The Backpack

Cody Stevens had on his favorite dinosaur backpack as he waited for the bus on the first day of kindergarten, but he would never see his family again. Despite barely sleeping the night before the red-headed lad was bubbling with excitement as he raced in circles around his mother and the other parents at the school bus stop. His best friends Thad and Danny were also buzzing around like little bees with nowhere to land. They were identical twins and more than a handful for the entire neighborhood.

Scattered among the parents were the older elementary school children in groups of two or three, sometimes laughing, sometimes whispering, and always checking their phones every couple of minutes. It was already sweltering hot this late August morning in the foothills of the Laurel Highlands. A few bits of trash from last night’s block party had blown out of someone’s garbage can revealing a menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, and ice cream sandwiches – Cody’s favorite dessert.

The street was quickly becoming more of a mess as cars with other working parents sped by and swirled the trash in mini cyclones along the curb. But Cody’s father, Jon, just couldn’t leave for work when he realized it was their litter decorating the road. His son was the only child that he and Samantha had and not for lack of trying. His eye caught Sam’s as he gathered wrappers and plates. She was gently rolling her heart-shaped locket between her fingers with a look that made him wish he didn’t have to go into the office.

The rumble of the bus diesel engine made it official – it was time for parents to let go of their little ones for another year of school. With a quick kiss on her son’s head, Sam let Cody go. “I’ll see you after school!” Turning and winking to Jon as he got in the car, she blew him a kiss. “I’ll see you after work big man.” Jon loved that about Sam – she could be so damn sexy with just a look. How did he ever win this woman over? As the bus continued through the neighborhood, Jon pulled out of the driveway and slowly followed behind it, casually checking his phone with every stop. He looked up and saw Cody in the back window smiling and waving. “I guess I can watch Cody for a while until we get on the highway,” Jon mused to himself.

At the intersection, the bus waited to turn left, and Jon waited to turn right. Jon saw Cody waving again, “Bye Dad!” The light turned green, and traffic started to move – until it didn’t. Jon had made his turn and picked up speed when suddenly his car just died. Trying to quickly pull over he noticed the other cars were swerving trying to avoid each other. Some crashed and others just came to a dead stop in the middle of the road. “What the freaking hell...,” said Jon. Getting out of his car, Jon looked behind him and saw Cody’s school bus weaving through cars and coming to a stop when the way became blocked.

The traffic light that Jon was just sitting at before turning was now lifeless. He needed to call Sam. Picking up his phone, Jon tapped the screen. Nothing. Without the sounds of car engines and tires on pavement, the highway was eerily quiet. Except now there was a sound of…something. Everyone had exited their vehicles looking confused, but now every eye turned to the whining engines of an airplane that had been on approach to the local municipal airport. On any other day, the Airbus A319 would fly right over the traffic and touchdown on the runway just a few hundred yards north of the highway. But now the aircraft was careening over the halted traffic like a dark swan about to make impact.

Cody Stevens never knew it was an airplane that had hit his school bus. Jon was sprinting and screaming at the same time, throwing his phone down and racing back toward the now decapitated bus. His mind refused to believe what his eyes were seeing. Thick, black, acrid smoke billowed upward as if some pit to the underworld had just cracked open. A piece of the fuselage was still on top of the bus. Cars in the path of the doomed jet became flaming tombs from which there was no escape.

“Oh my God,” said Jon before puking his guts out. He couldn’t get close to the bus with this blazing piece of hell consuming everything it touched. The smell of jet fuel was overpowering and made Jon queasy. People that moments before were merely confused about why all the cars stopped were now crying, dazed, or dead. Jon commanded his legs to move him closer to the wreckage while his mind screamed for him to stop. His foot hit something – a human leg. A child’s leg. Was it Cody’s? Everything was so bloodied and mangled. He inched closer, trying to avoid looking at the torsos, heads, arms, and fingers that were strewn from the point of impact and all the way onto the runway.

Jon fell to his knees. No fire trucks were coming. No ambulances were coming. “Jon?” It was Jack O’Leary, father of the twins at the bus stop and a state cop.

“Jack, thank God. Tell me help is coming,” said Jon.

“Afraid not. We are it. Help me get this woman out of her car.”

“But the bus…our boys…”

“I know,” said Jack, clearly trying to stay focused on the task at hand. “We’ve got to help those who can still be helped.”

