Shelf Life (2 page)

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at her; she felt her face flush and glanced away. When she turned back she now noticed his fear and sadness, the depth of it, and she realized she wasn’t the only one who was confused and scared and sad. She took a deep breath and walked over to where he was sitting and sat down next to him, Max on her heels. He laid down next to her feet. She gently touched the stranger’s hand and she felt him tense and then relax.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Shannon.”

He smiled and she felt her face go hot, and was thankful for the lack of light. He took her hand.

“I’m Josh.”

“Hi, Josh.”

“Hi, Shannon.”

He nodded. Without letting go of her hand, he looked out the cracks of the window and took a deep breath.

“As far as I can tell, no one really knows what happened. The news stations were reporting explosions and fires, then earthquakes and tornados. Someone said they heard we were attacked, but no one knows for sure. By midnight, the only thing being broadcasted was the Emergency Broadcast symbol. By morning, there was nothing. I was hiding in the basement at my job. When I came out, the city looked like this. When I find others who have survived, we compare notes.”

“How many others have you found?”

“Including you...thirty total...and three dogs.” 

Max picked his head up and looked at Josh, then laid it down again. Josh smiled at him.

“What’s his name?”

“I’m sorry, this is Max. Come here, Max.”

Shannon tapped the table and Max jumped up and promptly laid across her lap. Josh placed his hand to Max’s nose and the dog sniffed and licked his fingers. Josh slid his hand around the dog’s ears and scratched.

“He’s a good boy. He didn’t make a sound. The third night I was out here, I ran into six other people and we stayed together. That’s when I learned about the Roundup Committee. A week later we picked up a few more people. One was a woman with a baby. The very first night the motors came and the baby began to cry. The motors stopped instantly, listening...the mother held her baby to her breast to muffle the cries. It seemed to be working and soon the motors started up again and moved on. When they left, we were all silent. Bob...Bob Morton, he turned on a lamp. The mother was still rocking her baby, but it didn’t make a sound. Bob’s wife finally went over...”

Shannon watched him telling the story, feeling his fingers growing tighter around hers with each word. Then she noticed the tears in his eyes. He looked at her and blinked as a tear escaped and rolled down his face.

“...She went over and took the woman’s face. She was crying. She looked at Mary Morton...she said ‘he won’t make any more noise, I promise’, Mary looked down at the baby. The woman...she had smothered her baby, Shannon. She had killed her baby. How does that happen?” 

Shannon felt the sting of her own tears as he asked the question. She didn’t have an answer, so she decided to distract him

“When was the last time you ate, Josh?”

He blinked a couple of times, confusion on his face, and shrugged.

“This morning...I found an old package of Twinkies.” He smiled.

She took off her backpack and unzipped it, reaching inside she handed him a bottle of water and a ration package.

“Here. Tastes like cardboard, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Thanks.”

He took the water and package and started to eat. She took out water and a package for her and Max and the three of them ate in silence. When they were through, Josh handed her back the bottle, still half full.

“No, you keep it. Do you have a plan? Seems like there isn’t much food here,” she said.

“No, there’s nothing here. I’ve been thinking the last few days, my dad and grandpa used to take me to a cabin when I was a kid. Tall trees and lakes, lots of animals and such...I was thinking I would go and see what it's like there. Maybe it wasn’t destroyed like everywhere else.”

Shannon nodded. She didn’t relish being alone.

“You think maybe you’d like some company?” she asked.

He smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, that would be good.”

“What happened to the others you were with?”

“Some got caught, some decided to look for family in other cities... people decided not to trust each other. I left after they ate Phil’s dog.”

“What?!?”

“Yeah, they were hungry and couldn’t find food. So they tied up this guy Phil and they killed and ate his dog. There are a lot of hungry people hiding out there, Shannon. They’ll try to kill Max, maybe you...maybe they’ll...well, no matter what, be careful.”

“Were you considering killing him?”

“I’m hungry...but no, no, I can’t do that...”

He started to chuckle. Shannon looked at him, anger welling in her.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s not really funny...I considered killing you... not him. I’ve developed trust issues.”

