by Glen Krisch
"Evacuation?"
"On the radio, right before the power conked, they ordered everyone to the bus station. But Grandpa wouldn't leave."
"But you're leaving now?"
"Yeah, they're coming. Can we hide in your place, please?"
"No," she said without thinking. The boy's expression deflated. "No, it's not that, I'm leaving, too." She turned to show him her belongings strapped to her back.
"Really? So, can we possibly, if it's no trouble, can we come with you?"
This time she held her tongue, but if she hadn't, her answer wouldn't have wavered from her first. Of course it would be a trouble to have an old man and his filthy grandchild tagging along as she journeyed to find her true love amongst the wreckage of civilization. What a pain in the ass that would be. She could imagine Brad's face when she showed up at his doorstep with a built-in multigenerational family in tow.
"Please, ma'am? You see, Grandpa, he's... forgetful."
As if the boy's pleading served as an introduction, his grandfather stepped into the hall from the apartment across the way, a duffle bag hanging from his shoulder. He saw Claudia and offered a two-hundred-watt smile.
"Hi, there," he said, his smile swiftly fading. "Oh, dear... I'm sorry, have we met before?"
She recognized him, certainly, but this was the first time in ten years she had even heard his voice. "I'm Claudia Newborne." She extended her hand and the man shook it warmly.
"Preston Harrison, nice to meet you. You've met Renny, then, haven't you?"
"Yes, we were just talking about our plans."
"The countryside, I believe..." He gave his surroundings a quizzical glance, then regaining his sense of balance, said, "There's no safer place. When I was a boy I went to live at my Uncle Dwight's farm when the Nazi's started bombing London."
"That's a sound choice." Claudia was relieved. She might be able to exit this escape party before it could become formalized. She had no intention of heading for the country.
"You should come with us!" Renny said.
"I'm heading downtown. My boyfriend's building is gated. It's safe there."
"This boyfriend of yours," Preston said, then cleared his throat. "Is he a good man?"
"Yes. Yes, he is."
"Are you so sure?"
She felt like snapping back at him, but could hear a subtext to his questioning; his concern was evident, like an uncle looking after his impressionable niece. "Absolutely."
"Are you to be married?"
"I just hope there's someone left in the world to perform the ceremony."
Preston laughed. "Good. When the world's coming undone, there's nothing like love to keep you sane."
She didn't respond, couldn't. Not if she wanted to avoid crying. She knew in her heart that Brad would welcome her with open arms, but would they ever get that chance?
Renny furrowed his brow, obviously upset. "I think we should stay together—"
The sound of shattering glass cut off the boy's counterargument. Preston gripped the duffle strap and said, "Come on, let's go. They've finally gotten in. We'll have a few minutes while they trash the place... filthy bastards."
Preston took off down the hall, before pausing midway. He retraced his steps, heading in the other direction. "This way, folks. To safety... the farm awaits!"
Claudia exchanged a questioning glance with Renny, but just then something heavy struck a wall inside the Harrison apartment. They both turned and followed Preston, catching him as he reached the descending stairway.
Claudia gasped as she took a step downward.
"What's wrong?" Renny asked.
"I'd say it's nothing, but I'd be lying."
"Don't be scared. If we move fast, they won't catch us."
"It's not that. I haven't left my apartment in... I don't know how long. Months... maybe eight months?"
"Geez, how did you eat?"
"Delivery."
"What about the movies?"
"I have cable."
"What about a job?"
"I have a computer with Wi-Fi."
"Family?"
She was about to blurt out, I have a webcam, but knew how lame that would sound. She only shrugged and took a deep, steadying breath.
They reached the doorway leading to the street. The old man paused before opening the door. "Those hooligans are inside my apartment but there are plenty of others roaming the streets. Stay close and move quickly."
