by T A Williams
It took her a second to comprehend what the man was saying and she was slightly aware that she sat there and stared at him with her mouth agape for a second too long. She was able to gather herself. “What’s that over there?”
“You looking for food, work, or supplies?” he asked.
She nodded yes to all.
“Then that is the place you want to go.”
The parking lot was mainly deserted with only a few people mulling about but even from where she was at she could see a few people walking around near the entrance. “Is it, safe?”
The man thought about that a second longer then she would have liked. “You have a gun?”
This time she shook her head no.
He glanced in the back of the truck. “Just the two of you?”
“Yes.” Jess said starting to feel panic as she realized she probably shouldn’t be admitting all this to the unknown man.
“In that case I would tread lightly. Stay near the front stores in the mall, there isn’t a reason to go deeper unless you’re up to no good. Also I’d make a point to clear out before it gets too dark. There are a few of us keeping watch during the day but it’s harder to see at night if you catch my drift.”
She did.
She thanked the man and pulled the truck to the side of the road. She then took stock, they had nothing. The reason she had risked going into civilization was in the hope of finding food and their supplies consisted of two dirty, slightly smelly, comforters she scavenged from the back of a car she had siphoned gas from.
“You getting hungry Ally?”
The little girl nodded her head yes emphatically. She had figured as much. They had not eaten all day and it wasn’t like they had been eating like royalty before then.
“Ally, I need you to stick close to me while we’re in here do you understand? We’ll go in real quick and see if we can find a bite to eat.”
“Ok.”
They made their way through the near empty parking lot towards the mall entrance. The smell of food cooking on an open fire caused her stomach to growl out in protest. The only people in the parking lot were on the far side standing alongside the fire but she kept her head on a swivel half expecting someone to jump out from behind a nearby abandoned car and rush them.
As the approached the entrance to the mall she could make out the sounds of people talking inside. There was something so comforting in the sound while being scary at the same time. She had gotten so used to the quiet that the sound almost sounded foreign. Once inside the talking bounced off the walls and took on an eerie quality, she now knew why the malls always played horrible elevator music.
The mall had obviously been ransacked in the past and was now retrofitted to serve as a trading hub now. The check-out stations had been mostly torn down and the few that were still standing had been transformed into trading stands where a few people stood behind them swapping their wares. The tables and chairs in the food court had been cleared out and where replaced by hastily built trading areas. And while the food stations still had people behind them serving food the dead animals hanging behind the counter led Jessica to believe they were no longer serving Big Macs or Burrito Supremes.
As they made their way through Jessica had her arm on Ally’s shoulder and was pulling her close to her. If the young girl was nervous she hid it well. Outwardly she seemed curious and at ease with the world. Jessica meanwhile could feel her palms begin to sweat and despite having nothing in her stomach began to feel nauseous.
Don’t do this, not here, not now she pleaded with herself. She stopped where she was and took several deep calming breaths.
The food court contained a few dozen people of all shapes and sizes. Most of them were men but there were a few women and she noticed a young child being led around by its father. None of the people even glanced their way, but that didn’t stop her from feeling like all eyes were on them.
Jess closed her eyes and focused on reality, no one was watching them and they weren’t in immediate danger. This was all in her head. The nausea slowly started to fade away and she felt the feeling of panic start to subside. When she glanced down she saw Ally watching her, the girl’s expression was blank. “I’m ok.” She told the girl.
She led Ally around the outskirts of the food court and surveyed the area. The food counters contained dead animals but a few still had old cans of food along with boxes of granola bars and other goods that could still be considered edible after having sat uneaten for over a year. The other trading booths had a variety of different items most of which had obviously been looted from various stores after everything went to hell.
“What are we going to trade?” Ally asked.
“I have no idea.” She answered.
Just beyond the food court there was a hallway that got progressively darker deeper in. Sitting right before the dark area was a small table with dozens of small packages sitting on top of it. A large burly man stood behind the table talking with a small runty looking man with a greasy looking baseball cap partially covering his long scraggly looking hair.
“Stay close.” She told Ally as she headed over to the area.
The large man didn’t notice her until she was a few yards away. He paused his conversation for just a second, eyed her up and down, and the continued to talk to the smaller man.
“You can go there if you’d like but don’t expect me to follow.” He turned his attention to her and smiled, it was surprisingly warm and genuine. “What you looking for?”
“Food.” She wanted her voice to come out confident and strong but it sounded small and weak.
“If you’re looking for food you can enjoy then you better look elsewhere, if you’re just looking for something to put in your stomach then I can help you out.”
Ally stepped forward and pointed at the small packages. “What are those?”
“MRE’s, stand for Meals Ready to Eat.” He enjoyed the look of confusion on Ally’s face for a few seconds. “The military gives these to their soldiers when they’re at war. They don’t take much time to prepare and they provide the nutrients to keep the men going, a little lacking in the taste department though if you ask me.”
