"New Roomates"

On the way home, Deacons manager calls him to advise him that the authorities have lifted the ban on semis,

“So, we will be running trucks in the morning?  What’s with the ban on the semis anyway?” 

His manager tells him that he does not know, and that they are not releasing any explanations.  Deacon assures him that he will be there bright and early. Getting off the phone with his boss, he sets his phone back on the consol.  He moves his hand back to the steering wheel when Greg calls.  Reaching back for the phone Deacon answers it,

“What up?” 

Greg asks him if Lana and he can come stay at his house for the night.   Deacon tells him that it is fine, but asks why.  Greg explains that things are getting really “weird” where they live and because Deacon lives more out in the country away from the craziness, it would be safer there.  Deacon tells them to grab what they need and start heading over. 

Greg and Lana arrive the same time Deacon pulls into the driveway.  Deacon instructs Greg to park in the garage, since he has to leave early for work and does not want to have to wake them up in order to leave for work.  Deacon uses the garage door opener on the visor to open the garage door for them.  Parking the truck he walks into the garage and shuts the door behind him.  Going inside the house, Deacon tells them that they can sleep in his room.  The couple try to argue with him.  With a smile Deacon tells them sarcastically,

“Oh, that’s my fault I must have let you guys think that this was open for discussion.  Besides there isn’t a bed in either of the spare bed rooms and I sleep on the couch a lot anyways.”

"What to tell her?"

“I don’t know yet!”  Deacon sighs as he drops them off in their driveway. 

He then begins to make his way back to his parents.  On the drive over he tries to decide on how he is going to break the news to Sara that he thinks he has taken off.  His dad meets him in the driveway.

"Any sign of him?"  Frank asks with a stern look. 

Deacon tells him what he found, or lack thereof and asks him what he should tell Sara.  Frank stands there thinking for a moment.

“We will tell Sara you didn’t find anything.  She has enough on her plate right now.”    

Sara meets them before they can get through the front door.  She asks them with hope in her voice.  

"Did you find him?"  

Deacon tells her that he did not find anything.  Sara’s head sinks with despair as she turns, and walks away.  His niece hearing that he has returned, runs up to Deacon asking for the doll.  Deacon bends down and hands the doll over to her.  She smiles and throws her tiny arms around and kisses him on the cheek, quickly she runs off to play again.  The family eats lunch together before Deacon informs them that he had better go home.

"State of Chaos"

After picking them up, Greg tells him that he had to convince Lana everything would be fine.  They drive through town, Greg and Lana get to see how empty the town is first hand.  They pass a couple of cars leaving town, but all the stores are closed.  As they get closer to the center of town they see the destruction left by the looters.  

“It looks like a war zone down here,” Greg exclaims with surprise.  

Cars are still smoldering in the streets.  Eventually they make their way across town to where Sara’s house is.  Sara had told him about the spare key under the mat on back patio.  Deacon unlocks the back door letting the three of them inside.  Once inside, they notice that it looks as if somebody had been there taken items from the house.  The more they look around it appears that a lot of Tom’s possessions were all that were missing. 

Deacon looks angrily across the room at Greg, "I think that chicken shit has taken off."   

They walk out of Sara's, Deacon remembers the doll, and runs back inside.  He finds the doll on his niece’s bed.  Picking it up, he walks back out to join Greg and Lana who have gone ahead and are waiting for him in the truck.  It is a quiet ride back to Greg and Lana’s Deacon invites them both to stay at his parents with him, both Lana and Greg decline as they explain that there was a Government spokesman on the news coverage.  Greg further explains that he had announced that they had everything under control.    

As they pull into the desolate neighborhood leading to Greg and Lana’s house Greg asks Deacon what he is going to tell Sara.

Sara attempts to put her kids to bed and her daughter begins to cry.  She tells her mom that she cannot go to sleep without her doll.  Deacon hears the commotion and goes into the bedroom.  Sitting down on the bed he wipes his niece’s tears, telling her that he will go to their house tomorrow to retrieve her doll.  It takes more convincing, but Deacon and Sara finally get the two children asleep.  Sara and Deacon return downstairs to watch more of the news coverage.  New reports are beginning to come in about isolated attacks around the city but it is unclear if they are related to the attacks on the military installations. 

The next morning the entire family wake up to have breakfast as a family.  Tom is still missing.  Deacon offers to go out to look for Tom.  Frank offers to go along with him, Deacon respectfully declines.  Frank knows that Deacon is using this as an excuse to clear his head, as Deacon had become somewhat of a loner since Katelynn’s death.  Deacon retrieves his pack, hugs everyone goodbye and genteelly closes the front door behind him.  As he climbs into his truck he breathes a sigh of relief, as he is not used to being back at home with his family. He loves them all, but they can be a little overwhelming at times.  Deacon reaches for his phone sitting in the dash console and calls Greg.  He asks him if he and Lana would like to go along and help him look for Tom.  Greg explains that they had not left the house since the attacks and it might do them some good to get out.  Deacon informs him that he is already on his way to their house and will be to there in about ten minutes.

