The Wave

“Our newest information is that the impact will happen in 5 hours. Furthermore, we have been told…”
Jonathan turned away from the TV. The anchor was sweating bullets, listening to what he was saying only made Jon want to vomit. They didn’t give us enough notice! He wanted to get angry at the politicians or media or anyone really..but he knew that there was no time for that. He was feeling the panic settling in. His mind was racing. What should he do? Where could they go?

Rebecca, his 14-year-old daughter came rushing into the room. “Dad! Did you hear? It’s allovertheinternetandonthenewsand…” He stopped her word-waterfall with a raised hand. “Yes, go find your brother. Pack a bag of clothes each, help David with his. I’m counting on you, Becky.” She was about to turn on her heel and run upstairs, eyes as big as saucers, when he grabbed her arm and tried to reassure her: “Don’t be afraid. It’s all going to be okay, I promise.” He kissed her forehead and let her dash upstairs, taking two stairs at a time. Sometimes, having to go into Dad-mode made him forget his own fear.

A crash. The back door flew open and his wife Sarah stumbled in, red-faced and out-of-breath. “Jon, did you hear..” she started. “Yes,” he said, “it’s been all over the news for the last 30 minutes. What are we going to do? I told Becky to go pack a bag for her and David.” “I’ve been running, and thinking – the cabin!” Sarah said tensely. “Your grandfather’s cabin in the mountains?” Jon didn’t have to think about it long, it was certainly better than any idea he had. “Yes! It’s got a well and..and a wood stove and a generator and…” Sarah was wringing her hands. His wife never did that. “And it’s out of the way, in the woods. No people,” he finished for her. She just nodded. They both were thinking along the same lines, apparently. People and existential dread did not mix well.

“Okay, I’m gonna go pack a bag for us, and help the kids.” She went for the door that led upstairs. “Right, supplies, meds, documents, tools, I’m on it. And Sarah?” she turned around looking at him expectantly. “We are going to have to stop by the store and get more things we need.” He looked at her. She nodded with slight fear in her eyes “Yes I understand.”

They could have won the gold medal for fastest packing. His wife had a huge bag for them and even managed to stuff some photo albums in. She had taken their phones, chargers, and toiletries. She even remembered to take his contact lenses and glasses. He would have forgotten himself. The kids had a bag each. David even had his stuffed rabbit. He was 8 and was already starting to get embarrassed about it, but at the moment, the little boy was clinging to it like it was a life-line.

Jon took Sarah aside, trying not to let the kids hear: “We didn’t have much of supplies. We need batteries and basic first aid things, and cans, lots of cans.”
“And pet food for Stoker!” his son piped in. Stoker. Fuck. Jon didn’t even think about the cat. “You did go get Stoker, right?” David asked him with big eyes. The way Sarah and Rebecca were looking, made it clear that they too, had forgotten about the little black stray.

Six months ago, David had found a mangy and frightened cat in their backyard, pleading with his parents to let him keep it. Since Jon was the only one who would object, David hounded him for days. Finally, Jon gave in and Rebecca named it after Bram Stoker (since she had just finished reading Dracula). Only later did they realize Stoker was a girl. Oh well.

Jon knelt in front of his son. “Stoker is a stray, she can look after..” “No!” David had red blotches on his cheeks and tears in his eyes. “Dad, you gotta go find her! Don’t leave her, please…” a small sniffle. His daughter and wife were also looking at him with accusation in their eyes. “Alright, alright!” Jon was annoyed but resigned. “I’m going to go look for her. But if she doesn’t show up in time, we are leaving.” His son only nodded with a trembling lip. “Sarah, please get the bags in the car, I already took it out of the garage. I’m going to go look.” His wife took the bags and started towards the door. Jon went to look for the stray.

He strode into the yard, looking from left to right shouting for the cat. “Stoker! Come here! Here kitty, kitty…” Peter, his next-door neighbor was also outside. The panic was evident on the young man’s face. “Jon! Dude! What are we going to do? I can’t believe…” he was grabbing fistfuls of his hair. Peter had a new wife and a newborn. Jon did not envy him at all. “I’m not sure Peter,” answered Jon. “Where are you guys going? I saw you take out the car,” the man asked. Jon wasn’t sure if he should answer. “Sarah knows a place…” he started. “Oh. Good. We will stay here. Don’t know where else to take the baby,” Peter admitted. Jon felt bad for the guy. “Listen, Peter. When we leave… please move into our house.” Peter just looked at him. “It is sturdy brick, and there’s a cellar..and…” Jon didn’t know what else to say, so he just shrugged. “Thank you, Jon.” Peter lowered his hands and turned to go inside. “Oh!” he exclaimed before he went into his own backdoor, “I saw Stoker in Mrs. Petersen’s yard.” He stepped inside.

