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Emma Perkins drove down a dark road, growing more nervous by the second. She had only moved back to Hatchetfield a year ago, and now she was heading to the house of the family she had abandoned with only a shitty job as a barista and a relationship with the most boring man to ever live to show for herself.
(click) “Ugh, how many times are they gonna play that ad?” Paul Matthews said, turning off the radio in disgust.
That interrupted Emma’s worrying. Paul was the one thing that didn’t make her regret coming back to her hometown. Emma knew he was a man she could trust. Sure, he was bland, but she spent 12 years backpacking in Guatemala; it was almost a change of pace to be with a guy who files reports for a living and would drop dead if he ever drank a coffee with a pinch of sugar in it. Besides, he was actually pretty fun to hang out with if you engaged in his interests rather than forcing him to engage in yours.
“Emma, you know how I feel about that musical commercial.” Paul continued ranting.
With that statement, Emma realized that the radio must have been playing that goddamn Tickle-Me-Wiggly ad for what had to have been the fifth time that night. Neither of them understood the appeal of some hideous squid-monster that somehow sounded even creepier than it looked, but apparently they were the only people with that opinion. It kind of made sense for Paul’s coworkers to take interest in it; most of them were middle-age and had families, but Zoey’s 22 — why the fuck did she think the doll was her ticket to Broadway?
Emma and Paul both ranted for a few minutes before the car pulled into the driveway of a suburban home; the only building on the block not caked in Christmas lights and decorations. This cheery abode was the home of her brother-in-law Tom Houston, her nephew Tim, and until recently, her sister Jane Perkins.
Her and Jane never had the closest relationship, but when Emma graduated and moved as far from Hatchetfield as she could, they might as well have lived on different planets. Jane tried to include her, inviting her to basically every event in her life, but Emma never bothered to respond with anything more than a “maybe next time.” And then a car slammed into Jane’s side of the Mustang one cold December night, her dreams of seeing Emma again dying with her.
While unpacking, Emma explained her situation to Paul, who reassured her. Emma rang the doorbell with the most confidence she’d had since the drive started, confidence desperately needed when Tom Houston opened the door, half-dressed with a blank look that seemed to last five times longer than it did.
“Uh, you’re late.” Tom groaned.
“It’s 6:30 in the morning.” Emma retorted, shocked.
“Yeah, and I said six. But I guess you had to go to Starbucks.” Tom countered.
Not a great start, considering this was basically their first conversation. While they had both gone to Hatchetfield High, they went in completely different circles; Tom was the star quarterback, Emma was selling weed made from the soil in her parents’ backyard. Plus, they were three years apart, so they only had 9 months to interact before Tom graduated and was shipped off to Iraq, and those 9 months didn’t exactly endear him to Emma. He never did anything wrong, but Emma still got strong asshole vibes from him and the rest of the football people regardless.
Emma was shocked when she heard Jane was marrying him; she always assumed Jane would marry someone nicer, like Duke Keane, while Tom would marry some brainless cheerleader like Becky Barnes. But her assumptions were wrong, though she never understood what Jane saw in him. Jane’s death was even harder to believe; it didn’t seem possible that the woman who planned out her entire life in a Lisa Frank binder when she was 12 wouldn’t even make it to 40.
Regardless, this was the world Emma lived in; one where Tom Houston was mourning his wife Jane Perkins, and Emma needed to accept it as the truth, no matter how impossible it seemed, and be there to honor Jane’s death, even though she was absent for her last 12 years of life.
Emma looked up at Paul in frustration before walking into the dining room, her annoyed frown shifting into a smile when she entered the view of Tim Houston, Jane and Tom’s 9-year-old son.
“Hey, Tim!” Emma said with half-faked enthusiasm.
“Hi, Aunt Emma.” Tim said politely.
“We missed you at Thanksgiving yesterday, but I heard you and your dad did something pretty cool; Pizza Pete’s?” Emma said, bringing up the arcade/pizzeria the Houstons visited the previous day.
“Oh, Pizza Pete’s? That is cool!” Paul chimed in, crouching with his hands on his thighs; a pose better suited for a conversation with a dog than one with a young boy who did not know him.
“Who are you?” Tim asked, rightfully confused.
Paul tried to introduce himself, but only succeeded at further embarrassing himself. Mercifully, Tom walked into the room buttoning up his flannel shirt. Unfortunately, he and Tim started arguing after a few seconds; apparently Tom had ruined the Pizza Pete’s trip trying to win Tim a prize.
“Well, hey! We’re gonna have fun today, huh? We brought DVDs, games, we got leftovers. Everything you need for a belated Turkey Day.” Emma said, trying to defuse the argument.
