The base was celebrating the fourth of July… the loudest most outdone day ever when it came to celebrations, and I of course was alone celebrating with fireworks that I bought on my own. Thank god I was old enough to purchase them. My dad was supposed to be home today, to watch the fireworks with me, but in typical military dad fashion he and I quote ‘had something come up at work and won't be able to make it home tonight…’ It frustrates me to no end. But hey, who needs his company anyway? I've been surviving through the boredom on base for this long… What's a little longer?
Honestly, I still wonder why I stay on base and don't just move out. Never mind, in this economy, my well-paying job will barely pay the bills… that’s more than enough reason to stay caged in my dad’s house. No rent means I can save up for when I’ve finally had enough. Until then parties every Friday! Woo!
Sitting back and enjoying the firework show of my design I sipped on a beer unable to get over the huge oversight it was to expect my dad of all people to actually be free to celebrate with me tonight… I had a better chance of meeting Beyonce in my backyard. I guess the childish expectation that my dad could be a dad was just that, childish. Not to mention too much to ask a businessman, a man devoted to his duty.
Oversights aside I guess it was a peaceful night so far.
A rustle in the bushes that separated my yard from my neighbors on the right was all the warning I needed. I made a lazy attempt at eye contact as an attempt to signal that I was aware of his presence. Somehow I knew D would show up, it was just a matter of when.
“Aww someone is grumpy… let me guess lieutenant had all sorts of work to finish and he just needed to get all that work done tonight of all nights.” My silence spoke volumes as he chuckled, my silence was all the answer he needed.
I stopped making excuses for my dad a long time ago. As I stood up from my lawn chair to light another firework D came to join me in my yard the two of us sharing a fistbump before we retreated from the firework and its lit fuse. I had to do a double take at D but had little time to speak on it…
A second rustle marked another person's approach but this time I made no effort to make eye contact or acknowledge his presence having remembered the annoying conversation I had with Lex yesterday.
Lex thought it was a good idea to call my dad and declare that we were getting married which prompted a very frustratingly confusing call from my dad as he spewed his disapproval. After the call I confronted Lex and all he could say was ‘Hey you should be thanking me you were able to talk to your dad for more than a second I’m surprised he didn't just text you how he felt’ which prompted a punch a chest from me before I stormed off and ignored all calls and messages for the rest of the day.
I refused to turn my head knowing full well that he was going to throw his arm around me and kiss my cheek regardless of countless times I informed him that I could do without the unwanted contact. As suspected After I stood up and gave the freshly lit firework a wide berth, he did exactly that, wrapped his arm around my waist, and kissed my cheek.
I pushed him off harshly scrubbing my cheek to remove his kiss. A glare would be too good for the attention whore so I once again let him fade into the obsolete, not paying him any mind. Lex was horrible at taking a hint or learning a lesson so I resorted to just not bothering. Lex spoke to D responding to his earlier statement about my father’s absence.
“I’m not complaining, I get to hang out with his daughter that he just ignores. Besides, I got to listen to an earful of his disapproval while he smoked me before last night's shift… he talked a lot about how there were ‘many men more worth Shay’s time’ and all that.” my jaw twitched at his comment but I remained silent.
He wasn’t wrong but… hearing how widespread the knowledge of my dad’s negligence was, annoyed me and at the same time made me wish it wasn’t the case. But the comment on plenty of men being more worth my time made me smirk while I internally agreed.
Literally, anyone other than Lex would be fine.
“Lex, leave her be you’ve done more than enough…” his voice sounded almost as exhausted as I felt. “Watch, one day you're gonna get reported for S.H.A.R.P.”
The tall tan fatigue-clad man dropped the subject, for now, and proceeded to give me some breathing room. His regulation undercut barely worked to contain what would be unruly black waves if left unchecked. His cocky grin was a permanent feature on his face.
