The Incident | Book 1 | They Called It The Incident

by Johnson, J. M.

  “Hah! Mentioned the school did he.” He shot an angry look at Barry. “Well did he also tell you that we don’t like brown folks and your Adam,” he stressed the name, “would not be very welcome here? In fact, he might be in the same spot you’re in now.”

  “And why are we in this spot?” she asked. “We came here and asked a question. All you had to do is say you haven’t seen them. Why the dramatics? And by the way, what’s your name? I hate talking to someone whose name I don’t know.”

  “Call me Snake.” Casually he moved to where Jason still sagged in the chair. “I would’ve just let you go, but your HERO here,” and he lifted Jason’s head by the hair, “wanted to come in.” He let go and watched as the unconscious man’s neck snapped back down.

  “Snake, hey? And I suppose this is your nest of little rattlers? How old are you, Snake?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m eighteen.” He smiled a wicked smile. “My nest of rattlers, I like that. You a writer or something?”

  “I’m a teacher.” She sat up straighter, trying to control her trembling. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jason shift and his hands begin to explore the ropes that were holding them.

  He laughed and the other boys joined him. “A teacher! Wow! We hate teachers almost as much as we hate brown people. Don’t we, boys?”

  A chorus of yeah’s, yesses and ok’s greeted this statement. Monica glared at the ringleader. She had to keep his attention on her.

  “Why do you hate brown people?” she asked. “I’m interested. It’s not like we meet a lot of them way up here in the north.”

  “This is why.” He waved his arm to encompass the room. “Everybody knows they’ll do anything to take over Canada. They caused the electricity to go out. After we all starve to death they’ll just come in and take over.”

  “You’ve watched too much conspiracy TV,” she told him. “This could have been caused by a giant solar flare.”

  “But they won’t win!” He didn’t acknowledge her comment. “We’ll still be here. And we’re young and tough. When they move in, we’ll kill them all.” His face came close to hers. “And if they come one at a time, so much the better. Maybe your Adon will turn up.”

  Monica noticed that Jason’s fingers were still busy with the ropes, so she continued.

  “His name’s Adnan. And he was born in Prince George, so I doubt if he’s the guy you’re looking for. And how will you be here? You all look pretty hungry to me.”

  “Don’t worry. We know how to survive. Don’t we boys?” Another chorus agreed with him. “We go into town and take what we can. And in the spring there will be gardens.”

  “You’re going to plant a garden?” asked Monica. “I’d be interested to know where the seeds will come from since you seem to have taken everything.”

  “Of course not,” he laughed. “We’ll just harvest them.”

  “So, the people who actually plant…what about them?”

  “They’re mostly old anyway.” Snake stood up and moved towards the fire. Jason’s hands became still.

  “Gimme a drink, will you?” Snake addressed a small boy who immediately leaped to his feet and handed his leader a bottle.

  He took a long drink then raised the bottle in a mock salute. “Nobody bothered with the liquor stores,” he boasted, “so we were able to take as much as we wanted. The stores are mostly picked over, but sometimes we find a can of something. And…” he leered, “sometimes people have meat lockers or root cellars we can help ourselves to.”

  When Monica didn’t answer he moved closer and looked her over speculatively. “The only thing we don’t have here,” he said softly. “Is girls. We need girls, don’t we boys?”

  A few nervous titters answered him. Monica saw Barry drop his head to his chest.

  “Why do you kids need girls?” she acted innocent.

  Snake threw back his head and laughed loudly. “Yeah, you’re right. The KIDS don’t need girls.” He moved close and began to stroke her face. “But men need girls. And how will we repopulate the world if we don’t have girls.”

  “Why are there no girls here?” Monica was curious. “They must be hungry too. Wouldn’t at least a few find their way to this group?” She was aware of an uncomfortable shifting in the room.

  “Oh, there were a few.” He continued to stroke her face, then started to unbutton her coat. She was helpless to stop him. Next to her, she could feel Jason tense.

