by Harley Tate
He didn’t even know if it was true. The five of them might be on a wild goose chase, led out of the city by a pied piper in the form of a college-aged hacker with a gorgeous smile and total lack of people skills. But for some reason, he believed Midge. A girl like her wouldn’t make something like this up. Not if it meant hanging out with a bunch of strangers and convincing them to leave their lives behind.
Midge believed the threat was real and imminent. That was good enough for Danny.
They passed a restaurant painted black and yellow declaring #1 Italian Beef followed by a check-cashing store and a currency exchange. As they neared a gas station, Raymond slowed. He held up a closed fist and the group came to a stop. Shouts echoed off the nearby buildings and Danny leaned forward to find the source: a small horde of people swarmed the gas station convenience store, spilling onto the sidewalk and the road. Raymond motioned to the left and everyone followed his lead, easing between stalled cars, sidewalk planter boxes, and a covered bus stop to avoid the crowd.
As Danny drew even with the teeming mass, it burst open and a man stumbled into the road. Blood covered his shirt and hand. He turned around, fist pulled back, and decked another man charging his way. They tumbled to the ground and the crowd enveloped them once more, shouts of encouragement turning Danny’s stomach.
Was this what Raymond and Jessica’s neighborhood was always like? Not likely judging by the cute corner café sporting a handful of outdoor tables and flowerpots. If a night without power caused street fights in this neighborhood, what would a nuclear bomb do?
They pedaled on, passing a dental and medical clinic tucked beside a bar advertising Heileman’s Old Style from a hanging sign. A temporary H&R Block occupied a triangle-shaped warehouse on the corner where five streets met, and Raymond held up a hand before hooking to the right. They headed down a road diagonal to most oncoming traffic and entered a business district. A Jewel-Osco supermarket took up an entire block, the parking lot crowded with people dragging wheeled shopping caddies and pushing carts.
Would the store open without power? Would they accept anything other than cash? Most people didn’t bother with checks anymore; Danny had never even written one. If ATMs were down and banks were closed, what would people do? How would they pay for groceries and keep their families going?
Panic rose up inside him as he thought about the millions of everyday Americans in Chicago alone who would need help. If the power was out all over, how would the country survive? Danny lost himself in his thoughts, each one more dire than the last. He almost collided with Owen when he looked up. Everyone had stopped.
He squeezed the brakes on the bike and swerved into an empty space. “What’s going on?”
“Looters.” Owen ground a fist into his palm. “It hasn’t even been a day, but look at them. Too busy stealing TVs to use their brains.”
A kid rushed past them, holding an unopened Xbox unit in his arms.
Midge snorted. “That’s a fancy doorstopper.”
“We should stop them.”
“Are you crazy?” She turned wide eyes on Owen. “They aren’t going to listen to us.”
“You’re forgetting I’m a cop.”
“And you’re forgetting the world has gone to shit. No one cares about your badge now.”
Owen opened his mouth to argue when Raymond interrupted. “She has a point, man. We need to focus on what’s important.”
“Protecting our citizens is important. I know the owner of that store. He’s a good man.”
“It’s not our problem.”
“I’m about to make it our problem.” Owen flipped down the kickstand and swung his leg over the bike before dropping his pack on the ground. He strode toward the crowd, badge open and in his hand. “Chicago PD! I am ordering you to clear out and leave!”
Raymond cursed and turned to his wife. “Keep Caden safe. Anything happens to me, you get out of here, understand?”
“What?” Jessica’s voice rose in alarm. “No! Ray, don’t do it.”
He eased off his bike and gave Jessica a quick kiss. “He’s my partner. I have to.” Before Jessica could say another word, Raymond took off, running toward Owen and the mob.
Owen stopped on the edge of the pandemonium and cupped his hands around his mouth to yell. “I said, stop!”