Jessica kept her eyes on both of the men. While the larger man was talking he had a jovial look in his eyes but the skinny man didn’t take his eyes off of her. His stare went beyond interest and the hairs on her arm stood up on end.
The larger man looked behind them. “What exactly are you trading? Most people here are either carrying a bag full of goodies or they’re tethered to their area.”
“We don’t have much of anything.”
The look of kindness on the man’s face quickly changed to disinterest. “Then why exactly are we having this conversation?”
“I’m hungry.” Ally’s face took on a pitiful quality that was beyond anything Jess had ever seen on the girl’s face. The little girl’s eyes were wide and cast downward but it was when the little girl let out a pitiful sigh that Jess realized Ally was putting on a show.
Jess smiled internally, you sly little devil she thought.
Despite the academy worthy performance the man was unmoved. “There are a lot of very hungry people darling, even more are starving. If I go giving away food without getting anything in return then I’ll be joining those on the starving side.”
“Come on Peele,” said the skinny man as he slowly walked around her. “I’m willing to help the little lady out.” He stopped behind her and she could feel his warm breath on her neck. “I’m sure me and her can come up with a way for her to pay me back.”
She clenched her fists and tried to steady her breathing, she never should have come here. Her body began to clench up and she glanced towards the exit of the building wondering if they could make it back to the car before the runty man could grab them. The only thing that stopped her was the look on Peele’s face.
The kindness in his eyes had completely disappeared and she could see a darkness behind it, but it wasn’t dire
cted towards her.
“Step back.” He growled.
The breath on the back of her neck stopped and for a second there was silence. Then the skinny man walked back into her view. His face was one of anger but it was contained. There was no doubt the skinny man didn’t stand a chance against Peele but in a world full of guns size didn’t mean anything.
Jess reached out and grabbed Ally’s hand and pulled her closer.
“Grab your shit and head out.” Peele’s voice was even but she could feel the threat bursting from the seams.
“You really gonna do me like that P?”
Peele said nothing.
“Man you know I was just joking, I can go out around 8th street and find a dozen better looking than her that would give it up for a half-eaten candy bar.”
Once again Peele said nothing.
The skinny man looked her up and down again then walked off.
Jess didn’t speak; she really couldn’t come up with anything to say.
“Thank you.” Ally said with a smile.
Peele gave a half smile and rubbed his hands over his face. “This place isn’t safe for anyone, let alone you two. You got a place to stay?”
Jess nodded yes even though they didn’t.
The man studied her face for a moment. “Is this place contained in a moving vehicle?”
She didn’t answer.
The man let out a sigh. “You’re smart not trusting anyone. If I were you I’d get in my car and get as far away from here before it gets dark.” He pushed over four of the MRE’s.
Jess just stared at him, unsure of what to say.
Ally looked to her and back to the man. She reached up and grabbed the MRE’s. “Thank you again.”
The man gave her a warm smile. “You’re welcome darling.” He looked up at Jess. “Stay on the main highway out of here, there are enough people traveling through that it’s still relatively safe. But the back roads aren’t safe.”
She nodded her head. “Thank you for everything.”
“Don’t mention it, now get the hell out of here.”
Ben
He stood alone with only the trees around him for company. Under the tree tops the light from the moon barely filtered through leaving him almost completely in the dark. He stood there in the dark listening to the leaves rustling in the wind. He enjoyed the moment then reluctantly let it go as it could not last. Soon Jack would come out looking for him.
Ben made his way out from under the trees located in front of the house. Without the trees to block the wind the cool night breeze hit the sweat on his back causing a shiver to make its way up his body. He had already checked the snares earlier in the day but had decided to check again before bed, it gave him something to do besides sitting in the empty house hiding from Jack.
As if on cue the man emerged from the house and stood on the front porch watching him. Ben thought about turning around and heading back into the woods but then the man would know he was trying to avoid him. He put his head down and continued towards the house praying the old man would be too tired to say anything.
“We catch anything?” The man asked.
Ben shook his head no and started to go around him. Jack stepped in front of him and the boy stopped, still looking at the ground.
“Why don’t you take a second and stand out here with me, enjoy the night for a while.”
Ben didn’t feel like fighting so he stood next to the man. They stood there listening to the frogs croaking in the distance and watching the intermittent lights given off by the lightning bugs in the open field. In a different situation Ben had to admit it would have been relaxing, even peaceful.
The sound started gradually. Ben wasn’t even sure when he first noticed it. It was a sound he had heard before but it came from a time that seemed so long ago it took him a while before he could place it. The thump-thump-thump of the helicopter blades in the distance hung between them, neither knowing exactly what to say. It wasn’t until the lights from the helicopter rose in the distance that the reality hit them.
“Well I’ll be god-damned.” Jack said taking a couple of steps forward. “Please tell me you’re seeing this too.”
