The Son of Man

by CW Johnson

  “Well, sort of….”

  Todd stood, pushed a log into the fire and slid back into the sleeping bag with Maria. “Is this the guy I—”

  “He’s the guy you punched,” Maria said, frowning.

  “Whew,” Todd grunted, staring into the fire. “Well then, why didn’t he—”

  “I don’t know.” She said quickly. “You were very, very lucky.”

  Todd sat silent for a time. “I’ve been working out…” he said finally.

  “I don’t think that’s it.”

  “I’ve been in prison, you know….”

  She grinned up at him. “I don’t think that’s it either.”

  He smiled back and returned his attention to the fire. “I saw this guy. He’s quite a guy.”

  “Yeah, he is,” Maria said softly.

  “You two were together for how long?”

  “A while.”

  “Do you think he’s…you know, good looking?”

  “Oh yeah.” Maria said, rolling her eyes.

  “Did you ever…uh…”

  Maria frowned up at him. “What?”

  “Did you ever, you know, like him…sorta?”

  “Did I like him sorta?”

  “Did you think he was a stud?” Todd said louder.

  “Oh…absolutely.”

  Todd leaned back and silently contemplated the stars. “What’s that movie star’s name you used to date?” he said after a time.

  “You mean Jessie?”

  “Yeah, yeah, Jessie Espinosa.”

  “What about him?”

  “Is this Brother Michael better looking than him?”

  “Hmm,” Maria said, looking into the fire, “Yeah…I think so. Brother Michael is very handsome.”

  “But…not as handsome as me, though?”

  Maria pulled back and inspected his face. “Hmm,” she said, frowning. She stared at him for a moment. “Turn,” she said, spinning her finger.

  Todd rolled his eyes and turned his face to the left.

  “Hmm…turn the other way.”

  Todd grimaced back at her.

  “You wanted to know!” she yelled.

  He slowly turned his face to the right.

  “Let me see your teeth.”

  He leaned forward and pulled his lips back.

  “Hmm,” she said, “I think…yeah, I think you are the most handsome.”

  “Get out!” Todd said, grinning.

  “Yeah, it’s true. You’re the most handsome.”

  “I knew it,” he said, looking back into the fire. He sat grinning into the fire for a moment then looked back at her. “Wait a minute, you're hiding your hands.”

  “What?”

  “Let me see your hands.”

  “Why?”

  “Just, let me see them.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Let me see,” he demanded.

  “Don’t you think you’re being a little childish?”

  “Show me,” he said, frowning.

  “Ok, ok…it’s not like I have anything to hide.” She pulled her hands out from the sleeping bag.

  “Why are your fingers crossed like that?” Todd said.

  “What…where?”

  “Right there!” Todd shouted, pointing at her hands.

  “Oh that,” she said. “I always do that. It keeps my fingers warm.”

  “You’ve never done that before.”

  “My fingers haven’t been this cold before. Shouldn’t we be getting some sleep?”

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “I’m so sleepy,” she said, yawning animatedly.

  “Why are your fingers so cold all of a sudden? Let me feel your fingers.”

  She rolled over onto her side, dragging him with her. “Sorry…gotta’ get some shuteye.”

  He gently rolled on top of her.

  “Night, night,” she said, her eyes already closed.

  He kissed her tenderly on the cheek.

  She smiled and looked up at him. “You know you’re my love, don’t you? You’re the only one I’ve ever loved, ever will love…except for the baby, and that’s the truth.” She pulled her hands out of the sleeping bag. “See.”

  Todd smiled, reached for her hand and kissed her fingertips.

  “Todd,” she said suddenly. “What’s that?”

  “What?”

  She sat up quickly. “Todd,” she said, her voice quivering, “What is that?”

  “Maria, what’s wrong?”

  She pointed up into the night sky. “The moon…look at the moon!”

  Todd looked up towards the huge glowing full moon. He stared at it for a moment and then he saw it. Silhouetted against the moon, in the top left corner, he could see a tiny black dot.

