Stranded Box Set

by Theresa Shaver

  Once the students had returned with supplies and handed them out, Mrs. Moore addressed them all.

  “When we leave the gates and grounds of the park, there will be a lot of chaos. I want you all to stay close together and try hard not to get separated from the group. There will be many car accidents and possibly fires on the way to the hotel. Just try to keep moving forward and don’t engage anyone if possible. Some of you may want to help others and while in a normal situation I would applaud that, now it would be a mistake. We must get to the hotel as quickly as possible. Time is running out before things will get completely out of control, and we must think of the safety of the group. Now, adults, there are only four of us so it’ll be a challenge - but try to stay on the outside of our group and keep the students in the middle.”

  Mrs. Moore made eye contact with Mrs. Davis and the other parent chaperone, Mrs. Hardsky, and nodded before looking to the last teacher, Ms. Scott. The woman was a mess. Her face was red and puffy from crying and she still had tears streaming down her face. Biting back the urge to shake her, Mrs. Moore looked at the students and singled out Jessica and a boy named Liam.

  “Can you two please stick close to Ms. Scott? She seems to be having a hard time. Just keep her moving with the rest of us.” As the two students went to stand by their young teacher, she nodded and raised her hands. “Let us proceed.”

  The group all rose from the grass and with Mrs. Moore leading them, they made their way to the gates they had entered only a few hours earlier. They had been somewhat protected from the horror of what was happening outside the park, but as they cleared the parking area, the full devastation was revealed. All cars, trucks and buses had come to a stop and many were fused together in torn metal and broken glass. There were people wandering dazed and bloody from injuries and others lay on the pavement, too damaged to move. Others were running and many were carrying bags stuffed with stolen items. It hadn’t taken long for the looting to start.

  Many of the students walked with huge eyes and open mouths as their eyes tracked through the wreckage. Other students kept their heads down and tried to block out the suffering that was all around them. Mrs. Moore kept them all moving and helped them weave a path around accidents and injured people that had ended up on the sidewalks.

  Some of the girls wept quietly and Ms. Scott had started to loudly sob again. April was blank. Her head swivelled back and forth but the haze had come back and she felt nothing but the painful grip her mother had on her arm. As they moved farther from the amusement park, the air got thicker with smoke from the many fires that were burning out of control.

  They had only gone a few blocks when the whole group came to a stop. April stood on her tippy toes to see what was in front of them and saw the sidewalk they were travelling on completely blocked by an accident of four crashed cars.

  Mrs. Moore turned back and spoke loudly, “All right, everyone, we’ll have to find a path through the street to get around this wreck. Stay close together and follow the person ahead of you.”

  Slowly, they all stepped into the street and started to weave in between the crashed vehicles. It was slow going and a tight fit to get through in some spots. Jessica and Ms. Scott had ended up in front of April and her mother and they were squeezing between two cars when a bloody hand came out of one of the car’s open window and clutched at Ms. Scott. Her panicked shriek made April jump and fall against the car giving her a better view of the hysterical teacher as she slapped her hands at the bloody arm. Jessica gave Ms. Scott a huge shove to push her forward and then quickly followed her past the open window. April stood still with her eyes on the now limp arm that hung out of the window. She would have to go past it as well. Her mother gave her a nudge to keep going so she took baby steps while trying to stay as far from the arm as she could.

  When she came even with the open window, she couldn’t help but look inside. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the bloody face of a man slumped back in the driver’s seat. All of a sudden, the horror left her and she felt her heart break. This was a person in pain. This could be her dad. Probably was someone’s uncle, someone’s friend. When his eyes fluttered open and met hers, he didn’t look scary, he looked tired. His hand lifted and she found herself reaching out to him. This poor man, all alone and in pain, just needed some comfort. Just as their fingers touched April’s mother swatted his hand aside and shoved April forward.

  “Don’t touch her! Don’t you touch my baby!” she screeched.

  April stumbled forward and almost lost her balance. She steadied herself against the damaged car and turned back to look. Her mother was rushing at her with a scowl and through the windshield, she could see the man had closed his eyes again.

  “Mom, he’s hurt, not dangerous!”

  Mrs. Davis steered her away again and huffed out, “It’s none of our business. Just keep going.”

  April let herself be led away but she couldn’t get the image of the man’s sad eyes out of her head.

  The group made it back onto the sidewalk and kept going. They could all see the top of the hotel in the distance when they heard gunfire. Almost all the students dropped down but Mrs. Moore waved them up and on.

  “Keep going! Whoever’s shooting isn’t close. It’s coming from behind us and over at least a block. Just keep moving!”

  Everyone’s steps hurried after that. No one wanted to be on the street anymore and the illusion of safety awaited them ahead at the hotel. Mrs. Davis was practically dragging April in a bid to hurry up. April saw how pale her mother was and how her head kept jerking from side-to-side searching for any threats. April was normally a quiet girl and she’d never really gone against her mother or talked back, but the situation seemed to have made her personality shift and she found herself taunting her mother.

