Chapter 1 - Part 5

The desert mouse sniffed the night air, rising up on two legs. There was a sense of danger in the air. The mouse returned to a crouching posture. The mouse stayed perfectly still. As if a single movement would give it away. This scenerio played out every night in one way or another.
Out of the darkness came a black booted foot and stepped on the mouse. Tonight was to be different. Tonight was a ghouls night out.
.......
Jeff pulled his old Nova up to the side of the gym where Curtis was standing, sweating in the sweltering heat. "Get in man."
"Dude, I told you man. I can't do this. What are you even doing here."
"Come on man. It's all set."
Curtis leaned into the car, feeling the afternoon heat upon the metal. His first instinct was to flinch, but he didn't want show Jeff an ounce of weakness. "Jeff man, you know I got this fight coming up. It's my career man."
"Yeah and that is 2 nights away. This is tonight man."
"You just don't get it. Tonight, tomorrow." He knew Jeff had a way of bleeding is way into his life and leaving his stain.
"Get in."
Curtis opened the door and got in. He knew by doing so he was leaving his life back where he stood on the sidewalk. He was leaving boxing and all the fundamentals that he knew that kept his life on the straight and narrow. He knew he would never be back. 'What God's name was he doing?' he thought as he closed the door on the good.
Jeff drove for miles and miles. The highway slipped away into the night and heat became cool desert wind. The sun smeared it's yellow and orange across the sky inviting the darkness to overcome it.
Not a word was spoken between them in those hours. Nothing needed to be said.
..........
Jessica took her money tray and pushed it into her register.
"Did you hear about Yucca Mountain Jess?"
She turned to face Michelle at her register.
"What?" She said as though coming to from a dream.
"Yucca Mountain? You know the nuclear waste dump place up in the mountain? You haven't watched the news?"
"No", she said furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"Yucca mountain is contaminating the ground water. They're shutting it down, but they think it's too late. They're saying not to drink the water. God, I can't believe it Jess. We're all probably going to be glowing."
Jessica just looked at her. While this was pretty big news, it didn't phase her in the least. She had more pressing matter to contend with right now. One of those being, living until tomorrow.
"What are we going to do?"
Kent came out from one of the aisles. "There's not much more about it on the news. In fact they stopped talking about it all together. Oh, hello Jessi."
"Hi Kent." 'What did his mother name him after a pack of cigarettes? Kent?' she thought to herself, but tried to brush the thought from her mind.
"Here's some water, on me", he said in a gracious tone.
"You think it matters. We've already been drinking the water. Showering in it", came the voice of Michele through a sob.
Jessica couldn't get her mind off Jeff. Even in the face of revelation such as this, her mind was catapulted back to him.
"Michele, it's kind of slow. Maybe you should take the rest of the day."
"You're kidding right. I'm not going anywhere. At least there's air conditioning in this hellhole."
Kent felt hurt. He always thought that Michele liked it there. He always tried to make the store a place where everyone felt comfortable.
Michele looked at Kent and collapsed on his chest. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do", came her words now drowned in deep sobs.
"It's ok Michele. We'll figure it out."
Jessica felt a tinge of jealousy. What did Michele now anyway. She didn't know about her and Kent. She felt the baby kick, hard.
Kent consoled her, "It'll all be ok. You'll see."
Just than the front doors of the store flung open. "Get on the ground", came the voice of the man behind the ski mask. A second man, a strong man wearing a ginny-T walked in behind him, gun held high and walked toward Kent and Michele.