Love, Ken Read online

you again.” Chuck said.

  “It’s our pleasure, Officer,” she replied. “Where are we headed to this time? We were hoping for a countryside home.” She looked over at her three children sitting on their bed.

  Chuck looked at them, too. Their burn-like scars did not take away from their beautiful, always smiling faces. The red patches he knew covered their bodies never seemed to bother them. Treatment hadn’t worked on their scars but it took away their sickness. Chuck was always grateful for that.

  “I’ll do what I can, Sarai. Your family deserves it.”

  Sarai walked over to Chuck and hugged him. Chuck hugged her back.

  “You don’t even know us,” she said to him after breaking the hug, “and yet you show so much compassion for us.”

  “No one deserves to suffer like this, especially children. They’re innocent of everything, and no one has been as patient with RO as you have. There’s a property out west that I know of. It’s one of my favorites. I’ll make sure you get it, even if I have to put up the Custom Relocation fee myself.”

  Sarai suddenly frowned. “No, Chuck. I could never ask that of you.”

  “You didn’t. I want to do it. Susie and I are getting a great place and we deserve it far less than you do. Believe me, it’s something I want to do for your family.”

  Sarai didn’t say anything for a moment. She was looking deep into Chuck’s eyes. “Thank you. I don’t what else to say.”

  “You don’t need to say anything. Take your family and go enjoy the country while you can.”

  Sarai nodded her head. “Come on, kids.” Her children got up and followed her to the door. Chuck followed behind.

  “Sarai?” he asked before they left the room.

  “Yes?”

  “When you get to the Branch Office for processing, ask them about the new treatment. Tell them I told you to ask. They’ll know what you’re talking about.”

  “Will it help with their scars?” she asked eagerly.

  “It should. They’ve had great results in tests.”

  Tears began forming in Sarai’s eyes. “Thank you again, Chuck.”

  Chuck smiled.

  The Haribs followed the ARO to leave the building and head for processing. Chuck moved on to the next floor. It wasn’t as easy as the first three. Only a few apartments had their bags ready and half of the ones who didn’t weren’t even awake. Some had their doors locked. The discrepancy was usual as the Relocation Office always placed the more difficult people on the higher floors. It made fleeing harder.

  Chuck entered the first apartment. “Mr. and Mrs. Green,” he called out. “It’s time to move.” Chuck knew they were home, but they were nowhere in sight. They didn’t have their bags ready. “Mr. and Mrs. Green,” he repeated a little louder. “It’s time to move!” There was no response.

  Chuck made his way through the apartment, hoping the Greens didn’t resist. He knocked on door after door, calling for them. As he got to the last door he could find, he heard noises from inside. He knocked on the door.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Green, we have to move you now.”

  The noises continued. Chuck opened the – surprisingly – unlocked door. The Greens were in bed having sex. They didn’t even stop when Chuck came in.

  “This is not the time for this. We have order to keep today and we need to move you now.”

  They didn’t stop.

  “Some days I wish they gave me a tranq gun,” Chuck whispered to himself. Again speaking to the Greens, he said, “I will bring the Enforcement Officers in here if I have to.”

  Mr. Green leaned up off of his wife. “Come on, you can’t give us another five minutes?”

  “You’ve had all morning.”

  “Not really,” Mrs. Green said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We got the call a half hour ago,” Mr. Green answered. He seemed concerned.

  “What are you talking about?” Chuck asked. “The Moving Days were announced two months ago. You got the call then.”

  “He’s not talking about that call.”

  “Then, what—” Chuck started. The depressed faces of the Greens told him what call he was talking about. “You must know all accommodations will be made for you. You’ll be taken care of.”

  “You can’t promise us that,” Mrs. Green said. “You know what’s happened there before.”

  “Those were mistakes.”

  “And mistakes can’t be made again?”

  “They won’t,” Chuck promised. “The right people have been replaced to ensure that nothing like that will happen there again.”

  “Even still,” Mr. Green said, “Can you blame us for wanting to enjoy ourselves one last time before we go there?”

  Chuck paused. He couldn’t blame them. “I can’t. I’ll finish this floor and come back.” Upset, Chuck left the room.

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Green called after him.

