The First Hours

by Christine Conaway

  Teagan hated driving it and said it was an embarrassment, but it was her only source for transportation, so Tom didn’t understand why it was parked in the school lot and not in front of Nancy’s. Throwing his transmission into neutral and setting the parking brake, Tom threw his door open and ran to Teagan’s car. All four doors were locked, and nothing inside looked disturbed.

  Tom stood and rested his hands on his hips, staring toward the school. A quick glance around the parking lot showed him several other cars were sitting in groups of two or three and he wondered if something was going on at the school and if the kids would possibly be inside. Maybe other than the power outage, they didn’t know anything was wrong.

  “Be right back. I’m going to check inside.” Tom hollered to Carrie, his long legs carrying him toward the front of the school at a lope.

  Carrie climbed into the driver seat, started the car and followed behind him. She was sure she was saving him the return trip. Tom had taught her to drive a standard transmission after Brent passed and encouraged her to find an older car, which she had never done. For the most part, she’d thought Tom was buying into the “end of the world as we know it” conspiracy, until today. With no other explanation for the planes crashing, the power going off and the cell phones dying, she realized how right he probably was.

  Carrie saw him pull on the handle as if he expected the door to come open and rub his shoulder when it didn’t. Cupping his hands around his face, he peered through the wire encased glass. Tom turned to stand looking out over the lawn and parking lot. He ran his hand through his short brown hair, pushing it to stand on end, where it met his forehead.

  Carrie couldn’t imagine what he must be thinking with the school locked up, Teagan’s car in the lot and no Teagan. Carries frown forced lines up between her brown eyes. Sitting in the car under the spring sun raised the temperature inside the car rapidly. She pushed the tendrils of hair that had escaped her ponytail, away from her brow. They were wet and clingy and wouldn’t stay put. Carrie was tempted to pull them out when they stuck to her glasses.

  Tom pulled the car door open unprepared to find Carrie still in the seat. He began to climb in and almost sat on Carrie. He hadn’t considered the car had been moved or the method.

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Carrie began until Tom jumped out and wheeled to face her. She scrambled out of the seat. “Sorry, I thought it was better to bring the car to you.”

  Tom had the grace to look embarrassed, “Sorry Carrie. I obviously wasn’t paying attention. No one’s here.” Tom slumped down into the seat, pulling his legs in last and pulled the door shut. He watched Carrie as she got back in on her side, “Look, I know Teagan sometimes confesses to you. Did she say anything?”

  Carrie considered his question. She was sure he didn’t want to know about the girl stuff or who Teagan thought was hot this week, and Carrie didn’t want to spill the beans about Teagan not wanting to go to the cemetery. Teagan said she would deal with it which obviously she hadn’t. Carrie was beginning to get a bad feeling. She did remember overhearing Teagan and Nancy talking low about the senior sneak. When Carrie had asked about it, Teagan told her they weren’t going because of the cost, but there was something secretive going on, but Carrie didn’t want to interfere with the bond of trust she had with Teagan and Nancy as well. She had completely forgotten about the trip.

  “We should go to see Nancy. Maybe Teagan’s car wouldn’t start or something. I’m sure there’s a simple explanation.”

  Tom nodded and started his car. Leaving the parking lot, Tom had to slam on his brakes to keep from running over a man he didn’t know. He was even more surprised when the man opened the door before Tom knew what was happening and began to drag Tom out. The car was still in gear when his foot slipped off the clutch, and the car jumped forward and died.

  “Stop it. What are you doing?” Tom tried to pull his arm away from the red-faced man. He was panting, and sweat darkened his shirt. Tom finally grabbed the man’s hand ripped it from his arm and with a unique move, leaped to his feet, whipped his body around and twisted the guys arm up behind his back. Tom maneuvered him and slammed his body across the fender, holding him with his arm across the guy's neck.

  “What the hell is the matter with you?” Tom grunted out as he held the writhing man down on his car.

