Skyline
Lime
Sep
Half Pint
Nightwing95
Pen Name
hanzo
Shu
Festive
honeysweetestco
Location: Kitchen, Gauthier Residence
Timeframe: Early Morning
Interaction(s): None
Previously: N/A
Jake Gauthier sat at the kitchen table staring out the back window into the tree line behind the house. His thoughts wandered to the friends he’d known for the past twenty years working for the railroad. First, it was the Springfield Terminal Railway owned by Pan Am, and then the name changed to Pan Am Railway and was finally bought out by CSXT earlier this summer. As long as he received a paycheck he didn’t care who owned the railroad.
They are all fucking gone,’ Jake thought to himself. Every friend he knew over the past twenty years was gone. Everyone he knew from the first battalion thirty-sixth infantry of the first armor division was gone too; at least the closer ones who he kept in touch with. This was the unit he served with in Germany and subsequently in Iraq. They were responsible for the Area of Operations just north of Baghdad, Iraq (The Green Zone) starting in May 2003 until his End of Time in Service (ETS) date sent him back to the world and Concord, New Hampshire.
Jake hefted the cup of coffee and sipped at the black liquid unspoiled by sugar or cream. A movement to his right startled him.
“Hey, Dad!” Jake Junior walked into the kitchen and by habit opened the refrigerator door. He found a bottle of milk that had not soured yet and retrieved it. Just before the 17-year-old high school senior was about to drink from the bottle, his father yelled at him.
“Get a glass you neanderthal!”
The teen lowered the bottle of milk and placed it on a counter to the right of the sink. He opened the cupboard door above the counter and pulled out a glass. He poured the milk and then searched for a bowl for some cereal. He then found a box of Cheerios and filled the bowl. He ate the cereal dry and drank the milk after sitting at the table across from his father.
“What do you think we should do, Dad?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. It is a good idea to find new locations to look for food. We could take my pickup truck to one of the neighboring towns and see if there are any goods to be had in the Walmart or a Hannaford’s.” Jake took another tug on the coffee. “You know, we should go on a hunting trip and bring back a deer.”
“It’s not hunting season, Dad.”
The father smiled at his son, “Jake, there is no such thing anymore. We can go hunting at any time. Just need to keep an eye out for those Creeps. That reminds me, we need to start carrying a sidearm all the time. Also, equip yourself with a quiet melee weapon and know how to use it. At least have something handy. You don’t know when you will need it.”
Jake Junior and Jake Senior continued to eat their breakfast when Jennifer Gauthier came into the kitchen. She sat down next to her father without saying a word. She has had a saddened expression for the past week or more.
“How’s it going punkin?” her father asked her.
“kay,” Jenn muttered. There was an uncomfortable silence at the kitchen table. “Have you heard from Aunt Leslie, Uncle John or Aunt Clarice, Dad?”
“No,” Jake spoke and went back to staring out the window.
“The cell phones are still working. Wouldn’t they text?”
“They would if they could.”
They are all fucking gone,’ Jake thought to himself. Every friend he knew over the past twenty years was gone. Everyone he knew from the first battalion thirty-sixth infantry of the first armor division was gone too; at least the closer ones who he kept in touch with. This was the unit he served with in Germany and subsequently in Iraq. They were responsible for the Area of Operations just north of Baghdad, Iraq (The Green Zone) starting in May 2003 until his End of Time in Service (ETS) date sent him back to the world and Concord, New Hampshire.
Jake hefted the cup of coffee and sipped at the black liquid unspoiled by sugar or cream. A movement to his right startled him.
“Hey, Dad!” Jake Junior walked into the kitchen and by habit opened the refrigerator door. He found a bottle of milk that had not soured yet and retrieved it. Just before the 17-year-old high school senior was about to drink from the bottle, his father yelled at him.
“Get a glass you neanderthal!”
The teen lowered the bottle of milk and placed it on a counter to the right of the sink. He opened the cupboard door above the counter and pulled out a glass. He poured the milk and then searched for a bowl for some cereal. He then found a box of Cheerios and filled the bowl. He ate the cereal dry and drank the milk after sitting at the table across from his father.
“What do you think we should do, Dad?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. It is a good idea to find new locations to look for food. We could take my pickup truck to one of the neighboring towns and see if there are any goods to be had in the Walmart or a Hannaford’s.” Jake took another tug on the coffee. “You know, we should go on a hunting trip and bring back a deer.”
“It’s not hunting season, Dad.”
The father smiled at his son, “Jake, there is no such thing anymore. We can go hunting at any time. Just need to keep an eye out for those Creeps. That reminds me, we need to start carrying a sidearm all the time. Also, equip yourself with a quiet melee weapon and know how to use it. At least have something handy. You don’t know when you will need it.”
Jake Junior and Jake Senior continued to eat their breakfast when Jennifer Gauthier came into the kitchen. She sat down next to her father without saying a word. She has had a saddened expression for the past week or more.
“How’s it going punkin?” her father asked her.
“kay,” Jenn muttered. There was an uncomfortable silence at the kitchen table. “Have you heard from Aunt Leslie, Uncle John or Aunt Clarice, Dad?”
“No,” Jake spoke and went back to staring out the window.
“The cell phones are still working. Wouldn’t they text?”
“They would if they could.”
