Pushing On

8

“You feeling OK, Max?” said James, studying Max’s bruised and battered face.

“I’m fine,” said Max.

They were driving down the highway. They’d left the ghost town of Albion, heading south.

The toll booth gates had been up, the toll booths abandoned. There wasn’t another car on the highway. Not a single soul in sight.

The plan, as Max had explained it, was to stay in Pennsylvania, cutting straight down until they hit West Virginia. From there, they’d make their way to Kentucky.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive?” said James.

Max shook his head. “Maybe later,” he said.

“I can drive, you know.”

“I know,” said Max. “But let’s stick with this plan for now. OK?”

“Sure, Max,” said James.

James still couldn’t believe what Max had done for them all. It wasn’t just Max, though. It was his mom.

His mom had always seemed like a strong woman. James had never admitted it to her, but he’d looked up to her. That was before the EMP, when they were living their normal lives in the suburbs.

James hadn’t known his dad. Not much, at least. A few visits here and there, scattered throughout the years. James couldn’t even picture his face now. Not that he tried much.

But James had never realized just how strong his mom was. Just how much she could go through…

“How’s Chad doing?” said Max.

James glanced at Chad in the backseat.

“I can hear you, you know,” said Chad. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t look fine. He still looked dazed. But his face was starting to look more normal. That goofy expression was mostly gone.

“We thought we’d lost you,” said Max. “What the hell happened back there?”

“Dunno,” mumbled Chad. “Must have been the stress or something. Sorry. I screwed up. It won’t happen again.”

Max didn’t say anything.

“Maybe it’s better if you talk about it,” said James. “I had to go to the school counselor a couple times. I was getting into fights at school. I didn’t think it would do anything, but talking about what was going on really helped me.”

“He doesn’t need to talk about it,” said Max. “We’re all going through it. There’s nothing to discuss.”

“Yeah,” said Chad. “I’m fine. It’s just… everything, you know?”

“No need to go on,” said Max.

They drove in silence for a while. The sky was a dark gray. James wished that the sun would come out. Everything seemed so much grimmer when the sun wasn’t shining.

James spent a lot of time looking in the side mirror. Most of the time, he could see the Ford Bronco behind them. He couldn’t see his mother’s face, or Sadie’s, but he knew they were there, and it made him feel better. He was worried about them, especially Sadie, who still was having trouble adapting to the harsh new reality of a post-EMP world.

“They’re fine, James,” said Max, glancing over and seeing that James was watching them in the mirror. “There’s no need to worry about them. Not any more than normal, I mean.”

“Maybe I should have gone in the car with them,” said James. “If something happens…”

“I need you here with me,” said Max. “And don’t worry. Your mom and Mandy can handle anything. Mandy’s getting to be a good shot.”

James nodded. “Better than me, I think.”

“No shame in that,” said Max. “Just keep practicing.”

“How can I practice? It’s not like there’s any time.”

“A lot of it’s mental,” said Max. “You’ve got to keep yourself in control, no matter what the situation. You’ll shoot a lot better if you’ve got your shit together, if you can stay calm. Reasonably calm, I mean.”

“So we’re going to take the highway all the way down?” said James, changing the subject. He didn’t like talking about his weaknesses, not in front of Max.

In a way, it was almost as if Max was becoming a father figure to him. Not that he’d ever tell Max that.

“Yeah,” said Max. “It might expose us more, but we’ll make better time. Better than trying to figure out all those side roads. We’d end up getting lost again and running into more trouble.”

“Makes sense,” said James. “The car seems like it’s working OK.”

“Yeah,” said Max. “If I keep the revs under 5,000, the turbo doesn’t kick in. That helps save gas.”

“I always wanted a car like this,” said James. “But now that I’m in it… I don’t know, it seems a little silly. Especially given the situation.”

“Yeah,” said Max. “Not really the most practical. I bet it was good on the track. But we’re not on the track now.”

“Sounds like a variation of ‘we’re not in Kansas anymore,’” said James.

“That’s for sure,” said Max.

They all fell silent for a while.

So far, they hadn’t seen another vehicle on the highway.

They drove by billboards, advertisements for products that would likely never be in production again. They were reminders of a world that was lost. Lost for good.

They drove under the automated sensors that registered the electronic alternatives to paying tolls as they went. Not that those did anything anymore.

“Let’s just hope the gates are up at the toll booths,” said Max.

“What do we do if they aren’t?”

“We can move them,” said Max. “But I just don’t want to waste time. And every time we stop, we put ourselves in more danger.”

“There’s one up ahead.”

“Your eyes are sharper than mine. Good catch.”

It was a strange sight, seeing the toll booth again.

They were empty, and the gates were down this time.

“Looks like we’re going to have to stop,” said Max. “I’ll get out and see if I can lift it. It’s business as usual—keep your gun ready. You’d better get out, James. That rifle won’t be much good if you stay in the car.”

