by E S Richards
“What are you in the mood for tonight, Miles? Some more of those kippers from the other day?”
Miles screwed up his face and stuck his tongue out, disgusted by Stuart’s suggestion. “Gross, no. What do we have left, Aunty Deb?”
“Mm,” Deb thought for a moment, trying to remember what was in all the various cans they had taken from the various houses around Tanner. Their food was certainly lacking nutritional value and it didn’t help that some mystery object had made Ethan and Stuart sick. Cooking dinner was like a game of Russian roulette now, no one completely certain what was going to happen. If in fact it had even been the food that caused it.
“I think there’s still some of the Spam you liked,” Deb answered eventually. “And plenty of corn and baby carrots. I could make a sort of meatloaf?”
“That sounds nice,” Stuart replied enthusiastically, trying to get Miles excited about something. “What do you reckon, kiddo?”
“Yeah,” Miles shrugged again—an action that was very quickly becoming his signature move. “Good with me.”
“All right then.” Deb clapped her hands together with a smile, thankful for the effort that Stuart was putting in and eager to start doing something to take her mind off of what they’d just done outside. “Want to help me in the kitchen, Miles?”
The young boy nodded and scrambled to his feet, following Deb into the kitchen in a manner that reminded Stuart of a child being taken to detention at school. The poor boy just didn’t have any happiness left inside him, such a cruel life for someone as young as he was. Stuart wondered whether Miles and Deb would manage to survive for much longer once it became just the two of them. Neither of them seemed as sick as he was, and he had every faith in Deb’s ability to keep them both fed, watered, and alive—so long as the resources were there.
But that was the kicker. The resources. They all knew they would run out eventually. When that happened, there was nothing they could rely on to change things. Getting water from outside was far too risky considering the toxicity of everything and so that would be the thing that killed them first. Stuart found himself half hoping that some illness claimed them first—like it had Ethan and was with him. At least that way it was just a few days of suffering before it was all over. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to watch each other wither away from starvation and go mad from dehydration. In a way, Stuart saw himself as the lucky one. His end was coming and he was ready to embrace it.
Dragging himself up from the armchair for what he felt might be the last time, Stuart forced himself into the kitchen so he could sit at the table and make conversation with Deb and Miles. If this was to be his last night with them, then he was determined to make it count for something. If he wasn’t going to see the morning, then he wanted to leave the world with a smile on his face, a real meal in his stomach, and a pleasant tune in his head.
Chapter 17
“What do we do?” Marcus asked with a note of panic in his voice, trying to resist the urge to look in his rearview mirror constantly as he drove them away from the border barrier. “Are they following us?”
Mia twisted around in her seat and looked through the back window, her eyes immediately landing on the man in uniform she had spoken to. “No,” she answered with a shake of her head. “But keep driving. I want to put some distance between us and them before we figure out what to do.”
Marcus did as he was told, pressing his foot down harder on the gas and tearing down the interstate away from the border crossing. It was completely the wrong direction that Mia wanted to travel in, yet she knew they had to be smart about their next move. Even though they hadn’t been directly threatened by the Authority, she was still suspicious about who they were, what they were doing, and most importantly: why?
During their time traveling across the country, Mia and the boys had witnessed all kinds of dark and dangerous things, from entire towns destroyed or left voiceless, to hostage scenarios, buried buildings, and mass graves. What they hadn’t come into contact with was any shred of command or anyone who was trying to restore the world to its former glory. No matter where they had journeyed to, everywhere was the same. The effects of the disaster were too severe for anyone to look to the future just yet. Life was about surviving and nothing more, at least for the time being.
Not at the Texas border, it seemed. The men and women in uniform there were the first sign of the old world that Mia had encountered. The first sign that there was still a government or some sort of governing body trying to fix things. That was what Mia hoped, at least. She wanted to believe that they were working to fix things and return the country to its once-strong and stable state. Though she couldn’t help harboring suspicions that the Authority wouldn’t be working toward an entirely noble goal.
“Hey, turn left up there,” Jesse suggested from the passenger seat in front of Mia. “That looks like a decent place to stop, right?”
“Yeah, sure,” Mia confirmed, believing that they’d just about put enough distance between them and the border for now. “Try and stop under the bridge,” she instructed Marcus as he took the turn, the highway splitting off onto another route and part of it going over the other for a brief period. As Marcus pulled the Jeep up under there—hidden from the road above—all four of them felt like they could finally take a deep breath and relax slightly. They still didn’t know what was going on, and now that they weren’t fleeing in the car anymore, things started to slow down a little.
“That was crazy,” Jadon exclaimed first, he and the others still not completely clear on the conversation Mia had. “What was that man saying?”
“Just that there was absolutely no way he was letting us across the border,” Mia explained. “He belonged to some group called the Authority, I think. Does that ring any bells to any of you?”
All three boys shook their heads, the name not sounding familiar or triggering any memories.
