by James Hunt
“Stay here,” Mike said.
Mike climbed over the Burger King counter, landing quietly on the other side. He could feel his pulse beat faster. A dim light glowed under the crack of the door leading to the kitchen. He raised his weapon, his knuckles turning white against the black composite of his 9mm and burst through the swinging door.
A group of people was huddled on the floor, all of them with their hands up in surrender. A family with two small children, a young woman, a middle aged man, and an overweight man dressed in a TSA uniform looked at him.
“Hey, man. We don’t want any trouble. Just take what you want and be on your way, okay?” the TSA agent said.
Mike kept his weapon aimed, but moved his finger from the trigger. He glanced around at the group. Each time he swept the pistol over them they crouched lower to the ground. Finally, Mike lowered his gun, clicked the safety back on, and tucked the pistol in the belt of his pants.
“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Mike said.
“Mike?” Nelson called from the counter.
“We’re good, Nelson. C’mon back,” Mike answered.
The TSA man extended his hand.
“Clarence Furns,” he said.
The two men shook hands.
“That’s Tom Wrink, Fay Cam, Jung To, Jenna To, and their two little ones, Jung Jr. and Claire,” Clarence said.
Tom wore the remnants of what was left of his business suit. His beard crept down along his neck. When Mike went to shake his hand it was grimy with dirt, skin, and whatever he’d ate at his last meal.
Fay’s hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her nails were long, the nail polish flaking off. Mike noticed the tattoos along her arm, exposed from her tank top.
Jung and Jenna stayed close to one another. They were both dressed in what looked like comfortable clothing for a long trip. Jung Jr. and Claire hid behind their parents’ legs, glancing up at Mike.
Mike introduced Nelson and Sean.
“So, what’s for breakfast?” Nelson asked.
Clarence picked up the lantern and walked them back into the kitchen. The group had stacked the kitchen with boxes of food rations, vending machine boxes, and canned goods.
“You can take as much as you need and stay for as long as you’d like, but I don’t know how much longer we’re going to be able to last here,” Clarence said.
“What are you talking about? There’s enough food here to last you for the rest of the year,” Nelson said.
“When everything stopped working most of the airport was evacuated. They marched people to local hotels, into the city, wherever. There were quite a few that were just left here, and everything was fine for the first few days,” Clarence said.
“Then people from the city started showing up. I guess they thought they could escape on a plane or something. They came in droves and when they got here and found out that the airport was just as broken as the rest of the city, people started losing it,” Tom said.
“It started off with small stuff: where they slept, about personal space, where they could keep their stuff, stupid things. But then people started arguing over food and water. A few of the TSA and law enforcement officers that stuck around tried to keep things in order, but it didn’t take long for most of them to start causing trouble too,” Clarence explained.
“How’d you manage to get all of this stuff in here with all of the looting going on?” Mike asked.
“I grabbed as many things as I could when I started seeing everything fall apart, but then after the first person was killed it was a free-for-all. People just tore into each other. I grabbed these guys and locked us in the TSA security office. We were there for two days before I unlocked the door. When we came out most of the airport was abandoned. A few other people who had survived by hiding in other spots stayed, but most had left. We decided to gather everything we could find and put it in a central location. This was the spot we chose. It has a good vantage point from the front and if we need to get out quickly there are multiple exits,” Clarence said.
They did manage to find a large amount of supplies even after the looting. Nelson was right. They had enough food to last them for the rest of the year, and if Clarence were a TSA agent he’d have access to the security weapons at the airport.
“You said that you didn’t think you could stay here for long, but it sounds like most of the large groups have gone. If it’s just you guys why would you leave?” Mike asked.
“Gangs,” Fay said.
“Gangs?” Nelson asked.
“A guy came through a few days ago raving about motorcycle gangs coming down from Michigan and Ohio. Groups from small towns roving around like Vikings, pillaging what they want. He was a little off his rocker if you ask me though, so I don’t think he really knew what he was talking about,” Tom said.
“And I haven’t seen a single mechanical engine work in the past two weeks. Everything’s down,” Clarence said.
Mike thought about his 1975 Jeep. He could see his family piled in, supplies in the back, heading for the cabin. These people had no idea about the EMP blast and what it meant.
Day 6 (The Cabin)
Anne grabbed the side of the wall blindly trying to get her bearings. Her foot jammed into the corner of the chair sending it crashing to the basement floor.
“Shit,” she murmured to herself.
“Anne, you okay down there?” Ulysses yelled from upstairs.
“I’m fine.”
She finally found one of the gas lanterns she was looking for. She lit the wick and the lamp illuminated the rest of the basement.
