Rising: Parables From The Apocalypse - Dystopian Fiction by Norman Christof Read Free Book Online Page B

Leekasha and Christa mind controlled a few more soldiers.  Pausing at the front doors, Christa took a deep breath and sighed.
    “There’s no coming back from this.  Once we leave, they’ll be looking for us.  They won’t give up.  God knows who they’ll send after us, but I have a bad feeling about that.”
    “It’s too late to worry about that now, Christa.  For now, we just need to run.”
     
    With that, they wasted no time in commandeering the nearest vehicle and heading for the main highway.
    “Which way?” Leekasha asked.
    “North.  Just go north.”
    “Really, you’re sure?  What’s up north?”
    Christa watched the rearview mirror.  “I don’t know, it’s just a direction away from here.”
    Leekasha took the highway heading north.
     
     
     

Who’s Thelma?
    Christa and Leekasha drove for six days.  Initially they started north, but then went east for a while and back south again, whenever the mood took them.  They took turns driving, and switched cars over a dozen times.  It was easy.  It was easy convincing people to switch cars with them.  So, they switched, and the people loved their new car.  They didn’t care what it was, and most importantly, they didn’t report it stolen.  So Christa and Leekasha drove, and they talked.  They talked a lot.
     
    “You know,” Christa said, “they’re going to find us eventually.  We just can’t keep running forever.”
    “You ever see the movie Thelma and Louise ?” Leekasha answered.
    “Yeah, of course I did.  Long time ago.  The book was better.”
    “There was a book?  I didn’t even know there was a book.  Either way, it doesn’t matter.  They ran and ran and did all sorts of crazy stuff.  They didn’t worry about getting caught.  At least, not that much.  They just ran till they got tired of it.  Till they had enough.”
    Christa smiled. “Yeah, but then they died.  I don’t want to die.”
    “You’re missing the point.  Everybody dies.  At the end of the movie, or in the middle, it doesn’t really matter that they died.  The point is they ran for as long as they wanted to.  We can do that too.  We don’t have to die.  We can just keep running.  I want to keep running. There are millions of people in this country, and we can hide behind all of them.  Who cares if it’s run by the British, or by Kongod, or by the regent, or a bunch of zombies?  It really doesn’t matter.  Does it?”
    “I don’t know.  It matters to the British. It matters to the people here.  They can’t do what we can.  They can’t just keep running.  Most peoples need a place to live.  They need to have a purpose.”
    “Everybody finds a place eventually.  Some just don’t like where they end up.”
    “Nobody we ever meet seems to like where they end up,” Christa said.  “Why can’t people just be happy with what they have and where they are?”
    “It’s human nature to want things better.  It’s how the world spins.”
    “Well, maybe we need to stop worrying about human nature and worry more about zombie nature.”
    Leekasha looked confused. “Nobody even knows what that means.  Do they?  Is it the same as human nature, or do they want to just keep looking for something better too?”
    “Maybe it’s time to find out what they want.”
    Leekasha nodded in agreement. “The humans have screwed things up for long enough, and I’m tired of fighting it.  I know you must be.  You’ve been fighting this practically forever, and I’ve only been at it a few months.  Why keep on fighting … for what … for whom?”
     
    They drove for a few more miles before Christa asked, “You have any idea where we are?”
    “None.  I stopped reading signs a long time ago.  I just like driving with the window open and the wind in my hair.”
    “You heard from Patzy lately?”
    Leekasha looked out the side window.  “No, not for days.   How about you?”
    “No, not since she started talking with you.  I