Pushing On

5

“We’ve got to find him,” said Max. “We’ll split up. Mandy, you come with me in the new car. Georgia, you take your kids in the Bronco. We’ll meet back here in twenty minutes. Keep your eyes peeled. And your hands on your guns.”

“What if we don’t find him?” said Sadie. She seemed worried about Chad’s fate.

Mandy wasn’t worried about him.

She felt guilty about it. But as far as she was concerned, losing Chad would actually be a benefit to the whole group.

Sure, he’d saved their lives one time, as Max had said. But how many other times had he put their lives in danger? And how many more times in the future?

“We’ll find him,” said Max. “But if we don’t, we’ll move on.”

Mandy was surprised. So far, Max had done everything he could for Chad. Hard love, though, that was what he’d given him.

Then again, Max seemed like he’d do almost anything for any of them.

Mandy looked at Max’s battered face, badly bruised, and wondered just how far he’d be willing to go for them. And for her.

“Come on,” said Max gruffly, as he got into their new vehicle.

This wasn’t the time for pretty words. This was the time for action.

The car was lower to the ground than a normal car. It took Mandy some effort to get into the passenger’s seat.

“This is our new car?” she said, examining the flashy interior. Not just the dash was altered. The seats were aftermarket, too, those racing bucket style seats, with seatbelts meant for track-only use. On the rear windshield there were all sorts of logos and stickers.

“It’s what we’ve got,” said Max, cranking the engine. “It’s too low for going off-road, unfortunately. And it’ll probably be terrible on gas. But the acceleration might come in handy. Maybe.”

“Hopefully not,” said Mandy. “I don’t know what we’ll do if we run into guys like those scary guys in the Ford Bronco.”

“What do you mean?” said Max. “We’ll just do have we have to do. No sense in worrying about it now.”

“You’re always so pragmatic. So practical.”

“Worked so far,” was all Max said.

Mandy glanced in the side mirror, watching as Georgia drove the Ford Bronco slowly in the other direction.

The Honda was almost unbearably loud as they drove down the block.

“Look everywhere,” said Max. “Who knows where he’ll be.”

“Why would he just wander off?” said Mandy.

Max didn’t answer.

The sun had gone behind the clouds, and the neighborhood was looking practically dismal under the gray sky. The people who’d lived here had been hard workers. They’d done long shifts, when there was work to be found. They hadn’t had the time or money to spruce up their yards with fancy gardens or shrubbery. The houses were unadorned. Practical and neat, but not fancy.

Max drove down the street and took a turn. There were a couple more trees on this block, but mostly it was more of the same.

Just when Mandy was thinking they’d never find Chad, there he was.

Chad was standing in the middle of a front yard, staring up at the sky. He clutched something in his hand.

Max parked the car and got out.

“What the hell are you doing?” shouted Max.

“Huh?” said Chad.

He spoke in a weird way. He didn’t slur his words, but his voice sounded different.

“I thought we’d finally lost you,” said Mandy. “Why the hell would you wander off? You put our lives at risk.”

Max raised his hand, signaling to her that enough was enough.

“Are you OK, Chad?” said Max, examining Chad for signs of injuries. He stared into his eyes.

“Your pupils are contracted.”

Chad just nodded.

“He’s using again,” said Mandy. “Opiates make the pupils contract.”

Mandy was disgusted. How could Chad revert to his old self? Sure, she hadn’t liked him either way. But he’d been doing a lot better.

“Impossible,” said Max. “Where would he get anything?”

“Who knows,” said Mandy. “Addicts are resourceful when they want to be. When they need their fix.”

“I don’t think it’s likely,” said Max. “Maybe he’s cracking under the stress.”

“I’m fine,” said Chad. He finally looked at them, but the dazed look didn’t leave his face.

“What has he got there?” said Mandy.

She impatiently grabbed the paper that Chad held in his hand. She had to really tug on it to get it out.

“It’s just some kid’s school report,” said Mandy, glancing at it. “Fat lot of good this’ll do us.”

Max took it from her and began reading it.

“Don’t waste your time with it,” said Mandy.

“Look,” said Max, pointing at a line. “It’s a school report, all right. But it might be useful. See here? It says that this kid’s grandfather lived on a farm in Kentucky.”

“So what?” said Mandy.

