I sat at the red light in my blue Toyota, tapping the steering wheel as I waited. Thoughts of my twin brother, Jace, made me think about the book sitting in the backseat. Green wrapping paper covered the gift. I knew Jace enjoyed reading, but I wasn't sure if a signed copy of Jace's favorite author's recent novel was enough. I shook my head. What was I thinking? Of course, it was enough.
The light turned green, so I continued driving to my mother's house. Jensen and I lived a few hours from here because it was closer to our army base.
I sighed, parking my car in the driveway. I grabbed my brother's present, got out, and stood there for a moment. Orange lights sat in the oak tree growing in the front yard. Carved pumpkins sat on the banister. Plastic skulls, spiders, and Frankenstein monsters hung in the windows. I smiled as I remembered how much my mother loved Halloween.
Seeing the gray van and red Malibu, I knew only some others were there. Walking up the stairs, I took a deep breath then turned the doorknob and walked into the house. Then an explosion of footsteps ran toward me. They belonged to my two younger siblings. Jadance buried her face in my stomach as she squeezed the life out of me. That made sense because I hadn't seen them in about a year.
"You're going to hurt him," Ash said as Jadance released me from her grasp. Ash hugged me gently. "Like this." Ash let go and stepped back.
I choked back a laugh and tears. Jadance stood with her arms crossed, her bottom lip sticking out, and a small scowl on the little girl's face. She wore her black hair in pigtails, bangs resting on her forehead. Jadance's big blue eyes still showed a hint of happiness behind that scowl of hers. "My hugs show I love him more!"
Ash still looked like the young, smart gentleman he was. He had styled his black hair, and his blue eyes sparkled.
I placed a hand on each of my siblings' heads. "You two are funny. I love you too, equally. Now go play." I felt a little bad; I knew I just had a few hours until Jace and I had to go back to base.
The two kids ran off to the playroom as I made my way to the dining room. Laughter came from the kitchen. After placing Jace's gift on the table with the rest of them, I walked to the kitchen. Someone had closed the door to the room. Fair-skinned, red-haired, green-eyed, and thin-lipped Piper van Laar smiled, blocking the way. "Sorry, mister. No birthday boys allowed."
I laughed, "oh, come on, Piper."
My girlfriend now grinned. "No can do, Laura said." She held the doorknob behind her back.
"Mom said so, huh? Well then, I guess I'll just go back to my room."
Piper shook her head, making her red hair fall out of the messy bun sitting on the back of her head. "Jace is there right now, busy. Why don't you go to the living room and watch something? I'll come and get you when we're ready."
I nodded, walked back to the living room, and sat down on the couch. My thoughts returned to my brother. Was Jace not that lazy, after all? Maybe I was the lazy one. I went to the bookstore, bought the book, and had someone else wrap Jace's gift instead of wrapping it myself. Then again, if I had wrapped it, it would look like a kid had just slapped bits of paper on it and tape. Maybe I should be more grateful I had spent the little extra money.
I reached for the TV remote, pressed the power button, and watched White Collar, even though I had seen it before. About forty minutes later, Piper called for Jace and me as my parents rushed toward the front door and left. Getting up, I walked over to Piper, hands in my pockets.
"Everything alright? Mom and Dad just left in a hurry," I asked, taking my phone out of my pocket. Turning it on, I saw it was a quarter past three.
"They just forgot to meet Shaun and Ellie at the gas station."
"Meet them at a gas station? Why? Didn't they drive from the airport?"
"Yeah, but your parents are taking Danny to the hospital."
Danny was the oldest child of Ellie and Shaun, but he was constantly sick, meaning he was in the hospital a lot.
"Danny is with them? I thought he was still in Britain." With a small sigh, I asked. "I honestly don't think that was the best idea because of his health."
Piper stared into my eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but my vibrating phone interrupted her. The name on the screen read "Mom", so I accepted the call.
"Hey, Jensen. We're going to the hospital with Danny."
"Yeah. I know. Piper told me." I said, with a hint of annoyance in my voice. "Why didn't they leave him in Britain? He's fifteen. He would've been safer there and not here!"