  “Oh my God!” Maria breathed. “It’s the asteroid…I can see it!” She began panting, holding her hand to her chest.

  “Maria, calm down.”

  “Oh my God, why did we come here? We could have been in Australia!”

  “Maria, you have to calm down.”

  “It’s gonna hit before the baby comes!” she cried. She pushed herself out of the sleeping bag and jumped to her feet. “We have to go! We have to get out of here!”

  Todd jumped to his feet and moved to her.

  She put her hand out, stopping him. “No…no, we have to go back…right now!”

  Todd sidestepped her hand and took her shoulders. “You have to calm down!”

  She stopped, staring wildly at Todd and pushed her hand against her stomach.

  “What’s wrong?” Todd said.

  She began to sink. He held her and slowly eased her to the ground. She sat down panting. He knelt by her side, gently pushing the hair out of her eyes.

  “Something’s wrong with the baby,” she moaned.

  “Why…Maria…what are you feeling?”

  “It feels so tight…It hurts.”

  “It feels tight…like a contraction?”

  “Maybe…I don’t know!”

  “Baby, you need to lie down…right now.”

  Maria looked at him, her face ashen. “What’s going on?” she said softly.

  “I don’t know, baby. Lie down and let me look at you.”

  They moved back to the sleeping bag. Todd gently helped her lie down and ran his hand over her stomach. “What are you feeling now?”

  “Tight. It feels tight,” she said through clenched teeth. Todd pushed lightly on her stomach. “Ow…” she squealed. “It hurts there!”

  Todd stopped pushing and began softly caressing her stomach. “I don’t think it’s a contraction, sweetheart.”

  She looked up at him with terrified eyes. “Is something wrong with the baby?”

  Todd shook his head. “I don’t know, but I don’t think so…He’s moving a little.”

  “I know,” she said. “I can feel him.”

  “He doesn’t seem stressed. Do you still feel the pain?”

  “Yes.”

  Todd rolled his hand over her stomach one more time. He found the place and gently pushed. “Is this it?”

  “Yes,” she yelped. “What is it?”

  “I don’t think it’s a contraction. You’re not tightening up, and it’s lasting too long…The baby seems fine. I think you pulled a muscle.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You stretched or tore a muscle in your—”

  “I know that!” she yelled. “But what does it mean? Will it affect the labor? Will it hurt the baby?”

  “No,” Todd said softly. “A lot of women pull muscles when they’re this far along. It just means you have to take it easy, that’s all.” He looked down at her. Her jaw was set. She reached for his hand. He winced as her hand squeezed his fingers.

  “Is it really gonna’ happen, Todd?” she said, looking up at him. “Are we really gonna die?”

  Todd looked down at her trying to speak but nothing happened.

  She stared at him through tear-filled eyes, her small
quivering hand covering her mouth. She turned her head and gazed at the tiny black dot silhouetted against the glowing moon. “Why?” she sobbed. “Why are you coming now…Why would the Father let you come now? Brother Michael….You said you’d be here if we ever needed you….Where are you? How could you let this happen to us?”

  ~~~

  “Are they out of their minds? What are they thinking?”The head of the European Commission’s delegation to the Middle East was pacing back and forth in front of his desk.

  “I don’t think we can ever overemphasize the depth of hostility between the Arabs and the Israelis, sir,” the aide said. “The Russians have obviously anticipated the American European merge and are making a move to control the Mid-East oil.”

  “We have to respond!” the Commissioner hollered. “We haven’t even formed a government yet. We can’t face a nuclear winter without oil!”

  “The Russians are counting on that, sir,” the aid said. He paused and continued. “The commission is moving on the formation of the new European government, but it’s all so new.”

  “We should never have taken the Americans in…it makes things so complicated. How do you absorb the world’s most powerful military machine and not have a government? The European Union has gone from a multi-national trade committee to the world’s only superpower overnight. Which plan are we considering?”

  “Sir?”

  “Which plan are we considering?” the commissioner repeated. “Which government?”

  “Oh, the ten heads of state,” the aide said. “Each region will be represented by one of the heads of state. A prime minister will be elected to oversee the ten heads.”

  “I know what the ten heads of state is. I drafted the plan.”

  “Of course, sir,” the aide said.

  “The Arabs and the Russians…” the commissioner raged, changing the subject. “They couldn’t have chosen a worst time. They know we can’t respond!”

  “Maybe the Americans can?”

  “The Americans are too busy getting their people off the mainland. They couldn’t possibly mount a response.”

  “Sir, if the Israelis are true to their word—”

  “I know,” the commissioner said, “the Masada complex. If they go down, they’ll take everyone down with them.”

  The two men fell silent for a moment.

  “Sir…” the aide said finally. “If the Russians and the Israelis start exchanging nuclear weapons…coupled with the fallout from the Dante impact….”

  The commissioner stopped pacing and stood staring at his aide. “What the hell are they thinking?” he yelled.

