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The Monsters are Due
Have you ever been somewhere for so long that you can't remember how you got there in the first place? You can't recall what steps lead you to that location, and you can barely remember who you were before you stepped foot inside?
Jade tries to remember exactly what happened that lead her to this gas station. It comes back to her, piece by piece, hazy bit by hazy bit, as the adrenaline leaves her system. When you know death can be only a second away, time moves differently.
Jade never thought she'd be around for the end of the world.
She especially never thought she'd be around for the end of world and stuck waiting for it in a gas station. She'd just assumed, you know, she'd be long dead by then. She's never been one of those survivor types, who would build underground bunkers, and could drink their own pee. It sounds like too much work. It's never been her style.
The Bible seems to think the world will end in fire, that holy flames will rain down from the heavens, and the earth will eventually be reduced to nothing but ash. She always paid close attention to the gory parts of the Bible during Sunday school. She loved reading about it, but Jade never imagined she would ever experience anything close to it.
Her life is boring. That's not a bad thing, just a fact she accepted. Jade has lived her entire life at her family's farm. She and her mother always bake apple pies on Sundays, her favorite part of her day is when she gets to read by the fire, and she hates loud noises. That's not exactly the lifestyle of an action star. That's not the origin story of someone who saves the world.
Jimmy's favorite television show portrayed the apocalypse as this really long, drawn out thing. Jade isn't interested in seeing society spiraling into irreversible chaos. That kinda thing should take longer than two weeks, right? Apparently not.
Jimmy begged her not to leave, trying to use the tone he reserved for all his important "big brother" speeches. They didn't know where the Lights had come from or what they wanted, only that people and entire towns began to disappear at once. Their parents were taken in the middle of the night, stolen out of their cotton sheets during the first week of the invasion. The farm didn't even stir.
But Jade is nothing if not stubborn. She insisted she had run to the store and pick up some more supplies, enough snacks to make their last few weeks comfortable. Jimmy didn't think it was safe, but Jade just chuckled.
Sure, the apocalypse was upon them, but she figured it wouldn't reach Indiana for at least a few more weeks. They didn't get movies until years after they were released. Nobody figured the Lights would spread so fast. Especially not Jade.
She saw them when she made it to the end of the dirt road, and turned back to wave at Jimmy, who was pacing nervously in the front window. The Lights descended upon the house like a wild predator, lifting the house, her screaming brother inside, and Sprinkles, her ginger-spotted cat, into the air. The Lights viciously tore the house from its foundation, leaving no trace of the Ellsworth's farm. They took everything she had left. She was spared, but only by a few seconds, and because she was such a stubborn pain in the ass. The Lights, brilliant and blinding and hungry, turned their attention on her next. Jade sprinted into the woods, and kept running until she found safety in a gas station on a dusty road.
Now, she is stuck in a dirtiest gas station in America, and honestly, she is too damn mad to even be scared right now. She watches the sky through the glass storefront, ducking down behind the few shelves left standing. The pulsing color fades in and out as Lights pass by overhead, swooping closer and closer. She doesn't know what they are waiting for, but they are leaving her alone for the time being.
Not only does a fine layer of dust cover everything in sight, but the shelves are practically empty. Jade thought she would at least have some comfort food to enjoy, but all the place has to offer is old coffee, some cheap beer, and unopened bags of pretzels. She's pissed. This is not how she thought she would spend her last few hours, hiding in deserted gas station with smoothie machines spitting colorful drinks on to the floor.
"What the hell is a pretty girl like yourself doing out in the middle of nowhere, anyway?"
Jade glares across the room.
Oh right.
Not only is she stuck in a snackless-gas station, about to die, but she's also stuck with some obnoxious guy who doesn't shut up.
