by Sean Patten
He swept his hand towards the back of his shop, and Steve and I exchanged looks before heading after him.
Soon, we reached a steel door, and Henry quickly had it open with a key from his belt. Henry stepped into the darkness, and through the white glare of the camp light, I saw that it was a garage, an old-model station parked inside.
I heard another crash, and a glance over my shoulder revealed that the crowds were moving closer and closer to the entrance, ready to spill inside and trash the place.
And do God-knows-what to anyone inside.
“Hurry up,” said Henry. “No time to waste.”
Steve and I stepped into the garage and shut the door behind us. Henry reached over my shoulder and pulled the deadbolt shut with a click. Through the door I could hear the sounds of the masses grow louder and louder. If they weren’t already in the shop, they would be soon.
“Help me with this door here,” said Henry.
Steve and I said nothing as the three of us rushed to the garage door and pulled it open. Beyond was a narrow alley, just wide enough for a car to drive through.
“So,” said Henry. “You boys are in my life for a reason. Which means that I’m in yours for one. You two got plans after you get out of the city?”
“Nope,” I said, my eyes flicking nervously to the door. “Just want to get clear of this place before it gets worse.”
“Well, like I said, I’d done a little reading on the EMP and I saw that older cars might not be affected. So, when the lights went out, I came back here and gave my station wagon a try. Sure enough, it worked.”
More commotion, now definitely from the inside of the store. Henry slung his shotgun over his shoulder.
“I got water and ammo and a little food—maybe enough for the three of us if we spread it out.”
“And what,” asked Steve. “Live in the car?”
“No, you damned fool,” said Henry. “I’m taking this thing down to my brother’s farm in Arizona. Figure it’s secluded enough to be safe until this business sorts itself out, if it ever does. If you boys want to ride with me, I can take you there, or you can get out whenever we’re clear of the city—whatever works.”
All I wanted at that moment was to get off the Strip. But Henry’s offer was a good one. Arizona was still a good distance from New Mexico, but it was a damn sight closer than Vegas.
“Sure,” I said, speaking for me and Steve. “Let’s go.”
“Climb in,” he said.
We didn’t wait for him to tell us twice.
Once Henry was in the car, Steve and I got in. Henry stuck the key in the ignition and, for a moment, fear gripped me as I half-expected the engine to not turn over. But it did, the car roaring to life.
“Holy shit!” said Steve, his face lighting up. “How about that?”
He slapped me hard on the shoulder, but I wasn’t about to let myself feel relief until we were well clear of this place.
Henry pulled the car out into the alley, which was thankfully empty. Once at the end, he turned onto a side street that wasn’t nearly as crowded as the Strip. That didn’t prevent the few people that were around from whipping beer bottles and rocks at the car as we drove past.
“Animals!” said Henry. “Going to scuff the paint on this beauty.”
We continued on, my pulse slowing with each bit of distance we put between us and the Strip.
“Thank God,” said Steve.
“See?” said Henry. “You know it was God’s doing that you got out of there in one piece.”
“No,” said Steve, catching himself. “I mean, it’s just a figure of speech.”
“No atheists in foxholes, as they say,” said Henry.
We drove on.
“So,” said Henry. “You boys don’t have anyone in the city?”
“No,” said Steve. “We’re just visiting.”
“That’s…not entirely true,” I said.
Kelly.
She was due to come in tonight, which meant that she was possibly here somewhere in the city. That is, if she hadn’t been airborne when the pulse hit. If the plane had been forced to make an emergency landing, she could be anywhere now. That is, if the plane even landed safely…
“What are you—” Steve started, then a flash of realization took hold of his features. “No, Justin,” he said. “Forget about it.”
Henry glanced back over his shoulder.
“What do you mean?” he asked. “You either got people here or you don’t.”
“Kelly,” I said out loud.
Just speaking her name did something to me, something that I couldn’t quite understand. I realized at that moment I had to go find her, no matter what.
“Bro,” said Steve. “You can’t be serious.”
“Who’s Kelly?” said Henry. “You boys want to be riding with me, you’d better get used to straight-talking. So, out with it.”
“She’s my wife,” I said. “Or ex-wife. Something like that.”
“I see,” said Henry, my choice of words evidently making it clear to him that there was more to the story. “And where is she?”
“She was supposed to get in later tonight,” I said.
“At which airport?” asked Henry.
I turned to Steve.
“Which airport?” I asked.
“Justin,” he said, his voice low and grave. “You can’t be thinking what I think you are.”
“Which airport?” I repeated.
“I don’t know!” he said. “Not sure if McCarran or O’Donnelly-Reeder. And it doesn’t matter! We’ve got a good thing going right now, and all we have to do is keep our asses in these seats and we can get clear of this place.”
“But leave your wife behind,” said Henry.
“They’re not even married,” said Steve.
“We’re still married,” I said. “Just separated.”
“I see,” said Henry.
