by RH Fox
5
Dreia counted four cars that looked like they’d simply rolled to a stop in the first neighborhood of stately brick homes that her group walked through. The otherwise tidy streets were deserted, with no sense of alarm anywhere. The immaculate landscaping and three car garages implied dual incomes, and Dreia figured most of the parents would be stranded at work. To her surprise, there was only one pair of siblings left in their care when they passed through the sentry gates that didn’t actually close and moved on to the next neighborhood.
Sam was still surly over Dreia taking charge, and had stationed himself at the rear of the group. He refused to do anything except make sure there weren’t stragglers. She ignored the childish behavior and kept them moving steadily forward through two more neighborhoods, each in a more deteriorated state than the previous.
Dreia found the next block full of tired houses with peeling paint and overgrown lawns. She climbed a set of crumbling cement steps onto a tiny porch and knocked loudly. When the rusty door swung open, she retreated to the top step and did her best not to stare at the train wreck in front of her.
The gaunt woman wore a sequined tank top that barely covered her braless, sagging bust and gold metallic shorts that screamed disco speed skating. The scant clothing forced Dreia’s eyes upward, and she took in the faded platinum hair and fake eyelash dangling from one eye. With her sense of sight overwhelmed, it registered that the woman had to be pushing eighty.
“Whadyawant?” she demanded around the cigar hanging from the corner of her mouth. Spoken with a thick southern accent and extra fast delivery, Dreia had no idea what the woman said.
“Excuse me?” she asked politely.
The woman removed the cigar and repeated herself slowly, enunciating like she was talking to someone who didn’t speak English. “I said, what do ya want?”
“Oh, we’re, uh,” Dreia stopped and double checked the address on the emergency card before composing herself. “I teach at Blackburn. Our buses aren’t working. so we’re bringing all of the students home today.”
“That doesn’t tell me why yer banging on my door.”
Dreia became more dubious by the second. This couldn’t be the correct address for the kindergartner now hiding behind her.
“Well, this is the address we have listed for Tommy,” Dreia gently pulled him to her side where the women could see him.
“Lady, unless you count the grown-ass man I follow around cleaning up after all day, I don’t have no kids,” she said with a cackle. “Now, I’m trying to make tuna fish sandwiches before my mayonnaise goes bad. Haven’t you noticed the electricity’s out?”
“Don’t be such a bitch, Evelyn!” a hoarse voice yelled from somewhere in the shadowy house.
Dreia grimaced and covered Tommy’s ears as best she could.
“Shut up, old man!” the woman screeched back into the dark house. She raised her eyes at Dreia, in a see what I have to put up with way. Then, she slammed the screen door and disappeared into the blackness, where the profanity laced yelling continued.
Dreia looked down at the small boy staring up at her. She risked removing a hand to glance at the emergency card smashed against the poor kid’s head.
“Tommy, this isn’t your house?” she asked gently.
He shook his head no.
“Do you see your house anywhere?”
He looked up and down the street and shook his head again.
“Okay, sweetie, come on,” Dreia took his hand and led him back to the group waiting on the curb.
Sam watched them approach with an amused look on his face. “Circus in town?”
“She said she doesn’t recognize him and he says that’s not his house.”
“Is it the right address?”
“Yes, Sam. I know how to read an address. Just like I know how to read a map!” Dreia glared at him, patience with his petty behavior snapping.
“Let me see it.”
“Seriously?”
Sam held his hand out. Dreia pushed the card toward him only to have the address confirmed.
“His parents obviously lied so they could enroll him at Blackburn. There’s no telling where this poor child lives,” she stated matter of factly.
Sam looked back at the boy, now holding hands with a fifth grader. All the students watched the exchange with interest.
“Allie, come here,” he barked.
The older girl with Tommy walked over.
“Does he always ride this bus?” Sam asked.
“Not really. He’s only on it a few times a week, after school mostly.”
“Do you get off at the same stop?”
She nodded.
“Who gets him off the bus?”
“Some lady in a red car.”
“They don’t ever go in that house?” Sam asked, thumb pointing behind him.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Sam raised his voice in frustration.
“No one pays me to watch which house he goes in,” she sassed back.
“Okay, okay. Thank you, Allie,” Dreia jumped in. “Come on, Sam, let’s get moving. We’ll let the office figure it out when we get back.”
Sam threw his hands up in the air and stalked back to the end of the shrinking line.
Dreia turned to Allie, “Are you the last one on this stop? Which house is yours?”
Allie nodded and pointed to a run-down, yellow ranch across the street.
“Okay, run on over and see if anyone’s home.”
Dreia took Tommy’s hand in her own and watched a man open the door for Allie. She brushed past him as he waved at the group, like a busload of children walking stop to stop was a completely normal sight. Dreia shook her head, totally exasperated. Enough time had passed since regular dismissal that there should be parents out looking for their kids everywhere. Instead, she’d actually been met by several complaints about school releasing late. She wondered if the other group leaders were experiencing the same thing.
Glancing down at the route map, they only had two more stops. There was one at each end of Dockett Park, which was coming up at the end of the street. She looked back at the numerous students still following and concluded that most of them likely lived in the apartment complex Rena had mentioned.
