Desolation

by Mark Campbell

  “Well I meant it,” he said in his defense. “I went to every state that counted…”

  “Which states didn’t count?” Jerri asked, curious. “Most of the mid-west and the deep south,” Andrew said. “I think it’s now safe to add Arizona to the list. Fuck the Grand Canyon. Just send me a post card.”

  Jerri laughed. As much as she hated to admit it, the guy had a certain charm about him. “How about you? Did you travel much?” Andrew asked. Jerri shook her head.

  “I never left the state, being busy with work and all,” she said. “I was going to take a huge trip to New York… but the Piedmont Flu saw an end to that dream.”

  “Busy with work? Don’t tell me that you sold televisions too,” Andrew said with a smile.

  Jerri grinned. “No, I actually went to college, thank you very much,” she said in a playful tone. “I worked part-time as a manager trainee at a rental car outlet.”

  Andrew laughed.

  “Rental cars?! Sorry, but that doesn’t sound much better,” Andrew said, elbowing her. “I think I won the job competition.” Jerri punched his arm.

  “Well if only I had a few more years then I’d be firmly on top!” she proudly announced.

  “Too bad the world ended before you had your big break, eh?” Andrew said.

  They both smiled and then looked straight ahead, smiles fading. “Do you really think it spread across the whole world?” Jerri finally asked.

  Andrew shrugged.

  “Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that I haven’t seen any jets in the sky,” he said.

  “True… and I haven’t seen any pesky Canadians trying to come down here to escape the cold,” she added. They both looked at each other and started laughing. Chris stopped walking and stared ahead, bewildered at the sight. The dirt road had finally come to an end.

  “Guys, I think we’ve reached the end of the road,” he said.

  Andrew walked ahead and stood next to Chris, surveying the scene ahead. The road ended at a derelict helipad and a small dilapidated shack. The helipad’s asphalt was cracked and the painted yellow ‘H’ had mostly peeled away. The shack was weather-beaten and its two windows were shattered. The door was swung halfway open. An army jeep, covered in sand, sat next to the shack; one of its rear tires was flat. A gas pump sat next to the jeep. A ramshackle chain-link fence encrusted with rust surrounded the area and portions of the fence had toppled against the ground.

  Andrew knew it was once the research team’s old transportation hub, the place the white-suits landed when they flew in from Camp 7. “Think that jeep still runs?” Chris asked, staring at it. Andrew gave him a threatening glance.

  “I don’t know… you’d know better than I would, right?” Andrew asked.

  Chris looked away, embarrassed.

  “Right, well…” Chris stammered. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

  “Quite a while, judging by the look of things,” Jerri said with suspicion.

  Chris offered her a nervous smile and habitually scratched at the crook of his left arm.

  “Come on,” Andrew said as he started walking towards the shack. “Let’s go check it out.”

  26

  Andrew pushed the rusty gate open and drew his gun. Jerri followed behind him, holding Jacob tight. The baby was still fast asleep but she knew that when he woke up he would be hungry and she wasn’t even sure if she could feed him. She never even had a child before and wasn’t even sure if she could lactate. In her youth came certain ignorance.

  Chris trailed in the back, looking over his shoulder and scratching his arm habitually. As Andrew approached the shack, the cracked door swung open and two javelinas scurried out of the shack, snorting and grunting as they bounded past the intruding humans.

  Andrew fell backwards onto the ground and dropped the gun as one of the skunk pigs knocked against his legs in its hasty retreat. Jerri screamed as the two animals brushed past her; she felt their bristly fur catch on her pants and smelled their noxious stench. Chis ducked down and covered his head, cowering as the pigs ran past him.

  The pigs retreated into the desert night and disappeared in the horizon. Andrew, embarrassed, got back on his feet and picked up his gun as the group composed themselves and the still of the night returned once again.

  “I always hated those things,” Jerri muttered, cradling Jacob who was awake and crying.

