The Long Way To Reno (21 page)

“Stop
that, that’s not helping anybody,” Harley said gruffly, frowning at her.
“Crying’s not going to solve anything.”

“He’s
just fucking
tired
! He was up all night, Edith! And you keep picking on
him!” Emmy sobbed, glaring at me. Then she looked at Harley. “Obviously Edith
isn’t your typical Walmart creature, Harley, so of course she’s not going to
think the way you do!”

“I
just think that if we’re going to get through this shit, we all have to think
rationally,” Harley said loudly, looking uncomfortable as Emmy sobbed into her
hands. Alex looked struck, like he didn’t know what to say or do, looking at
all of us with a grimace. “Comparing some of this shit to cartoons and video
games hasn’t helped us so far – “

“God,
this the only way I know how to get through this, you fucking asshole!” I snapped
at him.

“Well,
it’s stupid because it’s unrealistic - !”

“And
you’re
stupid because you’re not - !”

“Quit
calling me stupid!”

“Oh
my God, you two,” Alex finally interrupted, rubbing his eyes. “Emmy, c’mon,
girl, don’t cry. We’re all tired. We could use some sleep. C’mon, let’s just
bunk down somewhere and sleep. Maybe we’ll feel differently then.”

“No,
I’m not stopping,” I said, stepping away from them. “I’m going on ahead. Harley
thinks I’ll kill you all –
you
guys go back and find shelter.”

“No,
that’s not a good idea - !”

“Fine,
go
,” Harley said to me, over Alex. “Nobody’s holding you back. I’ll get
these kids to safety – “

“
NO
!”
Emmy shouted, reaching out to grab my arm. “No, don’t go!
Don’t go
! Stop
telling her that, Harley! We’re not breaking up!”

“If
she can do better than us, then that’s it for her. Let her.”

“NO!”

“Keep
your voice down,” Harley then hissed.

“DON’T
TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”

“I
can do better!” I declared, managing to free myself from Emmy. I strode a few
feet away from them while Emmy cried noisily. Honestly, our voices were ringing
throughout the stillness of the area, and I was feeling really uneasy with it.
At the same time, I felt a combination of things, and I was never the type to
hold it back. I wanted to prove that I could do better without him. “Fuck you,
Harley!”

“No!
Don’t go, Edith,
don’t go
!” Emmy unleashed this unnaturally high scream
that gave me chills.

“Emmy,
calm down
- ! You’ll attract something our way!” Harley snapped at her.

“You’re
bugging out, man, stop talking to her like that!” Alex snapped back at him,
trying to reach for Emmy as she bear hugged me.

“Oh
my God, Emmy, chill out,” I complained, struggling to pull away from her.
“Honestly, that redneck’s right – he’s better suited for this environment.
I’ll just end up slowing you guys down – “

“He’s
just tired, Edith!”

“Look,
we’ll just hide out here, until morning,” Harley snapped at both of us. “All of
us. You too, idiot. Once we get some rest, things will look different.”

“Don’t
call me an ‘idiot’, stupid. I’m not staying.”

“Then
walk. Walk away!”

“I
hope those mechas step on you,” I snapped, freeing myself from Emmy while he
pulled her away from me. Emmy sobbed heavily, sinking to her knees, so he had
to fight to hold her up. Alex didn’t know what to do, looking from me to Harley
with an indecisive expression, so he went to Emmy instead.

“I
hope you return to Earth while those things eat you,” he said back, turning
away to glare at Scheels.

I
flipped him off, then turned and began striding for the freeway. I felt so
stupid because then my eyes burned, and I
did
feel worthless because
guys did only want me for my looks, and I was
alone
in this stupid place
and - !

Anyway,
I wasn’t going to show that stupid redneck my tears. I broke into a light run
because I could still hear Emmy crying after me, and I didn’t want them to hear
me start to hiccup.

Chapter Twelve

I
sniffled noisily and blew my nose into this jacket I’d found. I was hiding at
the top level of one of the theater rooms within the broken ruins of the Sparks
theater, and while it was empty, it was dark, quiet, and allowed me to see
anything coming and going. There were some dead people piled near the exits,
and their quiet corpses reassured me in that I was truly alone.

I
felt so angry and frustrated, tired, stressed – I hated that Harley’s
words affected me. I hated to see that I wasn’t actually valuable to anybody. I
just wanted to go home – I knew I was valuable to my parents. If not
anything else in the world, my parents loved me and wanted me home, safe and
sound. But I felt awful because I’d lived my life thinking about how wonderful
a physical trophy I was to the men I found. My looks got me anything and
everything I could ever want – but when it came to someone actually
liking me for me – well…that’s why I had a string of exes behind me.