“Alright, you guys are gonna have a good time. Hopefully you’ll only have to watch Tim for a few hours.” Tom said, shocking Emma. After 5 seconds she realized what he meant; Emma and Paul were invited to babysit Tim, not to reconnect.
“Dad, I thought we were all gonna be here together.” Tim said, as disappointed as Emma.
“Well, I have to go somewhere important, okay?” Tom responded.
“Where?” Tim asked.
“For your information, I need a new blade for my bandsaw.” Tom answered, in what was probably the worst response for the situation.
“Yeah, that’s real important.” Tim scoffed, walking away.
“Hey, Tim, Tim!” Tom called out to no avail.
“Wow, great priorities, Tom. First the tools, then the kid.” Emma snarked. Her and Tom argued for a bit, before Tom explained himself.
“I had to say something because I didn’t wanna ruin the surprise. I’m going to the mall to get Tim’s Christmas present, okay? It’s this new doll everybody’s been talking about; this little monster that you tickle.” Tom clarified.
“Oh my god, Tom, you’re getting Tim a Tickle-Me-Wiggly!?” Emma exclaimed, trying to put her opinion on the doll aside. Tim was 9, he’d probably be thrilled to get the crime against nature for Christmas.
“He’s gonna flip! You must’ve pre-ordered that thing like six months ago!” Emma continued, almost getting herself excited.
“Nah, Toy Zone doesn’t do pre-orders, it’s first come, first serve, so.” Tom stated, concerning Emma; did he really think he’d be able to just walk in, pay for it, and leave?
“Oh, uh, do you have someone holding your place in line?” Paul asked, as confused as Emma.
“What do you mean, line? It’s 6:30, I’m gonna get there 10 minutes before the doors even open!” Tom responded, confirming Emma and Paul’s suspicions. They explained how the demand for Tickle-Me-Wiggly was so big that getting in line now would just leave him having wasted half an hour without a Wiggly to show for it.
“Goddammit, Jane would’ve had all this worked out.” Tom muttered, disappointed in himself.
“You could get him like a Nintendo.” Emma said, trying to soften the blow.
“He doesn’t want that, he wants this doll! Is that too much to ask for?” Tom snapped. He continued venting, put on his coat, and left. Emma and Paul watched him drive off and then went to find Tim.
Emma and Paul found Tim sulking in his bedroom, his checkered gray pajamas and bright ginger hair contrasting the dark green Minecraft blanket he sat on.
“Are you doing okay?” Paul asked.
“I’m annoyed.” Tim responded.
“Can’t blame you, your dad was being a di–jerk.” Emma said, narrowly avoiding swearing on instinct in front of a 9-year-old.
“Would it cheer you up if we did something together?” Paul asked.
“Yeah!” Tim exclaimed, a smile returning to his face. “What are we doing?”
“All the stuff is in the dining room, I’ll let you pick.” Immediately after Paul said that, Tim jumped off the bed and ran off.
Before following him, Emma apologized to Paul. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”
“It’s okay, Emma; I’ve had much worse times babysitting.” Paul said.
“You’ve done this before?” Emma asked.
Paul nodded. “One time Bill asked me to drive his daughter to school, and we got along so well that I’d look after her when he was busy. Then Ted found out and forced me to babysit his younger brother ’cause I owed him a favor.”
Emma was surprised. “Why have I never heard about it before?”
“I haven’t done this in a year.” Paul explained. “Can we go now? I don’t think Tim would want to wait this long.”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Emma opened the door and walked into the dining room with Paul.
They entered the room to find Tim standing over a table with 5 boxes on it, still pondering what to choose.
“Having trouble picking?” Emma asked. “Well, we brought 6, so you have technically narrowed it down. Let me see what you’ve got left.”
Emma had a closer look at the table. Tim had set aside a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer DVD, leaving a Ticket to Ride box and DVDs of A Christmas Story, It’s A Wonderful Life, Jingle All The Way, and…
“Yeah, you’re not watching that.” Emma took the Die Hard DVD off the table. She had already argued with Paul about him bringing it to the reunion, relenting when she decided to not challenge Paul’s strongly-held opinion in a fight she in no way cared about, knowing that it would only be watched when Tim had gone to sleep. If she let her 9-year-old nephew watch an R-rated action film, Tom wouldn’t let her back in the neighborhood.
“Why?” Tim protested.
Emma tried to answer, but Tim kept denying her explanations. Thankfully Paul stepped in and interrupted the argument. “How about we play Ticket to Ride?”
Paul loved board games. A third of the space in his apartment was taken up by them; not an ideal situation for dates, since his apartment was already tiny, but the fun she had playing with him made up for it.
