1st Chapter

A fiery sun blazed high above the busy city of Cleveland.  It was the lunch hour and business men and women packed the sidewalks alongside college kids, shoppers, and the occasional hobo. Cars and buses filled the streets; fumes from their exhaust fueled the stifling heat. A rhythmic symphony of car horns and frustrated shouts filled the air as people navigated through numerous road constructions.

Cleon, your average twenty two year old black male, stood at the first drive thru window. Waves of heat danced outside his window. He leaned out the window and looked down the driveway to McDonald’s iconic Golden Arches. The temperature appeared on the marquee, one hundred and two degrees. Cleon shook his head as he pulled himself back into his small station. He glanced at the small fan his manager gave to him to keep cool.

“One oh two in May. Why? Stupid global warming,” He tapped the small fan as it continued to blow the humid air in his direction. “What the fuck are you gonna do?”

Static broke up in his headphone. The noise stung his eardrums. He lifted the headphones off his ears to relieve the pain. The static died and foreign voices replaced the noise. Cleon checked the drive thru monitor as he dropped the headset back on his ears.

“Are you hearing this shit?!” Wanya shouted from his post at the second drive thru window.

Cleon peeked his head out from his station and peered down the corridor to see Wanya looking his way. The two men were the only workers in the restaurant wearing the headsets. The manager will don a third set during high volume emergencies. Cleon continued to stare at his childhood friend and former business partner. They graduated high school together four years ago, class of twenty-sixteen, and failed to get a small website going after Cleon had an accident that bled them dry and forced them into working at McDonald’s. He concentrated on the voices and was pretty sure he heard the language before.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” A voice interrupted Cleon’s concentration.

“Shit!” Cleon switched his mic on. “Excuse us sir, we’ll be with you in one moment.”

Cleon cut his mic off and listened to the foreign voices. He stared off into the dining room where busy cashiers attended to the lunch crowds. Cleon wondered why there weren’t any cars packing the line as usual. The language became clear to him now as he heard it spoken before.

“Can you please hurry it up? I got to be back at work soon.”

Cleon growled, he clicked the microphone back on.

“Sir, I said we will be with you in one moment shit like this don’t happen everyday.”

“What?”

“Look, hold your dick or find something to keep yourself occupied. We’ll be with you in a moment sir.”

“Oh snap!” Wanya shouted, as the customer began to scream obscenities into the speaker.

“Yo, get Bam Bam over here,” Cleon called out to Wanya.

Wanya walked over to Bam who was one of the cashiers working the dining room.

“Bam!”

“What?” He handed a mother her change and turned to grab the woman’s food.

Wanya stepped in front of his friend.

“Clee, wants you to listen to some crazy chatter on the sets man.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“Excuse me? But can’t you two talk on your own time?” The woman asked from the other side of the counter.

Bam gave the woman a smile and waved at her little blond hair daughter. Wanya took his headset and placed it over Bam’s ears.

“I’ll cover you, now go talk to Clee bout that,” Wanya grabbed the woman’s food and a happy meal for the girl as Bam headed back.

Bam heard a car horn blaring as he headed back to Cleon’s station. He shook his head as he thought of what his coworker had done this time. Cleon normally had little patience for customers, but with the air conditioning out and the unbearable heat everyone has been on edge, and the heat appeared to give Cleon super asshole powers.

“That fucking took you,” Cleon said as Bam arrived.

“What the fuck did you do to piss him off?” Bam shouted over the car horn. Cleon shrugged.

  

“So you hear the chatter? It’s Cambodian right?”

Bam, born to immigrant parents from Cambodia, nodded.

“What they saying then?”

“A lot of shit, none of it really makes any sense,” He ran a hand through his spiked hair.

“Well make sense of it brother. I’ll be right back,” He walked over to the window and leaned out to face the irate customer. “And can I help you sir?”

“You were rude to me!” A man with thinning blond hair shouted from inside a black BMW. “I want to see your manager!”

Cleon gave a crooked smile.

“Hey man, I am the manager.”

