General Art Fallout: On the Run

[Hero of Time]

I was eleven years old when it happened. Me, my mom, and my sister Hannah went out looking for a good day at the mall. Hannah was little back then - only two years old - and had just started walking on her own; she had her golden blonde hair in pigtails and wore the overalls she seemed to wear every day.

I remember how beautiful everything was that day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The mall was full of cheery people. My mom bought me a Transformers action figure. It all seemed so perfect. Even my mom looked great despite her condition. That cancer she had was eating her alive, and she still managed to put a smile on her face for us.

Then it happened. I remember it all too distinctively - enough to haunt my dreams every night. We were in the food court. Hannah wouldn't eat anything besides "pasketti," so we went to the pizza counter. We got our food and sat down. I was starving. I finally got to raise a hot slice of pepperoni to my mouth, but I never got to eat it.

Boom.

I didn't watch the news much back then, but my parents watched it every evening. I usually caught snippets of it when I played with my toys in the living room. It didn't seem very important, and I was definitely wrong about that. If I had paid more attention, I would've known about the war. There wasn't any fighting involved; it was all arguments and diplomacy. But eventually everything got out of hand. Almost every country got involved. It all turned to hell. The bombs got dropped.

We were just far enough from the blasts to not be affected, but I could still feel it - millions of people being wiped out in a matter of seconds. A wave of radioactive, nuclear energy hit the mall. It was strong enough to shake the whole place, but that didn't do much but scare us.

Everything after that is a blur. I remember my mom holding me and Hannah tight, telling us we would be okay. Everyone around us seemed to be doing the same with the people they loved. People were scrambling for information, but the Internet went down seconds after the blasts. We were in the dark. But we were safe, and that was something to cherish.

FALLOUT

SIX YEARS LATER​

I live in a Hollister store with my sister and a couple other families. It's not glorious, but it's something. (I know for a fact I'll never run out of clothes.) Hannah usually wakes up before me. She gets me up - which isn't an easy task - just like our mom did before it all. We get dressed, and then we go outside.

"Outside" isn't what it used to be. Six years ago it would've been playing football with my dad in the backyard, enjoying the sun, the fresh air, the green grass... Now it's going into the center of the mall. When I came here six years ago, I didn't expect to live here, but I guess it's hospitable enough. Most of the stores are now housing quarters like the one me and Hannah live in. Then we have classrooms for the kids, a meeting room, the infirmary, a bar, and of course, the food court. It hasn't been easy to feed four hundred people for six years, but we've managed. We have designated search teams - about ten people each - that go out and gather food and materials for everybody. No one else is allowed to leave the mall.

Every day I drop Hannah off at class. I don't know how much she enjoys the learning aspect of it, but I know it's good for her to be around the other kids. She'd probably go crazy if it was just the two of us. Luckily, there's about thirty other kids.

After I drop her off, I go to Jeffrey's office. Jeffrey is the guy who calls all the shots. I can't really remember how he became our leader, but it's definitely a good thing that he did. I can't imagine where we'd be without him at the helm. Jeffrey gives everyone their duties for the day. Besides the kids, their teacher Miss Hinshaw, our three doctors, and Jeffrey himself, everyone is given miscellaneous duties every day. They usually involve preparing food, doing sentry duty, or taking a census to make sure nobody's left overnight. But when I walked in Jeffrey's office today, I knew he had something else in mind for me.

"Chris, can we talk?"

"Sure. What's going on?" I said.

Jeffrey looked past me at the line of people waiting outside to receive their duties. "We're better off in private." He stood up and led me to the back of the store that he had made his office.

I had never been back there before today. It was nothing like I expected. It was a rather small area, with only a mattress and a meager bookshelf. The lighting in the room was slim. Since the electricity stopped running six years ago, the only light source in this whole place is the glass panelling on the ceiling of the mall atrium and on the exits. The further you go into a place in here, the dimmer it gets.

"What do we need to talk about it?" I asked once me and Jeffrey had sat down on the mattress.

"You remind me a lot of myself, Chris," he said, looking me right in the eyes. He has the kind of stare that peers right into your soul, for better or worse.

"I guess, yeah."

"I want you to take over this place for me when I'm gone," said Jeffrey.