At the next stop, only two kids put their hands up. Dreia recognized both and pulled their cards from the stack.
“Your turn, Sam,” she called back. He hadn’t been much help, and she wanted a chance to study the park they were getting ready to parallel.
“You’ve already got the cards in your hand, just take ‘em.”
She continued to hold the cards out, unmoving. He finally came and snatched them, ordering the kids to follow him in a grouchy voice.
Dreia waited to watch him knock on the first door, then turned to look at the park that stretched down the left side of the street. It was bigger than she’d expected, easily three blocks long. The sun hovered just above the thick trees that lined the back edge. From what Rena said, the woods separated the park from the highway. She’d remained alert during the walk, hoping to hear sirens or something that indicated that at least some emergency personnel were mobile. Listening intently, there were no traffic sounds at all. Sighing deeply, she continued her scrutiny of the park.
Large trees abundantly dotted the park, creating dark patches in the early evening light. People were congregated in several of them, and she studied each group closely only to conclude they were just trying to escape the humidity inside stuffy houses.
A few of the small picnic shelters at the nearest end of the park were occupied as well, with smaller children playing on the playground equipment scattered between them. Beyond the shelters was a decent sized pond, and Dreia wondered if it had any fish. Some people might be smart enough to use it as a food source when stores were inevitably emptied. Looking past the pond, there were a couple of basketball and tennis courts at the far end of the green space, right before a grou
ping of tall buildings.
Dreia shielded her eyes against the low sun to get a better look at the apartments. There were four buildings, all three stories tall, grouped two by two with what looked to be a parking area down the middle. Glancing down, her watch read 6:03pm. Only a little over an hour until they lost the sun altogether.
Two teenagers pedaled slowly past on bicycles, eyeballing her group. Dreia was alarmed to see the butt of a gun peeking out from the waistband of one boy’s shorts. Not a good sign barely five hours after the power went out.
Dreia kept her eyes on them until they turned back into the neighborhood, right before they reached the apartment complex. Noticing Sam was at the second house talking to a woman with a toddler on her hip, she continued to scan the area and shifted her eyes to the line of tired houses opposite the park. Dreia counted fifteen, with more cars parked on lawns than in driveways. Several of the vehicles had probably been stationary lawn ornaments long before the EMP, and some of the homes had a chain link fence around the front yard, as well as the back. There were people sitting outside six of them. She noticed that no one seemed bothered by the lack of power and, sniffing the breeze, she suspected cigarettes weren’t the only thing being smoked. No one looked worried about having to get somewhere anytime soon either.
Just like the parents of our students, Dreia thought irritably.
Sam was headed back when Dreia scanned the street again. She continued her vigilance on their trek past the park toward the final stop. When they reached the apartment complex she stopped to wait for Sam to join her from the rear. The buildings were older, with no outside exits for individual units which made things more complicated than she’d anticipated.
“Twelve kids at this stop alone,” she said quietly. “I don’t like the idea of separating, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea to drag all these kids through every building. Unless there’s emergency lighting that still works, it’s going to be dark in those halls. I can’t believe I didn’t think to grab the flashlight from my pack.”
“I don’t like the looks of that group over by the courts,” Sam added gruffly, nodding to their left.
“I kept my eye on them as we approached. Did you see the boys on bikes earlier?”
“Briefly.”
“One was carrying. No telling how many people might be by now.”
Sam didn’t look surprised, “My money’s on most of them having some sort of weapon. I haven’t been in this neighborhood for years. It’s gone downhill. I wish we’d seen some sign of law enforcement by now.”
Dreia let out a long breath. “Yeah, me too. Okay, let’s get this done. We’ll figure out which kids are from each building and you take them in, one group at a time. I’ll wait out here with the others. Hopefully everyone will ignore a middle-aged woman with a bunch of kids.”
Sam didn’t argue, verifying his uneasiness. Dreia kept her eye on the growing crowd as he disappeared with the first batch of students. When he returned fifteen minutes later by himself, she had the next group ready to go.
In the meantime, the group by the basketball courts became more rowdy every time someone new joined them. It was obvious several bottles of alcohol were being passed around. Most of the men were gathered off to one side, listening raptly to a guy wearing a bright red, flannel shirt. It was odd clothing for the warmer weather, causing him to stand out despite his small stature.
Sam returned alone again, ready for the third group. “Any problems out here?”
“Not so far.”
“Alright,” he said tensely. “Come on, last two buildings.”
“We’ll wait here. I want to be able to see the street.”
“I think we should stay together.”
“We’re okay here, no one’s approached us at all,” she glanced down at Tommy, still tightly holding her hand. The tension was rubbing off on the kids, and he was pressed right up against her side.
“But, . . .”
“Just go, Sam. And hurry.”
Sam gave her the stink eye, but left with three more kids.
A few minutes after he disappeared, the boys on bicycles reappeared and came flying down the street. Dreia pulled Tommy up on the curb, sharply ordering the other kids to join them. One of the teenagers reached out and smacked the back of the largest fifth grader’s head as he passed.
