Fallen Into Darkness

by Roman Cesaro

  Robert slapped him on the back and said, “Good answer. Let’s go before I chase down a rabbit and eat it raw, too.”

  Kyle quietly laughed and looked back at the pack of dogs wandering around with their noses sniffing the air and the ground, looking for their next kill. The humor of his comment faded away as he thought about his answer to Robert ’s question. Kyle knew it was survival of the fittest now. He did not ever want to kill and enjoy it, but he wanted to survive, and he still wanted revenge.

  The men brought the rainwater back to the apartment and Alexis soaked pasta in the water to soften it. She opened cans of beans and fruit, which were quickly devoured. They put water into the empty cans and gently swirled it to dissolve any remaining nutrients, and drank it, then drank some more.

  With food in their stomachs, they decided to finally get some sleep. Robert leaned back on the couch and put a towel over his eyes to block the morning light. Kyle and Alexis went to their bedroom, and all were instantly asleep. It had been months since Robert and Kyle had slept inside a building.

  Hours later, they heard a loud blast through the apartment’s open window, rousing everyone in the apartment from a deep sleep. Robert was sleeping next to his rifle and instinctively grabbed for it, jumping off the couch. In a startled daze, Robert looked around the apartment, then realized that the blast had come from outside at street level. He put the rifle back down, and gave Kyle and Alexis a wave as they entered the living room.

  “I’ve heard that before, mostly at night,” said Alexis, sitting on a chair in the living room. “I’ve mostly stayed in the apartment for months now.” She looked at a calendar on the wall that was no longer of any use. “Just like solitary confinement. I hate it.”

  Robert and Kyle went to the window for a look outside. There was a person sprawled in the street, dead from a shotgun blast. Next to the body was a shopping cart, tipped over and empty.

  Robert pointed out the window and asked, “Have you seen that before?”

  Not knowing what Robert was referring to, she looked out the window. When she saw the body, she quickly turned her head and closed her eyes. “Disgusting. I hate it here,” she said softly to herself.

  Kyle tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention and moved his chair next to her so he could face her when he spoke. “We can’t stay here. We have to go.”

  With a confused look on her face, she shrugged her shoulders and asked, “Where?”

  Kyle pointed toward Robert . “With him.”

  “But I don’t know him,” she said, apprehensively looking away from Robert , “and you still haven’t explained how you got back here.”

  “This could take a while,” said Robert , lying down on the couch and closing his eyes. Kyle began to explain to his wife what they had done to get back to her. “There were four of us on the job when the pulse hit. One had a pacemaker and it must’ve failed when everything else did. He died in his sleep. Three of us got rafts and headed downstream. It was Robert ’s idea to get the rafts and travel on the Missouri River. That river got me all the way back here to you.”

  Alexis smiled at the thought of her husband’s return. She then asked, “Three of you? Where’s the other one?”

  Kyle quickly glanced at Robert . He appeared to be sleeping already.

  “Richard was the third man. He was shot. Richard didn’t have much common sense.”

  “You want us to leave with him?” Alexis whispered the question as she pointed at Robert . “Where to? When we leave the building, do we end up like the person on the street down below, like your friend Richard?”

  “It’s not pretty out there. We were able to get some weapons and ammunition. If we stick together, we can help each other. That’s what has worked so far.”

  Kyle stood up and walked into the kitchen. He opened the pantry door and pointed inside.

  “What little food we have here is going to run out soon. When the food runs out, what will we do?”

  He walked back to his wife, kneeling beside her. She put her arm around him and touched her forehead to his. “What do you want me to do, Kyle?”

  “Robert said we could go home with him. He’s convinced me. And face it, Alexis, we don’t have a better option. I’ll let Robert explain.”

  Kyle moved over to Robert ’s sleeping body on the couch. He tapped Robert on the shoulder to wake him up. Robert was startled awake, took a deep breath, and sat up wiping some slobber from his beard.

  “Sorry to wake you from your beauty sleep.”

  “Asshole,” said Robert with a laugh.

