The End Boxset: Postapocalyptic Visions of an Unstoppable Collapse Page 12

  Suddenly, they heard a toilet flush from down the hall. Alice’s head perked up. Someone else was in the building. She pushed past Brian and exited the classroom. From halfway down the hall emerged a boy. Alice couldn’t quite make him out. “Hello?” she called. Startled, the boy turned to face her. “Hello?” he said back. Alice walked towards the boy in haste. The boy backed nervously away towards the other end of the hall. “It’s okay,” Alice said, “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.”

  The closer she got the more he fit the description of the boy she was looking for. He had dark hair, glasses, and a SpongeBob T-shirt. This was as close as she was going to get. “My name is Alice. Are you Richard?” she asked.

  The boy stopped dead in his tracks. “That’s my name,” he said, “Who are you?”

  “I’m a friend of your mother’s and we’ve been looking for you. Your mother is waiting for you,” she said getting closer. Richard didn’t appear disabled, and the thought crossed Alice’s mind that his mother may have exaggerated his condition to get her to help. However, there was something “unique” about him.

  “My mom always tells me to wait for her after school. She says I shouldn’t leave the room, but I had to go pee. Don’t tell her I left the room. I’m really good. I am. I’m good,” he repeated nervously.

  “It’s okay. I won’t tell her anything,” Alice said placing a hand on his shoulder, “We just need to get you out of the school. Your mom is waiting.

  Brian approached his mother and Richard. .

  “What’s his problem?” Brian asked.

  “Brian!” Alice shouted. She knelt down to face Richard.

  “Richard this is my son, Brian. We’re both very happy to meet you.”

  “I wanna go home.” Richard said.

  “We’re going home. That’s exactly what we’re going to do. It’s so good that you waited for us. Now when we find your mom, you’re going to have to walk with her, because her car broke down,” Alice said.

  “Why?” Richard asked.

  “She’s just having some car trouble, but we’ll make sure you guys get home safe.”

  “Mom, what about Tobias?” Brian asked, clearly upset.

  “Not now, Brian. We’ll help him as soon as we get out of the school,” she answered.

  “But he’s hurt! He needs our help,” he pleaded.

  “Stop it right now,” she demanded.

  “We should use the school car,” Richard said.

  “You promised! We need to help him,” Brian shouted.

  “Brian, please,” Alice said.

  “There’s a car we can use,” Richard said again.

  Alice stopped herself mid-sentence and leaned closer to Richard.

  “What did you say?” she asked.

  “What did I say?” Richard asked back.

  “About the car. You said there as a car?”

  “Yeah. There’s a car in shop class,” Richard said.

  Brian’s eyes lit up. “Yeah mom, he’s right. There’s a car in shop class. Kids work on it like they’re mechanics or something.”

  “Does it run? Does it actually run?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, it’s really old. Like an antique car. I’ve never seen it run,” Brian said.

  “Show me,” Alice said. Brian led the way as Alice grabbed Richard’s hand, leading him outside the building.

  They walked to the shop class, surprisingly running into any other students. Alice peered in and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. It was nearly night time and the classroom was darker than any room they’d been in yet. Alice tried the light switches in a reflex, but nothing happened. There were work tables lined up for the children to work on their wood carvings or other assignments. An eyewash station was located at the end of the classroom, alongside some bookshelves. But there was no car.

  “There’s nothing in here but a bunch of tables,” Alice said.

  “It’s in the other room,” Richard said as he walked through the classroom.

  Alice and Brian trailed him from behind, moving past stools that sat near the work tables. They followed Richard into a connecting room, the smell of oil and grease became overpowering. It was definitely a garage of some type.

  “Look,” Richard said as he stood next to a car covered by a large tarp.

  “Is that the car?” Alice asked.

  “That’s the one,” Brian said.

  Alice scurried to the car and lifted the tarp, revealing the side of a vintage automobile fully intact.

  “Help me lift this, Brian,” Alice said.

  Brian looked around the garage, examining the miscellaneous parts, oil cans, and tools lying about the small garage.

  “Brian!” Alice said in her loudest whisper.

  “Hold on. We need some light in here. Maybe if we opened the garage door—“

  “Not now, let’s look at the car first. See if it works,” Alice said.

  Alice started to pull the remainder of the tarp off, while Richard instinctively assisted her. Brian walked carefully to a nearby tool bench and where he moved a screwdriver set and hammer to the side. Directly in the middle of the table rested a small flash light smothered with dirty hand prints and grease stains.

  “Brian, get over here,” Alice demanded.

  “Just a minute!” Brian snapped back.

  Brian grabbed the flashlight and pushed the power switch on the side with his thumb. Nothing happened. “Damn,” he said.

  Alice had nearly removed the entire tarp with some assistance from Richard. It was hard to see, but nonetheless, it was car. Brian hit the flashlight with his palm and then shook it repeatedly. For a split second, a light flashed from its bulb.

  Alice spun around to face Brian. “What was that?” she asked.

  “I found a flashlight,” he replied.

  “And it works?”

  “For like, a second.”

