Black Box 86ed (28 page)

“Watch that mouth,” he says motioning us to follow him. He
takes back down the street towards the subway stopping right before the entrance.

He turns around, “now it’s a direct shot east.” Pulling out a one of those maps they give tourist he points out our
route, which is basically just east towards the lake.

We take off but don’t make it two blocks when Mike’s partners find us
.

Piercing and searing the air bullets wisp by. I stand stunned. H grabbing me by the scruff of my shirt he tears me behind a dumpster. I s
lide against the rust and tetanus covered metal scraping my neck and shoulder. H holding his gun just beyond the edge of the dumpster blindly firing. Looking at Roger he stares blankly into my eyes. Just as stunned and amazed as I am.

“The fuck you waiting for!” H screams at us.

O that’s right, I have a gun too I suddenly realize. I pull my rifle from my back as Roger steadies the shaking gun in his hand.

“Stay down!” He shouts to me, taking the rifle from my hands he stands unloading it. Looking to him I’m hit in the eye with a searing hot casing.

“O God I think I’m blind!” I recoil as bullets take off and descend around me casings cascading down mixed with a sudden spray of blood and screams as Roger hits the ground holding his arm. I grab him pulling him fully behind the dumpster.

“I’m hit!” He screams I look to H but he’s not taken any notice. Turning back to Roger just in time to see it. A rolling grenade tumbling directly at my feet. I f
reeze with a look on my face I would rather not die with. I stare at the grenade the short few seconds of my life float by as every fuse in my brain shorts. I stare at a dirty grenade followed by an even dirtier blood covered hand as Roger grabs it, shoving it under him. He lays on it waiting for his guaranteed ride to heaven. I turn my head not wanting to witness the man I’ve grown to know over the last few days spill out. H Pulling his gun back to reload finally taking notice of what has just happened.

“What the hell you doing!”
H yells.

“He’s gona blow!” I yell to him.

Roger looks up to me. “Shouldn’t it have gone off by now?”

I realize it’s probably been a good ten seconds since it landed. I shrug as Roger cautiously pulls it from under his stomach. An almost clown like grin covers his face. Pointing to it. “The pin’s still in it!” He cries in an almost crazed spit riddle cheer to me. I look and sure enough the pin is still there.

“Those fucking green horns,” H spits and without skipping a beat, he rips it from Rogers’s hand banging the pin out against the dumpster he flings it over the other side. The thunderous explosion cutting a few seconds out of the near constant gunfire. H stands firing, he kicks me in the side, an obvious invite to the party. As I stand I hear H’s gun jam, He drops behind cursing and fiddling with it. I look over the top. A single man left, his leg blown off obviously struggling to hold his hand to shoot. Dropping the gun raising his hands into the air realizing just how fucked he really is. Staring directly into his eyes I unload my pistol into him.

Near dead silence, Rogers softly whimpering from his wound. H says “I’ll make sure it’s clear, you get him ready.”

“Did it go through?
Is there an exit wound?” He cries out.

I look, the bullet went in about half an inch into his arm. “You’re good,” I tell him. I stand looking into the dumpster. Finding a half soiled t-shit I rip off a clean sleeve and wrap it around his wound.

H returns, “He ready?”

“One second.”

“Then you’re gona have to play catch up.
Don’t have time to waste on something that’s just a flesh wound.” He mutters to himself as he takes off back in the direction we were headed.

Roger sits up. “Fuck that guy, save his life and he just turns and runs off.”

“Didn’t save shit!” He yells back.

“I… I think we’re invincible.” I say ignoring H.

Roger laughs. “We’ve cheated death a few times that’s for sure.”

Standing we catch back up to H as he takes a piss
. “Ain’t got but a mile left.” He huffs. “Ya’ll did alright for city people.”

“What’s going to happen when we meet up with them?” I ask.

“Well that Landen’s got a soft heart. He’ll probably give you a piggy back ride outta the city if you ask for it.”

“So they’ll help us get out?”

“I don’t know nothing, just gona have to ask him yourself.”

CHAPTER…

She runs to me, I can instantly see the tumor behind her eyes again. It’s grown, malignant. “Don’t leave, don’t you ever leave me again!” She cries.

“What happened?”

“Did you hear me please, please don’t.”

“Grace, what happened?”

“R
an into some trouble,” a guy says.

“Trouble?!” Grace exclaims.

“Where’s Over?” Roger asks.

Grace looks to her feet. “He… he didn’t make it.” Roger freezes his eyes glazing over. “We were caught in a cour
tyard and he was protecting me.
He got shot, I tried, I tried to save him but he just lost so much blood so qu
ickly, I tried Roger.
I’m so sorry,” she cries wrapping her arms around him.

Roger’s face a stone choking back his tears. “I know you did,”
he
whispers to Grace. “He… he say anything before he died?”

Grace shakes her head, “I don’t think he could.” She tells him.
      

Rogers head droops. He turns from the group, “give me a minute,” he tells us, as he saunters off.

“I’m very sorry about your friend William.” I turn to see
Landen
behind me. “He was a good man, knew it the first time I laid eyes on him.” I give no reply. “Now, we are on a timeline but, I believe we d
o have a matter to attend to.
You guy
s have been a great help to us.
If you didn’t go with Mitch who knows if you would have made it back.” H huffs behind him. Ignoring him
Landen
continues. “Now, there are two road
s you can take from this point.
One where you join our cause, we can make sure Grace goes to a safe area for the time being.” he tells us looking to Grace. “Or, and before I mention it I have already made the requests and there will be a boat waiting for you to ferry yo
u across the lake into Indiana.
Where you will just be dropped off and left to your own devices.”

