Ryan Westfield - Getting Out

“I bet you’re an expert at that,” said Mandy.

“I’ll just keep driving west on these back roads,” said Max. “Mandy and Chad, you guys check the atlas there and the maps that you brought. It’s a good thing you had those. See if you can find a good route. I know my way around here, but there might be something better…”

They drove on through the night in silence.

There weren’t many cars on the road now.

Mandy realized that it was very good that Max had extra gasoline in the back of the Jeep. She could smell it, and the smell made her a little sick, but if this EMP was a reality, then she doubted the gas pumps would work.

Mandy figured that people had realized that this wasn’t just a blackout. This was something more. The mob back at Chad’s store proved that.

But what she was confused about was why there weren’t more cars on the road. It was eerie, especially considering how black the night was. She had never seen darkness like this. The headlights from the Jeep barely seemed to cut through it. They just drilled little holes of light into the night in front of them, holes that disappeared a moment later, swallowed by the darkness.

Maybe if people realized it wasn’t a blackout, they would also realize that they didn’t have much gas left. Maybe they weren’t driving around because they wanted to save their gasoline. Another factor was that they were no longer driving on the main roads at all. And it was the middle of the night… Still, something was strange about it. Maybe people were barricading themselves in their houses… Maybe they were terrified to leave…

Mandy wondered what she would be doing right now if Max hadn’t come along. Well, she’d have been raped and possibly killed. But if that hadn’t happened, she couldn’t see herself venturing out of the apartment building, let alone her own apartment. Maybe that was why people weren’t on the road—fear, pure and simple.

But what about that mob?

Mandy shuddered as she thought about the animalistic anger she’d seen on that man’s face as he rushed towards the Jeep.

“You guys mind if I light up?” said Chad.

Mandy could hear him pulling something out of his cargo pocket.

“Yes,” said Max simply.

“You sure?” said Chad. “I’ve got enough for all three of us. Could help us relax, you know?”

“Are you crazy?” said Mandy.

“I’m not crazy, just trying to relax.”

“I take back what I said about being sorry,” said Mandy. “You really are going to be a liability. Are you just going to be interested in getting high while the world ends?”

“Mandy,” said Max, trying to calm her down.

“What?” she snarled at him. “I’m not allowed to speak my mind?”

Suddenly, the Jeep ran over something. There was a thud that didn’t sound good as the Jeep bounced on its suspension.

“What was that?”

“Shit.”

Max didn’t say anything.

He slowed the Jeep to a stop.

“I think we blew a tire,” he said. He put the Jeep into neutral and engaged the emergency brake.

Mandy noticed that he didn’t kill the engine. And he didn’t get out of the car yet. Instead, he killed the headlights and studied the darkness that surrounded them.

“You think someone’s out there?” whispered Mandy.

“Can you see what it was we ran over?” said Max in a low voice.

“No,” she said.

“I can’t see anything either,” said Chad.

Max and Mandy both ignored him.

“You think this is a trap or something?” said Mandy. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she peered into the darkness around them. She couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean anything.

“I don’t know,” said Max. “Could be. Might not be. I don’t know what we ran over.”

“Don’t get out of the car,” whispered Mandy.

“I have to,” said Max. “Someone’s got to change this tire.”

The car was noticeably sagging on Mandy’s side.

Max flicked on his flashlight, on the lowest setting. Mandy saw him reaching for his gun. He had it in his hand now.

“What do we do?” said Chad.

“Stay in the car,” said Max. “And don’t you dare light that joint. I need you as lucid as you’re going to get.”

Mandy’s heart felt like it was beating so fast that it would burst right through her chest.

She watched with terrible anxiety as Max slowly opened his door.

“Idon’t want to hurt anyone,” said Mr. McKinney.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt either,” said Georgia.

“Then put your gun down.”

Georgia knew she had no other choice. She couldn’t risk James getting killed. If he was shot in the stomach, that might be the end. He’d bleed out… Who knew if the hospitals were even open. This was a panic situation, the type of situation in which normal people did things they never would do otherwise. For all she knew, Mr. McKinney could pull the trigger by accident. After all, his finger was inside the trigger guard. He looked jumpy and nervous. In the dim light of the camping lantern, she could see that his eye was twitching.

Georgia slowly put the rifle to the ground. “I’m lowering it to the ground,” she said, speaking slowly and as calmly as she could.

Her thoughts turned to Sadie in the car, and she hoped that she was OK. She also hoped she’d stay in the car, rather than come looking for them.

“Good,” grunted Mr. McKinney. “Good.”

Georgia laid the rifle on the ground and stood back up slowly.

“Look,” she said. “I get it, you’re angry. We were coming to steal your supplies, that’s true.”

“So you admit it then.” He still had his gun trained on James’s stomach, and he didn’t show any signs of pointing it somewhere else.

“I admit it,” said Georgia. “But I thought you weren’t here, and that you weren’t coming back. A cop just told us that the whole area was blocked off. We figured no one else had been able to get home from work.”

“Well I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Look, we’ve known each other a long time. Do you think I’d actually try to hurt your family?”

“I heard you say it yourself. You said it was either your family or mine. Well, I’m going to have to make the same decision.”

“Please, don’t hurt James. If you need to shoot someone, shoot me instead. But shooting us isn’t going to help anything.”

“No!” said James. “Mom, don’t say that.”

“Don’t say another word,” said Mr. McKinney, glaring at James. His finger on the trigger seemed to be shaking.

“Look, Mark,” said Georgia. “This is a crazy situation… Let’s just forget this ever happened, OK? We’re going to go back to our truck and drive away…”

“What if you come back?” said Mr. McKinney. “I’ve got to think about my family.”

Georgia suddenly realized that the rest of the McKinneys must be inside.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from the dark.

Georgia recognized it instantly. It was Sadie.

“Drop the gun,” said Sadie, speaking from the darkness. “I’ve got a rifle pointed right at your head, and my mom’s been taking me to shooting practice since I was eight.”

Sadie was bluffing. Georgia just hoped that Mark McKinney didn’t know that. But he was at work most of the time. He probably hadn’t noticed whether or not Sadie was heading off to the shooting range with Georgia or not.

“I don’t believe you,” said Mr. McKinney.

Georgia prayed silently that Sadie actually had a gun with her. If she was still scared of even touching guns, she wouldn’t have brought the gun with her. Then there was no chance. Georgia was seriously regretting her plan to rob her neighbors.