The Ending is Everything

by Aaron M. Carpenter

  “That’s not how I felt at your party. I thought our friendship was over for good,” she said.

  “What did I say? I still don’t remember.”

  She rubbed her hands together and blew on them, creating a wisp of steam from her warm breath. The dome light catching her green eyes as she turned to me. “You asked to talk to me, and we went to the room we now sleep in, and you proceeded to rail into me about showing up to your party and bringing my husband. Thankfully, for you, I knew you were drunk and wasn’t going to take it too personally.” She paused and looked down. The corner of her mouth twitched. Which I knew was a tell, for when she was holding something back. That damn twitch always lets me know when she was going to really let me know something I didn’t want to hear. “But the worst and the moment when I knew or at least thought I knew I would never see you again, was when you began to blame me for our break-up. Saying I should’ve done more. Saying I abandoned you,” her voice broke, “after your mother died. That was when I started to yell back, and eventually, you started crying, and I started crying, and I grabbed Jeff, and we left.”

  I was horrified. I reached out to her and put my hand on her shoulder, and she began to cry.

  “You don’t actually believe I abandoned you, do you?” she said.

  “No. Of course not,” I said. “I know it was mutual.”

  She stopped crying, shrugged my hand off her shoulder and looked at me as if I was the biggest blockhead in the world. “Are you fucking kidding me? Mutual? You.” Her index finger pointed at me. “It was you who left me. All I ever wanted was to be with you. I offered to come with you back to this damn town and be with you. You wouldn’t have it. After your mom died, you shut down. I tried everything. I even visited you only a week after you left school when I didn’t have any money. Finals coming up. I came to this fucking place, even though you told me not to and what is the first thing we did. You said, ‘let’s go for a walk.’ I was so in love with you, I didn’t see the damn signs. I thought in my ignorance, this will be nice and then you spring on me, you are going into the Army and we should be friends. The Army? Friends? It made no sense. None. I couldn’t even come up with a response, as you know. So, I said, ‘okay,’ and I went back to school.”

  “We are friends now, right?” I asked.

  “I suppose. Now, that the world has ended,” she said and laughed as she wiped away a tear with her sleeve. “But, that’s why I brought Jeff and even showed up to your party in the first place. I wanted to be your friend. I missed you.”

  “I missed you as well. I am sorry. Sorry for everything. The party. For being a distant, total asshole at the end. I am beyond glad we are now friends. Even if the situation is fucked up.”

  “Really fucked up.”

  “Really fucked up. I know you miss Jeff and your daughter. I promised to get you to them and I will.”

  “I know. I just wish you got to know him. You barely spoke a word to him at the party.”

  “I barely spoke to anyone at the party.”

  “You seemed to hit it off with Jenna.”

  “Yeah, but we were both so drunk we could’ve been talking about anything, and we would’ve found each other fascinating.”

  “Well here’s the deal then. We make it to Utah, I want you to stay with us at least long enough to get to know him and my daughter. You promise me that, and I will not hold anything you have said or done against you.” She smiled one of her wry, curved, smiles.

  “I promise.”

  “Good. Now talk to me about Jenna.”

  “What?” I said.

  “Do you like her?” she asked. But I didn’t hear her because I heard another sound that made the hair on my arms stand up. I leaned out the window and listened. It sounded like a heavy truck. Multiple heavy trucks. I saw headlights down at the end of the road.

  “What is it?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “They’re here,” I said, and her eyes widened. “Go. Get everyone up. I will be in, in a minute.” She didn’t move, her eyes just kept focused on the headlights at the end of the road. “Kaitlyn. Go. Wake everyone up. No lights. I will be there in a sec.” She slowly turned away from the scene unfolding down at the end of the road and exited the car.

  As she left, I turned off the dome light, grabbed my notebook and exited the vehicle. I crept onto the front yard of the house on the corner of my street and Gully drive that lead to the main road where I could now see multiple headlights. I stood behind a tree watching. How stupid we were, we had plenty of time to hide. All those exercises for nothing. As I watched, a military transport truck stopped at the end of the road and made a U-turn. The vehicle now blocked the exit of anyone wanting to head east. Another vehicle slowly pulled down the road toward me, and I bolted before the headlights found me.

