Day After Disaster, The Changing Earth Series, Uncut Edition

by Sara F. Hathaway

  The sun came up big and bright. All that day, Erika was completely freaked out. The horses felt her anxiety and stammered and tripped because they were trying to use their great big ears to pick out even the smallest of sounds. Erika did not even stop to eat. She was too nervous. She figured if she could just keep going, this whole ordeal would come to an end all the sooner. When she found her home and her family, they could hunker down together and wait for the help that was bound to come sooner or later.

  To settle her mind down, she thought about riding when she was young. Erika had a quarter horse named Red, and she and Red had many great adventures together. They had gone soaring through cornfields, jumping irrigation trenches and fences as they dashed along. Her mother had always worried about her out riding alone. She had made Erika take her cell phone with her every time, and Erika wished now more than ever that she could call for help. But the phones did not work; Erika was on her own. If she lived or died now, no one would know. They would never know how far she had come, and anyone who found her would have no idea who she was or where she was even going. In these desperate times, they probably wouldn’t give it a second thought to begin with, Erika thought to herself.

  The sun began to dip down and Erika knew she would have to stop soon. If anything, she would need to feed and water the horses. They were thick with sweat from the day’s anxious traveling, and Erika’s tummy was rumbling as well. The stress of the day and the lack of food were finally catching up with her. She made a mental note of where the road she was following was and decided to turn further into the woods to hide for the night. Tomorrow, she would have to go through part of town to get across the river, and she knew this would be the most dangerous part of the journey she would encounter.

  After going a short way off of the road, she found a little clearing and got off the horse. Erika used to ride a lot when she was young but she had not ridden a horse in a while and definitely not for a whole day. Her legs were so sore they didn’t even want to move. They stayed all bent and crooked and her butt felt like a couple of basketballs stuffed in her pants. She hobbled over to the pack that was on Kit and got grain for the horses. She decided to take their bridles off so they could graze in their halters for a while. But she did not unsaddle or unload them all the way because she was afraid she might have to make a fast getaway. She got out a little beef jerky and chewed on it, but she mostly ate the fruit and vegetables that Carol had packed for her. She knew that the beef jerky and trail mix would last for a long time, but the fruits and veggies would soon perish if she did not eat them. Erika fully realized that wasting those essential vitamins could be a fatal mistake. After she and the horses had eaten and had some water, Erika got a blanket and put it down on the ground. She laid back and closed her eyes. The ground was hard and dirty and she wished she had something more comfortable to lie on, but at least the blanket created a barrier between her and the bugs. Erika had never liked bugs, and Vince had often been her savior. He would be the great white hunter that would leap in and squash that nasty bug deader than a doornail. This made Erika smile, but it also made her realize how alone she was. At least she had the horses. They were on the ready, and she knew they would alert her to anything approaching. She quickly dozed off but had dreams of her family and the warmth of their arms. Then they turned away. She screamed for them to come back, but they did not hear her. She tried to scream louder, but it did not matter. All of a sudden, she sat up, screaming and crying. All she saw was darkness and the horses. After that horrible dream, she was too restless to sleep. She re-bridled the horses and set off through the darkness.

  It may not have been the best idea, but Erika did not care. She was going home and the faster she could get there, the sooner she could see her family. Plus, she convinced herself that maybe it would be easier to get through the city without too much interference at night. So, she got out the one little flashlight she had and headed back to the road. It was harder-going in the dark because she could not see the branches that threatened her and her goods as well. She was worried about losing her stuff and kept shining the flashlight at the tightly packed bags to make certain they were still there bouncing on Kit’s back.

  She found the road and was strategically using her flashlight as she went along it. She figured as long as she was very careful she could travel along the road, because it was dark and she could go much faster. She also did not have to worry about the continuous barrage from the branches. Traveling along the broken road did turn out to be much faster, and soon she was riding next to piles of what used to be houses. They were all broken. Just pile after pile of rubble. There was a stink in the air of death, and soon, she began to realize that the stink was coming from the bodies that still lay there in various stages of decomposition in the piles of rubble. It was at least two months since the main quake, and still the bodies rotted here. Where was everyone? Why didn’t anyone do anything? She stopped to look at one of the bodies and noticed that one body had been dragged out of the rubble pile and meat had been cut off the bones. It looked like it was done purposefully. Erika couldn’t fathom what had happened. She had no idea people could so quickly become so desperate.

  The darkness was at its peak, and suddenly Erika heard a muffled scream in the distance. Someone was up and around and it sounded like something was going wrong. She felt like riding away as fast as she could, but something deep inside her was telling her to help. She slowly and quietly guided the horses toward the sound of the scream. As she neared the sound, she did not want to put her precious horses and cargo in the path of danger, so she found an area where the walls of an old home made a hidden cove and tied the horses there. Then she crept along as stealthily as she could toward the cry for help. When she finally spotted the cause of the commotion, she was shocked.

