The Federation

Tearing cloth was the first thing I heard when I pulled my leg through the barbed wire, then I felt the trickle of blood. Flat on my stomach and pulling myself under the razor wire, my hands were so dirty that I had to just let my leg bleed. I was more upset about my pants than my cuts anyway. We found a bunch of blue jeans in the back of a truck somewhere near Detroit. A nice pair of jeans. One of those pleasures from before the world changed. My wonderful jeans were getting shredded, and me with them.

It was getting harder to remember life’s little pleasures before the beam hit. Iced coffee, the smell of rice crispy treats, being greeted at home by a frantically wagging tail. I remember Oscar’s paws smelled like corn chips. Every foot of muck that we crawled through put us that much closer. We had to put the fear away. It could be a distraction that could mean a bullet in the head from a sniper tower.

I almost lost Regina that way. That’s why we were crawling through this nasty filth with a heart shaped necklace. We can’t lose that locket, and we can’t lose the will to keep going.

The beam, actually a gamma ray burst was something Mr. Grearson told us about in science. He said it would turn the Earth to cinders. A supernova can send out a jolt of energy and anything in its path is a lump of charcoal. I don’t think we were hit full on. It only grazed us or we would all be cooked. Russia and China are probably nothing but desserts and dried bones now. We think they caught most of it, but don’t know. Who cares anyway? We have enough problems over here.

There were twelve girls in our group the day it happened. Our church camp was taking us to Onondaga Cave. Missouri is so beautiful. People don’t really know about all the cool stuff in our state, all the lakes and the Ozark mountains. Anyway, our group leaders, Mr. and Mrs. Mohan had led us almost all the way to the bottom of the cave when we felt it hit. Everyone froze, and then the lights went out. I thought it was an Earthquake and totally expected the cave to collapse on us. Regina was right next to me and she grabbed my hand and held it. The water started to bubble up stuff that really stank. Mr. Mohan lit a brochure on fire to see by. When we finally got back to the surface we just froze, staring at the sky. It was like a weird laser light show in the clouds. About nine different colors were moving like the Northern lights, as if someone was stirring food coloring into the clouds. Lightening hit the ground every few minutes. It hit a tree not far from us and it exploded, sending chunks of branches at us. Jill screamed and started to cry. We couldn’t see any other people in the parking lot. Then Katlyn saw a body that looked like a balloon that was about to pop. I wanted to puke. Mr. Mohan made us go back into the cave and said he would be back soon. After a few hours Mrs. Mohan said she was going to look for him. We never saw them again.

We were starving. Since I was on the track team at school I ran to the visitors’ center and grabbed as many candy bars and drinks as I could carry. On my way back lightning struck a tree near me. When I woke up my ears were ringing. By the time I got back with the food two of the girls had gone, they said they couldn’t stay in the cave and wanted to get help. They never came back either. There were only ten of us left. We stayed in the cave that night. We ate candy bars and waited. Some were sobbing, others sat there stunned.

That was five months ago. We didn't know how many people in the world died that first day. Since the storm fried anything electronic, we couldn’t call anyone or use a radio. The army was almost helpless without all their planes and jeeps. They had guns and they were on foot. That’s it. No one knew who was alive or dead, or who was in charge. Our land of liberty was reduced to chaos and lawlessness.

About a months after it happened the Federation took over, trying to act like they would protect us and rebuild the United States. Then the rumors started and people started disappearing.

The Federation was building lookout towers everywhere and bands of them were constantly patrolling on foot, making sure people were abiding by their new laws.

One time when we stopped to rest, we saw a family that came out of the woods down the road on the other side. They were talking to the group of men who were passing through. The father looked like he was pleading. They shot him and his boy. The mother and daughters were screaming and crying. The smallest was maybe seven and couldn’t stop screaming. A guy hit her so hard she flew backward. They left her there unconscious and took the others. Our ditch connected to a big drain pipe. That’s where we hid. I had to hold my hand over Trisha’s mouth as they passed right over us. I looked her in the eyes and we slowly breathed together. When enough time passed, I told them to stay put and be quiet. I went to get the little girl. She was so small and her face was covered in blood, but she was still breathing. We stayed there all night, huddled together, worried they would be back.

