The Divide: Origins (3 page)

“You
don’t get it, do you? You killed my friend’s family, and now that monster is
probably raping her before he puts a bullet in her head. I would kill all of
you if I could, so I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I
don’t blame you. You’re not going to survive this on your own, though. The
world is a very different place, and you’ll need to have someone like me who
can get through the tough situations. I’m offering to help you. Let’s start
with
who
you are. If you’re not related to these
people, then your family could still be alive. I’ll help you find them, if you
just tell me how to.”

“First,
why were you in prison?”

“I
killed my wife.”

“Yeah,
I think I’m going to pass on your help. I would be better off killing myself
now than trusting you with my life.”

“You
should know why I did it before you judge me.”

“There’s
no reason to ever kill somebody.”

“She
had always been a little unstable. I thought she was just different than most
people. Ninety percent of the time, she was the most beautiful and amazing
person to be around. There
was
that
ten percent of the time, though. She would go into fits of rage. She had hurt
herself a couple of times, but
Kenzi
never hurt
anyone else. I didn’t think she could. I came in from work one day, and she was
standing over our little girl with a knife. She had killed the person she was
supposed to love the most. I don’t know if it was her fault. Maybe something
was truly wrong in her mind, and I shouldn’t have killed her, but I snapped. I
took the knife from
Kenzi
and stabbed her
ninety-seven times. For a long time, I didn’t even remember what I had done. I
still don’t know if I regret it or not.”

“You
expect a sob story to make me trust you?”

“No,
but I expect you to see who I am.”

“And
who is that?”

“A
man who couldn’t protect his daughter, and he had to listen to two other women
be hurt tonight. I can’t stand to hear one more person die. I’ll protect you
because in this world, it might be the last thing I have left. My daughter is
gone, I killed my wife, and I just did nothing while three people were killed.
The only hope for redemption I have is in you.”

“Jessica’s
not dead yet!”

“She
will be, though. I didn’t know Jerome was sick. Apparently he is, though. Will
you let me help you?”

“Just
come on,” she said, and they walked into the kitchen.

“Now,
what’s your name?” Max asked.

“You
first.”

“I’m
Max Green.”

“I’m
Zoe Randall.”

“Randall,
huh? Where are your parents?”

“About
five miles from here. If you’ll really take me to them, I can tell you how to
get there.”

Max
nodded and looked up at the window. The sunlight was starting to peek through. It
wasn’t cold in the house anymore. As a matter of fact, it was starting to get
hot. He looked out the window to see that the snow had completely melted. Max
opened it. It already felt like it was over a hundred degrees outside. It was
only six. How hot was it going to get that day, and how were weather patterns
changing this quickly?

“No
one’s going to survive this, are they?” Zoe asked.

Before
Max could respond, Jerome stepped into the room and said something that could
change everything about their morning.

“It’s
time for us to cut ties with all the loose ends around here,” Jerome said and
pointed his gun at Zoe.

Max
stepped between her and the gun. For better or worse, he was going to protect a
girl he barely knew, even if it cost him his life.

Chapter 3

Tears and Curses

“What
are you doing, Max? It’s time to go. You must have known what was going to
happen when we took this place,” Jerome said.

“I
can’t let you kill her. The others weren’t even her family. They’re a few miles
from here. I’m going to take her home.”

“You’re
being ridiculous. The world has changed. It’s time for you to see that. Even if
you took this girl home, what would it change? She’s as good as dead. Whether
we kill her or the world does, it’s going to happen. We both know that.”

“Or
maybe we’re all dead. We don’t know what that comet did to Earth. We barely
survived last night, and it’s heating up outside. In a few hours, we could all
burn to death or freeze. Everything about this new world is unpredictable.
Killing this girl won’t accomplish anything, and if we’re going to die, do you
really want this to be the last thing you do?”

“What
are you two doing in here?” Vincent asked as he and Stanley stepped into the
kitchen.

The
first thing Stanley noticed was that Jerome had stolen his weapon. Vincent had
left the shotgun in the living room, too. They were no longer in a position of
power, and Jerome wasn’t exactly his biggest fan.

“We’re
eliminating burdens,” Jerome said and turned to face Vincent.

He
fired a shot through his chest and then turned his attention to Stanley.

“You
don’t have to do this, man. You know you’re going to need someone like me
before it’s over. I’m all for eliminating burdens, and Vincent was probably one,
but I think you know I’m not like him,” Stanley said.

“You’re
right. You would pull your weight. I’ve been waiting too long to do this,
though,” Jerome said and fired a single shot into his head.

He looked down at Vincent. He was
struggling for air. The bullet hadn’t done the job, but it would soon enough.
He could lie there and drown in his own blood for all Jerome cared. He wasn’t
wasting another bullet. As far as he could tell, they were probably going to
need every bullet they could find.

