No Time To Bleed

With No End In Sight

“Where are we going?"

The van we were in had been burning the night oil for hours. The sky was a brute shade of black, purple, and gold. The desert terrain stretched around us for miles.

“I've got a clue about something. I'm not sure if it's right, but we don't have anything else."

I rested my hand against the seatbelt holding me against the car seat. A short peek to the back seat and I could see Eli slumped against the car door with brick in hand. We'd packed everything with us and had boarded up the back windshield. There was no going back.

"How is it possible that town cleared out so fast? I mean, there's zombies back there, but no people."

I'd spoken for rhetorical value, but the silence in the car must have been too much for Clarissa. She answered as soon as the words left my lips.

“When the first virus individual came out, they evacuated the city’s edges and left the center.”

“Those bitches left us for dead, that's what they did."

Instead of reply, she took a swig of her water bottle and I was sure the liquid inside wasn't water. My bat was at my lap and I had gladly been able to scrub yesterday's blood from it's surface.

“I’m sorry about your son.” 

“You don’t have to apologize. You don’t even like me, remember?”

“You saved us. That’s all I need to know.”

“I couldn’t save him. He was my son. That's my job."

“You can't protect your kids from everything. He loved you a lot. That's all that should matter.”

“How would you know?”

“He told me. He said you’d been through a lot and you were a strong person.”

The tiniest smile snuck it’s onto her face. Her strobes of blonde hair sank past her ears.

“He was the best son anyone could ask for. Maybe he was lucky.”

My eyes almost jumped out their sockets. “Lucky how?”

She shrugged. “He didn’t have to live to see any more of this. Things are only going to get worse."

We drove for another thirty minutes until we reached the extensive side roads of an highway. I poked my head out the window to see the vast dry fields that lay ahead. “Where are we?”

“We’re heading to a local garbage dump.”

My nose wrinkled and I turned back to her. “A garbage dump? You serious?”

Clarissa giggled and shook her head. “Of course not. I’ve got some friends that are going to help me and you do something."

I didn't like the sound of this already. What happened to my lazy teenage years?

I groaned. ""Just make sure there’s no zombies.”

“Oh, believe me. There will be no zombies. Zero contact.”

Eventually Clarissa stopped the van with a trail of dust behind us when an RV came into sight. Clarissa turned and woke Alex.

“Huh?” Alex lifted his head, feathery locks of black hair matted into his scalp and I laughed.

“We’re heading to do something real quick. There’s snacks in the back for Eli and a gun under your seat just in case.”

Alex licked his lips and nodded groggily. “I know, honey. We don't have to buy the handcuffs."

Clarrisa's eyes narrowed as she spoke to me. "Remind me to never wake up Alex. Ever."

We climbed out the car and I held my bat in hand. The RV was a rickety one with dust all over and one of the wheels gone. A neon strip of paint went all around it and I wondered how long the vehicle had been here. Clarissa walked ahead, shotgun in hand and knocked on the tin thin door. Laughter came from inside and the door peeked open the slightest bit.
 

“Whose there?” A forced scuffled voice sounded.

“Who isn’t here? It’s me, Clarissa. It's time for Lion's plan."

The door opened and a dark skinned woman emerged. “Ah, sweet! I’ve been waiting for some kick ass heists to happen!”

The woman turned around. “Cece! Get out here! We’ve got some ass to kick!”

She turned back to us. “Cece’s my partner in crime. The little nugget’s only seventeen, but she’s got the skills of someone who's been in the game for decades."