Certain Scenarios

Ethan walked down the abandoned 401 highway, a street sign read, “2 KM to the U.S. Border.” The highway bore cracks that split the lanes where old yellow paint used to be. Doves sang in the pine trees on the right of the shoulder, taunting Ethan’s loneliness. The two love birds professing their love and life together as a beautiful song. “Makes me sick,” Ethan thought.

           Ethan hadn’t seen another face since his hospital stay. This was the first time he had to envision a face he couldn’t see. A face he couldn’t connect with. No parents, no siblings and nobody to provide a smile or even a sound. It wasn’t like they were dead, there were no bodies. The world seemed to vanish from under the overpass and over the highway. No cars either. To Ethan, this only meant one thing: people left in a hurry. Maybe people moved to England, maybe people moved to China, but Ethan knew they weren’t in Canada anymore, and he had to leave.

           As Ethan crossed the Canadian border a deer ran past him. He wished he had stopped to get some ammo for his rifle, but assumed there would be plenty on the American side. Something else approached. Ethan straightened his back and craned his neck to see ahead. Ethan stiffened. It had been one month since he awoke, one month of longing to see someone, but now he questioned why. “What if they are finishing the job they had already started?” Ethan dropped to the ground, his stomach squeezed into the cracks, which pinched his skin. Ethan hardly breathed. He remained still as the concrete he laid on.

           “Hello? What are you doing on the ground?”

           Ethan shifted his gaze towards the sound. It was a girl, only a few years older than himself. She was looking directly at him, but her features were alien to him. He hadn’t seen a girl for a long time. He only had pictures of his mother on his phone, and those were taken by accident. The photos of his mother were all up-close photos of her nose and eyes. Ethan laughed at them from time to time.

           “Hey… so are you just going to lie there, or are you going to get up? You alright dude?”

           Ethan was paralyzed by the sound, by her voice. “H..hey,” he croaked out. She helped him to his feet and brushed him off as if he were an old friend. “Hi” Ethan said again. “Did you come from the other side?”

           “Obviously….” She squinted at him. “That’s why I came from that side…” She pointed at the U.S. border.

           Ethan coughed, “N..No, I mean, like, are you coming from the side where people are? Like from the U.S. where everybody went to.”

           The girl looked at him perplexed, “Yes to the United States, I’m from Michigan. But, as for people, there aren’t any...” She squinted again.

           Ethan was even more confused now, “Ok, so why are you coming to Canada then?

           “I was stalking a deer, and it started taking off down the bridge. You must have scared it.”

           “Oh, Sorry.” Ethan apologized. “Well, if people aren’t in Canada and they aren’t in the United States, where did they go?” Ethan asked.

           “Kid. I’m not sure if you’re joking, but that’s not funny.” She looked ready to hit him.

           “N…no. I mean it. I was in a coma for a month, and when I woke up the world had vanished.”

           The girl squinted again. Ethan wondered if that was just what she did, or if she genuinely thought he was lying. “Hmm, well I got lots of explaining to do then,” she said as she turned towards the U.S. border. Ethan stood still, unsure of whether to follow this new face.

           “Come on. Don’t worry I wont shoot you…” She snorted. She nudged her head forward urging Ethan to follow. Ethan remained still. “Ugh, fine.” She marched up to him and took his hand. “Let’s go.”

           She had twice the stride that Ethan did. It seemed unnatural to Ethan to walk like that, but he did his best to keep up. He was so concentrated on his steps that he couldn’t ask any questions. He stared at his feet and skipped beside her. Apart from the walking, Ethan wasn’t sure what he felt, but he did like feeling her hand. It reminded him of his mom, and how she used to walk him to the park after school, or when he would go grocery shopping with her. After they crossed the bridge, he read a blue sign, “Welcome to Detroit,” written in all white.

           “Detroit!” Ethan exclaimed.

           “Yeah. You know it?”

           “My family and I are big Red Wings fans!”

           “You mean were.” She corrected.