“Why
did you do that? We could’ve used them,” Max said.

“They
jumped me my first week. I’ve been waiting for a chance to kill them since
then. Besides, they’re just two more mouths to feed. We can survive this, but
getting rid of more people than are absolutely necessary has to be done. We’ll
take the girl home, but understand one thing. We’re not picking up or helping
anyone once we’re on the road. We can’t afford to.”

“I’m
not even sure we should give this place up.”

“In
case you haven’t noticed, it’s warming up. Before long, it could be unbearable.
We need to find somewhere with electricity so we can keep cool.”

“And
where would that be? I’m sure the earthquake took down all the power lines.”

“We
need to find a generator. That means we’ll be looking at new places, and I’m
not dragging a generator back here when we’re done. We’ll take that property
and hide out there until we figure out what we ultimately need to do.”

“It
sounds like a good plan.”

“It’s
all I’ve got. If you’re taking that girl home, you should do it now. I’ll get
some food from the pantry and gather anything that looks salvageable.”

Max
nodded and walked over to Vincent. He had stopped twitching, and his eyes were
closed. As Max fished the keys out of his pocket, he couldn’t help but feel a
weak pulse persisting. Somewhere in a dark corner of his mind, Vincent was
still suffering. It wouldn’t be long, though. Max contemplated grabbing a knife
from a kitchen drawer and ending his suffering, but there was no time for that.
Jerome had given him an opening to get Zoe to safety. He needed to take it
before he changed his mind. Besides, Vincent didn’t deserve any less than what
he was receiving after what he had done the night before. In fact, neither did
Jerome, but he was the one with the gun.

After
they made their way outside, Max noticed that the heat had intensified even
more. He was worried. It was like something out of a science fiction novel. He
had read so many things about the Earth being polluted to the point that
temperatures would be unlivable. Some of it was fiction, and the rest were
scientific projections for their future, but this world wasn’t some story or
prediction. It was very real, and by that afternoon, he had no idea if they
were going to be alive. From what he could tell, they might just be cooked by
the unforgiving sun.

“No
one’s going to make it through this, are they?” Zoe asked after they had gotten
into the truck.

“We’re
going to make it. Everything has changed, but we’ll adjust. That’s what humans
have been doing for years.”

“You
don’t have to lie. I was lectured about global warming just like everyone else.
It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, but here we are with an uncontrollable
climate, crazy storms, and soon enough, an unlivable world.”

Max
didn’t say anything. He had come to the same conclusion, but how was he
supposed to tell Zoe that she and everyone she loved would probably be dead
within the next few days?

“You
don’t have to say it. I know that’s what you really think. No one could come to
a different conclusion. Let me ask you something, though. If we’re all going to
die anyway, why did you save me back there?” she asked.

“I
had to do something right. Now, where am I going?”

She
told him where to go, and then there was a silence in the car. Max knew he
should say something, but he didn’t know what that was. In truth, he was in
shock about everything around him. It seemed like a dream he should wake up
from soon, but that wasn’t going to happen, no matter how much he needed it to.
This was life now.

“What
do you mean by something right?” Zoe asked.

“I
told you I killed my wife and failed to protect my little girl. Then there was
last night. I didn’t have the gun. I let them hold onto the weapons, and
everyone in that house but you died. It doesn’t help that I completely
misjudged Jerome either,” Max said and scowled.

“The
guy who tried to kill me?”

“Yeah.”

“I
don’t understand.”

“He
was in prison for molesting a little girl. He said he didn’t do it, and I
believed him. Last night was an eye opener, though. He killed your friend, and
I never expected it.”

“For
what it’s worth, none of that was your fault. You weren’t in a position of
power, so you didn’t help. You can’t be held responsible for their actions. You
saved me when you got the chance. That counts for something. As for your wife,
plenty of people would’ve lost it, if they walked in to see that.”

“Thanks,
but it doesn’t absolve me of anything. It’s just why I wanted to do one good
thing. You’re taking this well, though. You just saw your friend and her entire
family die. How are you
not
losing
it?”

“I
think I’m in shock. Look around. There’s death everywhere. Maybe I just can’t
process it all.”

As
Max examined his surroundings, he noticed how right she was.
Many
houses had been destroyed by the earthquake
, and there were dead people
lying out in the streets. Some had died during the disaster, but most had
likely suffered worse ends. A rush for supplies and shelter was on. He imagined
that neighbors were turning against each other in a panic. People’s morals
didn’t matter anymore. All that was of value now was survival. This disaster was
a social scientist’s dream. Were men more than animals? Did they have a
conscience that would dictate acts of kindness and love even at the worst of
times, or were they truly living in a dog eat dog world where man was nothing
more than a beast doing whatever he could to survive? For that matter, where
did a man like him fit in all of this? He was worried about a girl he barely
knew. If he was in a world of wolves, odds were that he was a sheep.

