- - End of All Things, The (10 page)

“Go put something in. I’ll make us some popcorn.”

Carly had grabbed the first one off the shelf and put the disc into the player, not knowing what she had chosen until the first scene began. And so they had watched all three
Lord of the Rings
movies because Carly didn’t want to go back to watching the news, and when the movie was over, she’d feel like she had to. She had laid her head on her father’s shoulder, and they’d watched the movies as things fell apart all around them. But for a few, precious moments, they escaped reality.

Carly put the DVD back into her pack. Her father had been looking forward to
The Hobbit.
They’d never get the chance to watch it together, and that thought made her throat tighten. Sam, sensitive as always to her moods, hopped up beside her on the bed and laid his head on her thigh.

A large shadow crossed in front of her window, and Carly gasped. She ducked down behind the bed. The shadow moved away, and she heard something clatter, like metal on concrete. It wasn’t Justin. He wouldn’t lurk outside, moving back and forth as though he were searching for a good hiding place. 

Carly picked up the gun and gritted her teeth. She had never thought she’d be able to kill anyone in cold blood. It just wasn’t in her nature. But imagining whoever was out there setting up an ambush for Justin made her willing. Carly crept over to the door, crouched low. Sam joined her, crouching himself, his ears pointed forward like horns, and when that clatter sounded again, he gave a soft growl. She had to stand to flip the latch, but she sank back down.
Deep breath
.
You can do this.

Carly opened the door in a flash and held the gun out with both hands, prepared to take the shot . . . and found herself staring into the face of a curious horse. Carly was so surprised she lost her balance and fell back onto her ass. The horse lowered its head and snuffled at her. At her side, Sam sniffed back at the horse, and the horse recoiled a bit, its instincts telling it the smell of a wolf meant danger. But it appeared the horse’s fear was outweighed by the desire for companionship since it didn’t retreat.

Carly stood and the horse turned its massive head to look her over with one of its large, soft brown eyes. She reached out and stroked its nose. “What are you doing here, horse? I thought none of you survived the Infection.” She supposed if some people were immune, the same would hold true for animals. And this poor horse must be lonely.

“Are you a girl horse or a boy horse?” Carly peeked beneath it. “Ah! A girl horse.” The horse’s brown coat was shiny, with white socks on all four legs and a lightning-shaped streak down the center of her face. She wore a red halter which had the word “Cloud” stitched on it. “Is that your name? Cloud? You don’t look like a Cloud to me.”

The horse pushed forward with the obvious intent of coming inside and making herself comfortable.

“Oh, no you don’t. No horses on the bed.” Carly took hold of the horse’s halter and pulled her out of the room, just in time to see Justin coming across the parking lot.

“What the fuck?” he said succinctly.

“I found a horse!” Carly chirped. “I think I’ll name her Shadowfax.”

The horse lipped at Carly’s fingers. Carly giggled and stroked her neck.

“Carly . . . you
named
her?” Justin looked dismayed. “What are you going to do with her?”

“She can come with us.” Carly gave Justin no room for argument. Just like Sam, Shadowfax wouldn’t survive on her own, and Carly couldn’t bear to abandon her to a lonely, miserable fate. “Maybe if we find a saddle, I can ride her instead of the bike.”

“Have you ever ridden a horse before?”

“No. But how hard can it be?”

Justin rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Why not? She can pull the wagon, so you don’t have to hook it up to your bike.”

“Horses need to be taken care of, Carly. If she’s going to follow us on the roads, she’ll need shoes or her hooves will split.”

Carly looked at the horse’s feet. She saw a hint of silver metal below each hoof. “I think she has them.”

“Right. But what if she throws a shoe?”

“I don’t know, Justin, but we can’t just leave her here.” Carly crossed her arms and glared at him.

“Aw, Christ . . .”

She could tell he was wavering and had to suppress a grin. “And horses eat grass, right? She’ll find plenty of that along the road.”

“I’ve been around horses, some. Not much, but enough to know they need more than just grass.”

“How do wild horses survive, then?” 

Justin swore under his breath and turned the wagon around. “I’m going to the goddamn feed store.” As he walked away, she heard him mutter, “. . . 
Pied Piper of the Apocalypse
 . . .”

Shadowfax stayed in the small grass lot beside the motel all night. Carly got up several times to check on her, peeking through the curtains to make sure she was unharmed. In the morning, Justin slung the bags of feed onto Shadowfax’s back and tied them in place.

“She can carry her own food,” Justin said in a tone that dared Carly to argue.

“I don’t think she minds,” Carly responded cheerfully, still secretly gleeful over her victory in keeping the horse.

They climbed onto their bicycles and set off down the road, Shadowfax and Sam following behind them. Shadowfax seemed a little leery of Sam, but Sam seemed to like her, and a couple of times he tried to engage her in chasing games. Shadowfax didn’t speak canine, so Sam’s play bows and yips didn’t mean anything to her. She plodded on behind her new human herd.

It was a lovely day for travel. The sun shone brightly through the trees, and the birds sang as though the world was still the same. In the woods, Carly could pretend it was.

