Marilyn came back into the living room to wait on the cookies. “Cody I’m sorry that we don’t know how to find your parents but you are more than welcome to stay with us until all this blows over.” Marilyn offered Cody. She attempted to reassure everyone the situation would indeed blow over. If only she could convince herself.
Jordan didn’t seem too happy about the gesture. Cody looked up at Marilyn and gave a half-hearted smile but remained silent. Tuning his abyss-like stare back at the board game or at times his gaze would fall on Jenna.
“I’m sorry that my husband and Michael treated you in such a way but in our present circumstances they can be a little too thorough. I’m sure once they’re convinced that you mean no harm you will be welcome to stay as long as you want.” Marilyn sat in the chair and assured Rob.
“I hope they do. They sure look like they can handle themselves. What do they do for a living? Or I should say did do?” Rod asked inquiringly.
“They both were Army Rangers but they had an honorable discharge only a couple years after their first deployment as rangers.” Marilyn explained. She knew Jack wouldn’t want her telling him this but she didn’t see how it could hurt especially since they will all have to get to know each other really well if their situation doesn’t eventually get better.
Rob was going to ask a host of questions but he was interrupted by a low rumble coming from behind the house. Everyone’s attention was captured by this sound. It was getting louder. It soon sounded like it was right behind the house. Jake rose to his feet and walked to the back door. Marilyn followed Jake after holding up her hand to tell the children to not move but Rob darted in front of her taking the lead. After all he was the only grown male in the house and he felt it was his responsibility to check the disturbance.
"Do you think it could be those freed prisoners coming back?" Marilyn asked staying close to Rob.
Jack whined. He couldn't figure out the source of the rumbling sound. "I doubt it could be, besides they have taken all they wanted right?" It was dark and Rob strained through his spectacles to see clearly.
Marilyn didn't answer, how could he possibly be so sure. The two walked down the hall. They were almost to the back door when the rumbling sound suddenly stopped. Rob had reached the door. Marilyn stood beside of him. He reached for the curtains. He didn’t know what he was going to see or what consequence was going to befall him for looking out of the curtain. He grabbed a tiny finger full of cloth and peeled it back very slowly and steadily so no foe on the other side would be able to tell that someone was attempting to peek through the window. There was hardly an eyeball of room to peer out of. Marilyn seemed to be shaking with anticipation or fear, Rob was unsure. He looked through the tiny gap and was surprised and relieved to see Jack followed by Michael. They advanced up the walkway. What surprised Rob more than the two men was a semi-truck which, of course, was the cause of the sound.
Rob opened the door. “It’s Jack and Michael.”
Marilyn rushed past Rob and into Jack’s arms. Michael passed the two and went into the house. Rob followed him. Michael put down Jack’s duffle bag and sat on the couch waiting for Jack so they could break the news. Jenna jumped into her father's lap.
“How did you two get a semi? Wasn’t there three of you who left?” Rob had a million questions. He was intrigued by Jack and Michael’s ability to keep delivering under such harsh pressure.
“Have a seat we will tell you everything just as soon as Jack gets in here.” Michael answered putting his daughter back on her feet.
Jordan stood up and went to the back. Jenna sat by her father looking a little more happy. Cody was left staring at the board game awaiting the news.
Jake sat wagging his tail in the backyard. Jack patted him on the head.
“So what is going on? What happened to Pete?” Marilyn had pure concern in her eyes.
“Pete didn’t make it.” Jack hung his head and Marilyn laid her head on Jack’s chest crying.
Jordan appeared in the doorway. Jack gave her a small nudge and she wiped her eyes and sniffed. Jordan could tell something bad had happened but he stood in awe of the semi-truck. The three walked into the house. The group sat awaiting the news of the plunder of Pete’s Gas Station. Marilyn had seen the makeshift bandage on Michael and immediately went over and started tending to the wound. Jack hadn’t even mentioned the glass shards still in his chest from the wreckage this morning. No need for her to worry over minor ailments.
