Radio Nowhere

by Lee Beard

  Most of the ammunition was gone, but Zach found a box of .357 magnum shells at the very back of a display. He took the revolver from his holster and reloaded it, putting the box in his pocket.

  Millie awoke to Zach and a man’s voice, and her eyes snapped open. Her heart pounded as she gently slipped her arm out from under the pillow where Joey’s head lay and unzipped the tent quietly. She visibly relaxed when she saw Zach sitting on the ground next to a partially-assemble trike; he held a tire in his lap and stared at the crackling radio.

  “…As I’ve said before, there are no more doctors in this world, and if you leave a rampant infection unchecked, it can kill faster than you’d ever expect. Now, suppose you’ve just gotten cut by a sharp piece of metal. The immediate problem is of course, how to stop the bleeding. Our bodies are wonderfully designed, and for the most part bleeding will stop on its own, though applying pressure is the best way to speed that along.”

  Zach looked up at Millie. “Whaddya know, Doc,” he smirked, the corners of his eyes crinkling playfully. “You got that right.” Millie returned a small smile and moved to sit next to him. “I just tried again to transmit back to Ira, but I guess he didn’t hear me.” Zach sighed. “The kiddos still asleep?”

  “Mm-hmm,” she replied, staring into the lamplight.

  “…how’re you doing?”

  “I’m…” Millie paused, searching for the words. “I’ll be okay.”

  “It’s easy for me to tell you what you should do, but really. Don’t ever second-guess yourself when it comes to protecting them.” Zach glanced at her, her eyes downcast and studying the floor. He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “When I was about eight, my mom whooped three older boys who she caught beating up on me. Hit each and every one of them with a stick she just happened to have on hand. That maternal instinct kicked in and well…they didn’t bother me ever again. But more importantly, it taught me that even when things looked as bleak as they could be, my mom would readily kick ass to keep me safe.” He glanced at her again, noting the smile that graced her lips.

  “…thank you,” Millie said after a moment.

  “For what?” Zach leaned back slightly.

  “Just…everything.” Millie shrugged, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. “This whole situation would have shaped up a lot differently if I hadn’t met you.”

  “And to think I was originally going to avoid Pennsylvania altogether.”

  Millie chuckled, bumping his shoulder with hers. “That would’ve been one heck of a detour.”

  “True.” They sat in silence for a moment, listening to Ira and the gentle hum of the lamp. Zach studied Millie out of the corner of his eye for a moment before inching his hand toward hers. He nudged her pinky, and flipped his hand over to rest palm-up on the floor. A smile drifted across her face, and she linked her fingers with his. She sighed and leaned into him slightly, resting her head on his shoulder.

  “We’re gonna be okay,” she said softly. “Everything is gonna be okay.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Sarepta, LA

  The sun beat down on the trio mercilessly, seeming to pierce right through Louis’s and Eric’s ballcap and bandana, respectively, and Gina’s white floppy hat. They’d been hiking with extreme dedication for the past couple of days, keeping their heads down and sunglasses on tightly. The road up the large hill was rough, and Gina often had to stop and jerk her oxygen tank up over a rock or out of a pothole. She felt the need to turn it on less and less as the days went by, but kept it with her just in case.

  The usual order in their marches meant that Louis took the lead, with Gina following close behind and Eric huffing to bring up the rear; Hank darted around at random. As the group made their way up a particularly twisty incline, Louis looked back to make sure Gina was doing okay. She took off her sunglasses to wipe her forehead, and for the first time he noticed how her eyes glinted almost amber in the sunlight. He felt himself smile. He couldn’t help staring, she was just so- bap! Louis walked into a pole. He took a step back and shook his head. Looking ahead, he saw train tracks leading into a massive, unnaturally dark tunnel with a train’s caboose sticking out of it.

  “Hey guys…” Louis swallowed hard. “I think we need to turn back.” Gina stopped, and Eric wheezed up to the front.

  “Whatcha talking a…oh.” Eric stood panting for a moment. “Well…let’s just go around it.” Eric pointed at a narrow, steep path up the hill, and went toward it.

