by Mark Goodwin
“What time is it?” Mackenzie asked.
Emilio knew he probably wouldn’t get an opportunity to recharge the phone which they needed for the map. Rather than expending energy turning on the cracked screen to check the time, he made an educated guess. “Probably about 5:00.”
“So roughly eight hours since the quake—give or take.”
“Give or take,” Emilio agreed. “A little over twelve hours since our sleep was so rudely interrupted by Unity Enforcement. It’s been a long day. What do you say we start looking for a spot to hunker down for the night? We’ll eat, get some rest, and have a fresh start tomorrow morning.”
“I can go along with that,” said Mackenzie. “Are we going to camp out in an abandoned car?”
Emilio thought about the idea. “We’d be very exposed. One of us would have to stay awake while the other slept. It would be better if we could find somewhere tucked away so we could both get some shuteye at once.”
“Sounds good to me. What do you have in mind?”
Emilio looked at the collapsed overpass ahead. “Nothing yet. We’ll get around this heap and then see if any opportunities present themselves. If not, we’ll just take turns sleeping in an abandoned vehicle.”
Emilio led the way along the exit ramp. Mackenzie walked beside him, looking at the fallen hotel buildings to the right. The buildings were gone, but the pitched roof of the Hilton Garden could still be seen. The tangled red letters were also visible, although they were scattered about the ground like a child’s magnetic letters that had been knocked off of the refrigerator by a dog’s briskly wagging tail. “What I wouldn’t give for just one hotel room that wasn’t completely annihilated right now.”
Emilio looked at the fallen white marquee letters of the other hotel and worked out the puzzle like a word jumble. “Residence Inn.”
A woman was sitting on the ground next to a red BMW SUV parked on the shoulder of the road. All the doors of the vehicle were open. “Maya, Tylor,” she called with a faint, tired voice.
Emilio swallowed hard as he looked at the two child safety seats in the rear of the vehicle.
Again, the woman cried with her hollow voice, “Tylor, Maya, come on, it’s time to go.”
“Another mombie,” said Mackenzie.
“What’s that?” Emilio felt sick at his stomach over the scene.
“A zombified mommy, stuck in shock.”
“How can you be so insensitive?” Emilio scolded. “That woman has no idea what is going on! She’s grieving, has probably suffered a nervous breakdown.”
“Yeah, well things are tough all over.” Mackenzie kept walking.
“Tougher for people who lost someone.” Emilio scowled. “Even worse for mothers who have lost their children.”
Mackenzie stopped and pushed her finger in Emilio’s chest. “Do you need to sit down and have a good cry over Nicole? Because I’m going to tell you the same thing I told that mombie back there. Thank God that the wife you love doesn’t have to go through what’s coming on this earth. If you want to have pity on someone, have it on yourself—me, too, for that matter. You need to suck it up and brace yourself for impact. Because we are literally about to go through hell on Earth. Thank God that those women don’t have to watch their children live through the horrors that are coming upon this planet.”
Emilio said nothing. He shifted his jaw from side to side, wondering about Mackenzie’s seemingly cold-blooded attitude towards those who’d lost loved ones in the rapture. Maybe she was right. Perhaps he was the one looking at things through the wrong lens.
Minutes later, they reached the end of the exit ramp. They crossed County Line Road and started down the on-ramp to continue their trek.
“There’s some activity over there.” Mackenzie pointed to the side of the road. People were pushing shopping carts away from a pile of rubble in the center of a large parking lot.
“Must have been a Walmart.” Emilio looked to see what they were carrying.
Mackenzie asked, “Is it even considered looting at this point?”
“I can’t imagine that corporate is going to send in a team to pick through the bricks to see if any of the merchandise can still be sold.” Emilio considered the moral implications.
“You know what we could use to get us home quicker, don’t you?”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“A pair of mountain bikes,” she said. “But I’m sure anything of value has already been taken.”
