Thomas smiled.
“And who taught you how to tend your crops?”
“That would be my father. He had a farm in Montana. We used to go there in the summers. He had horses, goats, pigs, sheep, and chickens. And hundreds of acres of potatoes, corn and wheat. He was basically an expert in vegetables. He taught me all there is to know about corn, tomatoes, wheat, eggplants, and potatoes. He taught me when to sow them, when to reap them… oh, memories, memories. He also taught me how to ride. My favorite horse was a stallion named Thunder. He was black and very beautiful, not to mention gentle like a puppy. It was a real pleasure riding him. I used to ride him for hours on the hills behind daddy’s farm, admiring the mountains in the distance.”
Martha sighed.
“It was also at my daddy’s farm that I met Steve. I was fourteen and he was sixteen, when my father hired him to take care of his horses. The moment my father introduced me to him, it was love at first sight. Boy, he was handsome. I immediately knew that he will be my Prince Charming. And so it was. Three days after we met, he asked me on a date. And six years later, he proposed to me. I said “yes” without any hesitation. And we lived together for thirty five beautiful years. What can I say…? God truly blessed me.”
“Yeah, I think that’s true,” Thomas said. “I’m curious, however… Most people, after The Alignment, decided to grow their crops underground, under artificial light. What made you decide otherwise?”
“Yes, that’s true. Most people did that, indeed. Most of them. I am among those who didn’t. I am among those who still believe that the natural sunlight is the best for my veggies, no matter how little we get nowadays. Artificial light is foolish. Even though it makes them grow beautiful and strong, it still doesn’t have the necessary properties to make them rich in nutrients and tasty. It’s the sunlight that does that.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s fair enough,” Thomas said.
Suddenly, they could hear the entrance door opening and closing. They both looked toward the house and saw Julie coming to them. Thomas ran at her.
“Julie, what the hell are you doing out of bed? You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I rested long enough,” Julie said. “Now, I wanna make myself useful. Martha, let me help you with the corn.”
“There is really no need, child. I can do it all by myself.”
“Please, Martha. I wanna pay you back for saving my life. Let me help you.”
Martha was quiet for a moment.
“All right,” she said. “I guess you could help me.”
“Okay, then. Let’s get to it.”
***
From the dark woods, a rebel was looking at them through his binoculars. He could see Thomas, Julie and Martha reaping the corn. He smiled, with satisfaction in his heart. He was happy that he could deliver good news to Drake.
***
Finally, there was daylight. Steve took advantage of that and decided to start chopping some wood. He headed to the basement and took his axe. Then, he got outside and went to a pile of woods in the back of the cabin.
Thomas got out and saw Steve chopping wood.
“Chopping wood in the summer?”
“Well… It’s never too early to get ready for the winter. Better too early than too late.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
Steve swung the axe.
“You know, Thomas, you never did tell me everything about you. You never told me where you’re from, who your parents were, where have you lived before The Alignment. Come on, I’m curious. Tell me more, tell me more.”
“Well, Steve, what can I tell you… I was born in Boston. And I had a very happy childhood there, until I was six. That’s how old I was when The Alignment hit. My parents owned a private clinic in Boston. They were very influential people. Almost half the city went to their clinic to treat themselves. And people trusted their clinic because it never used tricks to enhance its profits. No, sir. My parents were not that kind of people. They were the kind of people who cared about people’s trust in them and knew that if people’s trust faded, they would fade too.
My parents were pretty wealthy. Which is why they made sure I had the happiest childhood possible. Everything I wanted, they would offer me: the coolest toys, the coolest clothes, the best food, and so on. I had the most beautiful first six years of my life spent in that city with those people.
Then, The Alignment came. I still can’t figure out how we survived the waters that hit the city head on after the first earthquakes. But, well, we did. We found a door, which we used as a boat, and rowed through the city, trying to find a way to get out of it. I still remember the dead bodies floating on the water and my dad trying not to hit them as he rowed through the city toward less flooded areas. I’ll never forget the expressions on those poor people’s faces. Sheer fear, terror at its highest. Expressions which could tell of their knowledge of their imminent death. Some poor bastards had their eyes plucked by crows, sitting on top of them like the Grim Reaper itself, victorious for claiming another soul. All around us, buildings destroyed in just a matter of seconds, like they were nothing. I guess that was Mother Nature’s way of saying that man is powerless against her, something which she just decided to show us. I never forgot those images. And I never will. It’s one of those things that stays with you forever, no matter how hard you try to shake it. That follows you everywhere, like an obsessed stalker.
Anyway, after about two days, we managed to get out of the city, on a hill nearby, where the waters couldn’t reach. We met hundreds of thousands of survivors there. Desperate people, some of them crying, some holding babies in their hands. Some were desperately walking across the camp, shouting the names of their loved ones in desperation, hoping that maybe, just maybe, the ones they were looking for will hear them from the distance and come to them. But, of course, that wasn’t happening. Many of them lost someone dear to them when The Alignment occurred and the earthquakes and the tsunamis hit. I could see children, all alone, walking across the camp, crying and desperately calling for their mothers, fathers, brothers, or other relatives. That’s when I knew, as young as I was, that humanity lost all hope. The hope for regeneration, the hope for recovery, the hope for starting all over. Everything was lost. One day… just one day matured me from a six-year-old kid who just yesterday was playing with his little toy cars and action figures to a full, grown up man, who suddenly understood what loss, pain and hopelessness were. That was the day I lost my childhood.