Before she could respond, Preston opened the door and rushed out. The sunlight hurt Claudia's eyes. Stale dust hung in indolent clouds, clinging to her throat as she inhaled. It tasted like ancient smoke, a miasma reserved for forgotten tombs. As she squinted, adjusting to the unfiltered sunlight, Renny grabbed her hand. Repulsion coursed through her at his touch, conflicting with something stronger still, perhaps something approximating maternal empathy. She looked down at the boy, and damn it, she couldn't help but brush the bushy hair from his eyes. He needed a haircut and a long hot bath, but more so, a home. She remembered Brad and pulled her hand away.
"We should hurry up, before we're spotted," Claudia said, trying to deflect Renny's dejection.
They caught up to Preston, who had stopped at an intersection congested with heaps of ruined vehicles. He pointed down the road. "It might take a good day or two, but this main road goes straight out of the city, right through the suburbs, and after that, nothing but farmland."
Claudia recognized the surrounding buildings by their general articulation, but nothing else remained from her last walk down this street. Just shattered glass caverns and charred, littered shells. Preston seemed oblivious to the destruction and continued down the main road with his invigorated gait.
Claudia walked with the boy at her side. He looked up to her with innocent brown eyes.
"So, Preston comes from England?"
"No, he's lived here all his life."
"What about the bombings and World War II?"
"Grandfather can't pass up an old war movie." Renny's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "He wasn't born until 1946."
Claudia paused too long before saying anything more, and as the silence grew, it seemed more and more insurmountable. They continued on in silence, Preston checking back every so often to offer an encouraging word or warm smile.
Renny stopped a short while later, staring at a massive pileup clogging the street. His eyes didn't move from a mangled arm dangling from some secreted area within what could've once been a minivan. Mottled black and purple, the palm was extended as if seeking some last offering, a kind gesture, perhaps a small token of civility.
"Renny, you shouldn't look at things like that." Claudia grabbed his shoulder but he didn't budge. Her pulse ratcheted faster, the plain proximity of the open sky acting to amp her anxiety. Her vision distilled to a shaded pinprick. She couldn't have a freak out here. Not now. She knew the signs. Her body's betrayal in the face of such adversity was a perverse selfishness, she realized.
Stop being so sensitive, she chided herself. There were other people in the world, people who needed her. Like Brad. Focusing on his talismanic image allowed her pulse to slow. Her vision cleared, expanded. She looked at Renny.
"Do you think he suffered?"
Claudia couldn't imagine otherwise, but she said, "It went quickly. I can't imagine an accident so violent not being quick."
When the boy finally looked away, he seemed changed somehow.
"You know, we'll probably see a lot of stuff like that. Do you think you can handle it?" she asked, wondering about her own answer.
"I'll just have to," Renny sighed, trying to hold back tears. He rubbed his eyes and then scanned the road before them. "Where's Grandfather?"
"He's right... well, he went in this direction, he couldn't have gone far." Claudia tried keeping the panic from her voice, but she definitely felt it inside: her heart ached, acid sloshed into her stomach. She grabbed Renny's hand and they hurried down the street, ignoring the surrounding ruins, the wispy smok
e still rising from one calamity or other.
"Grandfather!" Renny called out, leaving her side. He hurried ahead twenty yards, check every conceivable hidey-hole for his grandfather.
Claudia's panic threatened to resurface, especially when the boy returned, alone, his lip quivering.
"Claudia, where is he? Please... I need to find him. He needs me!"
"He was just here a minute ago. Don't panic," she said, as much to herself as the boy. "He's probably just around a corner somewhere."
"Okay. Just don't leave me."
"Let's hurry, okay?"
They worked their search close to the heaped cars, spiraling further away as the minutes, then hours, passed. There was no sign of Preston, and they found no one to even question about his whereabouts. Preston was gone.
"Renny? We should really find a place to sleep. It's getting dark."
Renny shook his head, both at his freefalling tears and the subtext of her suggestion. They hadn't eaten in hours. While Renny didn't seem to notice, Claudia couldn't help but listen to the rumbling of her own stomach.