  Brian hit the flashlight and the light flashed again. It stayed on for a moment before flickering out. Alice jumped up and shouted in joy, startling Richard. She covered her mouth in slight embarrassment.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Brian, let me see it.”

  Brian walked over to Alice and handed it to her. She snatched the flashlight from Brian’s hand, examining it thoroughly. “This is a very old flashlight,” she said. She slid her hand down the circular plastic tube to the end where a cap was screwed tightly on. She unscrewed the cap revealing three large D batteries housed within the tube. She took the batteries out and then placed them back in, screwing the cap back on. “Let’s try this again,” she said with a click of the switch. This time the light stayed on.

  Alice immediately shined the light on the car. “Help me move the rest of this tarp,” she said to Brian.

  Together they rolled the tarp into a lump on the ground. Alice went over the driver’s side of the car carefully with the flashlight. It was a red two-door 1970 Plymouth Valiant. At first glance, it seemed to be in fair condition except for missing the hood. The engine may have been a different story all together as there were so many parts and tools lying around. It did have all four tires, which was a plus. Alice felt the smooth metallic side of the car as she walked along its side. “Brian, open the garage,” she said.

  Brian was busy examining the other side of the car. Richard paced the garage back-and-forth, not really paying to anything in particular. Angie opened the driver’s side door and shined the flashlight inside. The keys were secure in the ignition switch. She jumped into the driver’s seat. “Brian,” she repeated, “Open the garage.” Brian looked to the garage door then back to his mother.

  “I thought you said that cars don’t work anymore,” he said.

  Alice caressed the steering wheel with one hand and the ignition switch with the other.

  “I have a hunch. This car is at least forty years old. Just like the flashlight. The engine looks to be intact. The key is sitting right in the ignition. This could be just the break we need.”

>   Brian rolled his eyes and walked over to the garage door. There was a small bar attached in the center. He pulled up on the bar with all his might, but the large door would hardly budge.

  “Richard, can you give me a hand?” he asked.

  Alice took a deep breath and turned the ignition key. With a click, the engine sputtered to life. Alice felt like she had just discovered uranium. Call it a stroke of luck, or proof that things weren’t nearly as bad as she suspected; either way, she held the gas pedal down with her foot like her life depended on it. Brian and Richard worked together to pull the garage door open. It rolled open with their combined force, revealing a mysterious path behind the school over a dusk sky.

  “Boys, get in!” Alice yelled from the car. As Brian turned to address Richard, ready to thank him for his help, a bearded man suddenly burst into the garage yelling up a storm.

  “What the hell are you people doing in here?” he shouted.

  Brian recognized him almost immediately. It was Mr. Brampton, the high school shop teacher. The boys froze in mutual surprise. To Brian, it was that familiar sting of panic that he had felt off-and-on throughout the day. Alice didn’t notice a thing. Her eyes were fixed on the various gauges on the dashboard. She pushed down on the gas pedal trying to maintain the operability of the Valiant.

  Mr. Brampton surveyed the scene in utter confusion, but was able to piece together one important detail: someone was trying to steal his car. Technically, it wasn’t his car, it belonged to the school. But it was his car in the same sense that it was his class room where he taught his students. He had stumbled into a theft in progress. This wasn’t entirely surprising, given the circumstances of the day, but he was surprised to see two children apparently in on the act.

  “You two, stop right there!” he yelled pointing a stern finger in the air.

  “Move!” Brian said as he grabbed Richard and pulled him to the car. Mr. Brampton lunged after them, but was halted when he tripped over a large oil pan in his way. This bought Brian and Richard precious seconds. Brian swung the passenger door open and pushed Richard inside. Their sudden movement startled Alice. “What is it?” she asked.

  Brian jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door closed. Mr. Brampton had regained his footing and ran at the car. “We’ve been spotted, drive!” Brian said.

  A quick thought entered Alice’s mind. She didn’t even know if the car was going to move once she put it into drive. She saw Mr. Brampton’s furious eyes in the rear view mirror. Brian cranked up the passenger’s side window as fast as he could. Mr. Brampton rushed the car and slammed into the door, banging on it.

  “Open this fucking door!” he said.

  “Who the hell is that?” Alice asked Brian.

  “It’s the shop teacher,” Brian answered.

  The pounds of his fists against the car continued. Alice took another deep breath, placed the car and drive, and slammed the gas pedal to the floor. The car jolted forward and staggered out of the garage, steadily losing momentum. Mr. Brampton fell to the floor, causing oil stains to cover his buttoned-up tucked-in flannel jacket. The car was jerky and unresponsive. Alice gripped the steering wheel tight, trying to steer the car onto a drivable path outside the garage. In her rear view mirror she saw Mr. Brampton jump to his feet and run after the car. “Shit!” she said, pumping the gas pedal in a rhythmic fashion. Just as Mr. Brampton made it to the tailgate, the car jerked into gear and flew forward. Mr. Brampton hit the ground again, rolling down the drive way. The Valiant left him in the dust. Alice steered the car around the building and followed the path as it turned from cement to dirt road

  .

  “Okay, where am I going here?” she asked Brian.

  “I don’t know,” he said.