The woman laughed, sounding worn. "Danny insisted on seeing you and Jace. He wouldn't have stayed. We'll probably be late, but he says to tell both of you happy birthday, and he loves you. Wish we were there. Have a wonderful time. Love you."
I sighed, "love you too. Tell Danny to hurry and get better." I smiled sadly, hanging up and wishing my cousin had better health.
Behind me, Jace stood, fidgeting with a watch he wore on his wrist. I noticed it in the corner of my eye. "Nice watch," I said. It was a military-grade watch, and I knew Jace had gotten it from either Cayler or Amy.
Jace smiled, "thanks. Cayler gave it to me. Don't worry, you've got something from him too. We'll be opening gifts once Mom and Dad get back."
"You know they're at the hospital with Danny, right?"
"Really? Then I guess we can wait till they get back to open their gifts."
"If that's even possible," Piper said, looking down at her phone.
Jace and I looked at each other and Piper with wide eyes. "W-what do you mean?" we asked in unison.
Piper walked over to the living room. The TV was still on, but now an EAS was being broadcast. "Yellowstone supervolcano erupted earlier today. If you're—" Piper sighed. "That's what I mean. Of course, most of this doesn't affect us since we're in Georgia. The only thing affecting us would be the famine, ash, and temperature drop."
"The ash affects us?" Jace asked, clearly surprised.
I nodded. "It's the highest number on the explosive index, meaning it's one of the most dangerous volcanoes there is."
"Guess this is where your nerdiness pays off," Jace said sarcastically.
"I'm serious, Jace. We need to do something other than just standing around."
He leaned against the wall. "What exactly can we do? There isn't much."
"The most we can do is plan or raid the stores. The library has a garden." I said as I walked to my bedroom. I called my brother and girlfriend, "Grab your go-bags."
Jace followed. "Why does the garden matter? It's at the end of the year. Nothing is really growing now."
"That is where you're wrong. Remember the garden Mom had shortly before Ash was born? She had a lot of things growing in November."
"Well, the library just has herbs."
I sighed as I heaved my go-bag onto my back. "Herbs are useful."
Jace grabbed his go-bag too, but said nothing and left to get his little sister.
Ash was on the bed, watching me. "So we're going to the library?"
"Yes. Listen, you're a smart boy, Ash. You know how serious this is, right?" The nine-year-old nodded. "If I tell you to run, grab Jadance and run. Okay?" Ash nodded, hugged me, and left the room.
Taking a deep breath, I ran my hand through my hair, then exhaled. Grabbing my green military duffle bag, I walked over to the couch, sat down, and placed the duffle bag on the floor. Then I opened it, taking my M17 and M18 pistols out, the Swiss army knife too, now in my hand. The owner had carved the initials WHR into the handle.
August 2019
"You're crazy. Why would you do something like that? Joining a private military contractor? What if they don't like you? They'll kill you! Do you want that? Huh?! Do you, Jensen?! What's gotten into you?"
"You're screaming at the wrong person, Cayler," I said, unfolding the paper and shoving it into his hands. "It says Jason Michaels, not Jensen. It's probably too late, anyway."
Cayler opened his mouth, but an explosion interrupted him. We ran toward the source and saw Wyatt Reynolds, Cayler's cousin, underneath the rubble.
"Hey, bro. You alright?" Jace placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Uh, yeah." I slid the pocket knife into my pocket. "Of course, Wyatt is okay," I said to myself. Wyatt gave me a pocket knife last year for my birthday; it was his father's before he died twenty years ago.
"What are you doing? We need to get going," Jace said, pulling Jadance closer to him. Jadance held Jace's hand, and Ash was behind her.
"You've got the masks, right?"
Jace nodded, holding up the masks. "They're right here. Here's yours."
I said thanks as I grabbed the mask and placed it into my back pocket. "We're going to have to make sure Jadance wears hers." I knew if we didn't wear our masks and inhaled the ash, it would turn our lungs into cement and kill us. Jace and Ash knew that too, but, of course, a six-year-old wouldn't understand.
Jace handed Ash and Jadance their masks, too, helping his sister put hers on properly. The four of us walked into the living room. Piper wore her mask and stood by the front door.
"You ready?" Piper asked as she also heaved her go-bag onto her shoulder.
