“Give me the gun,” Zoe said.
Rebecca stared blankly at what she had done. She was in shock, but there wasn’t time for that. This was all happening so quickly, and someone who could finish this needed that weapon. Zoe took it from her and walked out. As she did, the door to the room that Max was being kept in opened, and Tate stepped out. Zoe didn’t have time to think. She simply raised her gun and fired. She heard two shots, but she seemed to be fine. Tate certainly wasn’t. He had hit the floor immediately. She hit him right between the eyes. For a split second, she thought there would be no consequences to their escape. Then she felt something dripping down her arm and started to feel dizzy. Zoe looked at her right shoulder to see blood oozing out of it. She fell to the floor.
By this time, Rebecca had heard the shots. They snapped her back to reality, and she ran out into the hall to find Zoe lying facedown. She turned her over on her back and examined the wound.
“I’ll be fine. Just get Max, so we can leave this place,” Zoe said while trying to hide how much pain she was in.
Rebecca didn’t have a choice. She had never dealt with a gunshot wound before. Maybe Max would know what to do. She ran into the next room to find him tied to a table. She quickly started untying him.
“What just happened? Is Zoe okay?” he asked.
“I don’t know. She got hit.”
“Why are you helping me then? Go to her.”
“I don’t know what to do. I’m not a doctor. I was hoping between the two of us we could figure it out,” Rebecca said as she got him loose.
Max ran into the next room to find that things looked bad. Zoe wasn’t dying anytime soon, but with no doctor, she would eventually bleed out. The odds of finding anyone who could help her were next to none. He ran into the room where all the others were located and asked for help.
“Is anyone here a doctor?”
No one responded. The people in that room looked scared of everything. Just what had happened over the last two days to make them cower in this room?
“I asked you a question. Do any of you have medical training?”
“I was a veterinarian,” a man finally said.
“Good enough. A girl has been shot. We’ll find you some supplies. Do what you can until then,” Max said and led him into the next room.
He and Rebecca searched the room where the officers were staying until they found a first aid kit. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. When they joined Zoe, they were happily surprised to see that their new veterinarian friend looked optimistic.
“The shot went straight through, so all we have to do is disinfect the wound and wrap it. It’s a good thing, too. That’s all I could’ve done,” he said while taking the kit.
Max held Zoe’s hand while the wound was disinfected. It burned terribly, but it was all over very quickly. Before they knew it, she was patched up, and Max was able to put her in the room where he was kept. Then he and Rebecca asked the man who might have just saved Zoe’s life a few questions.
“Thank you for helping us. What’s your name? I’m Rebecca, and this is Max.”
“I’m Walter Rose. I just did what I could. There’s no need to thank me.”
“What happened to everyone here? You all look terrified,” Max said.
“The end of civilization happened. We watched neighbors, friends, and in many cases, family members die. Then those men paid most of us a visit. They robbed us and very kindly allowed us to live with them as their prisoners,” Walter said sarcastically.
“Why didn’t anyone try to overthrow them?”
“Someone did on the first day. They were killed, and no one tried anything after that.”
“There’s still one thing I don’t get. If they were just thieves, why did they allow anyone to share what they took?” Rebecca asked.
“I think they believed we needed leaders and appointed themselves that. It’s an age-old story. When things break down, somebody thinks the people need someone to make the decisions. Almost all the time, that person also thinks they are the one who knows best. As far as I can tell, they really did think they were protecting us by keeping us here.”
“What are your plans now that you’re free?” Max asked.
“I have none. I’m a fifty-seven year old man whose wife was just killed. I don’t have any survival skills, and I don’t know anybody. I guess from here I’ll just be making it up as I go.”
“What happened to your wife?”
“When they came to our door, I gave her a gun and told her to go to the bedroom. I was going to try to reason with them, and if things went badly, I figured at least she would have a way to defend herself. They wouldn’t listen to me. They pinned me to the floor and started taking our stuff. Helen didn’t listen to me either. If she had stayed in the back, she would still be around. She came out and saw me lying on the floor with one of those men on top of me. She raised her gun to do what she probably thought was saving me. His partner saw her, though, and he fired before she could shoot. My wife died in front of me because I tried to reason with people in an unreasonable world.”
“That wasn’t your fault. That was all on them, and they’re dead now. We made sure of that. Maybe you can come with us,” Rebecca said and looked at Max questionably.
He didn’t like the idea of bringing someone else along, but Walter had just saved Zoe. That meant they owed him something. The fact that he could patch them up if need be made him valuable, too. Max shook his head in approval.
“Where are you headed?” Walter asked.
“Texas. We know someone there who’s been preparing for doomsday for quite some time. From what I’ve heard, we might be able to live out our days peacefully if we can get there,” Max said.
“I’m in then. We shouldn’t go anywhere right now, though. It’s already getting late, and it’ll be cold soon. Let’s sleep here tonight, and you guys can get your supplies back in the morning. From there, we’ll head out.”