“No,” said Steve. “It’s insane that we’re even talking about this.”
“Not so,” said Henry. “If he’s still married to her, to Kelly, he’s got a duty to look after her. He took a vow before God to stay by her side.”
“Enough of the ‘God’ talk,” said Steve. “This isn’t a matter swinging by her hotel and picking her up—we’d be going the absolute worst part of the city to be in. And that’s assuming her plane didn’t—”
He stopped himself.
“Didn’t what?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Justin,” he said, softening his tone, realizing that what he had been about to say. “I get it—you still want to look out for her. But you’d be putting both of our lives at risk to do this, because there’s no way I’m leaving you behind.”
“Tell me what airport,” I said. “I know you know.”
“I’m not going to tell you!” he said. “Not so you can drag the both of us on a fucking suicide mission!”
Just then, the car came to a swift halt, so fast that I jerked forward in my seat. Henry had hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.
“Wait, wait,” said Steve. “Why are you stopping?”
Henry turned around, his expression hard.
“Because you boys weren’t honest with me,” he said. “You didn’t tell me one of you had a wife in town.”
“But…she’s gone,” said Steve. “There’s no chance her plane—”
“Don’t say it,” I said. “Don’t.”
Steve whipped his head around and glared hard into my eyes.
“She crashed!” he shouted. “What do you think happened? She was due to come in tonight, and then that thing hit. You think her plane softly glided down when all the communications on board went out? When the skies went dark and the pilots were left with nothing but their wits to rely on? Justin, she’s dead.”
The word “dead” hit me as surely as a blast right to the gut from Henry’s shotgun.
“She’s not dead,” I said.
“And how do you know that?” he asked
.
“I…I just know.”
Steve shook his head.
“No,” he said. “Not good enough.”
“Then I have to find out!” I shouted back, my booming voice filling the car. “I can’t…I can’t just leave her.”
I slumped back in my seat, drained. But I’d said it—I’d made my wishes clear.
“Then that’s all there is to it,” said Henry. “Now, Steve—do you know which airport Kelly was supposed to arrive into?”
Steve shook his head. But I could tell that it wasn’t from not knowing, but out of him still feeling that telling me would be a bad idea.
“I tell you and you walk right to your death,” he said.
“Tell me.”
He sighed.
“O’Donnelly-Reeder,” he said. “The same one we came in at.”
Henry glanced up in thought.
“That’s…a twenty-minute drive from here,” he said. “Now, I’m not going to go all the way there—likely too dangerous in a car. But I can take you close, Justin.”
“Do it,” I said. “Please.”
“And you, Steve,” he said. “If this truly feels like something you can’t do, you can stay with me. But I have a feeling your brother’s going to need all the help he can get.”
Steve’s green eyes stayed locked onto mine. I could see the gears turning in his head.
“No,” he said. “I’m with him. Let’s just go and get this over with.”
“Good man,” said Henry.
Without another word, Henry pulled the car back onto the road and continued on.
We drove in silence for a time, no sound but the low roar of the engine and the tires over the pavement.
“Steve,” I said. “Thank y—”
“Save your thanks,” he said, still looking ahead. “Let’s just do this and be done with it.”
I turned my eyes away from Steve and onto the road ahead. Off in the distance I spotted something big blocking the road.
“What the hell is that?” Steve asked, seeing the same thing.
We drew closer and closer, and as we did I was able to make out what it was through the darkness.
It was a massive white semi-truck, overturned across the road.
“Dang,” said Henry.
The car moved closer, and Henry slowed down as we approached.
And the moment we came to a halt, a sick feeling took hold of my stomach.
Something wasn’t right. I could feel it.
Before any of us said or did a thing, two figures approached from behind the trailer. As they drew closer I was able to make out what they were wearing. Both were dressed in the tan-top-brown-bottoms of the LVMPD, their badges reflecting the faint moonlight.
“Cops,” said Henry. “Wonder what they want. Maybe they know a detour around this thing.”
One of the cops approached the driver’s side, the other the passenger’s. The one on Henry’s side gestured for him to roll down his window. He did.
“Evening, officers,” said Henry, his voice congenial. “Something I can help you with?”
“You can,” said the cop.
With incredible speed, they drew their service pistols and pointed them inside the car.
“You can give us your keys. Official police business.”
Chapter 20
Steve and I stayed stone-still in the back.
“What’s the meaning of this, officers?” asked Henry. “You’re taking my car?”
“Out of the car,” said the officer on the passenger’s side. “Last time we’ll ask before we put a bullet in you.”
Steve glanced over at me, his eyes flicking to the shotgun on the passenger’s seat. I could tell what he was thinking, and I shook my head. Being inside of a car in a gun battle with people outside of it was about the worst tactical position imaginable, and that was assuming one of us could even get a hold of the gun before getting blasted to pieces.
“Okay,” said Henry, his voice steady and calm, his palms raised. “I’m getting out of the car right now.”
