Just Us

by Stark, Collin

  "Let's do it."

  Before long, they had roused both Lori and Kacie. Over the past two weeks, Kern had managed to keep the peace mostly at Kacie's urging. She slept up front by herself, with no weapons, where Dad slept in between her and the other two. Kacie and Kern had shared a few intimate moments in the back of the Bronco in the wee hours of the night. Kacie giggled whenever they made the shocks squeak.

  Dad started the Bronco and they were on there way, peaking the mountain and cutting across. After a while, the road went from dirt to gravel, then to the splotchy pavement indicative of poor county bureaucrats. About a mile after it turned into a proper road, there was a small gas station, long since looted. Just past that, there was an on-ramp. The interstate.

  "What do you think?" Kacie asked. "Is it safe?"

  "I'm not sure," Dad said. "We're about five miles away from Canton. I think we could walk that if the interstate is clogged. What I'm worried about it what may be in the cars."

  "I think we should try it," Kern said.

  "Isn't there another way?" Lori asked. "If we get trapped out there..."

  "Shut up," Kern said.

  "If that is the case," Dad said, "then you can have the Bronco, along with the gas and most of what we have scavenged.

  "What are our other options?" Kacie asked. Dad shrugged.

  "Trying to track these back roads, maybe going along on foot through the woods. Normally I wouldn't mind, but this is low land, and close to a population center. We don't know the land, and we don't know what's down there." As if to make his point, two of the dead skirted the tree line off in the distance.

  "Then the interstate it is," Kacie said, bouncing in her seat enthusiastically as she chewed a piece of jerky lifted from an old country store.

  Dad turned onto the on ramp. For a while, he was able to meander through the cars and push others out of the way with the bumper of the Bronco. Finally, though, they had to stop. The cars were so compacted it was impossible to shove them out of the way with the Bronco. All eyes turned to Dad, his mind already made up.

  xxxxxxxxxx

  In the end, Lori decided to go with them, much to Kern's chagrin. Dad had wished that she would take their offer and turn around. In the end, it was her fear of being alone that had prompted her to join them.

  The interstate was a rusty jumble of vehicles and human refuse. There were some dead bodies scattered about, amongst the suitcases, backpacks, bottles, papers, and everything else that had fallen out of the bundles of twisted steel and faded paint. As they picked their way through, Dad took the lead, cautious to check under the vehicles periodically.

  Dad's heart wrenched when he passed by a van. Even though the windows were heavy with dirt and grime, he could see the small figures writhing in the back, captive until the day their small harnesses finally gave way.

  One could tell most times the life a person led by the vehicle they drove. Dad saw all of them represented here. The old farm trucks and the newer, jacked-up diesels. Brand new luxury vehicles. Old junkers with fast food wrappers in the back seat. Old, prime examples of Detroit rolling iron, which rolled the inner cities. This was where the wandering masses had stopped.

  Even though the sun was beating down on them, trying it's best to hold onto it's glory days of summer, they were wearing three layers each except Dad, who had found a leather jacket. It wasn't the best to wear given the warm early autumn day, but it would protect against bites. Lori, for all her faults, was as nimble as a cat and hard to get out of breath. Kern and Kacie weren't far behind. Dad, on the other hand, was sweating profusely

  He was on top of a heap of vehicles, staring across maybe a mile of clogged road at a barricade. Canton. At last, after all these months, he had finally laid eyes on it. His heart sank a little. There didn't appear to be anyone manning it, but that was alright. Maybe there would be people on the other side. Kacie extended her hand, and he was helping her up when it happened.

  Kern was inspecting an old box truck, listening to the gentle creaking of the shocks. Lori stepped up behind him, as if she were going to tell him something. Kern jumped with a shout, and then the truck started rocking violently. The rusted door gave way, little by little. Kern turned to run, but Lori could only stand there and watch the side of the truck, frozen in her fear.

