U.G.L.Y (22 page)

     I
walked
over
to
the
man
and
shook
his
hand.
I
asked
him
how
long
they
had
been
out
here
and
the
man
said
they
had
been
camping
for
three
days
and
were
moving
from
site
to
site.
After
some
consideration
I
decided
to
tell
him
what
was
happening
and
that
if
they
were
from
an
area
that
might
not
have
been
hit
yet
they
should
consider
getting
their
families
out.

I don't think he believed me and said something about Jesus looking over his family. We
said
our
goodbyes
and
I
walked
back
to
the
car.

“
That
guy
thinks
I
am
crazy,
but
at
least
he's
not
dangerous.
” I
said
to
Eve.
“
I
had
to
feel
him
out
and
see
if
he and
his
friends
were
going
to
be
a
problem
”
.

I
didn
’
t
feel
good
though.
I
thought
now
that
it
was
a
bad
idea
that
I
had
given
a
way
so
much
information.
These
guys
might
be
harmless,
but
the
next
group
wouldn't
be
as
the
world
started
to
unravel.
We
quickly
got
back
in
the
car
and
drove
back
to
the
highway.

    
Getting
back
on
the
I5
heading
north
was
a
relief.
Eve
turned
the
radio
on
and
searched
for
a
station.
T
here
weren
’
t
many radio stations in range in this part of the valley.
T
hey
were
in
Northern
California
now
getting
closer
and
closer
to
the
Oregon
border.
As she pushed seek over and over all we heard
was
static.
Eve
switched
to
the
AM band,
and
found
a
talk
radio
station
reporting on
some
of
the
damage
that
had
happened
over
the
last
days
in
the
Los
Angeles
area
but
it
sounded
like
old
information.
As
the
newscast
played
on,
it
began
to
repeat,
and
it
was
clear
now
that
it
was
a
recorded
report
that
was
playing
over
and
over.
 

    
As
we
crossed
over
the
Oregon
border
we passed the town of
Rouge
River
and
then
entered i
nto
the
city
of
Grants
P
ass.
This
was
a
moderate
sized
city
that
was
fairly
isolated
from
the
outside
with
some travel distance to the nearest large city or
airport.
The
chance
of
infection
getting
here
this
fast
would
be
pretty
low
although
inevitably
it
would
be
just
a
matter
of
time.

20
.

-Oasis-

    
The
car
crested
a large
hill
and
below
us, spreading off into the distance, was the city of
Grants
Pass.
I
had
visited
here
once
when
I
was
in
the
Navy.
I
had
a
friend
that
was
from
here
and
I
joined
him
for
a
visit with his family
one
fourth
of
July weekend.

I liked it here, it
was
a
neat
little
city that was
big
enough
to
have
things
like
movie
theaters
and
pizza
parlors
but
still
small
enough
to
not
be
like
Los
Angeles
.
I
scanned
my
eyes
over
what I could see of
the
town,
intently
looking
for
any
sign
of
disruption.

There
was
still
power
and
people
were
driving
and
walking
around
town.
They
had
to
have heard about
what
was
coming,
but
as
we
drove
through
town
there
was
no
sense
of
alarm
or
even a
weariness
to our arrival
.
We
pulled
into
a
strip
mall
that
had
a
few
restaurants
and
a
grocery
store.
On
the
corner
was
a
gas
station.

“
We
need
to
get
supplies
and
fuel
” I
said
to
Eve
“ I
f
everything
is
cool
lets
take
the
time
to
have
a
sit
down
meal,
it
might
be
the
last
time
for
a
while
”

“
I'll
get
food
”
she
tipped
her
head
to
the
side
and
tapped
her
finger
on
her
lower
lip
“
Should
I
pick
up
some
cocktails
while
I'm
there?
”

    
She
was
starting
to
seem
cute
to
me. S
he
had
these
little
mannerisms
that
I
found
attractive.
I
didn't
like
the
idea
of
finding
her
appealing.
I
could
deal
with
being
physically
attracted
to
her
because
the
thought
of
simply
having
sex
had
some
appeal
to
me
. But I had to keep it separate from being emotionally attracted.

I
couldn't
stand
the
thought
of
falling
emotionally,
even
slightly,
for
her.
I
didn't
do
emotional attraction
well
at
all
and
felt
almost
panic
at
the
thought
of
falling
in
love
with
someone.
Love
in
my
experience
was
painful.
I just didn't deal with it well. I
had
a
lot
of
trouble
figuring
out
how
to
go
out
with
women
and
not
begin
to
find
them
irresistible.
So
I
spent
a
lot
of
energy avoiding getting that close to someone
.