Desolation (20 page)

The man feared him
and
hated him. It was a dangerous mixture in
a man such as Chris. Fearful men strike using subversive means…

Andrew had to do it; the man’s ramblings forced his hand. After
their heated exchange of words, he knew that Chris planned to tell Jerri
about their sordid past just to sow seeds of discontent.

It had to be done but that didn’t make the act any easier. He tried
to think of it like putting down a dog you loved or euthanizing an aging
parent. Nonetheless he knew that Chris had managed to undo a lot of
trust and it would take some time to rebuild that with Jerri.

Habitually tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he tried to
think of a way to bring her back around. Flirting wouldn’t work in her
fragile mental state. It would take something special…

Before he knew it, they were rolling on I-19 northbound, making
a straight shot towards civilization in the afternoon sun. The highway was
half-buried in sand and the desert shrubbery along the median had grown
out of control.

Far in the distance, the darkened remnants of greater Tucson sat
nestled in the valley, shadowed by the Catalina Mountains that surrounded
the city. The few skyscrapers that composed Tucson’s skyline had been
nearly leveled by artillery fire and most of the surrounding buildings had
been reduced to rubble.

Once home to nearly a million residents, he shuddered to think
what lurked the city streets during the height of the pandemic.

A sedan sat parked in the middle of the interstate a few yards
away. Its doors were open and the windows were shattered. Old blood
and gore was caked on the asphalt by the driver’s side.

Andrew veered the jeep around the abandoned vehicle and
continued onward.

“Do you know where the air force base even is?” Jerri asked
while starring at the abandoned car as it disappeared in the rearview
mirror.

“It should be near where this highway intersects with I-10,”
Andrew said. He was guessing, of course. “It’s somewhere on the eastside
of the city.”

“That helps,” Jerri said, shaking her head.

Andrew frowned. As much as her attitude started to annoy him,
the surroundings started to put him on edge. He ignored her and kept his
eyes on the road.

Evidence of civilization started to emerge across the desert
landscape and discarded trash blew freely across the land. The jeep passed
a convenience store covered in plywood and an abandoned RV park.

After the incident at the plane, he had no desire to go hunting for
supplies unless absolutely necessary.

The road became increasingly congested with abandoned
vehicles. They were parked haphazardly across all four lanes of the
interstate and were badly weathered. Skeletal corpses strapped in their
seatbelts sat baking inside some of the cars, rotted away underneath the
desert sun.

Andrew maneuvered the jeep between the vehicles, navigating a
path through the clogged interstate.

Jerri rocked Jacob in her arms to keep him quiet while she stared
outside with revulsion and horror. She hadn’t stepped foot near a city
since the outbreak and had no idea what to expect.

Corpses started to claw their way out of the ground as the jeep
rumbled past. Many stood and started to stagger onto the interstate, but
some crawled across the scorching earth, dragging their dilapidated legs
behind them.

“Andrew…” Jerri said with fear evident in her voice.

“I know,” he said, trying not to look at the corpses that were
staggering haplessly after the vehicle in the rear view mirror. As he feared,
the incident at the plane was not limited to one location.

Ahead, all four lanes of the interstate were rendered impassable
by the countless stalled cars. Cars were even parked in the median from
when they attempted to form an additional lane during the traffic
stalemate.

Andrew veered the jeep over onto the shoulder of the highway
and floored the accelerator, creating a thick plume of dust as the tires
spun-out in the sand before finally taking off.

Jerri tucked the covered baby against her chest and squeezed her
eyes shut as the jeep plowed through shambling corpses and flattered
others rising from the ground.

“What are you doing?!” she shouted above the rumble of the tires
as they rolled across the rough terrain. “You’re going to wreck this thing!”
“Just hang on!” Andrew shouted, trying to peer through the
blood-splattered windshield.

 

The jeep sped along the side of the long line of traffic and finally
rolled past the source of the massive traffic jam.

The entire highway had been barricaded by concrete dividers,
sandbags, and razorwire. Six ancient tanks sat parked at the military
barricade with their turrets pointed towards the traffic. Shattered halogen
flood lamps lay toppled on the asphalt and massive signs read ‘
Road
Closed – No Thru Traffic – Quarantined Due to Infectious Disease
’.