  "Come on!" Kern yelled, and took her by the shoulder as the first emaciated corpse pulled itself free from the wrecked door.

  They ran towards Dad and Kacie, now on their knees with their hands outstretched. Kern made it to Dad, but Lori stumbled behind. Dad shouted, and Kern looked back. A few of them had broken free now, writhing through the broken slats of the roll-up door.

  Before Dad could act, Kern broke free from him and brought his pistol to bear, firing into them. There were maybe five, and Kern wasn't a good shot. His pistol emptied, only killing one of them. Dad swung his rifle around and began firing, as did Kacie. They were too close now to let it end like this.

  A loud crash, and the remains of the door fell to the street, and then the full weight of the dead oozed forth.

  "Kern!" Dad yelled. "Kern, get out of there!"

  Lori couldn't get her feet under her, and they were now starting to swarm her. Kern slipped his empty clip into his pocket and reloaded. The next three shots were true, dropping the three of them closest to Lori.

  Dad swiveled his head. The dead were busting out of cars around them, and coming from the tree line. How long would it be before they broke free from their tombs of steel and fiberglass? Or managed to climb up the embankment to the road?

  When he turned back, Kacie had jumped into the fray, leveling the shotgun. It's first blast almost caused her to lose her balance, and all it did was blow some chunks of flesh and organs off the closest dead, encumbering them even less. Dad emptied his rifle and pulled out his pistol, taking as much time as he could to aim.

  Lori was pulling away, but not slowly enough. One of them grabbed her ankle and it's gaping maw went for her leg. Kacie decimated it with a blast from her shotgun, causing Lori to cry out in pain as the bird shot peppered her leg. The dead were closing in around her now, and she crawled toward Kern. She pleaded with him, and he looked into her face.

  "Kacie, get out of here! Now!"

  Kacie tried to argue with him, but he grabbed her and shoved her back towards Dad. Dad watched, almost in slow motion, as the dead crowded around them in a semi-circle. Kern had time to grab her, they had killed enough of them for that. But would he?

  Kern trained his gun on her, and in that moment Dad didn't know what he would do. All he wanted to do was jump down and help his son fight them off, but he couldn't. If they were going to be quick enough, someone had to be on top to help. Kacie grabbed his outstretched hand, and his voice was going hoarse from screaming. An explosion of sound deafened him, and everything turned to chaos.

  xxxxxxxxxx

  Hate was an understatement for how Kern felt about Lori, at least that's what he thought. He could grab her up and try to get her to safety, but how bad was her leg hurt? Or he could do the sensible thing. He could put a bullet in between her eyes to end her suffering and keep the dead occupied long enough to get farther down the road.

  Something stopped him, though. All those months of having to silently deal with what he had done to her friend. Sure, he was justified in it. Everyone agreed with that. What kept him up some nights was wondering how it could have played out differently. The nights he dwelled on it were rare these days with the passage of time allowing him to keep it shoved deep down, but it was still there.

  Time seemed to stand still. She had the keys, like Dad had promised, so they would need those if there was a retreat to the Bronco. Dad wouldn't have time to hot wire it. But she was also a liability. Those cold, logical thoughts were his way of suppressing his emotions. His rage was not only over being shot, but also for her and Julie forcing him into that situation. His decision was made, and he raised his gun.

  Suddenly, his ears were bombarded wit
h concussion, and bullets sprayed the dead. As he watched Lori plead with him to help her, a spray of bullets cut her from her forehead and down her spine, and she lay there on her belly, in a pool of blood.

  Shapes were moving too fast for Kern to register, but he could hear gunfire all around him. It was erratic for a few minutes, then an order was called out and the gunshots were spaced out, methodical. They were killing the ones farther off.

  Up on the heap or wreckage, Dad was being relieved of his firearm by two men in army fatigues. Sand color digital fatigues, to be exact. Another soldier was doing the same with Kacie. Other soldiers had their guns drawn on them. Kern began to smile as it finally registered in his mind. The United States Army. The radio broadcast had been real.

