“It is not safe anywhere—at least not anywhere near a major city.”
“Did we live in a major city?” Claire asks as she pouts.
“Yeah,” I say as I rub her shoulder. “We need to get whatever info Noah left for me in that metal case to someone who will listen—otherwise a lot of people who are… different are going to get killed for no reason.
“We can do something from my house,” Claire says as she closes her eyes and attempts to concentrate. “Lot of technology… my father was… important?”
“That’s where we’ll head.”
“That’s where… we’ll head,” Claire repeats.
“GPS, Morro Bay—avoid all major cities. Avoid all cities as best as possible… in the quickest time.”
“Calculating…”
The entire window fills with the display a huge map; a red route is marked across the United States. It zigzags its way and looks rather intimidating. “Is this route acceptable?”
“Travel time?”
“31 hours of driving time. At a recommended 8 hours a day it should you should arrive at your destination on the fourth day.”
“Is this the fastest route?”
“Avoiding Texas, which is no longer a part of my system—and all Major and minor cities, yes,” the female voice replies.
“Route it,” I say as the map shrinks down to the side of the window. I know taking the interstates will be quite a risk—but right now time makes it worth it.
We head off into the night. As I pass Lawson, from distance, I notice a fire has consumed the small town. I wonder if there is anyone left alive. I know that my being there caused it and I am heartbroken for it. Hopefully I can make things right… somehow.
13. California Bound
It has been six hours since we left the farmhouse and all the terrible things that happened there. So far there has been no traffic on the major interstate. Every now and then I ask the GPS to confirm if there are any cars—she constantly states that there are not. I wonder if people are too busy hiding. I would think more people would vacate their cities and seek refuge in the country—then again, as I said once before, people who live in the major cities never really leave. For some reason, perhaps it has been engrained into their mentality, they believe that they are somehow safer—safety in numbers, I suppose. However, they could not be further from the truth.
I look over to Claire, she is curled up in the seat beside me—the blanket tightly wrapped around her. The clock reads a little past four a.m. I am exhausted; however I am still running off of adrenaline and the need to put as much distance away between myself and everything that happened in back in Lawson. I speed through the entire state of Kansas—taking detours to make sure I steer clear of Wichita, and other few larger cities along the way. The detours are annoying, but I know it is the safest course of action.
The sun begins to rise and I see the drastic, desolate scenery around me. I can look for miles and miles and not even spot a single tree—I know soon that this will slowly turn to hills, then to mountains and trees—I am glad that I made the trip through Kansas at night. The flatness and endless stretches of it all leaves me feeling strange, empty in a way. I watch as the bright sun climbs into the sky. I can make off heavy smoke from what must be nearly fifty miles away. I pull off just before reaching Lamar and head north—I need to rest.
I manage through a series of rough, overgrown, country roads. Just the kind I feel most safe around. The dashboard comes to life without warning, startling me in my exhausted state.
A woman in plain clothes is reporting from a location I do not recognize. All I see is smoke in the background.
“As you can see, or… can’t see at this point—the incursion between the Aggros and the U.S. Military forces has come to an end. With a heavy toll to our military… I am hearing rumors that we are down to nearly a third of what we were at before the fighting started… this is all unconfirmed at the moment. What I do know is that the smell of dead Aggros fills the air and the fires make it almost un-breathable. Ash falls down from the sky at a constant rate, I’m not sure if this is human remains, or from the fires. Around the country riots continue as most of the blame for all of the incidents has fallen upon C-Shapes. The President has warned that drastic, and terrible, action will be taken if the riots do not stop. However, this threat goes ignored as the majority of the population believes that he has no power at this point to do anything. Between the rioting, looting, and Aggros, people are encouraged to stay indoors—to barricade themselves in for as long as possible until peace regains. From what I have seen so far, I do not know if we even have a capacity to do so,” the woman says as she looks around at the devastation that surrounds her. These newscasts are so much different than the C-Shapes ones, they almost seem… surreal, in a way. The lack a certain formality, but it doesn’t make it any less real—or in the moment.
The dashboard fades back to normal as I continue along the rough road.
“Where are we?” Claire asks groggily as she eyes the desolate landscape.
“Just got into Colorado,” I say as I look over and smile. “Did you sleep well?”
“All I do is sleep…” Claire says as she stretches out her arms and accidentally pushes against my face. “Sorry…”
I laugh in response. I find a nice remote spot next to the largest of a series of bodies of water that the map identifies as the Neenoshe Reservoir.
“Have you been driving all night?” Claire asks as she watches me rest my head against the circular headrest. “You must be exhausted.”
“Yeah,” I say as I nod. Although I do not know how I am going to sleep with it being so damn bright outside. “I just need a few hours, and then I’ll be ready to hit travel again… If I can sleep. It’s awful bright today.”
“Darken windows,” Claire commands. Moments later the windows slowly begin to darken. “Chairs back and together…”
“You never cease to amaze me,” I say as I smile. I can still make out her kind face in the dim light. Her beautiful smiling hazel eyes shine back at me in the filtered glow of the windows.
“I had a nice car,” Claire adds as she playfully pushes against my shoulder. “Rest…”
I lay on my back, staring up at the black ceiling. I am so tired, but my mind is still so awake—perhaps even a little traumatized. I don’t know. I look over to Claire; she looks back up at me, she looks sad. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” Claire says as she bites her lip. “You should rest.”
“You look sad,” I say as I pull her close to me and wrap my arms around her. “I can’t sleep when you’re sad… at least, not after what happened last time.”
“Do you think any differently of me?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, genuinely confused.
“I shot that man… and I didn’t feel bad about it,” Claire says as she grasps onto my hand and holds it tightly. “Then I… I brought trouble. They know when I’m around. Your friends are gone because they knew I was in that house—we’re connected.”
“None of that was your fault…” I begin.
“I look different too…” Claire adds as she runs her fingers through her hair. “I’m different. I’ll always be different…”
“All those things that you think make you so different… that make you think any less of yourself—I love. I wouldn’t want you to be normal. I love you just the way you are,” I say as I keep my gaze fixed upon her eyes. I realize that this is the first time that I have told someone that I loved them. I did not do it intentionally—it just happened. I suppose I’ve felt this way for some time now. I just never realized that she might need to hear it.