Salazar

by Chariss K. Walker

  She reached up to run her hand through his chocolate-colored hair, also thick and lush like her mother's had been. It was the first time that Miki realized her son's resemblance to Serena McKay, his late grandmother; it was astonishing.

  Funny how we don't notice certain things until it might be the last thing we remember, she thought.

  Miki took a few deep breaths to try to stay calm and to remind herself that she had to remain strong for her son. She didn't want to feel this overpowering fear and helplessness. If this was it, if she was to die this very night, she wanted to go out with a smile on her face not cowering in terror. She wanted to be with her family. She wanted to be with Rob and Salazar. It was what she wanted most of all, but it was not what she feared would happen.

  "Your father will be here in only a few minutes," she insisted as glanced at the clock on the wall and then once again gazed out the window. "It's only five past six. He'll be here soon and we have to wait for him."

  "Even if the bus ran on time, even if he managed to get out of Summerhaven before this campaign began, he would not want us to wait even one minute on him. He would want us to take cover and you know it," Salazar argued while Miki continued to stare into the distance. "Mother!" he sharply called out. He knew she was in shock and he had to draw her out of whatever untimely reverie she had slipped into. He had to get her moving. "We have to go now!"

  "Where on earth can we go?" she scoffed before she wiped away the tears that now streamed down her pale cheeks.

  Now, they both stared out the window that overlooked a main thoroughfare in Fallhaven. The street below had filled with curious onlookers.

  Miki looked down at her neighbors and choked back a sob. She felt obligated to warn them, however she also knew they wouldn't listen. They never did. People could only take so much truth before they shut down. Even if they did believe her, what hope could she offer them?

  Despair washed over her.

  Those people were her friends and even though she felt an obligation, she knew them well enough to know that it was as if they had always worn blinders. They had never wanted to know the truth of what the government had always done and they would never believe what was in store for them now. They had always been at ease putting in their ten hour days and ignoring everything else.

  They came home to a beer and spent their evenings watching television or playing card games on their computers. They felt safe while distracted from the truth.

  They were asleep and there was no way to awaken them now, especially with only a moment's notice. And that's all any of them had… a few fleeting moments as their destruction raced towards them. She wondered if Rob had more than a moment's notice. She wondered if he was dead or alive and the thought that he might be lost to her forever further devastated her.

  4| Decisions

  "Mother, we both saw the spacecraft launch; now we have to worry about what is headed our way. Those red clouds and the rumblings are the evidence that Summerhaven and Springhaven are under an aerial attack. It's an air raid pure and simple and it's getting closer to us. I don't know why this is happening, however, I do know that if we wait, we won't survive it. We've been left here to die and we can't let the bastards win. Snap out of it, Mother!"

  Now, as he stood with his mother in their small home located in Fallhaven, his gut continued to command him, screaming at him that they must flee. However, he also knew that his mother was right… where could they go to find safety? Should they simply try to hide in the bathroom and turn the hard-porcelain tub over as protection?

  He scoffed at that notion. It might protect them for a few moments and then they would be buried alive under what remained only to die anyway. That certainly wasn't the answer.

  At first, he didn't know what to tell her. It wouldn't do any good to run blindly through the streets. There was no sense in leaving the comfort of their home if they didn't have a destination in mind.

  With a deep-seated urgency in the pit of his stomach, Salazar briefly closed his eyes and drew inspiration from the chronicles he had memorized as a child. He listened closely to his long-dead grandmother's voice as if she was with him still:

  "In the maze beneath August City there are streets and buildings... almost a mirror image of the city above, for you see August City was built entirely over the rubble and ruins of another unnamed city. I must admit there are doorways that led nowhere and many dead ends, but there are also streets that follow the same course as those running overhead and many structures there are undamaged and inhabitable. Your great-grandfather and I investigated it before you were born, Salazar, and it appears to be quite secure. When you're older, I'll take you there myself."

  His grandmother, Serena McKay, had been one tough broad. She had found the entrance to those tunnels when she was a new detective for the August City Police Department. During her career as a Cop and later as a Private Eye, she had done a lot of amazing and courageous things. However, even with those successes, she was no stranger to torments and losses either. She had paid the price on more than one occasion for her bravery.

  Serena had never followed through on her promise to take him into those tunnels, however, she had pointed out the location to him before she died. It was an abandoned building in Fallhaven's decaying inner city and very near Winterhaven's border.

  Suddenly, he realized that his grandmother had brought up the topic of those tunnels several times during their quiet and private conversations. Apparently, it was very important to her that he know about it and remember it. Now, he conjured up another conversation and listened closely to Serena's voice:

  See that abandoned building, Salazar? It has been damaged for as long as anyone can remember. However, once inside it, there is a path that leads down to a basement. Next, there's a cold dark labyrinth of twists and turns that keep going down and eventually opens into a large cavern.