  "Drop your weapon." A voice said from behind him. When he turned, he saw a hardened man. He probably wasn't any older than twenty, and looked like he would be more at home in a baseball jersey than a uniform, but when Kern looked in his eyes, he saw a killer. A man who had seen far beyond his years what horrors the world held. Kern laughed, tears in his eyes, as he dropped the pistol to the ground.

  xxxxxxxxxx

  Kern's body ached all over. The deep muscle pain was from weeks of living on the road, but his skin ached from the scrubbing they had given him. His old clothes were nowhere to be seen, but his pack was beside the little cot that the woman who had scrubbed him had given him. Of course it had been rummaged through, but he would worry about that later. The other three packs were sitting next to his. Lori's was a cheap plastic thing they had found on the road. Looking at it, he just shook his head.

  "Best shower you've had in ages, I bet." The man behind him crossed his arms with a smile on his face. He was wearing dark tan pants and a tan shirt. The dog tags around his neck gave away his occupation. Unlike the men that had whisked him and the others through the wreckage and into the back of the old ambulance, this man seemed different. He was older, and had a warmth about him.

  "Where are we? Where are the others?"

  "You are at the Canton Processing Center, operated and maintained by the United States Army. Your dad and sister are in the mess hall getting fed a good hot meal. You should join them."

  "She's not my sister," Kern said. The man just winked at him and smiled.

  "Come on. I'll take you to them. Name's Sgt. Collins, by the way."

  When Collins led him out of the dorm, Kern was floored. The small town of Canton had been turned into a real military base. Off in the distance, past the new stores that had been repurposed for a medical building, a warehouse, and other things Kern couldn't tell were three rows of fencing, all topped with constantine wire. There were over a dozen vehicles just in the area they were in. Soldiers were checking the vehicles, talking in groups, or just lounging out in the sun.

  The mess hall was an old dollar store. All the merchandise and shelves had been removed. Folding tables and chairs from the eighties to now were set up, and at the back was a makeshift kitchen. There were a couple of soldiers and quite a few civilians there. Kern spotted Dad and Kacie and began walking over to them. Kacie jumped up and ran into his arms.

  She kissed him deeply, the first real show of affection if front of Dad. It didn't matter now, though. They were safe. If everything else was right, then why couldn't this be? When they were done with their tearful embrace, they joined Dad and another man at the table.

  The man was thin, with wide glasses. His uniform was immaculate. Steam rose off the bowl of soup that sat in front of him, but it was pushed off to the side. In front of him was a notebook. Apparently, Dad had given him a lot to write down.

  "You must be Kern," the man said. "My name is Lieutenant Alexander Ascott. I'm what passes for an intelligence officer around here. I'm pleased to see you are doing well."

  "You won't believe it, Kern," Dad said excitedly. "The government is still there! There are camps like this all over the United States, and a lot of towns have been taken back and people are being sent there."

  "The conditions aren't up to the standards we used to know," Ascott said, "but at least there's power and in most cases running water."

  "So how bad is it?" Kern asked.

  "Oh, it's bad," Ascott said with a chuckle. "Well over half of the U.S. is blacked out. Some countries like Australia have fared far better than us. Others, like India and South America are in shambles. All things considered, I think we are doing rather well. America is a land of plenty, after all, and we have had little problem keeping up with the demand for supplies. What we can't find, we take back the facilities to make, if possible."

  "You make it sound like it's not that big of a deal," Kern said.

  "Aren't we still safe?" Kacie asked.

  "As safe as we can be. And why should I make it sound like a big deal? This is just the world we live in now. The end game is to take back the United States. That has to come first. We have made great gains in the last two years. The main problem is going to be the cities. Fortunately, there are a lot of military bases, warehouses, and factories that aren't in major population centers. As long as we have the time, everything should work out."

  "Why aren't you going out and looking for people?" Dad asked.

