The Edge of the Knife (Surviving the Fall 8)

The campfire cracked and spat into the darkness, sending sparks up into the air that merged with the twinkling of an infinite field of stars. The air was bitingly cold, making each breath drawn too far from the flames feel like icicles stabbing down through the throat and lungs. The smell of pine was heavy, carried by the chilled breeze that shook needles on limbs and carried away the dark trail of smoke.

Rick had always enjoyed autumn and winter nights, particularly those that could be experienced outdoors. The chill of the cold air on his back while the heat of a roaring campfire kept him warm was a magical combination. Even as far from home as he was, sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere during the apocalypse, he still found himself enjoying the fire and the cold autumn air. It was a guilty pleasure, though, as with any sort of stillness came the thoughts of his wife and children and the ‘what-ifs’ that plagued his mind.

What if I had just delayed the trip?

What if I had gotten on a later flight?

What if I had taken them with me?

In the back of his mind Rick knew that such questions were futile and ultimately a waste of time. The situation was as it was and no amount of wondering and questioning could change that. His only path forward was to do his best to get back to them, though even that goal was temporarily on the sidelines in favor of a larger, bigger one that would ultimately provide more protection and safety than his mere presence.

Weapons used to be simple. Rocks and clubs. Swords and spears. Bullets and bombs. The digital age had created an entirely new battlefield out of thin air and while defenses were few and far between, weaponry was abundant. Damocles. Typical doomsday-sounding name for a weapon that should never have been created. Rick sighed and poked at the fire with a long branch, stirring up a wave of sparks as more sap from the pine wood was discovered by the flames.

“Hey, give us a hand?” Rick looked up to see Jane and Dr. Evans appear through the trees. Jane had a flashlight in one hand but she, like Dr. Evans, was carrying an armful of firewood and appeared to be on the verge of dropping it. Rick jumped up and grabbed several pieces of wood out of her arms and dropped it near the fire before helping Dr. Evans as well.

“Looks like you two got a nice haul out there.” Rick nodded approvingly at the small pile of fuel. Jane brushed her hands on her pants before sitting near the fire and holding them out, her whole body shivering.

“Indeed.” Dr. Evans replied as he sat near the fire as well. “This should keep us through the night.”

“Absolutely.” Rick picked up a few pieces of wood and stacked them on the fire, shielding his eyes from the sparks. “We could do with something a bit less sappy but it’s better than freezing to death.” Rick sat down when he finished as an uncomfortable silence fell over the trio. He let the silence persist for a few long minutes before sighing and breaking it.

“I get the feeling that we need to have a talk here. I don’t want to let this go any further than it has.”

Jane didn’t look at Rick as he spoke, but Rick caught Dr. Evans glanci

ng between them. After the argument that had occurred—primarily between Rick and Jane—as they were escaping from Kansas City, Jane had hardly said anything to Rick. The city had been collapsing around them as they drove out and Jane had wanted to stop to try and rescue anyone who they could cram into their vehicle. Rick had refused, pointing out that they had neither the room nor the time to stop, not to mention the potential dangers involved even if they had the time or space.

Dr. Evans had stayed out of the argument for the most part. He initially agreed with Jane but soon changed his mind to side with Rick that they needed to focus on their plan to disrupt Damocles before the program started wreaking any more havoc. Jane and Rick hadn’t talked much over the couple hundred miles they had gone since leaving Kansas City and Rick was tired of the silence.

“Jane, look.” Rick stared at the fire, trying to find the words he was looking for.

“No.” Jane spoke quietly and Rick looked up at her.

“No what?”

“We don’t need to talk about it.” She took a deep breath and looked at him, then over at Dr. Evans, then back at Rick. “I was... letting my emotions get the better of me. You’re right. Both of you. We can’t let anything jeopardize this crazy plan of ours.”

Rick shook his head. “Don’t sell yourself short. I don’t think what you wanted to do was a bad thing at all. In fact we need that kind of thinking now more than ever. When we were at Nellis and they wanted to send me to Mount Weather to join in their think tank I refused because I just wanted to get home to my family. The idea of doing anything else was just foreign to me. The more I’ve learned about Damocles the more I’ve realized that stopping it needs to be my—our—priority. If it’s not… if people like us don’t step up and try to fix what’s going on, then things will get worse for everyone. My family included.”

Jane furrowed her brow. “What’s that got to do with the people in Kansas City?”

Rick leaned back. “I have been so caught up in getting back home—and now I’m so caught up in this plan—that it’s easy to forget about things like compassion. This is the kind of situation when it’s natural to retreat from other people and try to protect oneself and focus solely on the objective at hand but we can’t do that all the time. Well, I guess we can, but if we do, what does that say about us?”

“So… you’re saying we should have stopped?” Jane looked confused.

“No.” Rick shook his head firmly. “Discernment is important, too. We were attacked in the city and we have no idea if those people we saw fleeing were part of the group that attacked us, or really anything else about them. We know they were running to escape the earthquakes and that’s about it. If we had just been trying to escape and if we had a different vehicle then maybe we could have helped in some way. But in our situation we couldn’t afford to stop. We can’t afford to stop for anything. Not until we finish this. That’s how we help those people and countless others. We finish this.”

“I know.” Jane nodded. “It really sucks, though.”

“I can agree with that.” Dr. Evans chimed in.

“Ditto.” Rick looked at Jane and paused briefly. “We still good?”

Jane nodded slowly and smiled. “Yeah. We’re good.”

Rick smiled and looked at her and Dr. Evans. “I’m glad. I can’t do this nonsense on my own and you two haven’t stabbed me in my sleep yet so I need both of you alive, well and not completely pissed off at me.”

Jane and Dr. Evans both chuckled, then Dr. Evans spoke. “Speaking of this ‘nonsense’, as you put it, our experience in Kansas City has led me to believe that we should steer clear of any large cities from now on. We have fuel and supplies to get all the way to Washington. The potential benefits of further searching are, in my opinion, vastly outweighed by the downsides.”