Flare (24 page)

The El Camino’s passenger side door came open, and an old man got out. It was Leo, and he had a gun.

“He’s lying,” said Leo. “His RV works, because I’ve seen it work.”

/***/

Ash figured that though it was an incredible coincidence, it wasn’t an implausible one. The earth’s population had shrunk dramatically, and the survivors were bound to run into each other again, even at the worst times imaginable. Ash’s group had left Leo in the dust, and the man had come back to haunt them.

But still, we’re not without our own power now, because we have guns. Leo’s in our way, but he doesn’t have all the chips. Come clean, and tell them what they need. Show no fear, and do what you can to get out of here.

“We’re passing through,” said Ash. “You can’t trust anyone nowadays, and I’m forced to observe that you guys are no exception. If you don’t leave us alone we’ll start shooting, and we’re either going to kill you all, or land some before we go out ourselves. You’ve got more guns than we do, but not that much more, and at least two of you are gonna get hit, if not killed outright. And my friends here will make damn sure that we shoot our own car to shreds rather than let you have it, and shoot up your vehicle for good measure.”

Ash let his words hang in the air for a moment.
End this correctly, without a quivering jaw, without a second thought
.
You’re not fierce like these men, but you can pretend to be. If you want to protect Courtney and Heather you need to threaten them in an ugly way, and mean it.

“So you have two options,” said Ash. “The first is to let us go, and allow yourselves to return home safely. The second is to continue threatening us, and end up with two useless vehicles and a promise that some of you will end up shot because of it. I guarantee that you’ll get hit, and I don’t know too much about your bosses back there, but I’d guess they don’t have the means to dress your wounds. I’d also guess they’d rather leave you in the morning sun than have to deal with your screams the next day.”

Ash paused a moment and averted his eyes from Leo and then looked straight at the thin man.

“Make sure you focus your fire on him first,” Ash said to Courtney and Heather, just loud enough so the thin man could hear them. “You don’t need to kill him, but be sure to wound him. Try to land one in his stomach.”

The thin man considered the threat, cocked his pistol and thought for a minute more. He took a deep breath, and then dropped his weapon.

“Let ’em pass,” he said.

The thick, angry-looking man went back into the El Camino’s bed, as glad to be rid of the situation as Ash. Ash kept his rifle close by and clenched it until all the men got back into the car, all except Leo.

“You comin’?” asked the thin man.

“I’m staying,” said Leo.

“Fine,” said the thin man.

The thin man signaled them to leave. The driver started the engine, and they left Leo behind immediately without looking back. Ash was glad to be safe from the men, but he had no time to bask in the glow of his momentary toughness, because Leo was there, and he was clutching his gun.

/***/

“You can’t threaten me,” said Leo. “Don’t even try.”

There was a moment of silence as Ash looked at Leo. The man had been a mess when they had first seen him and he didn’t look much better now.
He’s no longer crying.
In fact, it looks like he shed his last tear long ago.

“What are you gonna do, Leo?” asked Ash, unsure of what else to say.

Heather held up her hand to speak, and Ash paused a moment but assented to her command. Leo was unstable and she would know what to say.

“Leo, just put the gun down,” she said. “We can talk.”

“No … no …” said Leo.

“Leo, please put the gun down and let us talk to you …”

“No … no … no.”

Leo wasn’t responding to Heather’s words, and he wasn’t putting the gun down. He held his gun up in the air, and he shot it. Heather shrunk back behind the RV and held her weapon out and motioned at Courtney towards Leo. Courtney nodded and pointed her rifle towards the old man, and Ash followed suit. Both of them were uncomfortable with this position and Heather hid behind the cab, peering through the side windows awkwardly.

“Leo, if you don’t put the gun down, we’re going to shoot you,” said Heather.

Leo didn’t respond.

“If you don’t put the gun down, you will be dead in twenty seconds, starting now.”

Ash’s stomach went hollow. He didn’t know if he could do this. He could talk tough for a moment, but he didn’t know if he could kill a man in cold blood. That just wasn’t him, and from the look of Courtney’s shaking hands, it didn’t look like she could pull the trigger either. They had survived this long, they had done some hard things, but they hadn’t done this.

But Leo continued to hold his gun and was now approaching the RV.

“Fifteen seconds, Leo,” said Heather. “And if you come any closer, we’ll kill you.”

Leo stopped, but he didn’t put the gun down.

Just point the rifle at him and pull the trigger,
thought Ash.
Just do it now …

Ash froze, unable to act. He knew all he had to do was give the trigger a little squeeze and steeled himself once more. He took a breath and gritted his teeth, aimed towards Leo and then—

There was a large black man in front of Leo, quite possibly the largest man Ash had ever seen in his life. The man was tall and broad, with long dreadlocks flowing over an old trench coat and an oversized backpack. His smooth black skin was as dark as onyx, just barely visible in the moonlit night. The man wasn’t talking, but he was facing Leo and it seemed as if they were communicating. The man was holding his massive hands up towards both sides of the standoff calmly, and Ash instinctively put his gun down. Courtney had already put her rifle away, and Heather was speechless and awestruck.

The black man held up his hands for a minute longer, just standing there like a statue, and Ash wondered if the man was even breathing. After a minute, Leo put his gun down, and the black man put his hands on Leo. The man turned around to signal everything was alright, and Ash found the man’s face to be incredibly kind. The man wasn’t smiling and his frame was imposing, but his soft eyes exuded a warmth that Ash hadn’t seen before. Judging from Courtney and Heather’s astonished looks, they felt the same way too.

The black man came up to them and gestured that they should put their rifles down. They all did instinctively, and he nodded in response.