Walking through the door of his parent’s home, Deacon finds Sara still frantically calling friends of hers, searching for Tom.  Frank tells Deacon, Sara and the two kids that they are to stay there tonight.  They all agree.  Deacon goes out to his truck to retrieve his bag.  When he returns, he begins to unpack in his old room.  After getting settled, he descends down the stairs to find his niece playing with dress up clothes. 

‘Look uncle Deacon, I’m a princes.”  She exclaims

His nephew is playing with a tub of cars that were his when he was little.  Deacon sits down on the floor to play with both of them, trying to keep things as normal as possible for them.  He does not want them to begin to worry.  His dad has been in his den most of the time he has been there, Deacon can hear his dad talking softly to somebody on the phone, it brings back memories of life before he had retired.   His mom is trying to stay calm for the children, she is obviously overwhelmed with the state of things.  Deacon sits down next to her, puts his arm around her shoulder, and pulls her in to hug her. 

“It will be ok, mom,” he assures her as he kisses her forehead. 

Deacon stays home watching the news and on the phone between his family, Greg and friends from work.  There is not much information coming from the media.  The only information available is that there are a lot of injuries.  It is reported that they are filling up the base hospital and all three of the local hospitals. 

            Deacon eventually falls asleep watching the news, when his phone rings, waking him up.  It is his manager from work. 

“They are shutting down all semi-tractor trailers for another twenty-four hours.”    

This will make forty-eight hours altogether, Deacon thinks to himself.   He lays there trying to wake up completely, when he hears the news anchor report that the local government has lifted the mandatory curfew on residents of the community.  Deacon, still in his uniform, jumps in his truck and leaves for his parent’s house.

On his way through town, evidence of the looting is present in the broken windows in the store fronts that line the streets.  A majority of the looters have abandoned the efforts and disappeared from where they had come from.  Confusion and chaos ensues through the few left behind.   He passes many cars packed up almost as if they are fleeing their homes.  The emptiness worries Deacon.

Getting in to their vehicles, they leave to return to their homes.  As Deacon pulls into his garage, he watches the garage door close in his rearview mirror.  He begins to replay the last thing that Will had said to both Trent and him.  Deacon begins making a mental list of what he thinks he might need.  First, he goes to his gun safe.  He opens it and retrieves his guns, being cautious to conceal them in backseat of his truck.  Next on his list is the ammo.  He gathers it and takes it out to the garage also.  Deacon locks the safe back up leaving several guns behind. He takes a backpack out of his closet he begins packing clothes, along with any other gear he might need.  After making sure that everything is packed into the truck, Deacon goes back inside to watch the news. 

As he sits down in his recliner, his sister Sara calls to see if he had heard from Tom yet.  She hadn’t heard from him, nor could she get a hold of him.  He tries to reassure her that everything was going to be fine.  She tells him that she feels like it wasn’t fine and that it would not be fine. 

“Deacon, I’m really worried!”    

While Deacon had been talking to Sara, a public service announcement had been issued ordering everyone should stay inside their homes.  To compound issues rioting and looting had already broken out down town.  He was a little surprised by how quickly chaos had ensued.

“That’s humanity for you, taking an advantage of someone else’s weak moment,” he mutters.

Looking down at his phone, the plant manager’s phone number appears on the caller I.D.

“Shit, he is probably going to try and send you guys out,” Will tells the drivers as he looks up from the computer for the first time. 

The plant manager instructs Will to lock the gates and shut all the trucks down.  After locking down the plant and turning off the trucks, Will turns on other news websites to listen to other reports.  Deacon calls his parents, waking them up.  He tells them to turn on the TV.  Deacon hangs up the phone with his parents and immediately calls Greg with the intentions of getting them up to watch the news.  He can hear Lana bawling uncontrollably in the background.  Greg immediately explains that they are already up, and that Lana was talking to her brother who works for a private security contractor, manning the gates at the Air Force Base. 

“She could hear everything that was going on before the phone went dead,” Greg tells Deacon. 

Next Deacon calls his sister to make sure that her family is aware of the situation at hand, she is worried.  Tom had to work late and never made it home.  Deacon tries to reassure her that everything will be alright as he hangs up with her.  The remaining employees at the beer plant are all calling loved ones, waking them up so that they will turn on the news broadcasts.  The anxiety is thick, weighing heavily on every single person in the plant.     

