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***************CHAPTER TWO**************

 

    Having gotten herself situated up in the attic space, Lori lie there with thoughts racing through her mind, and her heart beat keeping pace.  The dust and debris in the attic had caused her to have quite a sneezing attack for the first few minutes.  This scared her, since it was something she had not thought about, and she feared someone would hear her.  However, the sneezing subsided, and she was able to calm her breathing and her heartrate down, and relax her body, if not her mind.  She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the downstairs.  It had become eerily quiet.  She could hear the abandonment of the building.  Her only neighbors now were the rats, birds, and whatever other animal lived here beneath the surfaces.  Every now and then she would hear the scuttling of one of them around her.  Nothing came and touched her though, which she was thankful for.  She wasn’t one afraid of the dark, but this was above and beyond ordinary, in many aspects of the word.

 

   At some point in time, Lori feel asleep.  At least into a deep doze.  She awoke to the area being quite a few degrees cooler.   She kept very still, straining to hear around her.  Finally it came again-  the sound of boots and knocking.  Distant- perhaps on the second story of the building.   Slowly, so as not to make a sound, she twisted herself around so that she could put her ear to the floor.  Breathing as softly and slowly as she could,  Lori listened.   There were voices -  Men caterwauling through the hallways, looking for anyone left behind.  They must be on her floor now, for she could hear doors being thrown open, belongings being riffled through as hiding spots were searched.  She could hear the bantering being passed between the men, and the sound of rifles being shifted. 

 

  Finally she heard her own door being tried.  She had locked it, and one of the men pounded on it with what sounded like the butt of his gun- a pointless knock.   A few moments later, she heard the bang and splinter as her front door was bashed in.  The men entered, calling out for anyone who was there.  They explained that they were there to escort anyone down to the school.  She could hear as they searched her small one bedroom apartment.   One of the men pressed the “play” button on her answering machine, and Lori had to smile to herself at her wit.  She heard her message played in the living room.  One of the men said something about habits of locking doors, and another laughed that she probably took her purse too.  She could hear them rifling through her belongings, heard as her furniture was moved around.  She caught her breath as she heard them in her room.  Her bed was up-heaved and looked beneath.  She froze as they entered the closet, poking around in her stuff.  Her heart raced so fast she thought it impossible that they could not hear it below, as if it were the heart from Poe’s classic tale.  

 

  As quickly as they had come, they were upruptly gone.   Stiff with disbelief,   Lori felt her muscles suddenly give, and she collapsed back to the floor of her hiding space.  She had not even realized that she had been holding herself so.   Lying in the dust, she was relieved and frightened.  She shivered with the tremors she could now let undulate through her, more from the fear than the cold that chilled her.   She listened as they went through the last remaining apartment, and then as they stomped back down the stairs and out the building- presumably onto the next. 

 

 

 ************************

 

  Lori spent the next couple of days up in the attic, listening as men moved through the building a couple times per day.  She spent much of her time sleeping, waking from horrible nightmares of hands reaching through her entryway and grabbing her.  Once she feared she had woken herself screaming, and lie in a cold sweat waiting to see if her dream brought upon it’s reality.  She was lucky though, as it seemed no one was in the building at the time.  She consumed her water and food in rations, be careful to be as quiet as possible.  Her lack of movement made her hunger easier to bear, but her thirst seemed to be unquenchable.  She would do small circles with her feet and wrists, and small leg and arm lifts, to keep her blood moving.  How she would keep herself occupied was one thing she hadn’t thought of, and she really wished she had at least brought a book with her.  However, since she was afraid to use the flashlight for fear that it would be seen, even though the light in her closet was still on, so how someone would see it she didn’t know. 