He has a slim, angled cheekbones, perfectly parted hair, and thin pursed lips. He's dressed nicely, almost too nicely on closer inspection. His shirt is recently pressed, and a pair of dark sunglasses hides his eyes, masking an obviously prevalent hangover. He looks like he should be on his way to a polo game or bathing in a bathtub of champagne. You would never guess he was stuck in the middle of the apocalypse, except for the cut on his forehead that bleeds off and on.
They've been trapped together for the past few hours, she guesses, but she hasn't said a word to him. She drew an invisible line down the middle of the aisle and kept to her side. She doesn't know anything about him, other then he rarely shuts up, except for when he's sleeping, and even then, he snores. He's obnoxious. He can't not make noise.
"I was going for a leisurely stroll through the neighborhood," She shoots him a look. "Checking out the local scenery, and - you know, running for my goddamn life."
He rolls his eyes and stretches his legs out on the ground in front of him. When he does, Jade sees the gun tucked against his hip. She almost asks if it will work against the Lights, but she already knows the answer. It's probably useless.
"What I'm asking is," He sighs, letting her know exactly how exhausted he is by this conversation, "Why did you make a run to the convenient store during the end of the world? Don't you have some rustic, farmer boyfriend to do this shit for you?" He wonders what kind of person is willing to die for some snacks. Who goes to the store in the middle of the apocalypse? Seriously.
"I'm an equal-opportunity kind of girl," Jade shrugs, so she wouldn't have to go into details about her family. Somehow it seems even more pathetic to be alone in the apocalypse.
There is a crash outside that shakes the building, causing the overhead lamps to flicker, and Jade nearly lets out a scream. Outside, she watches the Lights swarming around them, ducking in and out of focus. The boy doesn't even flinch. He doesn't turn his head to look outside, he just yawns lazily, like a kitten.
"A group of us escaped from the city. New York City, that is." He volunteers, "We heard about a group of survivors just west of here, and we set up camp in the forest. I left camp for a smoke break, and when I returned everyone was gone. Even Taylor. She had great legs. The only reason I stuck with them was because I figured we would have end of the world sex at some point." He sighs wistfully, and tugs on the end of his scarf, "But I guess that's out the window now."
"What little I know about you disgusts me."
"Anyway, I worked up a sweat looking for shelter. This is the only place around for miles. It seems like the town has been uprooted, completely deserted except for us."
Jade hadn't realized her community had become a ghost town. Jade has mixed feelings about her town. It's like a pair of shoes, sometimes it fit comfortably for the occasion, and other times it felt suffocating and tight. Now, empty lots stood menacingly where windmills once sat, and rows of corn had been reduced to nothing but ashy fields.
The Lights had devastated everything.
"So you're looking for a group of survivors somewhere around here? How do you even know that's real?" She asks incredulously, picking the last bit of black nail polish on her thumb. She keeps her voice quiet, barely above a whisper.
"Well, it's not like anyone is sending me snapchat updates, but I don't have any better options. I figured my best bet would be to check it out." The boy from the city says. Jade has never been a betting girl. He seems confident though, or at least, he's good at faking. She thinks it's probably the latter.
"You should head west, if you get out." He says, leaning forward casually to peer out the window. It's first time he's acknowledged the danger they're in. If he's concerned, his face doesn't show in the slightest.
Jade can't help but laugh. It comes out like a cackle, sharper then she intended.
"Neither one of us is getting out, City-Boy." She shakes her head, and it's a miracle tears don't well up in her eyes. Jade has always been a crier, but now, a time when she should be mourning, she just feels especially numb. She reaches over to the bag of pretzels she opened and grabs the saltiest looking one.
"I'm Ike," He says softly after a second, instead of replying. She repeats it silently to herself, and it rolls off her tongue like a wave on to the shore. It's a weird name, but there's something familiar about it.
"Jade Ellsworth." She replies to Ike, from New York and she looks at him closely. His eyes are so blue, even from across the room, there's something intense about them. They're eyes that look like they have secrets, and like they know hers.
"Nice to be the last person to meet you." Jade smiles, and she hates being cynical. She has every right to be, but it's not usually a role she falls into.
Jade is surprised when he smirks back at her, obviously amused. It's the first genuine feeling thing about him. Ike leans forward, crossing the space between them on his knees, and hold his hand out for her. Jade shakes it firmly.
"The feeling is mutual." He smiles, and it's bright and it must have won over a lot of girls in the city. He seems to have taken her joke as an invitation to sit by her, because he drops himself down next to her in the empty chip aisle. He still smells like some stiff cologne and smoke.
Jade tries to think of something to say. What did one say to a stranger during the end of the world? She isn't good at conversation on a normal day. Not with most people, at least.
"How's your apocalypse going so far?"
Ike from the city laughs warmly. Jade likes the way it sounds, like they aren't where they are. Like they could be joking around at the park or at some party, and he might be chuckling at something clever she said. She wishes they were somewhere else. Anywhere else.
"Can't complain honestly," He says, smiling, but his voice gets quiet. He has very white teeth, almost ridiculously shiny. "Until I got stuck with a grouchy redhead in a gas station. And yourself?"
"Not so bad," When she shakes her head, she hears Jimmy's voice echoing in her head. There's no point in rehashing the hell she's been through over the past week. He's probably had it just as bad as her. Might as well keep it light.
"It probably would've been a lot better if I'd didn't decide to leave the farm to try and stock pile Oreos." She laughs bitterly, straightening out invisible wrinkles in her skirt.
"You know what I always say, there's no nobler death then going out trying to get Oreos." He says assuringly, running hand through his perfectly gelled hair.
"Really? That's one of your sayings?" She raises an eyebrow incredulously.
"Yep. You can ask anyone in New York, and they'll tell you: that scarf wearing douchebag loves his cookies."
"Speaking of the scarf," Jade narrows her eyes at him, "What's with it? It's like eighty degrees in here. You must be roasting." She feels hot just looking at him, but she doesn't say that. Jade knows he would take it the wrong way.
"You'll have to excuse me if I don't take fashion advice from a girl who wears fishnet tights during the end of the world." He says, eyeing the thin material jetting up her legs.
Jade snorts, very un-ladylike. If her father was here she would have to apologize, and she tugs at the hole on her leg where the netting has torn. Whatever.
"I guess they really aren't that practical. But at least if I die, I'll still look badass."
"Good to know that's your priority."
"And we're acting like you didn't take the time to put gel in your hair while being chased through the woods." She fires back, not holding back any of the bite in her tone. He has animal like reflexes so she knows he'll catch it.
"Jade, I never leave the house without it. What if a girl sees me?" He says like its the most terrifying thing he's ever considered, and then pauses when something crooked pounds on the roof, echoing like a heartbeat above them. Jade is afraid the building is going to disappear with them inside, but after a moment, all is peaceful again. She waits for death to arrive but it doesn't come for them.
"Want some beer?" Ike asks without missing a beat. He obviously recovers quickly. There's an unopened cart next to him that has his name on it and he drags it closer to him.
Jade scrunches her nose at him. "I hate that shit."
"Well it's not exactly the top shelf liquor I'm accustomed to either," Ike rolls his eyes, forcing his finger to make a hole through the plastic covering. "But beggars can't be choosers, Red."
"Fine. Toss me one."
Jade opens hers and takes a sip. It is tart and gross and exactly how she expects it to taste. It's the kind of drink kids smuggle into bonfire parties in woods, when they're too young to know the difference between good beer and gas station beer. She takes another sip anyway, because Ike does, then puts it down.
Things are quiet for a minute as they laugh harmoniously about their shitty choice of drink. The crashing outside rings louder and closer. Jade starts mentally composing her will in her mind and saying a quick prayer just in case anyone is listening. Ike doesn't stop eating the pretzels from her bag, and Jade really wished she had a smoke on her. It's a dirty habit, she knows, but she just hasn't been able to kick it. Her mother found a pack hidden under the seam of her mattress and chastised her in typical Ellsworth family fashion. Jade didn't take a word of it, because she knew her mom snuck out to the side porch to smoke when she thought everyone was asleep. She used to, at least. That happened the month before, but it feels like it could have been an entire lifetime ago.
