Land

by Theresa Shaver

  With a look of disbelief on her face, Mrs. Davis walked away.

  “Well if we do make it home, I’m sure that one will have plenty to say to the school board! And I for one would welcome that if it is the worst outcome of this tragedy. Now we must make haste as time is slipping away! Have you all decided what to do?” Mrs. Moore looked to the group expectantly.

  Alex couldn’t believe what was happening. “Why aren’t they listening Mrs. Moore? This is crazy. Please come with us!”

  Mrs. Moore turned to Alex with a sad smile and said, “Alex I’m sorry, I can’t go with you. Most people are sheep. They can’t think for themselves. They will only follow and look to others to take care of them. You students are all leaders and I know that you will do fine without me. The rest will need to be taken care of and I believe it will be up to me to do that.” She turned back to the group, “What have you decided?”

  Mason began by explaining to Mrs. Moore his sailing ideas and Quinn explained his.

  “Alright both are sound ideas. Are you sure that you won`t stay together?”

  At the boys and their friend’s negative answers she said “I am positive that you would do better if you stayed together but there is also a better chance of at least one group making it. So that`s that. Mason, there is not a lot of advice I can give you about sailing but I will say this. Work together as a team. Stay vigilant for danger and don’t give trust easily to strangers. The best judge will be your intuition. Also be reminded that even though this is a new lawless land you are setting out in, you will have to live with the decisions that you make along the way. Help others when you can but always keep your group’s safety as a priority. Good luck to you and may God watch over you.” With that she gave him a pat on the back and nods to Lisa and Mark.

  She turned to Quinn and said, “I don’t know which group will have the hardest journey so all I have said applies to you as well. Your journey will be more physically demanding, so rest when you feel safe but don’t waste time. The longer this goes on the worse conditions will get and the worse people will behave. Remember that it is a different world out there and some rules will have to change. If you feel threatened do not hesitate to take action and if you are truly in a situation where it is your life against someone else, act accordingly. Do not let that burden you deeply as you are not only saving your own life but probably others in the future. Do you understand what I am saying?” She looked around and met all of our eyes.

  Alex spoke up clearly, “If someone is trying to kill or hurt us, we should defend ourselves and if it means that person dies we shouldn’t fall apart over it. Is that what you mean?”

  “Yes” was all Mrs. Moore said.

  “Alright Mason, you, Lisa and Mark should go now. Stop at the closest convenience store and get a map and some water. The sooner the better, it’s going to get crazy out in the city soon.” Mrs. Moore stood to see them off.

  “Emily is coming too.” Mason announced.

  Alex‘s immediate response was, “No she is not!” and turned to face Emily who was looking down quietly crying.

  “Emily?” Alex asked. “What’s he talking about? You can’t go with them! You can’t leave me.” Alex cried.

  Emily looked up and met her best friend’s eyes, “I’m sorry Lex. I’m going with Mason.”

  Chapter 3

  Alex stared off into the distance. She could see people walking along the monorail track away from the now stationary train suspended up in the air. “I would have hated to be stuck way up there when it stopped.” she thought. She just couldn’t understand Emily. After choosing Mason over her friends all these months and she was now choosing him for a life or death journey. Alex didn’t feel like she knew her friend at all anymore. It felt like a piece of her had just been snatched away. It was bad enough that Mrs. Moore wasn’t coming with them but now Emily also splitting away was just too much to bear. She had heard all of her friends trying to get Em to change her mind but it didn’t sound like it was working.

  A tap on her shoulder made her look around with hope that it was Emily but instead she found David with an unsure look on his face.

  David was a great guy. A little quiet compared to Josh and not as outgoing as Quinn but a stable addition in their group. You could always count on David for anything. Most of the time you didn’t even have to ask him, he just seemed to know what was needed. Alex knew that David had a thing for Emily. She didn’t know if he was in love with her but definitely he had been crushing on her for years. When Emily had started dating Mason, David had been in such a funk that he barely talked to anyone. For the first three weeks he walked around in a sulk. It wasn’t until Alex had talked to him about it and shared her feelings with him that he started to come around. They had both decided that Em was just trying out a new crowd and once she really got to know Mason and his jerk friends, that she would ditch them and come back to her real friends. That conclusion seemed to be very wrong now that Emily had made this huge choice.

