“Imogen! I am so glad you are there. ” Her mother frantically, blurted out. She wanted to tell her mother what had happened, then she realized that something was wrong with her Mother's voice. “Mom, what is wrong?” The woman continued, “ She's at home Gerry ...” She said to Imogens' father. She was still freaked out over what she saw Carly do. She felt afraid, but numb, at the same time. She listened to her father speak. “Oh, thank goodness!” he said in the background. The fear grew stronger within Imogen. “Honey. You have to stay inside, until Dad and I get back home. Okay? Lock the doors, Gen. Do you hear me? Don't answer to anyone, alright?” She heard her father say from the back ground, “Tell her where the gun is...” There seemed to be some yelling in the background. “Sh ….Jerry. I will.” Her mother said to her Dad. Now, they were both speaking into the phone. Her mother said, “ Honey. You know that we love you. Right? We are stuck here, at the Cafe. Something is going on across the street.
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They have everything closed off, right now. We are not sure what it is, yet. We will be there as soon as we can....” Her father cut in, “Gen. Stay in, Honey. People are saying that, people are getting attacked by crazies. Stay in, and get the gun out of my night stand drawer. There are a couple of boxes of bullets there, too. You will be there by yourself for a while. We have to wait until they let everyone outside. Some kind of riot or something, started by the crazies. Don't worry. We will just be a little late. Okay?”
Imogen said, “Dad, you guys are scaring me.” She was already upset enough, after seeing what had happened to Carly. She was becoming really scared, now. “Just lock the doors, Honey.” In the background, the yelling was now screaming, and Imogen could hear gun shots. It sounded like glass was being broken. Imogen called out, “Mom...Dad...What was that?” She could hear more chaos. All of the sudden, it sounded like there was a struggle. Both of her parents yelled, “I love you,” at the same time. Before she heard the phone go dead, she heard pops, and someone was gurgling. Then, it was quiet. Imogen sat down at the dining room table. “Mom! Dad! Are you there? Mom?” She just stared at her cell phone, in shock. She called her parents back. It went to voice mail. She started to cry. She called 911. She heard a busy signal. She started to cry, harder. She re-dialed the emergency line, over and over, again. Every time, she heard a busy signal. She felt hopeless. How could she get her parents some help. She called her uncle Jay. He was not picking up, either. “What is happening?” She called her mother's cell phone back. It went straight to voice mail, again. She called her father's cell phone. It also, went to voice mail. She went into the family room, and turned on the television. She was crying. There were a few movies on the movie channels. Some of the channels had a blue screen, instead of nightly shows or movies. She was trying to find some local news. Just to see if whatever was happening made the news. She stopped on a local channel. The broadcaster spoke calmly into the camera. She looked spooked, but spoke, as though, she was medicated. She listed some phone numbers for local Authorities. She said something about a quarantine going into effect on the west side of town. She blurted out, “Effective, today?” For a few minutes, Imogen listened to the pharma-laden announcer spell out how continuity of government would be activated within twenty-four hours. “Continuity of Government? Isn't that martial law?” she blurted out. She heard something outside. She glanced up.
She thought that she saw a shadow at the door. She went to a window, and peeked outside. It was getting dark, now. She noticed that, the Kids next door were not in their driveway. They played basketball there every night, until around nine o'clock. In fact, she noticed that the lights were off. Their whole house was dark. “They must be out of town, or something.” she said out loud. She could not shake the feeling of impending doom. She turned the television off, and took a shower. She still felt uneasy. She was worried about her parents. She remembered what her mother said, “They were at the Cafe. “ But, which Cafe?” If she knew where they were. She could take her Dad's pickup. He would be mad at her, but she would know that they were okay. Her Dad's Ford F150 truck was his baby. It stayed parked when he and her mother did things together. The truck was in the garage, but Imogen had no idea where they were at. She decided to get online. She typed in the words; News in Northwest Indiana. The page loaded with many links. She clicked into one. There was a video from, Channel 4 news. The newscaster spoke into the camera. She was visibly nervous. Behind her, Imogen could see more than one building burning, on one street. She could see a violent riot taking place. Some of the people had their faces covered, and carried flags that showed pictures of a hammer and sickle on them.
