First Days After

by Jay Vielle

  “Hey Big Guy. Yeah, I know your situation. We can get into the nurse’s office, see if she has any blood monitoring stuff in there. In the meantime, your blood sugar starts to feel too high or too low, you let somebody know. Keep mindful of how you’re feeling and stay around people, alright?” Glen nodded.

  “What we need to do is go across the street to the Wal-Mart. That place has got everything we need,” said Orville.

  “They sure would,” I said enthusiastically. “We should maybe see what’s there, bring back the important stuff.”

  “What if everybody else probably has the same idea. You might run into some trouble there,” said Robin.

  “Or bring some back with you,” added Al .

  “He can handle himself,” Mark Longaberger said. “He’s 6’3” and 250 pounds. Who’s gonna mess with him?”

  “Is he bulletproof?” asked Robin. “Cause everywhere else in the country seems to be shooting it up.”

  “At least in Texas,” added Al DeFillipo.

  “I’m pretty big. Like he said, I can handle myself,” Orville said.

  “Keep in mind, something, Lou,” said Jake. “You’re responsible for more than just yourself now. You’re a teacher, and we have students and fellow colleagues here who need us. We’re a group of survivors now, not just a school building. What if you run into some unsavory characters at the Wal-Mart? What if you get followed by somebody with a weapon, and they get the idea to break into the school? Then we’re all in danger, and you will essentially have put us there. So far, we’re lucky to be alive. Hard to say how long our luck’s gonna last. I suggest we wait a little bit, exercise a little caution first.”

  “So how are we supposed to survive just sitting here?” Longaberger yelled. He leaned over towards Wes Kent and whispered, “this feels a little like bullshit.” The second comment was made with less volume, almost fading into whisper.

  Jake made a calming gesture with his hands and lowered his voice a tad. “Mark, we are in a building that stores tons of food for over a thousand people a day for weeks at a time. We’re way better off than lots of people right now, and we’re safe. That’s probably not going to last.”

  “Why not?” The question came from one of the crying girls, who had composed herself enough to pay attention to the two alpha males interacting.

  “The way I figure,” Jake began, “The first thing that’s gonna happen is survivors will look for each other. You’ll see folks helping each other, sharing, kindness, folks sticking together. That’s usual after big tragedies. You see great human kindness follow close behind catastrophe. But after a while, when everyday survival starts taking over, you’ll start to see a change. People are going to start huddling together in groups. Clans, gangs, whatever you want to call them. There’s safety in numbers. Those clans are going to have to feed themselves, and when law and order is out the window, the easiest way to feed yourself is to raid someone else. Someone will figure out that we have stuff here and sooner or later, they’ll try to break in. That’s when we’ll have to defend ourselves.”

  “Let ‘em come,” shouted Orville. “I’ll put all 250 lbs. behind my fist and see how they like that.” Robin Eaves and Melanie Richmond rolled their eyes, and the handful of football players hooted in affirmation.

  “I’m glad that you are a big guy on our side, Lou. But remember, animals that have to fight to the death for every meal don’t tend to live very long,” said Jake.

  “Well I ain’t no animal,” said Orville.

  “No need to fret about something we don’t have any control over. Preparing for the worst is a safe bet. Worrying about it or talking tough doesn’t really help,” said Jake. “I figure our best bet is to gather some food first, then get some inventory on what we need to cook first so that it lasts longer. Once we’ve established ourselves, created a system for rationing, and gotten a bit of a routine, then it will probably be time to find something to haul our supplies in. Then we try to create or snag some weapons. By then, it’ll be time to start scouting around,” Jake said. “For now, though, let’s just try to get settled, see what we have, maybe make some plans in case folks decide to show up with bad intentions.”

  “What if you’re wrong,” asked Lou Orville. “What if nobody comes here?”

  “Yeah, and what if we don’t want to stay here? What if we want to go someplace? It’s a free country,” said Longaberger.

  “Yeah,” added Orville.

