by J. Thorn
Chloe glided across the room and joined Neil at the window. She pointed to the sky.
“The moon is pretty tonight. I rarely see the sky this clear anymore.”
“We should be thankful the weather is holding out. Any amount of rain is going to do some real damage now.”
“Then let’s keep our fingers crossed for dry weather.”
Neil stared at the moon for a moment then looked to Chloe. He hesitated before saying, “What are we going to do?”
Chloe furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean we can only stay up here so long. Eventually, we’re going to run out of food and water.”
“Shh,” Chloe said, pointing outside the room. “The kids—I don’t want to worry them.”
“That’s exactly my point. Those children are going to become restless.” He pointed down to the street. “It’s only going to get harder out there. Whatever food is left will be spoiled by this flooding. It’ll become more scarce. The city will be harder to navigate. You think people are violent now? Wait until everyone goes hungry.”
Chloe turned away. She shook her head as she looked outside. “We should’ve never let Dax go. We’re practically defenseless without him, even with a few guns.”
Neil backed away from the window. “Then we should go to him. He said he’d wait for us.”
“What?” Chloe said, laughing.
“You know where he went, right? You know where his sister lives?”
“I know the neighborhood. Not the exact house. But it’s too far of a walk and what if he decides not to wait around? What if he already left with his sister? All that water. Me on crutches. The kids. Going to take a while to get there.”
“You aren’t going.”
The words had come from Isaac. Neil and Chloe turned to see him standing in the doorway.
“Of course I am,” Chloe said.
“You can’t.” Isaac entered the room. “And neither can the kids. You need to stay here where it’s safe and let me and Neil go.”
“I’m not doing that. I’m not going to stand here while you—”
“We aren’t talking about this,” Isaac said, cutting her off. “Look what happened when you went out with Doug and me. We almost died. Isn’t Dax’s sister’s house in the Tremé neighborhood?”
Chloe nodded.
“You’ve got to let me and Neil do this. Stay here with the kids.”
“He’s right,” Neil said. “We can get there and back a lot faster. We need to know if Dax is still there before we risk leaving the high ground to get out of New Orleans. This water is getting too high for you to get around the city now.”
Chloe looked back and forth between the two men, then shook her head.
Isaac said, “You know this is the right thing, Chl—”
“Bring him and Gabby back here, all right?”
Neil exhaled and put a hand on her shoulder. “We will.”
29
Isaac waited in the hallway for Neil. He had gone through a few of the apartment units and found a couple of bottles of water that he’d tossed into a canvas backpack—along with a pistol and a few clips he’d scavenged from the bloody bedside of someone who’d chosen a faster way out of this catastrophe.
Neil came out of another unit and stopped in front of the stairwell, waiting for Isaac. He tossed his backpack over his shoulder and walked to the stairs, his eyes on Chloe. She stood in front of her room, with Monica at her side while Kevin and Darius stared out of the window.
Neil looked at Isaac and then to Chloe. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Isaac glanced up at Chloe but then turned away quickly.
“Isaac. We can—”
“I got this. Me and the old dude. We’ll find Dax and then come back for you. Get us all out of here before it’s too late.”
He reached underneath his shirt and drew out a pistol, confirmed the magazine was full and assured the safety was engaged before handing it over to Chloe.
“You know how to use this, right?”
She nodded.
“Only fire it if you have to, and don’t forget to click the safety off.”
“Don’t worry about me. You guys find Dax and get back here if you can, and we’ll figure a way out. And if he’s not at Gabby’s, get yourselves somewhere safe and let’s hope the government starts rescuing people.”
Isaac nodded and then kneeled down to eye-level with the boys.
“Don’t let Ms. Chloe boss you around, all right?”
The boys laughed, and Isaac looked up to see the question had even made Chloe smile. He spread his arms. “Come ‘ere.”
Kevin and Darius leaned in to hug him.
“How long will you be gone?” Monica asked.
“I don’t know. Hopefully not long.”
He stood up, and the children stepped out of the way, clearing the space between him and Chloe.
“I still don’t like that you guys are doing this at night.”
“Neil’s right. With the water rising, even the baddest gang members aren’t going to trudge around in that stuff—in pitch black darkness. This will likely be our best chance at finding Dax.”
Chloe pushed the curls from her face with her eyes still to the floor and nodded. She then looked up and leaned in to give Isaac a hug. He shook as she held him, his hands caressing her back. She ran her fingertips along the nape of his neck, and he shivered.
When Chloe pulled away, she kissed him on the cheek. “Get back safe, all right?”
He felt a fire in his belly, and the rest of the world drifted away as he stared at her.
Isaac ignored his own thoughts and leaned back in, pressing his lips to Chloe’s. He felt her breath hitch, and to him, she tasted like cherry candy. When he pulled back, Chloe was staring at him, her eyes open and her head tilted to the side. She hadn’t said a word, but she stepped back—her face red. The boys chuckled and then followed up with a long, “Ooooooo.”
