Its a Simple Life

It is such a beautiful day, the sun is high, as grey clouds drifting by, as the wind blew , sending chills threw the bones of all who walked out. the green trees waved Hello as one female took a stroll from her porch the her mail box a mug full of tea in hand. A smiles graced her face as she tucked a single dread behind her ear, her dress like top that was cut just at her belly in the front and draped in the back blew softly with the trees. She took a sip of her tea as she grabbed the mail. Suddenly, mouth gapped open as she flipped throw the mail, her eye shaped as if a deer gazing into the headlights fixated on nothingness. Quickly she rushed back inside her high boots clicking against the stone floor. "Ma!" she shouted out closing the entering and closing the front door .

"Ma! he found us again, how does he keep doing this!, Ugh does this mean we have to move again?" As she spoke a lady with thick jet poofy hair, as if someone painted a black cloud on top of her head strolled out from behind hide the kitchen door and rounding the corner into the living room area. "Who did what now?" her mother tilted her head as she wiped her hands, covered in black berries, off on to her apron, that she had since she was pregnant. She met her daughters'' gaze and chuckled knowing she hated the apron.

"He sent you a letter"

"I'm making some jam would wanna try this flavor? its a black & blue berry jam" Her mom would step back finding her way to the bar stool as she was trying her best to make sure all the jam was off her fingers. Ignoring the comment .The girl said as she noticed her mom was watching her gazing at the apron " that's not important mom, you know when he contacts us they is always a catch, we have to move don't we!?"

" Tye hunny, i doubt it, its been ten years and plus those men are long gone with no contact from the outside world, we are safe, now hand me the letter please" She opened her hand out, looking at it once more to make sure it was clean, Tye handed over the envelope. " hmm this is pretty heavy for a letter." her mother whispered as she opened it. " Ugh mom its Three days before graduation and he throws this curve ball at us, this is so like him! did you tell him where we were?"

"no dear, he just knows, its his job to know, but sadly its also his job so we cant see him either and it sucks i know i mi.."

"well i don't miss him, if he loved me, if he loved YOU , he would of quit that job and came .."

She stopped as her mother raised a finger, then slowing traced the back of the envelope as it opened with ease. "Tye now you know he loved you and i know he loved me, he keeps his job so we can be safe. we.." Her words fade eyes locked on the letter. "oh, how interesting."

"What is interesting, i mean not that i really care..." she would lean in over her mother, a few dreads falling in front of the letter. she scoffed getting up from the her seat. "Now now you said you didn't want to know." her mom playfully said holding the letter and envelope close to her chest.

"It's whatever ma, if it was important he would of shown up, i mean its not like i am about graduating in three days."

laughing a bit " well from the look of this letter it seems he knows and is sorry he can't be there, but he has a gift for you" her mother would dig in the envelope and then toss the item at her daughter. a little surprised she would jump but still catch it. "Keys?, i already have a car."

"Its a house and from the looks of it, its a bit remote, but the letter says its only a few miles away from the Salem, Oregon and enough space to house five families, oh I want to moving in with you, I've always wanted to live out in Oregon, i hear its cloudy but nice most of the year and the beaches are pretty. Did you know they can grow cherry blossom trees like japan? most places in the states cant say the do."

Tye rolled her eyes " Well you can live there i have plans.."

"yea plans you and your friends were going to move to Salem anyway at list this way you don't have to buy an apartment and its fully stocked already" her mother would sing the words her eyes glowing a bit.

"mom your to happy about this, aren't you even worried a little?" Tye would look at the keys in her hand " dad isn't even going to be there so why does it matter?"

"Oh Tyesha... " She paused looking at the letter again, knowing that he was but didn't want to spoil the surprise. "Well you never know dear, lets just not worry about him being there or not, he obviously knew you were looking at Salem and go you something so you wouldn't have to worry to much about bills and now that you are graduating college you can enjoy yourself, lets just start packing and see where that takes us okay?" She would bring her into a hug, not letting go until she hugged back. " Now, im going to go finish jamming up my berries" She handed the picture of the house as she walked in to the kitchen. "Think about it." she yelled as she found a lighter burning the letter in the sink. "It will be a fun adventure i promise."

