Liam Hall

Tuesday, March 29th, 2022 (A week after the Shutdown)

Sweat broke out on his brow from the slight movement. Leaning against the tent’s poles, he pulled himself up too quickly causing blood to rush to his head.

Panting from the exertion, he shuddered as pins and needles began dancing on the charred skin on his arms and back.

Get up, the cold voice of the Creature taunted. That weakness is what got your parents killed.

I’m gonna fucking kill you one day, Liam swore.

Eyes glowing with hatred, he stood up straight.

“Take me to my parents,” he ordered.

“Do you need help?” he probed, ignoring the ill-tempered attitude.

His nonchalant behavior was a slap in the face but that stupid sympathetic smile sent every nerve in Liam’s body tingling with indignation.

How dare he fucking show me pity… as if you could possibly understand my loss.

He bit his lip trying to choke down his words.

If I could just wrap my hands around his pudgy little neck… I…

Liam looked at the man with scorn before taking a deep breath. “Please. Just take me to my parents.”

Nodding, he stood close to Liam in case he overexerted himself.

Stepping outside the walls of the tent, a cool breeze ruffled the loose-fitting hospital gown he was wearing. Taking in a deep breath he hobbled after the old guard, who respectfully followed from a distance as if to pretend he didn’t notice Liam’s broken state.

They walked down the main road in front of the neighborhood, following it as it led further away from the city from the smoke and to the large swaths of forests. As they continued walking towards the impromptu graveyard, the silence between them grew uncomfortably thick.

Looking back at Liam, the pudgy guard cleared his throat. “Uh-uhm… my name is Kyle Williams. I’m also a resident of Half-Moon Bay, Silverbee Circle. Heard of it?”

“I-It’s two… streets away from m-mine,” he gasped out of breath, struggling to speak with clarity.

Delighted in finding common ground, Kyle slowly started to talk about the expected development of the city. He was a city planner, Liam learned. Not that he cared.

He and his team had been surveying some land for new community projects when the plane exploded above them. Rushing towards the entrance of the community, they saw a lot of people still in their homes, unaware of the danger around them. So they went from house to house, banging on the doors to evacuate the community.

“... I’m blessed with wonderful children. None of them are as old as you, of course—”

“W-who are they?” Liam asked, pointing to a group of men and women with bright yellow vests under a canopy tent.

Sighing at the interruption, Kyle followed his fingers to the group. Seeing them, his expression relaxed and he gave Liam a slight smile.

“Those are the people that saved your life,” he beamed, waving to a few who turned his way.

Smiling and waving back, they turned around to the whiteboard they were intensely studying.

“They came maybe two days after the plane crash? They’ve been a blessing in disguise.”

“You might know that all of our cars have stopped working, so it delayed their arrival. They had to cross the city on foot,” he finished, shaking his head at the thought of personally doing the task.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Similar to his journey to the neighborhood, stalled cars blocked the streets. In a few places near the entrance, they’d been pushed to the sides of the main road for the paramedics who arrived to create their command tent.

After a few more minutes they arrived at a location in a small clearing outside the boundaries of their neighborhood. Freshly turned soil and wooden crosses indicated where a few people had already been buried.

“This was supposed to be a park filled with children's laughter, but now it houses the dead,” Kyle grieved.

“Where are… where’s my mother?”

“In the second row. Some of the people here have unmarked graves because of how new the community is, but your mother must’ve made quite the impression. More than a handful of people stepped forward to identify her.”

Liam stood there, silently taking his words in. The anger and frustration he felt bubbling in his gut receded for a moment.

He doubted that he would ever come to terms with his parents’ death and the Creature was certain to never let him forget, but in this moment, he felt like he could look to the future with a clear mind. Death presented a painful sense of finality.

Clapping his shoulder, Kyle left him at his mother’s grave and went to a group of people digging more holes in the forest floor. His mother’s grave was nothing special. Just like the others surrounding hers, it was ordinary without any distinguishing features aside from her name – Heather Hall.

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Running over the engravings with his good hand, he stepped back. His father’s grave was right beside hers, but only with the engraving of “Mr. Hall”. Grabbing a rock, he corrected that error, carving his father’s name into the supple wood.

“Kid!” Kyle called from the other side of the graveyard.

Taking one last glance at the graves, he began to feel a tightness build around his chest.

Goodbye. With that, he turned away, his quivering bottom lip hidden behind his curtain of hair. Wiping his eyes, he limped towards Kyle who was holding a small wooden box.

“This is what your mother had on her when she… passed away.”

Tenderly clutching the box with both hands as if it might burst into flames, he opened it.

Inside was the minimal amount of jewelry his mother always wore: her wedding ring, the diamond earrings that his father had given her for their 20th wedding anniversary when he’d worked overtime to afford them, and an unassuming necklace.

Carefully taking out the necklace it finally dawned on him. It was the necklace he had given her when he was 6.

Turning the clay pendant over in his palm, an old photo of his mother grinned up at him.