He turned around before Chloe could say anything. He ran to the doorway and then down the stairs without looking back.
The water kept rising, but for the time being Isaac could still manage to walk through the streets. Everyone in New Orleans lived with the legacy of Katrina, but Isaac had been only five years old when the hurricane and subsequent flooding had hammered the city. He remembered his mother handing him garbage bags full of clothes and telling him to get in the car—that was about it. They had driven to his grandmother’s place in Bastrop, near the Louisiana-Arkansas state line. It would be three more years before they would return to New Orleans. His mother hadn’t had much money, and their house had been totally ruined by the floodwater. And as devastating as that had been— for not only his family but for the entire city—he feared this latest incident would be much worse. FEMA had not shown up. The National Guard was nowhere to be found.
As Neil had predicted, most people had left their neighborhood or bunkered down inside of their houses. The moon cast the only light on the empty streets, beams reflecting off of the water in bright sparkles. Isaac tried to pretend he was wading through a slow creek toward his favorite fishing hole until he remembered bits of eighth-grade biology. Louisiana had an interesting and dangerous array of wildlife, given its climate and proximity to the ocean. Of course, there had to be snakes in the water, but that’s not what made Isaac shiver. He hated gators, and they were common in the creeks and swamps.
“Fucking gators.” He said it under his breath and then noticed Neil staring at him.
“Sorry. Was only thinking about what could be in the water.”
“Best not to do that. At least we can see gators. Snakes, on the other hand…” Neil stopped and put his hands on his hips, turning his head left and right. “You know where we’re going?”
“Yeah. I had an aunt who lived in Tremé for a while. I know those streets.”
“All right.”
Neil hadn’t said much since they’d left Chloe and the gang. The old white dude was nev
er one to keep his opinions to himself.
“You okay?”
“Me? I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, goddammit,” Neil said. “I want to get this over with and get back to the apartment building. I didn’t want to come, but it’s necessary. We need him.”
Isaac huffed and nodded. He wasn’t ready to admit that the group needed Dax. He’d only agreed to come because, if he hadn’t, Chloe would’ve convinced Neil, again, that she should go.
Isaac kept walking, glancing up at street signs he had seen hundreds of times. He moved through the water with a steady, consistent stride.
“We’re only a few blocks away from the Quarter. Hopefully, it’s not flooded too bad yet.”
Neil stopped suddenly and doubled over. He coughed a few times, breathing heavily and crouching down with his hands on his knees.
“You sure you’re all right?” Isaac stopped and bent down to get a closer look at Neil’s face.
“I-I’m fine.”
Isaac backed away. Neil stood straight up, inhaling and exhaling three times as if trying to prevent hyperventilation.
“Let’s keep going,” Neil said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
They continued toward Dax’s sister’s house, but Isaac had only walked five feet further when Neil grabbed him by the arm and spun him around.
“I’m not all right. There’s something I’ve got to tell you.”
Isaac waited. He saw the sweat on Neil’s forehead and his eyes flittering back and forth. He had thought that maybe the old dude was having a heart attack, but there seemed to be something else going on.
“I’ve done something that I regret, Isaac.”
Isaac swallowed. He hadn’t heard Neil speak in such a somber tone.
“When the power first went out, it wasn’t that big of a deal. But once it had been a couple of days and we found out how widespread it was, I realized the consequences of a decision I had made. I was just doing my job.”
“Okay,” Isaac said. “Tell me what you did.”
“We learned a lot from Hurricane Katrina. Our local economy took such a hit. People died. Lots of poor people.”
Isaac felt a pit growing in his stomach.
Neil continued. “There was only one way we could think of to buy the city some time if a catastrophe like Katrina happened again, and I had to authorize it. We would have to divert power to the main pumps. But in doing that, we would have to shut off the pumps that fed other parts of the city.”
“You mean the hood. Places like my neighborhood, like Little Woods.”
“Yes, Isaac. I’m sorry.”
Isaac’s heart raced, and he stared past Neil. “Those people are gonna die first.”
Neil was crying now. “I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t do that, the French Quarter could have been underwater in hours.”
“You mean where all the tourists go? You decided to save that part of the city instead of the poor neighborhoods?”
“No, son. You don’t understand. That’s also the financial center of New Orleans. The city’s emergency services are concentrated there, as well. Keeping the floodwater out of the Quarter would help the other neighborhoods, too. And let’s not fool ourselves. If we get any help from the federal government, you know they’re coming to the Quarter first. I made the best decision I could in a hypothetical worst-case scenario. If the pumps stop, people die, no matter what.”
Isaac wrinkled his nose. He felt his heart slamming against his rib cage. Neil took a step back and brought his arms up, palms facing Isaac.
“You’re gonna send the flood into the hood. You’re cool with drowning the poor, black people, Neil.”
“Look around, son. Who’s been helping Chloe with this group of African-American women and kids? Who’s been trying to get them to higher ground? You see me helping any white people?”
