Yield (78 page)

“
Come on!
”
Devin yells. The fireman scoops the girl up and starts to run. His eyes lock on the sanctuary of the overpass, now less than a hundred yards away.

Their feet splash in milky puddles. Warm liquid jumps up onto their pants and shoes, instantly beginning to eat away the materials
’
color.

Chris pushes Terra and Isabel forward, driving them faster than their own feet can move. The women almost float above the cracked pavement. His legs churn and force them on, struggling to keep up with Devin and Jacob.

Chris grimaces. The drops pierce like bee stings, over and over on top of his head and neck.

The overpass is still sixty feet away. Automotive paint streaks down the side of a fire truck they pass. The acid rain eats through the paint and into the metal itself, creating streams of blood along the ground.

Fifteen feet. Ten
…

Devin lunges under the safety of the concrete overhang just as the rains become a monsoon.

The storm dumps its dangerous payload down without remorse onto the vulnerable flesh below. Survivors scattered along the interstate dive for cover. Some break into vehicles; others dart under anything they can find. A desperate few run around in confusion. They scream out below the burning shower, their confused eyes searching helplessly for shelter.

“
Over here!
”
Jacob booms. He waves his arms to draw the attention of a young couple moving from locked car to locked car. Their exposed hands look bright pink as the rain continues pounding into them. They glance up toward the voice of safety, but the woman suddenly goes down. Her foot twists awkwardly inside a pothole.

“
Chris!
”
Devin yells. The fireman jumps back out into the blistering downpour.

Terra tightens her grip on Chris
’
s waist. Her terrified eyes refuse to let him go.

“
I
’
ll be okay,
”
he says, prying himself loose.

She pleads silently up at him. But the couple
’
s screams echo back across the wasteland, freezing her blood.
“
Be careful,
”
she whispers.

Chris turns and in an instant his long legs catch and stride past Devin, picking up more speed as they blur. Squinting, the athlete tips his head forward to keep the burning drops from hitting his face. They splash and tingle on the top of his scalp, deepening into a throbbing pain.

He moves through wall after wall of toxic water. Finally, Chris
’
s basketball shoes skid to a stop. His hand shoots out and pulls the woman quickly to her feet, but she buckles again under the pain.

In a single motion, the fireman slides and hoists her up onto his shoulder.
“
Come on, love,
”
the redhead grunts. He pushes off, jumping back into a full sprint with surprising grace.

Just behind them, Chris pulls the man into a frenzied scramble back across the void.

The drops continue down relentlessly. They coat the top of the basketball player
’
s head with liquid fire. He wipes at it, wincing as the pain shoots across his scalp.

The uneven roadway feels like a treadmill moving backwards with every rough step. Foot by foot, their safety approaches, wavering in the distance.

The burning is almost unbearable, every raindrop biting and burrowing into the skin.

Chris and Devin both crumble under the overpass. Their bodies steam inside the shadows.

“
Here!
”
Isabel shouts. She tosses a bottle of water to Terra, pointing down at Chris. The pregnant flight attendant quickly cracks open another and pours it onto Devin
’
s face, trying to wash the acid off his skin.

The water feels like glacial ice, instantly quieting the flames.

“
Bloody hell,
”
Devin gasps,
“
That was a bad idea.
”
His jaw clenches in pain. The frigid sensation all over his face turns into a dull ache. He touches gingerly at his forehead, testing the extent of his burns.

“
Thank you,
”
the woman he rescued says. Gratitude streams down her face.

“
Are you alright?
”

“
Just a sprained ankle, I think.
”
She rubs at the side of her right foot.

“
Let me see,
”
Jacob says. He takes the woman
’
s pink hands and pours water over them. Faint white spots show through her skin, the blisters slowly rising to the surface.
“
Those are going to hurt a bit, miss.
”

“
I
’
ll be okay,
”
the brunette says, turning back to her husband.

Devin claps Chris on the shoulder.
“
You are blooming fast, mate. Awfully glad you
’
re on our side.
”

“
Just don
’
t piss me off again,
”
Chris smiles,
“
or you
’
ll never even see me coming.
”

“
You guys okay?
”
Jacob asks. There
’
s a note of respect in his gravelly voice.

“
Just peachy,
”
Devin says. He looks down at the birth of blisters on his own hands.
“
We
’
ve got a bit of history together, Chris and I. Not all whiskey and giggles. But we
’
re getting through it. Aren
’
t we, mate?
”

“
Peachy,
”
Chris echoes.

