Broken Lines- A Tale Of Survival In A Powerless World

by James Hunt

  The flashbacks from the mobs in the streets popped into Mike’s mind. He remembered the smell of blood and heat from the hospital, the rush of panic spreading through everyone in the city.

  “I’m sure she’s fine, Nelson.”

  “I know. I just worry.”

  Mike knew that Katie was some sort of executive at a financial institution. It was a large corporation, so he figured she must have had some sort of security detail with her. He thought that would at least give her a chance.

  “Well, you guys have a good night,” Nelson said.

  “You too,” Mike said.

  “Bye, Sean,” Freddy said. waiving his arm wildly at Sean through the front window.

  “Now, it’s time to go and get your sister,” Mike said.

  “Do we have too?” Freddy asked.

  ***

  Mike’s daughter seemed less pleased to see him. When Malory’s mother, Genie, came to the door and called her name, letting Kalen know that her father was here for her, she trudged downstairs, marched out of the house without looking at him, and walked back down the street.

  “I hope she didn’t break anything while she was here,” Mike said.

  “Oh, Mike, she’s fine. She’s just a teenager. No worse than mine,” Genie replied.

  She bit her lower lip looking at Mike.

  “You know, if you ever need any advice or anything you can always come over,” she said.

  Freddy’s eyes opened wide. Mike smiled awkwardly.

  “Have a good night, Genie,” he said.

  “You too,” she replied.

  Mike shook his head and Freddy mimicked him.

  “I think she’s crazy, Dad.”

  “Me too, bud. Me too.”

  Ulysses had made the best argument he could, but by the time Mike and the kids got back to the house Annie had already set him up in the spare bedroom downstairs.

  “Your daughter was thrilled to see me,” Mike said.

  “My daughter?” Annie asked.

  “She’s got you written all over her.”

  “If by that you mean she’s smart, independent, and beautiful, then yes. Those little gems were mine. The stubbornness, well let’s just say I almost had to get violent with your father before he agreed to sleep in the guest room.”

  Anne kissed his cheek and headed into the living room and plopped on the couch. Mike took Freddy upstairs and tucked him in. On his way back down to the living room he passed his daughter’s room and knocked on the door.

  “Yeah?”

  Mike opened it up and his daughter was on the floor flipping through the pages of a magazine.

  “Hey” Mike said.

  She didn’t look up at him.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Everything all right?”

  “I can’t use my phone, laptop, car, or listen to music, so no, everything is not all right.”

  “Kalen, I just wanted to- “

  “I’m going to bed, Dad.”

  She glanced up at him and walked to the door.

  “Goodnight,” he said.

  The wind from the door rushed over him as Kalen slammed the door shut. Mike lingered there for a moment, and then headed back downstairs.

  Mike lay down next to Annie on the couch and rested his head on her lap. She ran her hands through his hair and circled the small bald spot on the top of his head.

  “Just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to point it out,” Mike said.

  “What? It makes you look tough.”

  “It makes me look old.”

  “Hey, if you’re old, then what does that make me?”

  “If the boot fits.”

  Annie smacked his chest. Mike winced and snatched her hand in his. He ran his fingers along her soft hands, gently rubbing them, and then he brought them to his lips and kissed them.

  “What’s wrong?” Anne asked.

  “It’s going to get worse,” Mike said.

  “Aren’t there measures for stuff like this?”

  “Not on a scale this large. I don’t think there’s a single piece of technology left in the country that’s still working. If it had a computer chip in it, then it’s toast.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I’m going to start getting everything ready in the jeep tomorrow, but we’ll stay here as long as we can. We have enough food and water to last us a while, but we won’t be able to take all of it with us.”

  “The cabin?”

  “Yeah.”

  The two of them glanced around the living room. Pictures of holidays, vacations, the kids’ sport events, snapshots of the history of their lives, all here in this house. He got up from her lap and put his arm around her. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and they sat there in silence, holding each other while the candles in the room flickered, casting their shadows on the walls around them.

  The Second Day

  There really wasn’t a breeze, but Mike had opened the windows of the house anyway. The heat was intense. Even Freddy, who never complained about anything, was starting to feel it.

  “Is the power ever going to come back on?” Freddy asked.

  Kalen was still on her ‘not speaking to anyone’ strike, unless it was asking when the next time food would be served.

  Mike spent most of his morning in the cellar. The walls were lined with shelves of canned goods. He had bags scattered along the floor half-filled with food.

