The End of All Things

by Lissa Bryan

  Carly left her door open, though it made her very nervous, and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She couldn’t help trying the tap again and was a little disappointed when nothing but air came out. She’d hoped Justin was wrong and the water would come back. She used her toilet, and with regret, she flushed it for the last time. She’d been trying to save that last flush, but since Justin was there, she was too embarrassed not to do it.

  Carly heard the jingle of Sam’s collar before he bounded into the apartment. He stood on his back legs, bracing his front paws on Carly’s thighs, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. She gave him a hug and looked up at Justin in the doorway. “Thank you.” She meant that for more than just taking Sam outside, but she didn’t know how to express her gratitude for all of the things he had done for her. It wasn’t only the kindness of sharing his food and bringing her water, but also saving her from Merle and trying to help her figure out what she was going to do next.

  Justin nodded. “You’re welcome. Do you have anything for breakfast?”

  Carly considered his question. She had food, but not really “breakfast” food. “I have a can of condensed clam chowder, some cans of tuna and green beans.”

  “How would you feel about coming with me to scout for supplies?”

  “We can’t. We’re still under quarantine.”

  Justin shook his head slowly. His eyes held a hint of sadness. “That’s not in effect anymore, Carly.”

  “Are you sure?” Going to the grocery store was bad enough, and as far afield as Carly had ventured since the Crisis. She felt guilty for that, but after she’d gotten Sam, she felt she had to do it. She knew she couldn’t go back to the store down the street. What if Merle was still there?

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  Carly thought about it for a moment and decided it wouldn’t hurt anything, as long as they stayed far back from any people they encountered. And if they happened to run into Infected, Justin would be with her, and he seemed strong and smart.

  She picked up her dad’s nine iron and got another steak knife from the kitchen while Justin gathered his own supplies. Carly flinched when he took out a gun and slid the top of it open. He checked something and let it slide back into place and then put it in a holster on his hip. On the other hip, he attached a wicked-looking knife in its sheath.

  “Come on, Sam,” Justin said, and Sam trotted out behind them.

  “I don’t know if we should take him with us.”

  “He’ll be fine. And he’ll warn us if anyone tries to sneak up on us.”

  Carly thought of all the ways the puppy could get hurt out in the world while snapping his leash to his collar. Justin looked like he was going to say something, but he seemed to change his mind.

  The lobby door of the apartment building was still intact. Carly wondered how Justin had gotten inside without breaking the glass door or the lock. Justin held it open for her, and they stepped out onto the silent street. It was so quiet the rustle of the breeze through the trees across the street and the click of Sam’s nails on the sidewalk seemed loud. Carly stayed behind Justin, experiencing that awful rabbit-in-a-football-field feeling again, terribly exposed with nowhere to hide. Justin didn’t seem troubled at all. He strolled down the street, his stride casual, one hand on the strap of the backpack he had slung over one shoulder.

  When they came to the corner, Justin glanced back at her. “This is your town. Which way?”

  “There’s a Food Mart up the street about three blocks.” Carly pointed the way.

  “Good place to start.” Justin sounded cheerful.

  “I didn’t bring a lantern or a flashlight.”

  “I have a couple in my bag.”

  She should have known he’d be prepared. Carly glanced down at Sam to see how he was taking this new experience, and he seemed delighted by all of the new smells and sights.

  The parking lot in front of the store still held a handful of cars. An elderly car with blooms of rust around the wheels was parked in front of the store, the driver’s door yawning open. Justin made a quick “stop” gesture, and Carly froze. He crept up and reached inside the car, but his broad shoulders blocked Carly from being able to see what he was doing. He backed out and motioned her forward.

  “What did you do in there?”

  “I checked the key to see if the battery was still charged. If it was, the person who owned the car might still be inside the store, but the battery was dead from the door hanging open.”

  “That’s clever.”

  Justin shrugged. “One of the tricks of the trade.”

  “What trade is that?”

  “Survival.” Justin took off his pack and unzipped the top. He fished out two heavy metal flashlights and handed one to Carly. “These things weigh a ton, but they’re as tough as hell and can be used as a weapon in a pinch.”

  Carly tried to imagine clubbing someone over the head with it and shuddered. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it, if it came right down to it.

  The glass door was locked when Justin tugged on the handles. Without even blinking, he used the butt of his flashlight to smash the glass. Carly looked around the empty parking lot, as though someone might hear the shattering of glass and come running with the cops in tow.

  Justin reached in through the hole he’d made and turned the lock button on the inside of the door frame. He pulled the door open and gave Carly a little bow. “After you, my lady.”

  Carly bobbed a little curtsy with a small smile. “Thank you, my lord.”

  “I could get used to being called that.” Justin’s grin was infectious.

  “I wouldn’t count on it happening.”

  “Ah, but a man can dream.”

  “Can you lift Sam over this glass? I don’t want his paws to get cut.”

  “He’s a lot tougher than you think he is,” Justin said, but he picked up the puppy and carried him inside before depositing him on the tile beyond the shards.

