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Two drones the size of model airplanes buzzed unusually low overhead. They banked a hard left around an apartment building and my eyes locked on the fire escapes lining the wall. If I could reach the fire escape ladders, I could break in through a window and get through the building to the other side. And reaching the building meant moving sideways through the crowd instead of forwards or backwards. Sideways was doable.

I struggled for a second with the morality of breaking into a building, but then the people in front of me began beating each other out of the way with fists and bags, blood spattering clothes and smearing across faces. Breaking and entering was nothing compared to that, so I shoved and elbowed my way to the apartment building, taking two jumps to grab the metal rung above my head. I yanked hard and started up the ladder before it had even descended all the way. I was almost to the first floor landing when I felt the whole metal contraption begin to shake. Below me, some guy popped a woman across the jaw, and when she fell to the ground, he stepped on her to climb onto the ladder. A mob surged up to follow my lead, eyes wide and mouths gaping. The men were stronger and they trampled on the women, using them as springboards to grab higher up on the ladder. It was a sickening sight and I turned away.

Using the butt of my gun, I shattered the window and climbed into a kitchen. From my prone position on the floor, I scanned the room for potential threats. I didn't see anyone, so I jumped up and ran into the living room, praying I wouldn’t feel a bullet rip into my flesh. I dived to the floor behind an overstuffed chair and waited, expecting gunfire. Nothing happened, so I counted to three and bolted for the door, fumbling with multiple locks and feeling like I had a bullseye on my back. I yanked the door open, ran down the hallway, and flew down the stairs three at a time. After sprinting down another hallway toward a red ‘Exit’ sign, I burst through a door and into an alley, cringing at the sirens.

The street was jammed with cars going nowhere and people climbing over and around them. After sliding across the hood of a taxicab, I hauled myself onto the top of a sedan and dented metal as I jumped from roof to roof to get to the other side. With just one block to go, I was a bull in a china shop the entire way. No more yelling ‘look out’ or ‘excuse me’. No more eye contact or offering to help people up. I stopped saying ‘sorry’ every time I knocked someone down. And when I finally spotted Cody at our rendezvous spot, relief washed over me. He was even bigger than me, built like a linebacker, with shaggy dark blonde hair and a lazy man’s facial scruff. And though he could have cleared a path like a Mack truck, he carefully picked his way around people until we were face to face. He slapped me on the back a couple of times and growled, “This is a fucking nightmare.”

I looked up at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. It resembled the spine and partial ribcage of a dinosaur, and people were pouring into it. “We gotta go before they shut down the trains.”

We bolted into the crowd and pushed our way through until we were locked into the herd on the platform waiting for a train. Someone shoved me and yelled something, but I couldn’t understand over the cacophony of screams and arguments.

“I’ve never been to Georgia,” Cody told me, breathing heavily with the exertion of fighting the crowd. “Is it fun?”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “I haven’t been down there in almost ten years. The only things I've ever liked about Georgia were the barbecue and the Bulldogs.” An elbow jammed into my back and I knocked into Cody. He looked over my shoulder, then he reached out and pushed someone. An arm snaked out from behind me, a fist flying over my shoulder toward Cody. I tumbled forward. The fist connected with Cody’s jaw. Then the train pulled up and the mass of bodies surged into us like a tidal wave.

Chapter 2

Cael

“Cody. Wake up. We’re here.” I shook him as I turned into Kim’s driveway, disrupting his rhythmic snore. Bright lights cut through the dark and spotlighted us, making me squint. They had a new fence – nine foot black iron bars topped with razor-edged barbed wire.

Cody leaned forward to peer through the windshield. “You said they lived on a farm. This isn’t a farm. This is fucking Guantanamo Bay.”

I shifted into park and cut the engine. Slowly, I emerged from the car with my hands held high. I couldn't see anyone yet, but I figured they knew I was here and could hear me. “Aunt Kim. It’s me. Cael Bellamy.” I added, “I’m Ava’s son.” There was no response. “Remember me? Christmas and summer vacation every year.” I glanced across the car roof at Cody, who mirrored my stance. He shrugged. I called out, “Your sister’s kid!”