“Well, whoever they are,” Mia continued, “apparently they’ve got the whole state under lockdown. No one can get in at any point. It sounded like the border was protected all the way around through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. I’ll bet the Mexico border is even worse. I wonder if that’s got anything to do with it?”
“What?” Jesse asked curiously. “The fact that it borders another country? I suppose that would make a bit more sense. But then why wouldn’t they just be on the Mexico border? What is so important in Texas specifically that they need to protect?”
No one had an answer for Jesse, each of them racking their brains to try and figure out what the answer was. To Mia, it was the fracking drama all over again. While she cared about finding out what the Authority was up to and what was going on in her home state, she cared a great deal more about just getting back to her family. This was just another obstacle along the way. They had gotten through everything else; she wasn’t going to let this stop her any more than anything else had.
“Who knows?” she replied with a shake of her head. “But I know one thing for certain and that’s that my family is in there. I don’t care what that man said; I’m getting home to them. No Authority or barbed wire fence is going to stand in my way.”
“How?” Jesse spoke up bluntly, failing to see how it was possible. “What’s your plan?”
Mia pursed her lips in thought, waiting for an idea to come to her. “I don’t know,” she sighed in the meantime. “I’ll walk it if I have to. Jump the fence and make a run for it. I don’t care what it takes. I’m not letting this stop me.”
“Come on, Mia.” Jadon nudged her gently on the arm. “We’re not jumping any fences, there’s got to be a better way than that. There must be an area that is less protected. Somewhere we can drive through without being seen?”
“Maybe,” Mia replied thoughtfully, before looking up at Jadon with a serious expression on her face. “Are you sure you want to be a part of this? I won’t be offended if the three of you want to take the Jeep and start your journey back to Philly now. It makes sen
se if you think about it. Who knows what could happen here?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jadon replied immediately. “We’re not going to just take the car and leave you here. We’re in this together. If you’re going into Texas, we’re coming with you. Right guys?”
Jadon looked into the front to where Jesse and Marcus sat, encouraging his friends to agree with him. He saw the expressions on their faces immediately, noticing the doubt in their eyes and the hint of excitement at being able to start their drive back home immediately. But even though neither of them had grown as close to Mia as Jadon had, they were both still decent human beings. Neither of them would agree to leave her behind on her own, not after everything she had done for them. With an exchange of looks, they all knew they were in it together and their only way forward was across the border. Now they just had to figure out how to make it.
Three hours later, as darkness had truly settled over their surroundings, the four of them were ready to make their move.
“Are you sure this will work?” Marcus asked as everyone prepared to leave him, the soon-to-be father the least confident about the plan they had all come up with together. It was mainly because it involved him being left behind on his own for most of it, and he much preferred his odds with someone else by his side.
“It’ll work,” Mia nodded. “Do you trust me, Marcus?”
Marcus looked up at Mia with wide, nervous eyes. He thought about her question seriously, knowing that once she, Jadon, and Jesse walked away, there would be nothing he could do to get them back until the exact moment in their plan. There was a lot riding on this. Not only Mia’s reunion with her family outside of Houston, but the start of Marcus’s journey back to Harper in Philadelphia and the start of his life as a parent. This wasn’t an insignificant act. This was his future on the line, his life.
“I do,” Marcus nodded in reply. Mia had guided him and his friends through everything so far; he had no reason to doubt her now. The stakes were as high as they always had been. Marcus had always known he was going to be a father, nothing in that had changed. “You got this, guys.”
“We’ll be back together before you know it, man,” Jesse smiled at his friend, also reluctant to leave a man behind. “Keep my seat warm for me, yeah?”
“Sure thing,” Marcus laughed. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Very,” Mia commented as they started to walk away, leaving Marcus behind in the Jeep as she, Jesse, and Jadon set out on foot back toward the border. This was certainly one of the riskier things they had done since Yellowstone. They had all debated it for some time and no one had managed to come up with a better option. Like it or not, they were going to have to tackle the Authority head-on and just hope that they could find a way through to the other side.
“Let’s run over the plan one more time,” Jadon suggested through his filtration mask, his eyes forced to squint in the darkness to make sure he didn’t stray from the road as they walked. It was dark pretty much twenty-four hours a day now, although at night it somehow still seemed to drop to a whole new level. The dusty gray turned to black and the haze from the cloud became solid, impossible to peer through even with the strongest flashlight.
As it happened, the three of them walked without any guiding lights at all, hoping to keep their location a secret from any watchful eyes. They wore as many layers as they could, and still the cold gnawed at them. The temperature had to be below freezing by Mia’s guess, the ground frosty beneath her feet and the lash of the wind biting at any exposed skin, her cheeks flushed a bright red from the cold. It was the least of her concerns though, Mia’s mind focused on the task ahead of them and getting back to her family. As they finally walked closer to the border—a few dim lights just noticeable in the distance—it dawned on her that it was time for their attack. There wasn’t any going back now. It was either succeed or quite possibly never see her family again.