  Chuck’s ARO looked confused when he came out of the apartment alone. “Where are the Greens?” he asked.

  “We’ll come back for them.”

  “That’s not protocol, sir.”

  “I don’t care. It’s my call.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The next apartment went smoothly. The one after that took some encouragement on Chuck’s part to get the residents out. The resident of the next apartment was not home. He had somehow snuck out of the apartment and past the Enforcement Officers stationed outside.

  Chuck entered the apartment of Mitch Nichols. He lived there with his teenage son Kyle. Their bags had been outside their door as required, but they weren’t waiting in the living room. Chuck heard someone crying in the bathroom. He walked over to the bathroom door, which was slightly open. He could hear someone crying and he assumed it was Kyle.

  “Mr. Nichols?” he called into the room. There was no answer. Chuck gently pushed the door open. To his surprise, it was Mitch that was crying. “Mr. Nichols, is everything all right?”

  Mitch wiped his eyes and sniffed audibly. “It’s Kyle.” Mitch was sitting on the toilet, with the lid down, and Chuck didn’t see Kyle.

  “Where is he?”

  Without looking, Mitch pointed to his right. Around the corner from the toilet was the shower stall that Chuck hadn’t seen before. Kyle was lying on the floor of the shower motionless.

  Urgently, Chuck called out, “I need the Medical Officers in here, now!”

  “It’s useless,” Mitch said.

  “What happened?”

  “He just died.”

  “He can’t just die, Mitch. What happened?”

  “It’s the sickness. The treatment stopped working over a month ago.”

  Medical Officers rushed into the room and started taking Kyle’s vitals and performing CPR.

  Chuck was distraught. “Mitch, I’m...” He started.

  “Don’t bother. It’s not your fault.” Mitch laid his head in his hands and started crying hard. His son was dead and there was nothing Chuck could do for him. Before Chuck could even register that the Medical Officers told him Kyle was gone, they had already moved him out of the apartment. Chuck sat with Mitch. It was a while before Chuck moved on, but he eventually did.

  Dear Missy,

  I’m all right. I’m sorry I didn’t reply sooner, but my mind is a giant mess. There are so many things going on. It’s hard to keep it all in order. But there are some things I need to say to you. Thank you for taking such good care of me. I don’t just mean after Mom died. I mean my whole life. I owe you so much and you’ve been such a good sister. I want you to know how much I miss you. I know you probably want to visit, but I don’t want you to. I need to be alone for a while. Some time to myself up here should do me well.

  You would like my cabin. It’s on the shore of a huge, beautiful lake. I know how you love water. There are also a lot of hummingbirds around. Yesterday I saw a fox come out of the woods. I immediately thought of you and how much you love animals. I tried to get a picture from the door, but it ran o
ff before I had the chance.

  In your letter, you asked me how I was really doing... I lied when I said I was all right. I’m not. It’s so hard. Waking up in the morning is the most difficult part. It hurts so badly. Everything I see brings back memories. Maybe I’ll be able to handle it someday. For now I have my work. I should get back to it, my headache is coming back. Keep me in your thoughts.

  Love,

  Ken

  Blast

  “Baby, hurry!” I called to my wife. I was already inside the bank and she was taking her sweet time getting to the door. I saw a tall, dark-skinned man with long, black hair push past her and come into the bank. She dropped her purse on the ground and yelled something at the man. I was focused on getting my paycheck deposited on time and really didn’t concentrate on what she said. I rushed over and helped her gather the contents of her purse, which had spilled out onto the concrete. “Come on,” I said, “I need to get it in there.”

  She replied, “Maybe you should write your account number down so you don’t need me to do it.”

  “Let’s just go,” I said.

  The only open bank line had ten people in it. My wife saw it and said, “Are you kidding?”

  “It won’t take long,” I replied.

  “Just like you?” she snapped back.

  “Very funny.”

  She asked, “Can’t you just use the ATM?”

  “It’ll take forever to clear,” I said. “I need it now.”

  “Well, we’ll be here forever,” she said in an annoyed tone.

  “Can’t you take ten minutes out of your day to help me?” I was getting frustrated.

  “Do the laundry or wash the dishes for once and maybe I can.”

  I told her, “You’re getting upset for nothing. Look, there’s only five people left.