Ever Onward (12 page)

“Ya,”, Jessie grinned. “Mom thought
it’d be too dangerous; but now...” His excitement suddenly trailed
off as the reality of the situation struck home. Now Mom would
never again gently remind him to be careful. Never again would she
be there to worry and fuss and do all those little things that
silently show a mother’s love for her child. Mom was gone, like
every one else he had ever known. Suddenly he was running from the
crowded table. Josh started to rise, but Doc shook his
head.

“He’s still in shock, Josh. The young
push it aside; not like adults, who worry over it like an old hound
with a bone. Talk to him later tonight. Tuck him in like you used
to. He’ll like that. But right now he needs to be
alone.”

Bobby Stewart, much closer to Jessie’s
age than Josh’s, nodded agreement. “Doc’s right, Mr. Williams.
Jessie needs time to sort it all out.” Bobby looked about the room,
then continued, haltingly at first, but as the pent-up emotion
poured out, so did the words. “Last week when I woke up and found
my old man had turned into a pile of dirty gray ashes, I pushed the
tears away. My mom’s been gone for years now and me and my old man
never got along too well. He never liked me playing in a band.
Always after me to ‘get a real job’.” Bobby’s voice sank to a
whisper. “I hated him for that. Hated him for his drinking
too.”

Mrs. Wang, hovering in the background,
came over and placed her small work-worn hand on Bobby’s shoulder.
Bobby squeezed it. Off to one side Gloria, her hands soapy with
dish suds, wiped a tear from her own eye.

Bobby continued. “Today, when I was
changing the oil on your van, I started crying. Crying like a
baby!” His brimming eyes sought Josh. “We’d argued again. My dad
and me. The night before ‘it’ happened. I... I told him I how I
felt. It all just sort of came out, all the years of being
frightened and ashamed. And then ---”

Bobby’s voice cracked and he began to
sob. Mrs. Wang held him tight. Gloria came and, kneeling down,
placed her head on his shoulder. Eddy cleared his throat and left
the room. Josh turned towards the porch, seeking his son. With mild
surprise he saw the mute girl Mai-Ling slide out the back door. She
moved like a gentle shadow towards Jesse’s darker one at the far
end of the porch.

Slowly Josh sat back down and took out
his pipe.

The next day, on the morning of June
26
^th
, they were ready. Bobby and Eddy had tuned up the
vans and made sure the motor and winches on the Texaco’s tow-truck
were in good working order. The tow-truck had been Doc’s idea, in
case they ran into cars blocking the road.

“Don’t look for us before the end of
July,”, Josh said.

They were all gathered in front of
Doc’s small house.

“We’ll be fine,” Doc smiled. “The
girls and Mrs. Wang will keep Willard and I well fed and hopping!
Gloria’s got a list of RH negative people from the clinic’s files,
and I’ll get more from Crown Point General. Since we found out that
both Eddy and Gloria are A B negative, we could have a whole slew
of people here when you get back!”

Josh smiled. “I hope to bring some
back with us as well.” His Cousin Brad flashed in his mind. “This
old place probably won’t hold us all.”

Doc scratched his bare head. “Willard
and I’ve been thinking on that. Willard said we’re all welcome up
at his farm. I’m going to take Mrs. Wang up there this afternoon
and see what she thinks. Hell, we might even move into one of those
fancy estates up in the park! They’re close to Willard’s and right
on the lakes. Then I could go fishing every day and let these
pretty young girls do all the work!”

Willard snorted. “Fat chance there,
Doc. Besides, I need someone to help me swill the hogs!”

They all laughed and then
climbed into their vehicles. Josh, Jessie and the two dogs in the
old white van, Eddy in his new Chevy and Bobby in the tow-truck.
Good-byes were said and horns honked and soon the little caravan
was on its way. Just as they were pulling out of the drive Gloria
ran up and squeezed Bobby’s hand through the open window. Josh saw
Jessie wave hesitantly to Mai-Ling. Pretty and silent, she shyly
returned the wave, her long, glossy hair flowing about her like a
dark waterfall.

