Nemesis: Inception Read online

  He knew she wanted to get on the road fast, but giving her a gun without the proper knowledge and at the minimum this quick class was not helping her. Once he felt confident she could handle the gun, he gave her and Carey a surprise gift. “These are tactical vests, they’re a bit big but will come in handy,” he said, holding up two black vests.

  Lexi grabbed hers first and exclaimed, “They’re heavy.”

  “That’s because they have ballistic armor in them, right there,” he said, pointing to plates shoved in the front and back under Velcro fasteners.

  Lexi examined the vest and quickly figured out how to put it on. Her face lit up when she felt the weight of the vest on her shoulders. Happily she smacked her chest and hollered, “Yes, this is awesome.”

  Carey took hers, but as soon as she wrapped her small hands around the shoulder strap, she dropped it. “Oops, sorry.”

  Frank picked it up and said, “You can’t hurt this thing.”

  Carey took it from him and looked at it oddly. “How do I put it on?”

  “Like this,” Frank answered and proceeded to show her how it worked.

  Once Carey had hers on, Lexi laughed. “You look hilarious.”

  Frank picked up a holster from the table and attached it to the front of Lexi’s vest.

  “Now where’s the pistol that goes in that?” Lexi asked happily.

  “Here,” Frank said and held out the Glock with the slide back.

  Lexi took it, hit the slide release and looked at him.

  He knew what she wanted; he gave her a fully loaded magazine and said, “Remember, only point at something you wish to destroy.”

  Lexi snatched the magazine, inserted it into the magazine well and pulled the slide back. “You won’t have to worry about that.”

  “Good.”

  “But there is one problem,” Lexi said.

  “What’s that?”

  “If that is the qualifier, I’ll be pointing it at everyone out there,” she said and holstered the pistol.

  Del Mar, CA

  A brisk cool wind swept over them as they walked past the dog beach in Del Mar. The sun was making its appearance gradually in the east as the gray marine layer turned from a dark shade of gray to a lighter one.

  Frank stopped on the bridge and breathed in deeply. The expansion of his chest and lungs caused him to cough, but it was worth the pain and discomfort just to taste and smell the fresh ocean air.

  Lexi hadn’t noticed Frank had stopped because she had been outpacing him since they began their hike.

  “Hold up. Frank is taking a break,” Carey hollered to Lexi.

  “Not again,” Lexi grunted as she came to a stop. She turned and saw Frank standing on the bridge with his arms extended and his eyes closed.

  “What are you doing, Frank, praying?” Lexi yelled.

  He opened his eyes and only smiled. Not wanting to keep them waiting too much, he finished his appreciation and caught up with them.

  “Are we going to stop every half mile?” Lexi asked harshly.

  “Maybe, but will getting there two hours earlier make a difference?” Frank asked.

  “I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, timing is everything,” Lexi answered.

  “Ease up on him,” Carey chastised.

  “Fine,” Lexi grunted.

  “You’re such a grumpy pants,” Carey joked to Lexi.

  “Hungry?” Frank asked, unzipping a fanny pack and pulling out two PowerBars.

  “Sure,” Lexi said, taking one.

  Frank ripped open the package and took a huge bite. He chewed a few times and said, “When you’re close to death, you get insight like never before. It gives you a perspective that can’t be matched. I literally look at the world differently, I treat people differently, I am different.” He laughed and continued, “It took getting terminal cancer to make me a nice guy.”

  Carey gently punched his arm and said, “You were always a nice guy, the cancer just allowed you to come out and express yourself.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Frank said, taking another huge bite.

  Lexi looked around and said, “It’s relatively quiet, only a few people milling around.”

  In the distance she saw Interstate 5 and the thousands of cars that sat upon it. What once was a thriving roadway was now turned into a graveyard of vehicles.

  Every few minutes upon their hike they’d hear sounds that reminded them how dangerous the world had become; a scream or gunshot would echo and disappear. A few times they heard the rumble of a car engine, but the car itself was never seen.

  Lexi felt safer having a gun and body armor. She even felt a little safer having Frank there. Even though he was in a weakened state, having him there provided a deterrent against attack. For all those women who screamed equality before the world changed, they didn’t realize that their equality came from men behaving well. In a world where the rule of law was gone, the political mantras of the past melted away like a snowball in hell. She wasn’t fool enough to believe that two women walking were safer than if they had a man with them.

  She studied Frank as he stood a few feet away from her, eating his nutrition bar. In the years she had lived in her condo, she would see him come and go but never took notice; in fact, she never took notice of much unless it revolved around her shallow existence. He was ruggedly handsome, with a square jaw and flawless skin save for two small scars, one on his cheek and the other on his chin. She was sure there was a good story to go with those. His short-cropped hair was black with gray throughout. His frame was big, but she could see that he was half the man he used to be; the cancer had eaten away at his muscles. His dark brown eyes had specks of green and hazel. The one thing that took away from his handsome look was his teeth, years of tobacco and coffee use had done damage to his enamel and color. But where he had physical flaws, his personality made up for them. He was gruff at first meeting, but after he got to know you, he’d let you see the real Frank, a warm and funny guy.

