Broken Lines Omnibus: A Tale of Survival in a Powerless World

by James Hunt

  Of all the things that happened since the power went out, and after everything that transpired, the first memory that popped into Jung’s mind was his wedding day. He could still remember the butterflies in his stomach, waiting to see her.

  The moment when he saw Jenna walk down the aisle, time stood still. All he could see was her, smiling with her arm tucked around her father’s. He remembered the swelling pride that filled him, knowing the kind of woman he was about to commit his life to. She was kind, smart, and loyal. Whatever perfection he could have conjured up in his feeble mind wouldn’t have held a candle to his wife.

  Jung felt inside his pocket and ran his fingers across the smooth surface of the prayer beads. He pulled them out, clutched them in his hands, and closed his eyes.

  “I’m lost, Jen. I failed you. I failed our children. I need you down here with me. I can’t do it alone. I miss you,” Jung whispered.

  The tears rolling down his cheeks were accompanied by the silent sobs of grief. He could feel his shoulders trembling as he hunched over, bringing his forehead to the dirt.

  Fay came over and placed her hand on his back. She helped him up and with her help he walked over to her headstone.

  Jung kissed the beads in his hands before setting them on the headstone. He wasn’t just letting go of his wife. He was letting go of whatever soul he had left. The final piece of the man he used to be was left there at Jenna’s grave.

  ***

  Beth ran the knife down the belly of the deer, spilling the intestines onto the ground. The deer’s pelt was already removed and set aside. The buck yielded a fair amount of meat after it was gutted, around sixty pounds.

  Beth wrapped the meat and discarded the entrails to the pig trough. She was stacking the venison in a bag when Cain walked in.

  “Need some help with that?” Cain asked.

  Before she could answer he picked up the bag and threw it over his shoulder. On the walk back to the house Cain stayed close enough to make her feel his presence, but far enough away to where she wasn’t uncomfortable.

  “Your boy’s quite the hunter,” Cain said.

  Beth kept her eyes on the house, ignoring him. Her heart rate accelerated. There was a refined recklessness about him that put her on edge.

  “Your husband taught him well,” Cain said. “They were very close, weren’t they?”

  “Yes,” Beth answered.

  “His passing was recent?”

  “About a week ago.”

  “Probably for the best.”

  Beth stopped and turned around. She was never a woman who expected to be pitied, or felt sorry for, but even she recognized a certain level of sympathy for someone who had just lost a husband and a father.

  “What did you say?” Beth snapped.

  “You heard what I said.”

  Cain’s voice was low. There was a threatening tone that went along with it. She felt as though he was challenging her, unafraid of the subject matter and the normal, cordial way someone would handle the situation.

  “You needed him to die. If he didn’t you wouldn’t have anything to hate. You wouldn’t have anything to drive you forward like you do now,” Cain added.

  Beth yanked the bag of venison out of Cain’s hand. She shoved her finger in his face and started screaming.

  “You have no idea what’s best for me and my family, so don’t pretend that you do!”

  She turned to leave and Cain grabbed her shoulder. The move was violent, and it was the first time he’d touched her since his arrival. Beth thrashed against him, but he was too strong. Her efforts were as fruitless as water breaking onto a rock.

  “Is that why your other boy’s not here? Because you knew what’s best for your family?” Cain asked.

  “Stop it.”

  “I wonder why he left?”

  “Let me go.”

  “Where is he, Beth?”

  She could feel Cain’s grip harden around her arms. It was like a vice clenching down on her. The more she fought it the harder he squeezed.

  “Did your son leave because you were weak?” Cain asked.

  “No.”

  “Could he not stand the sight of his pathetic mother and younger brother begging him to save them?”

  “He was the weak one!”

  Cain let go of her arm. Her entire body was shaking now. The emotions of everything that happened were finally catching up with her.

  “I drove him out because he killed his father! Because he couldn’t survive like I could! Because I hated him for being weak!” Beth screamed.

  The smile that cut across Cain’s face was like watching a miner cut through stone, revealing a precious metal that he’d been searching for his entire life, and now he had finally reached the reward for all those years of laborious efforts.

  Cain grabbed the bag of meat back from Beth’s grip and continued walking toward the house. Beth just stood there, frozen. She couldn’t believe the words that left her mouth.

  The terrible, burning truth that had waited patiently to escape was now out in the open. Beth hated Billy for what he did. She didn’t want to forgive him and she didn’t want him to come back. All she wanted was to make him pay for what he did.

