by J. R. Tate
“You’re not running this show. I am.” The stranger pointed the knife toward his chest and then put it back on Becky, even closer than he was just a few seconds ago.
“Gun versus knife. I don’t think you wanna know how this will end.” Jake held the gun steady, his index finger resting on the trigger, ready for immediate action if the stranger moved any closer to Becky. Things were different now. Laws seemed to have gone out the window and it was survival of the fittest. There would be no immediate repercussions for killing someone, which was a scary thought.
“Shoot him, Jake!” Becky gritted her teeth, taking a step away from the stranger.
“He doesn’t have the sack to shoot me. You’ll be dead before he gets to me,” the stranger replied, lunging toward Becky.
It happened in slow motion, but it also happened fast. Jake pulled the trigger, the hard metal reacting and the loud echo of the gunshot rang out against the mountains. The gun kick was hard in his palm and when he opened his eyes, the stranger was on the ground, his forehead bloody from where the bullet had hit him. Becky was standing, her mouth open, shocked at what had just happened.
No one said anything at first. All three of them stood in a circle around the stranger’s body - his eyes were wide open and glossy, staring up at the sky overhead. The bullet hole was a perfect circle with a small trail of blood that dripped to the ground. It took a second for Jake to realize what he had done. He had killed a man. It didn’t matter that the man was after Becky and going to kill her - he had still taken a life. A human life. It was a bitter pill to swallow, especially as he stared down at the body that was alive just a few seconds before.
“Y’all okay down there?” Larry yelled from the highway and Jake couldn’t even bring himself to answer.
“We’re okay!” Becky waved and patted Jake on the shoulder. “It had to be done, Jake. You saved our lives.”
“Did I?” He glanced at Becky.
“Yes. No doubt about it.”
Jake knelt beside the body and checked every pocket for anything they could gather, unwilling to leave anything behind that might be useful. The stranger was dead. Jake had pulled the trigger. And now they were picking apart the clothing for things they could take with them. A part of Jake hoped that the crucial situation they were in was nothing more than a plane crash and the rescue effort was just taking longer. The past ten minutes confirmed that their way of life before was over and now it was survival mode. Kill or be killed. There was nothing they could do to stop it.
“Let’s get back up to the highway. I don’t know if he was with anyone that might come looking for him.”
Jake glanced over his shoulder one last time, getting one last glance at the first man he had ever killed. Something told him it wouldn’t be the last life he’d have to take. They were in for more on their trek back home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Sophie woke up periodically throughout the night. Without her cell phone working, she couldn’t tell what time it was but the sun hadn’t come up yet, allowing her to stay in the bed next to Danny. Her body ached, her mind raced, and fear settled in the pit of her stomach. They were in a stranger’s house, rifled through their garden, and while the fresh vegetables were refreshing and satisfying, there was a nagging feeling that something was very wrong. Her guilt and worry were the main culprit of her insomnia - her fear of her family’s well-being ranking right up at the top of her list of reasons why her mind wouldn’t shut down.
Danny was sleeping like a log and she envied his talent of being able to shut the world out. It was comforting having him near. She couldn’t imagine how this would go if she were by herself, especially after being attacked for simple items like water and convenience store snacks. She’d probably already be dead and the thought of that made her shiver. Warmth gathered in the corners of her eyes and she buried her face in the pillow. It was an unknown scent of the person who once inhabited the house. Where were they? Did they flee like everyone else? Or were they dead?
Sophie’s body shook under the blanket and she rolled on her back, feeling the tears trickle down the sides of her face. She hadn’t had a chance to stop and let things catch up with her. She hadn’t had a chance to really sit and think about what had happened. Now all of her emotions were overflowing like a swollen river from torrential rain. It never occurred to her that the last time she had left Dallas after Christmas break might possibly be the last time she’d ever see her family.
Closing her eyes tightly, she hoped that when she opened them again she’d wake up in her dorm room and this would all be some crazy dream her mind conjured up from the stress of school and upcoming tests. But it didn’t happen - she opened her eyes again, finding herself in the same unknown room, in a bed that wasn’t hers - the only familiar thing was Danny lying next to her and she was extremely thankful for that. Without him, she’d be another casualty caused by whatever the hell all of this was.
“Sophie, are you okay?” Danny’s warm breath tickled her neck and she found herself leaning into him.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” She sniffed, revealing the congestion from crying. Danny wasn’t stupid. Even in the dark, it was evident she had been crying.
“You can talk to me, you know? What’s going on?” He rolled on his side and propped himself up on his elbow. There was enough light cascading in from the moon that she could see him, his brow creased in genuine concern for her well-being.
“I just can’t sleep. I keep thinking about… everything.”
“Me too. My dreams… I keep dreaming that we’re back on campus and everything is fine. We’re in psych class and I’m stealing your notes off of you.” He laughed and shook his head, clasping his hand in hers. “I never thought I’d say I want to go back to school.”
Sophie squeezed his hand and brushed her lips over his. The kiss grew deeper and his hands slid down her sides, pulling her as close to him as possible. “I’m so glad you’re here,” Sophie said between kisses. “Promise me you won’t leave me behind.”