"We're ready." Jace and I spoke in unison as we headed out the door and began hiking to the library.
Once we were outside, sirens from fire trucks blared in the distance down the highway. Both Jadance and Ash covered their ears as the firetrucks passed. Vehicles piled up as they tried to leave town, but the traffic lights were out, trapping the people inside. Jace and I picked up our younger siblings, then placed them on our backs. We arrived at the library an hour and a half later.
To my surprise, only one car sat in the parking lot. Maybe they were close to getting everything ready for the party that was supposed to be tonight. I thought as I ran my hand through my hair. "Hey, Jace, Piper, take the kids into the garden. I'll check out the inside." Libraries had books, and books had knowledge, but why would having a couple of pounds of words be useful? It could just possibly weigh me down. I wandered to the checkout desk, hoping to find someone with information.
About five minutes later, a girl, who was friends with Piper in high school, came to the desk. "Hey, Jensen."
"Hey, Desi. You heard about Yellowstone, didn't you?"
Desi nodded, "Yeah, but I'm stuck here; the roads are jammed."
"Stuck here?" I asked, leaning on the desk. "How do you think I got here?"
She stared into my eyes, "you walked, but don't you think I live a much longer distance than five minutes? Even if I were to make it home, I might run into something bad."
I scoffed. "So you'd rather die here than try to get home and live?"
"At least I have books," Desi said.
"God... where can I talk to someone more sensible?"
Desi still didn't break her gaze with me, making me a little uncomfortable. "They all tried going home."
"See you later." I sighed as I started walking away.
"Doubt it," she said.
With a sigh, I turned on my heel and called over to Desi. "Why don't you come with us?"
"Come with you?"
"Yes. It would be better than just wasting time reading books. I have nothing against reading. I just find it idiotic. You'd rather die than try living."
Desi placed her hands on her hips. "And where would you be going?"
"We're headed to Piper's place. I want to make sure they're okay. First, I want to refill the water bottles."
"With what water? Since Yellowstone erupted, it wouldn't matter. They'll be dead, anyway." Desi deadpanned. "But fine. It beats doing nothing."
"Water from the bathroom. Of course, it beats doing nothing." I handed her a water bottle. "Go to the girl's bathroom and fill it up. Use the sink. It'll be faster."
"The power is out."
"So? There should still be water in the tank. We have little time. Please fill it up." I practically begged.
"Sure..." she said as she put her purse on her shoulder, took the bottle, and headed to the bathroom. I went to the boy's bathroom, turned on the sink, and began filling up the bottle. A few minutes later, Desi and I started heading outside, but deafening thunder stopped us.
"Go to the basement. I'll be back in a second." Desi nodded as I ran over to Jace, Piper, Ash, and Jadance. "Come inside, head to the basement," I yelled. They dashed into the library, with me following. The herbs and a couple of vegetables were in their hands.
I ran after the others and sped down the stairs going to the basement after grabbing six pairs of headphones and a roll of toilet paper. Downstairs the thunder was still loud, but after we stuffed our ears with toilet paper and put on the headphones, it just seemed like a dull thumping. At least I slept through all this.
Several hours later, I woke up, and the thunder had stopped. Everyone else was talking to each other and unfazed by the thunder. Jadance was talking to Desi at a million miles per hour. "Hi! I'm Jadance! Who are you?"
Jace placed a hand on the six-year-old girl's shoulder. "Jadance, chill out. You're talking too fast."
"I'm Desi. Your brothers and I went to school together." Desi said with a smile. "All four of you look like you really are siblings."
Jadance grinned, seeming proud. "Of course we are!"
Ash piped up as he offered his hand, smiling gently, "nice to meet you, Ms. Desi. Name's Ash."
"You're quite a gentleman, aren't you, Ash?" she said, shaking his hand.
"Well, it's a good thing to do, so why not do it?"
Desi laughed, then walked over to my girlfriend and the two exchanged hugs. "Piper! It's been a good year and a half since I last saw you! How's Peter, Lucas, and Colombe?"
"I haven't really heard from Dad recently since he went back to France on a business trip. Mom and Peter are still living with me. I was just visiting Jensen and Jace for their birthday."
Desi nodded. "Jensen told me y'all are going to check on them." I shot her a look. "Hopefully, they'll be alright."
