Safe Zone

Their dad was never a good guy. He wasn't the worst either, but he definitely had what one might call "areas of opportunity." Hell, when it came down to it, the guy was just a run of the mill, narcissistic asshole, right out of some psych textbook. Still, Jessie supposed he didn't deserve to be left to whatever fate found him. Even if he had left her and her sister to fend for themselves when everything went to absolute shit. Winter had been very forthcoming on her thoughts about the matter. "Dude, fuck that guy. He literally left us to die and didn't think twice. We're better off without him." She spat after saying this last, adding emphasis to her point.

"Winter, I get that. He's a dick and he deserted us. But we are not like him and that's exactly why we have to go find him. It's not like there's anywhere safe to go anyways. And we've been ok so far, we just need to go back to the house and check! We have to try." Jessie said this with no compromise in her voice. She wouldn't leave Winter, but she would drag her kicking and screaming if she had to. She was not going to allow either of them to live with the guilt that could come from not finding their cowardly father and at least trying to survive. They were all that was left of their little family unit.

Their mom had left when Jessie was nine and Winter wasn't even a year old yet. She hadn't been interested in taking the girls with her, only in escaping the tyranny that was living with their dad, Tom. They had come home from school one day to find him raging, destroying what was left of the furniture, dishes, and anything he could get his hands on in fury, screaming about how she would pay and calling her every name in the book. Of course, she was long gone with the majority of the furnishings and didn't hear any of his empty threats. Nor did she have to clean up the mess he made. No, that was up to their nine year old child to do once he passed out drunk and exhausted from his hours long tantrum. They never heard from her again and that was 17 years ago, so the way Jessie saw it their mother had died that day. Winter didn't remember her, just from photos that Jessie was able to squirrel away and keep from Tom so that she would at least know what she looked like. Throughout the years, they had tried searching for her by name on social media and online, even tried reaching out to her family, but no one knew where she was. And what was harder is that none of them wanted anything to do with the mess she left behind.

That all seemed so irrelevant now, like a life lived by someone else. The last twenty four hours had been a transmutation of their existence. It felt like a whole other lifetime had passed, and a miserable one. And it wasn't just for Jessie and Winter. It was, well, everyone.

It had started with a bang. Literally. The White House had exploded. It was all over the news. But it wasn't just the White House. It was every government building, across the US. At least at first that's what they thought. The local post offices everywhere from large metropolitan areas to tiny towns that were barely a blip on the map. Economic security buildings, law offices, court houses, congress, even national monuments. Mount Rushmore, which in Jessie's opinion was no great loss, the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, and so many countless others, gone. And along with them, no one knew how many lives lost.

Then reports started coming in from Europe, the UK, Japan, China, North and South Korea, all over the Middle East, Mexico, Canada. Any place where there was a government at all, there were mass explosions. Except, of all places, Australia. Word was that it was somehow a safe zone, and that those who were left alive and able were fleeing there. It might have been okay if it had stopped there, devastating, but not End of Days devastating. However, the explosions were just the beginning.

Within hours, as Jessie and Winter sat glued to the TV in the house, Tom wailing in the background about how he was going to be out of a job, how were they going to keep the lights on, everything bad always happened to him and other such lamentations, the real horror began playing out on the screen in front of them. Footage started rolling while the anchor advised that the following video was highly disturbing and to use discretion if there were children in the room. At first,it was too smoky to see much of anything but rubble and shadows. The text on the screen proclaimed this to be in Minneapolis, but it looked about the same as everywhere else they had seen. Destroyed. The only reason their own area didn’t look this way was that, though Tom bitched about the commute daily, their mother had insisted on living as far out of the city as they could get. Tom talked about it constantly, saying how if he had never met Leslie, he would have been free of the burden of children he was raising alone, and living life in the fast lane, the city life. He talked about it so often, it became white noise to both Jessie and Winter. Like a smoke alarm you can’t reach that needs a new battery but has been beeping for so long, you don’t even notice it anymore. As the video continued, the smoke began to clear and the scene before them unfolded, one piece at a time. There were bodies, and pieces of bodies, everywhere. There were piles and piles of rubble and rebar and glass, speckled with bright red spattering here and there. There were pools of red, and people literally crawling reaching out to anyone nearby. You could hear the cries, the screams, and a woman shouting particularly loud, “We deserve this! Oh, God, it’s our punishment, we deserve this!” Jessie found that to be the most unsettling part, or so she had thought. Rain started to fall on the scene and the camera zoomed in on first responders tending to the hordes of wounded laid out on cots in the street, some so burned they couldn’t even be covered with a sheet Jessie guessed, or maybe they had just run out.