That really confused me. "What do you mean? You're only, like, twenty-something, aren't you?"

"People don't last long anymore, Chris - even in here. Our death rate's gone up this year. Not to mention the flu that's starting to go around."

"We've only had six deaths in the past two months," I pointed out.

"Nothing good lasts long," Jeffrey said. "Especially now." He paused for a moment. "Look, Chris, I'm not saying I'm gonna die any time soon, but you never know what's gonna happen. Just promise me you'll lead all the good people here when I'm gone."

Admittedly, I still had no idea what he was talking about. "Sure," I said.

"Good," he said, looking down. All of a sudden I saw his eyes go blank for a moment. Then he returned to normal and looked back up at me. "Thanks."

"No problem," I said.

"I better go back to handing out duties. How about you take a day off for today?"

A day off sounded great, but after him saying he wanted me to be the next leader, I didn't think slacking off was the right thing to do. "Nah, I'm up to doing something."

"Okay," he said. "How about you take sentry for the day? That's easy, right?"

"Yeah, it's not too bad."

"Alright," Jeffrey said with a nod. "I'll put you on the northeast exit."

"Sounds good."

"What's that pretty girl you like's name? Allison?"

I went a little red. "Uh, yeah, why?"

"I'll partner her up with you."

"You don't have to do that. I mean-"

"It's the least I can do for you," said Jeffrey.

"Thanks."

Jeffrey nodded. We simultaneously got up and left his room in silence. (Jeffrey and I have this unspoken understanding of each other. It almost scares me at times.) Jeffrey sat at his desk, and I left. When I got outside, there was a large line that extended halfway down the atrium. I felt a little sorry for them, but it was Jeffrey who wanted to have the conversation - and besides, who wouldn't rather stand in line than do work?

Well, I guess Bob Ross wouldn't. Bob Ross is the anti-Jeffrey: the guy who thinks he runs the place but really just tells stories about what he would do if he was the leader. If you thought everything was peaceful here, you thought wrong. Bob Ross and his followers don't really do much, but they create enough tension to put everyone on edge. They've made threats to overthrow the place plenty of times. The only person who's never worried about them is Jeffrey. I don't know how he manages to be so calm all the time.

"Took ya long enough, kid," Ross snorted. "Did Ol' Jeff hafta teach ya how to slice bread?"

"Good one, Boss," said one of his cronies, giving him a nudge.

That's another thing. His followers call him "Boss." I'm not sure if it's because that's what you get when you put his first and last name together or because they follow his every move; either way, it's annoying.

I ignored the snide comment and made my way to my post. I waited for Allison there for about an hour, presumably because she was waiting in that long line. Everything after she got there was a blur. You really lose track of a lot of things when you're around a girl that you have feelings for. Allison is the first girl I ever had a real crush on. Living in the same vicinity as the girl you like sure has its ups and downs. I'm not sure how she feels about me, but I think I'm going to make my move soon.

When dinner came around, Allison and I left our post and went down to the food court. I reunited with Hannah and we ate our meal. The portions here are frugal and not the best tasting, but it's hard to complain; it's a blessing to have food at all - even one meal a day is enough to feel grateful. Eleven year old me would've thrown a fit at the thought of only eating a slice of bread, a couple vegetables, and some water every day, but I got accustomed to it after a while.

Dinner usually lasts a couple hours. Everyone's done eating after about twenty minutes, but people use the time to socialize. I don't know if she knows it or not, but I cherish the time that me and Hannah spend at dinner. We typically just have small talk about our days, but it's enough to keep me going every day until that point. I'm really thankful to still have her. I'm not sure what I'd do if she was gone, too.

"We got journals at school today," Hannah said, showing me her journal.

"That's cool," I said. "Do you get to keep it?"

"Yeah! But we have to write in it every day and bring it to class."

"I did something like that when I was your age. I used to write about how you got all of Mom's attention when you were a baby," I said, laughing.

"Do you remember what Mom looked like?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah. She looked a lot like you, actually. Except she had brown eyes and lost all of her hair."

I used to have pictures of our mom on my phone, but without any electricity, my phone eventually died. I still remember her face vividly, and I think that's part of why I enjoy spending time with Hannah: they look so much alike that it's almost as if I'm talking to our mom again.