  “They moved on.” He said softly. “Couldn’t take the pressure, I guess.” His hands were underneath the coat now and he touched her breast.

  “You’re pretty old.” He said. “But a girl is a girl. Right boys?” This time they didn’t answer him.

  There was a sudden crash as the heavy fire door was flung against the wall. Snake leaped back. The boys scattered as Ervin Dennis roared through the room, swinging an axe in front of him. At the same time, Jason freed his hands and quickly began to loosen the knots tying his feet together.

  Monica pushed backwards on the chair to put distance between herself and her tormentor.

  He turned towards the raging man, just in time to catch the blade of the swinging axe with his shoulder. He cried out as his arm dropped. The bottle he was holding fell to the floor a moment before he collapsed. Ervin stood over him panting.

  “Quick, untie me!” Barry ran across the room and loosened the ropes.

  Rubbing her wrists, Monica gave the boy called Snake a nudge with her foot. “I think he’ll die.” She looked at her husband. “What do you think?”

  He nodded.

  Ervin kneeled beside the bleeding boy. “Get me something to use as a tourniquet,” he told Barry. “We need to stop the bleeding.”

  His son looked at him in astonishment. “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want him on my conscience. Now find some rags or give me your shirt or something.”

  Monica and Jason looked around the now empty gym. The boy at her feet gasped and she looked down at him.

  “Tell me your name.” she knelt beside Ervin and began to help him remove the blood-soaked shirt.

  “Will.” He gasped. “William.” His eyes were beginning to glaze over. Barry handed his father an old shirt he had found in the corner.

  A girl’s blouse, Monica noted.

  “William what? I need to know for your headstone.” Though her voice was sharp, her hands were gentle as she wrapped the arm that Ervin held up for her.

  “William Thompson.” His breath was coming in short pants. “I don’t want to die.” Tears ran down his sparsely bearded cheeks.

  “Yeah, well, neither does Adnan or those girls you’re so proud of.” Jason’s voice was cold. “Looks like you’re on your own. All your little snakes slithered away.”

  It was an easy matter to rip his tattered shirt off of him. Monica drew in her breath and turned her head away. The swinging axe had gone through his arm and into his thin ribs. Blood pooled beneath him at an alarming rate. And they had nothing to stop it, or to help him.

  She stood up and Jason reached out to hold her tight. Ervin continued to kneel by the bleeding body, stroking his forehead and murmuring until William’s final gasp. Barry burst into tears.

  “I’ve never seen anyone die.” He sobbed into his father’s shoulder. “He was an asshole, and I’m not sorry he’s gone, but I’ve never seen anyone die.”

  Ervin’s eyes were sad as he patted his son’s back. “It’s an awful thing.” He commiserated, remembering watching his baby daughter fade away only a few weeks ago.

  “Let’s move him outside.” Jason knelt beside the boy. “We’ll come back in the spring and bury him.”

  “What about those other boys?” Monica asked. “Should we talk to them?”

  “We can’t save all of them.” Jason and Ervin stood by the open door. “They can go home or try to make it here. If they come to our door, we’ll take them in, but otherwise, there’s nothing we can do.”

  “Wait!” She lo
oked around for something to wrap Will’s body in. “We can’t just leave him in a snow bank. What about wild animals?”

  Ervin nodded. “This building is probably cold enough to keep him frozen until we can come back. Let’s just find a storage closet and leave him there.” He raised his voice hoping the other boys were listening. “We’re leaving now.” He called. “I suggest you all go home before you starve. I don’t want anybody to come creeping around my house, or they’ll be sorry.” He picked up the bloody axe, but Jason held his arm.

  “You’d better leave that.” He said. “They’ll need it to cut wood.”

  Silently they carried their burden down the school hallway. There was no sign of the other boys as they laid the body in a frigid closet.

  “He’ll be okay here,” Jason told his wife.

