by Harley Tate
Cassandra almost growled. “That was before I knew contractions would feel like a grizzly bear reached inside my body and tried to rip out my organs with his claws.”
Midge suppressed a smile. The more Cassandra talked, the more Midge liked her. She stepped forward. “Tito found a first aid kit and gave us his sleeping bag to use on the floor. It’s not much, but—”
“Thank you.” Cassandra huffed out the words as her breathing slowed. “It’s better than nothing.” She took a hesitant step forward. “Let’s get this baby train moving before I have another one.”
Midge watched Danny and Jack walk Cassandra into the small room. She hung back, unsure what to do or where to go. The fewer people in the room the better, but what if Danny needed her?
After a few minutes, he emerged from the room and hurried over to her. “Can you stand watch out here?”
“Do you need my help in there?” Say no. Just say no.
Danny glanced back at the room, mouth hanging open. “What we need is a doctor. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.”
“Cassandra and Jack seem to, right?”
“Assuming it all goes well.” Danny grabbed the back of his neck. “What if the baby is breech or the cord is around her neck?”
Midge reached out and squeezed Danny’s arm. “You’ll be fine. Just take some deep breaths. Remember to stay calm.”
“You sound like Jack.”
Midge screwed up her face into a pained smile. “Whatever works.”
Danny rushed forward and wrapped her up in an unexpected hug. “Thank you.” He pulled back and reached for DuBois’s gun, handing it over like a secret package. “Keep things together out here. Please.”
Midge took the gun and nodded. “Holler if you need me.”
Danny took off without another word, leaving Midge standing alone in the middle of the room. After a minute or two, she turned and walked back to the supply table. All she could do now was sit and watch and wait.
Hours later, Midge pinched her hand between her thumb and index finger to wake up. Apart from the muffled groans and screams from Cassandra in the other room, the bomb shelter had remained quiet. Randy and Mikey had each given up and fallen asleep and everyone else in the room had done the same.
Midge caught herself dozing off every few minutes and took to counting everything from the bricks on the wall to the water bottles beside her to keep her eyes open. As she hopped off the table to stretch, the door to the birthing room opened and Tito rushed out. His hands were covered in blood.
“Fish the locker key out of my pocket and go find another bottle of antiseptic and any towels left. I think there’s at least one.”
Midge did as instructed, reaching into Tito’s jean pocket for the ring of keys. “How is she?”
“The baby’s coming. Hurry.”
Midge took the keys and rushed across the room to the locker. She crouched in front of it, fumbling to find the right key that would fit into the lock. After three failed attempts, she finally found it and tore the locker open. Using one of Tito’s small lanterns for light, she inspected the contents, passing by cutlery and spices and a six-pack of warm beer, until she finally found a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Two towels were still wedged on the bottom shelf and Midge grabbed them both before taking off for the small room.
She opened the door just as the cries of a baby filled the small space.
Jack kneeled on the floor in front of his wife, holding a bluish-tinged, screaming baby. He looked up, bewildered. “Oh, Cass, you did it. We have a beautiful baby girl.”
“Can I see her?” Cassandra’s face shone slick with sweat, but she was still awake and coherent. Midge marveled. Even in the worst of circumstances, people found a way to survive.
Danny rose up from beside Cassandra and took the towels and the alcohol out of Midge’s hands. His slack jaw and wide eyes spoke of the same bewilderment and awe swirling inside Midge. “How is everything out there?”
Midge opened her mouth to answer when a scream echoed through the door.
Chapter Thirteen
DANNY
Sunday, 3:00 am CST
The Heritage Arms Apartments
Gary, Indiana
Tito rushed from the room as the screams in the main shelter area intensified.
“Danny! Danny help!” Tito’s frantic shouts sent a shock of adrenaline down his spine.
He whirled around, still holding the towels and alcohol. Help? That’s what he was doing for Cassandra and her baby.
Midge tugged DuBois’s gun from behind her back and thrust it out as she held her other arm open for the supplies. “Take it and go!”