One of the looters on the edge of the crowd turned Owen’s way. His head bobbed up and down as he took in Owen’s badge and stern demeanor, but instead of running, he grabbed the guy next to him. They pointed at Owen and the second guy shouted into the crowd. The teeming masses swelled like a tidal wave and crashed forward, yelling and screaming. Danny watched in horror as Owen disappeared, engulfed by the mob.
Raymond shouted as he neared the pack and Danny jumped into action. He couldn’t leave them to face the crowd on their own. There had to be a hundred people at least, all high on stealing and ready to pummel a pair of cops into the ground.
Raymond fought his way through the bodies, his frame all but invisible as Danny reached the crowd. He shoved his hands forward, attempting to part the sea of bodies. The crowd pushed back. An elbow collided with his chest. A foot stomped on his. Danny tried again, angling sideways as he jumped up and down, trying to see anything past the T-shirts and hoodies in his way.
As he ducked past a man fighting over a toaster oven, a gun went off. The crowd scattered like roaches hit with an overhead light and within seconds, Raymond and Danny stood alone in the parking lot. Owen’s mangled body was sprawled across the sidewalk, ten steps from the smashed front windows of the store.
Danny rushed to him and knelt by his side. Blood pooled on the sidewalk, oozing out of Owen’s mouth. His entire right eye socket had swelled shut, eyebrow cut almost in half. A tooth lay on the ground like an island in a sea of foamy blood.
Danny reached out and checked for a pulse. Weak and erratic. He flicked his eyes up to find Raymond staring at him. “He needs a hospital.” Danny reached for Owen’s shirt and pulled it up, revealing purpling bruising already spreading out across his stomach and chest.
Raymond gasped in horror. “Is that—”
“Internal bleeding? It would be my guess.” Just from looking at Owen’s ribs, he could see two breaks. How many more were invisible to the naked eye? If a rib punctured his diaphragm and his lung, or stabbed his liver, no amount of medical care could save him. “How far are we from a hospital?”
“There’s a clinic a few blocks back. But it was closed when we drove by. Closest hospital’s in Lake View.” Raymond rubbed his face. “Got to be two or three miles due east.”
Danny swallowed. Even an ambulance couldn’t get him there in time. “Does it have a trauma center?”
“Yep. One of the best.”
“Then that’s where he needs to go. But, Ray—” Danny had to tell him the truth. He had to tell him that Owen was going to die.
Raymond held up a hand. “I know. I’ll get him there.” He scooped Owen up into his arms and carried him toward the bikes.
Jessica and Midge stood by the travel trailer, dumping everything out onto the ground. Caden whimpered and fussed in his carrier, but Jessica ignored him. Midge looked up at Danny, a question in her eyes. He shook his head and she turned back to the task in front of her, hoisting out the last of the bags.
“Put Owen in the trailer. I’ll follow you to the hospital.” Jessica clambered back onto her bike. “We’ll get there in time. We have to.”
Raymond eased Owen’s limp body down into the trailer. It sagged with his weight. “I can’t ask you to come with me, Jessica. What about the bomb? You need to go with Danny and Midge.”
Jessica palmed her hips, eyes glittering with unshed tears. “Is that really what you think of me?”
Her husband blinked, thrown off-balance by her accusation.
“You think I’d just leave you and Owen? Good times and bad, Raymond, I vowed to stand beside you and I meant it.” A sob garbled her last word and she cleared her throat. “I’m not leaving yo
u to face this alone.”
Raymond swallowed and reached for her. He squeezed her hand before pulling away.
Danny stepped forward. “We can come with you. Help you reach the hospital.”
“No.” Raymond shook his head. “Get out of the city. Follow the plan we made and you’ll make it.”
Danny couldn’t believe what was happening. Everything had gone to pieces in a matter of seconds. Owen was dying in the bike carrier, Jessica and Raymond weren’t leaving the city and Caden…
Caden cried fat, wet tears of confusion and fear.
Midge reached out with her good hand toward Raymond as he straddled his bike. “Thank you for saving me.” Her voice warbled. “I owe you my life. As soon as Owen’s stable, head out of the city. If a bomb detonates while you’re still here…” She turned to Jessica. “Get underground as fast as you can.”