Beyond the barricade, the highway leading into Tucson was
vacant.

Andrew steered the jeep back onto the pavement and sped down
the road, leaving the vehicular graveyard and the shuffling corpses far
behind.

Jerri stared out her window at a row of long trenches that
stretched out for miles on both sides of the interstate. The trenches were
full to the brim with bodies wrapped in white plastic. Dump trucks and
Red Cross flatbeds were parked along the edges of the mass graves and
were loaded with more bodies. Rusted yellow Caterpillar backhoes sat
parked near the end of the trenches and seemed like they were unable to
keep up with the demand for more space. The scene was surreal and made
her skin crawl.

Jerri looked away and turned her attention towards Jacob,
rubbing his tiny stomach. She knew he was lucky not to know what the
world had become.

Andrew frowned.

 

Suddenly, steam shot out from underneath the hood and the
engine made an awful knocking noise.

As the jeep slowed to a near crawl, Andrew looked down and saw
the CHECK ENGINE icon illuminated on the instrument panel and his
stomach churned. He smelled smoke coming through the air conditioner
vents and heard the engine clank loudly as it struggled to keep running.

“We have a problem,” Andrew announced dismally.
Jerri waved her hand in front of her face and coughed. She
looked at the city as it loomed closer each passing second.

 

“I noticed,” she muttered. “How much longer until it craps out
on us completely?”

 

Andrew shook it head, having no earthly idea.

 

As it turned out, it didn’t take very long at all.
31

T
he jeep sat parked on the side of I-19 in the south side of the
city. The hood was up and black smoke churned out of the defeated
engine. The sun was starting to set in the distance, casting long shadows
across the highway.

Blocks away, Andrew led Jerri down a desolate southern Tucson
street. The city’s south side consisted mostly of small restaurants and strip
malls with flat adobe roofs. The street they wandered along had most of
its stores looted and the rest of them had been burnt down. A few
buildings remained covered in clear plastic from FEMA’s involvement
shortly into the pandemic. Litter lay strewn across the street and the arid
wind whistled through the vacant buildings.

Strangely, the streets were clear of all vehicles and they hadn’t
seen a single shambler since they left the roadblock on the interstate.

Jerri held Jacob gently in her arms as she walked. The city made
her feel nervous and claustrophobic. She never was a fan of Tucson and
the apocalypse didn’t make her gain a sudden appreciation for its Spanishinspired desert charm. The city was always frighteningly boring to her;
now it was just frightening.

Andrew led the way, wielding his depleted pistol in front of him
like a sword, sweeping the barrel across every alleyway they passed and
pointing it towards the shattered storefronts. It looked to him like the
entire city had packed and left in a hurry.

He couldn’t get over the feeling that they were being watched.
He wrote it off as paranoia.

Jerri spotted a small bodega on the side of the street. The small
convenience stores were popular in Arizona and were especially popular
in south Tucson where the population was mostly Latino. The bodega
looked surprisingly intact; the windows were covered by burglar bars,
none of the windows were shattered, and the front door was shut tight
and padlocked. Even better, she saw shelves of food through the barred
windows.

“Look,” she said as she stared at the store.

 

He saw; he had stopped and was looking at it cautiously.

“I know,” he said, scanning the empty street. It would be getting
dark outside soon and he knew it would be smart to find a place for the
night. Besides, a map could prove useful. “Think it’s safe?”

“I think safe is a relative term at the moment,” she said, parroting
his own words from earlier back at him. She looked down at Jacob and
her stomach rumbled. “Besides… I’m tired and hungry. I don’t know how
much longer I can go without eating.”

She already exhausted what little remained of the MRE she
managed to save from the night prior.

 

Andrew felt the same way. Besides, he needed some alone time
with her if he wanted to undo the damage Chris did.

 

“You’re right,” he said as he holstered his pistol. “Let’s go secure
it.”

Andrew rushed towards the store and pulled on the padlock.
It wasn’t any use; the lock was a good one.

