Phoenix in Arizona
{Chapter Two}
This scene was becoming all too familiar at this point. The problem was that the scenery just kept getting more and more ridiculous. It was one thing to watch Eli make his meandering scavenging forays out in the desert.
Now, they were in a peculiar place Eli explained had once been a "library."
"What are you looking for in here again?" Rene asked, gazing at the ruined shelves stuffed full of rotted tomes.
"A book if we're lucky. Several if we're not." Eli replied.
"They seem to be all around us." Boone commented, his voice showing that his patience was being tried.
"Not just any old book. If you're bored go wait outside, talk or do something. This might take awhile as all the labels have disappeared." the New Canaanite complained.
Rene peered at the shelves. While she did have some intelligence, she wasn't as smart as Eli seemed to be. Picking up a slightly scorched book, she opened it and attempted to read the words that crossed the page. Her mind tried to make sense of some of the lettering that scrolled the pages.
"Hey… Boone, what's this say?" Rene asked, showing the book to Boone. He looked at the cover, not being able to make sense of the ruined and warped covering of the book. Reading an excerpt from the page, Boone sat on an old and decrepit table.
"Er… it says 'Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversations?', Boone read. It seemed like a very peculiar book, and he continued to silently read. Rene looked at him, almost as if she was expected something.
"Aren't you going to read to me?"
"Read to you? This isn't storytime, Rene. Not yet.." Boone mumbled.
"Can you teach me to read?" Rene asked, looking a little hopeful. Boone sighed, cracking a rare and small smile.
"I thought the Legion would've educated you in at least Latin and Standard English?"
"….They don't teach women. They don't believe in it, I don't think…"
"Ah! A copy of the Inferno! Hmph, seems that only Purgatory hasn't rotted away. Pity, that would have been a good read." Eli grumped in the background.
Boone just sat, reading the book he had found before eventually becoming bored with the thing. Rene had decided to mill around the library, trying to find a good book to attempt to read. Her eyes scanned around the dust, coming up empty-handed. Looking perturbed, she sighed and sat on the ground, bringing her knees to her chest as she always did.
"Hmmm, the entire book has been destroyed except the title. Tell me, how could anyone write this much on how to kill a mockingbird?" Eli puzzled loudly.
"I heard it's a classic by this guy named… er, I forget. But it was a classic that Colonel Hsu talked about a lot", Boone commented.
"Aha!" Eli cried in triumph.
Curious, Rene and Boone made their way over to where Eli had set up shop on an ancient table. Apparently, Eli had been intent on finding more than just one book since several were piled up on the table and opened to specific places. When Rene spied them she at first thought she was only looking at odd shapes and lines. Eli highlighted one spot and then traced one particular line.
"In ye olde days when cars could run, we could go down 93 south and east and it would have brought us directly to Flagstaff." Eli showed.
"There's no reason to believe it couldn't do the same today. We'd just have to walk." Boone replied.
"Sure. If you want to fight through crowds of Legionaries who have undoubtedly set up shop all along the road. Also, there was a military depot along the way just before Flagstaff. I have no interest in fighting through a stockpile of Old World military tech and weapons. There's another route, less direct but more creative and probably safer." Eli offered, hoping they'd find it.
He waited a moment before pointing out a completely different route.
"The Magnus Chasma as prescribed on a Legion silver. It will provide water, cover and a less watched route than the Legion roads." Eli offered.
"It doesn't lead directly to Flagstaff." Boone said, studying the map.
"No, but it does lead to what had once been the Grand Canyon National Park. We travel at night, avoid the day and the heaviest of traffic. Once we end up there, it's a matter of sneaking south and east and then there's no mistaking Flagstaff."
Rene tried to make sense of the lines she saw.
"Boone, what's a car?" Rene asked, intrigued by the term. Maybe it was some sort of machine. That flew.
"We're going to have to switch traveling habits. I know you two find it dangerous to travel at night but the heat is less intense and we'll have the cover of the canyon and the Legion will be less diligent after sunset. We'll have to prepare for nightstalkers and I figured the scorpions were always more active at night. Hmmm..." Eli rambled while sorting through piles of books.
"Is there no other way?" Boone asked. It was one thing trying to avoid the Legion patrols but only having to deal with the worst of the nightmares that came out at night?
"I suppose we could be able to work a compromise out. Besides, Lord knows what the ecosystem might be like in the Grand Canyon. I don't know, could be Death Lurks in there or something...We'll figure something out." Eli shrugged, already losing interest in the topic and was searching through the other books.
Finding a large map that greatly detailed the contours of the Grand Canyon, Eli put it away for use later as well as one of the books that had a larger map of the Arizona area and its roads. It would have to do. He was not ready to leave a place that promised to have some good book hiding somewhere so he pretended to keep researching.
"Hey, Boone." Eli waved the sniper over.
No sooner had the sniper come up to the man, he had a book placed in his hands.
