Free New Title 3 by Michael Poeltl

something. Just died in their sleep. I wrapped them as best I could, made them comfortable. My sister was at her boyfriends the night before last, I didn’t see her. I left Dali with her before I came up to the lake so, I guess she’s still with her...”
    Then Julia volunteered the details of her own nightmare. “My parents are divorced, so I only found my mom,” She spoke slowly, like she was still in shock. “I kissed her face. She was still warm but I guess that’s just because of the heat…” She trailed off. Connor’s touch brought her back. “My dad lives hours from here. Maybe he’s still alive. My baby brother was with him this weekend. They have to be alive...”
    “ I think they all went quickly,” Sara said. “I know my family did. We covered them up when we arrived. Remember, Julia? Remember how peaceful they looked? It’s as though they never saw it coming. Like Kevin’s parents, went in their sleep.” She sank her face into my chest.
    “ When John, Caroline, and I first visited their houses I was praying that somehow my house hadn’t been affected like the others.” Freddy clenched his fists. “Goddamn...” His fist shot through the drywall. “Fuck!” He took a deep breath and then surveyed the damage. “Aw, Joel, I’m sorry, man. There’s a hole over here now.”
    Before I could respond, we heard someone come crashing through the door downstairs. It was Sonny, and he was alone. No Tom, no Sidney. Earl had to pick him up off the floor. He was black with ash and trembling all over.
    “ You alright, Sonny?” Earl asked.
    “ The hell kind of a question is that? I can barely breathe.” He was the picture of an angry man, not one who’d just seen his entire life taken away, not a man who had the images of dead family fresh in his mind. “Where’s Joel? I need to tell him something.”
    “ I’m right here, big guy, what’s up?” I helped him get his balance. Jesus, he was heavy.
    “ There’s a group of people not far from your house. They’re coming this way.” A pause. “They got guns.”
    Earl’s expression turned grim. “So do we.” He headed for the garage, followed by Connor and John. When they returned, Earl passed me a pistol.
    I checked the clip. “Where are Sidney and Tom?”
    Sonny stared. “They’re not here yet? They left town way before I did. I stayed back to get my dad’s van for the ride back here. The two of them were supposed to come here together in Sidney’s car. That was a good two hours ago.” Wiping the sweat and ash out of his eyes, he went on. “The damn van broke down on me about a kilometer from here, so I dragged most of my shit the rest of the way.”
    “ Well, they’ve never shown up, so something must have gone wrong on their way back.” I glanced out the window, but all I could see were swirling ash and darkness. “How long before that group gets here, you think?”
    “ I figure about ten minutes. I passed them on the road up. Rowdy bunch- they shot at me.”
    “ Let’s just hope that Tom and Sid didn’t run into those guys.”
    Sara approached me with gun in hand. “Earl’s showing everybody where to position themselves. He wants to talk to you.”
    I found Earl cracking open the south window in my parents’ bedroom. He beckoned me over. “Stay right here, Joel. I’m going to set the rest of our crew up around the house.”
    “ Only fire if fired upon, okay, Earl? Promise me that. We don’t know who they are. I know they shot at Sonny, but they’re desperate... and they may have Sid and Tom.”
    Earl nodded, and continued placing the troops. We were at war: the Reaper’s actions were only the beginning. Now that we were facing our first possible battle, anxiety gripped me, testing me. I reminded myself that it wasn’t just me; we were all fighting the same fear. “Breathe, just breathe, Joel,” I told myself. I focused on the sweat as it dripped from my nose. I wiped it away. Okay.
    “ Joel, I’m with you.”