people.” She thought about the violent gang and the confrontation in the field. “At least, not many who I wanted to talk to.”
She fell silent in her memories. The sky overhead was vast, blue and empty, and the wind was pu">*******
Bono looked down the empty highway. “I think people are kind of catching their breath, you know, hiding out, hoarding their resources, protecting home court before they venture out. Some people are afraid.” He nodded over his shoulder toward the house. “Your mom is terrified, it’s pretty obvious. She tries to act brave, but that’s not how she feels. She’s becoming more and more suspicious and withdrawn. It’s understandable how she would feel that way.” He bent down, picked up a small rock, felt its round edges, tossed it up and down a couple of times, then stood and threw it across the open field. “You should have seen what it was like up in D.C. It was amazing and scary. Even now, I don’t know if I can quite figure it out. It was like everyone was instantly ready to give up. Can you imagine that? I saw people literally sit down on the side of the road and surrender, waiting to die rather than take some responsibility for themselves. It was jarring. No, it was more than that, it was shocking. I mean, they gave it up so easily. Like a bunch of helpless princesses. I mean, come on, people, are you kidding me?! You are going quit just like that? Bunch of spoiled babies. Is that the only thing you got?
“But you know, Caelyn, I thought a lot about it—and it’s funny, but I think I realized something I’d never thought about before. They didn’t give up so easily because of all the difficulties that lay ahead. They didn’t lie down and surrender because the future looked so bleak. That wasn’t it at all. It wasn’t the difficulty of the future that made them so despairing. It was the emptiness of the present, the meaningless of their lives, the barrenness of how they had chosen to live, detached from their families, their religion, any sense of purpose or worthy cause. Hey, dude, my iPod isn’t working. Guess I’ll lie down here and die. I mean, it was almost like that. You’re telling me my 401(k) isn’t worth anything? My Mercedes won’t start? My 80-inch flat screen got quick fried into smoke? Well, I guess that’s pretty much it for me, dudes. Mix up the Kool-Aid™ and let’s get this over with. ”
Caelyn looked at him. He smirked, his sarcastic humor biting.
“You really think that’s the way it is?” she asked. “People lose their easy lives, their possessions, and that’s it, they give up? They roll over and just give up? I don’t know, honey, I think you might be underestimating your fellow Americans.”
Bono ran his hands through his hair, thinking of the hellish highway he and Sam had walked around Washington, D.C. “Maybe, Caelyn, maybe.” They started walking again. He didn’t know how much to tell her. What good would it do? He didn’t even want to think about it himself.
Ellie let go of their hands and ran before them. Bono thrust his fists into his pockets as they watched her go. “I don’t know if I can explain it very well, Caelyn, but it was pretty much unbelievable. I saw hundreds, no, thousands of people on this highway who had absolutely no idea what to do. I understand that they were shell-shocked—I mean, the people in D.C. took a double hit: first the nuclear explosion think you should go’ father, then the EMP. I understand that’s a lot to live through, but there we were, twenty-four hours after the EMP attack, and some of them were still sitting by their cars. Sixty miles to make it home. Way too far to walk. Someone’s got to help me. I wanted to shake them. I wanted to scream, ‘This is your life. Take responsibility. It isn’t over. There is hope. You can make it through this.’ It wasn’t until later that I realized how many of their lives had become meaningless and sterile, an empty candy wrapper in
She fell silent in her memories. The sky overhead was vast, blue and empty, and the wind was pu">*******
Bono looked down the empty highway. “I think people are kind of catching their breath, you know, hiding out, hoarding their resources, protecting home court before they venture out. Some people are afraid.” He nodded over his shoulder toward the house. “Your mom is terrified, it’s pretty obvious. She tries to act brave, but that’s not how she feels. She’s becoming more and more suspicious and withdrawn. It’s understandable how she would feel that way.” He bent down, picked up a small rock, felt its round edges, tossed it up and down a couple of times, then stood and threw it across the open field. “You should have seen what it was like up in D.C. It was amazing and scary. Even now, I don’t know if I can quite figure it out. It was like everyone was instantly ready to give up. Can you imagine that? I saw people literally sit down on the side of the road and surrender, waiting to die rather than take some responsibility for themselves. It was jarring. No, it was more than that, it was shocking. I mean, they gave it up so easily. Like a bunch of helpless princesses. I mean, come on, people, are you kidding me?! You are going quit just like that? Bunch of spoiled babies. Is that the only thing you got?
“But you know, Caelyn, I thought a lot about it—and it’s funny, but I think I realized something I’d never thought about before. They didn’t give up so easily because of all the difficulties that lay ahead. They didn’t lie down and surrender because the future looked so bleak. That wasn’t it at all. It wasn’t the difficulty of the future that made them so despairing. It was the emptiness of the present, the meaningless of their lives, the barrenness of how they had chosen to live, detached from their families, their religion, any sense of purpose or worthy cause. Hey, dude, my iPod isn’t working. Guess I’ll lie down here and die. I mean, it was almost like that. You’re telling me my 401(k) isn’t worth anything? My Mercedes won’t start? My 80-inch flat screen got quick fried into smoke? Well, I guess that’s pretty much it for me, dudes. Mix up the Kool-Aid™ and let’s get this over with. ”
Caelyn looked at him. He smirked, his sarcastic humor biting.
“You really think that’s the way it is?” she asked. “People lose their easy lives, their possessions, and that’s it, they give up? They roll over and just give up? I don’t know, honey, I think you might be underestimating your fellow Americans.”
Bono ran his hands through his hair, thinking of the hellish highway he and Sam had walked around Washington, D.C. “Maybe, Caelyn, maybe.” They started walking again. He didn’t know how much to tell her. What good would it do? He didn’t even want to think about it himself.
Ellie let go of their hands and ran before them. Bono thrust his fists into his pockets as they watched her go. “I don’t know if I can explain it very well, Caelyn, but it was pretty much unbelievable. I saw hundreds, no, thousands of people on this highway who had absolutely no idea what to do. I understand that they were shell-shocked—I mean, the people in D.C. took a double hit: first the nuclear explosion think you should go’ father, then the EMP. I understand that’s a lot to live through, but there we were, twenty-four hours after the EMP attack, and some of them were still sitting by their cars. Sixty miles to make it home. Way too far to walk. Someone’s got to help me. I wanted to shake them. I wanted to scream, ‘This is your life. Take responsibility. It isn’t over. There is hope. You can make it through this.’ It wasn’t until later that I realized how many of their lives had become meaningless and sterile, an empty candy wrapper in
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