Yue got back out of the truck and into the truck bed a minute later to find the emergency release for the garage door. It was ridiculous how much electricity had become a part of everyday life. Even though they’d been using flashlights to get into the truck it hadn’t occurred to either of them that that hitting the magic button on the opener wouldn’t make the door go up. Drew had been pointing his flashlight at his opener trying to figure out why it wasn’t working when Yue had hopped out to manually open the door.
Drew backed the truck into the street then jumped out to help Yue get the garage door down and locked back into position. Once they figured that out, they slowly drove towards the exit to their neighborhood.
In the early morning light, they saw first-hand the destruction brought on by the door to door looters. Every other house had its front door hanging wide open. Most of them had the front windows broken out to provide easy access. Seeing an odd-looking shape in the pile of garbage in front of one of the houses Yue recoiled when she realized it was a dead body. She wondered how many more bodies were slowly decaying inside the houses. How many elderly and unarmed had died for whatever supplies they had sitting in their pantry.
They’d heard the sound of gunfire sporadically throughout the night. It was becoming as common a background noise as crickets chirping. What they hadn’t heard was any sirens. No one was coming to save them. The President had made it clear everyone was on their own. Concern welled up in her breast for LeBron and their parents. They were sitting at home now with just LeBron to defend the house until their mom woke up. When they’d left, she’d hoped to make it back before Nancy woke up. Now she was second guessing not waking her up to begin with.
They felt the eyes of their neighbors boring into them as they drove down the eerily quiet street. Yue urged Drew to speed up. Neither of them had mentioned the body they’d seen rotting away in a pile of trash on someone’s front lawn. Drew had hoped Yue had missed seeing it and vice versa. Drew rounded a corner then braked quickly. A woman walked across the street in front of them without once glancing in their direction. Her face was swollen on one side and she was sporting a massive black eye.
“We have to hurry.” Yue reminded Drew. She’d seen him reach for the door handle. She knew his instinct would be to try and help the woman. She felt the same way. They were going to have to bury that human part of them. Compassion would just lead to an early death. They had to reign it in. Drew nodded and sped past the woman. He didn’t look back.
They exited the neighborhood turning left onto the road that’d take them to the closest drug store. They drove past the plaza with the Publix supermarket in it. Yue checked it out hopefully as Drew slowed down to go through the intersection. The store was a burnt-out husk. People were creeping around furtively in the parking lot. A few of them stopped to stare as they drove by.
“You think there’s still stuff worth getting in the Publix? They have a pharmacy. Can you tell if that part’s burnt down?” Drew asked slowing down even more. Up ahead he’d noticed a line of people crossing the street into the apartment complex. He imagined from above they looked like a line of ants connecting an ant pile to a discarded candy bar wrapper.
Yue had seen the same line of people. She’d also noticed men with guns watching the line closely. She remembered their dads admonition that the guys with the guns got the supplies. Knowing she could count herself and Drew in that group gave her some level of comfort. However, it didn’t give her enough comfort to want to go confront whoever was running the rip-off of the Publix.
“Let’s call that plan ‘B’ for now. If the Walgreens is empty, we’ll come back and give it a shot. We don’t have time to drive around all day, but we don’t have the time to get shot or forced into a chain gang either.”
“I’m good with the not getting shot plan.” Drew said tiredly. He smiled over at his sister to show he was good with the plan.
They continued driving through the war zone that used to be a sleepy little city. Drew thought the scenery outside his window looked a lot like the movies he’d watched about a future where people were allowed to hit the streets and purge once every year. The blatant looting, the furtive movements of scared people trying to survive all intertwined with the occasional crazed reveler set against a backdrop of looted and burnt buildings.
Anarchy surrounded them as they navigated the road past the Publix and headed towards the Walgreens. Drew drove slowly through an intersection passing a car crash where the body of the driver was still stuck in the driver’s seat. Glass and metal littered the entire intersection. A random thought once again struck Yue. If they got a flat tire, they’d have to change it themselves. The AAA cards they both had courtesy of their mom were useless now. Like most of the lifelines they’d had all of their lives. There was no one to call to come save them. It was a frightening feeling.
“That doesn’t look good.” Drew said pointing up ahead at the line of cars by the gas station next to the Walgreens. They’d stocked up the garage with jugs of gas so should be good
