Ignorance





A Short Story

By

Michael Hammor






Derrick Jacobs looks up from his book as the old rattle trap truck approaches his RV. Billy brought it along with several others he had found in a car a few miles up the highway. He examines the cover again, it shows a small figure walking on a deserted highway to nowhere. He sets the book down on the milk crate he uses as a table and waits for the truck. He has the awning out to cut the intense rays of the sun. The RV had seen better days, hell the world had seen better days. Its been several years since society collapsed and Derrick along with s small group of survivors struck out to the Arizona desert to escape the riots and plagues that were sweeping through the major cities as the power grid shut down and the world ran out of resources. They subsisted on the meager crops the desert soil was able to nourish and what they could scavenge from nearby towns and along the highway. Its been ages since they encountered any other people.

Jeff pulls the battered old farm truck up to the RV.

“Have you seen Myrna and Nickie?” Jeff asks. His sun browned skin makes him look older than his 35 years. “They left in the other truck a few hours ago to see if they could find any wild edibles in the box canyons along the mountains.”

“Have you tried them on the CB? Maybe they just lost track of time?” Derrick replies.

Jeff nervously scratches at his short goatee. “They're supposed to check in every hour, and they haven't. Man, I'm really worried! What if something happened to them?”

Myrna and Nickie were Jeff's wife and step-daughter and all he had left in this world. After two failed marriages, basically due to his alcoholic tendencies, Jeff cleaned up his act and remarried. Myrna and Nickie adored Jeff, and he them. Derrick sighed, wishing he had something, anything to adore. He had always been a loner, sometimes by choice, often by necessity.

“Help me stow this awning and pack up,”.

“Why?” Jeff asks.

“Because they likely broke down and your not going to be able to tow the truck back with that shit heap. Stop worrying, I'm sure they're OK, man. I got your back,”.

It was quick work. They were on the road in minutes. They stopped by the old gas station and picked up Billy. Billy was nearly fifteen with long red hair and an unfortunate case of freckles. He had a bit of a crush on Jeff's step-daughter, Nickie, even though Jeff made certain he knew that it wasn't going to go anywhere for a few years yet. Derrick pressed Jeff for why he had such a hard on for giving the kid shit.

“He reminds me too much of myself at that age,” Jeff replied.

Billy was their newest addition, having joined the loosely affiliated group less than a year before. He had an uncanny knack for finding useful things in areas they had previously searched. He habitually wore Metallica t-shirts until they virtually wore out. He seemed to have a never ending supply of them.

Billy heartily agreed to join them and rode his Honda dirt bike out in front of the RV, on point.

Derrick starts to slow the RV and hoots the horn. As the RV coasts to a stop in the desert sand Billy rides his dirt bike in a wide loop and stops by Derrick's driver side window.

“We should pick up Henry and Imogene,”.

“Why would we do that? They're so old they can barely walk,” anything over 40 was old to a kid Billy's age.

“Because Henry is the only one of us with a decent gun and the ability to shoot it, and he never goes anywhere without Imogene,” Derrick replies. “It just seems smart.”

They make a slight detour and head east for a few miles until they come to a small travel trailer. It sits in a small lot decorated with hundreds of stones forming paths and small walkways around cacti and various plants. It was all Imogene's work and had taken her months, actually the better part of the three years they have all been out here. It will never be finished. It keeps her busy, and a busy Imogene makes for a happy Henry.

Derrick remembered the one time that Henry tried to teach him to shoot using one of his older, less valuable rifles.  Derrick kept flinching in anticipation of the wicked recoil the rifle produced. It was a soviet Mosin Nagant.

“I'm built like a wood elf from Lord of the Rings,” Henry said, his voice low and raspy from losing half of his voice box to cancer in the 1960s. “If I can work a Mosin over like a Dovetsk District Worker with nary a bruise, you either need to eat more iron, or clench your starfish, squeeze your cajones and work the frikkin' bolt like a Russian, and not like a Welshie.”