The army soon came and tried to make a bit of order among the chaos that rose from the quakes and tsunamis. They started sharing food, water, blankets, clothes and tents for the needy. My parents, among other people, volunteered to help the soldiers in giving people comfort and hope. I can still see my mom and dad in front of my eyes like it was yesterday… walking across the camp, spreading food, water, blankets, clothes… and hope. Lots and lots of hope. You see, my parents were gifted people. Both of them had the gift of speech. Hell, they wouldn’t have made it in the business world if they weren’t. They knew exactly what to tell people at the exact right moment, in order to make them feel like they owned the situation. That’s how they ended up making hundreds of thousands of people trust their clinic. And that is exactly what they used that day to encourage the scared crowd. They knew exactly what to tell them in order to make them feel comfortable and give them a glimmer of hope, as little as it was. They used to hug people, give them a shoulder to cry on, telling them comforting words, to make them forget that the Apocalypse was upon them. Those were my parents. Big folks with big hearts.
I also remember that preachers came among the crowds, in order to show people that, allegedly, God did not abandon them. Some had the decency to gather people in big crowds in front of them and make them sing and pray, in an attempt to encourage them and make them believe that God is with them, while others were stupid enough to start talking to people about the Apocalypse, the seven seals, the Four Horsemen, and God knows w
hat other biblical bologna that got people even more panicked than they already were.
After about a month, the army evacuated the camp and the people, realizing that they had nothing left in Boston, started spreading wherever their eyes guided them and their feet took them. My parents and I started heading south, along the coast.”
“Where are your parents now?”
“The rebels killed them twenty years ago. God rest their kind souls.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”
Steve turned around and saw Simon coming their way.
“I was looking for you two,” Simon said. “Martha sent me to tell you that…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a bullet hit him exactly in the right lung, causing a splatter of blood to gush out of his body. He collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.
“Get down!” Steve yelled.
They got down on the ground, while a hail of bullets came toward them from the woods. The bullets hit the ground next to them, causing dust and soil to jump up.
“Let’s crawl behind the wood pile,” Steve said.
They both started crawling toward the wood pile, while bullets kept whizzing above them, some hitting the ground next to them.
They reached behind the wood pile and they sat up, leaning against it. The bullets kept flying next to them and some of them were now hitting the wood pile.
Martha and Julie were inside the cabin, cooking lunch. Julie was stirring the soup, while Martha was putting the dishes and the cutlery on the table. Suddenly, she stopped in the middle of her activity and seemed like she froze.
“Is something wrong?” Julie asked.
Martha lifted her hand, signaling Julie to be quiet.
“Do you hear that?” she asked.
Julie stopped working as well and focused.
“Is that…?” Julie said.
“Yes, that’s gunfire.”
“Holy shit!”
They both ran toward the door and opened it. As soon as they did that, bullets started hitting the wall and the door frame, close to them. The two women took cover next to the door, one to the door’s left, the other to the right.
“Cease fire! Cease fire!” a rebel yelled.
“Cease fire!” some of the rebels yelled for those too far to hear.
The rebels ceased fire.
“Thomas, Steve, are you okay?” Julie asked.
“We’re fine,” Thomas answered. “But Simon is hurt. Badly. He got one right in the lung. And now he is struggling to breathe.”
Simon, was, indeed, at the end of his strength. He was bleeding heavily and the fact that he got hit in the lung didn’t help either. He was coughing blood and he had to make a massive effort to gasp for the so necessary air.
“Shit!” Julie said.
Drake Junior came forward and yelled:
“I’m addressing to the owners of this fine house, which I’d hate to see destroyed. Our quarrel is not with you, folks. It’s your two guests that we want. The two siblings named Thomas and Julie.”
“Shit! How the fuck did they find us?” Thomas asked.
“Surrender your two guests to us and we will leave, never to return again. Refuse to, and you will die with them. The choice is yours. You have ten minutes to decide, as of right now. The clock is ticking, and I hope to God that you will make the right decision.”
Thomas looked at Simon, who was panting.
“Simon, look at me! Look at me!”
Simon raised his head upwards with a titanic effort and looked at Thomas.
“You’re gonna be just fine,” Thomas said.” We’ll get you out of here and we will patch your wound. You’re gonna get out of this, I promise you.”
“Thomas… promise me… you won’t get caught by… these shitheads. Promise me… that you’ll look out for your sister. Please… promise me!”
“I promise you, Simon. I promise you.”
“That’s… all I… wanted to hear.”
After saying that, his head collapsed on the back and his eyes became motionless.
“Simon, no! Simon! Simon!”