  Andrew took a deep breath and stepped into the shack. The interior of the shack was dirty and the floor was covered with sand and shards of glass from the shattered windows. Thorny shrubbery, tattered clothes, and clumps of mud made a crude nest in the corner of the room, undoubtedly courteously of the former hooved residents. A bench sat against the rear wall and two military lockers, both of which were still sealed shut, sat next to the bench. An army cot sat against one of the walls, covered in cobwebs. A weathered sign with a dry erase marker attached to it on a chain hung above the bench:

  Despite the devastation, a result of derogation combined with the aftermath of a desert storm, it didn’t appear like a human had been in the derelict shack for quite some time.

  Andrew hurried to the lockers and searched through them, throwing the mounds of trash stored in them out onto the floor. Empty MRE containers and old books filled both lockers.

  Jerri stood in the doorway and stared at the sign on the wall, tilting her head.

  “Skybridge?” she asked, looking over at Andrew.

  Andrew didn’t answer and continued to search for anything of value in the lockers.

  “It’s how the camp moved their VIPs safely across the country to other camps,” Chris answered, careful not to use the term ‘researchers’. Jerri gave Chris a harsh glare and he looked down at the floor, silent. “Found some,” Andrew happily announced. He was holding a green metallic ration box. “We’re lucky that nobody stumbled across this place.”

  He opened the box and handed Jerri and Chris each a small can of beans, two energy bars, and a bottle of water.

  Jerri, ravenous, tore open one of the energy bars with her teeth and started to shovel it in her mouth.

  “Careful,” Andrew warned. “We don’t know when our next meal will be.” The three sat on the bench and ate and drank, taking conservative bites and careful sips. No matter how long you stretch it, a small meal is a small meal and nobody felt satisfied.

  Andrew and Jerri each managed to save one of their bars. Andrew saved half of his water and handed to Jerri. “For Jacob,” Andrew said.

  Jerri smiled.

  “Thanks.”

  Chris left nothing behind.

  Jacob lay in Jerri’s arms, crying, starving. His beautiful stared at her and his tiny pupils sparkled. He really was a rare sight.

  “I need to try to feed him,” Jerri said, looking down at the child. She was nervous.

  Andrew nodded.

  “We’ll step outside,” he said as he stood and walked outside into the cool desert air. “We have to talk over a few things anyway.” Chris followed and closed the door behind him.

  The two men walked to the end of the helipad and disappeared into the darkness. Jerri walked over to the cot, brushed off the accumulated cobwebs, and sat down. She slowly lifted her shirt, hesitant, not even sure how to proceed.

  Jacob promptly took things over and started suckling. The baby grew frustrated and suckled harder, hurting her.

  It was no use; it just wasn’t going to happen.

  After several minutes of trying, Jacob let go and started screaming. Jerri lowered her shirt back down and sighed.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  “Is it safe?” Andrew announced from outside.

  “Yeah,” Jerri said, trying to drown out the kid’s wailing. She was getting a headache.

  Andrew opened the door and stepped inside, looking at the crying child. “I’m guessing no luck?”

  Jerri shook her head.

  “I figured…” he answered, walking over to the cot. He sat next to her and
looked over at her. “I have something that may be able to help. Let me see the water I gave you.”

  Jerri handed him the water bottle and watched as Andrew reached into his pocket and pulled out two packets of glucose gel. Andrew tore open the packs, put the gel into the water, screwed the top on, and shook the mixture.

  “What is that stuff?” Jerri asked.

  “Sugar, basically,” Andrew said. “I always kept a few packs on me, just in case I was about to crash.”

  “You’re diabetic?” Jerri asked in disbelief. Most of the special medical cases were the first fatalities in the camps.

  “No, just constantly on the verge of starvation,” Andrew said. “These were my last resort.”

  He took the cap off of the water and held the bottle against Jacob’s mouth.

  Jacob stopped crying and started to lick and nearly choke on the sweet concoction. Nevertheless, he ate and appeared to be satisfied. Jerri looked over at Andrew and smiled.

  “Thank you,” she said. “You could have kept those to yourself and I never would have known… you could have let him starve.” Andrew returned her smile.

  “But I didn’t,” Andrew said. “And I wouldn’t. We’re going to be fine, Jerri.” Chris walked into the shack, avoiding making eye contact with anybody, and sat huddled in the corner with his knees against his chest. His body was trembling and he was sweating.