“Okay.” Tim sighed. They spent the next hour playing the game. Tim clearly enjoyed it despite his seeming unenthusiasm at the beginning, although he was annoyed when Paul won by a lot, even though he tried to play worse than usual to level the playing field.
Paul looked at his phone to check the time. He didn’t wear a watch, despite the many attempts people had made to convince him to. After a few seconds his eyes widened and he turned it off.
“Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.” Paul started repeatedly saying. Emma was concerned; Paul only talked like that when he was about to panic.
“Paul, what’s wrong?” Emma asked.
“Can we talk about this away from Tim?” Paul whispered.
Emma and Paul moved to Tom’s bedroom, where Paul showed her what he was worried about; a notification on his phone from the Hatchetfield Gazette’s website, with the headline of its latest story in bold letters.
Riot breaks out in Lakeside Mall.
“This can’t be real.” Emma said in disbelief. Tom said he was going to the mall. If this was true …
“Seems like it is; the story’s barebones, but the riots apparently started half an hour ago, so it must’ve been written in a hurry.” Paul responded.
“Why would they write it now if they have basically no information?” Emma questioned.
“They’re probably a bit eager to report on actual news ; the biggest story before this was 5 people showing up to protest at the kennel.” Paul answered. “The morning news starts at 8, they might have more information.”
“What should we tell Tim?” Emma asked.
“I–I don’t know.” Paul said. “It feels wrong to leave him in the dark, but it’d feel worse if it turns out fine and we end up panicking him for no reason.”
Emma realized she was worrying Paul and gave the simplest answer she could think of. “How about we don’t tell him until we’ve watched the morning news? You said it was in half an hour.”
“Okay.” Paul said.
Emma and Paul walked back into the dining room, where Tim was waiting for them, staring with an excited look in his eyes. “What were you talking about?”
-
“Oh, just… boring adult stuff.” Emma said, hoping that was enough to get Tim to lose interest.
“Oh.” Tim said, his excitement waning.
A quiet moment passed. Tim broke the silence with an unexpected question. “How did you two meet?”
Emma and Paul were surprised. “Why the sudden question?” Emma asked.
“I wanna know about you.” Tim responded. “You only talked with us for a minute at the funeral.”
“Okay.” Emma said. “After the funeral I got a job at this coffee shop called Beanie’s. Paul started showing up after a few months.”
“I was babysitting the brother of one of my coworkers.” Paul added. “He has a problem with his blood sugar, and he loved the hot chocolate there–”
“–Wait.” Emma interrupted. “You know the hot chocolate boy?” That kid was the only customer who appeared and ordered as consistently as Paul, although he was annoying where Paul was charming.
“His name’s Peter.” Paul replied. “Anyway, I went to Beanie’s and ordered a hot chocolate for Pete and a black coffee for myself. Emma was the barista.”
Tim smiled. “So that’s when you fell in love?”
Emma laughed and shook her head. “It took a bit longer than that. I didn’t even know his name until a month ago. Until then he was just ‘the one guy who ever bothered to tip me more than a dollar.’”
“What happened to cause your relationship to change from not knowing his name to trusting him enough to bring him here?” Tim asked.
“Well, after babysitting Pete I started going to Beanie’s for my coffee instead of the Starbucks across the street from where I work.” Paul said. “Eventually my coworker Ted noticed and started pestering me about it. I always said that I went there because they had better coffee.”
“We don’t.” Emma interrupted. “It was so bad that we’d even spit in the drinks of customers we didn’t like, and no one ever noticed.”
“But he had already caught on to the fact that I was actually going there because I wanted to see Emma more. He kept telling me to ask her out, and I did about a month ago…” Paul’s voice trailed off as he had a horrifying realization. “The only reason me and Emma are together is because of Ted !” Paul said laughing.
“What?” Emma exclaimed in disbelief.
“I only went to Beanie’s because I was babysitting his younger brother.” Paul explained. “And the only reason I ever asked you out was because he guilt tripped me into it.”
“He guilt tripped you?” Emma asked.
“Yeah, he said that if I didn’t say anything now you might pack up and move to Clivesdale with some other guy.” Paul said.
“He thought I would ever willingly set foot in Clivesdale ? I hate him even more now!” Emma said.
Paul started to say “Fuck Clivesdale” but stopped almost immediately when he remembered that Tim was still there. Emma checked the time on her phone and realized that the morning news would start soon.
“I’m going to go watch the news. How about you two talk by yourselves?” She asked Paul and Tim.
“Oh, okay.” Paul said, surprised. Tim agreed too, and Emma walked to the TV in the living room and turned it on.