  “Gee, Mom, I sure can’t wait to walk through all this again with our suitcases on the way to the consulate! We’ll probably be dead but it’s great that we’ll have extra underwear!”

  Mrs. Davis’ head whipped back around and the look of shock on her face was almost comical. April had to look away half in shame and half to keep from laughing. This was so different from her usual behaviour that she was a little shocked herself. Thankfully, her mom didn’t yell at her; she just continued pulling her along. She heard a snicker from behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see a few of her classmates looking amused. She quickly turned back to follow her mother.

  They came to an intersection full of twisted and bent metal with their hotel parking lot just on the other side. As they picked their way through the mess between them and their destination, everyone started to feel less panicked. They had made it halfway through the intersection when gunfire rang out much closer, and the sound of glass shattering could be heard behind them. Some of the students screamed and ducked down and others plowed ahead towards the hotel. Mrs. Moore was yelling and waving everyone forward while trying to keep a head count as students passed her. Her steady expression and calm, commanding voice kept April moving forward but she could feel herself shaking all over. As they passed the teacher and entered the parking lot, she heard her count off the number thirteen.

  When April and her mother joined the rest of the group under the portico of the hotel, she turned back to the street to see who was left. Only one girl was running towards them. She was shaking and tears were pouring down her face. Mrs. Moore grabbed her and tried to calm her down. April couldn’t hear what was said but the girl shook her head and came towards them while Mrs. Moore turned back to scan the street.

  Sixteen of their group stood in the parking lot waiting. After a few minutes, Mrs. Moore turned and joined them with a concerned look on her face

  “We’re missing two of our students. Susan, what happened?” she asked the crying girl that had come in last.

  She took a deep breath and tried to get herself under control before answering.

  “We were in the middle of the street when we heard the gunfire so we ducked down behind a ca
r. Sam and Colton were arguing. Colton didn’t want to go to the hotel. He said we were dead if we didn’t get out of the city and said he wished he’d gone with the others. Sam was trying to get him to keep moving when we heard the glass breaking in cars back the way we came. Colton just looked at us and said, ‘Screw it, see ya guys. Good luck.’ And then he took off away from here down that street. Sam told me to get to you and he took off after Colton. They just left me out there!” she ended with a wail.

  Mrs. Moore just stared at the girl before finally looking at the other adults in the group. She zeroed in on Mrs. Davis.

  “Weren’t you bringing up the rear? You were supposed to stay at the back of our group to keep them moving.” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, just flat.

  Mrs. Davis pulled April against her and raised her head high. “I had to protect my daughter! A man had attacked her!”

  April looked at her mother in confusion but it quickly turned to disbelief. She pulled herself away from her mom and shook her head. She couldn’t believe that her mother was using that poor injured man as an excuse for not watching over the other students. She was so ashamed of her mother that she had to turn away.

  Mrs. Moore just nodded and addressed the others.

  “We’ll hope that they find their way back here. Let’s go inside and see what the situation is here.”

  With a dark look in Mrs. Davis’ direction, she entered the hotel.

  Chapter Three

  Other than the random gunfire and the odd shout, the streets had been very quiet. With nothing mechanical or electrical working, the silence had been unnerving, and walking into the wall of noise in the lobby was a shock. There had to be fifty people crowding the room and the men, women and children were all trying to make themselves heard. The sounds of yelling and children crying overwhelmed April as she tried to look in all directions.

  The loudest was a group surrounding the front desk where a single person was trying to answer questions. It didn’t seem like anyone was listening to her as they continued to yell. The poor woman was frantic and she looked like she was about to bolt.

  Mrs. Moore surveyed the room and shook her head. She was about to address her group when a scream rang out from the front desk and she whipped her head around to see a very obese man lean over the counter and wrap his hands around the desk clerk’s throat. He started to shake her while screaming in her face. The crowd around him moved back at the sudden violence but no one moved to help the woman. Without a word to her group, Mrs. Moore sailed forward and picked up a vase from one of the decorative tables. She walked right up to the man and smashed it on the back of his head. The huge man’s hands flew away from the clerk and he spun around to face Mrs. Moore before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped to the floor.

  The lobby was suddenly quiet. All eyes were on the older teacher as she turned and glared at people around her. Her authoritative voice rang out in the silence.

  “That is enough! What is wrong with you people? The entire city has come to a halt and you expect this one person to fix it? She hands out door keys and probably makes minimum wage for goodness sakes! Use some common sense! There has been a huge disaster out there and you need to do something to protect yourselves and your families. That means either finding a way out of the city or finding somewhere you can safely stay. I would suggest anyone without children should gather food and water and try to walk out of the city. Families with children should gather food and water and find some place you can defend. There are a lot of angry people out there and soon there will be a fight for supplies! Stop wasting time here and get to work!” she ended with a bellow.

  There was a beat of silence before a very overweight woman dragging an equally overweight boy pushed right up into Mrs. Moore’s face. Spit flew from her mouth as she snarled at the teacher.

  “Who the hell are you to tell us what to do?! How dare you hit my husband!”

