People have gotten used to believing even blatant lies.”
Russ shook his head as he got up to get dressed.
As Russ heated up some water for coffee, he deliberated whether to go to the store. Looking out the living room window, he saw that people still weren’t out on the streets much and seemed to be holed up at home watching the news and surfing the Internet for more information. He left the refrigerator in front of porch doors.
A mug of hot black coffee in his hand, Russ gazed out the window again and saw that while people weren’t on the street much, cars were. Then the sound of voices and suitcases clunking against the stairs brought Russ and Lia to press their ears against the door as their neighbors spoke on their cell phones.
“No, I’m just gonna drive,” said one. “Mom, I don’t want to fly with that thing in the air. It’s too freaky. I just can’t.” Pause. “Yeah, I know, but…I’ll just take the back roads or something. Oh, for—I forgot about the GPS. I think I’ve got a map in my car. And the Internet....”
Other neighbors clunking down the stairs were having the same types of conversations.
“Are we going to be alone here?” said Lia.
“It looks like it,” said Russ. “Maybe.” He tried to think if all his neighbors were just single and couples with families they needed to get back to. He wasn’t sure. He never got to know them so well. “The less people here, the better,” he said. “These aren’t people who are prepared. If things got desperate, well, it’s better for us if they go.”
“You know what?” he said to Lia. “I’ll go and cage up my store. Then I’ll come back.
But he wasn’t sure whether to leave his gun with her or not. His handgun was a G30S, whose size was great for carrying, but its harsh recoil wasn’t for most women or novice shooters—both of which Lia was.
He had a second weapon, an M-4 rifle—which was actually more of a woman’s gun than the G30S—but Russ didn’t want to tell her about that one yet.
“I’m here and under lock and key,” said Lia. “It’s daytime and not much seems to be happening. You go ahead.”
So Russ took the gun. He also took some supplies.
As he drove, he didn’t seem signs of vandalism anywhere. He did notice crowds around the supermarkets and long lines from the privately owned markets. People looked harassed or exasperated, and some people were yelling. Everyone kept looking up at the sky. But that was all.
He called to check up on Lia, but the line was busy. She was probably talking to her department, but he still felt tense about not really knowing.
Upon arriving at the store, Russ stashed the food supplies where he kept a small cache of money in a hidden place in the back. He didn’t know if he and Lia would need to hide out at the store at some point or if they would need to bug out and hopefully have time to stop by the store first. Then he took out some gear like tents, good shoes in different sizes, and survival equipment. He called Lia again, and this time, she answered to tell him she was trying to find out more about what was going on. So it was exactly like he’d thought, but still—it was good to know for sure.
Then he pulled the metal bars around the store and locked them.
Before getting back in his car, Russ took the steering wheel lock and the tire lock out of the trunk and tossed them into the passenger seat. He looked up at the sky. It was still there, of course.
Evan called. “Have you been out shopping?” he asked.
“Not today,” said Russ.
“Supermarkets are understaffed because some staff hasn’t shown up for work and the privately owned stores are only accepting cash. And their lines are trailing down the street.”
“Already?”
“Hey, this isn’t just the lights going out or something you think the government will be able to take care of. This is some mysterious entity hovering over our heads—literally.”
“Good point,” said Russ. “Wait—I
Russ shook his head as he got up to get dressed.
As Russ heated up some water for coffee, he deliberated whether to go to the store. Looking out the living room window, he saw that people still weren’t out on the streets much and seemed to be holed up at home watching the news and surfing the Internet for more information. He left the refrigerator in front of porch doors.
A mug of hot black coffee in his hand, Russ gazed out the window again and saw that while people weren’t on the street much, cars were. Then the sound of voices and suitcases clunking against the stairs brought Russ and Lia to press their ears against the door as their neighbors spoke on their cell phones.
“No, I’m just gonna drive,” said one. “Mom, I don’t want to fly with that thing in the air. It’s too freaky. I just can’t.” Pause. “Yeah, I know, but…I’ll just take the back roads or something. Oh, for—I forgot about the GPS. I think I’ve got a map in my car. And the Internet....”
Other neighbors clunking down the stairs were having the same types of conversations.
“Are we going to be alone here?” said Lia.
“It looks like it,” said Russ. “Maybe.” He tried to think if all his neighbors were just single and couples with families they needed to get back to. He wasn’t sure. He never got to know them so well. “The less people here, the better,” he said. “These aren’t people who are prepared. If things got desperate, well, it’s better for us if they go.”
“You know what?” he said to Lia. “I’ll go and cage up my store. Then I’ll come back.
But he wasn’t sure whether to leave his gun with her or not. His handgun was a G30S, whose size was great for carrying, but its harsh recoil wasn’t for most women or novice shooters—both of which Lia was.
He had a second weapon, an M-4 rifle—which was actually more of a woman’s gun than the G30S—but Russ didn’t want to tell her about that one yet.
“I’m here and under lock and key,” said Lia. “It’s daytime and not much seems to be happening. You go ahead.”
So Russ took the gun. He also took some supplies.
As he drove, he didn’t seem signs of vandalism anywhere. He did notice crowds around the supermarkets and long lines from the privately owned markets. People looked harassed or exasperated, and some people were yelling. Everyone kept looking up at the sky. But that was all.
He called to check up on Lia, but the line was busy. She was probably talking to her department, but he still felt tense about not really knowing.
Upon arriving at the store, Russ stashed the food supplies where he kept a small cache of money in a hidden place in the back. He didn’t know if he and Lia would need to hide out at the store at some point or if they would need to bug out and hopefully have time to stop by the store first. Then he took out some gear like tents, good shoes in different sizes, and survival equipment. He called Lia again, and this time, she answered to tell him she was trying to find out more about what was going on. So it was exactly like he’d thought, but still—it was good to know for sure.
Then he pulled the metal bars around the store and locked them.
Before getting back in his car, Russ took the steering wheel lock and the tire lock out of the trunk and tossed them into the passenger seat. He looked up at the sky. It was still there, of course.
Evan called. “Have you been out shopping?” he asked.
“Not today,” said Russ.
“Supermarkets are understaffed because some staff hasn’t shown up for work and the privately owned stores are only accepting cash. And their lines are trailing down the street.”
“Already?”
“Hey, this isn’t just the lights going out or something you think the government will be able to take care of. This is some mysterious entity hovering over our heads—literally.”
“Good point,” said Russ. “Wait—I
Similar Books
