by James Hunt
“I was going to say the same thing about you.”
Coyle looked back and forth at the scene unfolding before him. “I helped get him out.”
Samantha turned to face him, and Jim introduced them. “Coyle, this is my sister, Samantha. Samantha, this is my friend, Coyle.”
Coyle stuck out his hand and Samantha instead went in to hug him.
“Thank you,” she said.
Jim pulled her off once when he saw his friend’s much too satisfied smile. “He didn’t help me that much. How’s Annie?”
“She’s fine, but she’s having a hard time adjusting with all of this,” Samantha said. She fumbled with her hands and looked down at them. Her voice was catching a bit. “We don’t know where Matt is.” Samantha covered her face with her hands and her shoulders started to shake.
“What happened in Phoenix?” Jim asked.
Samantha tried to gather her thoughts as she went over the events of what happened since the attack in San Diego. “We saw it on the news and I tried to call you, but I couldn’t get through. Then there were more reports of attacks happening in New York and D.C. The next day, we got some alerts that there were gas leaks happening all around Phoenix and with all the other attacks that were going on, the army started evacuating parts of the city.”
She continued as they walked through the crowded green and beige tents going up around them. “Thank God I was keeping Annie home that day for a doctor’s appointment. I tried to get a hold of Matt, but he left his cell phone at home before he went to work. We were evacuated here before I could get a hold of his office.”
Jim put his arm around her. “I’m sure he’s okay. They probably have dozens of these camps set up around the city.”
Samantha nodded her head in silence and rested her head on his shoulder as they arrived at the tent. She pulled the tent flap open and said, “Annie? Uncle Jim’s here.”
“Really?” an excited child’s voice said from inside the tent.
Suddenly, Annie came rushing out and jumped into Jim’s arms. He lifted her up in the air. She screamed and laughed as Jim let out a groan at how heavy she was getting.
“What have you been feeding her? She’s a tank!” He held her in one arm, and she kept her skinny arms around his neck. He kissed her on the cheek. It was the first time Samantha had seen her daughter smile since they got there.
The four of them walked into the tent, and Annie sat in Jim’s lap while Coyle and Samantha sat across from them on the other cot. Jim tickled Annie, who kept squealing for him to stop, then she would tickle him back and keep egging him on.
She finally wiggled down off of him and ran back into the corner where she had a coloring book with a few crayons that they were able to scrounge up and pass out for the kids in the camp. Jim smiled as she went to work on her sunflower and then turned his attention back to Samantha and Coyle.
“So what else do we know?’ Jim asked.
Samantha shrugged. “That’s it really. There hasn’t been much communication about what’s happening outside since we got here. I’ve heard a couple things trickle in with new people showing up, but all the stories don’t mix. Someone heard there was a nuclear attack, someone else thinks we’re being invaded, another person said they saw aliens. The only things I know for sure that happened were the events I told you about before we got here.”
Coyle raised his hand, trying to enter the conversation. “Um, how long do we have to stay here?”
Samantha looked at the two of them as she spoke, “They said we shouldn’t be here longer than a week. They’re working on checking any contamination issues in Phoenix, but as soon as it’s cleared, they said we can go back.”
“I’m going to miss karate practice. I was supposed to get my green belt this week,” Annie piped up from the corner with a frown.
Jim smiled over to her. “Don’t worry. We can still practice. I’ll show you some moves. Coyle can be our practice dummy.” His grin widened as he looked at Coyle, who squinted back at him while Annie screamed, “Yay!”
Jim and Coyle went to set up their tent, and after a little haggling with the coordinator to get a tent right next to Samantha and Annie’s, they sat outside and had lunch. The bright desert sun shone down on them. Jim wasn’t sure when he would get to go back home to San Diego, or even if he would ever get the chance, but he knew that if he didn’t, he’d be okay starting over. As long as he had the friends and family around him that he cared about, he was sure that everything would be okay. At the time, he had all that he needed and believed that together, they could make it through anything.
The City Burns-Chapter 1
Blood trickled down Matt’s crooked, broken nose. Bruises blotched his cheeks. He sat naked in a chair with his hands taped behind his back and his ankles bound together. No windows. No light. No hope. Four concrete walls and a single locked door surrounded him in the darkness.
Footsteps echoed faintly from beyond the door. Matt’s body shook. The boots thumped louder. His body broke out into a sweat, mixing with the dried blood stuck to his skin. The door flung open and he watched through half-swollen eyes as Garrett, Tim, and Brian entered in matching army cargo pants and green shirts.
“Good morning, sunshine!” Garrett said.
Matt’s face winced from the blinding fluorescent light that arrived with his captors.
“I think we woke him up,” Brian said.
Matt felt Garrett’s hand grab a fist full of his hair and yank his head back. The motion exposed the cuts and lumps stinging his face to the light.
“You’re not gettin’ sleepy on us, are you?” Garrett asked.
