To Cross a Wasteland

by Phillip D Granath

  Coal came awake suddenly. For a moment confused, as he always awoke when he was back in town, back in a real bed. The hangover followed the confusion like thunder follows lightning. He closed his eyes and winced against the daylight. Bobby curled up against him on his right, his dark-skinned wife whimpering in her sleep. Coal peeked out through his heavy eyes and surveyed the damage of last night’s festivities.

  His bed was actually a pair of king-sized mattress pushed together, the white silk sheets and blankets lay in a tangled mess. Tina lay on top of the sheets with her head at the opposite end of the bed naked, the view gave Coal a reason to smile as the petite Asian snored softly. He stood slowly on unsteady feet, carefully untangling himself from Bobby. Coal found his jeans on the floor a few feet away and put them on, his large buckle and knife still on the belt. The floor was strewn with a variety of women’s clothes and liquor bottles. He scooped up a plastic bottle of cheap vodka that still had a few swallows in it and quickly took a swig.

  “Take that hangover,” he hissed.

  He found Sophia on the floor at the foot of the bed. Wearing only her panties and her simple wooden cross, she was curled around an empty tequila bottle. A pile of puke lay next to her and was matted in her hair.

  “Damn girl, we may need to start keeping your ass on the wagon,” he said mostly to himself.

  Tamara, of course, was nowhere to be found. That wasn’t unusual, she drank less than any of his other wives and for some ungodly reason like to get up early. More than likely she was out walking around the ranch, the tall, leggy blond had over the last year slowly become his favorite. Though even he wasn’t crazy enough to say that out loud.

  Coal leaned against the glass wall and peered out over his little kingdom. The rows of mini-vans turned dehydrators all neatly lined up, most of them empty at the moment. Coal watched as a group of women moved from van to van, they checked the thin cuts of meat, constantly turning them and rotating them in each dehydrator. Nearby a pair of his men used boat oars to stir a large vat of brine filled with curing chunks of meat. As the ranch gates opened a group of his people walked through. Each carrying large bundles of wild grasses, firewood, and assorted plants. These would feed his little herd, light cook fires and be used as seasonings for the brine.

  Coal shook his head at it all, not for the first time in disbelief. Yes, this was all his, but Charlie was the one who made it all possible. The one that made it all work day in and day out. The little man was the brains of the operation, Coal did what he has always has done. He rides, he tracks, and he kills. Somedays it was animals, somedays it was men. It either paid in meat for the ranch or in Tears. As long as it always paid, but if he couldn’t keep up his end, the whole ranch and the lives of the people that lived on it would grind to a halt.

  He shook his head. For some reason, he wasn’t feeling very chipper today. Though lasts night’s visit with the Black Jackets had been a win, hadn’t it? It didn’t matter, as long as the Council or a Judge or somebody would be around to issue bounties again. Coal could feel his time back “home” coming to an end again, he had to get back out in the desert where he could breathe. Seemed like these visits to town got shorter and shorter. He took another swig from the bottle and returned to bed.

  On the far side of the ranch, Tamara strolled along the wall at a casual pace. She wore her blonde hair down, it stretched all the way to her waist and a set of mirrored sunglasses. She walked with confidence wearing her tight jeans, a loose white blouse and black high heels. Coal had been happy to provide anything that she or any of his “Wives” could want, but nice shoes were a thing of the past. She had been given several pairs of the ranch’s leather slippers, the ones that Indians wore. But after she graciously accepted them, she had thrown them into her trunk, and they had never seen the light of day again. The heels hurt her feet if she walked too far, but she had learned long ago that some things were worth the pain. As she walked she carried a small parasol, the dainty white thing looked ridiculous, but Tamara had to admit it had grown on her and it did keep most of the sun off.

  As she walked past a pair of older Mexican women, each carried a bundle of sticks, and they smiled when they saw her. She called out to each by name and followed it with a smile. They replied with bright smiles in turn and something in Spanish. She strode past them continuing her morning walk.

