Read The Long Way To Reno for Free Online

bases of some sort – I wish I paid attention as to what.
Marines? Air Guard? Something. God, my life was spent on comics and video
games, with makeup and fashion tying for third place. Absolutely useless. No
wonder my parents were so fed-up with me.
     
                As
I stood there, staring out those broken windows, I became aware of shuffling
movement outside. From the parking lot, outside of view. It was a large sound,
something that made me think of the thing in Silent Hill 2’s prison. A creature
with heavy footsteps and a low breathy sound, and I swear my entire body
seized. My heart thumped hard. My mind compared the noise and experience to
James Sunderland’s unseen tormentor and this one. The shift from pavement to
dirt told me I could be exposed to whatever it was that made the sound. Slowly,
I stepped back through that swinging door. I could still hear it.
     
                But
the footsteps faded. What was it…?
     
                My
mind couldn’t even conjure a picture of a thing that came from the sky, and I
decided I wasn’t ready to face it, yet.
     
                Once
I couldn’t hear anything more, my eyes fell onto the darkness of the 2 nd section of the warehouse. It was so thick and still that fear pounded on me
from a different angle. But then inspiration hit – I could look for my
keys. My keys to my car, which will take me to Reno, where I would go home and
be okay. Once I found my parents, I would be okay . If I happened to be
killed with them, it’ll be okay . Because I’ll be with them.
     
                It
hurt to breathe, because the thought of them hurt or dead made it difficult to
continue on. My mom, with her cackling laugh and sarcastic comments on my
uselessness; my dad, with his thin optimism in that I’d actually be successful
in life. Both of them hard on me for good reasons. Tears came to my eyes,
because I wanted to be with them so much; I wish I called in. Just handled
Dad’s irritation with my laziness and just stayed home. Slaughtered in our beds
together, rather than – than me being stuck forty-five minutes away in
stupid Fern-tucky.
     
                Then
I didn’t want to think of them being slaughtered in their bed – they were
alive, somehow, because Dad would make sure of it. He was a fighter. He was
always fighting with somebody. Short man complex, mom always said. My
confidence in them being alive was restored with just the knowledge of my dad’s
stubbornness and determination, and I knew I had to make it back to Reno.
Uncovering my flashlight, keeping alert to any noises or movements made in the
darkness, I started to retrace my frantic footsteps. The conveyer belts I’d
crawled under to avoid the zombies were in front of me. I crouched, shined the
flashlight around, and saw no present danger.
     
                With
another deep breath, I knew I had to go in deeper into the darkness, towards
the Gold and Green sections to go find my keys. With one shaking hand, I
withdrew the knife – held it in my right, and the left holding tightly
onto the flashlight. It was so still, growing cold, that I found it hard to
control my breathing. I knew I had to – I was about hyperventilating. I
wanted to look everywhere and anywhere, and found the darkness incredibly
frustrating. I was sweaty and shaky, and every step I took sounded so freaking
loud. The light bounced around as my hand shook, so I lowered my arm and pinned
the Mag-Light to my side, where it was better controlled. I clung awkwardly to
my knife.
     
                I
searched the pathways I’d taken in my frantic rush for safety and saw nothing.
Just bloodstains. Fallen totes. A pair of shoes. Someone’s work glove. What
looked like a wig hanging from one of the conveyors. I hope it was just
a wig.
     
                I
came across a body – it didn’t look real at first. It looked like someone
had just dropped to