 

  It must have been her fourth or fifth day that she realized she hadn’t heard anyone come through the apartment complex in some time.  She had been lying there thinking that she should write all this stuff down, so that there would be a record of it should anything happen to her.  It was the realization that she badly needed to use the restroom that gave her the courage to venture a peek. She carefully let down the access panel a smidge so she could peek through.  The light of her closet bulb hurt her eyes. Peering beyond it, she saw that it was daylight outside.   She listened intently, and could hear no sounds, other than her television.  Apparently the cable had gone out, for it was just a distinct hum of the blank screen.  That, and her refrigerator.  She let the panel drop, and stuck out her head.  She was fearful of coming out to use the restroom.  Afraid of quite literally getting caught with her pants down.  But her bladder was relentless in it’s demand to be released.  She was quite surprised that she had been able to go this long without having to relieve herself.  Yet another thing she had not had the foresight to plan for- not that there was much that could be done about it. 

 

  She sat for some time debating, and listening.  Finally she decided to just do it, and she slid herself out of the attic.  Rushing for the bathroom, she did her duty, debating on flushing, and then just doing so anyways.  She was a bit shocked and concern at her sudden disregard for safety.  But then, some matters just push a person over that line I suppose.   Since she was out, and there was obviously no one present at the moment, she decided to let her legs have a bit of a stretch, and she wandered around the apartment, gazing out the windows -being sure to keep herself at a distance from them to avoid being seen by anyone outside.  She supposed there could be someone out there with a telescope that would see her there, but then, if someone was that desperate to be directly looking into apartments with a telescope by this time, there was no way she could go on without ever being detected anyway.  She wasn’t going to be able to live the rest of her life stuffed away in that attic space! 

 

  Outside was just eerie.   The lack of movement at the middle of the day was almost ethereal.  The cars lined the roads and parking lots as usual.  The street light at the corner of her road still went through it’s red, yellow and green cycle, but no automobiles or pedestrians were there to stop or go.  She was reminded of the movies she had seen of zombies and such.  She wondered if that’s what was out there, waiting for her to show herself so they could munch on her fleshy parts and thus turn her into one of them.  Shivering, she moved away from the window and looked around her apartment.  The only thing she saw out of place was her bed, which had been upended when the soldiers had originally entered her apartment to look for people.  Other than that, the rest could have easily been done by herself.  Wondering how often they would still be checking, and for how long, and just what they were keeping tabs on, she wandered into the kitchen and rummaged through her fridge.  She took a long swallow straight from the milk carton.  She had never been much of a straight milk drinker, saving that mostly for her cereal and for cooking, but that was the best stuff she had tasted in eons right there.  Thick and cold, it made her stomach roar with hunger.  She took another quick look outside, and saw nothing but the sun reflecting off the windshields, so she made herself a quick sandwich.  Gobbling it down, she decided she best not push her luck, and decided to go back into her hiding spot just in case.  This time, however, she went to a bookshelf, and grabbed a long-time favorite book, and took it with her. 

 

Lori’s days went much like that for the next week.  In that entire week, she heard nor saw another person moving through the town, much less her apartment complex.  She designed that they must have moved on, and that she was probably for the most part in the clear.  Not wanting to be over-optimistic though, she still would not turn on any lights, and once night fell, made sure to keep clear of the light from the television lest someone see her moving around in there.  She also made sure to move quietly, and her ears became adept at hearing the slightest noises that differed from the norm around her place.  She even ventured a shower once or twice, keeping them very quick.  She wondered sometimes if anyone would notice the use of water, but decided she would hear them coming long before they got to her apartment, and would have time to pull herself back into her hidey hole.  Since the soldiers had busted down her door, anyone could come in and use her facilities. 

 

It was at the end of that second week that the fire came.  Lori had no idea what started it, or where it came from, other than it came from the south side of the town.  She smelled it first, and heard it second.  Looking out her window, she saw the blaze roaring stories high, uninhibited.  Since there were no more fire trucks in town, she knew it was only a matter of time before it got to her place.  Deciding it was time to move out, she grabbed the bag she had already had packed, and then threw more things into a large hiking backpack she had for those summer weekends when she went on hikes.  She even had her sleeping bag and camping essentials already packed inside.   Grabbing more food and water, clothes and a couple more flashlights and books, she gingerly left the comfort of her apartment.  She poked her head in to the few apartments she passed, and gently called out the names of her neighbors, knowing full well that they had gone to the high school.  When she got to the first floor, she remembered old Mr. Andlers, and went over to his apartment to see if he was there.  His door was ajar, and his wheelchair was askew out in the hallway in front of his door.  She went into his apartment, and found it a complete mess.  It looked as though he had been robbed, the way everything was strewn about the room.  A robbery that had been interrupted and gone very wrong.  She called out his name, but heard nothing in return.  She backed out the way she came, and headed out into the streets. 