I look to Grace, “I have to find my parents,” she tells us staring sheepishly at her shoes.

“I wish you the best of luck I tell him, but I make G
race’s safety a priority and getting her Florida is all that is on my mind right now.”
      
“Fair enough, now a house boat will be waiting for you almost exactly two miles to the north, you must tell them the president is dead in order to get on without a few more holes in
your ass.” He smirks
. “What do you think about him?”
Landen says looking to Roger.

“I don’t think he’s in any shape to fight a war,” I tell him.

“You’re probably right.
I bid you and your friend’s farewell and safe travels William,” he says holding out his hand. “Tell your friend there h
e has my deepest sympathies and will be in my prayers.”

“Thanks you,” I tell him turning to Roger now half sunken into the building.

Grace and I walk over to him. He for the most part ignores our existence,
hyper extending
his lungs with each drag off a cigarette. Putting my hand on his shoulder. “Dam it dam it dam it,” he repeats to himself.
      

“It’s… I’m so sorry Roger,” I console to him. He takes a final drag off his cigarette, the ember burning deep into the filter.

H walks over to us his little map in hand. “VP wants me to point
you people in a safe direction.
Now, rebels are already are on
their way down the center here.
Going to be a hell of a lot of fighting once the government recons i
t and sets things in motion.
We’ll be getting most of their attention but we can’t be sure of anything.”

He points out his best opinion of a route to us, in the shape of more or less a backwards seven.

CHAPTER…

The rumbling and shaking of rocks and bricks off the building near constant as we trot along the sidewalk.

“What ah…” I carefully form my question, “
what do you plan to do when we get into Indiana?”

Roger continues huffing along, either pondering or ignoring my question. “I don’t know he exhales to us, you care if I tag along on down to Florida?”

“Of course you can come with,” Grace tells him in her reassuring voice.

“I figure good long car ride’ll help me figure something out.”

“Ya man you can defiantly come with, hell I was hoping you would anyway.”

“Probably keep me from putting Grace in the trunk from getting so sick of her.” She shoves me softly but keeps her eyes on her feet.

“Thank you,” Roger replies.

I glance at the map every few blocks nervous about putting my whole faith and life in the hands of Jesus “H” Christ. The sun setting piercing my eyes between houses as we walk down Union Boulevard.

“You hear that?” Grace
asks looking to me
.

“What the constant shelling and gun play?” I ask,

“No dummy, the seagulls.”

I listen intensely and sure enough the distant cawing of flying feather covered shit buckets floats to me over the wind.

“We’re close,” she says her eyes wide with relief. “We’re gona make it aren’t we Will
? Just like you said we would!
Roger you hear them?” She asks, he just nods in reply not skipping a
step.

Jets rip overhead as the
shopping mall comes into view. “Here it is!” Grace exclaims.

“I’m sorry Roger,” she immediately apologizes.

“It’s alright I need to get my head out of my ass anyways.”

Going through the desolate parking lot I watch as Grace eyes get wider excitement as relief noticeably tears
through her. Roger stops in front of the door. “Now did he say go around or through?”

“He never said,” I look to the map. “He just drew a line through it so we must need to go through, probably safer from drones and stuff.”

Roger nods “we’ll I guess we don’t need to be stealthy anymore” he says as he takes out his pistol shooting and breaking the window. We’ve only got a few blocks left I think we can unclench our asses a little. He steps through the glass followed by G
race and I.

It’s a typical piece of crap strip mall but in a circular shop with a courtyard in the middle. We pass mannequins wearing the latest trendy yet budget friendly outfits for fall.

“Maybe we should go shopping first.” Grace smiles

“HA, wish we had the time to, probably only got twenty minutes left to make it t
o the boat.”

“Ah fine.”

We walk directly through the clothes department past a line of little shops on the far wall. Finally making it to the entrance.

Walking through to the courtyard, the o
pposing half obviously receiving a much harsher reality of what has been happing in the city.

“You even think we can get through?” I ask,
“Maybe we should just go around it?”

“Here I’ll just run over and take a look real quick, why don’t you guys go back and grab me some non menthols out of that little shop
in there.”
      
“Ok I think they’re nine bucks here,”

He smiles, “nice try.”

“Well I think I got what I was trying to get,” I tell him as Grace and I return back into the shopping mall. Its pitch black with only rays of moon light filling pockets of areas through the skylights.

I grab a handful after handful of different brands of non menthols
. Lights, milds, full flavors, cowboy killers every kind I could fit into my pocket.

“You really need that many?” Grace scolds.

“Hey these could come in real handy, say we need gas or a ride somewhere people will probably be more inclined to take cigarettes than some form of money that might not be worth anything soon.”

She bats the idea around in her head and seems to have come to the same conclusion as me holding out her purse.

I dump pack after pack into it. Looking to her she stares, just staring deep into my eyes as they start to water.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing, you were
right. We made it!
We made it through, the whole time I thought you were lying, just trying to get me to feel better but… but here we are!” She drops her purse wrapping her arms around me. I pull her as close as humanly possible.
“I still feel terrible about O
ver and it has to suck so badly for Roger,
but I can’t help but feel just so relieved.” I don’t say anything as we stand there waiting for her to be completely satisfied with our embrace, as she starts to let go we kiss, and start to head back out to the courtyard. We look out Roger waiting for us, he waves us to come then walks back in.

“I’ll race you.”

“What?” I ask.

“I’ll race you, first one to the nice little hole in the wall wins.”