Getting Out

7

Georgia couldn’t blame her kids for this one. Sadie and James were trying their best to help, even though they were pretty sure their mom had gone off the deep end and gone completely crazy.

The minutes had stretched to hours, and the hours had gone by. The sun had fallen long ago.

Georgia was out in the garage of their house, with a flashlight, trying to find the last pieces of her camping gear.

It had been a while since she’d actually used the gear. Most of her recent trips had been day trips. She knew James and Sadie could fend for themselves, but now that they were older, she didn’t like leaving them alone. They were more trustworthy when they were younger teens. Now they were interested in drinking, even though they were underage, and throwing parties. Georgia knew that if she left them alone for a long weekend, she’d come back to a house completely destroyed and perhaps overrun with hungover teenagers.

“Damnit,” she muttered, as she tried to push an old kayak out of the way. It toppled down from where it was precariously perched, almost falling on her.

She stepped out of the way just in time. But there on the top shelf was what she’d been looking for—a tent. It was covered in dust that blew into the air around her as she pulled it down. It was in a nylon duffel bag. She dragged it back into the darkened kitchen that was lit with a single candle.

Sadie was at the kitchen table, staring at her dead phone.

“Staring at it won’t make it turn back on,” said Georgia.

“I’m waiting for a text,” said Sadie.

“You’re crazy,” said James, entering the kitchen. “I’m beginning to think Mom’s right. Something’s going on, and your phone isn’t going to come back on, Sadie.”

“I can’t deal with any more adolescent bickering right now,” said Georgia. “James, help me load this into the truck.”

“Here,” said James, taking the tent from her and hoisting it easily over his shoulder.

She heard the front door swinging open as James left the house to drop it in the bed of the truck.

“You’ve got everything you need, Sadie?” said Georgia.

Sadie nodded. “I don’t see why I can’t take my makeup,” said Sadie, pouting.

“If everything calms down, we can come back,” said Georgia. “Hopefully this will just be a short trip.”

“What about school?” said Sadie. “We’re just going to miss two weeks of school?”

Georgia shrugged. “I’ll tell them I’m homeschooling you.”

Georgia was stressed, which was a relatively new feeling for her. She opened the fridge and took out the last cold beer. The rest of the beer was loaded into the truck already. She cracked it open and took a sip, savoring the flavor.

“None of this makes any sense,” said Sadie. “You’re talking about when things calm down, but nothing’s even happened yet.”

It was true, at least in Georgia’s neighborhood. The other houses were completely dark, and no one seemed to be driving on the roads. There was no one out, and it gave the area an eerie feeling, like those abandoned buildings that sit tall on the horizon, rusting and rotting away, mementos to a time long gone.

Another half hour went by, and Georgia had finally gotten everything she thought they might need in the truck. She had an old map tucked between her legs, not that she needed it, since she knew the way to the cabin well. But she figured that she didn’t know what was going to happen with the roads.

Sadie and James were in the truck too. Sadie sat in the front, and James was stretched out as best he could in the cramped backseat. The bed of the truck was laden down with all sorts of food and camping gear, as well as the things that Georgia hadn’t been able to convince Sadie not to take. Georgia may not have taken bullshit from anyone, but she had a soft spot for her kids, and sometimes she felt like she let them get away with too much.

Georgia had just started the engine when a cop car came barreling down the road.

“Damn,” muttered James from the backseat. “It’s flying.”

The sirens were off, but the lights were blasting through the dark night.

The cop car was a strange sight, the only thing moving in the night. Georgia didn’t know where the neighbors were. Maybe they were hiding away in their houses, scared. Who knew. She didn’t have time to worry about them right now.

To her surprise, the cop car skidded to a stop right in front of her house.

Georgia waited, thinking it would be better not to drive away right now. But her instincts were telling her to just drive and not stop. She had to fight those instincts.

The cop got out of his car. His hand was on his gun in its holster. He approached the truck slowly. He bent down to lean over the windows. He was a tall man, with huge muscles.

“Street’s closed,” he said.

“I was just heading out to go on a camping trip with my kids,” said Georgia, figuring she might as well try the diplomatic approach first.

“Sorry lady,” said the cop. “No one’s coming in or out.”

“What’s going on?”

The cop didn’t answer for a moment.

Georgia was starting to get a read on him, watching his face carefully in the darkness. At first he’d seemed like one of those super stern cops. But she could see now that he wasn’t like that. There was something human in his face.

“Sorry lady,” he said, repeating himself. “Truth is, none of us have any idea what’s going on.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” said James, from the backseat. “You’re the police. And you’re saying you don’t know what’s going on.”

“Everything went dead,” said the cop. “As I’m sure you saw. It’s not just a power outage. All I know is that I drove right to the station. So did a bunch of us. No one knew what to do without the radios. So the only thing I know is that we don’t know what’s going on. It was some kind of EMP.”

“EMP?” said Georgia. She thought she’d heard the term before, but she couldn’t remember what it meant, or what the letters stood for.

The cop shrugged. “I don’t know what it is,” he said. “Something that knocks out all electrical gadgets or something. All I know is nothing works.”

“Electromagnetic pulse,” said James.

Georgia turned to look at him, surprised.

“I think I saw it in a movie,” he said, shrugging. “What it means is that the stuff won’t turn back on.”

“So what’s going to happen?” said Georgia, to the cop.

The cop shrugged. “Truth is, I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for backup since the sun went down, but no one’s come. The only thing I know to do is keep the road blocked like they told me. There are some other guys farther up the road, keeping all traffic from coming into the neighborhood, so you’re the first people I’ve seen since this all happened.”

“You mean they’re blocking Baker Street? That’s the only way into this neighborhood.”

“Yeah,” said the cop. “And I haven’t seen anyone else.”

“You mean no one else is home? All these houses are empty?”

Georgia was starting to realize that they were the only people in this entire neighborhood… Well, there might be someone at home, someone who didn’t go to work, or hadn’t gone to work that day. But she knew that the majority of the people around here were out of the house most of the time. It was the kind of neighborhood where people often worked two or three jobs just to keep afloat. They didn’t have a ton of time to spend at home.

“So you can’t let us through?” said Georgia.

“Sorry,” said the cop. “Even if I did, they’d stop you on Baker Street.”

“OK,” said Georgia. She was thinking fast. She knew that even though this cop seemed friendly, things might take a turn for the worse if she told him she was going to disobey his orders or his advice. She respected cops a hell of a lot. They had to put up with a lot of shit. But she also knew them well. She went hunting with some of them. She knew what not to say to them. She knew how to avoid a conflict. “Thanks, officer.”

The man tipped his hat. “I’ll be up there at the corner if you need anything,” he said. He got back in his car.

“So we’re stuck here?” said Sadie, sounding terrified.

“I thought you didn’t want to leave,” said James.

“Quiet, kids,” said Georgia. “I’ve got to think.”

Georgia didn’t panic at first. She knew there would be a way out if she needed one. She knew she had to get out, whether or not the cops wanted her to.

This might be more of an opportunity than a roadblock. If no one else was home, she could use this opportunity to take what she needed from their houses. She didn’t exactly have a lot of food. James and Sadie tended to eat whatever she brought home, so it wasn’t like she’d been able to stock up a lot of food.

“OK,” said Georgia. “Listen carefully. This is what we’re going to do. And I don’t want to hear any arguing about it. We need more food if we’re going…”

“I thought you were like an expert hunter,” said James.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen. We might be in a situation where we need food and I can’t hunt.”

“Wait,” said Sadie, divining what was going to happen. “You’re suggesting we’re going to break into our neighbor’s houses and steal their food because they’re not here?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting,” said Georgia. “Except that I’m not suggesting it. That’s what’s going to happen. Period. My priority is protecting you two, and that involves feeding you. And for all we know, our neighbors may never get home. Who knows what’s going to happen with the road block.”

“Cool,” said James. “I think the McKinneys have a ton of food in their basement.”

“OK,” said Georgia. “We’ll start there. We’ll fill up the truck. Everything we can possibly carry. And then we’ll get out of here.”

“Sounds cool, Mom,” said James, apparently impressed with his mother’s criminal inclinations. “But how are we going to get past the cops?”

“We’ll think of something,” said Georgia. She thought of her rifles. She didn’t want to use them. She’d never shot anything other than an animal. But if people were turning into animals, maybe she’d have to do what she had to do… But shooting a cop? There was no way she could do that. She had too many friends on the force. And he was just an innocent guy… Then again, it was her family she was thinking about.

“Have you two lost your minds?” said Sadie, her voice shrill. “We just need to stay here. That’s what the policeman said. And there’s no way we can just break into the McKinneys’ house…”

“Why not?” said James. “Mr. McKinney works all day managing the car wash. There’s no way he’s home. Charlotte’s at school. She’s in my math class. And Mrs. McKinney works today.”

“How do you know their whole schedule?” said Georgia.

James didn’t say anything.

“Because he spies on Mrs. McKinney taking a shower.”

