by Roger Hayden
The guard at the hotel’s entrance reviewed the papers, nodded, and then opened the doors for them.
The collective sigh of everyone that entered the building was followed by laughter and giggles from the kids.
“Air conditioning!” Freddy yelled.
“Here are your room keys and numbers,” Blake said.
Kalen snatched the card out of Blake’s hand and made a beeline toward the stairs.
“I call first shower!” Kalen said.
Kalen ended up stopping herself before she got to the door and looked over at the elevator. She glanced back at Blake who nodded.
“Those work, too,” he said.
Freddy and Sean ran after her as the elevator doors opened, and the three of them disappeared behind closed doors with smiles still on their faces.
“Well, hopefully she’ll leave enough hot water for the rest of us,” Anne said.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Mike replied.
“We’ll be back here at zero six hundred to begin training. Meet me in the lobby,” Blake said.
The hallways of the apartment complex were mostly empty. There was only one other individual Mike saw when walking to their room, and it was a guard.
Mike slid the key card in the door and pushed it open. It was a simple single bed hotel room. He walked over to the window and looked outside. He could see a fire escape on the side of the building, but the stairs below the fourth floor were destroyed.
There was a light switch on the wall next to the entrance. Mike sat there for a moment, looking at it. He reached his hand out slowly and flipped the switch on. The lights from the lamps instantly brightened the room. Anne started laughing.
“Weren’t sure if they’d work?” Anne asked.
“I’m still not sure if I believe it.”
Anne grabbed his hand and started pulling him toward the bathroom.
“C’mon. Let’s test the shower,” she said.
It took a second for Mike to realize the buzzing was the alarm. That first moment when he turned it off he thought he was back in Pittsburgh. Then reality set in as he rested his feet on the carpet of the hotel floor. He wasn’t in Pittsburgh. He was in Cincinnati, and the stiffness in his hands brought back the wall he’d been keeping up for the last three weeks.
He gave Anne a kiss before waking her and she climbed out of bed and opened the curtains. The sun had yet to join them.
Mike walked down the hall to Freddy and Kalen’s room. He was given a key to their room, so he cracked the door open, checking to see if they were awake.
Kalen was up, already dressed, lacing her shoes.
“Hey, Dad,” Kalen said.
“How’d you sleep?”
“Not as well as him.”
She gave a half smile and nodded back to Freddy.
“Good luck getting him out of bed today,” Kalen said.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll see you downstairs.”
It took Mike twenty minutes just to get Freddy to sit upright, and another twenty minutes to finally remove him from the bed. By the time he made it downstairs he was ten minutes late. There wasn’t anyone else left except Blake, tapping his boot.
“I’m sorry. My son, he—”
“Save it,” Blake said.
He pulled the two of them outside and they headed deeper into the city. They stopped at a smaller building with a playground on the side.
“The boy will stay here. You can pick him up after your training is over,” Blake said.
“What is this?” Mike asked.
Freddy hid behind Mike’s legs.
“This is our school,” Blake said.
“I want to go inside before I leave my son anywhere.”
“We’re already late.”
“Then it won’t make much of a difference if I take a few more minutes.”
Mike grabbed Freddy’s hand and the two of them headed inside. It was a simple one-story building, a little older, but kept in good condition.
The “School of Young Minds” sign out front suggested it was some kind of gifted school before the blackout. Judging by the brick walls, and intricate garden beds, Mike imagined it wouldn’t have been something he could have afforded to send his son to.
Inside were the typical school hallways. Lockers and classroom doors were shut. Mike walked past a few of them, checking inside the windows.
Each room Mike passed was filled with kids. It looked as though the rooms were broken up by age groups. The farther Mike walked down the hallway, the younger the kids looked.
Finally, Mike saw Sean. The teacher inside noticed Mike and greeted him at the door.
“You must be new,” she said.
“Yeah. This is my son Freddy,” Mike said.
“Nice to meet you, Freddy. I’m Ms. Franklin.”
Freddy took her hand timidly, and then jumped behind Mike. He tugged on his dad’s pants and Mike bent down so Freddy could whisper in his ear.
“Do I have to stay here?” Freddy asked.
“Afraid so, bud.”
Mike kissed Freddy’s forehead and watched his son walk into the classroom, grabbing a seat next to Sean.
“He’ll be fine,” Ms. Franklin said.
“What time do they get out?”
“Today’s your first day?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll be able to pick him up before the day’s over. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
When Mike walked back outside he and Blake two-timed it through the streets until they made it to a city park. He could hear the gunshots beyond the trees.
“Where are we going?” Mike asked.
“To train.”
When they made it through the walkway and past the trees the park opened up into a massive field. Targets were set up with men and women practicing their marksmanship. Demonstrations of field-cleaning a rifle, hand-to-hand combat, and how to handle heavy artillery were set up along the edges of the field.
“Welcome to boot camp,” Blake said.
“I don’t understand.”