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Samantha Stevens walked back into the house after seeing off Cody with a kiss and Jon with a wink. “My two favorite guys,” she said out loud to herself. She had the day off from the hospital just so she could be home for Cody’s first day of school. It felt great to sleep in just a little bit instead of being bleary-eyed for the early shift. But now it was time to clean up. There was something about pampering oneself in a hot shower that made her sigh with satisfaction – until the lights went out in the bathroom. “Oh, for crying out loud!”

Blindly getting the remaining shampoo out of her hair, Sam fumbled for the faucet handle. The windowless bathroom was totally dark. Drying off quickly, Sam struggled to remember if there was supposed to be thunderstorms today. Or maybe some fool hit a power pole. The house would be cool for a little bit, but without air-conditioning it would get hot fast. She checked her phone, expecting to be able to at least view the weather. “That’s odd,” she said, tossing the dead phone on the couch.

Opening the front door, Sam was surprised to see Pam walking up to the house. She looked a bit frazzled still after seeing the twins off to school.

“Oh, Pam – I was just coming over to see if your power was out too.”

“Yeah, it’s out. God only knows why.”

“Maybe Jack knows. He’s coming off shift soon, right?”

“That was my thought too, so I went to text him, but my stupid phone died. I swear I just charged the dumb thing.”

“Wait…your phone is dead?” Sam suddenly realized Pam was looking toward town. There was a sound. What was that? The trees blocked their view, but not the sound a few seconds later. The explosion rattled through the neighborhood and people began pouring out of their homes. Pam and Sam looked at each other – the former EMT and current nurse didn’t need to exchange words but sprinted for Pam’s car. Pam cursed under her breath as the engine just clicked and wouldn’t start.

Sam was getting that sickening, sinking feeling in her gut. Pam handed Sam one of her med-packs she kept in the car. “Let’s go!” Both women bolted down the street, cutting through yards and weaving around countless stalled vehicles. It was a good mile or so to the impact point which was unmistakable given the amount of smoke choking out the morning sun. They started seeing other people running toward the putrid darkness, and at about a quarter mile out Sam could see the inferno. And what was left of a school bus.

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Jon looked up from the old man he had just set a tourniquet on. He wasn’t sure the guy would make it, but he was alive for the moment. Jack was trying to calm a teenaged girl when Pam jogged up and hugged him, still catching her breath. Pam looked at the bus and looked again at Jack. The sobs came, slowly at first and then a deep wail came forth like nothing Jon had ever heard. Long, loud, unmitigated pain pierced the air as Jack held her tight.

Jon stood up and turned – only to come face to face with Sam. Her voice cracking, she could only manage a single word. “Cody?” Jon couldn’t speak. His mind was filled with what he imagined was his son’s final moments. Did Cody see what was coming? Would a five-year-old have enough of a thought process to try and escape? Was the bus driver able to get anyone off the bus?

Jack walked over to Jon and Sam. “I’m so sorry guys. I know we all need to process what’s happened, but right now I need you, Sam, to help Pam with the wounded. Jon and I will look for survivors and see if we can piece together a chain of events.” Sam nodded and left to begin triage.

Jack pulled Jon aside. “Listen, I know things are really, really bad. But I’m pretty sure things are gonna get worse in the next few days. I need you to get back to your house and fill up every container you have with water.” He handed Jon his keys. “Then go to my house and fill as many containers as you can there. Keep both houses locked. I’ll bring Sam and Pam home.”

Jon took the keys and started jogging home. The neighborhood still looked so normal. It felt weird coming home to an empty house. A house that would never again echo with Cody’s giggles. A house that would never again hear the protests about going to bed so early. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind and got to work.

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Jon woke up to a knock at the door. Had he been asleep long? Looking at his watch, he realized it was dead also. The sun was lower in the sky though, so maybe it was late afternoon. He checked the peephole – it was Jack and the girls. “Come on in guys.”

“Still got my keys?” asked Jack.

Jon handed them over. “Yup.”

“People are gonna freak out when they realize the power won’t be coming back on. How are you guys with food?”

Jon had no idea. He looked at Sam, but she was slowly walking toward the sliding glass door leading to the back deck. “Sam?” Jack kept talking but Jon was following Sam’s gaze. Tears were making streaks over her smudged cheeks. She had treated burns and wounds, calmed the fears of the wandering, held the dying and covered the bodies of the dead. She did it knowing that her own son was dead and probably burned beyond recognition. She was physically and emotionally spent. Pam stood up and looked outside, letting out a barely audible gasp. Jack finally stopped talking. Then they all saw it.

A backpack was on one of the deck chairs. A dinosaur backpack.