In the Aftermath: Burning of the Dawn

by Coleman Thompson

  “I’m sure there’s a very interesting story behind that.” Daniel spoke from the door of his truck. He had been watching Vita’s actions with the oars.

  “Yeah, kind of,” Vita replied. “It’s nice that they’re together. Where’d you get yours from?”

  “The oar? It was already here when I found the place. Not a very interesting story behind mine, I’m afraid.”

  “That is weird though: you had just one; we had just one; now they’re together.”

  “Good ol’ Fate, working in its strange and emotive ways.”

  Daniel closed his truck door, gave his old friend a silent goodbye, and then he and Vita moved on to her mother’s car. Daniel backed the Hannigans’ vehicle up to the mobile trailer and then went to work on latching them together. The process did not take long. Daniel closed his garage doors and then went to his house. He did not enter; he only pulled the front door closed and gave the place a silent goodbye of its own. Daniel left the front door unlocked. Perhaps in the future somebody else might find some use for this house that had protected him so well for so long.

  The Hannigans waited patiently by their vehicle. Clarissa was eager to be on her way; despite recent events, she still felt safer on the open roads. Her daughters were more considerate. Daniel’s place had not only served him faithfully, but it had sheltered them as well. Daniel did not linger long. He soon turned his back to his former home and joined the Hannigans.

  “So, who’s driving?” Daniel asked as he approached.

  “You are.” Clarissa answered. Her tone possessed a hint of actual hopefulness just beneath her impatience. Daniel found it inspiring.

  “Works for me.” He replied.

  Clarissa and Vita took to the backseat while Maria rode shotgun (minus the actual shotgun). Daniel took the driver’s seat and started up the vehicle. Maria adorned him with an anxious yet beamingly sincere smile as they set off down his driveway. In the backseat, Vita rested her head upon her mother. Clarissa embraced her daughter and kissed her tenderly on her brow.

  “So,” Daniel spoke to Clarissa as he watched her through the rearview mirror. “Did you read The Birds?”

  “I did,” Clarissa replied. “I preferred the film.”

  “Heh, to each their own.” Daniel chortled.

  Daniel was soon leaving his home and his town behind. As the highway he and the Hannigans were traveling upon reached a junction, he inexplicably slowed down the vehicle and pulled partially off of the road. The Hannigans were confused at first, but Maria soon spotted what Daniel was aiming to avoid; Clarissa and Vita soon took notice as well. Daniel carefully circumvented a large panel of glass lying precariously in the middle of the road.

  “Nice try, assholes.” Daniel spoke mockingly of the Sayona’s attempt to detect his and the Hannigans’ exodus from the area.

  Clarissa let slip a quiet laugh that only Vita detected. Neither she nor her daughters had ever mentioned anything to Daniel regarding the glass traps left in the road by the Sayona. He spotted it anyway, and Clarissa was confident that he would spot any other traps, deceptions, or dangers that they might encounter on their journey. Daniel turned north-west at the junction and proceeded onward, leaving the burning dawn sky behind them. Less than an hour later, for the first time in a long time, Daniel and the Hannigans were no longer a part of Pennsylvania as they crossed over the state-line and into Ohio.

  “Adorable Death Maiden, my Sweet, Sweet Marie; oh how your garden of bones so flourishes!”

  V–Day + 586 (September 23rd): Central Nevada.

  The Loneliest Road in America normally lived up to its nickname as it roamed silently through the hills and valleys of the Great Basin. On this particular day, however, some rare visitor had seemingly materialized out of a mirage on the eastern horizon. A dingy, dark brown, subcompact car moved swiftly down the lonely highway. Neither hybrid nor purely electric, this little car was old-school: moved along by way of its combustion engine fed on the power of fossil fuel. Driving the vehicle was a forty-one-year old, black woman named Serena McCoy; beside her in the passenger’s seat was her fourteen-year old son, Anthony. The two originally made their home in Houston, Texas, but fled with friends to Cedar City, Utah during the war. A growing danger emanating from southern Nevada had forced Serena and her son to flee yet again. She had originally planned on avoiding the state of Nevada completely as she made her way towards the northwest coast to either Oregon or Washington, but her fuel was already limited. The northwestern area of America only appealed to Serena out of necessity: east was bad and south and west were even worse. She only hoped that she had traveled far enough to the north to avoid the terrors out of the southwest.

