The Long Way To Reno (27 page)

"
But
what if they're gone, Edith? I heard planes fell down in that area that
night."

"I
won't know until I've checked," I said stiffly.

He
realized that I was steadfast on my decision. I tried to chase the feelings of
anxiety away from me. I didn't want to think that, perhaps, my parents were in
a place I never even considered. Maybe they weren't at safe camps. Maybe they
weren't out looking for me. Maybe they weren't at home. Maybe they'd run an
errand that night, and was caught up in the chaos of the city.

My
stomach clenched tightly.

My
face lost its scowl, replaced with worry. I wanted to slap him for the things
he made me feel.

"I'll
help you look for them," he then said, his tone heavy. I hated how closely
he looked at me. "Now that…I know where my dad is, and…and Emmy can be
safe, here, with these guys."

"I
think I've done pretty well on my own so far," I said carefully, staring
at my shaking hands and picturing all the places that they could have gone to.
My mind was whirling with a new panic, now. What if dad had wanted to eat out?
What if mom had wanted something at Target? What if they'd made an impulsive
trip to Whole Foods for dinner?

"Yeah…yeah,
you have, but…it'd…it'd be easier if you weren't alone, Edith. For you, I mean.
It's a long distance to walk, and there's…all these…obstacles that…"

“It's
easier with just me! And it’s right there!” I exclaimed, pointing across the room.
Like it was literally right there.

He
made a pointing motion the other way. “Or just stay here, count their
disappearance as a loss, like the others, here. You said they were older - ”

"My
dad's entirely capable of taking care of them both. He boxed regularly, and
he's a crackshot with his gun," I muttered, clenching my fingers together.
"He took care of us all my life – he can do
this
."

"I
don't think these people will let you go, anyway," he then said, glancing
out the room. "It's too risky, right now, to let people wander off. The
Rabid can change people so fast, and there's so many kids here, they have to
take precautions."

“
I
wanna go home
. This was my entire purpose of getting to Reno.”

He
exhaled heavily. He had that expression on his face – like he was
constantly questioning himself on why he bothered trying. For a second, he
reminded me of my dad – that was a scary,
ew
thought. “What if
they’re not there?”

Before
I could say anything, he then said, “Look, I’ll help you get home. We should be
back in a couple of days.”

“But
what if they’re there? I’m not coming back if they are,” I said.

Another
frown. “Then they can come back with us.”

“I’m
just
saying
, if they want to come back here, and the school is safe, then
I’m coming back. But if they don’t want to, then I’m staying with them. And
you’ll have to walk back alone.”

He
looked to say something, but was holding himself back. I frowned at him,
wondering why he'd even argue. After the other night, one would think he'd be
delighted in getting rid of me. I think he just came back to soothe his own
conscience – he looked the type to get all martyred over things beyond
his control. How selfish was that?

Moments
later, Emmy and Alex walked in, muttering sluggish things as they held armfuls
of vending machine snacks between them. They distributed what they found to
Harley. I didn’t have anything to say to Harley after that – when the two
realized I was hiding underneath the desk, Emmy was a little standoffish. She
glared at me as she stood next to Harley, Alex looking uncomfortable as he
stood closest to the door. I didn't care for the attitude, but I wanted to
remind her that Harley was the one to push me away.

“It
looks like you're okay,” she said, a tad snidely as she situated a container of
cereal in one hand, and poured some bottled water into it to mix it together.
Alex made a face at her food. Looking at them interact made me smile.

“I
am…thank you,” I said. I looked at what others were eating, and felt some
hunger at what I saw. I noticed that Alex's cold sandwich looked appropriate
for Harley. I couldn't stand looking at his sunken cheeks and straining neck
tendons, anymore. “Hey, Alex, can you get Harley more of that? He forgot to feed
himself."

Alex
almost choked on the request while Harley gave me the look of death. I gave him
a scowl. "If you're going with me, at least load on carbs, or whatever."

"I
think if he's hungry, he'll get it himself," Alex said cautiously, unsure
of who to look at while Emmy glared at me.

“You’re
going to let him starve? As if being ninety pounds isn’t humiliating enough for
him?”

“You're
such a bitch, sometimes, Edith!” Emmy exclaimed, dropping her spoon back into
the cereal container.

"I
have more fat than him – I can go without, for a few hours. But if he
truly is –" I cut myself off as Harley angrily strode out of the room.
I felt bad. I honestly did. I struggled to remember why I was pushing buttons
so deliberately. Maybe I should just accept his help – but at the same
time, this massive wave of uncertainty had filled me, and I didn't know what I
was going to do if my parents weren't where they should be. Was I really just
going to drag Harley all over the city looking for them? Get him killed? How
was that fair when his father just found him?

I
couldn't forget the utter relief and gratefulness I'd seen on Chuck's face that
day. It was practically burned in my mind. I couldn't wait to see the one on my
own dad's face when we finally found each other.

I
swallowed tightly, and caught Emmy's stare of death. I forgot how teenagers
could give this expression so easily.

