Rising from her seat, Sam collected Will’s spoon and the pot. Unable to clean any of their dishes, she wrapped them up in one of her shirts and placed them in Jack’s backpack. Rising after their meal, though all any of them wanted to do was take a nap, they took back to the street headed further and further from what had once been their home.
Walking along the scorched asphalt, Sam noted that the primarily residential areas had changed to that of small shops and strip malls, not that it really mattered. Here, just as before, the buildings were naught but empty half collapsed shells of their former selves, with bones of iron and steel jutting out from the rubble. She passed the buildings wondering about the people who had owned them or worked in them, and what had become of them. Had they had families? Were they all gone, or did they leave some behind as did her own family? Had they died or fled whatever hell had befallen Chicago? The mounting questions forced her to turn her imagination elsewhere, though it did her little good.
Looking down to Will, who marched along holding both her and Jack’s hands, she watched his little face as they traversed the street. Here his eyes would widen and there his face would scrunch up in thought. From time to time his little head would dart this way or that, seeking out something caught by his peripheral vision as he squinted into the distance. Watching her younger brother, Sam could not help but think of the future. Though she would certainly play the role if she needed to, would she have to act as a surrogate mother for him forever? Were their parents out there somewhere? Was anyone out there? Would she ever actually be a mother?
She realized that at fourteen she really shouldn’t be concerned with motherhood, but the situation demanded it. In the months spent in the vault it had been up to her and Jack to take care of Will, and it appeared now that the current state of things was not yet about to change. Not a single sign of life within the city had yet to reveal itself to them. No sounds came from distant streets. No flags waved from the shattered carcass of a building. No bright signs or arrows were painted saying that civilization still existed, and as such she had to believe that at least in this place, it did not. It was a sad and somber reality to dwell upon, but it seemed it was the only reality they had.
Not realizing how much time passed as she daydreamed on in wonder about their world and lives within it, Sam was caught off guard by both the failing light and Jack’s voice when he suddenly spoke.
“We need to find a place to stop for the night. Not only is it dangerous to walk in the dark, but Will needs a few hours of sleep, at least, and we don’t know what else might be out there.”
“What do you have in mind?” Sam asked.
“I’m not sure. We are apparently the only thing that survived this long after whatever happened, and we did it in a metal box. Perhaps we should look for something similar to the vault.”
“Like a bank?” Will asked excitedly.
“Maybe, little man,” Jack answered.
They began moving more quickly up the street then, peering down side streets, seeking a place to shelter the night but never did a bank present itself. Just before dark, it occurred to Sam that they had missed the obvious.
“What about a big refrigerator like in a gas station?” she asked.
“Holy crap,” Jack answered. “We’ve passed like six already.”
“Yeah but look, there are three more up on the corner ahead,” Sam said, pointing.
Approaching the corner they looked at the abysmal buildings and their melted and charred canopies and store fronts, choosing the one that appeared the least damaged, though the difference was marginal at best. Entering the building, they found it much as they expected. The steel shelves were both burned and bare and from the ceiling wires dangled here and there, the familiar tiles of the grid-like ceiling having burned months before. Walking straight to the door nearest the back of the store, both Jack and Sam peeked through it to discover exactly what they sought.
Aside from the cooler that once was exposed to all the now shattered glass doors where product could be removed by customers, there was another cooler in the back of the building. It was charred black on the outside, and looked to be less than half the size that the vault had been, but it would certainly suffice for a single night. Opening the door they glanced in to the near absolute darkness to see what might await them, each of them hopeful.
* * * * *
Walking into a pitch black metal box where anything might lurk was not Will’s idea of a good time. Even from the door the room looked frightening, at least what little he could see between his brother’s and sister’s legs. No way was he going in there without a light. Fortunately for him, he had one.