  The man struggled against Tom’s arm, so Tom put the weight of his body into holding the man down. “Stop this or I’ll have to arrest you for assaulting an officer of the law.”

  “Do I need to call Simon?” Carrie asked from the safety of the car. She held her useless cell phone in her hand, looking at the black screen. “Never mind,” she mumbled.

  Tom ground his elbow into the guys back. “If you want to go to jail, I can arrange it.”

  “No. Please. I need to get home. Your car…” the man ground out. “It’s running.”

  Tom relaxed his hold, and the man rolled out from under his arm to land face down on the pavement. He turned to sit on his butt beside the front tire. Wide-eyed, he looked up at Tom, “You’re a cop? You have to help me. It’s your job.”

  Sweat ran down the sides of his face, dripping off his chin. He swiped at it, further soaking his shirt. The man had looked defeated, but Tom’s words had begun to fill him with courage. He used the tire to pull his portly body to his knees. Watery blue eyes stared up at Tom. “You’re obligated to help me. It’s part of your oath or code or something.”

  Tom shook his head, “I’m obligated to prevent a crime or investigate a crime. I’m not required to give some asshole a ride home in my personal car because he says so.”

  “That’s it then. You have to prevent a crime. I’m drunk and shouldn’t be on the street. I’m a menace.” You have to take me to jail or…I don’t know, but you have to do something.”

  Tom squatted down in front of him to be at eye level, “What I am going to do for you is offer you a piece of advice. You need to get yourself home, fill every container, sink, and bathtub with water, and then hit every grocery store in your area. If you have firearms, now might be a good time to get them out and cleaned. Gather your family and prepare to defend everything you own. Because you can damn sure bet that someone will want it.”

  “Tom? We better go.” Carrie saw the car was drawing unwanted attention, and several more people were approaching from across the parking lot. As Tom’s head rose above the fender, she waved her hand at him and pointed to the group who’d begun moving faster.

  “Well shit!” He nudged the man with his foot, “Go on. Get out of here before I have to do something, we’ll both probably regret.”

  The man used the tire to propel himself to his feet. He saw the group of people coming across the blacktop and began pounding on the hood of Tom’s car, “Hey! Hey! This car runs. Right here!”

  “Son of a…” Tom bailed into the driver seat, shoved the clutch in and turned the key. The motor started with a roar. It was already in gear, and Tom let the clutch out. The car rolled forward, and the man threw himself toward the window. Tom spun the wheel to the right and stomped on the gas. The man fell away and rolled. Tom watched him in the rear-view mirror as they left the parking lot with the crowd of people running behind him.

  Tom kept his gaze whipping between the roadway in front and the group of men in the lot. When he could no longer see them, he looked at Carrie, “You okay?” She was white as a ghost and Tom grew concerned when she didn’t immediately answer.

  Carrie looked at him, “Is that the way it’s going to be? Is every person going to turn into an animal?” Carries voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes held the pain of knowing her question was pointless. She knew everything had changed with the first plane crash, but she needed to hear Tom tell her she was right.

  “I’m afraid so, and this is only the first hours. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but my money is on chaos and mayhem. People will be afraid, and a frightened person is going to be dangerous. They’re going to do things they wouldn�
�t have given two thoughts to before, and I think it’s going to quickly turn into survival of the fittest.”

  Tom sighed heavily, and it was clear to Carrie he didn’t have a clue what to do. She knew he had loyalties to their town, but she also knew he would put Teagan before anyone and she didn’t disagree, but she wondered if someone should step up and organize the townspeople. How many of them would have the knowledge to survive? How many of them knew what had happened or what was going to happen in the next few days? How many of them were prepared to survive? The older generation had done well without modern conveniences and had the knowledge needed to survive, but how many of the young people would look to them for help? Carrie shook her head, too many questions, and so few answers.

