by Kip Nelson
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Brent, not with the way the world is heading. It’d be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I can’t risk putting you and Michelle in danger.”
Brent nodded numbly, in meek understanding.
“What are we going to do?” he asked.
That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? The only answer Darren wanted to give was ‘survive’, but that was so nebulous and vague it didn’t mean anything. His kids were going to look to him for the plan. He was their father. He was supposed to have all the answers.
When Darren was younger he had assumed adults had everything figured out just because they always seemed to know what to do. They were big and tall and strong. They had money. They had jobs. And they were the caretakers of the world. At some point he assumed that he would be given the secrets they held, but if those secrets had existed, they never had been bequeathed to him. When he reached adulthood, he realized nobody knew any more than anyone else, and everyone was struggling to find their way through life.
Having a plan was just an illusion presented to children by their parents. It was misplaced confidence.
“We’re going to stay here for a little while and try stockpiling food and anything else we need. But at some point, we’re going to have to head out of here. It was scary in the city tonight, and the longer this goes on, the more I’m worried people are going to pose more of a threat. Not everyone is going to play by the rules like we are. They might look at our house and assume there’s something to steal. I was thinking we should head into the woods outside of town and find a good place to camp. It’ll be like a long trip,” Darren said with a smile in an effort to put a positive spin on it.
He failed.
“What about my friends?” Brent asked.
“I’m afraid you probably won’t see them again. I don’t know. We might run into them, but their families will have their own plans.”
From the look on Brent’s face, Darren could tell the reality of the situation just was beginning to sink in.
“I know this is scary, and it’s okay to be afraid. This is a lot of change, but I know that we can cope because we have each other, okay? Nothing is going to come between us. We’ve been through a lot already, and if we could survive the last year, we can survive anything.”
Darren pulled Brent in close to him, holding his son tightly. Darren blinked back stinging tears. Danger was all around, and the last thing he wanted was for his children to be placed in the same sorts of situations that he had been through over the course of the last hour or so. He wanted them to be safe, but he knew that wasn’t totally under his control.
It would have been so easy to tell Brent that they were going to leave, or that they were going to stay, but each of those options brought dangers with them. In this house everything seemed calm and peaceful, but outside there were people raging, wanting to take things that weren’t theirs, wanting to lash out at a world that had forsaken them. Darren had to prevent his children from being caught in the crossfire.
“I’m so proud of you, Brent. And we’re going to be with each other every step of the way, right to the end of the line,” Darren said.
“It’s like when Mom left,” Brent said.
Darren was a little surprised at this. Brent often talked about his mother, but rarely talked about the day she had left. It had left scars that never would heal. It was just another reason for Darren to be angry at Stacie. Sometimes he didn’t even care about the pain she had caused him, he was angry at her for inflicting so much hurt on the kids.
“Yes, I suppose it is,” Darren said.
“You told me the same thing then. You said that you would never leave.”
“And I won’t, Brent. I promise you that.”
Brent was about to say something else when he was silenced by loud voices outside. Darren gasped and looked outside.
People were near.
Chapter 7
Darren pressed a finger to his lips, indicating for Brent to be quiet. He gestured for Brent to get to the floor. Darren slunk down to the carpet as well and made his way to the window. He had assumed it would have taken longer for the anger of the city to reach here, but evidently his estimations had been off.
He crawled to the window and peered out, keeping as low as possible just in case anyone was looking for someone to hurt. Darren saw two men out in the street, arguing loudly, although their words were muffled by the windows. One of the men had long hair and was gesticulating wildly. The other one was wearing a leather jacket, jabbing a finger toward Long Hair.
Darren watched with interest, hoping the men would be so consumed with their own argument that they wouldn’t realize they were in a neighborhood. Most people wouldn’t understand that this was an EMP and the world had changed irrevocably. They’d still be thinking it was a power outage, and a lot of unsavory characters would take that as an opportunity to loot family homes, knowing it would take longer for the cops to get out here, if at all.
Darren glanced over at the television, Brent’s PS4, all the DVDs and Blu-rays they had accumulated over the years. Darren used to feel pride when he looked at them. Now he only felt sick. They were just bait for people who didn’t know better. They served no purpose any longer. They were completely worthless. Darren wondered how many people were going to be attacked for defending their possessions, possessions that no longer had any worth or function.
It was grimly ironic.
Brent had crawled up behind Darren and was peering out the window as well.
“What’s happening?” he asked in a hushed whisper.
“I have no idea,” Darren said.
He reached toward the small of his back and wrapped his hand around the gun that rested there, ready to draw it if need be. He didn’t especially like the idea of having to use it against another person, but if it was a choice between his kid and someone else, there was no choice.
The two men were getting angrier and closing the distance between one another. Long Hair pushed the other man away, which only made him angrier, if that was possible. He stamped his foot on the ground like a bull about to charge, and then out came a gun.
Darren instantly let go of his. He wanted to shield Brent from what was about to happen, but it all happened too quickly.
