, but at the same time, hearing the murmur of the security guards on the grounds below, I knew I wasn’t.

  : :

  Bleary eyed, I examined my nails. I sat at one of the cafeteria tables, nursing coffee and straining to hear the passing conversations of the security guards that came to the kitchen to refill their thermoses. Everyone with guns assured each other that the skies were clear – the clouds had disappeared under that strange pulsing, and no unusual things had occurred just yet.

  My mind raced through all sorts of possibilities the pulsing could be. Slow mind-control of the remaining masses? Alien sensors from space scanning the grounds, numbering the amount of survivors? Incubation processes that were feeding on hidden alien eggs throughout the area? My imagination conjured up images of hidden things in shadows and underground, waiting for the next signal to attack.

  I sipped at my coffee, feeling shaky, exhausted and useless. I wanted to go home more than ever. But now I was scared because I wasn’t sure what was happening outside. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to think to make a decision. I felt utterly and completely useless.

  I looked up when I saw a big red-haired guy walk in. I felt my lip curl in reaction because I am a snob that judges people, even in times of survival. But then I saw he was carrying some walk-throughs in one arm.

  I called for his attention, and he looked surprised that I would even give him any time of my day. Fumbled with his coffee, spilled it, then dropped all his books while introducing himself as Darrell. I waited for him to get himself together, and watched him stagger over in my direction. I asked to look at one of those books, and he dumped them all onto the table with a surprised expression. One of them was a Resident Evil walk-through, and I grabbed it.

  “The pulsing sound is weird,” I commented, looking at all the instructions given in the pages, remembering my own travels through particular levels. Because Darrell is obviously a guy that’s never had female attention like mine before, he sputtered out some life explanations that I tuned out, flipping through the book in order to calm my useless thoughts.

  I gave nonsensical answers here and there, not totally caring about Darrell’s situation until he finally gave up trying to get my attention. He left with the other books, and I continued flipping through the walk-through until I came to a particular page. The ‘incubation’ word made me pause. It took Liz awhile to turn and eat her father – the Rabid virus was activated by the invading aliens. I’m sure this was something other people thought about – if a virus could be controlled and released by prompt, then it was still out there. Maybe not the same virus – but the same action?

  This pulsing – what was it nurturing? I mean, yeah, so it could be this HAARP thing that made TOTAL sense, but what if it were something else entirely? Somet
hing scary and threatening? They kept mentioning that there was no sign of Rabid bodies, so what happened to those?

  I looked at the boarded up windows of the school. My instincts were crazy, now. I looked down at the book in my hand and thought about mutated creatures coming to life, nurtured by a virus to wreck havoc on the masses. Impatience hit me, and I pushed the book away from me.

  Enough rest. It was time to go home, dammit.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The pulsing stopped as I was heading back towards the room.

  After hearing the constant sound of some massive heartbeat from the sky, the silence was startling. I froze in the middle of the hall, and automatically looked up. People were moving around me, involved in their own lives, and I couldn't understand how they didn't know something significant had just happened. I veered towards one of the exit doors, pushing my way outside to check for myself the ceasing of this pulsing noise.

  Shielding my eyes with my hands, I examined the empty night sky, unnerved by the silence. The world suddenly seemed threatening with the unnatural stillness – nothing called out, nothing whistled, nothing moved. It was as if the earth itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

  Before I could think anything, a sudden high-pitched buzzing began, building in strength until it was enough for me to cover my ears. It tore through the sky, filling the valley with noisy destruction, and I stumbled about, looking for cover and the source of the noise in one crazy movement. The new sound intensified until it was a banging metallic vibration, pulsing fiercely enough to cause snow-covered trees to shake overhead. Glass shuddered, noisily ringing out in warning. I couldn’t even think coherently. I was so terrified of what was happening around me that I stumbled about, looking for a place to hide. I managed to cram myself against a trashcan, pressing my back against the school building and uttering scared, incoherent noises as I frantically scanned the stars.

  Eventually, the noises finally faded away – the world was silent. Nothing moved. It felt like forever when I finally dropped my hands. I searched the sky anxiously for incoming lights, listening for anything unusual – I heard only animals giving out nervous calls and humans within the school, finally made aware of this new madness. The content of their noise was too far away for me to catch.

  The sky then rumbled with a sound that was more of a pulsing vibration than actual thunder. The ground vibrated. Then came a low hum that seemed as if something massive was shifting underneath my feet. Before I could say anything, the earth moved. Car alarms rang out and houses shook, lurching as the ground groaned. Glass vibrated and shattered, the metal streetlights ringing out as they swayed. It was an earthquake, and I’d never felt one this strong, before. Reno wasn’t stranger to them, but this was enough to cause wood to snap, for trees to sway violently. I thought I was going to have to run out to the street, with how violent the building shook, but the moment that thought touched me, everything stopped.

  Silence spilled over once more. Minutes passed without any indication of threat, the skies finally silent. I swallowed terrified screams that had built and had been trapped in my throat, recognizing that I’d been so scared that my own nails had broken in my curled palms. Brushing my hair from my face, my hands so tense that I could barely move them, I stood on shaky legs, scanning the sky. When I saw nothing up there, I looked around myself. Car alarms continued to sound off, dogs barked, a cat called from somewhere down the street. I heard guys shouting, but they were too far away from me to hear properly.