The customer became livid and slammed his fist down on the horn. He leaned his body weight into it. Cleon kept eye contact with the irate customer; he refused to let this prick out man him in this fruitless battle.

“What in the world is going on here?!” Larry, the restaurant’s manager, cried out from behind Cleon.

Bam stepped to the side to allow Larry into the confined space. The manager shoved Cleon out of his way; with apologetic hands up he approached the window.

“Sir! I am terribly sorry for whatever this man has done,” He said, the customer relieved the pressure on the horn to hear the man’s words. “We will like to offer you a free meal for your trouble.”

“That’s it? I want him fired. No one should treat a customer like that!”

Larry nodded in agreement.

“I understand sir and the gentleman will be dealt with.”

Both Cleon and the customer scuffed at this.

“Sir, if you pull up and come into the dining room we can take care of this situation.”

“Fine.”

Larry turned around and glared at Cleon as he walked out of the small space. Cleon shrugged his shoulders as he leaned against the wall. He looked out the window at the angry customer who pointed at him.

“Better start looking for a new job!”

Cleon too hot to argue just smiled as the man pulled away.

“Shit! Everyone get down!” Bam shouted as he dropped to the floor.

Cleon began to laugh. An explosion rocked Euclid Ave; Cleon lost his balanced and caught himself on the register, he looked to Bam who curled himself into a ball. A second explosion tore into the building, sent Cleon headfirst into his register as intense pressure enveloped his body. Seated on the floor, dazed, he felt a warm liquid flow down the right side of his face. A final weaker explosion shook the building’s foundation. The register teetered on the edge of the counter before it fell on Cleon’s head rendering him unconscious.

Cleon awoke, his eyes stung from the smoke that filled his small concrete work area. His head ached in rhythm with his racing heartbeat and his ears rung. He coughed, his lungs filling with the thick smoke that swirled above him, and felt a weight upon his chest. He blinked through the tears till and strained to see the register on top of him.  He used his right arm to pry the register from his chest; it hit the floor with a thud. Cleon sat up, the room dropped before him and everything swirled around him as if he was on some crazed amusement park ride. He felt his stomach twist and closed his eyes to fight off the nausea.

Moments passed by till the throbbing subsided. Cleon opened his eyes again to a more stable environment. He could see pillars of smoke outside of his window; he pulled himself to his feet. Fought off another nauseous wave as he stumbled out of the room. He tripped over something large. He tried to catch himself, but only his right arm responded to the urgent call. It was not enough and he hit the floor with a grunt. His stomach churned and he could not stop the oncoming flow and vomited. He pulled himself back up and to look at his left arm. It dangled by his side at an awkward angle. Back on his feet he stumbled down the corridor; Cleon called out for Wanya, but could barely hear his own voice over the insane ringing in his ears.

He reached the dining room and stopped.  The sight stunned him; the front of the restaurant was decimated.  Most of the roof had collapsed into the dining room crushing the customers in that region. The windows were blown out, smoke and fire filled the once lively area. The counter had been blown back into the kitchen and he could not see anything that resembled a human being.

Heart pounding, dazed and confused he began to head towards the exit. A hand grabbed his ankle. Cleon jumped and looked to see who grabbed him. Wanya laid before him; Cleon could see the pain in his friend’s eyes and knelt beside him. Closer now he could see the large piece of glass embedded deep in Wanya’s neck. The counter smashed his legs, blood formed a thick puddle around his body, and his eyes wide pleaded for mercy. Cleon watched as Wanya with a shaky hand reached for the glass. Cleon shook his head and reached out, but he was too late Wanya took hold of the glass.

“Don’t!” Cleon shouted unsure if Wanya could even hear him.

Wanya yanked the glass from his neck; Cleon yelled as blood showered him. He reached out and placed his hand over the wound, the warm blood seeped through his fingers. Wanya’s body began to twist and jerk under his grip. His eyes rolled into the back of his head till Cleon could see only the white of his friend's eyeballs.

“No, damn it Wanya, No!”