  “You okay?” asked David with concern.

  Alex thought if she tried to speak she would end up crying so she just gave a tiny shake of her head. How could any of this be okay?

  “Listen Alex I don’t think she’s going to change her mind. Even Mrs. Moore took a crack at her and had no luck. So the only thing I can think of is, I have to go with them. I don’t think I could live with myself if I let her go off with those three assholes alone. What do you think?”

  The only thing Alex could think at that moment was how could Emily be so blind to this guy? So instead of replying she just leaned in and grabbed David in a tight hug and breathed into his ear, “Thank you.”

  She felt David stiffen just as she heard a tentative, “Lex? Can I talk to you?”

  Alex let David go and with a deep breath turned around to face her best friend. She couldn’t think of anything to say to her so she just waited.

  When it was clear to Emily that Alex wasn’t going to say anything she began, “I’m so sorry Lex! I know you must think that I’m a fool or crazy but,” at a loss for words she stopped.

  Alex took pity on her friend and tried to help, “But why? I don’t understand why you would go with them. You don’t know anything about sailing and those guys are so self-centered. At least with us you know we would do anything to keep you safe.”

  “Well that’s one of the reasons. I don’t think they would make it on their own. They bluster and brag so much but I think they are pretty clueless outside of their shallow high school world. So I think they need help. And I know I don’t know anything about sailing but I’m the best swimmer in the whole school. You know I was on track for the National’s and then maybe the Olympics so that will help. I don’t think Mark even knows how to swim. Alex I know you don’t like Mason but I really believe he cares about me and will try to keep me safe. He comes off as such a jerk but when it’s just the two of us he is a totally different person. Please I need you to trust me. This is something that I have to do.” she begged for understanding.

  With a groan of frustration Alex replied, “I do trust you Em, it’s them I don’t trust. I know how stubborn you are under that mop of blond hair. How can I go on this epic adventure without my best friend and what am I supposed to do if we make it and you aren’t there?”

  Emily gave a cheeky smile and said, “You know what an adventure really is right?” and in unison Alex and Emily cheered, “Far away from home and fucked up!” both girls broke out in laughter.

  Alex’s older brother Peter had once told the two girls to be careful and safe when they went on their first solo camp out. And when Emily said it would be a great adventure he had replied with the famous line. The girls had never forgotten and anytime they started off to camp they would yell it out into the forest.

  After they stopped laughing they just grabbed on to each other and held on tight. After a while Alex pulled back and stared into Emily’s blue eyes. “Okay Em, I guess I get why you’re going but it scares the hell out of me.
The only thing that makes it semi ok is that you aren’t going alone.”

  At Emily’s questioning look Alex explained that David was going with them to sea. Seeing the embarrassed look on David’s face she quickly put in “David is good with motors and thinks he can help get a boat started. And he’s very worried about his mom and little sister. He thinks going by boat will get him home faster.” She made that up on the spot. While not really a lie, David was good with cars, he was always working on his old Mustang and with his Mom being all alone at home with an eight year old to watch over he must be worried. It was all Alex could think of in the spur of the moment to help David save face.

  Emily turned to David and gave him a quick hug. “That would be so great David. I feel a lot better with you along to help out.” and she gave him a sweet smile. Just then the rest of the group joined them and Mrs. Moore took charge. After David told her he was going with Emily she seemed very much relieved.

  “Time to go, we have wasted too much time. It has now been just over an hour and the masses out there will be starting to get nervous. Mason, Emily, David, Lisa and Mark it’s time you got on your way. Remember everything I have told you and be safe. When you make it home please tell your parents that I am sorry I couldn’t do more for you. Good-bye, or as you are going by sea, Bon Voyage.” With that she turned away and discreetly brushed a tear away.

  As Mason’s group stood by waiting, Quinn and Josh said their goodbyes to David and gave some last minute advice. Alex and Emily just stood looking at each other. Finally Emily started with, “Well this should be a piece of cake.”