  A big man dressed in raggedy clothes with a huge beard and belly was holding a woman down. She was struggling against him with all her might. Her body was being ground into the rubble that was strewn all around. He was tearing her clothes off with a frenzied hate. She was screaming and screaming, but he still held her and then tied her mouth shut with a piece of her own clothing that he had ripped off her. Before long, she was naked in the dirt. The man was rubbing her breasts and touching her crotch. She was whimpering and begging him to stop but he didn’t. He kept on rubbing, touching, and squeezing her breasts. He put one of them in his mouth and bit down hard on her nipple, and Erika heard her scream through the gag. He had drawn blood, and now a trickle of blood ran down her breast as it shown in the moonlight. Erika was frozen. She didn’t know what to do or how she could help. The man was far more powerful than her. She would have to wait for the perfect moment to intervene if she was going to at all.

  The woman made a desperate attempt to shove the man off of her, but this just angered him even more, and he hit her multiple times across the face. The woman’s face began to swell and bleed. She slumped into the dirt that surrounded her naked body. The man had a sickening smile on his face as he reached down and undid his pants. As she lay there almost knocked out, he let his pants fall to his knees and then he took his penis out of his pants. Erika could see it glowing in the moonlight, and she knew that her moment was coming. The man forced his body back on top of the naked woman, and then he shoved his penis into her. He was ramming it in and out with a fierce rage and pretty soon he was sweating and getting closer and closer to orgasm.

  Erika knew this was her moment. If she was going to do anything, now was the time. She ran out from behind the wall and kicked the guy as hard as she could right across the head. He flew off the woman with a look of shock. Then before he had time to take in the new circumstances that had developed, Erika picked up a wooden two by four that was lying in the rubble and knocked him out with a carefully aimed blow that she landed right to his face. His nose smashed in an explosion of blood, and the man collapsed back onto the pavement. Erika was blown away by her actions and the graphic outcome. She stood staring in awe at the horrible scene.
The man and the woman both sprawled out on the ground in unnatural positions; she thought they were both dead. She had never meant to kill anyone. She was frozen with shock when suddenly a tiny girl with golden-blond hair came flying out from behind another wall that was hidden in the dark. Even though the girl was little more than eight years old, she launched right at the knocked-out man. She jumped onto his limp body and stabbed him right in the area of the man’s heart with a knife. The knife hit home but the little girl’s strength was not enough to kill the man. When the knife sank into the man’s skin, he suddenly woke up. He flung the tiny girl off of him into a pile of rubble. He got back on his feet and came right for Erika and began to choke her with his huge, bear-like hands. The knife was still stuck halfway into his chest. In a frantic gesture, Erika grabbed the knife and shoved it all the way in. Then she twisted it around. The man fell to his knees as the knife pierced his heart. He was still clutching Erika’s shirt as he sank to the ground.

  Erika opened the tightly clenched hands and let his body fall. Then she quickly scanned around for the girl and found her wrapped in her mother’s arms lying on the ground. The woman was not dead. Erika quickly realized she must have just been knocked out. The small girl was sobbing, and her mother was trying to console her through a bloody and bruised mouth. Erika did not know what to do now. All she wanted to do was get home, but how could she leave these people behind with nothing? This was a mother and child lost in a ruined world. A world that we thought was stable; a world that had protected us for so long. Now nothing was certain. Erika knew that if she had heard the commotion, then others would too, and who knew who was where. Plus, what if someone had found her horses and supplies, then she would be in some major trouble. Her heart pounded as she thought desperately for solutions. She decided to drag the woman over to the horses. At least that area was more sheltered and easier to defend. She grabbed the woman quickly by the shoulders and began to drag her toward the horses.

  The little girl screamed, “What are you doing to my mommy?”

  Erika replied quickly without even looking at her, “My horses are over there. We will be safer.”

  The little girl grabbed her mom’s legs without question and began helping Erika drag her mom over toward the horses. When they got there, the horses were fine and all the bags were in place. Erika sighed with relief. The little girl was in shock. She just stood there, wanting to know what to do next. Erika felt exactly like the small girl looked, but she wanted to be strong and help this little girl.

  “You can let her legs go now. I will get her a blanket,” Erika said to reassure the little girl.

  The girl gently let her mom’s legs go and sat down next to her. Erika grabbed a blanket from the pack and put it over the woman. She groaned and said a muffled thank-you through her swollen mouth. Bubbly blood came out of her mouth with each breath the woman took. Erika did not know what to do next. She wanted to leave as soon as possible but what was she going to do about these stragglers. Erika got some water and a rag out of her bags. She washed the blood off the woman’s face and began to assess her condition. It did not look good. Her face and skull were very swollen, which meant she might have some serious internal damage to her brain. Her body was completely bruised, especially the area around her ribs. That was also a very bad sign, and judging from her labored breathing, Erika guessed that she had a punctured lung. She sat back when she was done. Her hands were bloody and she was exhausted.

  “It doesn’t look good, does it?” the girl questioned quietly.

  “No, honey, it doesn’t look good. We will have to wait and see though you never know what will happen. What is your name?” Erika said, trying to sound convincing.

  “My name is Star.”

  “How old are you, Star?”

  “I am eight.”

  “Where is your daddy, Star?”

