Love in the Robot Dawn

by C. W. Crowe

  Barking Dog lifted the door as Lucy put her hand on the gun, just in case.

  I half expected to see a car or truck inside, but the bay was basically empty except for one thing - a motorcycle.

  "Here's your receipt!" said Barking Dog as he led us inside.

  I didn't know what to say. "How did . . ."

  "The tribe owned a casino and inside was a collection of vintage motorcycles. People would pay to see them. Once the power went out, these older bikes were the only things still running. We've still got them - a bunch of Harley's and some other brands. This one is a 1976 Triumph TR7. It'll carry the two of you easily and it's a perfect desert bike - can go off road if you need to because it has the knobby tires. I rode it to Vegas and it only took a day - ridden it all over. Never had a problem."

  Lucy went up to the bike and examined it closely. "And gas?"

  "No shortage of that, Lucy. When the power went out, all the cars, trucks and planes that had computers in them stopped working. There are millions of them, most with gas in their tanks. I'll give you a hose to siphon all you need. Gas is getting stale though, so I'd steal from only newer, high end cars - their gas tanks are sealed from the outside air and the gas doesn't deteriorate as fast."

  Lucy removed the gas cap and looked inside the tank. "How far will it go?"

  "The next hundred miles is flat and straight. If you keep it to fifty, you'll get at least sixty miles per gallon. The tank holds three gallons. You should make sure you're full before you enter the mountains and take along another gallon container just in case."

  Lucy looked at me and I knew she was asking my opinion. "I . . . I don't know how to drive one of these." Actually, I'd never even driven a car that I could remember. I'd just been too young.

  She frowned and said to Barking Dog, "Can you give us a lesson? Plus, we've got a map, can you show us how you got there? Which route is the best through the mountains? I think there's a river too."

  "Sure. The best way takes you slightly north of Vegas. It's after noon now, I suggest we get something to eat and I'll give you the course on Triumph starting and driving and then, if you want to pay the tax, I'll be on my way by nightfall. You should stay and start out the first thing in the morning and you'll be in the Vegas area by late in the day."

  "You're leaving tonight?" Lucy asked.

  "I think so. You remind me of my third wife, Lucy. She's got short hair too and you look a little like her. I think I'd like to get on back. It's a straight thirty mile shot from here and it's going to be a beautiful clear night. I'd like to ride on horseback and study the stars. That sounds kind of Indian, doesn't it?"

  He paused, "So do you pay the tax and get the receipt? Is it a deal?"

  Lucy came over to me and reached for my hand. I looked into her eyes and saw the answer. "It's a deal," I said.

  *.*.*

  The sun was just setting as Barking Dog mounted Lucy's horse. The other one was tied to its saddle. He took nothing with him except the saddles, a half-gallon jug of water and a winter coat.

  I felt a little sad about losing the horses - they had saved us, probably more than once. I gave each of them half a dried up apple we'd been saving and Lucy smiled at me.

  Barking Dog's noises never seemed to change. They were always calm. "Just follow the route I marked for you and don't let the gas get too low."

  He reached over and offered his hand. I shook it. Then he leaned over as Lucy rose up on her toes. He kissed her on the cheek.

  Without another word, he rode off.

  We watched until he was out of sight.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven: Speed

  It got cold that night; not quite down to freezing, but cold. That didn't matter though, for two reasons. First, we had a fire and second, we zipped our sleeping bags together. I told Lucy that I thought her stomach was starting to get bigger and she kicked me, though it didn't hurt.

  We talked for quite a while, holding each other and kissing without really thinking about it. We discussed how our lives had changed so much in just one day. How it looked like we'd actually get to Area 51. How we'd been so lucky to meet up with Barking Dog.

  "Do you think he was right, Leo?" she asked me at one point as I was just about asleep.

  "Right about what?"

  "About what he said. About how God might have something He wants us to do. Why else would Barking Dog have been here with the bike at the exact moment we arrived?"

