~Lima, Ohio, United States, Planet Earth, Ceti Universe~
It had been a couple weeks since the cleaning crew had been over at Candys place. Television showed chaotic reports. War in several places. The threat of nuclear attacks. Viruses that attacked the lungs of nearly half of the human population around the world. To top it off, a disease that turns wild animals into wandering, mindless creatures. Chronic Wasting Disease infected the deer and elk first, then rodents, and now it spread to a large number of species across the animal kingdom.
He looked over to Margarets house. Her van hadn't moved in some time. He simply shook his head, took a sip from his donut flavored coffee, and went back inside. Before he could even sit down, however, the television began screeching the loud emergency signal they had been getting used to.
ALL CITIZENS ARE TO SEEK SHELTER
THIS IS NOT A TEST
MISSILE LAUNCHES HAVE BEEN DETECTED
INBOUND NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE BELIEVED TO BE EN ROUTE
RUSSIA, NORTH KOREA, AND CHINA HAVE LAUNCHED
RETALIATION IS OUTBOUND
REPEAT
RETALIATION IS OUTBOUND
THE NATION IS ORDERED TO DEFCON 1
THE WORLD IS AT WAR
Raven stood there, cup halfway to his lips, staring at the words on the screen. He couldn't believe his ears. The 90 seconds to midnight on the Doomsday Clock passed in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, his family slept soundly through it all. He gathered his computer, chargers, tablets, all of the little things they might need. Lastly, he grabbed the hard drive on which all of their important information was stored along with hundreds of pirated digital books. He knew they would come in handy someday. Although he had hoped they wouldn't be a necessity so much as a choice.
After placing everything in the basement, he headed upstairs to gather Lynette and the kids. While she was sleepy, she moved when he told her to get to the basement. He watched her waddle down the stairs. Then, he moved to grab each of the kids from their rooms and proceeded down behind his wife, a child on each hip. He whistled for Cinnamon to follow before closing the basement door. The front and both back doors were all locked. The exterior basement door stayed locked unless he was putting stuff down here. Lynette was already unfolding the army surplus cots along the west wall. She didn't ask questions. She simply proceeded to lay back down. Boy did she love her sleep. Junior and Kylette walked over to their mother and curled into her.
As the trio went back to sleep, Raven went to the exterior door. He undid all 3 locks and proceeded up the stairs back into the sunlight. He heard the whine of jets in the distance. Contrails crossed every which way. Suddenly a massive explosion shook the ground. He could see a fireball rising to the southwest. He didn't think it was the refinery. Wouldn't it be larger? A second, then a third followed. It had to be the tank plant. Growing up, it had been listed on the FBI list of likely targets in a nuclear war. It was the only place in the world that produced the powerful Abrams tanks.
Raven felt the strong gust of wind that followed an explosion of that magnitude. The windows rattled in their frames. That was not good. This whole thing had to be real. What was used? There was no way aircraft penetrated this deep into North America to launch anything of use. There had to have been someone domestically who was involved. Given the border crisis going on down south, it made the most sense. Sirens started nearby and immediately headed towards the explosion. He saw Lyn at the base of the stairs leading from the basement.
"What were those booms?"
"At least three explosions south of here near the refinery and tank plant. We'll probably hear about it on the...", he paused, "well, we'll hear what it is at some point."
Lyn just shook her head and went back to the cots and laid down. Raven wasn't particularly surprised. She had never really paid attention to the news. Even when they watched together, she spent most of that time on her phone. He went down shortly after and made sure all of the locks were secure. He fed the birds they kept in the basement and then began to go over their stockpile. Everything looked as it should, nothing missing, and he moved on to the generator near the main breaker box. Raven tried to run it at least once a month to ensure it was in working order.
He would probably wait until later in the day to start it up. With the kids sleeping, he did NOT want to disturb them again so early or they would wind up quite cranky. The wires were still secure on both ends. Everything looked right. The only thing remaining would be the crank test. He heard a violent screech paired with a fearful man's scream.
Raven rushed back up the stairs, grabbing one of his pistols on the way. Back on the surface, he saw Margarets younger son running from the neighboring house. The older son came from the front as a creature resembling their aged mother ran after the younger son. She stopped for a moment and looked between the two. Her veins pulsed a vibrant blue color. Varicose was no longer an applicable word to describe them. The glowing blue veins ran up her neck and across her face. Those visible on her legs below her nightgown glowed as well.
She turned towards the oldest, sprinted in his direction and pounced. He held her at arm's length. Her neck popped as she lowered her head and bit into his wrist. The elder son shoved her backwards. As she staggered on the clumpy soil, she tripped over one of the garden plots she lovingly tended to for decades. Her skull made a sickening crunch as it collided with the corner of her house. Yet another generation of her family ended on that property. The glowing veins slowed their pulsing, flickered, and faded out entirely.
The younger son rushed to his brother's side. Raven shook his head and went over as well. The bite on the eldest's arm was nasty. One thing the old woman had going for her was that her teeth had held up remarkably over the years. Likely the result of a different time and healthier food. The old man pulled a bandana from his back pocket. Raven helped him to wrap and tie it around the wound. The younger brother stood between his older brother and his dead mother holding his head. He shook it while looking between the two.
"I don't... I don't understand! She was having trouble breathing and was mumbling something. She got... got... I was trying to take her temperature. She opened her eyes and looked at me but..."
His breath shook. He looked between Raven and his brother.
"Her eyes were blue. And not just eye blue, they were glowing. Her veins started glowing and it spread. She grabbed my damn arm and man! I haven't felt her have that much strength since she whooped our asses as kids."
The older brother just slowly walked past him holding his injured wrist. Raven followed behind towards their mother. The old woman looked so frail as she lay their quiet. The anger and grumpy old voice silenced. Her eyes, so full of life despite her age, were already beginning to turn a pale white. Nothing remained to indicate anything of what happened beyond a thin line of blood coming from the corner of her mouth.
Raven looked towards the older brother, "what was wrong with her?"
The old man looked back to him and shook his head. He went back to looking at his mother. She had been capable of considerable violence when she wanted. Only they and their father knew this though. Hell, she had shot their father once because of his abuse. She didn't just take it though. For her small size, she was quite formidable.
"She got a cold or flu or something a few days ago," the younger spoke, "she usually shrugs them off though. I think even viruses were afraid of her."
"She told us several times she had shot her husband with his own Magnum"
"Yeah, he hit her a little too hard that time and she got tired of it," the man was still breathing hard, "wouldn't let us forget it our whole lives either. She didn't like bullshit. But yeah, she called me and told me this time felt different. So I called him and we both came over."
The older brother finally spoke up, "It felt like her time to punch the clock was finally here. I've never seen her look so weak and frail."
The three stood looking down at her in silence. Her moment had finally come indeed. To be honest, Raven had thought she would be here even once he and his family moved on. She felt like one of those pieces of the land that would remain forever.