  I ventured out towards the sidewalk, wondering what was going to happen. I wanted to go back to the school to be with other people, but once that thought hit me, I remembered how the Rabid attacked. I couldn’t go back at that point. I was terrified of coming onto that hellish scene all over again. I felt that if I were alone in this empty area, I’d have a better chance of survival.

  Once my panicked mind began relishing this thought, I realized someone was calling my name. It took a few moments, panic and fear cultivating desperate hope that it was my dad, somehow – but once I recognized Harley’s voice, nothing felt so warm and sso good as knowing that he was nearby. It was so freaky – I immediately felt so much better knowing he’d come looking for me. Even after that stupid pity-party I’d had earlier – I guess that’s what fear does to someone. Warps their thoughts and mind and renders them this bipolar mess.

  I called back in response, not moving from my spot. Hearing my ugly croak made me clear my throat and call back out, stronger this time. He rounded the corner nearby, giving me this accusing look. He was dressed in his jacket, hunting rifle slung behind him, and a lighter backpack. He obviously didn’t spend the day sleeping, like normal people would. I decided that the dude was an insomniac, or he was sharing his dad's meth stash.

  "Were you talking to that fat guy earlier today?" he asked, and it wasn't even relevant to the situation, so I was stupefied. I gave him a blank stare, reaching up to straighten my blunt bangs with my fingers as he gave me a frustrated look. "Darrell, were you talking to Darrell?"

  "Yeah. He, uh, showed me a book – so what?" I asked, totally confused as to this line of questioning.

  Harley looked uncomfortable at that point, swallowing nervously, wiping his hands on his pants. "I, uh…Tavis, he…uh, I guess things have been happening – like, strange things, and there's no explanation for any of it – "

  "The aliens haven't exactly told us why they're invading us – " I said dryly.

  "They found things! They found – weird things inside bodies in the neighborhood – that guy, Darrell, he was talking about a virus, infestation, something about…residential evils, or something…?"

  "Resident Evil...?"

  "Yeah. Some bullshit…thing about a virus? Anyway, he was talking about these bodies and…no one knows what that is, what they are, and – " He rolled his eyes, sputtering. "The way they were grilling Darrell about these things, it sounds similar to your video games. "

  "Okay, so?"

  "They want to talk to you." Harley frowned down at me, clearly unable to understand anything about me. I gave him a confused look, followed with a shrug. "Now. Something's happening, right now, and they need you two to…to 'advise' them."

  "I know nothing – "

  "That's not true. That's not entirely true." He swallowed again, and looked irritated as he gave the area a quick scan. "You've been…you've been right. Annoyingly, irritatingly right about some things, and…"

  Despite myself, I felt my lips curl upward. There was that feeling again, the one that made me feel like I contributed to something.

  "…I suggested that you sit in on it," he finally finished with some trouble. Then he really looked at me again, giving me a onceover, lingering on my bright Adidas shoes. "Where do you find this stuff? It's completely unpractical - ! Anything can see you in the dark!"

  "You're like an old man, lecturing to hear yourself talk."

  "You said one of us had to be the adult in the situation!"

  "It's amazing that you even listened to me."

  Harley stared at me for some time, then. He cleared his throat again, looking out at the darkness. "You're a piece of work, Edith," he finally said. "Sometimes, I don't know whether to just walk away from it all – "

  "You did. Remember?"

  He forgot what he was going to say after that, scratching his chin.

  "Are you breaking up with me?" I asked, outraged. "Because it was never me, it was always you. You're the one breaking the rules, here."

  He glared at me, then indicated that I follow him. Satisfied that he was incapable of insulting me any further, I followed behind him.

  : :

  “No one even listens to me when I start spewing references!” Darrell protested, as we moved hastily through the main school halls. That old guy was in charge of the school – his last name was Tavis, and I knew from his bewildered stare in my direction that this entire thing was all my fault. I hadn’t even been here for forty-right hour
s and I’d already caused another alien invasion.

  I was spinning with what had happened in the past half hour that I allowed Harley to pull me around, comfortable with his lead. Benson was at my right, and being surrounded by a bunch of fierce military and armed civilians wasn't as awesome as I thought it would be. I felt like a timid prisoner. Or someone drawn completely out of their clique to another – totally out of my element. I stared down at my muddy shoes and listened to them insult Darrell, instead.

  Along the way to some offices near the front of the school, Tavis gave out hasty orders to those that were looking for him. The school halls were building with rising panic, again, as people sought answers and covers. When they caught sight of us, they gave us anxious looks.

  “So I didn’t even think it was that important to discuss it with you!” Darrell sputtered.

  Tavis wanted both of us to share our knowledge on the things that had been found, our theories on larvae and ‘Flood’, this information based on a variety of video games enough to convince the others that we knew more of the situation. Darrell was so confused about my involvement that he kept losing his train of thought when he looked at me. I was confused because I don't know about these bodies they were talking about, and what they wanted wasn't exactly being made clear. It was like sputtering guesses to messed up lyrics and bad hums in order to identify a certain song.