  "Could be coincidence," I said, kissing her again.

  "Maybe." She pulled me closer to her and I was surprised at how strong she was.

  *.*.*

  "You drive. Barking Dog said this first stretch was straight and flat and you need the practice."

  Lucy had made fun of me the entire time we'd been learning to drive the motorcycle yesterday. She took to it quite easily, but she'd also driven a car at least a few times. She'd laughed at one point when I started out too slow and the bike was wobbling. "Good Lord, Leo, it's just like a bike. Get up some speed and it'll be fine. You can ride a bicycle can't you?"

  That question didn't really seem necessary and I started to say something smart back to her when I paused and thought about it. Actually, I couldn't remember ever having ridden a bicycle. That seemed strange in the neighborhood where I grew up - it was safe and the streets were wide with little traffic. But I didn't remember my Dad teaching me to ride. I guessed it was because he was too busy and that made me a little sad.

  And it made me more determined to ride not just as well, but better than Lucy. "You just watch and learn," I said. I'd show her.

  But there was another advantage. If she was riding in the back, she had to contend with our stuff. We couldn't take everything we'd been traveling with on this bike, so we had to prioritize. We left behind almost all the food, and most of our clothes. Even then, getting our sleeping bags and other important items secured made for a tight fit. Barking Dog had given us a pack which helped since Lucy could wear it on her back. He also left us some rope, a siphon hose and two jugs that we tied on the bike in front of me. One had water and the other gas.

  "Do we have everything?" Lucy asked.

  I started to say "No, I forgot a bunch of our treasures,” but I kept my mouth shut. She'd not thrown up today, but it was barely getting light and I wasn't totally sure of her mood.

  "Matches. You got them? And the extra ammo?"

  I knew Lucy had the pistol in her waist band and the rifle strung around her neck with its strap. "Yes, mother, I have all that stuff." I couldn't help myself.

  "Well, Leo, I've learned that half the job of a wife is to be a mother."

  What did she mean by that? "And the other half?"

  She got on the Triumph behind me and snuggled close, putting her arms around my waist. "The other half is to watch your back."

  I kick-started the engine and moved smoothly off. "Same as I watch yours," I said.

  I could feel her smile in her noises.

  *.*.*

  I think I did great, even if I say so myself. Within a mile or two I had the bike up to sixty as we passed a few abandoned cars.

  "Barking Dog said to keep it at fifty to get the best gas mileage." Lucy had to practically shout over all the wind noise. Welcome to my world.

  I started to make some kind of crack about back seat drivers, but instead dialed the speed back. She was right - no need to take any chances now.

  For the last months, we'd traveled at either walking speed or horse speed - neither of them very fast. To go at fifty miles an hour felt like we were flying, like we could be anywhere in the world in no time at all.

  And I got the hang of driving the bike pretty quickly, even at one point slowing down and going off-road into the desert to bypass three large trucks that had collided and were blocking the highway. One of them was a large shiny tanker with "Got Milk?" printed on the side.

  After a couple of hours, Lucy poked me in the ribs, "Let's stop up there," she shouted.

  "Up there" was a littl
e town that had trees in it. Real trees. I rode through town before stopping, looking carefully for any signs of trouble. The place only had a dozen buildings and they all seemed to be deserted. One building had a sign that said "Mel's Diner, Best Food in the Desert."

  Lucy dismounted and took off the pack. She kept the rifle with her as she went off towards some bushes.

  When she returned she said, "Being pregnant must shrink your bladder. I have to go just about all the time."

  I started to make a joke, but Lucy was staring at me so I thought better of it. Instead, I looked in the gas tank. We'd been over a hundred miles and it was probably less than half full. "Might as well get gas," I said.

  I looked around for a newer car and saw a really nice looking one at the diner. It was dusty and streaked with dirt, but it was obviously some type of high end model. Neither Lucy nor I had ever seen one.

  We spent almost ten minutes looking for the gas port on the car and finally gave up and got some from an Audi.

