The Road to Nowhere: A post-apocalyptic novel Read online

  When I searched the backseats I found the suitcases I had seen, they were full of clothes and photo albums. First I had thought that the car might have belonged to someone on vacation, but who takes photo albums with them on vacation?

  Another oddity was that the trunk was empty. Were they in too much of a hurry to throw the luggage in the trunk? Why?

  In the rear view mirror I saw a flash of quick movement. If I were looking directly at it, I may have seen what it was. Instead, I was sure that something had been there, and that was all. I climbed out of the car, and tried to see what it had been.

  I didn’t see anything, so I walked back towards the street. At the far end something was digging through a pile of trash. I ran towards it, calling out. A furry face poked out of the garbage it had been rooting through. It was a dog. It looked dirty and hungry.

  When it saw me, it looked scared. Its tail dropped between its legs, and I heard a frightened whimper. I slowed down, and held my hand out in a non-threatening manner. Before I could take another step, the dog turned and ran.

  I tried to run after it, but my legs weren’t up to the effort. After half a block the dog turned a corner and was out of sight.

  I was panting for breath, and felt dizzy. I didn’t know why I had bothered to run after the dog. It was just a dog, after all, and I couldn’t get any answers from it. Maybe it was just nice to see something else alive here.

  The rain had stopped, but the sky was still overcast. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like it was getting darker. Was the sun setting? I wished I knew what time it was. I had to find someplace to sleep. I felt tired.

  I walked for a few blocks, but the only place that looked promising was an open garage. There were a few houses, but I didn’t know what to expect inside them.

  For all I knew someone inside might be ready to shoot anyone who tried to break in. The house next to the garage was well maintained at one time, but patches of grass were no longer uniform length. There were no lights visible from the front yard. I made my way up the porch, hesitating before the closed front door.

  Should I try the knob? I knocked on the door in what I hoped was a firm but polite manner, but no one answered. Did they leave the garage open because they were driving out in a hurry? There hadn’t been any cars in the garage. I put my hand on the doorknob, but shook my head. It didn’t seem right to just walk into someone’s home like that.

  I walked back to the front of the garage. It was definitely getting darker, and I didn’t want to stumble around in the dark. The effort of all the walking was really starting to take its toll on me. The light was still strong enough for me to get a good look at the garage’s interior.

  There were boxes stacked up along one wall on the bare concrete floor. I dug through them and came up with quite a few useful things. A pile of old clothes and blankets made a decent bed. I even found a half full Coleman lantern. It took a few minutes to locate a lighter, but a metal toolbox pushed against one wall had one.

  The lantern cast a soft glow that filled the small space. The sun had almost set, and I could feel the air getting colder. I closed the garage door, lock clicking once it was shut. If it wasn’t left open, I would never have been able to get in. No windows, just a steel side door that had been bolted shut from the inside.

  I fell asleep almost as soon as I curled up on the nest of clothes and blankets. I don’t know how long I slept, but I woke to a loud ruckus outside the steel garage door. I held still, waiting to see what was going on. I jumped when something slammed into the garage. The garage door rattled, like something was trying to push at it. Had the dog followed me?

  I was about to call out, until I heard a sound. An inhuman growl and shriek of anger pierced the night. Another matched the first, like an answering call. The garage door banged again, but this time in several places at once. I dug out the flashlight I had kept in my jacket and turned it on.

  A soft light feebly flickered on then cut off abruptly. I did the logical thing and smacked it a few times until it worked. The light didn’t do much more than let me look at what was close to me. I couldn’t find anything near me to use as a weapon, just boxes of junk. Then I remembered something that I had seen earlier.

  I had seen a metal claw hammer when I found the lighter, and grabbed it. I saw a heavy pipe wrench, and decided that the lamp gave off enough light to see, so I clicked the flashlight off, and grabbed the wrench instead. What was outside? Now something was scratching at the door.

  It sounded like wild animals. What kind of wild animals would roam Las Vegas? The noise stopped. My heart was pounding, and I had the strangest feeling that I should know what was outside. Was it a memory? I found myself frustrated from not being able to recall what it was.

  Then I was surprised as something tried to open the side door. If I hadn’t been so afraid, I wouldn’t have been looking back and forth between the two entrances, but I saw the knob shake before it was slammed into. Animals wouldn’t know how to use a doorknob. It had been locked, and whatever was outside didn’t like it.

  Another screech came from behind the door, followed by what could have been pounding fists. I jumped when more bangs came from the garage door. Whatever was out there, I was surrounded by it.

  The hammer and wrench seemed like poor excuses for weapons. I looked around, but the only other things that would be useful were power tools, and there was no electricity.