  ***

  Billy kept an eye on the kids while Fay took Jung to visit Jenna’s grave. The children hadn’t visited the grave yet, but Fay didn’t want them to go with their father when he was in such a vulnerable state. She didn’t think it would be good for either of them. Billy agreed.

  Jung Jr. pushed a small truck along the floor and Claire kept crawling after him.

  Billy and his brother used to be like that. Joey would follow him wherever he went. Billy never had a moment alone. It got to the point where it was annoying. Now, he’d give anything to have his brother look at him the way he used to.

  The door to his room opened up and Fay poked her head inside. She motioned for him to come outside. He closed the door behind him and noticed Fay still had Jung’s room key in her hand.

  “How’d he take it?” Billy asked.

  “Hard to tell. He didn’t say anything to me.”

  “Did you tie him back up?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What are we going to do about the kids, Fay? We can’t keep them from their father forever.”

  “We might not have to.”

  “What?”

  “He’s giving up, Billy. We can’t force him to eat or drink. If he wants to waste away, then that’s what he’s going to do. It’s not like we can sedate him and put him on life support.”

  “How can he do that?”

  “He’s broken, Billy. He has been for a while now.”

  “That doesn’t mean you give up! That doesn’t mean you quit! You keep pushing!”

  Billy caught himself. He didn’t realize how loud he was, or how much he was shaking until he saw Fay backing away from him. He relaxed his hands and exhaled.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just…”

  “Your family will forgive you, Billy. It’ll just take time,” Fay said.

  “I know.”

  ***

  Cain sat at the kitchen table with Joey and Beth. The sunlight still shone in through the windows. The rays caught the dust floating through the air. He sat there watching the small particles dance, drifting back and forth, and swirling in unorganized patterns.

  He’d been on the road for weeks, searching for people to recruit for Bram’s cause. While most of his other colleagues focused on larger cities, Cain took a different approach. He spent his time traveling through smaller towns looking for soldiers who didn’t realize the war they were already a part of. Once Cain found them, all he had to do was polish them up.

  “So it’s true?” Joey asked. “The power’s on in Cincinnati?”

  “Yes,” Cain answered.

  “When can we go?” Joey asked.

  “You haven’t earned it yet,” Cain replied.

  There was a test, something Cain administered to every prospect he came acros
s. It required no skill or training, simply a certain frame of mind.

  All of the people that Cain had come across were survivors. They could all hunt or were prepared with supplies to last them years. Most of them were competent with some kind of weapon, but every single one of them failed the test.

  He’d all but given up his search until he stumbled across the Murths. When he found them he was able to put most of the pieces of their puzzle together himself. He spent a lot of time studying them, watching them. They were creatures of unyielding habit. They pushed forward, no matter what, and that’s what made Cain believe they were the right fit.

  He knew he would get chewed out once he made it back to Cincinnati. Bram would have a fit that he’d been gone for weeks and managed to bring back only two new recruits, but Cain knew that whoever passed his test would be in it with their life.

  Cain rose from the table and walked over to the wall where the large cross hung, watching over the house.

  “’Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go,’” Cain said. “Do you know what that’s from, Joey?”

  Joey shook his head. Cain reached for the cross and took it off the wall. He walked back over to the table, standing between Joey and Beth.

  “It’s from the book of Joshua. After Moses died the Lord commanded Joshua to lead the Hebrews across the river Jordan, and promised him that whatever ground his foot touched would be his,” Cain said.

  Cain gripped the cross with both hands. His forearms tensed up, squeezing the cross.

  “What a crock of shit,” Cain said.

  He snapped the cross in half and tossed the pieces onto the table. Beth jumped from her seat and Cain backhanded her across the face. Joey lunged after him and he tossed the boy on the floor next to his mother.

  “Where is he?” Cain demanded. “Where is your God? What has he given you? Your husband is dead. Your brother has exiled himself. You’re running out of food and time. You’ve placed your destiny in the hands of a man you cannot see or hear.”

  A welt was growing on Beth’s cheek where he struck her. Cain’s eyes softened. He grabbed a rag from the kitchen and dipped it in a bucket of water in the sink.

  “Come here,” Cain said, motioning over to Beth.

  Beth went to him timidly. He dabbed the welt gently and looked down to Joey. Beth closed her eyes. Cain bent down to Joey’s level. He knew he could convince him. He knew the boy would have it in him.

  “Your brother killed your father, Joe. That’s not something you can let him get away with. If you want you and your mother to survive you have to take action,” Cain said. “Can you do it, Joe?”

  “Yes,” Joey answered.

  “Good.”

  ***

  “I’m hungry,” Jung Jr. said.