  “I told her about how we got here and that you offered to take us with you.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Tell her why you have a better deal.”

  Robert rubbed his face with the palms of his dirty hands to help wake himself. He looked at Alexis, smiled under his beard, and said, “Let me explain to you what I’ve told your husband. I live in a house in suburbia. I wish it was a rural setting, but it’s not, so I will have to deal with that. However, I am away from the urban area. That’s very different from where you live now.”

  Alexis nodded her head.

  “My subdivision is located close to farmland and is next to an enormous county park. That open land is next to my house. It’s a new subdivision and not all of the lots are developed. Therefore, it has the advantage of low population density. The parkland I’m next to has an artificial lake. The lake is fed by a small stream a short distance down my street. I’ve seen deer, turkeys, geese, and groundhogs close by. I’ve seen them walking right through my back yard. That’s food and water, Alexis, and let me tell you something else. I’ve been stockpiling food, the kind of food that will last for years, and seeds, too. That will give us time to learn to grow our own food.”

  “Where do you live?”

  “A suburb of Kansas City, on the Missouri side.”

  Alexis quickly stood up and ran to a closet down the hallway. She moved a stack of papers and books, and retrieved a road atlas. As she walked back into the room where she had left the two men, she opened the atlas to a page showing the route of the Missouri River from Omaha to Kansas City. She carefully traced the convoluted blue line of the river between the two cities on the map and compared the distance to the map’s key. Alexis shook her head.

  “Are you crazy? It’s hundreds of miles from here,” said Alexis, in disbelief.

  Kyle stood beside Alexis and held her index finger. He traced the river on the atlas, with her finger, from Omaha back to Helena, Montana.

  “That’s what I’ve been through to get back to you. Now I’m here, and we have to go. There’s no other option.”

  Alexis sat down in the chair again, dropped the atlas to the floor, and began to cry. Kyle gently touched her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He then walked to the kitchen pantry and motioned for Robert to follow him. Kyle opened the door to the pantry and leaned his hip against the kitchen countertop.

  “That’s not the reaction I was expecting,” said Kyle, quietly.

  Robert whispered back, “Cut her some slack. This past day has been a shock to her. Let her sleep on it. We all need some rest. It’s probably a good idea to eat some more food now, and then try to get a good night’s sleep.”

  Kyle nodded.

  “Go talk to her. I’ll find some food and bring it out to you,” said Robert .

  Kyle groaned. “Cold beans and dry pasta.” He rubbed his stomach sarcastically as he left the kitchen.

  Robert walked into the pantry. He looked at the shelves and was impressed at the amount of food he saw. Kyle was serious when he said that they stocked up on food when it was on sale. There were a lot of canned items and plenty of dried goods like rice, pasta, and beans. They would have to take as much food as possible when they left Omaha. The more food they had with them, the less time they would have to spend scavenging for it. He got a chair and closely surveyed each item, to begin prioritizing what food to take. He reached back behind each r
ow of cans and boxes. He turned a small stack of cans around to read the labels, but discovered that it was actually a stack of canned cooking fuel. Robert grasped one can and used a spoon to pry open the lid. He could still smell the gelled alcohol in the can. He lit a match and placed it in the can. A small translucent blue flame instantly appeared. Robert placed the blue flame under a pot of water, and within minutes, it was boiling. Robert found a jar of spaghetti sauce and ten minutes later, he had three plates of hot spaghetti with red sauce. Robert walked back into the living room where Kyle and Alexis were talking. They turned to see Robert approaching with two plates of spaghetti.

  Robert leaned over in front of the couple and held the plates in front of them. “Here you go. Two plates of hot spaghetti with a tangy marinara sauce.” Two confused and curious stares greeted him.

  Alexis was the first to take a plate. “It’s warm. The plate is warm.”

  With a skeptical look, Kyle took the remaining plate. His expression changed and he looked back up at Robert . “How did you do that?”

  “Cooking fuel. It was in the pantry.”

