“Can I have a chocolate bar?” Tyler asked.
Lance thought about it for a moment. “Go ahead.”
Lance was trying to conserve food. But Tyler was never a big eater, anyway, and a chocolate bar would likely keep his hunger at bay for the next five hours.
The vehicle splashed through a puddle, then made its way into the largely vacant parking lot. It made Lance wonder how much longer the gym would be around before its owners declared bankruptcy and went out of business.
People who lived in houses were sticking to the basics now, which meant they had a decreased interest in spending money on gyms. They had traded the treadmills and workout benches for neighborhood jogs and push-ups.
It seemed like the only people who were going to gyms nowadays were the wealthy, and people who were in the same situation as Lance. The other eighty percent of the country's population spent their money on food, water, and entertainment.
Lance turned on the car radio and switched stations, finally settling for the news station.
Experts are saying the nuclear war could be far from over, the news reporter said. In anticipation of the next attack, the president is urging everyone to stay calm, and to realize that this nation will succeed as long as we stick together.
Coming up next, we have sports and weather. Stay tuned.
“Is the war over yet, dad?”
“Not quite, Tyler.”
“If the war's not over, does that mean they're going to fire missiles at us?”
Lance pulled into a parking space, then turned off the radio. “Tyler, listen to me. No matter what happens, things will work out for the best in the end.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“How do you know?”
“History will serve you a lesson. When grandpa was around, he lived through two world wars. He fought in world war two, and got shot. In the meantime, grandma was working hard for low wages, trying to make sure we still had food. There was also what they call a Great Depression. Times were really rough, but they were only temporary. Times are tough now, and they are going to get tougher in the future. But they are only temporary, as well. We have to appreciate the good times, and embrace the bad times when they come along.”
“I wish grandpa and grandma were still alive.”
“So do I,” Lance said, turning off the engine.
“Is that why we're poor now? Because of the war?”
“Well, partially. A lot of people lost their jobs when the war started. But we can't use that as an excuse. We have to keep trying.”
* * * * *
As they walked through the entrance doors and swiped their membership cards through the scanner, Lance noticed a HELP WANTED sign at the front desk.
“What's up?” the man behind the desk greeted.
“Hey, how ya doing?” Lance asked.
The man simply nodded.
“What kind of help are they looking for?” Lance asked.
“Huh?”
Lance pointed at the sign.
“Oh. We're looking for someone to work at the front desk, answering phones and helping clients.”
“Do you know if it's full time or part time?”
“Full time.”
“Can I fill out an application?”
“Sure,” the man said, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a sheet of paper and a pen.
* * * * *
When Lance finished filling out the application, he handed it back to the man behind the desk.
The man looked it over. “Fifteen years of experience in sales? Whoa.”
“Yeah. It goes by fast.”
“Well, since the communication network is still down from the last terrorist attack, we have no way of calling you. Would you mind coming in for an interview at four o' clock this Tuesday?”
“I'll be here. Thanks.”
Chapter Two
The line for the ATM machine was longer than usual, especially for a Monday morning, when people were supposed to be at work.
His car radio had been full of static all day, so he hadn't listened to the latest news stories.
“The communication network has been taken out,” the man standing behind Lance said. “Next, the whole power grid is going to get taken out. Just wait and see.”
“I hope not,” Lance said. “They've been deploying extra troops to guard the border.”
“No, I'm not talking about terrorism. I'm talking about the CME.”
“CME?”
“The coronal mass ejection that might follow the solar flare. You didn't hear about that?”
“No. My radio has been full of static. But I'm aware of the communication network being out of order.”
“There was a solar flare yesterday. They're saying there is a very good chance a CME could follow. That's why the bank is so crowded today. People are panicking.”
Lance was stunned. “I had no idea. I thought the communication disruption was from the terrorist attack.”
“No, they fixed the communication network problems from the terrorist attack a long time ago.”
Lance had his cellphone service disconnected a several months ago already, due to financial issues. He hadn't used a phone since.
“Yesterday, the communication network got disrupted again. But this time, a solar flare caused it. You know what might happen after a solar flare? A coronal mass ejection. You never know, so why take the chance? The economy is already collapsing. I don't want to see what it's going to look like after the entire grid gets taken out by a CME.”
“Neither do I,” Lance said. “Maybe it won't happen, though.”
The man shrugged. “Yeah. Hopefully, it won't. But I would start stockpiling, just in case.”
“I would if I could,” Lance said. “Money has been a very difficult thing for me to get a hold of. I can barely put gasoline in my car.”
“You can still stockpile,” the man encouraged. “It doesn't have to be anything expensive. For example, a box of pop tarts is only a few bucks, but it has about two-thousand calories in it.”