“Sounds great,” Max said and started to walk away, but Walter stopped him.
“There’s one more thing. I don’t know if you drink, but the little pleasures go a long way in a world like this. The shorter policeman raided a liquor store after they got me. He put a lot of booze under the cabinet in their room. It might not be a bad idea to blow off some steam and set your mind right. We won’t have any time for that after tonight.”
Max nodded and walked into the room to retrieve a bottle of rum. It had been over four years since he had a drink. Right now, he needed one. The knife was inches away from him when Tate heard the shots being fired outside. Max just knew he was going to die, but against all odds, Zoe and Rebecca had saved him. He took a quick swig straight from the bottle and walked into the room with Zoe.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“How the hell does it look like I’m feeling?”
“I’ll excuse that word, considering you just got shot saving me. Thank you.”
“You would’ve done the same for me. Besides, it’s not like getting shot was part of the plan. You should really thank Rebecca, too. She’s the one who got the gun, and she killed the other guy.”
“I will. Are you all right? I know you’ve never killed anyone.”
“For a second, I felt a little bad about it, but once I realized he shot me, all that faded. If I could revive him to shoot him again, I would. This hurts that bad,” she joked.
“I’m glad to hear it. You know, that man was drawing his knife back to stab me in the heart when he heard the shots. I literally owe you two my life. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
“Some painkillers would be a start.”
“We don’t have anything like that, but since it’s just for medicinal purposes, alcohol can be used as a painkiller. Give it a try,” he said and passed the bottle to her.
Zoe took a big drink and quickly swallowed. Her face turned beat red as she did, however, and she looked disgusted.
“You know what? You don’t
have to repay me at all, if that’s your idea of it. That is terrible, Max! That was the most awful thing I’ve ever tasted,” Zoe said.
“It’s an acquired taste.”
“That was my first drink. It could’ve been better, but thanks. I don’t know what we have left to live for, but there are still little victories I guess.”
“What do you mean?”
“I got shot, but I’m still here, and I just enjoyed my first taste of alcohol. I’ve got a lot of firsts to enjoy. You probably have a lot of stuff you want to do, too. I’m sure you daydreamed about what you would do if you weren’t in prison before all this happened. Maybe we can do everything we wanted somewhere down the line if we just keep moving.”
“I think you’re right. Speaking of moving, though, we’ve got a new companion. His name’s Walter. He’s the guy who saved you. When we move out tomorrow, he’ll be joining us. I don’t know how any of this is going to work out, but I think we’re all going to have to band together for this to even have a chance at working. We need to be like a family who’s willing to die for each other.”
“I would say we’re well on our way. You took a big risk for me, and we took one for you. As for Walter, we’ll see. Maybe he’ll be as valuable as Rebecca has been.”
“I can’t believe it, but a thirteen year old is teaching me about my life now.”
“Face it. I’m smarter than you, Max. I’ll be fourteen in a little under two days. Don’t forget. The world might have ended, but I did take a bullet for you. I think that requires some birthday celebration.”
“I won’t forget. Get some rest. I’ll be right outside the room if you need anything.”
“Okay. You can leave the rum, if you want.”
“I thought you didn’t like it.”
“Well, I thought you said it was an acquired taste.”
“I don’t think you should acquire it just yet. Get some rest, and maybe I’ll let you try to reacquire it again when you’re sixteen.”
When Max got out of the room, he sat back against the wall in the hallway and thought. They needed to be like family to survive, but was that how he was already thinking of them? Zoe and Rebecca had saved him, and then Walter had saved the little girl who meant so much to him. It seemed so unlikely, but they had all lost their families. Was it possible for them to find one in each other? He thought so. As he found a comfortable spot to rest his eyes until morning, he smiled for the first time since everything happened. Max didn’t know how, but everything was going to be all right. He could just feel it.
Chapter 7
Ghost Town
The following morning, Max woke up early and found that Rebecca was the only one up from their group. Some of the people who were imprisoned there before them were awake, too, but they were keeping to themselves. They didn’t trust Max or anyone from the group. He understood why. He wouldn’t trust anyone if he had just been imprisoned and seen two of the people from their group kill others. As he stepped into the next room with Rebecca, she turned and handed him something that he didn’t know if he would ever see again.
“I think we’ll need this if we’re going all the way to Texas,” she said and handed him a cup of coffee.
“I didn’t think I would ever get to drink another cup. Where did you find coffee?”
“They had some stashed away, and I found a coffee maker in the precinct. From there, I didn’t waste any time. Here’s to drinking what might be our last cup of coffee,” she said and raised her cup.
“Just not good coffee,” Max said as he scowled from the taste.
“Sorry. I found this, but I didn’t see any sugar or creamer. So what’s the plan for today?”
“There should be some vehicles on the property. We’ll find where they keep their keys and raid everything that doesn’t belong to these people. From there, we’ll just drive. Normally, I would fire you from being our driver, but you did just save my life. Do you want to take another shot at it?”