  Billy was drifting off. Jung Jr. had been tugging on his arm for the past ten minutes, but he was too tired to do anything about it.

  “We just ate, buddy,” Billy said.

  “But I’m hungry again.”

  Then the jumping up and down to demand attention started, followed by Claire attempting to emulate her brother, only adding to the noise.

  “Okay, okay. Let’s go grab something,” Billy said.

  Both kids squealed with delight. Billy led them outside and over to Fay’s room where the food was stored. The sun was sinking low in the west and when Billy first heard the sound he thought he imagined it, but it was growing louder in the distance.

  “It’s a car,” Billy whispered to himself.

  He picked Claire up and grabbed Jung Jr. by the hand and sprinted toward Fay’s room. She was out the door before he could knock.

  “You hear that?” Billy asked.

  “Which direction is it coming from?”

  “East I think.”

  “Take the kids inside.”

  “What? Why?”

  “We don’t know who’s coming. You have your rifle on you?”

  “It’s back in the room.”

  “Grab it. Quickly!”

  Billy dashed to his room. The rifle was leaning against the corner. He grabbed it, checking the magazine to ensure it was loaded, then headed back over to Fay and the kids.

  “Stay in here until I say it’s safe to come out. If something happens, stay hidden. Your best bet is to stay here and hope they keep going,” Fay said.

  “But—”

  “No exceptions. Now, get in there and stay quiet.”

  Billy hurried the kids in the room and he locked the door. He sat the two of them on the bed and put his finger to his lips.

  “You guys need to stay quiet for me, okay?” Billy said.

  Jung Jr. and Claire both brought their fingers to their lips. Billy smiled.

  “Perfect,” he said.

  Billy stepped softly over to the window, staying low to remain out of sight. He could see Fay crouched behind one of the cars, her eyes glued down the road.

  The vehicle’s engine grew louder, and it sounded as though it was slowing down. Whoever it was planned on taking a look around.

  It was some sort of military vehicle. It stopped directly in front of the motel and the engine cut off. The windows were tinted, but even if they weren’t Billy wasn’t sure if he’d be able to see who was inside.

  His hand pressed against the window, almost breaking the glass, when he saw who stepped out. It was his brother, and his mom, with a man he didn’t recognize. All of them were armed.

  Before Fay could aim her rifle, Beth brought her down with a shot that echoed through the courtyard.

  Billy dashed out of the hotel room, forgetting the kids in the room.

  “Mom, stop!” he screamed.

  Then, when his mother saw him, he watched the barrel of her rifle point at him and he ducked for cover behind the staircase. The bullets ricocheted off the concrete. Billy peeked through the spaces of the stairs and watched both his mother and brother advance on him.

  He didn’t know what to think. Was it this man they were with that was making them do this? Were they acting on their own? What was happening?

  The thought of Jung Jr. and Claire suddenly flooded his mind. He couldn’t let his family hurt them. Billy brought the rifle’s stock to his shoulder. He closed his eyes, exhaling slowly.

  When he opened his eyes he jumped from behind the staircase and fired a few rounds in his mother’s direction, causing her to jump behind one of the small stone walls in the courtyard. He tried looking for his brother, but he couldn’t see where he went.

  He used the wall behind him as a guide and kept his sights on his mother as he backtracked to the room where the kids were. He finally made it to the door and backed inside.

  Before the door was shut he felt hands grip his neck and face. The rifle hit the floor as Billy tried to free himself from Cain’s hold, but it was useless. The more he struggled the tighter Cain squeezed.

  “Shhh,” Cain whispered.

  It took Billy a moment for the scene in front of him to sink in. Both Jung Jr. and Claire were on the floor, crying and holding on to each other while Joey stood next to them with his rifle aimed at both their heads.

  Joey was looking at him, but it wasn’t his brother’s eyes staring at him. It was some other creature’s gaze. They looked like their father’s eyes.

  “Your brother wanted to come show you something,” Cain said.

  Billy screamed through Cain’s hand, trying to talk to his brother, but all that came out was mumbled cries. His eyes moved from Joey’s finger on the trigger to Jung Jr.’s and Claire’s crying faces.

  “Show him, Joey. Show him who you are,” Cain said.

  This wasn’t his brother. This wasn’t any type of reality he knew. How could it be? It was a nightmare. He just had to wake up.

  The barrel of Joey’s rifle pressed against the side of Jung Jr.’s head. Billy started to feel light-headed. The room started to go black.

  Claire’s f
ace was beet red from crying. Her screams were piercing, scared. She clutched onto her brother, whose face was just as red and afraid. Joey’s hand was shaking.

  “Do it,” Cain said.