The Long Way To Reno (32 page)

            In
the neighborhood nearby, some survivors were loading their vehicles quickly,
gunshots sounding off in panicked succession. The earth rumbled at that point,
rising up and collapsing with a massive drum of sound that nearly drowned out
the screams. We had to stop as the ground shook violently, hollow cracking
noises exploding all around us. Glass shattered noisily, raining down onto
shifting pavement, and aliens howled viciously as they raced out from the
shadows.

            The
chaos was fast-paced, nothing standing out as a single threat. The ground
shifted with another rumbling groan. Streetlights crashed to the cracking
pavement with metallic shudders. Upward, the stars seemed to move. We were
separated as things happened so fast, all of us scrambling to get out of the
way of falling things that we couldn’t really identify in the darkness. It was
all loud sounds, shaking ground and chaos.
Just pure chaos
.

            “It’s
another onslaught,” I heard Sandy exclaim. She was to my right – I fell
because the ground seemed to heave upward, like I was on a damn trampoline. I
hit the dirt as she fired several times at something that screeched viciously.
“They’re trying to finish us off!”

            “Run,
run, run!” I heard Harley shout, and I was suddenly being pushed forward. He
took a couple of shots at the aliens wearing human skins, then cursed as the
empty clicks told him he was out. I ran ahead, maneuvering clumsily through
fallen debris as the ground continued to shudder. Power lines danced briefly
before collapsing, vehicles rocked in place, and houses creaked under the
pressure.

            I
then stopped, yelping as I covered my head. Harley tripped over me, Sandy
catching herself. She looked up in time to see one of the power lines surging
forward, swinging widely through the air. She ducked in time, dropping to the
pavement as the poles crashed down around us. At the same time, one of the
alien creatures pounced on her, snarling. She managed to fight off the bite
that had been aimed for her throat, her forearm being ensnared within that
toothless maw.

            Quickly,
the woman ensnared the alien body close to hers, rolled both of them so that
she had the alien on the ground, and wiggled away, reloading quickly. Before
the alien could get up for another attack, Sandy killed the thing. Damn, I wish
I was like her. She looked so cool.

            The
ground heaved mightily at this point, bursting upwards in a shower of noise and
pavement. A trumpeting sound deafened us, debris raining around us as a single
vehicle flipped end over end before slamming into the sidewalk beside me. The
ground continued to shake, making it impossible to stand. I felt an ensnaring
force on my arm, and saw Sandy holding tightly onto me, using her body to
shield mine. I didn’t see Harley anywhere, but things were happening so fast
that I couldn’t even look for him before she pushed me to move. Both of us
struggled, but were so disoriented that our steps took us further into danger.
The sound blared outward once more, vibrating the very air around them.

            It
was hard to see what was happening, dust and smoke swirling in thick curtains
around them. Things smashed into the streets, glass shattered. Vehicles
crumbled, and I saw the pillar to our left lift upward. Through the intense
thickness of the dust cloud, I saw what looked like a giant robot moving away
from the scene. It made me gape, confused as to whether this thing came from
the streets below us, or was just passing through. It was hard to see details,
with all the explosions, dust clouds exploding all around us. All I could see
was a robot as tall as a building walking casually through the neighborhood.

            The
school crumbled immediately under one of its steps, and it lifted a pair of
overly long arms to the sky – as I followed the action with awestruck
eyes, I realized it was gesturing at the massive rectangle with glowing lights
high above us. It was soundless – it took up much of the sky. It moved
slowly from the east, over the mountains Harley had wanted us to escape to.
With how noiseless it was, I would’ve never noticed it up there – I had
to wonder just how long it had been there. Was it responsible for the pulsing
noises?

            I
felt shaking upon my arm, and looked over to seeing Sandy gesturing wildly
– we had only seconds before another massive foot fell over us. Aliens danced
around the moving pillar with startled screeches, seemingly abandoning their
efforts in decimating the humans below. Like ants, they swarmed the legs of the
robot with noises that echoed high above them. As we ran from as much as the
chaos as we could, I glanced upward. There were more alien spaceships moving
through the skies, zipping around the massive rectangle already sliding through
the night.