  She had been with Coal for almost a year now, rarely even leaving the ranch during that time. Everything she asked for was provided, food, water, clothes, even entertainment. That is if you considered spending your days reading trashy romance novels and old copies of People magazine to be entertaining. When Coal was in town all of his wives were expected to dress to the nines and be ready willing and able to please their husband. Though the Indian spent fewer and fewer nights in town these days, Tamera had no illusions about her role here, she was a whore. Though the other “wives” tried to convince themselves that what they had was something more. Bobby even claimed to be in love with the half-breed, the poor stupid girl.

  Tamara just considered herself a realist. If you trade your body to a man for food, water, protection, or anything, it made you a whore. It was a hard fact of life that she had been forced to learn at an early age. She had always been told how lucky and pretty she was when she was young, she was barely a teen when that luck had turned into a curse. She had been a whore before, many times over, for many different men. This would be the last time, the last place.

  She followed the wall of the compound now, next to the corral. She had never understood why other girls always loved horses. The animals were big, as far as she could tell dumb and to her smelled awful. Coal’s six ponies stood in a circle at the center of their corral chewing from a pile of wild grass that the two old women had just delivered. The beasts eyed her warily as if sharing her disdain. She ignored them and tried to ignore the smell of horse shit.

  Her walking routine varied from day to day, but it always brought her past one spot. As she approached the back corner of the ranch’s walls, she steadied herself. She took a breath but kept her pace, her eyes sweeping the ground in front of her. Her eyes pleading to see a flash of green, for a flower, the kind that litter graveyards for decades. She rounded the corner and moved down the wall her heart sinking further with each step. One day she would find it, and then things would change. She was tired of being a whore, she just needed her chance to move up in the world.

  Kyle had grown resigned to his fate as each step brought Anna and their little crew closer to the clinic. The Scavenger began to even hope that the water wouldn’t be there, that Murphy or fate had somehow conspired to betray him. He walked now just a few paces behind Anna, she would occasionally glance back at him, turning her head just enough to see him from the corner of her eye. She was worried about him, she must recognize that he was acting oddly, seeing the subtle difference as only a longtime lover could. She wouldn’t say anything about it again today though, she would focus on the next human disaster in front of her. Throw herself into saving someone else, then late tonight in the darkness of their bed, they would whisper, and makeup. That was just Anna’s way. Kyle fought down another wave of guilt. He was about to force her out of her way, but if he didn’t her way was going to get her killed.

  They rounded the last corner, and the clinic came into site. Kyle’s heart hit rock bottom. Resting in the shade of the outer wall, just to the right of the main gates sat a small garden cart loaded with a blue plastic barrel. Three men had been lounging next to it stood as they saw the group returning. Two carried rifles, the third wore a long-sleeved white dress shirt and even from more than a block away Kyle recognized the giant. Murphy had sent Vincent to make the delivery personally, Kyle decided not to dwell too long on what kind of message that was intended to send.

  The little group stopped in front of the gates, and Anna was the first to speak.

  “Hello, do you need help? Is someone hurt?” she asked, concern evident in her voice as she looked between the three n
ewcomers.

  Vincent smiled in reply, it was a menacing thing that showed far too many teeth.

  “Help? No, that’s not why we’re here,” Vincent replied coolly his eyes set on Kyle.

  Kyle stepped in front of Anna, she looked up at him confusion plane on her face.

  “It’s all here, as promised,” Vincent said nodding towards the cart. “Go ahead and check it.”

  “No need, I’m sure it’s fine,” replied Kyle.

  “Awful trusting,” the big man observed.

  “I am. I trust that Murphy is smart enough not to fuck this deal up by trying to short me,” Kyle said. Behind him, he felt the fear pulse through the group at the mention of the Kingpin. Anna stepped up just to his right and was looking up at him her eyes were wide her mouth slightly open in disbelief.

  “Open the doors, we’ll haul it inside for you. All that water is pretty heavy,” Vincent offered. The big man was obviously enjoying Anna and the rest of the group’s shock.