He walked over to one of the windows and fruitlessly pulled on
the burglar bars.

“No wonder the damned place is still intact,” he said, defeated.
He stepped back and ran his fingers through his hair, trying desperately to
think of a solution. “It’s Fort Knox.”

Jerri walked down the alleyway besides the building, cradling the
baby against her chest.

“Jerri! Wait!” Andrew shouted as she disappeared around the
corner into the alley. He ran after her, reaching for his pistol out of habit
and fear. When he turned the corner and spotted her, he froze.

Jerri was standing in front of a side entrance into the store that
was locked by a simple combination lock.

Andrew snatched her wrist and pulled her towards him.
Jerri snapped her hand free and glared.
“Don’t touch me!” she yelled as she reached for her knife.

“Well then don’t go running down alleys on your own halfcocked whims!” Andrew shouted at her, not backing down. “And don’t
go running blindly into a building! Fuck!”

“What’s it to you?!” she shouted, seething red with anger. “Since
when did you become some compassionate saint?! Why do you even
care?! I’m not buying your
bullshit
anymore, Andrew!”

Andrew gave an aggravated sigh and shoved past Jerri as he
broke the cheap combination lock off of the door with the butt of his
pistol and stormed into the building.

Jerri watched him walk into the store, biting her tongue. Despite
how she felt about him, she felt guilty for what she said. Perhaps she
really did peg him wrong. Either way, her gut instinct was a hard one to
ignore but she felt like an idiot for being a total bitch based off of a dream
featuring her dead ex-boyfriend. It didn’t make sense to take it out on
Andrew. She tucked Jacob into his shawl and followed Andrew into the
store.

The back stockroom of the store looked barren with the
exception of some moldy cardboard Sabritas boxes and empty Jarritos
bottles. Some janitorial supplies sat in the corner, collecting dust.

Andrew cautiously walked through the storeroom towards the
door that led into the main part of the store and kicked it open.

The store was dark and the shelves were half-full of provisions of
all types. The cash register was intact and the freezers were empty. Trash
was piled up against the front of the store; it looked like a large rat nest.
At the back of the store, a small group of sleeping bags, a camping stove,
small lanterns, and melted candles sat in the corner.

Andrew didn’t like it and alarms started to go off in his head,
despite his hunger.

Jerri shoved past Andrew and ran towards one of the nearest
aisles. The aisle had shelves of cookies and crackers that were mostly in
Spanish. She grabbed one of the boxes…

“It’s empty,” she said as she shook the box, dismayed. She threw
the box down and grabbed another. She frowned. “This one is empty
too…” She ran her hand along the shelf and knocked a large section of
empty boxes down onto the ground. “They’re all fucking empty!”

Andrew shook his head and backed away towards the stockroom.
“This isn’t right,” he said. “We need to leave now!”

“Quién es usted?!” a man said from behind him. “Mi casa!
Entraste en mi casa!”

 

Andrew spun towards the voice and found himself at the
business end of a .45.

 

“He asked who we are,” Jerri muttered, shaking her head. “He
said we broke into his home…”

 

“You understand him?!” Andrew hastily asked, shocked.
Jerri didn’t know why Andrew looked so speechless; growing up
in Arizona, speaking Spanish was somewhat a priority.

The man holding the gun was a brawny Latino man with sun
baked skin and long oily black hair that hung past his shoulders. He had
piecing brown eyes and a scar that ran down his stubble-covered chin. He
wore a flannel shirt that had seen better days and tattered blue jeans. He
held the gun with one hand and the broken combination lock in the other.

The agitated man held up the broken lock and threw it on the
ground at Andrew’s feet.

“Entraste en mi casa!” the man repeated, crying.
Andrew slowly raised his hands in the air and backed away.

“Easy,” he said in a calm voice. “We didn’t come in here looking
for trouble…”

 

Jerri bolted down one of the aisles and hid, breathing frantically.
She held the baby close against her racing heart.

“Dile a la chica para venir aquí!” the man said, keeping his gun
pointed at Andrew’s face. He reached down and took the gun out of
Andrew’s holster and slid it under his belt.