Shelves of canned food lined one of the sidewalls. A gun safe stood anchored in one of the corners of the room filled with assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and ammo for each of them. Crates filled with medicine, bandages, spare clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, camping gear, fishing rods and lures were stacked along the back wall. Anne grabbed one of the first aid kits out of one of the medical boxes and rushed back upstairs.
Kalen was still on the couch lying on her side. Her eyes stared blankly at the floor. Dried blood flaked on the edge of her lip.
Anne dropped to her knees in front of her daughter. She opened up the first aid box and pulled out some cotton balls and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.
“This might sting a little, sweetheart,” Anne said.
She placed the cotton ball on the corner of her daughter’s mouth, but Kalen didn’t even flinch. Her eyes glazed over. Anne wiped Kalen’s mouth, the white cotton ball turning a light pink.
Anne ran another fresh cotton ball along the cuts and scratches on Kalen’s arms and neck. She kept watching her daughter’s face, but Kalen didn’t move, she didn’t flinch, she didn’t show any emotion.
Ray walked in and dropped a duffle bag to the floor. It hit the ground with a thud. Ulysses came in after him.
“Should be the last of it,” Ray said.
“Let’s take a walk around the perimeter and make sure everything’s intact,” Ulysses said.
Ray headed out the door first and Ulysses glanced back at his granddaughter sitting on the couch. He walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. He looked at Anne.
“I’ll be back in a second,” he said.
The sun was sinking in the sky. The light broke through the leaves of the surrounding forest in fragments.
The two men walked around checking the walls, windows, and then climbed up to examine the roof. A small well was out back and Ulysses pulled a bucket of spring water up and handed it to Ray.
“Take it to the basement. There’s a water testing kit down there. We’ll see what we’re dealing with,” Ulysses said.
Ray carried the bucket back to the cabin, the water sloshing back and forth, splashing over the sides.
Ulysses examined the rope and pulley for the well. He checked for any cracks or wear, and once satisfied, set the rope back down.
A small piece of land had been plowed behind the cabin to be used as a garden. Ulysses
dug his hands into the dirt and rubbed it between his palms. The soil was warm from the sun.
You really did think of everything didn’t you?
When he walked back inside the cabin Kalen was gone from the couch. Anne was packing up the medical supplies, grabbing the pink stained cotton balls lying on the floor and placed the unused materials back in the first aid box.
“How’s she doing?” Ulysses asked.
“She’s still not saying anything,” Anne said.
Ulysses watched her lock the latches on the medical kit and then look up at him. The sweat from her forehead caused strands of her hair to stick to her face.
“Thank you,” Anne said.
“I shouldn’t have let them go off by themselves,” Ulysses said.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Ray popped his head up from the basement door.
“Hey, guys, can I get a little help down here?” he asked.
Downstairs the glow from the lanterns lit up the bucket of water and workstation that Ray set up to test the water.
“I’m not sure I’m doing this right,” Ray said.
“Here,” Anne said taking the kit from him.
She grabbed the finger-length tubes and dipped them in the bucket. She filled five of them and dropped test strips into each one. She shook the tubes and let them sit.
“Each tube checks for something different?” Ray asked.
“Lead, pesticides, chlorine, nitrates, and pH levels,” Anne said pointing at each of the tubes. “Blue means they’re at a safe level, if they turn yellow, then they’re not.”
“How do you know how to do this?” Ray asked.
“Every time we came up to the cabin Mike would assign us different tasks. This was one of mine,” she said.
“If one of them does turn yellow can we fix it?” Ray asked.
“No,” Anne replied.
Anne looked at the pallets of bottled water by the food shelves. She counted them, doing the math in her head. If the well were tainted, then the four of them would only last a month before their water supply ran out.
When the test strips turned a light shade of blue they all let out a sigh of relief.
“Well, that’s one less thing we’ll have to worry about,” Ray said.
***
The sun was turning neon orange as it dipped into the horizon. Anne fired up the gas stove placing a few pots with water on them to a boil. Cans of green beans, corn, and chicken lined the counter.
Anne peeled the cans open and dumped them into the simmering water. She added a few spices to each, and let them heat up. Ray and Ulysses sat in the living room playing chess and Freddy had pulled out some of his toys he brought with him.
Anne walked down the hallway to Kalen’s door. It was closed. She stood in front of the door for a moment, wiping her hands on the front of her apron. Her stomach was in knots. She let a slow breath then knocked on the door.
“Kalen?” Anne asked.
No answer. Anne opened the door slowly. Kalen was on her bed, lying on top of the sheets, her back facing the door.
