by E S Richards
Amy looked up at the sky. Daylight was already fading fast and in a couple of hours nighttime would certainly be upon them. She didn’t want to walk around unfamiliar streets in the dark, even with Giles by her side for protection. “Okay,” she agreed, “that sounds like a plan.”
“Excellent,” Giles smiled. “We’re all good here,” he gently pulled the sleeve of James’s shirt back down over the bandages. “Brave kid, aren’t you?”
James beamed up at Giles, taking the compliment in stride and puffing out his chest slightly. Seeing her son dealing with his injury in such a mature manner inspired Amy and she tugged on the straps of her rucksack against her shoulders, tightening it and making sure everything was in place.
“All right then,” she smiled in turn at James and Giles, thankful she had both of them by her side. “Let’s move out.”
Chapter 19
The next morning Amy listened carefully as Giles told her exactly how to change the dressing on James’s arm. He explained what to look out for in terms of infection or the stitches coming loose and exactly how to put the wound back together. Amy made sure she asked questions about everything, wanting to be fully prepared to look after her son once Giles was gone.
It was with a heavy heart that they set out that morning, their intention being to get Giles to Grand Rapids before nightfall, meaning they would have to part ways long before then. Amy and Giles had discussed it the night before once James had fallen asleep, but neither of their minds could be swayed. Giles needed to go into the city to try and find his parents and Amy needed to continue on toward the lake house that had been her destination since leaving South Haven several days ago.
Amy had offered to go into the city with Giles, but they both knew that would only slow each party down. Grand Rapids—being a densely populated city—was probably going to be a very dangerous area and Giles didn’t want to put Amy and James in harm’s way. When they had no real need to enter the city, it made a lot more logical sense if they did not. Still, as the three of them left the small house where they’d spent the night, Amy wondered if they were making the right decision. Giles had been a lifeline for her and James; she owed it to him to be there for him as well. But no debt was more important than the wellbeing of her son.
It was a lesson she didn’t think she needed to learn but one she had learned fast anyway; nothing was more important than family. Amy had always been a family-oriented person, even throughout the period of separation and then divorce from Len. She knew how much her ex-husband loved James and she knew how much it hurt him to see them move away.
It had been the right decision though. Amy had been so much happier in South Haven before everything happened. She had made new friends, felt comfortable in her new job, and was even starting to date again, although nothing that was too serious. Now she wondered whether she would ever return to the normality of dating, taking her son to school, and meeting friends in the evening. Even in the short amount of time that had passed since the coronal mass ejection, so much had changed. What had happened at the Dunes Resort made all of that clear. Amy had to protect her son from everything now and ultimately that was why they couldn’t accompany Giles—even though she wanted to—into the city of Grand Rapids.
As a result of their conversation, the walk was somber. Amy knew it wouldn’t be long before they reached the fork in the road where they would have to part ways. Grand Rapids would mean Giles taking the inland road, while Amy and James were better off staying by the lake. She was uncertain whether James would understand why they were parting ways and didn’t want to bring her son any more stress during this already troubling time.
“This is it,” Giles said quietly after another hour of walking, uttering the words Amy had been trying to avoid.
“Are we there?” James piped up from in between the two adults, looking first at Giles and then at his mother. Amy smiled down at her son before locking eyes with Giles, a sad expression on her face.
“No darling,” she spoke, “but this is where we need to split up.”
“That’s right,” Giles nodded and got down on one knee in front of James. “I need to go into the city to find my mom and dad, and you two need to keep going this way. That means I’m not going to be traveling with you anymore young man.”
James looked confused by Giles’s statement, glancing up at Amy for a second before shaking his head at the man in front of him. “I don’t want you to go.”
“I know,” Giles reached out his right hand and tousled James’s hair. “But you’re already looking after your mom. I need to go and do the same for mine.”
Slowly, James seemed to understand what was being said. “Okay,” he nodded as he looked at Giles with an attitude far beyond his years. “I hope you find her.”
“Me too,” Giles murmured under his breath as he rose back to his full height. He’d been thinking about his parents a lot on their journey that morning and was well aware that they might no longer be there by the time he got into Grand Rapids. His father had always been a reliable man and his time volunteering with the fire department even after his retirement had kept him in good shape. But Giles knew there was only so much a strong body could do for you after everything that had happened.
Thankfully his mother was strong too, and had always been the rational one out of the two of them when in difficult situations. She was a trained nurse, part of why Giles himself was so well-versed in medical procedure, and he knew that she would have been able to look after both herself and his father if anything happened to them.
