The last day, p.13
The Last Day, page 13
part #1 of The Last Day Series
“Is he… Is he… Where is he?”
“I’m sorry Jules. He’s gone.” Jules seemed to retreat into herself again at my words. Her eyes had a faraway appearance, and she curled into a fetal position, lying back down. I really wished that I knew what to do to help her, but I hadn’t been trained in this yet. I had wanted to go into psychology. I had wanted to be a therapist and help people cope, but I couldn’t figure out what to do for Jules.
Ty slid into the driver’s seat and looked at me questioningly. I shook my head no, to indicate that Jules was not really doing okay. Ty sighed and started the truck. “So I studied the map, and I think I have a good route around the city that will get us back to where we need to be. Let’s buckle up and hit the road again. I’m anxious to get there as soon as we can. Babe, why don’t you see if you can find another station with the emergency broadcast system playing? I would love to know what is going on with all of these earthquakes. They probably won’t tell us anything new, but it’s worth a try.”
We had turned the radio off again when it became too annoying to hear the emergency tones over and over. At Ty’s request, I reached over and turned it back on. The station we had been receiving before just played static now. Whether that was due to us leaving its range or the station going off the air, I wasn’t sure. I scanned through the stations, but nothing seemed to be broadcasting. I think Ty could tell I was getting frustrated because he patted my hand and then turned the radio off. Except for the sounds of Jules sobbing in the backseat and the tires on the road the world was silent. It was frightening.
Ty followed the road we were on for a few more miles and then turned on to what looked like a well-traveled country road. We seemed to be circling the hills that we had been trapped in. Farms dotted the landscape here and there, but they were all down very long drives. I could see what appeared to be damage from the earthquakes here and there on the properties. There was a barn collapsed here, damage to a house there, and fallen trees all over the place. When we got close enough to the hills, there were piles of rocks lying everywhere. I still didn’t see any people out and about, but there were cows and horses, as well as other farm type animals, wandering around fields.
Ty made a few more turns before coming out on what seemed to be a state route. Once on the road, he started traveling a little faster. “This will take us to I-40. I know I said we should stay off the main roads to avoid the military, but after the rock slides, I think maybe it is more important to stay on roads that are generally more well-traveled. Wider roads are less likely to be completely impassable, not to mention the wide berms on the sides of the main roads give either the rocks room to pile up there or us room to go around other types of blockages.”
“Sounds logical to me,” I replied. There were entirely too many rocky hills and eventually mountains on the route we would need to take to expect that we would be able to make it to the cabin without any other road issues. Two-lane roads through the mountains were likely to be difficult to follow at this point, so it was best to avoid them until they were a necessity. Ty focused on the road ahead of him, and I tried to vigilantly watch out the window for anything that looked even slightly suspicious.
Jules was still quietly sobbing in the backseat, but she seemed to have calmed some. It broke my heart to hear her, but there was nothing that I could say that would diminish the pain that she was feeling right now. Ben was the one person that she had felt safe with, and now he was gone. Her father had left her, and her mother didn’t care where she was or who she was with. Jules had always known that in her mother’s eyes drugs were a higher priority than her daughter and that knowledge had left her damaged. After learning about her home life and family, I was shocked when she allowed Ben into her heart, but she explained to me once that, while Ben might seem cocky and narcissistic, he was really insecure and wanted to be loved for being himself, not as half of Ben and Ken. She also told me that, even though he put on a show in front of everyone, he worried about what everyone thought of him. She explained that when they were alone, he was kind and gentle with her. He made sure that she was taken care of, which was something no one had ever done for her before. The world had fallen apart, and she had lost the one thing that represented safety to her. She wouldn’t even have that security going into this new, scary, and unknown world. I was sure that she felt beyond devastated.
I watched Ty as he drove and tried to imagine how I would feel if he was the one that we had left behind under that rock pile. I wasn’t sure that I would have been able to go on if it had been him. I don’t think I could have left him there. I would have refused to leave unless we were able to get him out and bring him too. Would Jules have done the same thing if she weren’t in shock? How would I continue on? I didn’t even know where we were going really, so how would I have ever gotten there? If something happened to Ty now, I thought, how would I find my way to my parents? The thought flitted into my mind and took root. I tried to not think about it and focus on other things, but the thought kept coming back to me until finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Ty, what if something happens and you can’t get me to the cabin?” I asked timidly. I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t have faith in him, but I needed an answer.
“I will get you safely to the cabin if it’s the last thing I do.”
“I know, but what if something were to happen to you? What if the falling rocks had hurt you more seriously, or worse, and I needed to get both of us to the cabin? I can drive the truck, but I don’t know where we are going.”
Ty was quiet for a moment while he processed what I was trying to tell him. “You’re right. You should absolutely know exactly where you should go. I’ll mark the map when we stop next time to show where we are going and my planned route. I’m sorry babe. I wasn’t trying to keep you in the dark it just didn’t occur to me. God forbid something were to happen to me, but if it did and I was unable to get you to the cabin, I want you to leave me and go. I will do everything in my power to make sure that I am here to protect you every step of the way, but I guess, considering what has happened so far, I can’t really make a promise that I will be here to get you to the cabin. I will write down all the details for you.”
