Fiction Friday - Ten Meters of Concrete

Casey pressed his back against the curved sides of the tunnel and caught his breath. From his left, a cool night breeze assaulted him with the scent of decaying leaves out of the ditch he was in. The sky on that side was dark night, but when he looked to the right he could still see the fading pink-orange glow of the sunset.

It would have been peaceful if not for the oppressive thwupa-thwupa-thwupa coming from above. He had some ten meters of protection. Was it enough? For now at least, it would do. Even the "eye in the sky" couldn't see through concrete.

In the fading light, he pulled his backpack close and checked the contents. He'd been too rushed, totally unprepared! As he passed through the kitchen, he'd grabbed a couple knives, the flashlight from the drawer, and whatever he could fit from the pantry. He was too agitated to eat tonight, but what were his options for the next days?

• 4 jello-cups (with fruit)
• 3 cans of tuna (the pull-tab kind, thankfully)
• 1 box of Cheez-its
• a half-full bag of single-serve of potato chip packets that his Mom usually added to his lunches.

With a pang, he thought of his parents. Where were they now? The house was empty, but they should have been home. What was happening?

He'd skipped out on gym class that afternoon and watched from the nearby park as military vehicles pulled up into the school turnaround. After a few minutes, he saw a long line of people - enough teachers, staff, and even students to fill a couple busses - ushered out the big double doors and forced into the waiting transports. 

He was too far away to hear, but he could tell they were yelling and fighting against the soldiers. If they even were soldiers! Casey knew all too well that wearing camo didn't automatically come with a rank.

A crowd had run out the back gym door and raced around to the front, protesting whatever was going on. They'd been pushed back easily, but it looked like Mr. Small had a new limp as they retreated.

The scene haunted him. The military didn't just raid schools at random.

Casey shook it off and dug back into the bag. He found his dad's can of mixed nuts. He lined it up with the rest of his supplies. That was all of the food. His school water bottle was still pretty full, but he hadn't topped it up at home. 

Okay. It was enough to start with. He'd get water and more food in the morning.

By now the sky was dark on both sides, but he could track the copters' progress by the beams of searchlights. Who were they looking for? For the first time, Casey wished he'd paid attention when his parents watched the news. Or maybe even in Social Studies class! 

He considered his friends. How were they? Had any of them been corralled into the trucks? His cell phone battery died hours ago, so he couldn't even check on anyone.

When his brain finally gave up worrying, he tried to arrange his backpack into a kind of pillow so he might catch some Zzz's. It was lumpy as pillows go and the noise of the aerial patrols didn't help, but eventually he drifted off.

He woke a few hours later, curled around something warm and fuzzy. He jerked alert, banging his head on the hard surface behind him. It was still dark night, but his eyes had adjusted enough to see that a scruffy grey dog had crawled into the culvert and curled up next to him during the night. 

Or maybe just a very dirty dog.

The dog opened its eyes and looked at him. 

A swishing sound told Casey it was wagging its tail against the floor.

He scratched the dog on the back of the neck. It was wearing a collar. "Poor guy," he whispered in the dark, "Did your people not come home either?" The dog whined, but whether in answer to Casey or fear of the chopper that chose that moment to pass overhead was unclear. Casey leaned down to nuzzle the dog's warm neck. "We'll be okay." 

*****

This story was initially inspired by the concrete drainage pipes lined up in a construction staging area across from my favorite bar. The bit about the stray dog curling up with the sleeping boy is an adaptation from something that happened to a kid in my English Club.

If you enjoy my stories, considering dropping your own inspirational word or or idea in a comment!