Amazing
Grace –
The
El NiƱo Legend
Part
II
Carl had been
suffering from PTSD for a long time now ever since he came home from the war.
His mind is not as sound as it used to be and his paranoia of things around him
deflects reality and creates suspicion and caused him to take extra precautions
around men and those who were bragging about their survival skills and other
methods of machismo that utterly disgusted him and caused him to avoid these
types of idiots at all expense.
Thus he
constructed himself a solid bunker, sort of a sanctuary where he was void of
the negative vibes of society and kept his calmness in check as he removed
himself from the madness of the world around him.
Some would have
called this extreme in manner or thinking but with the El Nino snapping at the
world’s feet in Southern California, there were no regrets in Carl’s heart that
he had done the right thing and made himself a sanctuary from the insanity
around him.
He was still
suffering from the long lasting effects of his PTSD and has snapped a few times
over the years. Not snapping at people but rather, snapping at himself for
mistakes he made in his life.
A war veteran
who escaped the fear of artificial legs and arms like his other comrades in
arms, he suffered from a survivor’s guilt that caused him more grief than anyone
could ever imagine. He meant to break his anti-social behaviors a long time
ago. He didn’t want to prolong the isolation and political condemnation
forever. Somehow he got distracted and waited forever.
His faith in
his government had faltered. His love for his country intact, he went into
survival mode and decided that under all circumstances, he would survive.
Listening to his favorite Hank Williams Jr. song, a country boy will survive.
The door was
latched with three heavy duty locks. One was a keyed device locking with a
special key he had made so no duplicates were available on the market. The
second lock was an electronic digital lock that used a code sequence to unlock
and the third was a simple and old fashioned deadbolt lock that he had removed from
his parents’ house a long time ago and kept as a souvenir to always remind him
of them and where he lived as a child.
He had never envisioned
being a solitary man. His heart was broken a few times by women who took
advantage of his loving nature and broke his heart in pieces because they were immature,
self-centered and greedy unlike Carl. Carl was the kind of man who would and
has, given his shirt off his back to make someone else happy. His compassion
for helping his fellow man was everlasting. A real person with real emotions
but he rarely showed them to strangers.
He bundled an
extra raincoat and tucked it under his arm. He unlocked the door to his hollow
and the sound of the rushing water coming off the sloped landscape was
immediately deafening to his ears. Steadying his footing in the red mud clay he
was standing in, he slowly locked a single lock behind him and went to find
that woman under the tree with her child.
He walked
carefully around the rustling water carrying debris and flooding the countryside
with stones, gravel and heavy mud caked to anything it could cling to before it
was swept away in the littered streams of small rivers.
Walking
gingerly, he had to be careful and balance himself as his right knee had
twisted and torn a few years ago and never felt the same after the surgery by a
woman doctor, who claimed to be a surgeon for the Phoenix Suns basketball team,
assured him it would be as good as new once he completed rehabilitation and
physical therapy.
Of course, the
surgeon was wrong as the knee still snapped over time and although he never
broke it like he did before, it was not as strong as he expected it to be.
Standing there, in the twilight of the darkness, he searched for the woman and
the child under the cover of almost darkness.
Not wanting to
startle the woman and child, he had to be sure to approach her in a calm and
trusting manner to avoid her panic and fear, as he slowly searched the area
near the tree he had seen on his camera and knew she was still very near.
Eyes wide and
open, he struggled to see through the pouring rain that was unyielding in force
and soaking the landscape into a pool of water standing near a foot deep and
rushing by his feet.
Suddenly, he
spotted the woman holding the child. He stood there in the dark with eyes of
joy when he found her; yet a face of apprehension and uneasiness, as he had to
sort out the dangers of this encounter.
Unaware of any
other strangers, he approached her slowly. The woman, frightened out of her
wits, screamed, “Leave me alone, leave me alone!!!” it was like she was in the
middle of a nightmare and she was screaming out loud with an echo following her
shouts bouncing off the mountain.
Carl was taken
by surprise as he did not expect her to panic and trying to fight him off as he
was trying to help her. She was acting very stupidly Carl thought to himself.
She made a clenched fist and took a defensive stand like a boxer, as Carl tried
to calm her down, hoping for this woman to trust him a little bit more than she
did when she first saw him.
It must have
been terrifying for her to see a man standing there in the middle of the early
evening of the day, where the moon was scarcely glowing through the deep and
thick dark clouds of the thunderous rainstorm above and the sun had just set
not more than a half hour or so leaving nothing behind but blackness.
