Bobby Akart - Armageddon

“God, Jackie. That’s awful. I’m so—”

“She tried to tell the police, but they said they couldn’t prove it,” Jackie continued. Her jaw was set, and there was anger in her eyes. “After they let him off the hook, he bragged all over school about his conquest, as he called it. My friend and I later found out he did this to other girls.”

Peter had no idea which man she was referring to. As they’d entered the pharmacy, he’d taken them out. Not that it mattered. Certainly, three of them were dead, and the fourth was like a frightened animal bleeding out in the back of the building.

“Well, it’s over now. Come on. Your grandmother and those cute little kids need you.”

Jackie laughed and spontaneously hugged Peter. “They’re not cute, frat boy. They are monsters.”

Peter laughed as he pointed down the path they’d used earlier. “Somehow I doubt that. They seemed well behaved when I was there.”

“They were afraid. Once they get to know you, the true monster comes out of all of them.”

Talking about her siblings seemed to place a new spring in Jackie’s step. She began to half-jog down the path, forcing Peter to do the same to catch up. Once they hit the sidewalks winding their way through the apartment complexes, Jackie was taking long strides as if she were power walking. Peter was amazed at how quickly she’d recovered from her angst.

“Mamaw is gonna be all right, isn’t she?” asked Jackie as they arrived at their complex.

Peter reached out to grab her arm. “Let’s talk about that before we get there. Jackie, this is just a temporary solution for her. I mean, after it’s taken from the fridge, it should last several weeks as long as temperatures stay cool.”

“You mean like they are right now?”

In the excitement, Peter hadn’t noticed the sudden drop in temperatures. “Yeah, actually. But what I’m saying is that this will run out eventually. You’re gonna have to find a hospital for her. I don’t think you can count on help from the government anytime soon.”

“You and I can start working on it tomorrow,” Jackie said as she started walking toward her building.

No, Jackie. Not me. I’ve gotta go .

The two of them rounded the corner and marched toward her apartment. Jackie suddenly stopped.

The front door was wide open.

“Something’s wrong,” she muttered as she took off running. “Mamaw!”

“Jackie, is that one of the kids over there?” asked Peter, pointing toward the parking lot.

Jackie took a step toward her youngest sibling. “Taysha! Come here. What are you—?”

“Jackie! Help!” her oldest sister screamed at her from inside the apartment, drawing her attention from the wandering child.

She raced ahead and rushed through the doorway. She immediately stopped and covered her nose and mouth with her arm. The apartment reeked with the stench of vomit.

Her grandmother was sprawled out on the floor facedown. She’d emptied the contents of her stomach next to her chair and again when she hit the floor.

“Mamaw!” Jackie screamed as she fell to her knees beside Asia.

Peter joined her. He pressed two fingers under her jaw against her carotid artery to feel for her pulse. Her meaty throat made it difficult.

“Help me roll her onto her side.”

“What?”

“Jackie, come on. Roll her over.”

It was difficult to move the extremely overweight woman. Peter needed to determine if she was alive. As they rolled her over, Asia began to gasp for air. She coughed up the last of the vomit in her throat and began to take rapid, shallow breaths.

“Honey, go get your sister out of the parking lot,” Jackie ordered her sister. Then she turned to Peter and looked him in the face. “Is she dying? We gotta do something!”

“Hold her steady.” Peter dumped the bag of insulin bottles onto the floor. He ripped open his cargo pants pocket and located the tactical flashlight. He read the labels of the dozens of insulin vials, looking for answers as to which one to give her. “Jackie, do you know what kind to use? They’re all different.”

“She uses Tresiba. It lasts almost two days.”

“We need something fast acting,” said Peter.

Asia began to get the dry heaves, as the contents of her stomach had emptied. “Peter! We have to do something!”

“Get me a syringe!”

Peter frantically read the labels. His hands were shaking, as he could feel Asia’s life slipping away. Then he held a vial and rotated it through his fingers. This had to be it.

Jackie returned with a syringe. Peter handed her the vial.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“No, but we have to try. It’s called Novorapid. Rapid means fast. Do it!”

Jackie, who’d administered her grandmother’s insulin shots in the past, expertly drew out a large dose of the fast-acting insulin. She pulled her grandmother’s nightgown aside, exposing her belly. She inserted the needle and depressed the plunger. Then, with a sigh, she lovingly covered Asia’s stomach.

She managed a chuckle. “She’d kill me if she knew you saw her uncovered like that.”

Peter reached over and squeezed her hand. “When she comes to, we’ll gladly take the tongue-lashing, right?”

Her siblings had returned, and she ordered them to their rooms. If Asia was going to die on the living room floor, she didn’t want the young children to witness it. She and Peter sat on their knees next to Asia. Jackie lovingly stroked her grandmother’s face as the minimal sunlight moved across the horizon so that it shone through the open doorway.

Asia’s breathing became less labored. Her clammy skin became warmer. She began to stir.

“What happened?” she whispered. Her voice was strained from the vomiting fits.

“We’re here, Mamaw. Don’t worry. We got your medicine.”

Peter whispered to Jackie, “How do you test her blood sugar? Do you have anything besides the glucose meters?”

“She has a patch on her other arm,” replied Jackie. “It’s called a FreeStyle Libre. It constantly checks her blood sugar levels.”

“We’ve gotta help her up to check it.”

Jackie shook her head. “It quit working after the bomb hit.”

“Jackie! Is Mamaw okay?” It was her little brother.

“Yes! She’s gonna be all right.”

Peter agreed, for now. Asia was breathing normally and began to complain about the vomit. Peter helped her sit upright, and Jackie instructed the kids to come out of their rooms.

The kids raced to embrace their grandmother. Nobody cared about the mess on the floor and her gown. Then they cried tears of joy because they hadn’t lost the woman who’d been forced to raise them for the last couple of years. Jackie let out all of her emotions again, relieved that she didn’t have to carry the burden of protecting her siblings, and herself, alone.

Peter didn’t try to stop the tears flowing down his cheeks. Breaking into the pharmacy. Shooting those men. All of it was worth this moment. The saving of a good woman’s life. The ability to give these kids a chance to survive.

He stood and stepped back from the family as they held one another. Then, as if the sun had been eclipsed, the minimal amount of sunlight went away. Instinctively, Peter swung around to look outside. What he found was a hulking figure that filled the door frame from side to side and top to bottom.

Monday, October 28

Fairfax, Virginia

“Who are you?” the man’s deep voice boomed through the living room. Peter was frozen, unsure of what to do. He hesitated to reach for his weapon in case the man had a gun in his hands. What happened next shocked him.