Danny hesitated, but Jack urged him on. “We’re okay. The baby is okay. Just go.”
With a nod from Cassandra, Danny grabbed the gun, tossed the towels and alcohol at Midge, and hurried from the room. The sight confronting him outside the door shocked him into action.
Mikey staggered around the center of the room, blood pumping over his hands from a slash across his neck. Oh, God. Danny’s mouth fell open. Who could have— What the—?
A woman screamed again as Mikey staggered toward her. Danny didn’t know what to do. There was so much blood. It coursed down Mikey’s chest, gurgling over his fingers no matter how hard he pressed against the wound. The kid was a goner. Mikey fell to his knees, unable to support his own weight as the blood drained from his body.
“Over here!” Tito’s shout whipped Danny’s head around. He stood near the door to the bomb shelter, arms outstretched in an attempt to keep someone from moving.
Randy. He crouched near the door, bloody knife still in his hand. He did this? Danny clenched his hands into fists. After everything they’d been through and after all that Midge explained. Why couldn’t they just leave each other alone?
“Give me the knife, Randy.” Tito stepped forward, but Randy swung in a panicked arc, blade missing Tito’s arm by an inch.
Danny refused to let this creep inflict any more damage. Cassandra’s baby deserved to be born into a peaceful world. Not one filled with murder and cold-blooded criminals. He lifted the gun and held it with two hands as he stalked forward. “Put it down or I’ll empty this entire thing into your chest.”
Randy jumped back, knife stuck straight out in front of him. Tito eased back and gave Danny room.
“I’m not joking. You have until the count of three.” Danny took another step toward Randy. “I haven’t slept in two days, your stupid gang almost killed me a few hours ago, and I just helped deliver a baby in a bomb shelter. I don’t have any more compassion to give.”
“You wouldn’t. Not in front of all these people.”
Danny took aim. “One.”
“Tito, come on, man. You know me.”
“I’m not the one with the gun this time. If I were you, I’d do what he says.”
Randy stared wide-eyed first at Tito and then at Danny.
Rage, frustration, and regret churned into a wicked brew inside Danny’s gut. People weren’t supposed to be like this. They were supposed to be better than animals living on instinct and fight-or-flight responses. They were supposed to have reason and common sense and a heart. Randy had none of those things. Danny didn’t want to kill him, but he would if it meant protecting everyone else. Especially a newborn baby.
He lowered his head. “Two.”
The knife clattered to the floor.
“Give me the gun.” Tito held his hand out, palm up.
Danny didn’t hesitate. He plopped the heavy beast in Tito’s hand and stepped back.
Tito aimed at Randy’s chest as he motioned to Danny. “Go help Mikey.”
Before Tito’s command left his lips, Danny was already there, kneeling beside the kid. He’d fallen completely to the floor, one arm outstretched, the other still covering his throat. Up close, Danny could see he must have been no older than himself.
Gasps and cries echoed all around them. Danny tried to smile in sympathy.
Mikey
gasped like a fish on land, eyes bulging with effort. He tried to speak. Blood gurgled from his lips.
“Shh, shh. It’s okay.” Danny reached for his hand. “It’s okay. You can close your eyes.” He tried to sound calm when on the inside, everything burned. Mikey’s eyes lost focus. His grip grew weak.
Little by little, the blood stopped flowing. He was dying. Danny said one of the only prayers he could remember, hoping he didn’t mangle the words about debts and debtors. It had been a long time since he’d gone to Sunday school, but Mikey deserved something in his final moments.
As the kid slipped away, Tito’s voice rose above the sound of Danny’s heart. “Out. Now.”
Randy held up his hands. “What? No! Tito, man, I’m sorry.”
“Too late for that,” Danny called out. “Mikey’s dead.”
Tito tensed for a moment before rolling his shoulders back. “You heard me. Open the shelter door.”
Randy’s pleas tumbled from his lips. “I didn’t mean it. I swear. That girl left the locker open and I was just goin’ to snag a beer when Mikey came over.”
