Apocalyptia (Apocalyptia #1)

Chapter 8

After a few of hours of rest, which was mainly spent holding Paul down during his backwood-trailer surgery, the weight of exhaustion was pressing hard on Crystal's shoulders, and it was only further punctuated by Paul's weight. He sagged on her shoulder, and Jason was starting to grow tired, as well, as much of the weight he had enthusiastically carried before was starting to droop. The only things that kept her going were Jason's constant reminders that they were getting closer to a safe place, but she was starting to forget when he had last said that. Hadn't he said it an hour ago? How far had they walked in an hour? Crystal's brain was like mush, and it was completely useless to her in her condition.

So, she recited the dates the presidents died. It was strange, but it helped to clear some of the fog and keep her moving her feet. Left and right, left and right. She was just getting to John Tyler, January 18, 1862, when Paul's voice brought her out. He was squirming in their arms, which made it that much harder for Crystal to keep her grip, but what he said had her thinking of other things.

"There ... over there."

Crystal looked him over. Paul's eyes were squinted, as if he were in a room too bright for his eyes, and his hand was shaking as he pointed out toward the woods. Crystal followed his hand to a meteorite pile, which confused Crystal. She wasn't seeing whatever he was. She tried again, this time squinting her own eyes and tilting her head to maybe get a different angle on it. Nope. Not a thing. Her brain was giving her no answers, much to her disappointment. Instead, she looked to Jason for an answer, but instead she found him in awe.

"Paul, you're a genius. Semiconscious genius, but a genius nonetheless."

Paul didn't respond to the compliment, but Crystal was left in the dark. She looked to the pile again, trying to see what they had seen. The meteorites had knocked down trees, creating an odd mixture of mountain and forest. The trees were knocked directly off their stumps, and some were even still attached, but pointing off in a horizontal direction. It reminded Crystal of a nature compass, but she still didn't see the fantastic part of it all. If anything, it made her even more confused. Regardless of whether she understood it or not, Jason dragged her and Paul along to the strange formation.

It wasn't until they had gotten right up to the pile that Crystal realized what they saw. The stumps, which had once held up trees, held up the meteorites, forming a type of cave or a natural lean-to. It wasn't necessarily roomy, but it made for ample cover from anyone who might still be following them and shelter from any possible weather changes during the night. Though Crystal was glad to have found a temporary place for rest, it gave her chills thinking that she would be in such close quarters with Jason, and without Paul as an intimidating entity, Crystal would have to rely on herself for defense. The idea itself wasn't in any way surprising to Crystal, but it shocked her to realize how much the world had changed. The world had never been a safe place and had always been filled to the brim with unknowns, but most of the dangers had a face she could recognize. The way the world was now, she couldn't trust anything or anyone, including the man she had draped across her shoulders.

Regardless, he was all she had, and she was going to put trust in him for as long as possible. She had to have something to rely on, and he was the only thing keeping her going. Though she couldn't say whether it was actually him that kept her going, or the fact that he had a goal — a family — and she didn't. She guessed she would never truly know, so she would just keep following him until she had nothing left to keep her moving her feet, which was about to occur much sooner than she would have liked.

Jason immediately rolled under the rock, pack and all, surprising Crystal because she wasn't sure he was going to be able to fit. He didn't seem to have any trouble maneuvering around, but it was hard to tell without being able to see him. Jason was pudgy enough, but he could still fit even with a pack on. It was mind-boggling, to say the least, but Paul's weight was all on her, and she was too busy focusing on that to care too much about Jason's mobility under the rock face. Jason called out to her, his voice much farther back than she would have expected, but clear enough for her to understand.

"Lay him down. I'll drag him back here."

Crystal trusted Paul, but she didn't trust Jason in the slightest. Desperation had her doing things she would never have done otherwise, but Paul was starting to hurt her shoulders, and she was ready to lie down. Paul mumbled something to her as she lowered him down, but she didn't quite hear him before Jason grabbed his arm and yanked him under. There was a momentary jolt of panic before she lay down and could peer into the crevice herself. It was strange to see, and as she scuttled under, though she could have crawled in on all fours, it only got stranger. It was like crawling under the moon, if it had burned up in the atmosphere and crashed into Earth.

Terrible, but still pretty cool.

Regardless of how surreal everything was, her thoughts still lingered on the fact that she would have to find some way to defend herself, and on the way back her eyes drifted over to the stump that held up their space-delivered shelter, and amongst the splintered wood, she noticed a fairly long pointed stick. She would have preferred a sharp stone, but it would have to do. As long as it wasn't a gun, she was all for it. Shooting people left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Her eyes locked on Jason, but he was thankfully too busy trying to situate his bag and Paul around to take any notice of her. So, while she had a chance, she swiped the stick and slid it into her sleeve. It felt like a piece of her skeleton was on the outside of her body, and that thought was far from comforting, but she was glad to have some kind of defense. It would be an easy grab-and-stab if Jason or anyone tried to get her during the night, but watching him tossing and thrashing around made him seem like a highly unlikely candidate for an attack. Even so, she couldn't forget how light he was on his feet, and she couldn't help wondering what other skills he was hiding. No matter what, she couldn't underestimate him.

Even as she was lying down next to Paul and slipping her pack off to use as a pillow, her mind was still on the unknown. But when Paul's eyes lit on her, though half-lidded and glazed, all of Crystal's attention was on him and his lips. She wouldn't miss his words this time.

"In the morning ... we need to go to Virginia." His words came out as whisper, but Crystal was sure she had heard him right.

Even so, she shook her head. There was no way he would be able to travel, and with no car, there was no way she and Jason could travel and carry him along the way. Plus, she still wasn't sure what Jason wanted to do. If he decided he didn't want to go to Virginia, then she would be left with carrying Paul around, and she wasn't sure that she could do it. But Paul insisted, and he kept repeating Mason over and over, until he eventually mumbled himself to sleep. Crystal watched him the entire time, hushing him and trying to assure that they would try to get to Virginia as quickly as they could, but that he had to heal first. He didn't seem to hear a word she said, but Crystal just assumed that he was too stubborn to listen. With him asleep, Crystal was beginning to feel the weight of exhaustion starting to pull her under, but not before meeting Jason's eyes, which seemed to bore into her.

"Is that why you were surprised to hear I'm from Virginia?"

She really hated having him around, but figured he could give a little insight. If he had come down from Virginia, he would have insight, and she desperately needed that.

"Yes. We're heading up there for family. You came down from there, right?"

Then, Crystal got a reaction she hadn't expected. Jason pursed his lips and looked at her gravely. She had seen him serious before, but his expression was something else entirely. He looked sincerely upset, and Crystal feared his next words more than she had feared since the world had ended.

"Right, but there's nothing left. Virginia doesn't even exist anymore."