  Lori crawled through the doggie door of the house she had taken up residence in.   Her nostrils still burnt with the smell of torched bodies and burning debris.  She had thought that time would make the stench go away, but it hadn’t.  Not even after a month.  She surveyed the little corner of town she was in.  Burned out shells of cars sat cockeyed in the streets.  Buildings were broken and torched.  The fires had consumed just about everything their tongues could lick in the town.  She knew she’d have to start moving on soon.  Her food supply was dwindling, and her water supply was even worse.  She had the juices from the handful of canned fruit she had, and the few unpunctured soda cans she’d found outside what use to be a mini-mart.    In the mini-mart rubble she had been able to scavenge a couple bags of beef jerky, a can of tuna, and a couple melted candy bars. She wondered how far she could get on those.

 

She took a look at the sky.  It was so deceiving- that bright beautiful blue sky.  Tiny wisps of clouds floated lazily across as if lounging in a swimming pool.  A flock of birds sat in a tree across the street that had somehow escaped any major damage.  With her eyes closed, their birdsong, along with the warm morning sun could almost convince her she had awoken in her own bed from a terrible dream.  Unfortunately, when she opened her eyes, it was not sunlight streaming in onto her cream covered walls, all curled up under her cotton sheets with the blanket kicked down at her feet.  No- it was still the sight of soot and ash and charcoal.  Everywhere.  Devastation.  It was time to go.

*********************** CHAPTER ONE ****************************************

  A month ago, Lori had come home from her job as a bartender at the local dive in town- Mack’s Shack.  It had been a rather busy Saturday night, with a birthday party and a bachelor party going on.  She had been running like wild, and with her easy personality and good looks, she had won a mirage of tips.  However, she had also developed cramped feet, along with a couple of blisters. At 3am Sunday morning, she unlocked her apartment door on the third floor of her building and was relieved to be home.  She threw her purse and keys on the side table next to the door and plopped on the couch, tenderly removing her shoes and rubbing her feet.  She grabbed a glass of water and went eagerly to bed.   

 

  She woke up at 10:00 that morning, refreshed, but still with sore feet.  She jumped in a warm shower to wash the previous night’s grime from her, and then donned a robe and went to the kitchen for some coffee.  As she sat sipping her coffee and reading a magazine, she heard a very loud bang.  It sounded horribly close and not at all good.  She got up and went to her living room window that overlooked the south where the sound had come from.  She couldn’t see anything, so decided to go check out her bedroom window that had a better view.  Seconds after she had entered the hall, there came an enormous racket, and the building shook, the windows on the south side exploding into the apartment.  Lori fell against the wall in the hallway, and saw shards of glass embedded in her bedroom wall through the door.  She turned back and looked in the living room.  The window she had just been standing in front of was gone, blown into the room and across all her furniture.  She shuddered to think what she would look like had she not moved. 

 

  Her first thought was that there had been an earthquake, or that something had fallen.  She slowly made her way back into the living room and peered out the window, being mindful around the glass so as not to slice herself open.  When she looked out, all thought escaped her.  The buildings that had occupied the block over were gone.. a crater in their place.  She heard a loud noise, as if a low flying airplane, and looked up to see that there were bombers flying overhead. 

 

Oh my god, she thought, we’re at war!  She hadn’t heard of any tensions lately, no one that was an immediate threat.  She found the remote control and flipped on the television.  Much to her horror, she saw that it was happening everywhere- not just her town.  She had figured as much, but to actually see it was horrifying.  She turned the television up as loud as it would go, and then went into her room and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.  Slipping her sandals on, she came back out and turned the t.v. off and went into her hallway. 

