Humanity Gone: Facade of Order (19 page)

             
The small band readies themselves for another tune, but Ryan walks to the stage and relieves the guitar player. He tries a few notes on the string and then starts the band into a new song. The music becomes slower to fit the new tone of the room. The dance floor has cleared and several people slow dance to the lighter rhythm. Darrel and Tori, the two that told us about Caitlyn, have fit in well with us here at the camp. Darrel was one of the ones working in the kitchen the entire day to prepare for this party. On the other side of the bench, David tries to pull Sara to the floor with his one good arm, and eventually she gives in to his efforts. Their movements seem to suggest they have thoroughly enjoyed the liquor. My high school homecoming drifts through my mind. It was a few weeks before the plague changed everything.

             
“Well shall we?” Carter has an outstretched hand in front of me. With a grin I take it and proceed to the center of the floor. We step back and forth to the rhythm of the band. My fingers intertwine behind his neck and I pull myself close to him. I lay the side of my head against his chest and look around us as we turn ever so slightly.

             
Dave is beside us trying to spin Sara. They both laugh.

             
Caitlyn sits at the table with Jo. They seem to be reminiscing about something as they sip on the liquor. The room is dark, but they both seem to have smiles.

             
I wish tonight would never end. In this moment, we have nothing to worry about, not even in the backs of our minds.

Chapter 25: Carter

              BOOM!

             
I shoot up in my bed as the sound continues to echo from the outside.

             
“What the...?” I mumble. Paige quickly sits up and our wide eyes meet.

             
BOOM!

             
Another explosion seems to shake the house and light briefly pours in from the windows. What in the world?

             
As Paige's hand squeezes mine, I consider what is out there. After a few moments it dawns on me.

             
The gas reserves.

             
Most of the compounds gasoline and fuel is held in a series of sheds throughout the town. All of them are generally a safe distance from any houses, but who knows what could happen if they are igniting. Are we under attack? I throw over the covers, and quickly change.

             
“Paige, gather the twins and stay with them.” I reach under the bed and slip my pistol into the back of my pants. Paige reaches into her nightstand and withdraws her weapon as well. She nods.

             
“Be careful.” We share a quick kiss and I run down the stairs. Caitlyn stands at the threshold of her door looking out. She is still wearing the dress from the party.

             
“Carter, what is...?”

             
“I don't know. Stay here. If we need you, I will send for you; until then, keep one another safe.”

             
I make my way to the entryway and throw open the screen door to the outside.

             
Slam. I run directly into Sara. She is trying to get back into the house. She must not have been in her bed tonight either.

             
“Carter, I was just outside and...”

             
“Just go inside and stay with Paige and Caitlyn.”

             
I dash past her and into the street. As I get closer to the inferno, it becomes obvious that it is indeed one of the gas reserves. In the distance I see that one of the others is on fire, too. Kevin is already alongside the fire, attacking it with a hose from a water tank and trying to extinguish the flames. A few others toss buckets into the blaze. It seems to be fruitless against the growing fire.

             
“Kevin do you know what started this?” I yell above the commotion. He shakes his head.

             
“The guy on duty says it just suddenly went up. Maybe an accident?”

             
No. Maybe one on fire could be an accident. This was intentional.

             
“Someone did this,” I say.

             
“Who you think?” he says. His eyes open wide for a second and then return to the flames. Who could have done this...? Right now I can think of too many possibilities. That will come later.

             
“No time for that now. Where's another water tank?”

             
“This is it; the other two are at the other fire. If this wind blows it's going to spread to a house.”

             
We thought we were prepared for fires. We made a series of carts with water and pumps that could be accessed and suppress flames. Luckily they had never been used before.

             
Maybe it was unlucky, because we would know how useless they are.

             
I glance around. What to do... what to do...

             
The fire is getting close to a nearby brick and wood building. If this spreads half of the town could go up in flames. My eyes follow the brick and travel up to the roof.

             
The water tank.