"They don't live too far from here," Piper said with a smile. I was sure she was only trying to convince Jadance and Ash since I knew it would be at least a couple of days once we got there.
"How "close" are they?" Desi asked with a hint of slight sarcasm in her voice.
Piper said, "they live in Blue Ridge."
Desi pulled Jace, Piper, and me over to the side. "That'll take weeks!"
"We're fully aware of this. It's your choice whether you stay here and certainly die, or come with us and possibly die." I said.
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. "You've got a point."
"Of course I do. Now let's get going." One by one, we all walked back upstairs. I took Jadance's hand, and Jace took Ash's.
"Actually, Ash, Jadance, can you go with Piper and Desi for a second? Jensen and I need to talk." Jace now walked beside me as we fell slightly behind, so our conversation would be more private. "Out of all those people, you had to choose her?"
I said, sighing. "Everyone else had gone home or tried. Desi is also Piper's friend. I didn't want to see her die when I could've helped."
"But she's not that smart. I'm sure you've noticed that already. She might have been the death of us."
"Everyone makes dumb decisions. I know about your plan to join Skull's Omega."
Jace said, "enough. We've been through this already."
"You're still an idiot," I said as I sped up my pace and took Jadance's hand again. We all walked in silence. My thoughts were on Yellowstone. How fast would the ash be moving? If we got stuck in the ashfall, Desi would surely be dead unless she had a mask or a cloth in her purse.
Clearing my throat, I placed a hand on Desi's shoulder. "You got a mask or a cloth? You'll need it for when the ashfall starts, which could be at any moment. I bet it'll start before tomorrow. Just to be safe, why don't you put it on?"
Piper stopped, dug an extra mask out of her go-bag, and handed it to Desi. "There."
"Thanks, Piper, Jensen," she sighed.
"No problem." We said in unison.
Taking a deep breath, I raised my voice slightly to get Jace, Ash, and Jadance's attention. "We might as well find a safe spot to stay during the ashfall."
"There is a diner nearby. My best friend Morgan works there." Piper said. "And I promise we'll actually be there soon. It'll be about ten more minutes of walking."
About ten minutes later, a small family diner came into view. The sun was setting behind us, so I couldn't see whether it was open. Piper knocked, but the door creaked open. Piper and I exchanged glances as I reached for my M17. I peered down at the sight as I began entering the small building.
"Jensen? It's a pleasure seeing you," a gruff voice said, with a hint of boredom. Light from the setting sun made it possible for him to see me, but the rest of the diner was dark. The little light from the candles made it a little difficult for me to see if he had a knife or a gun.
Even though I held a gun, I slowly lifted my hands above my head and moved closer. "Look, man. I'm just—" I stopped. Wait, I know that voice... "What are you doing here? I thought only Jace, Cayler, General, Corporal Michaels, and I were just sent stateside."
"Wait, you know this guy?" Desi, who had just entered herself, shrieked.
The guy laughed. "Of course, Jensen and I used to be in the army together."
"Then why do you sound like you want to kill him?"
I growled. "Nate, this isn't necessary." I waited a few seconds, and after his silhouette didn't budge, I cocked my pistol. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for some water and food. But since you're here, I'm assuming Jace is with you. Where is that little—"
"Put your hands behind your head!" Jace yelled as he cocked his pistol. Out of the corner of my eye, Jace stood in front of the door, pistol in hand.
Nate smiled. "Just the guy I was looking for. Let's calm down and talk about this." We still stood a suitable distance apart but moved a little closer to each other. Jace had the gun at his side and his finger on the trigger.
"What do you want with me, anyway? Killing us won't do anything. Even if you killed us and could get the money, Hester is a dead girl walking. She has cancer."
The knife he held clattered to the floor as Nate fell to his knees, sobbing. "I-I just joined for the money. You understand, right?! My daughter was dying, and I give her a few more months."
Piper, Jadance, and Ash all stood by the wall. I caught Jace's gaze. "I see why you and Wyatt joined or tried to, but for Jace, too? No. It's unbelievable."
Jace glared at me. "Shut up. Right now, there are more important things to deal with."
