But it would be him against not just the elements, but against the faceless void that people called mother nature, the unsympathetic beast composed of a thousand beasts all together.
There would be moments, Max knew, when he would be hungry and cold. He would be on the verge of starvation, unless he could use his own wits to outpace what was going to come for him no matter what. That was death, cold and silent, the grim reaper facing him down with a pointed scythe and not a care in the world, breathless and boney.
Max knew there was no end in sight. Civilization had collapsed. Gone were the comfy baths, gone was hot water entirely. Gone was everything he’d known. Gone was the fast food. Gone were the grocery stores and the automobiles. Once the gas was finished, there would be no more point to the Jeep. There’d be no point to his cook stove either.
Max would have to learn everything again. He’d have to do what people had done on this planet for hundreds of thousands of years, and that was survive, even when the faceless void yawned its impressive toothless grin right in his pitiful human face.
But there was hope. There was a way to cheat death. And that wasn’t mere survival. It wasn’t finding comfort among the wilderness. It was procreation—creating more humans so that the human race could continue. For how long, no one knew. An eternity stretched in front of him, a great chasm from which there was no return, and year by year it would swallow the humans given to it. It would swallow them eagerly without compulsion or feeling. The human race would continue mating, giving birth, dying, throwing humans right into that ceaseless void, wherever it was, wherever it appeared. It would swallow that old man up soon enough, and it would swallow Max up when it had the chance.
Max must have been more tired than he’d thought. This was heavy shit he was thinking about. His mind seemed to be reeling. It seemed to be in some strange place.
The rain pounding forcefully onto him, Max approached the Jeep.
“Chad!” he screamed. “Get up! What the hell are you doing?”
Chad was lying in a pool of muddy water, the rain pounding down onto him.
He was facing the ceaseless void of nature, the intense majestic forces that could destroy him in an instant without a care.
They were up against nature. And it wasn’t just Max and Chad. It was everyone, everywhere.
Chad had never looked happier. A huge grin was plastered on his face.
“Chad!” screamed Max, bending down and putting his mouth right to his ear.
“Huh?” said Chad, finally realizing that Max was there. He was as high as a kite.
“Get up, Chad,” said Max.
He bent down and picked up the immensely heavy Chad. He seemed heavier now than he had before, if that was even possible. It was just the illusion the water was providing. Heavier things were always wet, and Chad was one of them.
“Hey, man,” said Chad, his eyes glossy and his pupils wide. “Funny seeing you here.”
“You think I could have one of those pills, man?” said Max. He knew that if talked Chad’s language, he’d hand then over.
“Sure, man,” said Chad. “I’m happy you’ve finally come around. You were always such a square, man. But now that civilization’s ending, you’re coming around… I like that, man.”
He handed the pills to Max. Max checked them. Fortunately, no water was getting into the airtight bottle.
Max shook the pills, hearing the sound of them rattling around.
“You know, there aren’t going to be any more of these,” said Max. “There aren’t any more factories to make them. You know that, right?”
“I know, man,” said Chad. “But got to enjoy it while you can, right?”
“Sure, man,” said Max, talking down to him, but Chad didn’t even notice. “Got to enjoy it while you can. But you realize you’re going to have to face the withdrawal sooner or later, right?”
“Sure, man,” said Chad, a happy look on his face. He wasn’t all there. “Say, aren’t you going to take one of those pills?”
“Yeah,” said Max. “I’m going to take all of them.”
“I tried that once,” said Chad vaguely. “Ended up in the hospital.”
“I’m giving them all to a dying guy,” said Max. “He actually needs them.”
“What?” said Chad, despair suddenly appearing on his face and in his voice. “You can’t do that! They’re mine.”
“I can do what I want,” said Max. “I saved you. The only reason you’re alive is because of me… because of our past. And you know what? You’re completely useless. And this guy needs the pills way more than you. He actually needs them. You? You’re just a coward.”
Max started walking swiftly away. He pulled his jacket close to him, to keep the gales of wind from blowing it open.
Chad ran after him. Max could hear his footsteps splashing in puddles.
“Give me the pills,” he shouted.
Max didn’t answer.
He didn’t even turn around.
The next thing he knew, Chad’s fist hit him in side of the face. It was a hard blow, and Max reeled from it, almost losing his balance.
“You don’t want to fight me,” said Max. It took every ounce of his self-control not to hit Chad back. But he knew that it would just create more problems for him later on. If he seriously injured Chad, he’d be the one who had to deal with it. That was his code of honor, his own system by which he had to live by, even if no one else did.
Chad growled like an animal. “Give me those pills,” he said. There was spittle coming out of his mouth. His face was flushed and red. He seemed not to notice the wind or the rain in the slightest.
Chad charged at him, lowering himself as if he was going to tackle Max.
Max stepped to the side easily and stuck out his leg. Chad tripped over it, and went flying face first into the mud.
