Unbroken

Chapter Four

Things didn't get much better from there. Two weeks came and went with nothing to show for it except our diminishing food supply. Me and Brian spent most of our time in my attic bedroom. I tried to entertain him as best I could, but mostly I read to him or we played really old board games. I tried to teach him things, tried to keep him interested in the world. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of his father.

Uncle Henry stopped talking and sunk into depression. I know he missed Aunt Laura, but soon he couldn't focus on anything else. Sometimes we found him staring out a window, looking at nothing, and not moving for hours at a time. He skipped most meals and stopped sleeping. There was this palpable emptiness that surrounded him like a wall. No matter how much we begged or pleaded with him, he usually didn't acknowledge our presence. This made Brian mad.

The sweet, little kid I'd always known would yell at his father until I carried him away. "Just look at me! Say something! Anything, please!" Nothing worked.

One morning, Brian came into my room, "I can't find Dad." We looked everywhere I could think of. Until I found the note.

We ran for ten minutes straight. I didn't feel tired or winded; there was only the adrenaline pumping through my veins and the slapping rhythm of my feet hitting the road.

Not pausing to check the house, I headed for the barn. Without even opening the door, I knew we had run out of time.

Uncle Henry was hanging from one of the beams on the roof.

"Daddy!" Brian rushed forward. I held him back and he struggled against my arms. "He's gone, Brian. He's gone. There's nothing we can do for him, he's gone." Brian went very still. There were no tears. All I could see on his eyes was fury. People hurt in different ways and Brian's way was exploding. "How could you do this to us?! We need you! You can't just leave us! Momma would have never left. I hate you!" He turned and broke down in my arms, sobbing. "Why did he leave us, Sunny? Why?" Excellent question. I wish I knew the answer to that. "Because he wasn't strong, Brian, not like is. We're the strong ones. We'll make it on our own just fine." I hoped that was the right thing to say. I'm not good with grief, not having delt with my own yet.

I'm not sure how I feel about Uncle Henry. There's a small, bubbling mas of emotions in the pit of my stomach that I can't afford to deal with right now. I put them in a box and buried them deep in the recesses of my mind until I could figure them out.

There is one thing I know. The people who died at the beginning of this were the lucky ones. Not having that, Uncle Henry took matters onto his own hands. He took the easy way out. And we were left to deal with the consequences.

I don't leave him hanging there. I wasn't able to bury him, so I wrapped one of Aunt Laura's favorite lilies in his hands and placed a white sheet over him. Brian sat outside during the whole affair; he didn't want any part in it. I sat down next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. He was too young for this. He was only six. But in a way, saying that meant I was old enough. That's the cruel part.

We go back to my house to gather what little supplies remained. I knew we couldn't stay here, there wasn't enough food, but I didn't want to leave. Right here, me and were safe. Out there was a whole other story. Kill or be killed. I'm not ready. I have to be.

I took Grandpa's rifle, Uncle Henry's pistol, and my Swiss army knife. All I gave Brian is a pocket. He knew how to accurately fire a gun, despite Aunt Laura's protests. But the thought of my baby cousin shooting someone was too much. The thought of me shooting someone was too much. But I'll do what I have to. If the choice is between someone else or Brian, then Brian wins every time.

I shoved essentials in my backpack and had Brian carry one as well. Before we leave, I pick one of the roses from Grandpa's garden.

"Where are we going?" Brian asked while we walked. "Not a city." Yeah, that's pretty much all I had so far. "That's good. I'm not really in the mood for radiation poisoning right now." I laughed. It'd been a while and it felt good. Although he didn't have his facts right, Brian was a smart kid. It wasn't nuclear bombs they'd used. They didn't leave a trace of radiation.

So the basket cases who are murdering all of humanity are eco friendly. Isn't that lovely.

"We'll go where ever the road takes us, bud." It's not like we had much of a choice. So we just kept on walking.