by Mark Goodwin
Mackenzie looked at the old building with curiosity. “It looks like it might have somehow survived the quake.”
“Only to be struck down by an asteroid,” said Emilio.
“If we keep following the rim, it has to lead us back to the interstate, doesn’t it?”
“Theoretically,” said Emilio. “But in this crazy world, anything is possible.”
The two of them continued to wade through the trail of wreckage that had once been E-Town. After nearly two hours of navigating obstacles that prevented them from following a direct path around the circumference of the crater, they finally made it back to I-65. Both were tired and hungry, but they kept walking.
It wasn’t long before they happened upon the next collapsed overpass. Like many before it, the exit ramp was congested with cars which had been overturned by the shaking or gotten stuck in the disrupted asphalt, creating gridlock. Emilio scanned the stalled vehicles as they approached the dead end. “There’s a big-box-store truck.”
Mackenzie paid very little attention. “It’s going to be locked.”
“Maybe the driver was a Christian. The keys could still be in the ignition.”
She shook her head. “That truck came to a stop on its own accord. If the driver had been raptured, it would have plowed through at least the next ten cars before halting completely.”
“Let’s check it out anyway,” Emilio insisted.
When they arrived he checked the cab door which was indeed locked. He peered through the glass to verify that the keys were not still in the ignition. He climbed back down and dusted off his hands. He walked to the back of the trailer and shook the lock.
“I told you—this is a waste of time.” Mackenzie stood with her arms crossed.
“I think I can get it off,” said Emilio.
“Tell me you’re not going to try shooting it off! It could ricochet and hit one of us.”
He pointed farther up in the traffic jam. “There’s a sheriff deputy’s car. I’d say we have a good chance of finding a pair of bolt cutters in the trunk.”
“Oh!” Mackenzie perked up and followed Emilio over to the vehicle. “How are you going to get into it?”
“The windows are probably ballistic glass, so we’d probably be here all day trying to knock them out.” He walked past the sheriff’s car and inspected the other vehicles in the long line of abandoned automobiles. “Our best bet is going to be to knock the trunk lock out of the housing. What we really need is a hammer and something to use as a chisel, like a tire tool or a super tough screwdriver; one of those big ones.” He didn’t see Mackenzie. “Hey, where did you go?”
She had the trunk of the cruiser opened and was holding a pair of bolt cutters. “The vehicle was unlocked.”
Emilio smiled. “Looks like we finally caught a break.”
“Thank God.” She walked toward the tractor-trailer.
He glanced up at the murky sky. “Yeah, thank God.”
Emilio cut the lock securing the trailer, then opened the doors.
Mackenzie looked inside. “Wow! It’s stuffed with goods!” She climbed up into the cargo area.
Emilio followed after her. He flicked on the flashlight and began reading the cardboard boxes stacked on the wooden pallets and covered in clear shrink wrap. “This pallet looks like mostly cosmetics and hygiene items.”
“We could certainly use some hygiene, but after we eat.” Mackenzie read labels by the pale light filtering in through the doors. “I’ve got housewares over here.”
“Dry goods! Bingo!” Emilio took out his knife and cut away the shrink wrap. The first box on the top of the stack was mixed nuts. He opened the box, handed a pouch to Mackenzie, and then tore into one for himself. He ate two handfuls before searching further through the other boxes.
“Wheat crackers, cookies, peanut butter!” Emilio kept eating as he unstacked the boxes to see what else was available.
Mackenzie opened the box of chocolate sandwich cookies. “I feel like we hit the lottery. We could just live here for a while.”
Emilio shook his head. “No way. Other scavengers will be along sooner or later. We need to pack up a selection of the most calorie and nutrient-dense foods, then get back on the road.”
“I’m going to enjoy my cookies first,” grumbled Mackenzie.
“Sure.” Emilio opened the peanut butter and the crackers. He dipped the crackers in the peanut butter rather than sticking his dirty knife into the jar. He continued looking through the other pallets.
Mackenzie sat with her back against the pallet while gorging on the store-brand cookies. “We’ve got batteries in this pallet.”
Emilio came over to inspect her find. “Where?”
“All the way at the bottom.” She tapped her foot against the shrink wrap of the pallet across from where she was sitting. “Right here.”
Emilio shined the light on the box. “Those are triple-As. We need CR123s.”
“There could be a box of those in the middle of the pallet.”
He examined all the exterior boxes. “Ds, 9 volts. I don’t know.”
“Let me use your knife. I’ll unstack the pallet.” She held out her hand. “We’ve been using that flashlight a lot, and we’ve got a long trek back into the cave once we get home.”
He gave her the knife. “Knock yourself out.” Emilio continued looking through the other boxes. “I found paper towels. We can use them with the vodka to get your leg cleaned up.” He came back to retrieve his knife.
She handed him the instrument and kept looking through the boxes. Emilio ate while he burrowed through the other goods to get to the paper towels. He pulled out a roll and went back to Mackenzie. “Come on. Let’s get that pant leg rolled up.”