Henry was a WW2 Pacific war vet, and at 89 years old, could still shoot the dingle berries off a gnat's ass at 500 meters with anything that fired a projectile. Imogene was a pinup model. Henry had her picture up in his foot locker and had always vowed that when he got home, he was going to find her  and marry her. It took him three years, but he found her. A year later they were married. Imogene still struck a striking figure. You could look at her and tell she used to be beautiful, not just pretty or cute but beautiful in a way that would make a king give up his kingdom. Sadly, she was declining mentally as they years progressed. Maybe it was the collapse of society or old age, but most of the time she pretended like nothing was wrong, that this way of life was normal, or even a blessing.

“As long as you're breathing, things can always get better!” she'd say smacking her lips after taking a spoonful of cooked desert greens and mesquite pod mash as if it were the best soup a restaurant had to offer.

“I love road trips!” she said as Henry lovingly strapped her into a seat. “Can we collect some more rocks or stop at the Botanical Garden's on the way back, Derrick?” She asked sweetly.

“Sure thing, Gramma!” Derrick replied. She thought he was her long dead grandson. His name was Derrick as well but he died in Vietnam, long before this Derrick was born. Henry took the passenger seat next to Derrick. He had two soft rifle cases across his lap. He unzipped one.

“For you,” he rasped, placing the rifle across the wide dashboard.
“You know I can't hit shit with that, Henry,” Derrick complains.

“They don't know that,”.

“Who's they?” Derricks asks keeping the RV lined up behind Billy. Jeff gave Billy the general directions and Billy had an idea where they might have went as he was planning to explore that area himself but kept getting distracted by other things.

“Anybody we might meet that don't like us. They.”

Henry had a bit of a paranoid streak.

Derrick was getting worried about the time they had left. The sun was quickly edging towards the horizon and in the canyons where they were heading the shadows advanced quickly and the temperature dropped quicker. Even in the summer, the night time temperature could drop 40 degrees from the day's high. The desert was a harsh mistress. Derrick scanned his instrument panel. Everything was green. Fuel was at half a tank, but that wasn't a problem. Billy figured out a way to manually pump gasoline from the gas station's tanks. They had enough fuel, if used modestly, to last for years.

Billy slowed ahead of them and gestured to the right with his hand. They hugged the canyon wall but after a few hundred feet the ground became too rough for the RV. Derrick set the parking brake and shut down the engine. They could clearly see where the truck had proceeded deeper into the canyon by its tracks and the occasional squished bush. Billy waited at the tracks for them to dismount.

Derrick made sure everyone had full water bottles or canteens. Jeff tried to raise his family one last time on the RV's CB without success. They proceeded on foot, following the trucks tire tracks. Derrick took the lead, the old battle rifle clutched across his chest with nervous fingers. Not knowing the situation they kept silent. Raiders were common near population centers, and while they had never encountered them this far out, one could never be too careful. Henry and Imogene took up the rear. Imogene had her stone gathering bag and had her eyes glued to the ground. For an old lady she was pretty spry. 50 lbs of rocks in her gathering bag barely slowed her down.

As soon as they spotted the truck Jeff sprinted ahead calling their names.

“Myrna! Nickie!” his voice echoed hollowly back at him. Derrick opened the passenger door of the truck and tried the horn. Nothing.

“Dead battery. That explains not being able to raise them on the CB.”

“Do you think they tried to walk back?” Jeff asked, the concern evident in his voice.

“We would have passed them on the way in,” Billy said. “Besides their tracks lead deeper into the canyon.” Billy had the eyes of a hawk, as only the young possess.

“Myrna! Nickie!” Jeff calls out again.

“Knock it off! Quit giving away our position.” Henry admonishes. “Let's just go find them before it gets dark, maybe they went looking for shelter?”

“Oh, look Henry! Rose Quartz!” Imogene says, delighted, holding up the fist sized stone for him to see.

His face softens. “Beautiful, honey! That would look great as part of the ring you're building around that prickly pear patch by that big saguaro.”

“That's exactly what I was thinking, Henry. You know me so well.” She carefully places the stone into her gathering sack.

They follow after Billy as he leads them further up the trail.

“I think I see a cave!” he calls back to them a few minutes later.

“See, Henry was right!,” Derrick says to Jeff. “They found shelter.”

Jeff jogs ahead to catch up with Billy. Derrick glances over at Henry. Henry is watching the canyon walls intensely.

