"What flavor did you go for?" Asked Michael.
"A classic tomato. I thought I could pretend it is gazpacho."
"Did it work?"
"Not quite." she forced it down to appease the tossing and turning in her rumbling stomach.
"I'm going to go upstairs." Dana got up from her chair. "Would you mind sleeping down here tonight?"
"I'm good with the couch," said Michael.
"I'll bring you down blankets and stuff." She swiftly excused herself and went upstairs.
"Do you think she will be okay?" Michael asked.
"Well, she tried to kill herself, her family disappeared along with every other person in existence, so I'm going to say, no."
"I honestly don't know what to do."
"Well, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to go to Los Angeles. I have a return flight just in case i chickened out of killing myself and had to go home. If there will be people anywhere, it will be there."
"And what if there are no people there?"
"Well, in that case I will probably accept the fact that I am in some sort of crazy coma dream."
"I can assure you I'm real. If this is anyone's coma dream, it's my coma dream."
"Well, I'm sure that's what a figment of my imagination would say. You know I had this dream once. I was in an abandoned dockyard, and my best friend was there. I spent the whole time trying to convince her that I was dreaming and it only occurred to me why was I was bothering to try to convince her since she wasn't real. Then I woke up."
"You know what I think?"
"What?"
"I'm thinking I could use a cigarette."
***
The stars were out in huge numbers and Olivia could just about make out the Milky Way like a scar slashed across the night sky. She blew out streams of smoke and watched them dissipate into the air. Michael put the end of the cigarette in his mouth and inhaled deeply.
"It's crazy the amount of difference light pollution must make. I can see so many stars."
"You seem to be taking this in your stride." Smoke escaped out of his mouth as he spoke.
"Yeah. I'm kinda in my element when things are crazy. It's the mundane stuff that gets to me."
"I just can't handle life. Not sure why, though. My parents are so accomplished and I can't hold down the easiest jobs."
"My family doesn't even know I'm depressed. I'm kind of like a rat."
"A rat?"
"Yeah. I watched a nature documentary. Rats are prey animals, and even if they're on the verge of dying, they're still scrappy. They have to be. When a rat can't defend itself, you know it's screwed."
"Well, in that case I'm the opposite. I'm a mess all the time, and when I'm a mess everybody knows about it."
"Like a little poorly puppy."
"If you like."
Oh no. She recognized that feeling. A little pang in her chest. Her heart beating just a little faster than usual. She liked him.
"I'm not okay." Her words hung awkwardly in the air.
"Well, I could have guessed that given the circumstances. You can tell me anything. No judgement."
"You know what. I'm so tired. I can't deal with this shit right now. I'm just gonna curl up on the sofa bed." Am I going to do this? Should I? "You could join me on the sofa bed. Have you ever made an adult fort before?"
"No, but now you've said it I'm convinced that is possibly the best idea in the world ever."
"You any good at construction?"
"I did build the Eiffel Tower from popsicle sticks once."
"Good enough."
***
A thin blade of sunlight cut through the gap in the curtains and roused Olivia from an already broken sleep. The first peaceful moments of wakefulness always faded quickly into a panicked haze until she could come to terms with the burden of consciousness. Memories from the night before filtered into her brain like drip coffee as she sat up and clutched her pounding head. As she swung her legs off the side, an empty bottle rolled across the floor and she remembered lying amongst blankets and cushions, talking with Michael into the early hours. Glancing down at him, she fought the urge to stroke his matted tangle of hair as he snored lightly into the pillow. It had been a hot, sweaty night, but she had still appreciated it when he put his arm around her. Her throat was so dry it hurt to swallow, and her tongue felt like a coarse sponge. As she stumbled to the kitchen, dodging the bottles and cans on the floor, she heard movement coming from upstairs.
***
The cupboards were still well stocked, so she gulped down apple juice straight from the carton and helped herself to a granola bar. The bread on the counter had grown blue spots, so she threw it into the bin.
There was an old-fashioned radio on the counter-top, and she could imagine a homely-looking woman in an apron listening to it as she made blueberry pancakes and birdsong drifted in with the breeze through an open window. She pressed the on button and turned the dial, listening intently for the slightest signal, but nothing; just static. White noise.
A hollow rumble continued to grip her stomach, and she searched for more food. As she opened the fridge to the tangy scent of rotten food, she grimaced. The milk had congealed right in the bottle and was now somewhere between milk and cheese. "Maybe not," She said to herself. She decanted the peaches and syrup into a bowl and put a box of cereal in the middle of the table, trying to keep some semblance of normality.
The chink of china against the table stirred Michael, and Olivia sat next to him on the pull-out couch.
"You should probably eat something. You barely had anything yesterday."
"Okay, give me a minute." He swept the hair from in front of his eyes and blinked against the sun.
"But it's your favorite, dry cereal."
"Well, in that case how could I refuse."
***
Once Dana had emerged from upstairs, they all sat at the table together. Michael tried a novel combination of canned peach juice on cornflakes, and Dana pushed the cereal around her bowl with the spoon. It was one of those awkward silences that came of being thrust into a group of strangers. "So, the weather's pretty good for August," said Michael.
