What May Come...

Where the gravel meets the pavement she frantically thought, nauseatingly fearful she would not make it that far. “ Where the gravel meets the pavement!” She said, out loud through her heavy breathing. Lifting her sore and tired legs up and down as fast as she could while clutching her two month old, tightly to her chest.

A loud crash and then a sound of explosion that disturbed the air with vibrations around her entire body. It came from behind, not very far from the direction she came from; silence fell......a faint scream.....then cries for help -- gun shots – POW -- POW-- then silence once again.

She looked anxiously for the driveway. It was dark already and there weren't many lights on this road in between towns. Many times, it was a comforting sight driving around the bend of the road, seeing the tiny pieces of gravel gently sloping down and stopping just before spilling onto the asphalt. It was the only gravel driveway on the street.

This time, however, Terry was not driving, instead running. Making it to the driveway meant life or death and this was only half the battle. She still had to make it up the hill and into her house before the mob behind her caught up.

Once she was in the house she knew she could protect herself and her precious new born daughter; last one born of three.

Just four hours earlier Terry had left this house with her 16 year old daughter, Paisley, her 14 year old son, Heath and her two month old daughter, Nadine. They went to the Dollar General store, just 4 miles from their home.

A simple trip for simple supplies in a not so simple time.

For almost two years there had been political and social unrest in the nation. Not surprising that it surrounded an election and when it was thought to be over, it had only just begun.

There were said to be wars raging in the middle east and china was poised with nukes once again threatening the United States.

As the weeks and months drug on, stories of hate and turmoil spread over the news channels and radio stations. Social media was overtaken and used as platforms to spread lies and hate, only fueling the fire that burned throughout America. Everything was an argument or violent action. Our world governments forever fighting and threatening each other over foreign policies and past disputes.

Terry knew things were getting bad at home and abroad but she wasn't too keen on all the details. How could she be, with the busy life that she led? No different than thousands of others living in America. A devoted wife to the love of her life, Allen and a mother of three. Working 40 hours plus a week at a thermal spray company in Cincinnati. Barely enough time to rush back home to Manchester, an hour and 20 minute drive one way; to make it to her 30 minute workout class, pick up Nadine from the babysitters, rush home to start dinner, do some laundry, feed and bathe the baby, answer a million questions from her teenagers, have a few laughs and a few arguments; finally settle down for bed about 9:30pm or 10pm and get back up at 4am to do it all over again. Forgot to mention she took online college courses, too.

Her husband Allen worked 2nd shift for the same thermal spray company. Luckily, he had weekends off which allowed them to spend time together as a family.

Of course that was life before. It is inconceivable how drastically reality can change in just a few moments. Causing minutes to feel like hours, even days. For every second of a minute to be played out in slow motion.

Another loud explosion, this time it was a lot closer and shook the ground. The sound of the mob’s chants and screams increased with every step Terry took.

She slowed her place ever so slightly to catch her breath. Several thoughts running through her mind all at once:

“Allen is still at work, is he ok? Does he know what’s going on? Is he being attacked and chased through the streets of Cincinnati? How do I tell him what happened to our children?”

Mournfully, she burst out in tears and let out a sorrowful wail, as the images and sounds from only a few hours ago came rushing back.

Entering the Dollar General, laughing and discussing things to buy, places to go afterwards, abruptly interrupted only seconds after crossing the threshold. All cell phones in the store began going off with the emergency alert system. The warning only played a few words of the message before the transmission ended and static sound blared from every device. Dings, chirps, personal ring tones then began sounding off. Everyone began gasping, screaming, crying, as they read messages through text, social media, news alerts, friends and family....the nuclear weapon has struck land....

Terry reached up passed Nadines cradled head and grasped the locket hanging around her neck. It was heart-shaped and slightly larger than lockets generally are made. Allen had it specially designed for Terry for their 10th wedding anniversary.

She had said she wished lockets were bigger so she could fit a group picture of the entire family inside. Allen remembered and made it happen. He was good to her like that, remembering the little things, always going that extra mile to make her feel special and loved.

----BANG!---- ground trembles, then a rush of air almost knocking Terry off her feet, followed by debris raining from the sky.