Thomas got up and tried to run toward Simon’s body, but Steve grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him back.
“Are you crazy?” he asked Thomas. “They’ll fill your ass with led if you go out in the open.”
“Then what are we supposed to do? Just sit our asses here and wait for them to get bored and leave?”
“No. Of course not. Listen to me…”
“You’ve got six more minutes left,” Drake Junior yelled.
“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do: on the count of three, we start running like crazy toward the house. Once there, we grab our weapons, find positions at the windows, and give them hell. What do you say?”
“No, Steve. This isn’t your fight. Hand us over to them and don’t jeopardize you and your family in the name of some strangers you’ve barely met.”
“Alright, first of all, this became my fight as well the moment those shitheads killed Simon, who was a good man and didn’t deserve this. Second… at this very moment, you and your sister are guests in my house, meaning that you’re my responsibility. Meaning that I’m not gonna let you die on my property.”
“Okay, then. Let’s give these assholes hell.”
“That’s my boy. Okay, on the count of three, we get up and run like crazy toward the house. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Okay. Here we go. One… two… three!”
The two got up and started running toward the house. The moment they got up, the rebels started firing at them. Bullets were whizzing next to them, some getting past them, and others hitting the ground next to them, while they were running toward the house entrance.
They got inside and closed the door behind them, while bullets hit the walls. As soon as they closed the door, some bullets started hitting the door as well. They took cover behind the walls, next to Martha and Julie. Suddenly, the guns went silent. Steve kneeled in front of the window and looked out.
“Simon?” Julie asked.
“Dead,” Thomas answered.
“Fucking sons of bitches.”
“You’ve got five more minutes left. Please make the right decision, for your sake,” Drake Junior yelled.
“Julie, Thomas, Martha, go grab your weapons. We’re gonna give these bastards hell,” Steve said.
Thomas, Julie, and Martha went to their rooms and took their weapons. Steve went to the basement and grabbed his. Then, he went for a shelf on the wall, where a big, metal briefcase was. He took the briefcase and went back upstairs, where Thomas, Julie and Martha were waiting for him in front of the two windows adjacent to the door. Once he got next to them, he put the briefcase down and opened it, revealing ammo clips and twelve grenades.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Thomas said, after seeing the content of the briefcase. “Where did you get those?”
“I found them in an army depot about five years ago. I’ve been keeping them for occasions just like this one. Now grab as much ammunition as you can and get ready.”
They each took a few clips and put them in their pockets. Then, they kneeled in front of the windows and pointed their guns outside, waiting for the rebels to make their move.
“You’ve got three more minutes to decide,” Drake Junior yelled. “Thomas, Julie, make no mistake. The cabin is surrounded from all sides. You can’t possibly run. Make no mistake. You will die here today. It’s up to you, however, how you will die. Surrender now and I promise you a quick death. A quick, efficient and painless bullet to the head. Resist, however, and I promise you the slowest, most painful death someone could suffer.”
“Interesting offer,” Julie said.
“Yeah. Couldn’t agree more,” Thomas said.
“I don’t know about you, big bro, but I plan on going down fighting. No way I’m gonna die like a coward. And I also plan to take as many of them with me as possible.”
“The feeling is mutual, sis.
The feeling is mutual.”
“Two more minutes, folks. Two more minutes for you to make the right decision,” Drake Rim yelled again. “Today is a very beautiful day for me, you know. I finally get to end the family who killed my father. I get to kill the offspring of those who prevented me from knowing my father. My family will be avenged and the universe will finally be balanced. Can’t you understand that this is how it was meant to be? The universe cannot and will not let me allow the son and daughter of those who killed my father to live. Where would the balance be in that? Where would the justice be? There is a certain way of things in this world, Thomas and Julie. And the fact that you are alive disrupts it. Vengeance will be mine today. And my father will finally rest in peace.”
“Is it just me, or this asshole is crazy?” Julie said.
“Well, he is the leader of the rebels. What would you expect?” Thomas replied.
“One more minute, ladies and gentlemen. You have one more minute to make the right choice and surrender your guests to me. If not, we will get inside your house and take them by force. And we will kill you as well, for not obeying our demands. So I suggest you cooperate, if you wanna live to see another sunrise.”
“Why do I have the feeling that he will kill us anyway, no matter if we surrender you or not?” Martha said.
“Steve, Martha… it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to know you,” Thomas said. “In case we won’t make it today, and I doubt we will, I want you to know that you are good, decent folks, and we were lucky to have known you. You are a rare breed nowadays.”
“Thank you, Thomas. We appreciate it,” Martha said.
“And we were lucky to have you as guests in our house, Thomas. You and your sister are a rare type of people as well.”
“Thank you,” Thomas said. “We appreciate these words.”
“Thank you, indeed,” Julie said. “Thank you for saving my life and thank you for the most delicious meals I have ever eaten in my whole life.”
“The pleasure was all ours, child,” Martha said, smiling.
Dark Apocalypse: A Post-Apocalyptic Family Saga Page 28