All of her neighbors were out and talking. Doris, the old lady that lived next door, was quivering and crying that she had already lost her son in a war, and she was not ready for another one.  Donald and Travis, the gay couple that lived across the hall were animatedly talking about who they thought it was, and that they needed to call this person or that person.  Staci- a young mother of two little twins- was crying but together, and came up to Lori, her two boys clinging to her leg.   There was a recreation center downstairs, and she suggested that they all go to the bottom story and see what they could gather from the television. No one really seemed to want to be left alone right now, and no one wanted to be up three stories if they were to topple. 

 

  The handful of them went downstairs.  A group of their apartment-mates from the other floors had already had the same idea, and were huddled around the set, drinking coffee and eating pastries that the management had brought out to try and help settle everyone.  Apparently this had started a couple hours ago out on the east coast and had quickly made it’s way west.    They all watched in silence with held breath as the newscasters showed footage of the devastation that lie across the land.  No one seemed to know exactly any details and no one could do more than speculate on who was to blame.  After a few minutes, the broadcast was interrupted for a special notice from the Department of Homeland Security. 

 

  A stern looking man in his 50s with his greying military cut and starched suit came on and told them that their country was at war with an as of yet unknown enemy.  He spoke a bunch of words that held no information for Lori other than that towns all across America had been blown up, but at this point, it did not appear that there had been any nuclear attack or any attack with biological warfare, as had originially been feared.  To be on the safe side though, he said that the country was going into military lock-down.  Everyone was required to take military escort to designated nearby military facilities.  He said that local news stations would soon be given instructions for times when civilians could be expected to be ready.  It was made clear that any attempt to avoid going to these military institutions would be viewed as contempt and treason, and people could expect to be shot on sight for such behavior.  He went on to discuss that the facilities had been set up for national emergency, and that they would be sheltered and fed in comfortable conditions until more information could be obtained as to what was happening. 

 

  The room was quiet as the broadcast ended and their regular newscast crew came back on.  They as well seemed to be stirred by this news, but proceeded to explain what had happened with the White House, and they were awaiting direction.  They went on to reiterate all that had transpired during the morning, and repeated their stories and the Dept of Defense’s statement.    Everyone looked around at each other, flabbergast and confused.  Despite the nervous energy that abounded in the room, no one spoke.  After about fifteen minutes, the newscasters interrupted their story to let the people know that they had received their direction, and the times were being given to them for various towns and their pickup instructions.  They went threw each town, giving locations and times for pickup.  Citizens were instructed to pack as little as possible, and each person would be allowed no more than a gym sized bag or backpack to be brought with them.  They finally reached Lori’s town of Red Rock.  Their designated time was 8pm that evening at the Red Rock High School gymnasium.  Anyone not at the gym by 8pm would be considered as a traitor. Lori looked up at the clock on the wall above the television set.  It was 12:15pm.  They had just under eight hours.  She thought it strange that they gave no instruction for keeping themselves safe in the meantime.   So many questions raced through her mind.  People began to talk all at once, asking the same questions she had, but eventually they all went back to their apartments to get ready. 

 

  As people began to exit the rec room,  one of their oldest neighbors- Mr Andlers- began talking, quietly at first, and then more animated.  He was a retired vet from Viet Nam, and often told his old war stories, and some people thought that maybe he was a bit cracked in the head.  He started saying “we did it”.  Over and over, he said it, getting louder with each repetition.  Lori stopped and looked at him, as did Staci and and a few others. 
“What are you talking about, old man?” asked a man Lori recognized as being a tenant on the second floor, but did not know his name. 

“We did it”, Mr Andler repeated.  “Look!  Those are American planes!  Those aren’t enemy planes, their our own guys!”.   He turned his wheelchair towards them and gestured animatedly at the tv.  “American planes.  Americans bombing our own country!”

 

“You’re wrong.” stated Doris, my old neighbor.  “There’s no way the country my son died for would kill it’s own citizens mindlessly”. 

