Without II: The Fall

by E. E. Borton

  We all stopped when we felt a change in the pressure and temperature of the air around us. It was like we had walked into a sauna. There had been a chill in the air just seconds before.

  All eyes turned up to the sky in front of us. A wall of white boiling clouds formed against a clear blue background as if a volcano had erupted. I had never seen a storm develop with that speed. Nobody noticed JD and Tucker running toward us.

  “We need to find cover now,” said JD. “This don’t look good.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” I said, remembering the last hail storm.

  Most of the weather we experience now is fast and on steroids. Everything is bigger and more intense. I was under a roof when hail the size of baseballs killed dozens of people camped in tents along the shore of a lake. When it was over, it looked like Omaha Beach on D-Day. Looking up at the angry sky, we didn’t even have tents with us.

  “How far to the dam?” I asked.

  “About a mile,” said JD.

  “That’s too far,” I said. “This thing will be on top of us in a few minutes.”

  “I saw a farmhouse a quarter mile back,” said Tucker. “Couldn’t tell if it was occupied.”

  “What are the odds of it being empty?” asked Daniel.

  “Better than the odds of us making it to the dam,” I said. “We need to move fast. We’ll figure everything else out when we get there.”

  We were moving at a brisk pace when the rising supercell blocked out the sun. As we turned off the tracks and onto the road that would take us to the house, the sky opened fire. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked as a frigid wind front pushed the trees down toward the ground. When we started to get pelted by marble-sized hail, our brisk walk turned into a sprint.

  In the final hundred yards to the front porch, golf balls were mixing in with the marbles. This was the first test with my healed leg, and I was failing miserably. My brain was telling it to push harder, but my muscles didn’t get the message. It became numb as frozen baseballs slammed into the earth all around me. As the last of my guys reached the porch, I was still fifty yards away. All I could do was run as hard as I could and wait for my skull to be crushed.

  I saw their mouths moving, but I couldn’t hear their yelling over the hail crashing through the trees and bouncing off the tin roof of the house. Ten yards away from safety, I was sent to the ground when a large hailstone punched me in the back. My guys came off the porch and dragged me the rest of the way. More than likely, they saved my life.

  “Well, that sucked,” I said, rubbing my leg. “This damn thing is useless when I need it.”

  “It got you most of the way,” said JD, pulling his pistol from the holster. “Stay here while we clear the house.”

  “No, I’m good,” I said, standing and checking my rifle. “Ready when you are.”

  We were surprised when the door gave way after JD turned the knob. We weren’t surprised when we saw movement inside after he pushed it open. Even in the low light, we could see several people jump to their feet when we entered.

  Most of the weapons we saw raised were crude. There was an assortment of knives, baseball bats, machetes, and metal pipes. All of our guns were pointed at the weapon that wasn’t so crude. The man with the crossbow took a step toward us.

  “Easy, buddy,” I said, lowering my gun. “We’re just looking to get out of this storm. We don’t want anything from you but shelter until it passes. We don’t want to hurt you. Do you understand?”

  Silence.

  “My name is Henry. This is JD, Tucker, Daniel, and Doug. We’re from Bridgeport, and we’re making our way north to Nickajack Dam. We already passed this house with no intention of coming inside. The storm changed that for us.”

  “Do you have any food?” asked a voice from a dark corner of the room.

  “We do,” I said. “And we’d be happy to share it with you as soon as you put those weapons down. We’ll do the same, okay?”

  “They have food, Morgan,” said the voice. “If they wanted to kill us they would’ve already started shooting.”

  Morgan had to have known he was outgunned. He only had one shot to our fifty. My guys could’ve emptied their magazines and reloaded before he loaded a second bolt. I gave him the courtesy of making the next decision before we made it for him.

  “You’ll leave when the storm passes?” asked Morgan.

  “For what it’s worth, you have my word,” I said. “The last thing we want is a fight, Morgan.”

  “Okay,” said Morgan, lowering his weapon. “We’re not looking for one either.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “Is this your home?”

  “No,” said the voice, coming out of the corner. “We got here three days ago. We buried five people out back. It wasn’t us, I swear.”

  “I believe you,” I said. “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Shannon, Morgan’s wife.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” I said. “Where are you from?”

  “We’re from Atlanta,” said Shannon. “We made it out three weeks ago.”

  Chapter 10

  Luck Be A Lady

  Including Morgan and Shannon, there were eight people in the large open living room. We heard light footsteps coming down the stairs which added three young children to the group. None of them were related. We gave them every ounce of food we had. It wasn’t enough to fill everyone’s bellies, but the adults made sure the children had the largest share.

  “We found these kids along the way,” said Shannon. “They don’t know where their parents are.”

  “They’re staying with us until we figure out how to get them home,” said Morgan, lowering his head.

  We knew he was lying. The kids probably knew as well. All three were in their early teens.

  “Sounds like it’s letting up outside,” said Morgan. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

  They wanted our guns to stay more than they wanted us. I had no idea how they made it this far without any of their own. It made me believe that Morgan was a capable leader.