  Jerri glanced over at Chris and frowned. “What are we going to do?” she asked, bringing her attention back to Andrew. “Our tour guide looks like he’s going to be going to be detoxing for a few days…”

  “True,” Andrew said. “But for now, we’re going to sleep and try to get that jeep moving in the morning. All we have to do is find a way to the interstate. I’m going to sleep in the jeep tonight and keep an eye open… make sure that nobody sneaks up on us.”

  “Don’t you need sleep?” Jerri asked, looking down at Jacob. The baby had fallen asleep with the tip of his little tongue still in the water bottle. She took the bottle from him and screwed the cap back on. At least it would feed him for a while until they came across some real supplies.

  “I’ll get some here and there,” he said. “This is when being an insomniac comes in handy.” He grinned. “Good night Jerri.” Andrew walked outside and shut the door behind him. He didn’t know how to break the news to her that the baby would most likely starve, so he didn’t mention it. A premature baby required attention that they just couldn’t facilitate.

  Jerri stretched out on the cot with Jacob cradled against her chest and closed her eyes.

  Chris stared at her from the corner of the room.

  27

  Jerri woke up in her old dorm back in Camp 6. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the moldy ceiling overhead and she took a deep breath. She sat up and startled when she saw Mitch standing in the corner of the room, leaning against the dresser.

  “Hey sexy,” Mitch said with a smile. He was wearing his usual pair of jeans and a gray hoodie. His sandy blonde hair looked as untamed as always. He was holding a joint, nearly smoked all the way down. He held it out to her. “Want a hit?”

  She shook her head, confused.

  “You know I don’t smoke,” she said, rubbing her temples.

  Mitch nodded reflectively and sauntered over to her bed, sitting next to her.

  “Yeah I know,” he said, “but after all the shit you’ve been through, I thought you might need to unwind.”

  Jerri gave an exasperated sigh.

  “What do you know about anything I’ve been through? You’re dead!” she shouted. “You shouldn’t even be here!”

  “Well,” he said, “I know that your new boyfriend is hiding something from you.”

  Jerri rolled her eyes.

  “He’s not my fucking boyfriend, Mitch,” she snarled. “Stop being so jealous and childish. I don’t even like him like that.”

  Mitch looked at her with a cattish smirk. “And yet… you don’t deny that he is hiding something from you,” he mused. He took one last hit, held it in, and let the smoke out, coughing violently.

  Jerri waved her hand in front of her face. She hated the smell of the stuff.

  “What do you want?” Jerri asked, looking away. She knew that Mitch wasn’t really there; he couldn’t be. “Why are you here?” Her dorm room door opened and made her startle. “I just want you to know the truth,” Mitch said, flicking what remained of his joint across the room. “Your boyfriend isn’t what he seems, babe.”

  Jerri stood.

  “And what’s the truth? What is he?” she half-heartedly asked as she walked towards the door. She was going to check on Krystal. A skeletal humanoid frame shambled into the room, body twitching erratically. The creature’s eye sockets were hollow, its hair had fallen out, and its decayed flesh fell onto the floor in clumps. It reached out towards Jerri with a boney hand and swiped at her, making a guttural gurgling noise.

  Countless others were inside the hall behind it and they were all clamoring to get inside Jerri’s room.

  Jerri screamed and ran away from the door, back towards her bed.

  Mitch stood and grabbed hold of her. His hands were ice cold. She struggled in a vain attempt to get free but froze when she saw Mitch’s face. Mitch looked pale and his eyes were clouded over. Flaps of dead skin hung off of his cheeks and black drool oozed out the corner of his mouth.

  “La…za…rus,” Mitch said, voice garbled. He leaned in and sunk his yellow teeth into the side of her neck. Jerri’s eyes shot open and she gasped for breath, covered in sweat despite the cold air. Jacob lay next to her, deep asleep; his breaths were labored and heavy. She found herself still lying on the uncomfortable cot in the shack.