Danny swallowed. The girl must have been Midge. Tito had asked her for supplies to help with the delivery and she’d been in such a rush— No. Danny shut down the line of thought. Midge didn’t slit Mikey’s throat. Randy did.
“He shoved me and I grabbed the knife. I didn’t know what I was doing!” His eyes darted from person to person around the room, searching for someone to save him. “You’ve got to believe me!”
One by one, each bystander looked away. The woman across from Danny who’d screamed as Mikey approached her focused on the dead boy at Danny’s side. Mark pretended to be asleep. No one was going to vouch for Randy. No one was going to save him now.
Tito stepped forward, gun barrel a fraction away from Randy’s forehead. “Either open the door, or I splatter your brains all over it.”
Randy opened the door. The hinges squealed, protesting along with Randy as he stepped outside the shelter. Tito followed and the door swung shut.
Danny looked down at Mikey’s body. Limp hands, eyes clouded with lifeless haze. He pulled back and stood up as a man he hadn’t met approached.
“Danny is it?”
He nodded.
“I’m Jacob. Emily’s father.” He pressed his hand across his mouth for a moment to regain his composure. “I can help you move his body.”
“Thank you.” Danny swallowed down a wave of emotion as he reached for Mikey’s hands. Jacob picked up his feet and together they moved toward the door. As Danny reached for the handle, a sharp noise sounded in the space beyond. He stared at the door for a long moment, holding his breath when he heard footsteps on the stairs.
The door swung open and Tito stepped into the room, blood splattered across his cheek. “Randy won’t be a problem anymore.” Tito nodded at Jacob and then turned to Danny. “I can handle Mikey. You go check on the baby.”
“Are you sure?”
Tito nodded, the lines around his mouth deep and unforgiving. Danny eased away from Mikey and hurried over to the open locker. He grabbed a roll of paper towels and a pack of baby wipes and cleaned himself up as best he could before heading back to Cassandra and the baby.
As he entered the room, everyone looked up. Cassandra held the baby close, the pair of them wrapped up in one of Mark’s blankets. Midge kneeled beside them, teeth peeking out as she nibbled on her lip. While he’d been dealing with the two gang members, Midge must have taken over. He smiled at the sight. Gone was the sleeping bag, the bloody towels, and if it weren’t for the sleepy, brand-new baby in Cassandra’s arms, Danny might have thought he dreamt the whole thing.
“Is everything okay?”
Cassandra nodded. “She’s wonderful. Thank you so much. For everything.”
Danny tried not to blush. “I didn’t do much. Thankfully.”
“Are you okay?” Midge’s question weighed heavily, but Danny managed to nod.
“Randy and Mikey won’t be problems anymore.”
“Thank goodness.” Cassandra stroked her baby’s cheek. She peeled down the edge of the blanket to show off her little bundle. “Danny, meet April Indiana Grande.”
“Indiana?”
Cassandra let out a small laugh. “We couldn’t name her Gary.”
Even Midge laughed as she stood up. Exhaustion rounded her shoulders and slowed her gait as she made her way over to Danny. They eased over to the corner of the room before she spoke. “Randy and Mikey. Are they—?”
He nodded and Midge closed her eyes. “It’s my fault, isn’t it?” Her voice cracked and a tremor racked her frame, but she forced the words out. “I left the locker open.”
Danny reached for her, wrapping his arms around her shaking shoulders. “You didn’t kill anyone. That was Randy. He made the choice.”
She choked back a sob and pulled away. “You should get some sleep.”
“So should you.”
Danny looked past her to Jack and Cassandra. “Do you need anything?”
Jack shook his head. “Just rest. Thank you again.”
Danny nodded and took Midge by the hand and she let him lead her out of the room and over to the table full of supplies. Without Randy and Mikey to worry about, Danny didn’t need to sit on top and keep watch. He slid to the floor and propped his back against the wall and Midge did the same. Shoulder to shoulder, they closed their eyes.
