As the World Ends (2 page)

A smile touched her lips. Boy, did he know how to…pulled from her thoughts with a jolt. Their car flew off the road. “Oh my God, what’s happening?”

Rob had instinctively reached his arm across her to hold her back, like that would help, she thought.

“Hold on, Lauren. Make sure your belt’s on tight.”

Taking a deep breath, Lauren prayed, as they flew through the air.

CHAPTER TWO

On the other side of the state, Roan had been preparing for this event for the last two years. With his bags packed, he loaded up his big, white-box truck. The kind carpenters and plumbers use. First he packed the gas heater, gas, food, clothes, batteries, and a couple of radios. Next, he loaded the water where it was easy to access it. Before heading out, he checked to see if the matches he had in the waterproof box were still dry. Cathy, his soon to be ex-wife, had told him he was nuts and never bought into the whole 2012 scenario. She laughed at him when nothing happened last year. When she left, she had threatened to put him in a straightjacket. The stock-piled food and other items in the caves where he was headed would have brought ridicule from her for wasting time and money. So the scientists were a year off, who cared. Now, he’d be vindicated. Well, what did she think now? For a single moment, he considered contacting her to offer a place in his truck. A cruel smiled spread across his lips. The reality of it hit him hard, after all these months of wanting her back—no way in hell did he want to spend an eternity with her. How sad was that? He laughed about all the stuff Cathy had fought for in the divorce, a lot of good it would do her now.

Roan tilted his water bottle up in a silent salute. “Here’s to you, Cathy, may the Lord be kind to you.”

Drinking from the bottle, he recapped it before climbing into his truck. The ground rumbled beneath him as he put the truck in gear to head out. He looked back just in time to see his house explode. Fully engulfed in flames he realized he beat death by seconds. Unable to control his trembling hands he locked them together to steady them. Resting his head on the steering wheel, he reconsidered calling Cathy, but the phone had no signal. Destiny had made the decision for him.

The gearshift in hand, he dragged it up into first, and then drove off. Without a backward glance, he drove away from the home he had known most of his adult life.

“I’m sorry, Cathy, I tried.” Tears sprung to his muddy brown eyes, surprising him. He hadn’t cried in years. His mind turned to his destination and survival.

Over the last year he had noticed signs that other people were using his cave. To ensure it remained abandoned and his supplies left untouched by the scavengers, Roan placed a motion activated camera in the back of the cave where he had set up his escape home. Another camera at the entrance stood guard when he resided in the cave. The eyes in the cave provided unexpected entertainment when a couple on several occasions used it to make love. He envied the man. The woman with him was a beautiful blonde with a petite body. Who seemed adventurous and in love. The man treated her well from what he could see on the video.

As he got closer to the cave, he realized how much he wished she would be there when he arrived. If this was the end of the world as he knew it, he would have no qualms about eliminating the man, so he could have the woman. He’d already killed once today.

“What a hoot!”

Roan now understood why he let Cathy go in the first place. He was in love with a video image.

The SUV landed with a thud, Lauren’s scream piercing his armor. He watched her head snap right and then left before she could steady herself. Knuckles turning white as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, Rob prayed their landing wouldn’t knock the tires off the vehicle. The minutes ticked by, and then the hours before they landed with a heavy thud that rattled his teeth. The reality of it…it was only seconds.

“Shit, your life really does flash in front of you,” Rob declared.

“Not mine, but I think I need find a bathroom real soon. I don’t feel so good.” Lauren leaned forward resting her head on the dashboard.

“What’s the matter,” Rob screamed, unbuckling his seat belt to get to Lauren.

“Stop, Rob. I’m fine…no, I’m not…I’m just shaken…get us out of here before someone or something else explodes. The bile’s burning its way up my throat.” Rob struggle for control when he realized Lauren was okay.

Finally, a spot opened up in the snarled traffic. He was able to maneuver through it, working his way over to the right, hoping his exit would appear soon.

Lauren played with the electronics. “The damn GPS won’t work.”

“I didn’t think it would. Turn on the radio and see what they’re saying about all this,” he murmured.

Lauren turned on the truck radio. Rob watched as she fiddled with the buttons. Only static echoed through the SUV.

“Use the portable radio. Try to pull something up on that.”

“Do we have enough batteries for this thing?”

“I hope so. If not, there’ll be a store on the way where we can stop and pick some up.” Seeing a break in traffic, he turned the car into it and almost hit a van.

“Asshole,” he yelled.

“Relax, Rob.”

“How can I? If we don’t get to that cave tonight, it’s over. The last few times we were there, it showed signs of another person using it. If he gets there first, do you think he’ll let us in?”

“What do you mean let us in?” she asked, voice strained.

“Exactly what I said, Lauren. Only the strong will survive if this is what I think it is.”

“Oh, God, Rob. Is that why you have all those guns back there?”

“Yes. I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect us, Lauren, especially you.”

“Especially me?”

“Yes, especially you. You’re mine, and I’m not letting anyone else near you, not to worry.”

She turned and looked out the window, trying to figure out what he saw in his mind. This Rob was new to her. Not to worry
,
he said, but now he had her worried. Did he think people were going to attack them? How long could they live in the cave? How could this have happened if everyone had so much warning?

“Stop the car…”

“What…”

“I’m gonna be sick. Stop the car, Rob.” She gagged.

Rob looked around as he got off the highway. Looters were everywhere. A bunch of them were breaking the glass at the gas station.

“Lauren, grab one of those bags and use it to throw up in. We can’t stop here, it’s not safe.”

“Rob, watch out… that guy is heading right for us.”

Rob swerved, missed the guy by driving over the grass. With his foot on the gas petal he drove out of the lot and back onto the highway. Once he got to exit thirty-three, he could take the back roads away from the crowds. He made a hard left to miss an abandoned car. Keeping up his speed he made it to his exit in forty-five minutes.

The back road had a lot of cars, but it was moving faster than the highway.

“Look at all the people hitchhiking,” Lauren pointed.

“We’re not picking anyone up. I don’t care if they’re young or old. We have just enough for ourselves. We need to get a handle on the situation, okay?” He turned his head and looked at her. His wife had a soft spot for kids and the elderly. Hating that he’d be the one to force her to change, he needed to make sure that she understood the situation.

“I understand, Rob. I’m not stupid.” Annoyed, she turned away from him. Her heart ached as she watched the little boy with his mother run down the road; each with a pillowcase over a shoulder.

Rob grabbed her arm to get her attention. “I know you’re not stupid. We can only have compassion for ourselves right now. It’s important you understand we come first, no matter what.”

They drove for another hour before clearing traffic. Rob pulled over onto the grass. Together they took a much needed pee break.

CHAPTER THREE

Exhausted, Roam entered the cave, his sleeping bag and duffle bag over one shoulder. He scanned the cave before walking deeper into it. It was perfect; deep—going back more than a half mile and tall. Standing up straight wasn’t a problem for the most part, except by the entrance he needed to watch out for the stalactites. They were skinny, sharp, and short there. Deeper into the cavern, there were ones that had grown as big around as a man’s chest and were pretty damn hard when you conked your head on them. A pair in the far right corner, he had dubbed Dracula’s Smile, were two very long, and very sharp cones. In between them were smaller, yet no less sharper ones. He’d have to remember to watch his step.

Roan’s favorite part of the cave were the natural shelves nature built into the walls. Spotting a nook running behind a six-foot long stalactite, he slipped one of his knives in for storage. He also placed some of the dry goods on the shelves he wanted to keep safe from the smaller animals. Roan walked further into the cave and set up his sleeping bag in one of the dryer alcoves. It was only nine o’clock, but the weariness in his bones drained his energy. His eyelids pressed down on his eyes like concrete in water. Still, he forced himself to walk back out to run a recon on the area. Can’t be too safe, he thought, especially when alone. Satisfied the truck was safely tucked away from prying eyes.

He rolled his shoulders to release the tension. Happy to find he had no company. At the same time, disappointed to find he had a solitary evening in front of him with only the cave and mountain’s sounds to accompany him. A long night lay ahead of him.

Sleep eluded him. Wired, it had been a tough day. Roan couldn’t settle down. Always prepared for the worst life could throw at him, today tested his limits. Though he had survived, it hadn’t been easy.

He’d taken a life today. Granted he was defending his possessions, but was this, what he had to look forward to? A world where your life was worth a truck, or worse, a bottle of water?

“Did it get easier to kill?” he asked the air. The question echoed through the cave. No surprise, it offered no answer.

“What if this isn’t the end? Shit, I’m a fugitive.” Frustrated, he sat up, opened the cooler, and grabbed a beer.

“This isn’t the time to act like a pussy.” Lonely, he continued to speak out loud, missing the sound of another human voice.