“Oh, hi Stan.” It was his neighbour Bill, from across the street. “They won’t open the doors. It’s too dangerous, he says, with no lights. He says they’ll open when the power comes back on.”
“Sounds reasonable,” said the insurance agent. “Why is everybody so mad.”
“Some people walked quite a distance to get here. And you know how it is. We all plan a day ahead, thinking that we can run to the store anytime if we need something. Now the store is not cooperating.” Bill turned away. “We’re lucky we don’t have far to go. But I’m getting my ass out of here before trouble starts.”
“Good idea.” Stan made his way back to where Miriam and Tara waited. “Guess we won’t have hot dogs today. Let's try the hardware store for batteries.”
The hardware store was locked up too. The only open business was Mr. Reilley’s ice cream shop. A sign in the window offered cones for $1.00. Through the window, they could see Danny leaning on the counter. He waved when he saw them.
“Let's go in,” Stan suggested.
The little bell over the door tinkled when he pushed it open.
“Slow day?” Stan asked his son.
“Yeah, nobody seems to want ice cream even though it's so hot. Guess they’re more worried about their cars.” He nodded to the street where several people still hovered around their vehicles. “We have to get rid of the ice cream, or it’ll just melt.”
“Well, maybe it’ll pick up. We’ll have three cones, won’t we girls.”
“Big spender,” Miriam giggled.
They left the store licking their ice cream and sauntered homeward.
To Stan’s relief and Tara’s chagrin, Will and Biff were no longer sitting outside.
“When we get home,” Miriam said, “We’ll dig out all the camping gear. There’s probably still fuel for the camp stove and I think there are a couple more flashlights around somewhere.”
“Do you think this is going to last ‘til tomorrow?” Tara turned tear-filled eyes towards her mom. “What will Julie think if I don’t call or text?”
“You’ll both survive,” Miriam said wryly. “For now, let's just worry about lunch.”
Chapter 4 - Hardships
September was on the horizon and still, the town stayed dark. Miriam was worried that the camp stove would soon be useless. She had worked frantically to cook all their frozen meat, but with the hot weather, it was beginning to spoil anyway. The whole town was on strictly rationed water alert. The mayor was reporting that there was still water in the storage tank at the edge of town, but without rain, it would soon be empty. Every day Stan and the kids hiked to the river and filled buckets for washing. A muddy trail was soon beaten to the narrow beach by the residents of the town.
Miriam worked listlessly. It was hot in the kitchen. The sun blazed through the window over the sink. She could see Stan and the kids picking the last of the peas. Both teenagers looked sullen. Stan was smiling and talking and even though she couldn’t hear him, she knew he was trying to assure them that everything would be okay.
She sighed and turned back to the vegetables in the sink. They had washed most of the mud off the potatoes, but there was still a lot of debris piling up in the basin. Usually, she loved this time of year, bringing in the garden, canning fruit and generally storing up for the winter. This year, she was gaining more respect for the pioneer women who had to struggle with these circumstances every day of their lives.
The screen door clicked behind her and she turned, smiling. Tara didn’t return the smile. She thrust the pail of peas at her mother.
“I’m going for a walk.” She announced. “I’m sick of this house.”
Before Miriam could answer, the door slammed. She could see the top of her daughter’s head moving quickly towards the gate and freedom. Stan stood up but didn’t call out. He shook his head and said something to Danny, pointing at the house.
A few minutes later they joined Miriam in the kitchen.
“We need something to drink,” Stan said.
Miriam turned on the tap, praying that water would flow. She breathed a sigh of relief and filled two glasses.
“Can I go too?” Danny whined after draining the glass.
“Where will you go?” his mother asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll go see Todd. I haven’t seen him since this all started.”
Stan flapped the back of his hand toward the door. “Go. Ride your bike. See what you can find out.”
The boy was gone in a flash. Stan pulled a chair up to the table and sat down heavily. “Is there any of that coffee left?” he asked.