“Are you crazy? I’d never do that to you.”
They kissed again but it ended quickly. The sound of glass breaking down the stairs pulled them from their embrace and Sophie’s heart almost skipped right out of her chest. “Did you hear that? What was that?” She kept her voice low, her temples throbbing from the immediate pang of fear replacing any other emotion she was recently feeling.
Danny sat up and grabbed the shotgun they found. “I heard it.”
“What if it’s the people who live here?” Sophie’s voice shook as she eyed the bedroom door.
“That would be the least of our worries. I think it’s a looter. Someone just like us trying to find a place to rest for the night.”
“What if they… what if they’re violent like those people outside of Boston?” Sophie scooted out of bed and stayed close to Danny, unwilling to allow him to get even just a few inches away from her. Grabbing his hand, she clutched onto it tight, so tight that her grip ached.
“We should get out of here. We could go out of the window and shimmy down the side of the house.” Danny looked out the window and cringed. “There’s really nothing to hold onto and I don’t want to risk either of us getting hurt. That’ll really slow us down.” He paused for a second, arching his eyebrow as he thought. “Let’s go down the stairs to the patio where the bikes are. We can’t leave those bikes behind.”
Sophie nodded and bit her bottom lip. She was two steps behind Danny as they edged out of the bedroom on the landing of the stairs. Another sound came from below - this time it was a chair scooting across the floor. They had to be in the kitchen, which meant getting to the patio was going to be a challenge. She felt her clammy palm against Danny’s, the fear heightening with each step they took down the stairs. Danny glanced over his shoulder at her, his quick smile possibly a desperate attempt to get Sophie to calm down.
Reaching the last step, they walked slowly, hovering near the closest wall. Danny held the shotgun in on
e hand and though Sophie was raised around guns and knew how to use them, having it in their possession was worrisome but also a good thing.
“Who the hell are you?” A raspy voice broke the eerie silence behind them and they both turned to see who it was. Danny was quick to get in between Sophie and the woman near the pantry in the kitchen. She looked tired and weathered like the rest of them - dirt caked on her face, her hair was disheveled, and her clothes draped off of her.
“Who are you?” Danny asked in return.
“I asked you first.” The woman’s eyes widened. “This your house?”
“No, ma’am. We were just getting some rest before we head out.”
“Where you headed?”
Sophie looked at Danny and back to the woman. The less she knew, the better, and thankfully Danny was in agreement. Skirting the question, he said, “Away from here. We’re not meaning any harm. We just wanted some sleep.”
The woman nodded and Sophie didn’t spot any noticeable weapons on her. The patio was behind them and all they had to do was stop talking to her and get to the bikes. Danny tugged at her hand and they both moved toward the back door. Danny stopped abruptly and when Sophie looked up, they had run into a much larger man standing right in the threshold of where they wanted to go. His stare was cold and vacant, his body language hinting that he had no intention of moving out of the way for them.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The woman laughed and stepped closer, closing the gap between them.
“We just want to leave. We’re not here to cause trouble,” Danny said. The man towered over Danny and he was over six foot tall.
“You punk ass kids think you can come around and do whatever the hell you want.” The man finally spoke up, getting right in Danny’s face. “Without your precious cell phones and electronics, you don’t know what to do with yourselves. And I’m not gonna just step aside.”
“Please…” Sophie finally spoke up, not even realizing she had said anything until the words fell out of her mouth.
“Please what?” The man made eye contact with her.
“Let us leave. We don’t have anything for you.”
The man took a few steps back and for a second, Sophie thought they had reasoned well enough with him to let them through. Turning, he balled his fist and hit Danny in the face, sending him to the floor. The shotgun slid out of his hand and across the wood floor, right next to the woman who put her foot on it, hindering any chance that Sophie could get her hands on it. The man kicked Danny in the stomach, causing him to curl up in the fetal position, a groan escaping from deep in his throat.
“Oh my God, you’re hurting him!” Sophie knelt beside Danny and rested her hand on his forehead. Blood dripped from his nose and lip and he closed his eyes as he cringed, gritting his teeth from the blunt force trauma.
The man stopped and laughed, motioning toward the woman for the shotgun. Placing the barrel right under Danny’s chin, he lifted his head to look at him. “You two aren’t going anywhere. Might as well make yourself comfortable.”
Sophie’s fears were coming true. They were already in way over their heads. Now the hole they had fallen into was just getting deeper and deeper.
***
Jake was in a haze when they rejoined their group back on the highway. Things were moving in slow motion, like a dream sequence he wanted to wake up from. The scene played over and over in his head – the bullet hitting the man in the forehead… the man falling to the ground… Jake’s action taking his life in seconds. Colin said something to him but it sounded like someone playing a tape on the slow setting. Becky and the other woman were in danger. Had he not pulled the trigger, they’d be the dead ones. Or was he too quick to act without allowing the man a chance? This must’ve been how cops felt with split-second decisions they had to make every day, only for it to be picked apart for hours by a group of judgmental people who had the time to dissect every second of the incident.