I could feel his piercing green eyes scanning me watching my every move and taking note of everything around him. Two things were always certain about Lex: he was very observant and he was opportunistic. Wherever Damian went he was not far behind. a truth that never seemed to fail but one thing was for certain out of the two people who I currently called friends, I was closer to one more so than the other if that tidbit wasn't painfully clear…
Damien smiled warmly and extended his hand to me. I understood the assignment and handed him the barbeque lighter while he rummaged through the bag of fireworks choosing one that he wanted to see. It was rare to see him in civilians and I still had the urge to ask him about it but I remained quiet. Honestly, I was surprised to see the pair was not on duty.
I sat back in the lawn chair and waited for the fireworks Damien chose to start, anticipation aching in my chest… There was something about the feeling of the fireworks going off that just felt nice. It was similar to going to a club or a really big party and feeling every beat of every song. The feeling was just amazing, borderline addicting. I lifted the beer bottle to my face to take another sip.
Damien quickly took notice and swiped the bottle.
“Woah since when does Miss Shay Harbor drink beer?” Damien examined the bottle with mild concern and entertainment.
“Since I turned nineteen, albeit sparingly. Since when did Mister by the Book skip out on duty?" I swiped the bottle back downing the remaining contents.
“A rule breaker even at that age huh?” Damien commented, chuckling to himself as he picked another firework. “I was forced to take the day off… the company was sick of seeing my face. These fireworks are all massive. Did you pick all these out yourself?”
I shook my head in response. “Nah, the store employees pointed them out, I just paid for them.”
“How many drinks have you had tonight?” I ignored Lex’s intrusive question and pretended to be enamored by the huge firework display as it burst to life.
“Do you drink often?” Lex pushed.
Annoyed, I restrained the urge to snap at him and asked him a question of my own.
“Why does it matter?” my question was met with immediate defensiveness.
“I was just asking…” the reply sounded like a whine more so than a statement.
His coy response only irked me further.
“So was I.” Damien rolled his eyes, fed up with the minor bickering between us.
“Look Lex, drop it, it doesn't matter. What are you, the MP? Stay in your MOS.” Lex sucked his teeth clearly unamused with being the target of Damien’s lecturing.
Damien knew I was a lightweight when it came to alcohol and eyed me closely going so far as to make it his duty to not let me set off any more fireworks by myself for the night. He mentally kept count of each bottle I finished forcing me to drink water between every other emptied glass. But he wasn't the only one counting.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Damn you're really knocking ‘em back huh?” my anger peaked but when my attention snapped to him my head spun. I decided to bite my tongue and just stop at giving him a dirty look.
“Damien, can you pass me another drink, please?” Damien’s response was fast, almost immediate, and the interaction went just as fast.
“Do you want water?”
“No.”
“Then no.”
“Aww, what come on.” my words were slurring noticeably but I still could think, which meant I wasn't drunk enough…
“Please Damien, just a few more and I'll call it a night… Besides, we still have fireworks left…” Damien folded to my request, intent on holding me to my word of calling it a night after the fireworks, making sure they were getting set off in a constant flow one after another attempting to expedite my venture to sleep.
The beer was slowly starting to hit me hard, and the night started to become fragmented… I remember Damien leaving with promises of returning with water and juice, placing Lex in charge.
The feeling of being alone with Lex was tense and uncomfortable… as I fought to stay aware of my surroundings. I remember being led inside, to my room.
I tried to remove myself in any way I could but, fucked up things happen to everyone regardless of who they are and where they are.
You would never see Lex without Damien… and if you did, well… trouble was most definitely brewing beyond the shadows of the unforeseen. In the end, shit happens with all paths leading to completely avoidable outcomes.
The next few fragments that I remembered were a hellish nightmare, as the traumatic play of events congealed into one neat little pile of shit… and he didn't even have the decency to put a pretty bow on it before forcing me to deal with the reality of his intentions. He seemed so pleased, so proud but I beg to differ. It was disappointing at best. I couldn't be certain but this was not how any normal person imagines their first run around the block to be. But whatever. I guess I'll never know.
