by Amy Cross
“Melissa!” Julie calls out. “Where are you going?”
She waits for an answer, but after a moment Melissa disappears down the side of one of the buildings, apparently making her way toward the town square.
I hope she doesn't come back.
“Are you okay?” Julie asks, reaching down and running a hand across my belly. “Sorry, Harry, I had no idea she was going to do that.”
She pauses for a moment, but now the whole town seems to have fallen silent again and there's no sign of Melissa. It's as if the girl has simply vanished into the dust, and that's fine by me. All I want is to get away from her and leave this place, and then maybe go back to the cabin. I know things looked bad last time we were there, but I keep thinking that maybe it's all better now and we'll find Jon waiting for us. He's probably worried, and he'll feel much better and much safer as soon as Julie and I get to him.
Nearby, the black bird is still watching us.
“We can't leave her here,” Julie mutters finally.
She sighs as she sets out across the road, and I follow closely. We're heading away from the car already, and I have no idea why we're going back into the main part of town. We're just wasting time here and the whole place is starting to smell bad to me. As we pass the blood-stained patch of dirt where the man died, I take care to keep well away, just in case I get too close to his blood, and then I follow Julie down the next street until I spot Melissa up ahead, sitting on the ground with her back against a building, sobbing with her hands over her face.
I slow my pace, not wanting to get too close, but Julie keeps going until she reaches the girl. And then she waits for a moment, as if she's not quite sure what to say.
“What do you want?” Melissa asks finally, looking up at her with sore, reddened eyes. Tears are streaming down her face.
“Before everything went to hell,” Julie replies, “there was a message that survivors should go to a rendezvous point. The nearest one to us is in the Rarrah Valley, and that's only about sixty miles from here. I know there's a chance we'll get there and find nothing, but it's the only real plan I have right now.”
“Great,” Melissa mutters, wiping her cheeks. “Have fun.”
“You have to come with us.”
Melissa laughs, before bursting into tears again.
“There'll be people there,” Julie continues. “The government will have -”
“Are you retarded?” Melissa hisses, suddenly getting to her feet. “You sound like a fucking child, expecting to get there and find that everything's going to magically work out! This is the end of the fucking world, you dumb, incompetent whore!”
Julie shakes her head. “I refuse to believe that there won't be -”
“It's just gonna be everyone fighting among themselves for whatever scraps are left!” Melissa continues, interrupting her. “Why the hell would you want to go to a place where there might be other people, anyway? I don't know if you've been paying attention to the world, but people are shitty to each other at the best of times!”
“No, that's -”
“It's gonna be a thousand times worse now,” Melissa adds. “People are going to be killing each other for drops of fucking water! It's gonna be chaos! The whole of society is breaking down, and you wanna go driving straight into a trap?”
“There's no trap,” Julie replies. “People are going to start working together, to rebuild whatever -”
Melissa lets out a brief scream of anger as she turns to walk away. After a moment, however, she turns back to Julie.
“You really don't get it,” she continues. “Then again, maybe since you're a doctor, you might actually be useful. They might decide to keep you around, instead of murdering you for sport. Or using you as some kind of rape-bag.”
“What are you talking about?” Julie asks, clearly shocked. “There's no -”
“That's what people do to other people when there's no-one around to stop them!”
“No,” Julie stammers, “you're -”
“Some ass-hole ran my boyfriend down!” Melissa screams. “He literally swerved to hit him! So now do you wanna explain to me how everyone's gonna band together and help each other? 'Cause from what I've seen so far, people are just cruel monsters who're gonna show their real nature now that they don't have society pressuring them to act good!” She takes a deep breath. “And that's the truth, whether you like it or not. If I seem cynical, then maybe that's because you didn't see your boyfriend die today. And maybe you're just fucking naive.”
Julie pauses for a moment, as if she's not quite sure how to respond.
“I'm going to get a few supplies,” she says finally, taking a step back, “and then Harry and I are going to hit the road. I know you might be right, there might be nothing waiting for us at the Rarrah Valley, or there might be something bad, but at least it's worth a shot. And the alternative is just sitting around, assuming the worst and waiting to die. Maybe that's the easiest approach, but I have to at least try to find other people. So long as there's a chance, I'm going to keep going.”
She hesitates, before turning and heading back the way we just came.
“Harry, stay close.”
I watch Melissa for a moment, and I swear I can see pure anger and hatred in her eyes. Suddenly she grabs a small rock and throws it at me, missing by just a few inches as I turn and hurry after Julie. I glance over my shoulder a couple of times, to make sure that Melissa isn't following us, and fortunately she's still at the other end of the street. I don't like her, and I want to get as far away from her as possible.
A short while later, however, she comes and joins us in the car, just as we're about to drive away.
“You changed your mind?” Julie asks.
“What am I supposed to do in this shit-hole?” Melissa asks, slumping into the passenger seat. “Starve to death?”
“There's a chance everything'll be okay,” Julie tells her.
“And there's a chance we'll get raped and murdered.”
