PRoLoguE
DECEMBER 17
2012
"You've got to be kidding me." Frank Iero leant back against the couch, staring at the TV. The sound blared at full volume, and all four band members and their families lounged around the room. Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen, unable to fully process what they were seeing. A loud explosion sounded from the speakers, and the live camera that had been streaming to the news station went static. Everyone had gathered at Gerard and Lindsey Way's home in Los Angeles after the first announcement of a bombing scare.
"God damn it! Get the camera back on! Get it-" The news anchor shouted just as the camera flitted around to face him. Ruffling the papers on the desk in front of him, he smoothed his graying hair back and faced the camera.
"We apologize for the inconvenience, folks. The camera on site has had a temporary technical malfunction." He said, clearly improvising. Ray Toro sat forward, eyebrows knitting together. He grunted, rolling his eyes.
"Technical malfunction my- "
"Ray!" Christa Toro hissed at her husband, inclining her head towards the four toddlers in the room. Ray sank back in the chair reluctantly, fuming.
The news station's camera flicked to another live stream. The reporter was trying to beat back at the crowd that had gathered around the camera, screaming and trying to tell loved ones to "get out while you can!"
Lindsey stood up and stretched, holding her daughter's hand.
"I think I should take Bandit out to play. Jamia…?" Lindsey gestured towards the twins, Cherry and Lily, who were asleep between their parents, Jamia & Frank Iero, and at Miles, who slept in Frank's arms.
"Yes! That'd be a good idea. Pass me Miles, hun. I'll take him and the girls outside for a while." Frank held his son out for Jamia, and she took him in her arms.
"I'll be out in a minute." Frank said, a warm smile spreading across his face. Miles Iero, only 8 months old, was unaware of the tension in the room.
"Okay," Jamia said, glancing quickly around the room before following Lindsey outside.
After closing the sliding door behind them, Ray let out a long sigh.
"I know, I know." Christa, Ray's wife, patted his arm, leaning her head against his broad shoulder. Gerard turned down the volume on the huge plasma TV, and ran a hand through his recently-dyed brown hair. Mikey Way, Gerard's brother, and his partner, Alicia, sat on a two seater that was nearest the fire place. They just gazed at the TV, and occasionally Alicia would stare out the window, as if waiting for New York's destruction to reach L.A. Mikey had always been the quietest of the four band members, and his wife was exactly the same as him. They didn't need to talk all the time, unlike some people.
"In breaking news, New York has just been bombed again. All of Queens and most of Brooklyn have been hit. We have no recorded sightings of survivors or any live transmission from known radio or TV stations." The news anchor had changed now, and a younger presenter appeared on screen. "A phone line has just been set up for family members that are concerned about relatives living in or around New York. Last known sightings should be mentioned, or the whereabouts of their apartments. Residents in Washington D.C. can call the following number…" The presenter started listing off phone numbers for each state, and when he got to California, Alicia burst into tears and hysterics. Mikey held her and gently rocked her back and forth. Nothing like this had ever happened, not since 9/11 at least, but in some ways, the bombings that were happening now were much worse. Mikey looked up to his older brother, Gerard, who shrugged his shoulders with a defeated look, his eyes sad. Ray seemed to hug Christa closer, and Frank leant forward, elbows on his knees.
The news anchor finished the list of numbers and began to talk again.
"Holy-" Another live stream appeared on the screen, this time from in the cockpit of a helicopter. The camera kept jolting back and forth, but the viewer could get a pretty clear picture of what was being filmed. A long, black object cut through the sky, trailing a thin plume of white smoke behind it. The camera zoomed out in a wide angle shot, and then the Statue of Liberty was there, along with a large column of black smoke that rose from the midst of New York City. The missile was coming in fast, and Christa turned her face into Ray's shoulder, silently sobbing. The Statue went down in a fireball of debris and oddly-colored smoke. All of this happened in less than a second, and Gerard, Frank, Ray and Mikey stared on, watching New York burn to the ground.
"We have confirmed reports that Newark and Jersey City are down. Everything…" The camera turned over to where Jersey City used to be, and through the microphone the news anchor took a deep breath.