Emilio cocked his eyebrow. “I’m not so sure about that. We’re only eight hours into the disaster. A lot of people are just now figuring out the seriousness of this situation. Plus, this isn’t your average smash-and-grab lootfest going on down there. Picking through the remains of a store with its roof caved in is more akin to mining for gold than your run-of-the-mill plundering event.”
Emilio started toward the embankment which led down to the parking lot of the demolished big-box store. “I say we go see what we can salvage.”
Mackenzie followed him down the hill. “As long as we’re calling it salvaging.”
As they got closer, Emilio could make out the contents that were in the carts. Oddly enough, many of the buggies contained TVs and electronics. He smiled. “Now that’s what I call wishful thinking.”
Other carts were stocked with toilet paper and food items. People began to recognize the guns, the badge around Emilio’s neck, and Mackenzie’s peacekeeper uniform. They quickly scattered as the two got closer to the store. Mackenzie said, “Looks like we might have the place to ourselves.”
Emilio was less optimistic. He surveyed the area before approaching the store. “As long as no other Humvees show up.” He looked through the shattered glass entrance doors. Steel beams lay across toppled shelves while sections of roof covered large swaths of the area.
He stopped before entering the wreckage. “We’ll never make it through that gauntlet of perils. We should see if we can find a back entrance. “Bikes are usually in the rear of the store, near the toys.”
Mackenzie added, “And the camping gear.”
“Good point,” said Emilio. “We could use some large packs for our trip. Maybe a couple of sleeping bags and a tent also.” They walked around the side of the building. When they arrived at the back of the building, they found half of the rear wall had fallen. They needed only to climb over the pile of cinder blocks and through a large crevice in the slumped roofing material.
“We need both hands to get through this mess,” said Mackenzie.
Emilio nodded. “You’re right about that. Let’s stash our long guns beneath this section of roof. We’ll unload them and keep the ammo under that overturned shelf. We’ll still have our pistols, so even if someone finds the shotgun and the rifle, we’ll still have the upper hand.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Mackenzie navigated her way down into the pit of debris. Once there, she racked the shotgun several times to dispel all of the shells in the tubular magazine. She put them in the purse and tucked it under the toppled shelf.
After Emilio had hidden his rifle and ammunition, he led the way through the sea of ruined goods. He picked up a five-foot length of black rebar. “This will make a good pry bar if we have to lift fallen shelves or a large section of roof.”
“Keep your eyes out for a pair of work gloves too.” Mackenzie carefully waded through the mess. “And maybe a bike helmet. If we get another aftershock right now, the rest of this structure will come crashing down right on top of us.”
Emilio pushed back a leaning shelf. “I’ve got a yoga mat and some stretchy bands!”
“What good will that do us?” Mackenzie looked at the dusty goods.
“Nothing, but it shows that we’re in the vicinity of the sporting goods department.”
“Right there!” She pointed. “That’s the bike rack!”
Emilio felt a rush of adrenaline but had to temper his enthusiasm so as not to get an injury. “Awesome!”
He pushed a fallen skyl
ight back from a row of kids’ bikes. “Here’s a princess bike with tassels.”
Mackenzie pushed a large light fixture away from the rack. “Great! Now we just need to find a bike for me.”
Emilio pursed his lips and kept looking. “Here we go, a mountain bike.”
“Adult?” Mackenzie began working her way over to Emilio’s location.
“Yes, ma’am.” He pulled it up from under a crumpled beach cruiser.
“Is it damaged?” she asked.
“A little dusty, but the chain isn’t broken.” He inspected it further. “Tires are good.”
Mackenzie gave it a once-over. “Rims don’t seem to be bent.”
Emilio carefully lifted out another single-speed cruiser whose pedals were tangled in the spokes of a blue child’s bike. “Give me a hand with this, will you?”
Mackenzie lifted the kid’s bike. “Training wheels! We can pick up some pink spray paint so they’ll match your princess bike.”
