Suburban Apocalypse

“You told them,” Hannah Gregor said to the woman at her front door. “I can’t believe you told everyone about our extra supplies.” The cool night air blew in through the open door. Light from the flashlights and cellphones shone at her like a spotlight in the dark.

“Hannah, they don’t want any trouble, but you have to share,” Rachel Andrews said. “You’re hoarding food, and it’s not right.” Shouts and grumbles came from the people behind her. The group had started as a few random individuals, but more neighbors had filtered out of their houses to join the fray.

“We gave you food,” Hannah whispered to her once friend. “We gave you and your daughter food.”

“You gave us expired food!” Rachel hissed. Spit sprayed from her bared teeth. “You gave us trash. I can’t feed Luna expired food. It could hurt her poor stomach.”

“It’s canned soup. It’s still fine,” Hannah said. “We ate it ourselves.”

“Children’s stomachs are more sensitive,” Rachel insisted. “But that’s not the point. You have more than enough food to share, but you’re hoarding it. You’re keeping it secret while people are starving.”

“No one’s starving,” Hannah said, trailing off. The neighbors looked angry, though not emaciated. Her husband, Victor, stepped up to the door.

“We gave you food because we felt bad for you and your daughter,” Victor said. “And this is how you repay us? I told Hannah you’re a user. You were a terrible friend before the apocalypse, and you’re worse now. People don’t change.”

“Enough with the talking,” a skinny man with a small gun said. “We ain’t here to debate. We’re here to redistribute the wealth. We all gotta pull together to survive. We all gotta share. It ain’t right that some have more while others starve.”

“This is our stuff and our private property,” Victor insisted. “You can’t just come in here and take it. We have no idea how long the power will be out or when things will get back to normal. We need this food, too.”

“Then you probably should’ve invested in some firearms,” the skinny man laughed. “Because there ain’t no way you’ll keep what you got without them.” Hannah glanced around at the group. No one else in the group seemed to have a gun, though a few people had baseball bats and golf clubs.

“Rachel, where did you find this guy?” Hannah sneered. “You really do have the worst taste in men.”

“Jimmy is here willing to take care of us, you judgmental bitch,” Rachel snapped back. “You and I were never really friends. I just hung out with you because you live next door and gave me free babysitting.”

“You’re a great mother,” Hannah snapped back. “Whoring around to all hours. At least we gave her a safe place to stay.”

“Fuck you, you barren bitch!” Rachel screamed and lunged at them. “Get out of the way! We’re taking your shit.”

The crowd of neighbors surged at that, pushing to get into the house. In their haste, they stumbled up the steps of the front porch, a tangle of limbs and scrambling bodies. Victor was able to slam the door and lock it, but not before Jimmy and Rachel tumbled in.

“Don’t move!” Jimmy screeched, holding the gun in front of him. His thin arms shook with adrenaline and nerves. A greasy stench of body odor and fear emanated from him. A lilac-scented candle on the coffee couldn’t cover the smell. Victor and Hannah froze, sweat dripping from their foreheads. The fire in the fireplace cast a hot orange light around the dark room.

“You’re going to kill us?” Hannah held up her arms. “Come on, it hasn’t gotten to this, has it?”

“You WILL share,” Jimmy said. “Listen to that crowd out there. Your neighbors are starving. They aren’t going to stand for this.”

“We’ve been giving to the communal pot,” Victor protested. “We’ve been giving just as much as the others. It’s barely been two weeks. How could people not have enough food to get them through two weeks? They’re hoarding, too. They just won’t admit it.”

“Well, they don’t got enough,” Jimmy said. “They know you got more, and they want it. They’re going to tear your house apart.”

“What if we can reach an agreement?” Victor asked. “What if we hire you to guard the house?”

“Why would I need to work for you when I can just take what you got?” Jimmy waved his gun. “I’m the one with the gun here. You are going to give me whatever I want.”

“But how are you going to get it out of here?” Hannah protested. “Those people are going to come in here and tear everything apart. They’re going to destroy everything in the process, and no one’s going to get anything. Even if you try to take food out of here, they will take that too.”

The four of them looked at the mob pounding on the door and shouting obscenities.

“Stop them, and you can stay with us,” Victor said quickly. “We have plenty of water from the rain barrels and wood for the fireplace. It’s warm here. There’s tons of food. We’ve been cooking on the camp stove and the grill.”

“You can defend this place,” Hannah agreed. “You can help us protect the house.”

“I could just kick you out and take over,” Jimmy pointed out.

“Yeah, just kick them out,” Rachel agreed. “Kick them out, and we’ll live here in their perfect house.” The pretty crackling fire gave the gray interior a happy, cozy feel despite the mob outside.

“What are you going to do, murder us?” Hannah argued. “The people out there aren’t going to let you get away with that. And what if things do start back up? They might forgive a little looting, but murder is going to get you put away.”

Jimmy paused at that. The tip of his gun lowered a few inches.

“We have a very nice guestroom,” Victor said. “You two can stay in there. We’ll draw you a bath.”

“I do need a bath,” Jimmy grinned. “This place is a lot better than your house.” He looked at Rachel, who glared back.

“I’m a single mother,” she fumed. “I don’t have all of this disposable income to throw away on candles and fireplaces.” A large bang sounded against the front door.

“We have to get them to go away,” Victor gestured to the door. It was steel with tiny windows across the top. Two of the little windows had cracked, and the molding around the door had become loose and crumbling.

“I’ll take care of them,” Jimmy said. He went to the window near the door, opened it, and pushed out the screen, which clattered to the ground. He pointed the gun out the window. “Get out of here!” He screamed. He shot off two rounds into the front lawn. The people on the porch ducked and scrambled. One man tumbled over the railing and into the bushes. The mob stepped on a woman who had fallen at the bottom of the stairs. She screamed and crawled to her feet, then ran off. Jimmy pulled his arm back into the house and closed the window. He locked it firmly.

“You didn’t shoot anyone. Did you?” Rachel asked nervously.

“No, of course not,” Jimmy scoffed. “I just scared them. These city kid liberals are so scared of guns that they run at the first shot. Now, be a dear and run that bath for us.” Jimmy sauntered over to the couch and sat down. He picked up one of the two glasses of wine on the table and took a sip. “Nice vintage.” He tapped the gun on his knee. Rachel walked over and sat next to him. She took the second half-finished glass and sipped it with a smug grin.

“Maybe we could get a little snack?” she asked. “Do you have more of that amazing salsa from the farmer’s market?”

“Yeah, I think we do.” Hannah went to the kitchen and prepared the salsa and chips. She returned with a large bowl of salsa and a bigger bowl of tortilla chips and set them on the coffee table. Victor hauled water from the rain barrels up the stairs and poured them into the bathtub. He heated a kettle on the fireplace and poured it in to warm the cold water.

Jimmy and Rachel drank and ate on the couch, laughing and making out. Jimmy set the gun on the armrest next to him. Whenever Hannah or Victor came by, he picked up the gun and tapped his knee. Hannah went upstairs to check on the bath and came down with two bath bombs in her hands.

“Would you like a bath bomb?” she asked. “We have rose and lavender.”

“Why not both?” Jimmy said extravagantly. “My baby deserves it.” Rachel laughed as he grabbed at her chest.

“Why not?” Hannah said with a thin smile.

Jimmy and Rachel opened another bottle of wine and went upstairs to the bathroom. Jimmy kissed her neck as they went in.

“Rachel, where’s Sarah?” Hannah whispered as they passed in the hall.

“Oh, old Mrs. Henderson is watching her tonight,” Rachel giggled. “She’s fine.”

Hannah and Victor went to their room and closed the door. The room was pitch black without any streetlights or alarm clocks. The only sound was the laughing and splashing coming from the bathroom. They got under the covers quickly as the house was chilly away from the fireplace. Victor wrapped his arms around Hannah as they snuggled deep into the bed.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Victor whispered. “I can’t believe Rachel did this to us.”

“I can,” Hannah scoffed. “Do you remember how she threw me under the bus at the Halloween party? She was always shady.”

“That’s true,” he frowned in the dark. “What are we going to do?”

“Do you remember the poison I bought last year to get rid of those mice that were chewing the internet cables?” Hannah whispered.

“Yeah, do we still have it?” Victor’s voice was barely audible.

“Well, not anymore.”