by James Hunt
“Once you change I have some food for you,” Jake said pointing to the peanut butter crackers on the dresser.
“The bathroom’s over there. Come out when you’re done,” he said.
Hannah clutched the sheet to her chest and picked up the clothes Jake had thrown her. She walked to the bathroom and shut the door. A few minutes later she came out wearing a shirt that was a few sizes to large and a pair of baggy jeans. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and walked to the dresser. Her hands shook when she picked up the box of crackers. She tried opening one of the packs, but was to weak to do it.
Jake grabbed the pack from her hand and ripped one end of the plastic open. He extended his hand, offering it to her. His hand lingered in the air for a moment before she took it. The first cracker went to her limps slow, but she brought the rest to her mouth greedily. She grabbed the bottle of water and chugged it down, coughing a bit from drinking to fast.
Once she was finished with one pack she tore open another one and devoured it, continuously sipping water while she did.
Jake sat on the bed across from her patiently waiting for her to finish. Once she was done he leaned forward, his hands folded together.
“What were you and your family doing here?” Jake asked.
“Vacation,” she said.
“Where are you from?”
“California.”
Hannah’s eyes watered. The swollen lip started to quiver. Her head dropped and then she started nodding.
“What did your husband do?” Jake asked.
Hannah wiped her eyes on the shirtsleeves and rubbed her nose clean of any snot dribbling down.
“H-He was a financial investor.”
“And what were you guys doing in Ohio on your vacation?”
“We were doing a cross-country trip. My h-husband and I wanted o-our girls to see the country.”
Jake could see her barely holding it together. Her whole body was shaking. She was tired and afraid. She had no idea where her girls were and no husband. Jake knew, just as she did, that her life was over.
“What you did to save your girls was courageous, Hannah. You’re a very brave woman. Frankie would have raped all of them,” Jake said.
Jake stood up and paced the room. He ran his hands through his matted hair.
“You see Frankie’s different than I am. He lacks a certain amount of control. He’s more animal than man. He’s vicious, dangerous, manipulative, and angry. Whatever he wants he takes. He doesn’t care who gets hurt along the way. Now, you add him to this type of climate where everything is chaos? Where there’s no law, no rules, no decency? Well… This is a world he was made for and he’ll live for a very, very long time.”
Hannah had pulled her legs and arms in and formed herself into a ball sitting on the bed. Jake looked at her curled up, retreating into herself.
“With the way things are now people like you and your husband will die. People like your daughters will die. You and your family don’t have what it takes to survive in this type of world. You don’t know how to flip that switch on that transforms you into someone like Frankie.”
Jake joined her on the bed. Hannah jumped back, recoiling when he sat next to her. A few stray strands of hair had escaped her ponytail. He smoothed them out with his hand. Hannah flinched, her eyes closing when he touched her.
“One of my men was killed yesterday. Now, the only people that made it out of here alive when we showed up were your girls. Do you think their survival switch flipped on? Do you think that after seeing their mother raped in front of them and the fear of knowing they would be next finally caused them to see the world for what it really is? What it’s always been?”
“They wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Hannah said.
Her voice was shaking as she said it. Jake could hear the effort put forth in being strong, but she was betrayed by her emotions.
“And that’s why you won’t make it, Hannah. Just like your husband you don’t understand what people are really capable of,” Jake said
***
“How’s he doing?” Ulysses asked. Thanks to the meds, Ray had been dozing for a while.
Anne tossed the bloody bandages into the trash. She pumped a few sprays of hand sanitizer onto her hands and rubbed them together.
“His fever’s down. The antibiotics seem to be working,” Anne said.
Ulysses rubbed his knee. It was still sore from the previous day. He could walk on his own still, but he couldn’t move very fast and he wasn’t able to put a lot of pressure on the left leg.
“How about the girls?” Ulysses asked.
“The only one that’s said anything has been Mary. The other two haven’t said a word,” Anne answered.
“Did they tell you what happened?”
Anne turned to Ulysses. She had the face of a worried mother. Someone who feared for the safety of the people put in her care.
“Mary did. Ulysses, if those people find out we’re here they’ll-”
“Nobody saw me, Anne. We’re safe. Trust me. The only way you could find this cabin is if you knew where you were going,” Ulysses said.
Nancy sat crouched in the hall eavesdropping on their conversation.
“But what if someone else stumbles across us? What if someone else finds us by accident? By now people have started roaming around looking for shelter, food, safety. That’s what people are looking for and will kill to get it,” Anne said.
“Anne, we’ll be okay.
