The Road to Nowhere: A post-apocalyptic novel

by Lee Argus

  I wanted to make a hot breakfast, but the small amount of charcoal that was left in the grill burned out with dinner last night. A few handfuls of peanuts washed down with some bottled water made up my breakfast. Maybe Rachel would cook something later.

  They must have gotten used to waking up early since both came out of their rooms about half an hour later. Neither of them were wearing any makeup, but both still looked stunning. Stephanie’s features were more soft and vulnerable without the accentuation of eyeliner, mascara and lipstick.

  Rachel’s hair had become more wild and unruly after a night’s sleep. It was more of a lions main than hair. The rough and wear expression she wore seemed to fit her hair perfectly.

  I tried not to smile when the image was more visual from her yawn.

  “You two sleep okay?” I asked them.

  “I miss my own bed,” Stephanie said sleepily, “It’s strange to sleep in someone else’s house.”

  Rachel shrugged in agreement. I didn’t know what to think about that. Did I have a home, or a bed? I tried to shake off those kinds of thoughts, but her offhand remark kept grating at me.

  I didn’t have much to say for the rest of the morning. After Rachel made breakfast we quickly ate. The sun would only stay up for so long and we wanted to get as far as we could during the day.

  We drove farther north, and made much better time. There wasn’t any traffic we had to dodge around. It was eerie how empty the highway was.

  This time Rachel drove, and I rode in the back. We had reached the edge of a mountain range and I was glad to be able to look at our surroundings without concentrating on the road. The cars fuel tank was sitting at a quarter full, which wasn’t boding well. We would make it to the next town, but I doubted there would be a working gas station.

  We reached a small town, though you could barely call it that. It was more like a few dozen buildings and a convenience store that had one gas pump out front. Without power, the pump would be useless. There were cars parked around which gave me an idea.

  “Pull into that convenience store,” I said to Rachel, “We need to get some gas. We should also see if there is anything we can salvage from the store.”

  “The power’s been out for weeks. How are we supposed to gun the gas pumps? It’s not like we have a generator that can be plugged into the store.” Stephanie said.

  She was right, but that was an idea too. Maybe we could find a small generator to help with things like that. I shook my head.

  “That’s a good idea, but I was thinking more about siphoning gas from other cars. All we need is a hose and a car with a full enough tank. We should be able to find something in the store.”

  There were only a few scattered clouds that I could see out of the window. Even if they were to cross in front of the sun it would still be more than bright enough to keep any Kurus hiding away from the indirect sunlight.

  Rachel parked the car near the glass doors of the store. All of us left the car and stood in front of the glass double doors. More than enough light was able to penetrate the windows and doors to reach the interior.

  I had both of them stand behind the car while I threw a large rock against the door. When I smashed it glass would shatter and could spray outward as well as inward. It wouldn’t be very good idea to get pieces of glass in our clothes or eyes.

  The stone crashed through the middle of the door, sending a spider web of cracks cascading around the fist sized hole. I thought about throwing a second stone, but I wanted to have a better look first. Several large shards were held lightly enough to fall and break into smaller pieces as I approached.

  Rachel and Stephanie were right behind me when I stopped at the opening. The hole was now large enough to stick my head through, if I had the inclination. I took the risk of cutting my arm by sticking my hand through to unlock it. The bolt turned easily and allowed me to push open the unbroken side.

  The smell of spoiled food filled the air that had stood uncirculated in the small space. The checkout counter was the only thing on the left side of the door. Shelves of cigarettes were stacked behind the register and on the counter were jars and boxes of junk food. There were only three or four small aisles with everything from clothes to automotive supplies.

  “What are we looking for?” Stephanie said.

  “Anything you think we could use.” I told her. “Food and water are the main things. If anything else catches your eye just take it. Oh, and keep an eye out for flashlights and batteries.”

  “What about the gas?” Rachel said.

  “If you see a hose or anything like that, let me know. I’ll see about checking the back. They should have a garden hose or something. This time you two stay out here. Yell if you need any help.”

  Stephanie hopped behind the counter and grabbed a handful of plastic grocery bags. She tossed some at Rachel before they started up and down the aisles. I went to the door marked employees only. I turned on my shotgun’s taped flashlight before opening the door.

  The light from the store crept into the rear. There wasn’t much back there. A large sink had a mop and bucket leaned against it. I pointed the shotgun around to the darker corners of the room. It was empty except for some boxes and stacks of beverages that were never going into the cooler that had awaited them.

  I rummaged through the room until I found what I was looking for. Rolled up under the sink was a green garden hose thin enough to possibly work. There was a bottle of bleach near the mop bucket. I was disappointed when it turned out to be nearly empty.

  I took the hose to the front of the store. Steph and Rachel were still filling bags when I left it by the door. Stephanie tossed me a full bag.

