The Incident | Book 1 | They Called It The Incident

by Johnson, J. M.

  “So, what did you find out?” his parents watched him stuff the remaining ham and cheese into his hungry mouth. “Slow down,” his mom admonished him. “You won’t starve in the next two minutes. Was anybody there?”

  “Yep, lots of people. Everybody wants to know what’s going on and how long before it's fixed.”

  “And….”

  The boy swallowed. “Nobody knows. Somebody said there was a bomb went off somewhere and somebody else said aliens were attacking...but nobody knows for sure.”

  “Was anybody from the power company there?” asked his mother anxiously. Both of his explanations were beneath consideration in her opinion.

  “Nope, but Mr. Taylor the principal, said he had seen someone from town passing on a bike and he said all the power is out there too. Phones don’t work and cars don’t run. Tim’s dad said there was a big accident on the highway at about ten o’clock. All the cars just quit. It’s a mess!”

  “That’s when we saw the plane crash.”

  The four adults glanced at each other. What was going on? This sounded like more than a regular power outage. The teenager was nonchalant about the whole affair. To him, it seemed like a movie or TV show. To the older people, it was all too real.

  “We’d better go, Mother.” Tony stood up and Irma handed the baby back to her mother.

  “You take care of that little one,” she told her.

  Flora grinned and patted her husband’s hand. “We’ll be fine.” She answered. “We’re tough, aren’t we Ervin?”

  Someone banging on the door brought Monica jumping to her feet. For a moment she gazed around in confusion. The sun had barely shown itself above the horizon and the apartment was bathed in a dim, gray light.

  Her head cleared and she hastily made her way to the door. She could hear Jack starting to wail.

  She reached for the lock, then hesitated. “Who is it?” she hated that she sounded so tentative.

  “It’s me. Open the door.”

  Hearing Jason’s voice, she quickly disengaged the lock and pulled the door open. “Oh, wait a minute. I forgot the chain is on.”

  The door swung open and she fell into her husband’s arms. For a moment they stood wrapped together, silent.

  Monica stepped back first. “I need to get Jack.” The baby’s cries were getting louder. “You look awful. Go sit down.”

  He turned and secured the door before moving slowly towards the kitchen. “What do we have to drink?” he asked. “Any bottled water, or juice?”

  He opened the dark refrigerator and surveyed its contents. Besides baby formula, there was some ginger ale and half a jug of water. He poured some of the water into a glass and sat down just as Monica returned with Jack in her arms.

  She set the baby in his high chair with a dish of dry cereal and began to prepare his formula.

  “So, what happened?” she asked.

  Wearily he dropped his head into his hand. “Nobody has a clue.” He said. “It’s kind of a war zone out there. Everybody is trying to help where they can, but there’s no way to contact each other. We didn’t see any police or fire trucks. One of the guys I was walking with took off to the nearest police station, but I never saw him again.”

  He raised haunted eyes to hers. “It’s scary, Monica. No phones, no vehicles, no central authority. And look at us. Up here, we have no water and the only way out is down ten flights of stairs.”

  “You need to sleep.” She said firmly as she settled Jack for his morning bottle. “I’m sure they will have this fixed soon, and in the meantime, we have a case of water in the closet, and enough formula for a few days.”

  “But don’t you see.” He leaned forward and grasped both hands in hers. “We can’t sleep. Everybody is going to be swarming the grocery stores for supplies and if we wait a day there won’t be anything left. We need to get out there right away.”

  “Even if that’s true, and this lasts more than a few days,” Monica said, “How will we get anything up here? We have a baby to carry, and, as you said, it’s ten stories.”

  He released her hands and took a sip of his water. “I thought of that. We can get a grocery cart at the store and leave everything we can’t carry in the car. I’ll carry Jack on my back, so each of us will have two free hands. It’ll be a long walk, but we’re both fit and can do it.”