Ben couldn’t find his voice he just watched as this thing from the past got closer and closer. Then the familiar sound became less so. The rotating of the blades seemed inconsistent and it sounded as if the helicopter was fighting against itself to stay aloft. Before either of them could say anything the machine seemed to instantly drop from the sky. It looked as if the helicopter crashed several miles away but it sounded as if it happened in their front yard.
Jack turned to him with a look of horror on his face. “Run inside and get the fire extinguisher.” Ben just stared back trying to wrap his mind around what just happened. “Now!” the man yelled knocking him out of his stupor.
They jumped inside his father’s old van and took to the old gravel roads following the smoke, when the smoke led them to an open field they went by foot. The cool night air invaded Ben’s lungs as he lumbered behind Jack. He easily could have out run the old man but fear held him in place.
The smoke was soon joined by the orange tint of the flames and the smell of what Ben realized was burning meat. As the trees cleared away he could see the twisted hulk of metal that had once been the helicopter. He had never seen a helicopter up close but he had watched enough movies to know what one was supposed to look like, and the thing in front of him no longer resembled anything similar to that image.
Jack stood there for a second taking everything in then jumped into action. He grabbed the fire extinguisher from Ben and began putting out the fire that had sprouted up around the ruined helicopter. Ben began to follow him until he noticed the blood. At first it was difficult to make out as the dancing flames from the fire caused the shadows to dance around obscuring everything periodically, but then he saw it slowly dripping down from a small opening in the twisted wreckage.
Ben froze, he wasn’t ready for this. Every part of him wanted to turn and run from this place, yet still he didn’t move.
Joseph.
Ally.
Would they still be alive if he hadn’t hid? Could he have helped save them if he hadn’t been afraid? He stood there still as a statute refusing to run but unable to move forward.
The sound of the fire extinguisher filled the air and soon the flames were replaced by white clouds. Once they were gone there was only silence, followed by a single whimper. It came from the bushes just past the helicopter. Without realizing it Ben slowly walked towards the sound until he came upon a man sprawled out in front of him in obvious pain. Without the flames the only light came from whatever moonlight could make its way past the trees, which wasn’t much. Even with the minimal light Ben knew the man was hurt badly.
He laid there barely moving, blood covered his face almost completely and his right leg was bent out at an awkward angle.
“Jesus.” He heard Jack say as he came up behind him. The man bent down to the solider and gave him a gentle slap on the face. “You still with me son?”
The wounded man let out a groan.
Jack turned to Ben. “We’ve got to get him back to the house. I’ll grab his shoulders and drag him. I need you to get in the van and drive it as close as possible. “
Ben had never driven a vehicle before. Once he had accidently put his mother’s car in gear and it rolled down the street but that hadn’t technically been driving.
“Ben, stay with me.” Jack yelled. “Can you drive the van down here?”
Ben nodded he could, despite not being totally sure. He ran up the hill on auto pilot, his mind focused on the downed helicopter, the wounded man, and if there was anything special he needed to do in order to start a vehicle, outside of turning the key of course, due to this he nearly ran smack into the van.
Turn the key, put it in gear, and step on the gas he told himself.
He got into his father’s old van and followed his own instructions. The van rumbled t
o life as he turned the key and his fear turned into excitement, he was going to drive a car. He pressed down on the gas and the van roared but remained in place, he had forgotten to put it in drive. Once in drive he hit the gas and the van jolted forward giving him his first opportunity to test out the brakes, causing the vehicle to stop suddenly and Ben to get thrown forward into the steering wheel. His chested ached due to the impact but Ben smiled, he liked driving. Just as quickly as the smile appeared it disappeared as he remembered the reason he was driving the van. Taking a deep breath he turned the van onto the field and held on tight as the uneven ground caused the van to bounce from side to side.
After what seemed like just a few seconds he spotted Jack in the moonlight attempting to drag the wounded solider across the field. The young boy pulled up as close as he could and helped Jack lift the man and place him in the back. Before the door was closed Ben could see something sticking out of the man’s injured leg but wasn’t able to make it out before the door was closed
Ben again found himself standing in the van trying to process what he had just experienced.
“Are you ok?” Jack’s voice was fatigued, reminding Ben of his age. “We’ve got to get him back to the house and see if there is anything we can do for him.”
Ben struggled to find his voice. “There…there was something in his leg.”
Jack stared at him for a moment as if he was trying to decide whether or not he should say something. The man nodded his head as he came to a decision. “That was his bone.”
This time Ben wasn’t able to find his voice.
Jack gave him a firm pat on the back. “Come on let’s get him to the house.”
Ben
The wounded man’s moans became louder and louder as they struggled to get him into the house. Jack managed to drag the man into their living room and laid him on the floor next to the couch. Ben lit their candles bathing the house in light and giving them their first good look at the wounded solider.