Emilio gently pulled another bike up from the clutter. “What do you think about this one?”
It was a woman’s Schwinn in silver with hot pink accents. Mackenzie looked it over. “These tires look nice, like they could work on or off-road.”
“Yeah, I think it’s a hybrid.” Emilio dusted off his hands.
“Let’s take the bikes over by the entrance hole and come back to scrounge around for camping gear.” Mackenzie lifted the Schwinn up on her shoulder and hauled it through the sea of refuse. Emilio carried the mountain bike over the piles of disorder, placing it near the location where their guns and gear were stashed.
He held Mackenzie’s arm to help her up over a barricade of fallen roof and shelving. The two of them retraced their steps to the bike area. “Camping gear should be the next few aisles over.”
“Fishing poles.” Mackenzie paused to pull a fish hook out of the leg of her uniform. “We must be close.”
Emilio paid close attention to each step, careful not to get caught up on any similar hazards. He pushed a leaning shelf backward and an avalanche of merchandise came crashing down at his feet. “Jackpot. Camping stoves, propane tanks…” he pushed several boxes out of the way to clear a path to walk. “Bring me that piece of rebar that I left over by the bicycles.”
She waded back through the quandary. “I feel like Princess Leia slopping through the trash compactor. I’m just waiting for a garbage monster to wrap around my leg and pull me under.”
Emilio replied, “The good news is that trash monsters don’t exist, at least not in this part of the galaxy.”
She grabbed the rebar and headed back. “What’s the bad news?”
“This is a fantastic habitat for snakes.”
She stopped walking to re-examine the muddle beneath her feet. “Great.”
Once Emilio had the rebar, he used it to leverage his weight to free a stack of shelves that were being held down by a large steel girder. He pressed down on the bar and the beam began to budge.
“Do you need some help?” Mackenzie offered.
“Yeah, push down right here.” Emilio slid his hands forward on the bar to make room for Mackenzie.
They both placed all of their weight on the bar. Finally, the metal truss lurched off of the shelving with a heavy crash. “Great, now help me lift this.” Emilio worked his way around to the opposite side of the shelf and lifted. Mackenzie did likewise from her location. They managed to rock the shelf back into an upright position. Emilio looked through the goods which had been buried below. “This is it. Tents, sleeping bags, backpacks…”
“Look!” Mackenzie held up a package containing a small glass vial. “Water purification tablets!”
“Perfect!” Emilio grabbed the two largest backpacks, the smallest tent, and two mummy bags which would keep them warm while taking up the least space in the packs. “Look around. We need as many of those tablets as we can get.”
“Here’s a small water filter. Wouldn’t this be better?” She held up the damaged package.
“Yes, but the tablets don’t use up much room. We’ll take them also.” Emilio saw an array of packages. “Mountain House Adventure Meals!” He grabbed another small backpack and began stuffing it with Chili Mac, Beef Stroganoff, Chicken and Dumplings, and Breakfast Skillet packs.
“How are you going to carry all of those bags while you’re on a bike?” Mackenzie rummaged through the debris looking for more of the food packs.
“Everything is going in the large pack. That will be on my back. Anything that doesn’t fit will be in the small pack. I’ll affix it to the handlebars.” He zipped up the small pack, grabbed the rest of the gear, and headed toward their stash.
The two of them eventually hauled all of their booty out of the rubble of the collapsed store. “Let’s get everything over into that field between here and the interstate,” said Emilio. “That will get us out of sight of anyone who might want to rob us of our goods. Then, we’ll have the cover of the trees to organize our gear. We’ll head a few more miles down the road and find a place to make camp.”
Mackenzie followed Emilio to the edge of the parking lot. The cooler, backpacks, purse, and first aid bag all dangled from the handlebars of the bikes while they walked them to the fence. Emilio climbed over first, then Mackenzie passed each item of gear over to him. They found a concealed spot where they took a short break, then got busy stowing their new belongings into the packs.
