World Gone, Chapter 4: Hope In the Darkness

Happy Friday, kiddies. I'm back with Chapter Four of "World Gone". There's some work to be done here, so I hopefully I get a chance to finish editing this one before too many of you read it. As you can all see, things are dire, but Delaney is figuring things out. I hope you enjoy this. If not... I still love you all.

Okay, so there's no forest in this chapter, but maybe in an upcoming chapter? Hmm...

Chapter Four: Hope in the Darkness

She held her baby, John, as close to her as humanly possible, his tiny head nestled against her exposed chest. The night air was merciless, its frigid bite cutting deep into their naked skin. Delaney fought against the cold, willing every ounce of warmth she could muster into her precious bundle. She was almost willing more body heat into the tiny, fragile body of her baby. Time had become a blur since the nightmare began, an unsettling eternity compressed into fleeting moments.

Amidst her struggle to keep John safe and warm, thoughts of her husband, Harold, relentlessly haunted her. She couldn't know if the same nightmarish fate had befallen him elsewhere, but it defied logic to think that this torment was unique to their small town. The world felt like it was unraveling, and she had no means of knowing if her fears held any truth. Her husband could be anywhere, laying on the ground, dying. She knew that he had been driving, and the thought of the van disappearing from around him, spilling him to dirt at 60 miles per hour could be catastrophic. 

Around her, a cacophony of anguish filled the air. Cries for help, desperate and primal, reverberated through the desolation. Some people were trapped within the gaping maw of pits that had once been basements, while others wandered aimlessly, their faces etched with confusion and terror. Each and every one of them just as scared, and lost as she was right now.

"Help me, please," a voice called out from a deep pit on her left. The plea tugged at her heart, but she steeled herself against the temptation to assist. The person’s voice was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. Nor did she really want to right now. Her primary mission was to keep John alive, and to do that, she had to keep her heart rate up. She continued to move, her steps marked by uncertainty and the gnawing sense of dread. She wasn't entirely sure where she was headed, only that she needed to generate enough warmth to protect her baby.

As the hours blended into a disorienting haze, Delaney became painfully aware of her disconnection from reality. There were no markers, no road signs, no familiar streets to provide a sense of place. She vaguely remembered being on Sheridan Avenue, but even that memory seemed like a distant dream. The only certainty was that they remained in Shenandoah, surrounded by others who shared their grim fate.

All around her were more cries of help, and of confusion. She kept looking everywhere, hoping for any evidence of the great civilization that had once existed here. And yet, there was nothing. Not a single sign of the earth destroying evidence of humans. Everyone was outside, without clothing, freezing, and wondering about what to do next.

Her gaze drifted upward into the starlit sky, a desperate attempt to orient herself. But the clear night sky only deepened her sense of despair. The satellites that had littered the space above her, which had once been a constant presence in her life were conspicuously absent, and the sky gleamed with an almost supernatural clarity. It was a mesmerizing yet profoundly unsettling sight. She was almost hypnotized by the sight.

Suddenly a voice called her name, pulling her from the depths of her contemplation. Another familiar voice. "Delaney, Delaney, wait up, it's me." She turned and saw the familiar red hair of her best friend, Janet, emerging from the darkness. Her face was a welcome sight, and caused her to breathe a momentary sigh of relief. That was until she saw that Janet was just as lost, confused, and naked as everyone else.

"Janet," Delaney said, her voice trembling as she attempted to pierce the fog of confusion, "What's happening? I was at home, and then... my house disappeared, and I fell into a pit. I was watching the news, and just…” 

Janet's expression mirrored Delaney's bewilderment and shock. "Oh God, Delaney, I wish I knew. It's happening all over town. Everything's just... gone. It's as if we never existed." She glanced down at her own dirt-streaked, naked body, exhaling a sigh filled with exhaustion and despair.

"Where should we go?" Delaney asked, her voice barely audible.

"Nowhere," Janet replied with grim resignation. "There is nowhere to go." Her words sent shivers down Delaney's spine. They were adrift in a world that had moved on without them, as if humanity had overstayed its welcome.

“Excuse me,” a gruff looking man said, pushing past Janet, purposefully making way too much hand contact with her naked body.

“Watch it, asshole,” Janet barked at him, as he hurried past, presumably to try and grab another unsuspecting woman. The thought made Delaney’s skin crawl. Tomorrow, in the daylight, all eyes were going to be on her. She wasn’t as fit, and trim as she had been in her younger days, but in her 40’s she still had a body that she often caught other men looking at.

"Janet," Delaney said, her voice quivering, "what are we going to do?"