The two robots that were walking through Sparks were loping
casually through the neighborhoods – two indistinguishable shapes that
didn’t bother looking back. I looked back up at the alien ship that continued
to twinkle noiselessly. Looked to the two robots that were waving at a smaller
ship gliding down to them. After a few moments of watching, I saw that the ship
was landing near them – from our distance, the two robots crumbled into
pieces. They shot upward in fluid motion, loading themselves into open areas of
the ship. After a few moments, the aircraft began lifting back towards the
larger ship in the sky – its form was dwarfed by it, disappearing within
the blinking lights and expanding shadows.

            I
continued to gape because this was significant – I was seeing something
significant, and I wanted to try and understand it at that very moment. Yet
everything was against me – Sandy was jerking me around, things were
trying to kill us, and Harley was no where in sight. An explosion from nearby
swept me off my feet – all I heard was this crushing ringing sound, and
it felt heavy because it knocked off my entire equilibrium. I couldn’t focus on
anything. I couldn’t see because the light had blinded me, and I couldn’t hear.

            I
staggered about like some drunkard leaving a casino – squinting for
something familiar. I could see armed guys shooting at various moving shadows,
and I knew I had to run. I had to escape the dangers around me. I just started
running in a random direction.

            Sound
began to return, and it was chaotic. People were screaming, gunfire blasted,
and aliens screeched as they did everything they could to eliminate everybody.
I ran because my instinct screamed at me to do so. I didn’t even look back,
because I knew if I did, I would do something stupid. Like stumble and fall. Or
see something that would make me turn around and go back and –

            I
ran.

            I
just chose a direction and ran without looking for the others. I didn’t even
think of them – I just thought of myself.

            I
couldn’t die. I had just made it to Reno. I was that much closer to my parents,
I needed to just go. I couldn’t just continue to waste my time with these
people – I just needed to
go
.

            I
needed to
live
!

Chapter Eighteen

Since
I pretty much was familiar with the Sparks area, I knew where I was going. I
ran until I literally couldn’t, anymore. I walked heavily, struggling for
breath, wishing upon wishes that I’d started out as this in-shape gym-rat and
not a skinny-fat gamer chick. The night was extremely cold, but the clothing
and the jacket I wore helped immensely. With the light being provided overhead
by the moon, and the reflection of it bouncing off the white snow that had
settled undisturbed in the city, I was able to see pretty clearly.

Walking
felt good – though it had been awhile, I found a rhythm that felt
comfortable. The silence that stretched around me was foreign and strange, but
eventually that became familiar. The sounds that had been so deafening back at
the school were sadly silent. I couldn’t help but look back every once and a
while, catching sight of the smoke that billowed up into the night sky.

The
massive rectangle in the sky was still there, but it looked as if it were
slowly moving towards the east. Its continuously blinking lights were almost
mesmerizing. I had to wonder how many of those robots were up there, and what
else was going to happen. It seemed like those things in the sky had made sure
to drop enough shit on us to clear out the human population – everyone
that struggled to survive the Rabid was now going to have a harder time with
the aliens.

It
was clever of them. Wipe a whole bunch of us with a zombie virus, lay eggs in
the dead, and continue to clean house with what they had left. They were trying
to make us go extinct. It was too bad that humans are rather stubborn and don’t
like to die easy.

My
route home was already mapped out in my mind – I would find Prater, take
it all the way down to adjoining Fourth – then make my way to Wells, and
South Virginia. From there, South Virginia, I would find California. If not
that route, there were others I could take – side streets that I often
took when the main streets were either in the midst of frustrating
construction/repair, or during rush hours. Reno always had some sort or road
mess going on.

It
was a trip that allowed me a lot of thinking, a lot more one-sided conversations
with myself. When morning arrived, I was physically exhausted, but found an
open room in a hotel on Fourth Street and collapsed underneath a bed that faced
the door. I fell asleep facing the street.

After
napping, I woke, and stared out through the open door. My breath was visible as
I breathed, and the blankets I’d used to wrap around myself smelled of
cigarette smoke. I was too cold to sleep, and there was a dog running
chaotically through the snow. I was almost home – that motivated me enough
to climb out from my hiding spot, stretch, and then go through the room for
something useful.

