Sunday, January 15, 2017

Helen and Hector

Helen's father was a doctor.  He has been deceased forty years, but Helen still thinks of herself as an entitled elite. She married three doctors and is now on her fourth and final marriage to a blue collar worker, Hector.  Hector is a handyman, all around fixer.  Jobs are scarce, so he mostly works around the house.

Both Helen and Hector are alcoholics.  Starting at five o'clock every evening, the vodka and whiskey flow, then the horrible fights began.  Helen screams at Hector how her father was a doctor with whom he could never compare. She screams that Hector is a stupid, redneck loser who is nothing more than a boy in an aging fat man's body.

Hector then screams back that Helen is crazy like her mother.  She is a crazy, fat, lazy cow who does nothing all day but watch soap operas.  On and on it goes, day after day, year after year.  Eventually, the alcohol isn't enough for Helen, so prescription pills are added to the daily routine.  This means screaming less and passing out sooner, much to the pleasure of Hector.

One day, Helen and Hector decide to take what little money they have and go on a cruise to the Virgin Island.  It's early in the day, so they board sober, looking forward to the drinks in a few hours.  As they unpack their bags and settle in, the ship takes off.  Helen is anxious and decides to pop a pill before dinner and drinks.

After dinner and many, many drinks, they stumble on deck to look at the stars.  The arguing begins, as always, about Hector's many flaws and Helen's laziness.  Hector thinks how wonderful it would be to throw Helen overboard.  No one would be the wiser.  He slaps her hard, just to shut her up for one blessed minute, and she loses her footing.  At that moment, the ship hits a wave and Helen goes into the dark water.  Hector jumps in to save his love, because through it all they really love one another.  At least that's what they tell themselves.

Hector and Helen were never missed and never found.






Maggie

Maggie awakens from a nightmare of being pursued in darkness, running in slow motion from fear of the unknown.  It was the flash of light that woke her up.  She is sweating the kind of sweat that smells of stress and anxiety, the smell of decaying youth, hormones, and courage.

She swiftly sits up and rubs her eyes, hoping to rub out the dream.  She notices how hot it is in her room, which is odd considering it's January in the Midwest.  Should be snow on the ground, not a heat wave.  She slowly eases her tired body out of bed and walks to the kitchen, ready to drink a nice big cup of coffee that should be brewed on automatic programming.  It isn't.
The power is out.

"Great.  Insult to injury."

Maggie lives ten miles from town on land her grandfather had purchased after WWII.  Her parents lived there until they died, and now it belongs to Maggie.  She hops into her pickup and heads to  Mac's Diner for coffee and eggs, and to find out if anyone else has lost their power.

As she drives down the main street of downtown and into Mac's parking, she notices that most of the town folk are gathered in and around Mac's diner.  Maggie has a foreboding feeling that the news isn't going to be good.

"Hey everyone, what's going on?"

"Maggie, haven't you heard?  Missiles all over the world hit everywhere.  China, Russia, North Korea, Iran...  They hit us, we hit them, they hit each other, everything is gone.  D.C got hit, the whole city and everyone in and around it are gone. New York, Chicago, the West Coast, gone. Just gone.  We're on our own."

"How do you know all this?"

"Mac has an old CB radio, we've been talking to people South of here.  It's bad.  No government, no power, and little information."

Maggie's mind starts racing, trying to think what needed to be done first.

"Food, water, and shelter.  We have to secure those first.  Then law and order."

A month has gone by since the end of the world.  Most have committed suicide.  The food is running out, water is scarce.  Maggie spends her days lying in bed wondering how it all happened so fast.  She keeps her pistol in hand just in case.  Today is the day, she decides.  Today she ends her life because there is no longer hope.

Maggie puts the gun in her mouth and pulls the trigger.

Maggie wakes from a nightmare.