  I once chased a suspect in there. Even though I carried The Department’s best-issued flashlight, it was difficult to see twenty feet in front of me. If you ever venture there, be sure to take the best torches you can find.

  As I recall, I heard trickling water and the suspect's footfalls in the distance. I tracked the faint sounds to lower levels, constantly going down. Then, silence as I lost the trail completely. He was gone and I was lost in that maze. Unable to find the way out, I wandered in that pit for over two hours.

  It's a maze of darkness and abandoned street passages… a city beneath a city… and it's all beneath Fallhaven... a vast network of channels that burrow underneath like gopher holes.

  It might come in handy one day.

  Recalling that conversation, Salazar became convinced that the tunnels Serena had told him about were part of his and his mother's destiny.

  Now, the memory of those conversations made him even more determined to get his mother there and safely underground. It may very well mean the difference in their survival or their deaths.

  Serena McKay and Tom Lang had gone to tremendous pains to find a doctor to repair the damage done to her fallopian tubes after the serial murderer, The Cellophane Killer, had sliced up her body. They had tried everything until finally, when Serena was forty, they had managed to get pregnant.

  Even if Serena had never been traumatized, pregnancy wasn't easy to accomplish then or now. It was rare for the women in August City to conceive and miscarriage was the common outcome. Add to that the high infant mortality rate and one could understand why it was a major factor in the population's decline.

  It was the same in all the cities across the United Sectors.

  The fact that Serena and Tom had managed the feat was a wonder that no one fully understood and giving birth to Michele was a true miracle.

  Now, Salazar resolved that he would never let their miracle-baby die.

  Strong-headed and able-bodied, he was determined that his mother would live through this disaster even if he had to carry her kicking and screaming to the only place where they might survive.

  He
had the answer; now, he had to convince his mother.

  "I know where we will be safe but we must hurry," he boldly announced.

  5| Shelter from the Storm

  "What are you talking about?" Miki chided. "If what we both suspect is true, there's no place to run and hide, no place of safety anywhere. We can't simply rush into the streets and hope to find a hiding place. We're better off here." Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared evenly at her son and squared her thin shoulders. "We'll wait for Rob to return. We'll all die together as a family. We will accept our fate with whatever dignity we can manage."

  "Hell no!" Salazar was adamant. "We're not accepting the fate those bastards imposed on us and there isn't time for this debate. Dad would want us to live and you know it. He would want us to seek shelter and survive. He'll do the same and then we will find each other after this is over."

  "Over?" Miki gasped. "What makes you think this will end? We've been abandoned. Just as my grandfather predicted, this will never be over until we're all dead." She moved the curtain aside to look out the window again. She suspected that the reddish, black clouds on the horizon was some kind of fireball and added, "Until we're all burned to a crisp."

  "I refuse to let it be over for us. Now, gather everything you can carry in that big bag you always tote around and let's go. Now, Mother, now!"

  Miki realized that opposing Salazar was pointless and a waste of time. He had been reared to be a man and take charge in any situation. He had promised Rob that he would always protect her whenever her husband was away for work. Rob had faith in his son and she did too. She considered that, if Salazar was right and there was a safe place to weather the storm, her refusal to accompany him might mean his death. She couldn't live with that idea. She pushed aside her anxiety and did as she was told.

  They put on extra clothes and scarves, anything that they might need later if they survived. Then, after they had packed any supplies they could carry in his backpack and her satchel such as blankets, flashlights, water, and a little food, Salazar led Miki through the darkened streets and into Fallhaven's inner city.

  On the way, he noticed that the residential streets of the city were presently clear of traffic even though they were filled with throngs of people. The few cars and buses that still remained in service had pulled over and their passengers had gotten out.

  Some pushed and shoved, trying to make their way home on foot while others stared into the evening sky as if mesmerized by what they saw. Because they had no true reference for what they observed, they seemed calm and curious which served to fuel a false sense of security. Only a few of the people listened to their instincts and rushed to leave the area.

  How could any of them understand?

  Some used their phones to search the web to see if whatever was happening was in the news. Others tried to call friends and relatives in other areas of the city to see if they knew anything. Most of them had always accepted whatever story the authorities put out. If it was in the news, it must be true. They were 'asleep-sheep' just as his father had always said. However, there was no news and soon their phone signals were jammed and useless.

  As they passed by unnoticed on foot, Salazar and Miki closely listened to the idle chatter of their neighbors. It was soon obvious that some mistakenly thought what they saw was some type of fireworks display.

  "Maybe one of the rich assholes over in Springhaven or Summerhaven is throwing a party," a voice nervously quipped.

  "It could be. You know how they love to waste money."

  "Yeah, they'd rather waste it than increase our wages."

  "They're probably having a surprise celebration for a favorite daughter's birthday."

  "I wouldn't be surprised to read about it in tomorrow's news. They love to spoil their fat, ugly princesses."

