Things Happened

June 21, 2020

     I woke up with four different people on me. Felix was staring me in the face. He looked okay. I grabbed his face and kissed it. Hard. He kissed back just as hard. He tried to pull away, but I kept kissing. He finally got away. "You do realize that I just woke up from unconsciousness?" he said sounding breathless.
     "I'm so sorry," I said sounding even more breathless. He just nodded and laid his head on my chest. Justin was asleep on my lap. Connor was asleep on my right shoulder and Michael was asleep cuddled to his chest.
     Greg's muffled snores annoyed me, Clarrisa too apparently. I saw Clarrisa hold an arrow in her bow and point it at Greg. She got up from the front of the truck and kicked his groin. He woke with a muffled scream. His eyes changed to fear as he saw the arrow pointed at him. He was begging her not to kill him through the bonds and through his eyes. Sweat was pouring through his shirt and tears were falling from his eyes to the floor underneath him. Clarrisa looked at me for approval. I shook my head no.
     She hesitantly dropped the bow making sure the arrow crossed his face. He flinched and tried to get away. He wasn't going far. The sound of his screaming was barely stopped by the gag. It was loud. I smiled. I looked up at Clarrisa and she was smiling too. We enjoyed hearing him scream. I kind of felt like we were serial killers. We both looked at each other then, smiles still plastered on our faces. She looked like she really wanted to kill him. I wondered if she had ever killed anyone.
     Greg was still crying. I looked at my watch. 7:37 AM. I knew it was going to be a long time (and a lot of stops for supplies because we're going to need everything we can get) before we got to where we are going. We all had this planned out if something would have happened. We all knew the cabins wouldn't be our homes forever, no matter how much we had wanted them to be. We're headed to my grandfather's. We're going to Tennessee.
     My grandfather used to live in Idaho, but he left after my grandmother passed. I was eight when she died.
     Her funeral was the first one I had ever gone to. I remember as a kid wondering why my grandmother wasn't moving. I remember tears streaming out of my mother's eyes and my sister not being able to comprehend anything because she's three. My grandfather just sat on the bench nearest her casket and just sat. He didn't leave until a woman kindly asked him to leave. He told her bye. The next day she was buried. The day after, my grandfather packed up all his stuff, leaving my grandmother's and left for Tennessee. He found a place in the country and settled there. He had very few friends and we only saw him once a year on Christmas.
     Christmas time was always a big thing in my family. Mom, my little sister, and me would go up to grandfather's until the new year. We'd always get there on December 21. We celebrate Christmas and mom's birthday on December 25. Mom always got two presents from everyone. Most years I got her jewelry and a sweatshirt she liked. December 30 was grandma's birthday. She would always make herself a cake and eat it. All we'd do on this day is bake a cake and sing happy birthday.
     One night i was staying there and we had all just gone to bed after we had cried about grandma. I woke up abnormally and went to get a glass of milk. I opened the fridge and got out the milk. When I closed the door, my grandmother was standing there all dressed in white. She looked beautiful. She only said a few words, "Tell them I'm okay." Then she was gone. She turned around and walked off. I got a good sleep that night. I got up the next morning and told them. My mother, sister, grandfather, and I all cried.
     New years was the last important day. My grandfather always threw a party for the family, his friends, and his church. There were many people at the party. The food was always great. There was always something good to eat. The countdown was always loud. We'd always leave the next day. The drive back was always silent.
     My grandfather's old house was sold within the next year. My mother had to go in and get all my grandmother's stuff. We packed out many photo albums, blankets that were made by her or someone in the family, her good china, her old antiques, and my great grandfather's chair.
     My great grandfather was a bitter old man or so my mother told me. He used to beg my grandmother to make him a chair. She made this small wooden chair. It's now a kind of joke in the family.
     We also packed out all of my grandmother's cook books, which she left me in the will. She knew how much I loved to cook. We would always be in the kitchen together cooking something. Sometimes it would be a cake or pie, and sometimes it would be mashed potatoes. My grandmother loved to cook everything.
     I just hoped that when we arrived; A. My family was waiting for us when we arrived, B. They were alive and safe even if I never get to see them again, or C. They died peacefully their own way. I hope they're not dead.
     We are driving a coal truck with Jessica driving, Clarrisa and Rachael riding shotgun, Maia in a corner by herself, me having Felix, Micheal, Connor, and Justin laying on me. All our important stuff is in here. Greg not included in important stuff.
     "You know I should have seen it coming," says Maia from the corner.
     "Seen what?" I say sounding confused.
     "He acted just like our old step dad. He used to look at us like we were sick. He hated Connor for being gay and he hated me for supporting him. One day he caught Connor and Michael getting more intimate. He tried to go after Michael, but Connor didn't let him get far before decking him. When he got up, he came at Connor full force. They were screaming at each other. That's when he pulled a gun. Connor and Michael were terrified, they thought they were going to die. I knocked him out with a baseball bat. He tried to lie to the police but they weren't stupid. He was taken to prison and our mom came home. She found out and divorced him immediately. She never remarried," said Maia with tears rushing down her face.
     Clarrisa enters the back. She is crying. She envelops Maia in a hug. "You are my new sister and I promise that I will protect your brother and his love with my life," she gives a salute. Maia is struggling to speak but manages out a thank you. They are both crying and Clarrisa just hugs Maia for a while.
     The truck comes to a sudden stop. Jessica is backing up. "What's up?" I ask her concerned. She just points forward. I stand up, waking up the four people on me. I look out and gasp in horror. The road is blocked by cars but the worst part is the hundreds of things walking. Some turn to look at the truck but none run after it. Guess they aren't close enough or there's not enough noise. Everyone looks out and understands.
     I tell Jessica to go route B. She does as she's told. I'm just glad they aren't running after us. I don't think our group can handle that.
     Jessica just drives. I'm glad I have her on my side. I know she was close to Greg. I know now she despises him.
     The only thing I remember doing next is sitting down and falling asleep with the same four people on me.