The rain began to fall in earnest, sheets of it pouring down on the wounded, the dying and the dead, as well as those trying to save whomever they could. Within seconds, everyone was drenched. And seconds after that, the air was shattered by a thundering chorus of wails that sounded near inhuman. Everyone with the ability to do so was screaming in piercing agony, barely stopping to breathe it seemed. The camera crashed to the ground but kept rolling and the viewers, inclusive of Jessie, Winter and even Tom who had finally shut his pie hole, watched as every person within view began writhing on the ground, some begging for help but most issuing wordless and repeated cries of pain and fear. They began to vomit, screaming between retches, and blood began to pour from their eyes, nose, ears and mouth as they did. The detail seemed to be sharpened by the terror of it all. The bright red flowing from every possible orifice of everyone, even the first responders who were basically unscathed only moments ago. Even the torrential rain couldn’t wash away the blood as fast as it was spewing from them. “Dear God,” Jessie had whispered and at the same time Winter had said “Fuck. We are so fucked.” Neither of them had any idea just how bad things were going to get. And just how fast.

It was everywhere, according to the news. They were calling it “The Hemorrhaging,” which had seemed appropriate. Each and every place that had been demolished by the explosions had the same outbreak of screeching, convulsive, bloody, mass death. What was worse, if possible, was that it wasn’t just limited to the blast sites. It was the surrounding areas as well. Homes, filled with women, children, whole families, schools, churches, it didn’t matter. This made it clear that the effect was caused by some sort of airborne chemical agent. Reports were saying to stay in your homes, not to open any doors or windows, that it may not be safe outside anywhere. Not for the first time since this had started, Jessie thanked her mother mentally for at least giving them this one thing before she left. Making them move out in the boonies and away from everyone.

“We have to go!” Tom shouted suddenly. “We have to catch the next flight to Australia!” Tom, the fearless CIA agent, wanted to run for the hills. He threw them their bug out bags, something he made them keep prepared at all times and said, “It’s time!” Winter rolled her eyes at Jessie and Jessie said, “No dad, that is not a good idea. It's airborne. We have to stay put. At least until we come up with a plan.” “Jessie, this is not a debate. I have taught both of you girls everything you need to be useful through this, please don’t be a pain in my ass, I have enough to deal with.” Jessie stood up, and with that, Winter stood next to her. “I am not being a pain in the ass, Tom, I am trying to keep us from getting dead like the people on TV. We have these bags full of basic survival needs, extra clothes, shoes and supplies, but we don’t know what something like this is going to require. Our home hasn’t been compromised and we are away from damn near everyone. Think logically for once!”

“Don’t call me Tom, you know that pisses me off. And I am thinking logically. The whole damn WORLD has been compromised! Except Australia. It’s a Safe Zone. We are going. Either that or both of you can stay here and take your chances without the SUV. See how far you get without me.”

“Oh for fucks sake, Tom,” Winter said. “Do you think it is just that easy to jump on a plane to the only supposed ‘safe zone’ in the fucking WORLD? Are you really that dumb?”

Tom flinched at her last word. It was something Leslie used to say to him all the time when they argued, though Winter had no way of knowing that. Maybe it was that very fact that made it all the worse. If multiple people said it to you, did that make it feel more true? Jessie didn’t know but as she watched Tom’s face go from red to purple, she stepped in between her little sister and their father. “Get it together, dad,” Jessie said in a calm, reasonable voice. He had never hit either of them, except for in sparring practice when he was training them in all the martial arts skills he had in his repertoire. His thing was verbal abuse, not physical. But Jessie wasn’t taking the chance.

“Don’t talk to me like that, I am in perfect control,” Tom said through gritted teeth. Still the color began to drain from his face and his fists, previously clenched at his sides, relaxed. Jessie had found a long time ago that reminding Tom that he had a reputation to protect was the fastest way to get him to chill out. It wasn’t any love he had for the girls that did it. It was that he wanted everyone to believe the persona he presented as a perfect father.

“Okay, so then you can see that it is not reasonable to leave, dad.” Jessie said this in the same calm tone, stern but even. “We don’t want to react in emotion.”

“Jessie, I work for the government. They are going to start searching homes next. Whatever organization was responsible for this, they are not going to stop at the buildings where we work. We are at our weakest now, as a country. They are going to come looking. We can’t stay here. You and your sister get your shit, we are going. Bus leaves in thirty minutes, with or without you. That’s final.”

Jessie sighed in frustration. They couldn’t be left out here without any method of transportation. They needed to be able to be mobile if necessary. She tugged Winter by the sleeve and said, “Let’s go, kid. We gotta pack some extras.” Each of the bags had a 9mm Sig Sauer and a good supply of rounds, as well as a folding utility knife, razor sharp and a larger bowie knife for if things got really messy. Neither Jessie nor Winter ever believed these bags would be necessary, but their dad had insisted they be kept up to standard. They included MRE’s as well, where they had come from Jessie did not know. There was about a month’s supply of them though, and they were lightweight enough not to be hobbling. Aside from the weapons and rations, there were extra clothes, blankets, lighters, oil lamps and flashlights as well as walkie talkies with fresh batteries. This was a great start, but Jessie needed some other things. Winter looked at her as they went up the stairs and asked “What are we doing sis?” Jessie was pretty sure that they would never see this home again, nor anything in it. She grabbed the box hidden in the back of her closet, simply labeled, “School Stuff,”and shoved it in her bag. Jessie hadn’t been in school for years, but it seemed the most likely label to keep Tom from being a snoopy fuck, and had so far been effective. Inside the box were all she had remaining of their mom. A few photos, a lock of hair from when their mom had trimmed her hair for the first time, and Leslie’s ID and birth certificate. She had hidden these carefully through the years, hoping one day to reconnect with Leslie, or at least be able to get some kind of closure. They looked so like her, both the girls. Yet she left them. And with Tom of all people. And now, there was this craziness. Jessie reached under her bed and fished out the other item she was looking for. It was another, smaller bag, small enough to fit in the first. Jessie opened it quickly to check it, and also so Winter could see inside. It was her .45, extra rounds and two asps as well as two taser flashlights. “Damn, sis, were you planning on going to war anytime soon?” Winter asked, shocked and smiling just a little. Jessie said, “Better to be safe, one for each of us, except the .45. She’s all mine.” She shoved the smaller bag in the large duffle and said, “Let's go load up the water we have, you know this douche will forget.” Winter rolled her eyes again, a gesture she was a professional at, scoffed and then followed Jessie down the stairs.