  Serena and Anthony had spent six days in the town of Eureka, Nevada. The town was uninhabited of any humans, so mother and son used their time alone to scavenge for food and fuel; to which they did have some success. The vast emptiness of this part of the world discouraged most individuals from occupying it both before and after the war. However, this desolateness had another significant advantage: no Sayona. There were superior hunting grounds in every direction, so the beasts simply did not bother with the majority of mid and northern Nevada. Southern Nevada (the city of Las Vegas in particular) was a prize the Sayona had yet to claim, though not from a lack of trying.

  After Eureka was thoroughly scavenged of anything useful, Serena decided it was time to move on. She and her son left at dawn and traveled west to where they were now on the outskirts of a town about seventy miles from Eureka. This town, like most towns, was a ghost town; but unlike most ghost towns, this one seemed to embrace this cold fact. The town had an ancient, aesthetic appeal that did not interest Serena in the slightest. She was far too anxious and wary of the nearby hills and mountains to admire any scenes from American history. The town appeared to be relatively untouched, which meant that there could be something useful here somewhere. Serena had no plans of staying here as long as she did in Eureka, but a quick search of the town might prove to be beneficial. She pulled off of the highway and into a motel parking lot and switched off her car. Every drop of fuel mattered, so she and her son would have to search the town on foot.

  An ample breeze abated the heat on this warm day; whether or not the breeze was comforting was debatable. It did ease the heat-index, but as it swept and shrilled through the hills and buildings in and around the town it made unsettling sounds – like the whisperings of ghosts. Serena ignored the whispers and proceeded on in her search. The only weapons she had in her possession were a serrated, kitchen knife and a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver, with no bullets. Anthony only had a pocket knife which struggled just to cut through cloth. Serena and her son crossed the highway and headed into a bucolic, old building that was once a café and bar. The door was unlocked; Serena entered first, followed closely by her son. They both searched the place methodically, but it would ultimately prove to be fruitless. Nothing of any real use remained. Somebody had already been here and claimed anything of value. Serena took a seat at the bar; her son soon joined her.

  “You wanna look some more?” Anthony asked.

  “No, not in this place,” Serena answered, despondently. “Someone’s been here already?”

  “Recently?”

  “Probably not; it doesn’t look like anyone’s broken in. It was all taken a long time ago.”

  Both mother and son sat silently listening to the odd sounds the wind was making with the town. For the last few months there had hardly been any wind at all; today was unusual. The sky showed no signs of any storms, but the wind had come up strong that morning and had yet to cease in its strength. Perhaps autumn is near, Serena pondered. She had little clues as to what day or month it was. All she knew was that the summer seemed to have lasted a dreadfully long time. It would be nice to see its end; even though the colder months could prove to be equally as vicious. As Serena continued listening to the musings of the wind, something strange caught her ear. Anthony was lost in a revere and had noticed nothing
odd. His mother, however, was aware and her concerns were mounting fast. Without any warnings, Serena grabbed her son by the hand and yanked him off of his stool. She then dragged him behind the bar and pulled him down beside her. Anthony was about to speak, but he then heard what his mother had heard and he knew that talking was not an option.

  “Hodge!” A strong and frightening voice yelled from somewhere outside. “Hodge, you fool, where the fuck are you?!”

  “That son of a bitch’s got our rifle, too.” Another voice spoke in a more docile tone.