  “This is what you’ve been trying to prepare me for, isn’t it? Buy the older car, stock up on non-perishables, and why I needed to have a supply of bullets. I thought you were crazy whenever you brought it up,” Carrie shook her head and smiled sadly, “I guess you were trying to prepare me for this.”

  “Not this specifically. It could have been any natural disaster. Look what happened in Louisiana, Florida, and Nebraska. It wasn’t the end of their world nor as definite as this is, but it was a disaster, and you saw how well the government stepped up and offered aid.”

  Tom stopped in front of Nancy’s house before Carrie had the chance to say anything more. Carrie saw the drapes were pulled tight over the front window and wondered if this was standard practice or something new. She thought she saw the barest of movement near the center of the window as if someone had peeked out.

  “I’ll be right back,” Tom announced and pulled the keys from the ignition.

  “I’m coming too, and maybe you should lock the car up,” Carrie told him as she climbed from the car. Looking around the neighborhood, Carrie saw it was one of the nicer areas in town. Manicured lawns fronted every house, there was no parking of cars along the street and no excess junk in the yards. It reminded her of her own area. The covenants kept people from having junk cars or unsightly garbage in front of their homes. She’d even had to place a request from her HOA to have a portable shed in her back yard. She never did understand how a shed that no one but herself would see, could be considered unsightly. She’d followed the proper procedures, and two months later they’d given their approval as long as certain guidelines were followed, as to size and color. Tom didn’t know it, but she had taken some of his advice and filled the shed with totes of 25-year-shelf-life-food, water filters, and camping gear. She had been sure at the time she’d ordered it from Patriot Supply and Wise Foods, that she’d never need it during her life time, but had done so anyway. It had started with one tote at a time and escalated to one years’ worth, and soon she’d acquired enough for a family of four to survive a year.

  Tom knocked on the door and waited. Carrie stood beside him, watching the curtains for any movement. There was none, but Carrie knew that someone knew who was knocking on the door. She also knew there had been some conflict between Tom and Nancy’s parents in the past. They had remained on speaking terms for the sake of the girl’s friendship. Neither girl was going to give up a lifelong friendship because their parents had agreed to disagree, but Teagan had confided in Carrie that the bond had changed the past few months and the girls weren’t as close as they once were. Carrie was surprised when she heard the deadbolt being released.

  The door opened a crack, “What do you want?” The voice was male, obviously Nancy’s father Karl. Carrie wasn’t on a first-name basis with the man and apparently, neither was Tom. She only knew him from their quarterly town hall meetings. She remembered him as argumentative and surly. His appearance let him blend in with the crowd until he took the podium to express his displeasure over something. Short, thin, pale hair, eyes, and complexion with thick oversized glasses was the image that came to mind. His wife was a timid looking woman who could have been his twin other than the glasses. She always wondered how the two of them came up with a girl as vibrant and pretty as Nancy, though, she had been less vocal lately according to Teagan. Nancy had spoken of family troubles to Teagan, and Carrie had let the subject drop.

  “Mr. Trotsky, I’m looking for Teagan.”

  “She’s not here,” the voice said, and the door began to close.

  Tom pushed his foot into the crack between the door and door jam, before it slammed shut, “What are you talking about? Of course, she’s here. She and Nancy spent the night together.”

  “I’m telling you she’s not here and we haven’t seen her,” The voice grunted, as he tried to kick Tom’s foot out of the opening, while he put pressure on the door to close it.

  “If she’s not here, maybe Nancy has an idea where she is. Just let me talk to her for a minute, and maybe she can clear this whole thing up.”

  The silence and struggle to close the door continued until Karl finally hollered, “Nancy…get out here.” His voice didn’t sound like a loving father but more as if he were giving orders to someone he disliked.

  “What?” Nancy barked, and Carrie raised her eyebrows in surprise. This certainly didn’t sound like the girl Carrie knew. “What do you need, Karl?” She stressed the use of his first name as if she found the word distasteful.

  “Now, Nancy…please apologize to your father,” whined a voice in the background.

