“We got water!” Ali said.
“Good,” Marcus said.
“No food though,” Ali said.
“Fuck,” Vic said.
“Grab anything you need and want to carry,” Marcus said to Christina. “We have to leave now.”
She got up from her spot next to her father. She grabbed a smaller bag from the backseat of the car, and began loading stuff into the suitcase.
“Just the essentials,” Marcus said to her.
“Take what you want,” Vic said. “I can carry some stuff for you.”
She smiled.
Marcus grabbed a tire jack from the trunk and a flashlight. “These will come in handy.”
The four of them walked into the darkness along the side of the road. Far enough to go undetected if anyone drove by, but not so far they couldn’t run out if they saw someone coming.
Chapter Three
The group with their new addition, Christina, walked for several hours. Luck didn’t strike again as they didn’t come across a cave. But they set up camp right off the road.
If I knew last night’s cave would’ve been the best accommodation we’d have during this journey through the desert, I would’ve appreciated it more, Ali thought.
Christina, slim and tall with her shoulder length blonde hair, looked more like a female surfer than a fighter, but she marched right in step with the rest of the guys. She tied her cardigan around her waist, and her once white tank top exposed her boney shoulders. The further they walked, the more she opened up. And now at the camp, she felt more comfortable with the guys.
Ali noticed she kept flashing her light on the ground.
“What are you looking for?” Ali asked.
“Tracks,” she said. She looked at Ali’s face and saw his puzzled expression. “Mountain lion tracks.”
“What?” Ali said.
“I want to make sure there aren’t any mountain lions around here,” she said. “You should do the same. We wouldn’t want to run into any of those.”
“Dad,” Ali said. “She’s joking right?”
Marcus said nothing.
“You shouldn’t have told this man about mountain lions,” Vic said to Christina. “He is scared of everything.”
“And you’re not concerned about mountain lions right?” Ali said to Vic. “I’m alone on this?” Ali turned to Christina. “How do you know about mountain lions?”
“I’m from Colorado,” she said.
“Really?” Vic said. “I’ve always wanted to visit.”
Ali shot him a glare as he never mentioned Colorado before in his life.
“What part?” Vic asked.
“Boulder.”
“What were you doing out here?” Ali asked.
“Ever heard of Model Behavior?” Christina replied.
Ali shook his head.
“That modeling show?” Vic said.
Ali looked at him wondering how he knew that.
She nodded. “I was at the final tryout for season seventeen. We drove out to Vegas for the audition.”
“We?” Vic said.
“Me, my mother, and father.” Her eyes welled up.
Vic was afraid to ask what happened to her mother, but he could use deductive reasoning to determine her fate.
“Then, there was an earthquake,” Christina said.
“And the clouds?” Vic said.
“They went orange,” Christina said.
“If that happened in Nevada, then it must’ve happened in the whole country,” Ali said to Marcus.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Marcus said.
“We kept driving, but the traffic was too thick,” Christina said. “My dad took a shortcut. And that’s how we ended up in the middle of nowhere.”
“Get some sleep,” Marcus aid. “We’ll have a long day tomorrow. I’m taking first watch.”
They laid in a tight circle. Vic stared up at the beautiful stars. He lost himself in them. Then, a howl whistled through the night air.
Marcus stood up. The boys and Christina sat up.
“What the fuck was that?” Ali said.
“What do you think?” Marcus said.
Ali turned to Christina. “Was that a mountain lion?”
She shook her head.
“That was a coyote fool,” Vic said.
It was impossible to tell which direction they were coming from. Marcus didn’t want to panic, but he also didn’t want to be a sitting duck if the coyotes returned. He took out his flashlight and scanned the area to see if there was any higher ground they could use. Nothing. They couldn’t be idle any longer.
“Everybody up,” Marcus shouted. “Let’s keep moving.”
“What?” Ali said.
“We’re not safe here,” Marcus said.
Ali felt his dad was overreacting, but he knew not to test him on this…at least not now.