  Soon, two men rounded the building where Serena and Anthony remained hidden. One man was large, brusque, and burley; he had only wiry stubble for hair and his clothes were thick and tattered, yet they still looked advantageous for carrying or concealing items. The other man was tall, but much thinner than his partner. He had a large brow and a receding hairline. What hair remained was long and unkempt – neither cut nor maintained regularly. This man wore worn, combat trousers and a pale green, muscle shirt, though he lacked any real muscle to display. Both men were also carrying large machetes.

  “HODGE!” The large man called again.

  “Maybe he’s up at that ol’ castle again, sleepin’.” The thin man suggested.

  “More likely that asshole found somethin’ he don’t wanna share with us.”

  “Heh, the girl you think? Heh!” The thin man concealed his mouth with his machete-wielding hand as he sniggered at the dissolute thoughts running through his frail mind.

  “The girl…” The large man’s hand gripped his machete tighter as he spoke those simple words.

  Both men made their way out into the highway leisurely walking westward, the larger man still yelling for Hodge. Serena peered over the bar timidly. She could see both men through the blurry windows. They were walking away from her and her son, but they were also getting closer to her car. Please, don’t let them notice it, Serena silently prayed.

  “Hey,” his voice was muffled, but Serena could still hear the thin man speaking. “Was that brown car here before?”

  That was enough for Serena; she grabbed Anthony by the hand and swiftly led him out through the back of the building. She knew nothing of this town, but Serena aimed to put as much distance as quickly as possible between her son and the two men on the other side of the building. The terrain rose as Serena and her son fled deeper into the small town. They would be easily spotted on the roads, so Serena kept to the yards and alleys until she resolved that hiding would be the better option. This Hodge individual was still somewhere in this town, and Serena did not want to chance crossing paths with him, especially if he was armed with a rifle. Soon, she and Anthony sought to hide in a small, perforated, red shed sitting inconspicuously in the backyard of one of the many abandoned properties. There were many houses that were likely empty, but squatters were still a possibility – human, animal, or other.

  About an hour had passed and the only sound that could be heard was the whistling of the wind. The whaling wind even managed to mask the sound of Serena and Anthony’s heavy breathing as it threaded through the porous, little shed. Serena’s car was small, but it moved fast. She was also a superb driver. In her former life she was an emergency medical technician who helmed an ambulance through the streets of Houston on a nightly routine. Serena had more confidence on wheels than she did on her feet, and the longer she hid the more her confidence failed her.

  “I need to try for our car.” Serena spoke with abated breaths, still not confident in whatever strategy she was putting together in that moment. “You wait for me here, got it?”

  “No,” Anthony protested in unnecessary whispers. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “We can’t hide here forever.”

  “We can wait ‘til night, at least.”

  “We can’t drive at night, Anthony; even out here… you know that.”

  “I’d rather take our chances at night than face those two, maybe three, guys.”

  Her son made a compelling argument, but Serena still wanted her car. Not only to escape from the unfriendly-looking denizens of this town, but also because it was her only source of security left in this wicked world. Her car was her home and her only weapon and without it she had no means of protecting her son. Serena had her keys in hand and at the ready. She prayed that the ugly men had not impaired her vehicle.

  “I’ll be right back, I promise.” Serena assured her son.

  “No,” Anthony contested. “I’m coming with you.” He would rather face death itself than be left alone, especially in a place like this. His mother was not ignorant to this fact; she felt the same way. Facing potential death together was better than either of them being left without the other. Serena conceded the argument to her son.

  Serena and Anthony hesitantly left the uncertain safety of the shed. As soon as she opened the door, they both set off sprinting through yards and across streets and back down towards their car. They stopped only when they reached the side of the building in which they had earlier searched for supplies. Serena looked around the corner and up and down the highway to see if there was any visible evidence of either of the two men that were here before. There appeared to be none, but Serena’s concerns were far from fleeting. She took her empty gun in hand; its only potential use was intimidation, assuming Hodge was still missing. She looked back to her son and gave him a nod of approval – her eyes could not hide her apprehensions. She took off instantly across the highway with her son right on her heels. They made it to the motel parking lot and then to their car.