I
didn’t find anything, so I left without bothering to check the other rooms.
Looking behind me, I saw that my footsteps stretched for at least a mile. The mothership,
or whatever it was, was gone. The sun rose high over head, and it looked so odd
to stare up and see only blue stretches of sky. Reno had always been busy with
air traffic coming through, so not hearing those incoming and outbound planes
was something I had to get used to. I looked towards Sparks, and saw smoke
continuing to curl up towards the sky.

The
dog that had been running chaotically earlier startled me as it ran full speed
down the street and made a sharp right towards the Ramada nearby. I saw a small
group of people heading up the street, carrying full bags of things and dressed
for winter. I could hear them talking, laughing amongst each other – it
felt good to hear.

They
didn’t see me as they walked up Sutro, and I made sure they didn’t. I wasn’t
about to run into people again, but it was so awesome to see people living
despite the aliens’ trouble in trying to kill us off.

:
:

The
Wells bridge was destroyed – it was a pile of rubble. Amongst the huge
chunks of concrete and roadside signs, I saw crushed cars, people that had died
trapped within. The river below was a mess of floating debris, trapped in ice
and slow moving water. It didn’t look easy to cross, but I didn’t feel like
walking any further down Fourth just to get to South Virginia. I tightened my
bag around myself, and headed over.

Carefully
picking my way through rubble and metal, it took me some time to cross the
bridge. It was slow going and scary – things shifted and tilted in such
ways that I squeaked and squealed as I caught myself, making unnecessary noise
as I did so. By the time I’d made it over to what remained of Kuenzli, I was
breathing hard and nursing a hand I’d smooshed between two concrete blocks.
Wells was a destroyed mess as well – being that it was one of the main
streets that penetrated the area straight through. I debated on moving up to
Ryland to get closer to California, pausing in place to stare ahead. More
abandoned vehicles, a fire truck lying on its side near the 7-11, caught my
attention. I wasn’t sure what it was that made in look in that area
specifically, but my senses were tingling.

I
ducked low against a Napa Auto Parts truck, holding my breath. Straining to
hear anything out of place within the silence, I touched the cold metal with
both hands and wondered what it was I’d seen in the first place. Cautiously
peeking over the truck bed, I scanned the area again and finally saw what had
caught my eye – a couple of soldiers pushing through the mess within the
intersection of Mill and Wells.

I
ducked once more, making a face. They were dressed in urban camo, carrying
standard assault rifles, yet they were also leading horses that were loaded
with canvas bags of what I assumed were supplies. Their voices were quiet and
muffled with the distance between us. Cautiously, I peeked over yet again, to
make sure that they were continuing on the way they were faced. Once I felt
assured of the space between us, I hurried on. California Avenue was so close
– it was nearly five minutes by car, and this motivated me badly to just
get there.

Once
I reached that particular intersection, I hid behind another vehicle, peeking
over and watching as they continued on. They were using the crowded street to
send two guys at a time into an establishment, search around, and bring back
things that they deemed useful. In a city that was currently abandoned and
empty, it made plenty of sense in that there would be enough supplies to keep
people alive for some time. I watched them for a few moments, then continued
on, hitting Ryland, crossing over to Liberty and hoping that there was enough
distance between the streets and their proximity for them not to see me.

Anxiety
hit me suddenly, and instead of creeping around the vehicles and keeping a
watchful eye in that direction, I started booking it down the snow-covered
sidewalks,
absolutely sure
that there were people chasing me. I didn’t
even look back – even though I was extremely short of breath and I was
not destined for any Olympic event, I was propelled by fear and desperation to
continue on. I was
thisclose
to reaching home, and I wanted to get
there. I slipped in snow that hadn’t seen other feet since – well, I
guess for a while, judging from the buildup that had settled on abandoned
vehicles around me.

