Keep Moving North

Chapter 1: Calm before the storm

Friday Afternoon, November 1st, 2024

Max gazed out the window of her mom's old Subaru, watching scraps of paper and candy wrappers tumble lazily across the sidewalk, the blue and red leaves of the concrete jungle known to most as downtown D.C. She took a break from looking at nothing and opened Instagram. Most of her friends were throwing parties or going on vacation for the long weekend, but not Max. She was going on a family road trip with her mother and father to visit her Mémère and Pépère up in Canada. Max's mother, Nora, comes from a French-Canadian family in Northeastern Ontario. As a result, she spoke both English and French from a young age. This proved useful when shortly after leaving High School, she joined the Canadian army and was stationed in Virginia near Washington. There she would meet one James O'Malley, an Irish immigrant with a passion for politics and history. He was a professor at the famous Georgetown University. After Nora's service, she moved to Washington D.C. full time, and the two got married. Nora then started work at a humanitarian non-profit, though she had to leave once she had Max, or rather, Maxwell at the time. Max never did like that name, she's gone by Max ever since she could speak. She never "came out" in the traditional sense, but Nora and James always understood and supported Max.

Max was awakened from her daydreaming with a start as she heard a knock from the car window. "Can you unlock the door sweetie?" her mom asked. A faint smile danced across Max's face as she joked, "What's the password?" Her mom feigned a puzzled look as she held up two paper bags with big red letters that read CVS on them, "I got some Halloween candy 50% off!" Max chuckled as she pressed the unlock button on her armrest, "that works for me!" Max's mom laughed and put one of the bags in the backseat before joining her daughter in the front. She was a beautiful and sweet woman, even the grumpiest of curmudgeons couldn't withstand her cheeriness for long. Max and her mother shared a striking resemblance, with their round cheeks and green eyes, all the way down to their short, freckled noses. The only super noticeable difference was Max's fiery orange hair. That was all her dad. Nora fumbled around in the bag for a second before digging out two candy bars. "Mounds or Three Musketeers?" She posited. Max fired back as if her very existence was insulted, "Mounds?! Are you serious? You know I hate coconut mom!" Her mother blankly stared at her before saying, "more for me I guess" before handing the 3 Musketeers to Max. "Someone's grumpy. That's what chocolate is for! Eat up! We have a long car ride ahead of us, you'll need the energy." Nora flashed a smile as she pulled her seatbelt across her chest and clicked it into the receiver. The Subaru sputtered to life and pulled out of the parking lot. "We need to pick up your father and pack our suitcases, but that shouldn't take too long. This time tomorrow, we'll be at Mémère and Pépère's house!" Max nodded and leaned her head against the window. It was about an hour's ride home, so she wanted to take a little nap in the meantime.

BOOM! Max nearly jumped from her seat as her system flooded with adrenaline. She turned to Nora, who looked equally shocked. "What the hell was that?!" Max practically screamed. "I...I don't know" her mom stuttered, "but it can't be good." Good ol' D.C. traffic was at a standstill, as is common, so Nora got out of her car to look for the source of the noise. "Stay here" she commanded. Max obeyed her mom for a few seconds, until her mom uttered "Mary Mother of God." She never was the religious type, so Max knew it was a serious matter. She scrambled out of the passenger side door and joined her mother on the side of the road. Smoke plumed from the Washington Monument in ashen towers of acrid dust and debris. Sirens and the Ozymandian crumbling of both the body and spirit of the Republic could be heard for miles around, undercut by the screams of those not lucky enough to die instantly. Someone had struck a blow to the heart of the country, and yet this was only a taste of what was to come.

"C'mon, NOW!" Nora shouted to Max as she ran to her car and opened the trunk. She grabbed 2 go-bags and placed a revolver in her belt before she started down the sidewalk. "We'll never make it in this traffic, we need to get home as soon as possible." "Mom please you're scaring me! What is going on?" Max grabbed her mom's hand and forced her to stop. Nora looked at her and said "I know you're scared right now baby but we really need to get home, it isn't safe to be outside." She wrapped Max in a hug and handed her one of the go-bags. "I need you to be strong Max. Can you do that for me?" Max wiped a tear with her sleeve and nodded. Nora's face steeled with resolve as she grabbed Max's hand and ran down the sidewalk.