           Ethan stared at his feet the rest of the journey. She led him into the heart of downtown to the edge of MGM Grand, in Corktown. Ethan could almost sniff the alcohol that once spilt the sidewalks. The microbreweries and live-music bars that once flourished seemed to linger on through its scent. Square buildings painted in bright colours lit up the strip. She took him into a house off one of the side streets.

           “Kid, this is my home.” She said. “Feel free to stay if you’d like, you can stay in my parent’s room.”

           “What happened to your parents?” Ethan blurted out.

           She paused for a moment and squinted at him. “You really don’t know… Well, we can talk at dinner. It’ll be ready at six. Until then, get settled.”

           Ethan did what he was told. He unpacked his backpack, his small bb gun, and his pocketknife. The contents didn’t amount to much, but he was sure that he could catch food for dinner if he ever needed to. While he stared at the minimal contents spread out across the man-sized bed he wondered what her parents were like. He walked around the bed and inspected the sheets. The bed sheets were nicely folded and tucked in, just like his parent’s, “that must mean that they were tidy.” The sheets were white and soft, “they must have been rich.” Ethan never got away with just pulling the covers across his bed, his mom always checked. He wondered whether she tucked her sheets in. “I doubt it,” he thought.

           Ethan went downstairs at quarter to six to prepare the table. When he got into the living room, the table was set and she was working away in the kitchen. Pots and pans were spread out over the countertop. She wore a red apron that matched her hair and freckles. “Get yourself a drink. We got orange juice, apple juice, and soda.”

           “What is soda?” Ethan asked curiously.

           “What is soda…” She squinted at him. “You know like Coca-Cola or Pepsi.”

           “Ohh, you mean pop.” Ethan corrected.

           “Pop? What is pop?”

           “Like Coke or Pepsi.” Ethan stated.

           She shrugged and then pointed him to the fridge. He checked his phone. It was Thursday and that meant pop was out of the question… when his mom was around. Now, a glass of pop seemed reasonable. It was a celebration of sorts, a new friendship, and mom always let him have coke on celebrations. He poured two glasses and sat at the table. She followed closely behind and placed a large bowl in the centre.

           “Bon appetite.” She smiled and removed the cloth from the bowl.

           Ethan peered inside and recognized the yellow noodles, the cheesy scent, and the small little puddle of yellow liquid that rested at the bottom. “It’s perfect. Soupy too, just the way I like it.” Ethan twinkled. “Thankyou…” Ethan let the u sit on his tongue for a moment while he stared at her hoping she’d have an answer for him.

           “Sarah.”

           “Thank you, Sarah. My name is Ethan.”

           “Nice to finally meet you Ethan.”

           Ethan helped himself to a large scoop of mac & cheese. “Soo, where is everyone?” he asked.

           Sarah took a deep breath and explained calmly that Ethan was never going to see his parents again. “They left us to die Ethan.”

           “What!” Ethan shouted. Tears welled up in his eyes.

           Sarah back tracked, “Not intentionally or anything, but all of our parents, all of our friends, left to go to Mars. And now, it’s just you and me kid.”

           Ethan’s eyes stung. “Why didn’t you go then?”

           Sarah tapped her chin, “I didn’t go because I knew I’d find you. And, I knew I would have to take care of you.”

           “Really?” Ethan said.

           “Really,” Sarah answered.

           After dinner, they scrambled into their pajamas—one of the few things Ethan brought—and decided they would watch a movie together. Sarah said that she had a laptop, so they could watch a movie in her room. While Sarah setup the laptop Ethan grabbed a pillow and blanket to take for the floor. In her room he noticed that the floor was carpeted, “They are definitely rich,” he thought. He rested his pillow beside her nightstand, curled up next to her bed, and waited for her to press play. He inspected her bed, her covers. He quickly lifted the duvet. “I knew it,” he thought, and smiled to himself.

           “What are you smiling at?” Sarah questioned.

           “Ughh nothing. I’m just happy you’re here to take care of me.”

           Sarah smiled back and jumped into her bed. “You know what Ethan?”

           “What?”

           “We’re going to be just fine,” Sarah nodded to herself.