The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 18

Moving through the apartment, the five friends were awe-struck at the devastation left behind by those sworn by oath to defend and protect the nation and its people. So much damage having been done in such a short period of time left everyone stunned. As they went through their possessions, some realized the need to cope and put this event behind them. The question now was where would they go. Maya had already surmised that wherever they went, safety had to be a priority. For others, anger was the only response, and in spite of Maya’s request for calm, Aurora suddenly went from tears of hopelessness to outrage.

“They fucking ruined everything! What the fuck is wrong with these people?! What the fuck are we supposed to do now?!”

Maya hurried over and, putting her arms around Aurora, tried to calmly talk her into a quiet state. “Don’t worry,” she began. “We’re going to figure this out—I promise.”

Burying her face in Maya’s shoulder, Aurora simply nodded. Meanwhile, Eli, believing he could repair the door, quickly became frustrated at every failed attempt.

“Motherfucker!” he said. He was holding several lengths of wood from what was used to their front door. Continuing his rant, he threw them to the floor.

“What the hell are we supposed to do without a fucking front door?”

Maya hesitated and, standing amongst the disorder of their apartment, was struck with an idea. It should have been obvious, but with the confused unfolding of destruction taking place, Maya had been left slightly scatterbrained. “Hey, guys,” she began. “Remember that cabin we went to?”

Everyone had started cleaning up, believing that their apartment could somehow be salvaged but hearing Maya mention the cabin did more than grab their attention. Now, all five were thinking the same thing.

“Shit,” Eli began. “We could stay there, at least until we think of what to do next.” Aurora perked up at the mention of anything having to do with the outdoors and, finally calming down, offered her full support. “So, what are we waiting for?” she asked. With the exception of Maya, everyone clamored to leave, believing that the sooner they got there, the better.

“Guys, hang on,” she began. “We have to think this through. We can’t just walk out and expect to be safe. And if we’re taking the car, we’ll have to drive as quietly as possible. But we need a plan.” Everyone agreed, regardless of how badly they wanted to leave. At this point, doing anything in haste could bring catastrophic results. But whatever they came up with would have to be executed quickly. Without a means of keeping others out, leaving for an isolated place was their highest priority.

Taking as little time as possible, everyone managed to pack only the essentials, believing they would acquire more of what they needed on the way. But the process of escape was not without questions, and the first was posed by Jackson.

“Do we have enough gas in the cars?”

“I’m not sure,” Maya replied. “When was the last time we gassed up?”

No one seemed to remember, and they would only find out how much they had once they started the cars.

“I think it was about three days ago,” Eli replied. “But we can get more, right?”

Now, Aurora brought up the obvious. “But the power’s out,” she said. “How do you pump gas without power?”

Maya realized that from this point forward, life would never be the same and likely very difficult, but the conversation was slowing their progress. Interrupting, she asked that everyone save any discussion for another time.

“Guys,” she said. “There’s going to be a lot to do, and we have to get out of here, now.” As a natural leader, she had taken command and, noticing the group’s mental chaos, assumed that she would be making nearly all the important decisions, beginning her role as the group’s leader so long as dissension could be avoided.

Having packed only what they needed, the group walked out of the apartment, down the stairs, and out to the cars. Given how much they had packed, it was quickly decided that they would take both vehicles. Maya, however, strongly suggested they stay close and drive with the headlights off so as to reduce their visibility, not knowing if the military was still in the area. She also suggested taking side streets whenever possible. Seeing her ability to think both logically and quickly, everyone agreed that Maya should take charge. Perhaps they didn’t want the responsibility, as leadership often comes with decisions that can sometimes put others at risk. Be that as it may, it was now certain that she had been formally elected as the group’s ad-hoc leader. Yet, silently Maya was somewhat uncomfortable with her new role, knowing that she would be making choices that not everyone would agree with. Such is the burden of leadership.