A continuation of my little post-apocalypse. Here are the previous episodes:
Evelyn and I had been traveling together for a few days before we came upon Haley. She was sitting on a park bench staring at nothing in particular. Her gaze pointed limply toward the vacant buildings on the other side of the park, as if her glance had a vague intention of pulling her toward shelter but lacked the requisite ambition. As a result, the young woman sat in a strange stasis, her eyes registering reality but failing to operationalize it. The world was occurring without her participation.
I would have kept walking right past Haley. She was hardly the only broken person I had seen in the previous days, and sentimentality and compassion needed to be rationed. Evelyn and I had elected to go east, scavenging and looting as we made our way through empty streets and broken storefronts. Our objective had been to reach the highway and travel south toward what once was considered the big city. It would take us days on the highway to reach our destination, where we hoped resources would be more plentiful, but at least we would know where we were. Much had changed, but we could still be confident in the interstate’s location and that it would lead to the city it had always led to.
I would have kept walking, but Evelyn wouldn’t have it. She went straight to the rickety, wood picnic table and sat directly across from Haley.
“Are you okay, dear?” she asked.
Haley did not respond, nor did her gaze change, despite Evelyn’s head now blocking whatever it had been directed toward before.
I remained standing, hoping Evelyn would be quick. I had come to prefer standing near buildings. Their brick solidity felt protective. I wasn’t looking forward to the open highway in my near future, so I definitely didn’t need the precursor of an open park. The trees weren’t as comforting as the broken yet human-built shells of commerce and residence.
Evelyn sat for an uncomfortably long time, just staring into the young woman’s vacant eyes. I distracted myself by listening to the crunchy rustle of the few leaves that remained on the trees. The wind was still blowing.
Eventually, Haley made a sound. “Can you take me home?”
“Yes,” Evelyn lied. “Come with us.”
So Haley did as instructed, joining us on our eastward trek. Her company was welcome, despite my initial hesitancy. She didn’t speak much or, frankly, help much, but more people was better than fewer, I ultimately decided.
As we walked and scavenged, Haley slowly revealed bits and pieces of her story. By this time, I knew Evelyn’s story fairly well, and I suppose Evelyn knew enough of mine. It was a relief to have a new story to accompany us.