As We Know It (Chapter 1)

As We Know It

Prologue

We didn’t see it until it was too late. That’s what we repeat to ourselves as we huddle in our cardboard boxes, protected from the outside.

Let me rewind, the year was 1999, late December, days before the Millennium, when the meteors struck. It came from the direction of the sun, stealthily sneaking, stalking us unnoticed. A missile meant to destroy it only shattered it into three massive fragments, which struck throughout the Western Hemisphere. What was once rolling hills and thriving cities became radioactive wastelands. 

Fast forward to the year 2020, nuclear winter on the surface of the Earth has diminished enough so humans can survive. Bandit gangs and raider clans control what is left of our cities. Rumor spread of a cruise ship preparing to disembark, a last chance at salvation. Still, many held out hope.

Chapter 1: A Twisted World

We had just crossed the Rio Grande into West Texas, a desert wasteland in its prime now more wasted than ever.

“Tell me why we came here again?” I asked lazily.

“Jay, for the umpteenth time, we need to stock up on food,” said our driver, Alek. He kept one hand on the wheel of the R.V. while he ran his other through his jet-black hair and groaned, “Someone take the wheel I’ve been driving for a whole day.”

Alek locked eyes with Cass, who reluctantly sat up and took the wheel. Within minutes Cass had his big black eyes fixed on the road and Alek was chilling on the sofa, rubbing his temples. Silence descended.

“Hey, Alek, wanna hear a joke?” asked Cass.

“Shut up, Cass,” was the answer.

The rumbling of the R.V’s engine filled the silence. I could feel the tension rising, and hell, it should be. We’d been traveling for a week now and at this point, I didn’t care that they were my last friends on Earth, I just wanted to be alone.

“You think there’ll be any food here?” asked Cass, surveying the scorched wasteland that stretched to the horizon.

“No”, I thought. “Why should there be?” With our luck, we’d probably be dead within a few weeks, that’s if raiders don’t get us sooner or we don’t get stuck in a cannibal nest.

Alek, who’d seemed a bit bugged now seemed thoroughly pissed off. “I said shut up!” he growled.

Cass stopped the R.V, “How about you shut up!”

“I don’t want to hear it, just drive!” a cussing match ensued. I didn’t blame them for their sniping, what would you expect from three guys stuck in a nuclear wasteland and running out of food.

That’s when our back tire blew out. This would be no ordinary repair. You don’t just stop in the middle of a road and expect not to be looted, even in the desert. My instincts kicked in. I grabbed Alek and crouched behind the table. Rough voices came from outside – Raiders. Cass peeked out from behind the driver’s seat and motioned toward my gun propped by the door. I counted to three and went for it, vaulting over the table and grabbing the stock. The back doors burst open just as I cocked it, rolled forward and fired, dropping three Raiders trying to climb aboard.

In the silence that followed, I slowly got to my feet and looked back at Cass and Alek, but they were still fixed on the space behind me where one raider was struggling to get up, a bullet in his thigh.

“Take the live one, he may have information,” Alek said softly.

“Information for what?” I asked. I really wasn’t liking the idea of picking this man up. Alek looked at me like I was dumb.

“Food and water idiot! We’re starving out here.”

Grumbling, I knocked the Raider unconscious then brought him into the R.V and lay him on one of the couches. Blood smeared my hands, making me shiver. You never expect to be shooting people when you’re nineteen. Though I’ve been doing it for some time now, it never feels natural. Alek stood up.

“Anyone know how to fix a flat?” he asked.

He got his answer when we set off, walking a mile to the nearest sign of life, a godsend really, though in better times you never would have noticed it –Marie’s Inn.

The main room was in stark contrast to the world outside. Filled with alcohol-fueled chatter and laughter with some form of somber blues played in the background. Men and women alike downed shot after shot of cheap whisky like they didn’t care anymore and I almost wanted to join them. At least it would be easier than traveling another week across the wasteland we called home.

The owner of the inn was a short, chubby, Italian woman who kindly showed us to our room. The upstairs was a series of small doors and white, grubby walls. Our room consisted of one small bed, a large wooden dresser, and a small window that looked out onto the cold nothingness of the outside.

“What the fuck? There’s only one bed!” Cass exclaimed.

“What’d you expect?” I asked calmly.

Alek grumbled something about sleeping on a hardwood floor and sat down on the dresser.

“Guys,” said Cass, nodding toward the Raider who was regaining consciousness. Alek and I stooped over the delirious man.

“Wh-wha-wha?” he said through a scraggly beard. His buzz-cut kept his hair off his ears where too many gold rings hung.

“Relax man, you’re safe.” said Alek shortly.

“What about the Mayflower? All our troubles gone in the sea?” the man mumbled, woozily waving his hand around and making a swishing noise. We exchanged glances, rumor had come through a few months ago when a series of parrots flocked all over the west coast and repeated the word “Mayflower” and “boat” for three days straight. Most of us dismissed it (who wouldn’t), and the ones who didn’t, were usually found dead or were probably taken captive by scavengers and murderers roaming the roads.

“Hey, you still with us? So where can we find this Mayflower ship?” Asked Cass, hopefully. The man put his scabby lips close to Alek’s ear and whispered something incomprehensible, then fell back into the swishing sound again.

Alek turned to us, “Miami.”

I felt a sudden surge of excitement. We might actually make it through this alive.

“And you believe a half-dead Raider?” Cass sighed.

“Why not? You got something better?”

Cass looked turned toward the Raider, who slipped back into unconsciousness, then back at Alek “You better be right asshole,” he snarled.

Alek grinned and I allowed myself a bit of optimism. We slept soundly, taking turns keeping an eye on the door and the seemingly unconscious Raider. The next morning under slate gray skies and wind from the west, we set off for Miami.