  "Can you imagine what it would be like to have all the food you want… to have so much to eat that you actually become fat?'

  No one answered because they could not envision such a thing.

  "To be honest, it looks like something is on fire," another voice fearfully added. "Maybe that's why the jets flew by earlier. Maybe they were sent to check it out."

  "What jets?"

  "I've never seen fireworks look like that or make that loud rumbling noise. It seems to be concentrated on Summerhaven and maybe Springhaven. From here it's hard to know for sure."

  "You don't think the rich assholes in Summerhaven are being attacked in some way, do you?"

  "Why would you think that?"

  "Because of the planes… Maybe they have something to do with this… I don't know. It just seems really odd."

  "I didn't see any planes."

  "You missed it then because two jets flew by minutes ago."

  "You mean blew by," someone nervously laughed. "They flew so close to the ground, it scared the crap out of me. I ducked for cover!"

  The nervous chatter continued as more and more people came out into the streets to gaze into the evening sky. Summerhaven had already been bombed, but the Fat Cats living in Springhaven were further away and unaware. They foolishly sat in their gardens or solariums and ordered their servants to bring wine or champagne for the surprise festivities.

  They weren't rich enough to be in-the-know about the lifeboats that had just taken off. They didn't know they had been left behind along with their pitifully poor and destitute kin and neighbors in Fallhaven and Winterhaven.

  Many in Fallhaven came out of their broken-down condos, dilapidated apartment buildings, or rodent infested bungalows. Some held bottles of beer in hand and a few others brought out their lawn chairs to get comfortable while they watched the vivid aerial display.

  Even the homeless in Winterhaven, stumbled out of their makeshift cardboard shelters and underpasses where they lived. With dirty blankets wrapped around them, they settled down to watch the evening's unusual event and get a closer look at the commotion. No one wanted to be left out and no one understood what they observed.

  They didn't have long to wait.

  Soon, brilliant showers from slow-burning, highly-flammable incendiaries cast a hazy red glow in the night sky. Some embers fell sizzling and popping to the ground. With a delayed explosive charge, at first only smoke and fumes was evident; any danger perceived was easily dismissed.

  "See, I told you they were throwing a party."

  "Then, what is all this pink stuff floating in the air?" Some in the crowds wondered as they began to cough.

  "What's going on? What are those things on the ground? Is that where the smoke is coming from?"

  "Aw, it's nothing. Just a dud," a scratchy voice reassured.

  "Get back, it could still go off."

  The crowd grew more anxious.

  "It's just a Roman Candle or bottle rocket that didn't go off."

  "How would you know? Have you ever seen a Roman Candle or bottle rocket?"

  "My throat hurts. Does anyone feel that? I think something toxic is in the smoke."

  People backed up, but they did not run.

  As soon as they had inhaled the toxic fumes, some dropped to their knees coughing, retching, and vomiting. A few more clutched their chests and fell. They were dead before they hit the pavement.

  In all the confusion, the people who witnessed those reactions couldn't grasp the significance.

  Now getting closer, clouds of smoke and fire billowed into the air. None of those observing the event had been alive during the first attacks over a century earlier. Having never seen such sights before, they didn't recognize the dangers or the nature of what they were seeing.

  It didn't register until more planes returned.

  Finally, when the bombs began to fall on Fallhaven and the fires broke out, the residents understood what was happening … however, by then, it was too late for them.

  By then, it was their turn to die.

  Just as they had done in Summerhaven and Springhaven, the airplanes made pass after pass dropping their payloads in rapid succession over Win
terhaven.

  6| Friends & Foes

  Meanwhile, with their mouths and noses covered by scarves to protect them from the blast fumes, Salazar and Miki had reached the inner city. It wasn't a safe place to venture during the best of times, but now, even as buildings were blasted to hell and bombs fell on Fallhaven, looting was in full swing.

  Salazar had never seen a crowd behave the way these people were acting. It was as if they were on speed or crank. With their faces twisted in grimaces and their eyes wild and dilated, crazed men and women ran through the streets in spite of the dangers of the aerial raid. Many were killed by direct hits or torn to shreds by shrapnel. Still, those dangers did not dissuade them. It didn't slow them down or prevent them from trying to complete their insane mission to raid and pillage.

  Salazar couldn't understand why they behaved that way.

  Even among the fires and blasting, residents ransacked stores and took whatever they could steal, whatever they could manage to carry, whether they needed it or not. If it hadn't been so horrifying, it might have been comical to watch some men roar and beat their chests before they attacked someone with better stolen goods. But, it wasn't amusing to see neighbors attacking each other. Nothing that Salazar and Miki witnessed was entertaining.

  The people appeared to be in panic mode… or out of their minds. Either way, it was a terrible scene. Perhaps it was a last-ditch effort to get some payback for the nasty abuses they had suffered. Maybe, they thought that, if it was the end of the world, they would go out with one last fight.

  Then again, perhaps it was something else altogether.