Nancy could hear footsteps coming from the kitchen and she took off back down the hallway into Freddy’s room where she and her sisters were sleeping. Freddy was staying in Ulysses’ room to make space.
Mary was brushing Erin’s hair when Nancy burst in.
“What are you in a hurry about?” Mary asked.
“They’re going to give us up,” Nancy said.
“Who?”
“These people.”
“Nancy, they’re trying to help us.”
“Mom wouldn’t want us to be with strangers.”
“Mom would want us to be safe, and right now we’re safe with them.”
“But mom-”
Mary slammed the brush on the bed. Erin hopped down and backed away from her. Mary’s voice was exasperated when she spoke, the stress from the last few days finally boiling over.
“Damnit, Nancy, mom’s not here!” Mary said.
Nancy stood there quietly. Erin crouched in the corner of the room. Nancy walked to Erin and put her arm around her. Mary exhaled.
“I’m sorry,” Mary said.
“You’re sorry? You’re sorry for what? For scaring Erin? For yelling at me? For giving up on mom?”
“I didn’t give up on mom, Nancy.”
Mary picked up the brush from the bed. She ran her fingers over individual prongs. She felt the tiny balls of plastic move over her palm.
“If you haven’t given up on her, then why is it that every time I talk about her you change the subject?” Nancy asked.
“Because I’m scared.”
“You’re scared?” Erin asked.
Mary and Nancy stared at Erin. It was the first time she’d spoken since they left the motel. Mary got off the bed and joined her sisters.
“Yes, but it’s okay,” Mary said.
“Is mommy really dead?” Erin asked.
“No, she’s not dead. She’ll never be gone from us. She loved you very much, Erin. She loved the both of you more than you could ever know.”
Mary threw her arms around both of her sisters and the three of them rocked back and forth with each other in silence.
***
Kalen had her ear pressed against the other side of the door, listening to Mary, Nancy, and Erin. Both Anne and Ulysses heard the commotion from inside their room and lingered at the end of the hallway. Kalen walked down to meet them.
“It’s going to be hard for them,” Kalen said when she joined her mom in the kitchen.
“It’s been hard for everyone, sweet
heart,” Anne said.
“Maybe, but me and Freddy only lost dad. We still have you and grandpa. They lost both their parents.”
Kalen realized that they hadn’t spoken about her dad since they arrived. No one had mentioned him. None of them had taken the time to slow down and talk about it.
“We didn’t get to say goodbye,” Kalen said.
“No, we didn’t,” Anne said.
Ulysses moved uncomfortably in his chair. He pushed himself up off the armrests and hobbled to the door. He limped down the front steps and onto the pine needle ground of the forest floor. The pain shooting up his leg became too much and he stopped to lean against the Jeep, propping himself up for support.
Anne and Kalen came running outside after him.
“Ulysses,” Anne said.
Kalen wrapped her arms around her grandfather and buried her face into his chest. Ulysses wrapped her up. His body was shaking. Anne walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.
Day 11 (Mike’s Journey)
“I don’t have anything else!” Fay screamed.
“That’s bullshit and you know it!” he said.
“Guys, knock it off,” Mike said.
It was the third time they had stopped like this today. Fay and Tom had been building up some animosity toward one another since yesterday.
Fay had her rifle gripped a little too tightly. The barrel was next to Tom’s head. He shoved the barrel down. Mike jumped in before Fay swung at him.
“Enough!” Mike said.
Jung and Jenna held Jung Jr. and Claire in their arms. Sean hid behind Nelson’s legs. Clarence came over with Mike to help diffuse the situation.
“Break it up you two,” Clarence said.
“Look, I’m not the one who decided to remember to bring their stupid watch instead of enough food to last them the trip!” Fay shouted.
“The only reason I didn’t have enough food was because I was helping you get your supplies,” Tom said.
“Take it easy, Tom,” Mike said.
Mike turned, took Fay by the shoulders and pointed her down the road.
“And you keep walking,” he said.
Fay stomped off and headed down the pavement. The To family, Nelson and Sean, and Clarence followed after her. Mike hung back with Tom.
“She knows I’m right,” Tom said.
“You don’t have anything left?” Mike asked.
When Tom exhaled the fight went out of him. He swung his pack around and unzipped the main pouch. He opened it up and Mike glanced inside. It was completely empty.
“I told you that it would be at least a two day trip, Tom,” Mike said.
“I know! It’s just… I haven’t been rationing like you told us to.”
Mike dropped his pack to the ground and pulled out a can of peaches. He handed it to Tom.
