THE END - Book I - Of THE EVENT SERIES

by Marshall Huffman

  “Me either, totally,” Randy replied. They drove on in silence for several miles dodging around wrecked and abandoned cars.

  “What are you thinking?” Rachel asked, looking intently at Randy.

  “I’m thinking that a nuclear bomb couldn’t have done this. I mean, look at the cars and trucks. They would be nothing but globs of molten metal if a bomb had gone off. Something else caused this.”

  “Okay, but what? Chemical or Biological warfare?”

  “Beats the hell out of me but that would be my best guess,” Randy said.

  “Wouldn’t we be affected as well?”

  “Hey, I don’t have any real answers. I don’t know anything for sure. I think the blobs of slime in the cars were once the people in them. Nothing else makes sense,” he said.

  “And that does?” she asked.

  “Well, not really, but it’s all I can come up with.”

  “Hey, look up ahead,” she said, pointing to some buildings coming into view.

  “Great. A town. We need to get gas. Maybe they will know what’s going on,” Randy said hopefully.

  “I sure hope someone knows what happened.”

  ****

  Ten minutes later Randy pulled into a convenience store that had gas pumps outside. Three cars were at the pumps and two in the lot. Randy looked over at the cars as he stopped at the remaining pump. On the ground was the same glob of slime he had seen before. His heart sank. He knew what had happened had also reached the town as well. He got out and placed the nozzle in the Jeep and nothing happened. He wiggled the lever several times but nothing came out.

  “What’s wrong?” Rachel asked.

  Randy didn’t reply but simply walked to the store and went inside. He returned a few minutes later.

  “What?”

  “No one is in the store.”

  “No one?”

  “Just the slime.”

  “Oh God. You mean…”

  “Yeah.”

  “While you were in there I noticed something else.”

  “What?” Randy asked.

  “Listen.”

  Randy stopped talking and listened for several seconds.

  “I don’t hear anything,” he said at last.

  “Yeah, that’s what I mean. Nothing. No birds, dogs barking, or anything.”

  “Wow,” was all he could think of to say.

  “Not even the wind. You would think with all the clouds swirling overhead we would at least hear the wind.”

  “You would think,” Randy replied.

  “This keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

  “Oh yeah. This is right at the top of my weird-o-meter,” Randy agreed.

  “What should we do?”

  “First I need to figure out a way to get gas. I need to find a hose and a can or bucket to put it in then I can transfer it to the Jeep.”

  “How?”

  “I’ll show you later. For now we need to find a hose and something to put the gas in.”

  “Will a garden hose work?”

  “Sure.”

  “Good. Across the street. See that hose?”

  “That will do,” Randy said and jogged over to the house.

  He knocked on the door several times before disconnecting it from the spigot and taking it back to the station.

  “I can cut a section from this and make a siphon,” he said going back into the store. He returned a few seconds later with a knife and a mop bucket.

  “Will that work?” Rachel asked as he cut a length of hose.

  “It will if any of these cars were getting gas at the time,” he said.

  He opened the filler door and stuck the hose inside.

  “This is the part I hate,” he said, putting the hose to his lips and sucking on the end of it.

  It took two tries before he gagged and spit out some gas. He lowered the hose into the bucket and the gas came rushing out.

  “Wow. That’s great. Now we can get gas anytime,” Rachel said.

  Randy spit several times and wiped his mouth, “Right, if I don’t puke after each time. Gas is foul.”

  “Is there another way?”

  “If we can find a siphon pump or something that will keep me from having to suck on the line.”

  “They make such a thing?”

  “Sure, we just have to find one.”

  “Nothing like that in the store?”

  “Nope. Speaking of which, I am getting hungry. I think we should get something to eat. It would help get this taste out of my mouth,” Randy said spitting again.

  “I guess it couldn’t hurt. Do you think it’s safe to eat the food?”

  “What other choice do we have? We have to eat. I think we should stick to bottled water and soda until we know for sure the water is safe,” Randy suggested.

  “Good idea. The bucket,” she said pointing.

  It was nearing the top with gas.

  “I guess that’s a good start,” Randy said, pulling the hose from the tank.

  He sat the bucket on the back ledge of the jeep and put the hose in it again. This time he sucked on the hose but removed his mouth before the gas came out. Once it was flowing he placed the end in the Jeep’s gas filler and watched until the bucket was just about empty, tipping it to get as much as he could out. He turned on the key and watched as the gas gauge registered just under half full.

  “Dang. I have to do it again,” he said shaking his head.

  “Why don’t we eat first,” Rachel suggested.

  “I guess that’s a good idea. My stomach doesn’t feel too hot at the moment.”

  They walked in to the store and started looking around. It was pretty dark and hard to see.

  “Can you turn on the lights?” Rachel asked.

  “Already tried. No power. That’s why the pumps don’t work.”

  “Maybe they have flashlights,” she said.

  “Good thinking. Let’s see what we can find.”

  After a few minutes of searching Randy yelled, “Over here. I found them.”