His laughing continued. Shannon tried to be angry but realizing what he meant she couldn’t help but join him.

“Well, at least I can trust you around my dog, just not me.”

That comment made him laugh harder. He finally subsided and took a deep breath.

“Thanks, I needed that. It’s been a while since I laughed. Maybe we should get some sleep and in the morning we’ll see if we can find some transportation to get us out of here.”

Shannon nodded and picked up her backpack. She followed Josh into the kitchen and they both climbed under the chef’s tables. Max climbed in after her and curled up in a ball, his head on her arm, the backpack tucked behind her legs against the wall. She was soon sound asleep.

“Hey...Shan...Shannon...wake up.”

Shannon’s eyes opened to see Josh hovering over her. She stretched and groaned; hard metal was not easy to sleep on. She looked down to her chest, Max wasn’t there.

“Max! MAX!!”

Suddenly she heard the tapping of his toenails against the hard floor and he poked his head around Josh and covered her face with a wet tongue. Josh stood up and sighed.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you about Phil’s dog.”

“Maybe.”

“There was a round up committee before dawn, so I took him into the basement with me in case he barked. You slept right through.”

“Huh, I must have been exhausted.”

Shannon reached up her hand and Josh took it, pulling her up. She slipped and he caught her, holding her against him. She felt her stomach leap as she grabbed his arm with her free hand. She looked up into his eyes and felt herself flush, yet again. He smiled.

“Yeah, these things aren’t exactly made for sleeping.”

She smiled and stepped back, although she didn’t really want to. She noticed he didn’t let go of her hand.

“I wonder why these “roundup” folks don’t roundup during the daylight.” She said.

“Yeah, I’ve been wondering that too...it’s weird.”

“Well, I guess we should get going and start looking for a car or something. I’ve only got enough rations for about 2 more days...maybe less. And water, just a few more bottles.”

“Water we’ve got. They had bottles and bottles in the back. We might be able to find some canned stuff somewhere. There’s a store a couple of blocks away. They might have something...but then again, most of these places are either picked over or had fresh food that’s all rotted now.”

“Ok, let’s get going. The sooner we get away from town, the better we’ll feel.”

The three of them checked the front door and seeing everything clear, moved into the street. The early morning light was almost white as Shannon’s eyes had to once again adjust to the brightness. Now knowing what dangers were out there, she kept Max near her at all times.

The store was two blocks away from The Blue Turtle and had mostly been picked over. They were able to find a few cans of soup and a box of saltines, but no more food. As they were leaving, Shannon noticed a rack of seeds. They had been knocked around but some of them were fruit and vegetables. She grabbed as many as she could and shoved them in her pack. If they were going to the woods, she could plant a garden, if there was still a forest to go to.

They wandered through the streets looking for vehicles that were still upright and when they were lucky enough to find those, they checked the engine. All were undriveable.

“I can’t believe we’ve been out here for half a day and we can’t find one driveable car!” Josh exclaimed.

Shannon took a deep breath and felt her stomach rumble, then looked at Max.

“You hungry?”

He wagged his tail and sat in front of her. She smiled as she took out another ration.

“How about you...want some?”

Josh walked over and smiled.

“Sure.”

She broke the brick in half, wrapped up the other half and broke it again. She handed Josh the one half and kept the other, snapping off pieces to give Max, and then taking a bite herself. Josh watched her, then broke off part of his food and gave it to Max.

“That’s for you,” she said.

“I didn’t notice last night, but you’re giving me your food and you feed him before you feed yourself...I can share too.”

Shannon smiled.

“Thanks.”

Josh was about to speak again when he looked past her, his face dropping.

“SHIT!!”

Shannon turned to see several giant trucks with giant wheels rolling towards them. The deafening, rumbling and crunching noises of the night before moving in on them.

“RUN!!” Josh yelled. “C’MON!!”