"Aren't you hungry? We can find a shelter—a house or even a restaurant. Somewhere inside. Somewhere safe."
"Just say it."
"Say what?"
"You think he's dead," the boy said and kicked a stone as hard as he could.
"Renny, I never said... we can't keep searching in the dark, no matter how much we want to. Preston could be five feet away and we'd walk right by him."
The boy crossed his arms and turned away petulantly. Claudia wanted to shake him by the shoulders, yell at him to snap out of it. Renny started walking again, checking alleyways and open doorways for signs of his grandfather. Claudia sighed and followed. The rising moon washing every surface with sickly yellow light. Cool night air furrowed through the valley between buildings, carrying the sweet smell of pollen and garbage. Death and renewal in one inhaled breath.
If she showed up at Brad's place with Renny in tow, he wouldn't turn them away. Would he? He wasn't that sort of man. He had strong values. Before the world washed down the crapper, Brad volunteered at his neighborhood animal shelter. He tutored children in his free time. The man was a saint. Her mind finally turned on the idea. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. If Preston was out of the picture, so would most of the hassle. Her fatigue melted away.
"I'm tired, Claudia," Renny said. The boy looked like he had just completed a marathon. His feet scraped the sidewalk with every step, too tired to lift his sneakers.
"We can get some rest. Start up again looking in the morning."
Renny nodded, defeated, too tired to do any more. They walked past a storefront with an intact window. It was a clothing store with mirrors facing outward. She stopped and stared, at first not recognizing herself. Her reflection was nearly full-length, cropping her at the knees. But she saw enough; despite everything, she looked good. This whole end of the world diet was slimming her nicely. Brad would take one look at her and not be able to look away. She smiled and twirled in a circle, then leaned at the right angle to show off her ass. Damn, she looked fine.
Halfway through a second twirl of vanity, Claudia heard a scream. Renny's scream. She looked around, ashamed. Renny was nowhere in sight.
"Claudia!"
She hurried toward the cry, stopping in mid-stride as she rounded the corner. A circle of rough-looking men surrounded Renny. Their numbers grew as others emerged from a bus stop shelter and from behind tree planters. There were ten, a dozen, ever more. Their faces looked like stretched dough left to sag from the brittle bones beneath. Clothes hung limply on emaciated limbs. Their skins were so filthy that Claudia couldn't determine ages or races.
"Now that's a sweet piece!" a tall, thin man said, stepping toward the cowering Renny. "I get first crack." The man reached out, touched the boy's cheek. Renny jumped away, tried to run, but the circle had tightened around his retreat, noose-like. Uneasy laughter rumbled through the group.
Claudia prayed for divine intervention, and if all else failed, the miraculous appearance of some sort of weapon.
Her voice had withered away to nothing. She cleared her throat, but it was no good. As she took a hesitant step toward the crowd, her agoraphobia came hurtling back into her like a risen spirit animating a fallen body.
"Leave him alone!" she yelled, but her pinhole throat muted her words.
The crowd shifted around the boy. A few shoving matches erupted. The tall, thin man grabbed Renny by the arm, brandishing a sawed-off shot gun at the others.
"Back off. He's mine!" the tall, thin man said, firing a scatter shot round over the heads of the others.
Most of the group dispersed like a pack of wild dogs. They took refuge behind ruined cars, still close by, waiting for scraps.
"He's just a boy!" Claudia screamed, finding her voice, finding herself within twenty feet of the throng.
"Yeah, well," the tall, thin man said. "He's my boy now."
Strong hands clamped over her arms like manacles. Then the tall, thin man strode closer, dragging Renny along, and smashed the business end of the shot gun across her temple.
When Claudia awoke, the sun was warm and midway through the sky. Bulwarked vehicles surrounded her in an unintended man-made valley. Her skin felt tight with sunburn. An insistent throbbing pain pulsed through her skull. She sat up, the pain building in her temple.
And then she remembered.
He's my boy now, the man had said. She couldn't remember his face, just the oily insinuation he grafted to every word.
