Arid

by Joyce, Anne

  “They would block off every exit and we’d be outnumbered. It would be a suicide mission.”

  “There’s no way in hell I’m leaving her with them. I’m not abandoning her,” Blane exclaimed.

  “Man, you need to forget about this broad. She’s gone and we’re not going to get killed for her,” Julio said.

  “Screw you Julio! You don’t think about anybody but yourself! You may be able to leave someone in hell and go on like they never existed, but I can’t.” Blane shoved a finger in Julio’s face.

  “Get your hand out of my face!” Julio slapped it away.

  “Don’t touch me!” Blane pushed him. Julio pushed back.

  “Stop it!” Paola screamed.

  “Come on. Let’s go find your mom’s medicine. Don’t look at the dead bodies on the ground.” Xiomara took her hand and led her away.

  “Do you really want to fight me? You’ll get your ass handed to you.” Julio got so close to Blane’s face that he could smell Blane’s breath.

  “Guys, knock it off. This isn’t solving anything,” Maria said.

  “I’m not afraid of your punk ass,” Blane shouted.

  “Josh! Get over here!” Maria cried. Joshua ran over, stepped between them, and shoved each man away from the other.

  “What’s gotten into you two? We don’t have time for this shit!” he snarled.

  “Julio’s saying we’re not going to rescue Skylar, to just forget about her. We have to save her, Josh,” Blane protested.

  “I want to save her, but it’s not doable. Even if by some miracle they let us through the gates, we wouldn’t get far. We’re dirty, we stink, and everyone will know we don’t belong. We need to disappear before anyone finds out what we’ve done or we’ll all be slaughtered,” Joshua said.

  Blane broke free from Joshua’s grasp and marched to his hut.

  “Blane,” Maria called but he kept going.

  “Let him cool off. We need to bury these bodies,” Joshua said.

  Blane went back to his hut and rammed his fist through the flimsy wall. A better life wouldn’t mean much if Skylar wasn’t there to share it. She was the only good thing ever to enter his life. His mother abandoned him when he was a toddler and he knew nothing of his father. He’d spent his childhood in group homes and foster homes. His foster families saw him as little more than a paycheck; he practically raised himself.

  He was an attractive man with his wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was favored by many women in his early twenties, but he never thought much of himself before Skylar. She convinced him that he was a worthwhile person with tremendous potential. With her encouragement, he attended culinary school and pursued a career as a chef. It wasn’t long before he was head chef at an up-and-coming new restaurant. He’d planned to open his own eatery with the money he’d saved. He vowed to give her the life she deserved and promised her that they would soon start a family. When they were exiled, he was angry with himself. He felt like he’d disappointed the only person who’d ever believed in him. “I can’t let her down this time. I won’t do it,” he muttered.

  Chapter Seven

  Joshua and Julio dragged the Purifiers’ bodies behind Xiomara’s hut and buried them in a shallow grave. “How’s Maria doing?” Joshua asked when Xiomara came outside.

  “She’s improving; the medicine is working better than I thought it would.”

  “Good!” Joshua wiped the sweat from his brow.

  “Your nose is really swollen. You should let me put something on it,” Xiomara said.

  “There’s no time for that. You and Julio need to load our supplies in the truck. I’m going to find Blane.”

  Half an hour later they were ready. “I can’t believe you took out the biggest, meanest Purifier with a piece of broken glass.” Julio helped Maria into the back of the truck. “You were afraid of your own shadow when I met you.”

  “I was just afraid of my husband’s shadow,” Maria replied.

  Julio climbed into the truck’s cab with Joshua and everyone else sat in the back with the food and water rations. “I can’t wait to see Esteban again. I’ve missed that crazy SOB. I hope he decides to come with us,” Julio said as they sped away. Neither of them gave their miserable former homes a final glance.

  “I’ve never met this guy before, so I don’t know if I want him tagging along. How do you even know him?” Joshua said.

