by Hunt, Jack
She didn’t reply, so he gave Ryan a nudge. “Tell her we need to leave.”
Ryan went out but only made it to the door. “Alex.”
Alex looked over to see a man entering the room pointing a rifle at Ryan.
12
California
Beads of sweat rolled down Elisha’s back. The heat of the night felt like a thick blanket. Summer in California was brutal without air conditioning but buried below rubble it was suffocating. Exhausted from banging metal against metal, she slumped down, defeated. “I need to go.”
“Yeah, I do too.”
“No, I mean, I need to go.”
Silence. “Right. Well here’s the bottle.”
“No, I mean…”
“Oh. Shit.”
“Exactly.”
Food, water, bullets, and medicine were priorities, but hygiene was like an afterthought — and yet if anything was going to kill people, it was germs, and in an enclosed space like this, it was about to get real nasty. As a kid, Elisha had been camping a few times with her family and there had been the odd occasion she had to retreat into the woods to relieve herself but at least they were prepared. Nothing could have prepared her for this. She dug into her pocket looking for tissue, anything she could use besides tearing off a layer of clothing.
Nothing.
She felt around the rock, hoping, praying that there might be some loose material but it was just grit and dirt. “Well, look, you can use my top.”
“That’s real noble.”
“Yeah I thought so.”
They both chuckled as she crawled through the hole, wincing as her bad arm struck a piece of protruding rebar. She bit down hard as tears welled. How much longer could they endure being in this pit of hell?
“I have a new appreciation for my grandfather who was in the military.”
“Yeah?” she replied.
“He used to tell us stories of bombings, structures collapsing and being trapped.”
“How did he survive?”
“The army dug him out.”
She chuckled. “Well we could use them about now.”
Their prison was separated by a small opening in what they now called the wall. It was what had kept them apart when she woke up. Climbing over rubble she found a spot as far away as possible and tried to perch herself near the opening of the crevice she’d nearly slipped into. She tore at his shirt with her teeth and pulled with her good hand. It wasn’t ideal but it would have to do. The only upside to the situation was it was pitch dark so he couldn’t see her.
“You mind making some noise?” she said.
“Oh. Right. Sure.” Liam began banging a piece of metal against a chunk of rock while she took care of business. Within minutes she returned though this time even more self-conscious than before.
“You said that woman in the national park had a phone on her. Do you?” He asked.
“If I did we wouldn’t be having a conversation in the dark,” she said.
Liam brushed past her.
“Uh, Liam, I don’t think you want to go in there.”
He didn’t reply and she figured he needed to go to. Except that wasn’t why he vanished. She could hear him moving rocks and groaning as if he was reaching for something. A minute or two later he returned, and a light switched on illuminating his face. He was holding a cell phone.
“How did you…”
“The dead woman. I don’t know why I didn’t check sooner.”
He climbed past her and inched his way into this tight spot, in an area where he said he’d seen the band of light coming through. There, he shone the light upward. “Reverse psychology. I figure if we could see light entering in the day, maybe someone will see this light shining up now that it’s night.”
“And your father said you wouldn’t amount to anything,” Elisha said.
He laughed as they raised their voices for the umpteenth time to try and get attention. “Help! Can anyone hear us?”
No response. Either the concrete, wood and debris was muffling their cries or there was no one alive. “How do you think it happened? The event I mean?”
“Does it matter?” Liam said. “It’s not getting us out of this situation.”
She crawled over to him. “How much power is left in the phone?”
He brought it back down and took a look. “Twenty-two percent. There’s no signal.”
After sitting in darkness for so long her eyes ached at the brightness. As Liam continued to call out and hold the phone high she wondered what had become of her parents. That last conversation with her mother. Elisha touched the St. Christopher around her neck. She must have been going out of her mind with worry. Had the event affected other states? How many? And had anyone survived? Was this global or just the U.S.? “If we get out of here, how far away is your parents’ home?”
“On the other side of town, why?”
“We might need their help.”
“If they’re alive.” He strained his voice as he tried to get his arm higher up. “And even if they are, I don’t expect my father to be of much help. He’ll probably send me away.”
“Did you ever get along with him?”
“Yeah. When I was kid. Between the ages of six and ten, after that we….” He trailed off then said, “Look, don’t expect much. I don’t.” There was more to his story but like Elisha, he wasn’t ready to divulge everything. She joined him in calling out loudly. They had been doing this for a little over forty minutes when a voice replied.
“Hello. Anyone down there?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Hey. Help!” they both cried out.
Hope vanished when they heard him walk away. For a moment they sat there listening, waiting for him to come back but he didn’t.
“Do you think he heard us?”
They raised their voices again and put even more effort into banging metal, and keeping the light raised. But as the minutes passed their hope soon faded like a lit match.
Faith soon turned to anger, this time, however, it was Liam. “Damn it!” He tossed the piece of metal he had in his hand away from him and shut off the phone. “We are never getting out of here.”
