Ryan Westfield - Staying Alive

The first thing she did was turn around to look at James and Sadie. They were sound asleep.

The night was dark. It was only because of the headlights that she could see the road stretching out in front of the minivan. The trees on the road side looked eerie in the off-white glow of the headlights.

“Nothing,” said Mandy, sounding tired herself.

“There weren’t any other cars?”

“Well, I saw one,” said Mandy. “I was really worried. I saw the headlights coming towards us, and I almost had a heart attack.”

“You should have woken us up,” said Georgia.

“Nothing happened,” said Mandy. “They just drove right on by.”

“Something could have happened,” said Georgia.

“I guess you’re right. So what’s the plan?”

“Well, for one thing, it’s my turn to drive. You need to get some sleep.”

Mandy slowed the van down, and she and Georgia switched places.

Max stirred in the backseat. “I’m not going to sleep anymore,” he said. “I’ll take the passenger seat. Mandy, you can sleep in the back with the others.”

It felt strange to be behind the wheel of the minivan. This was the sort of vehicle that Georgia had always hated, even though she was a mother herself and could understand its practicality. Georgia had always preferred trucks.

Georgia had to admit that the minivan was serving them well now. A truck wouldn’t have fit all of them.

And the minivan ran without problems. At least so far. The engine hummed quietly. The accelerator felt smooth, and there didn’t seem to be any problems with the automatic transmission.

“Mandy saw someone else on the road,” said Georgia. “Another car.”

“She should have woken us up,” said Max.

“That’s what I told her.”

Mandy was already fast sleep behind them, her soft snores barely audible.

Max handed Georgia a bottle of water from the Millers, as well as a bag of beef jerky. She took a bite of the tough home-made beef jerky and felt a little stronger almost instantly. It was good beef jerky, made with a mixture of just the right spices. It was too bad they didn’t have more food like that. Who knew how much they could withstand with good food in their stomachs. Then again, they’d already withstood a lot.

Soon enough, Georgia would be able to hunt again, and they wouldn’t have to worry so much about food. All she needed was a place where she wasn’t likely to get ambushed. Unfortunately, a place like that was proving hard to find. Harder than they’d thought.

“So what’s the plan, Max?” she asked.

“Well,” said Max, leaning over to get a better look at the gas gauge. “We’re going to need gas soon. At least by dawn, at the rate we’re burning through fuel.”

“You think we’ll be able to get it?”

“I hope so. It’s either that or get another vehicle.”

“One that can fit us all?”

“Two cars, if we need to,” said Max. “One would be better.”

“How are we going to get gas? Will the gas stations work?”

“I doubt it,” said Max. “The pumps are powered by electricity. The EMP will have fried everything.”

“I remember reading that some gas stations had generators,” said Georgia. “That way, they’d keep working during a natural disaster.”

“Right,” said Max. “I think in parts of Florida, where they kept getting hit with hurricanes, some gas stations had generators installed. As far as I know, they’ve never done the same thing in Pennsylvania. Not that it would do us much good anyway. The generators will have been fried as well.”

“Shit,” said Georgia.

“Shit is right,” said Max. “And it’s not like we can just suck the gas out of there. On the internet, people always used to talk about siphoning gas from a gas station with a hose.”

“That wouldn’t work,” said Georgia. She had enough common sense to understand why.

“Right,” said Max. “It works with gravity. So if the tank is in the ground, the gas isn’t going to magically travel up the tube against the force of gravity.”

“So gas stations are out?” said Georgia.

“I guess,” said Max. “Unless we can come up with some physics-defying brilliant plan. But for now, I think we’d better focus on finding another car.”

“An abandoned one?”

“Preferably not a car with an occupant,” said Max. “But we’re desperate. I’m not going to go around checking to see if anyone still needs the car or not. Call it stealing. Or whatever you want. But that’s what we’re going to have to do. If we want to get out of here, that is.”

“I don’t think Mandy’s going to be happy about that.”

“She’s going to have to deal with it,” said Max.

They drove in silence for a while, heading through the dark night. There were no other cars on the road.

“How’s the leg?” said Georgia.

“Fine,” said Max. He fished in his pocket for his bottle of antibiotics, and shook a pill out into his hand. He swallowed it without water.

“I don’t get it,” said Georgia. “There were so many people in our area. But I don’t see any cars out here. You’d think people would be traveling by car.”

“I think what happened,” said Max, “is that most people are coming from the cities and the dense suburbs. The roads must have become impassable shortly after we made it out. Traffic jams, military blockades, accidents… a thousand things could have prevented the use of the roads. This is a small two lane road that heads east and west. We’re not seeing a lot of cars on it because most of the cars are stuck in the cities. And most of the people who live out here are probably staying. They’re getting ready to defend their homes. They’re more likely to be prepared for an event like this than the people in the cities. It’s a mindset kind of thing.”

“Unfortunately,” said Georgia, “that’s going to mean that we’re less likely to find a car out here. If most of them are stuck in the cities and ‘burbs.”

“We’ll find one,” said Max. “There are still cars out here.”

“We’d better find one soon,” said Georgia. “Or else we’re not going to be able to make it much farther. Look at the gas gauge.”

“I know,” said Max.

“Too bad we don’t have any gas cans with us,” said Georgia.

“I was thinking about that,” said Max. “I think we might be able to use the plastic sack meant for extra water.”

“I guess that could work. But we might get into a situation where we need to store extra water.”

“We’ll have to go thirsty,” said Max.

“It’s one of the basic life necessities,” said Georgia. “It’s the most essential thing…”

“Getting out is the most essential thing,” said Max. “At least for now. It’s a risk. And it’s one we might have to take.”

Up ahead, in the dark night, there was a house in the distance. The clouds had parted, and the moonlight shone down on the lone house.

“Look,” said Georgia. “I think that’s a car out front.”

“It is,” said Max, peering through the windshield. “Now’s our chance.”

Georgia slowed the van down, giving them a chance to figure out what to do.

“You sure you want to do this?” said Georgia. “It’s someone’s gas, after all.”

“We don’t have any choice,” said Max.

“Maybe we could head off into the woods somewhere,” said Georgia. “Maybe we’ll be able to get out of the way…”

“You know that’s not going to work, Georgia,” said Max. “Do you want your kids to be safe? Or do you want to stay awake every night in the woods, wondering if someone will find us that night or the next?”

Max wasn’t the type to use cheap manipulation tactics. He wasn’t playing a trick on her, trying to change her mind. He was being genuine, asking her a real question.