Anne shut the door behind her when she entered and softly sat herself down on the edge of Kalen’s bed. She stroked her daughter’s hair, letting the strands run through her fingertips.
“Honey, dinner will be ready soon.”
Kalen remained motionless. Anne brought her lips to Kalen’s ear.
“If you need anything, I’m here. Okay?”
Once dinner was ready, Freddy helped set the table and he, Anne, Ray, and Ulysses gathered around. Anne put together a separate plate and handed it to Freddy.
“Go take that to your sister,” she said.
Freddy grasped the plate with both hands and walked back down to his sister’s room. The door was cracked and he pushed it open with his shoulder.
“Kalen?” Freddy asked.
She was still curled up in a ball with her back to him. The curtains were drawn shut, blocking out what was left of the fading sunlight.
Freddy tiptoed into the room and placed the plate on the nightstand next to her, the steam rising from the piping hot plate.
“Mom made you some dinner,” he said.
Freddy stood there, his hands hanging awkwardly at his sides. He slowly walked up to the edge of her bed.
“I hope you feel better,” he said.
Once Freddy was gone Kalen turned around. She didn’t touch her food. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she had felt worse.
***
The thunder crashed outside. The wind and rain battered the side of the cabin. Anne watched the rain smack against the window. The lighting flashed across the sky, reflecting in her eyes and illuminating the room.
She paced back and forth in the bedroom. She couldn’t sit still. Every time she settled into one place she became uncomfortable and had to move somewhere else. In between the cracks of thunder she would close her eyes and see the red flames engulfing her home. She saw the faces of her neighbors, their eyes wild and crazy with rage and fear. She felt the warmth of Mike’s lips on hers before she ran to the garage. Then she started to feel hot. She could feel the flames ripping through her as if she was there with Mike. She wrapped both of her arms around herself and fell onto the bed, the tears falling from her eyes.
Just when she felt exhausted the entire cabin rumbled and shook. She swung the bedroom door open and could hear the faint screams coming from the living room over the cracks of thunder and the howl of the wind. One of the ceiling beams fell and landed on the couch in the living room where Ray was sleeping.
Anne rushed over to him. Blood gushed all over the couch and floor. Ray’s shin was bent inward, snapped in half.
Ulysses came up from behind her and helped roll the log off Ray and it thudded on the floor. Blood poured from Ray’s leg onto the couch.
“Ulysses, help me take him down stairs,” Anne said.
Anne lifted Ray onto her shoulder supporting him. Ulysses came around and threw Ray’s other arm over his shoulder. The three of them hobbled over to the basement. On the way there Freddy poked his head out of his room.
“Stay in your room and keep the door shut,” Anne yelled.
Anne and Ulysses kept Ray steady bringing him down the steps of the basement. The lower half of his shin swung back and forth with each step, and with each swing Ray dug his hand harder into Anne’s shoulder.
Once they made it all the way down the steps Anne cleared a table and lit a few lanterns while Ulysses helped Ray lay down. Ray kept glancing down at his mangled leg. Anne pushed his head back flat on the table.
“Don’t look at it,” she said.
“What do you need?” Ulysses asked.
“Scissors,” Anne said.
Ray’s breathing accelerated. His body was shaking. The muscle in his jaw flexed from grinding his teeth together.
“You got anything for the pain?” Ray asked.
“Are you allergic to anything?” Anne asked.
“No.”
Ulysses handed Anne a pair of scissors. She hurried over to one of the medicine shelves and she opened the box and pulled out a bottle of oxycodone. She tore a bottle of water out of the package holding it and fed Ray the pill. He choked a little bit, but managed to get it down.
Anne ran the scissors across Ray’s jeans and ripped them apart from his knee to his ankle, exposing the wound. Bits of bone poked out through the skin, which was a deep shade of black and blue.
“Ray, I’m going to have to push some of the bone back in and then try and set it. I don’t know if it’s a clean break or not, but the wound will get worse if I don’t try,” Anne said.
“Give me… More drugs,” Ray said.
“I can’t. You’ve lost a lot of blood and if you have too much oxy it could drop your blood pressure even further and put you in cardiac arrest. Ulysses, give him something to bite on.”
Ulysses took his belt off; folding it a few times, then slide it into Ray’s mouth. Ray’s hands gripped
the side of the table until his knuckles turned white.
Anne’s finger hovered over the bone. She pressed down. Ray’s body seized in tension on the table, his whole body shaking as the bone slid deeper into his leg until it disappeared. When the pressure from Anne’s finger stopped, Ray went limp on the table, passed out.