  “What’s this?” I asked her.

  “I found you some new clothes. The shorts and sandals should keep you cooler. Not the most fashionable but it’s all we could find.

  I looked into the bag. There was a pair of brown sandals, tan khaki shorts, and a green Hawaiian floral print shirt. I gave her my best are you serious look while raising an eyebrow.

  “Unless you want to wear one of Rachel or my outfits there aren’t a lot of choices. Besides, I think you’d look good in green.”

  I tried not to roll my eyes. I walked to the back aisle. There was a small gas can in the automotive section, but it wouldn’t be enough to fill the car without twenty or more trips. Instead I just took a box cutter and a few gallon jugs of water.

  “I’m going to try siphoning some gas from the surrounding vehicles. You two try and stay out of trouble.”

  I was about to go out of the door when I saw a cheap sunglasses stand. The sun had given me the beginnings of a headache, so I grabbed a pair and headed out.

  The sun was still bright, but not painfully so. There were a few cars parked on the street. I went to the closest one. It was a mid-sized sedan. The cover to the gas cap opened with a simple pull. The cap itself didn’t have a lock, which made things a little easier.

  I emptied both gallons of water, drinking as much from the second one as I could. It was hot and seemed like a waste to just pour good water on the ground. After drinking my fill, I splashed the rest over my face. I shook out the remaining droplets of water and set them back on the ground.

  After cutting the metal end off of the hose I inserted it as far into the gas tank as it would reach. The box cutter made it easy to trim the excess three or four feet from the hose. I stood and climbed up on the trunk to get more pressure for the suction. It took a few minutes to pull all the air out of the hose. Once I got a mouth of gas I jumped down and put the hose into the jug. I spat out the gas, trying not to retch from the taste. Gas poured into the first jug of water until it had almost overflowed before I switched to the second jug. After both were done I pinched off the hose. I didn’t have anything to tie the end closed, so I had to jam it next to the gas cap.

  I walked the few hundred feet back and emptied both jugs into the car. It took another car and five more trips to fill the car back up. By the time I’d
finished my body was drenched with sweat. My mouth was too dry to spit, as much as I’d want to get the taste of gas out of it.

  I went back into the store. Stephanie and Rachel asked if they could help while I was on my third trip. Steph wasn’t in the best of health and I didn’t want her to get heat stroke waiting outside, and I didn’t want it to get awkward if I said yes to Rachel and not her.

  “It’s all right, I’m almost done, I just want to fill a few jugs to take with us.” I told them.

  They were both drinking sodas when I finally went inside. They offered me a root beer, which I was grateful for. It wasn’t cold, but it did wash the remainder of gasoline from my mouth.

  “Thanks. The sun was starting to get to me. Are you two done shopping? The car’s ready to go.”

  “We’ve loaded up everything we could. We found a few disposable grills we could try tonight. Maybe we could camp somewhere.” Rachel said.

  We were far enough from big towns that it should be safe enough for that. If we drove for a few more hours there wouldn’t be a town for twenty or thirty miles. It would be warm enough to sleep in the car or outside if we wanted to.

  “Sure. We could do that. Let’s get out of here while there’s still some daylight left.”

  Stephanie took her turn driving. I was surprised when Rachel said I could take shotgun (no pun intended). The air conditioning vent blew cold air that felt refreshing and relaxing at the same time.

  We started to drive through hills that gave way to mountains. The road slowly began to angle upwards as we went farther. It was much the same until we reached a national park campsite. We pulled down the road towards campgrounds. A large sign read that camping without a permit would result in a large fine. I don’t think that will be a problem anymore.

  The camping area was sectioned off into several different numbered spaces, and we were the only vehicle there. Stephanie chose one at random and parked us. The sun broke through the trees at random places and the air smelled fresh and vibrant.

  “I’m going to collect some firewood for tonight. I’d feel better if we kept a fire going all night, just in case. I’m doubt we will run into any Kurus out here but there’s no reason to take any chances. I’ll leave the shotgun here so I can carry more wood.”

  “We’ll get dinner ready.” Rachel said, looking around earnestly.

  “You want some company?” Stephanie asked. “I’ve never been much of a cook, and I’d like to stretch my legs.”

  “Sure. Will you be okay by yourself?” I asked Rachel.

  “It’s still light out, I’ll be fine. You two stay close.”

  “We’ll be safe, mom.” Stephanie said, with a clearly sarcastic undertone.

  I put my shotgun down on a large wooden picnic table that was next to the fire pit. I made sure Rachel saw where it was, just in case. A small stack of firewood was already placed near the stones that circled the pit, but it wouldn’t be enough to last more than an hour or two.

  Stephanie walked close behind me. We didn’t speak for the first few minutes. She was holding the sword I’d given her, keeping it low and relaxed. There were a few twigs and branches here and there. I wandered over to another campsite and found another small stack of wood.

