flat-out lies. There was never any substance or information from candidates on how they would address issues and bring about positive new ideas. My TV remote mute button would get worn out during the campaign season. I'd have to go buy a new one. Once a new administration became elected, anything that was promised would soon be forgotten and scandal after scandal would be all that you'd hear about or see on the front page.
Very little governing was taking place and the world, which once looked to the great United States as a role model, lost faith in us and laughed at us. So, it was a natural decline, leading into anarchy. Once Madeline got her claws into our government, it was only a matter of time before chaos set in and that infection she spread made its way around the world.
As I walked down the deserted interstate, I was awed by how easy it was that we lost everything. What took centuries to build was destroyed in a less than a decade.
'You look deep in thought,' Leonard said as he shifted his pack.
'Yeah, I was. I don't know if it was very deep. I just keep rehashing all the events and reasons why we are in this mess now.'
'You might go insane if you think about it too much,' Leonard muttered.
'If I haven't gone insane by now, I don't know what would cause me to lose my sanity.'
I mentioned some of the things I had been mulling over and he offered his take on the whole political area. That line of thought and discussion made the time pass more quickly. At one point, I looked up and noticed that the sun was peeking through some clouds on the far horizon.
'Looks like maybe this storm front is finally passing by or switching direction. Tomorrow should be a good day,' I remarked, kicking a stone.
'That would feel wonderful. Amazing how the sun can lift one's spirits, not to mention warm the old bones.'
We changed the subject of the collapse and focused on the weather. Leonard pointed out again that we'd never make the coast before bad weather settled in. Crossing the Rockies during the winter would be just too risky. We discussed possible places to stay for the season and agreed that we should head on down to southern Texas.
As we got closer to the small town, I could see that it was officially a ghost town. There were no signs of life…human that is.
'I wonder if we could catch us a rabbit or something. Hell, I'd settle for a large rat. Cooked meat sounds so good,' Leonard contemplated.
'Just as long as it isn't the feline type,' I said picking up Jerky. The smell of wet fur was a tad overwhelming. 'Whew, Jerky where have you been?'
Leonard ruffled Jerky's coat and said he'd never think of hurting our traveling companion. As I put Jerky down, the cat hunched its back and hissed. She was looking straight ahead at the town.
'What's got into her?' Leonard asked.
'I don't know, but maybe we should reconsider going into…'
Leonard looked both ways down the road. 'I don't see much choice unless we go traipsing across a field, getting more wet than we are, and getting lost or something. We'll be fine. Jerky is probably just being a bit dramatic.' He patted me on the back as if to reassure me that all was just peachy.
Jerky stayed close to my leg, almost tripping me a couple of times. I finally picked her up again. She climbed onto my shoulder. All I needed was an eye patch and a wooden leg and I could pass for some demented pirate that couldn't afford a parrot.
All the main streets in America pretty much looked like the one we were walking down. I figured that most of the streets in the world probably looked the same-deserted, litter strewn-maybe having a decomposing body of a human or dog. Speaking of dogs, many of them resorted back to their primal state and ran in packs. I hadn't seen a domesticated one in months. You just couldn't trust them. They were as hungry as we were. Jerky was the first pet that I'd seen in a very long time.
'I suppose it doesn't matter what building we go into,' Leonard said quietly.
'I guess not.'
'Don't suppose there's a Wal-Mart here. Sometimes you can find stuff in them. One time, I found some baby food that had rolled under the shelf. It's always good to look for stuff like that on the floor,' Leonard commented.
'Good info. I'll have to remember that one. However, the size of this little berg probably didn't warrant a Wal-Mart.'
We walked farther down the Norman Rockwell-looking street. I half expected to see a few freckle-faced kids coming out of the local candy store. All of a sudden, Jerky flew off my shoulder, landed squarely on her paws and hunched her back. She looked like she was posing for a Halloween commercial. Her hissing was loud and made me shiver.
'Hold on, Leonard,' I whispered. 'Something's not right.' The late afternoon light had dwindled down, making it hard to see much past a block or so. A few steps farther and we both stopped dead. Jerky ran off down a side street. 'Oh crap. Jerky, come back,' I said in my best stage-whisper voice. The look on Leonard's face turned aggressive and determined as he stared straight ahead. Standing in the middle of the street was the little girl with the face of Madeline Blackwell.
'What do you want? Why are you following me?' Leonard yelled with his best adult authoritative voice. Madeline started walking slowly toward us.
'I want you to die,' she said softly. Her voice sounded like it was angelic and it should be singing solo in a children's choir. A slight giggle drifted down the street. 'And we intend to destroy Mr. Casey as well…before he gets too powerful.'
Now my insides churned. My empty belly felt like the acid inside was slowly eating holes into the lining of my stomach. 'Great. How can a little girl do us any harm? I don't see anyone else,' I said to Leonard, as I got closer.
Leonard didn't respond. He stood there with feet firmly planted. His hands balled up into fists. I could see how tight he held them as his veins were next to exploding.
Slowly, I heard the sound of growling. Emerging in the shadows behind Madeline, one by one, a pack of dogs inched their way to follow closely on her heels. The dogs were of various breeds-mostly dogs with attack or guard reputations like German shepherds, Doberman pinschers and Chows. I spotted that kind of dog that was in that movie
'All right, now we have a big problem,' I said nervously. 'We need to run…and fast.'
'No,' Leonard said. 'I make my stand here. I'm tired of running from her.'
'You're not John Wayne. You don't need to do this. Come on. We can run down that side street where Jerky went. All we need to do is…'
Leonard slowly slid his pack off his back. 'I don't know what she meant exactly about you getting any more powerful, but I have a good idea. I've seen that you have some sort of powers or…whatever. Maybe you are meant to stop her or something, turn things around. Beats the shit out of me. All I know is that there's something in you powerful and she's afraid of it. Maybe it was pre-ordained that I save you. Maybe that's why we found each other.'
'Leonard, this is nuts. Come on. Let's go now.'
As I tried to pull his arm, my eyes became fixated on Madeline's arm. She slowly raised it and pointed. The dogs surged forward like they had heard a starter's pistol go off at a dog race.
Leonard pushed me and yelled, 'Run. Follow Jerky. That cat is a guardian. I know it. Don't lose her.' With all his strength, he ran toward Madeline.
Regaining my balance, I took off in the direction of Jerky, down a dark alley. A loud meow immediately gained my attention and I sprinted toward it. Jerky pounced out of the dark and raced in front of me. Behind me, the sound was horrifying and made my blood chill. Mixed with the snarling and barking, I heard Leonard's screams. I choked up and momentarily stopped to look toward the shrieks. A little voice in my head, you know the one that proudly declares itself the emotional one, hollered for me to go back and help him. However, the rational voice that carries the banner of survival disagreed. It felt like I had a little red-cloaked devil with a pitchfork on my one shoulder and a harp-playing angel on the other. As I looked at my shoulder with the devil, I imagined it morphing into Madeline.