  Carly pulled a cart out of the line and laid her shopping tote inside the child seat as Justin turned on his flashlight and shined it around in a swift arc. The vestibule was littered with discarded sales fliers. There was a corkboard beside the entrance door, which had been used to hold notices of garage sales and free kittens, but currently was covered with fliers asking people to call if they’d heard from missing relatives or had news about other cities where their loved ones lived. Carly had to look away from it quickly. It hurt too much to remember the desperation of those days.

  “Stay beside me,” Justin said. Carly nodded. What happened with Merle was still fresh in her mind.

  The store was in the same condition as the one near Carly’s apartment building, and had a similar stench. Carly gagged but continued inside behind Justin, her hand cupped over her nose. The shelves were almost bare, and what was left was in shambles. Cans and boxes were scattered on the floor. Justin picked up one. “Ooh! Jackpot! A box of Lucky Charms!” He tucked it into Carly’s shopping cart.

  “Now all you need to find is a cow for some fresh milk.”

  He shook his head. “Condensed milk or powdered milk will work just fine.”

  Carly wrinkled her nose. “Powdered milk? Gross.”

  Justin cast an amused glance at her. “You must not have gone camping much.”

  “No, Mom wasn’t into that kind of thing. Dad took me fishing once, but that’s about as much as we enjoyed the great outdoors.”

  “Well, trust me, powdered milk is great when it comes to weight, and when you’re carrying a pack for twenty miles, every ounce counts.”

  “Jeez, you used to hike twenty miles? For fun?”

  Justin chuckled. “I once did the entire Appalachian Trail, all twelve hundred miles of it.”

  Carly grinned at him. “I once walked all the way to the Food Mart from my apartment building.”

  “I’m so happy I could be part of the momentous occasion.” They entered the drug aisle, which was cleaned out of cold medicines an
d fever-reducing medication. It made Carly sad to see it, for it was silent testimony to the number of people who thought cough syrup could combat the Infection.

  Justin tossed boxes of bandages, eye wash, and topical antibiotics into Carly’s cart, along with all of the bottles of iodine on the shelf.

  “Peroxide stings less,” Carly said.

  “It’s not for cuts and scrapes. You can use it to purify drinking water.” Justin had moved on to anti-diarrhea medication, of which he took every bottle and box.

  “Expecting an upset stomach?”

  “This stuff is going to be worth more than its weight in diamonds.” Justin waved a box of tablets before he dropped into the cart. “Trust me.”

  At the end of the aisle, they approached the pharmacy counter. The place was in shambles, even more so than the rest of the store. Justin, surprisingly lithe for such a large man, jumped over the counter and began to read the labels of boxes and bottles, tracing his finger under the lettering.

  Sam bumped Carly’s leg with his head, and she saw he had something in his mouth. She put down her hand, and he spat out a can of beans. “Good boy!” She rubbed his ears, and Sam wagged his tail, delighted. He started searching the floor beneath the shelves again.

  “Are you on birth control?” Justin asked.

  Carly felt her face flame and was glad it was so dim back there. “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m asking because there’s a fuckload of the pill back here, and we should grab it if you need it.”

  “No, I’m not on the pill,” Carly muttered.

  “You’d better grab some of your girly shit while we’re here.”

  Carly’s blush remained firmly in place at his words. She walked the few paces over to the feminine hygiene aisle and grabbed several boxes of tampons, which she stuffed to the bottom of the cart. She didn’t know why she was so embarrassed about it when Justin didn’t seem to be.

  He came back with a small shopping basket filled with drugs.

  “What is all that?”

  “Antibiotics, mostly. A few pain-killers, though the junkies already got most of those. A couple other odds and ends.”

  Carly wondered why he thought he’d need so many antibiotics. Maybe he had some health issues.

  They collected what food was left on the shelves. Very little in the way of canned goods remained. Sam bumped Carly’s leg twice more with cans in his mouth. Justin stared. “Did you train him to do that?”

  Carly shook her head. “I think he just figured out I want cans, so he’s bringing them to me.” Sam couldn’t differentiate between the cans, though. One had been a diet soda, which she opened and gulped down on the spot, only afterward thinking she ought to have offered Justin a drink. She flushed again and dropped the empty can, but he shrugged and said he disliked diet soda, anyway.

  They went into the next aisle, and Carly struggled to push the cart past a fallen rack of batteries. Justin took control of it and swung the cart to the side with ease.

  “Hard to believe I once went to the gym twice a week,” she said.

  “You haven’t been eating enough. That’s what this is for.” Justin held up a can of powdered weight-loss shake.

  “How’s that going to help?”

  “You mix up a shake to drink along with what you’re eating. It gives you the extra calories and vitamins you might be missing.”

  Justin headed back to the stock room but paused in the doorway and told her to wait where she was. Carly wondered what he’d seen but shrugged and spent the next few minutes in the health and beauty aisle, where she selected a few sticks of deodorant and some leave-in spray conditioner that might help contain the frizzy mess her hair had become. She saw a row of baby wipes and flung a few large packets into the cart. If she couldn’t shower, she could at least wipe herself down. It was better than nothing, she supposed.