Giles could still vividly remember one of the worst days of his childhood. He and a friend, Henry, were playing basketball around the back of his house, vying against one another to see who could bag the most outrageous net. That meant they were taking throws from all sorts of strange angles and positions, trying to pull off the best trick shot they’d ever seen.
That was when the car came. It was faster than it should’ve been, zooming around the corner without a thought for what could be waiting in the middle of the road. What, or who, like Henry. Giles could still remember the sound of the screeching tires combined with Henry’s cry for help. The crack of his bones as the car rattled over his legs and disappeared around the corner.
Giles had run to his friend immediately, leaning over his body and trying to avoid looking at the strange angle of his legs. Their ball had rolled away down the road, their game forgotten and their childhood instantly taken away from them. Giles’s mother had been outside in an instant, her black bag in her hand as she raced into the road, doing everything she could to try and save her son’s friend.
She had been brilliant, doing enough to keep Henry conscious and stable until the ambulance arrived. The doctors later said that if it hadn’t been for Giles’s mother, Henry would have lost his legs that day. She saved his life, just like she went on to save countless lives thereafter, never once complaining or giving up on her career. That was why Giles knew his mother could keep herself and his father safe. She was an excellent nurse and he knew she would be strong enough to deal with any danger or injury that they came across, of that he was certain.
What he was more concerned about, however, was the state of the city. It was only a little after midday at the moment, but Giles knew that by the time he was entering Grand Rapids it would be dark. He had debated with himself whether it was better to stay somewhere overnight and walk into the city the next morning, but he figured if gang activity had already taken over the city, there would be people he needed to avoid no matter what the time of day. At least he could use the darkness as cover if he entered through the night.
Having spent all his time since the power went out either in the country club or walking with Amy and James, Giles was only making assumptions about what a larger city would be like. He remembered Grand Rapids from his childhood though and even then there had been the whisperings of gang activity in the streets. The few times in more recent years when he’d returned to visit his parents,
those whisperings had elevated to shouts from the rooftops and threats in the local bars. Grand Rapids had been slowly building a reputation for itself over the past twenty-five years and Giles had a strong suspicion the lack of power was going to be the perfect outlet for the gang leaders to break free. That was what worried him most. With his parents living so close to the hospital, the land around their property would be regarded as rich and valuable with supplies.
“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”
Amy’s question pulled Giles back out of his daydream and he refocused on the two people standing in front of him. He knew Amy didn’t want him to leave, but he didn’t have another choice. He was also worried for their wellbeing without him with them, but he had faith in Amy. She was a strong mother and it was obvious she would do anything to protect her son. Giles didn’t doubt that if she didn’t have James to look after, Amy would be following him into Grand Rapids herself.
“I’ll be fine,” Giles smiled. “Are you two going to be okay?”
“Of course,” Amy returned Giles’s smile, even though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We’ll keep heading straight to the lake house. You remember where I told you it is?”
“I do,” Giles nodded, remembering another part of the conversation he and Amy had shared the night before. She hadn’t said it directly, but it had been implied that if Giles couldn’t find his parents in Grand Rapids, he could come and join Amy and James at the lake house in Grand Haven.
A stretch of silence dragged out between the three of them for a moment after that, neither Amy nor Giles knowing what to say. James wrapping his arms around Giles’s legs in a hug broke it though, with both adults then breaking out into a laugh. Stepping forward, Amy too wrapped her arms around Giles’s body and squeezed him tightly for a second.
“Good luck,” she whispered in his ear, “I hope you find them. I really do.”
Giles bit his lip and gave Amy a genuine smile before reaching down and tousling James’s hair once more. Then he turned on his heel and took the right fork in the road, heading in the direction of Grand Rapids and hopefully, his parents.
Amy watched Giles walk away with a heavy heart. She was worried about him, not the least for him having to go out on his own but also because he still didn’t appear to be back in full health. That lake water might have been more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.
She couldn’t deny how much of an asset he had been to have by her side since the country club. It wasn’t only how much he’d helped in terms of James or finding places to stay, but also just the conversations they had shared. It kept her slightly saner, having another adult to talk to. Someone she could share her worries and fears with and not be concerned she was affecting them in a negative way. She felt slightly guilty that she had done that too much with Giles, the man having enough problems of his own without having to deal with Amy’s as well. But she had listened to him too and helped him to shoulder his burdens; not least of all the story of what had happened to Mel.
Remembering the former mother, Amy looked down at her son and smiled. He had been through so much—the bullet hole in his shoulder evidence enough of that—and yet, he was still by her side. They had traveled so far already but Amy knew they were really only halfway through their journey. Hopefully they had dealt with the worst of the collapse, but Amy knew she had to remain prepared for anything.
“Ready?” She asked as she reached down for her son’s hand, the path the two of them must take having only really just begun.