She was trying
to scare him or beat him with her bare fists. She protectively placed her child
behind her back and looked around for a stick or something else she could
strike Carl with as he just stood there still. He didn’t want to frighten her
any more than she already was, her panic was clear and her fear was real and
caused Carl some concern that she might do something weird or unpredictable to
harm him.
Soothingly, he
tried to calm her down. He was reassuring her that he was a friend and not foe.
He tried to get her to trust him enough to allow the words to sink in but her
face was filled with fright. Carl said to himself, this was going to be a
terrible night.
He told her he
was helping her. He showed her his hands that were empty of any weapons or
objects that could harm her. He even took back a few steps to show this freaked
out woman he was trying to help her with her plight. He didn’t feel like getting hit or shot but
he was certain she didn’t have a weapon.
Should he leave
her be? How can he convince her to come with him back to the cave? Time was
wasting as the rain kept falling and the thunder and lightning was steady and
deafening, making talking almost impossible as he kept a safe distance between
them while the rain drenched his darkened figure in the now concluding day had
turned into night and the rain kept pouring down, making the water the most
dominant sound.
He reached out
his arm and handed the woman the gesture to come get the raincoat in his hand.
Carl said, “if not for you, put it on your child and keep him warm. The storm
is not letting up and if you trust me enough to give you shelter for the night,
you can move on when the sun comes up and at first light, you can walk out that
front door.”
He repeated
twice or more, “I won’t harm you or your child, I came here as a friend and
apologize for your fright.” Slowly the woman came closer. Child hiding behind
her back she shuffled her soaked feet with torn and worn out sneaker kind of
shoes she wore, and came close enough to grab the raincoat and wrapped it up
around her kid. Carl gave a sigh of relief as he felt he was making progress
with this petrified and hostile woman.
Crying,
trembling and shaking of the cold wet air and near exhaustion, the woman
finally gave in and almost fainted causing Carl to lunge forward to catch her.
The kid moved aside as Carl grabbed the limp body and held her up holding her
tight.
Slowly the
treaded the water soaked landscape and made it down the uneven terrain towards
the cave. She was barely conscious to know what was happening and her kid was
clinging onto to her for dear life.
Once they made
it all the way to the entrance of the hidden cave, the unlocked the door and
carried in to one of the nearest chambers he made out to be a bedroom. He put
her on the bed and told the child to find some dry clothes he had put in boxes
near the door so they can sleep tonight and figure out what they can do
tomorrow.
Quietly, he
left the room as the woman, sill unconscious and out cold for the night, was
hugged tightly by her child at side as the night drew closed and with hopes
that for a while they would be safe and alright.
It ended up to
be quite a night for Carl as he had an unexpected guest for the night. Being
sure she was no zombie he turned out the light to the hallway and headed for
his own master bedroom down at the end of the hallway, as he ended up doing
what he does every night.
He said a prayer
as he fell on his knees and thanked God for his blessings his safety and his
life. He had put the plugs of Satan in his ears many years ago as he decided to
follow the light. Thinking to not to think at all, he went to the bathroom and
took a hot steamy shower.
The rain was so
cold, it wrinkled his skin and he knew he should have changed the woman’s
clothing but he didn’t know where to begin. He figured he was safer if he just
left her alone and if she awakened during the night, the kid would tell her
there were clothes in the box, he left right there by the door.
He put on
pajama bottoms as he came out of the bathroom. He never wore pajama tops; it
was a habit he’d acquired even before he went off to war. His physique
was nothing to be ashamed of as he was neither fat nor skinny. He briefly
looked into the mirror and saw a reflection of his past drift by as he had put
on some pounds since then but always in shape to survive the tests of life.
A small
shoulder tattoo reminded him of his high school sweetheart. A name almost
forgotten if not for this constant reminder he was wearing to bed that night
and all those other times he has endured, since he graduated from high school
in Ohio and serving in the army.
Since the
cavern was soundproof and untouched by nature’s wrath, the amount of damage
done was undetectable and as he took a good solid deep breath, he laid down to
fall asleep as he hooked up his CPAP machine and drift away into the rest of
the night. Once addicted up to the plastic shaped mask, he fell asleep within
minutes and hoped he didn’t dream of the war he fought and tried to leave
behind, inside his head.
During the
night, the El Nino rains never stopped. The night was drenched as the houses
below the man-made mountains were being carried away by the muddy waters of the
flooded areas of this valley about fifteen minutes from the coast but inland
enough to make it to the city.
The crazy thing
about this disaster was the debate between climate change and earthquake
theories created by man and the emissions of our global warming trends. All
those things that Carl considered hog wash but was smart enough not to ignore
the advice to prepare and deliver himself.
What a fool
those people were who never prepared themselves for this disaster, what a fool
they were for not making plans to go up high and avoid being washed away by the
drowning drenching torrents or forceful and power packed rains, coming from the
sky.
