by Mark Goodwin
Keystone Avenue was littered with abandoned cars that could no longer travel on the buckled pavement. They walked more than a mile before finally reaching a gas station with a small convenience store. One of the supports for the canopy over the gas pumps had collapsed and the entire structure was angled into the other support which was also leaning as if about to fall.
The store clerk ran out the door, chasing a looter carrying two 12-packs of beer. “Stop! Come back here!”
Mackenzie pointed at three additional young men who seemed ready to take advantage of the fact that the clerk was out of the store. “They’re getting ready to make off with some more goods.”
Emilio watched through the busted and cracked store windows as the three men jumped behind the counter to grab some bags to fill with goods from the shelves. “Come on, let’s put an end to this.”
“What if they’re armed?” she asked.
“If they do anything other than comply, we kill them.” Emilio charged toward the door of the mini-mart. Mackenzie walked behind him. Emilio raised the barrel of his rifle. “Okay, guys, the party is over. Put back everything you took.”
The three of them froze and looked at Emilio blocking the exit with the M-4. One of them dropped his stuff on the floor and ran for the bathroom.
Emilio called out to him. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Put the stuff back on the shelves and you can walk away. I have no interest in arresting anyone today. But, if I have to drag you out of the bathroom, you’re going to be crawling home.”
The first two began nervously replacing the items they were looting. Finally, the third came out of the restroom with his hands up. Emilio pointed at the bags of chips, cigarettes, and candy bars on the floor. “Go on. The sooner you get that stuff picked up, the sooner you can get out of here.”
He watched as the men placed the goods on shelves in a haphazard manner. “Organized!”
“This is how we found it,” said one of the delinquents.
Emilio surveyed the other shelves. Indeed, all of the products were jumbled together with no separation. He figured they’d been quickly put back on the racks by the clerk after the quake.
One of the men raised his hand, as if in school. “Sir, I’m finished.”
“Good, then help your buddies out.” Emilio motioned toward the other two with the barrel of the gun.
Eventually, the items were all returned to their proper place. Emilio stepped out of the way of the door. “Get out of here. If I see you here again, I’ll shoot you.”
The three darted out of the store like cats out of a room full of party poppers. The clerk had returned empty-handed from chasing the beer thief. “Why did you let them go?”
Emilio felt annoyed at the lack of appreciation. “We don’t exactly have a patrol vehicle to put them in. In case you haven’t noticed, the roads aren’t drivable. Why are you even open, anyway? No power, you don’t have any way of processing payments.”
The man got nervous, as if he thought he might be in trouble. “I…I…some of the people in the neighborhood, I let them take items on credit. The refrigerator is out, so a lot of the food is going to spoil anyway. I see them all the time. I said they can pay me when the power comes back on. Sir, I promise you, I was not operating for barter with people who are blacklisted by the GU. I would never do that.”
Emilio shook his head. “I’m not worried about what you were doing. We’ve all got bigger fish to fry. But if I were you, I’d plan on it being a while before the power comes back on. You’re going to be on your own for the foreseeable future.”
“The GU will get this all cleaned up. Things will get back to normal.” the man said.
Mackenzie added, “We’ve just walked all the way from the north side of the city. It’s really bad out there.”
The man glanced at Mackenzie’s shotgun. “What agency are you with?”
She took out the plain silver badge taken from the van driver. She flashed it to the man and quickly put it back in her pocket. “Unity Enforcement.”
“Would you be willing to sell us some supplies on credit?” asked Emilio.
The man looked at the UEA badge hanging from the chain, then directed his attention to Emilio’s eyes. “Most of my customers…offered some type of collateral.”
Emilio nodded. “That’s fair.” He placed the pistol he’d taken from Combs on the counter.
The man looked nervous again. “What’s that for?”
“Collateral.”
“But, but, I can’t have a gun.” He stared at the instrument for a moment, then looked up at Emilio as if asking for permission. “Can I?”
Emilio shrugged. “It’s up to you. But like I said, you’re going to be on your own for a while.”
The man looked at Mackenzie, as if seeing whether she might object before picking up the weapon. “I suppose…it might be a handy thing to have around. If a peacekeeper asks me about it…”
Emilio already knew what he was going to say. “Make sure no peacekeepers know you have it.”
The man looked out the cracked windows. “Okay.”
“So, we’re good?” Emilio asked. “Can we do a little shopping?”
The man motioned toward the disheveled store. “Please, take whatever you need.”
Emilio looked at Mackenzie. “High-density foods. No chips, they’re mostly air. Nuts, candy bars, peanut butter, that kind of stuff.”
Mackenzie unzipped her purse and began collecting food items. Emilio opened the backpack and did the same. Once the pack was filled to capacity, he began placing more food items in the zip-up shoulder cooler. Next, he found a lighter, a box of large Band-Aids, and a small bottle of peroxide. Finally, he took two large bottles of water, selecting them as much for the sturdiness of the plastic as for the volume which they held. He grabbed a package of shoe strings that would be used to tie the water bottles together so they would counterbalance each other while being carried over his shoulder by the shoelaces.