“Is
this it?” Max asked as he pulled into the driveway.

“Yeah.
Thanks for getting me out of there alive. I think you should get away from
Jerome. You may have been locked up with him, but it’s clear you don’t belong
with people like that,” she said and got out of the truck.

Max
knew he should just drive away. He had taken Zoe home, so his job was done.
Something stopped him, though. He had a bad feeling, and he wanted to see this
through. Max got out and walked to the door. Just as he reached it, he heard
Zoe scream. He ran inside to discover a sight that changed everything about his
plans with Zoe. Two people lay dead in the living room floor. Based on their
ages, he could guess who they were. These were Zoe’s parents. They had been
shot multiple times, and as he looked around, Max noticed that a lot of things
seemed to be missing. The kitchen had been raided, and every drawer throughout
the house had been flung open in an effort to loot anything of value.

“We
have to go. You don’t need to see this,” Max said as he pulled her up from her
dad’s side.

“Get
the hell away from me! Men like
you
did this! They were good people. My mom and dad would’ve given anyone who
needed help shelter. Some piece of shit just walked in here and took everything
away from us, though, without even thinking to ask for it or what the
consequences would be for somebody. Don’t you understand, Max? If this is the
world we’re living in, it might have been better for your friend to shoot me
back at the house. You just need to leave. Staying here won’t help you or me.
We’re all going to die anyway,” she said while trying to hold back tears.

“I’m
not leaving until you come with me. You’re right. We’re probably going to die,
but the only chance we have of survival is through banding together. One person
can’t make it in this world anymore. You know that.”

“So
what? You have Jerome, and if I go back with you, he’ll just end up killing me
like he did my friend.”

“I
won’t let him. Please, just come with me.”

“I’m
not leaving. Don’t you understand? I didn’t ask for you and your friends to
walk in last night and kill the people I loved, and I certainly didn’t ask you to
practice being a hero on me.
If you want redemption, good for
you, but I’m not going to be your ticket to it.
There might not even be
redemption for an asshole like you who stabs his wife nearly a hundred times.
You might just burn in hell, no matter what you do, so stop trying to make me
your redemption. It’s not worth it, and I don’t want your charity.”

“I’m
still not going anywhere.”

“Damn
it! Just go!” Zoe yelled before sitting back against the wall and sobbing.

Max
simply sat beside her and wrapped one arm around her. Some of the things Zoe
said were hurtful, but he could see straight through her words. She was just a
kid who was hurting. Were his actions with her going to redeem him? No, but
this was about more than that now. Before Max was known as a murderer, he was a
normal and compassionate person. Something about Zoe reminded him of
who
he was before his family died. That was worth holding
onto.

“Let’s
just get out of here,” Zoe said and dried her eyes.

“All
right,” Max said and pulled her up.

As
they were walking to the door, something occurred to Zoe that might change
their fortunes.

“We
have a storage building in the backyard. There’s a small generator and an old
air conditioner out there. Maybe the people who did this didn’t take them,” she
said.

“They
probably took everything, but it’s worth a look. Thank you.”

Zoe
showed him to the storage building, and when they opened it, one thing became
clear. Odds were that the thieves hadn’t taken much of anything from there
because the room was packed full of junk. It seemed impossible to find
anything. After searching for several minutes, Max finally found the items he
was looking for, though. A small generator and an air conditioner were tucked
away in the corner under several other things. He was even able to find a gas
can that had a little left in it.

“I’ll
trade you those for a favor,” Zoe said.

“What
favor?”

“I
need you to dig two holes,” she said and grabbed a shovel.

“I
would’ve done that for free,” Max said and took it.

As
he dug, the temperature rose. He didn’t know exactly how hot it was getting,
but it was the hottest day he had ever experienced. By the time he was done,
Max was exhausted. They needed to move quickly, however, so there was no time
to rest. He asked Zoe to go upstairs and see if there was anything usable that
the thieves might have missed. While she did that, he grabbed her parents’
bodies and laid them in the ground. Once he started filling in the graves, she
came outside with a small backpack. Zoe immediately dropped it and walked over
to him.

“Stop!
I’ve got to . . . I have to . . .” she said before turning away from the graves
and running back inside.

Max
did the only thing he could and filled the graves in. By the time he was done,
they had been gone for several hours. Jerome was probably thinking they had
abandoned him. It was time to go. As he was walking inside, he spied the
backpack that Zoe left. He picked it up and went through it. It didn’t contain
anything that was useful. It was strange to think about the things that people
find valuable in a situation like this, though. Zoe had grabbed old photos and
books that were absolutely meaningless in their new reality. Then again, they
were
the only things she had connecting
her to the old one. Perhaps they were the most important things in a world gone
mad. They could serve as a reminder that not everything was always terrible.