The night went
quickly, the mood was somber and the cave dwellings were quiet. Too quiet for
Carl who would have expected the woman or the kid to cause some kind of noise
or rumble inside the modernized but hollowed out cavern. Getting up slowly, he
headed for the bathroom and as he had just begun to brush his teeth, he heard a
loud screaming sound coming from down the hall.
He ran at a
quick pace to reach the end of the hallway where the sound came from. His heart
was racing and beating quickly as he scanned the rooms for threats or dangers
that might have caused this fright.
A dimmed
lighted setting to conserve as much electrical usage as possible, he found the
woman and child, hugging each other tightly as they stopped and trembled on the
sight of Carl’s favorite pet snake, Anaconda, a twelve foot yellow colored with
black spots slithering python that guarded the cave at night.
Anna for short,
this giant of a snake was the designated guardian of the bunker kept rodents
out and strangers at bay until it was deemed to be friend rather than foe.
Carl tried to
take good care of the woman and child. It was the right thing to do. Walking
back at a more leisurely pace he asked them if they were hungry as he went into
his kitchen and made his some of his favorite food – three eggs over easy, two
strips of bacon and wheat toast on the side.
Knowing it
would be rude not to ask them if they wanted to have breakfast, Carl offered
them the hospitality of the entire bunker and showed them where the cold drinks
were and any other food they desired. The woman nodded her head in a thankful
manner and got up to make them something to eat.
The woman and
child were thankful and hungry. Carl told her where the eggs were, the bacon
and the bread was already on the counter. He told her to get up off her chair
and make breakfast and for the kid as he sat down at the table and peaceable
ate his breakfast.
Sitting there
quietly, another sound came into the room as Carl’s Rottweilers, Reyna and Axel
came in from the bedroom where he slept and joined the rest. For the moment,
all was good and Carl explained to the woman that the two dogs were not vicious
and were also protectors of the nest and that they were brother and sister from
a champion litter born and bred in New Mexico.
The air was
quiet as the bacon sizzled in the cast iron pan – the stove was propane fed and
as the blue flame was lowered to keep the bacon from burning, the kitchen
slowly heated up and removed the overnight dampness that was created by the
constant rain outside.
The sizzling
bacon spread an aromatic sense in the air that resulted in the two Rottweilers
drooling from their mouths. After breakfast, Carl stood up and told the woman
she was welcome to stay another day or night.
Sensing they
were still a little shy and afraid of the entire scenario that played out the
night before, he gave them both some space and walked away a little bit to make
an excuse to leave them be for a while and let them relax a little.
He didn’t pry
into her business and ask her how she ended up on this side of the mountain
when in fact, it was time for him to go outside and check out any damage due to
the rain and see if any of his cave had been affected by the rains that were
still coming as predicted by the weather forecasters in the upcoming days and
nights.
He checked the
landscape with its miniature streams and gullies filled with whooshes of water.
Every arroyo in sight has water rushing through their chasms and channels as
the water was driven by the gravity of the height and sloped landscape that was
hiding a man-made cavern out of sight.
Amazingly, not
a stone was out of place as he checked his cave so carefully and meticulously
examined and inspected. Checking every nook and cranny, even checking under the
fallen rocks, Carl made a thorough inspection without any waste of time or
effort to allow any weakness in his structure forming.
Coming back
into the cave he saw the woman and child doing some cleaning up inside the
kitchen. As a gentleman would, he stated that he would do them later but the
woman insisted on cleaning up after themselves and thank him for his charity
and saving her from the storm outside last night.
Carl, coming in
wet from the misty and still concealing wet murkiness that was hanging around
like low clouds swallowing the cavern, was wondering if she was all right.
Suddenly, a silence fell in the room.
The woman had
never introduced herself and the kid. She was a complete stranger. Carl had no
idea how she ended up near his hidden cavern and wasn’t going to ask her any
questions unless she volunteered to talk about it herself. The silence in the
cavern was daunting.
There needed to
be a break in the tension so Carl asked the kid if she wanted to watch
television or play a game on the big screen television. Reluctantly, the kid
said yes after her mother nodded and Carl gave her the directions to the sanctuary
room where the TV was.
Suddenly,
without a warning, the woman started talking. “The violent attacks were
horrible,” she blurted out loud. Taking a deep breath, she began to tell Carl
of the horror stories she saw from the day before and how she ended up being
stranded up in the mountains. Her description of the zombies roaming the
streets in knee deep water was vividly terrifying and frightening.
