God's Country

Chapter Three: Way Down We Go

I wanted normal. I wanted my daily boring structure back. At least, then, I knew what to expect from my day to day. Wake up. Go to school. Go home. Sleep. I had no expectations now. I didn't know where we would be a day from now, let alone an hour.

With everywhere in chaos, roads were closed down, cluttered with abandoned cars, or demolished thanks to the explosions. The only way to travel was on foot, which had made the past couple of days long and tiring and had filled the daylight hours with endless walking.

Dad continued to avoid the areas struck by the explosions. I was curious what they looked like. If the noise and plumes of smoke were any indication, my imagination conjured splintered houses and wild burning fires. The more I thought about it, the more twisted the images became.

As we drew closer to our destination, time seemed to blur and fade over itself. I tried to keep track of the hours with my wristwatch, but somehow, when I wasn't looking, its hands had frozen and rendered it useless. I found myself thinking of it as a physical metaphor for our broken planet. I couldn't fix either of them currently.

With the proper time and tools I knew I could fix my watch. But what kind of brokenness was I facing here on Earth? Of that, I couldn't be sure.

It didn't take long for us to join patches of other travelers headed in the same direction we were. I don't think any of us really knew where we were going, but we had to believe circumstances were better ahead of us than they were behind us.

There was no one to tell us what we should do. No evacuation orders. No communication. No leadership.

Was the President still alive? I didn't know. I really didn't know anything.

"I hear most people are headed east. Apparently the west was struck more heavily."

The woman eyed me swiftly, then lowered her voice and continued, "California and Colorado are practically nonexistent."

"What do you mean? The whole states were wiped out?" Mom asked.

They were trying to keep quiet for my sake, but I'd always been a more than adequate sleuth. Nylah was especially skilled at eavesdropping and, of course, had taught me all she knew.

I feigned disinterest in my parents' conversation with the woman and her husband--I think their names were Jill and Matt. I was supposed to be keeping an eye on their five and seven year olds as well as Paisley anyway. That just made the eavesdropping easier, especially since all three of my wards were well behaved and currently preoccupied.

"It's difficult to be sure," Matt admitted, "but that's the information that's being passed around."

"A lot of the other western states were hurt badly, but California, Colorado, and the states surrounding them were struck worse than anywhere else. At least here neighborhoods are still standing."

I handed the five year old a purple crayon. He and Paisley were filling in the lines of her coloring book. The other boy was watching them silently, an empty look plastered on his face. It was similar to the look I'd seen on mom's face when I talked about home.

Unease echoed in the pit of my stomach. What had he seen to revert into himself like that? How could I keep it from happening to Paisley... to myself... ?

"What about the east? Is there anywhere we should avoid?" Dad queried.

Matt shook his head and shrugged.

"We haven't heard much that's helpful. A lot of rumors and speculation are being thrown around, but nothing concrete."

"Some say they're in as worse shape as we are, others that they haven't been hit at all," Jill added.