"Ike from New York?"
He glances up at her with his iceberg eyes, and he is a little surprised to find her closer than she was before. They had instinctually slid closer together when the flashing Lights threatened closer.
Ike smiles a little at the same time. "Jade from the farm?"
"What did you want to before this?"
Jade isn't sure why she wants to know. She guesses she just wants to paint a better picture of him.
"You mean like two weeks ago?" He pauses, putting some obvious thought into it for a minute. "I guess I was planning on blowing my inheritance on parties and strippers. You know, the simple things in life. Oh, and I would have purchased Sea World with my ample funds."
"Sea World? Really?"
"I saw the most depressing commercial about orcas in captivity. If we get out of here, you have to watch it. It's despicable, truly. I would buy the whole organization and then promptly shut it down. I would release the whales back in to the wild."
"Well, you know what I always say." Jade chews, "There's no nobler deed then saving an orca whale."
"Really? Is that one of Jade Ellsworth's catchphrases?"
"Yeah, actually. I have it printed on a shirt. I should have worn it, you'd get a kick out of it."
With his head facing her direction, their faces are closer than she'd counted on, but not too close that she wants to pull away.
"What about you? Any big aspirations for the country girl?"
"My mother always said I'd be a great poet." She answers immediately, without having to reflect on it for too long. She could see herself making a go of it.
"Writing?" He repeats, letting it simmer in his brain for a moment, "I could see it. The fishnets, obvious teen angst, and the dramatics all fit. What did you write about?"
"Life." She shrugs
"That's a little broad."
"I write about living. Did ever get the sense... I don't know how to say it. Like, maybe the life you're living isn't the right one? Somewhere along the way your destiny got screwed up, and now you're playing a part you weren't meant to?" Jade says, and she clenches her hands together. She doesn't know why she's telling him this.
"I'm pretty sure my therapist has a name for that." He rolls his eyes in response, and she shoves her elbow into his side.
"What's your therapist's name, Dr. Vodka?"
"Oh, you know him?" Ike leans over, tugging his jacket over his shoulders. There's pine needles stuck in the zipper and it's torn at the sleeve. It doesn't seem to match the the rest of his appearance at all.
“Really? A leather jacket,” Jade says as he shrugs into it. “It seems like you are trying a little too hard to play into certain bad boy clichés.”
“Nah,” He shakes his head. “You’re thinking of black leather jackets.
Black leather is for bad boys. It’s all in the color. You wouldn’t think I was a bad boy if I was wearing a pink leather jacket.”
“That’s true. So what does brown leather mean, then?”
“It means I'm manly,” Ike explains with a carefully executed flex of his arm. “Maybe a little rugged. Total boyfriend material."
"You are be furtherest thing from boyfriend material. You just look like trouble. Any father you come within a mile of would pull a shotgun on you."
“I would be a great boyfriend. I'm hilarious. I'm good with directions. I could save you from thugs,” He offers, and there is life in his voice again. She wonders where that last part came from.
"Your arms are like delicate sticks."
"Perhaps. But I am very rich, so I could easily hire someone to do it for you." He reminds her. He's not good at flexing his muscles, but Ike is quite used to flexing his wallet.
"A real life Romeo." She says, clutching her hands together and feigning heart eyes.
"I'm Endymion."
"You're a what?"
“Endymion, he was a guy in mythology who really knew how to work it. He would sleep forever while the goddess of the moon dropped by every night and adored him. Everyone thought he was hot."
He says, just as her stomach growls, sounding very much like the whales he would have liberated from Sea World.