Marilyn had found out that the wound was a gunshot wound. “You two were in a gunfight?” Marilyn’s voice was high pitched. “You have got to be careful. No more running about. You need to be safe.” She scolded Michael and Jack but didn’t press the issue because she knew they had an important announcement to make.
Marilyn’s outburst had gotten the attention of the whole room. Everyone but Michael and Marilyn leaned toward Jack. They knew there was a story to tell. Jack sighed. He backed up to the wall next to the TV.
“Pete has died. He died saving our lives. We ran into the convicts. They must have seen us coming because they were hidden. We took care of them. This new world we live in now… it will be hard and full of death. Each one of us has to be prepared to deal with what will come. There is little hope that there is American civilization still operating or any form of large organization. We don’t know where the evacuated citizens went and we think it might not be the best idea to stay here and fortify. At least until we figure out a secure location. Especially since there isn’t anyone in this neighborhood anymore. No one that we have seen anyway. We can rest tonight but tomorrow we will have work to do. If we are to survive you are going to have to follow our lead. Our way of life will change drastically and we need to know if you all can handle it?” Jack stared at each individual. Each person stared back in turn with an unblinking silence. The former partners in combat made eye contact. Both of them shared the same worry. No one had ever experienced the kind of life they would now lead. The gravity of the situation should sink in for the group like being trapped in quicksand. Jack hoped their silence was agreement. Jack hung his head. What kind of strain could be imposed on his relationships with his family and friend. He had to focus on building a civilized life for them to live under. Jack scratched his dog’s head.
Marilyn went away and was back within a flash with extra snacks, most were from Pete's store. Michael had decided to speak up over the silence. "Tomorrow we will build this house into a strong hold. We will have to survive here temporarily. Until we can get the necessities and a set destination it would be irresponsible to leave. We all need to look over our shoulders and keep our eyes up. If you stay alert you live." Michael left the group in a deeper silence but they all needed to hear it. He was even happy that the kids heard. It isn't fair to hide or sugar coat the truth. Jack’s little speech just didn’t have the impact required in michael’s opinion. If they wanted to survive they needed to understand the situation at hand.
Chapter Twelve
No Time To Mourn
The rest of the night passed slowly. Michael had given Rob a room and that is where he stayed for most of the evening. He only popped out of the room to use the bathroom or answer one of Marilyn's numerous questions ranging from clean linens to empty stomachs. The three kids watched DVDs. They all sat somberly gazing into the abyss of colorful imagery. Marilyn could see the blue hue cast across the childrens' blank, almost lifeless faces as she moved on compelled to pack away the assorted foods that Jack and Michael had brought from the gas station. Jack and Michael had decided to leave the gas in the back of the semi. They had then moved to the garage to sort through the boxes of food scavenged from the school. They were tired and beat. Jack was still picking shards of glass from his neck and Michael's bullet wound, although patched still throbbed endlessly. Exhausted they started sorting through the boxes and yet there was still an air of excitement. They worked at a decent pace with the past friction between them fading slightly through hard work. The two fath
ers relished in beautiful luck against a backdrop of a morbid apocalyptic wasteland. Which didn’t look all that different from their regular life. Just no one around and a semi full of looted supplies from their dead friend’s gas station.
Michael's slight limping had ceased a while ago and they had received their children back. With the horrors of the world around them pressing in they forced a focus on the victories. They survived countless near death situations and came out on top with the food and the gas station honey hole which sadly cost Pete his life at the hands of the convicts. That is what kept Jack going and Michael swam in is his new survival mentality so he stayed with Jack every step of the way. His daughter a constant on his mind as an added boost motivation. Knowing the convicts would most likely enact vengeance was enough incentive to build defence and keep everyone safe.
“We should jam some cars into the alley to barricade the semi. It’s our golden ticket out of here once things go south. We also don’t want anyone stealing the gas in the back.” Michael said picking up a box and opening it to find mixed fruit cups. All typical school food.
“Yes we should but it will have to wait till tomorrow. It would be too loud and attracting. I’m also going to go and take a look at this address. If it’s one of Pete’s family members I want to offer them safety in our group. It’s the least I can do since we drug Pete along to the gas station. To his death. There is also safety in numbers.” Jack looked at Michael as he hung his head in utter disbelief.
