Black Box 86ed

by Kjelland, Andrew

Roger standing, “Jesus Christ I’ll keep him safe,” he says.

  “Well let’s fucking go!” One of the men yells.

  “One guys goes back into the house to give cover while we split up and go around the sides of the house, an older man says blankly. The house is still standing so Watchtower must have gotten that tank, so it’s just gona be foot soldiers.”

  We take off; I jump over the bushes back into the yard. The early morning sun cascading over me, casting long shadows, as I try to find the best size stride to not tear any stitches.

  “I got the house,” Roger yells behind me as I start towards the right side of the building. There is still gunfire but it’s becoming more and more intermittent.

  Passing Billy’s motionless body, I try to not look at what’s left of his head. Reaching the corner of the house I see the wrangled remains of the tank. Not too shabby Watchtower, I think to myself. I look out across the street to two men in military uniforms retreating down the block. Turning to the left I see Louie about thirty feet away. He’s just sitting on the front steps of the house hunched over his shirt soaked in blood.

  I start to run to him but something grabs my attention. Looking, past a hole in the white picket fence, I hear shallow gasping breaths from the other side. Poking my head through I’m met by the naked man curled into the fetal position. The parts of his body not covered in blood have turned a sickly pasty white color. Almost like marble. He lays quivering and gasping as he struggles to stay alive. Looking just beyond him, the body of a soldier and what looks like a serious head wound that must have been made with a rock.

  I turn away, looking at something like that for to long can’t be good for you.

  “He's here and he's hurt,” I yell up to the attic window, as I run to Louie.

  “Coming,” Roger yells back.

  Reaching him, his eye stare distantly. “Hey, uhh.” My mind draws a blank, what the hell do I say to a man I barely know in the throws of the last minute of his life. “You… you did a really good job, everyone got out safe. Uhh, Billy is taking Landen someplace safe, you… you saved us, thank you Louie.” He blinks slowly, his breathing stuttering then coming to a complete stop. “It was nice to meet you Louie.”

  Roger runs up from behind. “Jesus Christ.”

  “Ya we’re have to go. Who knows what the army is gona throw at this neighborhood. Was watchtower still up there?”

  Roger shakes his head. “They tore him up pretty good.”

  “Dam it.”

  The other two guys run up to us. “We chased down those runaways they won’t be radioing in anything anytime soon.”

  “Good but where the hell do we go now?”

  “Well orders are to scout up north. We’ll see what the military has stocked up there and meet back up at the rendezvous point.”

  “Where’s that?” I ask.

  “Well I think we should stay on a need to know basis.”

  “Well than how about we just start with our names”, Will I tell them holding out my hand. Immediately taken by man probably in his thirties he’s about six feet tall with shaggy unkempt black hair with a perfectly trimmed goatee. “James, James Anderson, it’s a pleasure.”

  I turn to the other man holding out my hand.

  “And you are?”

  “I’m the guy whose gona be protecting your sorry ass because Billy ain’t got no sense in him, that’s who”.

  “Don’t mind him, he’s spend a lil to much time playin hide n seek out in the woods.”

  “Humph,” the man replies. “Help, you just call me help. Yell help when you need me and if I care enough I just might come to your rescue. Now we’re going north, grab what ammo you can and let’s head out.”

  CHAPTER…

  We pat down the dead military grabbing ammo. “Dam I feel like a one-man army!” Roger exhales.

  “Ya I feel like I could take on the whole country with all this”.

  “Ready?”

  “Yep.” I respond.

  “Then get your sorry asses up here you’re taking point.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because you just got inducted into boot camp, this is where we find out if you can make it in this man’s army.”

  “Ok,” I tell him as I walk about ten paces ahead.

  “Now you there, you’re bringing up the rear, you watch our backs, me an James here will take opposite sides of the street. That way if they fire on us most of us will be able to get to cover.”

  “And the guy they fire at?”

  “I don’t know, I left my rosary beads at home,” he coughs.

