by Hunt, Jack
“I warned him.”
Eric gritted his teeth and lowered Nathan’s body on the floor and then staggered to his feet. “Stay down,” Elliot said but Eric ignored him. He got up and stared at the blood soaking his hands. Shock was setting in as his skin turned a pasty white. His face twisted, rage filling his expression before he burst forward and Elliot smacked him across the jaw as hard as he could with the butt of the handgun. Eric hit the ground, out cold. Elliot wasn’t going to kill another person, especially not one that wasn’t armed.
Elliot’s gaze swiveled to Maggie who had now come out of the other room and repeated what he’d told Eric. “I warned him.”
“I know you did.” She looked down at Nathan then Eric with a look of despair, it soon turned to fear. “We need to get out of here.” She brought a hand up to her head, then scooped up her bag of belongings and headed towards the door. They all backed out and made their way down the stairs, even as several people came out of their apartments after hearing the commotion and gunfire.
“Maggie, you okay?” Jesse asked trying to keep up with her. For someone whose leg had a gash in it, she was moving faster than them.
“The police are going to come and…”
“The police won’t show up,” Elliot said as he caught up with her. “They’re too damn busy.”
She was moving at a fair pace and then she stopped, turned and slammed her fist against Elliot’s chest. “Why? Why did you have to do that?”
“I told you.”
“I know but… why?”
“He would have shot him, Maggie,” Damon said, coming to Elliot’s defense. “And Jesse, maybe you as well.” She rubbed a hand over her face and looked on the verge of crying again. She stood there in the middle of the street for a second trying to calm herself before continuing on. Few words were exchanged on the way over to her apartment. Jesse wanted to head to his place but after what had just happened he was quick to change his tune. He tucked the piece he’d taken from Nathan into the front of his pants and covered it with his top. “Now all of us are going down for this.”
“I just told you. The police won’t do anything.”
“How can you be sure?”
“God, I don’t know how many times I have to say this. No matter how you look at it, and no matter who or what has caused the blackout. We’re not going to bounce back from this within the next week, month or even a year without any power. So, you can kiss goodbye to emergency services as whatever infrastructure is in place will eventually fall apart once they realize the full extent of the disaster.” He sighed. “Look, let’s just get to her place, find out if this vehicle works and…”
“And what? Leave? Go where?” Jesse said. “Thanks to this, Maggie can’t stay here now. Hell, even I can’t.”
“I just told you, the police…”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard.”
Elliot stopped walking and thumbed over his shoulder. “What, you want me to go back and kill him? Is that what you’re saying?” Elliot barked.
“No. I’m just…”
“I just saved your ass back there. Where I come from, most people say thank you.”
Jesse exhaled hard and pressed on following the road around. The roads were filled with people who had come out to see what was being done about the blackout. Elliot knew this was just the beginning. People wouldn’t immediately start hurting one another. No, they were used to the government fixing things. Their taxes paid for it, so there was this sense of entitlement, an expectation that all would be well even if it wouldn’t. It was that delay he was relying on to get home safely because once the penny finally dropped, people would start to panic as food began to spoil, as supermarkets no longer stocked food and everything that people had come to rely upon no longer functioned. Then things would get really bad. Those who would have never thought about turning on their neighbor would change, and not for the better. He believed the American people were strong and most would try to help one another but it would have been foolish to think it would stay that way. In the end it would come down to survival of the strongest. Elliot could see Maggie wrestling with what had just taken place. She, like many others, would have to come to terms with making split-second decisions and facing consequences.
“What about your parents?” Jesse asked Maggie.
“They live too far away.”
“Brothers? Sisters?”
“I don’t have any,” she replied.
Although Elliot had no qualms about dropping Nathan because he’d threatened his own life, he couldn’t help feel sorry for Maggie. And that in some ways he was responsible for the position she was now in.
“If your vehicle works, you could stay with us for a while, if you want?” He just blurted it out not thinking about the logistics of it or even what Rayna’s response would be to him returning.
Her brow knit together. “Go to Lake Placid with you?”
“Well you did offer to drive.”
“I said…” She groaned and he realized that she hadn’t meant what she’d offered back in Times Square. It was said in the heat of the moment, probably expecting him to turn it down. People did it all the time in life.
“Well it’s either that or you attempt to drive to Kansas to where your folks are and who knows what the state of the country is like out there,” he added. “Up to you. But if you’ve changed your mind, tell me now.”
“It’s just that he might come back. Eric, I mean. I can’t stay.”
“I don’t think he’ll return, Maggie, but like I said, the offer is there. As for us, we just need a ride.”
Maggie stopped walking and supported herself against a beam. Jesse came up alongside her and placed his arm around her. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just feeling a little dizzy.”
“Loss of blood and tiredness,” Elliot said. He came around the other side and she put an arm over his shoulder and both he and Jesse lifted her and carried her for a short while. They had a two and a half mile journey ahead of them to get to her apartment in Bushwick, and although Elliot wasn’t sure if any of what they had gone through today was going to lead to something better, he had to try, if only for the sake of his family.
