The Road

What's happening?

Why are you taking a bath?

I'm not.

Shit.

We got to find a way out. Everybody, come on.

Where are you?

Where are you?

Papa!

It's okay. It's just another earthquake.

I'm right here.

Right here. Okay.

The clocks stopped at 1:17.

There was a long shear of bright light,

then a series of low concussions.

I think it's October,

but I can't be sure.

I haven't kept a calendar for years.

Each day is more gray than the one before.

It is cold and growing colder as the world slowly dies.

No animals have survived, and all the crops are long gone.

Soon all the trees in the world will fall.

The roads are peopled by refugees towing carts

and gangs carrying weapons,

looking for fuel and food.

Within a year, there were fires on the ridges

and deranged chanting.

There has been cannibalism.

Cannibalism is the great fear.

Mostly I worry about food, always food.

Food and the cold and our shoes.

Sometimes I tell the boy old stories of courage and justice,

difficult as they are to remember.

All I know is the child is my warrant,

and if he is not the word of God, then God never spoke.

"Flea, you could land on Lady Liberty's torch.

"If you flicked your tongue like a chameleon,

"you could whip the food off your plate

"without using your hands.

"But what would your mother say?

"If you craned your neck like a crane,

"you'd have to stretch your arm way up

"to scratch your head.

"If you had eagle eyes, you could spot a running rabbit."

Let's take a look.

There could be something here. Corn or something.

No.

They ran out of food.

Maybe there's some hayseeds in the hayloft.

I doubt it.

It's not what you think.

They committed suicide.

Why?

You know why.

Two left. One for you, one for me.

You put it in your mouth and you point it up,

just like I showed you. Hmm?

Okay.

Like this.

No.

Then just pull the trigger.

You got it?

Is that okay?

Okay.

Are you hungry?

- Thanks. - Here you go.

I'm thirsty.

Thirsty? Some water?

Okay. Hey.

You look pretty.

Oh, no.

No.

No, we don't have to do this.

I don't want to do this.

I think we do.

No, I don't want to do this.

What kind of life is this?

You got to push.

No.

Come on,

push.

Quick! Get up!

We got to run. Go. Stay low. Go, go.

Papa. Papa. Let's go.

Check those junkers over there.

Shit.

Where's your head?

Watch the damn cars up ahead.

Jog along beside them.

Damn it.

Don't look at them. Look at me.

You call out, you're dead.

Where you from?

Does it matter?

Where you from?

You got ammunition for those rifles?

I told you not to look over there.

What are you eating?

Whatever we can find.

Whatever you can find.

Yeah.

You ain't gonna shoot that thing.

You ain't got but two shells. Maybe one.

And they'll hear the shot.

Maybe, but you won't,

because it'll be through your skull and inside your brain

before you can hear it.

To hear it, you'll need a frontal lobe

and things with names like colliculus and temporal gyrus,

but you won't have them anymore because they'll just be soup.

You a doctor?

I'm not anything.

We got a hurt man. It'd be worth your while.

You look at him again and I'll shoot you in the head.

That boy looks hungry. Why don't y'all come on to the truck?

Get you something to eat.

Ain't no need to be such a hard-ass.

You don't have anything to eat.

Come on. Let's go.

I ain't going nowhere.

You think I won't kill you?

You're wrong.

You know what I think?

I think you're chicken-shit.

You never killed a man in your life.

Where'd that come from? Right there!

Who's shooting?

Let's go. Come on.

At the tree line!

Come on!

The two of you, that way.

Move quicker.

Move! I think I see him. Let's go!

Over there!

You're okay. I'm right here.

Let's go.

I try to look like any common traveling killer,

but my heart is hammering.

When it comes to the boy,

I have only one question.

Can you do it

when the time comes?

All right?

I won't let a nything happen to you.

I'll take care of you.

And I'll kill anyone who touches you,

because that's my job.

You got to stop crying.

We got to go now.

We got to go find the cart.

Come on.

Take the gun.

That's all we have left.

I should've done it a long time ago.

I should've done it when we had more bullets.

I don't know why I listened to you.

They're gonna catch up with us and they're going to kill us.

They're gonna rape me, and then they're gonna rape your son

and they're gonna kill us and eat us.

Whatever it takes... Stop it.

I told you... Stop it!

I will do anything. Anything.

Like what?

Hmm?

I don't even know why I ask you. I should just go ahead

and empty every goddamn bullet

into my brain and leave you with nothing.

That's what I should do.

Shh. Please don't talk like that.

You're right. There's nothing left to talk about.

My heart was ripped out of me the night he was born.

We have to. We will survive this.

We are not gonna quit. We're not gonna quit.

I don't want to just survive.

Don't you get it?

I don't want to.

Why won't you let me take him with me?

Don't touch it.

I would take him with me if it weren't for you. You know that.

Listen to yourself.

You sound

crazy.

Other families are doing it.

Mmm.

Let's go take a bath.

Listen,

we have to talk.

That man back there...

There's not many good guys left, that's all.

We have to watch out for the bad guys. We have to just

keep carrying the fire.

What fire?

The fire inside you.

Are we still the good guys?

Yes, we're still the good guys.

Of course we are.

And we always will be?

No matter what happens?

Always will be.

What is it?

It's a treat for you.