Page 5 of Unrest
As we neared the gas station, I started to crouch a little in my seat, which was silly, but Remy was doing it too. She leaned over my lap toward the window and her eyes darted skyward. Mine did the same. No fighter planes in sight. But my breathing got heavier and it felt like my heart was heaving in on itself as we pulled up at the gas station and parked. None of our eyes were on the building. We all stared in silence at the smoldering valley in the distance. My body was stiff and tense.
We continued to stare as we got out of the vehicle and walked to the edge of the paved lot. The four of us stood in a row, facing the smoking ruins. It looked from afar as if someone had taken a giant bucket of dirt and rocks and dumped it unceremoniously in the valley. Nothing green in sight. Just dirt and ash covering indistinguishable rubble where hundreds of people had walked yesterday. I felt the other five guys come up behind us and respectfully wait.
Remy let out a dry sob and sucked the air back in. She shook her head hard and ran to the SUV, shutting herself in. We let her go and continued to stare. I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t, even as I stared at the proof of what happened.
Nothing substantial remained. Only a partial wall where the large building had been. The camp was gone. Tater startled me by falling to his knees beside me. He scooped dirt into his shaking hands—dirt mixed with the ashen remains of our family.
I bent next to him and took his shoulder. A tear dripped from my nose into the dirt at our feet and I shut my eyes.
“Maldito,” Tater whispered.Curse them. “We’ll find them.” His tone was rough and deadly. I nodded and wiped my face.
“All the goods are gone,” Texas Harry said. We turned to find him at the shop’s door, his hands cupped to look inside. “This door ain’t gonna be easy to break.”
“I’m sure we can make it happen,” Rylen said. He walked to the SUV and came back with a hammer.
“Be careful,” I said. “Aim for the edges, not the middle. Edges are weakest.”
He narrowed his eyes as if wondering why I’d have that kind of information.
“We had to know how to break windows to get into locked buildings or cars. In case babies were left inside. Stuff like that. And all of this glass is tinted, so hopefully it won’t shatter. The tint keeps it stuck together.”
Rylen lifted his chin in understanding. “Smart Pepper.” My heart expanded at the sound of his nickname for me. A feisty chili-pepper, just like the one he’d had tattooed on his chest when he’d been feeling homesick in the Air Force. Back before he’d come home with a wife and shattered my heart.
He walked to the window next to the door and sized it up, getting a good grip on the hammer. Then, in a ripple of arm muscles, he swung. I flinched at the loud cracks as he swung twice, three times until there was a head-sized fissuring of glass. Just as I’d thought, the shards stuck together from the tinting. Rylen tossed the hammer to Tex and kicked the broken spot with the bottom of his boot, successfully pushing it in. He stuck his arm through the hole and unlocked the door.
“Sweet.” Texas Harry opened the door and we filed in.
I looked back and found Tater still crouched on the ground, staring at the bomb site, and something inside me died all over again. I approached him, and his eyes were far, far away.
“Tater,” I whispered. “Come on.”
He let me pull him to his feet, but his gaze was crazed. I gave his arm a squeeze and his eyes cleared. Tater looked from me to the gas station, and suddenly became alert. He jogged forward and I stood there a second, feeling a little freaked out to have seen my brother so out of it. Then I shook it off and followed them inside.
Disappointment filled me as it became apparent that not a single scrap of food or drinks had been left behind. Just toppled boxes and empty racks. We checked every single crevice of the abandoned store.
“Hey,” said Matt from down on the floor. “Found an M&M!” He stood and held up the beautiful blue circle between his fingers. My mouth literally watered. I could feel the crunch of the shell and the soft, creamy chocolate inside.
“You’re the big winner,” Tater said flatly. “Enjoy.”
“I think I’ll give it to Remy.”
Texas Harry, Josh, and Tall Markawwwed, making Matt’s cheeks darken. “Fuck you guys. She’s sad.” Tater frowned as he watched Matt walk from the store to give Remy her gift. I couldn’t be jealous that Rem was getting a treat, but apparently Tater could. For different reasons.
“Let’s see if this pile of shit place has a generator,” he grumbled.
Generators and electronics were not in my job description, so I stayed out of the way while they looked behind the register and in the back office room, flipping switches and searching. I squatted to see if that lone M&M had any siblings. Nothing.
Matt came back in with a dreamy, small smile on his lips. He went straight into the tiny room I thought was a broom closet and said, “Generator’s in here, but the juice is low. Almost out. Might be enough to switch on the pumps for a few minutes. Get the cars ready.”
Tater and Devon leaped the counter and ran out to position the cars. My heart began to jog in my ribcage.Please let this work.I closed my eyes right there in the empty candy aisle and waited. Moments later I heard aclickfollowed by a series of beeps and shouts of victory. My eyes flew open.
“It’s on!” Matt hollered.
“I’ve got the pumps on at the register,” Josh called out.
Mark stood at the window and whirled his hand in the air, signaling to Tater and Devon to pump.
“It’s working!” Josh said. “The meter’s going up.” We all cheered and for a second I smiled until it faltered like an awkward, unwanted sensation and fell away, leaving behind a quiet scrap of gladness.