  There were several different types and they decided to take a few of each. Rachel filled them with batteries and tried each one out. Randy half expected them not to work since the cars didn’t start but he was glad to be wrong.

  “What about the stuff in the cooler?”

  “It’s still cool. I guess it will be okay to eat.”

  “I saw an ice machine out front. Maybe we can get some ice and put the food in one of the Styrofoam coolers on that back isle.”

  “That’s an excellent idea. You get the cooler and I’ll get some ice,” Randy said.

  He soon found that it was easier said than done. The ice machine was locked. He picked up a rock and beat on the lock but it didn’t budge. It always came off with the first blow in the movies. He found a long pipe and used the leverage to finally pull both the lock and hasp off. The machine was full of bags of ice. He grabbed two and headed back in.

  Rachel had already gotten three Styrofoam coolers and was filling them with food from the refrigerated storage units. They loaded up the food, canned goods and drinks. When they were done they lugged them out to the Jeep and hoisted them into the back.

  “That ought to hold us for a while,” Rachel said.

  “Then what? I think we should look around the town and see what else we can find that we may need,” Randy suggested.

  “I don’t know Randy. I kind of feel like I’m stealing,” she said.

  “Fine, I’ll just leave them an IOU on the counter. “If,” he said, stressing the ‘if’, “anyone comes back.”

  “I guess you’re right. It just seems so strange to take something from a store and not pay for it.”

  “I got a feeling this is just the beginning of things that are going to feel strange,” Randy replied.

  “What about more gas?”

  “Later. Let’s see what’s in the town. Maybe I can find a siphon pump or something.”

  “Might as well. No use stopping this life o
f crime you’re leading me into,” she joked.

  “You can always put your name on the IOU,” Randy joked back.

  They drove into the town or what there was of it. The town consisted of a few stores located around the courthouse on all sides across the street. Cars were parked in most of the spaces. Randy drove up on the sidewalk and parked the Jeep.

  “Are you nuts? Are you just going to park it here?”

  “Why not? See any police around?”

  “No but…”

  Randy just shrugged and walked off down the sidewalk. Rachel hurried to catch up.

  “I see a hardware store,” Randy said, pointing down the street. They had to step around several globs of slime before they reached the store.

  “Anyone here?” Randy yelled as they entered.

  No reply. He yelled again but was met with the same silence. He entered and started going up and down the aisles. It was obviously the only hardware store around. They carried all kinds of camping gear and even a few guns and bows. Randy went behind the counter and took down a 12 gauge Mossberg pump shotgun. He also took a Remington 700 bolt action rifle as well and laid them on the counter. Shinning his light around he found the shells and cartridges that went with the weapons.

  In the case were several hand guns. He took out a Smith & Wesson M&P semi-automatic, a 1911 Colt .45 and a 92F Beretta. He located the bullets and filled a large duffle bag with the ammunition. He was surprised at how heavy it was. Rachel was just watching him with interest.

  Finally she said, “Is one of those for me?”

  “I guess. Sure, if you want one.”

  “I’ve been thinking. We have no way of knowing what we will run into, if we run into anything at all. I’m all for being prepared one way or the other.”

  Randy was surprised at her response. He took down a Browning 20 gauge shotgun and handed it to her.

  “Kind of big. I think I would do better with something smaller,” she said.

  “Okay, but take that one as well. It is good for close work and if you don’t have much time to aim. He handed her the Beretta. She felt it in her hand.

  “I think this will be good,” she said. “Is it loaded?”

  “Not yet. I wanted to do that outside so I can really look them over. I do have the cartridges for it. I’ll get some shells for the 20 gauge shotgun too.”

  Randy found a rack of heavier clothes and had her try them on and he picked out some for him as well. It was continuing to get colder as the sun started to go down. The wetsuit was starting to chafe his skin as well. They were meant to be worn in water, not for a long period on land.

  “Hey, look at this stuff,” Rachel said.

  “I’ll be damn. This is great.”

  Rachel had found several lanterns, a cooking stove and assorted camping gear but the best find of all was a gas generator.

  “Man oh man. This will really help us. If this thing runs we can get a refrigerator running and put food in it. Let’s pick a place before it gets any darker and see if we can get this thing going. He opened the gas cap and looked inside. It had gas for which he was thankful. It had two wheels and a handle so he pulled it out to the Jeep and hooked the handle over the ball of the trailer hitch. Then he loaded the guns and other camping gear in the back. The Jeep was about at its limit on capacity.

  “Pick a house,” he said.

  “Hey, any will do. Let’s get one just across the street from the gas station so we can haul the food over easier.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he said and started the Jeep.

  Five minutes later Randy was working on getting the generator started while Rachel brought in the provisions. She heard the gas engine sputter to life and then settle down.

  “Yes,” Randy exclaimed.

  “I see you got it.”

  “Yep. Had to run some gas through the carburetor first but it fired. Now I’ll plug in the fridge and we can get some food saved.”

  For the next two hours they worked at getting food transferred from the store to the house. It was going to become their base of operation, at least for the time being. They were bushed from the day’s activities and both collapsed on the couch to rest.