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They screamed obscenities, and acted like spoiled children. But, all of the people were not fighting, or chanting things. It looked like, some of them were biting each other. She saw two buildings that were on fire, looked to be destroyed. The woman spoke to the camera. “Here we are on Beak Street. Where the body count is not yet in. There was a protest happening. Witnesses are saying, that it all started with a mob of people who came out of the blue. The mob started attacking protesters. These kind of protests get out of control, often. But, witnesses say that people are being bitten. Police are asking that all citizens stay away from this area tonight. Due to the nature of this incident, federal authorities are already on their way to help.” Imogen could see the people in the back ground. Some were bloody. Some were being helped by police. It looked like the police had part of the street blocked off. Next, she looked up cafe's in the area. She knew that this incident was happening on Beak street. She typed in, Beak street Cafe's. Sally's Cafe came up. She felt a bit of hope when she read the name of the business. She wrote down the address. She rushed into her parents' bedroom. She went straight to her father's night stand. She jerked open the drawer. The gun and ammunition were right where her father had stated. She took both boxes of ammunition. She took the clip and slid it inside the gun. She had been taught how to use the gun. But, was not that good with it. She kept it locked. She shoved the gun inside her waist band. She put the ammunition inside her purse. “You are not going to need all of this!” She told herself. She took the bullets back out of her purse, grabbed a handful of them, placed them in her pocket, then placed the boxes back into the night stand drawer. She took her dad's truck keys, then rushed to the garage. She sat inside her father's truck, waiting for the garage door to open. As soon as it opened, she backed out and headed for Beak street. As she drove down Main street, she noticed that there were almost no people out. She saw two people wandering around at the corner. They looked drunk. As she came closer to them, she noticed that one of them had red stains all over her blouse. As she came even closer, and passed them, they both turned towards the truck. They almost walked into the truck as she passed by them. She swerved into the middle of the intersection to avoid hitting them. As she went past them, she saw the look on the face of the woman. She looked twisted. Imogen felt her heart race. She had to get to her parents. She felt like her heart would explode. She started tell herself. “Snap out of it.” She drove faster. She sped all the way to Beak street. When she came to where the Cafe was, she was met by a black SUV. She saw two men dressed in black SWAT clothing. They were standing in the middle of street, in front of a road block. They were both holding a large gun. One of them approached the truck. Imogen reluctantly, rolled the window part of the way down. He said, “ Hello there, Miss. We cannot allow you to pass through the road block. I am sorry. You will have to find another route.” She said. “ My Parents are there.” She pointed down the street. “I just need to pick them up. I'll get them really fast. And, we''l be gone. I promise.” He said, “Anyone left over there isn't leaving without getting checked, first. Sorry.” She was flustered and aggravated at the same time. What was wrong with this guy? “What do you mean by; get checked?” she asked. She could see people walking around. There were a few firemen and police. But, a lot of men in black military garb. She studied the background. It looked like there were
some people, too. It looked like they were standing behind a gate. He said, “You cannot go in. Sorry. Now, turn around and find another street.” She studied him. He looked tired, and was obviously in a bad mood. “What is going on, over there?” She asked. He said, “ Call your City Counsel. They will give you information on changes occurring within your community.”
