I grabbed what I could and headed back downstairs. I passed out items to everyone. Henry and Nick were already outside getting things together. We all looked somewhat funny in my parents’ expensive coats. Sophie grabbed the fur, of course.
“Fitting, yeah?” She twirled around. “Oh, is there a muffler to go with this? I definitely think it needs one.” I threw one of my father’s plaid wool scarves at her. “Oh no, love. This absolutely does not go.” I rolled my eyes and continued passing out items. Then I got myself all bundled up and headed out the door.
It was a heavy, wet snow. I had a moment of pause, then I grinned. I thought about all the snowball fights and sledding trips Nick and I had taken. Mom and Dad would take us skiing in the Catskills. We would stay in lodges, roast marshmallows, and drink hot cocoa into the night. I felt a sudden playfulness rush through me.
I bent down and made a nice heavy snowball, squeezing it tight, and smoothing any bumps. Then I threw it, hitting Nick right in the back of his leg while he was helping Henry load the truck.
“Hey! What the…?” They turned around and saw me grinning from ear to ear. “You little bitch!” Nick yelled. He and Henry started making and throwing snowballs at me while I dodged them. I ran behind the big maple tree in the front yard. Every time I peeked out, one of them would just miss me.
“And you call yourself a sharpshooter, Henry?!” I shouted playfully from behind the safety of the tree.
“Quit being a chicken and come on out!” Henry yelled. I saw Claire and Thomas come out of the house. I waved Claire over, and she ran to join me. Naturally, Thomas joined Henry and Nick. Both Claire and I were getting pelted left and right. We didn’t care. We were laughing so hard.
Sophie finally decided to grace us with her presence. She walked across the yard in my mother’s best fur, not a single snowball hitting her. It was like she parted the seas. She joined us in our pursuit of defeating the men.
I saw Henry stop, listening. He held his arm up for the rest of us to be quiet. Then I heard it. “Is that a plane?” I asked.
We were all looking at the sky. It was hard to see with all the snow coming down, but the sound was getting increasingly closer. All of us were motionless. I felt a moment of excitement.
“Henry! Maybe there’s help coming! Maybe there are other places in the States that aren’t infected! Maybe we should drive to the airport!”
“No. That can’t be it or they would have flown over ages ago.” Henry listened closely. “That’s a military jet.”
“That’s good news then, right? Maybe they’re looking for survivors.” Claire was trying to sound positive, but she felt the same unsure feelings that Henry had. Then we heard an explosion and felt the ground rumble. Another plane flew overhead.
“Come on! Let’s roll! We need to get the hell out of here!” Henry and Nick ran around, getting the trucks packed.
I ran to him. “What’s going on?” I said, panicking.
“They’re bombing!”
“What?”
“Whoever is flying those planes…they are bombing!”
“But what about survivors?”
Henry grabbed my arms, shaking me. “They don’t care, Elaina! Now move! We need to finish getting packed so we can get the hell out of here!” My heart was pounding. We heard more planes and more explosions.
I stood there, frozen. My feet wouldn’t move, my muscles were stiff. Fear had taken over my body.
“Elaina! Come on!” I watched everyone running around, trying to pack up. “Elaina! Snap out of it! We need you!” Henry ran past me with the trunk of weapons and ammo.
Finally, I was able to move. I ran into the house and collected what I could, and then ran it out to the truck. Nick was still bringing stuff out from the garage: axes, chains, and a carrier for the roof of the truck. He fastened it to the top of Henry’s Tahoe and began loading it with the dry wood.
Claire ran past me with extra blankets. Thomas was carrying out boxes of food. Everyone was moving at warp speed. More explosions sounded in the distance, but closer this time. The ground rumbled.
Finally, the house was cleared of everything we thought we needed. I ran into the living room and grabbed the photo albums. Nick came flying downstairs with his guitar, and a couple other treasured childhood items from his room. I ran upstairs and paused at my parent’s bedroom.
I am not a praying kind of girl, but I grabbed my mother’s gold cross necklace. She treasured it. Her mother gave it to her as a gift on her sixteenth birthday. I stuffed it in my jacket pocket. I knew that could very well be the last time I ever saw my family home again. My jaw trembled.