Earth's Survivors: box set

by Wendell Sweet

  Occasionally they heard gunfire around them, and twice explosions from the downtown district behind them had startled them. They had hurried along fearing the sounds, but fearing more the possibility that the owners of the guns might find them.

  Joe explained, with only partial success, that a battle had begun, but Arlene had found it hard to accept. They walked in silence across the remainder of the shattered airfield, and they were both glad when they left it behind them.

  They walked slowly towards a truck dealership on 405. Here, like the Martin Luther King Highway, black topped parking areas fronted all manner of fast food restaurants, which bordered both sides of the strip. It wouldn't necessarily assure a way around the stalled traffic, Joe realized, but it appeared as though it would give them a much better chance of getting by.

  They walked together to the back of a used car garage and pushed up the steel overhead door. It took a few minutes to move a couple of the cars out of the way, so that they could drive a pickup out of the garage and onto the lot out front.

  Joe drove the truck across the grassy lot, and stopped at the rear of a gas station to look for a state map. Arlene followed him into the deserted station.

  She filled a paper bag with some groceries, mostly canned goods, while Joe opened the map and studied it on the counter at the front of the station.

  "Looks like the best way out," Joe said, "Is still going to be 90. We should be able to skirt around most of the traffic, shouldn't we?"

  "Believe it or not, I don't really know," Arlene answered. "I mean I live here, or did, but I didn't get out of the city at all, or hardly ever, so I don't know what its’ like."

  She paused and looked at Joe as he bent over the map. He smiled as he spoke.

  "I actually understand that," he said. "I didn't really know a lot about getting around outside of Watertown. I guess you learn how to get to the places you need to get to, and that's about it. No real big deal though. According to the map there are a lot of loops, sort of side roads that go around, and run parallel to 90, and hey, we've got four wheel drive, we can cut through the fields if we have to, right?"

  Arlene shrugged her shoulders, as she replied. "I guess?" The attempt at humor was not lost on her, and she flashed a smile at him as she shrugged her shoulders again. "I guess if the cows don't mind."

  Joe grinned back, and they both laughed a little as they walked back out to the truck.

  "You know," Joe said as they climbed into the cab of the truck, "we should stop and pick up a couple of sleeping bags, and maybe a tent too. We still need to pick up a couple of rifles as well." He didn't want to alarm her, or make her start to worry, by bringing the subject up once more, but the truth was that he was fairly worried himself. If there were armed people running around killing whoever they chose too, it would be kind of stupid, he thought, not to have weapons. Arlene had the pistol, but Joe wasn't sure it would do a lot of good. She surprised him when she not only agreed, but didn't seem to lose her smile when she did.

  "I think it would be stupid not to carry a rifle," she said, echoing Joe's thoughts, "you know much about them?"

  "Not really," Joe confessed, "I've never even shot a rifle, you know, just never learned, I guess, or even wanted to. I think I could learn though. You know anything about them?"

  "Well, now that you mention it, I do. At least a little. Not from shooting one, but more from seeing them. There are a lot of pawn shops on Longwood, sort of goes with the territory, I guess. That's where I got this," she said, holding up the small pistol, "there has to be a sports shop out here somewhere." Almost as she spoke Joe spotted one across the crowded interstate.

  "There is one," Joe said as he pointed.

  They left the truck beside the stalled traffic, and walked through and around the cars to the large shop. They spent the better part of the afternoon outfitting themselves from the racks in the shop and carrying what they needed across the road to the truck.

  They had both picked up weapons in the shop. Joe had picked out a deer rifle, a fairly impressive looking Remington. He had also picked up several boxes of the ammunition the rifle took. Arlene had settled on an entirely different sort of weapon. It looked more like a machine gun of some sort to Joe, and she also picked up several boxes of ammunition for it, and several spare clips. She explained to him that it really wasn't a rifle, but a machine pistol, and that it could fire better than seventy rounds a second if it were converted to full automatic. This one wasn't she said, but she had seen some that were. To Joe it still looked like a machine gun, and he joked that the sight of it alone would probably scare anyone off.

