The First Hours

by Christine Conaway

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  Carrie covertly watched the emotions that crossed Tom’s face as he drove. She couldn’t understand how he could act to cool and collected when she knew he had to be worried sick and if his expressions said anything, he was and so was she. With no children of her own, Teagan was the closest thing to a child she had. The bond had been formed the first second she’d held the baby girl in her arms, the day Tom brought her home from the hospital. Maybe Tom didn’t know it, but she would have followed Tom to hell and back to help bring Teagan home safely.

  She hadn’t wanted to believe her world had fallen apart the way it had. The plane crashing was only the beginning. Watching Tom over the years she had thought him to be a conspiracy theorist or at least a person who didn’t trust the government much and she and Brent had found the humor in it, but it hadn’t hurt anyone, nor had it influenced them to buy and store a life-time supply of long term provisions. Now, she wished she’d listened a little more closely. After the debacle of Katrina, she had taken Tom’s advice and bought a three-month supply from Wise foods out of Utah, but that was as far as she’d gone.

  The only guns she had available were her service Glock and a couple of hunting rifles Brent had used the times he’d hunted with Tom. After Brent passed, Tom had shown some interest in Brent’s Remington .243. Carrie had bought a Leopold scope for Brent to mount, but he’d gotten sick and died before he’d ever used it. She’d have to mention it to Tom at some point and get him to teach her how to shoot it. Not that she could ever see herself hunting with it, but a person just never knew what would be required in their new reality.

  “Oh my God…is that smoke?” Carrie stared at the haze sitting low over the trees to the south of them. She unrolled the window and sniffed. She rolled the window up. “It must be too far away, but it sure looks like smoke.”

  Tom sighed, with a shake of his head he told her, “We’re probably going to see a lot more madness before we have the chance to turn this around if we even can. If the president doesn’t declare Marshall Law and send the military to help quell the civil unrest, there won’t be anything to save. People are going to start dying, and I fear it will be the people who have the knowledge to rebuild. I never paid enough attention to my grandparents when they tried teaching the old ways, but they’re the ones we need. They know how to survive with very little because they grew up living off the land.”

  “I know a little bit about canning and gardening, but I think it’s enough to put some food away. The question is, do we have enough time, and can we protect what we have long enough for a harvest?”

  “This won’t last that long? Will it? They can fix the lights. Can’t they?” Nancy leaned forward again, eager to hear what Tom had to say. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world, forever?”

  “It’s the end of the world as we know it and if I’m wrong, I’ll apologize, but I think it’s going to be years before anyone starts rebuilding. We have to figure out how to survive one day at a time, but first, we have to find Teagan, then we’ll worry about the rest of it.”

  “Maybe it didn’t happen all over. Maybe it’s just here,” Nancy told them hopefully.

  When both Carrie and Tom began shaking their head, Nancy slumped back against the seat and stared out the window. She watched as they passed a small group of people who were hiding behind a car. It was one of those times where you see something, but it doesn’t register. The people carried children on their backs, and Nancy hoped they made it wherever they were going safely.

  They rode in silence, lost in their thoughts. No one tried to stop them or hinder their progress. In fact, some people hid behind stalled vehicles when they saw the moving car. Tom wondered how they had reached the mindset that forced them to hide. What had happened to them to make them so afraid? He could have understood their thinking if more time had passed, but this was only the second day.

  Carrie pointed at a road sign, “One mile. It’s the next exit.”

  As much as Tom wanted to ask her if she thought he was blind, he didn’t. He realized the pressure they were all under and clamped his jaws tight. The only thing on his mind was to find Teagan and get back to the house.

  Since burying his supplies, he’d been tossing the idea around about leaving. When he’d bought the property, he hadn’t planned on having to survive an apocalyptic event. He didn’t see any way to secure the property with the few people he had. One man, one woman, and two girls were not an army by any means.

  They had the means to go with the two cars and probably enough gas to get them there if they didn’t run into problems, but there were no guarantees they would leave the difficulties behind. Being as close to Portland as they were or even Salem and Eugene could spell trouble for them as soon as it sank in that the government wouldn’t be sending help or resources. He thought they might try, but at some point, with the magnitude of such an operation, it would become clear quickly there weren’t enough resources to provide for the needy; which constituted just about everyone without survival skills of some sort.

  With his thoughts on survival, he wasn’t just thinking about defending one’s self or having the ability to shoot a gun, but the knowledge to provide, protect, and feed themselves. Skills that hadn’t been passed down to the younger generation. They knew how to use the internet to shop, fast food had replaced home cooking and replacing had superseded repairing.

  In Tom’s mind, the most significant loss of all would be the familial connection lost to so many of the younger generation. Somewhere along the way, the personal touch had been replaced by texting, Snap-chat, and Facebook. Technology had taken the place of phone calls, Sunday dinner at Grandma’s and family visits.

  As Tom rolled up to the exit, he braked, “I think we need to go further south. It wouldn’t make any sense for the girls to take this road. They’d have to drive by the university, and I don’t even want to think what kind of issues they have there.”

