by RJ Crayton
Willie stood there, smug. No smile at the moment, but his beard couldn’t shroud the clear satisfaction that rushed through him with his pronouncement.
Lijah was frustrated, because Willie was right. If it came down to Willie or Lijah, a life or death battle, Lijah would easily pick himself. But to simply murder someone in cold blood. That wasn’t him. Still, he needed Willie off the train.
“Willie,” Lijah said, shaking his head, and then smiling. “You’re good at reading people and you’ve assessed a lot about me. You’re right. I’m not a cold-blooded murderer. But you’ve miscalculated just a bit. I wouldn’t do something to kill you just because you’re here. But I am ruthless in certain ways. I want you off of this train, and I’m going to make it happen. So, you can open this door, like I asked, and jump off the train in one piece, or I can shoot you in the foot, both feet if necessary, and let you deal with that pain, while I open the door, and then throw you off this train, quite lame. It’s up to you.”
The satisfaction drained away and Willie narrowed his eyes. “You could hit an artery in my foot. I could bleed to death.”
“Then I suggest you hold still when I shoot,” Lijah said. “Because you’re right about one thing. If you come at me, I will shoot for the heart and you will die. If you make it a choice between you or me, I’m choosing me. So open the goddamn door and get off this train, or I’m going to shoot you in the foot and then throw you off.”
The two men stood there another minute sizing each other up, when finally, Willie lifted his hands, grabbed the door’s handle, and slid the door back. The sudden whoosh of air startled Lijah and he blinked.
It was just long enough for Willie to take advantage, bending low like a linebacker and hurling himself at Lijah. Not enough time to react, Lijah fell hard on the train floor, the wind knocked out of him. Somehow, he kept his hand clamped tightly around the gun. Willie grabbed hold of the gun and tried to pull it free, but Lijah held on. Willie was on top of him, so Lijah bucked his abdomen to dislodge the old man. The move failed, and only served to further enrage Willie.
Lijah knew he couldn’t hold on to the weapon much longer if Willie continued like this. Lijah jerked his upper body forward, slamming his head directly into Willie’s. It was brain-splittingly painful. Whoever had told him that it hurts the person who isn’t expecting the head-butt more than the person who’s giving it was wrong. Stars floated in Lijah’s vision. He could barely see, straining to keep his eyes open.
Willie wasn’t grabbing for the gun anymore. One hand held his head, and the man had tipped backward onto the railcar’s floor. Taking this small opportunity, Lijah punched Willie, knocking him farther away. Lijah scooted across the train floor, keeping the gun in his hand, and trying to focus his blurry vision on his adversary. Willie wasn’t done, and retreating was probably a bad move. Men like Willie understood only one thing: unbridled aggression and attempts for domination. But Lijah could barely see, and he wasn’t going to head for Willie like this, even if he was the one with the gun.
Lijah was seeing double now and regretting his head-butting idea. Willie lunged toward him, and Lijah knew exactly what Willie wanted: the gun. As long as he had it, Willie would come for it, and that meant Lijah would have to shoot him and kill him. Only, he wasn’t sure he was ready to do that. His life was dependent on him keeping this gun away from Willie, but he still wasn’t sure he could shoot his foe. That was when the idea popped into his head.
Willie was on Lijah, grabbing at his arms, trying to dislodge the gun. So Lijah turned, eyeing the open cargo door, and tossed the gun toward it. He prayed it hadn’t gone too far, and that Willie would take the bait. As if the silent prayer had gone from his mind directly to God’s ear, Willie let go of him and ran for the gun. Lijah ran, too, at an angle. As Willie picked up the gun, Lijah slammed into him, knocking the older man through the open cargo door. Lijah heard an angry scream as Willie went flying off the train. Unable to stop his forward momentum, Lijah crashed into the side wall of the rail car.
His entire body reverberated off the metal wall and he fell backward, with a thud. He was alive. He was banged up, but alive.
