Ten Days. John Sheppard

next week?” He knew he was only asking Andy to postpone his decision so that he could postpone his own. What in the world would he tell Jackie?

      “Can you promise me they won’t be here by then?” Andy challenged.

      He was right, thought Carl. All the timelines were sheer guesswork now. As a parent, everything within him was screaming “NO!” A small part of him was saying a reluctant “Yes.”

      “What are your plans, son?”

      “We’d follow the bike trail at the southern end of the capital; it should take us a couple of days.” Andy was making reference to a bike trail which was actually at the southwestern side of the city. It was built over an old railroad track, so the route was almost straight southeast to the port city. Everyone in the city knew of the path, but few had considered taking it, because it was assumed that it was well patrolled by the Enemy.

      “Do you have any idea what they’ll do to you if you’re caught?” It was Carl’s turn to fight his emotions. He quickly formed a visual image in his mind of the torture his son would endure. It was images like that which had convinced him that the Option was the only choice for his family.

      “I’m sure, as a doctor,” Andy began hesitantly, “you’re more aware than I am. But I want a chance to live. How many times have you told us about a cancer patient who decided to fight against the odds? Some made it, others didn’t. I just want to try to make it.”

      Carl fully understood what Andy was asking; he wanted the same things for the rest of the family, but didn’t see it happening. How do you let your child take such a risk? How do you advise them to just stay put, and more than likely die? “You’ve really caught me off guard, Andy,” replied a very tired Carl. “I need to think about it, and talk to your mom.”

      Andy nodded his acceptance and headed to his room. Carl sat at the table thinking. Is this what it’s like when I tell someone they have six months to live? The sense of despair and doom made him feel like he was drowning, with no help in sight. Carl turned off the lights and returned to bed, but found he couldn’t sleep.

      5:16 AM

      After years in the military, Stephen knew how to pack for deployment. He kept most of what he would need ready. There wasn’t any reason to keep a written checklist; it now seemed to be just instinctive. Captain Trent should be knocking at his door within the next fifteen or twenty minutes.

      There was the last item to pack; it had been the last item to pack throughout his military career and still was even today. He slowly ran his right index finger around the small gold-plated frame which contained Carol’s picture. She was smiling that infectious smile which first caught his attention at Stonecrest.

      Stephen was late into his third year of military training at Stonecrest, and she had been a civilian secretary when their paths crossed. He was being considered for a summer training program in the USA, and had been summoned to the commandant’s office for an interview. Carol was the commandant’s secretary. In keeping with his military training, Stephen entered the commandant’s outer office in the stiff, formal style required.

      When Carol greeted him with that warm smile, he struggled to keep a proper decorum. Her smile was completely disarming. Her eyes sparkled, and the expression on her face was warm, inviting, yet playful. Stephen had never met a woman who intrigued him so quickly. He had found it difficult to concentrate on the interview process because his mind kept drifting to thoughts of her.

      Once the interview was over, and as he was exiting the outer office, Stephen managed to muster the courage to ask Carol to be his date for the graduating class’s military ball. She readily accepted.

      While at the ball, Carol shared with Stephen that her parents were American citizens who had visited his country with her during her teen years. She fell in love with the country, and had gone to university in the capital city. To Stephen’s surprise, he also learned that she was almost four years his senior. After she graduated, Carol had decided not to return to her parents’ home, instead ending up at Stonecrest.

      Stephen was chosen for the summer training program, but while in America, he couldn’t wait to get back to her. In his absence, her love for him had only deepened. They married shortly after his graduation.

      Lost in his thoughts, Stephen had also lost track of time, and hadn’t heard the initial knocking at his door. Quickly, he placed Carol’s picture in his luggage, picked it up, and headed for the door.

      6:43 AM

      Sam had found it difficult to get up and jog this morning, after her nightmare a few hours earlier. But, as always, jogging helped her deal with whatever was going on in her life. As she rounded one of the gentle bends in the river, she saw it. A body was floating face down.

      A year ago, it would have been news; the bridges would have been crowded with people stopping to stare. Now suicides were common, and few people even noticed. Nothing seemed to surprise anyone anymore. Numbness had settled into day-to-day living; pain and losses were just expected.

      The pressure of feeling surrounded, coupled with a lack of hope for the future, was taking its toll. There was also the not knowing when the end would come which could drive one crazy. As far as she knew, everyone had lost someone in the last five years. Many, like Sam, had taken loss after loss, until they felt they just couldn’t take it anymore. Hadn’t someone once said something, in some situation, about the living envying the dead? In her own mind, Sam had determined she wasn’t going to just give up. She had a plan, and it wasn’t the Option.

      As Sam passed the body, she wondered about the person in the water. What finally drove them to this point? Who had they been? Five or six months ago, would they have even considered their life ending this way? If things had been different, if there hadn’t been a war, who would they have become? Who had she become? How had the war and the last several months changed her?

      8:55AM

      Jackie gave a couple of quick honks of the horn as she sat in her car in her driveway. She was giving her signal to Mandy that she was ready to leave. Both Mandy’s house and Jackie’s sat on large tracts of land, considering the fact that they were within city limits. Since Jackie’s home had always been on its site, dating back to when all this was farmland, Jackie assumed Mandy’s home had been built sometime later. With more than an acre of land on which to build, the original owner of Mandy’s house had chosen to build within a few yards of Jackie’s. The close proximity of the two homes had made for neighbors who were also close friends, and Jackie treasured her relationship with Mandy.

      As Jackie waited for Mandy to join her, she once again checked her list of fruits and vegetables. Ah, this is what summer is all about, thought Jackie, sunshine, warm days, hours in the gardens, family meals outside, and fresh produce from the farmers’ market.

      Mandy soon joined her, and they greeted each other with the usual warm smiles and hugs. Jackie took note that Mandy was acting more like her old self, and decided not to bring up their conversation of the day before.

      “Okay, got your list, money, shopping bags, are we ready to roll out?” inquired Jackie.

      “Ready to roll!” responded Mandy cheerfully. Jackie dropped the gearshift into drive and they were off. The farmers’ market was less than three miles away, so the mothers felt comfortable leaving the older children to watch the younger ones for an hour or two.

      The farmers’ market was held at the high school’s expansive athletic field. As Jackie and Mandy approached the high school, Jackie thought, Now this has changed. The Enemy’s spring offensive had ended any planning for the upcoming school year in the capital. In past years, there would have been several shopping trips just to find new clothing for the upcoming year, other trips for books and school supplies. Not to mention the banter between siblings concerning which faculty had what faults or which of the faculty was preferred and why. Jackie wondered to herself if all those