Memories of them flash through my mind as the last punch landed on my face. My family. The happiest time was when we went on our trip to the lake. My daughters splashing water at each other. My beautiful wife was nursing our four month old son. All happy. All of us were just so ignorant of what the gods decided was to be in store for us that day.
It started like any other Tuesday. By the time we had all woken up, at five, my wife, Anna, had made breakfast for the five of us. My daughters, Julie and Samantha, had gotten up shortly after Anna. They had decided to help mommy make pancakes for breakfast. I woke to the smell of sweet pancakes, cooked sausage, and fresh coffee. Dragging myself out of bed, I felt the various creaks, pops and crackles that Life gifts us all with, in time.
I slipped on some clothes, and staggered into the kitchen to greet my family. I kissed the tops of my daughters’ heads, gave Anna a soft peck on the lips, and picked my son up out of his playpen to have some time with him, giving his mother a much-needed break.
Aaron cooed and burbled at me as I held him and tickled him and played with him. Gazing into his eyes was always a joy for me. I’d always said that infants are the closest to the divine. Just as dogs were love incarnate, and cats were mischief incarnate. Yes, gazing into the eyes of an infant was as close as people could come to gazing into the eyes of the Gods.
I held Aaron in my left arm, cradling him close to my body, as I ate with my right hand. We all talked of the trip we were going to be making later that morning. My daughters were so excited! As were their parents. We hadn’t had a vacation or a family trip since before they were born. We decided we’d go to the lake where their mother and I first met. Lake Superior in Ontario. While a cross-province drive wasn’t ideal, it was still cheaper than a flight. It would only wind up being a ten hour drive. Aaron would likely sleep for most of the distance, while the girls had their individual games and imaginations.
By seven, we were washed up, the kitchen was cleaned, and we were completely packed, loaded, and finally on our way to Thunder Bay. The drive itself was relatively quiet and relaxing. The girls busied themselves with their games, and as expected, Aaron slept. Anna slept, too. I had some podcasts playing over my headset, and before we realized it, we were there.
I got out, stretched my legs, and headed inside to complete our reservations at the Valhalla Hotel. I’d made them a year in advance, anticipating the vacation. Saving up as an electronics engineer wasn’t terrible, but the economy had been getting worse. I worked late, and made as much as I could to make this the best vacation for my family. Mine and Anna’s twenty year anniversary was coming up, and I wanted it to be amazing. I’d booked us a room for a week, and made sure I had plenty of money to go and have fun with.
We got our stuff into the room and as the girls were getting impatient to go see the lake, we decided that a short jaunt to Lake Superior was in order. The drive was quick, and by six-thirty, we were at the shore. I set up a pair of chairs for my wife and I, a large blanket that I weighed down with rocks from home, and a beach umbrella to make sure my son didn’t burn.
The girls and I waded into the frigid water and played and splashed a bit. The girls giggled and ran on the beach, darting around other people and kids; just having the time of their lives. I retreated to my chair, to see Anna nursing Aaron, a content smile playing across her face. I still remember the last thing she said to me before it happened.
“He’s so precious, isn’t he? I’ve never felt so loved as I have whenever I’m feeding our babies. And at the place we met, no less,” She took my hand and gave it a squeeze, “Thank you, honey. I love you.”
I leaned down and gave her a kiss, and the world went white.
I woke up hours later in the nearby hospital, surrounded by doctors and police.
“What’s going on?” I mumbled through gauze and medication. “What happened? Why do I hurt? Anna?” A nurse rushed over and took my hand gently.
“Sir, please lie still. You’ve been hurt pretty badly by the explosion. I need you to relax. Doctor Yamada will explain everything.” Her hand trembled and she sniffled softly as she gently rubbed and patted my hand.
A young-looking man came and sat down next to the bed, holding a manilla folder. “Sir, my name is Doctor Yamada. You can call me Doc, or even Ben, if it makes you more comfortable. I have things to tell you, and you probably won’t like any of them.”
I gingerly rolled my aching head to the side so I could better see this man. “Lay it on me, Doc. I’m a big boy.”
Dr. Yamada laughed. “Yes sir. You are, at that. It seems the beach was hit by a bomb. Or several. We still don’t know the exact details. The government is keeping that information quiet. Out of thousands of people on the beach, it seems only two survived. You, and a male patient next door.” Dr. Yamada sighed heavily. “We don’t know what kind of explosives there were, but it seems that–”
“That’s enough, Doctor. Any more will be a breach of Intelligence.” Yamada was cut off by a stern looking man in a black suit, and dark shades. He seemed to be boring a hole in my head with his stare.
“This man deserves to know the truth! He survived. The other probably won’t. His injuries are too severe, and even if he does, he will probably become a ward of the state. This man is going to be just fine, which is a goddamned miracle.” Yamada continued to argue with the man in black for a couple of minutes, while the nurse wiped her eyes and squeezed my hand.
I looked at her, “What happened? Where’s my family?”
She sniffled and looked me in the eyes, “Sir, everyone else was dead. It looked like a war zone out there, with people ripped apart and mangled. I don’t know how you survived, but you did.”
The spook came up and gripped the nurse by the shoulder and gently, but firmly pulled her away. “Ma’am, I understand how terrible this is for everyone, but there are things we just don’t know, and other things we are absolutely certain about. Please. Let us conduct our investigation. Mr Doe here is awake, and seems to be coherent enough for us to question. We won’t push him too far, nor will we be cruel. We just want to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. Now please. Let me do my job, okay?”
The nurse nodded, and got up to leave. She patted my hand again, “If you need anything at all, just hit the call button and one of us will come to see you, okay?” She walked out, hugging her midsection, trying not to cry.
I looked up at the man, “My name isn’t Mr. Doe. It’s Ivor. Ivor Freyrsson.”
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“Very well, Ivor. I’m Terrence. I’d like to run through your day, if you don’t mind. Please don’t leave anything out.”
“Okay.” I nodded and told him my day, from the time I woke in my room, to the time I woke in the hospital bed.
“And that’s everything? Your whole day? You didn’t see anything suspicious or hear anything out of the ordinary?”
“No. Nothing.” I sighed, and looked up at him, my eyes scanning the room, noting the four officers posted by the door, and the very annoyed Yamada. “They’re gone, aren’t they?”
“I’m sorry, who?”
“My family. My wife Anna.” My breath hitched in my throat as my chest got tight, “Our infant son, Aaron. She was nursing him before the world went white. My daughters, Julie and Samantha. They were running across the beach, having the time of their lives. They’re all gone? D-” I broke down, the pain too much to bear. My whole family. Gone. In an instant. In one terrible instant, my whole world was destroyed. Grief overtook me as sobs racked my body. I howled my pain as I doubled over, crying.
For all his gruff demeanor, Terrance was human, after all. He pulled me into a hug and held me as I wept. Yamada came over and placed his hand on my shoulder in a show of support.
Spent, I drew my knees up in the bed and rested my head on them, sniffling.
“Mr. Freyrsson, if you need anything or remember anything else, I’ll leave my card for you to call me. I have to go and write this up. We will be in touch.” Terrence sniffled a little, and left the room. The officers, I noted, had stayed put.
Yamada cleared his throat. “Ivor, we have something else to discuss that you need to be made aware of.” I nodded numbly. “Ivor, not only did you survive, but you did so without any damage or wounds that we could find. Your body should have been shattered, your organs liquified. Your wife and son were almost at the epicenter of the blast. If what you say is true, then it is indeed a miracle that you not only survived, but did so unharmed.”
I simply stared at the doctor. “Dude. I’ve been cut badly enough to need stitches several times. I’ve broken my left arm. How in the name of all that is holy did I survive that?”
“I don’t know. We would like to run some tests, but we don’t even know where to start. As it is, besides some aches and pains, you’re fine. You could walk out of here right now and simply go on about your Thursday.
“Wait. Thursday? I’ve been out for two days?”
“Yes. Two days. Almost to the minute, actually.”
I got up, and pulled the gown closed around me. It was true. I had minor aches and pains across my entire body, but I was whole. “I want to go home. Not the hotel, but home. I need to get my car, and I need to go home.”
“Okay, Ivor. I’ll get the paperwork ready, and I think the nurses have found some sweats that should fit. I’ll have them brought in. It’s the best we can do.” Yamada left, clutching the files.
I tied the gown, and paced. I was in shock, I knew. I’ve lost my entire family, and survived in a freak occurrence. Something wasn’t right. I wanted to find out who did this, and why.
As the nurses brought in my clothes, I started forming a plan.