  The glare of disgust that Mrs. Moore pinned the woman with had her stepping back in seconds.

  “Your husband was attempting to kill that young woman and you should be deeply ashamed by his actions. I’ve no desire to tell you what to do. I’m stating facts on what’s happening. How do you plan on feeding your child in a week when all the food is gone? How will you protect him when some people turn into savages and perhaps look to you and your family as a food source? That poor desk clerk can’t help you. Only you can help you. I suggest you get your husband and child and try to find somewhere safe.”

  When Mrs. Moore turned her back and marched away, the woman was left with her mouth gaping open in shock before bending down and trying to bring her husband around.

  Mrs. Moore walked around the counter and approached the desk clerk who was gasping for breath.

  “Are you alright, dear? Would you like to sit down?”

  The clerk shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you for helping me. I think he would’ve killed me. He was crazy mad that they couldn’t get into their room.”

  “Ah, so all the rooms are locked then?”

  She nodded her head. “They are all electronic locks. They have a battery backup for when the power goes out, but that seems to be dead as well. The only way in is to break down the doors or the glass in the windows. I’m sorry! I just don’t know what to do!” Fresh tears filled the woman’s eyes at the overwhelming situation. Mrs. Moore patted the woman’s arm and surveyed the lobby.

  One of her students was hovering nearby and came closer when she noticed him. He handed a water bottle over the counter for her to give to the clerk.

  “Thank you, Liam. Has there been any sign of Sam and Colton?”

  “No, they haven’t come back. I don’t think they will. Mrs. Moore, I heard what she said about the doors being locked. I saw a fireman’s ax behind glass on our floor this morning. We could use it to break down the doors.”

  Liam’s teacher smiled at him. “Very good thinking, that would help very much!” She turned to the clerk. “I think it might be wise if you tried to get home now. A lot of these people will still expect you to solve their problems. Also, things are getting worse on the streets so you should leave as soon as possible.”

  The poor woman was trembling as she nodded her head and slipped through a staff only door behind the desk. Mrs. Moore watched her go and briefly closed her eyes. If only they had somewhere they could go as well. She knew the time to try to leave the city had probably passed and that taking shelter in place was probably their best, maybe their only, option. The only problem with that was where could they go? Shaking her head, she put it aside and focused back on what was next.

  “I think we should gather our group and head up to the tenth floor. It’ll be quiet and safer there for now,” she told Liam. “The emergency stairwell and the hallway will be very dark with no lights on so grab another student and gather the glass candle holders from the lounge please. I’ll get our group together and we’ll wait for you by the door to the stairs.”

  He nodded quickly and moved away. Mrs. Moore saw that her remaining students were all huddled together and the three adult chaperones were deep in conference. As she walked over to them, Mrs. Davis stopped talking abruptly and glared at her in anger. All Mrs. Moore could think was, “What now?” The other two ladies wouldn’t meet her eyes and silently shuffled away. She faced Mrs. Davis and waited for the tirade to start.

  “Norma, what you did to that man was unacceptable! And the way you talked to his wife and child was cruel! You have no business telling all of these people what to do like you’re in some position of authority. I mean, really? It’s not like you’re some expert or anything. You should be focusing on helping me take care of these children; not bossing strangers around!” she ended with a shriek of disapproval.

  Mrs. Moore closed her eyes and took a deep breath for patience. Knocking this clueless woman on her bony butt would not help the situation at all. When she opened her eyes, she saw Mrs. Davis’s face getting even redder and a quic
k glance at her group saw all of the students staring at them with wide eyes. What she had to say was not for this audience so she took a step forward and firmly grabbed Mrs. Davis’ arm and pulled her away from the group and into a nearby corner. Mrs. Davis was sputtering in outrage and trying to pull her arm away. Once they were out of earshot, she dropped the woman’s arm and leaned in close. In a steady, calm and serious voice, she explained the new reality they were in.

  “Let’s start at the beginning. That man was going to kill that woman and I acted to save her. His wife was hysterical and I said what I did to try and shock her out of it and maybe get her moving so that they might have a chance of surviving. The more people that leave this building the safer we’ll be. All the yelling and crying will do nothing but freeze people into immobility. Next, no one is in a position of authority anymore. People will have to help themselves because no one else will. And finally, I am the closest thing to an expert on this type of situation you have. I have been studying, learning and preparing for this very thing for decades. Everything I have done since this all began has been to try and save the lives of my students. I have lost my patience when it comes to your control issues. You’ll either follow my lead and make yourself useful or you can leave! All I have seen from you today is petty, selfish, undermining behaviour. That won’t work. You need to accept the situation for what it is. No one is coming to rescue us, at least not anytime soon. We’re trapped with millions of people who are going to be starving for food and water in the not too distant future. Once the criminal element realizes that there are no more rules to stop them, there’ll be anarchy. Horrific acts of violence will be committed and most of those acts will be done against women.” The tears that shimmered in Mrs. Davis’ eyes had the teacher softening her tone. “I need your help. We’re running out of time. We need to come up with a plan. Help me, help yourself and help your daughter make it through this,” she implored.