Chapter 12
Maggie’s station wagon was a complete write-off. What a state that vehicle was in when they arrived at her apartment. She figured Eric had gone to town on it with a sledgehammer as all the windows were shattered, the side mirrors were dangling from nothing more than a few wires, the seats had been torn to shreds; the tires had been slashed but worst of all, parts of the engine were scattered over the ground.
Jesse took a few steps back to read what he had scrawled along the side. He must have done it with lipstick as in thick pink letters was the word: WHORE.
“Well, I guess that rules out the ride,” Damon said.
“Oh, I don’t know, a lick of paint, tighten a few screws and a couple of tires and I think we’ll be back in business again,” Jesse said in a joking manner.
Damon tapped the top of the roof and ran his hand over what looked like blood. “This guy has some serious issues. How did you end up with him?”
Maggie didn’t respond, she simply hurried up the stairs into her apartment while the rest of them followed. Her apartment, or what was left of it, was something to behold. Jesse had to give it to the guy, he knew how to send a message. Every window in the apartment was smashed, her mattress was out on the sidewalk, and he must have taken a saw to her table as it was literally cut in half. There were huge holes in the walls, door and even the floor. Jesse looked down and could see an old woman in the apartment below. He offered a thin smile, and she stuck up her middle finger at him.
He cast a glance outside the apartment and her bald-headed neighbor looked out then closed his door quickly. That was to be expected. With everything that had occurred with the blackout, and then this, he probably thought they were going to cause him trouble.
“Holy shit,” Damon said picking up a vinyl record that had
been snapped in half. “David Bowie? Really? Is nothing sacred?” Although Eric had gone berserk, Maggie seemed to be holding it together, at least outwardly. She yawned and slumped to the floor.
“You need some sleep,” Jesse said. “We all do.” He headed for the door. “My place is not far from here, you’re welcome to come. All of you.”
Elliot nodded and picked up a bottle of wine that hadn’t been smashed. He tossed it around in his hand and smiled. “Well, I guess not everything is a loss.”
His words fell on deaf ears. Maggie looked more than distraught, she looked numb. Jesse knew something about that. That’s how he felt after Chloe died. It was like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his life. Without her it felt empty and meaningless.
They remained at her apartment for another ten minutes until Maggie could summon the strength to leave. She collected what little things hadn’t been torn apart and stuffed them in her bag. It wasn’t much. A couple pairs of pants, underwear, two tops and that was about it.
* * *
Jesse lived about six blocks from Maggie’s place on Gates Avenue. It wasn’t a bad apartment block, however it did attract a few drug users. He’d moved in there a month after losing Chloe because he couldn’t bear to come home to their old apartment. He could smell her perfume, and everything reminded him of her. He stuck his key in the lock and twisted it and opened the door, beckoning the other three to enter. They strolled in and looked around, taking in the sight of his minimalistic abode. There wasn’t much to it. A medium-size living area, a sofa bed that he also used as his couch, a tiny kitchen and an even smaller bathroom. He’d spent a bit of money updating the flooring and had eventually got around to adding curtains four months after moving in, but beyond that it was pretty basic, a lot like his life.
“It’s not much but you can toss a few cushions on the floor and push those two chairs together.”
“It’s like a five-star hotel,” Elliot said. “I mean, compared to where I was staying.”
Jesse chuckled and then looked at Damon. He shrugged. “It’s bigger than my last place.”
“Really?”
Damon looked at Elliot and he smiled. Jesse had a sense that Elliot was privy to something Damon hadn’t told him or Maggie. Jesse tossed his keys on the counter and went over to the fridge. He reached in and pulled out a few bottles of Budweiser and handed them out. A quick twist of the top and he chugged his back in one go.
Although he wouldn’t say it out loud, in many ways he was kind of glad that society had broken down. At least now they could feel a smidgen of what he’d felt over the past year since losing her.
Damon noticed the photograph of Chloe and him on a side table. “This your girl?”
He went to speak but Damon continued, “Now that’s one to hold on to. Where is she?”
He dropped his head a little. “In Brooklyn cemetery.”
The moment turned awkward. It was part of the reason he didn’t tell anyone. There was nothing that killed the mood more than telling a stranger that his wife was dead.
“I’m sorry,” Damon said placing the photo frame back down.
“It’s okay, it was a while ago.”
“How long?”
“January.”
“That’s not exactly a while ago,” Elliot said sinking down into a chair. Jesse turned and closed the door behind him. It was a little after three in the morning. The sun would be up soon and well… he wasn’t really sure what he was going to do. His life before the blackout wasn’t exactly going to plan. If he was honest, he was coasting through life, just pushing through each day. Work was nothing more than a means to pay bills and keep his mind occupied. Pleasure? What pleasure? From sunup to sundown he spent his days working.
He headed over to the fridge and pulled out a few items: cheese, ham, veggie samosas and some of yesterday’s pizza then left it on the counter for them to help themselves. Damon and Elliot took a few items and then settled on the floor for the night. He provided them with a blanket each. It wasn’t much, but they didn’t seem too fazed by it. In all honesty, they were all just too damn tired to care. He studied Elliot who rolled over and closed his eyes. He’d killed someone and yet it didn’t seem to bother him. Had it been him, he would have been a wreck. Or would he? He took another sip of his drink and told Maggie she could have the couch. He laid a sleeping bag down nearby and crawled inside. Without any power, the apartment was cold, really cold. Temperatures had dropped to eleven degrees but felt like 10 degrees below zero in the wind.
