The Path of Ashes [Omnibus Edition]

by Parker, Brian

  “Yes, ma’am,” Sergeant Cantrell nodded inside his mask and hood. “Part of our orders also stated that we weren’t supposed to interact with the local population, but you’re basically telling this guy your life story and our mission in the area. We don’t even know who he is.”

  She turned on him and closed the short distance between the two of them in three quick steps. “You are relieved of this watch, sergeant. Go get Corporal Samuels to come relieve you and then turn in. The situation has obviously messed with your mental state and you need some rest.”

  The man started to protest, then thought better of it. He shot the two newcomers a cold, hard glare and then headed towards one of the Humvee’s parked on the bridge overlooking all of the approaches. “I’m sorry about him, he’s been really on edge since we got here and the nuclear war sure as hell hasn’t helped. He’s gotten on my last nerve. I mean, you heard him, he wants to cut and run instead of following our orders.”

  “Well, I’m not in the military, but he kinda has a point,” Aeric said. “The US Government probably doesn’t exist anymore, what are you guys a part of now?”

  “America, sir. I know that sounds stupid, but even if the government is gone, we volunteered to defend America and her people. That’s what I’ll keep doing and I hope my men will too.”

  Aeric held his hands in front of him to placate the lieutenant. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just asking what you planned to do if the government has totally collapsed.”

  “It was on the verge of collapse before the war and we were out here to defend people, so what’s changed if it did collapse or got blown to oblivion?”

  Aeric had to admit that she had a point. The military was a tool that the government used, but ultimately they were there to protect the people. If the street war in Austin was any indication, they’d be invaluable in the coming days. “You’re right and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m glad that you’re out here protecting us.”

  Her eyes softened once again behind the thick plastic eyepieces of her mask. “It’s okay. What was your name? I don’t think that we ever exchanged names.”

  Aeric briefly considered giving her a fake name, although he had no idea why he would be thinking like that, it didn’t matter. “My name is Aeric Gaines and this is Tyler Nordgren. What’s your first name, Lieutenant Griffith?”

  “Lorelei,” she replied. “We’re all hopeful that Fort Hood is still there… I don’t know. You said you came up from Austin, was anything wrong when you drove by the exit for the installation?”

  Aeric shrugged and replied, “I don’t know. We left a few days before the— Are we calling this a war?”

  She nodded and replied “Might as well be. Regardless of who in our government initiated it, we got word that the United States shot the first missile before things went crazy and whoever we shot at retaliated.”

  It made sense that this one little Army unit on the ground wouldn’t have many details about what happened. Aeric was still positive that it had something to do with the Vultures, though. They’d been actively trying to hack into the network that controlled the nuclear weapons before the war started.

  He lifted his chin slightly. “When we left Austin, the Army was there to keep us off the highway, but we made it north to Mexia down back roads before our car ran out of gas and we couldn’t find any more.”

  “Hmm, fuel is going to be a problem,” the lieutenant stated, tapping her gloved fingers on her thigh. “We have some jerry cans of diesel fuel, but if there’s anything left, it’ll get scooped up quickly.”

  “I don’t know, Lorelei,” Tyler said. “People were grabbing all the fuel they could for their cars. If those don’t work anymore, then wouldn’t there be a lot of gas sitting abandoned in their fuel tanks?”

  She nodded and used a gloved hand to scratch at the back of her head through the hood. “You’re probably right. Those television shows have paid off for you.”

  Aeric focused on her hand and then looked her up and down to take in the protective suit that she wore. The suit resembled a pair of heavy-duty coveralls and she wore rubber gloves and overshoes over her boots. Every time she moved, the fabric made a strange swishing sound like it was nylon, or some similar material. “Should we be worried about radiation?” he asked.

  “Yeah, you should. You guys need to cover up. All of this ash that’s floating around is probably contaminated. You’ll need more than the long sleeve t-shirts that you’re wearing, maybe like a rain poncho or something, and definitely a hat of some kind to keep it off your head and away from your eyes. If you could find a gas mask, that would be the best thing, but those are hard to come by if you’re not around a military base.”