“What is it?” he asks.

Henry chambers a round into his Remington 700 in .308 and flips the protective scope covers up. “Something feels off. Do you feel like... we've done this before? Deja vus?”

“Hiking up a canyon? Yeah, we've done this a few times before.”

“No, I mean this... looking for Jeff's ladies... going into that cave. I don't want to go into that cave, Derrick. I don't think any of us should.”

Jeff comes running back down the trail. He's yelling about something.

“Did you find them? Are they OK?” Derrick asks.

“Yeah, they're fine, but you got to come see what they found, its unreal!” Jeff gestures them to follow and races back up the trail.

Henry grabs Derrick's arm as he starts forward. “Please, lets just get the girls and go back.”

Derrick thought he saw real fear in the old man's eyes. Imogene passes them and confidently continues up the trail. Probably hoping they found some interesting rocks, Derrick thinks to himself.

“Henry, everything is going to be fine. Let's go see what they found and get back to the RV before the sun sets and we have to stay out here all night.”

Reluctantly, Henry follows Derrick up the trail to the cave. With every step Henry's anxiety increases. He can almost feel the cross hairs on the back of his head. They find Jeff with his arms around his family at the mouth of the cave. Billy is standing a little too close to Nickie but for once Jeff doesn't seem to mind.

“So what happened, Ladies? Derrick asks.
They both stumble over each other trying to explain. Myrna hushes her daughter.

“We came up here to look for edibles. I let Nickie drive and she left the lights on.”

“Why did you have the lights on?” Derrick asks laughing.

“The driver's ed book you loaned me said to have my lights on during the day for visibility to other drivers.” Nickie pouts.

“What other drivers?” Jeff laughs.

“Well, we were gathering for about an hour when I looked back and saw the headlights were glowing. We tried to get you on the radio, Jeff honey, but I guess the battery was weak and it died completely.”

“We had spotted the cave, but we were waiting to finish gathering before we explored it. Realizing we might be stuck out here for a while we decided to check it out.” Myrna's face went serious.

“And?” Henry asks her anxiously. ”What did you find?”

“We found a door! A big metal door!” Nickie blurts.

“Billy and I waited for you guys to catch up. Let's go check it out! Did you bring a flashlight?” Jeff asks.

Derrick pulls a pair of small flashlights from his cargo pocket. He hands one to Jeff and the other to Henry.

“I'll take rear guard,” Henry says. Derrick studies his face. This was really bothering him.

“Listen, I know you went through some shit in the war. You don't have to go in there. Claustrophobia is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Shut up. I'm not claustrophobic. I can almost tell you whats going to happen next. Jeff is going to bump his head on the ceiling. I can see it in my head, like its already happened.”

“Whatever,” Jeff says. “Let's go.”

Henry takes up a position next to the cave entrance, rifle held loose and ready in his hands as the group enter the cave one by one. They have to stoop for the first few steps but it opens up once they get inside. Henry hears Jeff curse as he stoops to enter.

“Watch out for that, it gets lower right before it opens up!”

“Oh, poor baby! Are you bleeding?” Myrna fusses, rubbing Jeff's forehead.

“How far is it?” Derrick asks. He looks back at Henry.

“Its a few hundred feet at most, I think.” Myrna replies.

Henry shines his light around looking for any sign that the cave might be unstable. Despite everything looking fine, he was still uneasy. The group slowly makes their way forward. After a few minutes the groups stops abruptly in the narrow cave. No one speaks. Before them stands a bare metal door. There are no knobs or other accoutrements visible.

“What the... Henry? Does this look military to you? Could this be a survival bunker of some sort?” Derrick asks.

“Told you it was real!” Nickie whispers loudly to Billy. Derrick can see that they are holding hands but decides not to mention it to Jeff. He would flip.

Henry doesn't reply at first. He is mesmerized by the sight of the door.

“No, its not military.”

He walks up to the door and places his hand on the metal. Its both cool and warm at the same time. He slides his hand along the metal, almost a caress. Its utterly smooth and featureless.

Suddenly four glowing lights appear on its surface, each the size of a baseball.

“Whoa!” Billy exclaims, wrapping his arm around Nickie and she cringes into him. Jeff punches the arm off his daughter without looking.