            Almost everyone stays until day break, then they begin to leave a few at a time.  Deacon walks out with Will and Trent.  Looking at the interstate, which can be seen from the plant, not one sign of movement can be found.  They wouldn’t be able to hear anything if they tried, due to the noise from the jets and helicopters overhead.  Will being the doomsday’er that he is, tells the other two men they had better get heading home and prepare for whatever may be coming.

And it begins!!!

Deacon wakes up takes his calendar writes in one hundred and thirty four, circles and puts it back.  He gets ready and leaves for work.  When he arrives, he finds all of the other drivers, and night loaders huddled around Will’s computer.  He walks in looking perplexed. 

“What’s going on?  Why is everybody just standing around?”

They motion for him to join them without breaking eye contact with the computer screen or making a sound.

As Deacon walks over to see the computer screen, the first thing he notices is the banner moving across the bottom of the news broadcast.  The banner reads, “Military instalations around the globe are under attack”, it is constantly listing new bases under attack.  The reporter on the webcast keeps repeating instructions from the Government to stay where they are.  Will’s phone rings.  Picking it up he begins shaking his head, then he tells the person on the other end he will, and hangs the phone up.  Will sits back in his chair, still not looking up from the screen, he begins to tell the drivers and loaders that local government has shut down everything. 

“It appears as if none of the trucks will be leaving the dock.”  

The city erupts with the sound of jets and sirens. 

“It must just be starting here.”  Will tells them as his phone rings. 

The end of chapter 3, and the end of normalcy

The pergola is about half way done when Greg asks him what he has going for the rest of the day.  Deacon tells him that he is going to go home to reload a lot of bullets. He explains that he is going to the shooting range after he goes running in the morning.  He asks Greg and his dad if they want to come along, and both tell him that they do.  Deacon tells them both he will call them after he gets back from his run.   

“Oh ya,” Frank exclaims very excited.

He continues “There is something I wanted to show you guys.  Follow me boys.” 

Frank leads them down to his study in the basement, and walks over to the gun safe.  Opening it, he pulls out an assault rifle.  Frank tells Greg and Deacon he bought himself one that matches Deacons but in a .308 caliber. 

“Nice, it is an AR-10 instead of an AR-15.” Deacon explains to Greg,

Frank tells them that he was looking for something with a little more power down range.  Deacon tells his dad that he will have to let him take it hunting.  Frank just laughs at him, as he puts the gun back in the safe.  Greg looking at his watch tells Deacon that he had probably get heading home.  Deacon tells his dad that he will come over after work to finish up the pergola.  As they are getting ready to leave, Judy kisses Deacon on the forehead.  She gives Greg a hug, as she thanks them both for coming over to help Frank. 

“That’s what family’s for!”  Deacon assures her. 

Greg and Deacon wave “Goodbye” through the windshield of the truck as they pull out of the driveway.

They leave and drive to Deacon’s parent’s house, Greg is still eating when they get there.  Frank is already in the backyard when they arrive.  He tells Deacon that he took his mom to the lumber yard yesterday and so they should have everything they need as he proudly points to a pile of lumber.  Shortly after beginning the construction of the pergola Frank begins to tell them how great he thinks it is that they have stayed friends ever since they were little.  Both Greg and Deacon roll their eyes as Frank begins to reminisce about the past.  Then he tells them that for as long as they have been friends, they might as well have been brothers. Deacon and Greg tell him that it is pretty much how they look at it.  Greg then asks Deacon how the ride to Crissy’s house went.  Deacon’s dad interrupts before Deacon has a chance to answer and asks him if Crissy is the girl that he was telling him about on Tuesday.  Deacon confirms that she is.  Greg proceeds to tell Deacon that he is going to let him in on a little secret. 

Deacon decides to play along and asks him, “Oh ya, what’s that?”   

“Crissy has had a crush on you since our wedding, where you two met for the first time.  You had just started dating Katelyn, so you didn’t notice.” 

Deacon then answers Greg’s original question, telling him that the ride to her house was “Fine.” 

Frank tells Deacon that he doesn’t have to let go of the past completely, but if he waits too long “the here and now” might just slip away.  Deacon agrees telling both of them that he is trying to figure things out.

Waking to the sound of his alarm, Deacon reaches on his night stand for his calendar.  He writes in one hundred and thirty two, circles it, and puts it back.  He picks up a small picture frame containing Katelyn’s picture and stares.

“I miss you so much”  

He takes his time in getting ready.  He is still tired from driving around all night, not to mention the emotions that kept him awake after he finally returned home.  Grabbing his keys, wallet and phone of the counter top, he closes the door leading to the garage behind him.  He starts his truck, and begins towards Greg’s house.  On the way, Deacon decides to stop at a fast food drive through, ordering breakfast for Greg and him, as a fed Greg is a much happier Greg.  Deacon was careful not to leave Lana out of the order and orders her favorite along with not forgetting the coffees.  Those two were going to need it after last nights drinking.  Deacon just needs one to help him wake up.  He pulls up to their house, taking their breakfast from the passenger’s seat and walks to the front door.  Just as he reaches the door, Greg opens it. 