  She’d tapped the mask that she wore when she said that last part. “There’s a Walmart on the western side of Corsicana. It’s only a little bit out of your way along the highway before you shoot off towards Arkansas. They probably have most of the things that you’d need.”

  “Good idea,” Aeric agreed. “I think that’s a good place to start. Thanks, Lorelei.”

  A short soldier came waddling up to the group and Aeric had a hard time deciding if he was fat or if he had too many layers of protective gear on. “Ma’am, Sergeant Cantrell sent me out here. He said you told me to relieve him.”

  “That’s right, corporal. These gentlemen are moving along now. You’ll be switching trucks with Sergeant Cantrell full time. Got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Should I move my gear from my truck to yours?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. And have Cantrell come get his shit out of my truck,” she called after the corporal who’d already started back towards the other vehicle to retrieve his gear.

  “Okay, fellas, you should get moving. I think my troops are probably getting a little freaked out that you’ve been here so long. Normally, everyone comes and goes quickly without stopping to talk. They were already jumpy today because of what happened, I don’t want one of them accidentally shooting you.”

  Aeric blanched and he couldn’t help looking over at the giant machine gun on top of the Humvee. The thing looked like it would maul an elephant. “Yeah, I don’t want them shooting us either. Thank you for passing along the information, Lorelei. You’ve been a huge help.”

  “It was nice to talk to you guys too. It gets kind of lonely when you’re in charge.”

  He stuck out his hand. “Well, I hope we see you in San Angelo.”

  “Actually, Aeric, I really hope that we never see each other again.” She laughed at his obvious surprise, even behind the bandana. “What I mean is that I hope Fort Hood is still there and we don’t need to meet up in San Angelo.”

  “Oh,” he grinned. “Makes sense. Stay safe, Lorelei.”

  She thumbed over her shoulder to the .50 caliber machine gun on the Humvee’s roof and said, “I think I’ll be okay. Watch each other’s backs and don’t trust anyone.”

  “That’s certainly not a very nice way to live,” Tyler replied.

  “It may not be pleasant, but it’ll keep you alive. Safe travels, my friends.”

  SIX

  It was twelve miles from Richland to Corsicana. By the time they trudged into the parking lot of the Walmart where Lorelei had suggested they go, both of them were dog tired. A lifetime of playing baseball had conditioned them to short periods of intense bursts of speed. It hadn’t prepared them for the extended periods of walking that they’d subjected their bodies to on this trip. Spending almost twenty-four hours inside a cramped sedan hadn’t helped either.

  As Aeric walked, he was also beginning to develop a slight hot spot on the sole of his left foot and he definitely had a blister on his little toe. He still wore the shoes that he’d been wearing the night of the party, they’d been fine for walking around for short distances, but he needed to upgrade to either a pair of running shoes or a good pair of hiking boots that would offer ankle support once they started going through the Ozark Mountains to get to Missouri. Tyler
had mentioned it before, footwear had now become one of the highest priority items on his shopping list, second only to food and ammunition.

  They trudged wearily towards the outline of the giant building that likely held everything that they needed. Streams of people moved in and out of the darkened front door carrying bags or pushing carts. Aeric glanced in some of the carts as people rushed by. Most held food and perishable products, but there was the occasional disillusioned individual who ran by with a large screen television or some other worthless electronic gadget. He knew that those things would never function again. Apparently the ones who looted the electronics section thought that it was a power outage. They’d learn quickly enough that all their new possessions were just large pieces of junk.

  The sounds of Corsicana’s panicked residents echoed out of the building in a dull buzz, interspersed with the occasional gunshot from inside or somewhere in the neighborhoods surrounding the store where thugs murdered people for their supplies. It was becoming dangerous on the streets and this was only the second day after the nuclear war. What would it be like in a week? Aeric wondered.