Hannah nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot," she said, taking another journal out from beneath her jacket. "I took one for you, too, in case you wanted to write in it."

"Yeah, thanks," I said, taking the journal. "I'm surprised they had any to spare."

"I stole it," she said with a devious smile.

I thought about criticizing her for that, but I decided against it; it was thoughtful, and besides, it's not like she stole food or anything.

After dinner we went to bed. I didn't know if I would use the journal or not, but I couldn't sleep tonight so I decided to write a little. I didn't realize how much I could write about for just one day when things seem so uneventful around here. It's late now, and I should probably sleep some since I'm sure I'll have to do real work tomorrow. I guess that's all I'll write for today.

 

[Hero of Time]

I haven't written in this thing for a couple days, but after all the commotion of today, I need to.

It started like normal. Hannah woke me up; we both got dressed; I took her to school; I went to Jeffrey's office to get my work. It was all the same as it's always been, until I got to Jeffrey's office. There was a huge crowd around it - not like the line that had formed the other day when Jeffrey pulled me aside to talk; this was chaos. When I got closer, I noticed some people were even sobbing. What the hell was going on? I pushed my way to the front and found out. My heart sunk. Jeffrey was dead.

People were throwing accusations left and right, but there was one story I heard that made the most sense.

Jeffrey had a little brother named Jimmy. They didn't live together or associate much; Jimmy always does regular work like everyone else, but they did sit together at dinner. In fact, Jimmy was the only person who Jeffrey sat with at dinner. I never knew what they were talking about, but I liked to think that they were having the same conversations as me and Hannah.

Apparently, Jimmy was the first person to find Jeffrey dead. He said Jeffrey had killed himself. All of a sudden my conversation with Jeffrey the other day made sense. He'd planned on offing himself and I didn't even realize it. I guess leading such a ragtag group for so long had taken a toll on him.

A lot of people were disagreeing with Jimmy, though - especially Bob Ross and his group. They thought that Jimmy had killed his brother in an attempt to usurp his leadership. I didn't believe that for a second, but I saw two reasons why other people did: 1) Jimmy found Jeffrey dead before anyone else, and 2) Jimmy was now trying to become the new leader. I'm not sure if Ross and his cronies really believed that or if they were just using it to try to make Ross the next leader, but either way, it was working. Jimmy kept on saying he was the rightful heir, but more and more people were disagreeing; Ross had the benefit of the doubt.

I wondered why Jeffrey never told anyone else - even his brother - about wanting me to be the next leader. I thought about speaking up, but I was too hesitant; and besides, who would ever believe me? I wasn't well-known, or even well-liked, for that matter. I was a nobody. Just some kid.

The commotion ended as a man named William stepped out into the center of the crowd and demanded silence. "We'll settle this at dinner. We'll have a vigil for Jeffrey and elect our next leader."

Most people seemed content with that. Bob Ross smiled as if he knew he'd won.

"And to keep it fair," William continued, "we'll all do the same duties as we did yesterday."

That was slicing bread for me. Chopping four hundred pieces of bread is boring, repetitive, and tiresome. Doing it two days in a row is a nightmare. I'm not sure why anyone chose to be a chef before all of this, but I hate it.

Eventually, dinner came around and I was out of my misery. I'd spent most of the time thinking. I thought about Jeffrey, about election, about Hannah, about Allison, about the past, about the future. There was too much on my mind when I sat down with Hannah.

At the front of the food court, Jeffrey's body had been placed in a casket on top of a table. It wasn't a real casket; we've been using storage boxes as an alternative, which isn't as sacramental, but it does the job. People went up and gave their last words to Jeffrey, but I couldn't get myself to. I was too stressed out. And besides, what's the point? Dead bodies can't hear anything. Maybe it comforts some people, but I doubt it would do a thing for me.

Shortly after the casket was taken away, the election began.

"Everybody gets a vote," said William, who, because it was his idea, was heading the election. "If your kid can write, your kid can vote."

"Who should I vote for?" Hannah asked me as they started handing out the ballots.

"Jimmy."

"But they're saying he killed Jeffrey."

"He didn't. Trust me."

"Can't I vote for you?"