I
blew my nose again, and then cleaned carefully. I don’t know why this stuff
matters, right now. I guess it took my mind off the events around me. Made
things feel a little normal, I guess. Kinda made me forget that people were
slaughtered by zombies and giant mechas destroyed small cities. That sorta
thing.

Stupid
Harley, anyway. I didn’t ask for him to like me. Why should his opinion
matter?  He’s just a stupid redneck with old, ugly running shoes and a
squinting problem. I bet he needs glasses, but he already looks like a dork,
and he knows it.

Alex
and Emmy were right. We were all super tired. After I found this spot, I’d gone
to sleep, and the sun was right over head, casting crazy shadows within the
hallway down below. I was starving, but I still had some food leftover from the
Patrick place. I figured I’d save that and go get some popcorn, or something,
from the broken food area below. I left the theater and found the bathrooms
somewhat intact. I had to crouch close to the floor to look into a mirror,
water and ice coating the ugly linoleum. There was a couple of corpses in the
back stall area, their legs visible – I didn’t go look at them to see how
they’d died.

After
I cleaned myself as best as I could, I left the theater. The Nugget across the
street was unrecognizable from this angle. The buildings nearby – the
Silver Club, a couple of parking garages, a couple of the Nugget’s smaller
properties – were all crumbled ruins, spilling over buckled concrete and
abandoned vehicles that people left behind in their haste to escape.

I
jumped because I heard a collection of roars, barks and ugly screams that
caused my flesh to pimple.
Rabid
. I knew they were somewhere in the
distance, but I felt the immediate urge to run for a high hiding place. An
accompanying high-pitched scream of an Usher pushed me into a run, so I went
for the Silver Club nearby. The front half of the building pushed down into an
incline to the street, but parts of it were intact. I just had to climb up
certain parts to reach one of the higher levels.

As
I was climbing, I heard the immense sound of people running frantically. I
glanced over my shoulder to see a pack of Rabid racing for the theater, in that
same flock formation I’d seen earlier. An Usher walked in this crazy pace after
them, arms swinging wide. It was exactly as Harley had said – it was
directing the Rabid with a series of noises and limb movement. I had to wonder
how it knew I was around – I finished my climb and collapsed into a
broken room that reeked of cigarette smoke. I pushed myself against the wall
and stared out at the freeway nearby. I could hear the Usher grunting and
growling, the flock of Rabid moving rapidly in the area. Their barks, screams
and wheezing breath made my heart race.

I
began to sweat, wondering how the Usher knew I was there. If it would find me
within this building. Could it smell me? Hear me?

I
held my breath in intervals, too scared to look over the concrete rock pile I’d
climbed to look for them. Hearing them was bad enough.

Something
emitted a shriek so shrill and ear piercing that I clapped my hands over my
ears. It wasn’t close by, and I felt unnatural fear weigh over me, like I’d
been spotted. A series of clicks and hisses alerted me that there was something
new, down there. I was scared because I didn’t know how I was going to escape
this position, and I didn’t want to get eaten. But it continued away from me,
suggesting that this thing was down on the street, somewhere. The Usher replied
in a lower yodel, and the flock was moving away from the Silver Club.

I
was too scared to look, because I knew that if I did, I would be spotted. I
made myself into a small ball and just hid, listening to the noises as they
eventually faded away.

The
sun moved slowly. The silence of the city was unnatural. It was so still. It
felt like I was in an alien land, surrounded by things that were only memories
of the places I was familiar with. Eventually, I started to relax. I ate a
couple of protein bars, drank some water, and picked at my manicure. From my
position, I could see the freeway – I figured if I continued along that,
I would reach downtown by tonight. I could hide in a car, or something, until
day arrived, then continue walking to home.

I
should be home by tomorrow. I was excited at the thought of seeing my parents,
and I rose, dusting myself off. I almost looked at the mirror above the dresser
nearby just to check my appearance, but then stupid Harley’s words came back to
me, and I resisted.

It
took me an hour to climb down. Things were so much easier when one was hopped
up on adrenaline. By the time I made it down to the street, the sun was even
further across the sky, and I worried at the thought of not making my schedule.
Moving into a brisk pace, I hurried towards Rock Boulevard, towards the
on-ramp, there. My feet ached, I noticed. My legs were tired, my eyes were
heavy with bags from crying, and I was freaking starving. My hair was in my
face, and I felt so clumsy avoiding debris in the road, in climbing over
obstacles that tried to prevent me access to the freeway.