The group packed up their things and moved on. The howls didn’t stop. They only got louder.
“I can’t,” Christina said. “I can’t walk anymore.”
“We have to,” Vic told her.
As Marcus approached them, he was thinking if he was going to lay down an ultimatum and threaten her that they would leave if she couldn’t move. He didn’t want to be hard, but she left him no choice.
“You need water?” Vic said.
“No. My legs hurt,” Christina said.
“Were you bit?” Ali shouted. He was not going to let history replicate itself. His tone threw Vic and Marcus off guard. He repeated, “Were you bit?”
Christina was puzzled. “No.”
“Show me your legs,” Ali said.
Vic thought it was a great idea.
“They’re just sore,” Christina said.
She rolled up both legs of her skinny jeans to her calf. Marcus shined the flashlight on each leg. No bites, marks, or blood.
“That’s it,” Marcus said. “Walk.” He reached for his bag to put the flashlight away to conserve its power. Then, he noticed twenty sets of eyes in the darkness staring back at him.
The coyotes were about seventy feet away and approaching.
“Oh shit,” Marcus said.
“What?” Vic said.
“They’re back!” Marcus shouted.
The group took off toward the road.
“Here,” Marcus said to Christina. He handed her his shirt full of rocks.
They stopped with the coyotes still in pursuit.
“We’re gonna have to fight,” Marcus said.
They huddled back to back as the growling animals surrounded them. The two coyote survivors from the attack at the car must have went back and told the rest of the pack about the potential food source traveling down the road. The coyotes snarled as they tightened up their circle around the group.
Ali swung first. He hit a coyote. Marcus then joined in with the tire jack. Vic whacked two others in the head.
There were too many. Marcus knew the odds tipped to the coyotes.
Christina swatted away coyote as she held onto the images of what they did to her father. Her leg cramps didn’t go away, but she was determined to not let them be the end of her.
The four of them fought tirelessly. But for every coyote they injured or killed it felt like three more would take its place.
They stood back to back. Marcus panted heavily while on one knee, tired from dismantling half of the pack by himself.
“This is some bullshit,” Vic said.
The coyotes were as strong-willed as the humans. They didn’t retreat. A coyote leapt at Marcus. Ali swatted it away. The pack of now ten closed in, sensing the group was ripe for the kill as their leader was down.
“Give…me…a second,” Marcus said.
A sweat-dripped Ali looked down at his dad. “We got this.”
A loud screeching sound ripped through the desert night. Half of the remaining coyotes got wiped out in one swoop. Bright lights appeared. It was a food truck.
An early fifties, Hispani
c man’s head popped out of the driver’s side of the truck, “Get in!”
Ali, Vic, and Christina looked at each other. Then, they all turned to Marcus.
“What do we do?” Ali said.
“Go!” Marcus shouted.
Ali didn’t move. He wasn’t leaving.
“Now,” Marcus yelled.
Ali beat another coyote in the head.
“There’s more coming,” the Hispanic man said.
Marcus and Ali looked up as fifteen more coyotes stampeded toward them. Ali hopped on the truck.
“Come on,” Ali said to Marcus.
Marcus grabbed Ali’s hand.
“Go,” the red-headed man yelled at the driver. The food truck peeled off down the road.
A redheaded man in his early twenties and wearing cargo shorts, Vans chukka boots, and a faded long sleeve black t-shirt sat in the back of the truck with Marcus, Ali, Vic, and Christina while the Hispanic man drove. Nobody muttered a word. Everybody was nervous and uncomfortable. Marcus tried to get a read on the redhead.
“Is everybody okay?” the Hispanic man said from the driver’s seat.
“Yes,” the redhead said.
“Not you,” the Hispanic man said.
“We’re all right,” Ali said.
Marcus shot him a glare. Ali shrugged in response.
“Yeah, we’re good,” Marcus said.
“We saw you guys needed help,” the Hispanic man said. “I guess we came right in time.” He laughed and then looked in the rearview mirror, they all had stoic looks on their expressionless faces.