  “Okay,” she nodded. “you’re right we can do it. But we should also check on Mrs. Scully next door. There’s no way she can walk down those stairs. I’ll bet she’s scared out of her mind right now.”

  He nodded. “Everybody’s scared. Power outages are one thing, but all the phones, all the motors, everything we depend on, has stopped.” He hesitated a moment, then said, “How much cash do we have?

  Monica looked at him blankly. “Cash?”

  “Yeah, you know. That crinkly stuff that you spend when all the ATM machines or Visa terminals don’t work.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe a hundred dollars if we empty Jack’s piggy bank?”

  He drained his glass then stood up. “We’d better look. Empty your purse, then I’ll check all our change while you go find out if Mrs. Scully is okay. Maybe she could even watch Jack while we go to the store.”

  As she stepped out into the hall he called after her, “And ask her if she has any cash.”

  When the apartment door closed behind her, Monica leaned against the wall. Tears filled her eyes. Her shoulders sagged, then with a determined look, she stood up to her full five feet ten-inch height and made her way to apartment 1012.

  The door opened a fraction in response to her knock. Frightened eyes looked up at her, then a smile as the older woman recognized her neighbour.

  “Oh, Monica.” Mrs. Scully released the safety chain and threw open the door. “I’ve been so scared. What’s happening?”

  The two women hugged, Monica bending almost in half to reach the tiny person in front of her.

  “I don’t know what’s happening either.” She responded. “Jason went out last night to help and he just came back. Nobody knows what happened, just that everything electrical has stopped.”

  “Come and sit down.” Monica followed the grey head into the kitchen. “I was watching the traffic last night, and it was awful. I tried to call you, but my phone didn’t work, and I was too scared to go into the dark hall, so I’ve just been sitting here worrying.”

  “Do you want a glass of juice or anything? Of course, there is no coffee.” She finally came to the end of her frantic speech and looked expectantly at her guest.

  “No, nothing,” Monica answered. “I just came over to see if you are all right. And to ask you if you will watch the baby while Jason and I go out to try to get some supplies.”

  “Well, I’m fine now that I have seen a friendly face. It was pretty scary in here all alone last night. Do you think this might go on for a while? What kind of supplies?” she paused for breath. “And of course I’ll watch Jack. You know I love to have him. Should I come over to your place, or will you bring him here?”

  Monica smiled. “Why don’t you come over to our place? All Jack’s stuff is there and it’s easier that way. If you don’t mind.”

  “By the way,” she continued before the older woman could break in, “Do you have any cash in the house? Our credit cards won’t work. Of course, it’ll just be a loan until things are back to normal.”

  “Sure I do.” Mrs. Scully reached for her purse. “How much do you need?”

  “As much as you have,” Monica answered. “We don’t know what will be available, or how long we need to prepare for.”

  To her surprise, Mrs. Scully handed her a roll of bills as thick around as her wrist. Monica loosened the rubber band that held it together and gasped.

  “Do you always carry around a roll of hundred dollar bills?”

  “No, not always. But I just got my pension cheque, and I like to keep cash on hand.” She snapped her purse shut and stood up. “You never know what’ll happen, do you?”

&
nbsp; Monica was still shaking her head when she unlocked her own apartment and ushered Mrs. Scully inside. The baby crowed at the sight of his favourite baby sitter. Jason looked up from the cereal he was eating and gave them a strained smile.

  “Thank you for coming, Mrs. Scully.” He reached over and gave her a quick hug. “Monica, you had better eat something. We don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”

  “Don’t you worry,” The older woman lifted Jack from his high chair. “We’ll be just fine, won’t we Jackie? You take as long as you need and be careful. People get crazy when they’re scared.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Walking home in the late afternoon, Tony felt a little woozy. He wasn’t used to drinking beer in the middle of the day. It was hours until sunset and still hot. Irma held his arm for their mutual support.

  “What do you suppose really happened?” she asked him. “It’s so weird that everything should stop working.”

