In the Lone and Level Sands

by David Lovato

  They got into their cars and pulled away. Jordan tried to push the fresh memories out of his head, but the wounds were raw. They wouldn’t heal anytime soon.

  They headed back through Big Springs, back along the country roads and I-70, back through the crash site that marked Aiden’s grave. They headed all the way back to Gladstone, where a small can of black paint still sat in Jordan’s driveway.

  Everyone got out of the cars for a stretch. Jordan took the can in his hand and scratched out his message, leaving a big, black stain on the garage door.

  “There,” he said. “Now no one will ever have to set foot in that place again.”

  Ashley slipped her hand into Jordan’s. Christian cracked his neck.

  “So what do we do now?” Alex asked.

  “The only thing we can,” Jordan said. “We move forward.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  68

  In the Park

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Max said. “It’s dangerous.”

  “You think I don’t fucking know that?”

  Max was got to his feet. “Didn’t you see the signs? You were supposed to follow those, not the flares.”

  “What signs?”

  Max looked at her. “They’re everywhere. How about the gigantic one on that building in the city?”

  “I wasn’t in the city,” the girl said. “Do you really think I’d stay in the middle of the damn city? I’ve been staying in that house!” She pointed to one across from the park.

  Max had never even thought of what would happen if any of the nearby houses were occupied. He and the other soldiers had just assumed they’d been evacuated long ago.

  “And it was going fine, until you and your military boys came along and fucked everything up.”

  “Do you have any idea what we’re doing? We built a safe zone!”

  “Nowhere is safe,” the girl said. Max raised his gun and fired. She cried out and ducked, but he fired well to the side of her. A zombie dropped dead.

  “You’re right,” Max said. “No place is safe, not anymore. But the company of others, that’s safe.”

  The girl looked at him. “I’ve been just fine on my own.”

  Max looked her up and down, noticed that she had some bruises and scrapes, that she looked too thin. “When’s the last time you ate?” She didn’t say anything. “And how many bullets do you have left?”

  “I think I used the last one on your ass,” she said.

  “Thanks,” Max said.

  “What?”

  “I said ‘thank you’. For saving my life. You should try it sometime.”

  “Greenwald!” Ortiz said. He was much closer, his flashlight scanning left and right.

  “Here!” Max said, raising his gun. Ortiz caught up to him.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Fine. She saved me.”

  Ortiz looked at her, Max thought he recognized her.

  “You shouldn’t be—”

  “Yeah, I get it,” she said.

  “What’s your name?” Max asked.

  “Nikki.”

  “Okay, Nikki,” Ortiz said. He stopped to think. “We need to get you out of here.”

  “Why?”

  “It isn’t safe. We’re about to light more flares.”

  “Why can’t I stay and help?”

  “You haven’t been properly trained.”

  “Are you joking?” Nikki pointed at Max. “What about him? He looks like he’s fifteen!”

  “So do you,” Max said.

  “If you want to help us, you can do so by getting to safety. That’s what we’re doing this for.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll be on my way, then,” Nikki said. She rolled her eyes.

  “Wait,” Ortiz said.

  “Make up your mind!”

  “Greenwald, take the Humvee. Get her to the school, and give Johns an update. Then come back here.”

  “I can’t drive,” Max said.

  “It’s not hard.”

  “You learn fast when your other option is to get eaten,” Nikki said.

  “Can you drive?” Ortiz asked her. She sighed.

  “Yeah. I’m seventeen.”

  “Take the Humvee, follow the signs—”

  “I’ll drive,” Max said. The other two looked at him. “I need to learn sometime. Besides, we might need the Humvee later.”

  “Fine, whatever,” Nikki said.

  “Your fake apathy is getting old,” Max replied.

  “You don’t act fifteen.”

  “You grow up fast, when your other option is getting eaten.”

  They headed up the hill. Lou greeted them, saw Nikki, and looked at Ortiz.

  “Max is going to take her to the school, then come back,” Ortiz said. Lou nodded.

  “Take what you need from the Humvee,” Max said. Ortiz and Lou grabbed most of the ammunition that was in the back and lined it up near their other stocks.

  “We left some for you guys,” Lou said.

  “Light the fuses as soon as I leave,” Max said. Nikki rounded the Humvee and got into the passenger side. Max opened the door.

  “We have green flares. If, for some reason, we need you back here ASAP, we’ll send a green flare up.”

  “Roger,” Max said.

  “The keys are in the ignition,” Ortiz said.

  “I’ll be back soon. Don’t die while I’m gone.”

  “There is no tomorrow.”

  Max took a deep breath. “There’s always tomorrow.” He closed the door and started the engine.

  ****

  The Humvee sped down the hill, bumping along over the bodies of hundreds of zombies. Max made a sharp turn that felt like it might tip the vehicle, but he steadied the wheel, then headed up the road.

  “Look—” Nikki said. Max plowed into a zombie that had been in the road. It crumpled over the hood, then rolled into the street and didn’t move. “…Out.”

  In the rearview mirror, Max saw a ball of red light fly into the sky. Zombies rushed past as he drove down the road, toward the college. After about a mile, they thinned out considerably.

  Another zombie crossed their path. Max slammed into it, this time with the help of a few dozen miles per hour, and splattered it across the street. Nikki gasped and covered her mouth, then collected herself.

  The Humvee lurched and began to slow down. Max looked around, wondering what was happening.

  “The gas gauge,” Nikki said. Max saw the red and white bar reaching beyond the big, bright letter E.

  “Damn it,” he said. The Humvee pulled to a stop.

  “In all of your planning, in everything you brought with you, you didn’t think to bring any gas?”

  “We have a lot of it in canisters and barrels,” Max said. “But it’s all back at the college.”

  “Then I guess we’ll have to go and get some.” Nikki got out, Max followed.

  “You think we can make it?” he said.

  Nikki was reaching into the back of the Humvee for some ammo. “Listen, buddy… Um…”

  “Max.”

  “Max. There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who stand around and ask questions, and those who do what they need to to survive. Guess which kind gets eaten.”

  They loaded their weapons and then headed down the street. Max fired at a zombie, and it dropped dead. “We’ll get some gas, but you don’t have to come back with me.”

  “I’m not interested in standing around a school-turned-refugee camp for the rest of my life,” Nikki said. “Your car needs gas. We’re going to get some and bring it back. Then we can go back to camp, you can get anything else you need, and then I’ll check out your little safe zone.”

  “Will you stay?”

  “I… No.” She raised her pistol, aimed, and killed a zombie.

  “Why not?”

  “Because.”

  “You don’t have a reason.”

  “You really think you know me, don’t you? You have me all figured out, huh?”
>
  “You like to pretend you don’t need anyone,” Max said. He fired at an oncoming zombie.

  “I don’t,” Nikki said. “If you keep people around, it just makes it that much harder when you have to…”

  Max didn’t need her to finish. He also didn’t need to look at her to know that she was choking up, that tears were welling up in her eyes.

  “I know it’s hard,” Max said.

  “Just shut up and shoot, okay?”

  “Whatever you have to do to live… you just have to do it.”

  “You consider this living?” She shot at a zombie, and missed. It rushed toward them, but Max shot it, and it fell.

  “I killed my family,” Nikki said after a few blocks of silence. “All of them.”

  “So did I,” Max replied. It hurt him more than he thought it would. “Trying to save them. Instead, I’m the only one who lived.”

  “Then you should know better than anyone, this isn’t worth it.”

  “I thought that, at first. But you just have to find something that is worth it.”

  “What could be?” Nikki stopped walking. “What the fuck could possibly be worth this?”

  Like a soldier, like firing his gun and hitting his targets without thinking, he moved. Max dropped his gun as he grabbed her shoulders, drew himself toward her, and kissed her. Eyes closed, he felt her tense up, almost recoil. Then he felt her relax.