“There is, but I hate to waste fuel heating it up.”
“Don’t bother,” Stan said. “I’ll drink it cold.”
Miriam poured two cups from the tin coffee pot and sat next to her husband. Her once shiny hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Lank strands had escaped and she pushed them behind her ears.
“If this keeps up,” she said, “I’m going to cut it off.”
“Don’t do that.” Stan protested. “I love your red hair. I thank God every day that our kids inherited it.”
“Yeah well, you don’t have to try to comb it and keep it clean with no water.” She paused. “I know Tara is thinking the same thing.”
“Let’s give it another few days before doing anything drastic.” Stan put his hand over hers. “This can’t go on much longer.”
“That’s what we said two weeks ago.” Miriam gazed out the window. “If it lasts another two weeks we’ll have to worry about heat. I don’t think the gas fireplace will keep us very warm. And we have the garden, but that doesn’t give us milk or eggs. Even if we had them, they’d go bad with no refrigerator and no way to cook.”
Stan squeezed her hand. “I know. At least the manager is letting people into the grocery store. He’s not charging either, just trusting his customers to take what they need.”
She pulled her hand away. “It's probably not trust so much,” she said, “as the fear of everybody breaking in and taking it anyway. Besides, what good does it do to let the food rot? Look what happened to Mr. Reilley’s ice cream. He ended up throwing it all away.”
“I never ate so much ice cream.” Stan grinned. “Danny must have brought half the stock home.”
As if the thought had caused him to appear, Danny burst through the door. The screen door slammed, and they both jumped slightly.
“Todd’s leaving!” Tears streamed down the boy’s face. “His mom and dad haven’t come home since the blackout, so he’s taking his little sister and going to his Auntie’s on the other side of town.”
He slumped down in the nearest chair. Miriam rushed to give him a hug.
“Where did they go?” Stan asked concern etched on his face. “Why didn’t Todd come and tell us he was all alone?”
“He didn’t want to leave the house in case they came back,” Danny sobbed. “He and Amanda have been eating dry cereal. It’s all gone now so he’s going to his Auntie.”
Miriam looked across the top of her son’s head at her husband. “We’d better go and see if he’s okay. I’ve been so busy that I never thought to go check on the neighbours.”
“I’ll go.” Stan stood up. “Do we have something I can take them to eat?”
Silently, Miriam handed him a bag of apples.
She had never been so thankful for the large backyard with its mature fruit trees. When they had bought the house fifteen years ago the apple tree had been a sapling. She had nursed it along until it had grown to its current height. Every spring the blossoms lifted her spirits signalling the end of a northern winter.
“Can I come too?” Danny swiped at his eyes. His freckles stood out in stark relief against his pale face. His red hair stood up in clumps where he had brushed dirty hands through it.
Stan looked at his son thoughtfully, trying to imagine him struggling to look after himself for weeks in an empty house. These kids had never had to live without every convenience at their fingertips
. Most people in the small town had a garden, but the children had no concept of how much work it took to produce the food that grocery stores sold.
“Dad?” Stan shook himself out of his reverie.
“Sure. We’ll take Todd and his sister to his Aunt’s house, just to make sure she is there.” Privately he wondered how many of the townspeople had not made it home when their cars suddenly quit. After delivering Todd and his sister, he would ask Phil to help him organize a survey of the town.
Chapter 5 – Looking Ahead
The family gathered around the kitchen table. It was September 10 and the blackout had now gone on for a month. The hot days of summer were past and the evenings were getting shorter. The mountains were dotted with yellow where birch and poplar trees broke through the canopy of evergreens.
Stan cleared his throat. “Your mother and I have been talking,” he began. “And we think we should get out of here and go to Grandma and Grandpa’s farm.”
Danny looked up from his plate with interest. “Why?”
“Well, it’s getting colder now and we don’t have any way to keep warm. How’s that for a reason?” Stan smiled at his son.