Looking thoughtfully at the box, Kyle shook his head. “I’m sorry but we’ll need the box for other families. Could you carry it with you?”

Taking the contents of the box, he threw them into the front pocket of his hospital gown. Handing the box back to the gravedigger standing by their side, he followed Kyle back to the road to their neighborhood.

The paramedics had since disappeared, probably into the neighborhood where Kyle had told him they’d set up a larger first-aid center. As they approached the low stone walls encircling the community, a food cart had been set up, the smell of cooking meat wafting through the air.

Liam froze, thinking about the burning bacon from the first nightmare. Mom… Dad…

“Smells good, right? Hold up now, we'll get you some food in just a second. First, we have to make another stop.”

Night was falling and small campfires had been set up on the side of the roads where people huddled together for warmth. Most of the neighborhood hadn’t been secured so the families had been asked to wait outside.

Even though he had only a hospital gown to wear, it was as if the burns he’d suffered continued to warm up his body.

At least I got something useful out of it, he thought, sardonically.

Stopping at the medics’ tent, Kyle briefly talked with the woman on duty and took Liam to the side. Folding back the door, a lantern hanging in the corner revealed an assortment of clothes heaped onto picnic tables around the tent.

“It’s not much, but all of these clothes were donated by members of the neighborhood. Help yourself.”

Excusing himself, he exited the tent and left Liam to explore his options. Sifting through the different clothes a white long-sleeved shirt and dark-blue jeans caught his eyes. Gingerly taking off the hospital gown, he examined his reflection in a mirror propped in the corner.

His pale legs and face had been spared from the worst of the burns, only requiring a few bandages from where falling debris cut him.

His upper body, on the other hand, would bear everlasting scars.

The blood crusted on his arms and lower torso looked black in the pale light provided by a lantern in the corner of the tent. Brushing his fingers along his arm, he gasped in shock from the sudden jolt of pain.

Clearly not healed, he noted, biting his lip to keep himself from making another sound. Turning to look at his back, his eyes widened in horror.

Strings of flesh had been stripped from it, leaving it marred. A yellowish substance he assumed was pus was leaking through the patch of gauze covering most of his wounds.

During the walk over to the clothing tent, Kyle had updated him on his physical condition. To hear him tell it, large parts of his shirt had melted onto his back and clung to his skin.

The paramedics had to use a scalpel to cut off the largest pieces and wiped it down with alcohol and an ointment. Without any serious activity, his estimated recovery time would be around 5 months.

Slipping on the white shirt, he watched as it hung loosely from his malnourished body.

I guess that’s that, he sighed.

Taking out his mother’s possessions, he fiddled with the ring before storing them in the pockets of his new jeans. Outside, he thanked the medic as he handed her the blood-stained gown, and followed Kyle to within the confines of the community’s walls.

“You look much better,” Kyle approved. “How are you feeling?”

“Why is some of the medical equipment outside?” Liam asked, once again choosing to ignore his questions. “Wouldn’t it be safer if everything was located within the walls?”

“Safer?” he mused, having gotten used to the silent treatment. “We put certain things outside to help stragglers coming from the city.”

“That’s… generous.”

“It is. We haven’t had any cops or firefighters come over so it’s safe to assume that they’ve been held up dealing with larger problems in the city. And we wanted to be part of a solution.”

“Larger than a plane crash?” Liam asked skeptically, looking over in the direction of the city.

“... I guess so.”

“So what have you learned about the electronic crash?” he inquired.

As they stood in line at the food cart, Kyle took his time to respond. “Nothing to be worried about. I don’t know how much you figured out before you passed out, but it seems to be a temporary electricity shortage. For some reason, some devices like computers and cars have been affected. We’re not too sure, to be honest.”

So essentially they didn’t bother to learn more… or they’re withholding information. Though that’s a bit of a stretch to assume.

“How long do you think it will last?”

“Not sure to be honest. But I’m positive that it won’t last longer than a few weeks, at least until the electricity company fixes everything.”

“You said that a council temporarily was running this place? What’s their opinion?” Liam asked, withholding a chill that was sinking into his bones.

“We’re of the same opinion. I’m on the council. But enough of that, let’s eat.”

Grabbing a plate, he walked down the counter as volunteers served him a strange-looking broth and root vegetables.

With no clouds in the sky, moonlight flooded the neighborhood, allowing people to walk around as if it were day. For the most part, families had been able to recuperate from the losses due to the area the plane had crashed into being uninhabited.

Young children were kicking a deflated football around, running around everyone, until they kicked it into one of the open firepits, causing the surrounding adults to roar in laughter.

It would’ve been the perfect place to raise a family, just like the poster advertised.

His hand drifted towards his jean pocket, where he’d stored his mother’s jewelry.

Bringing out her ring, he studied it glinting in the moonlight. There’s nothing for me here. He lost his family to this place and the most it would ever surmount to would be a place to refuel and rest.

It would forever be home to his host of regrets.