For most of the day, Jade had tried to remain as quiet and close to the ground as possible, careful not to draw any unnecessary attention to them. But something about Ike inspired a sense of confidence in her. He convinces her to a game of picnic, which involves them racing around grabbing random snacks through the gas station. Ike heads to the back storage room to dig around for Oreos in some unopened crates. He's planning a last supper, Jade realizes, but she doesn't let the thought weigh her down. She mays as well have some fun before they meet their inevitable doom.
Her legs are covered in little nicks, nothing serious, just tiny bruises she got from climbing trees and trekking through corn fields. She untucks the corner of her faded yellow teeshirt from the waist of her old, pleated, cheerleading skirt.
"My mother wanted me to try out for the cheer squad." She says, tracing her finger along the hem of the borrowed skirt, "She was a really great dancer and she had been bugging me to go out for it. But, of course, I was too stubborn to do it, so it turned into this huge fight between us. That was only a few weeks ago but it seemed like such a big deal. It seems so stupid now." Jade thinks. She let her mother down, and now she'll never have a chance to make up for it.
"You as a cheerleader?" Ike crosses his legs as he sits down in front of her, smirking like its the most ridiculous thought he ever heard.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sure, Jade's not a blonde Barbie, but it shouldn't but that crazy to think she could make it with the popular kids.
"You aren't... You know. Peppy."
"I can be peppy. I can be so peppy."
"You're the kind of girl who sits behind the bleachers smoking, not on the field dancing." He says arrogantly, quite confident in his assessment. He holds the pack of Oreos out to her.
"And you're the kind of guy who gets kicked out of the game for showing up drunk."
"You got me there." He wags his finger at her, "Either way, if you want to talk about disappointing mothers, I could write the manual. I once set the curtains on fire at my mother's birthday party and then did an extra shot for every curse she screamed at me."
"Is she a bitch?"
"Was the biggest." He shakes his head, tone lowered slightly. Jade notices the tense change. Was. She thinks of her family in the present tense still. It doesn't make sense to think of them as dead. Her mother kissed her goodnight after dinner and then was gone the next day.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. The way I see it, we don't have much time left before those things come busting in here, so we shouldn't waste any time being upset." He says, and she can't tell how he manages to sound so upbeat. He must have a lot of practice faking it.
"What do you think they are?"
"I don't know. But I think there's some reason behind what they're doing. Some reason they haven't taken us yet."
"Like, they don't want to kill us?"
"Or they can't." His eyes are sharp as daggers as he looks out the window.
Or perhaps the reason is something far more sinister.
Ike reaches up and pushes a strand of fire red hair from her face. It's vibrant and thick and full of life. It's less like hair and more life a force of nature.
"I like your hair."
"Well, that's better than being stuck in a gas station during the apocalypse with someone who doesn't like my hair."
Ike is studying her face intensely, like he's trying to memorize all the freckles on her face. She doesn't know what to make of it. She doesn't know what to make of him.
Jade reaches out, tugs on the fringes of his scarf, and smiles at Ike from the city, who snores when he sleeps, loves Oreos, and realizes he was actually very handsome.
Jade presses forward and kisses him. Ike drops his cookie and cradles her jaw in one of his hands. His mouth is warm and tart, like the beer they were drinking.
Of course, Jade couldn't have met him at the mall or at the park - or any normal kind of way - no, Jade could only meet him on the eve of their deaths.
Somehow, she feels like this is all meant to be, like she knows this strange boy from another time or another life. Jade doesn't understand what is happening to them, what is swarming about above their heads, or what comes after this. Something in her chest tells her this is what she's been waiting for, that somehow she was waiting for Ike. She knew they would be together at this crappy gas station in the end. That these last few hours have been a glimpse into what her life should have been. What could have been. In any other time or place, this could have been the start of something incredible.