"It's June." Dana corrected him.
"Uh no, definitely August."
"Yeah it's definitely August." Olivia crunched on her cornflakes.
"No way."
"I'll show you my flight confirmation." She reached for her phone. "Shit, out of battery."
"Why do you think it's June?" Michael asked.
"I tried to kill myself in June. Trust me, I'd never forgot." Dana's mouth opened in concentration. "Unless... Do you think I've been in a coma this whole time?"
"Well, I can't think of any other explanation."
"What if I'm still in a coma?"
"I am so sick of people mistaking me for a coma delusion. I'm just as real as you, and I'm just as freaked out as you. Trust me."
"Anyway, so back in the real world me and Olivia have decided to go to Los Angeles. That's where she needs to be to fly home, and it's worth it to see if any other people are there. Feel free to come with us."
"I want to find my ex boyfriend. He lives in Bakersfield. He moved there just after we broke up. He was a cop. If anyone knew what to do, it would be him. It's on the way to LA."
"Well, It's not like we have anything better to do." Olivia got up and started to collect her things.
LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND
Route 99 from Fresno was flat and uneventful. Olivia glanced over at Michael, who slumped up against the window. Dana was awkwardly quiet in the back-seat. Definitely not Olivia's idea of the great American road-trip.
"What do you really think happened to everyone?" Olivia asked. It was the only thing she could think of to break the silence.
"I don't know. We're screwed, aren't we." She looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
"Weren't we always?" Olivia looked down as the gas meter. "I need to stop for gas. We can pick up some snacks too."
"Great. More junk food for dinner."
"Is that a person?" Olivia put her foot on the brakes.
"I think I see someone too." Dana pulled herself up from her slumped position. The car slowed, and there was some movement in the undergrowth at the side of the road.
"It's just a deer." Dana's face dropped with disappointment as she watched it dash across the road in a flash of sandy-brown.
"What I really think is that there is some logical explanation. Like Michael said."
"I was in a coma, I'm sure of it."
"Well, you're not in a coma now."
"How can I prove that?"
"Okay." Olivia stopped the car and Michael stirred. "If you were in a coma, or a dream you wouldn't remember waking up this morning. Do you remember waking up?"
"Yeah. I guess so."
"And what about all that boring stuff? Washing. Getting dressed. Going to the toilet. If you were in a coma, there is no way you would have spent that much time doing such mundane crap."
"Maybe, maybe not." She didn't look convinced.
"Also, when you realize you're in a dream, it's hard for things to remain stable. When you're properly lucid in a dream, things start changing. Like for example, you look at a clock, look back and the time will have changed. Or the clock dissolves, you know, one of the two. Try it."
Dana rolled her eyes and turned to gaze out the window.
***
After refilling the engine and stocking up on potato chips and energy drinks, they were back on the tree-lined highway. Blindly grabbing potato chips from a family size-bag, Olivia glanced out the window at the flat expanse of fields that stretched off into the distance, and missed having a mountain backdrop.
"Why don't we play a driving game?" Olivia noticed Michael nodding off again. Clearly the energy drink hadn't done its job.
"I can't be bothered." Dana put her feet up on the back seat.
"So are you sure this ex of yours is going to want to see you?" Olivia took one hand off the steering wheel to wipe crumbs off her lap.
"Probably not. He just always knows what to do. In this situation. He is like the ultimate person you would want to have around in a crisis."
"So what went wrong with you two?"
"He left me for someone else."
"Shit, I'm sorry. That sucks."
"When our 3rd round of IVF failed, I think he just had enough and found someone who could give him what he wanted. He wasn't the best with problems he couldn't fix. He couldn't just wave a magic wand or come up with any more practical solutions."
"That's rough. You still on good terms?"
"Yeah, I mean I didn't take the breakup well, but we're over that now. STOP!" Dana gasped. The car screeched to a halt as Olivia slammed on the brakes. A black mass plummeted onto the free-way from the bridge above and crashed onto the floor with great force.
"What the hell is that?" Olivia leaned forward and squinted at the road ahead as she lowered the sun visor.
"I think it's a person." She pushed open the door and ran towards the bridge. Olivia and Michael got out the car and followed to find a person splayed out in the most unnatural of positions.
"He must have jumped." Dana put her head close to his to listen for breathing, and Olivia looked over the body. Except for the position, everything looked as it should. There was no blood. No bones sticking out. His skull was still intact. She'd had a morbid fascination with watching suicide videos on the internet. She hoped they would put her off with their graphic nature, but it only made her more obsessed. This didn't look right. This looked nothing like any of the aftermaths she had witnessed in the most disturbing corners of the internet.
"Should we move him?" Dana asked as she knelt down.
"Is he dead?" Olivia was paralyzed to the spot. Her body just shut down, forcing her to take it all in. She could hear Michael's hurried footsteps on the tarmac behind her.
Dana had his wrist in-between her fingers. "I think so. I thought maybe I could feel a pulse, but I think that was just my own."
"Wow. We're all so incapable. Why did I never pay attention in first-aid class? What about the pulse in his neck? Isn't that going to be stronger?"
