The Long Hot Summer
The long, hot summer appears to be cooling down. Things got real crazy at the end of August, and then everything got real quiet. The old lady who used to come by and talk to you hasn't been by in over a week. Maybe the crazy days of August got her. Regardless, you still mark off the calendar every day, like she showed you.
One day, you awake from an afternoon nap with an ominous rumbling sound in the distance. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you look at the calendar. It's Sunday, September 10. You are so glad you're not in church, that you forget for a moment what woke you.
But the rumbling sound can not be ignored. It's close, but does not appear to be moving any closer. Walking outside, you sneak toward the sound, much more curious than frightened.
You realize, as you move toward the sound, that you're moving toward the Piggly Wiggly. "My food!" you think. You quicken your pace just a bit, the survival instinct kicking in. You don't go much faster, because, sneaking suddenly seems like a very good idea.
By the time you get to the Piggly Wiggly, the noise is gone. Peering out from behind a tree, you see four motorcycles parked by the door. After a few minutes, you see four "biker-types" coming out of the building, boxes of food in their arms. They each strap a box to the back of their bike, mount their cycles, and start 'em up. The roar is much louder now, and it startles you for a second.
Remaining hidden, you watch them drive off. Relief floods over you as they depart. Hopefully, they won't be back.
They don't go very far. You see them stop at the high school across the street. Hollering like a deranged band of marauders, they run into the school. Waiting for them to come out is agonizing. By the time they run out the front door, you see smoke from the rear of the building. "Yay!" you think. An old school-yard rhyme suddenly fills your head:
| Mine eyes have seen the glory Of the burning of the school.... |
"These guys aren't so bad."
But they are. You watch them ride off, and as you turn to go home, you see a lot more smoke. Coming out of the Piggly Wiggly. You can only stand there, crying in frustration, as your food source burns down.
You walk home, wiping the tears off your face. For the first time, you really notice the decay around you. Your house seems fine, but the others are covered in plant growth and you can tell they won't last as long as your house.
Of course, with no food, staying at your house is not really an option any more. But where to go?
Mourning the Loss of a Pig
It was night before the flames had finally died down enough for Timmy to survey the damage to his Piggly Wiggly. The chubby porker that used to hang outside the front window greeting customers had all but melted away, leaving its twisted visage staring up in horrific pain from amidst the building's wreckage. Timmy knew he would be able to scavenge something from the rubble, but whatever had survived wouldn't last him long. The local dime store had stuff, too. Lots of candy and soda last he looked, but even he would get sick of that after awhile. Maybe a long while, but the day would definitely come. He sniffed sadly, rubbing the back of a hand across his face to wipe his runny nose. It only managed to smear soot and ash around making him look even more disheveled. There was nothing left for him to do, but find some place else to live. Union Grove had been a good place, especially after the End had come. No dad. No school. Timmy could do whatever he wanted. But now, with the majestic Piggly Wiggly destroyed, there was nothing worth staying for. The only question was where to go.
In the morning, lounging stoically in the asphalt driveway, Tim planned his next move. Arrayed before him was an old map he dug out of the gasoline station in town. He couldn't actually read the map, but he figured it'd be important to have one, especially if he was going to travel somewhere. He had also stumbled across a pamphlet for a Caribbean Cruise. Tim knew there probably weren't any cruises left anymore, but the Caribbean place looked good. There were palm trees, and oceans, and colorful birds, and jungles, and stuff. That's where he would head. Caribbea. He pulled out a pen and paper, jotting down a huge list of supplies he'd need for his Caribbean excursion. After he had finished, he stuffed a half finished bar of grape taffy in his back pocket and headed off into town to dig up what he could. Tomorrow he would leave Union Grove forever and make his way to the sunny lands of Caribbea.
Timmy's List Of Supplies
Heavy.
The backpack is heavy.
All that stuff didn't seem so heavy while packing it, but the weight is hard on your young back.
After gathering supplies and getting them home, you eagerly packed up your backpack and set out! You walked down 9th Avenue, and turned right on Main Street. You are now heading south on U.S. Highway 45.
And now....it's so heavy!
But there's no one to complain to, no one to share the load. The enormity of the journey before you suddenly seems a little less exciting and a little more scary.
After what seems like an enternity, you cross 15th Avenue, back aching and body sweating. You don't bother looking before you cross, and the exhilaration of breaking basic rules fuels your southward march.
You continue on, little legs walking briskly. You try carrying the backpack in your hands, but it just keeps slipping out of your grasp. You reluctantly return it to your back, letting the ache accumulate until you can barely stand it. IT'S HEAVY!
About half a mile past 15th Avenue, just as you exit the town limits, you hear something. You can't believe it, but you think it's your mother's voice.
"Mommy?" you ask, turning toward the sound.
There is nothing there. Well, nothing supernatural. But you do see Union Grove Cemetery across the street.
Your mother is buried there.
The sun is shining, but a shiver runs down your back anyway. You hear something, again, coming from the cemetery. You see something.
Or did you? Is your mind playing tricks on you? Maybe it was just the wind, whistling through trees and bending their branches.
The cemetery is creepy. And big. And Mommy is waiting for you there.
A battle of wills rages in your mind. Turn and run....or approach and investigate?
Into the Graveyard
Timmy inched his way across the street to the iron gate that enclosed the old cemetery. He peered through the rusted fence, looking for any signs of what had caught is attention.
Nothing.
No ghosts. No horrible zombies like he saw in that one movie, devouring the brains of some poor unfortunate girl.
Nothing.
