Page 75 of The End of the World As We Know It
“Derek,” Bill said plainly. “Right now, son, we don’t have much of a choice.”
“I don’t want to be the killer.”
“Youain’tthe killer,” said Bill. “We’re the final girls. Or guys. Or, you know. And this is our…” He let the sentence hang in the air for a moment, searching for the right word.
“Catharsis?” asked Alan.
“Catharsis,” said Bill. “Yeah. This is our catharsis.”
Derek took the machete from Bill’s hand, nodding. Then Bill handed Alan the ax. Alan waved it away, instead reaching down andprying the .38 Special from the dismembered crew cut’s cold, dead hand. He looked at the gun in his hand, tucked it into his belt, then walked back to the truck to retrieve his tire iron.
“A tire iron?” asked Bill.
“It sends a particular kind of message,” said Derek, picking up what Alan was putting down.
“Let’s go make a mess in aisle nine,” said Bill with a smile, revving his chain saw and waltzing through the door.
Alan and Derek exchanged looks. “Who the fuck is he all of a sudden?”
“Our last friend on earth,” said Derek, following Bill inside.
Alan shrugged and followed his friends into the dark store.
An hour later, the three sat on the stoop of the Food Mart, each covered head to toe in blood, some of it even their own, sipping cold beers they’d snagged from the cooler.
“I don’t ever want to do anything like that again,” said Derek.
“I thought you guys liked that shit,” said Bill before taking a big swig from his Stroh’s.
“Only when it isn’t real,” said Derek.
“Yeah,” agreed Alan. “I’ve seen enough real death for one lifetime.”
“Ain’t nothin’ in lifetime but death,” said Bill. “Wives. Daughters. Dogs. Everything. Sometimes, just sometimes… the bad guys get it, too.”
Alan and Derek sipped their beers in troubled silence.
After a few more moments, Alan spoke up. “You know, they said they were going to Vegas. Said something about dreams.”
“Yeah,” muttered Bill. “Fuck that guy. Fuck those dreams. And fuck Vegas.”
“You don’t want to go?”
“Why? My home is here. In Roosevelt. Only place I got kin left.”
Bill looked at the boys with affection. They knew who he meant. “I was thinking,” he said.
“Yeah?” asked Derek.
“MaybeIpick the movies tonight.”
“What’d you have in mind?” asked Alan.
“Y’all ever seenThe Road Warrior?”
“Yeah,” the boys said in unison.
“Well, things being as they are, I thought we might get some good ideas from it. You know, like a documentary or something.”