  Alex came back with, “Nah, a piece of pie.”

  And together, “Just not a banana split!” which was another childhood saying meant to break the tension. With sad smiles the girls gave another hug and whispered, “Love you. Love you more.” To each other and parted ways.

  As Emily walked away with Mason and his friends David came up and put his arm around Alex.

  “Bring her home David and you. Both of you get home safe.” David gave her arm another squeeze and followed Emily out of Disneyland.

  Chapter 4

  When Alex could no longer see Emily she finally turned back to her group to see what was going on. Quinn, Josh, Cooper and Dara were all kneeling around what looked like a map on the ground. Cooper and Dara, Alex hadn’t even given them a thought but guessed now they were down to five they would be getting to know each other much better. Cooper was this bad boy by reputation but that was all Alex really knew about him. He must be somewhat smart if he had chosen to come with them. Alex decided to keep an open mind until she got to know him better.

  Dara confused Alex. Up until grade six Dara was a part of her group. Her family lived on a nearby farm and she and Emily and Alex had been in all the same activities and clubs. The summer before grade six Dara’s parents had gotten a divorce and her Mother and brother and Dara had moved into town. Things had stayed the same until half way through the school year when Dara had started distancing herself from the girls. She would sit alone at lunch and recess and barely speak to anyone. Emily and Alex had tried to keep her in the loop but Dara just kept pulling away. By the beginning of grade seven Dara was alone and Alex and Emily had given up. By grade nine, Dara was into black clothes and heavy makeup. She started coloring her hair weird shades and had gotten a reputation of being a Goth. Alex didn’t think she was a Goth but wasn’t really sure.

  “Not that it matters anymore.” she thought, “We are in this together.” and Alex would take any help available.

  Mrs. Moore was talking to Mrs. Davis and broke away to speak to Alex. Mrs. Davis was gesturing to the remaining students to get up and get ready.

  She walked up to Alex and surprised her by taking her hand. With a very intense stare she exclaimed, “I believe in you. I know you and the others can do this. You will make it home.” Shaken by Mrs. Moore’s intensity but also strangely more confident Alex gave a firm nod.

  “I want you to take this Alex.” Mrs. Moore reached into her huge purse and pulled out Mr. Carter’s wallet and money belt. She handed them to Alex and then took out her own wallet.

  “Take out the money and give the rest back to me and take this as well.” she ordered Alex and handed her the money from her wallet.

  “Mrs. Moore I can’t take this! What will you do?” Alex cried.

  “Hush now and listen! Mrs. Davis has two thousand on her and all the other students and adults have money so that is all I need. Besides, this paper will be worthless by the end of the day. So take it and use it as soon as you can. Find a sporting goods store and get bikes and camping gear and water and food. Give all of it to get what you need and then get out of this death trap city fast. Now, one other thing before you go. When you get home and I know you will, if I’m not there that means I didn’t make it,” Alex tried to interrupt, “No hush and listen. This is important! Go to my home. Do you know where I live? It’s not that far from your farm. Good. Go to my home and check the basement. It is full of supplies. If it has been cleaned out don’t worry about that. Go back behind my old shed and there is a set of storm doors with a pad lock on them. The key is under the kitchen sink. The storm cellar was enlarged and it is just as full of supplies and there is also a living space in it. Now this is very important. Tell no one! No one! Not even your family. It is only to be used in dire straits. You must keep it safe for a time that is life and death. Do you understand? Being a little hungry from rationing is not an emergency. Starving to death is. There is food and medical supplies but if it is all used up, it cannot be replaced. Do you understand Alex? This is so important to your future.”

  Stunned, Alex agreed. “Do you really think it will come to that Mrs. Moore? Starving?”

  “It is hard to say but people do terrible things when they are scared. There is plenty of livestock and crops where we live so it should be fine but there may be a lot of refugees from the cities. Then again, Canada might not even be touched by this but I doubt it. Anyway, time for your group to go.” and Mrs. Moore surprised Alex again by pulling her into a tight hug.

