The Summer the World Ended

by Matthew S. Cox

  “Kieran?” She gaped at him for a moment. “Kieran’s alive?”

  “Why wouldn’t he be?” asked Sergeant Rodriguez.

  Riley doubled over, sobbing. “Because the world war happened. I saw the missiles. The sky was on fire. Colonel Bering said the Russians and the Koreans shot at us.”

  He squeezed her shoulder. “Riley. Look at me. What’s more likely? That the world went up in nuclear flames or your father has some issues with reality?”

  She sat up and sniffled. “W-what?”

  Sergeant Rodriguez pulled the radio mic on his left shoulder closer to his mouth. “Hey, Carlos, come back?”

  “Go ahead, Rod,” crackled a voice out of something on his belt.

  “Did Armageddon happen?”

  The radio was silent for a few seconds. “Bullshit, the Mets aren’t going to the series.”

  Riley stared at him, so overwhelmed she couldn’t speak, cry, or scream. Her mind replayed the night she almost shot a man for food. If this was true―if the world was still really there, she’d almost murdered some guy. All her body was willing to do was shake. After a moment, she lurched sideways and threw up bile and coffee. Officer Rodriguez supported her enough so she didn’t fall face-first into it, and patted her on the back. She wrung her arms around, trying to get her hands free to wipe a tickling tendril of slime dangling from her nose.

  “You know where your dad is, you tell us, or you’re looking at accessory to attempted murder of a peace officer,” said Lawson.

  She swiveled her head to look in his direction, but all she saw as a blur of tears as she coughed up more brown slime. “What?”

  “Will you take it down a notch, Hank? Can’t you see this kid is traumatized?”

  Lawson shook his head. “She’s just as batshit nuts as her dad.”

  “Riley,” said Sergeant Rodriguez. “Your father pointed a weapon at Officer Roma the other night. We were out here to do a wellness check on the two of you.”

  “He’s dying,” whimpered Riley. “You gotta help him. Please, I’ll show you where he is. Please, don’t kill him. He said he saw looters.”

  Officer Lawson made a cuckoo whistle.

  “Please. He’s in our bunker. We thought the war…” She sniveled and cried for another few seconds. She strained against the handcuffs, desperate to wrap her arms around him and hold on to someone. “Is the world really still here?”

  “Yes, Riley,” said Sergeant Rodriguez.

  “Kieran’s still alive?”

  He nodded. “As far as I know.”

  “Amber?”

  “I’m not sure who that is.”

  Riley’s heart thumped. Worry for Dad, terror about how much trouble she was in, and too much relief to quantify slapped her brain into mush. “My friend from Jersey.”

  Sergeant Rodriguez looked her in the eye. “The East Coast is still intact. There was no nuclear war, Riley.”

  “But the sky exploded.”

  “The Air Force was conducting night bombing exercises. We had no specifics, but they gave us a heads up in case the locals called it in.” Lawson chuckled. “Every time they do something in the dark, people go UFO crazy.”

  “The infrastructure collapsed. We lost power,” she whispered.

  Sergeant Rodriguez glanced at the house. “PNM cut your power. Your father hasn’t paid the bill in six months. While we were looking for you, we checked up on him. He’d been doing some software work via a temp agency in T or C, but they haven’t seen him since May.”

  “No apocalypse?” Another wave of nausea came on. “I didn’t shoot anyone. It’s Dad’s blood. He’s hurt bad.” The cuffs clattered as she tried to hug him again. She wound up leaning against his leg.

  “Where is he?” asked Sergeant Rodriguez.

  “That way.” She pointed with her nose. “Please hurry! I’ll show you. The bunker’s hidden.”

  Sergeant Rodriguez hooked an arm under hers and lifted her to her feet, keeping a grip on her bicep. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Lawson’s distrustful stare made her shy away and shrink in on herself. She sniveled as Rodriguez walked her along, allowing her to steer but not move too fast. With the sun out, the path back to the bunker seemed obvious, though wind had eroded the footprints they’d left during their midnight escape. Riley cast a longing glance at the house to her left; a month ago, she had all summer to hang with Amber, goofing off and not having to worry about anything.