  “Eric, wait,” Louis called after him. “Let’s think about this for a minute. If we go back, we can bunk for the night and think about a plan for the morning. We passed a small town on our way here, let’s just go back there and start back tomorrow.”

  Eric turned back around, shaking his head. “We’re losing daylight and if we go over the hill, it will take less time than going back, and we can bunk at the next town.”

  “But we have no idea where that is. I say we go back.”

  “Guys…” Gina began, taking off her mask to speak better.

  “I say we go over the hill.” Eric took a step toward Louis.

  “Guys-”

  “No, we turn back.” Louis took a step toward Eric.

  Eric locked eyes with Louis. “The. Hill. Louis.”

  “Turn. Back. Eric.”

  “If we turn back, we’ll be set back a solid day.” Eric lifted his chin. “You want to get to Oklahoma so fast, this is the quickest way.”

  Louis crossed his arms. “Why do you care? You don’t want to go to Nowhere anyway.”

  Eric’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, but I’m going now, aren’t I?”

  “I never said you weren’t.” Louis returned the aggravated glare, leaning over Eric slightly.

  “Good. Because at this point you couldn’t pay me to stay behind.” Eric puffed out his chest subconsciously.

  “What’s this really about, Eric?” Louis asked after a moment.

  Eric scoffed and shook his head. “Forget it. Why don’t we ask Gina what she thinks we should do?”

  They both turned to look at Gina, but all they saw was her oxygen tank and mask lying on the ground. Eric picked them up.

  “Gina?” Louis spun to see where she went. “Hank!”

  Eric followed Louis’s line of sight to the dog, disappearing into the tunnel. “Gina!”

  The boys exchanged a look, then both sprinted for the tunnel. Louis entered the narrow left side where Hank had gone, and Eric took the wider right side.

  As Louis entered the cave, he stopped. Eric ran past him on the other side, shouldering the oxygen tank.

  Okay, breathe. Louis inhaled. It’s just a tunnel. This isn’t The Stand, no bodies are going to pop up and…don’t think about that. Okay ready? One… Two… Three!

  “Ahhhhhh!” Louis bolted through the tunnel, screaming like a banshee. As he leapt over a log in the way, he mentally (and mildly) swore. Please don’t let there be zombies, please don’t let there be zomb – WHOOMPH! Louis tripped over a branch and fell flat onto his stomach. He groaned and rolled onto his back, letting out another shriek as he looked dead into the face of a corpse leaning against the passenger car’s window. He could almost hear it groan. Go, go, go. He scrambled to his feet, took a breath, and bolted toward the exit.

  When he re-emerged on the other side, he saw Eric quickly approaching Gina, who stared out past a guardrail over a valley.

  “Why did you leave your tank behind?” Eric asked her.

  “I don’t need it anymore.” Gina said simply.

  “Oh, okay. Cool.”

  “Glad you’re feeling better,” Louis interjected.

  “I was worried about you,” Eric added.

  “Don’t,” she snapped. She pursed her lips, face otherwise blank. “I can handle myself.” Eric looked like he’d been slapped.

  “…well, we should probably get moving,” Louis said gently. “The next town can’t be too far from here.” Eric’s face was red, but Louis was unsure if it
was from the heat, exertion, or Gina snapping at him.

  Eric looked around, and a lightbulb went off in his head. “Hey, I’ll scout the next town!” He moved lightning-fast, bolting for a nearby tree.

  “Don’t-” Gina began, but it was too late. He’d already swung his bad leg up into the tree.

  “Eric get down from there,” Louis warned, “You could break something!”

  “I’m fine,” Eric grunted, pulling up farther into the tree. He wedged his bad foot into a crevice to gain leverage. “I can do this!” Eric reached the middle of the giant tree and pushed the branches back. “Hey guys, I see a town not far from here.”

  “Okay great, now get down,” Louis called.

  Eric didn’t reply, instead stretching further up and shaking his bad foot free of the crevice. If I can move out a little more I can…

  Snap! The branch he stood on broke, sending him toppling to the ground. Crunch!

  “Eric!” Gina cried, but it was too late. Gina and Louis froze as Eric let out an almost unholy scream.