He grabbed her hand and they ran down streets and alleys, turning and twisting, the noise from the trucks never seemed to fade away. Shannon felt the hot, dusty air scorch her throat and her lungs seemed to constrict as she took in as much air as possible. Her legs began to throb and then sting. No matter where they went, the sounds kept coming. Max always no more than a few feet before them, Josh constantly called after him in case he went too far ahead. Her head was swimming as her stomach began to churn. She felt a tug on her hand as Josh led them down an alley and into a building. He turned and let go of her hand, slamming the door after Max jumped through the doorway. Without a word he grabbed her hand again, pulling her through the hallway and down a flight of stairs. They stopped before a door. The light blue paint was peeling off the edges and the letter B hung at an angle.

Josh reached into his pocket and fished around, looking over his shoulder. He finally pulled out a key chain and began to fumble with the keys. He took one and placed it in the lock. The door swung open and he ushered Shannon and Max into the room, quietly closing the door behind them. Then he ran to the narrow windows against the wall and looked under the blinds that held out the sun. Shannon took deep breaths as she turned to assess the small basement apartment. A small chair in front of a small TV, lots of books and pictures, most of them black and white, from the 30’s or 40’s she thought, and a few of a little boy. A little boy with light brown hair and laughing brown eyes. She noticed Max, panting next to her, and she pulled the backpack from her shoulders. She took out a bottle of water and poured it in her hand. As he drank the water, she looked back at Josh.

“Where are we, Josh?”

He turned and walked over to them. Petting Max as he knelt down, and then placing his finger to his mouth.

They listened in silence as the rumbling slowed, then eventually passed. She handed Josh the water and watched him drink as he handed it back to her. She swallowed in large gulps what was left in the bottle.

“This was my grandfather’s place. He died like five months ago but I haven’t had the heart to come and pack everything up. I had actually forgotten about it until the RC showed up. Bet there’s actually food here...”

He stopped and looked at a picture of a little boy and an old man at a lake.

“Is that you?” Shannon asked.

Josh nodded. He picked it up and smiled, then put it back as he forced his sadness away. He walked into the kitchen and started to pull cans out of the cabinets, checking dates and tossing items that had apparently expired. Shannon watched for a moment then took the picture of the boy with laughing eyes and the picture of Josh and his grandfather and slipped them in her backpack.

“We need another bag for all this.”

“Do you want me to find one?” she asked.

“Naw, I know where one is...I’ll be right back.”

Shannon put her backpack on the floor and wandered around the small room. She reveled in the richness of the sepia photos, the mood of the black and white images. She smiled as she remembered her own family, then felt the pain in her chest spread to her face. Tears streaming down her cheeks as her heart began to pound. She had not once allowed herself to think about those she loved: her brother, Andy, who had been stationed in France with his wife, Kris, and their two girls, Lisa and Kelly. She had talked to him only two days before. He was thinking of coming home for a visit, and her best friend, Janeen, in Nevada, her other friends and family...gone. She fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself as she sobbed, long retching sobs to match the pain of her breaking heart.

Max began to whine as Josh ran from the back bedroom with a duffle bag in his hand. He stopped short and dropped it as he fell to his knees and without a moment’s hesitation grabbed her and held her to him, gently rocking her back and forth. After a while, Shannon’s sobs quieted and she sat up, Josh’s fingers moving her long curly tendrils back over her shoulder.

“Thank you,” she whispered between hyper breaths.

“You’re welcome,” he smiled.

“I need a tissue.”

Josh laughed and helped her up. Then held up his finger and disappeared into the back, only to return with a box of tissues. Shannon smiled and nodded her appreciation as she took the box.

“You found it.”

“The bag? Yeah, and a few other things. I feel so stupid for trying to avoid this place. Look...”

Josh opened the duffle and inside were three fishing poles, two rifles, ammunition, a machete and three hunting knives.

“Wow...Grandpa had the arsenal.”

“Yeah...like I said, I should have some here first.”

“Maybe...” she said. “But then we might not have met, then Max would most likely be dead cause some freaks were hungry and they might have killed me...or well, other stuff...or I would be the latest version of a Stepford Wife...”