us I could hear sirens and loud crashes and people screamin' and car horns. Then Mommy stopped singing and just kept saying over and over, please God, please God, please....
After that, I really don't remember much. It was like I fell asleep without really tryin'. One minute I'm in the floor of the car trying to hang on and next thing I know Mommy's got me in her arms and she's shakin' me and saying, “Come on, baby, wake up, please wake up, baby.”
I opened my eyes and there were trees all 'round us and our car was sittin' halfway in a ditch and it smelled like gasoline. The car was kinda hissin' and makin' this ticking noise almost like a clock but other than that everything seemed really quiet.
When Mommy saw I was awake, she hugged me so tight and started rockin' back and forth. I was lookin' over her shoulder and could see big clouds of smoke way off in the distance.
“Come on, baby.” she says to me. “We gotta keep movin'.”
Then we were runnin' through the woods cause she said we needed to get away from the major highways and she carried me for as long as she could but after a while she started fallin' a lot and asked me if I thought I could run real quick on my own. I told her Mr. Washington said I was the fastest boy in gym class and she pinched my nose and said she bet I was too.
That night Mommy found this little cave that she said would make a good place for us to hide. We crawled inside and snuggled in real close together and she tried to tell me it was like an adventure, that plenty of pirates and ninjas slept in caves so I was kinda like them. I didn't say nothin' but I didn't want to be a pirate or a ninja right then. All I wanted was my nice warm bed with Pepper curled up down by my feet.
Halfway through the night I had to pee real bad but Mommy said I needed to do my best to hold it until morning and asked if I thought I could do that. I told her I thought I could but ended up peeing in my pants after all. But Mommy said it was okay, that sometimes even the biggest boys can't hold it and we would find a stream to wash in the next day.
And we did too. I was standin' in the stream splashin' water on my pants when he came bustin' through the woods. He saw me and Mommy and stopped in his tracks. Then he lifted his gun and pointed it right us and I still remember word for word what he said.
“I swear t' God if you don't say somethin' in the next three seconds I'm puttin' a bullet right in your head.”
Mommy always told me that hate was a strong word and that I shouldn't hate. But I really hate him and I can't help it. And I really think that in this case Mommy would understand.
CHAPTER FOUR: CARL
Might sound sick, but – on some level— I’d always hoped this would happen. Not the dying part. To put it mildly, that kinda sucks. But everything leading up to it had always been tucked away in some little corner of my mind: if I was taking a walk on a Sunday morning and heard the wailing of sirens in the distance, I would think, This is how it begins. I'd see smoke billowing on the horizon and feel a little rush of adrenaline hit my veins as I took stock of everything around me, searching for potential weapons and what have you. But it never amounted to anything more than a house fire or a three car pileup on the interstate. So, I just went about my life waiting for the unthinkable to happen.
See, in my previous life I was just Carl Teegarden: three-time employee of the month at the Pit Stop down on Route 47 and two-time loser where it really mattered. But in a world turned upside down, I thought I could be somebody; I thought I could make a difference and be the one who busts through the door at the last possible second to save the day.
After all, I'd seen all the movies. I'd read the books and even played some of the games. I thought I knew the rules, ya know? Which is more than I can say about life. One of those bastards gets too close and a round to the head takes them down, plain
After that, I really don't remember much. It was like I fell asleep without really tryin'. One minute I'm in the floor of the car trying to hang on and next thing I know Mommy's got me in her arms and she's shakin' me and saying, “Come on, baby, wake up, please wake up, baby.”
I opened my eyes and there were trees all 'round us and our car was sittin' halfway in a ditch and it smelled like gasoline. The car was kinda hissin' and makin' this ticking noise almost like a clock but other than that everything seemed really quiet.
When Mommy saw I was awake, she hugged me so tight and started rockin' back and forth. I was lookin' over her shoulder and could see big clouds of smoke way off in the distance.
“Come on, baby.” she says to me. “We gotta keep movin'.”
Then we were runnin' through the woods cause she said we needed to get away from the major highways and she carried me for as long as she could but after a while she started fallin' a lot and asked me if I thought I could run real quick on my own. I told her Mr. Washington said I was the fastest boy in gym class and she pinched my nose and said she bet I was too.
That night Mommy found this little cave that she said would make a good place for us to hide. We crawled inside and snuggled in real close together and she tried to tell me it was like an adventure, that plenty of pirates and ninjas slept in caves so I was kinda like them. I didn't say nothin' but I didn't want to be a pirate or a ninja right then. All I wanted was my nice warm bed with Pepper curled up down by my feet.
Halfway through the night I had to pee real bad but Mommy said I needed to do my best to hold it until morning and asked if I thought I could do that. I told her I thought I could but ended up peeing in my pants after all. But Mommy said it was okay, that sometimes even the biggest boys can't hold it and we would find a stream to wash in the next day.
And we did too. I was standin' in the stream splashin' water on my pants when he came bustin' through the woods. He saw me and Mommy and stopped in his tracks. Then he lifted his gun and pointed it right us and I still remember word for word what he said.
“I swear t' God if you don't say somethin' in the next three seconds I'm puttin' a bullet right in your head.”
Mommy always told me that hate was a strong word and that I shouldn't hate. But I really hate him and I can't help it. And I really think that in this case Mommy would understand.
CHAPTER FOUR: CARL
Might sound sick, but – on some level— I’d always hoped this would happen. Not the dying part. To put it mildly, that kinda sucks. But everything leading up to it had always been tucked away in some little corner of my mind: if I was taking a walk on a Sunday morning and heard the wailing of sirens in the distance, I would think, This is how it begins. I'd see smoke billowing on the horizon and feel a little rush of adrenaline hit my veins as I took stock of everything around me, searching for potential weapons and what have you. But it never amounted to anything more than a house fire or a three car pileup on the interstate. So, I just went about my life waiting for the unthinkable to happen.
See, in my previous life I was just Carl Teegarden: three-time employee of the month at the Pit Stop down on Route 47 and two-time loser where it really mattered. But in a world turned upside down, I thought I could be somebody; I thought I could make a difference and be the one who busts through the door at the last possible second to save the day.
After all, I'd seen all the movies. I'd read the books and even played some of the games. I thought I knew the rules, ya know? Which is more than I can say about life. One of those bastards gets too close and a round to the head takes them down, plain
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