  “You have to drive right past it, no matter which exit you take. I guess the one good thing about going the other way is it’s all four-lane. I wonder if she would see the university as a refuge. Maybe she and her friend would seek help there?”

  Tom didn’t want to voice his opinion of that out loud, under his breath, he said, “I sure hope not.” It wouldn’t be so bad right now, but the chaos that would ensue in the days to come scared him for Teagan’s safety. Compared to some of the other students he felt Teagan wasn’t as worldly or progressive.

  Tom elected to take the four-lane, right on through Corvallis and thought he had made the better choice when they didn’t have any problems through town. He didn’t know why some of the people they saw were still sitting with their cars. Could they still believe that someone was coming to help? It was only the second day, but he would have found a way to leave immediately if he had been stranded, but then, not everyone would believe that this was even possible. While he was still unsure exactly what happened, Tom didn’t think the cause of it mattered unless it was human manufactured. Right then, the fact that it had occurred was the only concrete information Tom needed.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ryan and Teagan watched the exchange between Maddy and her husband, and both noticed that Maddy had shrunk away from Richard when he’d moved in for the hug. They noticed how hard the hug had been when the baby began to scream.

  Richard looked over Maddy’s shoulder, “I don’t have anything to offer you, but some warm water. The power is off, or Maddy here forgot to pay the bill.” His tone was condescending as well as the sneer when the arm wrapped around Maddy’s shoulder, squeezed her to him. She grimaced but tried to cover it with a smile.

  “Water would be great. We can’t stay too long. We need to get home,” Ryan said.

  “That’s a great idea. If Maddy had the car towed home, I might have been able to fix it and give you a ride…”

  Teagan frowned at Richards particular choice of wording. He seemed to blame Maddy for their car not starting, and the way Madd
y shrank away from his touch made Teagan wonder if Maddy had been running away from a bad situation. If that was the case, why would the woman come back? Why wouldn’t she have elected to continue her journey to her mother’s as she’d told her and Ryan?

  “Don’t get involved,” Ryan whispered when Richard went to get them the water.

  It was apparent to Teagan that Ryan saw the same indicators that maybe life here wasn’t as stable as Maddy wanted them to believe, but why would she come back here if that were true?

  As soon as Richard handed them each a bottle of water he apologized, “I usually serve guests out of a glass, but seeing as there are no clean ones,” he tipped his head as if he held Maddy responsible for the lack of clean glasses, “but never mind. This way, you can take it to go.”

  “We’ll do that,” Ryan said and took Teagan by the arm. “It might benefit you to listen to Maddy. She knows what’s going on out there and it’s not good.”

  “I’ll bet she does,” he let his words trail off as if he highly doubted Maddy had anything of value to pass on. Maddy, arms cradling the baby, scurried into the house, leaving both boys sitting at their father’s feet.

  When Teagan began to protest leaving, Ryan pulled on her, propelling her down the steps and out the driveway. “Leave it Teagan. There’s nothing more you can do here,” he told her as soon as they reached the road.

  “But did you hear him? What an ass! Why does she put up with being treated like that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she’s used to his behavior, and he’s all talk. The main point to remember is; we got her and those kids home safely, and we’re on our way. They’re not our responsibility anymore.”

  “So, that makes us less guilty if he kills her or something?”

  Teagan stomped her feet as she walked away. Ryan stared after her in disbelief. They had gone out of their way to get them home and should be enough. There was no way he was going to take on the burden of worry about Maddy’s future survival. His concern was keeping Teagan safe and getting home. He shook his head at his thoughts, “and she’s the one with the gun.”

  Ryan was worried about getting them home without the means to defend himself. The way the man had attacked him for his backpack had left him feeling apprehensive about the next time. He was under no false illusions that it wouldn’t happen again. He was sure the fat man wouldn’t be the first to try to take what others had with the use of physical force.

  Ryan could still feel the after-effects of the fat man. His left ear still rang from the force of the blows. He could have exchanged blows with the man, but Ryan had a problem using his fists on someone much older than him, and the man had attacked with such vengeance it had taken Ryan by surprise. He hoped if he had the same, or a similar situation happen again, he would be able to defend himself or Teagan in a much more aggressive proactive manner. If it hadn’t been for Teagan’s quick thinking, the man’s weigh on his chest could have finished him off.

  He hadn’t mentioned it to Teagan, but he had seen the movement behind curtained windows as they’d walked through town and thought the reason they’d been left alone was that they’d had Maddy and the children with them.

  Without having to pack a child on their backs it would allow them to move faster and hide better if it came down to it, but he knew at some point, he would need to be armed with something. He felt unqualified to get into a fight with his bare hands. While he had been a wrestler in high school, it wouldn’t get him far unless he could maul someone. He hadn’t taken up boxing and felt unprepared to do battle with just his fists, and he couldn’t expect Teagan to always have his back.

  “Do you want to get back on the freeway?” Teagan finally asked him. She had remained silent after leaving Maddy, and Ryan couldn’t help but wonder if she had put his words under her personal microscope and found him lacking. In different circumstances, he may have encouraged Maddy to go somewhere other than her home if he had known in advance the reception she was going to get. She hadn’t mentioned anything about her less than desirable living circumstances. How could they have known she wasn’t going to be well-received? He hoped he didn’t have to listen to Teagan lamenting about the children’s and Maddy’s safety, the rest of the trip.

