and Carter start to relax. They each released a deep breath and I tried to curse them each out for being so stupid, hoping that they could read lips.
“What are you kids doing?”
“We are trying to get to New Mexico. We heard a transmission that there is a safe zone there.” Taya blurted out like she was teling someone she knew wel. I thought that I was going to have to yel at her too. We couldn’t go around teling every crazy person we found what we were doing. We didn’t even know this man.
“That transmission cut out weeks ago kid, what are you going there for?”
“There are stil people there,” Carter quickly corrected him. “They just don’t have the power to run the transmissions anymore. They are stil there.”
“You’re grasping at straws kid,” The old man said as he settled down in an arm chair. “Go ahead sit down you two, I ain’t gonna bite ya.” Taya and I sat on the couch with Carter and Max. Fear was starting to trickle through me, causing the hairs on my arms to stand on end. My biggest fear was exactly what this old man was saying. There was no one left in New Mexico. My urge to find a radio grew even stronger. Hearing the transmission was our only way to know for sure that we were making the right choice. That we hadn’t come al this way for nothing.
“How do you know that no one is there?” Max asked after looking at me and realizing the fear written plainly on my face.
“They ain’t playing the transmissions any more are they? Isn’t that proof enough for ya?”
“Obviously not,” Carter said with disdain. I knew he didn’t want to be wrong. That we had risked our lives to make this journey for nothing. He had promised us al that going there was our only way to stay safe, that it was the only way we would survive. It was because of his urging that we left home. I didn’t want to think of what Carter would do if he was wrong.
“Look, sir.”
“You can cal me Charlie.”
“Look Charlie,” I said. “We are just passing through. We didn’t mean you any harm. We can just leave and be out of your way.” I looked to the others and started to sit up. “Ya’l wanna stay for lunch?”
“Huh?”
“Listen, I haven’t seen much of anyone since… since, it happened. I’ve got plenty. Why don’t you stay and have lunch? Maybe I can talk some sense into you kids.”
At that, he rose from his seat and headed to his kitchen. We al looked at each other and everyone just shrugged. He seemed nice enough, now that we got things cleared up, and it would be crazy to turn down food.
Carter stayed on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest and Taya stayed with him making comments about the living room. She was particularly interested in a photo of a kid at a circus and went into a long discussion about how much she liked going to the circus, and how she hoped she would get to go to one again someday and maybe Carter could take her.
It was obvious none of this was sinking in, but he was nodding his head like he was listening so she just kept chattering away. I envied her ability to be so cheerful, but I guessed that was her defense mechanism. She had chosen to overlook the way things were and pretend everything was ok. I couldn’t blame her; she had been through some pretty rough things. Watching your mother get eaten by giant demon birds has to screw up a person’s head. I hadn’t had to witness my father’s passing, but the loss of him would haunt me every day the rest of my life.
“You kids like Spaghetti O’s?” Charlie asked holding up a giant can of it. We spent the next hour sitting around Charlie’s dining table talking and eating.
“So you came out and just shot al the little buggers?” Charlie asked Taya. “That’s pretty impressive for such a twig of a girl.”
“I’m not a twig!” Taya said defiantly and we al laughed.
“Charlie, you said you had a radio, does it work?” I asked. I was dying to check and see if the transmissions were
“What are you kids doing?”
“We are trying to get to New Mexico. We heard a transmission that there is a safe zone there.” Taya blurted out like she was teling someone she knew wel. I thought that I was going to have to yel at her too. We couldn’t go around teling every crazy person we found what we were doing. We didn’t even know this man.
“That transmission cut out weeks ago kid, what are you going there for?”
“There are stil people there,” Carter quickly corrected him. “They just don’t have the power to run the transmissions anymore. They are stil there.”
“You’re grasping at straws kid,” The old man said as he settled down in an arm chair. “Go ahead sit down you two, I ain’t gonna bite ya.” Taya and I sat on the couch with Carter and Max. Fear was starting to trickle through me, causing the hairs on my arms to stand on end. My biggest fear was exactly what this old man was saying. There was no one left in New Mexico. My urge to find a radio grew even stronger. Hearing the transmission was our only way to know for sure that we were making the right choice. That we hadn’t come al this way for nothing.
“How do you know that no one is there?” Max asked after looking at me and realizing the fear written plainly on my face.
“They ain’t playing the transmissions any more are they? Isn’t that proof enough for ya?”
“Obviously not,” Carter said with disdain. I knew he didn’t want to be wrong. That we had risked our lives to make this journey for nothing. He had promised us al that going there was our only way to stay safe, that it was the only way we would survive. It was because of his urging that we left home. I didn’t want to think of what Carter would do if he was wrong.
“Look, sir.”
“You can cal me Charlie.”
“Look Charlie,” I said. “We are just passing through. We didn’t mean you any harm. We can just leave and be out of your way.” I looked to the others and started to sit up. “Ya’l wanna stay for lunch?”
“Huh?”
“Listen, I haven’t seen much of anyone since… since, it happened. I’ve got plenty. Why don’t you stay and have lunch? Maybe I can talk some sense into you kids.”
At that, he rose from his seat and headed to his kitchen. We al looked at each other and everyone just shrugged. He seemed nice enough, now that we got things cleared up, and it would be crazy to turn down food.
Carter stayed on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest and Taya stayed with him making comments about the living room. She was particularly interested in a photo of a kid at a circus and went into a long discussion about how much she liked going to the circus, and how she hoped she would get to go to one again someday and maybe Carter could take her.
It was obvious none of this was sinking in, but he was nodding his head like he was listening so she just kept chattering away. I envied her ability to be so cheerful, but I guessed that was her defense mechanism. She had chosen to overlook the way things were and pretend everything was ok. I couldn’t blame her; she had been through some pretty rough things. Watching your mother get eaten by giant demon birds has to screw up a person’s head. I hadn’t had to witness my father’s passing, but the loss of him would haunt me every day the rest of my life.
“You kids like Spaghetti O’s?” Charlie asked holding up a giant can of it. We spent the next hour sitting around Charlie’s dining table talking and eating.
“So you came out and just shot al the little buggers?” Charlie asked Taya. “That’s pretty impressive for such a twig of a girl.”
“I’m not a twig!” Taya said defiantly and we al laughed.
“Charlie, you said you had a radio, does it work?” I asked. I was dying to check and see if the transmissions were
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