The Monster Apocalypse

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Brin walked the fastest, the nonofficial leader of the group. She stayed close to the road, enough so that she'd be able to wave down the next car that headed their way, but not too close so that a semi truck could blast her into a bloody pulp. She held on tight to her chest, hoping she wouldn't freeze to death, as she continued on, past the lake, up the winding hill, and toward their final destination.

The group had been walking for more than an hour. Only one car had passed in that time, and it had been a four-seat Volkswagon Jetta headed toward Reno—not exactly the kind of ride they needed at the moment. While Dylan and Brent had disappeared mysteriously up into the dark sky, there were still six of them left on the ground, and they needed a vehicle they could all fit into.

Even though Brin was making most of her journey on foot in silence, the others behind her stayed close together and never failed to make conversation. First they all talked about the aliens, and what they meant, and what they were going to do to Dylan and Brent. Anaya thought the two boys would be probed from end to end, while Valerie considered that they were headed to a galaxy where they could study alien life and some day bring their newly acquired information back to Earth. Ash thought the two boys would snuggle all day and watch sci-fi movies in the aliens' super secret screening room at the bottom of their spaceship.

They went on to talk about Bodie Ghost Town, and Droz, and how cold it was outside, and how they hoped they could get out of doing homework for school the next day (which Mr. Barker disagreed with wholeheartedly), but finally, they all quieted down, and started walking in complete silence.

Brin turned around to see Ash at the back of the group, holding his thumb out like a desperate hitchhiker, even though there was no vehicle or even a pair of headlights in sight. She walked up to him and slapped his hand down to his side.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Trying to catch a ride! Duh! We're not really going to walk all the way to Bodie, are we?"

"No, of course not."

"Well, then, let me work my magic!" He put both his hands up in the air this time, his thumbs sticking up toward the sky. "Hey Brin. Who am I?"

"Huh?"

"Look at me. Who am I?"

"Ash, put your hands down. There aren't any cars coming."

"Brin! You're no fun. I'm Siskel and Ebert!"

Brin shook her head and turned around, running up to the others. "You're such a dork."

"I know I am," Ash said. "That's why you love me, right?"

Brin glanced back at Ash and gave him a slight smile. Then she brushed up against Valerie and Anaya and brought her focus back to the road ahead.

"What the hell are we doing?" Anaya asked.

"What do you mean?" Brin scratched the top of her head, which was itching inexplicably.

"I mean, this isn't looking good for us. We have no weapons, except for your brother's shotgun. We have no vehicle. We're stuck in the middle of nowhere. How are we supposed to save the day if we're this big of a joke?"

"I agree," Brin said. "We should have more weapons. But we didn't have time—"

"You spent ten minutes in your house with your brother, maybe more. We could've used that time productively and stopped off at a local gun shop or something!"

"Does Grisly even have a gun shop?"

Anaya pursed her lips and looked up at the sky, like she wanted one last glimpse of that flying saucer. "I don't think so. But maybe Carson City did!"