They passed cars stalled on the road, people who had tried to flee for the countryside and had gotten stuck in some sort of traffic jam. At the end of the line of cars, they saw the accident that had caused the traffic jam. It was not much more than a fender bender, but apparently, the people had waited for the police and tow trucks to come as they would have when the world was normal. Carly wasn’t the only one who hadn’t understood or accepted things had changed. The opposite side of the road was empty, but the cars hadn’t tried to take advantage of the clear lane. She wondered why none of them had decided to simply drive down the other side of the road, but she supposed they had obeyed the law up until the very end, just as she had written checks for the things she took from the store.

Carly was very careful not to look inside the cars. Justin, however, stopped on occasion and took something he felt would be useful. He found a rifle, a gallon of water, a case of canned food . . . 

At her look, he said softly, “Carly, they don’t need it anymore.”

“It still feels wrong.”

Their route went along Tanani Bay, and when they reached their destination, there was a pier with a ferry boat sitting idle in the dock. The ferry was large, with an open back that allowed for cars to be driven onto it. Justin loaded the bikes, the wagon, and one reluctant horse, who didn’t like the way the vessel shifted beneath her hooves.

“Stay back, Carly. She could kick.”

Carly didn’t have to be told twice. She tugged Sam away by his collar. Justin tied a rope to her halter and fastened it to a railing on the wall, where Shadowfax wouldn’t have to look at the water and realize she was somewhere no horse had any business being.

Justin disappeared to the top deck, and in a few moments, Carly felt the rumbling vibration of the engine starting. “Can you really drive this thing?” she called out when he came down to unfasten the rope moorings.

“Drive, yes. Dock, probably no.” He cast her a grin and went back up the stairs. Carly wished she were the praying sort. 

“Wouldn’t the gas be bad?” she called.

He paused on the stairs. “It’s diesel, and the tank isn’t as exposed to temperature changes as a car. It may be a little gunky, but not too bad yet.”

The trip was shorter than their first boat ride as it was about fifteen miles to Skagway. Justin cut the engine as they approached the dock, and there was a disquieting
CRUNCH
when the boat made contact. Justin jumped to the dock and wound the ropes around the moorings before it could drift away. “We made it!” 

“You sound surprised.”

“I actually thought I’d have to run it aground. But it turns out these things are easier to drive than I suspected.”

He put down the gangplank and led Shadowfax onto the dock. Shadowfax made for the solid ground and then shook her coat as if she were shaking off the experience. Carly patted her and said soothing things while Justin unloaded the bikes and the wagon.

“Why don’t you let her pull the wagon?” she asked as Justin unloaded the horse feed and put it back onto Shadowfax’s back.

“Maybe later. We’ll stay here in Skagway tonight. It’ll probably be your last chance for a shower and a soft hotel bed for a while.”

Carly smiled at him, knowing he was anxious to move on, but he was giving her one more night of the comforts of civilization before they continued.

The motel was only about a quarter of a mile from the dock. Carly waited outside while Justin checked the rooms. He said in a nonchalant tone he just wanted to make sure they were
clean
before she went in, but she knew the real reason was probably to keep her from seeing anything that might disturb her, and she appreciated his consideration. 

Carly tossed a tennis ball for Sam while they waited, and Shadowfax munched happily on the flowers in the raised beds in front of the parking lot. Justin came back just as Sam was starting to get tired of the game. He jumped up on the foot of the bed as soon as Justin unlocked the motel room door and settled with a happy sigh. He didn’t even get up when Carly put out his food and water bowls, so he must have been tired.

Despite the chilly water, she took a long, luxurious shower while Justin scouted the area and collected a few more supplies. He came back with a Scrabble game, and they played five times because neither one of them was emerging as a clear winner. Carly suspected Justin was cheating, but she couldn’t prove it, and he gave her wide-eyed, innocent protests when she made the accusation. When she started yawning, Justin called a truce and said she needed her rest since they had a long day ahead of them in the morning.

“But we’ll have a fire and hot food, at least,” he said. Neither of them had found their dinner of cold ravioli to be very appetizing.

Justin woke with a start when Sam pressed his cold nose against his shoulder. When he saw he had Justin’s attention, Sam let out a low whine and darted over to the door that led into Carly’s room. There he pranced a bit and whined again, obviously trying to get Justin to follow him.

Justin rolled out of bed, his eyes automatically searching the shadowed room for danger, though he didn’t think there was any threat to Carly’s safety, based on Sam’s response. The wolf was anxious, not frightened.

He heard Carly moan, and she tossed her head on her pillow, her breath coming in gasps. Justin crouched down beside the bed and shook her gently. Carly woke with a small scream. She swiveled her head, looking around in confusion. Justin turned on the battery-powered lamp, and she relaxed slightly.

Justin sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. “Are you okay, Carly?”

Tears sparkled in the corners of her eyes, and her voice was unsteady. “It’s always the same. The same nightmare over and over.”

“Can you tell me about it?” Justin considered hugging her, but he wasn’t sure how she would take it. 

Carly shook her head.

“If you figure out why you’re having it, the dreams will stop coming back.” Justin walked into the bathroom and brought back a handful of tissues. Carly blew her nose, and Justin had to suppress a smile at the cute little honking sound she made.

“I once had the same problem,” Justin said. “I kept having a bad dream about one of our missions. Once I talked it over with someone, I realized it was happening because I felt guilty about something that wasn’t really my fault. After that, I never had the dream again. Do you feel guilty about something?”