“Take care of yourself,” said Emilio. He stepped out the door just in time to see a black Humvee traversing over the uneven pavement. He locked eyes with the driver for only a second before turning around. “Peacekeepers! Back inside!” he said to Mackenzie.
“Hey, you!” called the driver of the Humvee.
She quickly returned through the door through which she’d just exited. “I thought we were going to try to bluff our way by them!”
“If that doesn’t work out, then it’ll be tough to beat them to the draw,” Emilio called to the clerk. “Do you have a back door?”
The clerk looked at the Hummer rolling up to the front of the store. “I thought Unity Enforcement was above local peacekeepers. What’s the matter?”
“Inter-agency strife. Where’s the back exit?”
“I blocked it. Kids would grab stuff and run out the back to steal.”
“Great. Give me the key to the beer cooler.” Emilio held out his hand.
“I don’t want to get involved,” said the man.
“Too late for that.” Mackenzie pointed the shotgun at the clerk. “Where’s the key?”
The man pointed to a key ring hanging by the register. Emilio snatched it and ran to unlock the access door which went behind the display case in the beverage cooler. Inside was dark, the only illumination came from outside, past the shelves of cold drinks. The room smelled of beer but was still cold.
Mackenzie followed Emilio inside, walking carefully over broken glass. “I guess he hadn’t gotten around to cleaning in here yet.”
Emilio watched through the shelves as four peacekeepers came through the front door. He listened as one of them asked the clerk, “Where is he?”
Emilio saw the clerk’s eyes shift toward the cooler. “This guy really isn’t very appreciative, considering we ran off the looters and gave him a gun.” He slowly took aim with the M-4.
One of the peacekeepers peered through the beverage display case, pressing his hands to the glass door to shield fr
om the glare.
Emilio signaled to Mackenzie. “Watch the door!” He pulled the trigger, unleashing a spray of automatic fire. He killed two of the peacekeepers instantly. Just then, the heavy metal cooler door opened. Mackenzie fired before anyone had a chance to look inside. Emilio watched through the shattered glass as one of the peacekeepers tried to make a hasty retreat by crawling toward the door. He shot the man in the side twice then sprinted out the cooler access door. He stepped over the dead peacekeeper and rushed to the location he’d last seen the peacekeeper crawling behind the shelves. The man was lying in a pool of blood but still had the ability to aim at Emilio. Both began firing wildly. Emilio ran around the shelves to the next aisle and closed in on the injured peacekeeper. He shot him in the head twice and the man dropped his weapon.
Mackenzie came out of the cooler with the shotgun pointed at the clerk. “Why did you give away our position?”
“Please!” The clerk put his hands in the air. “What was I going to do?”
Emilio came over and pushed the barrel of the shotgun toward the floor. “Give him a break. He’s been through a lot today.”
“Yeah? Well, so have I!” She pointed at the clerk. “How do we know we can trust this guy?”
“What’s he going to do?” Emilio asked.
“I don’t know, shoot us in the back when we leave?” She glared at the clerk. “With the gun we gave him, to add insult to injury.” She lifted the shotgun again. “I think we should just kill him.”
“No!” It was at that moment that Emilio realized a serious change had occurred inside his heart. Before the rapture, it was always Josh pleading with him to be merciful.
“If we don’t, he’s going to be a problem for us,” Mackenzie argued.
“You can lock him in the beer cooler if you want,” Emilio said.
“No, please,” said the clerk. “How will I get out?”
“You can eventually break through the shelving in the display cases,” Emilio answered. “But you better not start until we’re long gone.” He motioned toward Mackenzie with his thumb. “Otherwise, she’s going to blow your head off.”
Mackenzie walked behind the counter and collected the pistol they’d given the man.
“This is payment for the groceries!” he protested.
“You’ve got plenty more scattered around the store now.” She looked at the dead peacekeepers littering the floor of the mini-mart.
“Come on, get inside.” Emilio held the cooler door open for the clerk, then locked the door once he had entered. Emilio replaced the key to the hook beside the register. Next, he slung the water bottles over his shoulder and collected a few extra magazines from the fallen peacekeepers. “Let’s get moving.”
Mackenzie stepped over the corpses. “What about the Humvee? It could help us get some distance.”
Emilio examined the four fallen peacekeepers. “I can’t fit in any of these uniforms.”
“I can,” said Mackenzie. “You can at least put on a hat.”
“Yeah, alright. You get changed, and I’ll figure out which one has the keys.”
Minutes later, Mackenzie pulled the gray peacekeeper hat low over her brows then tucked the remaining strands of her hair inside. She started the engine. “Where to?”
Emilio consulted the phone with the cracked screen. “Same way we’ve been going, south.”
The ride was a bumpy one, but the vehicle managed to get over the majority of the obstacles in the jagged pavement. Those impediments that proved to be too challenging were generally able to be avoided by going around, until they reached the interstate.
“The southbound on-ramp is on the other side of the collapsed overpass,” said Mackenzie.
“Then get on using the exit ramp. I don’t think anyone is going to give us a ticket,” Emilio replied.