"Everything is burning." The camera zoomed in on one particularly tall building that collapsed just as the camera had focused in on it, and it sent rubble flying out in every direction. People screamed and tried to get out of the way, but weren't fast enough. It was then that Gerard put his head down in his hands, his palms pressing hard against his eyelids. Mikey's eyes filled with tears and he tilted his head back, as if to beg that all of what was happening was just a dream. Belleville, near Newark, New Jersey, was where the brothers grew up together, and where their parents still lived. It was inevitable that Belleville no longer existed. Alicia and Christa had stopped crying, and their faces were pink, eyes wide, as they watched the TV screen.
"Jesus…" Frank started, but was lost for words. Frank also grew up near Newark, in Kearney, which was closer to where the bomb struck than where the Way brothers used to live. He still lived in the area. Gerard flicked the TV onto a station that was playing Barney and Friends. "Man…" Frank started to say something again but raked his fingers through his black, almost shoulder length hair. He let out a long breathe, shaking his head in his hands. Aside from the sound of Barney, everything was quiet between the friends.
The birds still sung, the sun still shone.
L.A. might be next. Frank thought with a start, snapping his head up and then towards the sliding glass door. Jumping out of his seat, he literally ran to the door, sliding it open as fast as he could and running out of view into the Way's large backyard.
Ray lifted his head up, looking where Frank had disappeared. Ray was raised on the border of Kearney and Harrison. Everyone in the room had been affected in some way or the other, and for a few perplexing moments no one spoke. A couple of high pitched voices could be heard through the open door, but otherwise, it was quiet. Moments later, Lindsey came through the door with Bandit in her arms. She came to a stop in front of Gerard, who hadn't noticed she had come in. Reaching a hand out, she touched him lightly on the shoulder, and he looked up through the tangled mess of his dark hair. Tears already streaked his cheeks.
"Bandit, do you wanna go outside and play with the twins again?" Ray asked her, and she turned towards him. Her small face was blank, but Ray stood up anyway and took her from Lindsey. Heading outside, he closed the sliding door behind him and walked into the later afternoon sun. When the two had gone, Lindsey pulled Gerard up and embraced him. After a moment's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, and they stood there like that for a while, each of their heads buried in the other's shoulder. Alicia and Mikey exchanged a silent look, and then Alicia looked towards Christa, who was staring at the ground, elbows on her thighs. Sensing Alicia's stare, Christa looked up at Alicia, then at Mikey, then at Gerard and Lindsey. Nodding, she stood up quietly and followed Alicia to the kitchen. After the kitchen door closed, Gerard let go of Lindsey, whose eyes flicked towards Mikey, then back at Gerard. He kissed her quickly, and then she went back outside where Frank, Ray and the kids were. Shutting the glass door behind her, she gave Gerard a wistful look before turning away.
Gerard turned towards his brother, who had stood up now, too. Both of them started for each other at the same time, and they hugged one another for a long minute in silence. It was Gerard that broke the hug.
"I think we need to leave." Gerard said solemnly. His eyes were fixed upon Mikey's and shone, hazel in color. Mikey's own eyes widened before he shook his head reluctantly.
"It's probably best," Mikey said quietly. "I'll tell Alicia." He headed towards the closed kitchen door, but Gerard grabbed his arm.
"We need to talk to everyone together, Mikey." Gerard said gravely, his voice low. Strands of hair hung over his darkened eyes.
"Okay," Mikey nodded twice, then turned back to the kitchen door and pushed it open. Heading outside, Gerard found the others in the backyard, the kids all playing on the lush, green lawn, rolling around in the sunshine. Lindsey saw Gerard coming and opened her arms, hugging him tightly. Leaning back to look at his serious face, she realized something was wrong.
"What?" She asked with a confused look on her face. Gerard saw the others looking at him from the corner of his eye.