“I hope it won’t be necessary for me to ever even look at the map, but it will make me feel better if I know the information is there in case I need to take over and get you to help. We’re in this together, you and me. If I got hurt, you would make sure you got me to where I needed to be to get help. If you get hurt, I want to be able to do the same thing for you. Me and you, we still have that, and that is all that I need to keep moving forward. I will do whatever I have to to keep you safe as well. It isn’t a one-way thing here. Our relationship has never been that way, and it’s not going to be that way now. Yes, I understand that you are much better equipped to protect me than I am to protect you, but I will still do so to the best of my ability. Do you understand?”
“I understand completely, my love. You and me, me and you. Together we will get to the cabin, and we will get through this. I think there is a small town up here and I might risk stopping. Maybe someone will come out and talk to us, and we can find out if they have made any more announcements on television or anywhere about what is going on. It wouldn’t hurt to fill the truck tank up if we can, but I don’t know that we will find anyone who will sell us fuel.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Do you still have that gun on you?” I put my hand on the gun to reassure myself that I hadn’t lost it during my forays over the landslide. I nodded affirmation to Ty, and he continued. “Good, keep it on you and loaded at all times. If we stop, you need to be my second set of eyes. Got it?”
“Yes, sir. I will be your eyes and ears and whatever else you need me to be.” It was going to be a long trip, I thought. We hadn’t even made it halfway yet and look at what the cost had been. Could we really make it the rest of the way?
∞∞∞
As we traveled down this road, I noticed that we saw increasingly more houses. I watched warily out the window hoping to see signs of anyone normal and also to make sure that nothing suspicious was lurking. I was shocked when I saw a few kids playing in a yard as if nothing was going wrong in the world. I mentioned it to Ty, and he seemed surprised as well. They were the first people we’d seen since the crazy rest area guy. Maybe there had been some good news released, and things weren’t as bad as we thought.
About another mile up the road we saw a woman out working in her garden. She glanced up and waved as we passed. I couldn’t help but wave back. It was good to see some of the routine daily human tasks still taking place. The closer we got to the small town the more people we saw out and about. I felt tiny blossoms of optimism working their way into my mind. I couldn’t imagine this entire town of people would be out and about if the emergency broadcasts hadn’t given some good news. When we approached the small village, it seemed as if the residents were just going about their everyday life. Cars were traveling on the roads. The post office, grocery store, and gas station all seemed to be open and practicing business as usual.
Ty was cautiously looking around and seemed to be as confused as I was about the normal activities going on around us.
“Do you think this is a sign that they have had some good news,” I asked. I could hear the hope in my voice.
“I don’t know,” Ty replied. “We still need to be cautious. I want to use the same story that we used with the military. We have been camping. We haven’t heard any announcements. We don’t understand these crazy earthquakes, but they can explain my injuries. We are just heading a short distance to my father’s house. Okay?”
“Got it. I’ll just keep quiet if I can. What about Jules?”
“I haven’t heard her for a while. Did she fall asleep?” I looked into the back seat and saw that she was no longer sobbing. Ty was right, I thought. Jules’s eyes were closed, and her breathing was even. She appeared to be asleep.
“It seems that she did, which is probably for the best. I don’t know how to make this better or easier for her. I don’t even have the right words. A part of me feels guilty because I still have you when she lost Ben. I can’t even imagine how devastated she must feel.”
“I feel horrible too, but the best thing that I can do for her right now is to get her to safety. There will be time for comfort and healing after that.” Ty eased the truck into the gas station and pulled up to one of the pumps. “Stay in the truck unless I call you. Okay? I need you to watch for anyone approaching or anything that seems off.”
Ty looked around the area and discreetly checked that his gun was hidden but present. Once he was sure that all was in order, he opened the door and eased out into the parking lot. Locking the truck door behind him, he left the keys inside with me. I watched him turn towards the building, and as he started to walk in front of the truck, an employee walked out. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but Ty listened intently to the man. They talked for a while, Ty making a statement to which the man would reply animatedly. I kept scanning our surrounding for anything or anyone that looked suspicious but it really just seemed to be a charming little town where the people were going about their normal lives. Ty tried to give the man some money, but he waved it away. They both moved to the side of the truck where they appeared to be adding fuel. I could hear the rumblings of their conversation and assumed Ty was still probing for information.
After a few more minutes of talking, I saw the young man turn and walk back into the building. He flipped the sign in the window to closed and turned off the lights in the building. As he was coming back out of the building and locking the door, Ty knocked on the driver’s side window. I hit the unlock button so he could get in. Once in he started the truck and just waited.
“So,” he said. “This gentleman is Trent. He’s an engineer, and his wife is a physician’s assistant. Dad always told me that we would need to look for someone with medical training if something bad went down because that is the one field where none of us have any experience. An engineer is always valuable as well. We are going to follow him to his place, and they are going to come with us.”
