by Mark Lingane
“So what do people do here, you know, each day?” Sebastian asked.
Brad shrugged. “I think the simple answer is survive.”
Sebastian surveyed what remained of the city. A handful of large buildings were scattered around the city center, but most were abandoned, perilously close to collapsing. The smaller buildings had been fixed badly into crude constructions, each offering specialties for those passing through.
The four took refuge in a tavern and each took a room. Sebastian opened his window and leaned out, watching the people mill around the entrance of the building. Their determination to stay despite being turned away worried him. They never stepped over the threshold of the front door, but they crowded desperately close. The tavern owner appeared with a shotgun several times, but the people proved more resilient than mist, flowing around him, and then away from him when he pointed the gun.
Sebastian closed the window and watched from behind the safety of the dirty glass. They were starving to such a point of single-mindedness that they barely seemed human, but at least they weren’t infected. Not in their bodies, anyway.
Eventually the emotion of the past few days claimed him and he fell asleep before the sun had set.
During the night there was a knock on Sebastian’s door. He opened it and peered out blearily. Memphis was standing in the darkness looking dejected.
“I’m a bit scared,” she whispered. “And cold. Those people are freaking me out. Can I sleep in your room?”
He looked into his room. “I’ve only got a small bed. But we could put the chairs together into some kind of bench-bed thing. Come in.” He stepped aside and let her in.
“You go back to sleep,” she said. “I’ll make up something out of the chairs.”
Sebastian yawned. “No, I can help.”
She led him by the hand and lay him down on his bed. Within moments, he was sleeping heavily. She gently lay down next to him, squeezing onto the other side of the bed. She draped her arm across him and rested her head on his chest. To her delight, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.
She knew he was asleep, but it was still a big improvement over everything else that had happened. She watched him breathe, feeling the rise and fall of his chest. His muscles flexed underneath her touch and he half-sighed and murmured in his slumber. She sighed, contented and glowing from the inside. Her stomach tumbled and she stroked his body. He lay there unflinching, like a rock.
Sebastian woke to the sound of someone threatening to knock his door down. There was authoritative shouting from the other side, telling him the best part of the day was getting away from him. He had strange recollections of the night. It was all a bit of a haze. There’d been a knock at some unholy hour … Memphis … that was it. She was scared or cold or something and she came in.
He looked around. He saw a pair of feet sticking out from the chairs. He felt a pang of guilt. He should’ve been the one on the chairs, and she should be in the bed. He caught a whiff of scent on his pillow, gentle and sweet. He wondered what could have made it.
He got up and looked over the backs of the chairs. Memphis was awake and staring at the wall. He was no expert on such things, but it looked like she’d been crying: red eyes, a million tissues over the floor.
“I’m sorry about last night,” he said. “You should’ve had the bed. It was rude of me.”
She leaped up, and wrapped her arms and legs around him. It was amazingly awkward, yet amazingly nice at the same time. His body tingled where she touched him. She cried quietly.
“Sorry, it won’t happen again.” He patted her awkwardly on the back. Her mouth fell against his neck, and her breath caused shivers to run up and down his back.
They went downstairs to the bar to meet up with Brad and Tyler. The crowd outside had disbursed, to the relief of Memphis and Sebastian.
Brad gave them a wave. “You two lovebirds ready?” he said as they approached.
“Oh, we’re not …”
Brad looked at Memphis and gave her a smile. “Sure you’re not.”
“Yet,” Tyler whispered.
Sebastian and Memphis joined the men at the bar. A woman who appeared to Sebastian to be the most bored person in the world was pouring coffee that looked thick enough to spread. There were sounds of cutlery being knocked together by the other tavern patrons.
Teams of fully suited-up soldiers jogged by the windows. News of the gate falling in the southern section of the Californian wall had shaken the community, and patrols had increased.
“I guess this is it,” Sebastian said. “From now on, we have different paths to follow. I feel a bit guilty, us leaving, but I don’t know what else we can do other than be numbers on the field. And we’re not very good soldiers.”
“They often make the best kind, but I understand,” Brad said. “I’d go too, if I didn’t have duties to perform.”
He tapped his watch, glancing at the patrols running by. There were occasional shouts, but the soldiers were organized and precise. The civilians stood back with their vacant stares and watched.
“Will you have time to get back?” Sebastian said.
“We’re not going back,” Tyler said. “We’re heading north and we’ll rally the allies around the flag.”
Memphis went over to the buffet and prodded at the various offerings. She expected them to be awful. What she found disappointed her even further.
“Memphis says we get to New York via Denver,” Sebastian said.
Brad nodded. “It’s risky, but probably the quickest way. I wouldn’t go that way, but I’m cautious.”
Brad and Tyler took advantage of Memphis’s temporary absence to explain to Sebastian what Thomas had told them about her.
“We think you needed to know,” Tyler said.
Sebastian glanced over at Memphis, who was wrestling with chunks of raw vegetables. She returned to find them all watching her.
“What?” she said.
