Jessica
Once again we were driving in the Cadillac. I was on the wheel now, because Erik seemed vexed all morning from the dream he refused to tell me about. He was constantly zoning out with bags under his eyes. I took pity on the boy in the doldrums and offered to drive. Josiah's trailers and the doctor's van were speeding along behind us on this deserted road---it was really the start of a new chapter in our journey; the actual beginning.
It turned out that the doctor had a frequentel in his possession. Although Nikole ventilated her fury in a strangely collected way at the fact that he had been hiding the rectangular device all those years, it was used along with our own freqs to contact each other in separate vehicles in case we had to make a stop or inform one another on matters of high significance. Such as; taking a piss.
We were headed toward a gargantuan chain of towering mountains that created formidable shadows across the vast meadow. In order to get to Grand Canyon, there was no choice but to cross it. We stopped one time to discuss which road to take at an abandoned convenience store parking lot. Doctor Mikhailov spread out the map of southwestern America on top of the bonnet of Erik's Cadillac and ordered all of us to gather around him.
"This is an old map, a pre-War one. But as far as I know, the roads are all the same," he said.
"We need to take into account that the aftershocks of the War could have damaged them. Some are crowded with discarded cars. Or broken off because of bombings," Josiah suggested, crossing his arms. "I've run into those kinds. It takes a long time to find another way around." His career as a supply runner had molded him into a prudent, bright individual when it came to roads. He and Soeun were honestly the most experienced in this field. I myself was a wanderer, but I was an aimless one whereas the two were a meticulous type as it was their job to find new roads and adequate supply havens.
"Do you have an updated map?" Mikhailov queried.
Throwing a confident smile as a sign of affirmation, Josiah jogged back to his first trailer and brought with him two large maps in each arm. Soeun plopped down on the ground, back against the front tire of the car as he watched his boyfriend scuttle out from their van.
"I have one for southern California and another for southwestern America."
Mikhailov folded his map, putting it away in his coat pocket, and let Josiah unravel his maps on the bonnet. I stepped closer to see all the colorful markings that had been made on the timeworn piece of paper. There were x's and o's on some highways while stars and multilayered circles highlighted important places that probably provided copious valuable resources. Water. Food. Wood. And the written list went on. There was even Condoms. I sniggered and nudged Erik once, to which he responded with an adorable blush and a following scowl.
"You haven't ventured this area," I pointed out. The direction we were taking was to the southeast but Josiah's map littered with scribbles was almost clear of any writings or marks near Grand Canyon.
"I've never been to Arizona. Radiation," he answered, scratching the back of his head.
"We didn't think diving into a radioactive pool would profit us," Soeun added without even rising to his feet. "Dying of radiation poisoning is the worst way to go."
"Very true," the doctor agreed. "Yet we must go. So, Nolett, which road to take?" He turned to face the man considerably taller than himself.
"Sica," Josiah suddenly called me. "You said we have two weeks?"
"13 days from now, so uh...that's October 23rd." I counted the days with my fingers.
"Alright. Then we have plenty of time. We should go around the Sierra Nevada and across the southern part of Nevada." Josiah put his left hand to his hip and traced a certain yellow squiggly line with the index finger of his other hand. There were no x's or o's on that road.
"How do we know if that road is safe?" Erik asked.
"We don't," Josiah replied. "But this freeway has branches that extend to a number of other roads that can lead us to the same destination."
"It looks like the best option," Nikole's chill voice chimed in from behind the doctor's back. Everyone looked at her direction---she had been told to stay inside the car.
"Nikole, what did I tell you?" Mikhailov reproached her.
"I get to see the full sunlight in years. I think I deserve better than being forced to spend time indoors." She supported her entire weight on her left crutch and pointed at the cloud-shrouded sun with her right hand. Her defiance against her uncle's bothersome regulations was growing more and more impressive as the days went by.
Mikhailov buried his face in his palms and weakly shook his head. He probably gave up.
"We're taking this road, then?" Erik broke the uncomfortable atmosphere with his question. The yellow squiggly line seemed promising.
"Yes. Hopefully it's not closed off or anything," Josiah confirmed.
"Before we go, I'm gonna check out that store," I declared, jauntily marching off toward the convenience store before anyone could have had the chance to encumber my trip. I smiled to myself as I heard Erik mumbling "Me, too," and then tagging along.
"Don't use that time for a quickie," Soeun advised to our backs. Pfft.
The one-story building was neither big nor small, but enough to furnish a weary traveler with plentiful supplies. Though I was sure it was deprived of all the goods that had been residing inside ever since the Great War broke out and people robbed stores out of panic. I stepped inside the glass door---or the no-glass door as it was shattered to a million pieces with the debris reaching to a wide range on the floor---nonetheless and scanned the interior once. The shelves, as I had surmised, were ripped of every item but there were still some packages left in the far corner.
"We'll always need toothbrushes and dusters." I giggled to Erik as I began walking toward the poor items adopted by no one.
"They are essentials, really," Erik commented amused.
We spent minutes salvaging what we could from the stale old store without sharing one conversation. I picked up some canned fruits that were hidden under cash register tables and a corkscrew that I thought would become quite handy in the future. We never knew if we were going to have a blast with champagne and wine one night.
"So..." Once done gathering items, Erik approached me nervously. "About Jerome King and your ex...," he faltered. I swallowed a squirm of anxiety down my throat. I had promised to tell him about my past today.