With no monsters in sight, Timmy figured it'd be best to stop by and say goodbye to his mother one last time. He didn't know when next he'd get back to Union Grove. Carribea is far away, after all. It may be awhile. He stashed his backpack under a nearby bush, and made sure to cover it up well with some twigs and leaves. No sense in letting someone walk away with his prizes. Sucking in his little tummy, Tim pushed his way through two iron rods into the graveyard beyond.
The cemetery is big. Bigger than you remember. You wander around, trying to remember where your mother is buried.
But it's been three years since the funeral, and you were five years old at the time. Without someone to guide you to the spot, you can't find the marker. Still, you persist in looking. You shut your eyes, trying to picture that horrible day, and remember where you had to endure the service. You remember riding in the strange car. It was nice than your Dad's car. And then, you were right by the road....the road! The road in the cemetery! Your mom's grave is near the road!
Unfortunately, this clue does not help you as much as you hoped. You wander up and down the narrow road which runs through the cemetery, but you can not remember the spot. You start reading each marker near the road, but after 30 minutes give up. There are a lot of grave markers to read. If you read them all, you'll never get to Carribea!
And you're starting to get hungry. Maybe you should head back to your backpack and get a snack? You trudge up the road, shoulders slumped in defeat. "'Bye, Mommy," you sniffle to no one in particular.
As you get closer to the road, you start to cut across the cemetery, back to the spot in the fence where you first entered. As you get close to the fence, you see a car on the road! It's passing by the main cemetery gate, and will pass by you in a few seconds. The grave stones are not very big, but you're small enough to hide behind one of the larger one if you wanted. Or, you could try to get a ride to Carribea! At school, they always talked about strangers, and how dangerous they were. But you don't care--no stranger could be as dangerous as your father.
Here comes the car now. What to do?!
That's right! No one would mess with him anyways, Timmy thought. He's been living on his own for awhile now. He's pretty tough. And that was nothing compared to surviving with his father for years. Plus, his backpack was heavy and he didn't want to be forced to ditch his CDs. He'd need them on the beaches of Carribea.
Tim mustered his courage and jumped out onto the side of the road, his hands waving frantically to catch the driver's attention. He spared one agonizing glance back to the bushes that he had hid within just moments ago, but fought the urge to retreat back within their green embrace.
'Hello! Please stop!' Timmy yelled.
You manage to squeeze through the fence quickly. You see the red lights on the back of the car light up as the vehicle comes to a quick stop. You wait a few seconds, and then the passenger door opens. "Hop in, kid!" a woman says breathlessly. She is smiling.
"One second." You run back to the spot where you concealed your backpack and retrieve it. You hear the car start moving, but she's just moving the car closer to the tree where you're digging for your supplies. The lady opens her door, gets out, and watches. You glance up once or twice during your task, and notice that she is looking back and forth. You think she's nervous. As you scamper to the car, she gets in and closes her door. You hop in, drop your backpack on the floor, and close the door. You buckle up for safety, and wait for her to say something.
She puts the car in gear and speeds up the road, toward town. "So, what's your name, kid?"
"You haven't seen anyone else around here, have you? Anyone bad, I mean."
Timmy checks his seatbelt one more time, snapping the taut canvas loudly against his little chest. Thanks to the diligent lessons of the nuns, car safety was paramount on Timmy's mind. Whoops! Speaking of car safety, the number one rule had always been never get into the car with a stranger. Timmy figured he'd better recover from that one quickly.
'Uhh.. I saw a couple of big guys on bikes. They burnt down some stuff and rode off. They looked kinda bad to me. My name's... Dawg. What's yers lady?'
Timmy looked up at the driver, and managed a little smile. Soon he'll be in Carribea. Maybe he'll ask this nice lady to go with him. Maybe.
Mad Town
'Bikes? Like, motorcycles?' asks the woman. She looks even more nervous at the mention of the bikers.
Trying (and failing) to cover her anxiety, she tries to work on having a normal conversation. 'My name's Tina. Nice to meet you, Dog.'
Tina had been speeding up, speeding blindly through intersections. And why not? There's no one else around. But when she gets to the north side of town, she slams on her brakes. The smoldering ruins of the high school are on her right, and similar remains of the Piggy Wiggly on her left. She surveys the scene for a few seconds, and then turns to Timothy. 'The guys on bikes. Did this?' Without waiting for an answer, Tina turns her gaze to the road, gulps loudly, and says, 'Hang on, kid!' She revs the engine, throws the car in gear, and takes off down the road, shooting between the two burnt offerings as fast as she can.
She goes very fast for about ten minutes. After that, she seems to calm down a little. Her grip on the wheel relaxes. She makes another attempt at conversation. 'So, Dog. What were you doing in that cemetery?'
Eventually, the conversation drifts to the future. 'Dog, wanna go shopping? I know this great place!' Tina seems very excited at the thought of going shopping. 'We can get out of here. Far away from here. Go shopping. Get whatever we want. Far away from here.'
Tina keeps driving. You see signs leading to Milwaukee, but she does not follow them. Instead, she goes in the other direction. The signs say Madison. You recognize that as the state capital. You've never been there, but you learned about it in school. You're not sure if Madison is near Carribea or not.
It's starting to get dark by the time you pull into Madison. Tina looks down at the gas gauge. 'Well, we made it this far. But we need gas. Let's sleep here and head out in the morning. What do you say, Dog?'
Tina continues to meander through town, looking for a safe place to stay. She drives by a really big building, which you think is that building where all the state people do their jobs, but you're not sure. You probably saw a picture of it in school, but it's hard to see details of the building in the darkness.
Tina continues on. It appears the town is deserted. But just when you least expect it, there is a squealing sound of tires on pavement, and you both notice another car (driving without its headlights on!) swerving to avoid hitting you. Tina slams on the breaks as you both stare at the other driver.
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