Janet's response was tinged with despair. "Your guess is as good as mine, Delaney. All I know for sure is that we're in a dire situation. And if we don't find a way to keep John warm," she added, nodding at the sleeping baby, "he might not make it through the night."

Tears welled up in Delaney's eyes once more. The weight of their predicament bore down on her, and she couldn't allow her son to fall victim to the relentless cold. They couldn't continue to wander aimlessly. Suddenly a thought occurred to her, an idea, a flicker of hope in the darkness, took hold in her mind.

"Hey, Janet," Delaney said, her voice infused with newfound determination. "What about that drainage pipe in the ditch, up by the school?"

Janet looked skeptical but considered the suggestion. "The drainage pipe is gone, Delaney. Everything is."

"I know the pipe itself is gone, but what if the hole remains? We could crawl in there and at least wait for daylight."

"It wouldn't be much warmer,” Janet pointed out.

"But it's better than nothing," Delaney insisted. "We're freezing out here. John won't survive if we don't find some shelter."

Janet reluctantly agreed. "I suppose we could try. It might be a waste of time, but what else are we doing right now?" Delaney almost laughed at the absurdity of the thought.

For the first time since she had emerged from the crawl space under her house, a glimmer of hope flickered in Delaney’s eyes. Janet was right; it might not be much warmer, but it was worth the attempt. Anything had to be better than wandering aimlessly in the cold darkness. "We'll make it through this," Delaney thought to herself as they changed direction and headed toward the school. "We have to." 

“Oh Harold, I wish you were here,” she thought to herself, as the trio changed direction, and headed towards the school. “Wherever you are, I hope you’re okay.” A tear slid down her cheek, fighting its way through the dirt, and grime. She let it fall. It was all that she could do. Another spilled tear down her face was the least of her problems right now.

Delaney clung to John, her trembling body providing the only shelter from the relentless cold. Her heart ached with the absence of Harold, her mind tortured by the countless scenarios that might have befallen him. She had no way of knowing if he was safe or if he too was trapped in this nightmarish landscape.

Their marriage hadn’t been exactly the greatest marriage over these last few months, but now the only thought that comforted her was knowing that somehow he would find his way back to her. He had always promised that no matter what happened in this crazy, messed up world he would find her. She held onto that thought with everything she could spare, which wasn’t much since survival had to be the foremost thought in her trouble, and exhausted mind.

The world around her had crumbled into chaos. The town they once called home was now a scene of devastation, a place that barely resembled the peaceful community she had known. Buildings lay in ruins, cars were overturned, and the streets were strewn with debris. It was as if the very earth had rebelled against humanity, swallowing homes and lives in its vengeful fury.

Amidst the wreckage, the cries of anguish and despair were a haunting symphony. People, like Delaney, struggled to survive. Some were trapped beneath the rubble of their homes, their pleas for help echoing through the darkness. Others roamed aimlessly, their faces etched with a mixture of confusion and terror. In this shared nightmare, they were all victims, united by their fear and desperation.

Delaney's focus remained on John, her maternal instincts driving her to protect him at all costs. She murmured soothing words into his tiny ear, attempting to shield him from the horrors of their surroundings. The night air continued its merciless assault, but she refused to let it claim her child.

As she scanned the desolation around her, Delaney couldn't help but wonder if there was any hope of rescue. Were there still functioning emergency services, or had the disaster swallowed them too? The unanswered questions loomed large, adding to her sense of isolation.

In the distance, she noticed flickering lights, faint beacons of hope in the darkness. People had started to gather around those lights, drawn by the possibility of finding safety and assistance. With John securely cradled in her arms, Delaney made her way toward the lights, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and determination.

As she drew closer, she saw a makeshift camp forming. Tents had been set up, and people were huddled together for warmth. Some were tending to the injured, while others tried to organize supplies salvaged from the wreckage. It was a fragile semblance of order in the midst of chaos.

Delaney approached a woman who seemed to be in charge, her face streaked with dirt and tears. "Is there any word on what happened?" she asked, her voice trembling.

The woman looked at Delaney with a weary expression. "No one knows for sure. It was like the earth just... erupted. We're cut off from the outside world. All we can do is try to help each other and wait for help to arrive."

Delaney's heart sank, but she knew she had no choice but to stay and seek refuge with these survivors. She clung to the hope that Harold might find his way to safety, that they would be reunited somehow in this shattered world.

As the night wore on, Delaney held John close, finding solace in the company of strangers who had become fellow survivors. The nightmare was far from over, but she refused to give in to despair. Together, they would face whatever challenges lay ahead, and in their shared strength, there was a glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow.