Miranda & Sophia

Miranda’s rusted grey Mazda couldn’t make it any further on Knoxville’s country roads.

“Fuck.”

She hated being without her younger sister during all this.

“This is such bullshit.”

She pushed her car off to the side gravel area as it blended in to the growing fleet of abandoned cars on the road. So far, she had avoided the checkpoints where they rounded up survivors. She hated having to survive the H21-N14 avian flu pandemic alone.

Miranda packed up what belongings she could into her rolling suitcase and her weathered class of 2049 duffel bag. So many people had died off she felt lucky to still be alive, she just had to find an empty house to crash for the night.

“Now how far am I?” She brushed her hair back and looked at an old regional road atlas her father has given her. She estimated a few more hours of daylight as she headed down the road.

“We’ll get you to Asheville, I swear we will Sophia,” Miranda kissed the heart shaped locket around her neck and dropped it behind back her navy Titans tee.

The undulating roads wore thin on Miranda. After a couple hours she saw billboards for the Smokies stadium, she knew some semblance of what was civilization was close.

“Finally.”

The houses and trailers all seemed abandoned as she drew ever closer. Graffitied plywood covered windows on random homes and gas stations. Some had legible writing ‘CLOSED’, ‘LEAVING’, and the all too common ‘TRUST JESUS.’

“Okay, which one of these?” Miranda scanned a newer cluster of houses.

“I guess which ever is fine.” She approached the first ranch style home and unsheathed a ball peen hammer from her gym bag.

She shattered the glass, unlocked the door, and went inside even if just to collect herself.

“Oh god, yuck!”

The smell of stale, rotted food forced itself into her airways. This new world seethed with ever-present discomfort. She pulled her belongings inside past the piles of vaccine encouragement pamphlets that the government had sent. Too many people refused to believe scientists after the conservative government slashed their research funding. Miranda got to the coffee table and tried to focus on her path to Asheville. She pulled a folded magazine article out of her pocket.

“I’ll get you here with me Sophia, right next to me again. I just need someone here on with me sometimes, that’s all.”

A teary-eyed Miranda looked down at the headline: Thermo-Scientific Human Cloning Program a Huge Success.

She rustled around her gym bag for a Gatorade and one of the Slim Jim’s she was saving for the home stretch when she heard a rustling outside. She dove down to the floor grazing her head and still managing not to cry out. She stuffed the paper back in her pocket and slowly pulled her belongings toward her.

She knew she had to try and make a run for it. She saw keys still hanging on a key rack in the distance next to the door in the kitchen. Miranda pushed herself up as she lunged toward the door.

“Which one?” She muttered as she fumbled grabbing multiple keys.

Miranda didn’t see anything as she looked back at the window and adjusted her belongings. She had two sets of black keys in her hand and she opened the door only to be overwhelmed by a putrid odor. Miranda reached for and hit the garage door opener before she vomited against the side wall. Her eyes adjusted as the light rushed in.

“Oh my god. Oh my god!” Miranda belted.

She saw a man and woman hung from the joist still clasping onto one another. She heard that suicide was what some people attempted once the bird flu hit, but this was her first experience. She stared in horror. Then she heard the rustling sound once more and she turned to see a mangey brown Lab coming toward her. Her hands were up to shield herself, but the dog went to lick pool of vomit.

Miranda saw a white collar, but still wasn’t sure how close she should get. She gently reached into the top of her bag to get a Slim Jim and unwrap it. The Labrador perked up and slowly stepped toward Miranda.

“Yeah, that’s okay, you can have this.” Miranda said.

She reached to take the collar and read the tag. The brown Lab lurched forward grabbed the Slim Jim from Miranda’s hand knocking her down to the floor before he bolted out of the garage.

“Dammit, I can’t even be nice to the dogs.”

Miranda picked the keys up off of the floor while trying to avoid looking up. She pressed the unlock on one of the keys, nothing. She tried the other auto-unlock button and it gave a flash of light for the sedan next to her. She tossed her things in the backseat except for the road atlas. She kept the dome light on and the pen she had attached to trace a route on the backroads to Asheville to keep avoiding any chance of a checkpoint. Darkness was fast approaching, and Miranda was exhausted. She cracked the back windows, reclined the seat, turned the car off, and slept in the driver seat.

“Sophia!” Miranda exclaimed as she awoke clutching the heart-shaped locket around her neck.

“This is it, the last stretch Sophia.”

She rocked back and forth saying her sister’s name. She checked herself in the mirror and saw a blood streak down the right side of her face.

“Damn dog.”

It was almost daybreak so she grabbed the keys and ran in to use the bathroom before heading out.

Miranda estimated three hours on the winding country roads. When she returned to the car she tied her hair back in a loose bun, and pulled out toward Pigeon Forge before heading East.

The early morning hours dragged on as each little town looked identical in between the rolling hills. She was careful to drive slowly to not miss any important turn. She was finally at the town of Marshall, and all she had to do follow the river a few miles. She turned onto Goldview Road just a couple of miles away and pulled over engulfed with emotions. She paused opened the locket with a picture of sister and her dark brown hair, along with a small snippet of hair in a tiny baggie.

“Here we go Sophia. It’s going to be a family reunion.” Miranda uttered as she clasped the little bag inside the locket.

She sped down the road and took the signs to the lab. There were wooden barricades everywhere.

“No. No. C’mon.”

Miranda drove faster plowing through the barricades and getting to the parking lot, she saw shattered glass everywhere.

She stopped and ran out of the car up to the entrance. The glass on the door was also shattered. Her heart sank.

“This isn’t happening. It can’t be.” Miranda said as she fell to her knees.

“I’m sorry to let you down.” A man’s voice came from behind her.

Miranda stiffened and backed up.

“I’m Gregory, I used to work here. I so very happy to see you.” He wore an olive jumpsuit.

“What happened?” She asked.

“People. Lots of people came for help, for loved ones that died. Why is a pretty girl like you here?” Gregory asked.

“My sister. I didn’t want to be alone.” She answered nervously clutching her locket.

“Exactly,” Gregory beamed.

“Now, there’s us.” He said looking at ground.

“And you couldn’t clone anyone?” Miranda asked.

“Oh, yes the cloning. We’ll show a pretty girl like you.” Gregory grabbed hold of Miranda’s arms breaking the chain of the locket as they fell to the ground.

Miranda glanced around to see at least fourteen Gregorys resetting the barricades as she was muscled into the building.

“Noo! Sophia, I’m sorry…”