I
was already out of breath, and my hands hurt in the cold, from gripping stuff.
I was tired and miserable, and all I could think of was sleeping in my own bed.
I saw the high freeway wall that rose from Rock, all these vehicles piled
around it. There was heavy black smoke coming from the area, and I hesitated
because it looked as if I were blocked from entering the freeway at that point.
I’d have to climb on the smoking vehicles to do so, and I knew that wasn’t an
option. I looked down below the overpass and saw that it was gone – in
its place was a giant crater. A footstep from one of those things. I figured I
could climb up from there, but then I saw movement.

I
crouched quickly behind a Corolla with its driver’s side door open. Peering
around it, I saw people moving swiftly with guns and dirtied faces. They were
all men with heavy bags, and I felt my stomach clench with anxiety. I decided I
wasn’t going to allow myself to be seen by those guys – I turned away
from that area and headed back the way I’d come. Only their voices alerted me
to their closeness, so I crawled into the back of a truck and flattened myself
on its bed. They were going through all the vehicles – I could hear them
opening and shutting doors, talking quickly amongst each other.

One
of them was talking nastily about finding a woman, others chiming in with glee,
so of course my anxiety increased.

All
the bullshit horrors happening the world, and these guys were worried about
finding a lay. I thought about the harem that Jeff and his crew wanted to start
in the warehouse and wondered if those women had escaped.

Eventually
they passed, heading further up Rock, but I saw that the day was passing
quickly. I didn’t want to get caught in the cold – the temperatures were
crazy cold at night. With a heavy sigh, I pulled myself up from the truck and
looked back at the gas station I passed. I could go back to the theater. Or to
the Silver Club.

Or
I could continue ahead and find shelter in one of the cheap hotels ahead, on
Victorian. I jumped down and began heading in that direction, looking
cautiously for the guys that had passed me by. I was just nearing the gas
station when multiple gun shots fired out, and screams erupted. I instantly
recognized the sounds of the Rabid, and those guys that had passed by were
their find.

They
were up Rock, near Prater – too close for my comfort. I could see flashes
of movement as the men were hunted down by the Usher and its Rabid. The human
and alien screams echoed throughout the area, and I ran because I wanted a head
start. The Usher gave a surprisingly loud roar that was directed in my
direction – I knew it spotted me. It was similar to the feeling of
someone yelling ‘Hey you!’ without using your name. I was nearing a hotel that
promised German speakers when I knew I wouldn’t find a place to hide in time. I
began trying the doors of the vehicles that had been abandoned, and prepared to
leap into the first one that opened.

Before
I could jump in, the smell of urine and shit hitting me, a dog leapt out with a
loud bark. It almost knocked me down, and I didn’t have that much time to get
up and run again, so I made the decision to slide underneath the car. The
barking dog caught the attention of the Rabid. Their snarls and barks had the
dog racing off in another direction, the flock following it while the Usher
roared. The ground rumbled with its weight – from my position, I could see
the group moving away from my area. The dog was too fast for them to catch up,
the animal running for dear life. I waited for some time, amazed at my luck.

:
:

I
decided to seek out shelter at Rail City. It smelled foul inside, but it was
growing dark, fast, so shelter was necessary at this point. The lights were
still on, flashing in this endless way – there were many corpses
littering the floor, within the aisles of the machines, near the restrooms, by
the restaurant…though some of the machines made repetitive noises that made me
nervous, it appeared that this place was abandoned. Despite it all, I stayed
because it was warm. This place must have had its own back-up power source when
everything else in the city was dead – I had to take advantage of it.

It
seemed empty, so I stayed on alert, keeping quiet as I ventured for a good spot
to sleep. I found one in the upstairs security office, which allowed me to
watch the big screen of the security cameras focused on the outside parking
lot, sidewalks, and the entrance doors.

Someone
had left a big security jacket hanging nearby, so I wrapped myself in it and
stared at the screen in silence.

I
felt lost and abandoned at that point. My mind was tired. I was starving. My
legs felt like lead, my feet hurt in ways that I felt when I first started
working at the warehouse. I kept thinking about my parents so much that I just
wished I could somehow teleport home and it would all be okay.

Then
I thought about Harley and his mean words, and I felt stupid all over again.

I
felt ashamed because of the way I’d lived my life. Putting all material items
first and then not really learning, like,
essential
things. Like knowing
what to do in a fucking zombie/alien apocalypse. That sort of thing. It felt
like everyone but me knew what to do to survive, and all I was doing was
running away from things. Surviving by chance and luck.

I
sniffled, tearing up again. I just wanted to be
home
, at this point. I
don’t care what happened after that – I just wanted to be at home,
surrounded by the things I was familiar with, and I wanted to hear my parents’
voices. I wanted mom’s fingers in my hair, and I wanted to hear my dad bawling
me out for something – I didn’t want to do this, anymore. I didn’t want
to walk anymore, I don’t want to run away from things, I don’t want to fight
with people that were looking to hurt me.
I just wanted to be home
.