“A lot of hospitals are bomb shelters.” Danny offered. “Get to the basement and stay there.”
Jessica nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“We need to go.” Raymond’s words cut the goodbyes short and Midge stepped back.
Danny watched Raymond and Jessica pull away before he climbed back onto his own bike. Owen saved his life and he was leaving him to die. He blinked back hot tears and focused on the bike. He pushed a pedal down and took off, unable to bear the sight of Jessica and Raymond’s shrinking figures as they raced against a clock they couldn’t beat.
How was he ever going to forgive himself for leaving them?
Chapter Twenty
DANNY
Saturday, 10:00 am CST
Avondale Estates, Chicago
A handful of blocks passed in a blur as three- to six-story buildings with ground floor delis and mom and pop pharmacies gave way to ninety-year-old houses with chain-link fences protecting postage stamp front yards. None of it mattered to Danny. All he could see was Owen’s mutilated body and the look on Raymond’s face as he stared at his partner.
Danny saw that same look on his father’s face when the doctors told him Joey would never wake up. Grief and anger consumed Danny back then, propelling him into pre-med and pushing him to become a doctor in his own right. When faced with another unspeakable tragedy, what did he do? He ran.
What a fine doctor I’ll turn out to be. A wave of guilt rose up inside him, filling his eyes with tears and turning his stomach. He pulled up short, almost colliding with a light post, and called out to Midge. “Stop! I have to stop!” His bike landed hard on the concrete as he staggered over to a nearby tree.
He gripped the trunk while he heaved. Jessica’s home-cooked breakfast ended up at his feet and Danny leaned against the tree as he wiped tears and spit off his face.
Midge eased off her bike and approached. “Are you all right?”
He pushed away from the trunk. “Owen’s going to die.”
Midge tucked her hands inside her sleeves. “What if they make it to a hospital?”
“Won’t do any good. He suffered so many kicks and stomps to his torso that his ribs splintered. Shards probably nicked most major organs.”
“I’m sorry.”
Danny snorted. “He’s not my partner, he’s Raymond’s.”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t be upset. He saved our lives.”
Danny sagged. Taking his anger out on Midge wouldn’t help anything. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Hopelessness gnawed at his empty stomach and he wrapped an arm around his torso. “It’s just so unfair. He only told those people to leave. He wasn’t going to hurt them.”
Midge perched on the seat of her bike, feet stretched out in front of her. “It’s a different world now. The old rules no longer apply.”
“But it hasn’t even been a day!” Danny practically tore at his hair as he spun around in a circle, refusing to face reality. “For all those people know, the power could come back on this second!”
“You don’t honestly believe that, do you?” Midge’s voice remained low and calm as she stared at Danny. “Turn around. Look at the street.”
Danny did as she asked.
After a moment, Midge asked, “What do you see?”
“Abandoned cars. The one in front of me is missing a back window and the trunk is popped open.”
“What else?”
“The house across from me is all shut up with closed windows and curtains.” He scanned the street. “So are all the others I can see.”
“And?”
Danny turned around, frustration clouding his vision. “And what? It looks like a street without power, just like all the others we’ve driven down.”
Midge frowned and pushed off the bike. She closed the distance between them and stood by his side. “When there’s a bad storm and a transformer blows or a tree knocks out a power line, what do neighbors do?”
“Get together, I guess. See if anyone needs help. I saw that in the last neighborhood we drove through. People were out on their porches, talking and carrying on.”
Midge nodded. “But not here. Not in this part of town.”
Danny threw up his hands. “What’s your point?”
“All the doors and window are shut.” She leaned closer. “They’re either hiding inside, scared of their own neighbors, or they’re part of that mob back there that killed a cop without a second thought.”
Danny exhaled. “You don’t know that for sure.”
“What I do know is that it’s only going to get worse.” She walked back to her bike and climbed on. “Neighborhoods like this will be the first to go, but the lawlessness will spread. Soon even the fanciest streets in Chicago will be overrun with looters and thieves. You can either accept that now and get moving, or deny it and get yourself killed. But there’s a bomb coming and I’m not going to be standing here when it blows.”