As soon as the gun appeared, Long Hair looked shocked, and then charged toward the other man to wrestle it away. A bright flash illuminated both men for an instant. Then the bang came. Long Hair staggered, holding his stomach, then fell backward. The other man looked shocked. He put his hands to his head, one of them still holding the gun, and moved toward his fallen companion. He took one look at the dying body, then fled, swallowed by the shadows.
Darren pulled Brent’s head down, but it was too late. He’d already seen the murder, and Darren couldn’t do anything to take that back.
It was going to be impossible to shield his kids from these horrors.
“Damn it,” he said.
The night was silent again, but the echo of the gunshot trilled in his mind. He knew this wasn’t going to be the last murder, and if this one could happen right outside his home, they weren’t safe. He’d at least hoped to wait until the morning.
From upstairs, they heard Michelle wailing. The gunshot evidently had woken her up.
“Damn it,” Darren cursed again, hanging his head. “I need to go explain what’s going on to your sister. I want you to go into the kitchen and look at what food we have. See how much we can take with us. I’m thinking canned food, bread, the essentials, okay?”
Brent nodded. He staggered to the kitchen, numb. He’d seen something that nobody ever should see, outside of a movie. Darren rose and looked out the window. Long Hair wasn’t moving. He just was staring up at the stars through lifeless eyes.
“Daddy!” Michelle called out, in between her sobs.
Darren tore himself away from the window and raced upstairs, bursting into the room. Michelle was bunched up at the head of her be
d, hugging her pillow, one arm wrapped around Applejack. Darren fell into the bed and wrapped her up in a tight hug. Her head nestled into him, and her youthful warmth gave him strength. This was his happy place, being so close with her and Brent. His heart beat powerfully, with a determination to keep them safe, no matter what it took.
“It’s okay, Sweetie, Daddy is here. Everything is okay.”
“The loud noise scared me,” she whimpered, although the sobbing had stopped as soon as Darren had scooped her into his arms. She was still sleepy, and her eyes were closed.
“I know, Honey. It was a loud noise. It scared me too, but everything is okay. How about we go downstairs?” he said.
She nodded, and by the time he had reached the foot of the stairs she was fast asleep again. Darren took her into the living room and laid her on the couch, pulling a blanket over her. Then he picked up the candle on the coffee table, and went to the kitchen. Brent was standing in the middle of the room, leaning against the sink.
“You okay, buddy?” Darren asked.
Brent turned to face him. He looked pale, then his eyes widened. He turned back to the sink and emptied the contents of his stomach, coughing and heaving heavily. Darren grabbed a kitchen towel and went to his son, rubbing his back gently. Out of habit he turned on the faucet. No water poured out. Only then did he realize the water too was cut, and could do nothing but watch the vomit fill the sink. The sharp scent reached up into his nostrils and he gagged, trying not to breathe it in.
“I’m sorry,” Brent said.
Darren grabbed a pitcher of water out of the refrigerator, and brought his son some clear water. He poured the water in his hands while Brent splashed some to his face, gurgling it and spitting out the remnants of the sick in his mouth. He groaned, and then took the kitchen towel from Darren, wiping his face with it. All this time Darren was repeating that it was okay.
“I’m such an idiot,” Brent said, cursing himself.
“No, you’re not,” Darren said.
“You told me we had to be strong, and then I go and do something like this,” Brent said, scowling at the vomit in the sink.
“It’s a natural human reaction. What we just saw…that’s not normal, and you’re right to react like this,” Darren said.
“But you’re not,” Brent said.
“No, but I feel like it. I’m too busy trying to focus on what to do next,” Darren said.
At that point there was another loud gunshot. Darren moved to the kitchen window and looked outside. He couldn’t see anyone moving, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. More gunshots followed. This house wasn’t exactly a fortress. The city and its suburbs soon were going to be teeming with lawless people. Darren didn’t want to be here when that happened.
“Brent, we’ve got to get out of here. We’ve got to get as far away from the city as possible. The best thing we can do is take our supplies, get to the woods, and make a new life for ourselves.”
“But Dad, what if the world does go back to normal?” Brent said.
“Then we’ll come back here. But I don’t want to be here if there are going to be madmen with guns around. I know what these people are like. I’ve seen them up close and personal. Once they get an idea in their head, they’re going to run with it, and nobody will be able to stop them. If they want to take what they can get they’re not going to care that people are in here. Some might not even care that there are kids here.”
“But we have a gun.”
Darren paused before he spoke. He felt the gun pressing against him.
“Brent, I don’t want us to rely on the gun. This is a last resort, and I’d prefer to use it to scare off people. I don’t want to become like those men we saw tonight. Sometimes the best way to protect yourself from danger is to remove yourself from the dangerous situation in the first place. I’d rather be somewhere where I didn’t have to use the gun at all than rely on it to defend ourselves.”