Taking off his backpack he yanked the zipper open and began digging. Spilling out his robot and various other things both he and Sam had put in the bag, he found what he had been looking for and yanked it free from the bag. Grandpa had been a sheriff for the Chicago metro police department before he retired, and had given Will this gift for Christmas last year. It was one of the coolest gifts ever, and even now Will marveled at it, sure the creator of such a thing had to be a genius.
Touting both an AM and FM radio, the emergency light did not need batteries. He could shake it for a minute or two and then turn it on. It had a flashlight, and even a lantern setting, but cooler than that, it had its own police lights and siren. Flipping the switches to the desired position, Will took the multifunction gadget in both hands and began shaking it vigorously as the flashlight LED began to glow brighter and brighter.
With his whole body moving with the action, Will watched as both Sam and Jack turned, their faces lighting up just as fast as the light in his hands. Smiling in return, and figuring his light would last at least a couple minutes, Will turned his light into the darkness of the cooler ahead of him. Inside, strewn about like so much unwanted trash, were wire shelves and empty cardboard boxes. Cardboard. Inside the cooler hadn’t been burned. Hearing both his siblings gasp at the same time he did, he knew they all realized the implications as each of them surged forward into the room and began digging through the boxes, hoping to find something to eat or drink. It was evident rather quickly that their search was bound to be fruitless.
“Well, at least we still have a good spot to sleep,” Sam said, sighing loudly.
“And light to see by,” added Jack. “Good job, little buddy.”
“Thanks,” Will replied with a wide grin.
Turning his attention back towards the door, Will gathered up his discarded bag and spilled the contents while both Jack and Sam stacked and tore apart boxes to make three little beds out of them. It took only a few moments, and Will waited patiently in the doorway.
Coming to his side, Jack inspected the door’s handle before turning to look around the room once more. Will began shaking the light again. Watching his older brother look about the small chamber, he saw as Jack dug through a pile of dismantled shelves in the back and produced a pair of the poles that made the corner supports of the shelving units. Carrying them to the door, he lowered both and shoved one end of both poles up under the door’s handle.
“Can you hold this, Will?”
“Yup,” Will said, happy to be able to help his big brother.
“Here, Sam, help me move this,” Jack then instructed their sister.
Setting down the light, Will grabbed both poles with his small hands to find they were much heavier than he had anticipated. Straining under the weight, he watched as Jack and Sam began shoving one of the tall shelving units nearest the doorway, towards him. Will saw movement beneath the shelf, and with a sudden intake of breath he dropped the poles to clatter upon the floor.
There, beneath the shelf, was an amazing, beautiful, and wonderful thing to behold, and rushing forward as Jack and Sam both stopped what they were doing to watch him, he slid to a stop on his knees and gathered up the shiny bottles of pop that had been hidden just moments before. Smiling like a child on Christmas morning, Will inspected the bottles in his lap as both Jack and
Sam leaned over to see for themselves.
Two bottles of root beer, and two bottles of Pepsi. His mouth watered. Oh, how he wanted to drink them, but then it occurred to him. Dropping the plastic bottles, he sprawled out upon the floor, pressing his face to its soiled surface. Looking about the room in the light of his lantern he spied several things beneath the shelves all around the room.
“Move the other ones!” he shouted, as Jack and Sam realized what it was he was doing and sprang into action.
One after another the shelves were each moved aside to reveal what lay hidden and discarded underneath them. After half an hour their bounty was gathered and all of them looked on, salivating like dogs over the things they had found. All in all it really wasn’t much, at least it wouldn’t have been six months ago, but they had added three more bottles of soda to the first four they found, and three bottles of water too. To add to their excitement they had found a whole box containing six packs of Twinkies and most importantly, a king size bag of Skittles. Yeah, candy!
“We can eat it, right?” Will asked his siblings expectantly.
“Yeah, I think Twinkies are pretty much good forever and probably the Skittles too, kiddo. I think we’re in luck,” said Jack.
“How many gas stations and convenience stores do you think we passed today, Jack? Fifteen? Twenty? I don’t think we should pass any more without at least having a look.”
