Raw Resolution:

"Did you remember to pack the flashlights, Jelly?" Angelica's boyfriend, Derek, asked for the twentieth time.

Angelica's body tensed as she tersely called back, "I told you I did."

Her fingers pulled on the deceptively heavy, heart-shaped locket hanging from her neck.

" 'K, Babe." Derek went back to sorting through his backpack.

She hated it when he called her Jelly and Babe. She lost count of how many times she asked him to stop. Once again, she wondered why she agreed to go on this trip with his friends at all.

She remembered that argument vividly. Derek camped with his friends once a year. They set aside four days every summer to hang out in Branson, Missouri. Angelica hesitated to go with Derek because she felt like an outsider. He insisted she was being selfish by staying home. Like everything in their lives, his plans superseded hers.

Derek knew Mike and Jess from high school. Angelica only met them twice before at the bar for birthday parties. Angelica mused that Mike wasn't too bad, but Jess acted like the stereotypical, small-town girl. Angelica found it hard to speak to them beyond the smallest of small talk. Their lives were too different from hers.

When Angelica and Derek began dating toward the end of their senior year of college, she hadn't been sure how serious she wanted to be. Graduation came, and his job prospects were better than hers. He invited her to move in, so she followed him to Kansas City, where he had friends and family. She left everyone significant behind.

Angelica grew up in Los Angeles, California, with tons of siblings and cousins. Family gatherings sometimes overwhelmed her with noise and her relatives prying into her life. Derek's suburban Midwest life sounded calm and relaxing at first.

Nine months later, not a day went past that she regretted her decision. She should have broken up with him last month. Her stomach churned at the thought of job hunting and apartment searching. Admitting her mistake to her family hurt, too.

"Babe? Did you pack the batteries?" Derek broke her concentration.

She sucked in a deep breath and counted to ten as she exhaled slowly. "Yes. I packed everything. I'm ready to go. We're going to be late."

Derek looked at his watch. "Shit! You're right. Could you load up the car?"

She clenched her fists and turned away so he couldn't see the anger on her face. "Yeah, sure."

Her fists un-squeezed, and she took a few more deep breaths as she filled his hatch-back. Ten minutes later, Derek finally emerged from their apartment with his backpack in hand and got into the car unapologetically.

Angel looked up from her phone and put it away. "Ready to go now?"

Derek sneered at her. "Yes, I'm ready to go now. I'm in the car, aren't I?"

"Yes. I didn't mean…" 

Derek interrupted her. "Of course, you meant it. You always mean it."

Angel sighed and looked out the window as Derek pulled out of his parking spot. She could feel his anger scorching them both. She turned toward him. 

"I'm sorry that I…" The apology died on her lips as he turned his head and rolled his eyes at her. 

She tried again, "We should get there in good time."

Derek's lips pressed into a tight line.

"I really am sorry…" Angelica spoke softly.

He ignored her and headed for the highway. 

Even though she was used to their arguments devolving into angry silence, this felt different. 

Over three hours later, they drove into a campsite in Mark Twain National Forest. Angelica reflected that three peaceful hours of silent treatment from Derek was the time she needed to find the courage to break up with him.

Always Jekyll and Hyde, Derek's deep frown slammed into an insincere bubbly smile as he turned off the car. Angelica frowned and looked out the window at their campsite.

Derek's friends, Mike and Jess, gestured wildly and shouted into each other's faces. Derek muttered under his breath, jumped out of the car, and slammed the door.

Angelica's chest tightened as she reached for the door handle. She loved camping, but four days of this? She felt so stupid for coming as she opened the door.

"My family is there! We have to go!" Jess yelled.

Mike's jaw stiffened. "You don't even know what's going on. I took a vacation for this trip."

Derek rushed up to them. "What's going on?"

Jess dropped her arms. "You gotta listen to this."

Mike reached over and turned up the sound on the little weather radio on the picnic table. "…Emergency Broadcast System. The President of the United States has issued a state of emergency for the following areas: All major American cities and population centers. A nationwide curfew has been issued from 6 pm to 8 am until further notice. The CDC recommends everyone stay in and shelter in place. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. The President of the United…" He flipped the sound down.

"It's on all the stations. We don't know what's going on," Jess explained. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly.

Derek started to pull out his cell phone.

"Don't bother. There's not a signal, either," Mike grumbled.

Derek slowly slipped his phone into his back pocket. "So like…what do we do?"

"We go back! We can't shelter in place in a tent. I need to know what's going on with my family!" Jess whined.

Mike held up a hand. "We don't know what this is. What if we're heading into a worse situation?"

Angelica's fingers wrapped around the heart-shaped locket. "They said there's a curfew. We could get arrested."

Derek snorted. "It doesn't count if you're already on your way home, Jelly."

Jess stared at Derek like he'd thrown a life preserver to her. "You really think it would be okay? I don't want to be stuck out in the woods if the entire country is def in trouble, you know?"

"They made it sound like being around people was a bad idea," Mike stated.

Mike stiffened as Jess moved closer until he finally put his arm around her.

"Maybe they are unsafe. Maybe staying in the woods will keep us alive," Angelica responded quietly.

Derek scoffed, "Alive? What do you think this is, Babe? A zombie apocalypse?"

"No, that's…not what I said." Angelica looked to the other couple for backup.

Mike deliberately gazed off toward the road. Jess's cheek pressed against Mike's chest, and she stared like Angelica wore a clown wig and declared herself Queen of England.

"That's stupid, Jelly. We can't stay here in the woods when there's an emergency," Derek declared. "We're going home."

"You really think we should?" Mike asked as he looked at the other three.

Jess sighed. "I want to go home."

Mike dropped his shoulders in defeat. "Okay. We'll go."

Derek nodded. "Yeah."

Angelica slowly shook her head no. "I can't. I won't."

Derek laughed. "What, Babe? What's that?"

"No. I'm not going with you." Angelica spoke firmly and stood taller. "I'm staying here."

Derek squinted at her. "You're kidding, right?"

Angelica's fingers tugged on the locket. The chain dangled in her hand. She held her fist out. He frowned as he reached out toward her. The locket fell into his open palm.

"I don't understand," Derek whispered. Deep furrows dug into his forehead.

Angelica walked to the car and pulled out the gear and food she'd packed. Slow recognition dawned on Derek's face as he watched Angelica move away from the vehicle.

"You're doing this? Breaking up with me, now? You'll regret this," he growled as he shoved the locket into his pocket and stomped back to his car. Tires shrieked as Derek exited the area.

Angelica silently mouthed, "No, I won't." She turned toward the other couple and told them, "Be safe. I'm staying."

Mike shrugged and handed her the weather radio. "You're going to need this. We'll leave you a tent. If the phones start working - give me a call, and I'll come to get you."

Jess hugged her. "You should really come back with us."

"I have a bad feeling about the city. Are you sure you have to go?" Angelica asked, concerned.

"We'll be fine," Mike assured her as they got into their vehicle and drove off.

Finally alone, nature surrounded Angelica like a comforting blanket. She sighed contentedly and carefully set up camp. She mused that the absence of the locket somehow made it easier to breathe. She felt light and emancipated in the solitude as she slipped into her sleeping bag for the night.

Angelica could never be sure what woke her up at 3am, but she would never forget the orange glow of the rocket that passed overhead in the sky. The weather radio squawked, "This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Multiple nuclear detonations have been reported across the United States. Please remain tuned in for…"