Wanya’s mouth opened as blood poured out, his hand reached out and grabbed Cleon’s shirt tightly. He tugged at his friend's shirt as he coughed blood into the air. His arm dropped, his body went limp, and Cleon could no longer feel Wanya's heart beat.

“Wanya! Fuck!”

Cleon brought his hand up to his face. Stared at his blood soaked hand, he looked down at his shirt also stained with blood. A sharp pain gripped his heart and his breath came in sharp quick bursts. He watched his hand begin to shake uncontrollably and the only thing he could think to do was to shout. Shout till it was over.

“Cleon?” A feminine voice cut through the ringing.

Startled by the sound of her voice he turned around to see Shaneema, the short Native American high school senior, with Bam beside her. Cleon stood up as the high pitched whine subsided and all the noise and carnage around him flooded his senses. He studied Shaneema noticed her clothes stood in a stark contrast to Bam’s tattered and bloody garments.

“Oh my god, is that Wanya?” She stared at the blood soaked body behind him.

Cleon nodded.

“Oh shit man,” Bam exclaimed as he stepped closer to get a better look.

Cleon noticed his friend’s arm clutched around his chest.

“You ok?” He asked.

Bam dropped his arm and nodded.

“Yeah, your size thirteen… didn’t hurt too badly. Think you should be… more concerned bout your arm.”

“Is it broken?” Shaneema questioned.

Cleon shrugged his good shoulder.

“I don’t feel much pain from it. I think I have a concussion.”

“Ya’ll hear that?” Bam asked.

"I can… barely hear you," Cleon stated.

“What?” Shaneema asked.

He faced the smoky filled dining area.

“Someone’s alive.”

They both could hear the soft whimpers amongst the sound of fire crackle and sirens as they wailed throughout the city. The sporadic pop of automatic gun fire amplified the chaos around them. The three crept towards the carnage in the dining room. Glass, furniture, and portions of the roof crunched and shattered beneath their feet as they stumbled through the wreckage. Bodies were torn to pieces and crushed to an unrecognizable mess, blood flooded the floor. They stepped over the bodies as they made their way closer to the cries.

“There she is,” Shaneema pointed to a child seated next to her mother’s dead body.

The young child’s skin pale, her long blonde hair matted with blood and dirt. As they drew near they could see the table had landed on the young girl’s mother. Shaneema couldn’t hold back her curiosity and peered over the table. The mother’s legs were gone replaced by a pool of blood. Her stomached twisted and she turned away as she hurled on the remains of another person.

“I’m so sorry,” She cried out between thick heaves. “Just get her away from that.”

Cleon placed a hand on the little girl’s shoulder. She screamed and swung her arm back slapping Cleon’s hand away. He felt a rush of anger jolt him and spun her around to face him.

“Hey!” He shouted into the weeping girl’s face.

The girl stopped her sobs and both stared at one another. Cleon kept his face stern as he met the gaze of her icy blue eyes.

“I don’t think you… yell at someone who just lost their mother,” Bam suggested his tone one of concern.

The girl wrapped her arms around Cleon's neck and her legs around his waist. She buried her face into this shoulder. Cleon could feel her little body shake against his and patted the youngster’s back as he spoke softly into the girl’s ear that she’s safe now.

“Are we… the only ones?” Shaneema asked, done with her small episode.

“No,” The low voice startled them.

Shaneema turned around to see a man dressed in drenched scrubs. Despite the water the Latino appeared to receive no wounds from the explosion. His small frame shook from the adrenaline and fear that flowed through him.

“Where the fuck you… come from?” Cleon asked.

“I was in the bathroom; the concussion from the explosion must’ve knocked me unconscious. When I awoke there was water everywhere and I heard voices. So I came out and found you guys.” He eyeballed Cleon’s arm. “And your arm is dislocated.”

“You can fix that?”

The brown skinned nurse nodded.

“I’ll need a first… aid kit to take care of her arm,” He pointed to the girl in Cleon’s arms.

The rest noticed the long gash along the girl’s arm.

