When he finally woke up, all was quiet once more. Slowly opening the closet, Gyle held out the knife and looked around. The dead were still where they were. Gyle put the knife back in his boot and took the water canister and walked over to the kitchen so he wouldn’t have to see the corpses. After taking a long draught of the tepid water, he poured the rest into his military hydration pouch. He took a few potatoes and bit into them, carefully spitting out the dirty skin and chewing the raw bits thoroughly before swallowing. He ate both onions, making sure he didn’t chew on the moldy parts. When he was done, he took the rest and put them in his pockets. Going back to the living room, Gyle took one long look at the woman and the child before taking the empty AK assault rifle and slinging it over his shoulder. Then he went out through the front door and continued on southwards.
9. A Single Step
Arizona
For the fifth time that afternoon, Tara Weiss gave the thumbs up sign at the passing car but as before it just drove on by without even stopping. It was no use. The fifteen-year-old sighed and walked back from the edge of the highway, past the empty parking lot, and back to the front of the deserted strip mall. The pueblo-style storefronts were all locked down. A few even had steel shutters over them. Tara could probably use a rock to try and break in and steal some stuff, but she wasn’t like that. She wasn’t a thief, so she just sat down behind one of the columns to shield herself away from the afternoon sun, while placing the old blue denim backpack she was carrying in front of her.
When she had finally decided to leave the house for good, her father shouted at her not to bother coming back just as she walked out the door. Tara was tired of getting beaten and slapped around, but she didn’t really blame him since he hadn’t had a job for two years after mom left him and the rest of the family. She had been sleeping on the street for three days now, but she remembered everything as if it happened just a few minutes ago. The whole scene kept repeating over and over: her putting her best clothes into the beaten-up backpack that her mom had bought her so many years ago, breaking the piggy bank in her room that had been with her since she was five so she had some money, and finally the part where Timmy had stood before her, crying and pleading for her to stay.
That was her one regret, her little brother Timmy. Oh how she hated having to leave him behind. But he was only six. There was no way she could take care of him since she had nothing. A single tear rolled down Tara’s right eye as she hugged her knees. She would go and get a job or something and come back for him. Yeah, she would come back in a white limousine and Timmy would get all excited and run into her arms. Then she would say, it’s all over now and I’ll take care of you from now on. After a few minutes, she just shook her head. It was time to get back to reality. She was just a nobody and she was getting really hungry.
Tara sighed as she undid the top strap of the backpack. Then she opened it to check how much food she had left. After rummaging through her clothes, all she could find was half a chocolate bar. It was part of the pack of twenty that the Pakistani guy running the convenience store had given her. Two days before, she was a few blocks away eating a two for a dollar hotdog sandwich at the guy’s store, when suddenly a whole bunch of people swept in and started to take everything. The poor store owner tried to fight them off, but he was beaten up and left bleeding on the ground as everybody just took what they could and left. Tara just stood there as a couple of burly fat guys wearing baseball caps went right past her, then they started throwing everything off the shelves into a grocery cart that they brought along with them. There were all sorts of people in that mob: young and old, men, mothers, teens, and even a few kids. Most of them went after the canned goods, candies, and packaged snacks. Meanwhile, three men armed with guns helped themselves to most of the beer and liquor. By the time they were done, it was as if a whirlwind had smashed through the store, took everything, and left a pile of empty metal shelves behind. Tara had walked over to the store owner and helped him up. The man cried for a bit as he wiped the blood off his face from an embroidered handkerchief before thanking her. As she started walking out past the broken glass and the smashed door, the man called out to her. When she turned around, he gave her a small cardboard box full of chocolate bars that the mob had missed because it was in a hidden alcove behind the counter. Tara said she didn’t want it because she was out of money, but the man just said it was okay so she thanked him and left. When she walked by the place again just yesterday, she noticed it had been abandoned, along with the other stores in the area.
It was such a pity her best friend Crissy had moved away. Every time her dad would beat her she would stay the night at Crissy’s house. They had been best friends since elementary school and Tara’s heart was broken when, during the end of classes for their freshman year in high school, Crissy told her that she was moving away with her family to California. The night before they didn’t sleep at all as they just sat together in Crissy’s room, surrounded by all those boxes as they talked about all sorts of things, from who was the hottest guy in school to what kind of lipstick Crissy should buy when she got to California, and a whole lot of other stuff. In the end they realized they had to keep talking in order to stop each other from crying. As the morning came, Crissy had to get in the car with her dad, her mom, and her brothers. Tara started running the moment Crissy’s dad was honking the car horn and shouted at her to get in the car already. Tara was in tears and just ran all the way back to her room in the mobile home park where she lived and cried her eyes out that summer. Her biggest regret was not even saying goodbye to Crissy when the time had come.