Months later, after all the investigations, a culprit was identified. It appeared to be the work of a single man who had a vendetta of some sorts. He continued to blow things up, killing hundreds. His targets seemed random, but I coded some software to track these attacks, and even went so far as to find more from the past two years. What I found was startling. It was all places that I had been. Places that seemed random, but actually followed a distinct pattern. He was chasing me. I had no idea why, but he was chasing me, and getting closer. Over the next few days, I coded a simple prediction algorithm for my program, and had it display the next three supposed targets. All were within an hour’s drive. He was getting closer. I went online and found pictures of the man they identified, and he struck me as familiar. I did some simple searches for him, and when I found his high school yearbook photo, it all hit me. He was one of the guys from Anna’s high school who harassed her. Trying desperately to get her to go out with him. If I recalled correctly, he was the reason her family moved from Manitoba. I know I should have taken this to Terrence, but this just became highly personal.
I hunted him for weeks. I learned as much about him as possible. I changed everything about myself that I could. My habits, my job, my home; everything. After weeks of finding nothing but dead-ends, and stone walls, I finally lucked out. It was a coincidence, really. I happened to be in a convenience store, getting a cheap lunch when I saw him walk in. I steadied my breathing, and kept looking for something.
“Yeah, can I get fifteen on seven?”
“Fifteen on seven? Will there be anything else, sir?”
“Nah. That’ll do me.”
They completed the sale, and he walked out. I ambled to the window, and took a look outside. Finding pump seven, I memorized his vehicle. A nondescript, gray four wheel drive pickup. I saw the plates, and fixed them in my mind, typing it all into my phone. I finished my own shopping, and left shortly afterwards, walking home via a series of backroads.
I finished eating the hot dog and devoured the chips, and threw them away in a nearby can, when a hand reached out from the shadows and yanked me into a narrow alley. They threw me against a wall, and proceeded to beat the shit out of me.
“I could have had it all! But then *YOU* showed up and ruined everything!” A heavy kick smashed into my ribs. I lay there, gasping for air. “Why did you have to ruin everything? I chased you for years, trying to find you.” I was lifted by a strong arm, and a large fist smashed into my face, over and over. “I’ve tried getting you out of the way so many times.” I was thrown to the end of the alley, landing in a pile of trash. “But every single time, EVERY. FUCKING. TIME. You survive. You always fucking live. I’ve tried shooting you, having you stabbed, tried to run you over, and then, just when I thought I’d removed you, you fucking live.” He stalked to the end of the alley, where I lay. “But not this time. This time, I’m going to beat you to death. With my own hands, Ivor. You’re going to die today.” I staggered to my feet, and pulled my hands up in a defensive position, trying to shake the cobwebs from my head. It did me no good. A huge right hand came crashing into the side of my face, and I bounced off the wall, and landed face first on the ground. I staggered to my feet again.
He grabbed my coat at the neck and held me while his fist came again and again into my face. Once more, I stood. Once more, I raised my hands to fight, and once more he yelled and tried to break me. “WHY” thud “WON’T” thud “YOU” thud “DIE?” He hit me a final time, and it felt like he had knocked teeth loose, and then dropped me. I lay there for a moment, and caught my breath. The memories of that Tuesday playing in my head.
I growled, and heaved myself up. I shook the cobwebs from my head, and raised my hands once more.
“I live for them, you sack of shit.” I kept my breathing as regular as possible, trying to not let on that his attacks were insanely painful. I raised my hands and curled them into fists. “I live for the memory of love; something you’ll never have. Not from Anna. You killed her. You killed her, our two daughters and our son. And hundreds more with your little stunt. I live for them. I am fueled by rage and sorrow these days, and now, you’re going to receive them.”
“No. I’m not.” He pulled a pistol from his waistband, leveled it at my chest, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet ripped through my body, and shattered against the wall, spraying shards of lead and brick across my back and head. I slumped, wide-eyed against the wall, and slid down.
As the world went white again, I knew that at least I’d see them. I started laughing at the absurdity.
“What’s so fucking funny? Just die.”
“I still win, asshole. I’m dying, but I get to go to them, and you never will. I…still…win.” The breath gurgled out of me, along with my life’s blood, I smiled. My body slumped over to the side, and my smile grew, for I saw my daughters running to meet me, their brother toddling behind, and Anna reaching out her hand.