Fireworks

Bugg was almost done with his last drawing. His given name was John but his mom always called him her “Bugg”. He liked that better than John anyway. He had drawn a blue circle for the face. A red line for the mouth. He drew two large squares for teeth. He had used his old crayons. He had to use them because all the markers had dried up. They would only make the faintest mark on the page. No good for drawing. His little tongue was slightly sticking out of his mouth has he drew a small rounded U for the nose. For his Dad’s glasses it was two black circles with black lines connecting the larger blue circle. Then one small black hump in the middle of the two black circles. He put two black dots in the middle of each black circle. He tilted his head slightly and looked at the photo. He put down the black crayon and picked up the blue again. He drew over the small u shape for the nose again. He set that crayon down and looked at the ones that were still outside the box. He looked them over carefully. Then he looked back into the box. He selected the green crayon. The tip of the crayon was worn down to a nub just past the wrapper. He clenched his hand around it making a fist. He then put it against the paper and ran the crayon up and down vigorously making spiky green hair. He put the crayon down and looked at the drawing. He nodded once and turned the drawing over. He reached to his right and found a roll of scotch tape hidden under more drawing paper. He pulled a small strip and tore it off. He then folded it onto itself and placed it on the middle of the paper. He did it two more times, putting the folded pieces of tape beside each other. He stood up and turned the paper back around. He looked over it and again nodded once.

“ERICA!!!”

He nearly dropped the paper in surprise. It was coming from outside. Slowly he made his way to the window. He crawled over his scattered Legos, pushing them out of the way with his hands and knees. He made his way carefully across the room. He grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around himself. It was a deep blue blanket with a large yellow moon on it. The moon was smiling. He crept over to the window. It was covered in what his mom called Black Cow curtains. They blocked the light from coming in and waking him up. They were also good for hiding behind when the Walkers were out. If he peered out from the right side of the curtain he could see onto the street.

“ERICA!!!”

Louder this time. Closer. Then Bugg saw him. A man down the street. Bugg could see him easily from his second floor window. His house was the only one on the block still intact. The other houses had crumbled when the Walkers stepped through them. Storms, snow and rain, destroyed whatever had remained. Bugg remembered seeing lightning striking a tall grandfather clock across the street. It exploded, with wood and metal spraying in all directions. The big metal piece was the only part that remained. It glowed brightly as rain and wind pummeled everything else in the destroyed house.

“ERICA!!!”

The man was now right outside of Bugg’s house. The man had short dark hair and wide scared eyes. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a cool design. He was looking everywhere, even right at Bugg’s window. They locked eyes and Bugg felt fear rise up in him. But the man looked away quickly, still looking for Erica. Whoever that is. He was scanning down the street and then across to the broken down home that had the exploded grandfather clock. Then Bugg heard sounds that sent chills down his spine. The man heard the sounds too. His eyes widened and Bugg could see just how scared he was. He frantically looked around and then ran toward a grey car that sat in the driveway of the house across the street. Bugg watched him as he got down on his belly and wiggled underneath the car. The sound drew closer.

It sounded like tall trees hitting the ground, one by one. The sound of the Walkers. Within minutes, the machine stood outside Bugg’s window. He drew his blanket closer around him and was stock still. He held his breath so he wouldn’t move the curtains, his cheeks puffing out. He could only see the tall metal legs of the Walker. That’s all he ever saw. That and the Swarms. The legs shined in the sun, gleaming, causing Bugg to squint. The legs moved past his window, smooth and shiny. They had small lines running all the way up them. At the bottom of each leg were four flat metal pieces going off in different directions. The Walker stood in front of Bugg’s window and then the laser appeared. The red light swept across the ground. Bugg watched it dance over the burnt and browned ground. It scanned the street, sweeping quickly over the deep cracks. Then Bugg saw something that made his mouth run dry. A single black shoe stuck out from under the car where the man was hiding. Bugg heard himself let out the smallest gasp and quickly clapped his hands over his mouth. He felt the smallest amount of breath from his nose on his hands. The laser found the shoe, as Bugg knew it would. The laser locked onto the shoe. It stayed there, unmoving, bathing the shoe in its red light. The shoe suddenly disappeared under the car. Bugg knew what was coming next. He heard the tell tale buzzing as a swarm of small reddish dots descended from above. They moved as one, a cherry colored cloud that floated down to the car. It went underneath the car and then screams filled the air. Bugg shut his eyes tightly. He had seen what the Swarm could do. He backed away slowly from the window and lay on the floor of his room. His eyes stayed firmly shut as the man continued to scream. Eventually, the screaming stopped.