He opened the door slowly, and for a moment I was certain the cops were going to kill him the moment he stepped out.
But they didn’t. Instead, one kept his gun trained on Henry and the other kept his on me and Steve.
“Both of you,” said the cop. “Out of the car.”
Steve glanced at me and I gave him an affirmative nod. We both opened our doors and stepped out.
“Now, officers,” said Henry. “I’m just trying to take these boys to their family. You can have the car, but there’s no need for violence.”
“Shotgun on the seat,” said the cop on the passenger’s side, ignoring Henry’s words.
“Good,” he said. “Bet there’s some supplies in the trunk, too.”
“Not even a day into this mess and you’ve already abandoned your duty to protect and serve,” said Henry. “Terrible, terrible.”
Now he had their attention.
“You can shut the fuck up right now, old man,” said the cop nearest to him. “We’re letting you go with your lives—show some fucking gratitude.”
Henry wisely said nothing else, his hands raised in the air.
“Get in,” said the driver’s-side cop to the other.
He did, and a few moments later both were seated, the cop in the driver’s seat gunning the engine. He quickly pulled the car into reverse and drove a wide loop around the overturned truck. The car was soon gone, the sound of the engine fading into the distance.
We stood in silence for a time, taking in what had just happened.
“Fuck!” Steve yelled, bellowing out the word.
“Language,” said Henry. “Anger’s not going to do us any good right now.”
“They just took your car!” said Steve, pointing in the direction that they’d driven. “We’re screwed!”
I reached into my back pocket, making sure that what I held in there hadn’t fallen out. Just like before, relief spread through me like a cool wave as I felt it between my fingers.
“God’s got a plan for us all,” said Henry. “And we wouldn’t be standing here right now if that weren’t the case.”
“And what is God’s plan, exactly?” Steve asked. “Huh? Letting us die in Vegas suburbs?”
Henry ignored him, instead closing his eyes for a moment in thought. When he opened them he pointed down the road.
“You want to get to O’Donnelly, you keep along this road. Stay close enough that you can see signs pointing you in the right direction, but far enough away that you can stay out of sight.”
“Wait,” I said. “You’re not coming with us?”
He shook his head.
“My path lies elsewhere,” he said simply.
He turned and gazed off into the distance at the long spread of suburbs.
“And I shouldn’t waste any more time,” he said. “Good luck in your journey, and God bless to you both.”
And just like that, he started off.
“Hey,” I said. “You’re just going off into the city like that? You’re walking straight to your death!”
He glanced back over his shoulder, a small smile on his lips.
“One could say the same about what you have to do,” he said. “But I know you’ll prevail. I can feel it.”
He continued on, and I watched as he disappeared among the houses and trees ahead.
“We’re just going to let him do that?” said Steve. “He’s an old man, totally unarmed. He won’t last the night.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He seems pretty sure. Maybe he knows something that we don’t.”
Steve scoffed.
“Don’t tell me you’re buying into all that God crap,” he said.
“I’m not buying into anything,” I said. “But if he feels as strongly about what he needs to do as I do, then there’s no point in stopping him.”
Steve dropped down into a sitting position, he knees bent in front of him.
“Damn,”
he said. “That means we’re going all the way to the damn airport on foot.”
“Looks that way,” I said.
I chewed my lip for a moment, then spoke.
“And…thanks,” I said. “You don’t have to do this.”
He waved his hand.
“Don’t mention it,” he said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—this is a bad idea. So bad that part of me feels like I should be dragging you by force in the exact opposite direction of this freaking airport. But…you’re my little brother. Got to look out for you, you know?”
“Yeah,” I said. “We look out for each other.”
A small smile formed on his lips.
“We look out for each other,” he said.
I stepped over to him and stuck out my hand. He took it, and I pulled him to his feet.
“All right,” I said, my eyes fixed ahead. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 21
Steve and I continued on, staying a good clip away from the road. We traveled in silence for a time, my thoughts on the journey ahead.
I imagined arriving at the airport, the place in total ruins. It’d only been a few hours since the EMP hit, but I was more than aware of what the effect could be on planes. I imagined the runway lights going down immediately prior to landing, the plane hitting the tarmac seconds before the pilot expected it to, the whole thing going up in a brilliant explosion.
Maybe Kelly’s plane would be the one to do it.
“Hey,” Steve said, interrupting my dark train of thought. “Something just occurred to me.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Those cops back there,” he said. “You think they were actually cops?”
“You’re asking if I think they were pretending?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe they’d gotten the jump on some actual cops, killed them and stole their uniforms.”
“What makes you think that?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Just the alternative is too messed up to think about.”
“The alternative being that they were actually cops?”
“Exactly,” he said. “Think about it. This entire freaking country—hell, the entire planet—works because of things like cops and the military and the government. We give up some of our freedoms, and in exchange they protect us.”