Matt felt his head being thrust forward and his chin slam into his chest, opening one of the gashes across his jaw. He felt the fresh warm drips of blood hitting his legs.
“Brian, we were only gone for what, an hour or so?” Tim asked.
Brian grinned. “Closer to a day.”.
Matt’s breathing accelerated. Quick, sharp breaths escaped his mouth. It hurt too much to breathe from his nose.
“Shit, man, I had no idea. We didn’t mean to leave you in here for that long. I’ll tell you what, why don’t we get you out of here, clean you up, and get you something to eat? How does that sound?” Garrett asked.
“Sounds pretty good to me, Garrett,” Brian said.
“Doesn’t it?” Garrett asked.
Tim stood next to a bucket of water with ice chunks floating in it. “Best idea you’ve had all morning, Garrett.”
“Here that, Matt? Best idea I’ve had all morning,” Garret said.
“P-please,” Matt said. “Just let me go home.”
Garrett bent to his knees. He held Matt’s chin in between his fingers, Garrett’s hot breath beating against his face. The words entered Matt’s ear in a soft whisper, like he was hearing a secret from a close friend.
“I can get you out of here. I can get you a nice warm bed with a hot meal. You don’t have to stay in here anymore. All I need you to do is tell me who you’ve been working with. That’s all. Just fill in the blank for me and you’ll be free,” Garret said.
Matt’s lip quivered. He didn’t want to go on. He wanted to quit. He wanted to tell them what they wanted to hear. He began to break down. Sobs left his body. Snot dribbled down his nose. Tears streamed down his face.
“Hey, hey, hey. It’s alright. Just tell us what we need to know,” Garrett said.
“I… d-didn’t… d-do anything.”
Matt watched Garrett’s face turn sour. He felt the sharp dismissal of his chin from Garrett’s hand tossing it aside. “You see, boys? You see what happens when you try to extend the hand of friendship to someone who just doesn’t want it?” Garrett asked.
“It’s a damn shame,” Tim said.
“Sure is,” Brian replied.
Matt caught a glimpse of Garrett grabbing the bucket of ice water. He could hear the chunks of ice smacking the bucket’s sides, sloshing back and forth. Matt’s sobs grew louder, reaching
a crescendo of him thrashing in his chair. “Please. I don’t know anything!”
Matt tried to shake off the hands grabbing his head, tilting it towards the ceiling and keeping him still. The rough fabric of cloth was stretched over his face. It held tight against his skin. The sharp bristles dug into his cuts and the pressure bearing down on his broken nose felt like an elephant stomping on his face. Matt could see the bucket eclipsing the fluorescent light above him. Droplets of the frigid water tipped over the edge, splashing on his face.
“Who are you working for?” Garrett asked.
The overwhelming pain of the moment equaled the fear of the struggle to come. Matt tried to think. He tried to give them something that wouldn’t hurt anyone, but each time he got close to revealing something, he was silenced by the blinding pain of cartilage and bone crunching in his nose under the pressure of the cloth.
When the first wave of water hit Matt, he froze. He gurgled and choked on the icy liquid soaking through the fabric, running into his mouth and nose. The frigid water burned into the cuts along his face and down the rest of his body. Just when he thought he was going to drown, they stopped.
“Where’s the hard drive?” Garrett asked.
Matt coughed up water and spit, gasping for breath. He could feel his body convulsing from shock, fear, and cold. His whole body was trying to fold into itself. His hands clinched into fists behind his back. His feet and toes curled up. He tried moving his face, searching for air, for escape, but each movement brought more pain than relief.
Then the familiar icy blast of pain and panic rushed over him once more. Water flooded his nasal cavity, burning the inside of his forehead. Matt thrashed his head back and forth. He desperately tried to escape the flow of water but failed. Wherever he went, so did the river trying to drown him.
Matt heard the thump of the bucket hitting the floor. The cloth was ripped from his face. He vomited more water onto his chest and stomach. Matt felt the uncomfortable sloshing of his own blood, sweat, and dirt against the seat and his bare skin.
The three soldiers circled him. Garrett sent a fist barreling into Matt’s stomach. He doubled over and gasped for breath but couldn’t find any. Garret sent another blow to Matt’s face, sending a tooth flying across the floor. Matt’s lower lip stuck out, swollen and dripping with blood.
Garrett went and picked up the tooth on the ground. He held the tooth up to the light. Matt’s fresh blood dripped from his hands. “You should keep this under your pillow tonight,” Garrett said.
“Maybe the tooth fairy will bring you something nice,” Tim added.
Matt’s head swayed in delirium. His thoughts were jumbled. There was a sharp pain in his side whenever he took a breath. The next blows that came were harder, more violent. They hit him again and again, each time sending more blood to the ground in crimson rain. After every blow, Matt felt the metallic taste refill his mouth, simply waiting to be spilt again.
