They Came to Darkness

1

They came to Darkness on a dreary Thursday afternoon in September. Heading south on route 119 in rural eastern Kentucky, the Robbins family was lost. They left at 9:00 am that morning from Indianapolis and found themselves on a detour that forced them to exit I-64 just east of Lexington. Jeremy Robbins had taken a promotion with the accounting firm he worked for, Bell and Johnson, at a new branch in Tampa. Jeremy, his wife Amy, and twin 9-year-old girls Annette and Alexandra were very excited about the move, despite having to leave their friends behind. Knowing they would be living 90 minutes from Disney World gave the girls plenty of incentive to leave Indianapolis. Like most girls their age, they dreamed of visiting the magical kingdom, filled with princesses and everything Disney. Amy didn't want to leave her family and friends, but she was supportive of her husband, and the that fact the girls were excited about the move made it OK. She started substitute teaching at the girls' grade school last year, hoping to be full time next year. However, Amy was confident she would find a teaching position in Florida. Researching the subject, it sounded like the Tampa area was a very good place to be looking for a job as a teacher. It didn't hurt to know that it was 80 degrees today in Tampa, in stark contrast to a chilly 35 degrees on the winding route 119, lost somewhere in Pike County. Each family member gazed out the windows of their SUV, thinking about the promise of a new start in the land of fun and sun.

"This can't be right, honey," Amy said, looking at the map in the atlas they kept in the pouch behind the passenger's seat. Their State Farm agent gave it to them two years ago, but with the GPS feature on their cell phones, Amy and Jeremy had little use for an atlas. Now, lost in the mountainous terrain of eastern Kentucky, somewhere past Pikeville, neither of them had a signal on their smart phones. They were grateful for the atlas, and their phones didn't feel very smart or useful now.

"I don't think so either. I haven't seen a sign for several miles. Should we turn around?" Jeremy asked, "You guys getting hungry?" He looked at the girls in the rear view mirror. They were arguing about what Minnie Mouse would be wearing when they got to Disney World. Jeremy promised that they would spend the coming weekend there, before the tedious task of getting the new house ready. Bell and Johnson sprang for the moving expenses, so they only had enough clothes and necessities (a grey area living with three women) for a week. The movers would arrive Monday with the rest.

They both replied with a hearty, "Yes!"

Amy laughed. "Me too."

"Well, I suppose we can stop somewhere," he said, as route 119 twisted and turned into several curves, with mountains on each side of the road. Some of the drop offs were steep, and Jeremy tried not to look down, for fear he would drive off into the dense green abyss below.

"It's beautiful here, but I don't see any towns or places to stop. I wish my phone had a signal," Amy said, looking intently at the atlas to try and figure out where exactly they were. According to the map, there wasn't much to see on route 119 unless you were looking for places to hunt, fish, or hike in the mountains. Neither of the Robbins' were much into the outdoors. The had both grown up in a suburb of Indianapolis all their lives. Since Amy met Jeremy at the University of Indiana, the two knew they were destined to be wed, and they were the perfect couple ever since – even down to the two kids and white picket fence surrounding their house in the suburbs. She didn't know it at the time, but Amy was two weeks pregnant with what would be their third daughter.

"It is really nice. Not flat like Indiana. If we don't see anything soon, we'll just turn around. That town we passed, Pikeville, looked like it was a decent size. I'm sure we can find something there." He looked at the girls again in the mirror, and now both were arguing over what ride they would go on first at Disney World. Jeremy shook his head, laughed, and put his attention back on the road as it winded to the east.