Black Friday (9 page)

There were bags behind the counter. It would be easy to take all the packs, before someone else could take them. She didn’t want that kind of commitment. In her head, she was still an ex-smoker, who just happened to cheat every so often. So what if she happened to cheat every single day?

Judy was halfway out the door when she turned back. Did someone knock over that rack and then get sucked up into the sky? Or maybe were they still around? She turned her back on the store and rushed down the street.

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Judy walked down the hill to the foot of the bridge. There was a little snow on the sidewalk. It crunched under her shoes as she looked across the water. Judy lit one of her stolen cigarettes and contemplated. This was a different bridge than the one she’d tried before. It was too much to hope that someone would be alive on the other side. While she watched, she didn’t see any movement at all over there.
 

Not a single car, or pedestrian, or even a trail of smoke from a chimney—the other side was just as empty as where she stood.

Still, she had to try.

Judy gathered herself and stared across the bridge.

The wind was cold. It cut right through her jacket. Her cigarette almost went out. She flicked it down into the water and stopped to watch it tumble. When it was out of sight she took another one out and lit it. After a single puff, she let it fall too.
 

It was a pleasant illusion, the way the cigarettes disappeared before they hit the water. They became completely indistinct long before the water claimed them. She could imagine that they’d gone to a safe, warm place. She lit another.

This one, she smoked for a little while. She crossed her arms and looked out at the horizon. The gray sky met the ocean at a spot where they seemed to agree on a common color. The whole world went to gray there.

Maybe this was how everyone died. Maybe the world disappeared one person at a time until it was completely empty. What if all she needed to do was let go? Then maybe she would be at peace.

The idea was compelling. It was simple, and easy to test.

She glanced down at the water. If this were the end, and eternal peace was at hand, there ought to be a guide. A friendly spirit, maybe someone she knew, should appear to her and show her the way.

“Hi,” a voice said.
 

Judy turned and was immediately disappointed. She didn’t know this kid. He was too young to be helpful. She fumbled inside her coat for the pack of cigarettes. For a second, she thought it would be polite to offer one to the kid. Just in case he was a helpful spirit, she could get on his good side. But he was too young. She couldn’t offer a cigarette to a kid that young.

“I quit,” she said as she let the pack fall over the railing to oblivion. She watched them fall. They didn’t disappear. Instead, she saw them the whole way down until they made a tiny splash.
 

She turned back to the young man. He looked concerned, and nice. She gave him a little half-smile.

“That’s good,” he said. “Those things are deadly.”

She smiled more. He was a sweet kid. When she laughed, he laughed with her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Very sweet—he would be devastated if she leaped over the railing. But it was right there. She grabbed the railing and almost did it. It was right there. But she couldn’t do that to a kid.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m fine.”

She backed up until she reached the concrete barrier. He took another step forward. Judy read a lot into that single step. He wanted to help her, but he was keeping his distance out of deference. He was kind and thoughtful. Judy decided in that moment that she liked this young man. Now that she knew him, she wouldn’t be alone anymore.
 

“My name is Rob,” he said.

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Black Friday

Thank you for reading this novella. I appreciate the gift of your time, and I hope you enjoyed another brief visit with Judy and Robby. Parts of this book were details I couldn’t fit into
Extinct
&
Instinct
, but I still wanted to tell. These characters touched me and I found their relationship compelling. Sometimes I meet people who feel very important, but I’m only granted a short time with them. Robby and Judy should have spent decades learning from and supporting each other. Their meeting was briefly mentioned in the other books, but most of that time was undocumented. At least now, this quick tale covers a day or two.

The story of how Robby got to the rest stop was covered in
Extinct.
Judy’s life before Thanksgiving is undocumented, but touched on in
Instinct
. The direction that their friendship takes them is covered in both
Extinct,
and
Instinct
, although some might argue that it’s not explored thoroughly enough. Please let me know what you thought of this book. You can always reach me at
[email protected]
. I try to reply to every email.

If you have a second, I hope you’ll rate and review this book wherever you picked it up. While you’re there, I hope you check out some of my other novels.
 

Thanks, and Happy Reading,

Ike