  “Crackin’ hell,” Louis managed.

  Gina knelt down next to Eric and covered her mouth at the sight of his foot, turned inward at an unnatural angle. She tried to think of what to say, but couldn’t.

  Louis gagged at the sight of Eric’s foot, clenching his jaw to keep from vomiting. Suddenly, Eric went quiet. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he stilled.

  “Oh my God,” Gina uttered, mouth dropping open. Hank, who’d until now been standing off to the side, ran up and licked the boy’s face.

  “It’s okay,” Louis said unreassuringly, “I think…I think he’s in shock.”

  “How is that okay?!” Gina screamed, a sudden uncharacteristic outburst.

  “I don’t know!” Louis cried, linking his hands together atop his head. “I just…Ira said something about that the other night, something about shock being the body’s way of protecting itself from pain. So as long as he’s not hurting we can figure out if it’s broken or not, right?”

  “Of COURSE it’s broken, look at it!”

  Louis gagged again. “Okay, okay. We need to set it quick before he wakes up. And get him some pain meds.”

  “Where exactly are we supposed to find pain meds? And what if they mess with his diabetes? He hasn’t checked his blood or whatever in hours.”

  “Well…” Louis looked at the tunnel and swallowed hard. “I can go find pain meds, you stay with him in case he wakes up.” He dropped his backpack and pulled out a sleeping bag. “We’ll put him in here for now.” He unrolled the sleeping bag. “Hold this end up will you?”

  She grabbed the cloth from his hand. “So what, you just know what to look for and how to move a kid with a broken foot?”

  “I used to be in boy scouts, and I also have read a lot about post-apocalyptic scenarios. It used to fascinate me before – well, anyways. Can you stay here with him?”

  “…yeah, fine.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right back.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Broken Bow, OK

  Ella sang softly to herself in the seat behind Millie, her feet tapping either side of Millie’s hips in time with the song. The tricycle’s mountain-bike wheels handled the rough terrain surprisingly well. Ahead, Zach slowed at the hilltop to allow Millie to catch up.

  "Looks like rain," Millie panted, allowing her trike to coast slowly down the incline. "Maybe we should fine a resting place?" She glanced around, spotting a building down a dirt path in the near distance.

  Zach glanced upwards. "Nah it's just a little thunder."

  "Zach…”

  "Relax, we have probably a solid twenty more minutes before it-" Zach stopped suddenly as the sky opened up and rain poured down.

  “Over there!” Millie called, kicking off the ground toward the dirt road.

  As they pedaled furiously, Ella squealed in protest at the weather. “Stop it, rain!”

  Upon reaching the building – a log cabin – Zach and Millie pulled under the awning overhanging the roof. Millie looked at Zach, who held up a finger.

  “Not a word.”

  “I didn’t say anything.” Millie smirked, shaking her wet hair out of her face. She looked at the cabin, then to the clouds. “We might be here a while.”

  "Yeah..." Zach dismounted the bike and unlatched his leg holster. “I’ll check it out; wait here.” He removed the pistol and pointed it at the ground, walking to the front door. It was unlocked, so he disappeared inside. Millie unbuckled Ella, then Joey, and set them both on the ground.

  After a minute, Zach stuck his head out the door, holstering his pistol. “All clear.”

  Millie lifted the tarp from her trike’s back basket and pulled the clothing backpack out, ushering the twins into the cabin. The front door opened into a combo living room/kitchen; lounging on the couch by the open window were three cats. A fourth meowed from her position perched on a shelf. The cabin was very well-lit, thanks to the numerous large windows in each room, and it was overall a very neat and tidy place.

  Millie opened the suitcase and pulled out a set of dry clothes for each twin, sending Ella into the bathroom to change first. Zach wandered over to the sink, noticing that one of the bowls on the drying rack still had water on it.

  “Mil,” he said calmly, “We need to leave, now.”

  She turned around, confused. "Wh-"

  BAM! The back door flew open, and two baying bloodhounds burst inside.

  Millie pushed Joey behind her as Zach grabbed for his gun.