I heard them before I could see them — footsteps pounding, weapons being cocked. The gate rolled open. Just as a group of men and women appeared under the spotlights, my feet were swept out from under me, and I ended up face down on the concrete with the barrel of a gun pressed to my cheek. “If you so much as twitch, I’ll blow a fucking hole through your skull,” said the guy behind me.

A pair of worn brown cowboy boots stepped into my line of sight. I hated cowboy boots. But I sure liked the long bare legs attached to this pair. Smooth thighs disappeared beneath a jean skirt and the barrel of an AR-15. I tried to lift my head to see more, but the guy with the gun stepped on my neck.

“You say you’re Ava’s kid?” The girl’s voice sounded like it belonged to a Disney princess. I wondered if anyone ever took her seriously. Even with the gun.

“That’s right,” I grunted as my cheek was mashed into the ground.

“If that’s true, then tell me what I got you for Christmas the last time you were here.”

“Iggy?” I tried to look at her again, but the gun barrel dug into my temple. “You didn’t get me anything.” She kicked me in my hip, the toe of her boot nicking bone. I winced and yelped, “Son of a bitch! It’s me! I swear it!”

“I
did
get Cael a gift. If you’re really him, then tell me what it was before I blow a hole in you!”

“I swear you didn’t get me anything! I was eleven. You hated me. On Christmas Eve you told me that I was on Santa’s naughty list…that Santa was going to sneak into my bedroom in the middle of the night, chop my head off, and hang it from the mantle next to my stocking.”

“What about the Taurus 9mm?” She sounded offended.

“You gave that to me when I was ten. I still have it...under my shirt.” Someone yanked at my sweatshirt and snatched up my weapon.

There was a pause that left me imagining being shot and left in a ditch. Then Iggy started laughing. “Let them up.”

I stumbled to my feet, rubbing the back of my neck. Iggy stopped smiling at the Taurus and handed it back to me. I couldn’t help but stare when I saw her face. Not only did she sound like a Disney princess, she looked like one too. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and the childlike face I remembered had thinned out into a heart shape. She had beautiful lips — the top one slightly fuller than the bottom — and eyes that seemed almost too big for her head. She just didn't look like someone who should be smoothing a hand across the butt of a weapon.

“You look totally different,” she told me, tipping her head to the side.

I grinned. “You do too. No more buck teeth and boy hair.” When my eyes traveled down to the soft looking skin above the three undone buttons of her shirt, the guy next to me jabbed the butt of his gun into my ribs.

“Stop staring at her,” he said, “before I shoot your eyes out.”

I’d forgotten about him. In fact, I’d forgotten that a half dozen people were standing around watching us with guns pointed at me and Cody.

Iggy asked, “Who’s that guy?” She used one arm to point her AR-15 at Cody.

“My best friend.”

Cody wiggled his fingers and offered a hesitant smile, marred only by the bruise on his jaw. “Hi. I’m Cody.”

“Where are Aunt Ava and Uncle Daniel?”

I scowled and shrugged. “I was hoping they'd already be here. I haven’t heard from them in the past couple days.”

She gave me a lopsided smile. “I’m sure they’ll be here soon. If anybody messes with them, Aunt Ava will kick ass from Maryland to Atlanta.”

“What makes you think that?” I smiled because of her funny way of speaking and not because her words made me feel better. I thought I hated the southern accent, but Iggy changed my mind. The way she drawled out her words was almost musical.

“I grew up listening to Kim tell a million stories about your mom. Ava was wicked. She's my role model.” Iggy hooked her arm through mine and tugged me toward the gate. “Did you drive straight through? You guys must be tired.”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t too bad.” Cody appeared beside me, staring at Iggy. “We have MREs in the trunk. Extra gas and weapons, too. It’s yours,” I told her. Payment for moving in.

