EPISODE 3 – Even When the World Breaks
941 Words
Veronica stepped away from the vehicles slowly, carefully, hands open at her sides so she wouldn’t spook them.
She could see them clearly now.
A woman crouched low in the ditch, two boys pressed tight against her sides, fear written across all three faces.
“Hello,” Veronica called gently. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to help.”
The woman stiffened but didn’t run.
“My name is Veronica,” she continued softly. “My husband Corey and my two little girls are up in the vehicles. We won’t harm you. I promise.”
One of the boys tugged at the woman’s sleeve. “Mom… can we please stop? I’m tired of walking.”
“Archie, shh,” the woman whispered urgently. “We don’t know if we can trust them.”
“It’s okay,” Veronica said, stopping several feet away. “We have food and water. We’re headed somewhere safe. You don’t have to keep walking.”
A cautious head slowly rose above the ditch.
“Who are you people?” the woman asked.
Veronica smiled, small but sincere. “We’re a close-knit family. A little crazy. A little loud. And a whole lot of caring. We realized something was happening and decided to disappear off the grid.”
The woman hesitated. “Then why help us?”
“Two reasons,” Veronica said honestly. “When I saw you and your boys trying to hide, I imagined myself in your place. And I hoped there would still be someone out there kind enough to help.”
She took a breath.
“And the second… because even when the world is crumbling around us, that doesn’t give us the right to stop being human.”
Silence stretched.
Finally, the woman nodded. “My name is Sabrina. This is Thomas,” she gestured to the taller boy, “and Archie. They’re twelve and eight.”
“Come on, boys,” Sabrina said. “I think we can trust them.”
“Yay!” both boys yelled, scrambling out of the ditch.
A horn honked impatiently.
Veronica sighed. “That’ll be my husband.”
“Can we please get this show on the road?” Corey called from the bus.
She laughed softly. “Don’t worry about him. He’s actually a sweetheart. He’s Native though, which means when things like this happen… he’s in his element.”
She waved them forward. “You can ride with me.”
⸻
Hazel stood in front of the truck when they crested the hill, staring openly at the strangers walking into their lives.
“Are we leaving now, Mom?”
“Yes,” Veronica said. “But you’re going to ride with your dad so Sabrina and the boys can ride with me.”
She guided Hazel toward the bus.
“Corey,” Veronica said quietly, “I’m going to have Hazel ride with you. Sabrina’s still nervous, and you come off a little… saturnine to people who don’t know you.”
Corey grunted. “Fair.”
He reached into a compartment and handed Veronica a .38 snub-nose.
“Keep this on you.”
“I won’t need it,” she protested. “She’s harmless.”
“Don’t argue,” he said firmly. “Until we know for sure, we stay alert.”
She accepted it.
“And put the CB on channel nineteen,” Corey added. “We don’t lose contact.”
⸻
Later…
They pulled into a gas station as the sun dipped low.
“Let’s fuel up both vehicles,” Corey said. “Grab extra cans. If you need anything else, get it now.”
Veronica turned to Sabrina. “Do you boys need anything?”
“Food. Water,” Sabrina said quietly.
Then Veronica frowned. “Corey… where is everyone?”
“It’s too quiet,” he replied, scanning the lot. “Stay here. This could be a trap.”
“Please be safe.”
He nodded and grabbed his longbow.
“Why the bow?” Hazel asked.
“Quieter than a gun,” Corey said. “And just as deadly.”
Inside the station, Corey called softly, “Hello? Anyone here?”
A woman’s voice screamed from the back. “Please help! I’m trapped in the bathroom! It’s trying to kill me!”
Corey moved silently.
“Miss,” he said calmly, “keep its attention on you. Can you do that?”
“Yes! Please hurry!”
He opened the restroom door.
A humanoid figure stood hunched over the stall.
“Hey ugly,” Corey growled. “Why don’t you pick on someone just as crazy as you?”
It turned with a howl.
Corey didn’t hesitate.
Twang.
Thunk.
The arrow punched through its mouth and out the back of its neck, embedding into the stall door. The woman screamed.
“It’s okay,” Corey said steadily. “I’m clearing the station.”
Five minutes later…
“You’re safe,” he told her.
Out stepped a woman with long multicolored braids. “Thank you. My name’s Kendra.”
Corey nodded. “I’m calling my family.”
⸻
Back outside, Veronica explained quietly, “We don’t use real names on the CB. My husband’s handle is Bear. His tribal name is Chief Standing Bear.”
Sabrina listened closely.
⸻
As dusk fell, Kendra offered them shelter upstairs.
“This place has been in my family since the sixties,” she said. “I’m not leaving.”
Corey considered, then nodded. “Alright.”
“Veronica, pull into the shop bay. We’re bunking down.”
Never travel blind.
Never travel tired.
Never travel at night.
- Writer