  She let her head hang. What happened? Mom’s dead. Dad’s dying, and I’m going to jail.

  iley stopped to cough up traces of vomit every few yards. The pinching steel around her wrists terrified her. Never in her life had she so much as gotten detention at school. Somehow, she’d skipped over petty teen things like getting picked up for shoplifting or speeding and jumped straight to felony arrest for a firearm offense. Sergeant Rodriguez kept a hand on her arm, not tight enough to hurt, but enough to make her feel like a prisoner rather than a guide. Still shaking, she walked toward the two identifying rocks two hundred some odd yards away.

  “A-am I being arrested?” she whispered.

  Officer Lawson glared.

  Sergeant Rodriguez shook his head. “Not yet. The cuffs are for our protection as well as yours. We don’t know what kind of mental state you’re in, or what you may or may not have done. We don’t want to have to shoot a kid.” Three paces later, he spoke again. “Did you do anything you should be arrested for?”

  “I stole some meat from a couple of guys… I thought they were bandits.” She stared at her boots for a moment, and looked up at him. “They weren’t bandits, were they?”

  “Nope. Lonnie and Freebird… camped out hoping to get some photos of aliens or UFOs. We ran into them while hunting for your dad. Said they saw a scrawny kid running around with a gun. Figured it might be you, but I wasn’t expecting you to be armed. We’ve been out here hunting for the two of you for three days.”

  “Sorry. I’ll pay them back for the ribs. I thought the world was over. I didn’t recognize them… It was dark. I played this stupid game, and all I could think about was bandits who wanted to kidnap me.”

  Officer Lawson laughed. “Freebird’s part of that biker group that helps abused kids. He’s a damn teddy bear.”

  “The other guy said he needed to get a new girl ‘cause he had to get rid of his last one,” muttered Riley. “I thought he killed her.”

  “Lonnie got divorced a few months ago,” said Rodriguez.

  “Oh.” Riley stopped. “It’s here.” She pointed the toe of her boot at the fake dirt mound. “Under that.”

  Officer Lawson circled it. “What kind of traps you got on this thing?”

  “Nothing.” She cowered, but looked up at Rodriguez. “I’ll open it if it you take the handcuffs off for a minute. It’s safe.”

  “No way, kid. Not till we secure the area.” Lawson looked at Rodriguez. “Want me to stash her in the car and get backup out here?”

  “No!” wailed Riley. “He’s gonna die if you wait. He’s bleeding real bad. Please…”

  “What’s under there?” asked Rodriguez.

  “There’s a ladder down to a tiny room with a door. Another small room with a shower and an armored door to the main bunker. Dad’s in a bed on the left side.”

  “How many weapons?” asked Lawson.

  “His AR15 is on the floor by the bed. There’s a Remington 700 and three handguns in a safe, but it’s locked.”

  Lawson scowled. “We should call in SWAT from Albuquerque. This is over our pay grade. Going in there is a death trap. He might have IEDs too.”

  “No,” muttered Riley.

  Rodriguez let go of her arm and lifted the pallet. Both cops peered down the shaft. Riley shifted around, trying to squeeze her hands free.

  “Madre de Dios,” muttered Rodriguez.

  “Let me go down first,” whined Riley, bouncing. “He won’t shoot me. Even i-if… he’s―” She stared at the ground. Crazy. “Please, hurry. He’s dyin
g.”

  “Riley?” asked Sergeant Rodriguez.

  “If he’s messed up in the head, he’ll still think you’re bandits. He’ll freak the hell out, and I don’t wanna think about what he could do. He won’t hurt me. I’ll calm him down so you can go in and help him.”

  “I’ll put her in the car,” said Lawson.

  She yelled when he grabbed her arm. “Please, no. No! You’re gonna kill him!”

  “Hang on, Hank.” Sergeant Rodriguez leaned close, staring into her eyes. “Tell me you won’t do anything that I will regret.”

  “I swear I won’t! I’d rather have Dad in jail than dead. Please, let me help.”

  “You can’t be serious,” said Lawson. “At best, she becomes a hostage we let him have… at worst, she grabs a gun, and we have to shoot her. You can’t let a child go into a situation like this. I don’t know about you, Marty, but I don’t want a dead kid on my conscience. This stinks to shit and back.”

