serious, Trey. I ain’t gonna
say anymore. This is somethin ’ you gotta see for
yourself.”
Trey’s curiosity was finally aroused,
although he suspected that Carl had lost his mind or really was smoking
something that he wasn’t sharing. Either way, he wasn’t going to find out
without getting up and going outside to see what had knocked Carl off his
rails. He reached into the twelve-pack case and felt around until his
fingers landed on the last can of beer. He grabbed it and got up.
“This better be worth it. A few
more hours and I mighta slept past this hangover.”
“Trust me, Trey. This is the first
day of the rest of our fuckin’ lives.”
Trey scowled. Carl’s statement
reminded him of some kind of motivational bullshit he didn’t care for. Trey was
wearing a blue denim vest that featured more dirt than blue over a black
t-shirt that had faded to grey. He reached into the breast pocket for his
cigarettes, took one out and lit it with a Bic he found on the floor.
“Okay. Let’s see this.”
Trey followed Carl out to the deck
and looked around, not seeing anything but Carl’s big, shit-eating grin.
“Well, I don’t see anything. What’s
this nonsense about cops turning to dust?”
“Ain’t that the coolest thing
ever?” Carl pointed at the sky over Denver.
Trey looked to where Carl was
pointing and his mouth fell open while his eyes widened as far as they could
go. He looked panic-stricken.
“No, no, no!”
“Hell, yes,
Trey!”
“No, Carl! My sister and her kid
live down there!”
“Not anymore,” Carl said.
Trey swung at Carl without
thinking, connecting with his jaw and sending the bigger man flying backwards,
stumbling and landing on his ass.
“Okay,” Carl said, rubbing his jaw.
“I’m gonna let you have that one, cuz you just lost
family. But try it again, and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
Trey ignored him as he stared at
the sky and thought about his kid sister, Tori and her little girl, Lizzy. He
realized his parents could also be dead now if bombs had dropped in California
too, but that didn’t bother him. It was a little sad if his mom was gone, but
he never talked to her much anyway since he couldn’t stand being around his
father. All the bastard ever did was tell him how
wrong he was about everything in his life. Fuck him. Good riddance.
Carl got back up and went inside
for another beer. The carton was empty. He picked up his keys from the floor
and looked around to see if he needed to get anything else before leaving.
Finding nothing, he walked back outside.
“Trey, we need to do some
shopping.”
Trey finally snapped out of his
sorrowful trance and his thoughts of what a shame it was for Tori and her cute
little kid to have died so young.
“We ain’t got any money.”
“Money? Hell. Who needs money? Don’t you know what that big ol ’
cloud means? Everything’s free now. We don’t need no money. We take what we want. Ain’t no fucking cops to
stop us.” Carl smiled like it was the greatest day of his life.
“Maybe there ain’t no cops in
Denver, but there’s still county and state that wouldn’ta been there when the bomb went off.”
“Fuck ‘ em .
We’ll take them out too. You know why? Cuz there
ain’t no reinforcements comin ’
from Denver! Hooo-weeee !”
Carl walked over to his Harley-Davidson
motorcycle, got on it, and put the key in the ignition. “I’m goin ’ shoppin ’ anywhere I damn
well please. You comin ’?”
He straddled his bike and
kick-started it instead of using the electric starter button. He felt powerful
and wanted to exert the energy. He revved his engine while Trey went inside to
get his keys.
Carl unsnapped the leather sheath
on his belt and pulled out his hunting knife. He turned it over, looking at one
side then the other, and talking to it.
“I think you and me are gonna have to
go get us some guns.”
He put the knife back and snapped
the cover shut and smiled, looking forward to all that
say anymore. This is somethin ’ you gotta see for
yourself.”
Trey’s curiosity was finally aroused,
although he suspected that Carl had lost his mind or really was smoking
something that he wasn’t sharing. Either way, he wasn’t going to find out
without getting up and going outside to see what had knocked Carl off his
rails. He reached into the twelve-pack case and felt around until his
fingers landed on the last can of beer. He grabbed it and got up.
“This better be worth it. A few
more hours and I mighta slept past this hangover.”
“Trust me, Trey. This is the first
day of the rest of our fuckin’ lives.”
Trey scowled. Carl’s statement
reminded him of some kind of motivational bullshit he didn’t care for. Trey was
wearing a blue denim vest that featured more dirt than blue over a black
t-shirt that had faded to grey. He reached into the breast pocket for his
cigarettes, took one out and lit it with a Bic he found on the floor.
“Okay. Let’s see this.”
Trey followed Carl out to the deck
and looked around, not seeing anything but Carl’s big, shit-eating grin.
“Well, I don’t see anything. What’s
this nonsense about cops turning to dust?”
“Ain’t that the coolest thing
ever?” Carl pointed at the sky over Denver.
Trey looked to where Carl was
pointing and his mouth fell open while his eyes widened as far as they could
go. He looked panic-stricken.
“No, no, no!”
“Hell, yes,
Trey!”
“No, Carl! My sister and her kid
live down there!”
“Not anymore,” Carl said.
Trey swung at Carl without
thinking, connecting with his jaw and sending the bigger man flying backwards,
stumbling and landing on his ass.
“Okay,” Carl said, rubbing his jaw.
“I’m gonna let you have that one, cuz you just lost
family. But try it again, and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
Trey ignored him as he stared at
the sky and thought about his kid sister, Tori and her little girl, Lizzy. He
realized his parents could also be dead now if bombs had dropped in California
too, but that didn’t bother him. It was a little sad if his mom was gone, but
he never talked to her much anyway since he couldn’t stand being around his
father. All the bastard ever did was tell him how
wrong he was about everything in his life. Fuck him. Good riddance.
Carl got back up and went inside
for another beer. The carton was empty. He picked up his keys from the floor
and looked around to see if he needed to get anything else before leaving.
Finding nothing, he walked back outside.
“Trey, we need to do some
shopping.”
Trey finally snapped out of his
sorrowful trance and his thoughts of what a shame it was for Tori and her cute
little kid to have died so young.
“We ain’t got any money.”
“Money? Hell. Who needs money? Don’t you know what that big ol ’
cloud means? Everything’s free now. We don’t need no money. We take what we want. Ain’t no fucking cops to
stop us.” Carl smiled like it was the greatest day of his life.
“Maybe there ain’t no cops in
Denver, but there’s still county and state that wouldn’ta been there when the bomb went off.”
“Fuck ‘ em .
We’ll take them out too. You know why? Cuz there
ain’t no reinforcements comin ’
from Denver! Hooo-weeee !”
Carl walked over to his Harley-Davidson
motorcycle, got on it, and put the key in the ignition. “I’m goin ’ shoppin ’ anywhere I damn
well please. You comin ’?”
He straddled his bike and
kick-started it instead of using the electric starter button. He felt powerful
and wanted to exert the energy. He revved his engine while Trey went inside to
get his keys.
Carl unsnapped the leather sheath
on his belt and pulled out his hunting knife. He turned it over, looking at one
side then the other, and talking to it.
“I think you and me are gonna have to
go get us some guns.”
He put the knife back and snapped
the cover shut and smiled, looking forward to all that
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