  We walk in silence, each step getting me closer and closer to my death, at least that’s how it feels. Walking for a good twenty minutes in complete silence.

  “Pssst, Pssst,” I turn looking to Help or I guess I’ll just call him H

  “What?”

  His face like a stone motioning me to get to cover. I quickly run to the side of a house ducking into some bushes. I look to see the others have vacated the streets in one way or another.

  “Hey. Hey,” I whisper as loud as I can. “What the hell is going on?” Putting his finger to his lips, grimacing as if me being there has put the whole world on his shoulders. I lay in silence. Nothing, absolutely nothing, I don’t see anything, I don’t hear anything. Birds, singing, their songs the only thing to break the silence, the contrast of my emotions almost unbearable as they try and brighten this hellhole situation I’m in. I place my ear to the ground. I don’t know why, I’ve seen so many TV shows where some guy can hear animals that are miles away just by listening to the dirt. Aaaannnnddd nothing. Huh god movies why do you lie to me? I hear fingers snapping behind me. “Help” points to the horizon. And sure enough I start to hear them. Helicopters, jets, airplanes I don’t know but god knows there’s plenty of them. I slink back farther into the bushes. We wait in silences as the sound grows louder. Becoming almost deafening. That’s when we see them. What looks to be a hundred jets, bombers and helicopters all making their way south. Flying right over us the sun blotting out and reappearing probably between them. Well thank god we got outta downtown I tell myself. I turn onto my back adjusting for the best viewing. An incredible sight. I mean as long as they don’t see us it’s an incredible sight and I don’t mind being in the position I am to view it. The end of the line appears on the horizon. Thank god we’ll be able to move soon. Then I hear it. An undeniable machine gun sounds tearing through the air. Followed by an explosion and rocket fire. Not many but several, probably ten out of the hundred aircraft in the sky, attacking everything. A helicopter gets hit spinning out of control followed by a bright street of yellow and white light as a missile hits a bomber. “Holy shit!” Looking to H but he seems at a loss of ideas, and condescending words. He’s just staring at the sky like me. I look up again to the all out air battle. The deafening sound of heavy machines being hit by rockets their mechanisms trying desperately to stay airborne. Looking across the street I see Roger, his face sunken and confused. I look for orders but H stays fixated on the sky. I look around, a rock a stick something to get his attention. A heavy explosion just above my head. I hear the gears in a helicopter as it slowly spins out of control hurtling down. It’s tale striking the roof of my house. It swoops over “Help” missing him by just a few feet, he looks at me obviously shaken but trying to keep calm.

  “Time to go!” H yells, standing. He takes off at a dead sprint the near miss obviously having him rattled. Roger bolts to his feet running towards me as I try to catch up.

  Smoke fills the sky. Like a deadly thunderstorm the sun almost completely blotted out. We run but the battle seems to follow. Sprinting into the street just steps behind H, it’s so dark I can’ barely tell it’s him looking behind I see Roger just feet behind me, behind him two huge bombers. Billowing smoke from the bombs hidden within. The huge clouds blotting out the sun. I look back to “Help” not losing stride he’s a good twenty feet ahead of me. Da
m for an old guy he can really huff it.

  A light streaks across the sky above our heads. A direct hit on a helicopter. A whoosh of air as it spins out of control mixing with the screams of the about to be dead men inside. Getting louder, louder. splat!

  Just like that, like from some god awful cheesy comic book. Splat not thirty feet from me a man more tomato paste than human laying on the sidewalk. His helmet still on but one arms missing. I shut him out. Focus, focus, and just get out of here. I hear the surprised cries of Roger behind me as he runs past the flat Stanley on the sidewalk.

  My stitches pulling with each stride as I slowly lose ground. Roger making it to my side. “Come on Will don’t give up now!” He yells. I turn from him to H now pointing to a subway tunnel as he gains even more steam leaving Roger and I behind. Reaching the edge of sunlight just feet before plummeting into the darkness of the tunnel. We run a good twenty yards in.