“I’m not going!” Tara slammed her fork down. “We’ve got food and water. The power is going to come back on any day now. I have to be here.”
Miriam spoke softly, but there was steel in her eyes. “Of course, you’re going. We’re a family and will stick together. Your dad and I think this is the best thing. Auntie Mo and Uncle Tim are coming too.”
“Oh great!” Tara pushed her chair back and jumped to her feet. “You want us to be trapped in Grandma’s little house with those twins! And how would we get there anyway? It’s not like we can drive!”
Before either parent could reply, she ran from the room. They looked at each other and grimaced.
Danny was shovelling carrots into his mouth and still chewing asked, “How will we get there, Dad?”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Stan said automatically. “We’ll ride our bikes. The twins will ride on the back and I’ll find some baskets for the handlebars. We’ll carry what we can.”
Danny’s forehead wrinkled as he thought this over. “You know,” he said. “When we were at Todd’s house, I saw a trailer for bikes in the garage. They used to pull Amanda in it. Maybe we could borrow that.”
“That’s a good idea,” Stan remembered the day he had gone over to the Willson’s to take Todd and his sister to their aunt’s. The boy had been distraught, as well as he might be. They had been living on cereal and whatever was left in the cupboard. The little girl had met them with her blond curls tangled and a face smeared with the day’s lunch of pork and beans. Todd had burst into tears when he saw an adult on his doorstep. Stan had never felt so guilty in his life.
That guilt drove him to start knocking on doors. Most of his neighbours had answered, but he found two more hungry kids with no parents in sight. Luckily they had grandparents in town who were happy to see them.
As Stan had handed a grubby four-year-old to a relieved older man, he asked, “Didn’t you wonder when you hadn’t heard from your daughter?”
“We just assumed they were out of town and couldn’t get back. It never occurred to us that they would have left the kids behind.”
“No. I guess it didn’t occur to us either.” Stan stood on the front step and looked down at the child and her brother. “I wonder why the kids were alone.” He shook the old man’s hand before he left. “If you need anything, be sure to call.” They both laughed a bit. “All right, don’t call.” Stan chuckled. “Just come and find me.”
He scribbled his address on the back of a business card and the old man took it with a shaking hand. Stan turned away and continued his canvassing.
There had been no answer at the Thompson’s. He peered through the kitchen window but saw nobody.
“How far is it to Grandma’s?” Danny interrupted his thoughts.
“It’s about eighty kilometres,” Miriam answered for her husband. “It’s a long way, but we’ll take a tent and camp on the way. We’ll take all the canned goods and vegetables we can carry.” She gave her son a gentle push. “It’ll be fun, camping like we used to do.”
“What about Tara?” Danny turned wide blue eyes towards his mom. “Will she come?”
“Of course, she’ll come. She’s fifteen. She goes where we go.”
Stan stood up. “Let’s go get that trailer.”
Miriam watched him leave, noticing that the potbelly he had carried around for the past few years was almost gone. Without it, he looked taller. Danny strode beside his Dad. He was almost as tall now. Both of them needed haircuts. Danny’s hair was brushing his shoulders.
Miriam sighed and started up the stairs. She was going to talk sense into her stubborn daughter if it killed both of them.
She tapped lightly then pushed the door open. Tara was lying on her back staring at her useless phone. When the door opened, she turned her head and glared at her mother.
“I’m sleeping!” she snapped.
“No, you’re not. You’re pouting like a five-year-old.” Miriam sat on the edge of the double bed. She reached over and brushed a strand of hair from her daughter’s forehead. A few auburn curls had escaped from the normally tight braid. The girl scowled and brushed her hand away.
“It’s not fair!” The green eyes filled with sudden tears. “It’s not bad enough that Julie had to move away, now you want me to leave all my friends and my school and everything!”
She took a shuddering breath. “I just know the power will come back on any day, and everything will go back to normal.”