♦ ♦ ♦

Its been three days since Tye and her mother spoke about the letter. By now their old house was looking pretty bare, most of the things they had went straight to churches, thrift store, and some salvage army places. the rest which was enough to fill up a studio style place went into the back of a moving truck. Now at her university Tye would meet up with her friends, Autumn, and Eliza. All four girls were super close, Tye knew autumn since high school, and Eliza came into the picture as they entered collage, people called them the trinity trix. They all were of different cultures but were the closest of friends and did everything together. "Hey Ladies, are you ready for our road trip!" Eliza shouted as she wrapped her arms around both girls, her long black hair tied back in a traditional way, her face marked with two dark lines on her chin her caramel toned skin glowing under the blue cap and gown she wore ,as she dragged them along to the stadium.

"Of course, its so Awesome your dad bought you a place and close to where we were planning to move to." Autumn smiled as she pushed her curly blonde hair away from her face "Sucks how he is never home but at least he thinks about you." Tye just nodded as they all walked together to meet up with the boys. "I guess it is cool he found a place big enough for all of us though i wonder how he knew.. i mean i get his job is super undercover but is he spying on me?" The girls didn't know how to respond as they just walked in silenced reaching the doors of the stadium.

"There's are Trinity!" a gentle but low voice would be heard, the girls would look to their right and see three guys standing near the corner by the doors. Steven the tallest of the three was the one who spoke, he was about six feet eight, with long blonde hair, just like Autumns, that draped passed his shoulders, but today he had it up in a man bun with braids, looking like a Viking warrior, as he walked over picking Autumn up and spinning her around. " hey Ladies." Zyon, the second guy would brush by Steven and wrap his arm around big arm Eliza kissing her forehead " you look great."

She would blush " Thank you Modern Warrior." He relaxed against her, his long braided hair pulled back under his cap. Zyon was just a six feet, his muscles, even under his gown still seemed to show as was sculpted, as if he never missed a day from the gym.

"I'm ready to his the road guys, i wish we could just skip all this" the third guy, Dylan would grab Tye's hand as his pink lips pressed gentle on it. " I can't wait for us to start something new." He winked keeping her hand close as he looked up, his freckled face holding a gentle smile. Dylan may not look it but he is pretty strong, as well as being the shortest, but seeing him play with the guys, he can pick up Steven without breaking a sweat. " I want you all to see how cool Salem is, even take you to some of the Native lands i use to live on and great places holes fish, man i hope this place has its on river close by, that would be dope" The gang laughed and agreed with him chatting it up on what they would do as soon as they get on the road and to their new spot. " Oh you mom is coming too right?" Eliza would say lookin at Tye.

"Yea she is but she has her own place that dad got her so we will have our privacy" She responded leaning into Dylan. " I think is goin to be cool, but I'm still feel weird about it." Dylan would kiss her cheek. "it'll be fine hun, we all will be together and hey we can take turns cooking and cleaning." As Tye was about to respond a microphone could be heard asking everyone to get seated and ready.

It felt like hours but everyone got their diploma and the speeches putting some people to sleep, but as the student president spoke and said his final words of encouragement, instead of caps going up in their air balloons saying class of 2023 cloaked the skies approve as cheers consumed the air. At this point the group of friends met up with their families all in one place tears feeling their eyes as the group of graduates hugged each one of their parents goodbye and all got into Tye's SUV. "We love you guys be safe! take many pictures!" The parents all stood together watching as the car vanished down the road.

"So will they be safe Jill? Zyon's mother would turn to Tye's Mom.

"Yes Susan, those boys have a strong head on their shoulder and by the looks of it know how to work together very well, and I've taught Tye how to preserve many different foods, and well you all know how you raised your kids, i believe all will be fine." She swallowed hard.

"But what about us.. If this is really going to happen where will we go?" Eliza mom would hold onto her husband. " this scares me, is what your husband said true? is this the safest thing we can do?"