Bugg heard the faint buzzing sound as the Swarm was pulled back into the Walker. Then came the thudding steps as it made its way down the street, in search of more people. Bugg continued to stay still, squeezing his eyes long after the thudding had disappeared.

Bugg felt a buzz from his pocket and his eyes popped open. It was time. It was the day. He took out his Daddy’s phone. He couldn’t believe it. The screen only read The Day with both words capitalized. He licked his dry lips unconsciously and just stared at the screen. It was time for the fireworks… Bugg looked around his room. Hundreds of drawings were scattered all around him. Half destroyed Lego creations sat beside half created ones. He didn’t actually remember how long it had been since the Swarm had taken his family. Daddy, Mom and Nana. They had locked him in Daddy’s super secret office where Bugg had spent the first few days. He had to go back down there now.

Bugg opened his door and quietly padded down the stairs. He was barefoot, wearing only his shorts and a locket around his neck. It got hot in his room during the day and cold during the night. His family had plenty of blankets he could pile under and in his shorts, the heat didn’t really bother him. They taught him how to wash his clothes in the bath tub when the lectricity wasn’t working. He’d get water from the well, put it in the tub, put a little bit of soap and then twist and mash the shorts in his hands. Then he’d drain the tub and hang the shorts over his towel to dry. He had other clothes but he liked this pair and didn’t see the need to wear any of the others. Bugg made all the decisions now. They were his lightning shorts. They were blue with little bolts all over them. They made him run super fast.

At the bottom of the stairs there was a hallway that lead to three places. To his left, at the far end was the front door. Bugg couldn’t remember the last time he went that way. Straight in front of him was the family room and he tried to never go in there. It’s where his family is now.

The Black Cow curtains were on all the windows but enough light was let in where Bugg could easily navigate the hall. There were pictures hung up in the hallway and Bugg knew what they were without looking. Some had been knocked down the day the Swarm came. Their glass was cracked. From what he could see when he looked through the house, there were no holes in the windows or walls. The doors looked fine. How they got his family, he had no idea. Just that they had the same frozen face as the others he had seen. He had pulled the sheets off the beds and placed them over his family so he didn’t have to look at them. He then stuck drawings of each of their faces on the sheets. He had been making a new one for his Daddy when the Erica man had been yelling outside his window. He saw the other day that his Daddy’s drawing had fallen down. He couldn’t think about that now, he had a job to do.

To his right was the the kitchen. Bugg set off that way, because in the kitchen was the entrance to Daddy’s super secret office. The kitchen was stocked full of canned meat and bottled water. Bugg loved both of these and didn’t mind that they were all he had to eat. The cans had little pull tabs that were easy to open. He did really miss lemonade. Maybe after the fireworks, he could find some lemonade. His Daddy said it should be safe after the fireworks.

Bugg made his way to the center of the kitchen and lifted the rug. It was a small circle. There was a small trap door. He pulled on the handle and the door swung upward. It was well lit and he scurried down the ladder. Normally he never left the door open when he came down here but now, it was fine. It was time. Besides, he needed to dash up to his room in time to see the fireworks. His Daddy’s secret office was a small room at the bottom the ladder. It was just a desk with a lamp next to a computer. Bugg opened the small heart shaped locket. He never took it off. It was his Mom’s and it had The Codes. Bugg refreshed the webpage. He punched in the numbers, just like his Daddy showed him. He then hit enter and raced up the ladder. Behind him he heard a very faint beeping.

Using his bolt shorts, he ran as fast he could upstairs. His breathing quickened as he tried to take the last two at once and slipped a little. He caught himself on the handrail. He leapt to his doorway, actually falling this time, and then crawled to the window. He knocked down various lego buildings and slipped once again on a couple drawings. He stopped at his window and flung open the Black Cow curtains. And then he saw them. The fireworks. Streaks of yellow with lines of smoke trailing them shot into the sky. Then the explosions. He saw flaming hunks of metal fall. He smiled. A small tear ran down his cheek.

“I did it.”