  ~~~

  Todd had managed to sleep in short fits and starts. He would jump to Maria’s aid at the slightest hint of trouble. Each time he checked, he’d find her staring off into the moon. The long night finally came to an end and he had managed to get a small fire going. He had coffee brewing in a charcoal-covered military coffeepot.

  “Here, baby, let me help you,” he said, jumping to his feet. Maria was hobbling painfully towards him. He gently took her hand, helped her sit on a rock next to the fire, pulled the sleeping bag up and wrapped it around her. “I’m glad you’re awake,” he said. “Breakfast is ready.”

  Maria looked down at the omelet with bacon and cheese MRE heating up against a rock and looked away.

  “Dig right in,” Todd said, biting at his package.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  He moved next to her and sat down. “You have to eat, baby. You need your strength.”

  “Please don’t call me that.”

  Todd silently pushed the plastic fork around in his MRE package. “I think I’m allowed one term of endearment,” he said finally.

  “Really?”

  “I think so.”

  “Says who?”

  “I think it’s in the Bible.”

  “Which Bible…old or new?”

  “Old.”

  “Ok then, but why don’t you just call me Maria?”

  “How about dear?”

  “Sounds too old.”

  “How about…darling?”

  “Sounds too Hollywood, and please stop trying to cheer me up. I’m too afraid to be cheerful.”

  Todd sat quiet for a time, listening to the fire.

  “I’m sorry I got us into this,” Maria said softly.

  After a quiet spell she turned and looked at Todd. “Aren’t you gonna say anything?”

  “I’m trying to understand.”

  “I know,” she said, looking away. “I was…a little optimistic…before.” She paused and glanced back at him. “Ok, I was delusional.”

  Todd sat, silently looking back at her. “What should we do now?” he said after a time. “Do you want to keep going…or go back?”

  Maria sighed and looked into the fire. She pulled her eyebrows together and looked back up at him. “If we go back, will we survive?”

  “No,” Todd said softly.

  “So, it makes no difference whether we keep going or not?”

  Todd didn’t respond.

  “I need to keep going,” she said finally, “I still have this need to go.”

  She pulled the sleeping bag up under her chin and turned her attention back to the fire. “I can’t ask you to go, though. You don’t have to come with me, if you don’t want to.”

  “Are you sure?” Todd said.

  She hesitated a moment, shrugged slightly and shook her head. “If you don’t want to go with me…you don’t have to go.”

  “Okay,” Todd said, standing up. “I’ll see ya later.”

  She watched him walk away towards the Humvee. “Get back here!” she yelled.

  Todd turned and sent her a puzzled look. “I thought you said—”

  “Get back here!” she growled.

  Todd smiled and returned to her side.

  She looked into the fire for a time before laying her head on his knees.

  “I wouldn’t change a thing,” Todd said, rolling his fingers in her black hair. “These have been the best days of my life.”