  I ran as quietly as possible.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  11/16/2024

  We stood in silence in the darkened room. Waiting for me to give the signal. Inside, you could barely perceive the sound of idling engines far-off in the distance. Kaitlyn was at my side, fidgeting in place, her shoes squeaking ever so noticeably thanks to the silence in the room. Jenna was behind me, her breathing heavy and intermittent as if she was conscious of the sound it made and kept trying to suppress it. Zero was the only one seated, alone on the red couch, eyes staring out the front window. The rest were already in the kitchen. Jane in Drew’s arms, Natalie in Alicia’s. Ethan at the back door, ready to open once the signal was given.

  “As soon as we see headlights. We go,” I said with no response from the group. They understood. I already repeated the same objective three times. When I first entered, they were already heading out the back door. I told them to wait. It would be a while before they arrived. We went through the house and made it look as abandoned as possible. Hid all the suitcases. Made the beds, but not too well. Hid the sleeping bags and camping equipment in the attic. The AR and shotgun stored and locked in my gun safe. It took three minutes. Twenty minutes later we were still waiting.

  “Come on,” Zero said in a whisper. He stood up and walked over to me. He was going to say something when we heard voices. I stood still staring toward the sound. The noises came in the direction of one of the bedrooms.

  “Did you leave the back window open?” I whispered.

  “No,” Zero said, on my left.

  “Maybe,” Kaitlyn said, on my right.

  I walked into the hallway and listened. Yes, the voices were coming from down the hall and the guest bedroom. The door was closed, but I could still hear them. They had to have been in a neighbor’s yard on Gully Drive, their backyards ran along my yard on the east side.

  I turned toward Kaitlyn, Jenna, and Zero and put my index finger up to my lips. I waved for them to follow me, as I headed toward the kitchen.

  “They will be here any second,” I said as quietly as possible. Everyone nodded, and Ethan grabbed the doorknob.

  Thirty seconds.

  Ninety seconds.

  One hundred and twenty seconds.

  An eternity.

  Headlights on the street, as a truck turned down Seagull drive. I signaled, but there was no need. Ethan had already opened the door. Out went Drew with Jane, then Alicia with Natalie, followed by Jenna and Kaitlyn. Zero and I brought up the rear. Ethan had already opened the door in the fence. Once outside the need to go quietly was unnecessary as the trucks sounded louder than a rocket taking off after sitting in quiet for a half hour.

  We took our positions in Enrique’s back yard. Seated with our backs along the back of the house, under the kitchen window. I sat closest to the fence. In the distance, I could hear faint voices. I looked over at my companions. Each one staring into an undetermined space. Their breath could be seen, yet not heard, in the cold darkness. Alicia was patting Jane on the back, and I could see her whimpering into her mother’s shoulder.

  A loud knock came from my home.

  “National Guard!” The digital voice sounded like it was coming fr
om inside a trashcan.

  It was not as nice as my practice announcement.

  Another knock. Then the doorbell rang. Some indistinct, digitally altered, voices. Then a loud clank. That was my doorknob knocked out and hitting the linoleum in my entryway. If we can get through this, we would need to fix that.

  I could see little, between the picket fence slots, but every now and then I could see a light coming from my home.

  Then another knock. This time from the front of Enrique’s house. The house we were hiding behind. Shit. Everyone turned to me. I held up my hand, indicating to wait.

  “National Guard! Open Up!”

  The doorbell rang. Another clank, this time louder, as another door knob and lock was sent to the linoleum.

  My patio door opened not five feet from where I was sitting. Through the fence, I saw a soldier in my backyard. He was whistling a digitally modified tune. I couldn’t make out the song. His footsteps on the concrete of the patio were loud and expressive.

  “Nobody here?” a soldier with a muffled, electronic voice said from my patio doorway to the soldier outside.