"Well you all are welcome to come with me, he has gotten me a place too but its not as close to our children, and he hasn't been wrong yet, i just wish i could of told Tye, but would it of been fair to ruin their graduation road trip when we don't even know when it'll come?" Jill wiped her tears as she looked at the other parents " All we can do is prepare, and let them enjoy what fun they have left, i will send you all the address and we can all meet up there as soon as you can."

♦ ♦ ♦

"Wooo hooo, man, salt lake city was freaking amazing," Zyon would down a bottle of water as throwing the bottle in the trash as he got back in the car.

"Yea, i was a bit scared but that was a cool, i didn't take you we would really float, let alone you Mountain" Dylan would elbow Steven both of them laughing in the back seat. "Yea but it was also gross, all those Krill in it, lol it took forever to get those out of Tye's dreads" Autumn would look at the middle reflecting mirror as she was driving this time " I bet there are some still in there, you might want to take your dreads out and redo them after that."

Tye laughed as she was looking at it piece of her hair carefully making sure there was no shrimp left in her hair. " i should of worn a shower cap , that was just a whale buffet out their, to bad the water is to salty, but that sunset was amazing." The all agreed as their conversation continued, talking about surfing when they get to Oregon, and looking for fun jobs.

"Heck yea" the boys responded while the girls just laughed huddled up as the walked into the hotel. "Good afternoon ma'am" Dylan would step up and leaned on the counter. " We need two rooms for the night do you have any?"

The small elderly women would look up from the computer as she is greeted with a smile, causing her to smile back. "Umm well hello, let me check, would you be paying cash or card?"

"Card please." Dylan would keep his charm up watching as she typed on the computer" that's a lovely blouse you have on by the way i love the bright colors." This made the elderly women blush a bit " Why thank you sir" She would glance up at him then back on to the computer." huh that's strange.. the Internet seems to has gone down. oh wait its back, yes we have two rooms, room 221 and 222, both with two beds for one night, that will be $175." Dylan would pull out his card as he handed it to her. She then handed handed him, his card back plus the two room keys. " Well i hope you youngsters have a good stay and breakfast is at 6am until 9am." The all said thank you headed up the elevator, Autumn would pull out her phone " Picture time." As they all got on to the elevator, bunched up She would snap a picture and post it on her Facebook, tagging their parents. 'Almost to our new home, taking one last nap in a hotel'. "Huh weird, the service here must be crappy."

"Well this hotel is kind of in the middle of no where, just wait until we hit the road tomorrow." Steven would pat her head as he elevator opened. "Welp this is our floor, i guess girls have one room boys have another. "Sure" Eliza would say taking a key from Dylan as she pushed the girls to a door. "Well get some rest we have a busy drive tomorrow."

"You mean you do " Tye would chime in smirking. as Eliza opened the door. The room looked as if it was out of a vintage movie, the guys entered there room at the same time, old green and gold curtains hugged the window as the bed was covered with brown and gold blankets. "Good night ladies" the boys would say as they blew kisses at them "Good night fellas" they returned their kisses closing the hotel doors.

"omg this is so happening, i love you girls so much." Eliza would throw the pillows and sheets off the hotel bed as Autumn brought over clean sheets from one of their bag(luggage) " I was waiting for a chance when we were alone to tell you girls this." She grabbed the sheets as she began to make the bed. " So i got an email from the tribe out their finally and the governor. The are going to bring a conference together and talk about the canceling the (construction) and helping families out that struggled, along with getting parties together to travel to other tribes to help them out as well". Both Tye and Autumn looked at her with giant smiles. "oh freaking A, that's great" Tye would sit on the edge of the bed across from her, as she finished making her bed. " When do they plan to have this conference?" Autumn would be pushing the hotel covers into the open closet space.

"In a month." She would pull out her phone to show them the email, but paused. "Ugh this hotel sucks with service, and the WIFI doesn't seem to be working either.. this is so strange."