Danny picked up his bike from where he’d tossed it on the ground. She might not have the best bedside manner, but Midge was right. Falling apart now would get him nowhere. Midge pedaled on ahead and Danny pushed to catch up. Soon they were cruising through less-congested residential streets, headed southeast toward downtown.
As the neighborhood gave way to taller and taller buildings filled with offices instead of people, Midge and Danny were forced to slow. Stalled cars clogged the streets, stacked up like dominoes waiting for a finger to tip them over. Danny eased around a work truck and came to a screeching halt.
A woman lay in the road, wearing nothing more than a heap of rags. He whistled to Midge and eased off his bike. “Ma’am? Are you all right?”
A moan rose up from the asphalt and Danny unclipped his helmet as he hurried over. Wrinkled hands reached for him and Danny crouched at the woman’s side. Dried tears left tracks down her dirt-covered cheeks and bruising across one cheek had deepened to almost black beneath her eye.
“Are you hurt?”
The woman moaned again, clutching at her arm. Danny reached out, palms up. “Can I take a look?”
She scooted back, grumbling and shaking her head.
“I won’t hurt you. I’m studying to be a doctor.”
She stilled. “You’re not just sayin’ that to steal my things?”
“No, ma’am.” Danny smiled and waited like he had all the time in the world.
Midge stopped a few feet away, obviously impatient. She kept her hands on the handlebars of her bike, ready to take off at any moment.
Danny tried to ignore her and turned back to the woman. “My name’s Danny. And this is Midge. What’s your name?”
The woman glanced at Midge and scooted farther away. “Fern. Like the plant.”
“Well, Fern, I’d like to help you if I can.” Danny smiled again in encouragement. He might not have been able to save Owen, but he wasn’t going to leave this woman wailing in the middle of the street. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“They took my cart. Was a real good cart, too. Full of things. So many nice things.” She sobbed. “But now it’s gone.”
Midge shifted on her bike, but
Danny couldn’t leave. He could help Fern and still make it out of the city. “Did they hurt you when they took the cart?”
Fern nodded and lifted a shaky hand up to her face. “My eye and my arm.”
“Can I see?”
Fern held her arm close. “No. I don’t want it fixed.”
Midge exhaled sharply. “She doesn’t want help.”
“Please, Fern. Let me at least take a look.” After holding out his hands again and waiting, Danny was finally rewarded.
The old woman stuck an arm toward him. He pulled back the tattered flannel shirt covering her skin and sucked in a breath. A jagged cut zigzagged across her dirty skin, blood already clotting with grime. “You need to get that cleaned up and have a few stitches.”
“No doctors. No stitches.” She shied away, inching back toward the closest car.
Danny frowned. “If I can find a suture kit or even some fishing line and a needle, I could fix it for you. But you need to get clean first.”
“No.” She patted her face. “I like the dirt. Helps me blend in with the city.” She cast a furtive glance around and lowered her voice. “They won’t see me if I’m dirty.”
Midge put a foot on a pedal. “I’m leaving. Now.”
Danny held up a hand. If Fern refused treatment, the least they could do was tell her to hide. “Please, Fern. You have to get out of the city. It’s not safe for you here. It’s not safe for anyone here.”
“Why not?”
“A bomb is coming, a real big one. It’s going to blow up all of downtown.”
“A bomb?”
He nodded. “You need to find somewhere to hide. Underground is best. Stay away from downtown for a while.”
Fern struggled to her feet, clutching at her arm as she wobbled. “No! If there’s a bomb coming, then I want to be there.”
“What? No!” Danny stood up in alarm. “You need to go away from downtown. Not toward it! The bomb will kill you.”
“Seems fitting.” She nodded. “This city made me who I am and it can end me, too.” She reached out and patted Danny’s arm with her uninjured hand. “Thank you for showing me the way.”