  “Nope. Just like the rest of the houses. Did you clear the bedrooms?”

  “Did I clear the bedrooms? Of course, after what happened to the one-eighty-fifth in Corona. Fuck if I am gonna let that happen.”

  I needed them to get inside before it was too late. We needed to get back over to my house before the soldiers inside Enrique’s house checked the back yard.

  “You know they’ve got a water dispenser in here?”

  “Yeah. I saw that. There is a keg out here. You want some?”

  “From the keg? Sure, why not?”

  “I meant the water.”

  I heard the doorknob on the patio door, on the other side of the wall from me, rustle and then turn. We were caught. No victory for Blake and his gang of misfits. The soldier inside Enrique’s home would be out here in two seconds. The soldiers in my backyard were taking their sweet ass time getting back inside. If we ran through the fence, we would probably be shot, and I couldn’t blame them. Any quick movements would be met with force. My head lowered. I looked at everyone and shook my head. Each one of them, huddled in winter coats, breathing heavily, nodded and lowered their heads. I stood up with my hands raised. And turned to face the kitchen door as a soldier exited from Enrique’s home.

  He was about five-foot-nine, wearing the usual modern military fatigues and a black, protective gas mask that made him look like Darth Vader. The patch on his shoulder had the California bear on top of a yellow insignia with red and green stripes. I kept my hands raised. He appeared in shock for a second and took a breath before he raised his rifle and aimed it at me.

  “Keep your hands up!” she yelled through the mask. It was not a man, but a woman.

  I was blinded by the small light attached to the rifle as she raised it, but I did as I was told, fighting back the instinct to cover my eyes and said, “There are nine of us back here with two children.” She motioned for me to take a step back. The rest of my companions were in the process of standing as she rounded the corner.

  “Everyone stand up and keep your hands in the air,” she said.

  Another soldier joined us in the backyard. “Holy shit!” he said, apparently not expecting us.

  “Yeah. Call this in. So we can search them.”

  “Right,” the male soldier said, wearing the same outfit.

  Alicia took a step forward. “I can’t put my hands up.” She nodded to Jane still in her arms.

  “Put her down,” the woman soldier said. Alicia’s eyes narrowed, and she gave the woman a once over, but eventually got Jane to stand on her own.

  “Mommy!” Jane cried.

  Alicia reached down to put pat her back. “It’s okay.”

  “Put your hands up!”

  Two more soldiers arrived. One was about six-foot-four and towered over all of us. He immediately gave off the impression of being in charge. That and the sergeant patch on his uniform.

  “Well, what do we have here?” he said in a distinct booming voice that made him not only look like Darth Vader but sound like him as well. “You all know you were supposed to evacuate, right?” We didn’t respond. By now our arms were getting tired. “Private Smith?”

  “Yes, Sarge,” The soldier who called in the order responded.

  “Search the men. Private Kennedy?”

  “Yes, Sarge,” said the woman soldier.

  “The women.” The Sergeant then turned to us. “My name is Sergeant Jones. Don’t worry. This is just routine. Then we can get you out of here and to safety.”

  Private Smith said to me, “Turn around.” I looked at him and smiled. I turned around with my hands in the air.

  “Gun!” Private Smith yelled and smacked me in the back of the head with his rifle. The force of the blow drove me to my knees. A strong forearm slammed into the back of my neck, pushing my body and face down into the concrete. Someone grabbed my gun. Another someone sat on my back, knocking the air out of me.

  “I forgot,” I tried to say, but it came out mumbled. I honestly did forget I had my gun in the band of my pants. With my arms in the air, the sweatshirt lifted and exposed the black gun for all to see.

  The pain in the back of my head was throbbing, and I felt a warm, wet flow of blood traveling down both sides of my neck. My face felt like it had been dragged across a carpeted floor. I turned my head to look as best I could at my friends, who all wore expressions of shock and fear.

  “Let him up!” Kaitlyn said. They ignored her.