Lijah lay there on the cold metal floor for a few minutes, the adrenaline leaving him, his body cooling down from the fight-or-flight response. The adrenaline gone, the pain from his battle with Willie flared. His entire body throbbed and his head ached. But he was alone, done with Willie. He stood, finally, walking over to the door, grabbing the handle with both hands, and pulling it shut. Then, he lay down. He had to rest. He wasn’t sure how long before the next checkpoint, but he needed a few minutes to regroup, and then he had to come up with a plan.
Chapter 10
Staring out the living room window, Elaan saw nothing but empty fields and the setting sun.
“Do you think people still live here?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It seems pretty deserted,” he said, looking at the dust-covered furniture. “That’s why we tried it.”
She nodded. She wasn’t sure why she asked him. Her mind was still racing, still replaying the events of today. Still trying to make sense of everything. Lijah gone. She had no idea if he was safe or if a military patrol had caught him. And if they had, they would surely kill him. He’d given her the map back, which was good, because then they wouldn’t know where he was going. But had he traced it like she suggested. If so, authorities might figure out where Lijah was headed.
Elaan followed Josh through the deserted old farmhouse. They’d entered through the kitchen in the back but hadn’t spent long there. Josh thought it important to search the house and make sure it was completely empty. He stationed her at the living room window to keep watch in case anyone approached. Elaan didn’t think Josh would find anyone upstairs. The hardwood floors were also covered in a thick layer of dust, except tiny footprints, which she suspected were from rats. Though, she hadn’t seen any vermin in the few minutes they’d been in the house.
The place smelled stale and mildewy. She shuddered at the thought that in this new reality, stale and mildewy was a good thing. It meant the place actually was deserted. Little knickknacks set about the room — cat figurines, doilies, crocheted throws — made it seem like an old person’s house.
Josh came downstairs, declaring the upstairs clear. “We should go to the kitchen and see what food they have so we can eat, and figure out what to take with us tomorrow.”
Elaan acknowledged she’d heard him but didn’t speak. She followed Josh back to the kitchen. It had a dirty linoleum floor and yellow walls with a country border at the top. The cabinets were white with little gold knobs. It seemed quaint. The refrigerator was silent, lacking the hum of electricity running through it. Probably no power here. She went over to a light switch and flicked it on. Nothing.
“Guess they didn’t pay the bill,” Josh joked.
She smiled. “Didn’t pay because they were dead, or had the power stopped working because the people who ran the power plant were dead?” Elaan shivered. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
Josh sighed as he took in the room. “We should get stuff before it gets dark. I don’t want to use the flashlights and draw attention to the fact that someone’s roaming the house.”
Elaan nodded. Without another word, they went to cabinets and opened them up. There were lots of cans: beans, chili, pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, and a bevy of soups. Ideal for dinner but not for taking with them. The cans would load down their packs, and they’d need a can opener. She scanned the room to see if there was one lying on a counter, when she heard Josh yelp behind her. She turned in time to see something gray and fuzzy scurry across the floor and into the other room.
“You OK?” Elaan asked.
Josh’s face was red. “Yeah, I’m just startled.” He tried to feign that he wasn’t bothered by seeing whatever had darted out of the cupboard. “I guess the cereal and boxed food in here was eaten by that rat and its family.”
Rats. She wondered how many of the
m there were. “Is it safe to sleep here, if there are rats?” Hadn’t she seen a movie where a bunch of rats attacked a man and gnawed on his flesh?
Josh shrugged. “They’re probably just in the kitchen, where there’s food, not the bedrooms.”
That made sense. Josh walked over to the sink and tried to turn it on, but nothing happened. “Water’s off, too,” he said. “But I think I’d rather be in than out. It’s almost October, and I’m pretty sure regional lows for this area are in the forties. It seems like it’s already unseasonably cold.” He glanced out the window over the sink. “I certainly don’t want to be out there with whatever is crawling through the fields.”
Inside was better, but the idea of rats biting or crawling over her inside was a bit creepy, too. Her eyes wandered to the spot where the furry creature had darted past.
