The Anvil

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

After breading the chicken, Lucy arranged it in a glass baking dish. It needed to go into the oven for forty minutes. She planned to get dinner cooking and then take a quick shower. Still in her running gear, she wanted to get the meat in the oven so that it could be cooking while she was showering. When she got back down from her shower, she’d start the water boiling for the box of macaroni and cheese that they would have with the baked chicken.

As soon as they’d arrived home, she’d sent Sam up to shower and change. She’d heard the water shut off as she slid the dish into the oven and set the timer. As she started to head upstairs, her cell phone rang. She looked at the screen and smiled when she saw that it. “Dad.”

“Hi Dad. You miss me so much that you had to call already?” Lucy asked.

“Hey kid. I need you to get your brother and put us on speaker. I need to talk to you both. This is serious.”

From the sound of his voice, she knew that something was wrong. “What happened? Is Mom hurt?”

“No, Mom is here with me now. Just get Sam on the line. I’ll explain then.”

“Sam! Get down here now. Dad is on the phone. There’s a problem,” Lucy yelled

Seconds later, the twelve-year-old came running down the carpeted stairs. He was fresh out of the shower and was wearing shorts and carrying a tee shirt. “What’s wrong?”

“Dad needs to talk to us both. Something’s wrong,” Lucy said as she pressed the button, activating the speaker on her phone.

“We’re both here now.”

“Hey, Sam. Can you hear me?”

“Sure, Dad. What’s going on?”

Taking a deep breath, Alex Wilson said, “You guys remember how we talked about Code Anvil, and we kinda joked about the world coming to an end?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Sam answered.

“Sure, I remember that,” Lucy acknowledged and felt a knot forming in her stomach.

“Mom and I just got the Code Anvil text. It’s real. Something awful is about to happen. We need you both to get the checklists from your bags and get packed. Also, take your backpacks with stuff for the trip. We don’t know how long it’ll take to get to where you’re going. You’ll then need to go to the Sherman Center Mall. There will be buses there. And remember, this is super secretive. You can’t tell anyone what’s going on.”

Sam responded first. “Is that where you’ll meet us?”

Lucy, who had turned ghostly pale, unconsciously shook her head.

“Guys, you need to be there by eight tonight. No later. We can't get off the cruise ship for a good twenty-four hours. You need to go without us.”

Sam, still not grasping the meaning of his father’s words, asked, “Then how will you find us?”

When their dad paused, Lucy answered her brother’s question. “They won’t.” She felt tears running down her face.

“No. We’re going to wait here. When you get here, we’ll try to find where we should go,” Sam said emphatically.

Marie’s voice came on the line. “Sammy, we aren’t going to get there in time. More than anything, we want you to live. That’s even more important than us being together. You must do this. You must listen to Lucy and go without us. We’ll try to find you when we get back, but that won’t be for about two days.”

Everyone got quiet for several seconds, and then 17 year-old Lucy Wilson felt something change. It was as if her mind shifted into a gear she’d never used. She picked up the phone from the counter and turned off the speaker, and held it to her ear. “I understand what I need to do. I’m hanging up. We’ve got a lot to do. I’ll call back when we’re in the car.”

Before her parents could answer, she hung up. They were no longer in charge, she was, and she had things to do. “Sam, upstairs now. Pull the bag from under your bed and get the list out of it. Start filling it. We’ll have lots of time to talk later.”

Obediently, the boy raced upstairs. He’d never seen his sister look and sound the way she did now and instinctively knew not to argue.

As she entered her room, her thoughts traveled back to the chicken in the oven. The mall was twenty minutes away, and they had two hours to get there. She wanted to sprint out of the house and head to the mall, but they needed to eat. If things were as hectic as they sounded, their next meal could be slow in coming. They’d take the time to eat before they left.

Pulling the extra-large all-white duffel bag from under her bed, Lucy dug out the packing list. When invited into Anvil several years ago, her parents were each issued a similar heavy-duty bag. They were told that if something ever happened, this bag and a small personal bag were all they would be allowed to take with them. Since then, the bags and packing lists had remained all but forgotten under the beds, waiting for the end of the world.

The huge bag was similar in size to the ones hockey players used for all their equipment. She looked at the list and saw that most of the items were obvious: six sets of clothing, including at least two sweatshirts, and toiletries. Some things were more surprising. They were supposed to bring all their schoolbooks and at least two books for personal reading. She paused, trying to make sense of it, and then logic hit her. Over a thousand people were heading to the shelter. If they each brought two books, they would have an instant library. She continued down the list, not worrying about if each item made sense to her. They were also supposed to have a bag or backpack that held what they wanted for the trip.

As she packed, her eyes fell on the photo of her and Marcus next to the bed. They were dressed up for prom. She picked it up and stared at it until she felt a tear forming. She tossed it in the bag and continued packing. If she let her mind get off task, she wouldn’t be able to resume.

She flipped the list over and glanced at the prohibited items, including weapons, fireworks, pets, and anything requiring refrigeration. She tossed the checklist down on the bed, not interested in the rest of the prohibited items, and heard Sam call.

“Lucy, come here. I’m done.”

She went to the boy’s room. “What do you still need help with?”

“Nothing. I think I have it all, but I still have a lot of room.”

Looking in her brother’s bag, it appeared like it was all in order; she took his list and quickly quizzed him, and found it was complete.

“Add one more set of clothes and two more books. Is Bear in there?” she asked, referring to the eighteen-inch tall, brown-and-tan stuffed animal that Sam had slept with since he was a baby.

“No, he wasn’t on the list,” he explained.

“Get him in the bag. Also, add a couple of other things that you want that will fit. I need to finish dinner. We need a good meal before we leave. When you’re done, get Mom and Dad’s bags out and fill them from their lists. I don’t want to hear you complaining about having to touch their underwear.”

“But I thought they weren’t going to get there in time.”

“They’ll try. In case they do, I want their stuff there for them,” Lucy explained. Taking her bag, she turned and headed downstairs. As she went, a framed photo on the wall grabbed her attention. It had been taken last summer in the park and was of the whole family.

After depositing the bag on the couch, she started the water boiling for the macaroni and cheese. Then, she took a minute to walk around the house, collecting several framed photos of the family, which she placed in the bag, between layers of clothing to protect the glass. When she finished, her bag was stuffed and she had trouble closing it.

As she was finishing, Sam appeared, carrying his parent’s bags. “I brought them all down. Mine is full now, but there’s a lot of space still in Mom and Dad’s.”

“Good. Come and eat, and think about what else might be useful for us to have. It would be kinda stupid not to fill them all the way.”

Sam said, “I’m going to pack all the candy and snacks we have into one of their bags.”

Shaking her head, Lucy looked at her brother and asked, “Why would you do that?”

“We’re going to be stuck in this shelter for a long time with over a thousand people. Right?”

“That’s what they told us.”

“Well, I saw a movie about prisoners who traded cigarettes and candy for things they wanted. They were like money. I figure, if there’s room, it couldn’t hurt to have a bunch of candy. Right?”

Putting her arm around her brother, she pulled him close. “For a dumb little brother, you're kinda smart.”

When they finished eating, Lucy washed the dishes and then put them away. She’d no idea if her parents would be returning home but, if they did, she wanted them to see that she’d been responsible.