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She frowned and rolled her eyes. She blurted out, “ Thanks a lot.” She put the truck in reverse, and turned around. She asked herself, “How can I get to the back of those buildings?” She drove around the block. Road blocks were set up at every way into that street. She studied the buildings and the walkways. She looked for a way in. She noticed a narrow walkway that led to an old office. The office sat back off of the street. The parking lot was placed to the other side of the walkway. This walkway led to a side door to the office. But, that was not what she was interested in. It was what was beyond the side entrance. The walkway kept going past the side entrance to the office. And, there was a gate there. “Just climb that gate, if it's locked.” she said to herself. She drove the truck across the street. She parked next to the curb. She exited the truck and ran up onto the side walk that led to the back of the building. Once at the gate, she stopped, and looked over her shoulder. She was terrified. Her heart was pounding. She tried the gate latch. It opened. She inched the gate open, and peeked into the back of the property that was connected to the office. She went through the gate, closing it gently. She turned and tip-toed through the grass. She came to an alleyway. Inching her way around the corner of a building, she could see other buildings. What she was seeing was the back of the buildings that stood across the alley. She ran to the back of the gangway. She peeked around the corner of the building. She got a view of the sidewalk, and street at the end of the building. Some one walked past, she jumped back so that they would not see her. She could see a few people walking around. She watched in horror, as the Authorities shot them down. She had to cover her mouth, to stop herself from crying out. She saw a door, and opened it to peek inside. It was a storage room to one of the businesses. She slowly, walked inside, closing the door behind her She scanned the room. There were cleaning supplies on shelves, and boxes stacked up in rows. She crept down the isle. She was afraid, but needed to find her parents. She came to a door, then pushed her ear up to it. She tried to see if there was anyone behind the door. If there was, she knew that they may shoot her, too. She didn't hear anything, except gunfire, and yelling outside in the distance. She opened the door, and looked out through it's opening. She could not see anyone.The lights shining in from outside were so bright that, they blinded her. She moved closer to the front. It was Elsa's Bakery. She crouched down behind the counter, so that she could get a look at what was happening outside. As she peeked over the counter, she could see people roaming around outside. As she looked around, she saw some bodies laying in a pile in the street. She watched in shock, as people were being shot like wild animals. Some of them were walking right into the bullets. She saw someone that looked like her mother in the pile of bodies. It was her mother. And she was moving. She stood up. “Mom!” She saw a man, who was dressed in black, walk to where her mother was trapped in the pile of bodies. She watched helplessly, as he shot her mother in the head. She stopped moving. She was dead. Imogen grabbed her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Tears welled up in her eyes. She could feel them streaming down her cheeks. She felt like she could not breathe. She stayed there, for a long time, frozen from shock. She just stared at her mother's lifeless body. She could not take her eyes off of the twisted look on her mother's face. She fell from her knees, to her side. She started to cry uncontrollably. She covered her mouth, but still sobbed through her hands. She was not sure how long she lay on the floor crying. At some point, she realized that she heard people yelling. She looked up, through the items inside a glass case. She saw some of the people wandering around, right in front of the window. “Why aren't they running from the men with the guns?” she whispered. One of the men slammed into the window. She jumped to her knees, and crawled to the side of the counter.