  “I’ve known him since I was a teenager and he lived down the street from me. He sold weed from his house and I’d go over to smoke and hang out. He let me stay with him sometimes and he’d take me to parties. We spent so much time together that everyone thought we were cousins.”

  “A drug dealer is just what we need.” Joshua rolled his eyes.

  “Hey, he looked out for me. He’s good people,” Julio said. “He let me stay with him because he knew my dad was a jackass. My low life father beat on my mom and me all the time. He’d start pounding on Mom, so I’d pick a fight with him and get whooped every time. Dad worked in a steel mill, so I wasn’t much of a match for him. Mom promised we’d run away one day, but she kept coming up with excuses as to why she couldn’t leave him. I finally got tired of defending her. I got tired of being around it.”

  “Well, if he took care of you, then I guess he’s all right with me.”

  “Thanks, bro.” Julio half smiled.

  “Hey, look around and see if there’s a GPS device in this truck. If so, we need to disable it,” Joshua said.

  “I don’t see anything. This truck seems kind of old and outdated, probably because it’s just a supply truck.” Julio rummaged around the cab. “Oh, hey I found a cell phone.”

  “They’ll try to find our location with that. Throw it out the window,” Joshua said.

  “No, wait. Let’s just take out the battery and the SIM card. This thing could be useful,” Julio replied.

  “All right, man.”

  Julio leaned back and stared out the window.

  Joshua patted his pocket to make certain the knife was still there. His head ached, and he looked down at his fists on the steering wheel. The cuts on them stung. He was uncomfortable with the fact that he’d taken another person’s life, even if Sanders deserved it. He hoped the uneasy feeling in the pit of his gut would subside and he wondered if Julio felt the same way.

  “Are we going to see this trailer any time soon?” Joshua said after more than an hour of silence and no signs of life.

  “Any minute now.”

  “Who the hell would put a trailer out here in the first place?”

  “Esteban liked his privacy,” Julio replied. “Over there! That’s it!” He pointed to the shabby, brown trailer on a hill. Two splintered lawn chairs sat in the front yard. An uneven chain-link fence surrounded the perimeter.

  Joshua could hear the excitement in Julio’s voice. Despite all he’d been through, Julio’s face and the mannerisms were like that of a school boy. His straight black hair and youthful demeanor reminded Joshua of a Latino rock star from the 1950s. He parked the truck in Esteban’s front yard and everyone climbed out. Julio strode to the door and knocked. “Guess who, amigo!” He grinned like a child at Disneyland. He knocked several more times, but no one answered. He tried the doorknob and the door creaked open. He crept inside.

  “Should we follow him?” asked Maria.

  “The man has a house full of guns and he doesn’t know us. I’m staying right here,” Xiomara said.

  A horrific scream pierced their still surroundings. Joshua and Blane pulled out their knives and ran inside. Esteban’s trailer looked like a cyclone had blown through it. Furniture was overturned and broken, papers, cookware, and other items were scattered throughout the tiny kitchen and living room. There was so much clutter that Joshua and Blane didn’t see Esteban’s body at first.

  He was lying on the living room floor, a dried pool of blood surrounded him. His stained shirt was pulled half up to reveal several large gashes in his torso. His body appeared stiff and a dull stench
hit Joshua’s nose. It wasn’t hard to see that Esteban’s hands were covered with defensive wounds. This poor guy fought hard for his life, thought Joshua. Julio knelt over him, holding his hand.

  “What the hell happened?” Blane asked.

  “It was probably the Purifiers. They don’t want poor people to have weapons in the desert. Those pieces of shit should pray I never find them,” Julio sobbed.

  “I’m sorry, man.” Joshua patted his back.

  Blane was surprised that he felt sorry for Julio. He always thought Julio was a callous person but, realized he’d been wrong. Julio could be coarse and difficult, but that was only because he was forced to grow up so fast.

  “Is it okay to come in?” Maria stood at the door with Xiomara and Paola.

  “You shouldn’t bring Paola in here. She’s seen enough as it is.” Joshua walked over and leaned his arm on the door frame.

  “I can handle it. I’m not a baby,” Paola said.