The rifle had been leaning against James’s knee. He’d almost forgotten it was there. It had become a part of him since the EMP. It rarely left his side. Max had been good about drilling that into their heads.

Max slowed to a stop.

Behind them, Georgia stopped the Bronco as well.

Max signaled for them to stay in the car.

He and James got out.

The air was a little warmer than it had been. But the sky was still a dark gray. Rock cliffs, artificially created, lined the sides of the highway.

It was strange, standing in the middle of an abandoned interstate.

“You see anyone? Anything?” said Max.

Max was using his binoculars to scan the area, while staying crouched off to the side of the Honda. James imitated him, keeping low and using the car as cover.

“Nothing,” said James.

“Hey,” said Chad, opening the back door. “What the hell’s going on?”

He must have still been pretty out of it if he hadn’t heard the whole plan.

“Back in the car, Chad,” said Max.

Chad stayed in the car, but kept the door open. It was stupid of him, abandoning the potential protection of the car door, but there wasn’t time to babysit him and tell him what to do. James didn’t feel like it was his job anyway. Chad was a grown man, even if he was suffering from some kind of shock.

“I don’t see anything either,” said Max, letting the binoculars drop down to where they hung around his neck.

James watched Max as Max went to move the gate. James knew that he had to keep his eyes on his surroundings, rather than watching Max.

“Shit,” muttered Max. “I can’t get it. Come over here and help me, James.”

“Should I get my mom and the others to cover us?”

“Let’s just get this over with,” said Max.

James had to set his rifle down to help Max. The gate was hard to move. James tested it by pulling up on it. Maybe they’d’ be able to move it if they both used all their strength.

“We could just drive through it,” said James. “It’s pretty flimsy.”

“We might damage the car,” said Max. “Come on. Give it your all.”

James settled into a good stance, keeping his back straight.

“Go,” said Max.

They both pulled up, as hard as they could. Slowly, they got the gate to start moving. Once they got it past a certain point, the gears seemed to loosen up.

“OK,” said Max. “I can take it from here.”

Max was taller than James, and was able to push the gate almost all the way to its normal open position.

James quickly grabbed his rifle from the ground, and made sure to look around.

Still, there was no one.

“Do you hear that?” said James, looking down the highway.

Max shook his head. “What do you hear?”

“Sounds like an engine. I don’t know. It’s something.”

James stared down the long empty stretch of gray highway, looking past and through the toll booth.

“I don’t see anything,” said Max.

“Me neither,” said James.

“Come on,” said Max. “We’d better get out of here. I hear it now.”

The sound was getting louder. It was definitely the engine of some vehicle. Aside from the Ford Bronco behind them, and their own Honda, there was hardly another noise for what seemed like miles around. The silence made the isolated noise seem eerie and ominous.

“But we’re going to be heading right towards the noise,” said James.

Max nodded. He looked like he was thinking.

“Everything OK?” called out James’s mom, leaning out the window of the beat-up Ford Bronco.

“There’s someone coming.”

There weren’t any options, in terms of where to go. There were guardrails on the side of the highway, and there wasn’t anywhere to drive anyway. If they were going to drive, it was either go forward, towards the noise, or turn around and hope to outrun whoever it was.

The only other option was to abandon the vehicles and hike on out. James knew that that option meant leaving behind all the gear. Not to mention the vehicles.

James’s heart was beating fast. He was nervous, and worried about not only himself, but his family. It was times like these that he was glad he wasn’t the one making the decisions. If it’d been left up to him, he might have panicked and had everyone run into the woods, only to pay for the decision later.

“We’ve got to keep going,” said Max. His expression was hard to read. “Come on, quick. Back in the car.”

“What’s going on?” said Chad, sounding sleepy, as Max and James piled back into the car.

James’s rifle didn’t leave his hand. The solid feel of it made him feel a little better. But not much.

No one answered Chad. If he was so out of it that he hadn’t figured out what was going on, then that was his own problem.

“No one’s going to tell me?” said Chad.

“Just keep your gun ready,” said Max, putting the Honda into first gear.

James was practically holding his breath as they drove through the now open toll gate.

“I can’t hear anything now,” said James. Max was picking up speed. The Honda’s movement drowned out the faint noise.

“Hopefully we’ll just drive by them,” said Max. “Whoever they are.”

“I’m ready to fight,” said James. “I’ll do whatever it takes. You can count on me, Max.”

As he said the words, though, they felt hollow. Sure, they were true. He’d do whatever it took, especially when he thought about his mom and sister. But he felt anything but courageous. His body felt cold and empty, and he wondered if he’d have the strength to fight.

“Just stay ready,” said Max. “Another fight is the last thing we need. We’ll avoid it if we can.”

“Hey man,” said Chad, from the backseat. “Not everyone’s bad, you know? Not everyone’s out to get us. Why do you guys think it’s always about a fight? Maybe whoever it is is just like us, just looking to survive.”

That was probably the most Chad had spoken in the last day.

“Get your rifle ready, Chad,” said Max.