Bart made a noise that neither confirmed nor denied he was going to go along with the shelter ultimatum. Everyone dispersed back to their respective bedrooms except for Drew who’d been assigned the first watch. When asked why he’d been chosen Bart had informed him they were going to set the watch alphabetically starting with the letter ‘D’. Drew had been about to bring up the obvious when he remembered his dad had already run out of the house once tonight firing his weapon. All Drew had to do was stay awake for a few hours.
He almost soiled his pants when the doorbell rang as soon as everyone had gone back to bed. Bart and Nancy came running out of their room as Yue and LeBron thundered down the stairs. Yue was trying to pull up the doorbell app to see who was standing outside.
“It’s the police.” She said. Considering her dad had just shot an assault rifle at a bunch of neighbors looting their garage she supposed it made sense someone had called 911. Considering it was a very odd hour of the day it even made sense that the 911 call had been answered. Now they just had to hope these cops were the understanding types.
Bart opened the door and greeted the policemen. Both of the cops looked tired. Neither of them looked like they were going to put up with any crap. Bart told them what’d happened while they listened impassively. LeBron stared at the two uniformed men on their doorstep.
“Aren’t you going to take notes?” He asked.
“We’re good. It’s not like anyone’s going to be pressing charges. Hell, the jail is filled to the brim as it is. Some dirtbags tried to break in and steal your food. You scared them off without killing any of them. Good for you guys. As long as there aren’t a bunch of dead bodies on your front lawn, I’m good. You good Jake?” The other cop on the patio nodded his head.
“I’m good. What are you guys planning to do?” Jake asked curiously.
“Do about what?” Bart asked confused.
“The whole end of the world thing. You’ve seen the news, right? I assume you don’t have a history of running out into your yard to shoot at your neighbors in the middle of the night.” The cop responded.
“Oh yeah. We figured we’d stay here for a while and see how things go then maybe head to a shelter.” Bart said.
“We’re going to go to one tomorrow. Do you have any suggestions on which one?” Nancy asked earning her an annoyed look from Bart which she completely disregarded. The two cops looked at one another. Jake cleared his throat.
“Honestly the ones we’ve been to kind of suck. The high school right up the street from you guys would probably be the best one if you do end up needing it. It’s going to end up packed though and there’s not a ton of supplies. You guys have plywood on the windows. If you have any food left this may be the best place to ride it out. Nobody really knows. Our official stance is once the evacuation order’s given you should head to the closest shelter.” Jake finished with a shrug and took a step back to leave.
“You guys have a good night. Be safe. There’s still time to make a decision. Just keep your TV tuned to the local news.” The other cop said as he spun around to join up with Jake. The two of them walked up the sidewalk back to their patrol car. Nancy shut the door so LeBron could reactivate the alarm.
“Well now what?” Nancy asked after they’d gathered together in the kitchen for yet another yawn infused family meeting.
“Cops seem to agree with dad on the shelter situation. We should stick with the wait and see plan. Once we leave the house unguarded our stash here won’t last long.” Drew said. LeBron nodded while Yue and Bart both wisely kept their thoughts to themselves while they waited to see where Nancy’s head was at.
“What else can we do to make the house safe?” Nancy asked after a long pause. Everyone relaxed as the tension flowed out of the room.
“First let’s get some sleep. The last I heard these things are still trying to get over the border, so we have time. I say we use the time to try and gather what we can and make sure we’re good then we watch what the news is saying. Hopefully we can read between the lines to figure out what we should do.” Bart said.
“Works for me. Especially the part about trying to get a little more sleep. I’m zonked.” Yue and LeBron both headed for the stairs to get more sleep. Drew yawned and headed for the front window to resume his patrol.
Bart and Nancy walked back to their room holding hands.
Chapter 7: Another Day in Paradise
Drew woke up on the couch. He sat up fast enough to give himself a head rush. He’d only meant to lie down for a second. Looking around the room in a panic he saw his dad leaning against the wall looking at him.
“Go upstairs and shower. It’s going to be a long day.” Bart said. He’d been disappointed about waking up to find Drew asleep on the couch instead of standing watch. He’d need to put the fear of god into all of them at some point.
“Sorry.” Drew said as he walked by with his eyes downcast.
Bart didn’t answer. He just gave the boy his best disapproving stare. That’d do the job better than yelling anyway. The boy knew he’d screwed up and put them all at risk. The stakes were getting higher
