Love, Ken
Page 6
was in there today. I was flattered, but I turned her down. I’m just not ready for it yet. It’s too soon. Besides, I’m not living here permanently. It probably wouldn’t work.
I had a dream last night but it wasn’t about Theresa. It was a strange dream. You and I were children, but Belle and Tammi were with us. We were all playing together in the tree house. It was strange and pleasant at the same time. I could relate to the girls on their level and I also got to relive some of my childhood with you. I miss the times I spent with you back then. Once we became adults it was never the same.
How’s Mom? I hope she likes living with you. Is she following the doctor’s instructions? I don’t know what I’d do if she died. My head really hurts. I think this is the worst headache I’ve gotten since I moved out here. I miss you and I hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Ken
Fallout, 2
“It gets harder every year, Susie, seeing kids die. I can’t handle it.” Chuck grabbed a beer from the fridge.
“Put that down, Chuck.” Susie took it out of his hand and put it on the kitchen counter. “You know you’ve said that every year since you started?”
“Well, I mean it this time. It’s getting worse. No matter how much success we have with treatment, people just keep dying. A lot of them are kids.”
“You can’t quit, Chuck. RO is low on good officers.”
Chuck shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder if there’s any point, you know?
“No, I don’t know. What are you talking about?”
“We move people over and over but they’re still dying. Sickness gets worse, the burns get worse, and we just keep moving people and they just keep dying. Today I watched a grown man cry his eyes out after seeing his son die in the shower. He was a teenager. He didn’t deserve it. Sarai’s kids are covered in burn scars. They’ll never have normal lives.”
“Sarai?” Susie was curious.
“She’s a woman I moved today.”
“You call her by her first name?”
“She’s special, Susie.”
Susie looked jealous.
“Not special like you, of course. Her husband is dead and her children are scarred and she never complains. She cooperates with us, chats with us, even donates money to RO when she can afford it.”
The look of jealousy left Susie’s face.
“I’ve never moved anyone like her. She doesn’t deserve the life she’s been given. No one deserves the world we live in.”
“There’s nothing you can do, Chuck. RO’s job is make this world as livable as possible.”
“There’s got to be something else we can do. Something to fix what we did.”
“They’re working on it, you know that.”
Chuck paused for a few seconds. “I know. I just wish it wasn’t taking so long.”
Susie put her hand on Chuck’s shoulder.
“You remember that house we stayed in out west a couple years ago?” he asked her.
“Yeah.”
“I’m gonna get it for Sarai’s family.”
“What do you mean, ‘get it?’” Susie looked confused. She pulled her hand back.
“I told her I would put up the Custom Relocation fee so they could get it.”
Susie became annoyed. “Without asking me?”
“I didn’t think I had to. I thought you’d be okay with it.”
“You work for them, Chuck. You know how much that fee is. We can’t afford that.”
“Why not, Susie? Look at the nice places we get to live in.” He waved his arm around the house. “They always give us the newest car. We’ve got plenty saved in the bank.”
“We still have bills to pay. How much do they take out of your check to pay the bills for the ‘nice places’ they give us? We’re still paying off this furniture, not to mention the credit cards we’ve had since we got married.”
“Listen to me, Susie.”
Susie was angry.
Chuck continued, “I know the fee is expensive.”
“It’ll drain the savings account.”
“I know, but we are doing well. Even without the savings account, we will always be fine. Sarai relies on the government for everything. Her children have seen nothing but tiny, sometimes dirty apartments. They deserve that house more than anyone.”
“That’s not your problem, Chuck. You go to work and you do your job. You don’t do favors.”
Chuck stared at Susie for a few seconds. “Where is all this coming from? This isn’t like you.”
“We were supposed to start our own family. That’s what the savings account is for.”
“Are you pregnant?”
“No, but I want to be.”
Chuck walked closer to Susie and took her hand. “We’ll have our family, Susie, with or without that savings account. Sarai needs this.”
Susie pulled her hand away again. “You can’t make those kind of decisions by yourself.”
The phone rang. Susie sighed in annoyance. “Don’t answer it, Chuck.”