The lights are different colors. The one on the left is red, the next from left to right is green, then blue, then yellow. They seem to pulse and give off a heat that can be felt on your face. Henry feels no difference in temperature under his hand.

“Henry?” Derrick asks.

Henry slowly turns his head to the group. The sorrow is evident in his eyes. “I told you this was bad.”

Henry gently taps the red, blue and yellow lights. The entire door begins to glow a dull orange. With a low hiss it slides sideways into the wall revealing a light so bright its painful to look at. Derrick shields his eyes with his arm.

“How did you know what colors to press, Henry?”

“I don't know. I just pressed the primary colors. Red, yellow and blue are the only colors that are made up of only themselves. Green is blue and yellow. It didn't fit the pattern.”

Henry turns his gaze to the bright white light, seemingly unaffected. “There is someone in there. I'm going inside.”

Henry steps across the threshold and into the light. He finds himself in a large multistory library. A large sign near the ceiling proudly proclaims 'University of Kansas'. Bookshelves line every wall. It feels familiar, hell it even smells familiar. In the middle of the room, under skylights, sit a circle of chairs, seven of them are empty. The eighth chair is occupied.

Henry feels the rest of the group behind him. They gasp in astonishment.

“Please, take your seats,” the pleasant looking man says, rising from his chair. He has a pleasant round face with a few days stubble and close cropped hair, just starting to go gray. His checkered shirt appears well worn but clean, as do his jeans. His tan work boots look well worn and broken in. He has a slight gut, but he isn't fat.

“My name is Kevin, but you wouldn't remember that. This isn't the first time we have met. Please sit.” Kevin says, then retakes his seat.

“Where are we?” Jeff asks.

“That will all be explained in time. I just ask that you keep an open mind.”

“When we first brought you here, you agreed to this. We would not have done anything against your will. Know that.” Kevin says, the sincerity on his face genuine.

They take their seats. Kevin waves his hand and the solar system shimmers into being in the center of the circle.

“Many years ago, your planet suffered a calamity.”

A comet streaks from the far side of the solar system and slams into the Earth. Nickie shrieks and Imogene covers her mouth with both of her hands in shock.

“The comet strike in itself wasn't that bad, your species would have survived, although it would have taken thousands of years for your civilization to recover.”

Kevin waved his hand and the image zooms in closer. They can see the shimmering crater of what used to be Europe and the huge column of debris that was ejected into space. Derrick looks at Henry. He has his arms around Imogene and tears are streaming down his face.

“However, the comet strike destabilized your planet's crust triggering volcanic eruptions on a global scale. Your planet was basically tearing itself apart.” Kevin closes his fist and the image disappears.

“I'll spare you the rest. You never cared to watch it after the first time.”

“How many times have we done this?” Derrick asks, his voice shaking.

“One thousand, two? Does it matter?” Kevin says sadly.

“My ship was the only one close enough to your planet to help. I was assigned to monitor your progress and study your development. I guess you could say I fell in love with the human race. I defied my orders and saved as many of you as I could.”

“How many of us did you save?” Jeff asks, Myrna sobbing into his shirt.

“He only saved one.” Henry said. He looked sadly at each member of the group. “None of you are real. I'm sorry. But I loved each of you when you were alive. Billy, you were my grandson. You committed suicide at the age of thirteen because you were afraid that your parents would find out you were gay. They would have never loved you any less.”

Billy disappeared in a shimmer of sparks.

“Derrick and Jeff, you were my sons. Derrick, you died in Vietnam, and Jeff, you died when a drunk driver hit you as you were crossing the street a few years later. You used to always tell the dumbest jokes, but I loved them.”

“You can't be serious! I'm real! I'm...” Derrick says before disappearing.

“Myrna, you were Jeff's wife and I loved you like my own. You and Nickie died when the world died. You all used to visit me in Tucson every summer. Nickie you grew into a great beauty. I'm sorry.”

“What about me, Henry?” Imogene asks him. “I don't have to be real to know that I loved you with everything I ever had and always will.” She gently lays a kiss on his cheek as she disappears.

Henry sobs.

“Do you remember everything now?” Kevin asks.