Regardless of the circumstances, taking the man’s life was a punch to the gut. Hundreds of people had died on the plane he had crashed and now another was dead from him pulling the cold metal trigger of the gun. He was on a roll, and not a good one.
“Jake? Did you hear me?”
Colin’s question pulled Jake from his trance. “No. What did you say?”
“Are you okay? You were looking right at me.”
“I’m… I’m fine.”
“Do you want someone else to pull the travois for a while? You don’t look so good.”
Jake glanced at Becky who put her hand on his forearm, her expression comforting with just a small shade of judgment in it. Or maybe that was all in Jake’s head. “No. I’m fine. Let’s get moving. I don’t wanna come back here.”
Jake didn’t even wait for the rest of the group. Once they saw he was moving Colin, they’d follow suit and easily catch up. The wood of the travois dragged on the asphalt but at least he wasn’t jostling Colin around as much as on the mountain trail. They were still having to deal with uneven land and steep inclines but for the majority of the highway, they were going downhill, which helped them move a lot faster than before.
There were a few abandoned cars on the side of the highway and other people in the group would go through them, pulling out anything useful. Jake also hoped they’d run across others, as long as they were civil, but it was like they were the only ones left of the human race. That posed another problem - they needed to keep an eye out for wildlife who might be looking for food and water.
“Jake, don’t beat yourself up about what happened at the lake.”
Looking up, he noticed Becky was walking right beside him, hoisting a large backpack full of supplies. Larry had picked up the other end of the travois again, helping with Colin’s weight. He didn’t respond to her. It wasn’t just shooting the stranger that was bothering him. He needed to know why this happened. He wanted to know who was responsible.
“Are you listening to me? He was going to stab me. He was seconds away from doing it.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jake replied, his tone quick and to the point.
“You’re blaming yourself for all of this and you need to stop.”
“For all of what?”
“The plane crash. Us being stranded. Shooting that man at the lake. Stop it, Jake! I don’t like you acting this way.”
Jake licked his lips and tasted the salt on his skin. Sweat stung his eyes but he couldn’t let go of the travois to wipe his brow. “The plane crash was my fault, Becky. I was the captain of the flight. I didn’t fulfill my duty of getting the passengers to their destination. Even after a crash, it is the captain’s responsibility to get the survivors rescued and I didn’t even get that done.”
“You’re kidding me, right? This wasn’t pilot error and you know it. This goes beyond your flying abilities, Jake. We’re dealing with some serious shit here if you couldn’t tell.”
Jake looked over his shoulder at Colin who was hearing every bit of what Becky had to say. He felt embarrassed that the younger pilot was witnessing his guilt trip - He was Colin’s mentor and wasn’t being a good role model by wallowing in his own self-pity. Even if he felt he had come up short with the crash and the rescue team he could start from there and get everyone back to Texas. A sudden wave of desire to keep going was instantly replaced by his body’s warnings to slow down, reminding him that he was an injured man who hadn’t been treated for the damage he had sustained in the crash.
Jake sat his end of the travois down and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “I need to take a break.” Grabbing a bottle of water, he walked away from Colin and Becky, down the highway to be alone. The vertigo was stronger than he had felt before and his legs felt like noodles. Nausea got the best of him and he bent over the railing, heaving the little he had in his system, the acid burning up his throat and nose.
“Jake, are you okay?” Becky yelled down the road but it was like she was in a tunnel. “Jake, sit down!”
He tried to but the dizziness was stronger than his ability to control his body, and his legs gave out from underneath him. Crashing to the blacktop, he scraped his arm and hit his head on the wooden post of the railing. His vision blurred but he could tell that it was Becky and Larry standing over him.
“We’re never…” It was a struggle to get the words out and Jake laid his head back, closing his eyes. “We’re never…”
“Never what, Jake?”
Opening his mouth to answer, he didn’t want to give in and pass out, but despite his resistance to giving in, the world went black around him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Alice’s stomach did a back-flip when they reached her neighborhood. It almost looked normal with several cars in driveways, appearing like a street where most of the people were at work for the day. The main indicator that things were not normal was the dusty haze at eye level and the crashed cars of the unfortunate who happened to be driving when the incident had occurred.
She quickened her pace, not even worrying if Tom or Randi were able to keep up. Her house was another block down and her desire to find Dylan heightened even worse than before. Breaking out into a run, she heard Tom yell something but didn’t stop to see what he had said. He knew where the house was even if it had been years since he had visited it.
Alice’s legs ached and her lungs burned, and when she reached the front yard, she came to a screeching halt, staring at the home where things were recently perfect. Now it was eerie - the front bay window was cracked and the front door hung wide open - they were likely hit up by looters and now that she had taken a second to look around, the next door neighbor’s house looked similar.
“Dylan!” Running up the sidewalk, she kicked the door completely in and stopped in the entryway. The house was dark and she opened the blinds to allow the sun to come in. “Dylan! Dylan, are you home?” Her voice echoed, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Seeing their home abandoned confirmed that this was a grave situation.