"Everyone needs to come inside." His voice was low, but Frank and Ray still heard him. Frank looked at Jamia and Ray, and Ray looked at Gerard. Nodding, Frank bent down in front of the twins. He took each of their hands, and Jamia picked up Miles before heading inside again. Bandit stumbled up to Gerard and threw her arms around his legs. Lifting her up, he carried her inside, followed by everyone else.
Mikey and Alicia were sitting where they had been before, but Christa was kneeling on the floor near the fire place. Ray went over and sat next to her, and Frank and Jamia sat on the long, L shaped couch with their kids. Lindsey welcomed Bandit into her arms again and sat next to Jamia.
"So, here's the thing," Gerard remained standing, and addressed them all. "We don't know what's happening, or why. And we're just ordinary citizens like everyone else." He paused, waiting for everyone to settle down. "But we've gotta leave." Gerard waited, letting it sink in. The first to reply was Christa.
"Leave?" Christa glanced around uncertainly. "We don't even live in L.A. I have family to get back to. I have things I would need to pack and the planes probably won't even be running and-and-and-" Christa didn't start sobbing this time, but her shoulders shook, even with Ray's arm around them. After what they'd all just witnessed on TV, they should all be acting like Christa, or at least be feeling it.
"I know this is gonna be hard. But if we stay here . . . L.A. might be next. Aside from Washington, we're a target and we need to leave." Bandit's eyes were wide, and she seemed to understand everything her father was saying, ever if she was so young. The twins had stopped squirming and were quiet too.
"He's right." Frank said, standing up. "If we don't leave, something could happen to all of us. And we need to stick together. This might not be major, but we just watched New Jersey and Liberty go up in flames." He stretched out his hands in disbelief, shaking his head.
"Things are going to get worse before they get better." Ray spoke, looking up from the floor. Alicia nodded, so did Jamia and Gerard.
"Where are we going to go, though?" Lindsey asked, her head tilted to the side. Frank paused, silent in his own thoughts.
"There's Arizona, Nevada. Maybe Utah if we can keep going for that long." Frank said, looking at each face in the room.
"But Arizona's like, 300 miles away! And Phoenix will be so crow-" Alicia started to say, but Mikey interrupted.
"We wouldn't be going to Phoenix. Maybe one of the other smaller cities there, further away from the big cities." He looked at her, willing for her to agree. Slowly nodding her head, Alicia turned round to face the others.
"When do we leave?" She asked, a slight hint of terror gleaming in her eyes.
"In two days maybe? That should give us enough time to pack what we've got and leave." Gerard said, again looking at everyone's face.
"We'll need to get extra gas then. The prices will probably go up a lot." Ray mentioned, scratching his head. His afro hair bounced around his shoulders in dark waves.
"We should have at least two cars. But definitely off-roaders. We could end up driving anywhere." Frank said, his eyebrows weaving in deep thought.
"I have a Hummer we could use. It fits 5 or 6 people if we don't have luggage." Ray started, trailing off.
"We've got a land cruiser. That fits four, and has tons of room in the boot for our stuff . . ." Lindsey said.
"Okay, that's great. We should start getting petrol in containers and stuff, and make sure your car is completely full." Gerard said, aiming the last bit at Ray. "We'll meet back here tomorrow night and leave first thing the following morning. Maybe earlier if we want to beat the traffic." Gerard said, clapping his hands together in conclusion. Lindsey and Christa nodded slowly. Tension filled the room, and Barney was still singing in the background, but at least they had a plan.
The next evening, everyone had gathered back at Gerard and Lindsey's house. Bags and suitcases filled the room, along with survival gear and some MRE's that Mikey had bought at a hunting and game store.
They stocked up on water and baby food, warm clothes, and anything else they thought they'd need. Everyone sat in the lounge again, watching TV. The only thing on the news was the replays from the other attacks, and no one seemed to want to watch those, so the channel was on a music station. Bandit was asleep in Gerard's arms, and the twins were starting to knock off on the couch. Miles was rolling around on the floor next to Frank. Picking up the remote, Mikey scrolled lazily through the different channels, before ending up on the news again.
". . . have shocked the nation. Speaking with us now, live, is the President." The reporter had changed again, and was now a young woman who looked like she'd only just finished school.