“Don’t give up.”
“I’m just admitting what you said in the beginning.”
“I was wrong. We need to keep…”
She was replying when they heard movement above. Liam turned on the light and they looked at each other for a second and then he returned to his position of holding the light up. “Hey. Can you hear us?”
“Heard you the first time. Just needed to get someone to help lift the debris. We’ll have you out soon.”
13
North Carolina
Ryan backed into the room with his hands raised. The guy holding a bolt-action rifle looked every bit your common man. A buttoned-up blue shirt, light-colored pants and dress shoes. What little hair he had was swept back at the sides.
“Just go steady now. We’re not—”
Before the man could reply, Sophie emerged out of the darkness and struck him across the back of the head with the tire iron. He hit the ground, his head bounced off the vinyl and the rifle slid across the floor a few feet from Alex.
“I heard him enter from the rear,” she said.
Alex scooped up the rifle and went to the window and noticed the SUV was still there, someone in the driver’s seat. “Must have served as a distraction.”
The man groaned.
“He’s still alive.” Ryan used a flashlight and rifled through his pockets and pulled out a wallet. He opened it and tossed out a few cards, then stopped and looked at one. A smile formed on his face. “I think you might have to confess before the end of the day. David Richardson.” He held up the card. “The pastor of this church.” He let out a laugh. “Well goddamn, if that is not funny I don’t know what is.”
“Ryan!”
“What? You are the one who knocked him out.”
“Must have seen or heard us break in.” It then dawned on Ale
x. “You might want to tie him up just in case he wakes. Wait here.” He hurried out of the room and went to the rear where the pastor had entered. He slipped out and under the cover of darkness made his way around the SUV. In the tree line he scanned the terrain before jogging over to the driver’s side with the rifle up. He tapped the barrel on the window, keeping his distance and staying at an angle just in case she was carrying a gun. The window came down and he instructed the lady to shut off the vehicle and take out the keys and put them on top. “That’s it. Now step out and slowly head on in.”
“I don’t want any trouble.”
“Nor do we. That’s why we’re taking your vehicle.”
“But… where’s my husband?”
“Inside.” He nudged her toward the church but not before scooping the keys up and pocketing them. Once inside they made their way to the front where she noticed her husband bleeding at the back of his head. Sophie had tied his hands with a belt.
“Don’t worry, he’s alive,” Ryan said.
Crouched beside her husband, she looked at them from behind a curtain of tears. “He just wanted to protect the church.”
“I’m sure he did. And I would be lying to say that I don’t feel bad about this because I do, but he didn’t give us much choice, and well, we have to get going. I’m sorry.” He gave a gesture to the other two and they backed out leaving the woman sobbing over her husband. Alex inhaled deeply as he fired up the SUV. He stuck it in reverse and backed out, the headlights washing over the building. It was a Ford Escape, three quarters of a tank full, not the most reliable but compared to their mangled heap it was perfect.
He stopped and collected the canister of gas they’d left in the truck.
They drove on for another twenty minutes until they saw signs for Tarboro.
Although he wanted Sophie to take over driving, she was too shaken up by what occurred, and was still reeling from the guilt of knocking out a man of God.
“Please just pull off. Find somewhere. I don’t care where it is. I just want to get a few hours’ shut-eye.”
“I’m getting hungry,” Ryan added.
In the distance, fire licked up into the night sky revealing the same fate other cities had suffered. It was as if the entire country had come under attack from bombings but how was that even possible?
Ryan tapped him on the shoulder. “What about a farmhouse?”
“After what we just went through?”
“It’s that or sleeping in the car, neither are safe to me.”
He drove on into Tarboro and their eyes widened at the sight of the devastation. Though unlike other towns and cities they’d passed through, police and the community were out trying to improve the situation. Not all of society would turn to crime, or prey upon the weak. In some ways it lifted his spirit, in others it made him concerned. Where people were, trouble wasn’t that far away. Up ahead was a roadblock with a number of police cruisers directing traffic. While he didn’t think they would have the time to run the plates or ask for his license and registration, he wasn’t taking any chances. Alex veered into an automotive dealership where the lot was full of brand-new vehicles. If ever there was a place to blend in, he figured this would be it. At least it would serve as a pit stop while he gathered his thoughts.
He slid the SUV into a spot alongside a worn-out Kia and Toyota in the used section then killed the engine. Sophie turned away from him in the passenger seat and tried to get some shut-eye but he knew she wouldn’t sleep. She just wanted to avoid a conversation or better put, an argument. That suited him fine. They were as bad as one another, picking at the seams of each other’s faults all in the name of trying to be right. They were different and yet very much the same.
Fire reflected off the windshield as he gazed at the town. He opened his door and got out to the smell of smoke.
“Where you going?” Ryan asked.
“I need some air.”
