Age of Winter

by Logan Keys

  “You tired?” Michelle asked, seeing the sun was low outside.

  “Not really. You?”

  They were both exhausted, but the urge to keep moving had kept them up many nights already.

  Michelle shook her head and decided that though it might be rude, she was going to look through the house’s contents. Just in case they could find some stuff they would need for the rest of the trip.

  Bob went for the garage first while Michelle tried the bedrooms. She found winter clothing that would no doubt fit both of them, but she only took what she needed. She traded her worn out boots for some that were still in the box. It didn’t snow this far south. Usually.

  When Bob returned, Michelle was sitting on the bed of the two parents staring at their photographs on the wall. “This house was once filled with love. Do you think they are in heaven now, Bob?”

  He glanced from photo to photo, but she knew he wasn’t seeing this family. He was seeing his own. “Yeah.”

  They returned downstairs and Bob mentioned that he’d found some gas for the jeep and maybe they could drive north and see if they could find a way around the water.

  Michelle agreed.

  “They had a below-ground shelter in their garage,” Bob said, watching Michelle’s reaction. “Weird, right?”

  “A little. Seems like rain and water would get in there.” She was still staring at Bob, sensing the alarm before it fully registered.

  “It looked airtight.”

  Michelle and Bob stoked the fire quietly after that. They went and brought in some wood, placing it by the front door to dry out. They learned the last time to be prepared.

  Without talking about the room that was airtight and underground anymore, they each grabbed a book off the shelf to read by the fire. It wasn’t an extensive library, but Michelle found some hot chocolate and heated up some water and they each chose a story to their liking.

  Michelle wasn’t embarrassed about her choice of a romance story that involved a Genie. Bob had made a more intelligent choice of Moby Dick. But she figured, you only live once.

  Cups poured, they both hummed their bliss as they sipped the cocoa. It was like a miracle being able to do something of luxury for just a while. That never happened anymore.

  “When did you want to leave” she asked.

  “As soon as the storm….” Bob glanced around, listening. “Is it over?”

  Michelle listened but it was silent. “I guess so.” She stood and went to the front door. She opened it and saw that it was snowing in the night. Big flakes were falling. Abnormally so.

  “Bob,” she said in a tight voice when he joined her.

  “What?”

  “Look at the snowflakes.”

  “Yeah, I see them.”

  Michelle’s voice was a lofty falsetto. “Have you ever seen them that big. They are like sheets of paper.”

  Bob was clearly in denial. “The weather has been strange… you know that.”

  The sheets slowly landed, piling up quickly as more and more rained down.

  Michelle turned, her eyes widened. The fire was flickering, acting like it was going to go out.

  “No,” she argued. “We have more time!”

  But it was. The frost had arrived.

  Chapter Four

  Southern Arizona

  A week had passed, then two at the new place and the group settled into their routines. It had gotten much colder and the flu spread like wildfire through their camp. Chuck’s friends were not young anymore and they both were so sick that Doctor Scott was staying at their place, taking care of them.

  Brittany was busy rushing between the two. Seeming impervious to the illness, she was busy taking supplies to them all and helping them as best she could.

  On the third week since arriving, the first person died. A woman named Stacy. Her lungs had just filled right up and she passed away. Her husband had said she’d always had a weak immune system and that she needed a hospital almost always whenever she got sick before the fall.

  They had (Doctor Scott but he wasn’t able to do much with such limited supplies.

  Two days later, Stacy’s husband and three other people passed away, including Doctor Scott. The biggest loss was Randy, Chuck’s friend who’d let them stay at his camp.

  Brittany tried to be there for Chuck but he’d closed himself off to her. Sure that Cindy, Randy’s wife would be close behind, he felt guilt and responsible for it all. Even admitting to Brittany that he felt like he brought the people to them and therefore the sickness. Which she explained was preposterous, that they might have gotten sick anyway but had no help or good friends to help them as they did now.

  How she truly felt was kept to herself. She had started to think of herself as the Jonah of the group. Did Chuck understand that everything she touched turned to ash? That it wasn’t him that was cursed, but her?

  And if she told him maybe he’d realize the truth of it and throw her out. Brittany was too much of a coward to take that chance.

  She administered aid as best she could, trying to keep fevers down. They found a breathing treatment machine but could only use the medicine on the most ill and very sparsely so it wouldn’t run out.

  They had meetings every so often, and Chuck called one that day. He rounded them up. His eyes were red, and his shoulders sagged.

  “Though we had plenty of food when we arrived, we’ve gone through half already. This is a large group with more turning up every day.”

  He left off the fact that his calculations didn’t include those dying.

  “We will have to ration supplies, and I’ll be taking some of you all hunting with me. It snowed several inches last night and doesn’t seem to be letting up. So, I can only take you if you are certain that you’re not ill since the hike will be tough. Also, as for the medicine Brittany has been giving out, it will now have to go to young children only. I’m sorry,” Chuck said, holding up his hands as people protested the new rule. “We only have so much of it.”