"Well as the guys said, its just the hotel, show us when we get to Oregon and we are unpacked." Tye Replied as she got ready to lay down "We have one more long {stretch}. "

Eliza and Autumn would lay next to her "Your right" Eliza said snuggling close " its just annoying you know, we grew up with the evolution of the internet, only to be trapped by it now, i miss the days when we played man hunt, and red light, green light." Autumn would chuckle, "Yeah and when we were able to disappear for hours and our parents could find us using a child tracker." All three girls laughed sharing stories of their childhood as they drifted off to sleep. The next morning came as the boys would knock on the door. The girls would stretch as the sun tried to push throw the thick curtains. stumbling just a bit Autumn would be the first out of bed as she opened the door "We're up we're up, just give a minute to get dress." She would then close the door before she got a response as she walked over to look at the time, it was 8:15, and still no service,. "Alright girls lets get up and get ready." She would hop on the bed rocking both girls as the groan rolling out of the bed as if they were sore zombies. "I never knew how you always had so much energy chick." Eliza rubbed her eyes as they started to get their sheets off the bed. " its called putting on a face, I'm tried as fuck, once we get into the car im taking a nap." Eliza rolled her eyes as she threw the hotel blankets back on the bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for her turn to drive. "Don't worry Eliza it will be as bad as you think" Tye teased as she backed he bags putting them in-front of the door. Ten minutes passed and all the girls were dressed and headed down to grab breakfast, the boys were in the breakfast room laughing and finishing their food as the girls strolled down with their bags. "Ah their they are." Dylan would wave to them, the boys got up to throw their plates away. "We will take your things and back up the car, you all get some food." Zyon would be the first over to the girls as he kissed Eliza's cheek grabbing a few bags, while Dylan and Steven followed right behind him grabbing the other bags. After they finished eating the girls made their way to the front door as a couple walked passed headed to the breakfast room.

"Its so strange, that the receptionist couldn't even get the computer to work, so how are we going to check out?"

"We just leave" the man said " If they can't see who is where thats their problem at this rate it means we had a free stay."

"I hope its temporary, even my phone has no signal and we've been..." Their voices would fade out as the girls turned the corner and entering the lobby. It seemed to be packed as people were complaining that their Tve's stopped working and others trying to check out or in. It what chaos. The boys were waiting out front with the car all warmed up and ready. Steven waved a hand at the girls, it looked as if he picked up a map or two. "Zyon and I will drive the rest of the way, it seems a lot of people are having signal issues and are pulling over here and at that gas station to figure out what's going on." Steven would begin to talk as the girls walked closer to them. "We might have to us these maps to get to Oregon if the GPS on the car doesn't work." The girls would nod as they hopped in the car. "Now lets hit the road." The boys would hop into the front and drive off. For most of the drive, the girls slept while the boys took turn navigating the map and driving, stopping to only get gas and snacks. nearly every stop was the same the newer gas station the emptier they were, not many. It seems most places were using the internet to send signals, even some traffic lights seemed to be off line. "Welcome to our new home" Dylan would say from the drivers seat." Everyone was quiet though, the whole way from Utah to Oregon was weird, even know some places were dark and places were empty. The group got out the car and made their way to the front door. Tye would unlock the door and everyone would follow in after her. "Alright so look for the light." Tye would say as they all dropped their bags tracing the walls. Flick the lights would cut on. the house was big, with a 90s feel to it, the walls were wooden and the lights were a soft orange lighting. "Hey Tye, uhh you should come here." Autumn would say from the kitchen as she backed out. Tye would live the Livingroom, and head down the hall, as she entered the door way. "What's u.. oh why are you here dad!" Her dad was a leaning on a bar stool drinking a glass of water. "Well im not going to be here long, i actually just came in, i don't have long but i just wanted to see you tell you congratulation and i love you and am soo sorry my job has me everywhere." He would pause. "The only reason i am here now is because of the situation going on now." Tye would begin to say something but her dad would quickly stand and close the distance between them and pulling her in for a hug. "This place has ever thing you need i need you to be safe i love you." he would kiss her forehead and head towards the kitchen door." Dad, i just got here and your leaving and this is all i get?" He would look back at her tears in his eyes. " I.. this job.. its the only way to know your safe." His voice was soft spoken as he walked out an closed the door. Tye would rush through the back door opening it , her father long gone. "What did he mean by situation Tye?, is the internet still not working?" Tye would turn to Autumn as she would pull out her phone. "Yea its still out." At this point Dylan came in to the kitchen. "Yo this house is full of old school games junk, we have a closet of board games, a basement with a billiards table and foosball." Zyon would coming in along side Dylan. "Yea and this kitchen " Dylan would start opening and closing doors seeing how full it was. "Man your dad hooked this place up, surprised there are no weapons here how full this house is." Tye would laugh " don't give your hopes up i bet you there are, now lets find some food then go see what we can get into." Laughing they made there where into the Livingroom , Eliza was going through some CD, while Steven was sitting next, his face locked on the ceiling. "Hey guys what's going on here?" Tye would smile walking over to Eliza as she handed her a sandwich. "You guys its crazy outside, i know its night time but the radio has been talking about a global WIFI shut down, apparently during the meteor going close to earth, it broke apart and knock out a lot of satellites, a lot of business gone, power companies gone..."