When sophomore year started in high school it was a bad time for her. Crissy was gone and she was alone. Tara did try to make friends with the other girls, but they sneered at her used clothes and lack of makeup and they called her ghetto girl, or white trailer trash. That was also the time when her father started to drink even more and she ended up taking care of Timmy. She made sure he had a bath every night, even though there wasn’t any soap, and brushed his teeth, even though there wasn’t any toothpaste. Her dad never bought anything other than whisky and beer with his welfare checks. When summer finally started again, school had ended and she would take long walks along the streets of the city just to get away from him. It was on one of those summer nights when she was hanging around in the mall, just walking by the appliance store, when she saw a whole crowd gathered in front of one of the TV displays. It was the news and it was showing all sorts of bad things, like a lot of American troops were missing in the Middle East. Then it shifted to riots in Europe, and then finally it started to show crashed and burning passenger planes all over the country. The day after that was when crowds started to gather in front of grocery stores to buy everything they could afford. That was when Tara found some money on the table while her dad was asleep on the couch. She went over to a small Vietnamese store in a nearby strip mall and bought a few food items that were still available there. When she arrived home, that was when her dad screamed at her and started hitting her really bad. And that was when she decided to go after leaving the groceries lying near the door.
Tara ran her hand along her reddish brown hair. She hadn’t taken a bath in awhile but there was nowhere she could go and do that anyway. There was a nearby faucet in an alleyway that she used to get a drink of water. She thought maybe that she could have a bath nearby, but she shook her head as it was freezing at night. Just last evening was when the streetlights didn’t turn on and the whole city was plunged into a cold, deserted twilight once darkness fell. It was obvious to her that there wouldn’t be any power now and she regretted not having a flashlight. This was a miserable way to live, but she thought the world was going to end anyway. So at least she would be by herself and in control when it would finally happen.
As the sun began to set and the temperature started to drop, Tara got up, stretched, and started walking towards the back alley behind the strip mall. She needed to go get a drink of water before she would huddl
e up in her jacket and sleep. As she knelt by the faucet and turned the handle, only a trickle of water came out before a sucking nose occurred and then nothing. A creeping sense of desperation and melancholy swept over her. She would need to find some water before she died of thirst. At that moment she heard a small noise behind her and she turned around.
Sitting on its hind legs and facing her was a small Chihuahua. It had brown fur, big bulging eyes and a short brown coat. Tara noticed a blue collar on its neck that indicated that it was a pet and not a stray. The dog just stared back at her.
Tara smirked. “If you’re looking for water too, I’m sorry, but this tap is out.”
The dog just stared at her for a bit before it started nibbling on its own shoulder.
Tara took out the half-eaten chocolate bar from her sweater pocket. “If you want something to eat, this is all I’ve got.”
The dog stared at her again.
“Okay fine,” Tara said as she tore off a bite-sized chunk of chocolate and nougat from the remaining candy bar and offered it to the little dog with her hand.
The dog walked over to her and took the chunk of candy with its mouth and started to chew it.
Tara smiled. “It’s good, huh? You must really be hungry to be out here all by yourself.”
“Not bad,” the dog said as it chewed the last bits of candy. “But I prefer to have my chocolate without sugar in it, like what the old Mayans had.”
Tara screamed as she fell backwards and landed on her buttocks. For a few minutes, nobody said anything as the dog just kept staring at her.
She raised a trembling finger at the animal. “Y-you can talk.”
The Chihuahua scratched the back of its ear using its hind paw. “And so can you. That makes us even.”
Tara blinked several times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. “But I’m a person, you’re a dog.”
“And we both have a mouth and we both can think,” the dog said. “So what?”
“But dogs aren’t supposed to talk.”
“Says who? Maybe you people just weren’t listening to them.”
“How did you learn to talk? Did your owner teach you?”
The dog narrowed its eyes. “The only thing my owner taught me was that she was a terrible woman.”
“Then how did you learn how to talk then?”
“I think I was born this way I guess.”
“Did your mother talk too?”
The dog sniffed the air around him. “I don’t have a mother.”
“Then who gave birth to you then?”
“Nobody. I’ve been around since the dawn of creation.”
Tara smirked. This animal was a wiseass. “So you’re like God, then?”
“Some people have called me that.”
Tara grinned. Other than a few homeless people that were just passing through, this dog was the first person she talked to for days. “Just because you can talk doesn’t make you a god.”
“You might be right about that. Then again, who really knows?”
Tara got up. “You must really think you’re smart, don’t cha?”
“You’re the one who’s saying that, not me.”
“I must be dreaming,” Tara said wistfully. “Or this must really be the end of the world.”
“Take your pick.”
Tara sighed. “Okay, doggie. What do you want to do now then?”
The dog looked at her hand. “Could I get another bite of that chocolate? I haven’t had any for hundreds of years now.”
“Sure,” Tara said as she tore off another bit of the candy bar and gave it to the dog while popping the rest of it into her mouth. “Like you’re supposed to be billions and billions of years old or something?”
“I guess I don’t look at time the way you humans do,” the dog said.