  Chuck cut them all off with an uncharacteristic quickness. He started packing for his hunting trip and before he left, Brittany put a hand on his shoulder. “You are doing the best that you can.”

  Chuck fixed his hat firmly on his head and searched Brittany’s eyes. “Am I?” was all he asked before turning and walking away.

  **

  With Chuck gone, George was twice as boisterous, easily rallying people to his side. He was always starting some mess or another, but Brittany couldn’t forget how he’d helped them before. So, she kept quiet as he built his little band of rebels to fight against the order of the camp. Chuck’s order.

  But it worsened when George became ill one night. He demanded that she give him a treatment. “I can’t,” Brittany said. “You know I can’t.”

  George was furious. “Why? Because Chuck said so? Who made him the boss?”

  “I’m going to drive over to check on Cindy. She has no one and you have all your…friends.”

  George rushed up to her, getting in her space. “And are you giving her a treatment?”

  “No.” Brittany refused to step back.

  He eyed her with suspicion “Then leave the machine and medicine here.”

  “Yeah. Right,”

  “Then give us some food. We’re starving, Brittany. The new rations are too small, and you know it.”

  “I wish I could. I don’t even have the keys.”

  George’s eyes flashed. “Liar You two are best buds. He thinks somehow he can replace Paige with a… someone else. Chuck wouldn’t go out hunting without leaving someone in charge of the goods. He’s a jerk not an idiot.” George’s face twisted with anger… and fear, she realized because he thought about that fact. They might be locked out without food.

  “Guess Chuck plans on getting back then,” Brittany said with a shrug. She turned and got inside Chuck’s truck. Then she realized that the keys were attached to the truck’s keyring.

  Hoping the dark hid them well enough
, she pushed them into the ignition and started the truck.

  George lunged at her, reaching into the window, but he wasn’t going for the keys. Instead he clawed at the breathing treatment machine.

  Brittany hit the gas, peeling way before he could get it. The truck swerved onto the path, and George was flung away.

  She breathed heavily as she glanced out the rearview mirror. Her heart beat fast as she saw George standing there, watching her with hatred. Her window was open, so she could hear him clearly as he yelled, “If I die it’s on your head, you hear me! Just like Paige!”

  **

  Brittany’s hands still shook as she unlocked the lock at the storage shed where they kept all of the good and things. The food and water sat in neat little piles that shrunk every single day. Everything was in this shed and she did have the keys. She’d lied to George because she didn’t want to cause a riot. Or worse, for him to murder her.

  She wasn’t sure the last thought wasn’t paranoia. but she was too tired to investigate it further. She left for the house, trying to calm her nerves and prepare to help Cindy all that she could.

  “Hello,” Brittany said at the door, but she entered knowing that Cindy was too sick to come and let her inside. “I’ve brought some soup,” she said.

  Brittany found the dogs all sitting outside of the door to the bedroom. Before she even entered, she knew what she would find. Just by their strange reaction, she knew something was wrong. Usually they’d bark at her and run around Cindy’s feet. Randy passed, and they’d been quiet, but now, they were like little statues, waiting for their owners to return.

  “Oh no,” Brittany breathed. She went into the room and found Cindy in bed, still and cold.

  The flu had gotten her, too. At the bedside, Brittany found a note. Well, a map with a note on it.

  In shaky writing it said, “In case of emergency”. And there was a map marked out with paces. Fifty paces in this direction thirty in another.

  Brittany folded it up and stuck it deep in her pocket. She then fed and watered the dogs and made sure the dog door was free to let them all in and out. After opening the bedroom window wide, she shut the room up and put a towel to block smells under the door. The cold would come rushing in and keep the woman’s body cool enough until Chuck returned to bury his friend.

  Brittany could have stayed at the house, away from George, but the thought of sleeping with a dead woman in the room worked its way into her enough that she finally left. But before she exited, she piled the car high with all of the goods they had in the house. She would offer it to the camp and George as a peace offering.

  When she arrived, he was waiting, but seemed pleased with her efforts.

  He didn’t say thank you, but he took them with a nod, which for him was as good as a thank you.

  Still, with the note in her pocket and the keys in the other, it was hard not to feel like she had a diamond ring shining on her finger in a poor part of town. She felt like they’d figure out she was withholding at any minute and that night sleep only came in fits full of stops and starts. Many times, when shadows loomed, she expected to find George standing over her.

  **

  The next day Chuck had not returned. He’d stayed out far longer than he’d prepared for or….

  Brittany feared the worst. She felt like she had secrets burning holes in her pockets and wondered what she’d do without him. If Chuck completely disappeared, what would she do? George would take over, that was clear, and he might see her as some sort of threat. What then?

  Brittany didn’t really recall the exact moment she decided to look for Chuck, but as night arrived the next day and then wore on, she had already packed her things, slept only a few hours, and rose with dawn to leave at first light.

  First, she checked to make sure that Chuck hadn’t arrived in the night, and when she was certain that he had not, she headed out, realizing that she really didn’t have anyone to even say goodbye to. Chuck was it. He was the only one left. And she had to tell him about Cindy passing, or make sure he was all right. She had to give him the note and keys. She didn’t want them anymore, either of them. She didn’t like the responsibility of it all.

