Daylight was short.
“How did you know to check and feel the ash?” I asked her.
“My father. He was a fireman and went to New York after the September 11 attacks. He told me. But this amount of ash… it didn’t come from this town.”
I understood what she meant. When the towers fell they alone were probably more concrete than every structure in Long View combined.
“Funny,” Madison said. “That’s how you described the cloud. Like from footage you saw of the Twin Towers falling.”
“It did. Only bigger, it took up the whole sky and it looked like there was lightening in it.”
Madison paused. “And it knocked everything down?”
“Through our tram. What about you?”
“I saw the cloud. It had a force, but it didn’t knock things down, it covered us all and kept on rolling. I suppose losing impact the further it rolled.”
“What was it?”
“I have several theories,” she said. “But I think it definitely came from the north. So… we really should think of heading south.”
“We need to go east, both of us, in order to make it to our families.”
“Lace,” she said my name with an edge to her voice. “They may not… never mind.”
“What? Never mind what?”
Then she stopped. Completely stopped, turned slowly as if she saw something important and stared at the two story red brick building. It had very little damage.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I can carry them,” she whispered. “I only have this one bag.”
“Carry what?”
She ignored my question and walked into the building. Surprisingly, both doors were not shattered, only one, but the building was dark.
Considering the shape the building was in, I figured she found us a good, safe place to stop. Even though I believed she wanted to get farther from town.
I hadn’t paid much attention to what exactly the building was until we stepped in the lobby. Madison lit her flashlight. When she did, I saw it was an assisted living home.
There was ash throughout the lobby, a thin layer that appeared to have blown in.
“This way,” Madison said and turned to walk down a hall. She stopped and looked to her left. “Bet that’s the north end.”
I saw why she deduced that. The entire end of the hall was full of ash. It looked like an avalanche of snow came in, only it was ash and debris. “That way is out,” she turned again. “This way. We need to locate the supply closet. Or a nurses station. Something.”
“Maybe if you tell me what we’re looking for.”
“Oxygen,” she replied. “Four canisters should work, we don’t need it for long just…” her eyes widened. “Oh my God, we need to check these rooms. All of them.”
Immediately, without explaining anything further, she started checking rooms. I watched her check the first two, reacting the same way when she opened the doors. Step in, step out wincing from what could only be the sight and smell.
I began my own quest, understanding completely why she was checking the rooms. These people, next to children, were the most vulnerable and probably forgotten. I didn’t express it, but I doubted we’d find anyone alive. After all, we were so far the only survivors. I doubted those weaker would have made it.
We checked that entire first floor, as far as we could, even getting into the rooms where ash blanketed the hallway.
Every room was the same.
A body. Blackened from decomposition. Many already starting to split. Some people were on the floor, some in bed.
Then we headed to the second floor.
“Madison, I don’t know why…”
“If you don’t want to look, fine,” she said. “I’ll do it myself.”
I tossed out my hand in defeat. “I’ll take the left side.”
I was less optimistic than she was in her search. She opened each door with energy and hope then retracted with defeat. Me, I slowly opened the door, peeked in and moved on.
Until room 216. I opened that door, looked, saw a body on the bed and was going to leave when I realized that body looked different.
It was a man. His skin wasn’t blackened, splitting or rotting, it was pale and pasty with splotches of blue.
He had just died. I wasn’t an expert, but I knew he wasn’t as decomposed as the others. The sight of him shocked me. I stepped out of the room and hollered down the hall. “Madison.”
She faced me. “Did you find someone?”
“This man…” I pointed to the room. “He… he just died. Like maybe a couple days ago.”
“Damn it. I knew it. I’ll be right there.”
After a nod, I walked to the next room. Entering that one a little differently. The door wasn’t secure, it was slightly open and I pushed on it.
There was a wheelchair by the window. The window had been blocked by a mattress. The body in the wheelchair was positioned to look out.
Only it wasn’t a body. It was a woman and just as I was backing out. She slowly turned her head toward me.
“Madison!” I yelled.
THIRTEEN – TWO FLOORS HIGH
I was shocked. Almost to the point I couldn’t move and Madison was frantic with emotions upon us finding a woman named Ruth.
Apologetically, as if it were her fault, Madison held a bottle of water to her lips. “Here you are. I’ll fix your oxygen…”
“How did you know?” I asked.
Madison didn’t answer, she continued with Ruth, crouching down by her wheel chair. “You have to be starving.”
“Don’t fuss. I don’t need the oxygen. I haven’t had it in a week.”
“How did you know?” Again I asked.
“I’m so sorry you had to be here by yourself,” Madison said.
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m ninety-two years old. I’ve seen worse. Been through worse. I think. Just glad you girls found me and if you could…” Ruth dropped her voice to a whisper. “Help me clean up. It’s been… it’s been a while and I’m awfully sore down there.”
Stronger, I repeated my question. “Madison. How did you know?”
“We’ll grab some water,” Madison said. “I’ll clean you up. You know we are gonna need to get out of here. Maybe not today, but tomorrow.”
Ruth laid her hand on Madison’s. “Stevie went to get help. I guess about five days ago. He didn’t come back.”
“Stevie?” Madison asked.
“Oh, nice boy. He was taking care of a couple of us that were left.”
Nearly shrieking in my frustration, I yelled. “Madison, how did you know someone would be alive? Have you been here? Do you know her?”
Madison looked over her shoulder at me. “No. I don’t know her, I just guessed because, because of this…” she lifted the oxygen tubing. “She survived because of this. I survived because I was in the ER on oxygen, thinking I was having a heart attack. You were stuck in what you called an air pocket and that’s probably what it was and that is why you are alive.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“The choke, Lace. I call it the choke, right? You asked what it was. It was this moment, it seemed like an hour, but it was only minutes, maybe even less.” Madison finally stood up. “All the oxygen was gone.”
I was in disbelief over what she said, I wanted to laugh in ridicule, and in fact I think I did. How was that possible? The oxygen was gone? Please. Madison spewed forth her response, then tended to Ruth. She hadn’t spoken about it to me in our travels, whatever she saw, whatever she witnessed haunted her.