  Before Anthony even managed to shut the passenger’s side door, his mother already had her keys in the ignition. He looked around the town to see if anybody was after them… nobody was in sight. Anthony nearly had a smile at the thought of impending escape, but his inner joys were quelled instantly as his mother swore out loud next to him. Serena forcefully turned and torqued her keys in the ignition, but the car would not start. The vehicle was lifeless.

  “No… no… you bastard, no!” Serena looked to her son after condemning her vehicle. The look was short; something out his window caught her eye instead. For a moment she was frozen as the thin man she had seen earlier appeared from the café where she and her son had previously sojourned.

  As the thin man crossed the highway and made his way closer, Serena broke free from her trauma and threw open her door with her revolver in hand. She aimed the weapon across the roof of her car as Anthony scurried over the driver’s seat and out the door beside his mother.

  “Don’t come any closer!” Serena shouted to the thin man in a trembling voice.

  The thin man stopped and smiled. His machete was sheathed and hung pruriently from his pants directly below his navel. Serena darted her eyes around the town desperately searching for the other man… or men.

  The thin man cupped his hands to his mouth, threw back his head and made a howling sound that carried with the wind. After he’d finished, he then continued to approach Serena and Anthony.

  “I said stay back!” Serena cried. She was sure that the thin man’s howling had alerted at least one of his comrades. Her car was dead and her gun was empty; running would be the only option. Anthony could run as fast as any man, but Serena was fully aware that he would never leave her behind. She didn’t know if she could outrun the thin man, who was closing in fast.

  The man slowed and then stopped as he neared the car. He then shielded his eyes from the sun and looked intently towards Serena. By the time she figured out what he was looking for, it was too late to prevent him from seeing it. The man then broke out into a hideous laughter.

  “Hah! Goddamn darlin’, you ain’t got no bullets in that gun.”

  “I’ve got one left.” Serena lied.

  “Oh, do you?” The man mocked. “You forgot to cock your gun, lady.”

  Serena had no answer; this man knew her weapon better than she did. She could either run or fight; intimidation was no longer an option. She and her son could likely overtake this man so l
ong as he was alone, but how long would that be? Serena soon received her answer.

  “Damn Slim!” A booming voice hollered. Serena and Anthony spun around to find the thin man’s partner making his way down the hill behind the motel. “What have you caught us?” The large man spoke as he disappeared behind the motel. He reappeared shortly as he rounded the building and emerged by the parking lot with his machete in hand.

  Serena kept her gun pointed in the varying directions of the men. She pulled Anthony away from their car and backed herself and her son against the wall of the motel. The two men had her boxed in; running was no longer an option.

  “Didn’t find Hodge at the castle, did ya?” The thin man asked his approaching partner.

  “Fuck him.” The big man proclaimed, never taking his eyes away from Serena. “You’re not who we’re lookin’ for,” he spoke directly to her. “But you’ll do for now.”

  “Her gun ain’t got no bullets,” declared the thin man.

  “Wouldn’t matter if it did, women can’t shoot for shit anyway.” The big man’s statement got a rise out of his scrawny friend, though Serena could see that he wasn’t making any jokes. “You come with us, lady; make no trouble, and maybe we’ll just leave the boy behind.”

  “I don’t know, boss man,” the thin man spoke with a shrewd grin. “I think the boy’d definitely be Hodge’s type.”

  It took Serena a moment to register the sudden impact which took place only a few feet from her. Gradually, she turned her head and looked to her left to see what it was; her son had already taken notice of it. An arrow was firmly planted into the nearest motel room door. A few meters in front of Serena and Anthony, the thin man fell to his knees and then onto his face. He bled out onto the parking lot through a hole just beneath his sternum.