Julie takes a deep breath. “I don't -”
“We'll die,” Melissa continues, interrupting her. “I don't know how, but it'll happen. We'll probably get shot once some asshole decides we're not useful anymore. Or we'll get hurt and end up dying somewhere in the dust.”
Julie shakes her head. “We'll find a way. We'll be okay.”
“Whatever. That's what you said about Scott, and you let him die. You can't be a very good doctor.”
Julie doesn't reply. Instead, she starts the engine and turns the car around. Looking out the window, I see the black bird over by the patch of blood on the tarmac, pecking at small chunks of blood flesh. After a moment it glance at me and lets out a loud cawing sound. Its beak is glistening in the morning sunlight.
A few minutes later, as we speed away, I watch as the town disappears into the distance behind us, and then I turn and see that Melissa is already curled on her side, facing away from Julie and looking out at the barren land. I still don't like this girl, and I wish she hadn't come with us, but Julie seems not to mind and I suppose I have to assume that Julie knows better.
Settling on the back seat, I close my eyes and wait to sleep again. Maybe this time Jon will come back.
“There'll be someone waiting for us at the Rarrah Valley,” Julie says finally, although there's a hint of fear in her voice. “There has to be.”
After that I manage to doze, letting the car's motion rock me to sleep. I doze for miles and miles, and I start picking up faint scents that seem to be coming from my dreams. It seems to take forever before I'm able to actually sleep, however, and then suddenly I'm woken again by Julie's voice.
“There!” she says excitedly. “I told you there'd be someone here!”
Sitting up, I look straight ahead and see cars parked in the distance. Hundreds of cars, glittering under the midday sun.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“You have no idea how badly we needed another doctor to show up,” the short, balding man says with a s
mile as he leads Julie past another row of cars. “I was praying for someone like you, just the other night.”
“I don't have many supplies,” Julie tells him.
“Supplies are one thing, but knowledge is another,” he continues. “There are close to five hundred people here, and a few more arriving every day. We haven't even begun to figure out how to deal with them all.”
As they continue to talk, I make sure not to get too far from Julie. This place is loud and noisy, with people seemingly living out of their cars, and I can't help noticing lots of strange looks from everyone. They're watching us with a hint of caution, as if they're worried about our arrival, and everyone seems a little dirty and angry. There's an overwhelming stench of bodily fluids, too, and it's clear that this huge camp isn't particularly clean. At least I can smell food, though, and for the first time since leaving the cabin I'm actually starting to feel as if I want to eat.
“I'm not sure about the dog,” the short man mutters, glancing down at me. “There might be some concerns about -”
“Dogs don't carry the sickness,” Julie tells him.
“Still, people might -”
“He's fine,” she adds, as they reach a patch of land where several men and woman have been left on pieces of cloth. “He's my dog now and he's useful. He stays with me.”
“But -”
“If he goes,” she says firmly, “then I go with him.”
The man hesitates for a moment, before shrugging.
“I'm not gonna argue with a doctor,” he mutters, as another man comes over to greet us. “Speaking of which, Doctor Julie Carpenter, allow me to introduce you to Doctor Hugh Evans. Doctor Evans, I'm pleased to inform you that we've just doubled our medical staff.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Evans says, reaching out and shaking Julie's hand. He's wearing white gloves. “And relieved, too. As you can see, we're a little short-handed around here.”
He glances down at me.
“Is the dog yours?”
“He stays,” Julie tells him. “He's clean and he's well-behaved.”
“I'm sure he is,” Evans continues, stepping closer and giving my head a quick scratch. I let him, and I'm already getting a good feeling from this man.
“What kind of facilities do you have for checking new arrivals?” Julie asks, as I follow them past several groaning, injured people. “I'm assuming the first thing you do is make sure that no-one brings the sickness into the camp.”
“Absolutely,” Evans replies. “So far we've been lucky. I might be wrong, but at this stage I'm starting to think that the sickness was mainly confined to built-up urban areas. It was able to spread quickly, but it kills its hosts too quickly for them to travel much beyond the center of the infection zone. The primary vectors for transmission appear to be physical contact, which gives me hope that we'll eventually be able to get this thing under control. Speaking of which, obviously I'll need to run a few tests on you and the girl.”
They both turn and look past me. Following their gaze, I see that Melissa is still with us. She has her arms folded across her chest, and she looks annoyed.
“Melissa,” Julie says, “we need to -”
“I heard,” she mutters darkly. “I'm not deaf. What exactly are you gonna do to me?”
“It's a brief physical exam,” Evans explains. “People with the sickness always develop small lesions around the naso-labial fold, and we've found that they initially present as small bumps that can be felt. Do you mind?”
“Go ahead,” Julie replies, and she waits while Evans touches her face.
He pushes his fingertips against the area around her nose and upper lip, before stepping back.
“All clear,” he says, turning to Melissa.
“I can touch my own face,” she says sourly, reaching up and rubbing her nose. She sighs. “See? I'm fine.”
“I'm afraid I need to check for myself,” he explains, stepping closer to her.
“So there have been no cases at the camp at all?” Julie asks.
“None,” he replies as he touches the flesh around Melissa's nose, “but we have to remain vigilant. I've been recommending certain measures that I think should be put in place.”