  “It WAS a free country,” added Wes Kent. “We don’t know what it is now. We might have to protect our own. Take down potential invaders.”

  Eyes scanned around the room after that. A chill hit me at the thought of what desperate people might do to us, to each other, to anyone.

  “No offense, Jake, but who put you in charge? I mean, we can do whatever the hell we want. It’s World War III out there. I mean, it’s the Apocalypse, right? Doesn’t that make it every man for himself?” said Longaberger.

  Melanie Richmond looked at Longaberger with a sneer and shook her head, mouth agape.

  “What? You know every one of you has thought it at least once since we heard about the bombings. I’m just the one who said it out loud,” said Longaberger. “A-Poc-O-Lypse. Mad Max stuff. And in Mad Max, the aggressors get the lion’s share of everything. Sorry if that hurts your feelings, Mel.”

  Melanie Richmond frowned.

  “The thought that this might be Armageddon did cross my mind,” said Wes.

  “I thought it,” said Orville. “Aint’ gonna lie.”

  “We’re all thinking it,” Jake said. “And we’re all probably fighting down some panic right now. Your gut tells you to grab a handful of whatever you can and go sneaking off to loot stores and buy weapons and God knows what else. I get it. That’s human nature. But you all are going to have to suppress those thoughts for the time being and start thinking like a community instead of like an individual.”

  “Well maybe I want to think like an individual,” said Mark. “Only the strong survive.”

  “Perhaps you’re mistaking me, Mark. I’m not really asking,” said Jake. “This is not the time for that kind of bullshit. You want to survive, you stick together, and you start now.”

  The room went quiet. Longaberger stared daggers at Jake. Lou Orville cut his eyes back and forth at them both and frowned. Jake walked over to the table where most of the female teachers were sitting.

  “Robin, can you and Mel take a little inventory on food? I’m looking for stuff that’s going to spoil soon and also what stuff we have that is non-perishable. We’ll need to eat the perishable stuff first before the power goes and it starts to spoil. Or at least cook it, so that it lasts longer,” said Jake. Both nodded.

  Then, almost as if on cue, the power cut out.

  “Shit. Now we have to do it in the dark,” Robin said.

  “We can use my phone, it has a light,” said Melanie.

  “You might want to hold off on that for now,” said Jake. There’s not going to be anywhere to plug phones in here now. You might want to save everything you have. Try opening all of the cafeteria doors and use what’s left of the sunlight. Just do the best you can.”

  “What do you want us to do?” asked Al DeFillipo. “I’m with you.”

  “Al, how about you take a handful of guys with you and get the ice chests from the training room and fill them up. Every last piece. It’s always open, so you shouldn’t need keys for that. Lou—I’m presuming a football coach has keys to the Physical Education storage. If not, Robin probably can loan you hers. Why don’t you and Mark go snag all of the targets, bows and arrows from the archery sets and bring them into the gym. We’re going to need weapons, and those would be a good start.”

  “I’m not particularly crazy about the way you’re bossing everybody around,” Lou said. Jake wheeled around, surprised. He stared at Orville incredulously for a moment and seeing that his look didn’t affect the big football coach, walked over to him. Orville straightened up and puffe
d out his chest, readying himself. Jake reached up, and Orville started back for a second, as if ready to block a punch. Jake rested his right hand on the big man’s shoulder.

  “Lou, this isn’t about you and me, or who’s giving orders. It’s about all of us. If you have other ideas, we can discuss them together. I’m not trying to boss you around, just trying to take actions now that will save us in the long run. You get it? This is what all my Marine Corps training was about. We stand together or we die apart. These are the tough times you’ve been preparing for all your life. Every pep talk you ever gave to your team about using sports as preparation for life—well this is it. This is the crisis where we see who was listening. Now, are you with me on this?”

  The big man exhaled, softening. He looked a little embarrassed, and he nodded at Jake.

  “Sorry dude,” he said. Jake patted him on the back twice and smiled.

