by J. Thorn
“And even if there were, we don’t have the parts, tools, or time.”
“Maybe we’ve got more time than we think,” Reno said. “We don’t know if that Donna woman was being honest. And the fact that they sped off without us doesn’t make her trustworthy in my book.”
“Maybe not, but she was right about the time.”
Reno narrowed his eyes. “How do you know that?”
“I told you, someone broadcasting over a local radio station, saying that the cities are gone, people should hide. The aliens,” Maya said, waving her greasy arm at the horizon, “are moving north. I saw flashes in the sky last night where Fort Campbell used to be. I don’t want to be on this highway when they arrive.”
“Jesus,” John said. “So, it really is getting worse.”
“And it seems like Cincinnati is our best choice,” Reno said. “Donna was right, I guess.”
“Then let’s all jump into our truck and get going,” Aiden said.
Maya turned and chastised herself for overlooking such a simple solution—until she looked at the cab and did the math.
John, Reno, and Gerald looked at each other, then at Maya. No matter how she imagined them getting into the one truck, it wouldn’t work. The old maintenance trucks had had their beds removed, with tanks of fertilizer or insecticide mounted to the frames. It was impossible for anyone to ride in the back and impossible to fit all six of them in the cab given the toolbox that had been welded to the truck’s frame.
Laura leaned over and whispered into Aiden’s ear, explaining why his solution wouldn’t work, and Maya felt her heart break as she saw the realization bloom on her son’s face.
Aiden shook his head. “There’s got to be something we can do. There has to be a bigger vehicle somewhere around here that we can take, or some way to find the tools we need to fix this one. Maybe we can take off those tanks or rip out the toolbox so we can all fit?”
“I wish we could, but the truck mods are welded. There’s no way their coming off.” Gerald’s voice began to crack. “The aliens are coming. Your mom heard it on that radio inside. We don’t have time to waste with all that. By the time we find a vehicle or get this one fixed, that stadium is gonna be closed and then we’re all going to be in trouble.”
“So, now what?” Aiden asked.
Maya looked at John, Reno, and then Gerald last. She couldn’t look at Laura or Aiden because she knew she’d fall apart. “It means that two of us are going to have to stay here.”
Aiden’s face turned pale, and his eyes darted between his parents.
“No way,” he said. “There’s got to be another way. We can’t leave anybody behind.”
“We don’t have a choice, son,” Gerald said. “It’s just the way it has to be.”
“But we haven’t even tried finding another car yet. And, Mom, are you sure it’s the radiator? What if it’s something else that you can fix?”
Maya shook her head. “It’s not, hon. I’ve been working on cars since I was your age. I know this is something that we can’t fix. I wish it were that easy.”
Aiden started to cry, and his sister wrapped her arm around him. He buried his head into her chest.
And as the four adults looked at each other once more, the question hung like a pregnant thundercloud.
Who was going to be left behind?
43
Maya wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment. With everyone staring at her, expecting her to make the toughest decision of their lives for them, all she wanted was to be alone. But she knew this was her responsibility, as the person who had been put in charge of the group.
Then Reno looked around at the others.
“Well, we’ve got a choice to make. The kids are going, but—”
“No shit, Sherlock,” Gerald said, interrupting him.
Reno smiled for a moment before shaking his head and continuing. “Two of us are going to have to stay here. How are we going to decide?”
“One of you,” Maya said. “I’m not leaving my kids and they’re not staying here.”
John shrugged. “We could draw straws, or whatever we can find that would work.”
“Are we in second-fucking-grade or something, here?” Gerald asked.
“I don’t hear you coming up with any better ideas,” John said.
“No, you know, I’ve got an idea.” Gerald pointed back and forth at Reno and John. “How about you two stay?”
Maya stood back and listened, sharing a glance with Reno after Gerald’s suggestion. Reno licked his lips and was about to respond when John jumped in.
“Screw that. Why are we automatically assuming that your name isn’t on the chopping block?”