She paused and stepped away from me to look at the blond guy who’d had the gun to my head. “Wesley. Pull the car in and let’s unload the supplies.”

He frowned and glared at me. Then he grumbled at Iggy, “Aye-aye, captain.”

Iggy tipped her head and gave Wesley a look that made his frown disappear. She walked over and said a few words, kissed his cheek, and turned away. He smiled and shook his head, then he climbed into my car and we stepped aside so he could drive it through the gates. Then she grabbed Cody’s hand and my arm and tugged us down the driveway. “Lights on!” she hollered. About a quarter mile down, the farm house lit up like a Christmas tree. More people with guns stood on a veranda that ran the length of the place. Even in the dark and from a distance I could see they had modernized and added onto the farmhouse and the barn.

I said, “You guys built a new wing.”

“Over the past couple of years, more people started moving in with us. We had to expand to accommodate everyone.”

“It’s like a hotel. A bed and breakfast.”

“It’s still a home, just a really big one now. We take care of our own in this community. Good friends are the same as family.”

She led us through the front door and a foyer into a living room with three sofas and several coffee tables. The baby grand piano was still in the corner, and the old TV had been replaced with a huge seventy-inch flat screen. The walls were covered with pictures of Kim, Iggy, Iggy's dad Chris, my grandparents, my mom when she was a kid, my family, and a bunch of other people I didn’t recognize.

As the room filled up with men and women of all different ages, Iggy pulled out the piano bench and stepped on top of it. I caught the scent of something sweet as she settled herself. “Okay. Y’all listen up.” She cocked a hip and planted a hand on it. “I’m excited to tell you that my cousin, Cael, and his friend Cody, made their way here from New York.” People started murmuring, probably because they’d heard all about Martial Law being declared in our state. “Last time I saw this kid, he had big rabbit teeth and he fell off my pony because he didn’t know how to ride worth a damn. Of course, I overlooked his flaws because he’s a Yankee.” The small crowd snickered.

“I didn’t fall,” I interjected.

Iggy looked down at me. “Yes, you did.”

I shook my head. “You jumped out from behind a bush and scared Blaze. She jumped sideways and bolted. You wouldn’t let me use your saddle.”

Iggy looked from me to the others and said loudly for their benefit, “I wouldn’t have done something like that.”

I raised my voice, “You were really mean. You said only pansies ride with saddles. You spooked the horse, I fell off, and then you started throwing –”

Her hand clamped over my mouth. “Did I mention that my cousin is a compulsive liar? You guys know how sweet I am.”

“Sweet as saccharin,” someone offered up and people laughed.

Iggy smiled and held up her hands. “Okay, well…I just want to ask that you treat these guys like family. Like one of us. And please be on the lookout for my Aunt Ava and Uncle Daniel. They should be here within the next couple of days.” She made a shooing motion. “Sorry about that false alarm. Y’all go get some sleep.” She jumped down, talked to some people, and gave a few hugs before wandering back to me and Cody. “Did either of you want something to eat or drink?” We shook our heads. “Then I’ll show you to one of the guest rooms. You don’t mind sharing, do you?”

“No. We’re just grateful for a safe place to sleep,” I assured her. We followed her through the house and up the staircase. I watched the way her skirt rubbed against her thighs as she bounced up the stairs with the energy of a child. I glanced over at Cody to find him staring at Iggy’s backside. I shoved him and he wiggled his eyebrows at me.

At the top of the staircase, we turned into the new wing and Iggy led us into the first room on the left. She flipped on the light to reveal a room big enough for two double beds, two dressers, and a desk with a computer. I tossed my backpack onto the bed covered with an old patchwork quilt.

Iggy told Cody, “I guess that means you get this bed.” She patted it. “I know it’s catawampus, but you can move the furniture around if you want.”

“It’s what?” Cody looked confused. “Catty…”

“Catawampus.”

“What does that mean?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She faced me and asked, “Is that all you brought? One back pack?”