  “Please…” she whined. “I swear I’m not gonna do anything bad. There’s no time. He’s gonna die.”

  Sergeant Rodriguez studied her face for a moment before glancing at the ladder. He put a hand on her shoulder, tapping a finger for a few seconds.

  “This is contrary to policy, and probably reckless on my part, but I’m going to trust you. You need to stay calm. Don’t make any quick movements, and do not let me think you are reaching for a weapon of any kind. If we tell you to do something, you do it.”

  Riley nodded.

  “Marty, this… no,” said Lawson.

  Sergeant Rodriguez pushed her shoulder so her back faced him. She trembled until he grabbed the chain and unlocked the cuffs.

  “We don’t have a better option.” Rodriguez tucked the cuffs back into their holder on his belt. “If we let him die down there, we’re not doing our job right.”

  Riley turned around and hugged him, making Lawson pull his gun again.

  “Thank you.”

  Lawson relaxed. “Watch that shit. I thought you were reaching for his weapon.”

  “I’m going to go down to the bottom of the ladder first,” said Rodriguez. “You follow me. Lawson, last.” He pointed at her. “Don’t run, don’t make any sudden moves.”

  “Yes, sir.” Riley held her hands up.

  She shied away from Lawson as Rodriguez went over the side and down. Fearful the other cop would shoot her if she twitched, she crept to the edge and waited until Rodriguez reached the ground. With slow, telegraphed motions, she oriented herself over the ladder and climbed down. The sergeant put a hand on her back when she reached the bottom, and guided her by the shoulder to the armored door.

  “Okay,” he whispered. “If this gets out of control, you hit the floor and stay down. Do not move.” He shook his head. “I’m putting my career on the hook for this, kid. Don’t make me regret it.”

  Riley traced an X over her chest. She edged to the door as Lawson made his way down the ladder. Rodriguez held her back until the other officer was ready behind him. He reached over her head and pulled the door open.

  “Dad?” Riley crept in. “It’s me. I’m okay.”

  He lay on the cot, seeming asleep. Hoarse, labored breathing emanated from his mouth. She tiptoed over. Rodriguez peered around the doorway behind his Glock. She held her hands up in a show of ‘I’m not doing anything bad’ and glanced down. The sergeant’s gaze followed hers to where the assault rifle lay on the ground. Riley kept her hands in the air and nudged the weapon with her boot, pushing it away from the bed toward the door. Rodriguez tensed, but kept his Glock low.

  When the weapon was out of Dad’s easy reach, she moved to the cot and sat on the side. “Dad?”

  “Hmm?” His eyes peeled open. “Squirrel.”

  She cried. “Yes. It’s me. Dad… You have to listen to me.”

  “I’m dying. I know. I’m sorry, Riley. I tried. You have to survive.”

  “No, Dad. You’re not gonna die.” She grabbed his hands and held on tight. “There wasn’t a war. The world isn’t gone.”

  “What?”

  “It’s in your head, Dad.” She cried harder. “You almost shot a cop.”

  “Colonel Bering…”

  Riley shook her head. “I don’t know why he said that. There’s no war.”

  Lawson moved closer.

  Dad gasped when he caught sight of the two cops. He tried to sit up, but Riley threw her weight over him. He grunted from the pain, the only reason she overpowered him.

  “No, Dad. Stop. The police are here to help you. You need to go to the hospital.” She wrestled to control his hands. “They’re not dead. No one is dead.”

  Officer Lawson seized Dad’s arms and held him down. Rodriguez holstered his weapon and pulled Riley off, guiding her back a few steps while Lawson contained her panicking father. Riley couldn’t watch, and buried her face against the cop’s shirt.

  “Daddy! Please let them help you,” shouted Riley.

  After a brief struggle, Dad wheezed and abandoned the will to fight.

  “He’s lost a lot of blood,” said Lawson, for the first time sounding not like an asshole. He eyed the bandages. “I’ll stay with him. Looks like the bullet might’ve nicked the spleen.”

  “Nicked?” asked Rodriguez.

  Lawson looked at Riley with guilt in his eyes. “If it hit full on, he wouldn’t… uh… Yeah.”

  “Dispatch, this is Rod, I need an ambulance out to the McCullough place, ASAP.”