“One more second. I think I’ve got something.”
“Batteries?”
“Even better.” She lifted a box of LED headlamp flashlights. “These will run on the triple As.”
“Good find. Now let’s get you cleaned up.” He took out one of the headlamps and loaded it with batteries. He pulled the elastic band over his head and directed the beam at Mackenzie’s leg. “I’m not going to lie. That’s looking pretty nasty.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been stomping around on it for nearly a week. It will heal up once I can get some rest.”
Emilio poured a little bit of the vodka directly on the cut. Yellow puss oozed from the center of a red ring which was pink and swollen all around.
“Ouch! Take it easy!”
“I have to get this cleaned up.” Emilio continued to blot the wound and wash it with the vodka. “If this gets any worse, you might not make it back to camp.”
“It’s not that bad,” she said.
“Yet,” he added. “But you’re headed in that direction. Believe me.” He handed her a clean paper towel which he’d wetted with the vodka. “Hold this on your leg for a while. I need to find some first aid supplies.”
She took the paper towel with one hand and pulled her package of cookies closer with her free hand. Emilio searched the trailer for anything that might help fight the infection already setting in. He spent nearly half an hour looking through the truck. He didn’t find any medical supplies but did locate some hand-sanitizer which could be used to clean the cut after the vodka was exhausted. He also found a roll of duct tape, which he used to secure one of the paper towels over the wound. “That should keep it clean. Plus we can clean the cut and change the bandage as often as we like.”
“Thanks.” Mackenzie looked at the shiny silver wound dressing. “What are we going to use to carry everything?”
Emilio held up a yellow box. “I got trash bags—with handles.”
“We’re living the dream now.” Mackenzie rolled down her pant leg.
They loaded up two medium-sized bags each, slung them over their shoulders, and got back on the highway. They traveled another ten miles before the light began to diminish.
“We need to pick a vehicle where we can hunker down,” said Emilio.
“I recommend a semi with a sleeper cab.”
“Can we look for one that ran off the road?”
“Sure. Is that because you hope to find one with the keys so we can listen to the radio?”
She replied, “That too, but mainly because I’d like to find another Bible. The one I found before was in the pack that got stolen in New Albany.”
“Yeah, I think I see one up ahead about a half a mile.”
They reached the blue Volvo eighteen-wheeler which had veered off the road, plowed through several fence posts on the side of the interstate, and managed to come to a complete stop without turning over. Mackenzie still babied her leg as she climbed up to check the driver’s side door. It was unlocked. She crawled into the cab and dropped her stash of goodies on the floor.
Emilio got in and closed the door. He saw that she was already on the bunk. “I guess I’ll take first watch.”
“Thanks.” She was asleep in a matter of minutes.
Emilio quietly rummaged through the glove compartment. He did not locate a Bible. However, he did manage to find a road atlas. “Yes!” he whispered, so as not to wake Mackenzie. He used the remainder of the fading daylight to estimate their current location on the map, and then to make an educated guess about how much farther they would have to travel.
Emilio felt exhausted. He fought to keep his eyes open as the twilight waned. Once or twice, he considered waking Mackenzie so he could get some rest also. Once darkness fell, he had only the anticipation of more meteors to occupy his time and his mind.
Finally, the first flare lit up the hazy sky above. The murk overhead glowed, as if on fire from above. Then, the asteroid broke through, and its brilliance caused Emilio to look away. A bright flash preceded a loud boom, and the darkness returned.
Half an hour passed before the next such disturbance. Again, the smoky heavens blazed with an opaque luminescence. In the ambient light of the falling star, Emilio saw three dark figures walking by. He gripped his pistol and sunk low in the seat. He watched the spectral beings moving silently between the abandoned vehicles. When the comet emerged from the overhead sea of grime, its brightness revealed the three creatures as being slight and rather frail. All three wore dark-colored hoodies, but he caught a glimpse of long blonde hair wisping in the breeze. Girls, late teens, or early twenties. This is a bad environment for them. At least they’re smart enough to travel at night and hopefully to hide out in the day.
Emilio wanted to offer assistance to the three unfortunate humans, but he was in no position to help. Besides, for all he knew, the girls could be desperate savages themselves, willing to kill him and Mackenzie for what little goods they had.
The next star to drop from the heavens ended with an earth-shattering boom! Mackenzie jumped from the bunk and cried with a startled voice, “What was that?”
“Just the apocalypse,” said Emilio.
She caught her breath and slowed her frantic breathing. “I’m up now. You should try to get some rest.”
Emilio waited for her to climb into the front before sliding back to the bunk. The bed was still warm from where she’d been lying. He was so tired, it didn’t take long before he was out.
***
BOOM! The cab of the truck trembled. Emilio sat up. The bunk continued to rattle beneath him. He had the sensation that they were moving. “Is the truck rolling?”