“Do you mind me asking how it happened?” Maggie said catching him off-guard.
He was hesitant to reply but after all he’d witnessed about her life so far, he didn’t think she’d be shocked by anything he told her. Then again, what would she think? That had been another reason why he didn’t want to tell people because it would turn into a pity party and he didn’t want people to pity him.
“On the way back from her mother’s. The truck came out of nowhere and T-boned our vehicle. She was driving. She died, I lived. Not much more to say than that.”
“And you were married?”
“Yeah, newly married.”
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s what everyone says. Ah, it is what it is. So what’s the deal with your ex? Eric. Surely he wasn’t always like that.”
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “No, he wasn’t. It’s not like I did anything different. We were seeing each other for two years and slowly over time he started to become controlling. You know. He wanted to know where I was going all the time. He didn’t like me visiting my parents, or going out with friends. It was progressive, you could say. Almost unnoticeable. I just thought he wanted to spend more time together. Anyway, one thing led to another and he must have seen me out with friends as he accused me of cheating on him.” She looked over at Jesse. “I didn’t cheat on him. That’s not my thing. It takes too much work.”
“That’s what I used to say to Chloe.”
Maggie smiled then it faded.
She sighed. “One night I got home, and he just went ballistic. He lashed out and knocked me into the wall then stormed out. The next day he was all apologetic and shit, but I told him he had to leave.”
“Good on you. Takes a lot of courage to do that. My sister had a friend who was in a similar position. She just kept letting the guy back into her life and he just did it again and again. Eventually she wound up in hospital on a life support machine.”
Maggie nodded. “Yeah, my father always told me that getting angry is one thing. People have arguments in their relationships, but it crosses the line when they physically abuse. He didn’t have any patience or sympathy for that. One strike and you are out, he told me. If a man ever hits you, you get out of that relationship as there will always be someone out there that will treat you better.” She smiled.
“You still in touch with family?”
“Yeah. You?” she asked.
“No. My family broke up when I was young, and I didn’t exactly have the best relationship with my father. My mother lives in Sacramento with some new guy.”
“So what brought you out to New York?”
He glanced at the photo of Chloe and she nodded. “Right.” Silence stretched between them. “So you were a bike messenger?”
“For the past year, before that I worked in banking. It was a well-paid job. High stress though. After losing Chloe I couldn’t do it anymore. Might sound strange but when I was out there weaving between vehicles, I had no other choice than to focus on the road and pedestrians and cabs. It kept my mind occupied, you know?”
A few minutes passed, and she stifled a laugh.
“What’s funny?”
“This. Lexi would be climbing the walls right now if she knew that I was with three strange men. She carried pepper spray wherever she went.” She breathed in deeply, then snorted. “You know she even ended up spraying some hobo in the face thinking he was trying to grope her when all he wanted wa
s a buck for coffee.” She started to laugh, and he joined in. “Oh we are bad. I shouldn’t laugh but… uh…” She trailed off and for the first time since the whole event kicked off, and losing Chloe, Jesse felt a connection. It wasn’t a romantic connection but just a human one, one that everyone needed to feel. City life didn’t exactly lend itself to being able to form connections with others. Sure, there was always some event, group or club he could have joined but on the few nights he thought about venturing out and meeting people he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was easier to keep people at a distance.
“Tomorrow. What are you going to do?” she asked.
He breathed in deeply and looked up at the ceiling. He really hadn’t given it much thought. He knew that Elliot and Damon would be heading north but he didn’t know if what had occurred earlier was reason enough for him to leave. He hadn’t killed anyone. If the cops showed up, he could just act like he didn’t know them. Then again what if Elliot was right? What if this was all just a precursor to something far worse? Instead of answering he turned towards her.
“Not sure. Are you really gonna go with them?”
“Elliot was saying this could get worse.” She paused. “I really don’t know what to do. I was thinking of heading back over to Lexi’s place in the morning. Who knows, she might be back by then.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She offered back a worried expression.
The conversation died there. Neither of them were in a good position, none of them really knew the full extent of what had occurred, only that if the power didn’t come on, life wouldn’t just become hard, it would get dangerous.
Jesse wasn’t ready for that. Neither was Maggie. He glanced over at Elliot. But perhaps he was.
Chapter 13
A lot can change in twenty-four hours, especially in a city that’s already plagued by poverty, drugs and those looking for the opportunity to take advantage of others. Jesse was awake before the others. He had a terrible night of sleep. He’d only managed to get a few hours because when he closed his eyes he kept seeing the body of Nathan. It was one thing to see a dead body in the movies, another to see one two feet away. A thin band of morning light seeped through the drapes. The room smelled stuffy, a mixture of male sweat and garbage. With his back turned to the others he studied the gun he’d taken from Nathan. At no point in time had he ever fired one, let alone held one.