Hours later, Danny shifted, his body cold from the concrete and the brick. He reached for Midge, but came up empty. She wasn’t there.
Chapter Fourteen
MIDGE
Sunday, 6:00 am CST
The Heritage Arms Apartments
Gary, Indiana
Midge crept down the hall in the subbasement, phone outstretched in front of her. Her laptop bag bounced against her back as she came to a stop. The phone’s signal still read Searching…
She cursed. I have to get online and find out where TX went. I need to know where we can go next.
Danny would be furious if he found out she’d left the main bomb shelter, but Midge pushed the potential fight aside and kept walking. Frustration clawed at her exhausted mind, but she couldn’t sleep even if she tried.
When they finally sat down, Danny had passed out almost instantly, head lolling against her shoulder. The more Midge tried to sleep, the more elusive it became. She couldn’t stay in that room with the stench of drying blood and a bunch of strangers just sitting around, waiting for radiation to decay.
She needed answers. So after she confirmed everyone was asleep, she’d snuck out. Tito’s words had stuck with her when he’d explained the bomb shelter was originally much larger. So she’d snuck through the shelter floor, inching past the stairs and down a hallway they had missed when they first arrived.
Based on the length of the hall and the ever-changing wall construction—everything from concrete to brick to drywall—Midge concluded the shelter must have been chopped up at least five or six times. Maybe more.
She tried the handle of the first door she found. Locked. The next was the same. She held up her phone again. Still no service. Midge refused to give up. There had to be another room. Somewhere near the street where the layers of concrete wouldn’t prevent a signal from going through. She had to find a way to reach TX.
Her mother had to be worried sick. What if she saw the bomb detonate from Suttons Bay? What if she thought both her daughters were dead? Midge stumbled over a broken brick and almost fell. Her shoulder grazed the wall. Still no signal.
She kept going. Was Lainey alive? Did she make it out of Los Angeles? If Midge could only get online, she would have all the answers she needed.
If only.
She tried another door. The handle turned. Yes! Midge held up her phone and shone the flashlight beam around the space. It was another room, similar in size to the main shelter, but this one wasn’t empty. She stepped inside.
Metal folding chairs and cots lined one wall and Midge approached, hopeful
they could still be used. As she pulled one out, the fabric seat crumpled in her hand. Had they been down there since the sixties? Without the seat, the chair was worthless. Same with the cots. The cotton had long since turned friable and brittle.
Midge ran a hand over her head. What she wouldn’t give for a shower and a bed. A safe place to sleep. She had to reach Suttons Bay. She thought about the Grandes and their new baby. Would they risk sailing the catamaran with a newborn at home? Would taking them to St. Joseph only delay her reaching her mother?
Once she reached Suttons Bay, then what? They couldn’t stay at Dottie’s place forever. If DC was hit, did the United States even still exist? Without any of the major cities, would they ever get back to what they had before?
Since the plane crash, Midge had been operating in nonstop panic mode. She hadn’t had a chance to think about the future beyond the next minute or hour. But standing there in a fallout shelter in the middle of Gary, Indiana, it hit her.
What would the survivors do?
Millions died in the blasts. Millions more would die from radiation poisoning. But what about the rest? Without food or water or means of transportation, what would all the families living in suburbs and exurbs and small towns around the country do now? How would they survive?
Midge thought back to her dorm room at college. The mini-fridge never held more than a few containers of yogurt and a six-pack of Coke. She relied on the dining hall for food and the occasional coffee shop for a jolt of caffeine and she wasn’t alone. Most people these days didn’t even have a pantry, let alone long-term food stores.
Lessons from her world history class came to mind. What did ordinary people do when faced with a countrywide crisis or war? They became refugees.
A chill coursed through her.
That’s what all the remaining Americans had become. Refugees. They would need to make it across a border and into a land of civilization. It was the only choice. She walked over to the nearest wall and sat down, holding her phone out in front of her.