  “Brian, I’m serious!” she said.

  “So am I! I don’t know. It should lead out of the school. Maybe a back entrance.”

  “It goes to front of the school,” Richard said.

  “Are you sure?” Alice asked.

  “No,” Richard answered.

  “Great,” she said, hitting the wheel with her palm.

  They followed the road to its undisclosed end point. The roar of the engine was deafening due to the engine hood missing. Alice flipped on the headlights, illuminating their path.

  “We’re heading towards a gate,” Alice said. Sure enough, twenty feet in front of them stood a chain-link gate on wheels tied and locked to a fence post with a chain. “It looks like it’s locked,” Brian said.

  “Smash through it,” Richard interjected.

  “Calm down,” Brian said.

  “He’s right,” Alice said. “I want both you boys to strap yourselves in and hold on tight.”

  Brian searched around his seat. “There’s no seat belts.”

  “Hold on then,” Alice said as she floored the vehicle. Rocks and gravel spewed from the spinning tires as the car charged at the gate in a fury. Brian closed his eyes and felt the forceful smash of the gate against the front of the car. He flew forward, and nearly hit the dashboard.

  Profanities littered from Alice’s mouth as she pounded on the steering wheel in frustration. The car had nearly taken out the gate, but not enough. Brian looked over to Richard who lied against the dash board unconscious. “Mom,” Brian said.

  “I know,” she said, jerking the car into reverse.

  “It’s Richard,” Brian continued.

  Alice jerked her head to the side, examining Richard. “Make sure he’s okay,” she said, “and hold on.” With that Alice drove top speed against the gate once again. Brian grabbed Richard, closed his eyes, and screamed. Another violent jolt came to the car. Alice was determined to get through. The fence was bent enough to allow an opening they could squeeze through. The noise was unmistakably loud and noticeable. The tires squealed against the gravel, the engine roared with all its limited might. After a brief struggle they were through the gate and into the clear road ahead. Alice cheered. Brian held Richard as the car shook. They were on a curved road. Trees surrounded them on both sides. Alice looked around for anything familiar or noticeable. She found exactly both of those things as they neared a crossway. To their left was the town. To their right was the front entrance of the school. All around them were the abandoned cars of the townspeople. “This could be trouble,” Alice thought.

  “Is Richard okay?” she asked Brian. Brian shook Richard. Richard moaned in an annoyed tone.

  “I really don’t know. He’s knocked out,” Brian answered.

  Alice looked around in a panic after shifting the car into park. From a distance she could see groups of people looking their way. She jammed it in reverse and drove backwards into the surrounding woods.

  “Mom!” Brian shouted.

  His pleas were ignored as the car whipped behind a large oak tree. Alice turned the engine off and grabbed Brian, clutching his face between both her hands. “I need you to listen to me carefully. We have to keep this car hidden. I really don’t want to shut it off, but if people find this car, if they find us, someone is going to take this car.”

  Brian nodded along, not fully understanding his mother’s tone. Alice grabbed Richard and pulled him out of the car. She cradled him in her arms and nearly stumbled on the uneven terrain outside the car. She leaned into the car to address Brian. “Just wait here. I’ll only be a few minutes. If anyone comes…” Alice hesitated then continued, “…if anyone comes, I want you to leave the car and hide. I’m going to take the key, so no one can take our car. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

  Before Brian could respond, his mother slammed the door and was off with Richard. She ducked down almost immediately upon hearing a group of people walking down the road to the side. However, the car was concealed enough to where it was unnoticeable to the casual observer. Once clear, Alice crept up the hill through the brush and onto the road.

  Alice gripped on to Richard tightly as she jogged towards the main road. She glanced over her shoulder to see the group of people that
passed just moments before, still searching for the car—or what they must have believed to have been a car. Her pace quickened. Richard’s moans continued. Blood ran down his forehead. “There, there,” she said brushing his hair back. At the crosswalk she could see the front entrance to the school on her right. The crowd at the gate only fifty feet away had thinned out considerably. If Susan did what she was told and waited for Alice by the car, she would have her son back as told. If not, Alice would have to take Richard in…or leave him. Such answers were not yet known.

  Richard was growing heavy in her arms. Alice was to the point of exhaustion. Cars remained where they were the last time she was at the front of the school. She breathed through her nose and exhaled calmly through her mouth, attempting to control her breathing. Her heart rate was racing. She moved throughout the crowd calling for Susan.

  The faces of men and women were blurred and indifferent to her. She tried to remember what car Susan would be standing at. But it was of little use. She had to stop and rest. “Susan!” Alice cried out again, when suddenly Susan emerged from between a couple who were staring at Alice.

  “Alice!” Susan called out while running. Alice fell to her knees and held the boy the best she could.

  “Oh my God, you found him. Thank God,” Susan said. Alice held her head up, feeling great relief upon seeing Richard’s mother in the flesh.

  Susan’s face shifted to horror once she took a look at her barely conscious son. She set her youngest child down, dropped to her knees, and grabbed Richard. “What happened to him?” Susan cried.

  “He….he’s okay, just a bump on the head,” Alice said.