The water was all loaded in the back, as well as a shotgun they had in the garage. They threw the bags in the back as well and then Jessie went to go check the latest news reports. That turned out to be futile as the news no longer existed. Every channel was just some version of experiencing technical difficulties, sorry. She checked her cell phone to see if there was digital news to read, and there was no signal, the wifi was not working and neither, apparently, were the cell towers. “Oh this is bad, bad.” Jessie said it to herself but Winter responded anyway, “Yeah, no shit.”

“Why do you always have to cuss so much, kid?” Jessie asked her. It didn’t really bother her, she just liked to tease her sister about it.

“Learned from the best herself!” Winter said and bowed down in a mock curtsy. They both laughed a little, and Jessie thought about how lucky she was to at least still be here with her sister. She had long since been ready and able to move out, working full time as a teacher at the closest High School and saving every penny. Her dad owned the house they lived in, so there was no rent or mortgage on the house. Tom just asked that she pay her portion of the utilities and take care of her little sister, which she would have done anyway. Winter was why she had stayed. She had saved up more than enough money these last years, though she supposed that was all irrelevant now. But she had promised Winter she wouldn’t leave until she could take her sister with her, and Tom would not have let that happen while Winter was under legal adult age, because he dearly loved control. Just as he loved giving them the ultimatum to go with him or be left stranded. He loved feeling powerful. Jessie was sure that was why he had gotten into his line of work. Worked his way all the way up to CIA operative lording power over people, yet now here he was running with his tail tucked between his legs.

“Let’s go, move!” He shouted unnecessarily as they were in the same room. Jessie and Winter headed to the garage and Jessie told him calmly, “Water is all packed and the bags are in the back. No cell service, no internet, and no TV. My guess is the radio will be down as well.” Tom grunted at this, saying nothing of consequence and they got in the SUV, headed towards an airport Jessie knew would be a futile venture. It wasn’t as if she could take all her weapons on a plane, even if by some miracle there was a flight available, but she had a notion it would never get that far. Things had gone to absolute shit, there was no “Safe Zone” for them, and everyone in the vehicle knew it, even if Tom was in denial. “We are stopping at the shopping center,” he said. “There’s not gonna be many people there so it should be easy pickings. We need to make sure we have enough supplies, just in case. Better to be safe.” Jessie hated hearing her own words echoed by the man, but he wasn’t wrong. This was a long haul sort of deal. “You girls go in and get everything we might need, I will stay with the car and make sure no one gets any funny ideas” This sent a pang of unease through her gut, but Jessie also wouldn’t trust him to remember everything useful and in fact was certain he’d forget something crucial and come back with odds and ends. She said simply, “Right.”

Winter and Jessie went into the superstore they had in town, and it was eerily empty. It was unlocked, and there was no looting happening, but people were just filling their carts with what they needed and leaving. Like they were shopping, and they were just putting it on the tab. There were no employees to be seen and actually very few people indeed, so they were able to make quick work of it. After filling up their cart as well with the necessities, they looked everywhere for someone to pay, but found no one. They left with the goods and Jessie felt like she had stepped right into a science fiction film. The SUV was there, running. The driver’s side door was open, and Jessie cursed Tom for being an idiot as she thought he probably went to go pee or something. Asshole. She quickly grabbed the keys from the ignition, then grabbed the 9mm from her bag, telling Winter to do the same. “Where the fuck is he?” she asked. “I don’t know sis, but his bag is still here. Thank God all our stuff is still here. Dumb ass was doing a hell of a job protecting the car.” They unloaded the supplies then climbed inside, closing the doors and locking them while they waited. And waited. And waited.

After two hours had passed, Winter looked at Jessie and broke the silence. “He’s not coming back, sis. He left us, just like mom. We can’t stay here, and I think he’s right about them coming to the house. Either them or the government, or what’s left of it. Either way, this is not going to be good. We have to go.” Just then, they heard a sharp tap tap on the window. They both looked over and saw a man they had never seen before in a black suit and sunglasses. His long, suited arm was extended in front of him, and at the end of it was what he had used to tap on the window. An absurdly large pistol, pointing directly at Jessie. “Out of the car.” He said.