  “Are you natives?” Frank asked.

  “Of San Diego?” Carey said.

  “Yeah, are you true-blue Southern Californians?”

  Carey looked at Lexi and then answered, “Yeah, born at Scripps in La Jolla.”

  “I could tell,” Frank said, taking the last bit of bar into his mouth.

  “How’s that?” Carey asked, curious to hear the answer.

  “You’re not stuck up and pretentious. So many transplants turned this great little city into a mini LA with all their flashing bullshit. The true SoCal person is laid back and nonjudgmental.”

  “I live in San Fran now and—”

  He interrupted Carey and said, “Don’t even bring up those fruits and nuts. Total dipshits up there, we real Californians should have cut those assholes loose long ago.”

  “For someone who says locals don’t judge, you’re definitely full of it,” Lexi chimed in.

  Frank tossed the wrapper on the ground and replied, “It’s not judging when you’re telling it like it is, that’s different. People in San Francisco are dipshits, that’s fact. It’s like me saying you’re a woman; that’s not a judgment, that’s a fact.”

  “None of it really matters now,” Lexi said.

  “It does, could you imagine trying to find people to survive with in San Fran?” Frank said.

  “Stop picking on my new home. There are good people there,” Carey moaned.

  As Frank and Carey went back and forth debating the topic, Lexi scanned the area. The sound of crashing waves sounded pleasant and the seagulls flew overhead. To the north she saw a couple of people in the far distance. As she started to turn her gaze to the south, she saw two more people just north, but these two were hiding behind a group of trees. She couldn’t make them out clearly but saw the movement then saw the people briefly.

  “Let’s get moving again,” Lexi suggested.

  “Good idea,” Frank said.

  The walk through downtown Del Mar was shocking. I
n the matter of three days the storefronts of many businesses were smashed, and debris littered the sidewalks and congested streets. They encountered more people as they weaved in and around abandoned cars. They made sure to stay in the middle of the road, far away from the buildings. Now the sounds of gunshots and screams became normal. When they heard it, they would all make a mental note of the direction then keep moving.

  Each person they saw acted nervous and in a heightened state of alert. These people were quick studies and, like Lexi, not taking any chances. Two small groups they walked past seemed threatening, but when they saw they were armed and Frank was there with a rifle slung, they kept walking past.

  Seeing Del Mar ransacked was a sad sight for Lexi. She had spent many days and nights there and the place held many memories. Seeing it this way would be seared into her mind.

  Each step they took south, Lexi could see the carnage and effect of the EMP was vast. If it had only been a local event, government forces would have come in, but their absence was telling.

  “Frank, how bad do you think this is?” Lexi asked.

  “Bad, end-of-world bad.”

  Carey jumped in, “Will things ever be normal again?”

  “I’m not an expert, but I would say our society is gone. I know that seems odd, but look at it this way. Once we crumble, there’s no building us back up quickly, and the longer we get from being civilized, the farther we fall. I think the government has been hobbled, I would guess they’re not out, but their effectiveness has been diminished greatly. If that’s true, then all they’re doing is protecting themselves and leaving us, the people, to fend for ourselves.”

  “I told you, Carey, we’re screwed,” Lexi said.

  “It saddens me, but at the same time I think we can eventually come out of this a better country,” Carey innocently replied.

  Frank laughed and said, “There’s no more country to eventually come back to. It’s gone; we just haven’t decided to believe it yet.”

  At the intersection of Carmel Valley Road and PCH, Frank stopped and took in another view. He walked to an overlook and paused. “It’s so beautiful.”

  Lexi decided to join him as he took in the view of the beach and ocean.

  “Can I ask you a personal question?” Lexi asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Have you ever thought of suicide?”

  “Ha, isn’t that what this is?” he joked.

  “It better not be.”

  A steady cool breeze wisped over them.

  Frank removed his hat and combed his thick fingers through his hair.

  “How about we keep going and take a break down there?” Carey said, pointing towards the beach at Torrey Pines.

  “What do you think?” Frank asked.

  “Sure.”

  They stepped away from the overlook and continued.

  Lexi wasn’t satisfied with his previous answer, so she asked again, “I’m serious, ever thought about just ending it?”

  “Why the question?”

  “Because I think I’d off myself if I had a terminal disease.”

  “You think that way because it’s theoretical for you,” Frank asserted.

  “I’ve almost died twice in the past few days,” Lexi declared.

  “I know, but it’s different, you think you might die is different than knowing you’re going to. There isn’t anything I can do; I will die soon, period. Knowing is different than a possibility.”

  Lexi thought about it and could see his point.

  “Isn’t it wonderful?” Frank asked, pointing towards the waves.

  Putting herself in his shoes, she confirmed, “It is wonderful.”

  When they reached the beach access, Frank stopped and took off his boots and socks.

  Lexi cracked a slight smile.

  He tied his laces together and swung the boots over his shoulder. Like a child he hopped onto the sand and dug his feet in. His face lit up as his toes wiggled. He turned towards the women and said, “How about we take a dip?”