  “Do you think the park supplied wood to the campers?”

  “I think they just left whatever they couldn’t burn.” I replied.

  The extra wood was stacked between four small metal rods. Each piece was roughly a foot long and a few inches in diameter. I picked up the small stack.

  “Let’s carry this back and look for larger pieces. These little sticks will burn too fast.”

  We had to walk farther to find larger pieces of wood. A tree had fallen over from rotting at the bottom. It was four feet long and almost as big around as I was. It was difficult, but I managed to half roll, half drag it back to the wood pile.

  “Will that burn?” Stephanie asked.

  “I think it only rotted at the bottom. The top part should catch fire just fine.”

  I wiped the sweat from my face. The sun had started to set but it didn’t feel that way. The air was thinner but felt much more humid. It took another hour before I had a pile of wood that I felt comfortable with.

  I still had the lighter in my pocket which made starting the fire easier. We didn’t have any paper to start the fire, but I still had two gallons of gas in the trunk. I set up a cone of twigs that quickly caught fire when lightly doused with gasoline. I fed some of the smaller pieces of wood to the fire until it was burning enough to keep going on its own.

  Rachel had lit the disposable grill which sat on the ground near the fire. It looked like an aluminum dish with a small metal grill on top. We didn’t bring any pots or pans, so she was heating opened cans instead. The smell waft over to the pick nick table where Steph and I were sitting. It might have been all the carrying, but I was starving. Stephanie was eating a box of chocolate covered raisins. I tried one, but found it not to my liking.

  Rachel had to use a towel to lift up the cans one by one and take them over to us. They had taken disposable utensils, plates, and bowls from the convenience store. We also had a choice of soda. I decided to try root-beer which was very delicious. I poured some of the beef stew into my bowl. There was also corn and peas.

  “I wish we had some rolls and butter to go with this.” Stephanie said, with her mouth half full of food.

  “Well, next time you can cook and I’ll help gather the wood.” Rachel replied. “If we find someplace with a gas stove we might be able to make some rolls or bread. Eggs and milk might be hard to find.”

  “Thanks for dinner,” I told her, “it’s not like we’re spoiled for choices.”

  “We’ve got a surprise for desert.” Steph said.

  After dinner we moved the pick nick table near the fire. While Steph and I went to get wood Rachel had found some long branches. She had sharpened the ends of each, and speared a large marshmallow to each one. She handed one to me and another to Steph.

  “Is this why you wanted to go camping?” I asked her.

  “We used to go every year with our parents. It’s been awhile since we’ve gone. Besides, you might never have tried roasted marshmallows. Everyone should at least once.”

  Stephanie had already put her marshmallow close to the fire. It began to toast a light yellow to a brown color. She was sitting between Rachel and me. She held it between her knees while digging through another plastic bag. She pulled out a box of graham crackers and a few chocolate bars. I watched as she sandwiched pieces of chocolate and toasted marshmallow between two squares.

  She took a huge bite sending rivulets of melted chocolate and liquid marshmallow cascading down the sides of her mouth. In another two bites she’d finished the s’more and licked what remained from her fingertips. She stuck another marshmallow on her stick and began toasting it.

  “You should try one.” she said, with her eyes still intently focused on the end of her stick.

  I tried to copy what she’d done, but mine came out more black than brown. I felt embarrassed at not being able to properly toast a marshmallow, but I was surprised when I looked at Rachel’s. Her marshmallow was blacker than mine and on fire. She must have seen me starring at her.

  “They’re better this way.” she said before blowing the small fire out of it. She pulled the blackened skin off of her marshmallow before putting it into her s’more. “I like mine more melted then Steph does. You should try both ways and see what you like.”

  She ate hers almost as fast as Stephanie did. I tried them lightly toasted and burned. I must have been doing it wrong, since the burned ones just tasted like carbon. The lightly toasted ones were a great desert.

  After we had our fill of the marshmallows, we sat around the fire for a while. The air had grown colder but the area around our campfire was still warm and comfortable.

  “It’s funny,” Rachel said while staring into the fire, “It almost feels like we’re just on another camping trip. Li
ke everything that happened out there was just a bad dream.”

  It did feel like that. The time I’d spent with the two of them felt almost normal. The reality would come crashing down as soon as we left here. We couldn’t survive in the woods forever.

  Stephanie’s hand found its way next to mine. We were both sitting next to each other, leaning back against the table. Her soft hand sent a tingle through mine when it made contact with it. I looked over at her, but she still seemed lost in thought. I didn’t know what to do, so I just held still. Her knee was only a few inches away from touching my leg.

  I swallowed nervously. I had a strange feeling come over me. It was like being scared and thrilled at the same time. My lips and mouth dried. I’d finished drinking my soda, and I didn’t want to move to get another one.