Will bobbed his head up and down. Now that was logic he could get behind.
“Good idea, we can hit the other two across the intersection in the morning,” Jack responded.
“So… Now can I have some candy?” Will pressed.
“Sure… Just as soon as we get that door blocked off. Safety first, buddy,” Jack said as Sam giggled at his frustration.
Carefully putting down the prized bag of candy, Will rose and crossed the room to resume his duty. Picking up the poles, he found them not as heavy the second go round, and wedging them into place, just as Jack had done before, he held them patiently as his siblings began to drag the shelf nearer. After about a minute the shelf was in place, securing the lower end of the poles in position. With the door secured, all three sat in a loose circle upon the floor and began opening their spoils.
Tearing open his bag of mouthwatering, shiny pieces of rainbow-colored candy, Will dumped half a dozen pieces into his waiting palm, and tilting back his head he tossed them straight into his mouth. Gnashing his teeth upon the chewy bits, saliva seemed to flow like a faucet into his mouth as he swallowed time and again, audibly letting his siblings know of his taste buds’ ecstasy.
“These are sooo good,” he proclaimed when finally he swallowed the first round.
Sam and Jack both grinned at him knowingly as they each opened a package of Twinkies and he watched their faces as they too shared in their first bites of delicious sugar-induced bliss. Moans of enjoyment escaped both of them, and he giggled at the faces they made, their eyes rolling in their sockets as both of them tilted back their heads. Then he had an idea.
“Here, you guys want some?” he asked, holding out his prized bag of candy.
“Sure, little man,” Jack said, holding out his hand.
“I’ll have a couple, but you keep the rest for yourself,” Sam answered.
Into each hand he poured a few candies and watched as they repeated their earlier show before he twisted up the bag of candy, deciding to save it for the days to come. God knows he didn’t want to devour the last bag of candy on the planet and never have any again.
“Here, Will, have some Twinkies,” Sam said as he put his candy away.
Accepting the small package with the pair of yellow spongy cakes inside, he ripped it open with his teeth, the way Dad had showed him, and pulled out the first cake. Mushing it into his mouth, he savored the rich sugary taste a minute before more or less just mashing it with his tongue and swallowing the bite whole. His Twinkies vanished before he even realized what happened, but that left him with another treat to enjoy. Selecting a bottle of orange Faygo from their newly acquired collection of drinks, he twisted the cap as Jack nodded to his wisdom and took a bottle of soda for himself. Hearing the bottle hiss as the seal broke, he watched the bubbles rise through the orange liquid in the bottle before completely removing the top. He had learned the hard way, on more than one occasion, what could happen if you opened a pop bottle too hastily.
Lifting the bottle to his lips, he savored the both cooling and burning sensation the carbonated liquid had upon his mouth and throat. Taking several big gulps, it felt as if he could actually feel layers of ash and grime he had been breathing all day get stripped away as he drank.
With little to no conversation, all three sat around their collection of supplies for a while, each daydreaming about whatever memories these flavors recalled unto each of them before they decided it was time for sleep. Waiting until both his big brother and sister were upon their cardboard beds, Will switched off his light which each of them had taken turns shaking over the last few hours. It wasn’t long before dreams of candy stores and cakes drifted him off to a deep restful sleep.
Chapter Seven
Jack awoke stiff but refreshed, and looking about his surroundings he found Sam already awake, quietly shaking Will’s light while sitting upon one of the shelving units with her back against the wall. It was apparent she had been awake for some time, as she had somehow managed to apply her makeup, which although was becoming more acceptable prior to the event, still detracted from her natural features too much for his own taste. He didn’t know whether her style was considered punk or goth or some other form of leather-clad trend that he didn’t have a name for, but it was who she identified with and as such he did not usually weigh in with his own opinions. The key word being ‘usually’.