“Gross, James,” said Georgia, chuckling to herself.

“I do not,” said James.

“I caught you doing it,” said Sadie.

“I don’t want to hear any more,” said Georgia. “And I mean that. Now here’s what’s going to happen. James, you and me are going to head inside. Sadie, you stay in the truck.”

“I want to go back in our house,” whined Sadie.

“End of discussion,” said Georgia.

She killed the truck engine. She should have turned it off earlier to save gas, but her mind had been turned to other things.

She and James got out of the truck. Sadie sat in the front seat with her arms crossed.

Georgia grabbed one of her rifles from the bed of the truck. She considered handing one to Sadie for a moment, but realized that the chances were higher that Sadie would accidentally hurt herself with it rather than use it to defend herself. She cursed herself for not taking Sadie to the shooting range. She’d taken James, who’d been eager to learn. Georgia had figured that there’d be time to convince Sadie to learn. Now it was too late. Sadie would have to learn on the road, when it was necessary. She’d have to get over her prissy ways and learn to do what she had to do.

“Don’t I need a gun?” said James.

Georgia shook her head. “I’ll carry the gun,” she said. “You’re going to be carrying supplies.”

James grumbled, but he did what she said, and he followed her into the McKinneys’ backyard.

“It’s so dark,” whispered James.

Georgia took out her flashlight. James had one too. But it was still dark. The lights from the flashlights were just thin pale beams fighting against the incredible darkness of a night without any power for miles and miles. For all Georgia knew, the whole country was like this. Without communication, there was no way to know.

“I don’t think anyone’s home,” whispered James.

“I know,” whispered Georgia. “Let’s not get into how you know their schedule.”

If it wasn’t so dark, Georgia was pretty sure that she’d be able to see him blushing.

The backyard had hedges that lined it. Georgia couldn’t see the pickup, and she was worried about Sadie, even though supposedly no one was in the area.

“Let’s make this quick,” whispered Georgia. “Just follow me. It’d be better if we don’t speak much.”

“Why? There’s no one here.”

“Shh,” whispered Georgia.

The house would be easy to break into. The kitchen faced the back, and there were huge windows that lined the wall, along with a sliding glass door.

Georgia peered inside. Sure enough, there wasn’t a spark of light. Not even a candle flickering far off. Likely, there wasn’t anyone home. She was friendly with the McKinneys, and she would have expected them to come over and ask what was going on with the power.

Georgia tried the sliding door without luck. It was locked.

They tried a window. That was locked too.

So she took the butt of her rifle and slammed it into the glass.

“Way to go, Mom,” whispered James. “Badass.”

“Shh,” said Georgia, as she stuck her hand carefully through the broken glass.

She lifted the window open.

“I’m going first,” she whispered.

It took some effort, but the window was large, and she could climb through it easily. The broken glass wasn’t a danger, since she’d simply slid the window open.

She shone her flashlight around, looking for signs of life. Nothing. She walked over to the sliding glass door and unlatched it, so that James could come in. She slid open the heavy door, and gestured for James to follow her.

But he didn’t move. He was standing frozen.

“James,” she hissed. “Come on.”

James didn’t respond. In fact, he didn’t move a muscle, not even when Georgia shone her flashlight beam directly on him. She put the beam on his face, and saw the expression of extreme fear there.

“Put the gun down slowly,” came a male voice. “Or your son is getting shot.”

“Mark?” said Georgia, surprised.

It was Mark McKinney, head of the household.

“I thought you were supposed to be at work.”

“Change of plans,” said Mark.

Georgia couldn’t see him. He was just a disembodied voice.

“So you came over to rob us,” said Mark McKinney.

“No,” said Georgia, keeping the gun in her hand. Mark didn’t have a flashlight, and he figured he wouldn’t be able to see her clearly, or see whether or not she’d put the gun down. He also didn’t seem too good at this: he’d told her to put the gun down, and then spoken to her anyway. “We came over to see if you were OK.”

“Lies,” said Mark. “I heard everything. I heard you talking in your truck. Like you said, it’s either your family or mine. And I’m not going to let you rob us. Now put the gun down like I said.”

Suddenly, Mark turned on a lantern that he’d had outside. The whole area became dimly illuminated.

He could see her and Georgia could see him.

He wore a grim expression on his face, and he pointed a .45 directly at James’s stomach.

“Let’s calm down,” said Georgia in a low voice.

“I’m not calming down until you drop that rifle.”

James didn’t move a muscle, but his eyes turned to Georgia. There was a pleading, terrified look to them.