Catherine and Brad
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
For the second time that morning, Catherine had woken up from a nap with an empty stomach. As she got out of bed to begin preparing breakfast for her family before they went on their hike, a yawn was almost immediately followed by another, as she pondered what it would be like not having the pressure placed upon them anymore; even if that wasn’t entirely true just yet – with this current contract coming close to its completion within four years’ time anyway.
But in all actuality, whether they were going somewhere together or apart for each day’s work, she would still have access to her husband most certainly due to her position while at least doing whatever chores that required his expertise outside the home to free him up in case there weren’t many duties necessary performed.
Either way, her desire, and dream had never really gone far beyond being able to travel freely where she liked without such restraints of course when it came down to taking care of things around the house and ensuring her children continued to thrive so she could see about getting started as early as possible now instead.
Although to look forward to vacation when one wasn’t necessarily afforded any days off which was a significant benefit by comparison based only upon what happened so very long ago with her husband actually speaking candidly with anyone who dared to listen the other week again whenever he felt inclined. And although it didn’t go exactly how she anticipated since it was actually decided she wouldn’t be allowed along for part of the journey beforehand though.
It began during breakfast before leaving the house and once more the conversation ended with Ben in question finally ending up admitting what had truly transpired last night while reminding her both why their father did make his decision so she knew everything else to think about those words possibly meaning, too.
Since that certainly took everyone by surprise. For the first several moments afterward, they had no idea what to say until eventually Ashley said aloud what most likely already seemed obvious to just about all of them, especially Catherine considering that she’d made a great effort lately towards proving she cared deeply for people regardless of age or gender in spite of her background which probably wasn’t ideal according to some but not a consideration she would ever let affect her attitude about such issues over others who thought otherwise.
It was an answer she clearly heard repeated after a moment, followed closely by Will stating something similar so there obviously wouldn’t have been a need for further debate about what should come next right then if such alternatives hadn’t existed given the potential complications surrounding her parents and siblings back in Chicago despite only getting involved because that was honestly precisely where she wanted to spend whatever days remained with everyone most of all as well as anyone else affected with whom her brother might end up running into before moving ahead toward the mountains that stood between herself and certain disaster.
This had been a common thread among anyone willing to listen to any of their discussions so far concerning the matter rather than wanting to abandon everyone because none of her companions expressed reservations to stay put at all which sounded a lot worse compared to actually discussing the possibility themselves and even offering their opinions on the issue that mattered most to all of them at least when weighing in whether they realized it or not.
Ultimately, however, one option would prevail without any further discussion from anyone – particularly because Catherine spoke quietly enough only briefly indicating to Ben and Mattie he understood while pointing towards himself he also recognized nothing needed to be left unsaid though to avoid revealing anything inadvertently to someone besides those already aware at this point, albeit only as much information as necessary to ensure they could still get through without serious problems – including her spouse who presumably couldn’t imagine anything happening along the trail which wasn’t manageable just because they were worried it was a very large area to cover but little more when knowing firsthand if something unexpected did turn up against seemingly overwhelming odds, most of which happened to lie within the terrain. However…
“Maybe I’ll leave tomorrow,” Ben muttered after a few seconds looking deep into his wife’s eyes. “Take a bus trip straight away instead.”
Without waiting for any kind of response. Even before he completed that statement, Catherine suddenly realized what must’ve driven him to suggest such a thing. The exact reason behind his particular expression throughout their discussion right before she woke up later than normal too earlier today.
She wondered about what this could mean even as the sudden revelation made itself clear when neither of her new companions suggested suggesting that the same approach was the better choice either.
All three of these friends definitely felt safe walking away at any time under virtually any circumstances while hoping all their friends and family made it to safety without difficulty given the potential loss of life when approaching or departing from known riskier regions of existence in general with awareness alone never being sufficient no matter how bright any light may shine in every single dark place.
The realization hit her hard with the reality of his apparent choice here which even her brother mentioned last week prior to making his final decision about relocating. Her brother admitted the weighty impact on his soul and conscience.
But more importantly, so did her brother-in-law while using precise language and voicing this concept repeatedly following such actions if someone showed courage and selflessness enough to do the same where it absolutely counted most to them personally.
A perfect example to live one’s entire life by is if such feelings warranted taking decisive steps no matter how frightening those specific options might appear or what possible consequences lurked beyond failure; ultimately ensuring the lives lost simply didn’t become statistics or the deaths of random strangers.
To value another person’s perspective over one’s own personal interests. Simply because a true human being shouldn’t consider anyone as mere possessions anyway regardless of genetics. Or upbringing. As simple or complex as the circumstances may be.
Without regard to actual personal conditions outside the realm of what they’d inherited from their genetic makeup or who they thought they’d always considered as “family” based upon relationships created and nurtured as equals.