  “Think we can get anything on the T.V.?” Rachel asked.

  “It’s worth a try. I’ll run an extension cord to the generator and let’s see what we can get,” Randy said. Rachel anxiously waited while Randy got everything hooked up.

  “Here it goes,” he said and turned on the Television. They were met with static and wavy lines. Randy flipped through the channels but they got nothing.

  “Well, that was anticlimactic,” he said.

  “Yeah, they all have the same show on,” she said.

  “Cute.”

  “So now what? Let’s try a radio.”

  “I did when I was looking at the cars.”

  “Maybe they were fried too?”

  “Could be. I’ll see if they have one in the house,” he said, taking one of the lanterns and heading off. He looked up stairs and then in the basement. He came back empty handed.

  “Nothing?”

  “I found one upstairs but it’s dead too.”

  “But…”

  “I’m tired, not dumb. It runs on batteries,” he said.

  “Still…”

  “I put fresh ones in it,” he said, dropping into a chair.

  “Sorry.”

  “No need to be. I was hoping just as well. Look, they have two bedrooms upstairs and one down. Why don’t you take a couple of lanterns and use one of the upstairs rooms. I’ll stay down here.”

  “Randy, I’m not afraid of you,” she said.

  “I know that. I meant so I could kind of keep an eye out in case someone else comes around. I would hate for them to just pass by and us, not even know about it. We cannot be the only two alive. I simply can’t accept that,” he said.

  “I’ve been thinking about that too. Why are we alive? Why aren’t we a spot of goo like the rest of them?”

  “I don’t really know. I have a theory but I don’t know how scientific it is,” he said.

  “What?”

  “I think being so far underground may have saved us. We were essentially buried. Maybe the dirt blocked whatever it was. By the time we dug out, it was over.”

  “I don’t think you are too far off with that. I’ve been kind of thinking along the same lines,” she replied.

  “It fits. Everyone caught out in the open seems to have perished. We can’t be the only ones that survived. There had to be all sorts of people underground at that time.”

  “Like?”

  “Miners, mushroom farmers, people in tunnels and caves. All kinds of people,” he said.

  “Mushroom farmers?”

  “Yeah. I read someplace that a lot of abandoned coal mines are bought and used by mushroom producers. The lack of sun and constant temperature is ideal for them.”

  “Who would have thunk it?”

  “Evidently not you.”

  “Touché,” she replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

  “Anyway, the point is, others had to have survived by chance just like we did.”

  “You think they will try to find us?”

  “Maybe, unless they are waiting for us to find them.”

  “Good point.”

  “Look, let’s get some sleep. It’s been a long day and I have a feeling that tomorrow may even be longer and harder. We need to get some rest,” Randy said at last.

  “I don’t want to seem like a baby but would you mind sleeping upstairs too. In the other room I mean. It would make me feel better,” she said.

  Randy couldn’t tell if she was blushing or not in the dim light.

  “Sure. That will be just fine,” he said picking up one of the lanterns.

  They went upstairs and Rachel went in one of the bedrooms and Randy took the other.

  “Goodnight. See you in the morning,” she said but she didn’t close her door.

  “Try to sleep.
We are undoubtedly going to need it.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Good,” he said and went and climbed in bed.

  He didn’t bother to take his clothes off. The last thing he wanted to be was undressed if he had to get up in a hurry. He placed the Smith & Wesson under his pillow and laid the Mossberg shotgun on the bed beside him. They were both loaded and had one in the chamber. An empty gun wasn’t worth anything more than a baseball bat. Hard to use it without bullets.

  It was almost two hours before he finally drifted off to sleep. Even then it was fitful. The total lack of noise was almost deafening. It was worse than too much sound. The lack of any background noise was going to take some getting used to.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Napa Valley

  Almost fourteen hundred miles to the west of Rachel and Randy, a slightly different version of what they had encountered was taking place.

  “Geez. What the hell? Am I dead?”

  No answer, just his voice slightly echoing off the walls.

  “Hello. Anyone there?”

  “No, you’re not dead. You just fell asleep,” a slightly muffled voice replied.

  “That you Raymond?”

  “Is there someone else here that I don’t know about?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Trying to dig us out of here. This stupid little shovel doesn’t move much dirt,” he said.

  “Turn on your flashlight. I’m disoriented.”

  “You have one by your side. Just feel around for it,” Raymond replied.

  “No one came for us?”

  “Apparently not. We’re still here,” Raymond replied.

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Make sure you ask them that when we get out of here.”

  “Christ, it's cold.”

  “You could dig for a while. I guarantee that will warm you up,” Raymond said, grunting.

  A white beam of light suddenly filled the dark cavern.

  “Whoa. Man, that’s a shock to the eyes,” Lawton said.

  “See where I am?”

  James played the beam of light around until he found where Raymond had been tunneling toward the opening. It took him several seconds to get his bearings.

  “Hey, you have made a lot of progress,” James said, shinning the light up the small tunnel.

  He could see the bottom of Raymond’s boots.