  "Easy ladies! What’s all the…” A man looking to be a few years older than Zach stopped suddenly in the doorway, carrying a bag of cat food on one shoulder and a bundle of logs on the other. His green eyes flitted to Millie, then to Zach, then to the pistol Zach now gripped tightly in both hands.

  “Oh. Hello,” the man said, cautiously polite.

  “Who are you?” Zach asked, eyes locked on the man.

  “Jim Walker,” he replied, “Can I ask what you folks are doing in my house?”

  "Oh,” Millie spoke up, turning to keep herself in between Joey and the hounds as they sniffed at her, “We’re sorry, we had no idea this place was occupied."

  "No problem at all," Jim said, eyeing Zach’s gun again. “If you want to put that away, we can talk like civilized folk.” Zach lowered the gun slowly. “’Preciate it.” One of the bloodhounds brayed again, and Joey whimpered. “Theodora! Elender!” Jim scolded, continuing into the room. He dropped the cat food and logs onto the ground, snapping his fingers at the hounds. “You two oughta be ashamed of yourselves, scaring people like that." The dogs tucked their tails and plodded away to lie down in front of the fireplace. Zach, Millie, and Joey stared at him blankly. "The dogs came with name tags, and I didn't have the heart to change ‘em."

  The bathroom door opened suddenly and Ella hopped out, landing with both feet together and holding the wet clothes above her head. She slowly turned to look at Jim, eyes growing wide.

  “Hi there, Little Lady,” Jim said.

  “My name is Ella, not Little Lady,” Ella said matter-of-factly.

  “Ella!” Millie chastised, taking the clothes from her.

  Jim laughed. “It’s okay. It’s nice to meet you, Ella.”

  “I’m Zach,” Zach offered, extending his right hand. “And that’s Millie and Joey.”

  Jim took his hand and shook it. "Pleasure to meet ch'y'all. I was actually just heading in to refill the cats' bowls and get lunch going." Jim looked outside. “Y'all are welcome to stay until the rain lets up."

  "Thank you," Zach nodded. "We'll be on our way after that.”

  Jim carried the bundle of logs over to the fireplace and set them next to the two logs already on the hearth. He knelt beside them, pushing Elender (or was it Theodora?) away as she tried to lick him.

  “Your house is very tidy,” Millie remarked.

  "Thank you, ma’am." Jim replied. He pulled some potato chips out of a zip lock bag in the cabinet by the fireplace
, and placed them into the fireplace followed by the smaller of the two dry logs. "In the service, you kept your place clean or you paid the price, and I guess I just kept the habit of keeping things neat." He lit a chip, which quickly spread to the surrounding chips. The log slowly started to burn, overpowering the vaguely unpleasant smell of burning potato chip.

  Zach's eyebrows went up. "You’re in the army?"

  Jim nodded. "Joined on my eighteenth and haven't looked back." He fanned the fire slightly. "Had my eye on Special Forces, already went through jump school at Benning. I was on leave when everything got f-" he stopped suddenly, looking at Millie. “Apologies, ma’am. Sailor mouth ain’t just for the navy, still trying the break that.”

  Millie resisted the urge to shoot Zach a look. "It’s okay. Thank you for your service."

  "Oh, don't thank me," Jim shrugged. "Didn't really get a chance to do anything." He picked up the cat food and carried it into the spare room.

  Millie took the moment to hand Joey a dry set of clothes and usher him into the bathroom to change. She took Ella’s clothes and laid them out on the hearth to dry. Zach crossed to the couch and stood by Millie.

  Jim came out of the spare room balancing five bowls of cat food in his hands, setting four in a row on the ground.

  "That's a lot of cats," Ella said as the cats swarmed the bowls.

  "They were here when I got here," Jim replied, petting the black-and-white cat's head, "I wasn't about to run them off. They keep the mice away and are good company, plus it was their house first. The dogs, however, showed up one day without warning and tend to disappear for days at a time before coming back reeking of skunk or covered in mud." Jim stood, taking the fifth cat bowl with him.

  "What are their names?" Ella asked. Joey opened the bathroom door, handing his wet clothes to Zach.