“You were selected for security duty based on your evaluation with your interviewer. A couple other people from your group made this list too.”
“Who else?”
“Sam and Kalen.”
Mike’s heart dropped. He brought his family here so they could be safe, not to put them in the line of fire.
“My daughter does something else,” Mike said.
“No can do. All assignments are final. Here, your first stop is the range to assess your accuracy.”
Mike was handed an AR-15 with a full clip of ammo. Blake kept a close watch on him the entire time. The targets were spread out in ten-yard intervals. The closest was ten yards and the farthest was one hundred.
“You get three shots per target,” Blake instructed.
Mike brought the scope up to his eyes. The round bull’s-eye target fell between the crosshairs. He flipped the lever from spray to single shot.
He moved through each target fairly quickly. When he made it to the one-hundred-yard marker he had a little trouble, but managed to hit one bull’s-eye, and got the other two close to the center.
“What’s next?” Mike asked.
Blake made a few marks on his clipboard and nodded over to the hand-to-hand combat area.
The trainer was a tall, lean man with sweatpants and a shirt on. He was demonstrating a few disarming techniques during a knife fight.
After watching the instructor walk through the motions a few more times they broke off into pairs. Mike’s eyes kept finding Kalen, practicing with another woman. His lack of focus was causing his opponent to kill him every time.
“You two. Stop,” the instructor said.
It took Mike a moment to realize who the instructor was talking to, until the instructor started walking over.
“You need to be more decisive. Any hesitation and your opponent kills you,” he said, grabbing the knife from Mike’s sparring partner.
The instructor poised himself for attack, and before Mike could do anything he was on his back with the instructor’s blade to his throat.
“You’re slow, old man,” the instructor said.
Mike brought his knee up to the instructor’s stomach and rolled him over, struggling to get the knife from him.
Before Mike could grab the blade the instructor answered with a right cross against Mike’s jaw, almost knocking him out.
“You’ve still got spirit though,” the instructor said, extending his hand and helping Mike up.
Kalen rushed over to help steady him, but Mike waved her off.
“I’m fine,” Mike said.
“Dad, you’re not fine. You need to rest.”
“I said I’m fine.”
He didn’t mean for his tone to come out as harsh as it did, but he didn’t want to appear weak. Not here.
“All right, everyone. Back to your partners,” the instructor ordered.
The rest of the day seemed to go smoothly enough. There weren’t any more combat or shooting exercises. Everything was about strategy and ensuring the unit of men and women you were with understood each other’s roles.
They were dismissed shortly after lunch and Mike, Sam, and Kalen all walked back together. It was the first time they’d really been able to talk since this morning.
“Where’d your mom go?” Mike asked.
“Hospital,” Kalen said.
“What about everyone else?” Mike asked.
“Katie’s doing administrative work at some office, Nelson’s with maintenance, and Mary’s at the hospital. The rest were under sixteen, so they’re at the school,” Sam replied.
“Let’s grab Freddy on our way back,” Mike said.
When they arrived at the school the timid boy who didn’t want to be left this morning was replaced by a disheartened boy who didn’t want to leave.
“Can’t we stay a little bit longer? Ms. Franklin is so cool!” Freddy shouted.
“Yeah, Mr. Grant. When my dad comes to get us he can make sure he picks Freddy up too,” Sean added.
“All right. You two be careful,” Mike said.
“Yes! Thanks, Dad!” Freddy yelled, running back onto the playground with Sean.
“He seems to be adjusting well,” Kalen said.
“Yeah,” Mike replied.
“If they have any beginner combat lessons here you might be able to find someone more your speed,” Kalen said.
Kalen laughed and Mike chased after her playfully. It was nice seeing his daughter smiling again. He hadn’t heard her laugh in weeks. He almost forgot what it sounded like.
The three of them headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and ran into Katie on the way over.
“How was the office?” Sam asked.
“A lot different than the way I would run things,” Katie answered.
“Have you seen Anne?” Mike asked.
“No, not since this morning,” Katie replied.
“Did Mary and her sisters get set up in a room?” Kalen asked.
“Yeah, they’re on our floor. Don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye on them,” Katie said.
The guards were still stationed at the hotel entrance when they arrived. Mike hoped that after Kalen was done with training she would get something simple like what these soldiers were doing. Overall, aside from the sessions today, he hadn’t really seen the guards around the city do a whole lot.
He kept wondering, why all the training? Why have such a military presence? Mike understood wanting to protect what they were trying to rebuild, but he couldn’t figure out who they were protecting it from.
Anne was coming out of the bathroom when Mike entered. She gave him a kiss as she walked over to the dresser where her clothes were.
“I’m pretty sure I still smell like hospital food,” Anne said.
“Is that what they have you doing?”
“It’s not glamorous, but everyone was nice. How was your day?”
Mike rubbed his jaw. It was still sore.
“A little rough,” Mike said.
He sat on the edge of the bed as Anne dressed. They still had only the clothes they brought with them. He wasn’t sure if they were going to get any others while they were here, but that was the least of his worries.