"You
need him more than I do," I admitted quietly. I don't know why I was even
giving her my reasons. She whirled and stomped out of the room, while Alex
looked lost. I felt uncomfortable, curling my arms around my legs and resting
my cheek against my knees. I fell asleep like that only because I was that
tired to do so.

Chapter Fifteen

When
I finally woke up, my eyes were heavy. I bet I looked a mess. My body felt so
sore and exhausted and stiff that nothing wanted to move. But my stomach
growled noisily, aching because I was starving. The floor was so friggin' hard
that no position was comfortable. Now that I had some rest, I could think a
little more clearly. I figured that since I was so close to the school, I might
as well go all the way, clinging to the chance that perhaps they'd made it
there, because they'd been on their way to Fernley that night. I hoped so hard
that it was difficult to breathe.

I
crawled out from underneath the desk, and just collapsed with the effort. The
floor was dirty, hard, and the deskchair mat was splattered with dried blood.
But I was seriously sore and exhausted. I pillowed my head in my folded arms
and stared at the darkness around me. I had no idea what time it was – I
didn't feel like looking for a clock. I could hear nothing coming from the room
the others were in, so I assumed everyone was feeling safe enough to sleep. I
wondered if Harley finally caught some shut eye with the kids, trying to
remember the last time I'd seen him sleep. I felt bad for being a dick, but not
bad enough to go and apologize for it.

I
thought about my dad. I could hear him, somehow, muttering about my behavior. I
wanted to hear his voice again, no matter if it were a lecture. But I had to
convince myself that he and mom were at least safe somewhere – I'm sure
he had his vaccination. I had to make
sure
.

At
that point, I knew I definitely had to go home if I couldn't find them at the
school. Mom kept records of our vaccinations, so I would have to go through
their room to find it. Once I found the record, then I was positive I'd feel
confident in locating them. I knew I could do it.

I
had made it through some shit that I’d never have imagined surviving. I felt
proud of myself. A year ago, I couldn’t even find a job without my dad’s help,
and here I was today, doing what I had to do to make it without him. But that
didn’t mean I wanted to continue doing this without him.

I
rubbed my arms tightly as I stepped over the mess I'd made with my Molotov
making, and very quietly ventured out into the hall. A civie guy looked at me
with a startled lift of his gun, then relaxed with an embarrassed expression as
we made eye contact. I walked from the room, venturing towards the candlelight
coming from down the hall.

As
I ventured towards what looked to be a cafeteria, I realized I was hearing
men’s whispers rise with concern. Walking through the open door, I immediately
saw that the guys posted on the other end of the room were looking upward at
the boarded windows, and this had me freezing in place. I’ve come to realize
that I do not like it when I see people looking
up
. This is always bad
news.

I
came to realize that something was happening. I
heard
something. It was
a low pulse of sound that came from everywhere and nowhere at once, similar to
a heartbeat of some massive machine. But I had no idea what sort of machinery
would make that sort of noise. The windows were actually shuddering, rippling
in unison, as if being touched by strong wind. The sound was massive, making
even my ears vibrate with the bass. Uncomfortably strong and strange.

            The
security team sounded mystified as their radios crackled with questions and
directions to everybody on alert. Since all the windows were boarded up, I
couldn't even see what was happening out there.

            “Harp?”
I heard one of the men ask aloud. I looked away from the windows. “Isn’t that
what that technology does?”

When
prompted, he went on to explain some hoopla about the High Frequency Active
Auroral Research Program. The point of the program was to investigate the
ionosphere for some kind of advanced communications thing for the Navy or
whatever. I heard a vague response in that perhaps the military was trying to
put humankind’s technologies back together, scanning near-space environment for
any more threats. I wanted to believe that this was a normal thing. Not another
alien thing. I looked at the windows with hope, struggling to swallow the
building lump in my throat.

            The
pulsing sound was starting to freak me out. It was almost as if someone had
some massive, God-like speaker up there in the skies and was blowing into the
microphone, creating this weird, whistling noise with the pulsing. All I could
think of was that First Night, when the guy escaped outside of the warehouse
and looked
up
. By now, after all the shit I’d seen, I knew it was just
the alien ships he’d seen. But anxieties flooded me. After that memory were the
gruesome sights of people attacking each other, eating each other. My breath
hitched, and I thought of everyone that was currently taking residence inside
the building. I wanted to leave at that point, to run away for some safe place
that didn’t have people anywhere nearby.

            While
the pulsing sounds continued, I headed for the room I’d left my things in. I
began throwing stuff into my messenger bag. All I could feel was my own
building panic. I strained my ears, listening for telltale screams of people
eating each other. But the guys were speaking in such hushed tones that I
couldn't even hear them from the room I was in. The noises from the outside
weren't as noticeable from here – but in my own mind, I could hear them.

            I
was working myself into such a fit that I kept dropping things, not even
focused on what I was packing. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath so it was
hitching, and my hands were shaking, and I didn’t even realize Harley was there
until he caught my hand, startling me. He was crouched next to me, looking
slightly red-faced, like he was dashing around in the same manner as me.

            “Ed.
What are you doing?” he asked. I jerked my hand away from him, and he shifted
to hold onto my bag, preventing me from stuffing anything else into it.

