Alex came around the rear of the truck to see how his ‘charges’ were doing. He smiled as he watched me finally gain my full longitudinal ability. “Blow me.” I told him as I hobbled towards the exit.
“What?” He asked. “I didn’t say anything.” I braced myself on his shoulder as I gingerly stepped down off the truck. Alex thankfully waited until the pain that clouded my higher reasoning ability tailed off before he began to speak. “Mike we’re about an hour or so out of Kansas City Missouri.” I looked at him questioningly. “That’s where I’m going to start my southerly route.” My face must have visibly fell because he hastened on. “You should be able to get some transportation in the city and then you can catch route 29 all the way into Fargo.”
My heart suddenly felt heavy, this parting was going to have all the finality of death. We would go on and give each other addresses where the other was going to be, just in case we were in the neighborhood but even in the old realm of machinations this was an empty promise. One made only as a courtesy.
There could be no secrets across a group this small, mainly because everyone had learned to not be more than a few feet away from everybody else. So when BT came storming up it wasn’t a surprise. “Whaddaya mean we’re splitting up?” He demanded.
Alex took the reins. “Mike has family he wants to try and find as do I.”
“Whoa, listen both of you. We all have family that we’d love to know what happened to them. But now we are all family.” He punctuated by thumping his chest and spreading his arms among us. “This isn’t about individual quests, this is about mutual survival. We are ALL we have left.” His voice thundered. His words hit hard. I hoped he was wrong.
“BT this is something I have to do.” I said gravely.
“Talbot how far you going to make it on that knee?” He shouted, my hair blew back from the force of it.
“BT.” Alex said, stepping between the angry giant and myself placing his hand on BT’s chest. BT swatted it away.
“You just going to let him go Alex?” BT seemed to deflate a little within his own skin. “Look at him Alex, if his hand wasn’t on your shoulder he’d fall over from the pain. He’s nearly cripple.”
The words stung, but I’d be damned if I’d take my hand from Alex and prove him right.
“What do you want me to do BT? He’s a grown man he can make his own decisions.”
“Yeah but his decisions affect us all, now.” BT said, degrees of volume lower than when he had started. The wind truly did seem to be out of his sails now. But I was leery. Gusts and gales could pop up unexpectedly.
“Still here.” I said.
“Besides, how’s he getting to where he’s going, his Jeep is gone.” BT continued.
“We’re going to get him a new car in Kansas City.”
“Guys, what is this, the ghost of Christmas past? I’m still here.” I said.
“Oh just perfect shouldn’t be any zombies in a major city. We can just stop off at the local Chevy dealer and go pick up a Geo or something.”
“I was really hoping for a GMC or something along those lines.” I intoned. I hadn’t been this ignored since Tracy thought I was cheating on her. All those declarations had fallen to the ground like leaves on a crisp fall day. “It would be great if it had an extended cab too. Maybe a roof rack, oh shit and a gun rack. It would be great if it also had different climate controls. That way when Tracy is cold and she wants to turn the heat on to the setting ‘melt’, I won’t need to take my clothes off.”
Alex turned around. “Mike, what the fuck are you talking about?”
BT was looking at me too like I had lost my fucken mind. BT’s next words threw me for a loop. “I’m going with you Mike.”
Alex turned back around. “BT, what the fuck are you talking about?”
Now it was my and Alex’ turn to look at BT like he had lost his damn mind.
Paul decided that it was in this maelstrom that he should throw his penny and a half in. “Mike I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”
And then it dawned on me, Paul and Erin’s families were both in North Carolina, right along the path Alex would need to take to get to Florida. I don’t know why I was having such a difficult time digesting this information, was I such a selfish person that I felt that everybody should be wrapped up in the same things I was? Shit I hadn’t spent more than two seconds thinking about what anybody else would want to do. I just ass-umed my mission was theirs.
“I’m going with Mike!” Jen thrust forward, like we were back in gym class and she didn’t want to wait to get picked and possibly placed on a team she didn’t like.
“Wait this isn’t about choosing sides.” I started.
“I’m going with Alex.” April whispered. “I don’t want to be near him anymore,” as she pointed towards Justin, “He gives me the creeps.”
“Stop.” I said without much force. “This isn’t about choosing sides. We’re all individuals, just because we’ve been thrust into this nightmare together doesn’t mean we have to stay that way.”
“Ever seen Friday the 13th?” Tommy asked enigmatically.
Nobody paid much heed to his words except for me. The meaning was exceptionally strong. It was always the individuals that went off alone to check the circuit breakers in the basements that quickly found themselves suspended above the floor pierced in some ungodly matter in a particularly vulnerable area.
I would not let BT, Paul, Alex or even Ryan deter me from my desired goal. Tracy silently prayed that I would not stray from the predetermined course. Sure she could make my life an even more special living hell if I were to not attempt to rescue her mom, but in the end she would have to go as I did. I don’t know who was kidding whom though. She had had my balls wrapped up in wax paper since the day we got married. On occasion she would bring them out and let me stare longingly at them but as for who wore the pants in the family? Let’s just say, I was President Bush to her Dick Cheney.
The ride into Kansas City was a somber one. It seemed that everyone was lost in their own thoughts of these new developments. Even the outgoing Tommy was silent, his Aunt Marta had made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was going with her. There was no doubt after that conversation who had emerged the victor. Tommy sat up in the cab with Alex and myself to avoid the brow beating being administered by the defeated, so much for losing graciously. But let’s be fair this wasn’t about an MLB game, even if it might be the Red Sox against the Yankees. The stakes were as high as they could get, life or death. Some might argue that there were higher stakes, possibly your eternal soul if you were so inclined, but really? I had a sneaky suspicion we had already failed God’s ultimate test and were already experiencing his wrath.
Tommy hadn’t eaten a pop-tart in nearly an hour. I knew he was upset. I was about to start a conversation with him when he beat me to the punch.
“Hey Mr. T, I don’t think going to get Mrs. T’s mom is such a good idea.”
It felt like ice cubes were being dragged down my spine. Alex looked over to gauge my response, a small surge of hope flared in his eyes.
“Mike just come with us, you know the odds of one old woman surviving.”
The remnants of the chill still dripped down my back. I struck back with a punch I knew would close the door on this conversation. “What if it was Marta asking you to get her mother?” Yeah I knew it was a low blow but if he harangued me for much longer I would have caved. Tommy’s one-liners were more than enough ammunition to realize the folly of what I was attempting.
“Not cool Mike.” Alex finished.
I nodded in ascension. “Sorry.”
“I understand.”
“Hey Uncle Alex do you want to get off at the next exit?” Tommy asked.
The phrase was asked as a question but the intent was not. Alex got off at the next exit. Within a half mile of our exit, my horror mounted to near epic proportions. Tommy was smiling ear to ear as Alex pulled into a used mini-van car lot.
“No!” I cried. “There has got to be something else.”
Alex was nearly full on laughing. “Oh bandero, you have a growing family now, you’re going to need something big enough to accommodate them all.”
“Oh this sucks!” I yelled. My worst nightmare in life was coming to fruition. “You did this shit on purpose.” I said pointing to Tommy. He paid me little heed as he unwrapped a smores pop-tart.
Tracy was first out of the truck at the sounds of my dismay. Her concern quickly melted away to merriment
