The lights went out

When the lights went out in Haven it was just after ten P.M. and Betany Summer, who had turned thirteen the week before, was pouting on her new skull print duvet cover. The two assholes who called themselves her parents were fighting down stairs, over who would get the last beer. She wasn’t allowed to go to a stupid grade nine party but They could get as shit faced as they wanted. Roy, the wonder father, said he didn’t want her getting into any trouble and her Mom, Brenda, always did what Roy said. As the girl stepped towards her door a horrific scream shattered the air. A paralyzing silence followed.

“Betny?” a little voice called from outside. Annie, her sister, was five had been sleeping in her parents room across the hall. “ ‘Ny? I’m scared.”
Betany opened her door and hurried the little girl inside.

“Go into my closet. Don’t come out no matter what Annie, do you understand?”

“Daddy’s cry’in.”

“Yep but I need you to stay here k?”

The little girl in the faded pink sleeper looked towards the door nervously.

“You coming back?”

“Quick as a bunny.”

“Betany!” Her mother squalled from the hall way.

“In the closet now.” Betany pushed the girl towards the gray unvarnished door of her small closet. Annie resisted but her mother’s fists pounding on the bedroom door moved her to hiding.

“Mom?” Betany kept her voice calm.

“Open the door you little bitch.” The words were slurred

Betany’s head slammed into the hard tile of the kitchen floor. The man who had been her father lay face up, arms at his sides. His face was gone. The long silver handle of her

mother’s favourite butcher knife rose up from Roy’s left eye socket, a smooth silver tower mired in gore.

“Come on, kiss Daddy!” Brenda grabbed hold of the back of her daughter’s neck with gore smeared hands “Handsome Man!” Brenda howled in triumph as she mashed her

daughters face into that of her dead father’s.

“Stop.” Betany pleaded through terrified sobs.

“Stop? Stop?” Brenda mocked in sing song. “Did you ever help me? Huh? Ever try to stop him little bitch? No... you just ran away...hiding in the closet.

“I’m sorry...”Betany mumbled through her broken mouth

“ You aren’t sorry...I didn’t even want...” Brenda spat out the last word. “My mother said I’d made my bed and she let me l in it. I wanted you gone but she... They showed me

pictures. Told me I would never have children and no husband would want a wife marked with such sin. “ A harsh ragged laugh split the air. Brenda yanked her daughter up by

the tail Betany’s honey coloured braid.” I believed it.” Brenda kicked her former husband’s corpse and laughed loudly. “I was so pretty”


Betany watched as her mother’s pale arm reached over her and gripped the smooth silver handled knife, wrenching it from its hollow with little effort.

“Mom...don’t” The girl reached up weakly. She was gonna die here. Her mother was going to stab her eyes out just like daddies. Someone was screaming.

“Wake up.” She was alive. You couldn’t hurt this much and be dead. The voice calling her out of the dark sounded like her friend Joey. He lived on the farm down the

road with his mom and four sisters. Maybe an angel that sounded like Joey, so she wouldn’t freak out. Her eyes flickered, and were met by sea green eye ,”We can’t stay here,

you have to get up Betany.”

“ Get up Betny.” Betany followed the sound of her sister’s Annie’s tiny voice.

“She was in the closet.”

“My mom?”

Joey looked down at the cement floor.

“Mommies sick. Joey put her to bed.”

“Oh.”

“She was...”the dark haired boy stopped glancing at the little blond girl sucking her thumb, “She was going to kill you.”

The girl nodded but it made her skull scream.

“Can you sit up?” He looked to the door, “We have to keep moving.” Gently he placed his hands under her back and help her to sitting.

“Shit.” Joey steadied her.

“Help me up.”

“Just a second.”

“Betny needs a nap.” Annie offered.

“Sure.”Betany agreed softly. “I’m fine. Help me up now.” The boy pulled her upright.

“They can smell us.”Joey’s eyes slipped nervously to the large picture window, they continued their side to the door.

“Who?” Her mouth was dry.

“They’re all like her...my Dad... can you walk?” He was afraid. He tried to hide it but she could see it in his eyes.

When the lights went out it was close to dark, Joey had taken them back to the farm, down to his father’s safe room.

“My Dad was always talking about end of the world stuff. He built it himself... I had to help.” He felt he had to explain. He didn’t want her to think his Dad was a perv

with a porn room. “You want some water?”

The Girls nodded dazedly. The water filtration machine hummed happily as the lanky teenager filled three glass bottles and handed them to the sisters. He could not

meet the little ones eyes.

“Can we have tacos?”

Joey looked up and smiled at the little girl.

“No tacos but I bet I can find something.” He headed towards a black metal door on the other side of the room. “You want to see the rest of it?”

“Then we can go home?”

“Maybe after dinner, ok?

“ For sure?”

“You’ll like the tunnels. I’ll let you pick a room.”He turned towards Betany, “Stay here for a while, I’ll come back to get you. Don’t go to sleep, I think you might have a concussion. I

can’t give you anything yet.”

She wanted to nod but her head hurt too much and she watched silently as he disappeared through the metal door with her sister. The dry whirr of machinery burrowed its way

into her tender brain, green gray light seared her eyes until she place her head in her hands. She woke up face down on cool cement floors that still reeked of fresh paint.

Someone had put a rough wool blanket over her. The sick sweet scent of moth balls burned her nose and she fought the urge to vomit.

“There’s a green bucket beside you.” Betany jumped at Joey’s voice.”You sister fell asleep an hour ago.”

“My head hurts.”

“You need to eat.”

“I’ll throw up.”

“You have a bucket. You’ll feel better if you eat.”

There was a large helping of brown slime with darker chunks floating in it covering the plate. She took a bite and found that it didn’t taste half as horrible as it looked but that

wasn’t saying much. Joey watched her eat in silence. When she finished he took the tray to the kitchen area.

“It’s a pump sink, no water pressure so you have to work a little harder and of course the water is never really hot enough but it will do...”

“What happened?” Betany asked softly. Joey stopped scrubbing.

“Three days ago an army transport truck jack knifed outside Silverside. My Dad’s a reservist and he got called in to help. The next morning he came home but he was sketchy...

yelled at my Mom for nothing. Said he wasn’t feeling well.

The girl looked up quickly.

“My Mom got sick two days ago”

Joey nodded. “It spreads fast.”

“Why aren’t we sick?”

“I don’t know, your sister seems fine by the way.”

“Good.”

“Are there others?”

"No."