  “I don’t know,” he shrugged and clutched her arm a little tighter as he stumbled a bit on the gravel. “but I do know that we are lucky to have a propane stove and the old well. I don’t know what they will do in a city apartment if this lasts more than a few days.”

  Irma nodded. “I’m worried about Jason and Monica,” she confided. “I wish we had some way to reach them.”

  “They’ll be fine. I’m sure this will be over soon and they’ll call.”

  But he was worried too. As they strolled down their own driveway he glanced towards the old well. It had been covered up for years. He wondered if there was water in it, and how deep it went. Did he even have a bucket to carry water? Back when he had sold most of the farm to a developer it had seemed like a good idea to go on the communal water system. Now he wondered.

  He sighed, but smiled at his concerned wife. “Let’s have a nap” he suggested. “Then we can sit and make a plan. We were up way too early and then this long walk. I can’t even think right now.”

  “Good idea.” She smiled back bravely. “And when we wake up, I’ll start emptying the freezer. If we can get some water for cooking” she added.

  It was the next afternoon before Tony uncovered the well and peered into its depths. “Looks like there’s water down there,” he muttered to himself.

  “What’re you doin’?” the voice came from above him and he looked up, startled.

  “Geez, Sam. I nearly fell in.”

  His neighbor sat astride his favourite horse, grinning widely. “Just thought I’d come over and see how things were here.” He slid down and landed with a slight groan. “Damn, I’m not as young as I used to be.”

  “None of us are.” Tony stood up and shook his neighbour’s hand. “Just checkin’ to see if I can hook up the old well until the power comes on.”

  Sam looked into the black hole. “How long since that old pump has worked?” He asked. “It seems that all motors are out of commission. Did you hear about the accidents on the highway the other night?”

  “Yeah,” he nodded. “We walked over to the Dennis’s yesterday and their boy told us there had been a crash, but he didn’t know any details.”

  “Everything quit!” Sam’s wrinkled forehead furrowed. “Everything. I’ve got two hundred milking cows and no machines. Stella and I were out at four this morning trying to milk by hand, but we couldn’t do more than fifty before our hands gave up.” He looked down at his arthritic hands.

  “And that kid who is supposed to help didn’t show up.” He turned away and stroked the horse’s nose. “Can’t blame him, I suppose. No car, and he’s probably never had to walk more than a block in his life. And the old lady is almost as useless as he is.”

  Tony winced. He had called Irma the old lady once and regretted it for a week.

  “So, what about the well?” Sam turned back and his voice became brisk. “You might have to pull the water up with a bucket.”

  Tony scratched his face. The two days of whiskers were itchy and he hated all the grey that was showing up. Somehow it seemed worse than the white in his hair.

  “Thing is,” he said. “It’s an artesian well. Worked for a hundred years without a pump. All I have to do is go down there and reconnect the pipe.”

  “How you gonna do that? It’s fifty feet deep.”

  Tony looked thoughtful. “If I can find a fifty foot rope, we can tie it to the horse and you can let me down there. Then I can hook it up and the horse can pull me back up.”

  “Might work.” Sam patted the horse again. “What do you think, Star?”

  “Just don’t tell Irma what we’re doing.” Tony warned. “She’ll think I’m too old and worry herself sick. But we need water.”

  An hour later he was balanced on a board they had lowered into the well, a flashlight shining on the water a mere six inches below him. Far above him Sam’s worried face showed as a black spot against a tiny circle of light.

  He pointed his flashlight at the crumbling wall of dirt and began scanning the area. After what seemed like an eternity he was finally rewarded with a flash of metal. One pipe poked out of the ground. He knew that led to the house, put there many years before by his grandfather. Water bubbled from a second pipe that poked up from the pool below him. An artesian well ran constantly, so by forcing the water into the pipe, gravity would feed it into the house. Carefully he attached the hose he had brought from the shop to both pipes, wrapping duct tape around the joints. It leaked a bit, but hopefully it would hold until the community water came back on.