Their first stop was Crown Point.
Though they kept an eye out for other survivors, they saw none.
Someone had passed through though, for the large grocery store had
been broken into. Josh kept his father’s shotgun close at hand as
they loaded up with food and drink. Eddy had his old deer
rifle.

Their next stop was the Crown Point
Mall. Since the doors were locked, they had to break in. Josh felt
like a thief as he used the butt of his shotgun to shatter the
heavy glass. The screaming of the alarm bell did nothing to ease
his mind, and he waited anxiously for several long minutes while
Eddy found the alarm switch. Once inside, they took a large
shopping cart, went to Radio Shack and loaded up on flashlights,
extra batteries and a few ‘goodies’ for the road.

Eddy got a whole box of long range
walki-talkies. Jessie found the latest version of whatever video
game player was popular and a dozen cartridges. Bobby headed for
the music store. Josh told him to meet them at the Friar Tuck’s
Books in half an hour.

Once inside the book store, each of
the three sought out their own special interests. Eddy leafed
through fishing and hunting books. Jessie picked up several graphic
novels, then turned his attention to Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit
Calendar. Josh browsed alongside Eddy in the sports section,
looking at books on canoeing and backpacking. He chose the Farmers
Almanac and a Rand McNally Road Atlas, then wandered over to the
Fantasy section. His eye caught a hardcover copy of ‘Lord of the
Rings’. Though he’d ready it several times, he tucked it under his
arm anyway. By then Eddy was waiting for them at the door. When
Josh called him, Jessie fumbled the glossy calendar back onto the
shelf and joined them by the fountain. Bobby came along a moment
later, a expensive looking guitar case in each hand and a smile a
mile wide. He handed one to Jessie.

“You said you wanted to learn how to
play. Well, I got us two of the best. A Gibson Special and a
Rickenbacker 12 sting! Each one costs over a grand!”

Josh smiled. “No big amp,
Bobby?”

Bobby’s grin widened. “Hey, Mr.
Williams. Give me a break. I’m no Einstein, but even I know that
the power’s not going to last for long. Maybe a month or two, maybe
longer, but sooner or later the motors are going to burn our. I
can’t fix them. Nobody can.” He held up the thick guitar case. “So
from now on its acoustic all the way! You know; Eric Clap all those
old guys you liked way back when --- Eric Clapton Unplugged, Bob
Dylan, Cat Stevens, maybe even a little Beatles!”

Josh chuckled. “Groovy.”

Their last stop before leaving Crown
Point was at Le Baron, a large sporting goods store. Josh wanted
them to have the best in camping equipment, clothing, footgear ---
and weapons.

When they arrived they found that,
like the grocery store, someone had been there before them. The
front door was shattered and broken glass lay on the sidewalk.
After they entered, they saw that not only had someone been there
before them, they had done a fair job of wrecking the place.
Clothes, fishing gear, sleeping bags had been scattered about.
Whole display cases had been tipped over. From the holes in various
walls, a number of shots had been fired at random.

Then Bobby found the dead body.
Tripped over it really. It was a middle aged male with the top of
his head blown off. No papery wasp’s nest here, but real blood,
brains and bone. From the look of the body it hadn’t happened more
than a few hours ago. A revolver lay at his side.

“Why?” The question came from
Jessie.

Josh turned his son and walked him
stiffly away while Eddy covered the remains. The four of them stood
in a tight circle. The large room had suddenly turned sinister.
Ring Wraiths seemed to lurk in the shadows, their red eyes
glowing.

Josh felt like a fool. Here he was,
the oldest, supposedly the leader, and what had he been doing?
Treating this all like some bloody shopping spree! Toying with
computers and leafing through books on fantasy while just around
the corner some poor, deranged soul had blown his bloody brains
out!

He turned away and suddenly slammed
his fist down on a counter. The glass shattered, cutting his wrist
on a jagged edge.

Blood flowed.

Jessie cried out, then grabbed his
father’s hand. Their eyes met. “Please, Dad. We’ve got to hold on.
Or we’ll end up like --- like ---” His gaze flicked back to the
body sprawled on the floor.