  "Oh, we are. Well, the government is. That is not our mission here. Our orders are to secure this outpost, maintain it, and process any people which find their way here, just like you did."

  "There is... was... a community a little east of here. How could not have found them? They had food, water, electricity."

  "The rescue operations are carried out in medium density areas. More bang for your buck, you could say. There is a lot more going on than just search and rescue. Infrastructure is of the utmost importance. What do we do with our citizens if we don't have food to feed them? Clean water? Safe areas? Not only that, but there are those who have decided this new world is their own playground. Creating safety and peace also means dealing with human threats from time to time."

  "You kill other humans?" Kacie said, her jaw almost dropping to the table.

  "If they aren't willing to compromise for the greater good," Ascott said, then sighed. "Look, this isn't like the good ole' U.S. of A. we were a part of before. To say this is a state of emergency is an understatement. In order for us to survive, everyone has to be on the same page. We are fortunate enough to have twenty million civilians properly registered and safe, along with a healthy military. We need fertile farm land. The days of carbohydrate-packed food in easy-open containers is almost at an end, for now.

  "We do produce some food, but mostly for military consumption. The settlements tend to their own needs for the most part, with shipments from the government. To keep all this going, we need resources. If a group of people stands between us and those resources when we extend the opportunity to join us, either as civilians or military personnel, and they turn us down, what option do we have?"

  Kern nodded. It was a lot to take in. Martial law seemed to be the order of the day. He knew, if there was still a government, it would have to come to this. No more politics or pork barrel spending. Just survival.

  "So are we prisoners here, then?" Dad asked. Ascott gave him a sidelong glance.

  "Heavens no," he said. "You are more than welcome to leave right this minute if you wish. We don't want people here who don't want to be. We will even give you supplies. This is still America, after all, but I don't see why you would want to go back out there."

  Kern had devoured the bowl of soup before him, and was now working on an apple. Dad and Ascott continued to talk, and Kern was half listening, until he mentioned the directory.

  "You have a directory of everyone who has been rescued?" Kern asked

  "Why yes. With the settlement they were sent to, and if telephone service has been set back up how to reach them." Ascott smiled and pulled a stack of papers from the briefcase next to him and slid it over to Dad. "I thought you might want this. If you will excuse me, I have to get this information to my superiors. Good day."

  x
xxxxxxxxx

  In the center of the base were phones. Not the rectangular ones that Dad carried in his pocket, but the corded monsters he remembered from his youth. He shakily dialed the number he had circled with a pencil.

  The ring in the earpiece. With it, two years of the pact with Kern had slipped away slowly. Ring. Memories came flooding back to Dad, ones that had been suppressed for far too long. Ring

  It continued to ring. Kern and Kacie were standing by his side. Dad's heart raced, and sweat was beginning to bead on his brow. Ring. With the seventh ring, he remembered what had kept him going all those months.

  Hope.

  "Hello?" That voice. So sweet and familiar. Dad was speechless. Ascott had hinted that there may be someone he wanted to talk to later. It was the settlement phone. That dear, dear man had phoned ahead.

  "Honey," he said with tears streaming from his eyes. "It's me."

  "Oh my God," she said. "Oh, wow. Baby, I've missed you. We've missed you." Then there was a scuffling over the phone. Laughing and crying.

  "Daddy!" It was his little girl's voice. It had changed over the past two years, but it was her.

  "Oh, baby. Daddy will be coming to you soon. I promise!" Kern grasped the phone from Dad, and all Dad could do was cry. Kacie hugged him tightly, sobbing gently herself for the people she didn't find in the directory.

  Dad watched as Kern talked to his little sister. Miracles still happened, and this was the end of their long journey to Canton. What made everything come together, though, was what Kern said next.

  "Hi, mom," Kern said, struggling for the words. His mental wall was breaking into a million pieces. "I'm okay. I miss you. Dad came and got me, just like he said he would."