Terra kneels next to him, lifting his hands into her much smaller palms. She looks them over carefully.

“
You don
’
t have to do that,
”
Chris says.
“
I
’
ll live.
”

Her sapphire eyes find his. A look of admiration warms her pale face. Without a word, she runs a dampened cloth over the top of his head. Chris closes his eyes. The rag feels like a breeze whistling across a hot summer meadow.
“
Thank you.
”

“
So, do you always act before thinking?
”
Jacob asks the fireman.

“
I told you,
”
Devin winks.
“
Old habits are a tad hard to get away from.
”

“
Won
’
t be much good to your family if you go and get yourself killed,
”
Jacob says. He stands at attention over the two men, like a drill sergeant giving lessons to his platoon.
“
Like you said, you
’
ve gotta pick your battles, son.
”

“
This from the guy concerned I was being rude to the ladies in my company?
”
Devin asks.
“
I don
’
t get you, mate. Leaving those two out to cook wouldn
’
t have been very polite either.
”

“
It
’
s not about manners, Devin,
”
Jacob says. He drops to a knee in front of them. The general
’
s steely blue eyes settle on the firefighter.
“
I knew a lot of brave young soldiers who thought they knew the right thing to do, too. Heroism trumps planning for guys like that every time. They rush into situations first because they
’
re always compelled to help. Didn
’
t matter who or what. They were never afraid of the consequences.
”

The general
’
s eyes drift back out to the rain pounding over the faded roadway. Crimson paint from the fire truck streaks down towards them, creating murderous rivers that glisten in the light.
“
I attended a lot of their funerals over the years, too.
”
He looks hard at both men. Jacob
’
s face is etched with the scars of every battle he
’
s endured.
“
Sooner or later, you won
’
t be
able
to save them all.
”

Seattle
’
s toxic rains ease into submission
,
their barbed fury retreating under a steady wind. Clouds cut across the landscape. They pulse southward, searching.
Devouring
. The water
’
s bite is savage, eating into everything along its path. A trail of venom erodes both vegetation and structure. Lightning flickers inside the burnt orange that blankets the horizon. Glowing sparks shoot down as Armageddon
’
s wrath moves on undeterred.

Cautiously, the fireman leads the others out onto the decaying freeway. Vehicles on both sides are streaked down to the steel. Rust grows quickly along their bodies
,
the pockmarked metal breathing deeply at the fallen sky.

Devin
’
s eyes dart up, looking around for new storms. But the clouds of copper and red have all continued on their own exodus away from the dead city.

“
I think we
’
re through the worst of it,
”
Jacob says. His granddaughter is up on his shoulders again, chewing happily on a granola bar.

“
Sure hope so, mate,
”
Devin says. He tries to smile, but the tightening skin along his forehead thinks differently. The fireman
’
s eyes keep drifting nervously upward. Clouds stretch angrily across the horizon.

“
The prevailing winds are at our back now,
”
Jacob reassures.
“
Those will catch a lot of the particles and scatter them up across the atmosphere. They
’
re hottest here but should dissipate some the farther the winds take
‘
em.
”

“
Should?
”

Jacob
’
s face stiffens. The forced hope in his eyes fades to a growing certainty of what is to come.
“
Plutonium is real nasty stuff, Devin. It
’
s deadly for miles out in all directions.
”

“
Lovely.
”

Between chunks of asphalt and abandoned vehicles, Terra notices a flock of ravens up ahead. Her eyes brighten. It
’
s the first sign of
animal
life they
’
ve seen outside the city. The black of their feathers almost blots out the colorless pavement. As they get closer, Terra
’
s graceful stride skids to a stop.

Thousands of the dead birds lay scattered all along the roadway. Huge clumps of feathers are completely singed from their bodies. She shudders.

The birds are still steaming.

Chris moves quickly around her, using his body to shield the view.
“
No need for that, now. Let
’
s go see how Izz is doing.
”
The basketball star quickens their pace.

“
Don
’
t,
”
Isabel snaps.

“
What? I didn
’
t even say
…
”
Chris starts.

“
You didn
’
t have to,
”
the pregnant woman interrupts. Isabel holds the sides of her stomach up to help ease the throbbing pain in her lower back.
“
Looking like this, I
’
m asked a thousand times every damn day. How are you holding up? How
’
s the baby?
”
She looks over at him, her left eyebrow shooting up.
“
I
’
m speed walking in my third trimester, Chris. My back hurts like hell, my feet are swollen, and I
’
m pretty dang pissed off about it. Okay?
”