Just another traumatic scar etching and engraving itself on my heart, on my soul.
Damien returned with juice and water… Needless to say, I wasn't thirsty anymore or interested in any unsolicited company. With car keys in my pocket I stormed down through the front door, my hair a mess, my clothes disheveled, hell I was limping slightly, this entire fragment of memory made me uncomfortable. I was easily overstimulated, in pain, surrounded by loud noises and bright lights, with the smell of cologne that wasn't Damiens clinging to my bare skin and flooding my senses with a constant reminder of what has come to pass.
Tears were pouring down my face as I staggered past Damien, he raced to catch up with me, concern etched on his face as he caught my wrist effectively stopping me for the moment as he spoke with sincere worry soaking each syllable.
“Hey, hey where are you going? Is everything alright? Hey! Is everything okay talk to me! what happened?” he questioned me frantically, the onslaught of questions overwhelming me further. His touch would have been a grounding one in another scenario, but right now… it made my skin crawl. I fought the urge to puke under his intense gaze.
Pulling my hand free threw my whole body off balance but got me free, so it did the trick.
“Don’t… don’t touch me." My voice was hysterical and each movement made me dizzy. Each word brought me dangerously close to puking.
“Where are you going? You're still drunk!”
Damien heard my slurring and tried to stop me by seizing my wrist once again. The jagged movement my body made to avoid his touch threw me over the edge. I inched closer to the driver seat of my car but threw up the little bit of food I had today… wait… did I eat today? Oh, whatever I threw up. my abdomen heaving leaving only the bitter taste of bile in my mouth.
“I can't let you drive Shay… it's too dangerous. Where are you even trying to go?”
“I… I don't know! Just fucking away D! I can't stay here right now.”
“Then let me drive you.” Damien’s gentle touch settled on my shoulder coaxing me away from the car. A touch I slapped away, the vile feeling of someone's hands on me was too much to bear.
“I said don’t fucking touch me! Why won’t anyone listen to me? Does ‘no’ not mean anything anymore.”
“What do you mean by that?” Damien’s inquiry shocked me, a sliver of information slipping through the unseen cracks in my walls and I wasn't willing to explain…
I rushed into the driver's seat and sped off toward the base's checkpoint.
“Well, you're in a hurry heading off base for a party?” I just nervously laughed like I normally did and nodded.
The stationed guard sent me on my merry way wishing me to be safe. A wish that I openly disregarded. The rules of the road beyond the base's checkpoint quickly became optional with my fuzzy conscience but apparently, I wasn't the only unclear mind on the road.
Someone ran a red light and I didn't intend to let them pass without a game of chicken. Of course, at the speeds I was moving he wasn’t going to win, but hey… a man can dream, can't he? Within a flash, the hood of my Tesla caved in the poor guy’s driver-side door.
Neither of us knew what happened but everything went dark, that was for certain. When I woke up I wasn't in the hospital like I should have been, I was slumped against the semi-deflated airbag. My head was bleeding but all in all, I was in one piece. I staggered out of my car and took account of the damage. The car looked damaged but it also seemed like it could continue driving if I really wanted to.
I looked around, noticing a pile-up of cars on the opposite side of the street… it seemed to be a pile-up caused when they swerved to avoid me. I looked forward to attempting to find the car that I hit only to see the car capsized, it was on its roof, the body lazily hanging from the driver seat still buckled in. I pulled out my phone and attempted to call the police but I was told time and time again that officers were on route. I’ve been detained at the precinct before, if they were coming I would hear it, they weren't far from here… in fact, they were stationed on the far side of the city square.
The smoke from surrounding cars left an unsettling haze in the air. I looked through the back seat window seeing my backpack of essentials and debated the short walk it would be to the precinct… when I noticed a sound from my left flank. The person was walking from the direction of bright headlights, their form silhouetted in contrast. The figure staggered over to me… another member of the ten-car pile-up, were they checking on me?