  “This isn’t something you need to see,” Joshua replied.

  “They killed his friend, didn’t they?” Maria said. Joshua nodded.

  “What are we going to do now? How are we supposed to make it across the wastelands without guns? We’ve been cut off from the rest of the world for so long. There’s no telling what people are capable of anymore,” Xiomara said.

  “This isn’t the time to bring that up,” Maria hissed.

  “Well, I’m sorry about his friend, but we need to think about defending ourselves,” Xiomara retorted.

  “How much trouble are we in now?” asked Paola

  “We’ll figure things out. It’s nothing you need to worry over,” Maria told her.

  “I’m going to go see if Julio needs anything.” Joshua headed back to the living room.

  Julio was still knelt beside his friend. “Do you want to bury him?” asked Joshua.

  “I’ll help if we can find a shovel,” Blane offered.

  Julio nodded. “There should be some shovels in the storage shed in the back yard. Esteban used them to…”his voice trailed off.

  “What is it?” Joshua said.

  “Esteban used to bury some of his guns in the backyard. He hid them in case of emergency.” Julio rose to his feet and wiped his face. Joshua and Blane exchanged excited glances. The three men hurried to the storage shed, grabbed a shovel, and dug feverishly into the hard ground. They stabbed at the earth for what felt like an eternity and uncovered nothing. Their enthusiasm began to fade.

  “Are you sure he buried his guns in the backyard and not the front?” Blane stopped and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

  “He always buried his guns in the backyard. They’ve got to be here.” Julio flung a shovel full of dirt in the air.

  “You’ve been digging for almost an hour and you haven’t found anything. A man was just murdered on this land. It’s probably not safe to be here,” Xiomara said from her seat on the back porch with Maria. Paola kicked a rock around beside the house.

  “It’s not safe to travel without guns. Why don’t you help instead of complaining?” Julio retorted.

  “What do you want me to do? You only have three shovels,” Xiomara replied.

  “You could get us some more water. I’m dripping in sweat,” Julio said.

  Xiomara and Maria went to the truck to get water while Blane, Joshua, and Julio kept digging.

  Julio’s shovel struck something hard. “I think I found it!” he called.

  “Please don’t tell me it’s a damn rock.” Joshua threw down his shovel and made his way over to Julio.

  “Did you find the guns?” Blane said.

  “Yeah, I told you they were here,” Julio replied.

  Everyone crowded around him as he lifted a burlap sack from the ground. Inside the sack was a long, plastic container. Julio opened the lid and threw it to the ground. He pulled out two semi-automatic rifles, a handgun, a bolt action rifle, several boxes of ammunition, and a grenade.

  “Jackpot!” Blane said.

  “Where did he get a grenade?” Joshua said.

  “There’s no telling. That was Esteban, smart and always planning ahead.” Julio shook his head.

  “Why don’t we admire them in the truck and get the hell out of here?” Maria suggested.

  “I second that.” Xiomara picked up Paola and headed for the vehicle.

  ***

  “So, what’s our next move? Do we just keep driving and shoot anyone who gets in the way?” Maria said when they were on the road again.

  “If that’s what it takes,” Joshua replied.

  “Right now, the plan is for you ride in the back of the truck again. You’re crowding my space,” Julio complained.

  “I didn’t know your name was on the seat,” Maria retorted.

  “Don’t you want to ride with your daughter?”

  “She’s sleeping and she’s in good hands with Blane and Xiomara. I think we should find somewhere to rest for the night. You look tired, Josh.”

  “Where would we stop?” Joshua replied.

  “I’ve heard there are a lot of shacks outside of Tucson,” Maria said.

  “Those shacks might have people living in them. We’re not sharing our food and water.” Julio leaned his head against the window.

  “I doubt we’ll find anyone alive,” Maria said.

  “Be on the lookout for huts. I don’t think I can drive all through the night.”

  “You could let me drive,” Julio offered.

  “Have you ever driven a vehicle like this?” Joshua asked.

  “No, but—”

  “Forget it! It’s not as easy as it looks.”