Josh gave her a sympathetic look, and said, “I didn’t see anything unusual when I went through the first time, but let’s check out the house again, together. I mean, rats are one thing, but we need to evaluate what we want to do if there’s a family of raccoons nesting here. They’re pretty vicious.”
She tried not to cringe, as she was pretty sure he’d been trying to make her feel better by offering to check out the house. But raccoons. God only knew what could be living in this house. She nodded, and followed him out of the kitchen and up the stairs to hallway with four doors coming off of it.
The first door opened to a bedroom with an unmade queen-size bed. There was a dresser, TV, and typical accoutrements. The room seemed like that of an adult’s. There was nothing frilly or childlike such as teddy bears or posters. The dresser had some pill bottles on it. Elaan stood in the doorway, while Josh went in and opened the closet door, seeking any signs of infestation. He got on the floor and peeked beneath the bed. “Nothing here,” he said.
They did the same on the rest of the floor. There was one child’s bedroom and another room that appeared to be for guests. It had a full-size bed, fully made, and a desk with a lamp, but no dresser or anything that a person who lived in the room would have. The closet in the room had pillows, sheets, and extra blankets. The fourth door had been to a bathroom. However, Josh reminded Elaan, that without water, they wouldn’t be able to flush.
They found no signs of animals outside of the kitchen. Elaan breathed easier as she and Josh went back to the kitchen. They noticed a small pantry closet and opened it. Jackpot. Sitting on top of a large plastic container were two 24 packs of bottled water. Once they moved the water and opened the container, they found food. Elaan suspected the animals hadn’t been able to get inside the box because of the water’s weight.
They found Ritz crackers, granola bars, an inordinate amount of boxed raisins, individually wrapped PB&J sandwich bars, and mini bags of trail mix.
“We can’t take all this water with us, so let’s go ahead and take a bottle each to wash up with, and then let’s eat.”
Elaan agreed easily, and soon they’d found a can opener and utensils. They ate at the dining room table, directly from the cans. The food had been cold, but Elaan had been hungry enough that she didn’t care. After they finished eating, they took their food trash outside to avoid attracting vermin.
Josh suggested they go upstairs and get ready before it got completely dark. “Boxcar Willie double-crossed us,” Josh said. The mention of Willie’s name caused her to blanch.
“I know that better than anyone,” she said, still bitter about Lijah.
He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have started differently. I know what happened with Lijah is still fresh. What I meant was, even though Willie lied to us about some things, I’m not sure he lied about the curfew. We’d heard Martial Law had been implemented, and even though we haven’t seen anyone and even though this seems like the middle of nowhere, we can’t assume curfew isn’t being enforced. We should try to keep as low a profile as possible. If someone sees light in this abandoned house, they might come check it out.”
Elaan wrinkled her nose and folded her arms. “I know what you’re saying, but do you really think the patrols randomly search the country? It seems like they’d stay in the cities. I mean, they have to be short of men with so many people dead from the virus.”
Josh bristled at the mention of the word virus. Or was that her imagination. She was safe from it, but exposure to it meant something entirely different for him.
He swallowed and said, “I don’t want to take the chance. Especially since we’re not far from the train station. Though, we’re definitely on the Indiana side. If Willie told them we’re going to St. Louis, they’re probably searching for us down that way. I think it’s best to just lie low here and be extra cautious.”
Elaan rubbed her chin, not entirely convinced. She didn’t like the idea of being in complete darkness in a strange house. She’d like to light a candle or use the flashlights or something, but nodded to Josh that it was fine.
“Hey,” Josh said. “I know it hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to, but we’re going to be OK.”
She frowned. What about Lijah? Would he be OK? Elaan closed her eyes and thought, God, please let him be OK.
“Lijah’s going to be OK, too,” Josh said, as if he could read her mind. “Come on. Let’s get upstairs. I think you’ll feel better if you get some rest. I didn’t sleep that well on the train. I can’t imagine you did, either.”
Chapter 11
Josh and Elaan had headed upstairs to get ready for bed for the night. They were in what appeared to be the guest bedroom. The walls were painted a pale lavender and Elaan was sure it would be pretty in the morning, when the light streamed in. At present, it was pretty dark. There were no curtains, and the light from the moon had offered enough of a glow that they didn’t to crash into things as they got ready for bed.