I fought the urge to close the distance between us and stood firm, I half expected a ‘hello?’ or ‘Are you okay?’ or maybe even a ‘Where are the police they should be here?’ but I got none of the above, the absence of which made me all the more apprehensive.
We were feet apart when I noticed something off with the approaching citizen. I couldn't quite explain the fear I felt… but the resulting adrenaline rush shot through me like a bolt of lightning, zapping my muscles into action. The staggering man was missing a chunk of his head, but he was still moving. Now the absence of part of his head is probably why he wasn't speaking but by that logic, I don't think walking should be fairing him any better.
What’s happening? Is this some type of sick joke?
Now I am no fool to horror movie tropes so when he staggered closer reaching his hand out to me I stepped back, my brown eyes coming to meet their glazed-over pair.
Whatever is happening is not normal. This feels like I drove onto the next new zombie movie set. I need to go and I need to go now.
I staggered away, the stager soon becoming a walk, the walk soon turning into a jog. I pulled out my phone and dialed my father. But of course, I went to voicemail. I gave up almost immediately letting the pang of sadness come and get replaced by fear once again and called D. knowing he would answer…
It took two tries but I got through on the first ring during the third try, it flooded me with a small spike relief that was for certain. His voice was frantic to hear from me but grew more and more calm as time went on.
“Thank god Shay! Where are you? Are you safe?”
“No. Not exactly, I was in an accident, and got a lot on my plate right now.” I was kiting the wobbly fucker around the crash site so I can gather my bag from my car climbing in, and closing the door behind me.
“How bad?” I could hear him dealing with his own string of stresses but his concern with my well-being was refreshing.
It almost made me regret… anyway, I shook the racing thoughts away and focused on answering his question.
“Horrendous. There are no police, no ambulance, honestly, the world looks to be going to shit.” I said the last comment while looking at the shambling mess clumsily banging against the window. I flipped it off of course and returned to collecting supplies from my car.
It was a while since I heard from D on his side and almost spoke up, breathing in to do just that, when he finally resumed talking to me seemingly unmuting his side.
“Injuries?” I blinked at his question thinking for a second about how I wanted to respond. Giving my car one last once over I plucked the extra phone charger and threw it in my bag.
“All minor, my head is still rattling though and I'm bleeding from above the right temple. I haven't checked the rest of the meat suit yet though.”
“Concussion?” His question was quick and almost planned. But I didn't know the answer for certain.
“Possible.'' I climbed over the center console and escaped out of the passenger side of my car.
“What’s your ETA from base?” The question made me stumble to a stop checking the intersection sign while coming to a quick conclusion.
“About an hour if I really haul ass the entire time.” Turning to start the trek back, which is where the conversation felt like it was going, I started to stagger toward the city square. I had to pass it to go back to base.
Either way things were getting dicey there seemed to be more and more figures to avoid as they apparently materialized out of thin air and shadows.
Someone needs to adjust the spawn rate of these weirdos.
Slowly but surely he started tailing me from down the block. I got over the pain in my side enough to stop staggering while they continued to follow, reaching uncomfortable numbers as I walked on.
“You’re on foot?” I smiled at his surprise but remained honest.
“Yeah, it looks like I totaled the car but I'm not in a good spot to test if it moves, it wasn't that bad looking though.”
“It might be wiser for you to try so you know for certain.'' I looked back at the uncomfortably large looming crowd moaning and screeching at me as I left them in my wake, shaking my head.
“Nah, I left it with the other cars. It was a ten-car pile-up.”
“It's a miracle your breathing.” I shook my head in agreement.
“Yeah? You should see the other guy.” I could hear him chuckle.
“How soon can you make it?”
“That information is real hard to come by…'' I heard a familiar sound come from his side of the phone. The moan and screech of the shambling idiots made it clear this wasn't just a problem for my side, a sense of dread really started to seize my heart at this point… this was real. Everything was about to change and it was my understanding that it was about to be for the worse.