  He let go of her shoulders, moved away slightly, and opened his eyes. Nikki looked at him, her eyes on fire.

  “If the sun comes up tomorrow,” he said. He bent down and picked up his gun.

  “I-idiot,” Nikki said. “You can’t just—you—” Max laughed. He didn’t mean to, he knew he shouldn’t have, but her loss of words had just stricken him that way. “What the fuck is so funny? Asshole.” They made their way down the road before she spoke again. “And you’re horrible at it.” Max smiled.

  The houses faded, and so did the zombies. They were on a familiar stretch of road, with little but open field to either side, and some trees in the distance.

  “We’re almost there,” Max said.

  “Shut up,” Nikki replied. Her voice was soft, not at all rude. She seemed almost sad.

  Max looked at her for the first time since he had kissed her. He had never imagined his first kiss would be with a stranger, or that it would be in a world like this one.

  “You’re rude,” he said.

  “Look who’s talking.” Nikki’s arms were tucked against her stomach, her hands rubbing them. Max realized she was cold; despite it being summer, it was a chilly night, and Nikki was wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

  “Here.” He handed her his jacket after removing any items he might need.

  “I don’t need it,” Nikki said.

  Max wrapped it around her anyway. “Yes, you do.” She put her arms through the sleeves and zipped it up.

  Soon Max could see the large wooden walls they had set up.

  “It looks better than I imagined it would,” Nikki said.

  “Wait until you see the inside. The entrance is actually around the wall a bit.”

  They made their way to the gate. A few other people (most looking dazed, confused, and desperate) were approaching it from several directions. Johns had set up floodlights to light the way.

  “Greenwald, yo!” Johns said. He was standing by a minigun, the only one the soldiers had. It was aimed outside the gate.

  “Johns!” Max said, waving his arm high and wide.

  Johns ran to meet him. “How is everything going? Where are the others? I can still see the flares going up.”

  “They’re still fighting. I was escorting a civilian here.”

  “A civilian?” Nikki said, annoyed.

  “My friend,” Max replied. Nikki seemed surprised.

  “Hey there,” Johns said. “Welcome. You’re safe here.”

  “We need gas. The Humvee broke down. I have to get back to the others.”

  “All right. I’ll be back. Watch the minigun, okay?” Johns hurried through the gate. Max and Nikki got to the minigun and sat down near it. Despite how worried he was about Lou and Ortiz, Max felt relaxed for the first time in a long time.

  “This is impressive,” Nikki said. Max looked inside the gate. People were getting food and water, and tending to their wounds. There were at least a few dozen. Some were checking others for bites.

  “Yeah,” Max said. “It is.”

  Johns returned with a small barrel. “It won’t be fun to carry. You’ll have to strap it to your back. But it should be enough for a few miles.”

  Max put his arms through the straps. “Thanks.”

  “Everything is turning out fine, here. It’s going great. Very clean, very organized. Haven’t seen any zombies, either.”

  “That’s great!”

  “Well, you guys should probably… Max.”

  “What?”

  “Look at that.” Johns pointed into the sky. In the distance, amid a few red balls of light, a green flare was streaking upward.

  Max turned back to Johns. “I have to get back. Now.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Johns said.

  “No. We need someone to watch—”

  “Got it,” Nikki said. She stood up and inspected the minigun. “I mean, if you trust me.” She smiled at Max.

  “I’ve always trusted you. Can you use it?”

  “It can’t be that hard. Just pull the trigger, right?”

  “For the most part.” Max remembered his time with it on the back of the Humvee. He thought Nikki might have it easier; it was on a lower mount now, and she was (he thought) a little taller than him anyway.

  “Let’s go!” Johns said, and then he and Max were off.

  ****

  Max’s quiet, starlit moments with Nikki felt like they could’ve happened in another life. He thought of Lou and Ortiz, and what would happen to all of those people resting—finally—at the college if something went wrong.

  The gas barrel was heavy, and every few hundred yards, he and Johns traded off carrying it. It was difficult to run with, but they moved as quickly as they could.

  The houses loomed back into view, and so did the zombies. There were only a few, and the responsibility of defense fell on whichever of them was not carrying the gas at the time.

  For a moment, Max wondered if he had taken a wrong turn somewhere. Then, he saw the Humvee. They made their way to it, and Johns hoisted the barrel off of his back. Max opened the gas tank, and Johns emptied the barrel into it, then tossed the barrel into the back.

  “Get in,” he said.

  Johns drove. The gas gauge didn’t go up much, but it would be enough.

  The flares lit up the sky. The zombies became more and more numerous. Max didn’t wait as the Humvee sped into the park; he stood up in his seat and leaned out the window, firing into the throng of zombies headed up the hill. He looked for the flashing of rifles, some sign of his friends, but the crowd was too thick. He couldn’t see much of anything.

  Max sat back down as the Humvee plowed through the zombies. For the first time, it started to give, slowing as it crunched bones beneath it. Johns backed up a little, then drove up the hill, this time not slowing at all.

  Max continued to fire out through the window. It almost seemed useless. There were zombies everywhere, all over the playground. He didn’t see Ortiz or Lou.

  “Where are they?”

  “I don’t know!” Johns said. “This is some shit, right here!”

  They circled the playground. Max feared that any of the bodies beneath the wheels could belong to his friends, to his brothers.

  “There!” Johns said. Max saw Lou and Ortiz at the top of a very large, metal slide. Lou was firing at the zombies attempting to climb the ladder. The ones climbing the slide itself made little progress, sliding back down in an almost humorous fashion.

  Ortiz was slumped over, and using only a pistol.

  “Get them!” Max said. Johns drove the Hum
vee into the zombies at the base of the ladder. Then, he came to a stop and drew his assault rifle.

  The two soldiers got out. Some of the zombies were already heading for them, abandoning the cumbersome slide. Max and Johns opened fire. Zombies fell, but more took their place.

  “Grenade!” Lou shouted from atop the slide. “Use a grenade!”

  “It’s too risky!” Johns said.

  “God damn it soldier, that’s an order!”

  Johns drew a grenade and pulled the pin. He threw it, trying to get it as far away from the slide as possible. It exploded, and a good number of zombies died. A better number pressed on.

  The zombies plowed into the slide at full force. With a gut-wrenching sound, the metal began to twist, and the slide fell over. Max thought he heard Lou and Ortiz cry out, but the sound of crunching metal drowned out everything else.

  The slide crushed a few zombies when it landed, and the cloud of dust and sand it tossed up blocked most of Max’s vision. The cloud flickered between red and green from the light of the flares.

  Max and Johns kept firing into the oncoming zombies. Max found himself wondering if it would ever end. The dust cloud started to clear, and Max and Johns made their way toward the slide, still firing at the zombies. Johns reloaded.

  “We can’t do this!” he said.

  “We have to!” Max replied.

  They made their way to the crumpled heap. Max lifted the sheet of metal that had once covered the top of the slide, and saw Lou’s hairy face. He was wincing, blood poured from his mouth, stained the cracks between his teeth.

  “Lou, are you okay?”

  “Fuckin’ dandy!” Lou said. “I can’t move, my legs are pinned!”

  “What about Ortiz?”

  “He’s under me!”

  Max lifted the metal higher and saw Ortiz’s top half, Lou was struggling to not crush his legs.

  “Ortiz, can you move?” Max asked.

  “I think… I can get out,” Ortiz said. He could hardly breathe.

  “Johns, cover me!” Max slung his gun around to his back, then grabbed Ortiz’s hands. He pulled, and Ortiz cried in pain, but didn’t move. “Lou, lift up, if you can!”