“I’m gonna walk away now,” said Leo, as if in a trance.

Ash had no words and just stared back at Leo, as silent as the black man now between them. Leo walked away and then stopped. He turned around and shook his head violently, as if snapping himself out of a trance.

“You’re lucky this angel came to save you,” said Leo. “But before I leave, there’s one thing you’ve got to learn about the Salvation.”

“What’s that?” asked Heather, gripping her rifle again.

“They won’t let you in,” said Leo. “It’s real, I’ll tell you that, but they won’t let you in, no matter how many tests you take or how smart you are. You should just give up now and go to the dockyards. You’re gonna get to the gates of the Salvation and find that they lock your kind out, and then you’re gonna die in the desert, right outside the place that was supposed to save your soul.”

Leo took out his gun and fired it at the RV’s tires, landing two rounds. All of them were caught by surprise and shrunk back behind the vehicle. The black man didn’t shrink away from the gunshots, but he couldn’t stop them either. Leo fired one more round into the RV’s front hood, and fluid started spraying into the air.

“They won’t let you in,” said Leo. “I promise you this.”

Leo then disappeared into the darkness and was gone before anyone had time to react.

/***/

The RV was beyond repair. The black man looked at it without words and just shook his head. The group soon caught on that this man didn’t speak, but for some reason it wasn’t strange. Ash couldn’t explain it, but he could tell that this was just how the man
was,
and it was okay.

The man took off his backpack and showed the group his silver tent.

“We know what this is,” said Ash.

The black man acknowledged this and then showed them the solved riddles that were also in his backpack. Ash nodded and showed him their own riddles in return, then brought out the map with the coordinates of the Salvation. The big man took out his own map, and his coordinates corresponded to Ash’s. The man motioned that they should travel the final miles towards their goal together, and on foot. Heather and Courtney agreed, and then Ash nodded
yes
.

They spent a half hour gathering supplies from the RV and then followed the large, silent man into the darkness. Ash asked Heather and Courtney if they thought they were doing the right thing, and neither of them had any doubt that they were.

/***/

The black man kept a steady pace, and the group fell easily behind him. Ash had taken charge when confronted by the men in the El Camino, Heather had been in control while talking to Leo, and now this mysterious man was their leader as they marched into the darkness. They walked soundlessly through the night, shining their flashlights at their feet to make sure they didn’t trip and to make sure they kept the large man within their sight. Ash didn’t worry about losing him, because the man kept turning around to make sure they were okay, but this stranger was hard to keep track of because he walked without a flashlight himself. His dark features blended seamlessly into the night, and his large frame was visible only when they shined their lights directly on him.

He doesn’t talk, and his footsteps are completely quiet,
thought Ash.
Even when I concentrate, I can’t hear a thing from him.

/***/

Ash guessed that three hours had passed when he tripped. He had been looking at the horizon and not his feet, and he had stumbled into a divot with nothing to break his fall. He felt thorns penetrate his skin and then sat there, unmoving, as if his foot had been caught in a bear trap.

The large man seemed to sense Ash’s distress, and emerged from the darkness ahead before Ash could even yell out. Ash knew the wound was serious, but didn’t dare to look down. The large man looked deep in the hole, staring into the darkness without a flashlight to see Ash’s foot. Ash didn’t know what the man was doing, but he felt calmer with him around.

Heather shined a light into the hole and the large man pointed out all the places where the branches and thorns inside had pierced the flesh. Heather examined them, and after finding that none of them had penetrated too deeply, gave Ash the go ahead to pull his leg out. The large man understood what was happening and offered to help guide Ash’s leg from the hole. Both Heather and Ash assented, and the man grabbed Ash’s calf with a surprisingly firm grip.

This guy is even stronger than he looks
.
And his hands are so big they almost wrap around my leg.

The man pulled Ash’s leg out, and it didn’t look good. None of the wounds were deep, but much of his skin had been scraped off. Heather wrapped some cloth around it, but Ash still felt sore. He tried out the leg and could walk around, but he had been hobbled.

“Can you walk the rest of the way?” asked Heather.

“I don’t know,” said Ash. “But probably.”

The large man nodded and looked out towards the horizon for a minute, still without a flashlight, and then turned around and gestured to the group that they should walk again. They followed him, and this time he walked at a slower pace.

/***/

They had been delayed by Ash’s injury, and they wouldn’t reach the Salvation before sunrise. The large man didn’t look too concerned. He set up his silver tent under a tree and then invited everyone in. It was crowded, but they felt safe and protected by the thick tent walls. Heather opened her flashlight and it served as a lamp. The silent man passed around a bottle of water, and though it tasted bitter, it quenched Ash’s thirst.

The man then brought out another bottle of water and took out a small object from his pocket. Ash looked closer and it appeared to be a mushroom. The man took out a knife and a small bowl and cut a tiny piece of the mushroom into the bowl. He mashed the small bit of fungus with a grinder, and then pushed the remaining paste into a bottle of water. He sealed the bottle tightly, shook it up and then sipped some of the water before offering it to the group. They all drank from the bottle, even Heather, because there was something about the man that made it easy to trust him.

/***/

The man’s strange water tasted like tea and made Ash sleepy, but not in the heavy, unnatural way that sleeping pills knocked you out. The tea relaxed him in a soft way that took away his worries and replaced them with a warm sense of calm. It was as if his consciousness was merging with everything else in the world, and the earth was tugging his mind to the ground so that his body could do the same. It was a tight fit in the tent, but Ash didn’t mind because he was so calm that he could sleep in any position. His thoughts were becoming dreams, and his eyes were becoming thick. He leaned over into the center of the tent and …