  “I think we should walk over to the pharmacy entrance and avoid the food side of the store,” Aeric announced when they were halfway across the parking lot. “Everything that we need, except food, is on the opposite side anyways.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Tyler responded, eyeing the grocery entrance warily. “We’ll need more soon, but I don’t want to get mixed up in that mess.”

  When they went inside the building it took Aeric’s eyes a moment to adjust to the total darkness of the interior of the store. Over the past few days, he’d gotten much better at seeing in the dark, what with the lack of power and the constant clouds of ash that kept the sun from shining through and made every moment of the day seem like it was dusk. Tyler’s eyesight was still iffy, though.

  “Are you ready?” he asked as he held the rifle against his shoulder with the barrel facing the ground like his father had taught him when they went quail hunting. Besides walking with the gun pointed outward, having the barrel aimed towards the ground was the fastest way to be prepared to shoot if he needed to. It was a simple movement to lift his hand that grasped the wooden forestock, bringing the weapon into a firing position. The low-ready, as it was called, also helped to prevent unintentionally killing someone if he had an accidental discharge.

  “Yeah, I think this is as good as my eyesight’s gonna get,” Tyler answered his question about whether he was ready to enter the store. “I still have those annoying spots right in the center of my vision and the darkness makes it worse. Where are we going first?”

  They’d discussed their list several times during the trip from Lieutenant Griffith’s checkpoint. Both of them agreed that they would likely encounter problems in the store, so it was best to have what they needed in a prioritized list before entering and getting sidetracked trying to find things.

  “Sporting goods,” Aeric answered. “We need ammunition for our weapons and then sleeping bags. The camping section will have those as well as some rubberized jackets to help keep the ash off of our skin. Then we’ll go for boots and foot care stuff.”

  Another boom rose above the cacophony of voices in the grocery section as someone shot their gun. A few panicked screams pierced the darkness, but most of the people in the store had grown accustomed to the violence and continued to gather their supplies, heedless that someone had likely been shot. Society had deteriorated rapidly into chaos and would likely continue down the path towards total anarchy.

  Aeric and Tyler walked rapidly past the pharmacy towards the back of the store where the sporting goods section was typically located. The soft orange glow of a fire near their intended location drew them like moths. Aeric stepped into a dark liquid and started to warn Tyler to be careful, but the big man’s feet had already slipped out from underneath him. He landed hard in the sticky substance.

  “Aww, shit, man!” Tyler yelled out. “I’m covered in cough syrup.”

  “Cough syrup? I thought it was blood!”

  Tyler gripped Aeric’s offered hand and pulled himself up off of the floor. “That might have been better. Now I’m all sticky and smell like sugary, cherry-flavored medicine.”

  Gun shots rang out in rapid succession and they both dove to the floor, there was no telling where the bullets would go. There were several weapons that answered the first and then everything went silent. After a few seconds, people began to move around once again.

  “We need to hurry up and get the fuck out of here,” Tyler said.

  “Yeah,” Aeric agreed. Now they were both covered in cough syrup. He wrinkled his nose at the smell, Tyler had been right, this stuff did stink.

  They gave up trying to walk and rushed to the sporting goods section. A fire burned in a small metal wastebasket and illuminated the ammunition area. It looked like someone had used a fire starter log so they could see what caliber was written on the side of the boxes. The heavy plastic case that normally held a few rifles and shotguns was smashed against the floor. It reminded Aeric of an empty egg shell after the chicks had hatched. He wondered what kind of mayhem those weapons would cause.

  “Dammit! I was hoping for another gun,” he moaned.

  “Forget it. Let’s get the stuff on our list and go,” Tyler said.

  The boxes of ammunition were in total disarray and it looked like people had shoved them out of the way to find what they needed. Nothing was in order anymore, so Aeric ran his fingers along the shelf until he found the label for the 30-30 ammunition. After moving the boxes of 30.06 and .310 cartridges, he finally found the ones that he’d been looking for. He raked six or seven boxes into his backpack and then sidestepped to the 9-millimeter ammo.