  Lucy took over as the driver and I got myself set up behind her. She took off like a rocket and I only had time to glance at the rear of the car we'd been trying to get gas from. It said it was a Tesla.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Alien Research Center

  The sun was getting low in the sky by the time we exited I-15 onto Rt. 93, just north of Vegas. I leaned the bike slightly and took the turn like a pro. I could hear Lucy's approval in her noises - maybe even just a hint of jealousy?

  It had been a long day, but Barking Dog's directions had been perfect, so we'd made it past every obstacle with relative ease. The only thing that had worried me was a brief snow shower in the mountains, but then the sun came out and we were fine.

  I called back to Lucy, "It's 85 miles. Can you make it?" We'd just stopped less than an hour ago and had almost a full tank of gas.

  "Yeah! Go for it, Leo!"

  Our goal for today was the little town of Crystal Springs. It was a ghost town for the most part, but did have two items of interest. It had the Alien Research Center which was mostly a tourist attraction, but I still wanted to see it. And it had two lakes just north of town that we both wanted to enjoy. Neither of us had seen a large body of calm water for a long time. We'd planned on spending the night there and then heading to Area 51 tomorrow.

  *.*.*

  The Alien Research Center wasn't much, though it did have a cool metal alien statue standing in the front. It was twenty feet tall and kind of reminded me of what I thought robots looked like before I actually saw some. We didn't bother to go inside, that could wait for later - first, we both wanted to visit the lakes. Lucy told me at our last rest stop that she really wanted to swim if she remembered how. She asked if I'd ever had lessons and I told her I didn't think so.

  We drove on past the Research Center for a half mile or so and there it was - a green area and a blue lake. It had been a long time since we'd seen anything that looked truly alive. Both of us said nothing as we walked, hand in hand, to the shore of the lake.

  Lucy bent down and felt the water. "Not too cold. I'm game for a dip, but first nature calls yet again." She walked away, out of sight behind some nearby bushes. I walked back to the motorcycle to get a towel and blanket. When we were deciding which things we could actually carry with us on the single bike, I'd argued that we could do without a towel, but Lucy just gave me a look and put it in the "take" pile.

  I was struggling to get the things out without unpacking the whole bag when I saw a movement to my left. I turned and was shocked to see a man running towards me. He was carrying a gun.

  *.*.*

  Actually, it wasn't a man; he was more like a boy, probably not more than ten or eleven. He had a confused look on his face as he pointed the gun at me. The barrel was steady as a rock.

  When he spoke, his words sounded like they had fear and anger in them. "You . . . you have my mama. You give her back!"

  I could hear his noises just as clearly as his words. They sounded muted, not at all agitated the way his speech was.

  I held out my hands to show him I was unarmed. "Ah son . . ."

  "You are not my daddy! He's dead. But my mama, you've got her. Give her back or I'll shoot you."

  He lifted the gun and the only thing I could think of was that I'd never get to see our baby. I started to call out a warning to Lucy when the shot came.

  *.*.*

  It took a second for me to realize I wasn't dead and that the gun that the boy had been pointing at me was lying on the ground. He was staring at his hands with a surprised look on his face.

  "Oh my God! Cory! Don't hurt him mister, please don't hurt him!" It was a woman, running towards us. She went to the boy and embraced him. "It's okay, Cory, you're okay." Her voice was soothing though her noises were highly agitated.

  The boy started to cry, saying "I want mama." The woman helped him sit on a rock.

  I looked over where Lucy had gone just a few minutes ago. She was standing there, rifle at the ready. She never went anywhere now without being armed - not after she was almost taken soon after we started our journey.

  She was good with the rifle too - she'd just shot the gun out of the boy's hands.

  "Get the gun, Leo," Lucy called out to me. The woman was still tending to the boy, so I walked around them and picked up the rifle. The bullet had hit it on the lower part of the stock. There was a chunk of the wood missing, but the gun would still be usable.