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Then, crouched down. But, he saw her. She saw him, too. He looked twisted and crazy. She stared at him in fear. She could not believe what she was seeing. He pushed his face up against the glass. He was bloody, and had gray/blue skin. He had the same look that Carly had on her face, when she bit her mother. Imogen held her breath. She couldn't move. The man kept looking right at her. He never took his eyes off of her, as he clawed at the window. She heard a gun shot. The man slid down the window. His blank eyes were fixated on her, as he slid to the ground. She lay down on the floor to hide from the men who shot him. They ran up to him, and started to fire more shots into the man's body. Imogen held her ears, as she lay down on her side, at the end of the counter. She heard one of the men yelling orders. He said, “It was trying to get to something in there. Go check it out.” When Imogen heard that, she went into a panic. She crawled further into the corner, hiding between some machinery, and the end of the counter. She heard the sensor on the door chime when they came in. One went to the back, he could not see her. The other came to right where she was hiding. He stood right over her. She held her breath, and squeezed the handle of the gun. He was tall and well built. He was dressed in black. He held a fully automatic rifle, and wore a bullet proof vest. His hair was sticking out from beneath his black cap. Looking right at her, he clinched the rifle. She held one hand over her mouth, the other on the gun. The other man asked, “Anything there?” He stared right at her, “Nothing here.” He turned around. Then, to the side, right in front of her. The man said, “It must have seen a flicker of light, or something. They both left. Imogen sat there for a long time. She heard gunfire, yelling, and growling. In the distance, she could hear men yelling orders at other men. She kept seeing her mother being shot in the head. She could not get the thought out of her mind. She woke up the next morning on the floor. As soon as she came to, she remembered the events from the previous day. The last thing that she remembered, was staring at the display case in front of her. She felt hopeless, doom. She didn't know what to think. She sat up, and started to cry. After some time passed, she came back to her senses. She knew that, she needed to get out of there, and before those men came back. She peeked up over the counter, and through the window. She didn't see anyone. The scene outside looked like a war zone. She crawled back to the other counter, then ran out the back. She ran, as fast as she could, to get back to her father's truck. Once inside, she sped back home. She cried all of the way there. She saw some people fighting at a bus stop. She drove past them. She didn't even care. She drove her father's truck up into the driveway. She waited for the garage door to open. Then, drove into the garage. She pushed the button to close the garage door on the remote control. As the door closed, she thought that she had seen someone walk up the driveway. She didn't even care. She let the door close, and sat in the truck for hours. She was jolted out of her daze when her cell phone beeped. She felt a bolt of relief. She could see the number. She knew that it was not her parents number showing on the screen. She still hoped that it was her parents. She swiped the green phone icon, “Mama! Are you guys alright?” It wasn't her parents. It was Molly Denson. “Gen. I just wanted to say good-bye. I am going to visit my parents, for awhile. It's crazy out there. I tried to call Carly. I didn't get an answer. I just wanted to tell you guys that, I would see you when I got back. “Imogen quietly, replied, “You have a good trip. Be careful, Molly. I think it's worse than you think out there.” The voice on the other end replied, “ That's what Dad said. He says they are closing everything off. Be careful, Gen.” Imogen heard a voice in the background. “Honey. Come on. We need to get out of here.”
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“Bye Gen. I'll call later.” The line went dead. Imogen sat there, still in a daze. She was trying to process everything that had happened. She now, remembered that, her mother lay in the pile of dead bodies. Then, she remembered tha
t the pile of dead bodies was gone when she woke up. She stepped out of the truck. She went inside the house. She checked, and locked the doors to the home. She went to her room and sat down on the bed, and cried some more. She took a shower, and cried there, too. After she came out of the shower, she put on some sweats. She sat on her bed and thought about what to do next. She had never been on her own. The sight of her mother being shot kept replaying in her head. She thought that she would go crazy. She picked up her father's gun. She remembered that, the rest of the ammunition was in her father's room. She rushed down to her parent's bedroom. She rifled through the nightstand. She pulled out all of the ammunition and took it to her room. She put the two boxes of ammo next to her bed. She felt lost. She lay on her bed, still in a daze. She fell a sleep until the afternoon. When she woke up, she was already crying. She lay there, thinking about everything. She was so tired and confused, before. But now, she was energized, and moving into survival mode. She pulled her laptop over to the bed. She started surfing the web, she was in search of answers. She found videos of people fighting other people off. They called those attacking, the dead. One man, showed how to shoot them in the head to kill them. He said, “That if, you could not shoot them in the head, to stab them through the eyes, or temple.” She spent hours watching videos, and news links. “Why didn't we hear about this on the news?” She became angry that, the public had not been warned about what was coming. She lay back against the head board. She still could not believe what had happened. She made up her mind to go out and drive around town to get look at the scenery. For days, she walked around in total emotional, and psychological fog. At some point, after watching more videos on what what was going on out there, she started to plan how to handle the situation that, she was now trapped in. She contemplated what she should do next. She knew that, soon, she would not be safe in her home.
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