“I only have one of those left, so that has to last you until tonight. We should be at the cabin by then,” Mike said.
“Thanks.”
***
The road was taking its toll on everyone, especially the kids. Sean had been such a good sport the entire time, but he was starting to wear down. Nelson could see it on his face.
“Dad?” Sean asked.
“Yeah, buddy?”
“How much longer do we have to go?”
“We’re almost there. Just a little while longer.”
The lump on the side of Nelson’s face had gone down. The headaches were also starting to subside. He hadn’t mentioned anything to anyone, but he was still having nightmares from when they were mugged on their first day out.
He was so embarrassed about what happened. If Mike hadn’t been there then he could have died. Sean could have been hurt, kidnapped, or killed.
He was also struggling with what he’d done back in the neighborhood when Mike’s house was burning down. Nelson tried to justify it in his mind that if he hadn’t killed Ted, then Mike would have been the one to die. The justification of killing was never a choice he thought he’d have to make.
“Hey, Dad?” Sean asked.
“Yeah?”
“How long do you think it’ll take mom to catch up with us once she gets home?”
That was a topic Nelson had evaded desperately. He hadn’t spoke about his wife with Sean since they’d left. He knew it was going to be hard for Sean to understand that they wouldn’t see her again, and he didn’t want to see his son suffer anymore.
“I don’t know, bud,” Nelson said.
“I just hope we left her enough food to make it. I know that we don’t have much left and I think we took more than we left for her.”
“Well, you know mom could never finish her meals anyway. We always had to help her with desert, remember?”
“That’s true.”
Sean stayed quiet a moment before he spoke up again.
“Is mom dead?” Sean asked.
“What? Why would you say that?” Nelson asked.
“I don’t know. We don’t talk about her and I thought she’d be here by now. I keep thinking that any minute she’s going to appear behind us on the road, shouting our names, and we’ll see her running to catch up with us, but every time I turn around to check nobody’s there.”
Nelson could feel his legs growing weak. He knelt down in front of his son. He smoothed Sean’s wavy blonde hair. He had his mother’s nose and her eyes. When he looked into his son’s face he could see her as clear as day.
“Well, then let’s talk about her more, okay? That way we can remember all the good stuff,” Nelson answered.
“Okay.”
“Do you remember her favorite ice cream?”
“Mint chocolate chip.”
“That’s right. And do you remember what she did when you were in the school play last year as Peter Pan and you lost your costume the day before opening night?”
“She made me a new one,” Sean said smiling.
As they walked Nelson continued to talk about his wife with his son. Its purpose had been to make Sean feel better, but the more they spoke about her, the lighter the burden of remembering her felt.
“She made the best macaroni and cheese,” Sean added.
“Do you remember when you were in first grade and mom wasn’t feeling well and you tried to cook some of the spaghetti art you made for her?”
“Yeah, I remember you finding me and asking me what I was doing and then we had to throw away all of the spaghetti art in the house because I got mad at you for not letting me cook for her.”
“I actually don’t think I’d mind having some of that spaghetti art right about now.”
“Me either.”
Sean giggled and Nelson threw his arm around his son. He turned around and saw Mike making his way toward them with Tom in tow.
“Looks like Tom and Fay sorted out whatever was wrong,” Nelson said.
Mike pulled Nelson aside. He kept his voice low so nobody within earshot could hear.
“Everyone’s running low on food. Watch yourself,” Mike said.
Nelson watched Mike head to the front of the group, but saw him slow down once he made it. The whole group stopped, but nobody understood why. Nelson squinted in the distance to see what Mike was looking at, but it was too far to see. It wasn’t until the gunshots rang out that he realized what Mike was looking at.
***
“Jenna!” Jung yelled.
He rushed over to her. Claire and Jung Jr. were both crying. Jung Jr. had his mother’s blood on his face, shirt, and hands. He stared down her, lying on the ground with a hole in her shoulder, oozing blood.
Everyone hit the ground once the gunshots were fired. Mike had waited for more shots to ring out, but nothing came. He looked through the sight of his rifle, trying to locate the source of the shot. He scanned the roadside, along the trees, around the abandoned cars, but he couldn’t see anyone.
He could only hear the screams coming from Jung who was hunched over his wife, keeping pressure on the wound.
“Jung!
Get your family off the road and into the trees. Tom, help Jung carry Jenna,” Mike said.
Tom rushed over and hoisted Jenna up, lifting under her armpits. Mike looked up at Fay who was also flat on her belly looking through her scope, scanning to see where the gunfire had come from.
