The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 49

Finally, having planned their destination, they started out driving south on Route 90 and then north on Route 97. As they approached the turnoff to Peshastin, Maya saw it necessary to pull over for a look at the map.

“It looks like there are a lot of side roads here,” she said. “We really need to be careful to make sure we take the right ones.”

Turning to Aurora, she handed her the map and charged her with the responsibility of acting as their navigator. Reaching into her purse, she took out a pen and traced out the roads they needed to drive. Once they were east of the Rockies, they could travel without being at the mercy of the mountain’s notorious weather and would soon be making their way across the Midwest. This area was largely unknown to them, but they believed that given the number of small towns that peppered that region of the country, resources could be easily obtained. However, there was one potential issue. The small towns they would be passing through were isolated. This meant that there was an increased chance of meeting survivors. During the Black Death of medieval Europe, there was a small village that managed to avoid the plague. Archers were stationed around the village with orders to shoot on sight anyone who approached. Most towns and villages, however, were overrun by the pestilence that eventually killed fifty percent of Europe’s workforce. But the odds of anyone reliving this part of history were low – or so they thought.

Reestablishing the correct route, Maya turned right onto route two and shortly found themselves in Dryden. On the map, the town seemed insignificant – just another hole in the wall, but driving through they found that this was not the case. The town seemed to have everything, including churches, baseball fields, and businesses. Everyone studied the town as they slowly drove along the highway until Eli suddenly pointed something out.

“Guys,” he said. “There’s a BJ’s over there.” With his finger pressed against the window, he pointed out the sign standing off to the left. “We’ve got to go there,” he continued. “There’s got to be tons of shit we can pick up there.” Looking out the driver’s window, Maya saw it as well and, seeing an exit lane, turned left. Soon, they found themselves in the parking lot and, getting out of the RV, began heading towards the entrance doors.

“Hang on, everyone,” Maya said. “We need to be careful. We don’t know who’s in there, and I want to do this safely.”

Safety was a serious matter and something that everyone kept firmly in mind. But, occasionally the excitement of discovery tended to suspend common sense, warranting a gentle pull of the reins. While Maya was generally in control, Aurora and Eli sometimes needed to be reminded of how important it was to maintain self-control and that using one's senses in examining any area demanded its use.

Approaching the entrance, Maya noticed the glass doors were mounted on a track and likely opened by way of a motion sensor. The doors would have to be pulled apart, as there seemed to be no need to break the glass. Stepping in close to the door, Maya squeezed her fingers into the space where the edges of the doors met, and pulling in each direction, was only able to force them open by barely an inch.

“Fuck,” she said.

Patience was not her strongest attribute, and stepping away allowed Eli to try his hand at it, but he found the doors impossible to open as well. “I can’t get these open,” he began. “I guess we’re going to have to smash the glass – again.” The group stood quietly, overjoyed by the opportunity to exercise their desire for destruction, but Eli spoke up, claiming that it was his turn to destroy something.

“Alright,” he said. “Now I get a turn.” Glancing around, he found a rock slightly bigger than his fist. Being more than familiar with physics, he knew that to shatter plate glass, the force used had to be focused to as small a point as possible. Returning to the double doors, he prepared himself for something he had not done since childhood.

“Okay, everyone,” he said. “Stand back and watch the master.”

Taking a few steps back, Eli raised the rock over his head and just behind his ear and, aiming for the center of the glass, let the rock fly. But to everyone’s amazement, the rock simply bounced off the plate glass and fell to the ground. “What the fuck,” Eli said. “How can this not work?”

Unable to control themselves, the girls stood by and, breaking out into laughter, teased him for his misfortune.

“You want to try again, tough guy?” Maya asked. Eli’s response was expressed without words, but merely a gesture – raising a middle finger. As he picked up the rock, Aurora chimed in with a final taunt.

“It’s okay, Eli,” she said. “I’ve heard these things happen once in a while. It’s probably just stress.” Their laughter became louder as Eli, having recovered the rock, spoke without censoring his thoughts.

“Why don’t you two fuck off,” he said. Apparently, Eli was not one to be made the butt of jokes and, moving back, put the bulk of his anger behind his swing. As twice before, the glass shattered into a rain of jagged, glittering pieces. Eli, now vindicated, stood back from the hole in the door and took a prideful bow. “Yes,” he said. “The master has arrived.” Still giggling, the girls looked at each other as though they shared a secret. Now, it would come to the surface.

“Yeah,” Aurora began. “The masturbator, right?” Eli turned to them again with an expression of both anger and surprise.

“What was that?” he asked.

Still giggling, Maya covered her face, and turning away, Aurora gladly volunteered to reveal his secret.

“Oh, come on,” she began. “We heard you through the wall a couple of nights ago. You were beating that bad boy like it owed you money.” Eli refused to be taunted and, ignoring any further ridicule, climbed through the jagged hole and into the store.

No sooner than all three entered did they find a second set of sliding doors.

“Fucking God damn,” Eli shouted. “We just can’t get a break, can we?”

Stepping forward, Maya examined the doors then turned her attention to the tracks that held them in place.

“Could it be this easy?” she asked. The track was not very deep and putting both hands against the top of one of the doors pushed, applying as much force as she could muster. Feeling the wheels of the door slip from the track, Aurora pushed even harder until the door was completely free of its track. Wobbling slightly, the door fell away and struck the floor, with fragments of glass strewn across the concrete. Turning to Eli and Aurora, she raised her hands out to her sides.

“Well,” she said. “You two coming in, or not?” Eli and Aurora looked at each other in dismay, unable to understand how Maya was able to push the door away from its frame.