"What are you—" I began, but a group of men wearing black leather jackets and sunglasses armed with guns and knives marched in. "Get up," I hissed to Nate, whose eyes became as wide as dinner plates. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. Desi hid under a table.
As the guys came into the building, I realized a man in his mid-30s was being carried and looked as if they had drugged him. Blood covered his face and looked swollen. At first, I thought the guy was going to be treated for his injuries, but then I wondered why they would've taken him to a diner and not a hospital.
"Hey," I said, tapping a balding man's shoulder as he loomed over the drugged, half-faced, bloody man. "What are you doing here? That man needs medical help! I don't know if you can read that sign outside, but this is a diner, not a hospital!"
Balding smiled. "Well, I don't know if you know this, boy, but the world is different now. There is no "hospital" and don't you think we'd know this is a diner? We aren't really the "get well soon" type." Calmly, he pulled a pistol from his belt and aimed it right at my head.
"Woah, easy. You don't want to do this. Tell me what you want, and I'll leave you alone. Alright?"
"Begging for mercy, huh? What a—" he began but ended up screaming as Jace shot Balding's hand, who dropped the pistol, then onto his knees.
"Well, we aren't really the "get well soon" type either." Jace swiftly hit the man's temple, causing him to black out.
The other men stopped for a good second, then it came to my attention that this was probably a prison gang, judging by their tattoo-covered arms.
The knowledge of us having three ex-soldiers on our side gave me a little more confidence, but that being said, it was three against about five. They had knives and the other three had guns.
Jace noticed this too and asked, "what are we supposed to do? The knives will not be a problem, the guns..."
Nate was quiet as he picked his knife off the ground. "I got this. You get the injured guy and run." Jace and I knew Nate was going to die, but we also knew he owed us his life after Jace and I had saved him a few months ago while we were in the army.
I signaled Piper to get the injured man and hoped Desi also noticed. Jace, Nate, and I all distracted the other guys as Piper, Desi, Ash, Jadance, and the injured man exited through the back door.
Jace and I shot at the men a few times. I took off running. Quickly, I threw Desi my go-bag so I could carry the injured guy on my back easier. "Run!" I screamed as I ran with the guy on my back. Luckily, all that training from the army paid off.
We ran across the street to a church and threw the doors open. A few people were muttering prayers, so they paid us no attention. I placed the injured man on the ground gently. He was delirious and slipping in and out of consciousness. The only thing I heard him say distinctly enough was "please tell Mary-Anne and Maggie I love them". Then he drew his final breath with a small smile.
Piper, Jace, and I all looked at each other in slight confusion. "Does anyone know someone named Mary-Anne and Maggie?" I asked as they shook their heads.
Jace then pointed out the green bag on the dead man's back and took it off him. Placing it on the floor, Jace rummaged through it. I checked the guy's pockets, pulling out his wallet a few seconds later. Flipping it open, I saw his license was missing, but his credit card was still there. "Roger Johnson," I said. "They took his license. I'm guessing that's because they want to raid his place. Credit cards and money are useless now."
"Good point." Jace rolled his eyes. "Dude, we can't do anything about it."
"We could split up," I said.
"Do you have a death wish?" Jace asked loudly, causing the people praying to glance at us. I smiled stupidly and apologized to them.
I sighed, "we have to wait for the morning, anyway. If the ash isn't too thick. What are we doing with Roger's body?"
"Chuck him outside. The ash will bury him," Jace shrugged, "unless you have other ideas."
Desi looked at Jace with wide eyes. "You have no respect for the dead!"
"I do, but there are probably thousands out there buried alive in ash right now." He dropped to a whisper. "My parents and cousin might be among those people." That quickly seemed to shut Desi up.
I turned to Ash and Jadance, who were quietly looking at the stained glass windows. "Hey, guys. It's a busy day tomorrow, so let's get some sleep, alright?" My six- and nine-year-old siblings nodded as Jace and I handed them sleeping bags from our go-bags. "Use these, okay? Just think of it as camping." I tried giving them my most comforting smile. Sleeping on the ground was going to be a pain, but at least the carpet underneath helped our comfort plus the padding of the sleeping bag. Luckily, Piper had an extra one for Desi to use. Because of exhaustion, I fell asleep a few minutes later.