  “C-c-can’t sleep?” Chris asked from the corner, startling Jerri. He was trembling and a small puddle of murky vomit lay next to him. “No,” Jerri muttered, shaking the dream out of her head. She looked over at the man in the corner. “You?” Chris gave a pathetic laugh.

  “No,” he said. “T-h-he shakes are hitting me h-h-hard.”

  Jerri turned away from the man and stared at the wall, trying not to fall back asleep.

  “What did you do before all this?” she asked.

  Chris hugged his legs against his chest and tried to keep himself from shaking. “I u-s-s-sed to be a nurse practitioner-er-r, believe it or not,” he said, chuckling, teeth chattering. “Gues-s-s-s I got one hell of a promotion after the flu struck-ck.”

  Jerri turned towards him, curious.

  “How did you let yourself get this way?”

  Chris thought about the question, chewing on his bottom lip.

  “When I fi-fi-first started, in the camp, I was-I was p-p-proud, you know? I was a doctor… I was somebody,” he said reflectively, staring at the ceiling. “The hos-hos-ospital was full back then… we had a staff of ill-trained nurses and s-s-some orderlies and lots of supplies. Things started changing for me after Alison-on-n.”

  “Alison?” “Yes-s, Alison,” Chris nodded. “She-she was the final straw, the one who did it. Sure, there were other things before… Like people who died under my ca-c-c-care. It got to me because-because I know a real doctor could have helped most-st of them.

  “The thing is… they ca-ca-called me a doctor, but honestly I was in over my head. The more patients that died… all I could do is watch. The staph infection wiped out most of the staff… somehow I was spared. Funny the way st-stuff works, huh?

  “It was all I could do to escape-pe-e…. It st-st-started with one hit. I guess that way all addicts st-st-start, isn’t it?”

  “I’m sorry,” Jerri said as she lay back down and faced the wall. “Me too,” Chris said, thinking about Alison. He thought about the day Andrew brought her down into the lab, kicking and screaming. She tried to fight… they always tried to fight. He remembered the sound her body made when Andrew pushed her down the spiral staircase.

  It was okay though because they didn’t have to be alive. They didn’t have to be alive.

  His
teeth chattered and his stomach churned; he felt like he was going to vomit again.

  “Chris,” Jerri said, “what’s Lazarus?”

  Chris didn’t say anything. He simply stared down at the floor, shaking, trembling. “Chris?”

  “Where d-d-d-did you hear about that?” he finally answered.

  “Andrew said Lazarus when he saw one of the creatures inside the dorm,” she said. Chris shook his head and convulsed, scratching his arm. “As-s-s-sk Andrew,” he said sharply.

  “I’m asking you,” she responded quickly. “What were those monsters?”

  “No wors-s-se than the one sleeping outside,” Chris said. “A-s-ss-k him about Alison.” Andrew could have brought anybody from the camp so why did he bring her? Why did he pick the one girl who Chris actually had feelings for? Chris knew Andrew didn’t do it on purpose… He never told anybody about their relationship so how was Andrew supposed to know not to take her? Chris told him that he forgave him. It was a lie; he harbored certain resentment ever since that day and it forever tarnished their friendship.

  Jerri was stunned by his response.

  “What?” she asked, taken aback.

  “I s-s-said go to sleep,” Chris stammered, shaking his head.

  Jerri didn’t respond and simply lay with her eyes open, quiet. She cradled the sleeping baby against her and churned over the muddled thoughts in her head.

  Andrew lay restless inside the jeep. The jeep's windows were down.

  He heard everything.

  28

  Chris sat shivering in the corner of the room while Jerri and the baby slept on the cot. It amazed him how cold the desert got at night. Of course, he wasn’t trembling just from the cold. The detox was proving very hard on his body. He didn’t even have the strength or coordination to stand. It took everything he had just to keep his head from knocking against the wall as he rocked back and forth.

  He quietly sat in the shadows and watched Jerri sleep, envious of her slumber.

  It was around three in the morning when Andrew opened the door and walked inside.

  Chris stared at the intimidating figure as it encroached towards him. His eyes widened, but he couldn’t move.