"What timing." Frank mumbled to himself.
"Thanks for having me on, Jenny." The President's tone was casual, like he wasn't addressing the direst situation that had happened since 9/11, or Pearl Harbor.
"We'll get right into it then. Do you know why these attacks have been aimed at New York in particular?"
"No, actually. I have my people working on it but so far we can't figure out what nation is threatening us. The first and second missiles came from somewhere in the South Atlantic Ocean, but the others came from all over. The Gulf of Alaska, the Norwegian Sea and more. We can't yet figure out who these people are, but all the missiles have been released from the ocean." The President's dark hair was slicked back with so much gel that it looked like plastic, and his eyes were deep and thoughtful. His voice, however, was arrogant and overconfident, like he thought he knew everything. Even though he was the President, it didn't mean that he automatically knew the wonders of the universe.
"And do you think we should be expecting any more missiles in the meantime? Or in any other states for that matter?" The screen was split in two – the reporter looking smart and neat on one side, and the President on the other side. He shook his head, but his hair stayed flattened in place.
"Other attacks are inevitable and unlikely at the same time. Major cities could be expected to get hit, but we don't want to cause any panic. It's best if everyone stays where they are and-" The President was cut short by the reporter, whose blonde hair looked greasy in the lighting.
"I'm sorry, Mr. President, but we have unconfirmed reports of bombings in and around Montana, Colorado and Wyoming." The image changed to a view that overlooked Montana. The camera was stationed high up in the mountains, and gave a widespread view of Billings. A missile slammed into Billings, and created a huge fireball. Debris flew everywhere, and the camera was knocked off its legs and fell on the ground.
"Make that, confirmed reports." The reporter paused before continuing. "If you've just joined us, we were interviewing the President of the United States, and a bomb has just struck Billings, Montana. Population is estimated at one hundred and four thousand."
"Not again. . ." Frank moaned quietly. All eyes were on the screen now as the President began to panic.
"I know I told everyone to stay where they were, but the next state most likely to get hit is California. Los Angeles mainly. You need to start packing survival supplies and evacuate first this tomorrow morning." As the President was saying this, his voice sped up like he was afraid of getting cut off. When the President finished talking hurriedly, disbelief shattered the room.
"What? But that's when we're leaving!" Christa cried, eyebrows arching. Low murmurs echoed around the large room, and Gerard sighed and turned to face everyone.
"We should leave now." He said.
"We can't! We planned for tomorrow, not today! And it'll be dark soon!" Christa hissed, her eyes angry.
"We have everything we need, we just have to get out of California now, before anything else happens." Gerard raked his fingers through his hair so hard it seemed that he was close to pulling it all out. Mikey nodded, thinking hard.
"If we don't leave now, we'll be stuck here. Everyone else will be busy packing right now." Mikey pointed his finger at the ground. "So it's best we all leave soon, while we still can." His voice was firm, and it was the kind of tone that everyone listened to.
"What're we waiting for then?" Lindsey said, standing up and taking Bandit from Gerard.
"Me and Jamia will get the kids in the cars and come back for the food, you guys can pack all the other stuff and hope it fits. Alicia, Christa? Do you mind bringing the food down with us?" Lindsey eyebrows rose. Christa nodded, and Alicia stood up, letting go of Mikey's hand. After the women had left the room, Mikey, Ray, Frank and Gerard all stretched before taking all the bags down to the garage. Cramming them all into the two cars, they shut the boots and locked them. Ray had bought over the Hummer, and the land cruiser was beside it. Frank hugged Jamia and then his daughters before getting in the land cruiser. Gerard and Lindsey sat in the front, with Bandit on Lindsey's lap. Mikey, Alicia and Frank sat in the back. In the Hummer, Ray and Christa sat in the front, with Jamia, the twins and Miles in the back, along with a few of their food bags beside Jamia. When everyone was ready to go, both cars pulled out of the garage and sped down the road. Looking back at their home for probably the last time, Lindsey and Gerard exchanged a gloomy look.
The world as they knew it crashed and burned to the ground around them.
Everything was changing.