James nodded, looking up at his mother with confidence as he took her hand. Neither of them could predict where the second half of their journey would take them, or what they would encounter along the way. Amy simply knew that with James by her side, they would make it. With James by her side, there was no chance she was ever letting go.
Chapter 20
Len stopped looking over his shoulder and faced forward, gazing out the windshield of the Dodge pickup truck. He’d been upgraded to the front seat as they left the gas station, Justin and Max wanting to sit together in the back while Harrison drove. Aubrey was in the vehicle with them now too, seated behind Harrison and finally sleeping softly.
None of them had said very much since they left the gas station. Len wasn’t sure what had happened to Justin and Max while they were kept prisoner. It may have only been for a short while, but he knew how badly it could still affect someone. He only had to think back to the Latin Kings trapping him in the zoo to be filled with sympathy for the father and son. He couldn’t imagine how scared Max would have felt, the young boy running into the shop without sparing a thought for what could be inside.
It was a sad truth Len had realized: they now had to expect the worst from every situation. His journey so far had brought him into contact with several different people and yet, despite the kindness he had been shown by Harrison and the pleasant company of Justin and Max, it was still the worst moments and dangerous people that stuck with him the most.
Watching the world pass by quickly became very soothing to Len and he felt his eyelids start to feel heavy. They were traveling so much faster now that he felt confident they could reach South Haven by the end of the day. Only a matter of hours and Len could have his son in his arms once more. He did wonder what would become of the little group they had now formed once they reached South Haven. Harrison would continue north towards Canada and his daughter, but Justin and Max didn’t seem to have a destination in mind. Aubrey was completely alone as well. From the brief conversation Len had shared with her, he had learned she no longer had any family to speak of—especially now that her uncle, the giant they had fought with at the gas station, had been killed.
For a young girl to be so completely alone so early in her life was heart-breaking to Len. As a parent he felt great sympathy for her and wanted to do everything he could to help her. However, Len also knew he couldn’t take on the burden of looking after another child. James had to be his priority and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of that. Even though it was bordering on cruel, he knew he needed to be selfish. But then, where would Aubrey go? Where would she end up? Len believed that once everything was over there would be a place for all the orphaned children, but he couldn’t predict how long it would take before things got to that point. Len was already fairly certain that he would never truly experience normal again.
“Fifty to go,” Harrison’s voice filled the cab of the truck, causing Len to turn his head and look at the driver who nodded to a sign they were just about to pass. “We should make it today.”
Len leaned forward in his seat slightly and took in the sign Harrison was referring to. South Haven was less than a day’s travel away; they would be there in a matter of hours. Smiling, Len looked around the vehicle at his four companions and felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Although he himself hadn’t been directly responsible for a lot of things on his journey, he had managed to get to South Haven. He had kept the promise he made to his son and very soon, he would see him again.
As the minutes ticked by Len started to pay more attention to their surroundings, assessing what state South Haven would be in. To his disappointment—but not surprise—everything looked pretty much the same as the other towns he had passed through. There were no plumes of smoke rising into the sky and no outlandish fires burning, but everywhere still looked like it had been hit the same way by the coronal mass ejection. Everywhere was deserted and, even as they drove closer and closer to South Haven, they seemed to be the only people left alive.
It was something Len had thought about a great deal on the journey he and Harrison had made. So many people were missing, absent from streets and windows. He had to assume they were still alive; otherwise the thought of James and Amy being gone taunted him too much. But it was still very strange to go so long without seeing another human being. Where was everyone, and what had become of them all so quickly?
More signs of life, or rather death, started to
fill the road the closer they got to the city. Harrison was forced to slow the pickup way down to avoid hitting the cars that littered the road, each one in some state of disarray. As they drove past, all five of them gazed out of the windows at the wreckages, Aubrey now awake and pressing her face up against the dusty glass. Len wondered what was going through her mind and whether she had the same apprehensions about entering South Haven that he did. It had to be a lot for the young girl to trust the four of them, especially after what had transpired with her uncle. Len didn’t want her problems to be worsened by anything he did.
“Whoa,” Harrison exclaimed as he looked forward, reaching out with his hand to wipe at the windshield. “What is that?”
Peering out of the front of the truck, Len squinted into the sunlight, noticing what Harrison was referring to. The street very quickly became completely congested with cars ahead of them, each at various angles that totally blocked their path. That wasn’t the most concerning thing however. As Len looked even closer, he realized that each of the cars looked to have exploded somehow, either the hood or the trunk of them blown out in some way.
“We’re not going to be able to drive through that,” Harrison spoke up again, his previous question not yet answered by anyone.