“No,” said Mackenzie. “I think that last meteor might have triggered another aftershock.”
The shaking continued for what seemed like a full minute. Emilio felt uneasy, like he would never adapt to this horrific new reality of the last days. Finally, all was still and quiet. He took out the small flip phone which he still carried to tell time. “Three hours. That’s better than nothing, I suppose.”
He saw that Mackenzie had located a Bible and that she was reading it by the light of one of the headlamps. “You need to kill that light. It’s visible to passers-by.”
She closed the Bible and flipped off the light. “I think we’re the only ones out here.”
“No. I saw people while you were asleep.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me? You should have woken me.”
“They didn’t seem to be a threat, and you needed your rest.”
Mackenzie stared out into the blackness, as if straining to see something that wasn’t there. “Even so, it would’ve been helpful to know.”
“You can come back here and read if you want.”
“Oh no! I don’t want to risk crowding your space. Especially after the shellacking I got yesterday morning.”
Emilio dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just that…”
“Go on. I’ve been waiting for an explanation. I’m a big girl. If it’s something I did, I can handle it.”
“No. You didn’t do anything. It’s Nicole. I miss her.”
“I understand that. But, I’m not sure what it has to do with me.”
“She disappeared. I didn’t get to say goodbye. It’s like she’s gone, but not really dead. So, I’m not sure how to process the emotions. I mean, I don’t know if I should be in mourning, or if it’s more like someone you love is gone on a long trip.”
“I’d go with the long trip,” said Mackenzie. “But I still don’t understand why you snapped at me.”
Emilio sighed. “I suppose I felt like we were getting a little too…chummy, if you know what I mean. I felt guilty.”
“Wait, what? Please tell me you didn’t think I was coming on to you or something. Because I can promise you, you’re not my type. You’ve got that whole toxic masculinity thing going on, and just—everything. You’re a little delusional with all of that stuff, Emilio, and you need to get over it.”
“Delusional? With what stuff?”
“Thinking you’re God’s gift to women and all.”
“I don’t think that.”
“Yes, you do. I can see it in the way you look at girls. Not that it’s all your fault. A lot of them look at you that way, too. I’m just saying, all of us aren’t into the whole Latin-romance-cover-model thing.”
“I don’t know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.”
“Well, it wasn’t meant as either—simply a statement of fact. So, do with it what you want.”
“So, are we good?” Emilio was better at kicking down doors than discerning the nuanced emotional states of the fairer sex.
“No, we’re not good. Actually, I find it rather offensive that you assumed I had somehow developed an uncontrollable crush on you when we both smell like a high school gym locker, and we’re fighting for our lives.”
Feeling rather heelish, Emilio pressed his lips together. He said nothing.
Following a brief hiatus, Mackenzie resumed her assault. “But more than offensive, it’s preposterous; bizarre beyond everything else that’s going on around me.”
Emilio did his best to accept the abuse with grace. After all, he deserved every bit of it.
CHAPTER 13
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Daniel 12:1-3
At first light, the two embarked upon what Emilio hoped would be the last leg of their arduous journey. Emilio had found a dusty old duffle bag in the semi-truck, which he gave to Mackenzie as a sort of peace offering. She was able to fit one bag of her supplies taken from the big-box trailer in it. The bag had a long strap that went around her shoulder and allowed her to adjust the weight when it got uncomfortable.
“How’s the leg?” Emilio asked.
“It’s okay.” Her answer was short, but at least he wasn’t being totally ignored.
“So, where did you find the Bible?”
She seemed reluctant to engage in conversation. “Tucked under the seat. Up inside the springs.”
“That was smart of the driver.” Emilio gave her a chance to respond, but she didn’t.
They walked another mile down the road in complete silence. Emilio asked, “What did you read about?”
“Revelation.”
He continued to push her. “Did you figure out what comes next?”
“Yep.”
He kept walking alongside her, waiting for an explanation that never came. “Okay, what comes next?”
“The seventh seal.”
“Is it bad?”
She sighed as if worn down by the badgering. “It’s complete silence for half an hour. That’s in Heaven, so I’m not sure if we’ll experience it here. After that, another earthquake. The text doesn’t make this quake sound quite as terrible as the one in the sixth seal. Maybe it’s like a global aftershock.”
“Anything supposed to happen between then and now?”
She lifted her shoulders. “So the seventh seal is Revelation 8. In chapter 7, the Bible talks about an uncountable multitude gathered around the throne of God. They’re all wearing white robes and the angel tells John that these are the ones who have come out of great tribulation.”
“Wait a minute. As in, the Great Tribulation?”
“The text doesn’t say, the. But in the context of what’s happening, I suppose that could be an accurate assumption.”
“Are those the people who were raptured?” Emilio thought of Nicole.
“I guess,” said Mackenzie. “Plus, perhaps, those slaughtered in the UEA death camps.”
“Anything else?”
“Yeah, before that scene, 144 thousand are sealed—12 thousand from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.”