  “No sweat big guy.” Jake exited the cafeteria and walked down the hall towards his old classroom. Once around the corner, Mark Longaberger checked over his shoulder and whispered to Orville.

  “Man, you were totally right back there. Where does this guy get off? Who put him in charge? He’s not the principal. You’re bigger and stronger than he is. In the jungle that makes YOU boss, right? Why didn’t you get in his face?”

  “I wanted to, but he had a point, Mark. We have to be in this together. He’s just doing what he thinks is right,” said Orville. “We don’t want to turn into animals, you know. He could be right.”

  “So, what makes him right? Why can’t you be right? Why can’t I be right? I don’t need to be told what to do. I’m a grown-ass man. That guy’s a dick,” said Longaberger.

  “Maybe. But for now, let’s do what he says. Here, help me get those archery targets.”

  The two men walked into the PE storage closet and looked at the mass of games, balls, and sports equipment. It was a massive amount of space and stuff dedicated to playing. Just playing. Longaberger and Orville stared at the space and sighed.

  “Never really thought about how much time and money goes into playing games,” said Lou. “Don’t need any of this stuff now. Shit just got real.” Orville and Longaberger started gathering eight targets and a cart full of bows and arrows and wheeled all of them into the auxiliary gym. There was a mesh curtain hanging on a cable. Orville grabbed it like he’d done a hundred times and drew it across as the archery back-stop.

  “This is ridiculous. How are these serious weapons? This isn’t the 1500’s,” said Mark.

  “They’re better than nothing, and it’ll be a deterrent to anybody who wants to fuck with us,” said Orville. Some of the football players had followed the two teachers and were carrying the bows that didn’t fit in the cart. Glen Billings nodded in agreement.

  “I always sucked at archery,” said Glen.

  “Dude, you’re huge,” said Tanner Heffner, a small, wiry kid who was wearing a football jersey. “You don’t need a bow and arrow,” he said smiling.

  “Time may come when we all need a bow and arrow,” said Orville. “You may want to start practicing soon. Bow and arrow could be a nice weapon to have if people ever decide to come here and cause trouble.”

  “Not if they have a gun. Bringing a bow to a gunfight is how the Indians lost,” said Mark.

  -------------------- ------------------- --------------------

  Al DeFillipo was shoveling ice into giant Gatorade coolers in the athletic training office, where there was an ice-machine. The machine’s motor was off, and the office had no window, and it was hard to see in the fading light of late afternoon. Al was spilling ice on the floor and cursing to himself.

  “Mr. D, don’t sweat it. Let me help you.” The comment came from Jada Allen, a young African-American girl who was one of several students that had come to assist.

  “Pass them along once they’re full, Jada,” a woman said. The woman was Maureen Kelly, who taught Spanish and French at the school, and was the director of the International Club—which was one of the small bastions of minority students in the building. Maureen was white but had married a black man from the Dominican Republic when studying there in college. A friend of DeFillipo’s, she shared his politics, and was always welcoming to people of color or pretty much any kind of minority in the school. Many said that she and DeFillipo had had an affair, which was what led to her divorce, but anyone taking note of the make-up she used to mask the bruises her ex-husband gave her knew the truth. She was a kind, big-hearted woman in her early 40’s, who had always gone out of her way to be welcoming to me. Maureen was stacking the Gatorade buckets onto a large flatbed cart to bring back to the cafeteria. I was keeping tallies of how many there were.

  “Make sure you wheel these back to Coach Fisher, Jada,” I said. She looked crestfallen.

  “But I was gonna help Mr. D fill the rest of these,” she said. Maureen’s eyes cast towards DeFillipo accusingly.

  “I’ll do that, Jada. Do what Señor Reyes says,” said Maureen.

  DeFillipo felt the eyes on his back and pursed his lips. He looked back at Maureen.

  “Really? Anything you want to say to me?” he asked.

  “Just be careful, Al. That girl idolizes you.”

  “She’s helping me fill ice chests, Mo’. Not asking me to sleep with her.”

  “Yet,” said Kelly.