“Hey Jeremy, make sure your momma pays your babysitter,” the teen taunted over his shoulder.
Jeremy balled up his fists and took a step after the boys. Dreia dropped Tommy’s hand and caught the older student’s backpack, pulling him to a stop.
“Why don’t you come back and . . .” Jeremy started to yell.
“Shush,” Dreia ordered sharply, thankful to see Sam heading their way.
She released Jeremy to pull out the final four cards. He took advantage of the freedom and sprinted toward the teenager, who’d dismounted near the group of men. Dreia’s fingertips missed his backpack and she ran after him. Before she could grab him, he’d tackled the older boy to the ground and begun whaling on him.
The other teenager pushed Jeremy off his friend, and all three began rolling around throwing punches. None of the men were doing anything but watching. Dreia’s shouting wasn’t doing any good so she threw herself into the fray and tried to get between Jeremy and the older boys. Sam dragged the largest teen from the scuffle, pinning his arms to his sides. The kid intelligently realized he was no match for Sam’s six-foot frame and fell still to watch the brawling on the ground.
The teen who’d started the whole thing was still swinging and managed to catch Dreia in the stomach. She reacted with a foot to his chest and he fell back onto his butt. They both jumped to their feet, but the boy stumbled and fell back to his knee. When Dreia saw him reach for the gun that was somehow still lodged in his waistband, she pulled her own.
“Don’t touch it!” she yelled, standing over him. She held Jeremy behind her and met Sam’s incredulous expression. Wishing she could stop and savor the shock on his face, she issued an order instead. “Take his gun.”
Sam remained frozen a few more seconds, then moved to snatch it.
At least he holds it like he knows how to use it, Dreia caught herself thinking.
Once the boy’s weapon was secured, she relaxed slightly, only to look beyond him and discover several more guns trained on her. She was careful not to make any sudden movements despite her pounding heart.
Several tense seconds passed before the man in red finally spoke. “Are you a cop?”
Dreia swung her gaze to him, keeping the teenager in her peripheral vision. The man moved next to the boy on the ground, standing like a man unafraid of confrontation. He wasn’t holding a gun himself, but there was an oversized knife hanging conspicuously down his right leg in a leather sheath and his cold eyes had her in their sights. Dreia could tell the rest of the men were waiting to follow his lead.
“No. I’m just a teacher trying to get my students home safely. We don’t want any trouble,” she replied, surprised at how calm her voice sounded. “We have four more students who live in these apartments, then we’re leaving.”
“Dad,” the teenager on the ground yelled smugly, “tell them to smoke her!”
“Shut up, Tag,” the man said curtly, as he studied Dreia.
“Look, he hit Jeremy first. We didn’t start this. I’m going to put my pistol away, then we’re going to leave.”
Dreia took a few steps back and slowly raised her hands, to prove her withdrawal, before sliding her weapon back in its holster.
“Put your guns away,” the man finally instructed, and the others complied wordlessly. There was no doubt who’d taken control here.
When Tag realized his dad wasn’t going to do anything about his humiliation, he jumped up ready to tackle Dreia again. His father grabbed the back of his shirt.
“Knock it off, dumbass. You let yourself get taken down by a kid, then stripped of your weapon by a woman. Deal with it.” He smacked him on the back of the hea
d for emphasis before addressing Dreia again. “He always did have his mom’s hot temper.”
Several people in the crowd laughed, turning Tag an even deeper shade of red. He pulled away from his dad, yanked his bike off the ground and took off behind the nearest building. His friend jumped on his bike to follow when he realized Sam was no longer holding him back.
The man was sizing Dreia up and finally held his hand out. “I’m Stubs.”
Recognizing the name immediately, she reluctantly shook his hand. “Dreia. Well, again, we need to get these last few students home. It’s going to be dark soon.”
“Of course. I’ll take my gun, though. I didn’t know the little shithead had swiped it. Kids. What can you do?” Stubs shrugged and laughed, but the amusement didn’t reach his eyes as he held his palm out toward Sam.
Sam handed the gun over and glanced at Dreia.
“Why don’t you go ahead and take the last group of kids, Sam. I dropped the cards over there where they’re standing.”
None of the other students had budged from the corner. A few younger ones were crying. Sam reached out and grabbed Jeremy’s arm, pulling him along.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Dreia,” Stubs continued after Sam was gone. His amiable tone put her on edge. “You know, you look like someone who was prepared for the predicament in which we’ve found ourselves. There’s a meeting tonight to discuss what our next move should be, as concerned citizens. You should think about joining us. I didn’t realize they let teachers carry guns at school now.”
So much for not drawing attention, she thought. They certainly didn’t need Stubs thinking the school might have things he’d find useful.
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it. I need to help take care of students until all the parents show up,” she replied, careful to keep her voice cordial and completely ignoring the gun reference.
“I understand. Well, good luck then, Dreia. If you change your mind, you know where to find us.”
Nodding in acknowledgment, she turned and walked toward the trio of frightened children going back to school with them. She could feel eyes watching her the whole way. It went against every instinct to turn her back on people with weapons, but she didn’t want them to sense fear and view her as easy prey.