“There’s one in the manager’s office… in the back,” Shaneema said. “The back of the building is pretty much ok, just messy.”

“It’ll do… lead the way.”

They followed Shaneema through the debris back to the manager’s office. Inside they found the place in disarray. The desk laid on its side with papers, pens, manuals, and books scattered along the floor. Smoke poured into the room from the dining area.

“Ok,” The nurse said. He waved smoke away from his face. “Let’s find the first aid kit and help that girl out.”

“Dude… what’s your name?” Bam asked. He shuffled through some papers and manuals.

“It’s Robert… Robert Domingez.”

“I found… it!” Shaneema called out from the corner she conducted her search in.

She brought over a white box with the Red Cross emblem on the top. Robert took the box and opened it to eye the contents. Satisfied he nodded and left out of the room.

“We’re going to need a place with more light,” He stepped out into the hallway with Cleon.

“Well… the only place with light right now is outside,” Bam pointed out. He stepped out of the room.

“You hear the gun fire out there? I’m not going… out there,” Cleon stated.

“Everything appears to… be going on out front,” Robert pointed out. “The back of the building… should be safe.”

“Should be.”

Robert ignored Cleon’s comment.

“Hey girl,” He called into the room. “Grab a heavy… book… while you're in there.”

“The name is Shaneema,” She shouted back.

Robert’s eyebrows scrunched up as he looked to Cleon. Shaneema came out of the room with one of the McDonald’s manuals in her hands. She held out the manual for the nurse.

“One cc of heavy book nurse,” She giggled to herself which triggered a round of heavy coughs as Rob took the book.

He led them to the back door where a body laid in front of the door. The wall beside the door had a body sized dent in it. Cleon was the first to recognize the body.

"Damn, it's Larry," He said and stepped closer to the body.

He could see the top of the manager's head was cracked open; brain matter and blood surrounded the dead man. Sha turned away from the horrific scene. Bam and Cleon stared at the body of the man they once tormented during their time together at the restaurant. Robert stepped over the body and cracked open the door. He stuck his head out of the door, could hear the sounds of screams and gunshots off in the distance. He looked back at the others still transfixed on Larry’s corpse.

“It’s clear out there,” He spoke loud enough to snap the three out of their trance. “We get behind the menu sign for some shelter and shade.”

Robert led the way out of the restaurant. The four stayed on his heels as they shuffled to the menu. The fresh air aggravated their coughing as their lungs sought to clear out the smoke. They all knelt behind the sign; once assured no one saw them, Robert reached for the girl. Cleon could feel the little girl’s arms and legs tighten around his neck and waist.

“Hey baby... I’m not trying to… hurt you,” The nurse whispered softly. “I’m just going to help you. Help me.” He pleaded with Cleon.

“I’m trying… to man,” Cleon snapped at the nurse. He tried to pry the little girl from his body. “The girl got a grip… damn.”

With a final heave they were able to tear her away from him. The girl stayed silent as the nurse propped her up on his lap. He quickly went to work cleaning the gash as best he could with the material given to him out of the first aid kit.

“There,” He said looking over the gauze he wrapped around the girl’s wound. “All done, sorry I don’t have a lollipop to give you.”

The girl looked to the nurse with a stoic face. She then looked over to Cleon and ran back into his arms. Cleon looked at Bam, his face one of total confusion.

“What is with this girl and me?”

“I don’t know, are you wearing that Diddy cologne?”

Cleon couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“Good one.”

“Thanks.”

“Okay, time to fix your arm,” Robert walked over to Cleon.

“Can we? With her on me?”

“We can try, but this will be very painful.”

“You wouldn’t happen to just be carrying any drugs on you today?”

“Sorry, left that in my other jeans.”

“Of course,” Cleon rolled his eyes. “Nothing comes easy today.”

“Okay, you’re probably going to want to bite down on something to keep you from screaming.”

“You sure? I don’t really feel much there.”

“Yes I’m sure, you don’t feel much now because of the adrenaline pumping through your veins. However, you will feel this, so I suggest you find something.”

“I got something.”