Gerald snorted a sarcastic laugh, then turned to Laura and Aiden. “There’s two reasons for you right there, dumbass. If you think I’m leaving my children behind, then you’re crazy. And if we’re going that far, Maya’s name should be on the table, too.”
Maya felt her chest tighten, and her mouth went dry.
I’d die first, you son of a bitch.
She couldn’t trust Gerald with their safety. Although, he had kept the kids safe when all this had hit the fan. She didn’t agree with his decision to take them from her mother, but she understood that what he did and how he treated their grandmother was done under extreme duress.
“That’s ridiculous,” Reno said. “Maya’s name shouldn’t even be considered.”
“Why?” Maya stepped into the middle of the men, all of her certainty about the situation beginning to slide away. She glanced around at them before glaring at Reno. “Why shouldn’t I be considered?”
“Come on, Maya,” Reno said. “Don’t be like this.”
“Like what? I’ve done things over the past few weeks that are unfathomable. What makes me any better than anyone else?”
“Because everything you’ve done has been to save your kids,” Reno said.
“Yeah,” John said. “You didn’t fuckin’ kidnap ‘em like this guy.”
“Maybe we should be leaving your fat, worthless ass behind,” Gerald said. “Who the hell are you anyway? We don’t know if you’re really a cop, and so what if you are?”
“He’s saved my ass more times than I can count,” Reno said. “So, watch what you say.”
“Yeah?” Gerald asked, stepping toward Reno. “Or what?”
“Don’t get up in my face, man.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“Dad, don’t,” Laura said.
“Stay out of this, Laura,” Gerald said, never taking his eyes off Reno.
“You’re nothing but a coward, and you know it,” Reno said.
Gerald gave Reno a two-handed shove to the chest.
I’ve got to stop this, Maya thought. She stepped forward to get between them, but it was too late.
Reno’s eyes narrowed. “You son of a bitch.”
And then Reno threw the first punch.
Gerald stumbled back a couple of steps, his neck twisted from the impact with Reno’s fist. He brought his hand to his face and ran it across his mouth. Looking down, he saw blood on the side of his thumb.
Reno hesitated after the punch, looking from Laura, to Aiden, to Maya. He held up his fist, his jaw slack as he stared down Gerald.
All Maya wanted to do was step in between them and stop the madness before it escalated. She went to do just that, but she did so right as Gerald retaliated by lunging at Reno. Reacting quickly, Reno raised one of his hands to keep Maya back, and he used his other to shield his face as Gerald swung—but it didn’t work.
The punch knocked Reno back onto his ass, the dirt kicking up and whirling through the air like a small tornado. Before Gerald could jump on top of Reno, John stepped in the middle.
“Stop it!”
But Gerald ignored him, landing a right-hook to John’s chin, following it with a hard jab into the cop’s gut. John grunted and doubled over, and then Gerald brought his knee up into John’s face, knocking hi
s head against the truck. The crack of John’s nose made Maya wince.
Aiden had begun to cry silent tears while Laura watched with morbid fascination as these grown men fought in front of her. Maya spun and shouted at her ex-husband.
“Gerald, enough!”
But she could see in his eyes that he had snapped. This wasn’t the Gerald she had known, the father of her children, the man she’d fallen in love with and married. He had become unhinged—he’d become a madman. The experience at Fort Campbell had wrecked him like PTSD pulled apart soldiers. Now all she could think about was what he would do first; stop, or kill Reno.
Fortunately, John distracted Gerald long enough to give Reno time to recover. He jumped to his feet and speared Gerald with the top of his head like a linebacker, driving his shoulder into Gerald’s gut and sending both men tumbling to the ground. With the leverage on his side now, Reno pummeled Gerald with two punches to the face.
After the second, Gerald looked up at Reno and laughed.
“Is that all you got? For a bastard who’s been fucking my wife, you sure ain’t got a lot in the tank. Maya doesn’t like soft men.”
Reno gritted his teeth and threw another punch, busting Gerald’s nose and sending blood splatter into the air.