Renny!
She made it to her feet and nearly passed out as black dots peppered her vision.
"Renny!" she called out. Her lips felt dry, her voice sullen and weak. The desolate neighborhood offered no details to the boy's whereabouts.
Now that's a sweet piece! The memories flooded her mind. Claudia ran her hands over her body, checking for loose or missing buttons, anything out of place, any area of her body that might be sore from violation while she was unconscious.
She felt a momentary relief then remembered the terror in Renny's eyes. He had looked on the verge of ripping at someone's eyes to get away. She wondered where he was now, if she would ever see him again.
She hoped she wouldn't. It was easier this way, she realized. Fate had taken the tough decisions out of her hands. First, Preston, then Renny. Her slate was clear of any and all responsibilities.
Brad... she could go to him now! Alone. A virgin bride offered at the doorstep of her betrothed! Giddy with relief, Claudia broke into the clothing store with the storefront mirrors. She cleaned herself up and changed into clothes she thought would seal the deal with Brad: a knee-length emerald gown, black heels, a black bow to hold back her hair. Makeup dulled the bruise on her temple, but did nothing for the swelling. She couldn't do anything else at the moment, and time was short. Her Brad awaited her arrival! Claudia lifted her backpack to her shoulder, then realized how unattractive it made her feel. She dropped it to the floor and the unburdened backpack seemed to lighten her heels significantly more than its given weight. She checked her face one last time, then set off for Brad's apartment.
Claudia had never been so nervous. She would either have to knock on the door, or throw up on her feet. She'd only now caught her breath after climbing over the security gate. The quiet, well-maintained streets did feel safe. This was the proper choice. What had happened to that old man and his grandchild had been for the best. She was a strong, independent, attractive woman, and she wouldn't trade any of that for the world.
Finally, she steadied her nerves and rapped her knuckles against the door. An eternity seemed to pass before she heard a rustling coming from the other side.
She held her breath as the door opened.
And there he was. Her man. Her love.
"Brad! I just knew you were safe!"
For a second he looked confused, but only for a second. He smiled the warm toothy smile she remembered so well from their long hours of web-chatting. H
e pulled back a security chain and opening the door further.
"Claudia! I thought you were lost."
"I came here. To be with you."
"And you're here! Great news. A great day!" He swept her into his arms and lifted her from the ground as he hugged her. He smelled just as she had always imagined. Clean, but masculine. A man of both learning and strength.
"I love you," she said, before she could vet her words. She looked into his eyes, nervously awaiting his response.
"Why, I love you, too." He set her back on her feet and took her by the hand. "You look wonderful. Even better than on the webcam."
"You, too."
She felt like her heart would burst. She had never been so happy. The ten happiest moments in her life didn't add up to this moment.
Brad closed the door behind them, then ushered her through a barred gate. He closed this as well and locked it with a key he kept on a retractable cable clipped to his belt. He sure was slim. And well-mannered. And so sure of himself. She was the luckiest woman in the world.
"Why don't you wait in here for me? I'll get some refreshments." Brad indicated a comfortable living room. He smiled to her as she sat down, then pulled another gate closed, enclosing her in the tiny room.
"You sure are all about security!" she said with a laugh.
"Don't I know it! I'll just be a minute."
More than a minute went by, and Claudia became antsy. She went to the windows and felt safe behind their bars. She went to the doorway and only now saw another room across from her own. A haggard middle-aged woman stared back at her, silent. She wore a revealing blouse with a plunging neckline.
"Hello. Are you Brad's mother?"
"Ha!" the woman said. "Ha! His mother. Stupid girl."
The woman disappeared from view, but let out one more Ha! for good measure.
Brad came back with a warm can of soda and offered it to her through the bars. He turned away, a little bounce to his step.
"Aren't you coming in?"
"Maybe later. I have others to attend to."
"Others?"
"If any more girlfriends show up, I'll have to make some hard decisions."