  Alexis slapped her forehead and laughed. “I forgot about that. It was left from our camping trip.” Her mood was elevated now. She seemed much happier.

  Robert went to the kitchen and brought back his plate so he could eat with the others.

  “Robert ,” said Alexis, with an apologetic tone.

  “Yes.”

  “Kyle talked to me some more about the trip. I’m okay with it now. He told me about your family. I understand why you want to get back as soon as possible. They have to be worried about you.”

  Robert was rapidly eating the hot food while she spoke, and he replied, “That settles it.” Robert spoke to the couple while chewing a mouthful of food. “Pack only essential items, and let’s get a plan for the food in your pantry. We need to take as much food as possible.” He wiped the spaghetti sauce from his beard with a dirty forearm.

  Kyle and Alexis got out their suitcases and a large duffle bag. Kyle quickly stuffed his clothes, including winter clothes, into the duffle bag. He then joined Robert in the pantry to help with a plan for the food.

  “What do you think?” asked Kyle, staring into the pantry with Robert .

  “Dried food first, and then cans. Dried goods are the lightest.”

  “We’ve got to bring our winter clothes, so the suitcases are full. How can we move it all?”

  Robert leaned on the kitchen counter with his elbows. He slowly tapped on the counter as he thought about a solution. He closed his eyes and concentrated. A few moments later, Robert stopped tapping and opened his eyes, then darted to the living room window and looked outside. “Look, it’s still there.”

  “What?”

  Kyle looked out the window and saw the tipped-over shopping cart on the road. The dead body was near it from earlier in the day. Robert told Kyle he was going to move the cart inside and would find a dark corner in the lobby to hide it. In the morning, they would use the cart to push the food as far possible, back toward the buried rafts.

  Robert went to the street with his rifle slung across his shoulder. He walked past the dead body and tried not to care. It had been a close-range shot to the chest. The image was gruesome. Robert put the cart back on its wheels and pushed it forward. The cart appeared ragged and abused. It was painted black and had some long pieces of different colored strands of yarn tied to the handle. It was ugly, but it worked.

  He pushed the cart into the apartment’s lobby, broken glass crunching under its wheels. The corridor to the right was dark and farthest from the light filtering through the broken front doors. As he got closer, he could see the building’s freight elevator in front of him. He tilted the cart to the floor and, as he bent over, he noticed something on the floor at the end of the dark hall. The shape was familiar. As he moved closer, he could see that it was a moving dolly. Robert realized that if they put some of the food items into boxes, they could get it all moved out of the apartment by using both the cart and the dolly.

  Back in the apartment, Robert set his rifle against the wall and took a quick peek out the window again. “Hey, the cart works and I found a moving dolly by the freight elevator. Put anything that won’t stack on a dolly into garbage bags. Keep the individual bags light enough to carry.”

  The threesome bagged, boxed, and stacked the remaining food in the pantry. They were going to be able to take it all.

  Robert was the first to wake the next morning. He peered out the window to see what the world looked like today. The sky was clear and there was a breeze. He noticed that the body in the street had been moved. The clothes were ripped off the corpse and it was left in pieces. It appeared that animals had devoured it. Robert suspected dogs. He knew there are going to be a lot of feral dogs from now on. He quickly glanced back at his rifle for comfort.

  From the other room, Robert heard Kyle say, “It’s moving day. Let’s get going.”

  Still standing by the open window, Robert cupped his mouth and loudly replied, “Waiting on you.”

  Robert turned his head to look out the open window again. He wanted to take a deep breath of the outside air because of the lingering stench inside the building. Robert looked back out the open window and his eyes met the eyes of a man staring up at him. He was a large man covered in filth, standing in the middle of the street. He looked like he had been living in dirt and garbage. Robert ducked from view and ran to Kyle’s room. He knocked on the closed door and told Kyle that there was a strange man outside who must have thought he was yelling at him. Kyle dismissed the event and told him they would be going outside fully armed. He told Robert that they were leaving town and he just did not care anymore. It was not his neighborhood now.