  “No, it’s fine. Leave it there. Leave the cart and get out of here,” Kyle replied. Something in him loathed the idea of letting this man enter their home.

  “Cart wasn’t part of the deal,” Vincent said simply.

  “I’m making it part of the deal. You think Murphy would object?” Kyle asked sharply.

  “I suppose not. Just bad form, changing the deal on the fly like that,” the big man pointed out.

  “Well I guess that would be an area you and your boss would be experts in,” Kyle replied.

  Vincent simply turned and looked squarely at Anna. “Well, I guess we’ll see you again, in ten days then.”

  “I said two weeks,” Kyle replied quickly.

  “No, you said about two weeks. Now it’s ten days. See what happens when you change the deal all of a sudden? Nothing good,” Vincent said as he and his men walked away.

  The group stood for a moment in stunned silence, watching the big man go. Kyle exhaled and moved to check the cart, just stalling what was about to come. Anna followed him and stood in silence looking down at the barrel full of water and the other goods.

  “What did you give him?” Anna asked simply. Her tone betraying her fears.

  He turned looking down at her as she met his eyes they were wet at the corners, but her jaw was set.

  “I found some Oxy’s, with the other stuff. Two bottles, I gave one to Miles,” Kyle said quietly.

  Anna was nodding. “For his leg,” she said. “And the other bottle?” she asked as a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “I traded it, half of it,” he replied.

  “To Murphy,” Anna said quickly.

  “Yes,” was all Kyle could say.

  “And the other half?”

  “I owe him that in ten days. I kind of implied that more would follow.”

  “Why?” she demanded. “You said just this morning that he was a killer, a fucking madman you called him. Now you’re making deals with him, trying to cheat him?”

  “Because he has the water. The water we need to cross that fucking wasteland, to escape this dried up prison,” Kyle replied sharply.

  “This is for your fucking escape plan?” Anna said, looking down at the barrel of water. “How much is here?” she asked.

  “52 gallons, I have almost as much stashed out there in the desert.”

  “How? How long have you been planning this?” Anna asked in a quiet voice.

  “A while, over a year now. I have been carrying out water a few litters at a time, every trip I make out,” Kyle replied.

  “Is it enough, to walk out of the desert?” Anna asked.

  “I don’t know. Depends on how many people we take with us and how far we need to go,” Kyle said.

  “How many people, were you planning on taking?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, a dozen maybe, our people. I figured the ones that have been with us from the beginning. Dante, Pauli, a few others. Those strong enough to walk out,”

  “And those that aren't strong enough Kyle?” Anna asked.

  “They stay,” Kyle said simply.

  “To die?” came her reply.

  “There are no guarantees those that walk into the desert won’t be just as dead," Kyle replied.

  “And where would we be walking to? Seems like you have this all figured out,” Anna said in a mocking tone.

  “I’m not sure, not yet. But somewhere else, somewhere better,” he replied.

  “Somewhere that still has lights that work? Somewhere that will have plenty to eat and drink I Imagine? Places like that don’t exist anymore Kyle. This is how the whole world is now,” Anna said, her voice a mix of anger and grief.

  “We don’t know that,” Kyle said simply. “We don’t know anything. I never told you, but I found something else in that cave out there. I light that worked, that still had power even. I don’t know how or why it survived, but it did. We don’t know anything about what happened, about other places, it’s because we’re trapped here. Surrounded by fucking sand. The only thing that I do know is that Murphy is taking this whole town down a dark path and that there is no future where it leads.”

  “Well I’m not, I’m not sure of anything. I’m not sure of this plan. I’m not even sure about you anymore,” she said with pain in her voice.

  “You’re the reason I’m doing this. I want a future, a future for us,” Kyle pleaded turning away from the cart to face her.

