All Is Silence - Deserted Lands #1

Chapter 28 - Part I

LIZZIE HAD A CRICK IN her neck from looking over her shoulder. Duke’s trick seemed to have worked; nobody followed them. She pulled her fingers away from her mouth. Don’t chew your nails. She could hear Mama’s exasperated voice. Duke pulled into a Wal-Mart. “Car seat?”

Inside Lizzie and Rachael searched for baby snacks, teething biscuits, bottled water, formula and baby food. She picked out a new car seat. Duke waited outside with a shotgun. Strange that this was a relief to her now.

After getting Saj settled into the new seat, they continued on, rejoining I-84 on the outskirts of Nampa. Lizzie kept glancing back, but no one seemed to be following.

Rachael’s hand shot forward from the back seat. She jerked Duke’s shoulder. “Hey, take this exit. Away from Boise.”

Duke slammed the brakes and squirreled onto the off-ramp. “What the hell?”

“We don’t want to go to Boise.” Rachael’s head shook. “They’ve got more people in Boise. Just like Caldwell. I bet they contacted them.”

“Okay. Next time give me some warning.” Duke tapped the GPS and a new map appeared. “Looks like a lot of back roads, but I expect they’ll be emptier.”

Rachael fed Saj, and Lizzie stared at the mountains—so close to Salt Lake City, to seeing her father, but still so far.

Soon Rachael and Saj had both fallen asleep but Lizzie was still staring out the window.

The silence was palpable and Duke said finally, “So, you want to tell me about C.J.?”

Lizzie shook her head.

“Fine,” Duke said; his jaw tightened. “Not like I can’t put it together. Girls don’t shoot guys in the...there without a reason where I come from.”

“Girls shoot guys a lot where you come from?”

He chopped off the laugh that escaped his mouth and they settled into silence again.

After a while, she said, “He was drinking. Stupid cheap beer. Whiskey.”

Duke nodded, like he knew this story.

“He...wouldn’t stop. I warned him. I begged him. I tried...before I pulled that trigger.” There were tears in her eyes. “I never killed anything before, not even spiders.” She wiped her eyes. “Sometimes I wish I’d let him. I’d rather have been raped than live with this for the rest of my life.”

“Damn, Lizzie.”

Lizzie dug the heels of her hands into her eyes as if she could drive out the image of CJ lying on her bathroom floor in a pool of blood. Strange. She hadn’t been able to talk about it like this before. Not to the others. Was it her that was different or was it Duke?

They drove a way before Duke spoke again. “CJ was a stubborn, little fucker.” He laughed bitterly. “When you wrote on his shirt…” He stared on down the road. “I didn’t believe it at first. Then as I drove I thought maybe. Now, after meeting you and hearing your side of the story, I know I made the right call back there at the bridge.”

                                *                *                *

Tiny white flakes floated to the ground, Lizzie stuck a hand out to catch the cold crystals. “Snow.” They had pulled off for lunch where they could see the highway, but not be seen from it. For a second the snow raised her spirits, but the thought of her friends and father brought them back down.

“Thanks,” Duke said as Rachael offered him a sandwich. He popped the cap off a beer and offered it to Rachael.

Rachael shook her head. “No, thanks. You got anything else?”

Duke dug in the back. “Coke? Mountain Dew. Maybe some others.”

“Coke’s fine.” Rachael handed Lizzie a sandwich.

“None of it’s really cold. Lizzie, beer?”

“I don’t know.” Lizzie shrugged and took it. “Looks dark.” It didn’t smell like Doug’s piss beer. She sipped, tasting a thick, coffee-like flavor. “Not bad.” The label said Double Chocolate Stout, somehow it didn’t seem like a Duke kind of beer. “Chocolate!” Maybe she didn’t know him as well as she thought. She swallowed another draught. It tasted good, she’d never drunk for the taste.

“Cheers.” Duke smiled. His eyes twinkled at her over his sandwich.

“Cheers.” Lizzie took another swig. “If we can get onto the Internet I can get a hold of someone by e-mail or Facebook. If there’s Internet access.”

“No Internet or phone service here. We’ll have better luck in towns.”

“Shit. Just my luck.” She kicked herself for not memorizing phone numbers.

“Hey, Lizzie.” Duke squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.” The contact sent a shiver through Lizzie. He jerked his hand back. No, she wanted to say. Hug me. But she couldn’t. She tried to offer a smile, but she was sure it came out as a grimace.

His eyes seemed sad and he looked away. “Well, let’s hit the road.” He picked up the empties and tossed them back in his truck. “Did you pick a spot in Salt Lake City to meet your dad?”

Lizzie got in the passenger seat. “Didn’t figure it would be necessary. Shit.”

An hour later they exited I-84 for Twin Falls, Idaho; Lizzie hoped there was power and cell service. But they found neither. They got gas by siphoning from a big van and raided a mini-mart for batteries and flashlights.

“Let’s push on through to Utah,” Duke suggested. “We get close to Ogden, there’s a better chance for signal.”

The consistently monotonous view of the road put Lizzie to sleep. She woke when the truck slowed down at a sign that said ‘900 No St.’

“Lizzie, I got signal.” Duke handed her his phone.

“Lemme see if there’s Internet.” Her fingers were shaking. “No!” She jumped out of the truck, weaving around like the cell phone was a divining rod for signal instead of water. For a moment the Internet icon flashed. Her hand steadied as she pressed the Facebook icon. “Jessie, please have your phone listed.” The screen went blank. Cannot connect to network. “Dammit.”