“Umm, okay.”
“Trent said that the government hasn’t released any other information. The emergency broadcasts have stopped, and both television and radio stations have gone silent. That’s actually a bad sign. I didn’t think we would lose government communication yet. There is no information on why there were so many earthquakes, so I’m still not sure what has happened, but I think this is bigger than what I thought it was. I don’t know how that will change anything but the more we know, the better we are able to deal with the situation. If the bolide impact is what started this all we will still see atmospheric changes as well.” Trent had gotten into his car and motioned that he was ready to go. Ty pulled out after him and began following him through the town before continuing. “I wonder if there was more than one large bolide impact and that is why we have felt more than one earthquake.”
“Is it really possible,” I pondered aloud, “that something happened with all those fault lines in California like you mentioned earlier?”
“Yes, I’d say that is very possible. The bolide could have caused an earthquake on the west coast unlike any that mankind has ever experienced. It would cause issues with other tectonic plates and fault lines, not to mention the havoc that such a level of earthquake would cause, aftershocks for example. The quake would be of such a level that people would feel it thousands of miles away.”
I quietly pondered this for a while as Ty followed Trent out of town. It was incomprehensible to me that half, or even more, of our country might be gone. Why would the government go quiet, I wondered. Were they just trying to keep citizens in the dark or were they gone somehow? “So why would the government go quiet? What does that mean?”
“Well, I’m not sure. Could be a flaw in the EBS system or it could be some sort of interference preventing broadcast. It could also be that whatever is left of the government wants the broadcasts stopped because they are worried about riots, looting, and such. It could be that everything is in chaos and no one is thinking about creating broadcasts right now. Maybe the staff who handle the EBS has been redirected. I would guess that the president, vice, and other integral government officials are safely tucked away in a bunker somewhere trying to figure out what the heck they can actually do. They may bring it back up when they have new information.”
Ty followed Trent down a long dirt drive which led back to a beautiful white farmhouse. As we approached, I saw someone walk onto the porch. Must be Trent’s wife, I thought to myself. She was a short woman with very long, poker-straight, black hair. She had the kindest eyes that I had ever seen, and the smile she flashed to Trent when he got out of his car spoke volumes about how much love she had for him. Ty and I sat in the truck and watched them embrace. Ty told me that Trent wanted to explain things to his wife before he introduced us to her. They were still talking intently on the porch when the front door opened. A young girl ran out and threw herself into Trent’s arms. Trent picked her up and held her close but did not look back to our truck.
“Ty, did you know that they have a child?” I asked curiously.
“No, he failed to mention that. We can’t bring too many people with us. I hope he isn’t hiding an entire extended family in there and thinking that we will take them all with us.”
“You aren’t going to make them stay now, are you? Just because of the little girl?” My heart broke at the thought of her suffering when the sky went dark, or the world got extra cold.
“What?” Ty seemed shocked by my question. “Do you really think I wouldn’t let them come just because of the baby? You know me better than that.”
“I’m sorry. It’s a different world now, and I know that things have to change. I’m guessing that we will have to change too.”
Ty turned to face me, taking my hands in his. “You’re right they do, and unfortunately, we won’t be able to save every child. Look at that beautiful little girl though. We can save her.”
At that moment, Trent handed the little girl to his wife, motioning for us to join them. I was wondering if I should get out too, but Ty answered the question for me when he indicated that I should come with him. I climbed down from my side of the truck as Ty exited the driver’s side. I looked back to Jules and saw that she still appeared to be sleeping, so I quietly closed the door behind me.
As we walked to the porch, I could not take my eyes from the little girl standing beside her mother. She had her mother’s black-as-night hair, but rather than being poker straight her hair had ringlet curls that cascaded down her back. She looked back at me with bright, inquisitive eyes and an infectious smile. She had a teddy bear in one hand, and the other was wrapped around her mother’s leg. Her eyes stayed on me as introductions were made. Trent introduced Ty and, in turn, Ty introduced me to the family.
“This is my wife, Bonita,” Trent stated, “and this little beauty is Sarah.”
Bonita came forward and gave both Ty and me a quick hug. “It is so wonderful to meet both of you. Sorry, I’m a hugger and a talker.” She smiled widely. “I am so glad that you chose our little town to stop in. I’ve been so worried since the emergency broadcast started. I’ve been praying and then God brought us you.”
“I’m pleased to meet you all,” I replied, “and we are so glad that you can join us.” I bent down to Sarah’s level to speak directly to her. “I am so thrilled to meet you, Sarah. What a lovely bear friend you have. I had a bear friend when I was little. His name was Ted, and he went everywhere with me.”
Sarah’s smile was luminescent. She didn’t speak to me, just smiled, popped her thumb into her mouth, and hid behind her mother’s legs again. I half listened as Ty spoke with Trent and Bonita, explaining what he had surmised about what had happened so far, and what we could expect to happen in the future. Bonita’s smile faded, and her face became paler underneath her deep tan color.