  I rummaged through boxes hurriedly and scrabbled though them. It was all junk. Useless junk. In them were old board games, toys and other yard sale candidates. Why couldn’t this have been some survival nut’s garage? If this were Texas I bet there would have been something that would fire projectiles of some kind.

  Then I realized I could smell something. There was only a faint whiff, but it was definitely there. It was a rank, musky smell. Like old eggs and spilled milk that had sat a few months in the bottom of a well-used trashcan. I wondered if it was coming from them.

  The smell seemed to grow worse, but the hammering stopped. What was going on? I crept up to the garage door as quietly as I could, and pressed an ear to the metal.

  First I thought that there was nothing to hear, but as I strained my ears I heard something. It was as though my hearing was coming into focus. Something was breathing; no it was sniffing around the closed entrance. I could distinctly hear two different sniffs, moving back and forth.

  The sniffs stopped, and I had a mental image of something outside listening, the way I was. I moved my head back before something heavy hit the door where my head had been, but it still made me visibly jump.

  I was trapped. The dim light from the lantern threw dark shadows everywhere in the room. I kept the wrench, but took the lantern instead of the hammer. It made it easier to see. The flashlight’s beam would be too narrow to see around.

  2 QUICK DRIVE

  More throaty growls and howls came from the front and side, but they sounded softer. Whatever had been out there seemed to be more distant. Why? Had something scared them off, or had they just gotten frustrated at not being able to get in? What the hell was going on?

  I clung to my weapon and light, expecting something heavier to smash down the door. My adrenaline kept me alert and jumpy.

  After waiting a few minutes, I went back towards the garage door, and listened placing my ear against it. I couldn’t hear anything. Was whatever was out there now just waiting for me? I didn’t like the thought of that.

  I paced back and forth scanning up and down hoping for a small hole to see out of. The closest thing was a space on the garage door that had been bent enough for the seal to not be as tight as it should.

  I looked through it.

  I saw a pale, faint light outside, which must be the sun rising. Was that what scared them of? Maybe they only hunted at night. Some animals are like that.

  I decided to wait until I was sure the sun was completely up before going outside. Even then I didn’t want to go out.

  Whatever had visited me
in the night now knew where I was. I had to leave some time or another. I had a map, and if I walked to a corner, saw a street sign, maybe I could figure out where I was at.

  The first place I should head for would be someplace with the most people. Maybe I’d check out the strip. There should be thousands of people there. Hopefully not everyone evacuated Vegas. Maybe if there were people, someone would be able to tell me what is going on.

  For the next hour I studied the map, and kept an eye on the crack. The pale light gave way to sunrise, and I had a rough idea where to go. The strip was part of the south eastern part of Las Vegas, and I’m sure the main roads would have signs for tourists.

  On foot, who knows how long I would have to wander to get there. I could circle around forever, backtracking until I found it. In a car, it would take a lot less time. Now, if I could find a working car that would be the trick.

  I doubt I would find a car with the keys in it again. Maybe if I got into a house, they would have left a spare key for a commuter car, or something. I wasn’t relishing the thought of breaking into someone’s home, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

  Once I was sure that the sun was up, I tried banging on the door to get a response. There was nothing, so I even called out a few times. Still no response. I couldn’t just wait all day, so I unbolted the side door. If something tried to get in, at least they would only have the smaller door, instead of the big opening at the front.

  I unbolted it, and paused. I raised the pipe wrench in my right hand and flung upon the door, ready to smash whatever had tried to get at me.

  Sunlight filled the doorway, blinding me for a moment. It gave me a terrible headache, but I forced my eyes open. All I saw was the cement path leading from the garage, some grass, and nothing else.

  The pain from the light faded to a dull ache, until it went away. I poked my head out of the doorframe, and looked around. There was still nothing. I had been expecting a trap outside, but what had been out there, really had gone away.

  I lowered my arm, letting the weight of the wrench rest against my thigh. Whoever owned the house and garage must have taken their vehicles with them, as there were no cars parked out front.

  I walked down the street, still jumpy from the early morning wakeup. I kept looking around, but no one else seemed to be around. No postal workers delivering mail, no moms taking their kids to work, no dads driving to work, nothing.

  The fifth house down had a small car, a red Volkswagen Beetle on closer inspection, parked in its driveway. I tried both doors, but they had been locked. I went to the front door, and gave it a few hard knocks.

  There was no answer, which was what I expected. I was about to try kicking it in, when I had a thought. I reached forward, and the knob turned freely in my hand. The door smoothly opened. Who would be in too much of a hurry to lock their front door behind them? What was the hurry? The interior was well lit from sunlight that streamed in from open windows.

  I called out, “Hello is anyone here? Hello!” louder than I should have. I waited a minute for any sound of reply, but heard nothing.