“So… you’re up awfully early, crow,” he mocked her, with a reference to the nineties movie starring Brandon Lee.
“Har har. Your originality is stunning,” she retorted. “So… jerk, what is the plan for today?”
“Keep walking, but this time we check for supplies along the way.”
“Still heading to Grandma’s, then?”
“Why? Do you think we should go somewhere else?”
“I don’t know,” Sam admitted. “I just really don’t want to see it like the rest of the city. I mean, that’s where we have had every Christmas and Thanksgiving for my whole life. I just don’t want to have that memory ruined for me. For Will either.”
“I know. Me too. But without any more information, I just don’t know where else to go. I had thought about heading over to the Great Lakes, but if there were any military still in the area, I think the city would be crawling with them. You know?”
“Yeah, at least a helicopter or something.”
They sat in silence for a few moments and Jack couldn’t help but let his mind wander. The lack of any sign of a human presence bothered him to no end. Questions swirled in his mind that he had no answers for. He feared the answers. They had gone a whole day without a single sign of life in the huge city. They had walked miles and miles and found nothing. Not one thing.
“Do you think there is anyone else left?” he asked his sister.
“I don’t know. There has to be, right? I mean… billions… to just us? It just doesn’t seem possible.”
“I know. But we haven’t seen a thing.”
“We kind of have, though. All this stuff is gone, right? All the food in the apartments had to of been taken after whatever happened.”
“But what if it wasn’t just an event? What if the event triggered a disease, or a disease triggered the event and everyone just died?” Jack wondered aloud.
“I don’t think so, if they had, then where did they go?”
“I don’t know, Sam. I thought of that too, but nothing makes any sense. I just can’t make it work out in my head. Nothing adds up.”
“What if there were bodies everywhere, but someone cleaned them up?” Sam asked, her voice sounding more hopeful.
“You mean like after whatever happened here they came in, cleared the city, and declared it uninhabitable or something and that’s why there aren’t any people or anything?”
“Yeah, like Hiroshima. Wasn’t there a power plant on the edge of Lake Michigan? Was it nuclear?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know. I’m really starting to wish I paid more attention in school. I’m thinking you might be close, but that still doesn’t explain some things.”
“Like what?”
“The food missing from the apartments and even here, but more than that, why aren’t there any planes in the sky? Not one. There used to be planes everywhere.”
“Yeah, but there used to be airports in Chicago, maybe they don’t have a reason to come here anymore.”
“Yeah, I guess. It just seems too weird,” Jack concluded.
After their chat they both drifted off again into their own thoughts until Will began to squirm around, signaling that he would be awake in the very near future. Without a whole lot of selection to choose from, Jack rose from his cardboard bed and poured the three remaining packs of Twinkies out of the box, and into his lap. Deciding he didn’t want to wait for Will to wake up gradually, he shook his younger brother’s shoulder gently and when he awoke he handed him a sugar and caffeine laden Pepsi to get the day started. That should certainly put some pep in his step.
After a hasty breakfast they removed the barricade from the door, and made their way back out into the street. It was time to search for some more supplies. Crossing the road they entered another gas station, but found the only cooler it contained had been destroyed and had no lingering supplies. Minutes later, however, they entered the third gas station inhabiting the intersection and once inside they managed to find a snack-sized bag of chips along with a candy bar and two more bottles of soda. Then it was back to the streets.
For most of the morning their journey led them down the center of the same road, mile after mile, occasionally ducking into the wreckage of one building or another to scavenge for supplies, usually turning up empty. When afternoon came, and the sun beamed down upon them from between wispy clouds Sam froze in her steps, causing both him and Will to stop as well. Turning to look at her, Jack opened his mouth as she gave him a look that would have turned a rampaging bear away. Watching as she raised a finger to her lips, it was Will who perked up next, turning his head this way and that as if seeking something out. It was only a second or two more when he heard it for the first time. There was a sound in the city.
Children of the AFTER: AWAKENING Page 5