The glass storefront explodes all at once, fracturing right down the middle as light floods through the crack. Her heartbeat doesn't fade, it fluctuates- slow — fast - slow — fast. They squeeze their hands together and Jade prays to whoever is listening. Ike pulls her closer, watching the shadows dance on the wall, and the tempo shifts in his chest. The world is alive and glowing ferociously around them. There is no fear. No pain. No darkness.
There is nothing but Light.
"Wake up." There's a steady pulse of pressure on Jade. She feels fingertips on her shoulders, trying to pull her out of whatever state she's in now.
When Jade regains consciousness, shards of glass are cutting into her skin like ice. She adjusts her weight on to her other arm. She doesn't open her eyes, she prefers the darkness to whatever is waiting before her now.
"C'mon. Open your eyes." The voice pries again, and it's comforting like the wind chimes on her front porch.
The first thing she does is look for Ike, she stretches her arm out to feel in the space beside her. It doesn't matter where she is, Heaven or Hell or somewhere in between that Light has taken them, she just wants to find him.
When Jade opens her eyes, she registers a figure crouching right above her, blonde hair obscures her vision. The girl is picking pieces of glass off Jade's skirt.
"Who are you?" Jade spits out, meeting a pair of calm eyes fixed on her.
"I'm Casey Blevins." Like she's surprised Jade doesn't know already, "I'm here to save you."
Jade feels something squeeze her hand, and she realizes she still has a solid grip on Ike, who is already rushing to his feet. His head is bleeding profusely again and he pulls her up with him. He looks just as surprised as she does to still be alive.
Casey, whoever she is, looks the kind of person Jade would follow into battle. When she smiles she bares all her teeth like a wolf and it seems like it's taking all of Casey's resolve not to hug Jade, who is hit with the same strange sensation she had with Ike. There's something familiar about the blonde who charged in here.
"What happened?" Ike says, taking in the destruction around them. He counts all his fingers and toes, and then checks to make sure Jade is in one piece, too. The gas station is barely intact, with entire walls missing, and the rest of the store is crumbling around them.
"We don't have time for questions now. We've got to get going, but I'll be happy to explain in the car."
"How did you find us?" Jade whispers, eyeing the girl as she digs through the crate of beer.
"It's what I do. I always find you." Casey shrugs, crunching glass under her heel, and Jade feels like she's missing out on some joke.
It's raining outside. Not the gentle kind of rain that lures Jade to sleep some nights, but the angry kind that beats sideways against them as they walk out of the gas station. There's a car parked out front with a ginger boy in the front seat. For a moment, Jade thinks it's Jimmy. They share the same gentle looking smile and crooked profile, but his legs are short and stretched out as he reads a comic book in the passenger seat.
"That's Hunter." Their blonde savior calls to them, "He's from Canada."
Casey says it like it's a fact and they shouldn't hold it against him.
Ike ushers her into the backseat. He was so sure they would be dead before the sun rose the next morning. He doesn't know what to make of it, it all seems to good to be true. Jade reaches up to touch the skin of his cheek with one hand, and with the other, moves herself closer to him.
"Where are we going?" Jade asks, even though she doesn't particularly care. She'll go anywhere as long as it gets her far from here.
"We're heading West." Hunter responds, his voice sounding muted in the front seat. There's a soft buzz playing from the radio.
Jade closes her eyes. The numbness in her chest has been replaced by something even more dangerous- hope.
She lets it fill her, consume her, and she starts to believe that maybe someone or something did hear her when she called out, begging for help.
She follows Casey's lead. Her gut tells her that the blonde will not steer her in the wrong direction.
She lets Ike hold her, this stranger, this odd boy from the city, who she feels like she knows far more intimately then anyone else in the world.
Ike stares at her as if he is trying to decipher what she is thinking. They look at each other for a few moments longer, and then Jade gets lost in it all- the sound of Hunter's laughter in the front seat, the scenery flying by them on account of Casey's speeding, and the color of Ike's eyes.
Jade focuses on it all, and lets herself forget about the flashing Lights trailing above the horizon behind them.