The next morning Jill and Trisha were gone. The little girl was still unconscious and Regina and I took turns carrying her through the woods. We didn’t know where we were going. But doing something was better than waiting to be caught and taken away.

We stopped to rest and I checked the little girl’s pulse with my finger on her neck. I waited for a long time, trying to feel a heartbeat. The other girls just stared at me in silence. I checked her wrist, and then her neck again. I wanted... no, I needed to feel life in her. I thought I could will her to stay alive. I put my ear to her chest. Nothing. Silently my tears just wouldn’t stop. I held my hand over my mouth. Regina came over and held me. I didn’t know this little girl’s name and she had died in my arms.

As the weeks passed the other girls’ will to survive diminished. The constant hiding from the Federation men, stepping over dead bodies to get a box of crackers from a pantry, it was too much. Bailey sat down in the middle of the road and wouldn’t move. We tried to drag her but she kicked me and gave me a bloody nose. Federation men were coming. We could hear them so we had to leave her.

Jess walked right over a rocky cliff near a waterfall. I saw her do it. It wasn’t an accident. I looked over the edge. Her twisted body was still and blood was everywhere.

Rebecca convinced three of the girls that they would end up dead if they didn’t go with her. We watched them just walk away.

It was just me and Regina now. Not knowing what to do we sat there, deep in the forest, wondering where to go. Had the whole world gone crazy? Was any place safe?

Regina was holding her locket as we sat there against a huge tree, the exposed roots cradling us. She opened the tiny golden heart to look at her great-grandmother's little black and white picture. That necklace was all she had left from before the world went insane.

Just then Regina sat up and blurted out. “They were from Quebec!”

“Ok...?” I said, clearly confused by this exclamation about her family. Then my eyes went wide “Oh my god. Yes!”

Finally, we had a plan, North to Canada. We didn’t know if it was any better there, but it couldn’t be worse than here. Great-grandma, from her little picture in that little locket gave us a destination and some real hope.

We found a map of North America pinned to the wall of an elementary school. For every day of walking, we guessed where we might be on the map. Staying out of sight, getting across rivers and streams, finding food, there were so many things trying to hold us back. But we were unstoppable. We began kissing the locket every morning for good luck.

We would stock up on supplies from stores if we were careful. Sometimes they would set traps or shoot looters. We learned how to be invisible and kept moving North. Over the many weeks we saw so much death, so much violence, and barely kept from getting caught.

Then it happened.

We were crossing a big highway with a barrier in the middle. It was risky to be exposed but we had no choice. It was quiet so I told her I would cross and dive into the ditch and for her to wait for my signal. With still no sign of trouble I made a gesture for her to stay low. As she was diving over the barrier a shot splintered the gentle breeze. She was laying there staring at me, holding her neck. I could see the blood trickling out between her fingers. A shot kicked pavement and rocks into my face. But I couldn’t leave her there. I dragged her to the ditch as I felt bullets hit my backpack. One went all the way through and made a gash under my arm.

Regina’s blood was all over her hand. I looked at her as if to say “you ok?”. She nodded back. We were about to run into the tall grass when I noticed the necklace was missing. Looking back at the road I saw the glint of gold. I didn’t care about the snipers. I had to get it. I ran and slid on the ground like a baseball player. I sprinted back as cement exploded around me from the sniper fire. But I had the necklace.

We ran and ran. Only because of absolute exhaustion we stopped and found a place to hide. I put gauze on our wounds. We looked at the necklace. The bullet had hit the chain and broke it. We held it and fell asleep when the dark could protect us.

As we approached the Canada border, we had to crawl under the razor wire that was laid out by the Federation. But my pants got snagged in the wire and I couldn’t get free. Regina was ahead of me. She was staying low and squirming her way to the other side. Almost there. Almost there. Then I heard boots and men running up behind me at a distance.

I heard three shots. There was no pain. I felt nothing but the cut on my leg. I looked up ahead and saw a man in a uniform on the far side of the barbed wire carefully aiming and firing over my head. As I looked back, I saw two Federation men lying dead on the ground and another running for cover. The uniformed man came toward me holding the wire open for me and took my hand to pass through to the other side. His pocket had a Canadian maple leaf on it. Regina grabbed my other hand and pulled me toward her, that wonderful gold necklace in her hand. Regina’s heart shaped locket with that tiny picture of her great-grandma guided us North and we were safe.