It was a tale
that was repeated over and over after the torrential rains drowned the city and
all that surrounded it from the flooded roadways on the coastline to the
highways that were washed away or covered with deep mud from the mudslides
rolling off the mountains.
Taking a deep
breath and adjusting the wrinkled clothes she found in the bag by the door, she
drew another breath and stated, “I lived about six blocks or so away from the
mall where I shopped at the Albertson store. I was headed there to see if they
had any more cases of bottled water and batteries for the upcoming storm.”
“There was a
liquor store located across the street and people were lingering around the
front of the store and the parking lot by Albertson was crowded. It seemed
everybody was out getting supplies for the emergency and I wanted to get as
much drinking water that I could find before the storm really got bad.”
Choking on her
words, she said, “I didn’t want to risk running out of stuff so I loaded up the
SUV with supplies and food to keep me over when suddenly, out of nowhere, a
huge wave of water came down the street sweeping everything in its way down the
road as it was powerful and undoubtedly the result of the heavy rains we were
getting in the valley, with so much flooding so many places.”
“I tried to
steer the SUV to the side of the road but the water was so strong, it carried
the SUV and many other trucks and cars down the road like matchbox toys and as
I was trapped in the SUV with my six year old daughter.”
“It seemed the
elevation of the rushing and torrent aquatic rainmaking was rising creating
fierce rushing metal crushing streams now forming into a lashing flowing body
of water down the streets like a raging river. It was getting bigger and took
the cars trapped in the flowing water, down the hills and into the chasms of
the water filled valley as the creeks had overflowed and the rivers were all
rising.”
Finally
introducing herself as Heather Chase, the woman was still shaking as she told
her story. “I saw dead bodies floating and animals and people drowning around
me. I couldn’t do a thing as I was trapped in this giant water slide downhill
and picking up speed rolling with the landscape and growing.”
“I was wearing
shorts and sneakers and the water was rising up to the windows of the SUV.”
“I was frozen with
fright and panicking, screaming for help, nobody heard me and I was completely
helpless. As the SUV was floating with the rushing waters, I saw underwater
zombies popping up and reaching out at me trying to grab me.”
“I saw some of
these blood covered slow moving human shaped mindless zombie like creatures
trying to climb onto the SUV and fall off with the raging currents pulling them
down and leaving them somewhere underwater.”
“I was being
ripped from the streets and rolling with the water bobbing like a boat hoping
that the SUV will remain above water and stay afloat. Truly, I was scared to
death as this nightmare ride took me down the road for miles as the water
followed the interstate highway that had turned into a river. I remember this
well but I could clearly recall being ripped and dipped like a human bobber on
a fishing pole line and I didn’t know where we would end up but suddenly, the
level of the rushing water subdued dramatically and the flooded water was /low
enough to stall the movement leaving me stuck in the mud somewhere close to
here.”
“Around me were
slow shambling kind of moving zombies staggering and being lost in the middle
of nowhere. The mud was so deep, they couldn’t move well but they were standing
there upright in the mud looking like statues and acting like scavengers,
guessing they were looking for people to eat. Covered with blood on their hands
and faces, they were inclined to bite those unfortunate bodies floating down
the highway as the flood was subsiding.”
Heather took a
deep breath and continued to tell the horror story as she explained that the
last thing she wanted to do was to provoke them and draw attention to herself
and her daughter. They knew if they were spotted to be warm blooded beings,
they would turn into instant prey for the animal like zombies who were
plentiful and rather than dying, walking in the water.
Barricaded
inside her SUV, Heather sat there still and motionless, until the zombies
passed her car and let her be. She told of an invasion of hundred in the bloody
hordes and how they all seemed to be headed back to the area where she came
from as if they were attracted to the mall area, where mass victims laid there
helpless and severely injured and likely die from their wounds unless they are
found by the emergency medical teams out searching for survivors.
Visibly
shaking, Heather told Carl there were no signs of cops, no law enforcement and
no medical EMT’s available to help those wounded. It seemed the world had been
abandoned and nobody was around to help the survivors.
She added she
looked for cops who were supposed to keep the peace whenever disasters strike
or in this case, the valley flooded quickly from the El Nino created
superstorms and rising waters.
She said
everyone she saw looked dead or almost dead. Some were dismembered and bleeding
profusely and many were infected. This invasion of zombies was something she
hadn’t been prepared for and if your know anything about struggling people
against infected people who in turn became these senseless or mindless zombies.
She mentioned
the mall and how it was full with people when she left. The zombies hitting the
mall would be horrible as it left the people helpless. The worst place a person
can go is crowded places and some ended up there because of the rain, seeking
shelter and falling into the hands of these swarming zombies. She told Carl, “I
suspect no person could get out of there alive.”
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