Broken World (11 page)

13

WE
STOP ONLY TO GET GAS AND EAT, but we don’t even see many other people at the
gas stations. Everyone we pass looks like they’re in shock. Some are still on
the move, trying to make it to their final destination despite what they’ve
most certainly lost. But others just sit, staring off into the distance with
blank expressions on their faces.

There’s very little conversation. Angus
snores in the third row, with Joshua crammed up against the wall, while Trey
sleeps in the second. His head rests peacefully in Parvarti’s lap. Axl drives
and I ride shotgun, but even we don’t say much.

We hit California, and my spirits lift a
little. Emily isn’t far now.

“What ‘bout Emily’s dad?” Axl asks,
breaking the silence that’s been hanging over us for the past few hours.

I don’t even hesitate to tell him. His
presence is somehow calming. “Some guy from the trailer park. He was eighteen,
still living with his mamma. She freaked out when she found out he got me
pregnant. Told me to take care of it and stay away from her son. She didn’t
want me to ruin his life. Like he was going places.” I shake my head. “Last I
heard, he was in jail.”

Axl snorts. “What’d he do?”

I look at him out of the corner of my
eye and try not to smile. “Robbed a few convenience stores.”

Axl frowns. “Seriously?”

I laugh and slap him lightly on the arm.
“No! Drugs. That’s how I met him. My dad used to buy pot from him.”

Axl chuckles and looks back toward the
road. “Bitch,” he says. But there’s a lightness to his voice I’ve never heard
before.

“He was an ass,” I say. “First in a long
line of asses.”

“Look!” Parvarti says from the backseat,
interrupting our conversation. “There’s a man out there.”

I glance out the window and Axl slows
the car a little. Southern California is dry and brown, with mountains and
hills in the distance. The landscape around us is flat, though. There’s nothing
in sight but flat, rocky dirt. No cars, no buildings, no people. Except one
man. He’s about a hundred yards away, walking with his head down, his body
slack. He walks without looking ahead. Aimless.

“Son of a bitch looks shell-shocked,”
Axl says.

“Should we stop? Try to help him?”
Parvarti asks.

“Look at him,” Axl says bitterly. “He
don’t want help. Looks like he just gave up.”

My heart aches just a little. There’s
something so sad about watching him walk across the dust alone. His shoulders
are slumped low, like the weight off the world is on them.

“Let’s get out of here.” I turn away. My
throat tightens, and I try to fight back the tears, thinking about what he’s
lost. Probably everything. And he isn’t alone in that.

We reach the area where we’re going to
drop Trey and Parvarti off around six in the evening. The sun is low on the
horizon when we pull off the interstate.

“We’ll find you a car. Looks like it’s
‘bout an hour and a half from here,” Axl says.

“What are you going to do, steal it?”
Parvarti asks.

Axl snorts. “Where you think we got
this?”

Parvarti and Trey both look at him with
their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. I don’t even bat an eye.

The streets are almost deserted. We pass
the occasional car or see a random person dart down the street, but for the
most part things are quiet. It reminds me too much of a post-apocalyptic movie,
and it’s terrifying.

“Have you spoken to your parents, Trey?”
I ask, watching a woman dart from a small grocery store with busted out windows
toward a car. She acts like she’s being chased.

I’ve been too focused on how crappy I
feel to ask him lately, but now I want to know what’s going on. It’s obvious
the virus has hit California. Hard. I don’t know what to attribute the empty
streets to, though. Death or panic.

“People really started getting sick a
couple of days ago,” Trey says. “My parents haven’t left the house, so last I
heard they were good. But cell service has been sketchy the past two days.
Haven’t been able to get through since yesterday evening,”

I turn around so I’m facing him. “You
mean your cell phone hasn’t been working?” Trey shakes his head. I look at the
others. “What about you guys? Joshua, have you been able to get ahold of your
lab tech friend? Have you tried anyone, Parvarti?”

When they shake their heads fear sweeps
over me. That’s a strange turn of events.

Axl pulls into a car dealership and
parks the car. “Trick is gonna be finding one that’s gassed up.”

“You’re taking a car from here?” Trey’s
eyes dart around, surveying the lot, and he shakes his head. “This is a bad
idea.”

“Listen here, we ain’t doin’ nothin’
different than anybody else. You saw the stores we passed. How many had their
windows busted out?” Axl’s voice is rougher than usual. He’s getting impatient
with Trey and Parvarti’s squeamishness. “Look, the window’s already broken!
Somebody else had the same idea as us.”

“What’s all the yellin’ ‘bout!” Angus
pulls himself up in the back. He’s been asleep for most of the trip.

“We’re gettin’ a car for these two so
they can be on their way.” Axl opens the door and jumps out.

Angus grins, like it’s the best news
he’s heard all year. “Well, let me help you.”

Everyone climbs out, and even though I’m
still a bit weak I decide to get out too. We’ve been cooped up in the car for
hours, and we still have more than an hour until we get to Fairfield.

The guys take off, stepping through the
giant hole in the window of the dealership in search of keys, while Parvarti
and I stand next to the Nissan.

“How are you feeling?” Parvarti asks.

I lean against the car. “Tired, but a
little better. What about you?”

She sighs. “Worried.”

“What about?”

“Trey is so sure we’re going to drive
off to his house and find his family well, but I’m not. He really thinks things
are going to be okay, that you guys are overreacting and all this will be
sorted out in a couple of weeks.” She chews on her lower lip. “I think he’s
being overly optimistic and I’m afraid we’ll get there just to find everyone
dead. Then we’ll be alone.”

My throat tightens. “I understand.”

“At least with Axl and Angus we’d have
two capable people. Trey can shoot a gun, but he can’t hunt and he’s never made
a fire. What if this is the end?”