  “Aren’t you afraid?” she said without looking up.

  “Yeah…a little.”

  “I guess Brother Michael’s magic made me believe in fairy tale endings.”

  “It is easy to get caught up in that sort of thing, isn’t it?” Todd said.

  He pulled a fallen corner of the sleeping bag back up over Maria’s shoulder and settled back in next to her. “You really should eat… for the baby.”

  Maria lifted the bag and looked inside. “Ok, I guess I’ll eat it.”

  Todd smiled, stood, and began picking things up from the campsite.

  “What are you doing?” she said, munching on her bag of omelet with bacon and cheese.

  “I’m loading up. We only have a few more days. We better be getting on if we plan on making it to Omaha.”

  ~~~

  Sadie was sleeping soundly on her father’s shoulder when the family arrived at Hampton beach. When she finally awoke, the huge tumultuous crowd took her completely by surprise. It took the family a few moments to settle her down.

  Scores of military vehicles were driving up and down the beach. Each one equipped with a loud speaker conveying the same message.

  “Last names beginning with A through C, must make their way north along the beach until they come to the landing zone clearly marked A through C.

  Last names beginning with D through F must make their way north along the beach until they come to the landing zone clearly marked D through F.

  Last names beginning with…”

  Eric looked at the nearest landing zone. “We have to go south!” he hollered over the din.

  “How far?” Stacey said. She held her hand up, shielding her eyes from the blinding glare reflecting off the Atlantic Ocean.

  “Well, this is M through O…so we have to go a little ways further south.”

  The family began making their way south along the beach. As they slowly walked, Er
ic could see rows of titanic ships lined up as far as he could see into the horizon. Helicopters buzzed to and fro over their heads like elephantine dragonflies. Landing craft were constantly moving back and forth, empty ones coming into the shore, full ones hurrying back out again. They finally found the landing zone marked W through Z.

  “Look, honey,” Eric said, pointing at the sky, “the planes are flying again.”

  Stacey looked up to see rows of jet plumes streaking high over their heads, each vapor trail heading east, towards Europe.

  They patiently waited in line for hours. Each new landing craft leaving the beach allowed the long line to push forward ever so slightly. The two younger girls took turns napping in their parents arms. Throughout the long day, the children bickered and argued. Tempers flared as they methodically moved forward in line until finally they were prompted to move up the wide ramp onto the landing craft. As the family made their way up the ramp, Sadie changed her mind and didn’t want to go. Her father explained to her that it was just like a ride at the Silver Mountain Fun Park and she finally relented.

  Within a short time the family was standing in a large crowd of somber, weather-worn American citizens looking back at the coast from the deck of the doughty aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan.

  “Where are we going?” Stacey said, her tired eyes filling up with tears.

  “I don’t know,” Eric said, softly.

  They had been in such a hurry to get their family to safety they hadn’t considered what it was going to be like to forever leave their beloved homeland. Eric stared out over the blue water, at the never-ending carousels of landing vehicles busily moving back and forth. He looked past the shoreline, onto the crowded, riotous beach. He noticed how thick and plush the New England forests were this time of year. He remembered his childhood growing up in Vermont, riding bicycles up and down the steep hills, family reunions and ballgames in the park. He looked up at the star spangled banner waving over the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan. Reaching down, he lifted little Sadie onto his shoulder.

  “Look, sweetheart,” he said, softly. “That was the United States of America; the greatest nation that ever was. You remember what she looked like, ok? You keep her memory forever in your heart…Tell your children about her, and tell them to tell their children…Promise me you will never forget the United States of America.”

  ~~~

  Maria had been exceptionally quiet all day. They had been following the track bed until it unexpectedly widened into a vast railroad yard and they found themselves in downtown Nebraska City, Nebraska.

  Todd pulled the Humvee to a stop and reached for a bottle of water. “How do you feel?”

  “Not very good,” Maria said. “My stomach feels tight and heavy. I think I need to get out of the car for a while.”