  Dead air.

  “Shit, the radios aren’t working down here,” said Rodriguez.

  “Use Dad’s.” Riley pointed at the SINCGARS.

  Lawson, standing at the head of the cot, looked at it. “You mean the one with no antenna connected?”

  “What?” Riley blinked. If not for Sergeant Rodriguez holding her, she’d have fallen to her knees. “N-no antenna? What?”

  “The ANT plug is empty, there’s no way this thing would’ve gotten a signal this far underground without a lead to an exterior antenna.” He looked it over. “This is military. How the hell did he even get one of these?”

  Riley gawked at the wall as if she’d been slapped. “Dad said there’s a faraday cage around the whole bunker. That would… stop radio, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yep,” said Lawson, reaching for the first aid kit. “I’ll stay with him.”

  “Rod…” wheezed Dad. “You survived.” He faded in and out, half smiling. “No rads up to the house. We got lucky.”

  Her lip quivered at the sight of Dad, still thinking the world had ended. Riley had her doubts too, but the cops immaculate uniforms didn’t look the least bit dirty, and neither man acted in any way that felt wrong.

  “Come on.” Rodriguez tugged Riley to the door. “You shouldn’t be in here. Lawson used to be a corpsman in the Army, your dad’s gonna be okay.”

  She climbed the ladder, emerging from the heavy, stagnant dimness to clear air and bright sunlight. Fear, nerves, and vomiting left her feeling as though someone had punched her in the stomach. Sergeant Rodriguez came up a few seconds later. Riley turned her back and put her hands behind her, shivering. She expected cuffs again, but he took hold of her arm and led her back to the house.

  “Dispatch, this is Rod. I need an ambulance out to the McCullough place. One adult male, gunshot wound. Lost a lot of blood.” He paused. “Guys, we found him. Suspect neutralized, stand down. Bring it in.”

  A series of responses came in rapid succession, mostly ‘roger’ or ‘copy.’

  He brought her to the rear door of a police car bearing markings for Truth or Consequences PD. Again, she put her hands behind her and waited, but he guided her into the opening by the door.

  She glanced at the seat and the metal grating between the front and back. Afraid to spook him, she leaned against him with slow movements. Her heart ached, her throat tightened, and her eyes refused to stop leaking. For a moment, she couldn’t find the ability to speak, and stared at him. Whatever look was on her face had an effect,
as Rodriguez seemed close to tears himself.

  “It’s really not all gone?”

  He took a long breath. “No, Riley… For better or worse, the world is still going on.”

  Approaching sirens invaded the silence, devouring the wispy noise of the wind.

  “Thank you for not killing my dad. I’m sorry for what he did.”

  “Not your fault, girl.” He sighed. “I need to ask you to wait in the car. I’ll leave it running so there’s AC.”

  She sank back and sat, pulling her legs in. He shut the door, which she knew wouldn’t open if she tried it. Her hands clutched bony knees through the thin, black fatigues. She almost shot a man; she probably deserved to go to jail too. Riley didn’t much notice the car start, but jumped when he closed the driver’s door. She stared at faint red marks on her naked wrists, wondering how long Sergeant Rodriguez’s leniency would last.

  Wailing sirens cut out as an EMT van and another police car rumbled up. Rodriguez jogged over and stepped onto the running board of the ambulance, pointing in the direction of the bunker. She sniffled, pressing her forehead to the window to watch the flashing lights and dust cloud drift away.

  When the ambulance stopped in the distance, three men and a woman got out and readied a bright orange coffin-shaped thing with straps and handles. The sight of the medics lent weight to Sergeant Rodriguez’s claim the world had not ended. This looked too organized to seem like a small pack of survivors. One by one, they disappeared into the shaft, taking the strange device with them.

  Please stay alive, Dad.

  A few minutes later, Lawson emerged, followed by a woman in an EMT uniform. Next came her dad, strapped to the orange shell, which another cop below pushed up and out of the shaft. They righted him and carried him to the waiting ambulance. She wanted to run to him, and battled with the handle, even though she knew the police car wouldn’t open. Riley pounded on the glass until the ambulance doors closed, and sagged limp. Her stomach churned, wanting to throw up again, but there was nothing left inside her to come out.