The Long Way To Reno (19 page)

Familiar
streets that I had once taken in my Honda Civic were uprooted, as if they were
stretches of broken thread. There were abandoned vehicles everywhere, lying in
the weirdest places – as if thrown by a kid having a tantrum. The
hospital that once stood on the hill was completely gone, that side of the area
carved sharply away. The ruined vegetation told me that fires had burned here, too.

            It
was so empty and desolate. It truly felt as if there was no one left out there,
but I knew there had to be.

Nate
started to sniffle, burying his face into his hands. I wanted to elbow him
because if I couldn't cry, he shouldn't be allowed to. I instead stared towards
downtown, hoping badly that my parents were there. My chest clenched tightly
because I wanted to see them so bad. I felt my eyes sting, and I hoped so
freaking
hard
that they hadn't tried to leave the city to come find me.

Despite
my earlier resolve, I looked at Harley. I had to wonder who he was looking for
as he frowned at the scene we saw. Did he still think of Grace, the snag for
New Year's Eve? Or of his father?

"Damn,
it looks bad," Alex muttered from behind Emmy. "All this time, I've
been wanting to come back home. But not to this, man. Not to this."

"We'll
have to cross the river, here," Harley muttered in response. "Just
keep an eye out for those soldiers. They have to be here, somewhere."

There
was a narrow bridge that looked to join to Sparks-side, promising entrance to
the suburb amidst a shadowy factory that I wasn't familiar with. I only saw
these sights from the freeway. I didn't know every nook and cranny of it
– I was pretty sure the area would lead us to Greg Street, which was a
sure shot to the freeway, and to McCarren, which did a full loop around the
entirety of Sparks and Reno.  

Fifteen
minutes later, Harley came to a stop outside a pile of vehicles. From the way
they were positioned, it was as if someone had moved a bunch of them via
machinery to form a wall. Man made. It made all of us very cautious, slightly
scared.

Harley
cut the truck's engine, and we sat there in silence, watching our breath form
as we breathed. "We might have to walk from here," he said low.

"It'll
be easier," Emmy agreed, opening the door and spilling out with a relieved
noise. All of us left the truck, trying to be quiet about it. Stretching out
our limbs and wincing at the cold air. I watched Harley favor his left leg,
wincing as he put his full weight on it. When he noticed me watching him, he
glared at me and went for his pack.

"Can
you even move it?" I asked low, as Emmy discussed with Alex and Nate the
places she used to go in Sparks.

"I'm
the only one armed right now. They'll shoot me first. That should allow you
guys to get to cover, so you better do it, fast," he said in response,
pulling his pack on. He then gave a cross expression to the darkness,
muttering, "I should've just left a long time ago…"

I
narrowed my eyes. I didn't know how to feel about that. I knew I could do
without him, but…there was this pesky lingering uncertainty within me. I don't
know if it were guilt, shame, frustration, annoyance…I don't know what it was.

"C'mon,
people. There's a way in, this way," he said, leading the way while he
unloaded his gun, checking it. Still limping.

Nate
and Alex stuck close to him, and Emmy shook her head at me as she caught up to
me.

"Quit
being a bitch, Edith," she hissed. "He didn't have to go back to you.
But he did. So get over it."

"He's
going to slow us down. He's hurt," I insisted.

"Then
take care of him!"

"
Ew
,"
I said out of reaction. "I don't take care of guys, Em."

"
Emmy
!
You're so selfish, Edith! He really cares about you, and you're so bitchy
towards him - !"

I
gave a heavy sigh, finding it too complicated to explain to Emmy what I felt
about the situation. "When you're older, you'll understand."

"I
just hope I'm a way better person than you," she muttered, walking ahead
to join the guys.

I
frowned because…I hoped she was, too.

:
:

            Nearly
forty-five minutes later, we were standing on the Sparks Boulevard overpass,
overlooking I-80, with the Legends shopping center to our left. There were so
many abandoned vehicles on the overpass, on the on and off ramps that it was
almost as if every living being had been sucked right out of their car. Some of
them were smashed, overturned, like someone had played bumper cars with all of
them. Others were just abandoned, doors left open, seats jammed with hastily packed
junk. Trucks with trailers took up a lot of room. One of them was lying on its
side on the exit ramp, jack-knifed between cement walls.

It
was dark, and there was an uneasiness to the entire area that left us all
jumpy. The silence was immense, save for some gunfire in the distance that
didn't sound so safe. We crossed the overpass and was almost near the Taco Bell
within the Legends mall area when I decided to speak up.

"I
want to go that way," I said, pointing towards the center of Reno. I
looked at Harley, because, for some reason, the others were looking to him for guidance.
It was a little weird. My next question was more cautious. "Why aren't we
going that way?"

"I
think…with the state of things, the way the city was hit, that pretty much the…the
aliens
," he stuttered over this word, obviously unable to accept
things as they happened, "are done with it. The soldiers patrolling the
area won't look there for any more stragglers. It might be safest."

I
gave him a skeptical look before looking back over the mangled mess. It wasn't
even a freeway, anymore. It was a route of devastation and ruin. It was as if
someone massive had just – it actually looked like footprints, to be
honest. I squinted, trying to see if this was a sure thing. Those giant mechas
had to have done this.