  “I’m from Atlanta as well,” I said, sitting back in my chair. “I was driving into downtown when it happened. I left the next day.”

  “You were one of the few smart ones,” said Morgan. “We lived in an apartment near the Fox Theater.”

  “The Fox,” I said, cocking my head. “That’s a mile from downtown. When I left, everything around it was on fire.”

  “It was,” said Morgan. “A passenger jet crashed into one of the skyscrapers. We were so close, we could feel the heat from the fireball. It burned for a long time and we were getting more concerned that it would reach us, but then it rained like hell for two days straight. We went from worrying about burning to death to worrying about drowning.”

  “You said you left three weeks ago?” I asked.

  “Yes,” answered Morgan. “We had no choice.”

  “I believe you,” I said. “People were killing each other in the streets a day after it happened. That was five months ago. How did you survive in the city for so long?”

  “Scott Franklin,” said Morgan. “He was my best friend and lived in the same apartment complex.”

  “He saved so many people we lost count,” said Shannon. “He was our hero.”

  “I used to make fun of him,” said Morgan, biting his lip and shaking his head.

  “We called him MacGyver,” said Shannon, smiling at her husband and then putting her arm around him. “He always had some gadget or tool that could fix anything. He was very smart.”

  “Too smart,” said Morgan. “He didn’t have the greatest social skills. He tried, but most people were put off by him because he really did know just about everything.”

  “I always thought he was brilliant,” said Shannon. “He was always doing something interesting. Whether it was bringing an old truck back to life or jetting off to an adventure in the Caribbean, he was always doing something.”

  “That was our common ground and where our
friendship grew,” said Morgan. “We loved to scuba dive and go spear fishing.”

  “He also had a lot of guns,” said Shannon. “I mean a lot.”

  “So did I, honey. We enjoyed shooting.”

  “I know, babe. And I’m glad you both did. We wouldn’t have made it out if you didn’t.”

  “He was prepared for just about any emergency,” said Morgan. “He kept a pantry full of dehydrated food and two barrels of water. He also had a portable ER in one of his backpacks.”

  “We joked around that if the shit ever hit the fan, we’d all meet at Scott’s place,” said Shannon. “That’s exactly what we did.”

  “So did everyone else who knew him,” said Morgan.

  “Including people who talked about him behind his back,” said Shannon. “That kind of pissed me off when they showed up a few days later with their hands out.”

  “He didn’t care, sweetie. That guy had a huge heart and would help anyone who needed it.”

  “He sounds like a great guy,” I said. “I’m not judging anyone here, but why did you guys stay in the city? He had to have known what was coming.”

  “Sarah,” said Shannon. “He couldn’t leave Sarah.”

  “She lived a few apartments over from ours,” said Morgan. “I wouldn’t call them together, but he loved that girl.”

  “And she was so sweet to him,” said Shannon. “She didn’t have the same feelings, but he never let it get in the way of their friendship. I think he was just trying to wear her down.”

  “You didn’t think that was working?” asked Morgan. “They were always hanging out.”

  “Sorry, babe,” said Shannon. “That was never going to happen. A girl knows.”

  “She was the reason why we didn’t leave immediately,” said Morgan. “Getting out of the city was the original plan until she got hurt.”

  “Oh, that was awful,” said Shannon. “She broke her ankle in the stairway of the high-rise where she worked. It was pitch black and some asshole just pushed her out of his way. People were panicking, thinking it was another terrorist attack when the plane crashed into the building. Nobody stopped to help her. Nobody.”

  “When she didn’t make it home that afternoon, Scott went looking for her,” said Morgan. “I tried to go with him, but he said I needed to stay with Shannon and the others in case things got worse.”

  “He found her,” said Shannon, wiping a tear. “In a city full of millions of people losing their minds, he found her. She was sitting near the entrance of her building. He carried her all the way home.

  “When I talked to her later that night, I asked her if she was scared. She said she was, but she knew that he would come for her. Can you believe that? It’s just the way he was.”

  Was. Not is. At that point, I knew he didn’t make it out of the city.

  As I listened to their story, it sounded very familiar to me. In the years before the power went out for the last time, there were major blackouts and freak weather events in almost every city in the country. They were signs that something catastrophic was coming. During one of the signs, I was separated from the woman I was going to marry. I was gone for just forty-five minutes. I went looking for her like Scott went for Sarah. The difference in our stories is that when I found her, she was already dead.

  “She couldn’t walk and the thought never crossed his mind to leave her,” said Shannon. “He told the rest of us to go. Most of them did, but we couldn’t.”

  “It was the first time we ever got into an argument,” said Morgan. “He did know what was coming, Henry. But he wasn’t leaving without her.”

  “He stabilized her ankle,” said Shannon. “Then he used his MacGyver skills to build a contraption to keep it fixated while it healed. The plan was to leave as soon as she could walk without a crutch.”

  “I’m guessing that’s when things got worse,” I said.

  “You have no idea,” said Shannon. “I still don’t know how we survived that long with everything going on around us. People were killing each other in the streets and leaving the bodies to rot. Oh God, the smell.”