“We act desperate,” Mia said, detailing the elements of their plan out loud again. “We say that we’ve lost the Jeep—that Marcus has managed to drive off without us.”
“Are you sure they’ll buy that?”
“We’ll have to make them. If they don’t at least let us spend the night at the border, then we haven’t got a chance in hell for anything else going according to plan. No matter what they say, we have to make sure they don’t turn us away. Whatever it takes.”
That was the most crucial part of their plan. If Mia, Jesse, and Jadon couldn’t convince the Authority that they needed to stay the night, they didn’t have a chance at anything. Mia was counting on basic human kindness—something she didn’t feel comfortable doing, but didn’t see a way around. Once they were at the border base, they could figure out how to get the gates open and get Marcus through in the Jeep. All of that was part of stage two—first they needed to practice their acting skills and just as Mia said, act desperate.
“Whatever it takes,” Jadon murmured under his breath, clenching his fists by his sides as the few lights in the distance started to bounce around, a clear indicator that they had been spotted. “Here we go.”
There was nothing else for it but to keep walking forward now. The Authority had noticed the three of them and shouts were echoing through the darkness as a result, warning every member at the border checkpoint that three civilians were approaching. Mia doubted that they recognized her just yet. That would come soon enough. The man in uniform would undoubtedly identify her face and then the storytelling would have to begin. Whatever it takes, Mia reminded herself. She was getting into Texas and getting back to her family. Nothing was going to stand in her way.
Chapter 18
“Up against the wall.” A security guard pushed Jorge, forcing him to slam his palms into the brickwork to stop himself from falling over. “Any concealed weapons?”
“N-no,” Jorge replied as the man started to frisk him, running his hands up and down his legs like airport security used to with suspicious travelers to check they weren’t trying to sneak anything onto the plane. The man did a thorough job of inspecting Jorge, though thankfully all he found was a spare filtration mask and several pieces of scrap paper—the very paper Jorge was intent on sharing with the mysterious leader.
“All clear,” the guard said once the search was complete. “You can come inside now. But no funny business. We’ll be watching you, stranger. I’m sure our leader will have plenty of questions for you about where you’ve come from.”
Jorge didn’t say anything in response, struggling to keep his irritation over how he had just been handled hidden. He was doing this leader a favor. He didn’t appreciate being treated like a criminal. Still, he kept his mouth shut, understanding that he was an outsider in Phoenix and that he needed to keep his wits about him. Everything he had witnessed so far told him that the city was thriving and doing well, whereas his common sense and experience of the eruption so far told him not to take everything he saw at face value. Everyone had their secrets and nowhere was completely safe.
As a result, Jorge tried to memorize each turn they took as he was escorted through the building. It had clearly been a hotel before the eruption, and quite an upscale one at that. The carpets were plush and soft underfoot, with finely wallpapered corridors at each turn. Numbered doors were spaced throughout, but they didn’t enter any of them. Instead they climbed several flights of stairs—the elevators obviously no longer operational—and made their way to a restaurant about halfway up the building. It was a strange place for a dining experience, though bi-fold windows at one end of the room opened up to the city, something that Jorge imagined would’ve been quite nice before Yellowstone erupted. They remained closed now, the air outside too toxic to consider enjoying.
Jorge and one of his escorts came to a halt in front of the host stand, waiting like a couple would wait to be seated. The other escort disappeared around a corner into the restaurant, presumably going to find the leader and alert him to Jorge’s presence. Suddenly Jorge felt his palms turn sweaty and his t
hroat started to dry up. He was nervous—why? Feeling the folds of paper in his front pocket, he tried to remind himself that this was nothing different from how he’d spent his entire life. He was a scientist delivering information and he was determined to see that through.
A cough pierced the silence from around the corner, Jorge almost flinching at the sound. “Come.” At the word, the one escort remaining beside Jorge tugged him forward by the arm, delivering him to the table where the nameless leader waited.
“Leave us,” the leader declared with a wave of his hand, referring to both escorts who had brought the Spaniard upstairs. “Wait outside.”
Both men did as they were told, exiting the restaurant without another word or even a glance at Jorge. Once they were gone, Jorge locked eyes with the leader, running his gaze over the man in front of him. For someone who apparently had control over an entire city, he didn’t look nearly as impressive as Jorge had imagined. He was wearing a white shirt paired with dark jeans, a fashionable statement especially following the eruption. His beard was neatly trimmed to a manageable length, his moustache curled up at either end in a mildly pretentious manner. Jorge looked practically filthy in comparison, so he tried to not focus on his appearance and remember the knowledge he was bringing to the table.
“Sit,” the leader said, pointing to the chair opposite him at the table. “I hear you’ve traveled all the way from Yellowstone to give me some news?”
Jorge scowled, the short explanation he had given the two guards clearly twisted out of proportion. He was tempted to snap back at the leader, but knew he needed to play his cards close to the vest. He didn’t want to irritate the man in front of him—he also needed to ensure he was seen as his equal, rather than just another henchman or someone to do his bidding.