The Last Mile Trilogy

by Jacqueline Druga

  “I’m ready, Goddamn it!’

  He wanted to shout, ‘Fine!’, but didn’t. Bishop exhaled and called out, “On my way.” He placed his hand to his jaw and shifted it back and forth. A warm up of sorts. He prayed she had dirty thoughts in the shower so his job would be easier.

  But Melinda never made it easy.

  “To the left, right. No, to your left. Your other left. A little right. Up... over. Slow. There. There. Yes. There. Don’t move. Right ... Shit. No, I said there. You moved!”

  After another drink and hard swallow, Bishop grumbled and walked back to the bedroom. He really wasn’t happy with his life.

  <><><><>

  How he would find his way back to Robi’s home or ‘tube’ as she called it, Gene didn’t know. He supposed he could find Nick. His grandson told him to just ask anyone to call for him. Gene had a good sense of direction. Robi took him to the tube he would share with Kip and Thaddeus, and then left him to prepare the welcoming dinner.

  Kip wouldn’t be there yet, and neither would Thaddeus.

  He paid attention to his surroundings. Down the tunnel-like street to the main city area, find tunnel 4 and follow that to the medical facility. That was easy to find.

  There was a single nurse on duty and she was pleasant enough. There didn’t seem to be many people in the facility. She told him Thaddeus was stable but was being prepped to be with Martha.

  Kip, however, was waking.

  Gene wanted to be there for that. Kip had lost an arm, he knew no one, he was in a strange place and time, and he deserved a friendly face staring down at him. Although how friendly of a face Gene was remained to be seen.

  Gene also had news to deliver.

  He stopped and checked in on Thaddeus. Had he himself not be the recipient of Martha’s healing powers, Gene would not have believed it was possible. Thaddeus looked bad. In fact, his head injury was so severe that a huge gaping hole was exposed on the side of his head. Gene knew why it wasn’t bandaged; they had to allow the brain room.

  A respirator kept him breathing and tubes ran in and out of his body.

  It was hard for Gene to imagine that he was worse than Thaddeus. But he was.

  After a fatherly pat to Thad’s hand and a ‘I’ll see you soon’, Gene walked into Kip’s room.

  He had a few abrasions on his face, not bad, his body was bandaged, and it was evident he had lost the arm from the shoulder down.

  Kip was still sleeping, but the nurse said he was stirring.

  Gene pulled up a chair, sat down, and waited.

  Maybe it was exhaustion, but the second he stopped moving, Gene fell asleep in the chair. It couldn’t have been for long, though, because he woke too easily.

  At first he thought he was dreaming, hearing, “Dude. Dude.”

  Then he opened his eyes.

  Kip spoke another raspy and weakened, “Dude.”

  Gene grinned. “Hey, there, son.” He inched forward. “How are you feeling?”

  “Am I dead?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then I’m great. Wait … am I gonna die?”

  Gene shook his head. “No.”

  Kip nodded slowly, and then turned his head to the left to face Gene. “Is it just my imagination, or did I lose my arm?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No, seriously, I’m alive. I remember that crash. I remember whatever it was shooting at us. We made it this far and … uh!”

  “What?”

  “My psychic visions. I saw a bionic man. I am the bionic man.” He looked down. “Or will be, right? Bet I get a cool arm, since this is the future.”

  “Five years,” Gene said. “But they did say they were working on a prosthetic for you.”

  “That’s an arm, right?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Are we at SC?”

  “We are, and it’s very unique here. You have to see it for yourself. Me telling you about it won’t do it justice. I am so glad you are in good spirits.”

  “Dude, you’re looking spry,” Kip said. “Tell me, did you find your daughter?”

  “Yeah, I did. I did.” He reached out and laid a hand on Kip’s leg. “But …”

  “Did Lucy?”

  A lump formed in Gene’s throat. “Yes, she did. She saw Ben.”

  “Oh, dude, bet she was thrilled. That’s all she wanted. She’s probably with him now. Can you tell her to see me when …”

  “Kip.” Gene cleared his throat. “Lucy … Lucy died.”