  The walk back to the Dennis’s was made easier by the already cleared trail. After a quick goodbye, they began the trek home. By the time they reached the familiar driveway, the sun had sunk in the west and only the thought of their little son, and how close they had come to never seeing him again, gave them strength.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Irma was standing anxiously at the front window when she finally saw her son and daughter-in-law trudging down the drive towards their front door. She rushed out and threw her arms around them both.

  “We were so worried,” she gasped between sobs. “Sam and your Dad were just talking about going to look for you.”

  Jason hugged her back. “We’re glad to be back.” He said softly. “What about Tom and Adnan? Are they here?”

  “They came back the day after you left.” Tony was on the porch now, hugging his son. “They got caught in the storm and had to hole up for a few days.”

  They stepped into the warm house and the rest of the family gathered around. There were hugs and tears as the travellers were welcomed home. Tom and Adnan hung back sheepishly until they were engulfed in hugs by Jason and Monica.

  Ty sat on the couch wrapped in blankets and grinning widely. Monica rushed over to him and gave him a bear hug. “You’re better!” she exclaimed.

  He nodded and his mother smiled down at him. “He’s getting better,” Melanie said. “Luckily one of the ‘motorcycle gang’ is a medical student. He came over with the aspirin and helped us.”

  “Oh look,” Monica looked down at the floor where a puddle of water collected under her boots. “I was so excited, I’m tracking up the house with snow.” She began to pull off her boots while Jason came over and rumpled the boy’s hair.

  “I’m glad you’re feeling better, buddy.” He swung his own son up out of the playpen. “Jackie, my boy!”

  The baby laughed and crowed as he was handed from one parent to the other.

  When the excitement had died down and they were all seated at the table, Irma placed bowls of beef soup in front of Jason and Monica.

  “The boys next door sent over a side of beef,” she told them. “Thank goodness for those cows.”

  Between slurps, Jason asked Sam, “How are the cattle and horses holding up in this cold weather? It must have been thirty-five below last night.”

  “Minus thirty-seven,” Sam conceded. “The horses are warm enough in the barn, but there is no food for them aside from the hay we managed to get last June when the tractor was still running. The cows are in rough shape. The guys try to go out every day and cull out the ones that look the worst, but I don’t know how many will live through the winter.”

  He wiped his forehead and lowered his eyes, then continued. “It’s a good thing those boys came along. The wife and I would never have been able to survive over there.”

  “We need to send some meat over to the Dennis’s.” Jason pushed his bowl away. “They have nothing over there and four hungry kids. That’s why their oldest got involved with stealing.” He went on and told them their story of finding Barry Dennis, the trek to the school and its tragic ending.

  When he was finished, everybody was silent for a few minutes.

  George looked over at the two teenagers. “You’re pretty lucky,” he said softly. “That storm might have saved your lives.”

  “Thanks for looking for us.” Adnan dipped his head. “We never should’ve gone out.”

  “Damn right.” Tony growled. “There’s always consequences and these could have been deadly.”

  “Tomorrow,” Tony continued. “you guys can take some meat over to the Dennis’s. I’m ashamed we didn’t do something before this.”

  “What could we do?” Irma began to gather up the dishes. ‘We didn’t know they were in such dire straits, and we have enough to do keeping ourselves alive.” She looked around the room. “I mean look at us, we’re all thin as rakes and pale as ghosts.”

  “Of course we’ll help them now that we know,” she continued. “But we have to keep ourselves alive too.” She spoke briskly, but her voice broke on the last words.

  Jason stood up and stretched. “I’m going to bed.” He announced. “Tomorrow we can discuss how we can help, but right now we’re exhausted. Coming, Monica?”

  “Yes.” She handed Jack over to Stella. “Will you put him to bed? I just don’t have the energy.”

  The baby began to whimper and reached for his Mommy. Stella handed him a soft knitted teddy bear and rocked him soothingly. “Of course, I will. You get some rest and tomorrow things will look better.”

  “I doubt that,” Jason muttered to himself as he climbed the stairs.

  “Anybody for a game of cards?” Sam looked around the table. He sighed when nobody agreed. “C’mon” he said bravely. “We can’t just sit here and worry. It’s too cold to go cut wood and the snow is too deep to hunt, so we’re stuck inside for now.”

