The Nuclear Catastrophe (a fiction novel of survival) (31 page)

“
Where
’
s Althea?
”
asked his wife.
“
She
’
s been gone the whole day and half the night. She should have been back by now...unless something's happened to her.
”

Jess Carr also worried about his daughter
’
s absence. She had been gone much too long.

“
How is it that the police can
’
t do their jobs anymore?
”
asked his wife.
“
Jess, I think you ought to go down to the police station and report her missing.
”

In his many years of life Jess had never found policemen particularly helpful. Actually, he and most black people he knew felt they had good reason not to trust cops.
“
No, Lou Ella. I don
’
t think I should go out. You know what Thea said about us staying inside. Besides, there won
’
t be anyone at the police station.
”

Lou Ella shut her eyes tightly, a device she
’
d always used to relay to her husband that she didn
’
t want to hear what he had to say.

“
We
’
ll have to sit and wait, sweetheart,
”
replied the old man.
“
She
’
ll be in, you
’
ll see, and she
’
ll have your medicine.
”

His reassurances fell on deaf ears.
“
No, I want you to go report her missing. I can
’
t stand thinking of my little girl out there alone in the night.
”

“
But Lou Ella....it won
’
t do any good. I tell you there
’
s nobody at the police station.
”
His wife was a quiet woman by nature, one who made few demands on her husband. And because she seldom asked anything of him, he was inclined to grant her wishes when she did ask. This, however, was directly against his better judgment and Thea
’
s command.

He peered at her through the dimness. She sat unmoving, her eyes closed.
“
Did you hear me, Lou? I said there
’
s nobody at the station.
”

A tiny droplet squeezed out from under one lid and rolled down her cheek. He saw the shiny tear and was moved. Lou was a strong woman—she never cried, no matter how bad it got.

“
Don't worry,
”
he whispered.
“
I
’
ll go look for her.
”
He felt impelled himself—he couldn
’
t rest, not knowing where Althea was or what had happened. Maybe she was somewhere near and he
’
d find her. At least he
’
d be making some effort and that was better than sitting still.

Jess got up and removed his windbreaker from the closet. He slipped it on and zipped the front. To others the night would seem warm but he chilled easily. Going to the door, he cast one look back at his wife. She was motionless, but she
’
d heard his response, he was sure of that.
“
Fasten the latch after I
’
m out,
”
he reminded her, then stepped cautiously into the darkness.
 

Sometime during the waiting Lou Ella dozed off. When a feeble pounding at the door intruded on her, she was instantly alert. Sliding the latch aside, she cautiously peeked into the darkness.
“
Jess? Is that you?
”

From the opposite side a weight pushed against the door, forcing it open. Althea lurched toward her mother, clutching at her. Her feet were bare, showing huge puffy blisters across her heels and soles. The dress that had been tidy in the early morning was now grubby with filth. A tiny vial of a colorless fluid fell from her fist as she slowly sank to her knees on the floor, completely exhausted.

“
My gracious, girl, we were worried sick about you,
”
said her mother. The little woman strained at lifting Althea to her feet.
“
What in the world happened to you?
”

“
Mama, your insulin—don
’
t step on it,
”
said the daughter.

The bottle was retrieved, inspected briefly, then dropped into a pocket.
“
That
’
s not very much they gave you, Thea, not for having gone all that distance to get it.
”

Althea pushed her mother
’
s hands away, refusing to be helped to her feet.
“
I
’
ll have to go back when this is gone. They wouldn
’
t give me more at one time.
”

“
Oh, Thea, you look so tired.
”
Lou Ella again tried to lift her daughter.

“
No, Mama, let me rest here on the floor.
”

Lou Ella rushed to the kitchen and filled her glass with the orange powder and water. She stirred it quickly and returned to Althea.
“
Here, take a swallow of this....you must be thirsty.
”

Without realizing, Althea opened her mouth to receive the orange fluid, and felt its deliciousness cascade down her throat.