  Quinn and the rest were all standing and waiting for Alex, so she headed towards them and they all started for the front gates. Alex thought that it was ironic that here she was in Disneyland for the first time and she hadn’t even gotten more than 300 feet inside and she was leaving again, never to return. Suddenly she whirled around and called out to Mrs. Moore, “Thank you! I always looked forward to your classes! Good luck!” Alex could see Mrs. Moore standing alone watching them leave, then she slowly turned away.

  Alex caught up to Quinn and gave a brief smile and nod to Dara and Cooper as she passed them. He looked down at her and asked, “Ready?”

  “Ready!” she replied.

  Alex checked her watch and was again surprised to see that only an hour and a half had passed. It felt like forever since this all began. At only 9:40am it was promising to be a very long day. She told Quinn the time and he suggested they plan to have bikes by no later than noon. While the students had been organizing themselves, there had been a steady stream of people leaving the park but it had been fairly quiet. Some crying kids but no one seemed to be panicking. Alex guessed that it helped that it had happened so early and the park wasn’t as filled up as it would have been later in the day. By the time the group got out past the parking lots and on to a main street, things were much different.

  There were car crashes everywhere and plenty of people screaming and yelling. Many people had bloody clothes and obvious injuries. There were no signs of emergency services. With all roads blocked with traffic accidents and no cars working, no ambulances would be coming. Off in the distance there were quite a few smoke pillars rising into the air. “No fire trucks” Alex thought, “We sooo have to get out of this city.” and she picked up the pace.

  “Do you know where we’re going? I saw that you had a map.” she said to Quinn.

  “Yeah, while everyone was talking Cooper popped into a souvenir sh
op and snagged one and he also grabbed a bunch of water bottles and snacks that the staff where giving away. He bought a cheap pack and stuffed it full. Smart guy, real quick on his feet that Cooper.”

  Alex looked back at Cooper and saw he was carrying a pack that looked like it would burst any minute. She flashed him another smile of thanks and glanced at Dara who just looked away. With a shrug she turned back to Quinn and asked, “Okay so where to?”

  “Well just up here we are going to hit a road called Katella Avenue. Then we go East on that until we come to a freeway called Orange or 57. That freeway should take us as close to the outskirts as we can get then we change freeways again. We talked about it and decided to try and take the main roads today to get as close as we can to countryside but if they are too packed with wrecks we might have to detour to smaller roads. The problem is the more detours, the more time we waste. So we just have to wait and see how bad the freeway is.” Alex nodded but was distracted by a group of bloody people up ahead.

  “We should try and help them shouldn’t we?” Alex asked, looking around the group for an answer. She was surprised by their grim expressions and silence. Finally it was Dara that answered Alex.

  “Mrs. Moore talked to us about this while you were saying good bye to Emily. She told us that we would see many people hurt and that we would want to help. She said that there would be tens of thousands of people who are hurt along the roads and if we stopped to help everyone we would never get out of the city and we would exhaust ourselves and put ourselves in danger. She told us if we could clearly see a situation where we could help quickly and then move on that that would be the right thing to do but otherwise just keep going. I know it seems harsh but looking around I feel so helpless. I mean where would we start and when would it ever end?” she finished with a small sob.

  Alex was about to drop back and offer comfort but she was surprised when Josh beat her to it. Not that Josh was insensitive, just that most times he was oblivious to others, especially girls. The pair dropped back a ways and talked quietly and Dara even gave a laugh at something Josh said to her. Alex turned back to the front and tried not to stare at the injured people they were passing. They had to go around a few cars that had jumped onto the sidewalk but it felt like they were making good time so far. They came to Katella and turned east. The road opened up and was wider than the one they just left. Alex could see many restaurants and big box stores. She kept her eyes open for a sporting goods store or anything that might sell bikes. There were just as many crashes on this street and they came up to a tangled mess of six cars all smashed together. There were three men working on pulling it apart. One of the men was half in a car and the other two were trying to push and pull a smashed BMW away from the smaller compact car that the man was halfway in. When the one man sawn Quinn and the others coming closer he jogged over out of breath.