“Brad was explaining the best way to go,” Sebastian said.
“Oh, yes. I was. Take Route 50 out to Carson City. It’s our eastern-most outpost. It’s well stocked and manned, and you’ll be safe there. Once you cross the border and get into the desert, you’ll be in Nevada, territory ruled by outlaws. We can’t help you there. Nevada’s pretty wild and you’ll be in constant danger. I can’t even tell you that we have friends out there.”
Brad gave Memphis a meaningful look before continuing. “Keep on the fifty until it turns into Route 70. That’ll take you straight to the Great Wall, then Denver. After that, you’re on your own.”
They finished eating, then made their way out to the vehicles. Sebastian stoked the boiler in the bike.
Brad looked at Memphis. “I’ve been wrong about you. I think there’s more to you than meets the eye. Continue to do that.” He tapped his fingers to his helmet.
He held out his hand and Sebastian shook it. “It’s been an honor, Sebastian. I hope you succeed, for all our sakes. One final piece of advice, this is a country ripped apart by war and devastation. All I can say is expect the unexpected.”
He pulled out a small card and handed it to Memphis. “One final thing. I hope this makes the journey a little easier.”
“What is it?” Sebastian said, craning his neck to examine it.
Tyler smiled when he saw the prized object. “It’s an express pass, military edition.”
“I see you know what it is,” Brad said to Memphis. “There are plenty of credits on it.”
“I … thank you,” she said. “But won’t you need it?”
“Something tells me I probably won’t. Good luck.”
Sebastian and Memphis took off on the road toward the gates of the city. Memphis handed over the express pass and the guard signaled for a smaller gate to be opened before handing it back. The two turned and gave a final wave to Brad and Tyler, then roared off eastwards toward the mountain pass. The sun was behind them, giving them a breathtaking view of the landscape ahead.
The two soldiers watched the teens depart through the gate set into the thick wall, officially demarcating the end of the 49th Division territory. The small gate closed with a solid clang, and the guards resumed scanning the horizon for enemy movement.
“I’m not sure that was the right thing to do,” Tyler said. “We don’t know how far the Chargers or those infected have got. We could’ve used them.”
“They’re tough kids,” Brad said. “They’ll work it out. Anyway, we need to focus on the Chargers. I think they’re more interested in taking the pipelines. Now they’re in the city they’ll head north along the pipelines, not out here.”
Tyler stood quietly for a few moments before speaking. “We had a tesla who eventually gave us some information. The Master’s waiting for him; he has specific plans to use him in some kind of weapon.”
“Any details on the weapon?” Brad replied.
“No, other than it’s a great source of energy. No one can stand near it without being killed. Apparently teslas can, though, and they can direct the power and use it as a weapon. If the Master and Sebastian join forces, then we all die, then he dies. If Sebastian refuses, he dies.”
The bike bounced down the old road, winding its way across the uneven surface. Sebastian could feel Memphis’s hands clasped around him. Her head rested on his back, and occasionally her hand stroked his stomach. Each time, the hairs on his arms stood up. No one had held him like that before. He wished @summer had, but her dying twice had made that difficult.
Memphis’s touch made him tingle. He had to admit to himself that he sometimes stared at her when she was looking away. Maybe that was something worth exploring. They faced a hostile trip ahead, and all they had was each other. He didn’t know how long he had left. He didn’t know if his idea would work. He was pretty sure it would, but these were uncertain times, and maybe he should just enjoy the time he had left.
“Brad and Tyler told me about your past,” Sebastian shouted over his shoulder.
She sighed. “I’ll go if you want. We can say goodbye at Carson City. Or I can promise to be a better person.”
“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, it’s about who you can be going forward. You don’t need to make a promise, just be the new person. Chase the horizon.”
They rode in silence as the geography sped past.
She wiped away a tear. “Are you ever going to tell me why you’re going to New York?”
He didn’t answer straightaway. “All right. I’m going to save the world.”
She laughed, but stopped when he didn’t. “You’re serious.”
“Deadly. And I think I’ve worked out a way of beating it.”
“Beating what?”
“Saving the world is meant to kill me, but I think I’ve worked out a way to avoid that happening.”
“Who says it’s meant to kill you?”
“Destiny.” He adjusted his goggles and powered the bike forward into the oncoming horizon.
Memphis held onto him. The acceleration thrilled her. She felt safe with him, in a way she never had before. If he could beat the end of the world, then she could beat the Master. It was only fair.
Finally, someone she could hold onto.
SALT LAKE CITY
41
“YOU READY?” SHOUTED the voidship captain.
Nikola Tasman nodded.
The great dark arm, comprising the tumbling destructive force of the out-of-control power of the Pacific superstorm, was heading toward them. The size, noise, and turbulence were impressive, and the crew was quiet as they watched it approach. Some muttered quick prayers. Some took long sips of the ship-brewed jumping juice. Some sat quietly as various parts of their bodies twitched. All looked pale.
“Nearly time,” the captain said. “What was in the big box you hauled up?”