“And who's in charge? Some kind of government agency?”
He turns to her, and it's clear that he's a little uncomfortable.
“There's been no sign of any government intervention at all,” he tells her. “We've been waiting, assuming that someone would organize help, but so far we seem to be absolutely on our own. At first I was hoping to some day see a convoy show up, but now...”
His voice trails off.
“See?” Melissa says, raising an eyebrow as she turns to Julie. “I told you, it's the end of the world and we're all on our own. I mean, what is this place, anyway? A bunch of losers living out of their cars? It doesn't exactly look like the start of a recovery.”
“We're working on some improvements,” Evans replies. “Right now, our priority is checking everyone's health and determining what our next move should be. We're certainly not planning on staying here forever.” He turns to Julie. “A man named Simmons is running the place right now. Before the disaster struck, he was an emergency planner for a federal agency, so we figured he has some expertise. At some point, we need to make things a little more democratic, but right now we're in survival mode.”
“So where do you need me?” Julie continues. “I'm ready. Put me to work.”
“What about you?” Evans asks, turning to Melissa. “Where do you think you can help?”
With her arms still folded, Melissa simply shrugs.
“What did you do before all of this?” Julie asks.
“Do?” She pauses. “I didn't do anything. I went to school and I worked Saturdays in a diner, but that's about it. Why, is there a diner around here? Do you need someone to take milkshakes and sodas to morons?”
“We'll find something for you,” Evans continues, before glancing at me again. “Sorry, pal, but we can't have you in the medical area. I'm sure you're clean and well-behaved, but we still have to be careful. In fact...” He heads over to a nearby tent, and a moment later he returns with a length of rope. “I think you should be on a leash,” he adds, reaching down and attaching the rope to my collar. “For your own safety, as much as anything else.”
“It's okay,” Julie says, coming over and patting my head. “It's not forever, Harry. I'm going to get to work, but I'll see you later.” She takes the other end of the rope and holds it out toward Melissa. “Can you keep an eye on him? Just until I'm done here?”
“You want me to look after your fucking stupid dog?” Melissa asks, clearly unimpressed.
“Just until this evening,” Julie continues. “I'll figure something else out tomorrow. Please?”
Melissa stares at me for a moment, before muttering a few words under her breath as she takes the rope.
I turn to Julie and let out a faint whimper, before reaching up and placing my paw on her knee. I want to stay with her, but a moment later I feel my collar being yanked as Melissa starts dragging me away.
“It's going to be fine!” Julie calls after me. “I'll fix something else for tomorrow, Harry, I promise! Just behave yourself and I'll see you later! Melissa's going to look after you!”
I try to pull back to her, but Melissa yanks me again, hard enough to hurt. As Julie turns and follows Evans into the tent, I realize I have no choice other than to go with Melissa for now. Even though I don't like this girl, I figure Julie wouldn't send me off with her if it wasn't safe.
“Fucking dog,” Melissa mutters, glancing down at me with anger in her eyes. “Is this what I'm supposed to be? A fucking dog-walker at the end of the world?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“There,” she says with a sigh, once she's finished tying my rope to a wooden stake in the ground, “that should hold you.”
She takes a step back, eyeing me with a hint of contempt.
“Stop looking at me li
ke that, you dumb mutt,” she continues. “Seriously, I don't know what you want, but you're not getting it from me. Your fucking owner basically killed my fucking boyfriend, remember? And now look where she's brought us. It's like the parking lot from hell.”
She turns as a man wanders over, and I immediately smell some kind of cooked meat. I take a few steps toward him, salivating at the thought that I might be able to eat something, but suddenly the rope around my neck pulls tight and all I can do is sit on the hard, rocky ground. I don't like being restrained like this.
“You want some?” the guy asks, holding his plate out toward Melissa. “It's actually canned beef, believe it or not. I don't have much left, but I'm willing to share.”
“Are you sure?” she asks cautiously.
“When was the last time you had something good to eat?” he continues. “You need to keep your morale up, and good food is half the battle. Go on, eat it all.”
She hesitates for a moment, before taking the plate and slipping a slice of meat into her mouth. Letting out a groan of pleasure, she quickly finishes the rest while the guy watches with a growing sense of amusement.
“Thomas,” he says finally, once she's done. “Nice to meet you.”
“Melissa.” She wipes a finger against the plate, gathering some sauce.
“Just lick the damn thing,” he tells her.
She smiles.
“I'm serious,” he continues. “Lick the plate, Melissa. You want to get every last scrap, don't you? It'd be a waste otherwise. Seriously, I promise I won't laugh.” He looks around for a moment. “And no-one else is watching.”
She hesitates, before turning her back to him and quickly licking the plate. She's blushing once she's done, and she quickly hands the plate back to him.
“That's better,” he says with a smile, and then he glances at me. “Nice dog you've got here, Melissa.”
“He's not mine,” she replies, “I'm just looking after him for a friend. So...” She hesitates. “Do you have anything else to eat? It's just, I'm starving and I haven't eaten for days.”