  By the time they had loaded the truck and gotten under way it was late afternoon. Even with the late start, and the slow going due to the traffic, they managed to make it to Lake Easton in the Snoqualmie National Forest preserve, before night-fall.

  The elevation had been rising all day as they climbed through first the foothills, and then the mountains of the Cascade Range.

  Joe angled the truck off to the side of the grassy median they had been traveling, and followed a dirt road into the heavily forested park area. About a half mile in they came to a wide calm lake. The area was completely deserted. No cars, no trucks, and only a few empty, rustic buildings close by the water. They worked together to gather some dead-fall to build a small fire.

  Arlene piled the dry wood next to a large stone fireplace, and Joe carefully arranged some wood inside the fireplace, over some smaller twigs and crumpled pieces of paper, while Arlene opened the rear of the truck and pulled out the sleeping bags, as well as some metal camp utensils they had picked up earlier. They debated on leaving the tent, but decided to set it up instead, close to the fireplace. The buildings were dark and deserted-looking, and not the least bit inviting to either of them. The tent would not offer anywhere near as much protection as the empty buildings, but to them it was much more appealing.

  Once Joe got the fire going he began to set up the tent as Arlene started dinner.

  "What are you making?" Joe asked, as he walked back to the fireplace.

  A large steel pot sat directly over the metal grating of the outdoor fireplace, and the aroma from it was all he could smell as he finished setting up the tent. His stomach was growling.

  "Well," she asked, "how does it smell?"

  "Pretty damn good," Joe replied, "in fact about the best thing I've smelled in a long time. I mean I lived alone, strictly fast food. Burgers, tacos, you know. What is it?" he asked again.

  "Well, it's nothing great, beans and corned beef," she looked at him and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, who knows? "Smells good though, huh?"

  Joe nodded his head in agreement, and said aloud. "It's got fast food beat, that's for sure... It's going to be a few minutes, right?" Joe asked.

  "Probably more like an hour," she replied, "why?"

  "Well," Joe said, "that lake looks pretty good. I'm thinking seriously about jumping in it and washing some of this road grime off."

  Before he could say more Arlene jumped up and said, "Race ya!" Joe stood dumb founded as she raced away towards the lake.

  He caught up with her next to the water, slightly out of breath, and laughing. When she started to remove her clothes, he nearly choked on the laughter though. Arlene seemed not to notice, and after she had stripped down to her bra and panties she dove gracefully into the water and swam out into the lake, toward a wooden raft that was anchored about fifty feet off shore.

  Joe got over his initial shock, stripped down to his briefs, and also dove into the water. The coldness of the water shocked him, but it helped in a way to. He hadn't realized just how beautiful she was, and his body had begun unconsciously to respond. The cold water ended that though, and he turned over on his back and floated as he kicked with his feet towards the raft. When he turned back over as he sensed he was nearing the raft he saw her sitting, looking back at him as he swam towards her. She smiled, and he couldn't help but smile back. Cold water or not, he thought, sh
e is a beautiful woman.

  He had guessed she must be in her late thirties when he had met her, but now he thought he might be wrong. Maybe it had been the dingy apartment building, which had contributed to his observation. Whatever it had been, he was pretty sure he was wrong. She looked like maybe she was only in her late twenties, maybe, he thought, only a few years older than I am. It was more the way she looked now, he realized, that made him think she was probably a lot younger than he had initially thought.

  In the apartment building, she had been wary and tired-looking. She seemed more alive to him now though, and the smile went a long way towards smoothing out the lines that had seemed to be embedded in her forehead. He supposed that to her he must seem awful young at twenty-two, maybe even immature, and he hoped that she had not seen what he had dove into the water to hide. The few women he had gone out with in Watertown had been much younger than himself, girls really. Either just at the end of their teens, or barely into their twenties as he himself was.

