We watch the last drop of acid rain drip from the crinkled shell of what is left of the silverado. Rave's chest continues to peak and valley as he gasps for breath. Not wanting to heighten an already tense situation, Patty tries to deliver a message to me in code pig-latin.
"Av-Re t-cant k-make' it uch'ma onger-le."
Thank God the Russians aren't invading the mother land. We wouldn't stand a chance.
"I know, Patty." That was not encoded. She gives me a steely look to silently scold me for not playing along.
"What are we going to do?"
"I'm thinking," I say as frankly as possible. Why do you tend to overthink things when the pressures on. I mean any other time, if your shoelace comes untied, you just bend down and tie it. But when you fall off your bike and scrape your knee, then your brain seems to bleed out of your leg too. At last, the answer jumps into my throat.
"Make him use his inhaler," I blurt out with great force.
"Are you sure?" Patty questions. "There's not much left."
"Av-Re t-cant k-make' it uch'ma onger-le, Remember?... give him a couple puffs before he passes out and we have to carry him."
Like a professional New York pick-pocket, Patty hits all his pockets in a matter of seconds. I'm starting to worry about who she's been hanging out with. Apparently, my sweet little sister is not as sweet as I used to think.
After a few minutes, Rave is back to his old grumpy self and ready to continue avoiding traveling east. This time he moves in for a choke hold, but I manage to out maneuver him - slipping out of the truck. As my sneakers hit the busted asphalt, I grab Patty by her backpack and drag her to her feet too.
"Patty! Let's go," I yell already in mid-sprint. By the time Rave squeezes his large frame out of the truck we're already two blocks away. There's no way he can catch up now... There's no way he can catch up now... There's no way he can catch up now.... The thought keeps echoing in my mind. A deep worrisome sorrow drags my dash down to a crawl. I am a horrible person. How could I think of leaving my best friend behind.
"What's wrong, Tommy?" Patty asks in the most genuinely innocent way.
I stand with my back toward where we just left... unable to turn around yet.
"Is Rave still there?"
Patty glances over her shoulder - scanning left to right.
"He's sitting on the ground. I think he's crying," she says.
Guilt is a terrible companion. I wish he or she would just leave me alone, but then I realize that I am practically alone. So, I guess I'll let him or her stay for a little while longer. I take in a deep swig of what I like to pretend is oxygen and let out a long spray of exhaust fumes.
"Let's go get him."
A trail of dirt-less streaks are left behind where the tears have run down Rave's cheeks. He quickly fills in the ruts with filth from his hands. He looks like a puppy left behind by its pack.
"Look... Rave," I say trying to work my way out of having to actually apologize. "I think there may be another way."
The light of hope lifts his countenance.
"It's not going to be easy... in fact, I think it's stupid to go this way rather than heading east.... but if we can stick together, I think it will be worth it."
He latches a hold of my wrists and I pull him up off the ground. Fortunately, the acid rain had burned most of the slim off the sidewalk, so his only pair of pants weren't to worse for wear.
"So were do we go?" Patty chimes in.
"West. There's a train station about five miles from here. The reason I know that is because Mom dragged me along with her when she went to drop Aunt Mary off there. You remember that, Patty?"
"Yeah, I got out of it, because I went to spend the night at Tiffany's......"
Oh no... now I've done it. The sprinklers are about to go off again, all because I forgot that memories set off the waterworks.
"I don't even like Tiffany. I should have gone with Mom."
I don't think it would be possible for my eyes to roll back into my head any further.
"Goods from all over the world pass through that station. And maybe... just maybe... a few of the train cars were strong enough to survive the blast. If I'm right, we might have food and shelter for months.... so what do think?"
Our little rat pack circles up. Like a scene from a classic 80's teen movie, Rave reaches his massive paw into the center of the ring. Patty's petite mitten follows. Then I place my normal American boy hand on top of the stack.
Rave kicks off the anthem. "One... Two.... Three"
Oh... I was wrong. My eyes can roll further back into my head. I yank my hand back and start walking way.
"Let's move!"
If you like what you've read, be sure to comment and share with your friends. And if you haven't already, be sure to check out the first two chapters of The Afterdom by clicking the links below:
The Afterdom (part 1)
The Afterdom (part 2)
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