“
There, that
’
s better, isn
’
t it, honey?
”

The daughter dumbly nodded, then gasped,
“
Mama, no! You know it
’
s not safe to drink the water! How could you?
”

Tears welled once more in the tired eyes.
“
I got so thirsty I couldn
’
t stand it anymore,
”
Lou Ella whimpered.
“
I had to drink it.
’’

“
But Mama, you
’
ll have to try! You
’
ll have to steel yourself against temptation!
”
Arguing with the elderly woman was pointless and only sapped Althea
’
s energy. And now she
’
d hurt her mother by shouting at her.
“
I
’
m sick, Mama....awfully sick. But promise me that you and Dad won
’
t use the water, will you?
”

The tears freely flooded Lou Ella
’
s cheeks as she dabbed at the wetness.
“
Althea, what are we going to do?
”

The daughter had been plagued by recurring vomiting since evening. Her body was now weakened by the loss of energy, and a fever was beginning a slow climb, leaving her full of aching misery.
“
I
’
ll lie here on the floor for awhile, Mama....just leave me here. Maybe I can think of something later.
”

Sniffling her tears, the old woman mumbled,
“
Thea, I sent Papa out to report you missing to the police. We didn
’
t know but that something awful had happened to you.
”

In disbelief, Althea stared at her mother.
“
Papa is....Mama, there
’
s no police. How could you have let him go?
”
She felt her body going numb, but she asked,
“
Why, for Lord
’
s sake?
”

“
We were worried about you, honey. He should be back by now, though...! guess he just took it slow.
”

No matter how strongly Althea wished to stay awake, he body refused. She slowly sprawled out on the floor and slid into unconsciousness, murmuring
“
Papa....Papa....
”
 

As his daughter approached the house from one end of the block, Jess turned the corner at the opposite end. He made his way carefully in the blackness, stepping slowly and feeling the firm concrete before putting his weight down. The short walk had made no unusual demands on him, yet, his body was no longer responding to his will to go on.

The pain slammed into his chest like a sledge hammer then raced up his neck and along his left arm. Beads of perspiration rapidly formed and poured down his face. Clutching his chest, he kneaded his fingers into the bony rib cage, trying to work the pain out. But the ache only intensified.
“
Lou Ella,
”
he whispered, just before he collapsed on the empty sidewalk.
 

Light was filtering under the shade. It was the soft, diffuse sunlight of early morning. Althea blinked away the sleep, and listened closely for sounds. The house was still. The air was heavy. There
’
d been no wind to disturb the quietness outside the frame bungalow just as there were no movements to interrupt the quietude inside.

“
Mama?
”
she called tentatively.

She had laid on the hard floor throughout the night—in the same spot where she had collapsed in an unconscious faint. Her body was sore and stiff, but it was not until she pushed her weight up on swollen, raw feet that she gasped with the pain. It was a metal-hot, searing pain that swept along her body. On trembling, shaking legs, she leaned against the wall and attempted to clear her head. The house was inordinately quiet.
“
Mama? Mama, where are you?
”

She treaded painfully toward her parent
’
s bedroom door and called again.
“
Mama, are you all right?
”
Shoving the door ajar, she saw the elderly woman curled on her bed.
“
Mama, why didn
’
t you answer me?
”
The old lady
’
s eyes were open.
“
Didn
’
t you hear me call?
”
asked Althea anxiously. The grey head made a slight barely perceptible movement on the pillow.

“
Where
’
s Papa?
”
Why hadn
’
t he awakened her, she wondered. At that instant she remembered that he
’
d been gone when she returned during the night. She moved to her mother
’
s side and took the frail, wrinkled hand in her own. She slid her fingers to the underside of the wrist. Faint pulsations irregularly passed into the delicate receptors of her fingertips.

Hastily, the daughter poured alcohol onto a cloth and bathed her mother
’
s neck and chest. Fumes sent the mother into a small fit of coughing.

“
Althea,
”
Lou Ella finally said,
“
your father is out on the sidewalk....we must go get him.
”
Her voice was tired and weak, almost inaudible, but she attempted to arise from the bed.

“
I
’
ll get him, Mama. You stay right here and I
’
ll go call him,
”
said Althea moving toward the door.

“
No, you don
’
t understand. Last night when I sent him...
”
her words trailed off and became momentarily lost. At last they resumed.
“
When I sent him down to the police station to report on you, he didn
’
t come back.
”
Her voice weakly drifted off again.

“
He didn
’
t....what?
”
Althea grasped her mother
’
s shoulder and gently shook it.
“
Mama, what are you talking about?
”

“
I waited all night, maybe I slept some, but by morning I knew something had happened.
”
Large tears again pooled under the swollen lids.
“
You wouldn
’
t wake up, Althea, so I went out by myself... looking for him.
”
The tiny dams burst and salty drops spilled out.