“And you’re going tonight?” Michael disapproved. He thought it was foolish to go out at night. It’s the first night since the bombs and it could get bad but he understood that Jack always held an obligation to those he felt close to. Michael honored that quality of Jack but the life they endured now demands different rules. This wasn’t back in then were they had a set evac point or evac was only a radio call away.
“Yes and as a matter of fact I’m leaving now. I don’t want to wait until tomorrow because whoever they are could be dead by then. I’m going to go tell Marilyn now.
Jack walked away from michael with his mind set. Any tension between the two that had subsided now returned. He didn’t care about Michael disapproving. This could be their only time to get to Pete’s family. It was his dying wish and Jack hoped someday that given similar circumstances Michael would do the same for him.
The conversation with Marilyn had been rough to say the least. She didn't want him leaving again. It broke Jack's heart to see her cry. She did in the end agree that we did owe Pete his last wishes. The sooner he left the better. Jack had decided to take Pete’s car. He hoped that whoever he was trying to find would recognize the vehicle. The address he had to travel to was deep in town and the sun had already set. He wasn’t sure what he should expect. It was only the first night. It couldn’t be that bad. One would think that chaos would ensue slowly upon the people left over. Or it could be the first thing people do since there is no apparent form of government order. They haven’t really heard much except for the usual remain calm and keep doors and windows locked. That is only over the car radio. There was no localized announcement or anything.The mayor isn’t heard of. The National Guard was gone. Jack knew because he had just passed the building and it appeared vacant and plundered. His thoughts went back to the burning pile of bodies earlier that day. Maybe the burning was a foreshadow of what Jack may find in the rest of the town. Street after street, lifeless window after lifeless window, the feeling of fear and uncertainty filled the atmosphere.
The army had evacuated only one third of the town and the part of town they evacuated happened to be houses of the more upper class citizens. Jack wondered if a prioritized group of people had been relocated in a new community. Jack pictured a quartered off area of land surrounded by fences. Filled with doctors of various professions, lawyers, military personnel, and government officials all going about in a relative safe comfortability. Jack imagined huge crates of army provisions and everyone eating their fill while children played on a makeshift playground. The rest of society was here trying to take what they needed to live. Fighting just to breath. As he drove ahead clearing distractions from his brain. Making sure to focus on what was lies ahead because he knew from experience to expect anything and everything when anarchy reigned. There was no way anarchy couldn’t reign Jack had decided. There was no one to establish order and no one keeping contact through radio so far. Hopefully people are so groomed to be good citizens that fear of the unknown prevent people from setting foot outside unless they have contact from the government.
Jack continued down the road and out of his neighborhood. He kept his eyes peeled. He had his window down to add the extra sense of hearing and maybe even smell if needed. Every so often a gunshot would ring out in the distance. This worried him. He wondered what it was like in the heart of town where all the shops sat in clusters along with the bulk of the people. He had to travel straight through the middle of downtown to get to the address as quickly as possible. Jack wasn't far from downtown and without speed limits imposed he was making great time. He turned a corner and before him blazed a fire. It was a large fire in the middle of the street with a small group of people huddled around the fire. He stopped the car. He squinted, ready to slam the car in reverse if he seen even one body part extending from the fire. Luckily there weren't any.
One group of five people came toward him. Jack was already paranoid enough but each person watched each other and every move with pinpoint precision. A large buff bald man, another man exactly his opposite being skinny with long hair, an older man, a dark skinned man who looked to be very athletic, a woman, and what appeared to be her child. They all had gotten up once they had seen Jack turn the corner onto their road.
“Where you going mister?” The muscular man from the small group asked as he walked closer to Jack. None of the people seemed like they were apt to being overly friendly. They advanced around the front of his car. The man who had spoken came to Jack’s window. They didn't seem to mean any harm but at this point Jack couldn't trust anyone.
“I have to get to a friend on the other side of town.” Jack kept his hand on the gear shift just in case he had to hurry off that street. He was ready to reverse if the conversation went south.