  This was the first time he had spent any length of time around a woman, he realized, and it was a drastic change from the heavily made up, and sulky girls he had known in Watertown. He wondered for a second if there was anything serious between her and Frank Morgan, and just as quickly banished the thought from his head. What the hell would she see in me? He wondered.

  Arlene sat on the wooden surface of the small raft and watched Joe turn back over on his back, as he continued to float towards the raft.

  The Incident on the beach had not been lost on her at all, and in truth she felt embarrassed about it. Oh good, Arlene, she told herself, act like a slut, real smart. She found herself wishing she had let him finish what he was saying back at the fireplace. She assumed now that he had probably been going to suggest that they go in the water separately. But she hadn't given that scenario any thought at all. Real, real stupid, she told herself, if there was a chance that he would like you, you blew it.

  She had liked Joe almost from the first: When he had convinced her to open the door it had been a big deal to her. It was something she would normally never do at all, under any circumstances. But, nevertheless, she had opened the door. He seemed honest, she told herself, and reminded her of herself. She had started life honest anyway, it was just that she couldn't be as honest as she wanted too, she reminded herself. Life was just that way, she decided. She also wondered what he thought of her and Frank. She had gotten the impression that he thought they were more than just friends, and in truth they were hardly even friends. Not in the true sense of the word anyway.

  Frank had come to her to help with the children. The never ending stream of runaways, that seemed to turn up on the avenue, when all their other options had not panned out. She had always done what she could, long before Frank came along, as she had run away from home for many of the same reasons that a lot of the kids who turned up on the avenue did, and it was pretty obvious where she had ended up. But as hard as she tried they didn't always listen. Frank had helped a great deal with money, but beyond that, and his seemingly genuine need to help, she really didn't know much about him. Joe was the first man, young man, she corrected herself, that she could ever remember who had not spoken down to her. Even Frank, though she was sure he didn't realize it, spoke down to her.

  With Frank it really hadn't bothered her that much though, she was what she was, she thought, and Frank simply reacted to it.

  Joe however was different. She knew it was stupid. At twenty-nine she had to be at least eight or nine years older than him, and, she reminded herself, there is no such thing as love at first sight, but it sure felt that way. She just hoped it could be that way. Although she had taken many men to her bed in the dingy apartment, she had never, she felt, made love in her entire life, and she wondered what it would be like.

  As Joe swam towards her she wondered, not knowing he was thinking similarly, if he could be interested in her. She knew she was attractive, but attractive to him? And, was this an okay thing to be thinking? But what exactly was she thinking? She wondered.

  Joe flipped back over as he neared the raft, grabbed the side and slipped out of the water. He was still embarrassed, but was sure she hadn't seen. She would have said something right? He tried to convince himself that she would have, but in truth he had no idea, and, although he had just met her, he found himself drawn to her, and more than just physically. Was that possible? He wondered.

  He climbed up on the raft and sat beside her. He was aware of how close he sat, and became slightly embarrassed all over again. She spoke first.

  "Um, let’s not get off to a bad start, okay, Joe? Of course who am I to talk, I was sitting here thinking about just ignoring what happened, but..."

  His eye's bulged slightly. She did see, he thought, wonderful! What she said next threw him though, and it took a couple of seconds to click for him.

  "Joe, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, I just, you know, thought you might want me to go in with you."

  She's apologizing to me? Joe thought. Why? Aloud he said, "I'm the one who should be apologizing, Arlene, not you. I did want you to come in with me... I probably wouldn't have asked though. I didn't think you would want to, and I acted like a jerk, sort of. I should apologize, though, not you."

  A smile lit up her face, as she spoke. "You mean I didn't embarrass myself, or you I guess?"