Mrs. Petersen? She had just left to visit her son a week ago. Stoker was probably hunting birds on her property. Jon went through the back gate and into his elderly neighbor’s yard. “Stoker? Here kitty…” “Meow.” Oh, thank god. He spotted the black cat under the rosebushes. “Come here you little rat,” he said affectionately. The cat strolled towards him, and Jon grabbed her, holding her in his arms. She started purring.

When he reached his driveway, his kids and wife were already by the car. “Stoker!” his son shouted happily. He ran over and took her from Jon. “Thank you, Dad!” The boy went to sit inside, his sister holding the car door open. “Oh, dear. You found her.” Sarah sounded very pleased. “I told Peter to come live in our house when we leave. They are staying here,” he informed her. “Oh.” was all she said. He knew she was fond of Peter’s wife and newborn. But there wasn’t much he could do.

When they had all settled into the car and he started it, his wife broke the silence. “The Red Mark! It has everything. A drugstore and food and a pharmacy… and weapons,” the last part she whispered. Jon was already thinking that they would have to stop there. He turned towards the store driving carefully. He really didn’t want to run anyone over with the kids in the back seat. He stopped himself. He didn’t want to run anyone over, period. Already, his morals were starting to slip. Two minutes later he veered into the parking lot of the big store.

People were panicking and running around. Carts were everywhere, one car had hit a lamp-post and was smoking slowly. It was like a scene from an apocalypse movie. That’s exactly what was happening, Jon thought. “I’ll go inside and grab the stuff we need,” he said looking at his family. “You guys, lock the doors. Don’t leave the car. I’ll be right back.” he stepped out. He had to dart around debris, cars, and even one guy crawling on the floor. The man was grabbing cans that had fallen. Jon didn’t stop to help him. No time.

He grabbed a lonely cart outside and went in. Inside the store, it looked like it did in the parking lot, no surprise there. People were rushing from row to row, grabbing anything they could, cans clattering. Somewhere in the back, someone must have knocked over a bottle display. There was a loud racket, but nobody cared. Jon didn’t want to lose more time than he needed. He jogged from aisle to aisle dropping anything he could in the cart, anything that looked like it might not go bad soon. He even grabbed a few packs of pads for his wife. Anything he could think of, batteries, food, nails, kibble, a package of knives, and even a baseball bat. The shelves with the weapons behind the counter had been emptied earlier, of course. He went for the pharmacy that was already ravaged. All he could find was some disinfectant and band-aids. That would have to do. He wheeled his cart out of the store, not paying. Who cared at that point, right?

Back in the parking lot, he had trouble holding the cart steady while dashing towards the back. Why did he have to park so far away? No matter. When he cleared the black smoke of the totaled car and could finally glimpse his own vehicle, his stomach dropped. A man was banging on the closed driver’s side window. His family was probably panicking inside. Jon ran faster, the cart swinging wildly, he was planning to just ram the man. Before he could reach the car, however, the guy had broken the window and was reaching inside, towards Sarah. There was a lot of screaming, Jon willed his feet to go faster. Suddenly a loud yelp and screeching. The man stumbled back from the window. A black mound on his face, droplets of blood. Stoker! She had launched herself at the carjacker like a cannonball, embedding her sharp claws deep in his flesh. She was hissing and fighting like a gutter cat. Well, Jon supposed she was exactly that.

Relieved, he reached the car, with one hand grabbing the guy by his coat and pulling him back. Stoker released her prey, and hopped back into the car, no doubt settling on David’s lap. The guy was a whimpering mess on the floor, muttering incoherently. Jon didn’t even care, he kicked him in the side and shouted at him to get away, swinging the new baseball bat wildly with his free hand. The man half crawled, half stumbled back towards the store.

Jon threw the contents of the cart in the trunk, as fast as he could and sat down in the driver’s seat. His hands were trembling so hard he could barely hold the wheel. He looked over at Sarah. She was ashen-faced but grinned. “Aren’t you glad we kept the cat?” she asked. Yes, Jon was quite glad. A sigh of relief and he turned the key in the ignition. They had just cleared the lot when sirens started wailing loudly. Jon stepped on the gas.