The
air was cold to breathe in, so inhaling and exhaling hurt. The silence around
me was so unnatural and still that it felt I was physically absorbing that as
well – a heavy weight that dismissed the cold slush that built around my
pants legs and soaked my shoes. I slid across Holcombe with a startled squeal
that ended with an awkward squawk as I slammed hard into the stoplights. The
metal vibrated with such loudness that I wanted to bury myself underneath the
nearest car. The sound echoed off the icy windows in the buildings around me,
sent birds scurrying up into the sky. The green Lincoln street sign flapped in
place, chains jiggling. I winced, covered my ears, then listened hard for any
sign of surprised voices, for movement other than my own.

Then
I got back up, limping for a short distance until the stiffness of impact had
withered away with another burst of adrenaline. Booking it down the street, I
told myself I wasn’t the best action hero, the smartest heroine there could be
– I probably looked like one of those stupid saps that panicked in horror
movies, that just sprinted off in hopes to just
get away
and ends up
getting slaughtered easily.

I
looked over my shoulder and saw nothing but my footprints – it made me
wince, but I continued on, moving closer and closer to South Virginia –
closer to home. Pumping my arms hard, I focused on the intersection ahead
– I’d turn left, go up a couple of blocks, turn right – I was so
close to home that I imagined my parents waiting in the living room, waiting to
signal me as I approached. They somehow knew I was
thisclose
to home,
and were waiting patiently for me to arrive. Stupid and ridiculous, I know, but
it motivated me as I grew closer to South Virginia.

The
Bank of America building loomed high overhead, blocking out the sun, towering
over the Nevada State Bank just across the street. Streetlights were covered in
snow, the colored globes hidden beneath – the sign for South Virginia was
a rewarding sight. As I crossed over from South Center, my footsteps ringing
off the library to my right and to the realty offices on my left, I chanced a
look up at the sky – to see the clouds hanging ominously overhead,
promising more snow.

I
looked down and skid once more as I locked eyes with a startled soldier, who
looked too young to be holding that assault rifle he was lifting. His partner
was pointing in the other direction, and I tried to stop – but momentum
kept me sliding. Good thing because once I hit my back on the snow covered
sidewalk, the delivery truck to my right was sprayed with a spew of rounds that
blocked out anything that could have been said. I turned onto my stomach,
pushing myself with desperate strength underneath this vehicle, snow hissing
under the impact of hot rounds masculine voices shouting out. I crawled underneath
the truck, wiggling between the two front tires and coming out from underneath
the grille. The kid kept shooting and shouting, and I couldn’t even hear what
he was saying.

It
was so loud and so scary that I couldn’t even think coherently – I just
knew I was going to be hit. This desperation forced me away from the noise,
running desperately
away
from them. I didn’t even think about where I
was going – I just wanted to
go
.

Snow
hissed and bullets exploded around me – I don’t know how I didn’t get
hit, but I squealed and ducked around the nearest building – I was
running north on South Center, away from where I needed to be. I realized this
as I passed the library, gulping in cold amounts of air and hearing them run
after me. I glanced back, saw them tearing around the corner of the building,
trying to keep their balance on the snow covered sidewalk and misplaced bulk of
their uniforms and supplies. One tumbled onto his side while the other brought
his gun up again – I turned a hard left back onto Ryland, towards the
parking lot near the Nevada State Bank that looked as if someone had crushed it
from above.

I
didn’t understand why they were trying to kill me when we’d all survived an
alien attack last night. Shouldn’t we all be coming together and working as a
team? Of course, I wasn’t going to stop and ask – I didn’t want to get
gunned down just blocks from home.

Crater
shaped impacts showed me smashed vehicles, a sewer system that sent up puffs of
smelly clouds – there were buildings here, once, but in my blind panic, I
couldn’t even remember what they were. I headed towards the parking lot, trying
to keep distance between me and those guns.

I
glanced over my shoulder, seeing the one still on his feet stumbling over
something that had been hidden under snowfall, tripping him and sending him and
his weapon sprawling into the street. Guess he wasn’t familiar with the area to
know what was there, and I used my knowledge for my advantage. He was shouting
something as I ran across South Virginia Street to the parking lot and made a
right towards the intersection again. I realized that he was giving directions
for an interception in the direction I was going.