  "No, Arlene, if anything I embarrassed myself. I acted like a freaking eighteen year old. I've just never been around... well... I've never been around a woman, I guess. I spent a lot of time, too much time, hanging around with girls..." He let the statement trail off, more embarrassed at the honesty than anything else. The girls he had gone out with never talked about anything personal at all, just stupid stuff. How you been? Or, are you going out Saturday night? Or, I heard so and so is going out with so and so, dumb stuff, nothing important ever.

  "Joe?" he turned and looked at her as she spoke, "are you embarrassed because of what happened, or because it happened when you looked at me? I mean, well... because of what I used to be?" It hurt to ask, and she was afraid of the answer, but she had to know.

  Joe took a deep breath before he answered. "Arlene, I only... because of the way I acted. Like a kid, well sort of. I was afraid you would think I was treating you like you were cheap or something," he paused and then added hastily. "I don't think that though. I just, well, when you took off your clothes, I... well... I mean you're beautiful, Arlene, and I guess..." He was too embarrassed to continue, and let his last words trail off. He half expected her to yell at him, or tell him he would have to learn to control himself, or something along those lines. Maybe even be mad, or hurt. He didn't know. When he had spoken he had been staring out into the calm lake, unable to meet her eyes, and so had not seen the smile that had lit up her face, and removed the wrinkled lines of worry from her forehead. She reached across and placed her hand gently over his.

  "Joe?" when he turned she kissed him fully on the lips, and he found himself pulling her to him, returning the kiss passionately. He realized there would be no hiding his feelings this time. She pulled away reluctantly, and said, "Joe, you're shaking."

  He was surprised to see that he was. Not a little either, a lot.

  Arlene slipped easily off the raft and back into the water. "Come on, let's eat first," she said.

  First? He asked himself, first?

  She smiled up at him. Not seductively, just happily, as she reached up, took his hand, and pulled him into the water. His mind had not been on eating exactly, and he had to snap his mouth closed quickly, to keep from choking on the water. The coldness helped a great deal, and he eagerly swam towards the shore behind her.

  The meal was excellent. Joe's mind was not entirely impaled upon what she had said, as she swam away from the dock. She was beautiful, and he did want her, but not just, or only, he corrected himself, sexually. She was interesting to just talk to, or just be with, and she seemed to only want to be with him. Just to be part of a whole.

  He
realized, on an unconscious level, that it was even more than that. He had liked her from the first, maybe even loved her from the first. She was totally different than anyone he had ever met in his life. Most of the girls he had met, and all of the guys he had worked with, or hung around with, which in truth were not very many, had seemed shallow and uncaring. Joe would not have termed himself as a romantic person, but the things he longed for out of life were, nevertheless, along romantic lines. He wanted a wife who would love him, not the pretty girl to show off to all his buddies. In all of his dreams of life he had always wished for a woman who could feel the same way he did. Not someone who was only interested in material things, or money to buy them with, but someone who was interested in life, and what it held. It seemed to him that what Arlene wanted out of life paralleled his own desires.

  Arlene felt the same way. In a world that was constantly cruel to her, she had held out hope that it would not always be that way that somehow, someday, she would meet that one special person who would care about her. It was a pretty unlikely dream for her to have, and she had almost given it up several times. This, however, was even better than she had dreamed. She didn't have to pretend about her past, he knew, and he didn't care at all. She didn't have to be anything, or anyone, other than who she had always wanted to be, herself, the woman that she had buried deep within her. The one who was not so much concerned with what went on, on Longwood Avenue, but the one that had waited and waited for someone to come along who could love her. The age difference didn't seem to matter to Joe at all, and her past definitely didn't matter to him... maybe?

  She was happier than she could ever recall being in her entire life. It was as if she had been blind, and now through some unimaginable miracle could see. It was so much and so many different feelings that it threatened to overwhelm her.

  Joe spoke as they finished eating. He had been thinking non-stop about everything that had happened, in just the last few days, and he was no longer certain he wanted to risk what he had just found, and continue onward across what was left of the United States to find Frank Morgan.