Chapter Two
Spilling is exactly what Lauren had intended on doing, but not spilling words. She was rummaging through the fridge of the now vacant apartment, grabbing a milk jug and knocking it to the floor. She was spouting off swear words the whole time. Something about not eating anything the rain could have touched, which still confuses me about being indoors, and where anything covered with four walls, a ceiling, and a floor could have been touched by rain. Either way she cleaned up the mess and finally turned to look at me. Tears were streaming down her face, I didn't realize how dirty she was until the tears stains left a path of clean skin. I then noticed that her clothes were torn and obviously something she had been wearing for days. Realizing I was assessing her looks she was quick to change her saddened expression to one of defeat lined with anger.
"Don't you dare look at me like I am a homeless person, I am not. I have been hiding from this shit for weeks waiting for it to happen. I am so sorry they haven't installed shower heads in the back of a dumpster." Obviously she was defensive but hurt that I hadn't seemed to change my expression either, which I thought was a blank one. I guess I was wrong.
"I am not judging you, I just don't understand what is going on, I mean if you have been waiting for weeks for this to happen, then how did you know it was going to, if you have been waiting for everyone to just forget everything, how do you know what is safe, better yet, how did everyone else miss this?"
"It's not that simple and the only way I know about it is because of my father and my brother, both of which are in those military uniforms scooping people up. I read their files about the gas and the rain, I read their confidential orders and they were stupid enough to leave them in the family safe, they just weren't stupid enough to shut me up before I told people. It's a long story." her eyes became sad and she slumped onto the couch as if she was regretting the next words.
"So fill me in then, I obviously have no one to go see or anywhere to go."
"It was about a month ago when I went to my father's house to get the rest of my stuff, I was moving into a sorority house and I wanted just a few more things to decorate my room. I noticed my brother was standing by the safe and I ignored it until I saw his eyes, something wasn't right. He just stared off into space and then he seemed to snap back to himself. Which of course he then told me to mind my own business and beat it. After he left I went to that safe and I looked over the paperwork. They had orders that a gas or rain mixture was going to be released by commercial planes, and that the water system was going to be tainted in the major cities infecting the human race to have amnesia, that the government was going to take control. The current military were already going through some form of treatment. I am not sure exactly what they are going through, but they are building training camps in all the major cities to train the 'infected' people to be militant."
"I guess I don't quite understand though, why is this happening?"
"My guess is that the government is wanting complete control, they are trying to shut down any form of defiance. Anything that could ever stand up to them, they want it squashed. I am guessing that the President is trying to not only rule over us, but to confine us to his orders, his country, his backyard."
"That doesn't make sense, this is the United States, we're a democracy, we are everything that other countries are not, we have equality, we vote, we are one nation under God."
"Don't be an idiot, that stuff has been changing for years, the pledge has been taken out of schools years ago, this democracy has never been a democracy, we haven't had a fair vote in years. This was only a matter of time before we lost complete control."
"You're just being a conspiracy theorist. No one in our government would let this type of control happen, we have checks and balances, that is why we have congress, and the house of representatives. We function on no one person having more power than another when it comes to the government."
"You would be a conspiracy theorist too if you saw the orders I saw. This is real, don't believe me then walk outside and ask one of those troops out there if he knows what is going on, and where all your friends went."
"Okay, fine, then how am I not one of the infected people, if the family that lived her, the dog that lived here..."
"It was a cat, see look, it is a cat," she pointed to the picture of the indistinguishable animal.
"Whatever, there is a chew toy. Not my point, if everyone is infected including animals, then how did I survive this, I mean there is no way that a cardboard box saved my from this demise that others succumbed to so easily."
"I don't have an answer for you. I don't know, and that is not a chew toy, its a teething ring for a baby, and the animals are not gone, look behind you on the pillow, see it is a cat."
"Really?" I was starting to get annoyed, I didn't care about it being a cat or a dog. "Wait, a teething ring, babies were infected too? What are they going to do with them?"
"I don't know, it's just like the elderly, they can't be soldiers, so I am not sure what will happen to them, not sure I want to know really."
"So what did you see when the rain started?"
"I saw the blue lightening and that is when I hid in the walk in cooler of the restaurant, when I finally didn't hear anyone or anything I waited a little longer before I came out, that is when I saw you in the alley, you got up from under the box, you looked like you were put there. I would say that it is safe to assume that you don't remember how you were put there?"
"Obviously. What happened to your friends and who were they?"
"They are all gone, infected I suppose, I am not sure... They weren't where I left them, it's just you and me."
"How long do you think the water is going to be infected? Are we ever going to be able to drink it, shower?" I tried to hint to the fact that her bodily perfume was starting to announce it's presence.
"The orders said that once it was released into the water systems it would take 48 hours to contaminate, and then another 48 hours to clear. My guess is that we wait at least three more days until we try it. I don't think we have any other option."
"Well then if there was a baby here, that means there were baby wipes and considering your face now looks like a bad make up job, lets at least get you cleaned up and figure out the next step."
"I think I can handle that. I am not sure that I introduced myself. I think you can understand that I am a little preoccupied. My name is Lauren, Lauren Saunders."
"I am Emmy, well Emmerline, but whatever you call me is fine."
"I am scared Emmy, I don't know what else to do."
"I wish I could say I felt something, I know I should but I don't. I guess this is what numb really feels like. It will all be okay."
"I hope so."
Hope, again a word that triggered my memories like flash cards, the first time I saw fireworks, my mom, my dad, Brett, feelings. Hope, it flooded me with warmth and in some twisted way a determination that I haven't felt before. I knew that she was right, there were still a lot of unanswered questions, but the basics were laid out. This was the end of the country as I knew it, and the beginning of a trial I have never thought would happen. My wilderness was just starting and I began to feel a twinge of fear somewhere.
I searched the studio apartment and found some baby wipes, one thing you can always guarantee, Lavender is a scent that covers some others. I helped Lauren clean up and then found some clothes for her to change into. The woman that lived here was taller and larger than Lauren but it was something to get by. We found some scissors to trim the pants up and a belt to hold them up. After eating some cold cuts from the fridge and a glass of milk we sat down to discuss the plans for our next steps.