  Justin returned, carrying a case of liquor. Carly’s eyes widened. “Headed to a kegger this weekend?”

  “Trade goods,” he explained and dropped the case into a second cart that had been abandoned nearby. “It’s a pain-killer, a disinfectant, and a good time, all rolled into one.”

  They rolled the carts back up to the front of the store, and Carly pulled her checkbook out of her pocket.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Justin told her. “Besides, I hate waiting in line behind someone who’s writing a check.”

  Carly gave him a small smile. She knew he was joking to soften the reaction his words were bound to have, and she appreciated it. She considered for a moment and then put her checkbook back into her pocket. He was probably right. Even if the owner of the store returned, who would be at the bank to cash her check? “How are we going to carry all of this?” Her tote wouldn’t hold it all.

  “We’ll just wheel the carts back to your place.”

  Carly swallowed back a protest about stealing the carts when she considered the fact everything inside the carts was stolen as well.

  “Is there a gun shop here?” Justin asked.

  “On the other side of the bridge.”

  “Care to take a stroll with me?”

  Carly smiled at him. “Certainly.”

  They walked down 10th Street toward the bridge. Sam trotted beside her, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. He looked happy, and it made her heart lighten a bit. “You said you were from Omaha. Is that where your family is?”

  For a moment, Carly didn’t think he was going to answer, and she regretted asking the question.

  “I don’t have any family.”

  “Are they all . . . gone?”

  Justin shrugged. “I’d imagine so, but I have no way of knowing for sure. I grew up in the foster care system and enlisted as soon as I was old enough to sign the papers.”

  Carly didn’t know if she should she offer sympathy, or if she should—

  “What about your family?”

  “They’re . . . gone.” Carly’s throat tightened.

  “I’m sorry. Were you close?”

  “Very. My mom and dad . . . they were wonderful. But you knew my dad, at least a little bit, right?”

  “He was my Arabic teacher for a few months, until he retired.”

  That must have been the language her dad had been speaking in his fevered delirium the night he died. She pushed the thought away and blinked hard to combat the stinging in her eyes. Justin gave her a pat on the shoulder, his eyes compassionate. She felt a little closer to Justin, knowing he had a connection to her father, no matter how slight.

  “How old are you, Carly?”

  “Twenty-two.”

  “Did you still live at home?”

  “No, I had my own apartment upstairs. Mom and Dad were on the ground floor. So I still saw them every day and went downstairs for dinner all the time since I’m not much of a cook.” Carly gave a little laugh even as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “My mom worried I wasn’t eating enough vegetables and healthy stuff.”

  Justin was quiet for a moment. “The men spoke highly of your father. He left the field around the time you were born and became an instructor, but his reputation as a brave man and loyal friend remained.”

  “He never said much about his army days. Just that he was in the Middle East for a while.”

  Justin nodded. “He couldn’t tell you, Carly. And you wouldn’t have wanted to hear it anyway.”

  “How old are you, Justin?” Her dad had retired before her tenth birthday, so he had to be at least—

  “Thirty-four,” he said.

  She peered at him closely. Under that scruffy beard, his features still had a youthful cast, but that might have been because he usually had a mischievous grin and a wicked twinkle in his eye. Knowing him a little better, he didn’t look so scary. “Wow, you look younger.”

  Justin cast her an amused glance. “You say that like you think I should have wrinkles and a cane.”

  “No . . . you just look . . . young,” Carly said lamely.

/>   “The virtues of healthy living.”

  Carly giggled, though the sound of it was still unusual enough to give her a little start of surprise. “Nobody who gets that excited about Lucky Charms can claim to be a health nut.”

  “Come on. I get to have one guilty pleasure, don’t I?”

  “Don’t ask me. The only healthy thing I did was go to the gym to use the Stairmaster twice a week.”

  “If your jeans weren’t so baggy, I could tell you if it had paid off or not.” Justin gave her an exaggerated leer, but she didn’t smile.

  “They weren’t always baggy on me,” Carly said. Even if there had been plenty of food, her appetite had been virtually nonexistent for a while.

  Justin shook his head. “You poor girl. I had no idea you had been hungry for so long.”

  “I was afraid to go outside. It wasn’t just the quarantine. At first there were lots of . . . crazy people on the street. The Infected. Healthy people would try to walk past them quickly, and sometimes the Infected would just attack them without warning. I didn’t start going outside until I didn’t see anyone. And then it was scary that I didn’t see anyone, you know? I started thinking the government may have evacuated all of the healthy people out of Juneau, and I just wasn’t informed because they didn’t know I was in my apartment. I started wondering . . .” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat before she continued. “. . . I started wondering if I was the only one left. I read this book once, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Have you ever read it?”

  Justin thought for a moment. “I saw the movie.”

  “The book is different.” Carly felt a stinging pain in her hands and realized she had both fists clenched tightly, her nails digging into her palms. “The main character, that’s what happens to him. He’s the only normal person left in the world. I kept telling myself there had to be other people, and things would go back to normal, but until I saw you, I—” Carly had to stop. Her throat was too tight to speak any further, but from Justin’s expression, he understood what she was trying to say.