“Yeah, great idea.” Mackenzie gunned the engine and jetted up the exit ramp. “Semi jack-knifed.”
Emilio frowned at the obstruction blocking their way. “It’s sitting at an angle. See if you can squeeze past it.”
“No way. The back end of the trailer is over the guard rail.”
“Try putting it in low gear.” Emilio pointed to the trailer. “Maybe you can nudge it out of the way for us to get through.”
Mackenzie put the Humvee in first gear when she reached the wrecked tractor-trailer. She slowly brought the heavy steel bumper of the Humvee into contact with the trailer. She pressed the gas and the engine whined. “It’s moving!” she exclaimed.
“Good!” Emilio watched with anticipation. Soon, they were clear of the hindrance. Mackenzie drove southbound in the northbound lane, past several multiple-car accidents and abandoned vehicles. She took it slowly over the large potholes and uneven slabs of asphalt. But, their success was short-lived. Less than a mile after getting on the interstate, they arrived at the I-465 interchange. A colossal muddle of caved-in overpasses and flyovers lay in a heap of ruinous rubble. Mackenzie drove right up to the point where the destruction began. “Well, we had a good run.”
Emilio sighed. “What was that, like three miles from the gas station?”
“Four.” Mackenzie looked at the odometer. “But on the bright side, it’s the fastest four miles we’ve made today.”
Emilio began rummaging through the rear of the vehicle. “Let’s see if they have anything of value in here.”
“Zip ties—these would have come in handy back at the gas station.” Mackenzie held up some wrist restraints.
“Bring them.” Emilio handed her a bottle of water from a case in the back of the Hummer. “And drink up. Hydrate now in case we don’t find water for a while.” He found four MREs and a small medical bag. “Let’s get your leg properly bandaged before we head out. I’ve got enough stuff in here, we can fix up that cut on your chin also.”
She sat in one of the rear seats of the vehicle and rolled up her pant leg. “Only if you let me put something on that gash along your forehead.”
“It’s a deal.” Emilio put on a pair of nitrile gloves and removed the piece of sock securing the paper towel to the wound on her leg. He cleaned the area with a betadine wipe then placed a large bandage over the cut. Next, he used an alcohol pad to clean the dried blood off of Mackenzie’s chin. Then, he placed a medium Band-Aid over the abrasion.
Mackenzie rolled her pants down. “My turn.” She put on gloves and cleaned Emilio’s cut with alcohol. Next, she used steri-strips to pull the wound closed before placing a large adhesive bandage over the steri-strips to keep it from getting dirty. “There now. We almost look civilized.”
Emilio emptied the contents of the medical bag, filling it with water bottles and MREs. He kept the medical supplies that he thought they’d need.
Mackenzie looked over the things he was leaving behind. “What about these large Band-Aids?”
“I took a box from the gas station.”
She crammed as many as she could into her purse. “Which we’ll probably use up before we get to Kentucky.”
“Here.” He handed the medical bag to her. “I’m already toting the cooler and the backpack.”
“Fair enough.” She shouldered the strap of the medical bag and followed Emilio down the embankment on the side of the interstate. Just walking around the massive mountain of debris would take at least a half an hour.
CHAPTER 4
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.
Isaiah 2:10-12
Emilio trudged forward wearily. Looking at the devastation along the ruinous interstate took almost as much out of him as the walking.
A woman standing by her minivan parked sideways on the road looked at Emilio and Mackenzie with crazed eyes red from cr
ying. “Excuse me, officer, I need to file a missing person’s report.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, we’re off duty.” Emilio kept walking past the woman.
She followed them. “But my children, I can’t find my children. They were all buckled in their car seats when the quake hit. I…I… didn’t have a wreck. When the shaking started, I pumped my brakes, just like you’re supposed to. But when it was over, they were gone. All three of them. I double-checked the car seats. They’re still buckled. I read the instructions for the car seats. I put them in exactly as the manual said. You can inspect them for yourself. I can’t imagine they could have gotten out. My youngest is only nine months. He can’t even press the button. His little hands, they’re so cute. He looks just like his father. You should see the two of them together.”
Mackenzie stopped and looked the woman in the eyes. “Ma’am. Your children are safe. Jesus took them.”
The woman seemed even more distraught by Mackenzie’s peculiar response. Her eyebrows sank as if insulted. “I don’t know why you’d say a thing like that.”
“That’s what happened,” Mackenzie said matter-of-factly. “If you want to see them again, you better find a Bible, read it, and get your heart right with Jesus. You should be happy for your kids. They just got a ticket out of this catastrophe. It’s yourself that you should be worried about. If you think this quake is bad, think again. We haven’t seen anything yet.”
The woman stood still and quiet as if in a stupor of shock while the two of them continued walking.
Up the road a few hundred yards, Mackenzie pointed at the mile marker on the side of the highway. “101. You’ve got to be kidding me. The mile marker at the 465 interchange said 106. We’ve traveled far more than five miles.”
“We’ve circumvented six caved-in overpasses. I’d say add another three miles to the total.” Emilio was moving much slower than he had been when they left the Humvee only two and a half hours prior.