"Well, if he is alive, we don't want to risk damaging his spine any further." Michael crouched down for a closer look. "He looks pretty dead to me."
The man's eyes opened wide, and he immediately sat upright. Olivia's heart leapt in her chest as she watched him straighten his legs like nothing had happened.
"What happened?" His eyes were glassy.
"You fell off the bridge" Olivia stared at him like he was a sideshow freak.
"I jumped. I think." He got to his feet and dusted off his clothes.
"How the hell are you standing right now?" She couldn't contain her shock to the point where it sounded like she was angry at him.
****
The man sat on the back seat with his legs outside the car. His dirty blond hair looked almost translucent in the dazzling sunlight.
"What is your name?" Olivia leaned forward and looked into the man's eyes. She didn't even know what she was looking for. "Is it big pupils or small pupils that are bad?" She looked back at the others.
"I'm fine." He pushed her back.
"Sorry. I'll get out of your face." She paced along the hot tarmac, trying to make sense of everything.
"My name is Luke. Sorry, I'm just a bit, I don't know, shocked maybe. I just need some space."
"What is the last thing you remember?" Dana asked.
"I told you. I jumped," he mumbled, and he lowered his head and stared at his sneakers.
"I still can't believe you don't have a scratch on you."
"Well, clearly I didn't jump from high enough. I can't even get suicide right, what a joke."
"Maybe it's for the best. It must be for a reason. We must be here for a reason."
"Yeah, I’m here for a reason. I fail everything I do. That's the reason?"
"We're all here for the same reason. If you're a failure, we're all failures."
"What are you talking about, woman?"
"None of us managed to kill ourselves."
"You're not making any sense, are you sure you're not the one with concussion, jeez, and I thought I was crazy."
"Well Luke, two months ago I drank a load of sodium nitrite. I was so sick. I couldn't handle the vomiting anymore, so I called for help. I failed too, and I'm glad I did."
"Sorry what is sodium nitrite?" He looked more confused by the minute.
"Yeah, no one knows what that is," said Olivia.
"It's a food preservative. Does horrible things to your insides. I couldn't stop being sick. I was so scared."
"Okay, but what does that have to do with me? Wait, why are you here? Is this some sort of weird intervention? Are you going to try to convert me to some cult or something?"
Olivia interrupted. "I think you're testing her patience, so I'm going to give it to you straight. I hung myself, but this man here cut me down. He then overdosed on who knows what, but survived. As she said, she overdosed on some weird shit no one's ever heard of. That leaves you. You who just jumped off a bridge without a scratch. On top of that every one but us has vanished into thin air and we are road-tripping across California to see what fresh hell we can find. You in or out?" Luke sat in stunned silence for a few seconds, and his jaw hung slack.
"Are you going to be okay? Sorry, I just kinda laid that all out there. It's a lot to take in."
"Where did everyone go? They can't all be gone. There is no way that everyone is gone. I saw cars and people before I jumped. Just a few moments ago."
"Do you see them anymore Do you see a single other person except for us? Every other car is empty. No other cars are moving. They're just left here." Having been so stunned, he hadn't even had a chance to take in his surroundings, so he got up and walked across the highway, inspecting one car after another. He walked further and further from the car until he was just a speck in the distance. The leaves rus
tled lightly on their branches as they waited.
"Is he coming back?" Olivia asked.
"Why don't we just get in the car and following him to make sure he's all right," Dana suggested. They all got in and the car crawled along slowly.
"Luke." Olivia stuck her head out the window. "Are you going to get in the car?"
"Leave me alone." He continued walking.
"Where are you going to go? I just want to make sure you have a plan before I leave you here."
"I don't want to go anywhere. I want to be nowhere."
"We tried that, and it didn't work. Looks like the universe has other plans for us."
"Would you stop the car?" Michael asked.
"Go for it." She slowed to a stop, and Michael jumped out, positioning himself in front of Luke. "Listen. There is something weird going down. There is no electricity. I just feel like we would be a lot safer together. We can swing by wherever you want, see if anyone you know is still about, but I'm telling you, do not get your hopes up."
Luke sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll come with you."
"Thank you." Michael opened the door for him.
Olivia smiled and started moving again. "You know what? We need to make the most out of a bad situation. I say we go shopping. Who fancies a sports car? What about a $600 bottle of wine? The world is our oyster."
"I could go for a whole new Gucci wardrobe." Dana's eyes lit up. It was the happiest Olivia had seen her.
"What about robbing a bank?" Michael joined in.
"It's kind of pointless don't you think?" Luke interjected.
"Well, if rolling around on a bed covered in money is pointless, I guess I'm a pointless person."
"To pointless people." Olivia held up an invisible glass. "Right let's go to Dana's ex's house and tomorrow, we shop."
HISTORY
The street paraded one perfectly manicured lawn after another as Dana directed Olivia. "It's just to the left here, the one with the flag."
The red, white, and blue of the US flag stood out in a sea of white houses. It was the only house on the street that had two storeys. Everything was spotless, a far cry from Olivia's neighbourhood where cigarette butts littered the floor along with discarded take away bags and beer cans. She pulled into the driveway and stopped next to the immaculately pruned hedge. "Nice place."
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