  Kip's head rested back and the color drained from his face as his eyes closed. “She died? How?”

  “Her injuries were really severe. Whatever they shot at us went right through her. There was no helping.”

  “Oh my God. Tell me she saw her kid. Tell me she got to at least see him.”

  “She did.”

  Kip closed his eyes tight. “She was the bomb.”

  “I know.”

  “How’s big guy holding up?”

  Gene shook his head. “Not sure. Last I saw him he was broke up. But he’s focusing on her son. Lucy asked if he would take care of him.”

  “I’ll help him. I’m good with kids. If you see him, can you ask him to come see me or take me to him?” Kip asked. “I need to see him. I need to tell him I am really sorry. I know him and Lucy were close.”

  “I’ll tell him. He was in here, but you were out.”

  Kip nodded. “I knew he would be. He’s that kind of dude.”

  “He is.”

  “Thad? Is he …”

  “Fine, or will be,” Gene told him. “He has a head injury, but they are expecting him to be up on his feet in a day.”

  “That’s good. What about David?”

  “That’s complicated,” Gene explained. “Hawk … Hawk is missing.”

  “Missing? We were in a desert.”

  “I know.” Gene shrugged. “No trace of him. Just a phone, a little blood, but no Hawk.”

  “You think they turned him into dust?” Kip asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe he got thrown and wandered in a cave. They’ll search again in the morning. I don’t think he’s dust,” Gene said. “A lot of our belongings were retrieved. But not Hawk.”

  Gene watched Kip’s face; it went from sadness over Lucy to confusion. The suddenly his expression changed again and his eyes widened.

  “What?” Gene asked. “What is it?”

  Kip shook his head.

  “Did you have a vision?” Gene questioned. Kip had had many on the trek to find SC, all of them obscure, but all of them spot on in predictions.

  Kip nodded.

  “What was it?”

  “It doesn’t make sense. We’re talking about David Hawk, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Kip shook his head. “Then why am I seeing … Randy Quaid?”

  Chapter Six

  David imagined he looked like Goldie Locks eating the Papa Bear porridge, a humongous bowl far too big. That was the Ramen noodle bowl given to David. He made a dent in it, but there was still a lot left. Plus, it was hard to maneuver when he was pretty much strapped to the bed.

  He managed to put the large bowl on the table next to him and that was when the alien chick in the lab coat returned.

  She carried something with her, but David didn’t know what. He couldn’t make out the package.

  After giving him that partial smile, she reached to him. Her long fingers peeled the green gel-like substance from his head. She put it in a bin, and then reached for the other patches.

  David got a good shot of his leg when she peeled it off. It had a scar about the size of a coffee saucer. How the hell did they heal him so fast?

  When she was finished, she undid him from the table, handed him the package, turned off the heating light, and turned to leave.

  “Wait,” David called to her. “Are you letting me leave?”

  She pointed to the package and then to her coat. She walked to the door and left.

  David opened
the package, and there were clothes inside. They reminded him of the Garanimals he wore in the first grade. Tan pants with an elastic band and a striped shirt. If he had a choice, he would have refused the clothing.

  But he didn’t want to be naked so he put them on. They smelled weird. Not a bad weird, just weird.

  No sooner had he finished dressing than she returned. She grabbed his bowl of noodles, peered inside, and handed him the bowl.

  “No, I’m done,” David said.

  She wouldn’t let him return it, instead moving his arm to cradle it more.

  “Oh, I get it. This is all I get to eat so make it last. Got it.” David winked.

  She titled her head.

  “You healed me.” David pointed to his stomach. “Better. I …” He indicated to his chest. “And a doctor. Like you. Doctor.” He reached out and grabbed her coat.

  She nodded, turned again, and walked to the door. After she opened it, she stood there waiting, then waved him to ‘come on’. Once David approached her, she pointed down a long corridor and to another door.

  “Oh, you are letting me go. Thanks. And thanks for the take out.” He nodded his appreciation and headed down the metallic hallway toward the door.