Josh pulled his son to him, feeling
the young muscles quivering with strain. “I will, Jess!”, he
whispered fiercely. Still clasping Jessie to him, spoke to the
others.

“I’m sorry. I was stupid.” Holding up
his bleeding hand, he continued. “Not just for this. But before.
Letting us all walk around like there was nothing to worry about!
That poor fool back there could have been waiting for us! Killed
one, two, maybe all of us before shooting himself!”

Jessie looked up, tears in his eyes.
“It’s not your fault, Dad. You can’t blame yourself because the
whole world’s gone crazy!”

“The boy’s right, Josh,” Eddy put in
quietly. “I’ve only known you a few days, but Doc, he told me you
might try and take too much on yourself. All of us have to learn to
be more careful, not just you, and from now on we will.”

Bobby nodded. “Eddy’s taking straight,
Mr. Williams! All of us have to pull our own weight, not just
you!”

Josh sighed, attempting a smile. “Okay
guys, but from now on we’ve all got to be a hell of a lot more
careful.”

Eddy reached down and picked up a
first aid kit from the floor. “Let’s start with fixing that hand of
yours.”

This time Josh’s smile was
heart-felt. He was beginning to take a great liking to Eddy
Hascomb.

From then on they were serious ---
deadly serious. Finding the body had driven home the need for
caution in a way that little else could. Josh and Jessie selected
the camping gear and brought it to the door, while Bobby stowed it
away and Eddy stood guard outside. No-one wanted any more little
surprises. Even the weapons they chose in pairs, one group always
outside with the vans.

Jessie stopped off at the archery
department while Josh went on into the gun section. Despite what
he’d said earlier, Josh couldn’t help but feel like he was acting
out some B rated ‘action’ movie. With the rifles and shotguns he
had little problem. Having hunted since early childhood, he knew
what to look for; a 12 gage Browning pump for himself and a 20 gage
of the same model for Jessie. Remembering the incident with Gloria
and the Dude, he picked a Remington bolt action with a telescopic
sight for long range shooting. Then, on an impulse, he grabbed a
30-30 Winchester with an enlarged circular lever action, just like
the kind John Wayne used in all his movies. (So much for
suppressing the ‘little boy in a candy store’ feeling!) He got
boxes of shells for each and placed them all in a large shopping
cart.

The hand guns however, presented
several problems.

Though most of the cases had been
smashed, there were still plenty to choose from. To him they all
looked like a bunch of dangerous toys, made for just one purpose:
killing other human beings. He wasn’t sure he wanted that for his
son, living out his whole life with one of those obscenities
strapped to his side. This Brave New World had a very dark
side.

Another problem was he’d never
actually fired a handgun before. Oh, he’d seen hundreds used in
movies and on TV. and he’d seen all the Clint Eastwood spaghetti
westerns and Dirty Harry flicks. He even knew some of the names:
Colt 45, Baretta, .357 Magnum, Glock .9 mm, but the thought of
actually using one against another person made him
shudder.

Then he caught sight of the body
laying on the far side of the store. In this world suddenly gone
mad, that could just as easily be one of them. Might yet be them.
Might be Jessie. A weapon, a handgun, could save him.

Grabbing a box full of ski mitts, he
dumped them on the floor and began scooping the remaining handguns
into it. Tossing the box into the cart, he pushed his small arsenal
towards the door.

“Let’s go, Jess!”

Jessie heard the anger in his father’s
voice and hurried after him. It wasn’t until Josh was outside that
he realized he hadn’t brought any bullets for the handguns.
Swearing under his breath, he dug in his pocket for his
pipe.

“Holy cow, Mr. Williams!”, Bobby said,
eyeing the laden cart. “Leave any for us?”

Josh turned a frown on Bobby that he
hadn’t seen for years. All of a sudden he was back in the tenth
grade, caught trying to look up a girl’s skirt instead of a
Shakespeare reference.

“Go get what you want, Bobby. The
place is full of the damn things!”

Bobby backed away, not wanting to
press his luck. Eddy strolled over and smiled knowingly.

“I forgot to get shells,” Josh said,
though his eyes said something else altogether.