“Thank you,” Marcus said.
“You sure you’re okay?” the Hispanic man said.
“Can I sit up there with you?” the redhead said to the Hispanic man.
The man pulled the food truck over. He stepped into the back of the truck. About 5’11” tall, the man stood their wearing a beige, brown slacks, and a navy Kangol tilted to the left side.
Marcus reached for the tire jack.
“Relax,” the Hispanic man said. “My name is Eduardo. But call me Eddie.” He smiled and held out his hand for Marcus. Marcus shook it. “And that’s Jesse.” Jesse nervously smiled.
“Marcus.”
“I’m Ali.”
“Victor…Vic.”
“Christina.”
Eddie nodded his head as if he was satisfied. “Okay, now we can keep going. Jesse, our guests look hungry. Fix them something to eat.” Eddie went back behind the wheel and started driving.
Jesse went over to the stove.
“Tacos?” Ali asked.
“Oh now because I’m Mexican, my truck is a taco truck?” Eddie said with a straight face.
“Uh…” Ali stuttered. “No, I’m sorry.”
“I’m just playing with you, Ali,” Eddie said. “Philly cheesesteaks my man.” He laughed.
Jesse opened up the oven and handed them the cheesesteaks wrapped in tin foil one by one. Vic held up two fingers. Jesse gave him an extra.
“Why don’t you wait until you finish the first one?” Marcus told him.
“But I’m gonna finish it,” Vic said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Very valid point, Marcus thought. He shrugged.
“Do you have anything to drink?” Ali asked.
Jesse lifted up the lid on a blue cooler that had cans and bottles of soft drinks. “The bottles are the coldest.”
Ali and Vic both grabbed bottles of Jarritos, a Mexican soda. Christina and Marcus both decided on water.
Marcus wanted to tell them to watch their sugar intake to beware of their body crashing. But after what they’ve been through, why not let them indulge?
“We’re from L.A.,” Eddie said.
“New York,” Marcus said.
“City or state?” Eddie said.
“City,” Marcus said.
“Cool,” Jesse said.
“I’m originally from Philly. So I’m quite familiar with NYC,” Eddie said. “I used to go there all of the time. But that was a long, long time ago.”
Nobody said anything.
“Aren’t much for talking huh?” Eddie said.
Marcus let out a grunt from exhaustion. He fixed his mouth to speak.
“I get it,” Eddie said. “We’ve all been through a lot.”
“How is it in L.A.?” Vic said.
“From the looks of it, not much different from where you came from,” Eddie said.
“Yeah, you guys look like shit,” Jesse said.
Ali, Vic, and Marcus all looked at each other. There was no room to argue.
"Where did you come from?" Jesse said.
"We were in northern Cali," Ali said. "At Stanford."
"Oh," Jesse said. "You're geniuses."
"Yep," Ali quickly replied.
Marcus cut Ali off before he'd undoubtedly continue his lie, "We were visiting Stanford."
Jesse shot Ali a glare for attempting to pull one over on him.
"What do you do back in New York City?" Eddie asked Marcus.
"I'm a professor," Marcus said. He didn't have quite a read on Eddie and Jesse yet. So he decided to play everything close to the vest.
"Nice," Eddie said. "So you're the genius?" He laughed.
Marcus cracked a smile.
Eddie continued, "You know in another life, I'd like to think I would've been a teacher. I've always been a cook. Worked in kitchens since I was eighteen after joining the Navy. When I retired nine years ago, me and my Astrid bought Josefina." He slapped the dashboard of the food truck. "Then, we moved to L.A. and started bringing authentic Philly cheesesteaks to Los Angelenos."
"Who's Astrid?" Ali asked.
Vic kicked him in the shin. Ali shrugged.
"My wife," Eddie said. "She passed seven years ago this May."
Vic thought she might've been a casualty of the earthquake.
Eddie ran two fingers across an old photo of a young him and Astrid holding a baby.