How dare anyone consider any individual worthless while being handed the highest level of responsibility they knew how to live with all those decisions impacting not merely themselves, but literally everything and everybody connected to each other simultaneously? No matter what limitations their current situation presented.
Which explained quite succinctly why Ben believed this might somehow change matters over others in his own family as he allowed all three of these strong female voices speaking quietly behind closed doors to show the way and then provide invaluable clues on where things currently stood inside his psyche.
If her brother chose to take the opposite route in refusing any overt involvement, the source of Catherine’s heartfelt concern had likely originated primarily within her mother-in-law.
Who looked remarkably familiar after only getting to know them so recently during one conversation shared together when her mother warned her off talking about details in particular despite sensing someone nearby had more of a vested interest in doing so which unfortunately led to another extended bout of intense headaches last night but not to worry as soon as her father made it out before noon earlier today having spent almost ten minutes attempting to express to her mom exactly what transpired overnight on their porch until his wife gently informed him his phone still worked now that morning dawned safely above the horizon once again since apparently having used the local network to check her messages while crossing paths with some fellow survivors the first chance she got at the town’s small main street.
Which only went to prove just how dependent she became after realizing just how seriously damaged all electronic communication remained in the aftermath of events like they endured there alone as she wouldn’t have even heard her own dad come out here yet if a young woman hadn’t casually mentioned this during the early evening.
As was the case in so many towns in areas where electricity grid access continued even up into the final hours. Especially at least when that happened right on the outskirts as happened when the storm unleashed its fury somewhere near the border of Quebec where she sensed several families survived within an RV park having parked right along the road’s shoulders thanks to everyone escaping through multiple exits.
Based on the young man’s words when sharing his initial encounter with survivors who met up as groups afterward when picking up food supplies from various stores while wondering aloud why anyone else waited this long to collect essentials when people were already coming by trying to offer help while practically begging for fuel to power their vehicles.
At the same time finding himself surrounded with such kindness, humanity seemed to finally flourish openly for the very first time given the highly limited supply available even when stores miraculously opened in the nick of time since someone broke in via forced entry by sheer luck late this past Sunday afternoon shortly before all hell really broke loose with their unusual lack of concern regarding petty thieves especially considering some were among their surviving compatriots.
Some people didn’t deserve such privilege being around as long ago as five or six months ahead of schedule for fear of creating their own little ‘zombies’. And now, seven weeks later, such warnings seemed outdated.
Catherine couldn’t believe what she was seeing on his face and wished she wasn’t either. Wished none of this ever existed knowing full well the horrific realities faced every day far away from home for so many people who must remain anonymous.
She quickly regretted deciding to share that with both friends and family when hearing two dozen or so people shot dead moments earlier including a baby and infant seemingly slain beside his mama, staring at something nobody should be able to imagine anywhere anymore.
Much less watching people carrying live babies stuffed between the waistband of pants as weapons at this point while running through their neighborhood, seeing nothing but flames erupting everywhere out on the open highway in all directions, not leaving those four empty shells sitting alone on the grass in shock.
Suddenly finding herself praying to whatever higher entity watched over them in utter despair once her own husband seemed unable to make a sound beyond his wide eyes just looking across the short distance towards this child, but also giving off such rage for being brought back in vivid memory where he came under attack on American soil causing her chest to tighten immediately remembering vividly just how traumatic the whole ordeal was forcing her lungs to work overtime to gasp for air as it took everything in her control just barely to stand and stare blankly at everyone she now knew having been tortured over the course of what amounted to no more than fifteen seconds.
Unable to bring forth anything resembling grief with the rest of the world holding its breath together in anguish witnessing unspeakable brutality taking place literally every single hour of the day even after weeks upon weeks passing by.
Because sometimes simply reliving horrible experiences never healed wounds that appeared raw and jagged. To everyone, the situation now confronting these people on the edge of such emotional trauma needed to feel worse than what we actually did endure combined while hoping in vain to spare others.
Not an easy thing for anybody who witnessed our collective pain because these events are utterly relentless in spreading mayhem from coast to coast like some unstoppable disease, leading all of us to wonder in silence whether some new tragic turn of fate is always awaiting us tomorrow given we still cannot identify enough victims whose numbers are staggering on account of death rates have gone down quite substantially when compared to recent days or so while allowing folks to survive longer before succumbing to hunger or injuries sustained from mindless hordes seeking out fresh meat.
The danger of losing too many loved ones until those deaths reach intolerable levels even if the chances of survival continue dropping significantly per week and month, meaning almost daily casualties occurring is possible without warning much less announcing an end date when civilization crumbled along with the nation and other parts of North America to fall prey to complete insanity on an unimaginable scale that can easily leave some feeling hopelessly inadequate, isolated, vulnerable or helpless… because there is nothing left to fight.