  Chuck had given her a rough idea of where he’d be hunting, and Brittany headed out that way first. She was careful not to lose the path that led back to camp either, but it was disorienting being in the blanket of white. The snow kept falling. Before, this type of cold would have had Brittany hiding in the house with a coffee, heat turned up, blankets galore, but now, she was outfitted for the cold, and even though the heat was quickly zapped from her body, she wasn’t as impressed by it as before. She knew she could survive it now.

  The time since the fall had toughened her up somewhat.

  Chuck had said there was a ridge, and they’d be in the valley on the other side of it where he’d hunted white tailed deer not long ago, before the fall. She saw the ridge easily enough but found no tracks. They’d been long gone, she figured, with the first snow.

  Still, it would have been nice to see some signs of life. The ridge was a tough climb, tougher with the snow, but she made it up the side and stood on its peak. Shading her eyes, she scanned the horizon and below into the valley. In the distance she thought she might see some figures, or maybe they were trees only half covered in snow.

  She decided to check it out anyway. Brittany worked her way down the hill into the valley. She only slipped a couple of times, once rolling tens of feet until she thought she’d hit a drop and break her neck, but she stood and shook the snow off afterwards, still alive.

  She’d twisted her ankle however, and the going was slow the rest of he way. Thoughts of her being lost in the wilderness scared, alone, and eventually frozen to death for Chuck to find wormed their way through her mind, but she forced them down. “One fall isn’t the end of the world.”

  Once on the flat parts of the valley, her ankle eased up slightly, and she could walk semi-normal if she was careful. It had been hours since she left, and she decided that halfway to the blobs of what she hoped were humans she’d sit and have some lunch. She had a can of peaches, and though that would have turned her stomach once upon a time, now, her mouth watered thinking about them.

  Brittany gaged how distant she was from where she thought Chuck might be and figured the spot she was at was about half way before she unpacked. The snow had started to fall, so she found a tree and sat underneath it. Her fingers and toes stung as she rubbed them, trying to get the blood to flow once more. She pulled up a gater over her nose letting her breath warm the edge of it to keep it from frostbite. It had just started to get cold enough where those things mattered once more.

  The peaches went down easily, but the freezing water she only sipped, afraid that she’d mess up her body temperature. She was comfortable at the moment, as comfortable as someone could be in the freezing cold, but at least she wasn’t starving anymore. The food gave her energy and a brighter outlook. When she stood, she had renewed purpose. Find Chuck. Give him the map and keys. Hope that he understood what it meant.

  Relieve herself of the responsibility as quickly as she could.

  But as Brittany walked onward, she started to feel the weight of guilt. Why should Chuck handle it all? Why shouldn’t she be responsible, too? She wasn’t Paige. She made that clear before, but was it fair that she threw it back in his face every time she carried even a little of the burden that Chuck carried all the time? What would Paige say if she were still alive?

  “Help him,” Brittany said out loud in her best mimic of Paige’s deeper voice. “Help him because you have him and he has you and you two have no one else anymore.

  Her monologue was interrupted by the popping sound of a gun going off before a bullet whizzed past her head. Brittany didn’t think—she just dropped to the ground, face into the ice. Mouth full of snow, she sucked in breaths through her nose. Was she hit?

  She didn’t feel like she was, but her body was half numb. How stupid could she be? She had
known they were hunting, and she was dressed all in brown. Covered halfway in snow and moving through a valley that was empty, she was like asking to be shot as a deer.

  Stop! She tried to yell but nothing came out. The snow was melting between her teeth making them ache, and a muffled whumph was all she could get through her frozen lips.

  “Brittany!” she heard Chuck shouting in the distance. “Is that you?” He was moving closer, his voice tight with disbelief. “Britany, oh my God! Did I hit you?”

  Brittany sat up, feeling her chest and arms then legs. She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.”

  Chuck rushed forward and checked for himself, patting her down. Are you sure? He cupped her chin and made her look at him “Whats wrong? What’s happened?”

  Brittany sighed, and tears threatened. “Cindy died. I’m so sorry, Chuck.”

  Chuck hunched over, rubbing his brow in sadness.

  Brittany glanced around and saw that they were alone. She pulled out the letter. “Does this make any sense to you?” she asked.

  Chuck frowned and took the note. His face cleared. His mouth quirked on one side. “Yeah. Yeah. It does. Wow. Randy must have done it. He must have finally built it.”

  “What?”

  “He always wanted to have a bunker made for …well for now. But he must have been hiding it in case we had trouble. Until the last minute.”

  Brittany sighed. “And we should, too,” she said, then hesitated before taking the map back. “I’ll keep this.”

  Chuck watched her carefully for a moment then agreed, “Good idea. Did you have any trouble?”

  Brittany shook her head. “No. Not anything I can’t handle.” She lied. “I just came to tell you about your friend. I felt you should know.”