Max was disgusted by his behavior, and didn’t even turn around to look at him, to see how he was.
He opened the door again, fighting the wind.
He climbed the stairs with heavy, wet footsteps.
“Here you go,” he said, handing the pills to Tod.
“He should take one whenever he feels discomfort,” said Mandy, who looked like she’d dried off just a little bit.
“What are you, a nurse?” said Max.
She didn’t answer.
The old dying man was asleep now, but Max could see the pain still on his face. He was glad that he would have the pills, and not Chad, but he knew that now he’d have to deal with Chad in withdrawal mania for however long it took for that shit to leave his system completely.
Max wanted to do nothing more than collapse on the floor downstairs, by the fire.
But he knew that wasn’t happening. Not that Tod wasn’t grateful. In fact, he wouldn’t shut up about it. He was saying that these pills would give his dad some relief in his final moments.
Max was beyond exhausted. He kept repeating to himself that he was exhausted, like a tape-recorded voice that wouldn’t stop in his head.
The world around him seemed to be fading. His mind was over-active. People’s voices were getting dimmer, and less important.
But one thing he could read loud and clear was the expression on Mandy’s face.
He saw it on her as clear as day. He saw how empathetic she was, how much it pained her to see this man dying, to consider all the people around the world in pain, dying without assistance, dying from starvation and a thousand horrors.
“Come on, Mandy,” said Max.
He took her hand and it felt warm in his. His own felt cold and clammy.
They said goodbye, and declined all offers of a hot meal from the fire. Max knew they had to be moving on. The faster they got to their destination, the better.
They walked hand in hand into the storm, into the rain, into the chaos of the natural world.
“What’s going to happen to everyone?” said Mandy. Her voice sounded distant.
Max didn’t answer.
He knew what she meant.
He was wondering the same thing. Somehow he’d been able to hold it all back until now, the thoughts of what this really meant.
He’d been so focused on his own personal survival, on what he needed to do to get out. In a way, that was a defense strategy, a personal thought shield against the true horrors of considering humanity at large right now.
If the entire world had experienced the EMP, which Max was thinking was more and more likely, given the complete lack of communication or help from the outside, then… well, everything was screwed.
He didn’t know how else to put it to himself. Images of children, men, women, elderly… all over the world… dying a thousand deaths. He felt like the Buddha, under that tree right after enlightenment, when he confronted the suffering of the world. There was no great force to confront, no greater pain to battle…
“Are you OK, Max?” said Mandy.
“Huh?” said Max.
“You have that faraway look in your eyes. Are you OK?”
“My wrist is fine,” said Max.
“I meant… you know, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” said Max. “But you better drive. My wrist is still messed up.”
“I thought it was fine?”
Max didn’t answer her.
“Chad!” yelled Max.
Chad was knocked out cold in the mud.
“What happened to him?”
“Who knows,” said Max. “Now help me get him into the Jeep.”
They dragged him towards the Jeep, not taking too much care with his body.
“What’s your deal with this guy, anyway?” said Mandy.
“Long story,” said Max.
21
James
James and Sadie drove through the storm. Unlike the pickup, which rattled and shook with the slightest bump, the SUV was brand new. And that meant that it felt completely insulated from the outside world.
The radio and CD player didn’t work, and there was no tape deck. But aside from the lack of music, it felt like they were back in civilization, just by sitting in the comfort of the SUV.
“I wish the seat warmers worked,” said Sadie.
“Shut up,” said James. “And help me look for Mom, won’t you?”
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“Wait,” said James, trying his best to peer through the rain. The windshield wipers were going as fast as they could. “I think that’s her!”
“But who are those other people?”
James stopped the car near his mother and three other figures. It was hard to see what was going on in the rain.
“You stay here,” said James, getting out of the car.
“Wait, what do I do?” said Sadie, but James closed the door before he heard what she was saying.
“Mom!” shouted James, over the tremendous noise of the storm. “Are you OK?”
His mother didn’t have her shirt on. She was soaked to the bone. She had some kind of crutch under her arm.
“James!” she shouted, hobbling over to him as fast as she could.
She hugged him.
“Are you OK?” she said, upon seeing the SUV.
James explained briefly what had happened, without really touching on what had happened to the driver of the SUV.
“But the driver?” said Georgia.
James just shook his head and didn’t answer her.
“Oh,” she said.
“Who are they?” said James, gesturing to the people he now recognized as middle-aged women.
“Oh,” said Georgia. “It’s a long story… We’ve just been chatting out here in the rain.”
“Chatting?”
“Yeah,” said Georgia. “It was the funniest thing. You see, it was their car I stole…”
His mother seemed tired, but she seemed with it. In fact, she seemed in better spirits than he’d seen her in a while.
“Truthfully, it’s been great. I don’t get to hang out with women my own age that much. They’re the funniest girls you’ll ever meet. Girls, get over here.”