  “I’m pretty sure I can figure it out.”

  “Not tonight. It’s getting dark. We can’t risk it.”

  “Take this road up here to the right.” Julio studied the map from the glove box. “It looks pretty desolate.”

  “Everything in this area looks pretty desolate.” Joshua veered onto the dirt road.

  “We can sleep in the back of the truck if we have to,” Julio suggested.

  “We won’t all fit back there, not with our supplies. If you think you’re crowded in the cab, try cramming yourself in there with five other people,” Maria replied.

  “That truck bed’s as hard as bricks anyway. I don’t know how Paola managed to fall asleep,” Joshua said.

  “It’s not every day she sees her family kill a bunch of Purifiers. She’s probably worn out,” Julio replied.

  “She shouldn’t have witnessed that.” Maria ran her fingers through her smooth, black hair.

  “You can only shelter her from so much in this place,” Julio said.

  “After tomorrow, this place will be nothing but a bad memory. I’ll drive all day and night until we’re out of the country,” Joshua declared.

  “Hey, I see a couple of homes!” Maria pointed.

  “No signs of life, either.” Julio stuck his head out of the window.

  Joshua pulled the truck over and the three jumped out to inspect.

  “Why did we stop?” Blane crawled out.

  “If these shacks are empty, we’re staying here tonight,” Joshua replied.

  “I’ll go check it out.” Julio put his handgun in his pocket and tapped on the door. When no one answered he went inside and came out a few minutes later with a disturbed look on his face.

  “Is anyone in there?” asked Maria.

  “There are people inside, but they’re definitely dead.”

  “That’s nothing new. We’ve found corpses in shacks many times,” Blane said.

  “Yeah, but not like this.”

  “Holy hell!” Blane gagged when he opened the door. The stench of decay wafted towards them, filling their nostrils. Joshua coughed and tried to cover his face with his shirt. The floor and walls were caked with dried blood. A man’s butchered body sat in a living room chair. A woman, or what used to be a woman, was sprawled on the floor and another man’s body sat slumped in a corner. Their torsos and arm
s were covered with stab wounds. They were all missing their heads.

  “There’s no way in hell we’re sleeping here,” Julio choked.

  “This is disgusting, even for the Purifiers,” Maria said.

  “Whoever did this took the victim’s heads for trophies. Purifiers don’t do that.” Joshua circled the living room.

  “That’s beyond sick. I’m glad we found those guns,” Blane exclaimed.

  “We should check the shack next door. Maybe it’s clean,” Julio said.

  “I’m afraid to look,” Maria replied.

  “I’m so glad Xiomara’s sleeping right now. Can you imagine the screeching she’d be doing?” Blane said.

  “We are not telling her about this,” Joshua said.

  “Shhh. Did you hear that?” Maria hissed.

  “I don’t hear anything. I think you’re just freaked out,” Julio said.

  “Be quiet. I hear it too,” Joshua whispered.

  They stood and listened in silence. A rustling sound came from under the floor.

  “Maybe it’s an animal,” Maria whispered.

  “I doubt it,” Joshua said.

  Julio stomped on the floor so hard, it collapsed one of the weak floor boards, revealing a crawl space under the house. He stepped on another board and it crumbled. “Come out and show yourself now before I blow your head off.” He pointed his weapon at the ground. “Somebody get me a flashlight.”

  Blane handed him a flashlight from the truck, drew his gun, and stood beside Julio. Maria and Joshua peered over their shoulders.

  “Holy shit,” Julio cried. The light revealed a filthy, terrified face.

  “You poor little thing.” Blane put his gun away, knelt, and extended his hand.

  She huddled in the corner of the crawl space. “It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you,” he assured. She slowly crawled towards him on her belly and held out a trembling hand. Blane pulled her out of the crawl space, carried her outside, and set her on the porch. The rest of them followed. She was a scrawny, petite African-American child who looked no older than twelve. Her tiny body shook as she began to sob. “It’s all right. You’re safe with us.” He stroked her hair.