“Stop it!” Laura said, her face red and her words sharp as if Reno’s last punch had woken her from a daze. “Stop punching him!”
Maya couldn’t let it go on anymore, either. She couldn’t watch her best friend and her unhinged ex-husband fight to the death.
“Reno, you’ve got to stop,” she said.
Reno had a handful of Gerald’s shirt, his fist raised and ready to hit Gerald again, but he paused.
He looked at Maya and his mouth fell open, his eyes wide. She felt as though he was staring right through her.
A split second later, Gerald grabbed Reno’s collar, pulled him down, and head butted him.
Blood immediately ran from a gash in Reno’s forehead and he stumbled backward, falling onto his back next to Gerald. Gerald sat up, blood covering his face, and straddled Reno.
“No!” Maya screamed.
Gerald ignored her. He acted like a rabid pit bull as he landed two vicious punches to Reno’s face. Reno was nearly unconscious from the head butt. He spat blood and a tooth out, but Gerald didn’t let up. It was as if he had blacked out and didn’t even realize what he was doing. And if Maya continued to let him do this, Gerald would kill Reno.
Maya grabbed Gerald’s arms and tried to pull him off Reno. As if it was a reflex, Gerald brought the back of his hand up and across Maya’s face, hitting her with enough force to knock her back and onto the ground.
She grabbed her cheek and groaned as she hit the dirt, rolling onto her side.
Only a few feet away from her lay the wrench she’d been using to try to fix the vehicle. Maya grabbed it and jumped to her feet. She approached Gerald from behind, even as he continued spitting blood and landing punches everywhere on Reno’s face.
“I’m sorry,” she said, unsure if she was apologizing to her children for what she was about to do to their father, or to Gerald for what could happen when she did.
Then she swung the wrench.
She hit Gerald in the back of the head, and he immediately slumped over and fell into the dirt. Tears came to Maya’s eyes, but she quickly shoved them aside, knowing she’d done what she’d had to do. She pushed Gerald’s limp body off of Reno, and then checked Gerald’s wrist to make sure he still had a pulse. He did.
Thank God.
She hadn’t wanted to kill him. She’d only wanted to stop him from killing Reno, which she had accomplished.
Turning, Maya next ran her hand down Reno’s cheek, and checked his wrist to make sure Gerald hadn’t killed him. She found a pulse.
“Mom?” Aiden asked.
Knowing both men were alive, Maya rose and rushed over to her children.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Is he…” Laura couldn’t finish the question.
“Yes,” Maya said. “He’s alive.”
Then she heard a grunt and turned around to see John pushing himself up to his feet. Maya went to him and braced him as he stood.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said with a cough. Then he nodded at Reno and Gerald. “What about them?”
“They’ll be all right. But we don’t have much time and I need your help.”
“Yeah, with what?”
“We need to get Reno into the truck, and we need to get Gerald somewhere hidden, where the aliens can’t find him.”
John looked at Aiden and Laura, and then nodded at Maya. “You’ll come back for us?”
“I’ll try.”
And, as she spoke the words, Maya realized she had made her decision on who would stay and who would go.
44
Reno woke up and rubbed his eyes. Even doing so didn’t clear up his cloudy mind as he looked around. He could feel the motion of moving down a highway, but he didn’t know where he was or how he’d gotten there. His vision still hadn’t cleared up when the pain rushed to his head. Taking a quick breath, he groaned as he raised his hand to his cheek.
“He’s waking up,” a female voice said.
Following the sound of the voice, Reno opened his eyes to see Maya’s daughter, Laura, leaning over him. Maya was driving, and she pushed her daughter back with an arm bar.
“Give him some space.”
Reno looked to Maya, his memory slowly filtering back. As he stared, three blurry versions of her face appeared and wavered as if he was looking at her through old windows. She reached over and ran her hand through his hair.
“Just relax.”