  “Daddy is dead. He died when the house fell down. Mommy and I have been hiding here for a long time, and we have always done a good job of hiding from the bad people until tonight.”

  “What bad people, Star?” Erika’s curiosity was piqued by Star’s comment.

  “The bad people that took all the cars; they have a base where they stay. Remember where the grocery store used to be with the other stores around it? Well, they took over the grocery store and ate all the food. They used the other stores for supplies and turned the whole area into a big walled castle. Mommy and I went there to try to find more food, but we were scared of the men and decided to turn back and just stay hidden. One night, Mommy went out and she got some fresh steak. It was so good, I ate it all, but we haven’t eaten in a while now,” Star rambled innocently.

  Erika went back to her packs and got out a big piece of beef jerky and an apple and gave it to Star. Erika thought she heard a thank-you pop out of that little mouth as she gobbled the food like a ravenous dog.

  “Don’t eat too fast, honey,” Erika warned. “It may give you a tummy ache.”

  “I don’t care. This is so good,” Star said with her mouthful. “Here, have some water too.” Erika handed Star a canteen that Henry had given her. “Oh, thanks.”

  When Star was done eating, she looked at Erika and asked, “What is your name, lady?”

  “Oh sorry, my name is Erika.”

  “Where are you going, Erika?”

  “I am trying to get home and find out if my family is still alive. I was stranded at work when all this happened. Some very kind people gave me these horses and here I am trying to get home now.”

  “I hope you find them,” Star said this with a distant look in her eye as if she already knew that she had no family left. “My Daddy is already dead, and now look at my Mommy. I will probably die too.”

  Erika could feel her extreme desperation and uncertainty. “Don’t you worry, Star, you are not going to die. You are going to survive. You will see. Why don’t you curl up in this corner and try to get some sleep.” Erika pointed to a corner that was nestled close to the wall. That way, if there were any happenings during the night, she would be farthest from danger.

  “What about my mom?”

  “Don’t worry. I will take care of her. We need to get some rest, though. It will not be safe to have the horses here during the day so we need to keep moving. We will leave in a couple of hours.”

  “Okay.” Star seemed strangely agreeable. Most kids would balk at the prospect of sleep, but Star just curled up in a little ball by the wall as she was told and she quickly fell asleep.

  Erika was deep in thought watching the child sleep. She already knew deep down that she would be taking Star with her, and Erika would care for her like Star was her own. There was no one else to take care of her, and there was no way she was going to leave a child to die on her own or worse. Star’s mom was very bad off. Her breathing was much more laborious now and she was coughing up more blood. These spasms roused the woman, and she looked up at Erika through black and blue eyes.

  “I… I’m not g-going to make it, a-am I?” she slowly sputtered.

  “Honestly, I don’t think so,” Erika said. Her eyes began to fill with tears.

  “Thank you s-s-so much for helping us. N-no one else would. You and S-Star must leave me here. You must g-g-go. I-I am dying.”

  “I can’t just leave you here,” Erika said frantically.

  “Y-You have to. The p-p-people from the compound. T-they will come. S-Star will die and you will die. You must go a-and you must go, now! ” The woman was trying to find the strength to save her rescuer and her child. She knew that Erika did not know the dangers of staying here. The people from the compound came looking for food and supplies all the time.

  “Star will never let me take her away from you while you’re still alive,” Erika countered.

  “Then you must end it. Y-you must make her leave, and if killing me accomplishes that then s-so be it.”

  “Kill you? I am not a killer. I can’t do it.” Erika was even more frantic now. She knew the woman was right, and she kn
ew the woman was going to die anyway, but she had never even dreamt of taking another person’s life until tonight, and now this lady was asking her to take two lives in one night.

  “Y-you have to. I-I can b-barely breath anyway, and I-I want Star to live. A-are you a m-mom? W-would you die to s-see your child live?”

  Erika knew the answer was yes, and she slowly reached for the other blanket that she had. She would snuff out this life so another could live.

  Chapter 11

  Erika checked to make certain that Star was still fast asleep. Erika wadded up the blanket and slowly leaned down toward the poor, battered woman that she had just rescued. Her mind raced. On one hand she was thinking: Why couldn’t she save her and build a cart to bring her along? But, on the other hand, she had no supplies to build a cart. The men would be back around, and eventually, those scavengers would find her, the woman, and Star. They would take her supplies and do God knows what to them.

  The reality of the situation built and built in her head, until the thoughts finally frustrated her so bad that she found the courage to bury the woman’s face in the blanket. Her labored breathing ceased and Erika sat back and checked on Star again. She was fine, all curled up and dreaming of days’ past, wonderful days of carefree goodness, days that would never come again.

  Erika curled up in her own corner and cried and cried. What was this world? She had never even dared to dream of the horrors that she experienced on this night. Her world was so desperately changed. She knew in her heart her family was out there, but would she ever survive this chaos, this anarchy, and this savagery to make it home? How would she face them knowing the realities that she survived through and the things it caused her to do? Erika sobbed until finally she slept under the blanket that had taken Star’s mother from her.