  A tall grey safe sat in the corner. Mike unlocked the door and revealed two twelve-gauge shotguns, a .223 lever-action rifle, a 9mm Smith & Wesson, and a .45 Colt revolver. Boxes of ammo for each lined the sides and bottom of the safe.

  He heard a knock from upstairs and Mike grabbed the 9mm and tucked it behind his shirt. He closed and locked the safe and headed upstairs.

  When Mike opened the door he was greeted with Nelson flashing a neighborly grin.

  “Hey, Mike, how are you doing?” he asked.

  “I’m fine, Nelson. What can I do for you?”

  “Well, since it’s been about a day since the power’s gone out and we’re not sure when it’s coming back on we all thought we’d get the neighborhood together for a grill out. It was Bessie Beachum’s idea. The food won’t last much longer and she figured it’d be a nice way to get everyone together.”

  “I don’t think that’s something we can be a part of today. We’ve got a lot of chores around the house to do.”

  “Oh, come on, Mike. We already have the grills going. It’ll be fun. Oh, hi, Anne.”

  Anne appeared from behind Mike, then leaned up against his body.

  “Nelson, how are you?” she asked.

  “Well, I’d be better if you could convince Mike to join the barbeque today.”

  “Barbeque?” she asked.

  “Yeah, we’re getting the whole neighborhood involved.”

  “Sounds great. What time?”

  “In about an hour.”

  “I’ll bring some patties out of the freezer.”

  “That’d be great! I’ll see you guys in a bit.”

  Nelson trotted off to the other neighbors and Mike shut the door. Annie stood there grinning at him.

  “It’s going to get worse, huh? Armageddon’s barbeque. How will we survive?” she asked.

  Mike waited until she was out of earshot before he said anything.

  “And you think our daughter gets the attitude from me.”

  ***

  The turnout for the barbeque was huge. Bessie Beachum had gathered the whole neighborhood and had coordinated anything and everything people could want. Burgers, ribs, hot dogs, beers, liquor, ice cream, popsicles, anything that wasn’t going to last in the freezers and fridges was out on display.

  The whole setup was a makeshift combination of picnic tables, lawn chairs, and card tables. Everything was parked at the end of the cul-de-sac.

  Ray Gears even had an old record player he brought out. Everyone munched on their hamburgers while listening to the soun
ds of the Beach Boys.

  It almost felt like a normal Saturday during the summer. Mike allowed himself a moment to actually enjoy himself and even managed to get a smile out of his daughter by drawing a smiley face on Freddy’s forehead with the tip of his fudge pop.

  Nothing felt as if city behind them was being ravaged with violence and despair. Here they seemed out of its reach, but Mike knew what would eventually come, and the momentary joy he felt slowly disappeared.

  The lower the sun sank in the sky the drunker most of the parents became. With the party winding down, Mike helped organize the cleanup. He was clearing one of the tables when Bessie Beachum started walking toward him.

  “Mike, you don’t have to do that,” Bessie said.

  Bessie had her hair done up, fresh makeup caked on her face, and that wide unnaturally forced smile you see people use when they’re pissed about something, and Bessie Beachum could get mad about anything.

  A few years ago there was a family that moved in down the street. Their kids were in a band together and they were pretty good. They’d practice anytime they could in their garage, but Bessie managed to get a petition signed banning them from practicing because the “noise pollution” was detrimental to the neighborhood’s reputation. The family moved out a month later.

  “It’s fine, Bessie,” Mike answered.

  “Well, I appreciate you helping out. I think it was a great turnout don’t you?”

  “Yeah, it seems like everyone enjoyed it.”

  Mike looked up and saw that she was lingering. Her arms were folded and she was squinting at him.

  “Is there something else I can help you with?” Mike asked.

  “It’s just that, well, I find it odd that everything is down. I mean, it would be one thing if it were just the power, but our car, phones, laptops; things that aren’t plugged in aren’t working. Do you happen to know what’s going on?”

  “Not really.”

  “I know that you’re one of those people who… prepare, so I was just curious to hear your thoughts. You must have some idea of what’s happening, right?”

  “We should get all of the garbage cans together, centralize the trash. It’s going to build up fast.”

  Bessie flashed another forced smile.

  “I’ll get Ted to round them up,” she said.

  Bessie trotted off, her heels clacking against the pavement. With her back to Mike the plastic smile faded from her face. She found her husband, Ted, cleaning his grill and holding a beer can.

  “Mike knows something,” Bessie said.

  “Knows about what?”

  “Whatever’s happening? He knows why nothing’s working. I mean, they go once a month to that stupid cabin of theirs in Ohio practicing their survival skills. He’s hiding something.”