"It's mostly intact save for the title page so I couldn't tell you what it was called but the table of contents says as much. It appears to be short biographies on historical heroes. More specifically, Rene might be particularly interested in Queen Boadicea, Joan of Arc and Augustina of Aragon. All three of them apparently fought for their people against an overlord, Boadicea herself rebelled against the real Romans back in the day."
"You think this is a good idea?" Boone questioned.
"Why not? She just told you she wanted to learn how to read. She'd probably prefer you to teaching than me and you know her better than I do. Besides, if she doesn't like it then I'll read it. Lord knows you two would probably prefer I stopped yapping at times."
Boone took it. He sighed with a grumble as he usually did.
"Yeah, it would be nice to hear you stop talking so much…", he smirked lightly.
"I also heard her the other night. Of course she'll prefer me over you teaching- apparently, I mean a lot", Boone ended the conversation with Eli.
He did need to stop talking so much, Boone thought. It also wouldn't hurt to help Rene learn how to read so she doesn't ask me every five minutes about what a roadsign said or something of the sort. But I don't mind, most of the time.
Rene sat on the table, curled up as usual. Her head turned to Boone as she heard him approaching; only catching snippets of their conversation that lasted a couple minutes- a new record for Boone. She held herself tighter than usual, her face flushed with heat.
"Here. I'll try and help you, but no promises", Boone grumbled slightly. He handed the book to Rene.
"What's it called?"
"I dunno- but apparently, Eli was reminded of you when he skimmed through the book. It's about women who fought for their people", Boone informed her. He looked upon her warpaint and locks of hair that seemed permanently twisted into braids of a sort.
"I guess, you fight for your people, too."
"I… fight for them. Yeah. Because I love them, and I love everyone here in this room. Because… uh, I do. You're nice. Eli's nice. And I guess we're like a family", Rene told Boone of her opinion on their group. He withheld any emotion, as usual. Rene had her way of putting things but never once had he saw Eli as 'family'- maybe Rene, as they had traveled for a year and one half together, but Eli… he was just a suspicious character.
On the second floor of the library part of the ceiling had caved away, forming an impromptu balcony. Sitting crossed legged, Eli was fishing out just one additional book for the journey. Still, it was the words of another book that was echoing in his mind.
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war but one sinner destroys much good..."
Now was a lousy time to start considering the ethics of what they were about to do. Still, it got him to wondering if maybe, just maybe, there was a better way to do this. Could the remaining overlords at Flagstaff be persuaded to give up this madness? Maybe, but these days people usually settled disputes with bullets and blades.
The verse he remembered came from a book that decried the futility of life, the importance of doing what was right and abhorring evil even if life was a fleeting moment eager to rejoin the dust from whence it came.
He looked back inside where Rene and Boone were. It was one thing when he was just watching himself but now he would be responsible for those two. He could just turn around, tell them they'd have to find their own way and that he was not interested in the venture. They've survived similar, if they feel this strongly about it they would be going there irregardless of whether or not they happened upon me...and probably would end up killing a lot more of the Legion along the way...or get killed themselves.
"But do they all deserve to die?" he murmured to himself.
A dark voice within him reminded him of New Canaan. Far less had been slaughtered for even lesser reasons.
"But I am not them, nor will I be."
It became startling clear in that moment. He had to make sure Boone and Rene did not needlessly die...or anyone else for that matter. No, the Legion did not deserve mercy but was not sure there were many people under this blistering sun who did. He certainly didn't see himself entitled to it. There was no getting around it. There would be death but was there a chance to make sure not one more person died than was necessary? Eli shook his head.
"You're a fool, Eli, but these sands have drunk too much blood already."
Rene sat pondering, her mind doing flips with her thoughts that she wanted to keep still, that she wanted to clear her head of. It was giving her a headache to not be able to keep her mind focused upon the greater reality of combat, and how she would keep Eli and Boone alive. How she would try and let them live to the end- and farther beyond.
Rene didn't want to ever hurt Eli or Boone, but Eli was on his own 'redemption quest' or something noble and Boone... well, was Boone. Mindless slaughter of the Legion made him happy, and she was okay with that. And Rene… well, Rene was almost killing the Legion for what they had done to her tribe.
Almost.
Oh, how much she would enjoy crucifying them along Interstate 40. How she would love to see them rot in the sun, boiling under the immense heat. And whoever was the current leader at Flagstaff? She'd crucify him, and set the cross on fire while sending it sailing over the Grand Canyon. She'd like to see him suffer as he made a descent into his own pit of hell. That, or she'd eat him alive.
Boone watched Rene sit in complete silence for over 10 minutes. He was wondering how the peace in the air came to be for about 15 minutes before that, but finally found Rene, curled up as she usually sat.
"That's going to hurt your back, Rene."
"I'm going to rip the spines from the Legionnaires. Maybe I can get a new one."