“Actually, I was hoping you could drive after what happened last time. Maybe you could give me a new job.”
“We’ll figure out something. After what you did for me yesterday, you can stay with us for as long as you want. We’re family now.”
“Family, huh?”
“Yeah. We don’t know each other very well yet, but it’s going to take a group to live through this. No lone wolves are surviving in this world. What do you say? Do you want to be a part of our group permanently?”
“I’ll stick with you guys. I would hardly call this a group, though. It’s just four people, and that old man doesn’t look like he’s going to be good for much, if things turn ugly.”
“You didn’t seem like you would be much in a fight either. You sure saved my ass, though. Let’s give him a shot. He stepped up for Zoe, so he’s earned at least that.”
“I guess you’re right. I think that little girl really likes you. What’s the story behind that? You just met each other, so it doesn’t make much sense.”
“Remember when I told you about Jerome?”
“Yeah. Is it that simple?”
“Kind of. I saved her from being killed by him and possibly even worse. We discovered her parents, too. None of that should make her close to me. It’s just a story about a bunch of messed up stuff in a world that’s falling apart. I think I might be all she’s got left, though. I’m not her father, friend, or even someone who knows that much about her. I’ll protect her, though, and judging by what she did last night, I think that’s mutual. That’s all a person can ask for now.”
“I guess that makes us close, too, then. You gave me a group, and I helped get you out of that room. Should we wake her and Walter up yet?”
“No, let’s talk some. You know a lot about my past. I told you why I was in prison and about my family. All I know about you is that you worked too much and never found somebody to share your life with. There has to be more to your story than that.”
“There’s not as much as you would think. I moved here for college. I’m originally from West Virginia. I couldn’t wait to get out of that place. I always said when I turned eighteen, I was gone. My parents thought it was all talk. Most kids say that there, but very few have the drive to actually make it a reality. I did, though. I went to college at NYU. It was a shock to live in the city because of where I came from. It was good for me, though. I fell in love with the city for a while, but after I got my degree, I decided it was time to get out. I got a job around here, and I’ve been there ever since. I’ve had friends, but they’ve come and gone. I never made time to establish lasting relationships.”
“What about your parents? Are they still around?”
“I hope so. They were before the disaster.”
“Maybe we can check on them on the way. We’ll be going through West Virginia.”
“Could we really do that?”
“Of course. If we’re making a new life, we’re definitely going to take all the people worth something with us. Your parents qualify.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s no problem. I’ve got a simple question for you now. How old are you?”
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you’re not supposed to ask a woman how old she is?”
“Yeah. I just didn’t think those rules really applied anymore. Anything could happen in an instant now. We’ve got to get to know everyone fast.”
“Good point. I’m thirty-three.”
“Is that all? Why were you so concerned about not having a family yet?”
“Because now it’s over. No one wants to bring a child into this world. It’s not fair to make anyone grow up in this.”
“You’re assuming things won’t get better. The weather patterns are crazy, but I’m sure things will even out eventually.”
“Do you actually believe that? This would be one amazing bounce back for our planet. If I were betting on it, I would say things are only going to get worse. What do you suppose is causing all this?”
“It’s possible that the comet moved our planet slightly, which could’ve caused everything to go crazy. As for if I believe things will get better, probably not. I think it might even out a little, but this is the planet we’re likely stuck with. We’re people, though. We have a history of adjusting and thriving in times of crisis. You’ll see. You’re going to have that family you want. Life won’t ever be the same, but it’ll be worth living again one day.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Me, too. I’m going to wake up Zoe and Walter. You should look around the place for anything we might need on the trip.”
“Will do.”
Max got Zoe and Walter up, and they found some police cars outside. There was one truck. It would be more spacious, and it might just bowl over someone if need be. They chose that one, but there was a problem. The keys weren’t in it. That was quickly remedied when Rebecca walked outside with a bag and several keys.
“I found these in there. I don’t know what key goes to which vehicle, but we’ll figure it out. This was the best find,” she said and tossed him a bag.
Max looked into the bag to see that she wasn’t joking. There were several pistols and plenty of ammo in it.
“Great job. Walter and I are going to get our stuff back. You and Zoe should find the right key to the truck and get it warmed up.”
It took a little time, but Rebecca eventually found the right key and cranked the truck. As they sat in the back, she noticed that Zoe wasn’t saying a word. It was awkward, but silence wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle.
“Are you all right?” Zoe finally asked.
“I’m fine. You’re the one who got hit. How are you feeling?”
“It wasn’t as bad as it looked. Given, it didn’t feel great. I was just asking because after you killed that guy, you went into shock.”
“I’m sorry about that. I should’ve been the one doing the shooting. You’re just a kid. I definitely won’t be dropping the ball again.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I was pretty shaken up after I killed my guy, too. I just didn’t have much time to think about it because I got hit.”
The Divide: Origins Page 6