JULIA
A few minutes ago, Julia slipped into a dreamlike state, attempting to distance herself from the catastrophic situation. She tried to deny the possibility of Ron's death, thinking that perhaps what Chuck was saying was true: it might all just be a bad dream, and that she would soon wake up, safe and warm in her parents' chalet, with Bryan by her side.
She imagined the handsome young man stroking her hair in the morning sun, the scent of roses in the air. She saw him smiling, happy, snuggled up against her, gazing at her with his playful and tender eyes. Julia felt him touch her face.
"I'm sorry for earlier, darling," she murmured, her voice thick with regret. "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that..."
"Don't worry," Bryan replied, amazed. "It's already forgotten. Of course I forgive you."
"I will never leave you, Bryan, I can't live without you..."
Bryan looked into her eyes as he held her.
"For life and beyond death..."
Suddenly, Julia was thrown back to their wedding. She relived the scene, magnificent and intensely bright. Beautiful flowers adorned the stone columns of the cathedral, and shouts of joy echoed under the vast arch. She was in white, Bryan in black.
"Julia Blair, do you take Bryan Conley to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the priest asked.
Julia looked at the young man with indescribable joy.
"Yes, I do..." she replied, her voice filled with love and happiness.
The priest turned to Bryan, but Bryan's face had become strangely pale. He wore a strange hat that Julia had never seen before, and his dark suit gave him a forbidding look, contrasting with her sparkling, immaculate dress.
"Bryan Conley, do you take Julia Blair to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked.
An oppressive silence settled in. The assembly hung on the young man's lips. He stared at the priest without saying a word, then slowly turned to Julia. A trickle of blood ran down the back of his head, but she didn't worry.
"I would like to… but..." the young man mumbled, his voice faltering.
"But what?" Julia asked, worried now.
The young man removed his hat, revealing a terrible wound. He grabbed Julia by the shoulders and shook her, blood splattering across her white dress.
"I would like to, but I can't!" Bryan shouted, lightning in his eyes. "I can't, because I'm dead, Julia, dead, do you hear me? I'm dead!"
Julia woke up with a start. Someone was shaking her. It was Eva. Chuck, blurry in front of her, was shouting incomprehensible words at her.
"Julia! Julia! We're losing Ron, damn it, you have to help me! Julia, can you hear me?"
But she couldn't move. It was as though she were still trapped there, in that terrible nightmare.
"Listen to me," Chuck insisted, his tone as unyielding as it had been in the grocery store.
"I need your help. I need you to be strong for Ron, because if we're not all in this together, he'll die..."
Julia took a deep breath, slowly regaining her composure.
"I need you to check his pulse," Chuck explained.
"OK... what do I do?"
"First, put your hand on his forehead and tell me if it's cold..."
Julia released Eva, who had been nestled against her since their departure, and leaned forward to reach Ron, placing her hand upon his forehead. It was cold. She nodded to confirm Chuck's concern.
"Okay," Chuck said, his gaze fixed upon the road, his worry palpable. "That's not a good sign… Now, place two fingers on his neck and tell me if the pulse is slow or fast..."
Julia complied. "I can barely feel anything…"
"Fuck! That's what I was afraid of..." murmured Chuck. "He's losing too much blood... He needs surgery, right away. Otherwise... I'm afraid he won't make it through the night…"
Julia leaned back. She glanced at the intrepid driver.
"How do you know all of this?" Julia asked. Chuck exhaled deeply. Speaking of his past appeared to make him uneasy.
"Before I started driving trucks, I served in the military. I was a paramedic... Hadn't really needed those skills until now, but... Today, I understand how valuable my training was."
Julia said nothing, leaning back in her seat and enfolding Eva in her arms. The child remained still and silent.
Julia suddenly felt foolish. This little girl remained composed while she struggled to control her emotions. This sudden realization left her profoundly uneasy. She wondered what was going through Eva's mind, even as she tenderly stroked the girl's hair. Did she comprehend the gravity of the situation? Bearing witness to such violence at such a young age would surely be traumatic, and come with lasting repercussions. To discover her mother, shot in the throat…
An unpleasant sensation gripped Julia as she sat beside Eva. The two of them had witnessed horrors beyond comprehension, and they couldn't tell what the future held... What if this was only the beginning? Julia could not fathom how things could possibly become worse... But whatever happened, right now she needed to help Chuck, to steel herself for the challenges ahead, even though the trauma remained raw.
Chuck drove on, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. The landscape was bleak and foreboding, with hills and buildings looming like apparitions in a surreal and sinister dream. The light from the atomic blast had nearly faded, leaving behind only a mass of toxic matter suspended in the air.
In the distance, the forest appeared strangely calm and inert. The car moved forward, its passengers scanning the horizon like four strangers on a pilgrimage to an unknown destination. Ron remained unconscious, his breathing becoming thinner, more strained. His pallor left Julia in doubt, as she leaned forwards towards him without realizing it. She thought that…
"No, he's not dead yet," Chuck called out to her, sensing her presence. "Although you could be forgiven for thinking so... In my time in the military," he recounted, "I saw men in worse shape cling on to life for days, by some miracle... And then... We operated on them, and they recovered. Maybe it was divine intervention, or maybe just good luck... I've seen others, too, who looked for all the world to be strong and healthy and then, mid-conversation, would just freeze up and slip away, just like that…"
Chuck's voice was flat, resigned to their dismal fate. Speaking about their situation appeared to give him solace. Julia listened intently, now prepared to face the brutal truth of death and its aftermath. Eva's eyes remained closed.
"What I've come to realize," mused Chuck, "is that we believe we have control, when in reality, we control nothing at all."
Julia remained silent, unsure of how to respond. After a moment, Chuck continued.
"Earlier, I saw a sign for Lamson. We're headed in the right direction," he announced.
Julia visibly relaxed upon hearing this news. She glanced over at Ron, whose head drooped precariously low. A large, dark stain had soaked through his shirt, leaving her feeling utterly helpless. She turned her gaze towards Chuck, who had his attention fixed intently on the road ahead. She noticed his hands gripping the steering wheel with such force that the knuckles had turned almost white.
"Do you think there have been more explosions in other cities?" Julia asked, her tone suddenly grave.
Chuck winced. "There is definitely something strange going on, but what exactly?" he mused. "Why would Albany have been targeted? I'd like to understand..."
"What if it's happening everywhere?" Julia whispered.
"We'll soon find out," Chuck replied stoically.
Just as the words slipped from Chuck's mouth, an odd, lopsided sign came into view. The intersection appeared to have been abandoned, left to the ravages of time.
"Look!" Chuck exclaimed, relief and pride evident in his voice. "Lamson is to the right, three miles away... we're almost there!"
Julia felt a momentary sense of relief. Perhaps Ron could be saved, and finding other survivors could help them all regain some sense of normalcy. Finding an end to all this violence and horror was all she hoped for. But what awaited them in Lamson? What if the chaos that they had experienced was happening everywhere? What if they found nothing but anarchy and ruin?
These thoughts raced through her mind as they drove further down the forgotten road, until at long last, the silhouette of a town came into view, heralded by the eagerly anticipated sign welcoming them to Lamson.