Tara crumpled the empty wrapper and threw it away. “So now what? We’re out of food and it looks like the water’s gone too and I’m still hungry. You got any ideas on how we could find some food?”
“There are many paths to take and each trail leads to a different fate,” the dog said.
Tara rolled her eyes. “What the heck is that supposed to mean? Okay, I’ll play this game of yours, doggie. Give me some choices, or at least give me a hint of where these paths are then.”
“The first path is the easiest … if you go back to the parking lot that is fronting your shelter, you will meet a man who will give you some food and drink,” the dog said.
Tara picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder as she turned and started walking out of the alley. “That sounds good to me, let’s go.”
“But I haven’t told you of the other paths yet.”
“Who cares, I need some food right now,” Tara said as she kept walking. “You can tell me about the other paths later. Come on!”
“The easiest path may not necessarily be to your liking,” the dog muttered under its breath as it followed the teen girl.
Sure enough, as Tara walked out of the alleyway and back to the front of the strip mall, she saw a grey van that was parked in the middle of the empty parking lot that faced the highway. Its rear doors were open. A man wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt was sitting on the back bumper and eating something out of a can with a fork. He had a deep brown beard and the sunburned freckles on his balding forehead were pretty striking. He looked to be in his later thirties. Tara glanced behind her and saw the dog tagging along before she started moving towards the van.
The man noticed her as she got to within twenty feet. He put the can down in the inside of the van’s interior and stood up.
“Hi,” Tara said as she stopped a few feet away and raised her hand.
The man smiled. “Hi there.”
She put her best smile forward. “My name is Tara and I’ve been sleeping nearby. I noticed you had some food on you. I was hoping you might have some leftovers that you could spare.”
“I’m Larry, nice to meet you,” the man said as he looked around. “Are you alone?”
The little Chihuahua came up alongside Tara and she picked it up and cradled it. “Just me and my dog, mister.”
“You’re here by yourself? What about your folks?”
“My dad is back in the house, but I don’t wanna be with him anymore.”
Larry nodded. “You ran away, huh? Well, this would be the best time to do it I guess. Very few cops around nowadays.”
“I’m surprised nobody came by,” Tara said. “But then again, I’m not up to date on the news.”
“Everything’s gone to hell,” Larry said. “No more power, no more food. The ones that could leave have left the cities and try to make a go for living out in the country. They could try to grow their own food out there. The rest are hunkered down in their homes and barricading themselves and hoping that the government will come by with some aid, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Everyone’s on their own now. Quite a lot of people have killed themselves too.”
Tara looked down. “I hope my dad didn’t do anything to my little brother. I hope they’re both still alive.”
Larry grinned. “Hey, I’m sorry for depressing you like that.”
She looked away. “It’s okay, thanks for the news updates.”
Larry turned and started rummaging through several cardboard boxes at the back of the van. A minute later he took out a metal can and showed it to her. “I’ve got some canned beef stew here, you okay with that?”
Tara grinned as she took the can. “Thanks, mister!”
Larry took out a metal spoon and rubbed it on a white cloth before handing it to her. “Just call me Larry. Or Uncle Larry if you’d like.”
She took off the top of the can since it had a flip-top and started wolfing it down. The meat, gravy and vegetables were cold, but she was so hungry she didn’t care. “Thanks, Larry,” she said in between swallows.
Larry took out a plastic bottle of mineral water from another box and set it beside her while she ate using the back of the
van as an impromptu table. After eating about three quarters of the canned stew, Tara set it down on the concrete pavement, and the little dog stuck its muzzle into it and ate heartily. The runaway teen took several big gulps from the water bottle and then let out a loud burp. Larry laughed.
Tara wiped her mouth with her arm. “Sorry about that.”
Larry ate the rest of his canned beans. “No worries, kid. Are you planning to stay here?”
“No, I was hoping to hitchhike to California, but none of the cars that passed by stopped to take me.”
“Why California? You got relatives there?”
“My best friend’s family moved out there last year. I was hoping to hook up with her,” Tara said. “What about you? Where’re you going?”
Larry shrugged. “To be honest I wasn’t sure. I’ve been out getting supplies, but then I heard on the radio that a number of dams have burst all along the Colorado River, so it looks like the West Coast is cut off. Heard of a lot of cities in the East Coast and the South are underwater too, because of all the rains and floods out there.”
Tara frowned. “Oh no.”
“Hang on,” Larry said. “I know a guy that a few weeks ago said he knew this family of preppers up in Wyoming. We could go there.”
“Preppers? You mean those people who were preparing for the end of the world and all that?”
Larry took the empty cans and just threw them in the parking lot. “That’s them. If there’s a type of people who can deal with this whole situation, they can. I heard there’s a lot of enclaves out in the countryside that’s setting themselves up, but they won’t just take anybody. They only take people that can earn their right to stay with them, that means that strangers who try to get in must have the skills or supplies that their community needs so that they could be accepted.”
The Glooming (Wrath of the Old Gods Book 1) Page 11