Wasteland

May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight

I awoke with a start. Tell me in the morning? This was the most important thing to happen to us since the beginning of the apocalypse. Merida might have the cure? She could end all of this?

She had rolled over onto her side sometime in the night and still slept soundly. I poked her; she didn’t move. I then shook her a bit too forcefully.

“What?” She pushed me away.

“Tell me about it.” I demanded.

“About what?” She regarded me with a grumpy expression. Not a morning person, I guess.

“You said you might know how to stop the zombies.” I said, sitting upright and looking down at her. Her tumultuous tangle of bright curls half covered her sleep-puffy face.

“It’s like five in the morning.”

“This is important.”

She scowled. “Fine. I was hoping to wait a little longer before having to do this. We should wake up Jamie and get on the road. I’d rather tell you in the car.”

“Why?”

She sighed and lifted a shoulder in shrug. “I don’t know. I’m restless.”

“Okay. Whatever.” I hopped out of bed. We made quick work in the morning. The blankets were all folded, a trance-like Jamie was roused, canned food eaten, and a Chinese family bid goodbye. Jamie offered for the young pickpocket boy to come with us. He declined.

We piled into the car. Merida forced me to sit in the middle. “Okay...?” I prompted her.

“Yeah. Vic said you knew something?” Jamie asked.

“I’ll tell you, alright?” She took a breath to steady herself. “I don’t know if this is a good lead or not, but I thought of it last night, and it’s really all we’ve got without murdering all of man-kind. Jamie, remember how Mike died?” She asked. I flinched in spite myself.

“Yeah...” He glanced uncomfortably at her.

“You said that you and Mike went into a shop with some old psychic lady, correct?”

“Yes.”

“We need to go back to that place. I need to go talk to that lady. She has the answer.” Merida nodded self-righteously.

“How? Why?” I asked bewildered. “I think we’re missing something here.”

“Yeah. You are.” She chewed her lip and began to slap her thigh with her hair tie. For a second the only sound was the twap twap twap of the stinging elastic against soft skin. “I guess I’ll just start from the beginning. As I’ve told you before, my parents are very... strict. We’re from an old and very well-to-do family in Scotland, and everything we do has to be perfect. My mother always said that people look up to us and we have a reputation to uphold. Anyway, my mom wanted me to go a prestigious school. We’ve been traveling all over the U.S and U.K looking at universities. My father and three brothers are in California on vacation while my mom and I were supposed to work our way across the country by looking at ivy leagues.” She paused and stopped slapping her thigh. It had a large, red welt now.

I nudged her gently to encourage her to continue on. She looked at me and cringed away, making herself smaller in the seat so that she touched neither Jamie nor I. I frowned with confusion. “My parents have had my life planned out from the second I was conceived. Go to a good school, get married to a rich guy, preferably the one down the street my parents fancied. I just didn’t want any of that. For years it’s been grating on my nerves. Every time I brought it up to my parents, they’d just say I was going through a faze and that they want the best for me. I became desperate. I felt that there was no way out. So I went to an old lady, a witch per se, and asked for her to change my fate. She cackled and said that there would be a grave cost. That I’d regret it, but I was selfish. I didn’t care! And then the next thing I knew, my mom...” She shook her head and tears slipped out of her eyes. I place a hand on her arm, but she just shrugged me off. “She turned into one of those god-damned zombies. I didn’t know what to do, so I just ran.”

“I thought you said she died.” I said.

“It’s all the same. She’s gone and she isn’t coming back. It’s my fault. Everything! All of this is my fault!” Her voice broke off ragged cliffs in her throat and crawled out brokenly over her tongue.

“I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “You asked some witch to change your fate, and then she made your mom a zombie?”

Yes. It changed my fate. I’m not going to college and I’m not going to marry some rich ass guy. But my cost is the end of the world.”

“No, no, no, no. No. That can’t be.” I pressed away from her. Slow teats traveled down her cheeks and sped up at my disbelief.

“It’s true. It really is. And I’m so sorry.”

My mind flashed back to the day Merida and I lost the sports car. We were walking down the street and she was about to tell me all of this. But then we met Jamie and I learned the news about Mike. And then she couldn’t tell me because... “Mike’s death is your fault.”

She said nothing but nodded.

“Stop the car.” I said suddenly.

“What?” Jamie jumped bewildered.

“Stop the car. Right. Now.”

Jamie pulled over on the solder of the road. I hopped out and walked a few steps away. My legs itched restlessly. I wanted to run. I didn’t know where. But I only braced myself on my knees and prayed my rolling stomach would hold its breakfast. Once the foggy red from my vision cleared I straightened back up. I turned my burning gaze on her.

“Get out of the car.” I said.

“Why.”

“BECASUE YOU KILLED HIM!” I yelled. “You murdered him!”

“No. Vic, seriously take a second.” Jamie hopped out of the car as well to restrain me, as if I would become violent. I might have. “Her actions may have led to that happening, but it wasn’t she who bit him. Mike killed himself. He had the ultimate say. And this happening wasn’t her intention.”

“I don’t care!” I shoved him off, but I knew he was right.

She sat silently and stared at my through wheeling, tormented eyes. Part of me grieved for her, but the other part hated her.

“Vic, we have to end this. I can only do it with you. Besides, you promised me.” She said. She got out of the car and stood only inches from me.

“No. When?”

“That night at Donnely’s. Remember. I asked you to help carry my burden. And you promised.”

“How?” I stumbled back. “How could you ask that of me? I had no idea what your past entailed!”

“I know you didn’t!” Her voice rose out of some strong emotion. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t grief. But passion, maybe. “What I did was selfish. I did it because I didn’t love myself, but I saw you. And I love you, Vic. I love you and I needed to have you close to me. And you’re angry at me. I know. I’ve been stupid. But you’ll still come and help me. Do you know why?”

“Why?” I said before I never had it in me to be long. And with her soft words, I felt my harsh exterior melting.

“Because you love me. We’re in this together whether we like it or not. I can’t hate the witch lady, or myself completely. Because if I never asked, I would have never run into you.” She said.

“And I might be dead. Or living a normal life.” I smiled wryly.

“Okay. That’s all nice and touching, but how do we know this witch lady Mike and I ran into is the same one who cursed the human race?”

“I never fancied myself a fatalistic romantic, but look at this! Everything adds up. Everything leads into each other. Just trust me. This is the answer.”

“Okay.” I said. We got back into the car and kept driving. Merida and I didn’t touch or speak to each other. I still felt angry and frustrated with her. But I couldn’t change any of it. And the more that I thought about it, the less I wanted to.