“Revision three,” Nikola replied. “A special from Albert.”
The captain shrugged off the cryptic comment and checked the indicators. He tilted his head and tapped the dim yellow light at the end of a long series of small bulbs.
“Did you say your friend wasn’t coming?”
“No. I sent him back home.”
“Then we have a stowaway.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Too late now. Hold on.”
The arm approached, and the zeppelin motors roared up to maximum. The sling mechanism wound up and tightened.
42
THEY TRAVELED ALL day through the dying lands, over the winding roadway that lifted and curled into the mountains. When they passed a majestic lake, they stopped for a late lunch. Sebastian took off his boots and placed his feet in the water for about half a second before declaring it too cold.
Memphis took off her pants, much to the eternal embarrassment of Sebastian, and jumped around in the water. “It’s fine,” she called out.
Then the hungry, staring people started to arrive, drooling as they watched them pack up. Sebastian went to offer some food, but Memphis stopped him.
“If you feed them, they’ll follow us.”
“They’ll follow us over food?”
“Down there on the plains, they’ll follow us for far less than a couple of crumbs thrown on the ground.”
The mob slowly grew in size and crowded around them, placing their hands on them, until Memphis started to shout and pointed a gun at them. The mob never seemed to be where the gun was pointed; they swarmed everywhere.
“It’s not so bad in Carson City,” Memphis said. “The guards collect them.”
“And do what with them?”
“Ship them down to Florida.” she smiled. He looked confused. “Probably not. It would be easier to shoot them.”
They accelerated away from the mob and down out of the glorious mountains toward the flat city ahead, just as the sun dipped below the range. Shadows began to keep up with them as they raced forward through the cascading foothills. The last of the light reflected off the white rocks, which were exposed by the road that sliced through the countryside.
The vegetation faded away until there was nothing left except squat grasses covering the gently rolling valleys. Silence and emptiness wrapped around them. Broken roadhouses and other buildings, collapsing into piles of rubble, flashed past. They were all deserted.
Sebastian flicked on the headlight. The beam caused the shadows of the grasses to dance disturbingly.
Memphis pointed to the near horizon. Buildings were visible now, and lights were beginning to appear. “You mightn’t have seen anything like this place,” she said.
They cruised into Carson City with the sky nothing more than a dusty rose as the sun disappeared completely behind the mountains. The old city had been flattened and left as a pile of rubble. In the center of the debris was a ramshackle town constructed out of scrap metal. Great steel beams stuck out of the ground at odd angles, holding up wooden sub-frames that made up the precarious structures.
“What happened to this place?”
She looked around. “What’s the matter?”
“The old city’s in ruins and they’ve built this place. It looks like a cowboy town.”
“You should see it at night. It’s legendary.”
He looked down the street at the slow-moving people wandering mindlessly from building to building. “No one seems to be moving on,” he said. “They’re not rebuilding. They’re not developing anything. It looks like they’ve just picked up what they could and rammed it together.”
“It’s not so bad. Home is home. It’s dry and, if you pay, it’s safe.”
Sebastian pulled in front of a two-story building that had several other bikes out front. They looked old, dusty, and battered.
“They could be a problem,” Memphis said. “Outlaws.”
“But this is inside the border.”
“Yeah, when it comes to money, they’re pretty tolerant with towns on the plains. As long as they don’t cause a fuss, and spend a lot, then a blind eye is turned.” She looked up
at the odd building. “Let’s grab a room for one last good night of sleep before we hit the desert. We’re going to be spending a lot of nights with scorpions.”
Inside, Memphis placed the express pass on the bench.
The woman behind the counter smiled. “That’ll do nicely.”
“We’d like to have your best room,” Memphis said.
The woman glanced at Sebastian, looked back at Memphis, and winked. “I’ll give you our special one, for your pretty self and the fine-looking young man. You’re service?” she said, looking at their packs.
Memphis nodded. “Forty-ninth Division.”
“Forty-niners? We don’t get them down here that often. Leave your packs. I’ll have Carter carry them up for you.”
She pointed to an elderly man who was sitting in the corner. They looked over. The man wore a flat cap, and a jacket with threadbare elbows. A soggy cigarette was hanging out the corner of his mouth. He was scribbling on a small pad with a pencil.
The woman shouted at him, but he ignored her. She threw a ruler at him and he eventually responded by getting up and wandering over to their packs. With his stooped gait, both packs came up to his shoulder. He struggled to get them onto his back, staggering under their weight.
“Are you sure?” Memphis said. “It’s no trouble for us to take—”
“No, dear. He can manage.”
They went upstairs with the old man tripping up slowly up the steps behind them.
Sebastian entered the room. There was an ancient four-poster bed taking up most of the room. There appeared to be an abundance of red material. He ran his hand over it. It was soft and textured. It reminded him of one of his mother’s ball dresses, made of velvet.
“There’s only one bed,” he said to Memphis, pointing at the offending item.
“I’m sure we can sort something out.”
He felt nervous when she smiled at him, not in fear, but in anticipation.