“Maybe it will,” Miriam said softly. “But right now, we have no lights, no car and soon, no water. So far, the town system has kept up, but once the water tank is empty, with no pumps to refill it, the taps will quit. Don’t you understand? This is not an attack on you. It’s the only way your dad and I can see to get through the next little while.”
Tara rolled away, turning her back to her mother. Her shoulders shook as she cried silently. “It’s not fair.” She mumbled.
Miriam stood up. “You can stay here today and feel sorry for yourself, but tomorrow we start packing. Only take a few changes of clothes and anything you can’t live without. And think of your Dad for a minute. He’s almost frantic worrying about his parents. This is about them too. If the power comes back on, we can borrow a car and be back home in an hour.”
The door closed softly.
“I’m not going!” Tara screamed to the empty room. “You can’t make me!”
Chapter 6. – What happened to Tara?
Stan hammered on his daughter’s bedroom door. “C’mon, Tara. Today is the day. Rise and shine.”
Only silence greeted him. Stan shrugged and continued down the stairs. He shivered in the early morning chill. As he entered the dark kitchen, Miriam gave him an enquiring look.
“Are they up?” she asked.
“Danny is, but Tara’s pulling her usual teenage shit. I’ll go up and roust her again in a few minutes.”
His wife stuffed another jar of fruit into her basket. “I wish we didn’t have to go too,” she said. “We can’t really blame Tara for resisting.”
Stan hugged her tightly and she leaned against his chest. “You know we’ll be better off on the farm. And I’ll feel a lot better when I know Mom and Dad are all right.”
She patted his arm and gave a weak smile. “I know. But maybe we should wait a few more days. It’s a long walk. Especially with two five-year-olds and a sulky teenager in tow.”
“It is a long walk,” Stan agreed. “That’s why we can’t waste any time. Besides, we’ll be riding bikes.”
They stepped apart and Miriam commented, “I could have sworn I left a bag of apples on the counter last night. I thought we could eat them on the way. We’ll have to pick some more before we go.”
“Maybe they’re in the pantry.”
Stan turned towards the stairs at
the sound of pounding feet. He opened his mouth to warn his son about running in the house.
“She’s gone! Tara’s gone!” Danny shouted.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Miriam turned and stared at him. “Where would she go?”
Stan ran up the stairs, taking them three at a time. He burst through the bedroom door and stopped in confusion. The bed hadn’t been slept in. Its covers were pulled tight and the pillows were undisturbed. The closet door stood open, a jumble of shoes and bright coloured clothes spilling out. The top of the dresser was uncluttered, cleared of the usual lipsticks and make-up.
“It looks like she was packing.” He started to say, but Miriam cut him off.
“Her backpack is gone. It was right on that chair by the window.”
Stan ran his palm over his bearded chin. “That crazy girl. She’s probably hiding somewhere, hoping we’ll change our minds about going.” He reached for his wife’s hand, but she had moved to the closet and was surveying its contents.
“Typical teenager. It’s the middle of September and she’s wearing sandals.” She rummaged through the mess on the floor, then pulled one of the dresser drawers open “I don’t know what she was thinking.” She continued. “None of her sweaters have been packed, but she took her bathing suit.” Her voice faded and Stan stepped closer.
He started to say she shouldn’t worry but was interrupted by Danny thundering back up the stairs. “Her coat is gone,” he reported. “And her winter boots.”
All three of them gazed out the window at the late fall flowers blooming through stalks of uncut grass. A few leaves on the birch tree across the street showed a touch of gold. The garage door across the street gaped open, revealing the deserted car inside.
Miriam swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. “Why would she take her coat and boots and leave her sweaters?” She slammed the drawer closed. “Doesn’t she know how worried we’ll be?”
“She can’t have gone far.” Stan stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I’ll go look around the neighbourhood. Danny, you get on your bike and check with all her friends. Somebody will have seen her.”
The Incident | Book 3 | Winter of Darkness Page 2
