Solar Flare Apocalypse

Chapter 12

Matt helped the children through the refrigerator, and Ohio came right behind. He picked the children back up and he walked towards the hospital, Ohio right beside him. They got some looks on the way, curious, and concerned.

Matt shifted the two in his arms to open the door, and held it for Ohio to follow him in. He hurried to what was now the main check in area, and asked the nurse there to have the children seen right away. She hurried him into a room, and J.J. soon joined them.

"Hey, what have we got here?" he asked, "Some sick puppies?"

The children smiled and the girl told him they were people, not puppies, thinking he was all mixed up.

J.J. smiled, and began to look them over in a very casual way. He was writing on a chart when the boy began to cry.

"What's the matter?" J.J. asked, "Do you have an owie somewhere?"

The boy shook his head, and said, "I don't want shots!", then began crying again.

"OK", J.J. said, "How about  you get some lunch, and no shots?"

Both children smiled, and nodded.

J.J. told Matt that the kids were OK, no fever, probably just tired and hungry, so Matt took them to see Adam, so he could get them some lunch.

When Adam and the children saw each other, their faces broke out in relieved grins. Matt put them down and they scrambled up into Adam's arms. Jen watched in wonder. Her single, carefree son, looked like a daddy.

Adam took two bread and butter sandwiches off a plate and gave them to the kids. Adam warned them to slow down, or their tummies would hurt. They nibbled at the bread, until Adam said, "Hey, none for me?"

The girl offered him a bite, but Jen got Adam his own, warning him to slow down, or he'd get a tummy ache. They all laughed to hear her repeating his warning.

The children finished their bread, and had a long drink of water, and before they knew it, their eyes grew heavy and they were  asleep, snuggled beside Adam.

Ohio had his own meal, and curled up on the floor beside the bed. Jen and Matt lifted the children into the bed next to Adam, and tiptoed out. They would have to wait to hear all about the trip home.

Later in the day, when all the patients woke up from their naps, Dr. Taylor gave them the OK to go home. Matt decided they would sleep at home that night, to reduce the excitement for Adam and the children. Some of the people had been spending time at their homes, to get away from the close quarters at the Center.

They borrowed a hand cart and pulled Adam home. He was embarassed, but Jen insisted it was too far to walk. 

The children gobbled down some supper, and then laid down in a bedroom with Ohio right beside them. The rest of the family gathered in the living room to hear Adam's story.

Adam told them that he had packed a back pack with some warm clothes, a knife, energy bars, matches, and water. He took his bike out to fill up with gas the night before, and got up at about six, to try to leave town. He wore a leather jacket, and a helmet for the cold, and made his way down already busy side streets. He never would have gotten  out in a car, he had to drive on sidewalks and sometimes in yards, to get past the lines of cars trying to leave.

It didn't take too long to get onto a country road with less traffic. Adam lived on the far south edge of Chicago, near Midway. Not even really inside city limits. He opened it up and flew ahead, passing slower cars for about a half hour, until suddenly, his bike lost power. He managed to stop without wrecking, and saw motorists leaving their cars and trucks and semis, wandering around the road. He figured it wouldn't take long for normal, polite people to become animals, willing to take what little he had, so he started off at a run towards the woods in the distance. He ran for about a half mile, hoping no one followed him yet. When he reached the woods, he looked back to see specks of people still waiting with their disabled vehicles. He thought they were just like a bunch of sheep, not even thinking yet.