It was a little surreal for James to be introduced to three of his mother’s new friends out here in the middle of the storm, in the midst of the collapse of civilization.
Georgia called Sadie out of the car, and then Sadie was introduced to them too.
James had trouble remember their names, at first, but in the end he learned that they were named Shirley, Bobby-Jean, and Norma.
They were old fashioned names, but maybe around these parts they were normal. James wasn’t sure.
They talked for what seemed like forever. Georgia and her new friends didn’t seem to mind the rain. Occasionally James wondered about their sanity—had they snapped, or been hit in the head?
But then he realized what had happened—it was just one of those strange reactions to stress that you hear about sometimes, when people act the opposite of how you would expect them to react.
After what seemed like forever, Georgia finally suggested that they go see about the car that she’d crashed.
“Looks like it’s going to be a while before we get some rest,” said James, climbing back into the SUV.
“Oh, this is a nice car,” said Shirley, or Norma, or whoever it was.
“This is fun,” said Bobby-Jean.
Georgia and the women chatted all the way to the car.
“Looks like you really did a number on that one,” said James. “I’ll see if I can get it out.”
While Sadie, his mother, and the other women waited in the comfort of the plush SUV, James battled the rain and the storm. He found some chains that he’d taken from the pickup and set about attaching them.
James didn’t know a ton about cars. There was a hitch on the SUV, of course, but at first there didn’t seem to be anything on the compact car. In the end, he figured out that he could punch a hole through some superficial decorative metal on the rear end, and wrap the chain around the bumper through the hole. He figured now that society was collapsing, no one would care about a little cosmetic damage to the car.
“Here goes nothing,” said James, getting back into the car, starting it up. He shifted it into reverse, and slowly pressed the accelerator.
“How fun!” said Norma.
“Are you insane or something?” said James.
Norma just laughed.
His mother laughed along with her.
“We’re not crazy,” said Georgia. “Not yet, anyway. We’re just trying to make the best of this situation. Would you believe I pointed my gun at these lovely women?”
They all had a good laugh over that. Meanwhile, James concentrated on pulling the car off the side of the road, while trying not to run off the road himself.
It wouldn’t have made any difference if someone had been outside, since the rain was so thick James wouldn’t have been able to see anything.
Meanwhile, night was falling. Another pitch black night. This time, accompanied by a storm.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the car was free.
James got out and tested the car to see if it was drivable, while the three ladies watched.
“I think you’ll be fine,” he said. “Looks OK. Uh, sorry my mom crashed it.”
“Don’t worry about it, dear,” said one of the women. “We won’t be using it much anyway. We just thought it would be fun to have it.”
“Fun to have it?”
“You know, for pleasure drives.”
James didn’t know what to say. The more he talked to these women, the crazier he thought they were. They didn’t seem like they were attached to reality at all. They certainly wouldn’t last much longer. Who knew what kind of people would come along, bad people, once the cities started spilling their chaos into these parts.
“Oh,” said James finally.
“Well, Georgia,” said the girls, seeming to speak together. “We’re going to get going now. It was so nice to meet you.”
There was a lot of hug
ging and laughing as the women descended from the SUV to get into their little compact car, to drive back to the house they lived in.
“What the hell was that all about?” said Sadie, speaking for the first time in a while.
“They’re just…”
Georgia suddenly seemed tragically sad.
“Mom, what’s going on?” said James. “What was that all about? You stole their car, crashed it, and suddenly you’re best friends with them?”
“Let’s just drive, James,” said Georgia, sniffling a little bit.
“Mom, are you crying?” said Sadie.
“Just drive,” said Georgia.
James had never seen his mother like this. She was hardened, normally. She could take anything. She didn’t just start crying.
James drove on, down the rain drenched road. The SUV handled the curves beautifully. The tires seemed to stick right to the road.
Sadie fell asleep quickly. She was simply too exhausted.
James would have liked to take a nap, but he had to drive. He had a job to do. And that, in a way, made him feel good.
“Mom,” he said quietly, so as not to wake Sadie. “What was all that about?”
“James,” said Georgia. “I’m just starting to realize how terrible this all is. This situation. I mean, can you imagine what everyone all over is going through? People realize that society is going to break down, or already has broken down… People aren’t prepared. The world is going to turn into a terrible, terrible place. Just because we’re going to be far away from it all, doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen.”
“I know, Mom,” said James.
“Those women,” said Georgia, “are incredibly sweet. And they’re intelligent. They’re roommates, and best friends. They realize that they’re not prepared, and they fully understand what’s happening. Well, as fully as anyone can understand what’s happening to us.”
“I don’t get it,” said James. “If they’re not prepared, and they know what’s going on, then why were they so happy? Why were you laughing with them?”
“They have a somewhat… unique philosophy. They want to live life to the fullest, to have as much fun as possible.”
Getting Out: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller (The EMP Book 1) Page 14