“I can’t believe it’s nearly nightfall already.” With her pack and shotgun on her back, Mackenzie pushed the bike across the grass to the pavement.
“We were only in there about an hour.” Emilio looked up at the hazy sky. “It must be getting dark from the smoke and dust.”
“Regardless of why, night is coming. We need to find a spot while we can still see to pitch the tent,” she said.
“Agreed. As soon as we see a secluded spot, we’ll get off the road and set up camp for the night.” They reached the uneven asphalt, got on the bikes, and began pedaling south.
CHAPTER 5
And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
Mark 13:25
Two miles past Countyline Road, they finally escaped the southernmost suburbs of Indianapolis. However, the landscape offered only barren cornfields that had been stripped bare by the locusts. They needed at least some minimal amount of concealment so they wouldn’t be a target. Emilio kept pedaling for another ten miles. Finally, they reached a small wooded area. The trees had very little foliage, but their thick trunks would provide enough cover to keep them from standing out. He rolled to a stop and dismounted his bike.
Mackenzie did likewise. “I’m absolutely exhausted.” She pushed her bike off the road and into the grass which was starting to grow back after being destroyed by the locusts.
Emilio placed his packs over the fence that was beyond the shoulder of the highway. He took Mackenzie’s belongings also and dropped them on the other side. “We’ll get the tent set up, eat something, then we can sleep until whenever. I’m not in any hurry to get on the road tomorrow. We’ll get there when we get there.”
“Okay.” She struggled to climb the fence.
Emilio gave her a hand. “If we can hit fifty miles a day, we can do it in four days.”
Once they reached a secluded spot, Mackenzie removed the small dome tent from the backpack and began stringing the support rods through the channels. “Louisville must be about 100 miles away. That’s our half-way point, right?”
Emilio threaded the next support rod. “Yeah, but we’ll stop in southern Indiana on Sunday night. I don’t want to be traveling through that mess after a long day of biking. If we have to take an extra day to get around the city, we’ll do it. Better safe than sorry.”
She put the final length of tent poles through the hoops and stood the tent upright. “Like you said, we’re not on a deadline.”
Emilio placed his gun and backpack inside the tent. He unrolled his sleeping bag, took off his bo
ots, and stretched out. Mackenzie added the water to one of the freeze-dried meals from Walmart. “Can you turn on the flashlight?”
“Yes.” Emilio clicked on the light he’d taken from the van. “But do whatever you have to do so we can turn it off quickly. We don’t want to broadcast our position.”
She hurried to arrange her belongings and crawl into her sleeping bag. She took the cold meal and began to eat. “You can turn off the flashlight, thanks. What time is it?”
Emilio clicked off the light then swiped the phone for a quick glance at the time. “7:30. I can’t believe it’s so dark already.”
She added, “We’re far enough from the city that the smoke from the fires shouldn’t be completely blacking out the sunset. We usually get another half hour of twilight before it gets this dark.”
“Unless it’s going to rain,” Emilio said.
“Is this tent waterproof?” she inquired.
“I hope so.” He closed his eyes and was asleep in a matter of seconds.
***
Emilio awoke suddenly at the urgent pleadings of Mackenzie.
“Wake up!” she whispered.
Instinctively, he grabbed his gun and got out of the sleeping bag. “What is it?”
Mackenzie was out of her bag as well and holding the shotgun. “I saw a light.”
“A light?”
“Yeah, it was bright. Bright enough to wake me up!”
Emilio stuck his feet into his boots. “Follow me.” He unzipped the tent and crawled out. He crouched low and turned on the flashlight. He held the front of the rifle with the same hand as the flashlight. Instantly, he regretted not searching for a roll of duct tape when they were inside the demolished Walmart.
“Get me two of those zip ties we took from the Hummer.” He continued scanning their surroundings for a moment.
Mackenzie quickly returned from inside the tent with the zip ties. “Here. What are you going to do with them?”