"Oh." I clicked my tongue and then hopped on the table to take a seat. "You want me to tell you everything?"
"Just the essence, a general idea," he said, sitting on the floor in front of me. There was an apologetic expression on his face, but I knew there was no need for it. He deserved to know. After that shitstorm I had put him through because of my fucked-up history.
"Alright, then. I'll get on it." I cleared my throat and fiddled with the empty candy jar on the table. My opaque reflection on the plastic surface was distorted.
"You know I'm a wanderer. I never had a permanent home, or ever wanted to settle down. So I traveled around the western part of this country since my mom died and I was left alone."
"Your mother passed from...?" Erik interrupted.
"A battle. She was a soldier. She taught me how to use weaponry, so yeah."
"Huh." A look of realization manifested on his face.
"Anyway, even during the times the aftershocks of the War were waging, I needed money to survive so I had a big sum of debts I had to pay back. I was younger and not good at running. Those bastards would track me down anywhere. Which meant I had to get that money from somewhere.
"So I went to a large town with all those cheap, flashy entertainment resorts. I found the biggest bar in town and when I entered, I met this bartending novice that I fell in love with the day we met. That was Gabriella Izabel, you know, the girl with that hideous makeup. But you gotta keep in mind she wasn't like that at all when we first met.
"Well, we talked for a while and enjoyed a few weeks to ourselves and it got me thinking that maybe I wanted to wander around the Wasteworld the rest of my life with this girl. I was that reckless. Until I broke free from the trance and realized that I needed money for the ensured extension of my life. So I went straight up to see the owner of the bar and offered my service in return for five grand. Jerome King took that offer and we slept together. It was all good but when I demanded the cash, that son of a bitch changed his mind. He said he'd like to basically keep me in custody and pay me two hundred bucks every month as a 'wage'. That meant spending years with the guy as his fucking puppet. I declined of course."
"What happened?" Erik's eyebrows were furrowed. He was absorbed in my story and infuriated as well.
"We had an argument, but the motherfucker brought up Brie. He knew about our relationship. He knew that I loved her. So he fucking threatened to kill her if I didn't listen to him. I had no choice. I had to do it to save Brie's life." Memories flooded back as I emotionally poured out the story with my own mouth. Unfiltered rage and sense of helplessness trickled out of my tongue as I sputtered out every syllable.
"Disgusting bastard," Erik quietly cursed. His empathetic statement mollified my painful emotions a little.
"Fuck yeah, right." I sniffled. "So for five months, I submitted to him like a ragdoll until I decided I couldn't live like this anymore. I met Brie and we planned an escape. Brie would drug King one night, I would steal his money, and then we'd fly together. That was the plan. But on that very night, when I completed my part of the job, I couldn't find Brie anywhere. She wasn't at the place we were supposed to meet. Instead, Harriet, my other 'friend', was there."
"You mentioned 'Harriet telling you something' before you passed out," Erik said. I nodded.
"The bitch told me to fuck off since Brie was no longer interested in me or going out of town. She said Brie was with her now, so I wouldn't have to worry about her."
"For real?" Erik remarked incredulously.
"For real. I felt so, so betrayed. I was broken to pieces, but at that time I didn't have the heart to retaliate. I was too scared, so I left on my own with the money to pay off the debts. It taught me a lesson never to trust anyone, but here she is again trying to take revenge on me. I don't know where things went wrong. Where I screwed things up." I concluded gloomily.
Erik seemed to weigh this story in sincerity and got to his feet, dusting off his pants. He took one step closer to me and met my teary eyes. I looked away to hide the anguished dolor that had percolated in my mocha irises. However, he gently took my chin in his hand and sought for the reciprocation of his gaze. He stood there speechless for a moment, and then whispered in a soothing tone:
"I'm sorry."
I did not move for a full minute. I searched and dug for something in his sorrow-laden eyes and fought back the inexplicable drive in myself to pull him into a soft kiss. He was genuinely feeling sorry for what I had gone through and what I was still going through. Jerome and Brie could track me down using whatever resources and information they had. I believed they would gladly engage in tormenting me for as long as they could, judging from the putrid hate and obsession they had expressed a week ago. It meant our party had an unwelcome tail behind us. A potential danger. Erik, nevertheless, did not convey any sort of hint that he resented me for it. He held no grudge against me.
Our serene moment was hampered by a ruckus outside. Alarmed, we both snapped our heads toward the entrance of the convenience store. Distinct yelling and the sounds of metallic collisions resounded from where our vehicles were supposed to be.
"What the fuck?" I hopped off the table, basket in one hand and loading my revolver with the other.
Erik followed me on my heels as we made our way past the shelves and headed for the door. I leaped into the murky sunlight and took in the situation that unfolded right before my eyes.
A group of raiders was surrounding our cars. There were ten of them, outnumbering us by four. A fight was already going on between our group and theirs. Soeun was hacking his knife through their flesh and Josiah was taking on three raiders simultaneously. Doctor Mikhailov wasn't doing so great, on the other hand. Nikole was aiding him by brandishing her blade-crutch wildly so that no one could dare come close. I assessed the situation and realized something to my pleasure. None of the raiders had firearms in their possession.
I smirked and swirled the revolver once in my hand. Time for more bloodshed.
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