  “I believe you Kyle and god knows I love you, but I won’t leave people behind out of fear. You want me to go with you. Figure out how to take more people with us, a lot more, anyone that wants to go, the strong and the weak. And by god, you better figure out where in the hell you are actually going. I won’t let you lead anyone into the desert to die for your pipe dream.”

  With that Anna turned and walked towards the now open door of the compound. The other men had already gone inside, but Dante waited by the door for Kyle. Their eyes met.

  “I’m guessing you heard most of that?” Kyle asked.

  “I did, maybe a few others too,” Dante said walking over to stand beside Kyle and his cart.

  “Will you come with us when we go?” Kyle asked.

  “I will if you actually go anywhere. If she goes anywhere, that is,” Dante added.

  “Already chosen her side in this then?” Kyle asked.

  “Not a matter of sides. Thing is, you and me are the same. We find a way to survive. We see the world for how it is. The doc, she isn’t wired like that, not at all. She still expects everything to turn out for the best. Sees the best in people and expects the best. It has a way of inspiring folks,” Dante explained.

  “You have always looked out for her, thank you Dante,” Kyle said.

  “No thanks needed. She did all she could to try and help my Annabelle. After that, I had nothing left in the world. I figure I couldn’t go wrong by spending what time I still got helping the Doc, and you do some good.”

  Kyle nodded. He reached into the cart and retrieved a battered cigar box. He opened it and showed the eight shotgun shells to Dante.

  “I want you to take these. The shotty is in the office behind the door. Take it, keep her safe,” Kyle said.

  Dante took the box. “Is this your way of telling me things are about to get dangerous?”

  “Things have been dangerous for a while, but yeah,” Kyle replied.

  Dante nodded. “If I may make a suggestion then. Let’s get the water, and the rest of this moved into your place. The office door is steel and has a decent lock. I’m also going to put two men on that door starting tonight. I’m sure word of your water is already spreading through the clinic. Still quite a few desperate people in there. I don’t want anybody getting any ideas.”

  “That’s probably a good call,” Kyle said nodding.

  “I also think you need to hand some of it out,” Dante added.

  “Now that, I’m not sure about. We are going to need every drop out there in the wastes,” Kyle said.

  “Think of
it as an investment. You hand out a few gallons, mostly to the kids and the sick. People will be a lot less inclined to try and steal it. Stealing from one greedy man is one thing, stealing from a whole struggling community is another. Hell maybe the rumor even spreads around that you intend to ration the water out to those that need it a bit at a time,” Dante said.

  “That might be a good rumor to start,” Kyle said with a smile.

  “Yeah, it might be,” Dante replied with a grin.

  “Fine, fine,” Kyle said holding his hand up in surrender. “We can hand out two gallons tonight to those that need it the most. I won’t promise anything after that.”

  “Sounds good,” Dante said. “Now let’s get this thing inside before it gets any hotter out here.”

  Failures

  “What the fuck do you mean they are back?” Murphy shouted, slamming his fist down on the table emphasizing each word.

  “A pair of Black Jackets are guarding the City Council building right now," Vincent explained.

  “Since when?” the councilman demanded. “I want some fucking answers. You are supposed to be my eyes and ears on the street. Why the fuck do I bother to keep your big ass fed if you can’t even do your job?”

  “Boss, I just found out myself. We were coming back from making the drop at the clinic. We even went by that way to see to make sure the rumor was true.”

  “They are true," Rory said as he walked into the room.

  “What the fuck do you know?” Murphy demanded.

  “I bumped into one of our leather jacket wearing friends out on patrol. Thing is he went out of his way to try and avoid me. Wouldn’t even talk to me. Now that hurt my feelings a mite, so I found a place where me and him could talk in private," Rory explained leaning against the wall in his usual place.

  “Don’t tell me you killed him. I’m not in any mood to start a war with those want to be cops, at least not today," Murphy asked.

  “I didn’t lay a hand on him, he was scared shitless. Only trouble is, he wasn’t scared of us," Rory replied. “Seems they had a bit of a shakeup last night over at the Black Jacket clubhouse.”