  “Hey where the hell you goin?” H yells as we run by.

  “Jesus we didn’t see you,” I respond.

  “I can’t see a thing.” Roger says.

  Help clicks a flashlight on. “Here I got a second one,” he says handing it to Roger.

  “Wait here,” he says handing it to me.

  “Don’t want you to rip a stitch just cause you tripped.”

  “Thanks,” I respond.

  “Wait, James isn’t with you guys? I thought he was behind you.”

  “What? No I didn’t even think about him.”

  “What do we do now?” Roger asks turning to Help.

  “Should we wait see if he makes it here?”

  “We’re on a schedule,” H says. “If he is still alive and so inclined he can catch up.”

  I look to my feet shuffling them. If he just leaves his partner behind like that what would he do if I really needed help? I look to Roger with a mirror image of my thoughts clearly on his face.

  “Hey look you can stay if you want but a lot more people could die if we don’t hold onto time right now ya hear. If we don’t scout the north side 2,000 men could be walking right into a slaughter, I’m not letting that happen. Not after what our so-called government has done to this great country.”

  “Ok I reply where do we go?”

  “Well we’re gona follow this subway tunnel all the way till the end, if we’re in the right one it’ll drop us off just a few blocks from where we need to be.”

  “Ok, let’s go then,” Roger says.

  H turns and at a brisk pace starts down the tracks.

  “O and one thing you see that rail? It’s called the third rail and if you touch it you’ll be a crispy peace of bacon before we’re able to turn around to see what that delightful smell is.”

  We take off again, Roger and I walk side by side.

  The adrenaline wearing off, I start to feel a splitting pain, like my ass has been wrapped in barbed wire. I run my hand down the inside my pants pulling back, I see blood, not much but defiantly a few stitches have torn or something. I make sure not to say anything, given Mr. “Helps” outlook on helping those in distress.

  I look to Roger his eyes look miles away but it may just be the lighting.

  “You ok?” I ask, “I mean considering everything that’s going on are you doing alright?”

  “Are they safe?” He asks. “You know Over and Grace, you think they're alright?”

  “God I hope so,” I reply. “They, got more men with em, ya know so they're probably ok. Hell, they are with the most protected man in all of Chicago I’m pretty sure they are going to be fine.”

  “Ya but he’s also the most sought after man too. What if the government finds them? And even worse they’re gona find them with probably the most wanted man in America, that can’t be good.”

  That hadn’t occurred to me.”

  “I’m sorry Will,” he says a tremor in his voice. “I’m so sorry.”

  “About what?”

  “You know... last night. We really thought you would be ok, we stayed up watching the entire street, I swear we didn’t see nobody the whole night. I’m sorry,” his voice trembling now.

  “It’s, it’s fine.

  “No, no it’s not. What we did was stupid and selfish and looking back I can’t believe I let myself do something like that. It’s just… I haven’t had much luck when it comes to my… I guess it’s my love life. I mean I told you bout my wife up and leaving me and taking the kids with her. I… I just couldn’t take it. My kids where my life and she just ups and takes em… my entire life and one bitch just get up and walked out on me, never to be seen again ya know. And…. Over… Over was there for me…. I remember I was driving damn near cross-country from Austin all the way to Connecticut. It was a twenty hour job and I needed the money and to clear my head. I ended up passin Over. Found out he was going close to the same spot I was so we just drove ten hours straight talking over the radio. It… The person I was… at the start of that trip it wasn’t me. It was broken down lost in the world Roger. But after three hours on the radio with Over I was a new man. He, he saved me and I can’t be more grateful for passin him on the interstate that day. And we, we didn’t think we were gona make it this far. You understand we thought it was the last day on earth, like god himself was just about to come down on us. So, we were selfish, and I can’t apologize enough for it.”

  He turns a tear sliding down his face. His expression looking for reassurance.