  He wasn’t all that sure that he was actually leaving, but if they wanted him dead, they wouldn’t have healed him. Then again, thin dead flesh isn’t edible, so heal him and fatten him up.

  He arrived at the door. There was no knob and as David waved about the door, trying to figure out how it opened, it slid to the right.

  Voices carried to him, lots of voices, and David stepped in the room.

  The second he did, the voices stopped.

  Holding his large bowl of Ramen noodles, David was in shock. The room was huge and filled with people sitting at the tables with large bowls before them. Hundreds of people. They all looked at him, only for a second, and then went back to eating and talking to each other, giving David no more than a speck of a thought.

  They weren’t aliens, not at all. They were humans. Humans who weren’t scared or confused, but rather quite content eating their monstrous bowl of Raman noodles.

  I can’t imagine, David thought, that this can get anymore weird. Then with his big giant bowl, David found a seat.

  Chapter Seven

  SC-11

  Although Robi loved her tube, it wasn’t conducive for company. No one’s really was. They had ‘halls’ for those, rooms that held a lot of people and were equipped for cooking. Robi never used a hall, and her signature never appeared on a signup sheet. Many did, people had parties, but Robi didn’t attend. No that she didn’t want to, she simply wasn’t invited. Being the so called leader of SC, people tended to keep Robi at a distance outside of work. Not Jeb, he was always invited and always attended. Nick, too. Robi understood and didn’t take it personally. So with each passing year, she felt her social skills going out the window. She used to have great social skills. Long before the world went to shit, Robi went out. She had the girls from work at her house for drinks. They did karaoke, even though she didn’t sing. Robi was social.

  Now she wasn’t.

  She had her small group, and that was fine with her.

  In her hall, as she prepared to bring out the dessert, she heard them talking. Tate had taken the shift in the control room, so he wasn’t there. Jeb made up for it. He talked a lot to her father, and Robi liked that. Dinner was a success, although she used a lot of their weekly rations for the meal, but they would manage.

  She brought the plates in from the table, and pulled out the stunning peach cobbler from the warmer. It smelled amazing. Robi figured she’d plate it and serve it, and then join the others.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  Her voice startled Robi as the knife was just about ready to slice into the cobbler. Melinda.

  “I was, uh … getting ready to plate the cobbler,” Robi said, looking up to Melinda who towered over six feet tall.

  “Why? You don’t like the way it looks?”

  “Oh my God, no, it looks wonderful.”

  “Then let people see the way it looks,” Melinda said with a bite. “I don’t know what the hell is the matter with you. What are you thinking? It took a lot of my fruit rations to make that. I hope you appreciate it.”

  “I do.”

  “Now, Bishop is gonna have to go without fruit,” Melinda said. “It’s your fault, you know, planning a party in the middle of the week.”

  Robi felt a tick on her face, just between her nose and mouth, and feared her lip was about to twitch. She kept her composure, she couldn’t lose it. It was different losing it on the men and security when they screwed up or Jeb, but on Melinda? She didn’t even have a job in the community. This, of course, went against the rules. But no one said anything, because no one wanted to work with her.

  “Hello!” Melinda snapped. “Did you hear me?”

  Actually, Robi hadn’t. “Um, no. I was captured by your eyes,” Robi said. “They sparkle when you speak. Did you know that?”

  “You’re a loon.” Melinda reached for the cobbler. “I’ll serve it myself. I don’t want you taking credit.”

  Melinda snapped a glare at Robi, snatched her cobbler, and walked out.

  Robi heaved out a breath. Fighting with Melinda didn’t get her to stop, but throwing odd compliments at her did.

  Deciding to take a breather and let Melinda serve, Robi stayed behind sipping on a drink.

  “Did you hit on Melinda again?” Jeb asked.

  Robi laughed.

  “She’s out there telling everyone you went lesbian on her.” Jeb pointed back towards the room.

  “It’s the only way to get her to shut up,” Robi said. “Make her feel uncomfortable so she avoids me and runs.”

  “Really, maybe I should try that.” Jeb folded his arms. “I don’t know what to say when she bitches. Last time I told her to shut up she decked me.”