That one was so close it made her ears ring. Nadine was crying, inconsolably.

Just ahead, 20 yards or so, the gravel driveway. The road leading to the house was long and winding, which Terry hoped would provide the cover necessary for her to remain unseen as she darted up the gravel drive and into the house.

As she stepped onto the gravel, the crunch under her feet reminded her of the sound created as the cinder block walls of the Dollar General crashed and collided with one another as a large semi came through the side of the building.

Moments later chanting could be heard from outside. Heath and Paisley stood motionless at either side of their Mother, Nadine rigidly in her arms, hearts racing, all still in shock and not understanding why this was happening.

As people began rushing for any opening that could be used as an exit, the gun shots began. Finally, through the settling dust they were seen entering what was left of the store. There were four, maybe five, dressed in military type clothing, wearing masks. Terry could see their lower jaw create movement through the cloth that covered their mouths. They would each in turn grab someone, say something and depending on their response, they would shoot them or let them go.

Heath screamed out “Hey!”, as Terry turned around, she saw one of them had grabbed her son and pointed a 9mm to his forehead.

“Do you believe in God!” a raspy voice asked harshly.

Wide eyed and scared, she stared into the eyes of her only son. As the bottom of his eyes filled slowly with tears, he gave his mother the sign for I love you in sign language (a thing they did since he was a toddler) and looking into the stone-cold eyes of the perpetrator, Heath told him,

“Yes, with all my heart, mind, body and...”

--BANG—

Terry watched in horror as her sons' lifeless body fell to the floor, his hand still holding the i love you sign in place.

Paisley and Terry screamed wildly, as two others ran up and grabbed Terrys older daughter, ripping her clothes off as they drug her down one of the isles, screaming.

Then there was another gunshot....no more screaming. Tears just flowed in steady streams out of Terrys eyes as her entire body shook from the shock and terror. She sat next to her sons’ lifeless body while hearing the defilement of her oldest daughter, who had also just been shot.

The man that shot her son, pivoted on his heels and slowly crouched down next to Terry.

He asks,” does your baby believe in God too?” and points the barrel at the back of Nadine’s tiny head.

Before Terry could even react, crunching and crashing sounds filled the air along with more dust and smoke, debris flying overhead.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but the dust had been settled for some time.

The bright late afternoon had turned to near dusk and her children’s lifeless bodies lay somewhere under the rubble, next to their assailants.

Hearing another group of individuals in the distance, chanting and shooting off guns, Terry realized her only option of survival for her and Nadine, get home as quickly as possible!

She stumbled outside and found her car set ablaze and a mob similar to the people that terrorized the store were just visible down the road.

It was time to run and not look back. Run home. Get to the drive way no matter what....where the gravel meets the pavement!!

The chanting is much louder now, and she is only just taking her third step up the drive towards the house. Looking to her right, she can see the tops of their heads through the trees on the road below.

Half way up the drive, she grabs the locket tightly, saying a prayer for their safety, for Allen’s safety, for....for forgiveness for allowing these things to happen to her children.

At the mouth of the garage, she can smell the grill sitting just behind the door. Heath had promised to clean it out when they returned from the store so they could cook hotdogs for dinner. Her eyes welled up again and she choked back her intense emotion, suddenly realizing she could hear the ground crunching under the heavy footsteps of someone behind her, coming up the drive.

She spun around to see another person dressed the same as the others before at the store.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?”

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!?!?”

Terry screamed with fervor.

The man snickered in a low tone behind his mask.

“You are asking the wrong questions.”

“Now is the time to ask, what may come.”

Raising the gun slowly he turned the barrel towards Terry's temple.

She began praying, out loud, for help, wisdom, anything she could think of....and then -- BANG—.

The masked man had put the gun in his own mouth and pulled the trigger.

Confused but relieved, Terry rushed in the house closing, locking and barricading the door. Continuing through the house in the same manner with all doors and windows.

She sat there in the dark for a long while. Still holding Nadine, now sleeping in her arms. Tightly gripping the locket from her husband.

The last words spoken to her, floating through her mind on repeat, as if it somehow held the answer to why all of this had happened.

What may come....