Given that they’d been forced to separate from Lijah, they decided it best they stay together. Josh had been a gentleman and offered to sleep on the floor, but Elaan said it made more sense for them to both get a good night’s sleep and share the bed.
To preserve the cleanliness of their clothes, Elaan was wearing her underpants and a long shirt she’d pulled from her bag. She’d used a little bit of the bottled water to wipe down the armpits of the shirt, trying to extend its freshness a couple of days. Josh had done the same.
It was a little awkward climbing into bed with Josh, half dressed, but she had not been able to think of a better solution.
Elaan and Josh lay next to each other in the bed, but not touching. Two fleece blankets covered them, leaving Elaan warm and toasty. This was better than the train, where she’d been bone cold no matter what she did. Though, perhaps it had been partly psychological; Willie’s leers had chilled her as much as the temperature.
Elaan closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind so she could get some sleep. But it was too early. It was probably a little after seven o’clock. Even with her poor sleep on the train, her mind still raced.
A hand grazed the outside of her thigh.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Josh said, and his hand slid away. “I just was going to hold your hand. I swear. I didn’t mean to, um, violate your space.”
She laughed and reached toward him, finding his hand. “It’s OK,” she said. “Honest mistake.” She gave his hand a squeeze. Part of her thought it nice he was being a gentleman, but another part of her wondered why he found it so easy to be gentlemanly.
“Listen, we’ll get up in the morning and start walking west,” Josh said. “We’ll get there eventually.”
Elaan sucked in a breath, not sure she believed. “And Lijah? What if they got him, Josh?”
The bed trembled as he shook his head. “I don’t think they did. Lijah’s strong and resourceful.”
“So resourceful that he can evade the military?”
“Don’t count him out,” Josh said. “You didn’t see him in quarantine. I was less than stellar when I found out about the vaccine. It’s disturbing when you learn the lif
e you know, the one you thought you knew, is over. That your savior is really a curse. It messes with your mind, and your thoughts go dark. But not Lijah. Never once did he give in to bleak thinking. Never once did he let me. That kind of resolve shows strength, fortitude, and endurance. Lijah will figure it out. He’ll be fine.”
Elaan turned to see his silhouette in the darkness. Even in the glow of the rising moon, Josh was handsome. “What was it like for the two of you?” she asked. “Being quarantined together?”
Josh didn’t answer for a moment. She heard the sound of their breathing mingled with the song of crickets that drifted in from outside. Finally he spoke, his voice quiet. “It made us lifelong friends. Being in there was normal at first. It was simple and normal.” He paused and chuckled. “I keep saying normal, but it’s sort of the only word that comes to mind. It seemed normal back then. Because even though the world had changed, we thought we were on the cusp of, essentially, a cure. No, it couldn’t save those who had Helnoan, but it would stop its spread. Things would go back to normal, and then, in a second, it all changed. Nothing would go back to normal. We wouldn’t get sick, but if we came into contact with the sick, we’d make others sick. And then we’d be sterile. For me, it all shifted so quickly. Way too quickly. From hope to despair.”
He breathed out, and shivered, as if the memory of it all was too haunting to relive. “After they realized the vaccine was bad, my dad took every precaution to make sure no one found out we’d been given the vaccine. It had been tested on a handful of soldiers, and my dad said the government took them all to Facility One. So, our dads’ big concern at first was that no one would find out and kill us. My dad kept saying he’d fix it, but not to worry about the fix because we could be safe if we just got into scientist housing. Getting into the housing would give us time. Only, if the government found out, we’d be dead. And that’s when Lijah and I bonded. We both knew it was possible that the government would find out, that we would be erased from the world without a second thought. So, we talked to each other. Nonstop. We told each other everything. It was almost as if both of us realized we might be dead and we wanted another person, at least one other person, to know who we were. Not superficially, not a little bit, but to truly know and understand us to our core.”