  “We’re almost done, just give us a second,” Tyler’s voice boomed behind him.

  “We’re taking that ammo. Get out of the way.”

  Aeric turned to see three men standing at the end of the aisle. All of them held rifles menacingly. He held the stock of his rifle with one hand and lifted up the other to try and placate the men. “Look, there’s plenty of ammo available. We don’t even need rifle ammo, just 9-mil.”

  “Back up until we get our shit,” the leader of the group said.

  “We don’t want any trouble, we’re just trying to get some ammunition for our pistols,” Tyler replied.

  “I don’t give a shit what you want,” the man challenged. “I’ll kill you if you don’t step aside.”

  “Sir, we need the ammo for our weapons just as much as you need it for yours.” Tyler stated. He wasn’t going to back down.

  “Kill them, Red!” one of the other two said gleefully.

  The man elevated the barrel of his rifle towards Aeric’s midsection while his mind played over the next several seconds and what would happen if he didn’t stop them. It wasn’t a pretty picture. If they let these assholes boss them around, they’d likely hound them until they ended up shooting both of them in the back. They had to be dealt with.

  He shifted slightly, using Tyler’s bulk to hide his movements. The 9-millimeter Glock that he’d taken from the second man that he’d killed felt like it weighed a ton as it slid out from under his shirt. His finger slid into the characteristic square trigger guard and he depressed the little switch in the middle of the trigger that acted as the Glock’s safety mechanism.

  Aeric stepped out from behind his roommate to shoot, but the big man fired his own weapon from inside his pocket first. The bullet went directly into the chest of Red, the man who’d done most of the talking. His mouth formed an almost comical “O” shape that was clear in the strange orange glow of the trash can fire.

  Aeric’s ears rang from the gun’s explosion, adding to the damage that had already been done from the nuclear explosion. He pivoted on his lead leg and squeezed the trigger on his own pistol, this time crumpling the second man’s face inward as blood sprayed into the aisle behind him.

  By the time he’
d turned towards the third man, he was already running away. Tyler yelled something to him, but the blood pounding though his body didn’t allow him to think. The only thing he knew was that he had to stop these three before they tried to kill him and his companion. He opened his stance like his father had taught him when they fired at aluminum cans in the field and brought the sights up to his eye level. The coward was running away, one more second and he’d be toast as well.

  He eased the trigger back. The bullet would strike the man right between the shoulder blades and put the thug out of commission. It was a good thing that he did for the city of Corsicana. If he didn’t take them out, they would have robbed any number of people. Tyler slapped his hand at the last moment and the bullet veered slightly, catching the man in the shoulder and sent him tumbling to the ground around the corner.

  Aeric glared at his friend, “What the hell did you do that for?”

  “Leave it, man!” Tyler shouted over the ringing in his own ears. “That guy was running away. We need to get out of here!”

  “Bullshit. He would have ambushed us on the way out. We’re not leaving without getting what we came for.” He turned and took two quick steps towards the 9-millimeter ammunition, then shoved every box of ammo that he saw into the pack. It sagged noticeably in his grasp with the added weight. Then, for good measure, he grabbed two more boxes of the 30-30.

  “Sleeping bags,” he ordered as he walked down the aisle scanning for products that would be useful. Into his backpack went chemical lights, two large hunting knives, two multi-tool pliers, a collapsible shovel, a small hatchet and some heavy-duty wool socks.

  “Got ‘em,” Tyler breathed as he came around the corner carrying three boxes. “I also got a tent that we should be able to sleep in.”

  Aeric stopped himself from chastising Tyler about being stupid. They could stay in a vacant house or car. The man—who was just a teenager like himself—was trying to help. “Good job. Let’s get jackets and boots. Then we can leave.”