  He tugged on the rope and called. “Okay, Sam. Pull me up.”

  Stepping out onto the grass he said confidently, “Now all I have to do is turn the spigot that channelled the water, and it should work.”

  From the kitchen window, Irma saw the two men walking towards her. The horse ambled between them and Tony was carrying a length of rope. “Now what’re they up to?” she wondered.

  She was washing dishes in lukewarm water, she had carried from the creek. “Like the dark ages.”

  Well, at least they had propane so she could heat it, but it got cold way too fast. She sighed, then looked up as Tony rapped on the kitchen window.

  “What?” she pushed against the old fashioned panes and the window slid open.

  “Try the tap.”

  Confused she looked down at the cast iron sink. “The tap? Why?”

  “just turn it on.” Tony grinned at her.

  Water gushed out. “What did you do?” she almost squealed in delight.

  “Wait, we’re coming in.” They disappeared around the corner of the house, then she heard the back door open.

  “We hooked up the old well.” Tony gave her a quick hug. “Sam and his horse came at just the right time.”

  “It’ll only be cold water, and it’s only in the kitchen.” He explained further. “But we can flush the toilet with buckets, and I can shave.”

  Irma looked at him suspiciously. “Did you climb down that dangerous old well?” she demanded. “You could have been killed.”

  “Well, I wasn’t. Was I Sam?” Sam grinned back at him. “And now you can offer our guest some tea.”

  “No, no, I have to get home. Stella will be worried. She hates to be alone and besides I’m going to try to milk a few more cows tonight.”

  “I wish I could help you,” Tony said. “But I’ve never milked a cow in my life. We were grain and beef farmers.”

  “Oh, I guess we’ll manage for a few days.” The two men shook hands, Sam kissed Irma on the cheek, then left for home. The couple stepped out onto the porch and watched the horse disappear through the gate.

  “I never liked that man.” Irma turned to go back into the house. “But he came along at the right time today. Thank goodness we’ve got water I don’t have to carry. Wonderful!”

  “He’s not so bad,” Tony followed her into the kitchen. “His farm is one of the best in the province. He and his wife seem to work twenty-four hours a day keeping it up.”

  Irma glanced in his direction and shook her
head slightly.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Nothing at all. Just sometimes women see what men miss, that’s all.” And she busied herself making tea for the two of them.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The leaves were starting to turn colour when Tony and Irma were interrupted one afternoon by a young RCMP officer on a horse.

  He dismounted and made his way across the garden, stepping carefully between the rows.

  “Any news?” Tony asked eagerly. “Do we know when this will end?”

  The young man shook his head. “Only rumours,” he answered, clutching his hat in his hands. “But police stations across the country are trying to keep in touch by sending riders on bicycles and horseback. The story seems to be that someone set off some kind of bomb that disrupted power grids all across the country”.

  “Do we know who that someone might have been?” asked Irma, concern knotting her forehead.

  The officer sighed. “No, but of course everybody puts the blame on the Middle East. Maybe it was Syria, maybe it was Iraq or even Iran. North Korea was mentioned, but nobody thinks they have the know-how to do something on this scale.”

  “What about in town?” Tony asked. “We have a garden, but I bet things are getting a little tense there.”

  “The Red Cross set up food stations and are telling people to come to shelters if they have to. But with no way to get new supplies in, they’re running out of stuff too. The stores are getting emptied out. And of course, it’s all word of mouth,” he added miserably. “No real way to communicate.”

  Tony looked thoughtful. “We were thinking of going into town to see if we could stock up on essentials,” he told the cop. “Guess that would be kind of useless.”

  “I wouldn’t bother.” The young man shook his head. “Everything’s cleaned out, and people are getting pretty aggressive. Mostly they’re scared. Some are packing up and going south. Guess they figure it’ll be warmer in the winter.”