“They put Kalen with the soldiers,” Mike said.
“What?”
Anne dropped on the bed next to Mike. She gripped his arm.
“Why?” Anne asked.
“It was based on the interviewer’s evaluation.”
“They can’t do that.”
“We don’t have a choice right now.”
“No!”
It was the involuntary scream that shocked Mike. His wife was visibly upset. He hadn’t seen her like this in a long time.
“I’ll make sure she’s okay,” Mike said.
“She’s not okay, Mike. She’s different. The things she’s been through, they’ve… changed her. Putting her in this ‘militia’ isn’t going to help.”
“Have you seen what the guards do here? They stand in front of buildings, and patrol the streets. There isn’t any fighting here. Her being in the guard is probably the safest she’ll be.”
“We’ve only been here for a day. We don’t know what they’ll do. We don’t know anything about these people.”
“Isn’t this what we were searching for? A safe place for our family? The cabin was always supposed to be temporary anyway. If these people have the power back on for an entire city, then it won’t be long before it spreads.”
She knelt down, grabbing his hands. He forgot how strong her hands were. When she held them, his hands didn’t ache. He drew vitality from them, the tremors faded.
“I don’t want to lose her,” Anne said.
“We won’t.”
Colonel Cadogan hit the elevator button, sending him to the top floor. Files were tucked under his arm. He was alone, as requested.
When the elevator doors opened he stepped out into the penthouse suite that took up the entire fiftieth floor. It was simply furnished, with only the necessities one would need for a single-person apartment, but had the open space only luxury could afford.
On the south end of the apartment the entire wall was made of glass, giving a spectacular view of the city, which Bram was enjoying when Cadogan walked up behind him.
“The files?” Bram asked.
“Yes, sir,” Cadogan replied.
Bram flipped through the pages.
“They arrived in vehicles?” Bram asked.
“Yes, their vehicles predated the use of microprocessors in engines.”
“Smart. Weapons?”
“A few automatic rifles, handguns, and shotguns. No heavy artillery.”
Bram snapped the file shut and handed it back to Cadogan.
“Any troublemakers?” Bram asked.
“Not yet, but we’re keeping a close eye on them, per protocol with new citizens.”
“Where are we at with recruitment?”
“The only recruiter we’re still waiting to check in is Cain, but he shouldn’t be much longer. Our other scouts have been scouring the north and we’ve already received word that units from Indianapolis and Columbus are trained and ready to join us.”
“Good.”
“Anything else, sir?”
“This Mike Grant that came in today. I’d like to meet him. Set up a meeting for us sometime this week.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That will be all. Thank you, Colonel.”
5
Day 23 (Carrollton)
The stacked cans of food and water seemed to be shrinking. It was all Fay could stare at. She knew she was thinking about it too much, but it was something she couldn’t get out of her mind.
There wasn’t another town for miles. She spent all day yesterday gathering as many supplies as she could and storing them in her and Jung’s rooms, but the bikers had picked over pretty much everything when they arrived, and what
they hadn’t eaten was already spoiled.
The stress creeping into her mind was intensified by the knowledge that she wasn’t just responsible for herself anymore. Jung was useless. If she was going to keep him and his children alive she was going to have to do it herself.
They still had enough food to last them for some time, but there was no guarantee of it lasting until the power came back on.
She would catch herself looking down the road at night, toward Cincinnati, hoping to see some light in the distance letting her know that help would be coming, but she knew it was ridiculous.
If they ran out of food before the power came back on there was only one place left for her to go, but she refused to go back there. The last time she saw the Murth family they tried to kill her.
Still, she had to face the reality of what could happen, and she needed to start preparing for it now.
Fay picked up her rifle and walked outside. It was already midafternoon, and she knew the kids were probably hungry. She made her way down to Jung’s room and knocked on the door.
She didn’t know why she knocked. There was never an answer from Jung. She was just waiting for the day she walked in and found Jung dead with his kids crying over his body.
Jung was lying on the bed with his back turned to the door when Fay entered. Jung Jr. and Claire were sitting on the floor, playing with some toys that Fay managed to find to keep them entertained while their father was… nonresponsive.
“Hey, guys!” Fay said.
Both of them looked up at her and smiled. They were both young enough not to grasp the gravity of what was happening around them, but old enough to recognize that their mother wasn’t there anymore, and that something was wrong with their dad.
“Hi,” Jung Jr. said.
Fay was always amazed at how much Jung Jr. looked like his dad. Claire still couldn’t speak, at least not in terms of anything that Fay could understand. She put her arms out, wanting Fay to pick her up. Fay reached down and grabbed her, swinging the rifle out of the way and positioning Claire on her hip.
“You guys hungry?” Fay asked.
She tickled Claire and Jung Jr. threw his arms up in the air, waving.
“Let’s get something to eat. Do you guys like Brussels sprouts?” Fay asked.