Deacon shoves the food at Greg’s chest, and Greg thanks him as he tries to rub the sleepiness from his face.  Deacon informs him not to eat it all, as he got some for Lana also.  Greg tells him he only needs to grab his shoes and he is ready.  Lana walks out of the kitchen still looking half asleep and thanks Deacon for reminding her why she will never let Greg get a diesel pickup truck.  Bewildered by her greeting, Deacon asks her why.

“Because they are loud,” she answers as if the reason was obvious.    

Deacon replies with a smirk, “Not all of them are, just the ones that have had a lot of money sunk into them.” 

Greg cuts in and jokingly tells her that they do not have any money so she does not have to worry about it.  Her only response is that Greg will find a way.  She walks over to Greg, gives him a kiss, and tells them that they probably better be going.

New Schedule post

Conversation picks up after the movie with more laughs and jokes made between Lana, Greg and Crissy.  Deacon, sits melancholic almost as if he is an observer and not a participant.  Lana and Crissy go into the kitchen to tidy up a little.

Lana asks her “What the hell happened with Deacon, he has been acting strange ever since you guys got back with the beer?” 

Crissy explains how she complimented on the picture of Katelyn.  Lana stops her right in the middle of her explanation.

“That probably wasn’t the smartest move you made tonight.” 

“I know, was just trying to make conversation.”    

Deacon walks in after helping Greg pick up the living room and asks Crissy if she wants a ride home.  She nods and goes into the living room to retrieve her purse. She walks back into the kitchen smiling and tells him she is ready whenever he is.  She gives Lana a big hug.  Lana promises to call her tomorrow.  Deacon tells Greg that he will be over about seven thirty in the morning to pick him up.  Greg sighs, as he tells him he will see him then.  Deacon and Crissy walk out to the truck, she is a little tipsy.  She asks Deacon if he will help her up into the truck. 

“I had to help you when you were sober.  Why should this be any different?”

She sees a developing smile and sarcastically, “It’s about time.” 

“It’s about time for what?” 

“A smile!”   

His only comment on the subject is that he has a lot on his mind.  She assures him that she will take what she can get.  He helps her back into the truck.  She giggles as he lifts her into the cab of the truck. 

On the way to Crissy’s and her sister’s apartment, Crissy looks over at Deacon and apologizes for bringing up Katelyn.  He tells her it is not her fault that it is still hard for him.  She directs Deacon to her apartment.  Parking the truck, he goes around to help Crissy out.  While he lifts her out, she leans in and gives him a hug, a brief kiss on the cheek, and apologizes again.  He walks her to her door, waits for her to go inside and shut the door and turns around.  He puts his hands in his pockets on his walk back to his truck.  As he pulls out of the apartment complex he decides that instead of going straight home, he would drive around for a bit to try and sort things out in his mind.  A bit turned into several hours, memories of Katelyn swarm his mind.  His attempt at discovering the reason for why his heart and mind cannot agree, resulting in him holding onto the past instead of embracing the future, has turned futile.  Giving up to exhaustion he returns home and goes to bed.

I am going to be moving the blog to a Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday schedule.  The reason for this is that I need to finish editing this book and resume work on the second book in this series.

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Deacon discloses that he is also hoping that Lana does not pick out a “chick flick”.  They pull into Deacon’s driveway, he tells her that he is just going to run in real quick and would be right back.  Jumping out of the truck, he jogs into the house.  While Crissy is waiting in the truck, she notices the engagement picture in the window seal, and slides over to take a better look.  She sees Deacon coming and quickly slides back over into the middle of the bench seat to wait for him.  He gets back in and puts the truck in reverse.

Chrissy tells him pointing at the picture, “She is pretty.” 

“She was, thanks.”   

She feels the entire mood has changed since she commented on the picture.  Mad at herself for even bringing it up, she thinks to herself that whatever chances she may have had, she has just ruined.  It is a very quiet ride back to Greg and Lana’s house.  (Unknown to Crissy, Deacon is caught up with feeling guilty for having another girl in his truck) 

“For God’s sake, she has only been gone for one hundred and thirty one days,” he thinks to himself.

They go inside where Greg and Lana are already waiting for them with the movie ready to play. 

They start the movie and Crissy leans over smiling, “Surprise, Lana picked a chick flick.” 

Deacon smiles a little and nods his head.  Everyone but Deacon start having a couple of beers.  Greg asks Deacon if he is sure he doesn’t want one.  Deacon assures him that he is good, and that he brought it for them

“So have a good time.”