She defiantly turned and walked back towards the stairwell, Donald and Travis running to help make sure she made it up ok.  The man from the second story just shook his head and mumbled some absurdity under his breath and also left.  A few people lingered, seeming to be torn between what to believe.  Staci looked pale, holding her two boys to her close.  She then seemed to clear her head, give it a shake, and she too, went back up.  Lori looked at Mr Andler.  She watched his character.  At 32 years of age, she had a way of watching people and sizing them up.  It didn’t hurt that she had also minored in psychology and sociology in college.  The teaching degree she had earned had proved unuseful in this town, and she had not been able to find work anywhere else.  She occasionally subbed at the elementary school, but other than that, she had paid all that money to be able to tell which patrons she would get the best tips from at the bar. 

 

  Mr Adler didn’t look cracked up.  He looked scared.  He looked angry.  He did not, however, look crazy.  He honestly believed what he was saying.  His agitation looked more like it came from his inability to convince others than anything else.   He turned his attention back to the news, not moving from his spot.  His eyes suddenly turned back to Lori, who was at this time the only one left in the room.  “I am not going to be at that high school tonight.  I would advise you not to either.  Something is up.  We are under attack by our own country.  The gym is a trap.  They will be leading cows to the slaughter there, they will.”   With that, he turned away from the tv, and rolled his wheelchair down the hall and around the corner out of sight.  Lori looked back at the tv, watched as they showed pictures of the planes dropping bombs all over her country.  She tuned out the voices of the newscasters’ constant repetition of the instructions for pick-up.  Her eyes focused on one jet she saw almost hidden in a wisp of clouds as it flew over what looked like Denver.  Was that the red and white of stripes on it’s underside she saw?  Or was that a figment of her imagination taking over?  She turned and walked back up to her apartment. 

 

  Inside her apartment, Lori took a survey of her place.  What should she take with her?  She had no idea what she would need there, or how long she would be gone.  Hell, she didn’t even know if she would ever be able to come back to her apartment.  She tuned into the newscast, keeping an ear out for any new information, as she stuffed her gym bag with a couple outfits, makeup, keys, pictures of her and her recently deceased mother, a couple of her favorite books.  Suddenly she heard commotion on the television.  She wandered out to watch.  On screen, she realized that they were not showing America, but another country.  Germany she thought they said, but the person who was talking in that part of the world was running hurriedly, as was the cameraman.  She saw planes bombing them as well- saw the same type of devastation that had plastered the news earlier of her own country.  Suddenly, the camera went black.  It was gone.  The newscasters came back on and spoke of how they were getting reports all over the world of this happening.  They also had a man on the phone who was a retired air-force pilot.  He was telling them the same thing that Mr Andler had said.  These were American planes dropping the bombs on America.  From what he had seen from other countries- it was their own pilots as well.  Countries had turned on themselves.  The woman newscaster went on to explain that they had gotten scores of emails stating the same thing.  They went to another Dept of Defense statement, stating that these were not American pilots, although it did appear that they were American planes.  He went on to reiterate that citizens were to report to their designated meeting spots and let the military lead them to their safe spots.  He also reiterated that any resistance would be viewed as hostile and contempt, and would be acted on accordingly. 

  Lori watched for awhile, viewing the man talking, and she noticed a glimmer of amusement, deep in his eyes.  He was relishing this.  She tried to tell herself that she was just being paranoid, but her heart and her gut told her that this was the enemy- right here on the television, and getting ready to take all the people of her town, and towns all over, into custody.  Much to her surprise, she made a decision not to go.  She was not going to be held captive. 

 

   She decided she would have to find somewhere to hide.  She had no doubt that the soldiers would be combing the town for those, like her and Mr Andler, who decided not to go to the school’s gym.  She sat on the edge of her bed and tried to think.  She thought of various places, but none seemed safe enough.  She got up and went into her closet to grab the gun she kept on the top shelf there.  As she switched on the overhead light, she caught glance of the access to the crawl-space attic above.  The access was almost completely hidden by the glare of the light next to it.  She moved her nightstand into the closet, and standing on top, lifted the access to peer inside.  It had decidedly more room than she would have thought.  She figured she could probably crawl through it if needed.  She could see rat droppings and years of dust built up, but considering the alternative, she thought she would be okay up there.   She pulled herself up to test it.  She could lie inside comfortably, and could even roll over.  She got up on all fours, and although her back scrapped against the top rafters, she was able to crawl.  The only problem she discovered was putting the access panel back on.  She would have to figure out a way to do that, or else her plan would be easily detected. 

  She crawled back down into her closet, and inspected the access.  She needed a way to affix it so that once she got up there, she could pull it back into place behind her without being noticed.  She also noticed that she had left scuff marks on the ceiling when she touched it.  She went into her kitchen, washed her hands and rummaged through her junk drawers.  She stole a look at the clock, and realized she had just under five hours left.  In her drawer she found a roll of duct tape.  Picking it up she looked at it, and an idea formed in her head.  She took the tape back into the closet, and pulled down the panel.   With a washcloth, she wiped down the inside of the crawl space just inside.  She then dried it with a towel.  She did the same with the panel.  She cut off a large piece of the duct tape, and affixed it to the inside of the space, and then to the inside of the panel.  She did this four times, providing an almost sheet of tape between the panel and attic.  She let go, and the panel hung down. 

   Satisfied for the moment, she went to survey her apartment.  She had to make sure it looked like she had packed and left.  She noticed her purse still sitting on the table next to the door, and decided to throw that up into the crawlspace as well.  Most women would still take their purse.  Her keys were already inside the gym bag.  She let her dresser drawers remain open, since it was obvious she had been hurriedly packing.  She threw the gym bag up into the hiding spot as well.  She went to her kitchen and pulled out all her bottled water she had ( five bottles ) and rummaged through for food she could take with her.  She found a couple of granola bars, and she made herself a few peanut butter sandwiches that she wrapped in Saran wrap and put into a bag.  She then pulled her gym bag back out and put them in there as well.  She then went and made sure that there were no traces of dust on the access panel or ceiling around it.  When she finished, it looked almost invisible when put back up again.  She took the gun with her into the bathroom and took a long hot shower.  She wasn’t sure when she would get another one.  She then dressed herself in a fresh pair of jeans, and a clean shirt.  She stuffed the dusty clothes into her hamper and covered them with a couple of the other items in there,

  She went back into her living room and looked out the window.  Devastation was everywhere, and she did not even try to stop the tears that flowed.  She was suddenly thankful that she had no family remaining; none that she had any contact with anyways.   The news was now constantly repeating the department of defense’s statements about the pick up times and the assurance that we had not attacked ourselves.  A ticker at the bottom went over all the pick up times and locations for each town.  Apparently the newscasters were not immune to the pick ups either.  Or they wanted to go be with their families.  She figured both were true.  She looked at the clock.  An hour remained.  She could hear the people in the hallways already starting out, and saw people on the streets heading towards the school.  As she turned to head to her room, she happened to see her answering machine sitting there- the red light a solid red to notify of no new messages.  On a whim, she whipped out her cell phone and called herself.  She figured the soldiers might check her message, and she figured it was one last touch to make it appear as if she had really left. 

  “Hi Lori,” she said to herself, and she noted the tremor in her voice, which she did not try to disguise.  ” I was just calling to see if you had left to the school yet.  Since I’m talking to your machine, I suppose you already have, which means you’ll probably never get this.. but here I am talking anyway.  (nervous laugh).  Well, I guess I will meet you there.  I’m scared.  The military will take good care of us though, right?  Ok.. love you girl.  See you there….”   She hung up. 

  It felt eerie.. that message to herself.  It seemed final.  She watched for a few moments at the blinking red light.. something she very rarely saw. She went and locked her front door- something that was habit when she left her apartment- then turned for her room.  She grabbed the gun, some extra shells, and a flashlight, and threw them up into the passage.  She pushed the nightstand back to it’s rightful place next to her bad, and wiped out the markings in the carpet with her shoe.  She then hoisted herself up, and cut herself a small piece of duct tape which she folded over itself, sticky side out, and used it to pull the access panel back into place.  She had purposely left the closet light on, for it’s camouflaging effect on the panel.