Running on Empty
Sophie drove like a maniac until Micah yelled at her to stop. We came to a rest with a soft thump in a field much like the one we had just left. We were all nervous, searching through the windows for signs of more zombies, but we only saw one along the distant highway. Sophie took in the sights and burst into tears, head down on the steering wheel. Micah clambered over her to reclaim the driver's seat, shifting her rather gruffly onto the passenger's side. He did up her seat belt for her though, which was nice enough.
We angled closer to the highway in case it cleared and started driving in silence. The iPod was dead.
As was Max?
Unknown.
It was an awkward ride. Half of us weren't even really sure he had been bitten, though we must have known it deep down. Pravar started to say something about going back to check on him, but he shut up with a look from Micah. We all knew the ground rules.
Ground rules?
We had planned for this, remember. And one rule was to take no chances with bites.
But you…
That wasn't a bite.
[She shakes her head, the faraway look returning.]
I don't think Sophie ever forgave us.
Do you think she will?
It's too late for that.
[Once again, my eyes drift to the Polaroid photo tacked to the wall. Even with smiling faces, everyone's expression is vaguely haunted. It's a feature present in most of Earth's remaining population. Noticing what has captured my attention, Lilly coughs discreetly and changes the subject.]
Here's something we didn't think about: offroading eats up a lot of gas. And there was no gas to refill with. We were lucky to get back on a side road and make it past the little town at the foot of the mountain range. Our indicator swung briefly away from "empty" every time we coasted down a hill, but that was it. The roads themselves were mostly empty, but every so often you'd see cars abandoned on the side of the road or evidence of some sort of attack. Flagstaff hadn't been so bad when we left, and this was even more remote. It was like a ghost town, bullets riddling the hand-painted "Dance and BBQ Every Friday!" sign by the general store. I don't know what happened there. Nick could tell you more.
[We have not been introduced.]
Nick?
He'll be by later.
I have some theories though. Maybe everyone was organized, got out early. Maybe they all turned into zombies and lurched en masse towards the highway where it was louder, crunchier, juicier…
We did see a couple houses that were boarded up, barbed wire wrapped around their gates. These were hardy people – hunting stock. We weren't surprised to see some had stuck around. I swear we even saw one guy working on a palisade. Once we figured out that he was breathing, it seemed like a good idea.
Did you try to make contact with anyone that might be in town?
We didn't go close. The blood on doors was warning enough.
We were glad we weren't stranded there.
So the gas lasted a bit longer?
When you're running on empty, you really have about 20 miles left. Just not if you're offroading or driving up a mountain. Our car got us farther than town, but not much farther. We had our road map out, or I did, and Pravar and I were carefully selecting potential parking spots.
Why multiples?
Just in case. We decided against the first two turnoffs: one had a bunch of cars and the other had a little campsite sign, which probably meant a few people setting up shop. We passed one truck loaded with ransacked gear, the windows inside smeared with blood. One door was open. That was pretty ominous. We could have raided it some more, but we weren't sure we'd be able to get the car to start back up.
You didn't check it for gas?
That would have been a good idea, actually. But no, we kept going. Gas was getting critical. Eventually the car just spluttered and started rolling backwards. I think Sophie must have shrieked, but Micah was a good driver. He steered us towards the side of the road and pulled the emergency brake for good measure. That was the first tree we felled.
I can see there have been plenty more.
[Lilly treats me to a genuine smile. She is indubitably proud of the hand-built settlement.]
We weren't as deep as we wanted to be. We were some distance from the next trailhead we had circled, but maybe that was OK. Now came the hard part: getting from point A to point B.
You had a destination in mind?
Of sorts. Ideally, we were hoping to reach the fire watchtower. Those were getting rarer thanks to aerial surveillance and whatever other tricks the Forest Service got up to, but one was clearly marked on our map. We figured it was probably a vain hope – that some local had got to it first – but it was worth trying. There was only one within any reasonable distance from a spring.
And now came another realization: we had too much stuff. That was very clear. Without Max and Kate, suddenly we had extra supplies, but no way to carry them. We weren't sure if we'd ever make it back to the car, either. Sophie had started crying again, quietly. Max and Pravar just looked at each other.
"Get on top of the car," said Micah, dragging the shovel from the top of the pile in the trunk. Pravar helped Sophie scramble on top of the roof. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, searching everywhere for zombies as part of a new habit. Micah gave me a cursory kiss, a boost, and then handed me the shovel with a somewhat resentful look. After Pravar, Max had been his best friend. Any other time I might have been mad at him, righteous feminist anger at his obvious dismissal, but Sophie needed me. We stood on top of the car with arms wrapped around each other, turning every so often and keeping watch while the boys repacked. Sophie sobbed and Pravar kept calling too-cheerful questions to keep us involved. I thought about smacking him with the shovel.
That annoying, huh?
[This makes her laugh.]
Ha. He would have deserved it though.
It was starting to get dark. We had left early, but traffic and off road detours had messed with our plans. Even leaves rustling made us jump. Finding his LED headlamp and a second one for me calmed Micah down somewhat. One car passed us, heading in the opposite direction, but they didn't even slow down. We would have done the same.
This was supposed to be the greatest adventure of our lives, but I think we just felt numb. Even the guttural moans that soon joined us could do little to change that.