  “Jesus, Mo’. What are you saying?” said Al.

  “Just be careful, that’s all. No harm in being careful, right? Especially now,” she said.

  Jada wheeled the cart back to the cafeteria with me and we approached Jake.

  “Thanks, Jada. All the machines off, Eddie?”

  “Yeah, Jake. Lights out, ice machine off. We won’t have too long before stuff starts to melt,” I said.

  “Tell Al and Maureen to empty out the machine. No sense letting anything go to waste. Jada, you and Mr. Randy dump all of these into the walk-in freezer in the kitchen. Mrs. Eaves and Mrs. Richmond are moving things around in there as we speak. The ice will last longer in there. Everything’s insulated. We want to dump everything we have and make the most of it for now. Thanks.”

  I stared at Jake for a moment. He had taken charge coolly and confidently, had managed to become a leader in tough times with people challenging his leadership, and was making decisions that made complete sense in a survival situation. I shook my head in admiration ever so slightly, and he caught me.

  “Jesus, Eddie. You’re not gonna hit on me now, are you? I got stuff to do.”

  “Nope. Too old. Too fat. I might go hit on that hunky football coach, though. He seems pretty macho,” I smiled. “What did he say to you?”

  “Nothing. I did most of the talking. I understand why he might be a little touchy about taking orders. Hell, for all we know, society is out there with no rules at all right now. But I know what I’m doing, and I’m not gonna let him screw that up just to get in a pissing contest with me,” he said.

  “That’s good, hombre. ‘Cause with the size of him, I think he’s got more piss.”

  “Size isn’t everything,” said Jake.

  “Spoken like a straight man,” I said, walking into the kitchen.

  CHAPTER 3

  The first night in the cafeteria was sleepless for most of us. While the day had been horribly taxing and the effort to get things ready very stressful, the night--for many of us—was worse. Lying in a dark cafeteria on our clothes was more than uncomfortable. It was unsettling. The not knowing was awful. The wondering, Am I going to make it through this? Is my family OK? What are we going to do next? All of those questions circled around my brain. Some of the kids dropped off the minute the sun went down. All of the stress of the day exhausted many of them. The adults, on the other hand, were another matter. With a sense of responsibility that is drilled into you as a teacher, most of us didn’t sleep well, concerned about our students and our colleagues.

  While the night may have been unsettling, the next morning, however, was another matter. By the
time most of us had awakened, Jake had already done some cooking. There were French Toast sticks and sausage patties waiting for everyone, the scent wafting into the main part of the cafeteria from the kitchen. What’s more, the lights were on. All of the electricity was on. I couldn’t understand it. But as everyone around me started to rouse to their feet and gravitate towards the kitchen and its good smells, I saw a smiling Jake Fisher standing behind the serving counter offering food to thirty-six people under his charge. In addition, I could smell coffee brewing in the teachers’ dining room. Melanie Richmond had put it together.

  Each of us got two French Toast sticks and a sausage patty, and about half of us had a small cup of coffee in a Styrofoam cup. As we all sat and ate, conversations slowly and quietly began to spring up. Once everyone was served, Jake came and sat down next to me with his small plate and a glass of water.

  “No coffee?” I asked.

  “Never could get used to it,” he said. “They practically forced it on you in the corps, but I couldn’t stand it.”

  “Suit yourself. More for me,” I added. Jake grinned back and stuffed a stick in his mouth.

  “How’d you get the electricity on?” I asked.

  “Wish I could take credit for it, but it just came on all by itself,” he said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It most likely means that whatever bombs hit, the EMP took out some local grids for a time, but they weren’t permanently damaged—at least around here.”

  “EMP?”

  “Electro-magnetic pulse. With nuclear bombs, everyone pays attention to the horrific destruction, but there is also an EMP that takes out all power within a pretty big radius. If the power plants or grids aren’t destroyed, however, then things should just re-set I guess.”

  “You guess?” I asked.

  “History teacher. Not a demolitions expert. Like you, remember?”