  The threesome emerged on the street in front of the apartment building. The dolly was loaded, but Robert was still experimenting with how to manage the suitcases on the cart. He balanced a suitcase on top of the cart, and then placed another down below. He was circling the cart like it was a masterpiece and he was the artist. He tried to push the cart forward and the suitcases slipped off.

  “That’s not going to work,” said Robert , as he shoved the suitcase back onto the cart.”

  He circled the cart again tapping his forehead with his finger as he thought.

  “Alexis,” said Robert , kneeling close to the cart, “help me with these pieces of yarn tied to the handle. We can tie them together and use it to hold the suitcase still.”

  Alexis began to pick away at the knots holding the long pieces of yarn to the cart.

  “Oh, I forgot something,” said Alexis, standing up as she spoke. “The cooking fuel and matches are in a small bag in the kitchen. I didn’t want to put them in a bag with food.”

  “I’ll go grab it, I’ve got the key,” said Kyle.

  Robert laughed and rolled his eyes. “You locked it? Do you think you’re coming back?”

  “Shut up, old man.” Kyle shook his head, embarrassed, and jogged back into the apartment’s lobby.

  Alexis removed the pieces of yarn, tied them together, and then Robert tied the yarn to the suitcases.

  “Let’s take this for a test drive,” said Robert . “Hold this for me and cross your fingers.” Robert handed her his rifle. He slowly pushed the cart around and everything seemed stable. As he started to push at a slow jog, the bottom suitcase started to shift. He slowed down and pushed it back toward Alexis. “Look,” said Robert , kneeling in front of the cart, “this piece needs to be tighter, and then we’re good to go. Come over here, I might need your fingernails again.”

  Robert had his back turned and did not see her set the rifle down. Side by side, they were both kneeling low by the cart with their backs to the morning sun. As Robert shifted the bottom suitcase back and tied the last strand of yarn tighter, he saw a large shadow cover both of them. Instinctively he stood up and spun around, grabbing for the rifle, but it was not on his shoulder anymore. Alexis screamed, and the shot of adrenalin could
not take away the sick feeling overcoming his body now. In front of them was the large man he had seen from the window earlier that morning. He was holding Robert ’s rifle. Alexis had left the rifle on the ground and walked away.

  “That’s what’s left of my brother over there. I recognize his clothes,” said the large man, angrily. He was directing his anger at Robert .

  Robert held up his hands and inched away from Alexis. He wanted to move so the large man would turn his back to the apartment building. As Robert spoke, he took small side steps and the man began to rotate, keeping Robert directly in front of him.

  “I don’t know anything about your brother,” said Robert , trying to stay calm.

  “I saw you looking out the window at me.” He threw his thumb over his shoulder at the apartment building, not looking back as he spoke. “You’ve got his cart. We had food in it. Where the hell is it?” He pointed the rifle at Robert .

  “Hold on, just calm down,” said Robert , holding his hands higher. “We’ve got a lot of food. Just take our food and leave us alone.”

  The crazed look never left the large man’s eyes, but he lowered the rifle. “I think I’ll take your food and your woman, too,” he said with a sneer.

  The big man turned back around toward the cart, but did not have time to react to Kyle’s pistol leveled at his head. Kyle had heard his wife’s scream, so he ran back to the street and saw the man with Robert ’s rifle. Kyle had silently crept, with his pistol ready, toward the man. As soon as the man turned, Robert had gone flat on the ground and, at point-blank range, Kyle pulled the trigger. Brain matter followed the bullet as it exited the exploding skull. The morning sunrise illuminated a halo of pink mist and the man’s ominous shadow disappeared as rapidly as his dead body hit the street.

  Robert jumped back up and stepped away from the dead body. He paced back and forth by the cart rubbing his face and head with shaking hands.

  “How did this happen?” asked Kyle.

  Robert did not say anything.

  “I was my fault,” Alexis said, as she began to cry. “I put the rifle down and walked away from it. That man came out of nowhere…it’s my fault…I’m so sorry.”