  “Why wouldn’t he tell us if he knew? Maybe he really doesn’t know.”

  Bessie’s arms slumped to her sides. She cocked her head to the side looking at her husband, who was putting some serious elbow grease onto one of the blackened spots on the grill. She snapped her fingers and he finally looked up.

  “Ted!”

  “What?”

  “Just get the trash cans together and put them in between Nelson’s and Mike’s house.”

  ***

  The pile of filled trash bags overflowed the trashcans. Mike tossed the last bag at the bottom of the pile, and then he felt his hand curl and being to shake. He grimaced and started messaging the inside of his palm. Anne walked up from behind him and placed her hands on his wrist.

  “Are they acting up again?” she asked.

  “Yeah, a little.”

  Mike felt her lips press against the side of his cheek. He kissed her back and then noticed Kalen talking to the Sturgis boy, James. They both had their hands in their pockets laughing at everything they were saying to each other.

  “What’s all this about?” he asked motioning over to Kalen.

  “Well, from how much time she spends on his Facebook page I had an inkling she might like him.”

  Anne put her hand on Mike’s back and then recoiled when she felt the gun tucked in his belt.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  Before Mike could stop her Anne lifted his shirt, then gasped and yanked it back down.

  “Jesus, Mike. You brought your gun to the barbeque?”

  “Keep your voice down. Yes, I did, and I want you to start carrying too.”

  “Mike… We’ll be fine. Now, let’s go home before you shoot Kalen’s new boyfriend.”

  “Boyfriend!?”

  Heads turned to Mike and everyone stared while the Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe” played in the background. James looked terrified, Kalen looked mortified, and both were flushed red.

  “Dad!” Kalen said.

  Freddy rolled off the bench of the picnic table he was sitting on, roaring with laughter. Kalen stomped off past Mike and stormed into the house.

  Ray Gears, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, and white tennis packed up his record player. He walked over to Mike and Anne.

  “Sorry about that. The Beach Boys have been known to increase the hormone levels in teenagers. At least that’s what it did to me at that age,” Ray said.

  “Hi, Ray,” Anne said.

  “Anne. Mike. How are you guys holding up?” Ray asked.

  “We’re all right. How about you?” Mike asked.

  “I’m fine, but I don’t think all this was the best idea,” Ray said.

  “Why?” Anne asked.

  “The cars? Cell phones? They’re all off. This isn’t just a power outage, but you already knew that didn’t you, Mike?” Ray said.

  “I know,” Mike said.

  “People keep saying somebody’s coming to fix this, but no one’s coming. People are happy now, but come tomorrow things we’ll start to turn. I saw a few people stupid enough to bring some canned goods,” Ray said.

  “I saw,” Mike replied.

  “Look, I don’t know how much supplies you have, but now might be a good time to start thinking of teaming up.”

  “We might be getting ahead of ourselves, Ray.”

  “Is that why you decided to carry your 9mm tonight?

  “I always carry.”

  “Look, Mike, you know just as well as I do that when people start to get hungry they’re going to turn on each other, and unless you have an escape plan or a castle that can protect you you’re not going to make it out of here alive, but I guess that’s what your jeep’s for.”

  “How do you know my jeep will run?”

  “Because you’re a man who carries a gun when he knows when shit’s about to hit the fan.”

  Mike and Anne watched Ray grab the rest of his vinyl and scoop up the record player in his arm and head for the dark shape of his house in the distance.

  “What are you thinking?” Anne asked.

  “I’m thinking Ray might be the only friend we have left when things turn bad.”

  Day Three

  Mike dipped the pot into the bathtub and filled it halfway. Before he went to bed last night he filled all of the tubs and sinks in the house, collecting as much of the water left in the pipes as he could. He’d gathered enough water to last them three or four days.

  Mike pounded on both of his children’s bedroom doors on his way back to the kitchen.

  “Wake up! Everybody downstairs. Family meeting time.”

  Mike lighted the gas stove and set the water to boil. Freddy trudged into the kitchen with his hair sticking straight up on one side of his head while the other lay completely flat.

  Kalen came in next wearing sweat pants, her makeup from the day before, and her hair pulled in a ponytail.

  “Dad, I need to take a shower. I feel disgusting.”

  “You smell disgusting too,” Freddy said.

  “Shut up, Freddy!”

  “Okay, that’s enough you two,” Anne said entering the kitchen and giving Freddy a slight pat on the bum.

  “I drained al
l of the water in the pipes last night. No more showers for a while,” Mike said.