  “Okay, we’ll play.” Adnan shifted his chair. “What about you, Ty. Wanna play?”

  “Yeah!” Eagerly the small boy wrapped his blanket around him and climbed onto the nearest chair.

  Suddenly Tony looked up from where he had been studying the flames in the fireplace. “It’s a new year!” he exclaimed. “I think we missed the fireworks.”

  The others laughed. “A new year…. what will we have to look forward to, I wonder?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  George lifted his head from the pillow and considered the gray light coming into the room. Beside him, Melanie sighed and snuggled further into the blankets. Ty sprawled between them, taking up most of the mattress.

  Groaning, he pulled himself to his feet. It was getting harder each day to get himself up. Standing, he looked down at his sleeping family. They were so thin they hardly made a bump under the blankets. After adding a log to the fire, he moved to the window and peered out. Soft snow was falling, covering the yard. He saw puddles here and there from the recent thaw. Spring was coming, but it was taking its time.

  He decided it was easier to lie on the couch than to go back to bed. He chuckled to himself and thought “go to mattress, more like it.” Ty stirred but did not waken. “We’re all too weak to get up.” His inner grin disappeared as he contemplated the grim truth.

  They were surviving on the last of the beef and some rabbits Sam and Tony managed to snare. The ammunition for the twenty-two and the rifle was almost gone. At the farm, most of the cattle had frozen to death in the worst cold the old people could remember. Only the horses had not succumbed. They were thin, but still standing, thank God.

  George drifted back to sleep. Outside the snow continued to fall.

  It was nearly noon before he woke to the sound of Irma stirring the pot on the heater. She looked up when she felt him watching her.

  “Morning,” she said. “It’s quit snowing, I see.”

  “That’s good.” He stood up and stretched. “Maybe we’ll see the sun today.”

  She nodded.

  Conversation had waned in the past couple of months. There was nothing more to say and they were all too hungry and worried to keep rehashing the same issues. Between trips to the forest for wood, or to hunt, they slept. />
  “Grandma Irma,” it was Ty, gazing with his big eyes at the pot on the stove. “I’m hungry.”

  “I know, Honey. Get up and I’ll give you a bowl of soup and a drink of water.”

  The boy sighed and stood up. His thin legs stuck out from a pair of pyjamas that had once belonged to Jason. “I’m so tired.” He complained. “And my legs ache.”

  “I know.” Irma and George both averted their faces so he would not see the worry in their eyes. “Maybe your dad can lift you onto the chair if your legs ache. Do you want some soup too, George?”

  The big man helped his son onto the chair and shook his head. “No, I’m not hungry right now.”

  “Liar.” Irma filled a bowl for him despite his protest. “You are no good to your family if you starve yourself. You need your strength.”

  “And,” she added, “I think someone should go over and check on the Dennis’s again. We haven’t seen them for a month.”

  He shrugged. “What can we do? We have no food to share.” He took a sip of the stew, which was more water than meat. “We’re all in the same boat.”

  “I know, I know. But sometimes just the sight of a friendly face can be enough.”

  The rest of the family shuffled in, one by one and dropped into their accustomed chairs. Everybody looked tired and pale. Only Jack smiled and played, but even he was getting lethargic. Silently they swallowed their soup.

  “We’d better go get some more wood,” Adnan said finally. “We’ll take our guns, and maybe we’ll see a deer or something.”

  Tony nodded. “That’s a good idea. The animals will be coming out now. It was a hard winter for them, too so they’ll be pretty thin.”

  “I’ll go over and check on the Dennis family,” George said, acceding to Irma’s request. “Maybe on the way, I’ll see some game too.” He looked at Jason who was feeding the baby. “Want to come for a walk?”

  Jason smiled wryly. “Yeah, like any of us have the strength to go for a walk.” He caught his mother’s eye, “Okay, okay, I’ll go. Beats sitting here waiting to starve, I guess.”