“But he has to try to find his family,”
I say. “He can’t just assume they’re gone without even checking it out.”

“I know, I know. I just…” She shakes her
head and looks toward the building.

“We’ll work something out.” I put my
hand on her arm. “Maybe we can set up a place to meet, in case.”

A sound echoes across the parking lot,
and Parvarti and I both look in the direction. It was like an empty can or
piece of metal being kicked across the asphalt, and it makes me think of Angus
and his Coke can. I expect to see him sauntering toward us, but it isn’t him.

“There’s a man,” I say. He walks through
the line of cars, maybe searching for one himself. Doesn’t look like he’s
spotted us. I look toward the building, hoping to see the guys. There’s no one
in sight.

Parvarti looks ready to bolt. “Should we
hide?”

I turn toward the open car door and grab
my purse. “No, he may need our help.” I pull my gun out and make sure it’s
loaded.

Parvarti squares her shoulders, trying
to look brave. She doesn’t. She’s shaking like a leaf and I can practically
hear her heart pounding. Maybe that’s mine.

I walk toward the man, and Parvarti
falls in behind me. His back is to us. He wears a dark suit that’s filthy and
tattered. His feet drag against the ground when he walks, shuffling across the
parking lot aimlessly.

I clear my throat. “Sir?”

He pauses, but doesn’t turn. His head
snaps up. I wait for him to say something or look at us, but he doesn’t move.

Parvarti’s eyes met mine and she shrugs.
She’s as clueless about what to do as I am. I study the man and take another
step toward him. “Are you okay?”

This time he twists around so he faces
us. His face is sunken and his skin is a strange shade of gray. His eyes are
blank. They’re empty and unfocused, and for a moment I’m not even sure if he
can see us.

Parvarti takes a step back. “You think
he’s in shock?”

“He must be.”

We both stand silently, looking at him.
Waiting for him to speak. But he doesn’t. He begins to stagger toward us. A
soft moan comes from his mouth.

I swallow and take a step back, grabbing
Parvarti’s arm. “Are you hurt?”

He doesn’t answer, he just keeps
walking. If that’s what you can call it.

“Vivian,” Parvarti whispers.

I raise the gun. “You need to back off.”

He doesn’t stop.

My pulse races. Why the hell did I think
it was a good idea to approach this guy? There’s something strange about him.
Unnatural.

“Run.” I turn around and pull Parvarti
toward the building.

Footsteps follow us, faster than a few
minutes ago. The moans grow louder.

“He’s chasing us!” Parvarti yells.

I don’t say anything, I just move
faster. Dragging her with me. My heart races, and my breaths come out in short
gasps.

“Axl!” I scream as we get closer to the
building.

The man is right behind me, he has to
be. His footsteps are louder and the grunting more persistent, but I don’t want
to look over my shoulder.

Angus sticks his head out through the broken
window in front of us. “What the hell’s all the screamin’ ‘bout?”

I don’t have to answer. His eyes go to
the man behind us and his body stiffens. He steps from the building and yanks
his gun out of his waistband. He aims it at the man.

“Better stop,” he warns.

The man doesn’t. I’m not positive
because he’s behind me, but I think he runs faster.

“I ain’t jokin’,” Angus growls.

We reach Angus and rush behind him. I
spin around, trying to catch my breath, and watch the crazed man run toward us.
He’s fast, but he still drags his feet.

Now that I’m safely behind Angus, I can
relax a little. The man isn’t big and he doesn’t have a weapon of any kind. I’m
not even sure he’s really much of a threat, because I’m pretty sure Angus could
easily take him.

Anyone else may have tried to reason
with the guy. Wrestled him to the ground and tried to talk some sense into him.
But not Angus. He pulls the trigger without giving the guy another warning.

The bullet hits the guy in the head,
directly above his right eye. His body goes limp and he drops to the pavement.

Angus lowers his gun and spits on the
ground. “Dumb son of a bitch.”

“What was wrong with him?” Parvarti
asks.

“What the hell’s goin’ on out here?” Axl
steps outside with a handful of keys.

Trey and Joshua follow him, and their
eyes go to the dead man on the ground.

“This crazy bastard was chasin’ the
girls. Had to take him out,” Angus says.

“Are you okay?” Trey wraps his arms
around Parvarti.

She nods but doesn’t say anything, and
for a moment everyone just stares at the dead man.

“What happened?” Axl asks. “What’d he
say?”

“Nothing.” I sweep my hair off my face.
It’s moist and sticks to my forehead. “We saw him walking around and went to
see if he needed help. He looked—lost. He didn’t say anything to us. Just started
running toward us like a crazy person.” I look at the keys in Axl’s hand. “What
took you so long?”

“No electricity.” Axl turns toward the
parking lot. “Makes it hard to look for keys.”

The men walk off without another word,
headed toward the cars. I don’t follow. I’m too exhausted to wander through the
rows of cars, and the crazy man has me a little shaken, so I head back to the
Nissan.

Parvarti follows me and stands awkwardly
by the door as I climb up and sit in the passenger seat. “He just killed that
guy.”

I sigh and lay my head back against the
seat. “I know. I don’t really like it, but I don’t think talking to him would
have helped. You saw him. He was out of his mind.”

“He could have tried to talk to him,”
she whispers.

I don’t answer. I’m too tired to comfort
her, and to be honest, I don’t think I really care. Maybe the guy wanted to
die. Maybe he saw Angus and that gun as his way out.

Parvarti eventually goes to the back of
the Nissan and opens the door. She gets busy pulling bags out and I know I
should help, but I don’t. I just want to get to Fairfield and see if Emily is
okay. To make sure she’s taken care of. My worst fear is finding her dead, but
the second very real possibility is that she’s alone. That both her parents
succumbed to the virus, and she’s having to fend for herself. That would be
awful.