  “I remember.” Robi smiled. “How ... how is the Colonel out there? He’s not put off by Melinda, is he?”

  “You’re dad is there, too.”

  “I know, but I know my dad. He can handle things. The Colonel, I’m not so sure.”

  “He was a Marine, Robi. He’s fine.”

  Robi peered around Jeb to peek at the Colonel who was playing with his drink, appearing to listen to the conversation around him.

  “What’s up?” Jeb asked. “Why the focus on him?”

  “They‘re different, Jeb, and we have to treat him and the others that way.”

  “They’re the same as all the other survivors.”

  Robi shook her head. “No, they are not. The other new survivors lived in this world, survived in this world. For the others, it wasn’t that long ago that they were driving through a McDonald’s. This is new. This world is going to be a lot for them to digest.”

  “This is unlike you.”

  Robi shrugged. “Maybe because my Dad is one of them. I don’t know. But I’m hopeful that they’re not jaded. I’m hoping that they can bring back some of the passion, civility, and humanity that we lost.”

  “Did you just say …” Jeb tugged on his ear. “Passion, civility, and humanity?”

  “Yes.”

  Jeb fluttered his lips. “You’re nuts.”

  “What?”

  “If they do have passion, civility, and humanity, they need to lose it and lose it now. Because if they don’t, they’ll never survive in this world.” After darting a kiss to her cheek, Jeb stepped back. “But you’re cute anyhow.”

  When he walked out, Robi crinkled her face in disgust, waited a moment and rejoined the others. As she sat at the table, Gene was talking about Kip.

  “You’ll like him,” Gene told Nick. “He’s a fun kid.”

  Reese added, “He’s stoned most of the time.”

  Robi adjusted in her seat. “He’ll fit in around here, then.”

  “Have to wonder,” Gene said, “if his visions have anything to do with the weed.”

/>   Reese shook his head. “Nah, it’s a gift.”

  Jeb asked. “What visions?”

  Gene explained. “Odd. We have to decipher them, but when we do they make sense. Like he said he saw the Planet of the Apes and sure enough, right after that we saw the Statue of Liberty in a desert ocean.”

  Bishop said, “So they’re like puzzles. Metaphor puzzles.”

  Gene nodded. “Today he had one.”

  “Really?” Reese asked. “About?”

  Gene replied, “I have been trying to decipher it. I was telling him about Hawk being missing when he had it. He said he saw Randy Quaid dancing while Glenn Miller played a horn.”

  Nick asked. “Who?”

  “Which one?” Jeb questioned. “Don’t you know? Quaid or Miller?”

  “Both.”

  Jeb scratched his head. “Glenn Miller was a big band leader.”

  Then with an ‘Ah’ Mas clapped his hand. “Quaid of Randy I love! Fan of huge. Huge. Relate of such to movie.”

  Gene asked. “What movie?”

  “Day of Independence.” Mas giggled. “Similar is it not to now? Quaid of Randy a hero.”

  Gene snapped his finger. “Wasn’t he a pilot in that movie?”

  Jeb added, “Yeah, and Glenn Miller was in the service.”

  Robi said, “Miller disappeared without a trace.”

  Gene closed his eyes with a nod. “Miller disappeared, just like Hawk. Quaid was a pilot in an alien movie. Like you, Reese.”

  Reese shook his head. “It doesn’t feel right.”

  She had been unusually quiet, and then Melinda spoke up. “Maybe it’s not that Quaid was a pilot in the movie. Maybe it was something else. Alcoholic? Is one of you an alcoholic?”

  Reese shook his head.

  “Kids?” Melinda asked. “One of your kids?” She got a round of shaking heads. “Crop duster? People think you’re crazy. Abducted by aliens?”

  “Holy shit!” Bishop sprang up from his seat. “Holy fucking shit. Mas!”

  Mas was startled. “Yes?”

  Robi stood. “Bishop, what is it?”

  “I think I know what the vision was.” He held his hand to Jeb. “Can I have your radio?”