“The
last time weird shit happened at night, people started
eating
each
other,” I managed to say in a whisper.

            “Yeah,
but – whatever it is, we can’t just keep – eventually, we have to
think a little more rationally.”

“Hell
with that. I saw what happened when people stayed in groups,” I snapped.

“We’re
safe
here,” he insisted after shushing me. He pulled my bag from me, and
I couldn’t even take it back because I just wanted to
run away
.

 “You
hear of this thing called HAARP?” he then asked, and, since I just heard about
it from the guys in the cafeteria, it made me focus on him. It made me realize
that maybe this was all it was, because he was
so fucking calm
. If he
was this calm, then maybe it was all just me freaking out, and those scary
sounds were…normal.

I
took a deep breath. Forced myself to stop looking around and look at him. Since
there was no signs of him freaking out, or looking alarmed like he had when I
first met him, I felt this wave of cold wash over me. Like my adrenaline was
leaving me, allowing me to relax.

I
nodded in response to his question, because I couldn’t quite talk yet. He
watched me for a few moments, and I could feel myself start to sag. I was so
tense and wound that it actually left me feeling a little sore.

Harley
then said, “The perimeter guards have already radioed in,
several
times,
that the area’s still secure. They don't know where the noises are coming from,
but it's really high above us. They can't see anything up there, so there's the
theory that it's our own people making it, somehow.”

I
watched him for a few moments, as if looking for any sign of lies.

“What
if it’s not?” I asked, trying to get my wits back.

“Then
we’ll make it. We did before, Ed.”

I
swallowed tightly. I didn't like the way he said 'we'. It was almost too
intimate. I looked over his clothes in an effort to ground myself – God,
he’s such a
hick
in those ugly cargo jeans and that flannel...

“Okay.
Okay
. Cool.”

“Edith,
no matter what, don’t take off,” he then said wearily. He’s even wearing these
ugly, yellow hiking boots and – I wish I had access to cute men’s
clothes. Harley shouldn’t have to be dressed like such a hick during a time of
crisis. I should keep an eye out for a Bullshifters tee, some mechanics’
overalls. “I'll help you get home, just – ”

“Don’t
tell me what to do. I have every reason to take off if
and
when I need
to. I still haven’t found
my
parents,” I snapped at him, jerking my arm
out of his grip.

He
nodded with an apologetic frown. He looked so tired and skinny – his eyes
ringed with circles, cheeks sharp. I really wanted to force-feed him stuff, but
with the expression he gave me sometimes, I think he felt the same way. It was
weird to experience a stranger’s affection, especially since I was fighting him
all the time.

“After
everything that has already happened, most of us are prepared to face
whatever’s going to happen next. We’ll be okay if we just – if we just
stick together, okay?”

I
sat there looking at my bag, and realized that I had been trying to stuff a
pillow into it. What the fuck was I going to do with a pillow? Pillow fight a
Rabid to death – er, submission? Where the hell did it come from, anyway?
As Harley rose, he reached out, rubbing my shoulder awkwardly, almost a petting
motion.

            :
:

            We
left the building without any trouble. The sound was so much louder out here
that it was unsettling. As a big group, we all headed down Prater, and kept
walking until we came to Vista, one of the main veins off the I-80 freeway.

The
neighborhoods around Mendive Middle school were devastated, including the
shopping center on the other side of Vista. I could see where the kids had tied
ribbons connected to the school on the wire fence. The fence surrounding what
had been the parking lot had been propped with broken and battered vehicles
– a single Caterpillar sat near one of such walls, indication that these
vehicles were propped specifically by this construction site monster. The
grounds looked like another piece of ruin until I saw people posted in certain
positions around the school – lookout points, or something.

There
were no lights that I could see, but the school was pretty big, sturdy. It
looked as if it withstood a fierce attack – there were chunks missing
from it here and there throughout the support pillars and roof, but not enough
damage to make it unusable.

I
followed closely behind Sandy, the group of soldiers regarded cautiously until
some of the civilian guys convinced some of the guys standing at point to allow
them in. There were three men dressed in head to toe black there, smoking
cigarettes and making comments that told me that the weather was enough to
freeze balls.

We
meandered our way to the front entrance. Everyone sounded so exhausted and
tired after their long walk that their relieved tears and murmurs seemed loud
within the front foyer. It was so dark that I wasn’t sure where I was going, so
I followed Sandy as closely as possible, hoping that I wasn't going to regret
this choice.

The
smells of cooking food, people, and warmth hit me. There were voices ahead and
all around, the floors dirty with mud and snow, and children laughing and
playing in what sounded like a hugely open area. I stared at the clock because
it felt like it had been so long since I’d been able to see actual time.

There
were a set of offices that had been rearranged to allow tables within, and here
people were sorting through various supplies, loading them on shopping carts. I
watched as our group were greeted by other friendly military deserters, and
small talk was exchanged between each other as the civilian people were gently
encouraged to leave what wasn't valuable, so that everyone could share
supplies. It was a long process that looked unfair, but as I watched people
give up clothes, blankets, jackets and the like, I realized why they were doing
it. Sharing was caring, and helpful to all looking for shelter.