"You can, but that would be pointless."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have a chance at winning. Jimmy does. Vote for him."

"Fine."

We got our ballots, which were really just small, blank pieces of paper. I cast my vote for Jimmy and walked it up to the ballot box. They started counting the votes, tossing them into two different piles. After a few minutes, they were finished. The whole room went silent as we anticipated the results. William read them off:

"Bob Ross: 224 votes. Jimmy Goodman: 187 votes. Chris White: one vote."

That's when everybody did one of two things: they either celebrated Ross' win, or they glared right at me. Most people did the latter, because regardless of who they voted for, few people actually wanted Ross to win; they voted for him out of reluctance.

People started shouting things like "The kid voted for himself," but I didn't pay much attention. I just sort of looked down, waiting for the moment to pass. It did eventually, when people began leaving the food court and returning to their homes.

"Was it you?" I asked Hannah. I was almost certain it was.

"No, I voted for Jimmy just like you said."

I nodded. "Let's go."

We got up and walked away. But I didn't get three steps in before Jimmy ran and stopped me abruptly.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said.

"What?"

"My brother wanted you to be the next leader."

"You knew?"

"He left a note behind, saying how he couldn't take the pressure of leading and how he didn't want to live in this world anymore. I didn't even know before today. He had all of that inside of him, and he never let it show."

"So why didn't you show anyone the note?"

"I was selfish. I didn't think it was right for him to leave and not make me the next leader. I realize how stupid that was now. You deserved it. And it could've been you, but now it's Bob Ross, because of me."

"Were you the one who voted for me?"

"No, I voted for myself. I need every vote I could get." Jimmy paused. "Wait, so you didn't vote for yourself?"

"No, I voted for you. And now we all know what a great choice that was."

I took Hannah's hand and walked away from him. I was pissed at him, and I had every right to be. Hannah and I went back home. She fell asleep pretty quickly, but I couldn't. I stayed up, thinking about what it would be like now with Bob Ross in charge. It certainly wouldn't be a place I'd want to live in.

I woke Hannah up. She was startled at first, but I calmed her down.

"Hannah, we can't stay here."

"What?"

"We have to go."

"Why?"

"We're not safe here anymore with Bob Ross in charge."

It took some more convincing, but after a little bit she got the message. We gathered up the few things we had, grabbed some extra clothes, and left silently. When we made it out of the store, I heard the one thing I didn't want to hear above anything else:

"Chris?"

The voice wasn't Hannah's. It was Allison's. I turned to look at her. The mall gets really dark at night, since the only light comes from the moon and the stars, but I could still make out her figure.

"Allison?" I said with bewilderment.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?"

"I came here to talk to you."

"About what?"

"It was me," she said. "The vote for you."

"Why did you vote for me?"

"The other day, before Jeffrey put us on sentry duty together, he told me that he planned on making you our next leader and that I should follow you no matter what. Speaking of which, where the hell are you going?"

I thought about lying, but I didn't. "We're leaving."

"What?!"

I told her to quiet down. "We can't stay here with Bob Ross in control. He could turn this place into an internment camp by tomorrow morning."

"You can't leave alone."

"You can come with us if you want."

"But we're safe here. We have food and a place to sleep."

"I'm not sure how much of that we'll have tomorrow. We might be safer out there."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Allison. "Look, my dad's on one of the search teams. He knows a place to find food. If he'll go, I'll go."

"Get your dad and meet us by the northeast exit. The same one we did sentry at a couple days ago. They only put two sentries there, so it'll be the easiest to get past."

"What if we don't come?"

"I'm leaving, no matter what."

Hannah and I reached the northeast exit, and a few minutes later, Allison and her dad joined us. Her dad was a nice guy. He was a lot taller than me and really muscular. He looked like he might've been in the army. His name was Terry.

Just as I predicted, there were only two sentries on night duty. I had Allison cover Hannah's eyes as me and Terry choked out the two guards. We left the mall. For the first time in six years, I was out in the open. The air was musty, but it wasn't unbearable. We walked for a while, but eventually, we decided to stop and call it a night. We'd wake up and reach the food source before the search teams did.

For the first time in six years, we had somewhere to go. For the first time in six years, we had something to fight for.

ON THE RUN​