  “Nah, but you go knock yourself out,” Lexi said. She was still eager to get to the house but also felt obligated to allow him this indulgence.

  Carey looked at Lexi for permission.

  “Go ahead, I’ll keep an eye out,” Lexi said, nodding.

  Carey tore her pack and vest off and laid them next to Lexi’s feet. She then pulled off her shoes quickly. Once barefoot she raced onto the beach towards the surf.

  Frank was already in the water up to his calves. As each wave crashed in, he laughed out loud.

  Lexi looked at the two splashing and playing. Their joy was contagious, and Lexi caught herself laughing after seeing Frank fall down in waist-deep water. She tore herself away from the scene and looked north and south. To the south she saw a couple of people stopped, they were sitting on a guardrail. She couldn’t make out who they were but wondered if they were the two people she had seen hiding earlier.

  A loud squeal from Carey ripped her away from scanning the area. She watched Carey dive headfirst into a crashing wave. For an instant she disappeared only to pop up with seaweed wrapped around her shoulders.

  “Yuck!” Carey hollered.

  Lexi loved Torrey Pines beach, and being there brought her back to fond memories of hiking the trails at the park above the beach. One of the few memories she had of her father was going there. He’d park at the top near a trailhead. Together they’d walk down the mile-long trail to the beach below. They’d play in the water then picnic on the beach afterwards before heading back. Thinking of him made her sad and angry, angry because she felt God had jilted her. While her friends had their daddies, she was left longing for a father figure, a positive male influence who would love her and show her how a man should treat a woman. This resentment was still very present in her life, and until she could truly trust a man, she’d never believe another man could be as good.

  Movement to the north caught her attention. She looked and saw three people, two men and a woman, suddenly appear on the road from beneath an overpass that spanned a wide creek from the wetlands to the east.

  They looked normal and from her vantage point she couldn’t see any visible weapons.

  Slowly they headed her way.

  Lexi put her fingers in her mouth and whistled.

  Frank heard the whistle first and turned to look.

  Catching his gaze, Lexi pointed to the people heading their way.

  He called out to Carey and informed her.

  They both exited the water and walked towards Lexi.

  The people were twenty feet away and closing at a slow walk’s pace.

  Lexi then decided she was going to warn them by showing she was armed. She turned and placed her hand on the grip of her holstered pistol.

  One man saw this and mumbled something to his two companions, who immediately looked up.

  Frank stepped forward with his rifle slung over his sopping wet shirt and stood silent.

  Carey walked next to Lexi and put on her vest.

  The three people stopped, evaluated Lexi and the others and ran across the road to avoid walking past them.

  Seeing this made Lexi happy. For the first time since the power went out, she felt powerful. She had no intention of ever hurting them, but she showed them she wasn’t going to be toyed with.

  The three strangers nervously kept heading south, occasionally looking back towards Lexi and the others.

  Filled with pride, Lexi said, “If you two are done playing around, how about we keep moving.”

  “Sure thing,” Frank replied. He could feel the impact the long hike was having on him, but the brief swim in the ocean jolted him in a positive way. He swung his head and gazed south down the beach. “I’ve got an idea that will keep us away from traffic and people.”

  “I’m all ears,” Lexi said.

  “My ex’s house is in La Jolla Shores. Let’s just walk straight down the beach, the tide is out, so we should be fine.”

  Lexi nodded and repli
ed, “Good idea.”

  La Jolla Shores, CA

  The trio walked another four miles of coastline without incident. Conversations varied between things that didn’t matter anymore like movies and music. They kept it light, but reality came back when they cleared a rocky bluff that jetted out near the surf.

  Like a massive piece of driftwood, a large container ship was sitting just off the beach. The ocean ignored its presence as each wave broke around the steel hull and came to shore.

  “Holy shit!” Frank exclaimed.

  “Looks like something out of an apocalyptic movie,” Carey said.

  “The only thing is this isn’t a movie,” Lexi reminded them.

  They all stood and stared at the ship, its crew long since gone, abandoning the vessel shortly after it drifted to shore.

  “The good thing is we’re almost there, just beyond the ship is the Shores and her house,” Frank informed them.

  Lexi looked up and took notice that the sun was headed northwest towards the horizon. “How far you think?”

  “A mile or more,” Frank replied.

  “Two miles?”

  “No, not that far.”

  They all looked past the ship and could see the mid-rise buildings that made up downtown La Jolla.

  Walking the beach had been a great idea. They didn’t encounter one person and the tranquil setting had lulled them. Seeing the shipwreck made it all real again, and for Lexi it was all she needed to get her mind back on track.

  “I forgot to ask, are we taking you back home after we get the car?” Lexi asked.

  “Hell no, I’m going to squat at my ex’s house. They’re gone and I doubt will ever return.”

  “Where are they?” Carey asked.

  “Aspen.”

  “Nice,” Carey said.

  “Another place with stuck-up people is all it is; the snow’s not even that great. If you want great snow, great terrain and real skiers, you go to Alta.”

  “What’s your hang-up about rich people?” Lexi asked.

  “Besides many of them being entitled assholes, nothing,” Frank jested.