"Why
are we going along with what
she
says?" Nate then asked, giving me
an expression of disgust. "Remember what happened the last time?"

"
We
were headed that way in the first place," Emmy interjected, before either
I or Harley could speak up. "
You
came along for the ride. If you
want to go somewhere different, then
you're
free to go."

I
couldn't help but look at her with appreciation.

"I
thought we were a group!"

"
We
are! Before we met you,
we
already had a destination in mind!"

"I
live in Cold Springs, so…it's along the way," Harley said, a little low.

Nate
looked at him and Alex for help, seeing as he wasn't convincing the females
that his cause was greater than mine. "I can't go – I can't do this
on my own, you guys. I can't just – I need to go
that
way."

He
pointed towards the north end of Reno, which was I-80 straight through the
center of the city. I started to feel a little guilty because my way would mean
Emmy and Harley had to leave their path by some miles.

"Then
come with us as far as we go," Harley said, easing himself to sit on the
cold ground. He grimaced as he did so, and I frowned down at him, eyeing the
knee he began rubbing with both hands. Emmy crouched down next to him with a
concerned expression while Alex surveyed the wreckage of the freeway, not
participating in anything.

"But
I need someone to go with me!"

"Sorry,
buddy, but our plans take us in the opposite direction."

"You
guys can't just leave me – it's all
your
fault!" Nate then
accused, pointing at me. "It's real obvious why you're getting all the
consideration, you who - !"

"Cut
it out. We were headed for that destination before we even met you,"
Harley snapped at him. "After everything that's happened so far, I don't
think we're going to make any big decisions following people we meet. It seems
that every one of them is trying to kill us, anyway."

"I'm
cool hanging with you guys," Alex said, turning to look at us. He gave a
gesture out at the city behind us. "Look at this place…I bet the valley
was hit hard – I don't think any of my family made it. I don't think I'm
even gonna try. What's the point?"

"We're
going to Harley's dad's place," Emmy told him shyly. "He's armed and
dangerous, I hear. I mean, c'mon – if Harley's
this
, then think about
where his dad's coming from."

"I'm
way excited," Alex agreed, and I was bewildered to the expressions of
approval from the teens as they looked at Harley. Meanwhile, the scrawny dork
looked awkward at their praise. Nate gave a curse, hands on his hips. "I'm
pretty much thinking we'll live together, forever, with this guy."

Emmy
blushed.

Ever
the protective parent, Harley gave Alex a suspicious look. Alex was quick to
wave his hands around, saying hastily, "I mean, not like - ! I'm not in it
for that, I'm just - !"

"It
isn't
fair
," Nate insisted. "I can't do this on my own! I just
want to get to Trevor - !"

"It's
not like we're making you go with us," I said. "We're going that way.
If it's faster for you, go back to McCarren."

"As
far as I'm concerned, anything
you
say or do is irrelevant to me,"
he said haughtily.

"Unfortunately,
she's right," Harley said bitterly. "I'm sorry, things are…chaotic. After
everything that's happened thus far, I can't find any other reason to deviate
from the path we've already planned on taking."

God,
he sounded like such a dork. But Nate glared at him and Harley looked
uncomfortable because it was obvious he wasn't used to being in charge –
but everyone kept looking to him for direction, and he couldn't snake out of it.
Alex crouched down next to the wall, looking up at the snow that fell gently
– while it hit the ground, it wasn't sticking as badly as it was in
Patrick. I noticed him and Emmy sneaking looks at each other.

I
adjusted my messenger bag. "Well, shall we continue?"

"WE
should take a break," Alex spoke up, looking at me. "I think his
knee's hurt."

"No,
it's fine – " Harley started to say when Emmy said firmly, "We
need to find a place to stay, Edith. He might've twisted it when Tom stuffed
him into the trunk."

I
gave an impatient frown at him while the teenagers stared at me, waiting for me
to argue. It looked like everyone was going to jump on me for wanting to move
on, so I clenched my teeth. I just wanted to go
home
– I could see
it – I was in the city,
I just wanted to go home
- !

But
at the same time, since we were in Sparks, it would be easy for these guys to
just find a place to squat in while Harley rested his leg, or whatever. My
throat tightened at spending more time away from my parents. I figured I could
just leave these guys – it should be that hard to get home!

BUT
- !

"Okay,
okay," I said with a tight grimace. "Look, Legends is right there.
It's a huge place. And there's apartments, too. We can find supplies."

I
figured I could ditch them when they were settled in Scheel's. I wasn't about
to be deterred from my path. I caught the relieved expression on Harley's face,
and felt a tiny stab in my chest. I'm not sure if it was from guilt or my own
wretched selfishness screaming impatiently at them, but it made me wince. I
guess he was more hurt than I wanted to accept, and we'd walked a good distance
for the injury to grow worse.

Emmy
gave me a cheery smile while Nate grumbled, walking away from us. I thought he
was going to leave us, but he just walked out from behind the UPS Delivery truck
we were sitting behind. I was going to follow him because I wanted to see what
sort of an obstacle course we were going to take when Emmy asked Harley to show
her his knee. Alex said something I didn't catch – I was watching Nate
because his head jerked around so quickly that my heart skipped a beat.