There was another gunshot in the distance. It seemed as though as soon as the first one had rung out, more had followed. Millions of Americans owned guns, and many of them had been looking for an excuse to use them. Darren didn’t have a problem with those people owning guns, but he knew that one stray bullet was enough to tear apart a life, and he wasn’t going to place his kids in that situation.
Brent wiped his mouth and nodded, acknowledging he understood what Darren had said.
“Come on then, let’s rummage through these cupboards,” Darren said.
He and Brent got to work looking through the kitchen cupboards. Once again, Darren was astounded at how much he just didn’t need. The mass media had done a hell of a job convincing modern society that so much was necessary. Darren didn’t have room for things such as herbs and spices, or sauces. Anything that wasn’t necessary had to be discarded, no matter how much he liked his BBQ sauce.
His pack still had a bit of room left in it, and he probably could shoulder another bag. Brent could carry a smaller backpack, but Darren sorely was aware that Michelle wouldn’t be able to help them in this regard. In fact, she was another weight that Darren had to consider. They needed to do a fair bit of walking, and at some point, Michelle would need to be carried.
Darren looked at the food in front of them and realized they wouldn’t be able to take two thirds of it. He sighed as he and Brent got down to the task of sorting it out.
The canned food was the priority, for that would last the longest. Anything fresh and cold would go bad quickly, so there wasn’t much point in them taking it. It was shame too, because there had been a steak Darren had been longing to tuck into. Anything in the fridge had to be left here, because without proper storage it was going to go bad. However, Darren did make a point to take all the fruit. It was important that they try to keep healthy and have a good intake of vitamins, especially Michelle.
“Dad, what are we going to do if this food runs out?” Brent asked.
The food was going to run out, and probably more quickly than either of them imagined. Darren spoke as he sorted things into two piles, those they were taking, and those they were leaving behind.
“We’ll have to forage, but we can fish and hunt. It’ll be an adventure, like we’re people in the old days, having to face the full force of nature to survive. I’m sure you’ve played plenty of games like this.”
“Those are just games though,” Brent said.
Darren was pleased that his son could tell the difference.
“Are you okay carrying on with this while I go get a couple of bags?” Darren asked. Brent nodded, although he still looked a little shaken. Darren didn’t blame him.
Darren poked his head into the living room. Michelle still was sleeping soundly. Then he went to another room and rummaged through their camping gear for a couple of sturdy bags, and anything else he could find.
Then he stopped. His hands were shaking. He rubbed them together and closed his eyes. He kept seeing the fires in the city, hearing the gunshots. The world had gone mad.
He had to sit down and focus on his breathing. His lungs burned, and his heart raced. It was all almost too much to bear. There were so many things he had to take care of, and he wasn’t sure if he could do any of them.
He’d felt the same way when he had read Stacie’s note. He almost couldn’t believe it. It felt as though somebody had stabbed him. He’d fallen to the floor, the note nestled in the palm of his hand. The words swirled around his head in a string of mocking laughter. At that moment, he didn’t believe he had what it took to go on.
Then Brent had walked into the kitchen and Darren had to explain what was going on.
Brent and Michelle, was who he had to focus on. His love for them was the most powerful force on Earth, and with that he knew he could take on anything. Closing his eyes, he focused on his breathing and calmed himself down. The world was ending, but his family would go on. That was the only thing that mattered.
Darren took a few deep breaths and was relieved to see his hands no l
onger were shaking. He was exhausted, still cold from the storm, and he was hungry. He focused on the mission at hand and stuffed some more equipment into one of the bags. Then he hauled them out of the room and took them back to the kitchen. He took a tent with him, and some sleeping bags. The nights were going to get cold, and he knew that once they left this place, it was unlikely they ever would be back.
Darren didn’t want to leave anything they needed behind.
Chapter 8
When Darren returned to the kitchen his stomach began rumbling.
“Brent, I know you might not be hungry now, but you should try to eat. Feel free to have anything from the fridge since we can’t take that with us. We’ll take the eggs, and maybe we can fit some cereal somewhere.” Darren could see from Brent’s expression that he didn’t really feel up to eating yet, which wasn’t a surprise considering he just had thrown up his stomach contents, but Darren urged him to try.
Darren walked over to the food and ravenously tore apart some meat like a savage animal before he came to his senses and made himself a sandwich. It seemed surreal that he would be making a sandwich when the world was crashing down around him, but that was the situation in which he found himself.
“You carry on here. Start filling up the bags but try distributing the weight evenly. We’re going to have carry these a long way, so try imagining how they’re going to feel on your back when you’re hungry and aching and tired. I’m going to take some cereal into your sister and try figuring out a way to make all this make sense to her,” Darren said.
He pulled out a bowl, Michelle’s favorite special My Little Pony bowl, and filled it up with chocolate flakes. Then he poured milk into the bowl, watching the white liquid turn chocolate brown. Michelle always was mesmerized by the way the milk changed color. He grabbed a small spoon and took it into the living room, then knelt on the floor beside Michelle.