He shut the door and sat on the front of the vehicle thinking about Elisha and what Ryan had said about whether she was alive or dead. He didn’t want to believe the worst. He couldn’t. Losing two kids would destroy him. There would be no coming back from that. Of that he was sure.
Ryan appeared at his side and perched on the edge of the Toyota. He put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
“Little young to be smoking?”
He didn’t reply other than to scoff.
“Does Sophie know?”
“Not yet. You going to lecture me?”
“Not my place, kid.”
Silence stretched between them.
Ryan leaned back looking content. “You hate her?”
“Who?”
“Sophie.”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t hate her.”
“Sure do argue a lot.”
“That we do,” he said giving a nod.
Ryan sucked on his cigarette; it glowed a hot orange. He blew smoke out the corner of his mouth. “You think we can take a browse through town, see if we can get some food?”
“In the morning.”
“I’m hungry now.”
“Well, you’ll have to wait.”
“Or I can go by myself.”
“Not happening,” Alex replied.
“Why?”
“For the same reason you asked before. She’ll give me heck and I’ve already had enough of that for one day.”
“So go with me.”
“Geesh, you don’t give up, do you?”
Silence again.
“Saw a waffle place across the road.”
“And I saw cops farther down. Can’t go breaking into places.”
“You didn’t kick up a fuss back at the church.”
“That was different.”
“How so?”
“Ryan. Drop it.”
He sighed and looked back through the windshield at Sophie. She was sleeping or at least had her eyes closed. “You still care for her, don’t you?”
“Ah man. You’re not going to let up until we go look for something to eat, are you?”
Ryan smiled. “Nope.”
Alex turned and opened the door. “Hey Sophie. Sophie?”
She made the same groan she used to make when he told her she was snoring. He got out and hit the key fob to lock the doors. Sophie never flinched which meant she was out for sure. With an increase in police presence, some of the community roaming the streets, and zero people in the lot, he figured it was safe enough to dart across the road — at least they could go and speak to the cops and see if a community center had been set up to assist and provide food and water.
They took off at a jog and he glanced back at the car, one last time.
“Let’s make this quick.”
14
California
He didn’t resemble your average cop, barring the short dark hair. Roughly middle-aged, he had sharp features, fine lines and there was a tattoo of a king’s crown on the left side of his neck. Elisha noticed ink beneath his sleeves as he reached down and pulled her out. Still, he had come to their aid, taken the time to uncover them and in her eyes — he was an angel.
“Anyone else down there?” he asked shining his flashlight. He sounded Latino. The guy that had helped was large, shaven head, glasses, he looked more like a bear especially the way he lumbered and tossed a piece of wood across the yard. He was wearing an orange volunteer vest with “Search and Rescue” in white on the back.
“No, just us,” Liam replied. “By the way, I’m Liam, and this is…”
“Elisha,” she added before he could finish. “Elisha Reid.”
“Thanks, Andre. I’ll get them back if you want to keep looking.”
He gave a nod.
Then the cop turned back to her. “Officer Garcia. I know your mother.”
“You do?” She offered back a puzzled expression.
“She had a break-in a few months back. I got the call.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember that.”
He po
inted to her arm which she was holding. “Broken?”
She nodded.
“Well we should get that seen to.” He motioned for them to follow. It was then that she soaked in the sight of the world around her. Though it was dark, it was clear to see that what had once been her mother’s home was now gone, nothing more than rubble. In fact the entire street looked like a war zone, a bright orange glow arced over the town, flames licking up into the night sky.
Elisha broke into a jog to catch up to Garcia who was already ten steps ahead. “You guys took a long time to find us,” Liam said.
“Doing the best we can. If it hadn’t been for that light you were shining up, you might have been there longer.”
“What happened?” Elisha asked.
“Some kind of attack. From what we’ve been able to discern it’s foreign. But there isn’t a lot of information that’s been released. And as you can see everyone has their hands full so that’s where our focus is right now.” He directed them to get into the back of his black-and-white cruiser. “You guys are lucky. We’re mostly picking dead bodies out of the rubble.”
Once inside, he got on a radio but it wasn’t the one in his car. It was a separate portable handset. “Found two more alive, bringing them over. Will need a medic on hand.”
“Roger that,” a voice replied back before he dropped the handset on the seat and started the vehicle.
“Are you taking me to the hospital?”
“No, the community center. The hospital is gone. Not much of anything out there.”
“Gone?”
“Burned to the ground. We’re using the community center and one of the churches. It’s the same places we had for the 2017 fires.”
The cruiser rumbled to life and he slowly maneuvered it around vast amounts of debris. It was hard to tell where the sidewalk began and finished. As they drove through a steel and concrete graveyard with vehicles on fire, homes and businesses flattened, Elisha looked out the window, her mouth agape. It looked like a tornado had ripped through the town and devoured everything in its path.