  “He’s not my father,” Nancy hissed back. “Isn’t that what you guys told me? What you’ve been telling me for the past month.”

  “Sheriff?” Nancy hollered as if reminding Karl exactly who was standing at his front door. “Mr. Cooper? I know where Teagan is, but you have to get me out of here.”

  Tom looked at Carrie as his face reddened, “Karl, I’m only going to say this one time. Let me talk to Nancy! Right now, or I’m going to bust this door down and then you, and I will talk.”

  Carrie had never seen Tom as angry as he was right then, but he placed Teagan’s welfare above everything. If Nancy did indeed know where Teagan was, Tom was going to talk to her with or without Karl’s assistance. If it meant taking the door apart with his foot, to talk to the girl, Tom would do it with no regrets.

  A nylon bag appeared in the opening, pushed out by someone inside the residence, Followed by Nancy. The door opened, further and Karl, unshaven and only partially dressed tried to grab Nancy as she squeezed between the door and jam. Red-faced and puffy-eyed, Nancy had obviously been crying. She pushed the backpack in front of her and jerked it away when Karl tried to hang on. He grabbed her arm to hold her.

  “If you leave this house you won’t be coming back. We’re through with you and your big ideas. Do you hear me?” Karl roared. “Done! Do you hear me? We’re finished with you!” He held the door, daring her to leave.

  Tom stepped back in surprise. Clearly, they had walked up on something besides a simple family argument. “Now, Karl. Hold on, man. Are you sure this is necessary?”

  “Don’t interfere Cooper. This doesn’t concern you.”

  Chapter Five

  Teagan sat listening to the war going on back at the gas station and realized she could have been caught in the middle of it had she stayed or taken any longer to leave. She hoped the attendant had chosen to get out before the crowd reached the station, but she didn’t think he would give up that easy. The determination on his face as he’d confronted her with the baseball bat told her he regarded the store contents as his personal responsibility.

  When Teagan smelled smoke, she knew it was time for her to leave. She didn’t think anyone had seen her and she hoped the man hadn’t said anything about her being there, but she wasn’t willing to take the chance. She wondered if Deena was in the crowd but chose to put the thought aside. As far as Teagan was concerned, Deena had put Teagan’s welfare in jeopardy when she’d left her standing in the road.

  In spite of their differences lately, Teagan wished Nancy had been the one riding to Lincoln City with her in her car. Teagan was sure the car would have run, and her best friend would have been there t
o back her up, plus it would have given Nancy the time she needed to reflect on her problems. Teagan didn’t know the whole story but was sure Nancy would have come clean in time. Nancy had told her that she needed the time to think about what she had to do. Her words were vague and empty, but the two girls had always confided in each other since the day they’d met in first grade when Nancy moved to town. Teagan was sure that with time to think, Nancy would have unburdened herself to her. They’d been best friends their whole lives, and each knew everything about the other; or had up until a month ago.

  A branch broke somewhere behind her and Teagan froze. It sounded like just one branch, and it could have been from an animal or bird, but Teagan didn’t think so. She tried to lay flat, but the pack she had buckled to the front of her prevented her from doing so. She wished she’d taken it off when she stopped but hadn’t intended to be there long enough to necessitate the act. She didn’t dare to breathe, let alone move further into the brush lest she gave away her hiding place. She almost laughed with the thought. Nancy would have said she was showing off her vocabulary, but Teagan held it in.

  Whoever was following her wasn’t being so stealthy. She could definitely hear them coming closer. The pain in Teagan’s backside reminded her that she did have protection and slipped the gun from her pocket and rolled to her side. Lying on her side hindered her ability to move, but she managed to bring the gun in front of her without too much noise. She held it close enough to her face to read what it was. The engraved printing said Sig Sauer P320. She had no idea about the type, but she had learned to shoot with a Glock 19 because it was the only gun her father owned that was small enough to fit her hand.