“Yeah, I remember those. I don't think I've had them in a decade or so.”
“You gotta look for things that are cheap, but high in calories.”
“True. But just because they're high in calories, that doesn't mean they're filling.”
“Well, that was just one example. There are other things out there that are cheap and filling. We might have to hang out at home for a while and ride out the CME until the aftermath passes. And who knows how long that will be?”
* * * * *
After withdrawing eighty dollars from the ATM, Lance went grocery shopping. He took the stranger's advice and purchased pop tarts, along with other food items that were fairly high in calories.
But since he didn't have an oven, many food options were eliminated.
As he walked past the “Seasonal” aisle, he glanced at the lawn chairs, coolers, and outdoor grilling supplies.
It reminded him that summer was right around the corner, and the temperatures in the Midwest would soon reach ninety degrees Fahrenheit.
Running an air conditioner nonstop meant he would have to keep the engine running, which would burn up too much fuel.
He couldn't afford that.
He also wouldn't be able to run the heater nonstop when the harsh winter approached half a year later.
If he didn't get that job at the gym, he would have to travel to the pacific northwest to seek milder weather conditions.
* * * * *
While filling up his tank at the gas station, Lance peered up at the sky. The gray clouds looked like they were trying to invite a rain shower.
It was a quarter before three, almost time to pick up Tyler from school.
The temperature was just below sixty degrees Fahrenheit, slightly below average for the middle of May.
He daydreamed about his life in the past, before the nuclear missiles had wiped out much of the country's infrastructure. He t
hought about home-cooked meals, and the weekends he spent at home. He thought about his central air conditioning system, refrigerator, and family barbecues.
All things of the past.
Even though this was only his fourth day of homelessness, it felt like much longer than that. And his domesticated memories already seemed distant and out of reach. He felt uncivilized now. He knew his feelings didn't reflect reality, but that didn't seem to help.
He had failed financially.
It might not have been his fault, but Lance was one of those people who blamed himself for almost everything. Perhaps it was because blaming himself for his monetary shortcomings made him feel like he still had some control over his financial situation.
The pump stopped, snapping Lance out of his daydream. He put the gas cap back on, then glanced up at the sky. Sunlight was beginning to peek through the clouds, and it no longer looked like it was going to rain.
By the time he opened his car door, he noticed that the numbers on the screen were cleared. In fact, the entire computerized screen on the gas pump was blank. He stared at the blank screen for a long moment.
“What's wrong with this thing?” someone at the next pump asked, speaking to himself out loud. He slammed down the nozzle and stormed into the building.
Lance looked at the pump that was furthest away from him. It's screen was also blank.
All the screens were blank.
The sound of tires peeling on the pavement sent a chill down the back of Lance's neck. Soon after, the sound was followed by a loud crash. Two cars had collided with each other, sending shards of broken glass flying in different directions.
Lance hurried back into his car and started the engine. It didn't start the first time. He waited a moment before giving it another try.
Still nothing.
The last time he experienced something like this was eight years ago when his car stalled on him on a cold, wintry morning.
He tried a third time.
The dashboard lights were blinking strangely, but the car started.
He sighed in relief as he shifted into DRIVE.
Chapter Three
By the time Lance arrived at Tyler's school, the parking lot was a disaster. It was always too small in relation to the number of kids who attended the school.
The roads were disastrous.
Drivers were distracted by their malfunctioning vehicles, which led to many serious accidents.
Lance found a parking space, then stood in front of his car.
All the kids were playing outside while they waited for their parents to pick them up.
Lance was in deep thought, staring straight ahead and seeing things in slow motion. His surroundings began to fade into the background as he thought about his life. What had happened to him? How could so many things in his life slip away so rapidly.
The death of his wife was less than a year ago. Shortly after that, his financial situation deteriorated significantly after his company cut payroll.
Now he was a homeless, and missing a wife.
It was a lot to absorb.
When Tyler came into view, Lance waved at him.
Tyler said goodbye to his friends, then grabbed his backpack and ran toward his dad.
“Class ended early today,” Tyler said.
“Why?”
“The power went out.”
Lance thought about the screens that had gone blank at the gas station half hour earlier. The power outage didn't seem to be an isolated event. “When did the power go out?”
“About half an hour ago.”
“Did they tell you whether or not school is going to be closed tomorrow?”
“Mrs Petersen said she doesn't know yet. The principal doesn't know yet, either. I guess we'll have to come back tomorrow and find out. But I hope it closes.”
“Even though we live in a car, you'd still rather not go to school? I thought you would like a building better than a car.”