  Once inside, the interior of the house was clean. There were no signs of a fight or struggle. Whoever had lived there, left in a hurry. There was still food left on plates in the dining room. Moldy rotten food, but food nevertheless.

  Seeing everything still laid out gave me a creepy feeling. Glasses of water hadn’t been knocked over either. There were four places set, so it must have been a family.

  In the kitchen there was a message board, with several sets of keys hanging off of it. I pocketed the keys that had a VW logo on them, and dug through the cabinets. Again I felt the sharp pangs of hunger. The food in the dining room smelled awful, but I still needed to eat.

  I found a can of beef stew with a pull top. Once open, I grabbed a clean spoon from a drawer and started to shovel the food into my mouth. After I wolfed down the first can, I ate an entire can of backed beans. My throat was parched, but they had a five gallon water dispenser I drank out of. There was even a large plastic water bottle I filled before leaving.

  As I walked to the car, I realized that I couldn’t remember ever driving. Could I still drive? I could walk, I could do a lot of things, but could I remember enough to drive? I triggered the unlock on the key’s remote, and to my relief it was answered by two beeps from the car.

  The maroon car’s interior had been as immaculately maintained as the house. The seat was adjusted for a very short person, but that only took a few minutes to figure out. Once the seat was right and the mirrors were adjusted I had no other excuse not to start the car and try to drive.

  The engine easily turned over on the first try, but I wasn’t prepared for the blaringly loud female voice that came bellowing out of the cars stereo system. I jumped hard enough to smack my head on the roof. After having powered off the music, I rubbed the top of my head to ease the discomfort.

  A sound was chiming, and it took a few moments to realize that it was because I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt. Once buckled, I took a look at the gauges. The gas was almost full, which was a relief. I turned the stereo back on, and switched it to radio.

  I had hoped to hear something about what was going on, but instead there was only static. I preferred the static to what was playing earlier. I guess I wasn’t a female pop fan. I checked the glove box, but it only contained the owner’s manual, and a registration for a Jennifer Ayala. I wondered what had happened to her.

  I put the car into reverse, and pulled out of the driveway. I started very slowly at first, but started to pick up speed. Once I had driven a block or two, it was easy. There were a few abandoned vehicles I had to avoid, as well as some debris on the road.

  I kept my speed around twenty five, which gave me enough time to look around for anyone else. With each empty street, I grew more and more filled with a sense of foreboding.

  Where was everyone? Did whatever that tried to get at me last night get everyone else? Why were those two bodies left mutilated on the street? Nothing made any sense.

  I drove until I reached major cross streets. It took a few minutes to figure out where I was on the map, but it was easy after that. After a few miles I reached street signs that gave directions to the Las Vegas Strip.

  Abandoned cars began to thicken on the streets. One street had been completely jammed, which necessitated a detour.

  I tried driving one block over, but met with the same dilemma. Since there were no people, I took advantage of the wide sidewalks. The curbs made for very rough driving, but the little Beetle was able to handle them.

  That is, until I reached a completely congested area. There were cars bumper to bumper, as far as the eye could see. Some had tried to use the sidewalks as I had, but crashed into each other. There was no way around, so I had to abandon my transportation.

  On foot, my pace was much slower, but at least I could maneuver around obstacles with ease. Some cars had their doors left open, and I saw what looked like blood staining many of the seats. Broken glass was strewn across many of the vehicles that had the stains. Had something broken in to attack whoever was inside?

  My former tiredness and exhaustion seemed a thing of the past. I felt awake and energetic; it was like I could keep going for hours.

  This was a good thing, as it took several hours of monotonous walking, but I had finally reached the strip. Instead of flashing lights, clanging coins and people- it was completely deserted. The silence was overwhelming, I felt like I had stepped into an old west ghost town.

  Cars were still everywhere, but again they were all abandoned. The casinos were dark reminders of where people should have been, yet weren’t. I thought about going in to them, but the interiors were obscured in shadows. I kept to the middle of the road as the casinos gave me a haunted feeling, like they were watching me.

  I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. Was I the last person on earth? I walked as I tried to plan out what to do next. If there were no people h
ere, where would they be?

  I noticed that the empty feeling in my stomach was due to hunger, but deeper than that hunger was loneliness. If no one else was to be found, what would I do then?

  I stopped walking and looked around the street. I was hungry, and right there was the Planet Hollywood Restaurant. I didn’t know if they would have any food that was still good to eat, but I was hungry enough to not be too fastidious.

  The door was intact, and closed. The dark tinting on it made looking inside impossible.

  I made sure that my flashlight was working, and tried it. To my surprise, it opened. The power was out inside, and I couldn’t see farther than a few feet past the entry way.

  I swung the light around, but it only showed an empty restaurant. I walked towards the back, surmising that the kitchen would be located there. On the way I was distracted by the huge amount of display cases.