  Lucy came over and stood beside me, frowning like I'd somehow got myself into this trouble. She looked to the pair on the rock, "Anyone else around?"

  The woman stood up and I was surprised to realize she was young - probably younger than Lucy or me. Her face showed fear. "No, it's just me and my brother," she said. "We got left behind when the robots started to kill people."

  That was almost three years ago. I wanted to ask how they'd survived, but before I could she said, "My brother - don't blame him. Before it all happened, he was, you know, slow. But he was in a special school and he was a happy kid. Then . . . it happened and now it's just me and him. He's not so happy anymore - hasn't been for a long time."

  She paused. "But he wouldn't hurt anyone. The gun wasn't even loaded." I looked and she was telling the truth. I showed Lucy the empty chamber.

  "What are you going to do with us?" she asked.

  She was worried that we were thieves or worse! Lucy answered, "We're just passing through and are no threat to those who are no threat to us."

  She nodded and tugged at the boy and he stood, docile now. "It's been so long since I saw anyone. I'm Karen Mcmillan and this is Cory. Funny, I had to think about my last name; I’d almost forgotten it. Would you stay for dinner? We've got some rabbit."

  *.*.*

  Actually, they had two rabbits and some greens that I couldn't identify. Karen cooked the rabbits over an open fire and turned them until the juices inside were hot. We were right outside the back door of the Alien Research Center.

  When it was all done, the smells were delicious and I reached for a plate. Cory frowned, "Grace please," he said holding out one hand to Karen and one to Lucy. Lucy looked at me and smiled. She often paused before she ate and I figured she was praying. We all joined hands.

  "It was always Cory's job to say grace back before . . ." Karen explained. "Go ahead, Cory, we're ready."

  He looked like he was trying to force the words out, "Good Lord, we thank you for this food." Then he looked at Lucy and said, "Are you my mama?"

  Karen got a surprised look on her face. "You know she's not, Cory. You shouldn't say such things - look, you've embarrassed Lucy. Now go ahead and eat. It's past your bedtime."

  Lucy smiled at him and held his hand until he reached for his food.

  It was delicious.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine: Karen's Story

  Karen explained that they slept in the rear of the Alien Research Center building because it offered shelter. They'd even rigged up a makeshift fireplace and could have a little indoor fire for wa
rmth. She was inside getting Cory into bed and Lucy and I were cleaning up the dishes after dinner.

  "Well, what do you think?" Lucy asked.

  "It was really good."

  "Not the dinner, Leo, her."

  I should have expected this because Karen was a very good looking woman. She was blonde and wore tight jeans and top that showed that her figure was, well, developed.

  "She seems nice enough."

  I hoped that would satisfy her, but Lucy’s noises told me otherwise. “You know what I mean, Leo. She’s quite pretty, isn’t she?”

  I knew this question was a trap. Either way I answered it, I was in trouble. I tried a new direction. “I suppose she’s healthy looking. She looks a lot like her brother, don’t you think?”

  Lucy didn’t bite at my attempt to change the subject to the brother. “Oh yes, she’s healthy all right. She’s got health popping out all over the place.”

  We washed the dishes in a bucket of water and stacked them by the fire. Lucy stopped asking me questions for the moment, but I could hear her noises like a motor running. Finally, we sat, side by side. “You’re thinking of Barking Dog, aren’t you?” she said, looking directly into my eyes.

  Why would I be thinking of him? The only thing on my mind was getting Lucy to stop staring at me with her eyes like slits.

  “No, I don’t know . . .”

  “It’s his three wives, Leo. That’s why you’re thinking of him. Well, you can forget it, mister.”

  “I was absolutely not thinking of him.” Now I was starting to get a little angry. It was all so unfair.

  She looked away, into the fire. “Well, maybe not yet, but you’ll think of it sooner or later.

  Before I could decide on a suitable response, Karen came back out to join us around the fire. That was good; Lucy and I had never had a fight around another human and I didn't want to start now.