Walking into the store, everyone noticed its haunting silence. It seemed to drift through the air like ghosts at a funeral. As much as they tried to ignore it, they were unable to shake off the feeling of being watched, even though their rational minds told them it was simply a matter of misperception. Walking past the customer service desk, Maya was the first to spot the body of a young man slumped over in a chair. The smell was indescribably overwhelming, forcing the girls to steer away from it. Eli, on the other hand, feeling compelled to investigate, walked up to the body for a closer look. Maya tried to call him back, but he had quickly become engrossed in the carnage before him.

“Eli,” she said. “Will you stop fucking around? We need to get this done as fast as possible.” Eli remained unmoved, examining the body in detail.

“Guys,” he replied. “Look at this.” Maya decided to humor him, thinking that doing so might get him to bring his curiosity to an end, allowing them to continue their search for more resources. Walking over to Eli, Maya and Aurora saw, in detail, the results of the disease that, as far as they knew, had destroyed civilization. “Alright,” Maya said. “What is it?”

Being so close to the sight of death, Maya and Aurora were quick to cover their mouths and noses so as to avoid the putrid stench of death. “Look at this guy,” he replied. “Probably the only person left in the store. Now that’s dedication. Employee of the month, right here.” Aurora was close to becoming physically ill but managed to express her disgust at what Eli considered humorous.

“Eli,” she said. “You’re such an asshole. That is so revolting.”

Ignoring her remark, Eli examined the body closer and, discovering a name tag, made one last comment.

“You’d think that with everyone else dropping dead, this guy would just jump ship and take off. I’d say he deserves a fucking raise.” The girls were at the limit of gross humor, and Aurora lashed out at him.

“Eli!” she yelled. “Will you stop fucking around with the body? We’ve got things to do.” Turning to face them, he couldn’t help but tease them. After all, he felt the need to maintain his status as ‘the class clown’.

“Shit,” he said. “If my phone was charged, me and this guy could get a selfie together. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

In the minds of Maya and Aurora, it didn’t matter how educated he was. They saw Eli as being little more than a clownish piece of shit, and every once in a while they felt the need to remind him of that. Now, Aurora became incensed and again targeted him with her outrage.

“That’s enough!” she yelled. “Eli, you’re an ignorant piece of shit! You think this is funny? You’re an asshole -- a fucking waste of skin.” Maya had never seen this side of her before and, intervening, put a hand on her shoulder. After everything they had gone through, Maya understood how the stress was affecting them. She felt it too but believed that it should be managed without confrontation. But what concerned her most was whether it could be.

Human physical contact can build connections, convey affection, or drive someone away. It can even cause one to fly into an act of violence should they be agitated. Such was the case for Aurora as she threw off Maya’s hand and continued to verbally bludgeon Eli. “Why the fuck didn’t your parents throttle you at birth?” she continued. “I so want to fucking slap the shit out of you right now.”

Maya finally broke in and, putting her hand on Aurora’s shoulder again, spun her around and firmly scolded her.

“Aurora,” she said. “This is not helping. We can’t afford this kind of bullshit. We need to be a team and if we end up at each other’s throats, everything’s going to fall apart. Now, get your shit together, got it?”

After a few moments, Aurora managed to calm down and, after realizing her embarrassment, apologized for her overreaction.

“You’re right,” she said. “I need to chill out.” Turning to Eli, she spoke with a more considerate tone.

“I didn’t mean to throw all that at you,” she said. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage. She felt obligated to apologize for her conduct, even though she found him to be somewhat despicable.

“Eli,” she began. “I’m sorry I unloaded on you.” He nodded and gently replied.

“Aurora,” he began. “We’re all going through the same thing. Personally, I think that humor is my lifeline to sanity, but that’s just me.” She understood completely, realizing that she needed to find a better way of dealing with her stress, and everyone knew their situation was far from over.

“So,” Eli continued. “Are we good? Because we need to stick together, okay?”

She was surprised to find Eli handling her outburst so well. For her, it was as though he had become something of an adult – but not quite. “Yeah,” she said. “We’re good, butt can you not mess with the bodies? It’s really gross.” There was no more reason for Maya to intervene and as she stood back letting it all play out, she wondered if there hadn’t been some degree of personal growth and that maybe the experience of hardship can, on occasion, force one to ‘toughen up’.

After an awkward moment of silence, Maya broke the ice.

“Alright,” she began. “If you two are okay with each other, we need to get going, so grab a cart and let’s get moving – and only the essentials. So let’s not waste any more time.”

Each grabbing a cart, they fanned out among the shelves and displays, electronics, and backyard supplies. After a long thirty minutes, they met near the front door. Maya, being the practical one, searched through the carts looking for anything that she deemed without value. When she got to Eli’s cart, Maya pulled out several camping chairs and, putting them on the floor, reminded him that they were only looking for the necessities. “Hang on a second,” Eli began. “Don’t you want to sit around a campfire sometime, just shooting the shit?”

The chairs were not an absolute necessity, but there is sometimes the need for creature comforts. “You’re right,” Maya agreed. “I think that’s a great idea. It’ll be good to just kick back for a change.”

“Oh my God, yes,” Aurora said. “We should get marshmallows. Do you think there are any here?” Eli dug deeply into his cart and bringing his hand up displayed two bags of the sugary items. “Already got them,” he said.

For the first time since the world crumbled, the three managed to laugh – together. Perhaps all was not lost after all. If one can laugh regardless of traumatic circumstances, then maybe things are not so bad. However, people tend to create the circumstances of their downfall. Self-destruction has always come easily to humankind. Rising above it is always the difficult part and generally involves a change of thinking. The small group had experienced a slight glimmer of what it meant to rise above the trauma of surviving and the losses forced upon them. But despite this, they knew that life would continue to be difficult.