Cleon pulled his leather black wallet out of his back pocket. He stuffed it in his mouth and nodded to the nurse. Robert took the young man’s arm, bent it at the elbow. Cleon could feel the pain build in his arm; it increased as the nurse turned his forearm towards his chest. He growled into his wallet; his eyes filled with tears as Robert pulled his arm outward. The little girl held on tighter and buried her head in his neck.

“That didn’t set it we gotta do it again.”

“Fuck!” Cleon muffled.

Robert performed the procedure again; the pain caused Cleon’s legs to wobble.

“It’s in!”

“Oh thank God,” Cleon tilted his head back and stared up at the blue sky streaked with black clouds of smoke. He felt the feeling return to his arm and hand. He immediately brought it up to pat the young girl’s back.

“Nothing to worry over the nice murse person fixed my arm,” He whispered into her ear.

“Murse? I fixed your arm man.”

“You’re still a male nurse. Sorry but it’s true.”

He could feel her loosen her grip around his body. He took in a deep breath as he tried to shake off some of the pain coursing through his body. Robert held up a bottle of aspirin from the aid kit.

“You can take some of these to dull the pain. Just we don’t have any water for you to wash it down and I don’t know if you have enough saliva to do it dry.”

“I got none… between being in that burning restaurant and now out in this scorching sun I got nothing.”

“We should get some water and fast. With this heat we won’t make it long without it.”

The ground shook beneath their feet as the sound of a big explosion ripped through the air. They all stepped out from behind the sign to see where this bomb has gone off. They jogged through the parking lot onto the sidewalk of Euclid Ave. Seeing the devastation that brought down their restaurant stunned them. Some kind of bomb exploded in the middle of the street leaving a deep crater in the road. Surrounding buildings, including a century old stone church, received damage comparable to their restaurant. The street was littered with burning cars and torn bodies. The few pedestrians left on the street, people who have made their way from downtown Cleveland, looked back west towards the sound of the latest explosion.

The peak of Key Tower was swallowed up in a thick blanket of smoke. Gunfire and smaller explosions could be heard. Those who were not interested to see the carnage continued to trudge past the onlookers. Robert grabbed one of these people, a white male with short brown hair, his clothes stained with smoked.

“What the hell is going on?”

The man looked through Robert, his eyes red, his body soaked in sweat. Robert couldn’t tell if the man was still in shock or suffering from a heat stroke. He shook the man to get his attention. The man broke down in front of him. His body shook as he wept openly, his hand grasped Robert’s shoulder.

“They came from everywhere,” He stammered between sobs.

“Who? Where?”

“Ah, don’t say this is some ‘Red Dawn’ shit,” Cleon exclaimed. He adjusted the girl into a more comfortable position.

“Bombs went off everywhere, they had guns… everyone had guns. I don’t know how but they almost leveled Tower City.”

“Pam!” Robert shouted. He ran towards the carnage, the dazed citizen continued on his walk.

Bam ran after him and grabbed the nurse by his shirt.

“Where the fuck are you going?”

“My wife Pam is in that building, I have to get to her,” He pulled away from Bam and continued towards the burning building.

Sha now joined the two men.

“Robert, there are miles of war between you and her there’s no way you can make it.”

“I can’t just leave her!” His voice cracked as another explosion shook the ground.

“Do you hear that?!” Cleon shouted as he to try to talk reason to the grief stricken man. “They are trying to bring that building down. She is dead.”

Robert spun around; his arm rose to punch the young man, but he held back at the sight of the little girl in Cleon’s arms. His eyes and face were red. The veins in his neck pulsated.

“I can’t leave her,” He pleaded.

Sha stepped up to Robert to put a hand on his shoulder, but he quickly slapped her good gesture away. He stormed away from the group, headed into the war torn downtown Cleveland.

“I live only a few blocks away,” Bam said softly. They watched Robert make his way down the street.

"Let’s go," Sha said.

"This way," Bam took off away from the driveway and through the parking lot of a neighboring shopping center.

They headed north on E. 79th St.