  “It’s.” I pause struggling to come up with the right words. I... I understand, you know. We don’t know if we’re going to be alive an hour from now, I… I understand.”

  “Fag,” H snarls under his breath.

  Roger moves his gaze down to his shoes and keeps it there as we continue through the tunnel. The only light from our flashlights bouncing as we walk.

  The sound of rocket fire and machine guns vibrate through the tunnel, like a distant thunderstorm, it rumbles through the air.

  “Oh an I’m sorry about the whole finger popping ass stuff I was just shaken up.”

  He smiles, “no, no it defiantly got the point across.”

  “What exactly are we looking for?” I ask help

  “Anything and everything. We’ll find a good spot to look around and just report back what we see.”

  “And then what? What happens when we meet up with everyone?”

  “Kid any answer I give you would just be pure bullshit, I don’t know what the hell is going to happen between now and then so why don’t you just stop asking questions.”

  More silence. The damp air swishing in and out around us. We hear an explosion this time sounding as if right above us. Dirt and dust and cockroaches shake loose from the ceiling.

  “Dam we must be right under em.” Roger says

  “Ya I’m glad we aren’t walking around up there right now.”

  “Shhhhhh!” H spits.

  “What?”

  “Shut the hell up,” he bites at me

  We stop, standing in silence. The rocks around my feet start to vibrate and dance.

  “What the hell is it?” I ask.

  “Get to the wall now!” H yells as he sprints hopping over the third rail into a depression in the wall. I turn to the wall running I jump over the rail into a crevice. Lights appear from around the turn in the subway the rumbling getting louder, finally the train begins to pass us.

  Car after car of military. O god, I slink to the ground hoping they do not spot us. The steel railway moans under the weight of the cars, as sparks from the third rail jump and skip along down the tracks exposing me for an instant then darkness again. The final car passing by I let out a sigh of relief.

  “You waitin for them to come back? Get your ass moving,” H scolds. Roger steps to my side and we continue to follow.

  Halfway through the bend we see a light.

  “Bout dam time,” H sighs. “Now when we get out all we gotta do is fine a tall building, we’re gona take a look around and
see what the military has sitting out.”

  “This seems like a waste of time,” Roger observes, “I mean how much help can this really be doing?”

  “Listen we ain’t the only ones checking this shit out. We’re just filling in a hole they haven’t been able to see in yet. That a good enough explanation Mr. Captain O’ fillin holes?”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  H just smirks and turns away.

  “Don’t you fucking turn your back on me!” Roger screams at him.

  I grab his shoulder, “hey, hey let it go.”

  “Why should I let this prick say whatever he dam well pleases?”

  “Cause if we aren’t all on the same page here it could mean us not getting back to Over and Grace.” Shaking with rage, he nods and we continue out of the tunnel.

  The sun seems blinding from the dark subway tunnel. H walks under a nearby tree motioning us to him.

  “How much farther we got?” I ask.

  “Just gotta get to a tall building now. They wanted to know about the opening of the subway tunnel and the surrounding area. We’re in the thick of it ya hear. There could be more patrols and all types of units walking around so we need to be quieter then a dead church mouse you understand? We only shoot if we are being attacked, we only yell if we are being attacked. If you get separated the only person you ask for help is the good lord himself and no one else. This information is gona be more important than anyone of our lives, including mine. It could mean not only several hundred rebels saved form an ambush but even getting your friends back with Landen out of Chicago.” Roger and I nod. “Alright then, so we are going to that building just down the street. We’re going to sneak up to the top, I’m goin to take a look around and we are going to get the hell out of here.”

  A helicopter flies close overhead the wind from the blades blowing the branches of the tree.

  “Let’s get a move on before we get caught with our thumbs up our asses.” He turns looking both ways he runs across the road into a bus stop. Pulling out his binoculars he looks down the road.

  “Here you see that patrol over there?” He asks handing them to Roger. He nods handing the binoculars over to me. “Now they’re just some basic training bitch platoon.”