"Where are you headed?" Marcus asked.
"Deerfield. It's in Illinois. That's where my daughter, Lourdes, lives with her husband and two children," Eddie smiled. "My little sweetheart. She's a nurse. Head nurse in a retirement home."
"Near Chicago huh?" Marcus said.
"You're welcomed to ride with us the entire way," Eddie said.
"Really?" Marcus said.
"Sure. It's better to have company than it just being me and knucklehead. More people to listen to my stories. It gives Jesse a break." Eddie turned around and had a big grin on his face. "Plus, it's pretty crazy out here. And you guys look like you can handle yourselves."
We have done a lot the past few days, Ali thought.
"Any more cheesesteaks?" Vic asked.
"Jesse," Eddie shouted as if the food truck was huge.
Jesse rolled his eyes before getting up and heating up the oven again to warm up the cheesesteaks he made yesterday.
"We're gonna need some more propane soon," Jesse said.
"All right," Eddie said. "I'll keep an eye for a gas station."
He looked at the fuel gauge. It was three quarters full. He gazed up at his picture one more time. Then, back at their new passengers. And Eddie smirked as if he was assured things were getting better.
Chapter Four
Eddie pulled Josefina into the third gas station they came across. The first two had the same amount of gas as it had people.
"I got it," Ali said. He stood up.
"Take this," Marcus handed Ali one of Eddie's knives. "Be careful."
Ali grabbed the knife and exited the truck.
Marcus thought about it for a second. "Go, with him," he said to Vic.
Marcus scanned the gas station. Everything was clear.
"Hold up," Vic said as he trailed Ali.
Ali turned around. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanna check this spot out too. Plus, I'm tired of sitting in that truck."
"My dad sent you right?" Ali said.
Vic said nothing
.
The two of them walked up to the gas station's convenience store. The shelves looked like they've been ran through with a lot of empty boxes. Vic walked over to the refrigerated section.
"Look for water," Ali said to him.
There was none. He opened up the door and pulled out a package of cheese and some salami. He opened both of the packages.
Ali looked over at him. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Making a mouth sandwich," Vic said.
"What?"
"Watch," Vic said. He opened up the packages of cheese and salami and stuffed some of both in his mouth. "See, mouth sandwich. I didn't even need bread."
Ali had a disgusted looked on his face. "That shit is probably spoiled."
His comment didn't deter Vic, he kept eating as he walked over to the cash register. He opened it. It was empty.
"What are you gonna do with cash?" Ali asked him.
"Buy things," Vic said.
Ali shook his head and frowned, "I bet there's no gas."
They walked back outside to the gas pumps. The first one was empty. They moved onto the second one. Empty.
Ali turned to Vic. "Can we try diesel?"
"It's not the same," Vic said.
Ali tried the third pump. Some gas splashed from the pump.
"Fuck yes," Ali said. Ali caught Eddie's attention and motioned for him to bring the truck over. He filled up the gas tank. He turned to Vic. "Pass me those gas canisters."
Vic grabbed the two empty gas canisters. Ali filled the first one all the way up. There was only enough gas to fill the second halfway.
"It's kicked?" Vic asked.
"Yep," Ali said. "Well, we'll be good for a minute."
They walked toward the truck. Ali with the two gas canisters in his hands stopped dead in his tracks. "Shit!"
"What?" Vic said.
"I forgot to check for the propane," Ali said. "Can you go around back and see if it's there?"
"Sure," Vic said.
He walked toward the back while Ali kept a watchful eye on him.
A barking coyote ran toward Vic with his back turned.
"V!" Ali shouted.
Nobody in the truck paid attention to what was going on outside.
Vic turned around. He sidestepped the lunging coyote and tripped over his own feet.
Ali dropped the gas canisters.
The coyote jumped on Vic. Ali raced over, pulled out his knife and stabbed it right in its skull. The blood from the coyote dripped from its head onto Vic's shirt.
Scattered Screams: (The Disruption, Book One) Page 7