"No more money from YouTube.." Autumn would gasp " no more livestreaming games.. no more..." Tye would turn up the radio "No more Social media.. its middle school all over again."

"So what do we do now, as far as we its only been two days and two nights." Zyon said finding a spot on the ground near Eliza. "Well this place is pretty much set, for who knows how long, plus its gated." Everyone stayed quiet as they listened to the radio giving as many updates of what is going on, it was late at night, many places were getting ransacked, as people were scared now that the grid was offline what is keeping them busy from being fearful. The guys then decided it would be smart to say close to the doors incase something happened and take turns staying up. The girls continued to look around the house as Tye reminded them her father built it, so there has to be hidden areas. This was true as they would find closets with hidden hallways that connected from room to room, even steps that lead from the attic to the basement. They even found hidden buttons that opened up places. "This is some Mr. & Mrs. Smith shit" Eliza would say as they all returned to the living room explaining all he things they found, even a room that had monitors connected to cameras with tons of cords nailed up against the wall and ceiling, this would be the base where the boys would now watch for people who might of gone insane. They all decided it was best to keep this place to themselves and not go out unless needed. The house was in the middle of the woods so no one should come looking especially since it is a dirt road up until you get to the house. This put the guys at ease some, so for the first night, they decided to take it easy and pretend everything was fine. As morning game Tye woke to the smell of food in the air, brown cinnamon, with a sweet maple bacon twist. Getting out of bed, she met up with Autumn who to woke to the smell, they smiled tiredly at one another heading downstairs in to the kitchen. "Well hey ladies " Eliza would smile as she started to make their plates. "I don't know how long your dad was building this but there is a garden out back, and some fruit trees help yourself." She handed lead them to the table its was a lovely spread, bacon, eggs, English muffins, pancakes and a fruit bowl, and two pitches one with orange juice and another with tea. "Eat enjoy, I'd dare say even though the grid is down, 'I'm glad i can spend this apocalypses with my girls." She smiled "and my boys" she turned her head as the boys would groan entering the room." This looks great." they said in unison they all made their plates and sat to eat talking all while the radio was planning in the background. "It is now day three and chaos has began more wild then ever, now that people are tuning in and learning what is going on, the fear for the most, first it was the paper towel scare, and now no internet. people who grew attached to the easy life are freaking out." One voice would say. "Well Tom, i don't know about you but i know a few buddies who were waiting on something like this, they say they still have landline that work, its like leaving back in the early 90s late 80s all over again and most of the adults now were kids back then so they wouldn't know the none struggle without Google." Tom would reply to the other voice "Where you are right about that, you can say video killed the radio anymore." He paused " Please anyone who is listening rise up during this chaos, its not the end of the world.. just the end of the internet era.. for now.." Music would then play as the group ate, as the world around them continues to develop into chaos.