When All is Lost

Chapter 5

My mind went into overdrive. I ran around the apartment gathering up every extra thing I thought I could possibly pack. After adding everything from my sewing kit to toilet paper, I changed into my long-sleeved navy shirt, jacket, jeans, and sneakers. It was hardly enough to face the winter weather in Milwaukee, but the scarf would help a bit.

I redid my hair, putting it up in a ponytail. For the final touches, I put the screwdriver in my jacket pocket and then tied up the sheet filled with all of my goods and wore it like a makeshift rucksack with the pillowcase and the bags of water tied to it. For the next twenty minutes, I paced the length of my apartment, unsure of what to do.

Attempting to keep myself busy, I started to test out a few different ways of carrying the sheet. I ended up deciding on taking the bottom sheet off of my bed and using it as a swaddle, holding the rucksack and pillowcase together on my back and tying the ends of the sheet across my front. It wasn't comfortable, but it left my hands free.

Which I will probably need.

There was nothing left for me to do but wait for Ian to get home from his shift. As the hours passed and the light faded, it felt like simply waiting was its own undertaking. The temperature in the room was slowly but steadily dropping, acting as a constant reminder that the power was gone.

I sat on the couch with my stuff next to me, jiggling my leg as I watched the time. I played with my wedding band, spinning it on my thumb to remind myself to keep my nerves down. The small comfort helped me somewhat when I heard the first of the doors open.

Doors should never open. Not in the afternoons. Not today.

I moved closer to my door to listen and could barely make out the sounds of frantic whispers. They drew closer to my end of the hall and their heavy footfalls indicated that it had to be more than just two people. Their voices then began to fade out and I knew they had to be going down the stairs. My heart sank as I understood.

They're fleeing.

No matter how many times I checked my watch it never seemed to get any closer to 7:30. At some point, I stopped counting by the minute and instead started measuring time by the movements. From what I could tell, three apartments on my floor were now empty, the occupants having fled. It also seemed likely that two rooms on the floors above had been abandoned because I'd heard people on the stairs, but no sound of doors. What really worried me, though, was that there didn't seem to be any building guards to stop them. It didn't seem possible, but that was what was happening.

Please hurry, Ian.

I tried not to think of what I'd have to do if I had to leave without Ian. There was still a little bit of time before his shift ended and I would give him that. After that, I would reassess.

My stomach was churning by the time the sun went down. I pulled out a slice of bread and slowly started to eat it to calm my nerves, but rather than helping, it merely added to my nausea. I was forcing down my last bite when a loud bang made me nearly jump out of my skin. Without even thinking, I tied the sheet around my body and grabbed my mini screwdriver from my pocket.

The boom came again.

And again.

I could feel my breathing becoming labored, but I tried to stay centered, focusing on the sound.

Boom.

It's nearby.

Boom.

It's in the building.

Boom.

It's getting closer.

I stood, clutching my screwdriver tightly in one hand as I tied the red scarf around my neck with the other. Between the loud sounds, I could hear yelling. My time was up, I couldn't just sit and wait any longer. Taking a deep breath, I opened my door gingerly, careful to stay quiet, and peeked out.