“No, not all of it, but enough.” Henry replies, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

“Do you want to? I can make it all go away. I can make you not remember. I have always offered you the choice. What do you chose this time? Knowledge or Ignorance.”

Henry straightened in his chair. He adjusted his shirt and cleared his throat.

“Ignorance. I chose Ignorance.”






Henry glances around the canyon, watching the walls. “Something doesn't feel right, Derrick. We need to get the girls and go. Now!” Henry says with authority. Derrick looks like he is about to protest but thinks better of it.

That moment, Jeff comes jogging down the trail.

“Found em! They were up by a cave. We should check it out before we head back.”

Derrick glances at Henry.

“There's no time. We need to get the truck pushed down to where we can jump it from the RV and get rolling before we lose the light. Bring em down!”

Henry's anxiety eases measurably. He hugs his wife.

“What was that for?” she asks coyly.

“I'm just happy we found them safe and sound, that’s all.”

As the small group comes marching down the trail towards them Henry feels his heart swell. Everything seems right with the world again.

Kevin watches from his monitor. He smiles.

Ignorance truly is bliss.

















Author's note:

All of the characters in this book are dead. They all meant something to me. Derrick is the only exception. Derrick was based on me. The part of me that died a long time ago.

Henry and Imogene are based on my Grandparents. They weren't my real grandparents but they never once treated me like anything other than blood. I was pall bearer at both of their funerals. My grandfather died before I joined the Army and followed in his footsteps. I hope he would have been proud of me.

Jeff was based on my old best friend. He was recently killed in a hit and run in Phoenix. He had his issues and unfortunately never got to see that life could get better. The person that killed him was never identified. I miss you , man.

Myrna was based on my Aunt Myrna on my mother's side. She recently died of liver cancer. Her son, Kevin, died almost two years ago. He was driving a truck when he had a heart attack. He managed to get the truck pulled off the road and no one got hurt. The doctors said he died instantly. He was my Hero.

Billy was a childhood friend. He went missing at age 13 for a few days. He was found in his house. His parents left for work and he came home. He killed himself. To this day no one knows why. His death destroyed his entire family. Hi mother drank herself to death and his brother has been battling drug addiction ever since.

Nickie was based on my cousin that I grew up with. She was so pretty and full of life. She died young in a single car rollover accident.

This story started as a dream I had yesterday, April 1st, while napping. Most of the time I am able to delude myself, and not have to face the harsh reality of my existence. Today nothing I did worked. Reality was in my face and taunting me. The anxiety was crippling. I might be more messed up than I realize.

As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my work.


www.bedtimetalesfromtheapocalypse.com

Good story, I liked it.

Good story

Good story.

Thanks.

Thank you all for reading!

I liked it!  Very cool!

TriumphRider

Good read....
Thoughts and prayers to you.....

Thank you.

Tag

Good read so far...

Good job.

Tagged to read later

Like others have said good read

Enjoyed it. Thank you!

Thanks to all! I am sick unto death with upper respiratory funk. Cant breath, cant cough or whole back spasms. It hit me hard and fast, hopefully it goes away just as fast.

Good read and prayers for you, man.

I like the fact that you've used names of loved ones in your work.

Also, HAPPY EASTER!

very good

Nice read. I'm a big fan of short stories. It was delicious.



Thanks,

112

The story had merit, you could have given it a little more depth. Good none the less.

Pretty good actually. Good read.

At first, I thought. Hell, I'm not reading that. It's too long. Then I hit the reader tab, went through it like a breeze. Great story, prayers to you. Friend.

I have the same feeling that you do. It needs a little more...struggle, maybe a bit more dirt, and maybe some BO. It could probably use a little more interaction between the characters but... sometimes certain things are best left to the reader's mind to fill in. I think I want to expand the Destruction of the earth part and make it slower and more painful maybe. Maybe explain that the reason Derrick exists in a post apocalyptic scenario is that the best Lies have a kernel of truth. It the simulation was too far from his own memories... his brain would reject it. So when he was rescued he was hiding in the desert in an RV. He was dying and was staring at pictures in a photo album after burying his elderly wife.

didn't see that coming!

your writing is getting really good...

I really enjoyed your story.  Thank you!

Check

Mate?