Isaac wanted to call the old man a racist and then punch him in the face. But that wouldn’t help them find Dax. It wouldn’t get him back to Chloe any faster, either.
“Whatever, man. You can explain that later, to all of the black folks whose neighborhoods you’ve decided to flood. For now, we gotta find Dax.”
Isaac saw a flash of anger in Neil’s eyes, but the man swallowed it and nodded, taking a step toward Isaac.
“Okay. You’re right, kid. Let’s keep going and find Dax.”
“And quit calling me ‘kid.'”
Neil nodded.
A bright flash of orange lit the sky, followed by the muffled rumbling of an explosion inside of a building. Several men approached, running from the burning building.
Isaac brought his gun up and pointed it at the man walking past.
“Well, well,” Chuck said. “How about this shit?”
Isaac kept the gun aimed at Chuck.
“You two ain’t worth our time. But that,” he said, pointing at the fire, “That’s where your boy Dax is going to die.”
Chuck’s crew walked past Neil and Isaac without saying another word.
“You think Dax is really in there?”
“I don’t know,” said Isaac. “But we’re gonna find out. Come on.”
30
Chloe had retreated to her room when Isaac and Neil left to find Dax. She sat on the windowsill, staring out into the darkness. Never had she seen anything like the spectacle in front of her, and she wondered if she was experiencing the apocalypse.
She felt an ache in her ankle, and her biceps throbbed with a dull pain. Chloe put her hand over her rumbling stomach. For the first time since The Blackout, she had a moment to process everything that had happened. She had arrived at the day care center thinking that everything would blow over—she’d be back at her job and living her normal life in no time. The place was supposed to be a temporary refuge until the government restored order. But at the end of that first week, the thought of returning to a normal life had begun to fade. By the time the second week had rolled around, those thoughts had given way to survival instincts.
Those same instincts had led her out into the city, searching for food and water for the group at the day care center—mostly children and elderly folk—and that had, in turn, landed her in a holding cell with other captured women. Although she didn’t know exactly what the street gang had planned, Chloe was smart enough to realize it would most likely involve drugs or prostitution, if not both.
Then Jackson-slash-Dax had stumbled upon her. She hadn’t seen him since they’d dated in high school. He’d rescued her from the gang, only to be recaptured by them and escape once more before he’d popped right back out of her life.
Chloe lowered her head into her hands and began to cry, thinking about all that had happened in the past few weeks. She tried choking back the tears, determined not to let the children see how distraught and hopeless she had become.
Still, she tasted the salty tears as they ran down her face and over her lips, and couldn’t help smiling bitterly as the release of her emotions brought a sense of relief. She hadn’t cried like this since the accident, and remembered her vow from then to live, no matter what life handed her.
“Ms. Chloe?”
The sound of her name pulled Chloe’s eyes from the floor. She turned to see Monica standing in the doorway. Chloe wiped her eyes and stood up straight, putting on a huge smile for the girl.
“H-hey, Monica.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, sweetie. What are you still doing up?”
“I can’t sleep. And I heard you crying, so I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
Chloe chuckled. “I thought I was doing a better job of being quiet.”
Monica crossed the threshold and sat beside Chloe on the windowsill, rubbing shoulders with her.
“Do you want to talk?” Monica asked.
“I think I’m okay. You don’t want to hear my adult drama.”
“I’m thirteen, ya know. I’m practically an adult myself.”
“Is this about Isaac?”
Chloe paused and turned away from the city below to look into Monica’s eyes. “No. What do you mean?”
“Well, he likes you. And he left. Do you like him? Do you miss him?”
“Of course I miss him. I miss Neil, too. I wish they hadn’t had to go. I want them to get back safe.”
“Yeah, but you miss Isaac more, right?”
“Isaac is nearly half my age.”
“That doesn’t matter. Half my mom’s boyfriends are way younger than she is. And believe me, he does like you. I know that look. Friends don’t kiss on the lips.”
Chloe had always been clueless when it came to crushes and love interests. She treated men with such kindness and compassion that, without fail, they all thought she wanted to date them.
Monica giggled and put her hand on Chloe’s.
“All I’m saying is that he likes you. Like, a lot. And boys do crazy things when they like girls.”
“It’s okay,” Chloe said. “Trust me. Isaac and I are just friends.”
Monica shrugged. “Whatever you say, Ms. Chloe.”
The girl yawned, and Chloe smiled at her again.
“Why don’t you go get some rest, kiddo?”
The girl leaned in and wrapped her arm around Chloe, who returned the side hug.
“Love you, Ms. Chloe.”
“Love you, too, sweetie.”
31
Dax sat in a cloud of smoke, listening as the news continued to blare from the radio. The worst of the storm had passed, but the real horrors had only begun.
Everyone who had stayed in New Orleans was now trapped there. Rumors circulated about how bad the conditions had gotten inside of the Superdome, and the authorities were pulling bodies out of flooded homes by the hour. People had even been rumored to have been shooting at cops from the rooftops of their submerged homes.