He answered the phone anyway. “Hello?”
One of Chuck’s fellow Relocation Officers was on the other end. “Chuck?”
“Yeah?”
“The fourth shift officer didn’t show up tonight. We need you to come in.”
Chuck looked at Susie.
“Don’t even say it,” she said. “I’m going to bed.” She turned around and went into their bedroom.
“I’ll be there,” Chuck said and hung up the phone. He got dressed again and drove to the relocation site for the fourth shift. It was dark out and Enforcement was increased outside the complex. It was a retirement community that Chuck hadn’t been to before. He was tired but ready to work. He picked up his chart from the Assistant Branch Director, grabbed an ARO and headed into the building.
“We’re having difficulties with this building, sir,” the ARO told Chuck.
“What kind of difficulties?”
“Just take a look.”
Chuck walked into the first quad. It was a large room with a TV, couches and chairs, and a few exercise machines. There were doors lining all four walls for the living quarters. There were no bags outside any of them. “Has anyone tried going in?”
“Doors are locked. No one will answer from inside. The security cameras show them in there moving around so we know they’re not dead. They just won’t answer.”
“Did you call the super?”
“He’s missing, sir.”
“Missing?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, what’s the Director waiting for? Bust the doors in.”
“When he heard you were coming he said to wait for you.”
Chuck was surprised and confused. “Why me?”
“You’ve been doing this for twenty years, he trusts your judgment. He thought maybe you could defuse the situation before it came to ‘busting in.’”
“He’s the Assistant Branch Director – three levels above me. He shouldn’t be deferring to me.”
“If I may say, sir, you’re the best that RO has. You know just as much as the Head Director himself and you’ve been here longer.”
“Still doesn’t change protocol.”
“Because you’re one for protocol?”
Chuck gave the ARO a dirty look. “Not the point.”
The ARO smiled back. “It’s your move, sir.”
“Yeah, I got it.” Chuck pushed his chart against the ARO’s chest and let go of it. He walked up to Room One and knocked on the door. “It’s time to move!” There was no response. “What’s the name here?”
“Martinez, sir. Mark and Lisa.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Martinez, please open the door and talk to me.”
There was still no response.
“Look, folks. The men out here want to break your door down and shoot you. I don’t want that to happen.”
A male voice came from inside, “Don’t pretend to care about us!”
Chuck looked back at the ARO, s
urprised. He looked back to the door. “I’m not pretending, sir. I do care. Besides, whether I care about you or not, they’ll come in and shoot you and I’ll have to clean the mess. I really don’t want to have to do that.”
Mark Martinez opened the door slowly. “They won’t actually shoot us, will they?”
“No,” Chuck said, “but it got you to open the door.”
Mark quickly tried to push the door shut, but Chuck held it open.
“Look, Mr. Martinez, we have to move you. It’s getting late and we have plenty more buildings to go tonight.”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
“Don’t do this, sir. You know it’s not going to work. They won’t shoot you with bullets, but the men outside have tranquilizers.”
“We’ve all discussed this. We’re too old to keep moving. None of us are going.” He walked back into his living room and sat down on the couch.
Chuck followed him. “How do you plan to stop it?”
“We won’t cooperate. You won’t force us all out. How will it make you all look?”
Chuck shook his head. “You don’t know much about the Relocation Office, do you?”
“We can’t go,” Lisa said to Chuck.
“Why not? What makes it so hard for you to move?”
“We’re sick,” Mark said. “We’re old. We’re tired. We’re constantly in pain.”
“That’s why we’re moving you, to get you somewhere better.”
Mark became angry. “We’re going to die anyway! Moving will hardly give us any extra time. What you’re doing does not help us. It causes us more stress and pain.”
Chuck was torn. Mark was only feeding his feeling that Relocation was pointless. His resolve started to fade. “Please, Mr. Martinez, go peacefully. I don’t want to see them hurt you.”
“I don’t believe they will.”
Chuck stared at Mark. He seemed so sure the Officers wouldn’t use force. Chuck couldn’t keep his composure. Tears formed in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he