  “Anybody else have a gun?” Sergeant Jones said. Everyone shook their heads vigorously. I felt a weight remove from my legs. Then Smith, on my upper back with his forearm still on my neck, began searching me. To my left, I saw Private Kennedy searching Kaitlyn. Once she was done, she moved her to another soldier and left my view. This continued for a few minutes until all of them had been frisked and disappeared from my sight.

  Finally, Private Smith got up from his perch atop me and had me stand up and face him. He searched the front of me.

  “Sorry about that,” I said. “I completely forgot about the gun.”

  Private Smith grunted under the mask. “At least you were smart enough to leave the safety on.”

  He turned from me and motioned with his rifle for me to move. We went into the house. The home was empty, but the front door was open.

  “Where’d they go?” Private Smith said to himself.

  “Probably next door,” I said. He turned his head my direction and then gave me a nudge with his rifle to keep moving.

  Outside I saw two large military trucks parked on the street. One facing the cul-de-sac parked right in front of Enrique’s home. The other across the street facing the other direction. Not the heavy-duty weaponized ones, but the transport trucks.

  We came to my front door and found Sergeant Jones drinking a glass of water. “They say this is your home?” he said as we approached. I nodded an affirmative. “They also told me you are the one in charge and it was your idea to not go to the evacuation area.” I nodded again. “Cat got your tongue?”

  “No.”

  “Good.” He reached out to me with a gloved hand and grabbed me by my face, turning my head left, then right. “Get Specialist Graves up here to take a look at this and tell him to bring a medical kit,” he said to Private Smith.

  “Thanks,” I said. The pain was throbbing, and my legs were starting to feel like noodles.

  “We are here to help.”

  “Where are the others?” I asked.

  “Packing. Gathering clothes and anything else they need. Two bags, no more. Each.”

  I made a move to go pack as well when he grabbed me by my shoulder. “You’ve got a pretty good set up here,” he said. “Plenty of water.” I flinched. Did they find the supplies in the garage and attic? “Yes, we found the stash. The sweet, short, brunette, slipped about the sleeping bags being up in the attic. The water, and the gasoline y
ou have in the garage we will take. The canned food we will leave, we don’t need it. Maybe some poor schmuck years from now, will find it and make use of it.” He said all this with his hand still on my shoulder. I just nodded, and he continued. “Why did you want to stay here? You knew the area was being evacuated. You seem like a smart guy. You know about radiation, right?”

  “Of course,” I said. I felt my adrenaline beginning to rise, and the head wound slowly disappearing.

  “So, why not go to the evacuation area? There’s food. Beds. Water. So, what was the plan? Stay here till you ran out of food?”

  “The original plan was to hang out here until the roads were clear and make for family in Utah.”

  “Oh. I see. Did it ever occur to you that you could just go to the camp until this calms down and then head to Utah? At least be in a place of safety, not hiding out in here without power?”

  I jerked away from him when he said safety. “Safety? Please. A military controlled camp?”

  “It’s not just the Army. There’s FEMA and The Red Cross.”

  “Who has the power?”

  He just looked at me. Or at least I thought he just looked at me, maybe studying me, but behind the mask, it was hard to tell.

  “Whoever it is, it’s safer than being on your own right now?”

  “Why are you asking me this?”

  “Just trying to understand why we keep running into people that don’t evacuate. To be honest, most of them were nut jobs. But, you seemed to be in control, so I thought I would ask.”

  I didn’t know whether I should thank him or not. I think that was a compliment.

  “Can I go pack now?” I turned to leave, and again he grabbed me by my shoulder.

  “One more thing. The gun safe?”

  “What about it?”

  “I need you to open it.”

  “Why?”

  “I just do.”

  “What if I say no?”

  “Then we will find another way to open it. But, I don’t think you want us to do that.”

  I nodded. Private Smith entered the house with Specialist Graves, who looked just like the rest of them, besides the sergeant. Specialist Graves nodded for me to come to him. I did, and he turned me around and looked at my head wound. “This is gonna need some staples,” he said, sounding like the rest of them as well.