“But we go places all the time. We go to the gym, the park, the shopping centers, the forest preserves, and all kinds of places. It's way better than school. There are too many rules at school. I can't even get a drink of water after gym class. And I was so dehydrated. Jack actually sneaked into the bathroom to drink out of the sink in there. Mrs Petersen wouldn't let him go to the water fountain, but she let him go to the bathroom.” It was evident that Tyler liked his freedom, regardless of the sacrifices that came along with it.
“Do you want some water now?” Lance asked, handing him a water bottle.
“Yeah,” Tyler said. “What about pop?”
“I didn't buy any.”
“Hey, look,” Tyler said. “It's Justin.”
Justin was Tyler's friend. He was walking through the parking lot with his mom and younger sister.
“Hi, Justin.”
“Hey, Tyler.”
Their red minivan was parked next to Lance's car.
“How are you doing?” Justin's mom asked, opening the door to her minivan.
“Okay,” Lance said. “By any chance, do you have power at your house? Or have you even been home recently?”
“The power went out about half hour ago, right before I left to pick up Justin.”
“So, it's not just the school then?”
“No.”
“Because I was just at the gas station, and it looks like the power is out over there, as well.”
“Yeah, it looks like it's a widespread power outage. Hopefully, it will come back on soon.”
Lance thought about it for a long moment. Had the speculative man at the bank been right? “Alright. Take care.”
“You, too.”
Tyler and Justin said bye to each other, then the minivan left the parking lot.
“Where are we going to go, dad?”
“I guess we can go to the park for a little while,” Lance said, opening the car door.
“Is there anything to eat?”
“I got you a burger,” Lance said, handing it over. “It was an hour ago, so it's going to be cold by now.”
Tyler didn't care if it was hot or not. To him, cold burgers always tasted much better than vegetables. “Any fries?”
“No, not today. I bought some bananas at the store today. You need to eat something healthy.”
“Any dessert?” Tyler asked excitedly, unwrapping the burger.
“The banana is your dessert.”
“No chocolate bar?”
“Maybe tomorrow.”
* * * * *
Sitting on the park bench was like a dinner table to them. They would sit there while they ate and talked about their day.
But today, they were both quiet.
Lance had a lot on his mind, and Tyler was too tired to carry out a conversation. They could hear the metallic creaking sounds as the wind pushed the swings in the playground area back and forth.
A bird swooped down and landed near them, searching for scraps on the ground. It made Lance think about the future, and how he might be forced to live off of scraps, as well, if things continued the way they were.
The bird looked up at him.
“Sorry,” Lance said. “I don't have a whole lot of food for you.”
He was telling the truth.
He could barely afford to feed himself.
Chapter Four
After seeing that the parking lot was empty the next day, it was evident to Lance and Tyler that the school was closed.
The stop lights in the streets were also out of order, and the cars at every street corner and intersection had to take turns passing through.
Many businesses were forced to close their doors. Buildings that lacked adequate security were getting broken into and looted.
Gunshots were going off in the distance, likely from an owner trying to defend his business.
“Are those fireworks or gunshots?” Tyler asked. With the Fourth of July coming up in less than two months, it wasn't uncommon to hear fireworks at this time of year. A lot of
people would purchase them in May, test some of them out, and then save the rest for July fourth.
“I think those are gunshots,” Lance said, rolling up the car windows. He pressed the power lock switch to make sure all the doors were locked.
It wasn't yet nine o' clock in the morning, but pandemonium already seemed to be breaking out across the town. Lance imagined it would only grow worse throughout the course of the day. And he didn't even want to think about what the town would be like after sundown.
Crime rates seemed to get worse at night, and he didn't think that would change during an apocalyptic event.
“What are we going to do today?” Tyler asked, not fully understanding the CME event that had taken place.
“Let's try to stay close to the car today,” Lance said. He was trying to sound calm, even though he wasn't.
Tyler sensed something was wrong. He noticed a nervousness in his dad's voice.
Another gunshot went off. This time, it sounded louder, as if the gunman was getting closer. Tyler jolted forward in agitated surprise.
Lance pulled up to the stoplight and waited a few moments, before passing through the busy intersection.
He thought about where he was going to go, and what he was going to do. A power outage meant the gym would be closed, along with many other businesses.
Dire circumstances had already been wrestling with his mind, and he now wondered if this event would finally push him over the brink.
He couldn't afford to lose his sanity, especially when he had Tyler to take care of. But things were out of his control, and he didn't know what was going to happen.
Just when he thought his options couldn't get any worse—they did.
He knew things would no longer be the same.
Chapter Five
Lance was hardly surprised when he saw that the gym was closed, but he peered through the glass windows in disbelief, anyway.
It was dark and vacant.
It was four o' clock; time for his interview.
But there would be no interview.
He felt like an incredible opportunity that was within his grasp had suddenly slipped away. He was confident he would have gotten hired. It would have meant moving into a small house or a condominium.
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