Brian sent a combination of punches into Matt’s side. Each hit caused Matt to crumple into himself, his insides collapsing. One final blow sent a loud crack echoing through the room. Matt’s weight shifted and the chair holding him crashed to the floor, his shoulder smacking onto the unforgiving concrete.
“There’s the money shot!” Garrett said.
Brian and Tim pulled the chair back up right. Garrett wiped the blood from his knuckles on his shirt.
“Okay, it looks like we’ll have to try something a little different,” Garrett said.
Matt wheezed through his mouth, his body still caved to his left side where his ribs had cracked. He couldn’t remember where he was anymore. All he could see were boots shuffling on the floor.
“It doesn’t seem like I’m going to be able persuade you to tell me what I want to hear,” Garrett said.
A picture landed on Matt’s lap. He couldn’t feel the paper touching his skin. His whole body was numb. The people in the photo were just shapes that he couldn’t recognize through the one good eye he had left, but he knew who they were.
“I know it’s probably hard to see them, but there’s your little girl playing with her cat and, oh well, goddamn! Look at your wife! I didn’t know you were holding out on me like that, Matt,” Garrett said.
Matt focused on the image of his family. Not the one in the picture he couldn’t see, but the one in his mind. They sat around a table eating pancakes. Bowls of strawberries, bananas, and syrup filled the table; his daughter giggling after squirting whipped cream on her nose.
“You think if we bring your family over here it’ll refresh your memory?” Garrett asked.
Matt saw his wife waking in the morning, the sun peeking through the blinds and warming her face. She smiled at him and pulled him in, her soft lips pressing against his own. They rolled over each other, getting tangled in the sheets.
Garrett smacked the photo off Matt’s leg, sending it flying across the room. His face was twisted and flushed red.
“Listen, you prick. If you don’t tell me what I want to know, I’m gong to bring your daughter, your wife, and your fucking cat in here and kill them in front of you. Now tell me who you’re working for!” Garrett shouted.
Matt felt weak. He was beaten. He was bloody. His family was in trouble, but something wasn’t right about what Garrett had threatened him with. He tried to pull together the pieces of the thought slowly forming in his mind. Something was there that didn’t make sense.
Then it hit him. His body started shaking again, but not from pain or fear or cold. He felt the corners of his mouth tilting upwards into a smile. Small gasps of air left him, passing for laughs. They started soft but grew louder. Matt wheezed and winced in pain each time the sounds left him.
“What the fuck is so funny?” Garrett asked.
“That’s not my cat,” Matt said.
Chapter 2
Samantha sat on her cot staring at her daughter, Annie, curled up next to her brother Jim’s cat, Tigs. She watched her little chest slowly rise and fall. The inside of the tent was grey with light as the sun outside struggled to break through the dawn. She rubbed her eyes with her palms, trying to remove the lost hours of sleep. Two weeks. It’d been two weeks since they arrived at the refugee camp. They had been plucked from their home in Phoenix and sent here. She had no idea where her husband Matt was and no idea when she would ever see him again.
Jim Farr poked his head through the tent door silently. “Hey.”
Samantha whipped her head around and threw her hand over her mouth, letting out a gasp. “Jesus, Jim.”
“Sorry.” Jim stepped inside and Tigs rushed over to him. He reached down, scooped her up, and scratched behind her ears. It was one of Tigs’s favorite spots. Jim placed her back down and glanced over to his sister, who was still watching Annie.
“We’ll find him, Sammy. Once the military gets their communications back up, they’ll be able to give us some more information,” Jim said.
“Yeah, because they were so willing to share things before everything went to shit,” she said.
“I thought we weren’t supposed to say that word,” Annie said. Her eyes opened slowly. She blinked away the sleep and stretched across the cot.
“You told Uncle Coyle he couldn’t say it,” Annie said.
“That’s because Uncle Coyle’s met his life quota for bad words. Your mom hasn’t,” Jim said.
“Have I met my quota?” Annie asked.
Samantha scooped Annie up from the cot.
“No, but that’s because you haven’t been given a quota yet,” Samantha replied.
Annie looked up at her mother and grinned, exposing her missing front tooth.
“When do I get mine?” Annie asked.
“When you’re thirty, and that’s also when you’re allowed to get married,” Jim said.
“Uncle Jim’s kidding. It’ll be when you’re forty,” Samantha said.
Coyle tore open the tent flaps and poked his head inside. His eyebrows were raised and his wild hair stood out
in all directions. He looked like a mad scientist. “Breakfast line’s getting long,” he said. “I don’t want to have to wait thirty minutes like we did yesterday because somebody couldn’t get out of bed.” He looked accusingly at Annie, who giggled.
“What’s on the menu today?” Jim asked.
“Well, Monday was grey mush. Tuesday was white mush.” He rubbed his chin and then looked at Jim with over-exaggerated excitement on his face. “You think we’ll get the charcoal mush today?”
Jim led the group over to the breakfast line. They passed other families, loners, and soldiers crawling out of their army-issued relief tents and stretching their bodies in the morning sun.