             
A few of our nerds placed tanks on the roof to collect water and putting it on the roof created pressure. Before we learned how to use the old pipes, they remodeled the houses to work by these water tanks.

             
Hopefully this one is full of water.

             
I turn and book it back to my house and throw up the garage door. Inside are many of my medical tools, but also a few left over items from the original owners. I needed the ax. It is propped in the corner and I grab the dusty handle before taking off back toward the fire.

             
I quickly yell my plan to those trying to maintain the fire: climb the roof, cut the front support and watch it fall neatly on the fire. The water tank is the size of a Buick and should do the trick. Helicopters that drop water onto wildfires come to my mind.

             
I chuck the ax onto the house's roof and it slides a little downward but catches on the gutter. I hoist myself onto the railing of the porch and then onto the roof. I move carefully over the shingles until I get to the tank which is braced by three supports against the sides of the chimney. I would marvel again at the design if the whole town wasn't about to burn up.

             
My fingers grab onto the plastic rim of the tank. The plastic hull is filled with water, so I go to the base of the container and turn the valve to lock in the water. I don't want it all leaking out. Once the valve is tight, I grab the ax from the roof. I swing the blade into the piping. It separates the tank from the plumbing.

             
So far so good. However, ensuring it falls in the right direction is going to be tough. It needs to fall off the chimney and away from the house. If I do this wrong, it will just pour back onto one of the sides of the roof. That would be useless. I exhale heavily forward, and I begin to push.

             
Unsurprisingly, it doesn't budge.

             
I stare at the supports. If I cut any of them it is just going to fall onto the back or front of the roof.

             
This isn't going to work. I swear aloud.

             
I study it. The weight of the tank is being supported mostly by the chimney in the middle. How do I make it fall away from the house and onto the fire? Maybe if... That's it.

             
Without thinking further, I turn the ax to the blunt side and swing it between the supports into the chimney itself. My arms cry in pain as the ax nearly bounces off, but a few chunks of brick fly off. That's good enough for me. I begin swinging madly into the corner brick of the chimney. The supports of the tank allow me to balance myself as I swing over and over into the chimney. Small pieces become larger pieces.

             
If I can just weaken it. The chimney wasn't built for the weight of the water. Just weaken the integrity of the side facing the fire and it will collapse directly on it. I swing harder and harder. The whole corner brick is nearly gone.

             
The tank still doesn't move.

             
I keep swinging for the next brick and sometimes miss and hit the one farther in. Come on. Come on.             

             
Sweat rolls down into my eyes and wiping it away isn't an option. I swing and swing.

             
All of a sudden, I hear all of the water in the tank adjust. The tank moves lower a fraction of an inch, and in the right direction! I have this. I slam the ax into the brick again. The tank falls a little bit more, still directly towards the fire.

             
I stop and lean over to the crowd still trying to maintain the fire below.

             
“Everyone move!” I shout. I pause a moment more and then give a few swings.

             
A large crack goes up through the chimney and the water continues to shift. I strike again and the ax goes through the chimney. I try to retract the tool, but it doesn't give. I pull harder.

             
It's stuck. I swear aloud again.

             
I adjust to behind the tank and straddle the roof's peak. I turn and press my back up against the tank, pushing with every muscle in my body.

             
My legs burn, but I keep pushing harder.

             
Harder.

             
Little by little it gives way, and I need to take a step backward. Then another. I back step and push and then all of a sudden the burden is gone. I turn in time to see the water tank explode on the fire. A few drops of water land on my face from below. The fire has become remarkably smaller. The others that below converge on the remaining flames with their buckets. We can manage these little ones now. I lie on the roof for a second and try to catch air in my lungs again.

             
I did it.

             
I turn my head to the right towards the other shed fire. Two houses are now on fire and the flames soar into the sky.

             
It is hopeless.