Leaning back in the seat again, Reno closed his eyes before blinking several times. His vision slowly refocused, but the pain in his face only increased. He opened his eyes and saw Laura next to him with Aiden sitting between her and her mother.
Reno felt a touch on his arm and looked over to see Maya with a bottle in her hand.
“Take two of these.” She shook the small bottle of Advil and looked at Laura. “Get him some water.”
Laura pulled a half-full water bottle from a bag sitting on the floor. Maya shook the bottle of Advil and dropped two of the orange pills into his hand.
“I can take them without it.”
“Ugh, I forgot you can do that,” Maya said. “You still need to drink some water anyway to rehydrate, so take it.”
He accepted the water from Laura, twisting off the cap and pressing the bottle to his lips. He drank in huge gulps, his eyes closed.
A jolt of electric pain rocketed through his jaw as he did, and he put the water bottle down and grabbed the sun visor.
Maya said, “Wait, you might not want to look at your—”
But he ignored her and pulled it down, revealing the mirror underneath. His nose had swollen to twice its size and his lip had been split in three places. He winced, already noticing a blackened bruise blooming on the left side of his face.
Nobody in the truck said a word. Reno shook his head, slammed the visor back up, and looked at Maya.
“Where’s Gerald and John?”
But he knew. He’d glanced in the side view mirror several times and there hadn’t been another vehicle behind them, nor was their one up ahead. And the other men sure as hell weren’t riding inside the fertilizer tank mounted where the truck’s bed had once been.
Maya kept her hands at ten and two, and wouldn’t even look at him. Aiden sniffled and Laura shook her head, her teeth biting into her bottom lip.
“You left them behind.”
That couldn’t have been her only option. Could it?
“Why?”
Maya’s body stiffened. “What? I told John we’d go back for them if we could.”
“We could have found a way to get to Cincy without leaving anyone behind.”
“And what would that have been? You couldn’t help us problem
-solve, could you, Reno? Do you know what he did to you?”
“The last thing I remember is fighting.”
“He beat you within an inch of your life. I seriously thought you were dead. Remember the time we answered that call to Printer’s Alley for the dude who’d been jumped? It was like that.”
Reno did remember that. A forty-year-old guy had been beaten by a group of men who’d used Maglites as fists. Maya wouldn’t have brought that up unless she really wanted to make a point, but it didn’t convince him she’d done the right thing. Gerald had beaten him. But they’d been fighting, and every fight had a winner and a loser. He’d just happened to lose. Leaving John and Gerald behind was giving them a death sentence, and Reno wouldn’t have wished that on anyone, even the man who’d beaten his ass.
“We should turn around and get them now.”
Maya sighed, and Reno felt Laura shift on the seat beside him.
His old partner started to say something twice, but each time she struggled to get the words out.
“The aliens will kill them both,” he said simply. “Gerald is the father of your children.”
“I know goddamn well who he is!”
Reno winced as the sound of her yelling threatened to rip his head apart, the pain now throbbing at the base of his skull.
“You think it was easy for me to leave him behind? John understood. I had no choice. We didn’t have the time to wait around and try to fix the other truck or find one that worked. We only have until dusk to make it to that stadium before they’re likely going to lock it up. And he’d lost it, Reno. You saw him at the rest stop. The guy we left behind isn’t the man I married.”
Reno nodded, then looked at Aiden and Laura, but both kids continued staring silently out the windshield.
“I’m sorry you had to make that decision.”
Maya turned her head and glanced past her kids to make eye contact with Reno. “So am I.”
He sat there, the pain in his chest now rivaling the pain in his head. Stress. It always made him tight. Reno saw the horizon darkening and realized they only had a few hours of sunlight left.
They’d all done things under the dome that they would never have done in their old lives. But this, this was different. If it had been the mother of Reno’s children, he would have done everything possible to get them to Cincy. Everything. She’d left Gerald and John behind. Maybe Maya wasn’t the person he’d thought she was. Maybe this was the real Maya, and if that was the case, he’d have some soul-searching to do once they reached Cincinnati safety.