“The farm’s been in the family for years,” said Max, continuing to read the simplistic school report. “There’s no one living there, and it’s not near anything. It’s way out in the middle of nowhere, some rural part of Kentucky. I think this might be our next plan. We’ll head a little bit south.”

“Are you serious?” said Mandy.

“Sure,” said Max. “It’s all here.”

“But it’s just some report. Maybe he made it all up.”

“Let’s check the house. Maybe there’s more information. Chad, where’d you get this?”

“Living room,” mumbled Chad.

Max checked his watch. “We still have twelve minutes before reuniting with Georgia. Come on, let’s move.”

Mandy followed Max towards the house.

“You coming, Chad?” said Mandy.

He just nodded vaguely and stayed where he was standing, swaying a little.

“I don’t know where you got whatever it is,” said Mandy. “But you’re definitely on something. You’re not fooling me.”

Chad didn’t respond.

Mandy’s grip instinctually tightened on her rifle.

“You think Chad broke a window?” said Mandy. “How’d he get in?”

The house looked almost identical to the one they’d gotten the Honda from. The only difference was that it was missing some shutters on the windows. Whoever had owned it probably hadn’t had the money to replace the ones that had fall off.

“Looks like he just went through the front door,” said Max, as he turned the knob and the door opened. “They probably left in a hurry. Didn’t even lock up.”

The house was a mess. Clearly the former occupants had scrambled to get ready, leaving their possessions strewn around.

In the living room, as Chad had said, the rest of the report sat on a coffee table in front of the couch.

“It’s still just a report,” said Mandy, picking up the papers. Most of what she saw were just first draft versions. Chad had taken the final draft, the one without as many spelling errors.

“But look at this,” said Max. “It’s real. There’s the deed to the land and everything.”

He showed it to Mandy. It looked real all right.

“Damn Chad,” muttered Mandy.

“You think the others will go along with it?” said Max.

“Why are you asking me? They’ll do anything you say.”

Max didn’t say anything.

They briefly looked through the rest of the house. There wasn’t much that they could use. The kitchen had been emptied. The food in the fridge and freezer was rotten.

They left, somehow got Chad into the back seat, and drove back to the house they’d gotten the Honda from. The neon sign out front made it easy to recognize.

The Ford Bronco was already there, waiting for them.

“You found him,” said Georgia, getting out of the Bronco. She sounded relieved.

“Yeah,” said Max. “But he seems shocked. I don’t know what happened to him.”

“He’s messed up on drugs again,” said Mandy.

Georgia frowned.

“Either way,” said Max. “We’ve got to keep a close eye on him.”

Mandy wondered if Georgia was on her side in thinking that Chad was becoming more of a liability by the minute. Even Georgia’s kids were way more competent at just about everything, except when it came to brute strength. Chad was good for moving heavy things.

Mandy knew in her heart she wasn’t a cruel person. She wouldn’t have been able to leave Chad behind, if she’d been given the choice.

But wasn’t it normal that she felt some resentment towards him?

It was their lives that were at stake, after all.

“So we’ve got a new plan,” said Max. “We’re headed to Kentucky.”

“Kentucky?” said Georgia.

Max explained about the school report that Chad had been clutching in his hand, as well as the deed to the house.

“There’s no one around there,” said Max. “And we can head southeast and avoid the whole mess of Ohio, which is fairly densely populated.”

“But we don’t have any maps,” said Georgia. “Unless you found some, that is. How are we going to get there?”

“We didn’t find any maps,” said Max. “Maybe we can find some at a gas station or something. Or a truck stop. But either way, all we have to do is use the compass and head southeast. If we cross over Route 64, then we’ve gone too far south, and we’ll have to keep going east.”

“How do you know that?”

Max shrugged. “Just some fact that stuck in my head, I guess. I used to have to process interstate roads sometimes at work.”

“All right,” said Georgia. “Let’s do it.”

She didn’t have to think about it long, noticed Mandy. She, like the others, trusted Max.

But what was going to happen when he eventually made a mistake? He was only human, after all.

“I’ll take the Honda,” said Max.

“I’ll go with you,” said Mandy.

Max shook his head. “I need you with Georgia. I’ll take Chad and keep an eye on him. James, you can come with us. That OK, Georgia?”

“Sure,” said Georgia. “I know he’ll be just as safe with you as with me, Max.”

Max nodded. “Well, let’s not waste any more time. I’ll lead the way. You follow, Georgia. If there’s a hiccup, we’ll just have to improvise.”