“Well sir I understand your position but I’m afraid we can’t let you through here.” The man leaned on the window.
Jack leaned further back, “Well why can’t I?” The fellow seem mild mannered and non-confrontational but at this point Jack trusted no one after all they had a huge fire in the middle of the road.
“Downtown has been ransacked all day. Some of us who were left over found out that parts of town, including our own, had been evacuated but many more parts were not. Pretty soon there was a riot and a lot of looting went on downtown. We set up here because it was far enough from downtown to stay safe. As far as I can tell people are still on a rampage. Everyone seemed almost motivated. Every so often a car will come screaming down the road away from the chaos. We set a fire to keep anyone from going any further,” The man was large and his scalp shined under the moonlight with thick muscles covering every inch of his body. The man leaned up from the window. “Two streets over there is another straight shot downtown. We don’t feel comfortable letting anyone through until order has been restored. This part of town is particularly bad but I can’t leave because that house yonder has been in my family for two hundred years and i’ll be damned if a few convicts gonna run me me off my little patch of land. If you died because we allowed you though, well sir we just don't want that on our conscience.” The rest of the group nodded in agreement but remained silent with a huge victorian era house with a wrought iron gated fence took up half the block behind them.
“That’s fine by me.” Jack backed up away from the group. The bald man gave a half wave as Jack was backing up. Jack didn’t bother waving back. He wasn’t looking to be making friends and he wasn’t going to gain an enemy by forcing his way through the street. He damn sure didn’t w
ant to hear this old coot ramble on. Jack assumed the fire had been built to keep cars from passing and he left it at that.
He backed onto the road he had just turned off of and continued further down the road and turned onto the street he was supposed to realizing he just trusted those people on their word. Times like these he actually wished he had Michael with him. He kept a vigilant eye on the surroundings of each new street he traveled down. Of course he had drove all of the roads before and he knew them like the back of his hand but now that all of this has happened there was no way he could predict any incident that could lie around any corner. Jack wondered if that small group knew that what they were attempting to do was almost suicide. There was no way that small of a group could stop an onslaught of rioters or freed prisoners. Although Jack did feel a sense of relief knowing there was another group of people (who seemed to be friendly) struggling just as his own group was.
Jack could tell that the freed prisoners hadn’t been on this side of town yet. Houses seemed to be occupied. The electricity must be out which is probably due to the riots downtown. Tell tale signs of dark windows had to make people nervous, scared, and unpredictable. If what that group said was true then downtown had to be ransacked which means the electric energy plant and the water plant would be out of commission. It hadn’t even been a full day since the blasts and chaos quickly reigns all over. He looked over at his duffle bag in the passenger side floorboard. He needed a gun handy. When looked back to the road he had to slam on his breaks. Jack turned the wheel desperately trying to keep a handle on the machine. His car slid sideways but missed the lady he had almost killed. He hadn’t seen her before he looked away for a moment but he had always kept a good watch on his surroundings. He wondered where she had come from. He saw the girl keep running. Half of her clothes were tore off and what was left was ripped to shreds. Jack looked in the rearview mirror and saw a tall man walk out of a house. He had his shirt off and his belt unbuckled. It was obvious to Jack that this guy was taking advantage of the times and forcing himself on the helpless woman. Jack ducked down into the seat so he couldn’t be seen. Apparently the man hadn't seen Jack almost hit the girl. Jack could see the would-be rapist stumble towards the girl while looking at the car. This guy was drunk and very unaware. He grabbed her hair and she struggled and clawed. Jack grabbed the first pistol he felt out of his duffle bag which was a challenge seeing as so many were piled together and then Jack opened the door carefully and stepped out of the car as silently as he could. It was hard to see in the dark. Jack had kept his headlights off so he wouldn’t attract attention. The man was grabbing and touching the girl. Tears streamed down her eyes as she tried to struggle away but the man just laughed and held her close while she squirmed. He didn’t seem to care due to his drunken stupor or maybe he genuinely didn't notice that Jack was standing ten yards from the man. The man pulled out a small knife and began taunting the small woman. He rose the knife and held her neck tight.
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