Chapter 26: Jocelyn

             
I glance out the window at the growing inferno in the distance. The fire is spreading, and unless I'm very wrong, nothing is going to stop it. Smoke continues to billow into the night air, and my nose makes out burnt wood. We can finally leave this place.

             
No, why would you say that. This place is home. I am home. I don't want this place to burn down. I wish I could help.

             
What could I do anyway? I turn from the window toward the twins. Caitlyn looks concerned. Sara keeps looking out the other window that faces away from the compound. Both are dressed the same as they were at dinner. I guess neither of them went to bed. I ran over to check on everyone when I heard the explosions. Including Paige. Carter apparently had run off to fight the blaze. Paige asked me to stay with the twins while she headed to the medical tents. People will need her help.

             
“Do you think they can stop it?” Caitlyn asks while pressing her face to the glass. The fire in the distance illuminates her skin. The fire is growing by the second.

             
“Hopefully they will,” I respond. Sara stands at the door. I move over and sit in a chair beside the bed. Caitlyn comes over and sits on it.

             
“We need to do something.” she says. “I don't just want to sit here.”

             
What can we do? The thought tumbles in my mind for a while. Well we can try I guess. Sure, why not?

             
“Girls, grab all the pots and large...”

             
Boom. Another gas shed explosion pulls me to the window and finishes my sentence. No, it's not another shed. More explosions occur - one after another. The blasts echo between the houses and seem to come from all directions. Wait. Those aren't echoes. More explosions fill the night air.

             
Gunshots.

             
“Girls, it's an attack.”

             
How the hell did they find us here so soon? Caitlyn and Sara both take off out of the room. I pull out my gun and hold it against my leg. I returned Paige's gun, but I never left home without that pistol Michael gave me. He never asked for it back. Outside, the chaos worsens as gunshots start to blend with screams. We are under attack.

             
Caitlyn moves beside me and has her arrows and quiver at the ready.

             
“What do we do, Jo?” she asks. Her intense blue eyes turn toward me, unblinking.

             
“We fight.” I look at her bow. If what happened at the Sanctuary is any indicator, that will not be enough. “Cait, There's a another handgun in the study downstairs. Those arrows may not be enough.”

             
She nods and looks back out the window.

             
“Where did Sara go?” she asks in a growing panic. We leave the room and quickly go through the house shouting her name. She is gone.

             
“Sara? Sara where are you?” I yell. A few more gunshots rattle the house from the outside. Screams also begin to come through the walls.

             
“She's not here.” Caitlyn says to me.

             
Before I can respond Caitlyn charges out the door.

             
No, no. I need to stay with them. As I step off the porch, I enter a world of chaos. All throughout the neighborhood, dead bodies lie on the ground and live ones sprint from their homes and towards the school. I still can't see any of the shooters, but the pause between gunshots shortens with each breath. The shots come from all over; we must be surrounded. My head twists while searching through the crowds, but neither of the twins is visible. I lost them.

             
I swear aloud.

             
Bang.

             
A gunshot hurts my ears, and I duck down beside the house among the bushes. Running to the school is suicide. I need to hide.

             
For a moment, I am back on the campground. I am waiting for the deer. I press my back against the side of the house, and the shrubbery completely conceals my body as I sink to the ground. It is a lot easier to be the one hunting as opposed to the one being hunted.

             
Good work. Thanks.

             
I wait patiently as gunfire erupts closer and closer to my position. Some screams come from the direction of the school. Where are the shooters?

             
The black figures catch the corner of my eye. I remember the first time I saw these uniforms five years ago. The New Americans. Things would end differently this time.

             
These figures continue to shoot into the distance and don't notice this tiny red-head hidden among the brush. They walk past and continue to fire the occasional round in front of them. I slowly creep out of the bush and peek behind them. No one else is behind these three in this part of the town. I step out behind them.

             
They still fire into the distance at the people fleeing.

I raise the pistol up and point it to the third.

              Bet I can take down all three before one even turns around?

             
Challenge accepted.

             
I squeeze the trigger.