  “It started with looters,” said Morgan. “They went after the easy targets first. If they got too close to us, Scott and I would fire off a few rounds in their direction. The first week or so that worked well enough. But when they figured out they couldn’t eat a flat screen TV or a person’s wallet, they became bolder and organized.”

  “We worked every day turning that old apartment building into a fort,” said Shannon. “There were about thirty of us at first. We barricaded all the doors and windows on the first and second floors. We used rope ladders to get in and out. Scott built another one of his contraptions on the roof to collect rainwater.”

  “What did you guys do for food?” I asked. “Thirty people is a lot of mouths to feed.”

  “That really wasn’t a problem,” said Morgan. “Once we secured the building, Scott would go out and always find food. We had a room that was full of nothing but canned and boxed food. Our only problem was other people trying to take it.”

  “Scott would be on the roof most nights watching over us,” said Shannon. “He’d yell down warnings to people trying to break in. Most of them didn’t listen.”

  “The first time he had to kill someone really affected him,” said Morgan. “He became more withdrawn, but also became more determined to get all of us out.”

  “People became wild animals,” said Shannon. “They would roam around in groups and attack anyone who wasn’t with them. It didn’t matter if it was a woman or a child. They would shoot or beat them to death for no reason.”

  “They did it because they could,” said Morgan. “Nobody was there to stop them.”

  “What happened when you tried to leave?” I asked.

  “It had gotten to the point where the groups were uniting against us,” said Morgan. “We were down to twelve people inside the building, and we were running low on ammunition. On the last few nights, the groups outside were trying to burn us.

  “It was a brick building and Scott was taking them out as soon as they got close, but they still managed to toss a few gasoline bombs at us. It wasn’t even about taking what we had anymore. It was about being the king of the hill.”

  “Sarah was stronger and only had a slight limp,” said Shannon. “We were all confident she could run if she had to. We made our move at five in the morning when we thought most of those animals would be asleep.”

  “We came to a large intersection we couldn’t avoid,” said Morgan. “We had to cross out in the open. Scott and Sarah were the last two to try. She was in the middle of the street when we heard the shot. Scott ran to her, but there was nothing he could do. Sarah was gone. He lost it. He just lost it.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Morgan wanted to go help Scott,” said Shannon, pulling him in closer, “but I wouldn’t let him. Those roaches were coming out of every doorway and around every corner. They just kept coming and coming.”

  “He yelled at us to run,” said Morgan. “I didn’t know what else to do. If I went out into the street, they would’ve killed me too. There were just too many of them.”

  “You did the right thing, Morgan,” I said. “They would’ve killed you, your wife, and everyone else in your group. I know that must have been hard for you, but Scott didn’t die in vain. All of you are alive today because of him. It’s why he did what he did.”

  “It doesn’t make it any easier,” said Morgan, “but Scott fought like hell. That’s what I meant when I said he lost it. He stood up, screamed, and ran right at them. He was still shooting when we were three blocks away.”

  “I’m sorry you lost your friend,” I said. “It sounds like he was being a warrior to take care of you. All of you.”

  “He still is taking care of us,” said Shannon. “Being who he was, he had a place in Alabama where he said we’d be safe.”

  “He has a nice cabin that he built for himself,” said Morgan. “I h
elped him whenever I could, but he was there almost every weekend. It’s isolated, and I don’t think anyone else knows about it except for his parents in Huntsville. It has its own water purification system and propane tanks. Not that it matters anymore, but it also has its own power generators. He even buried a year’s worth of supplies, a few guns, and ammunition on the property.”

  “We just hope it’s still there,” said Shannon. “I don’t know what we’re going to do if it isn’t. As you can see, we don’t have much to live on right now.”

  “You said it was in Alabama?” I asked. “Where exactly?”

  Morgan and Shannon looked at each other, but didn’t answer. I could tell they were worried we might be looking to rob their stash. They both knew they had already said too much.

  “You could’ve killed us and taken everything we have left,” said Morgan. “Instead you gave us all the food you had in trade for shelter. You all seem like good men, so I hope you don’t think I’m being rude or disrespectful by not telling you where it is. That place is our only hope.”

  “I’m sorry, Morgan,” I said. “I shouldn’t have asked, but could you at least tell me what town it’s near? I promise you there’s a good reason why I’m asking.”

  “It’s okay, honey,” said Shannon. “We can trust them. You know I have a sixth sense for that.”

  “It’s a town with his name written all over it,” said Morgan. “Scottsboro.”

  “Buddy,” I said, slapping his knee and giving him a wide smile. “Today is your lucky day.”

  Chapter 11

  Sally

  I explained to Morgan’s group that Scottsboro was part of our town alliance. We’d be able to grant them safe passage to their cabin. As smiles, handshakes, and hugs were exchanged, we also explained our mission. We told them we’d be back through the next day and escort them into Bridgeport and then on to Stevenson. From there, JD and Tucker agreed to take them to their final destination.

  “This is nothing short of a miracle,” said Shannon. “We tried to cross the river at Scottsboro, but those signs were very clear. If we weren’t from there, we’d be shot as soon as we stepped foot on the bridge.”