  “I think it would be the most direct route, but what about our walking only at night? We’d be able to see if something was going on in front of us because I don’t know that we want to meet up with anyone else.” Ryan rubbed a hand across his cheek. He had to find a weapon before they did run into someone else. The ringing in his ear had settled into a low buzz, not as irritating, but bothersome just the same. It would be a constant reminder not to let anyone else get the jump on him.

  Ryan realized how exposed and vulnerable they were, not only by walking but by their lack of weapons. Teagan did have her pistol but as far as he knew she had no extra bullets and while Ryan hoped she would never have to shoot anyone, his gut told him one or both of them would, and he remembered the determination with which Teagan had pointed the gun at him. The barrel of the tiny pistol had looked like a cannon when he was looking down the business end of it, but it would look like a pee-shooter to someone better equipped.

  “We need to find a different mode of transportation; otherwise it’s going to take us a week of walking to get home.” Teagan dragged her feet, “My Dad is going to be so pissed at me. I bet he knows by now that I lied to him about going.”

  “Boy, you’re really stuck on what your dad thinks. I bet he’ll be so happy to see you he won’t care about what you did or didn’t do.”

  “You know, I did tell him, but I don’t think he was really listening. All he went on about was how a girl could get her reputation ruined for one weekend of fun, and how alcohol is bad for you and people do stupid things when they drink.”

  Ryan looked at her and saw the disappointment on her face, “Do you drink?”

  She frowned, her mouth stretched into a grimace, “Ew, no. I saw how stupid some of the people in my class acted after drinking beer and didn’t like what I saw. They didn’t only throw their inhibitions away, but did it with enthusiasm and acted like fools to boot. I don’t think I’ll ever drink alcohol. The fact is that he thought I would. I can’t believe he doesn’t know me any better than that.”

  This person her dad was talking about didn’t sound like the Teagan he remembered from school. At the time, he had thought about how mature and responsible Teagan seemed. She didn’t strike him as the type to drink or do stupid things and the fact that she was a year younger than the rest of her class made him appreciate her even more. He heard how all she thought about was her studies and getting good grades and had thought about asking her out but was told by anyone he asked about her, not to bother. Apparently, she didn’t date. He had watched her all through his senior year, and then his life got busy, and he had put any thoughts about her aside.

  His folks were having trouble with Trevor and little time for his problems. When Trevor asked him to go with him to the coast for the senior trip, and he’d mentioned it to his father, his Dad hadn’t asked him to go, but told him to he had to and see that Trevor didn’t get into any trouble. That’s exactly what he wanted to do for the only weekend he had available before he left for basic training. He’d come home with the idea of telling his parents he had enlisted in the marine corps, but with Trevor problems, he hadn’t found the opportunity. Now, he wondered what would become of his enlistment. Would someone come looking for him and arrest him for not showing up at Camp Pendleton or was that even important with what was going on.

  Ryan had enlisted, not because he felt every person needed to serve their country but because he needed the strict orderliness the military would provide. For too long his life had revolved around Trevor, with supervising his behavior and keeping him out of trouble. Too many times, Trevor’s actions had been blamed on Ryan’s lack of supervision. The day after he graduated, Ryan had moved away from home. No one knew the troubles Trevor had not got caught doing, and Ryan co
uld see the writing on the wall. Trevor was going to do something that would prohibit Ryan from ever having a life of his own. If he hung around his brother for too long, one or both of them would end up serving time, effectively quashing Ryan’s hopes of ever joining the Marines and his life would be trashed.

  “I think you might be underestimating your Dad. I only met him one time, but he seemed like a decent guy, and I bet he’s not as angry as you think. He’s probably worried sick about you right now, and I bet if he had a way to get here, he would be.”

  “Maybe, but I doubt it. He’ll be too busy being the Sheriff.”

  “You make that sound like a bad thing.”

  Teagan sighed, “It’s not, but I wish he had a normal job like other people. Even on his days off, he’d get called away for something and whatever plans we had would fly out the window.”

  “But at least he was dedicated to what he believed in. That has to mean something.”

  Teagan laughed, “Yeah…he’d rather go play cop than go to the beach or the fair.”

  “Now, you sound petty.”

  Teagan grinned sideways at Ryan, “You’re right, I do, but at the time, it always felt like he cared more about other people than he did about me.”

  Somehow, during their conversation, Ryan thought their relationship had taken a turn. It seemed to him that Teagan was beginning to feel comfortable talking about something in her private life, but maybe he was over-thinking it.

  “I bet that’s not true now and never was. He obviously takes his job seriously, and I did hear he is one of the best.”

  “Hmph!” Teagan snorted, “I don’t know about that, but he is gone a lot. Did you know that when I was little, I thought Carrie was my mother? That’s how much time I spent with her. I thought my Dad was just the guy who always came to visit and brought ice-cream.”