“This is the morning Hatchetfield news with Dan and Donna!” The screen faded from black to reveal two news anchors. On the left sat Donna Daggit, a woman in a brown bob and blue dress. At the right sat Dan Reynolds, a man in a navy suit with a red tie and a mustache. Behind them were the words Morning Cup o’ News in orange lettering.
“Failure. Injustice. Greed.” Dan said dramatically. “Papa Ed’s GoFundMe page to build a squirrel house for Peanuts, who had outgrown his pocket the previous month, has failed to raise enough money to reach its funding goal.”
“But don’t despair, Hatchetfield!” Donna said cheerfully. “He used the money he did raise to buy a coat with bigger pockets.”
Dan grinned. “That’s amazing, Donna!”
“In other news, a riot has erupted at Lakeside Mall.” Donna said, not bothering to adjust her cheerful tone in the slightest. “We have not been able to identify a motive for the riot, but other malls across the nation are reportedly experiencing similar events. Could this be a deliberate act of terrorism? Or is it just shoppermania gone too far? We hope we can get some answers from our reporter on the field, Jerry Miller. Jerry?”
The scene changed to show the entrance of Lakeside Mall. In front of it was a man in a beige coat; Jerry Miller, presumably.
“Thanks, Donna!” Jerry said in a manner somehow more even inappropriately cheerful than Donna. “I’m standing in front of Lakeside Mall, where the riot is taking place. In my opinion, this house of sin was just begging for–”
“–Jerry, remember what we said about impartial journalism.” Jerry’s sudden shift into religious filibustering was mercifully interrupted by the camerawoman.
“Oh quiet, you. I oughta drench you in lemonade.” Jerry said in some bizarre attempt at a threat.
The camerawoman let out an audible sigh. “Let’s just go inside.”
Jerry walked through the mall for a few minutes, bickering with the camerawoman most of the way. The further he walked, the more devastation showed. Unconscious bodies (at least Emma hoped they were unconscious) littered the floor, and the food court was burnt to a crisp. Eventually he crossed paths with someone that was awake, a man in a black jacket clutching a Wiggly doll.
Jerry stopped moving, and his eyes focused on the doll. “Why don’t ya give me that, buddy?”
“Sorry, I’m not gonna let go of this little darlin’.” The man said in a slight Texan accent.
“Why, you!” Jerry shouted, rapidly losing composure. “I oughta rip your fucking spleen out!”
Jerry lunged at the man but was quickly knocked prone by a punch to the gut. The camera fell as the woman holding it tried to wrestle the doll from the man. Eventually the discarded camera was picked up; its lens pointed towards the ceiling with its holder presumably using it for a purpose other than filming. Its other purpose became apparent as the camera rapidly swung towards the floor, stopping almost a foot short as the feed cut to black with the sound of bones breaking.
Emma stared in horror before she turned off the TV and picked up her phone. She had to call Tom. Luckily, he had suggested at Jane’s funeral that they exchange contact information in case either of them wanted someone to talk to, so she knew his number. She opened her contacts list and scrolled until she reached the names starting with T. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find his name there. She was about to panic when she scrolled up and remembered she had named his contact ‘Jane’s Husband’ and never bothered to change it to his actual name.
She held the phone to her ear, hoping Tom would pick up. It felt like it was ringing for an hour, but eventually her call was answered.
“Hello?” nervously said a voice that was decidedly not Tom’s.
“Who are you? What happened to Tom” Emma interrogated.
The voice stumbled over her words for a few seconds. “Right, yeah, sorry, uh, my name’s Becky.”
Becky Barnes.
That woman was Emma’s mortal enemy. They had only crossed paths for two years, when Becky was a cheerleader at Hatchetfield High, but those two years were more than enough to get Emma to despise her. Emma thought back to all the times Becky had wronged her… and realized that she couldn’t remember a single thing about Becky aside from the fact that she was a cheerleader that she hated. (And that she got stuck in a tree for two days as a kid, but everyone in Hatchetfield knew that.)
“I assume you’re Jane’s sister?” Becky said.
“How did you know that?” Emma asked.
“It’s what Tom named your contact.” Becky explained. “About what happened to him, do you want the short version or the long version?”
“Short version.” Emma answered. She didn’t want to hear Becky’s voice any longer than needed.
“Okay, well…” Becky stalled.
“Just spit it out.” Emma said, annoyed.
“Tom was stabbed.” Becky said.
“What?!” Emma shouted.
“I was able to get a Wiggly, but someone tried to take it from me. Tom tried to fight him off, but…” Becky’s voice trailed off.
Emma was too stunned to speak. What kind of vendetta did the world have against her? First Jane, now Tom…
“You don’t need to worry too much.” Becky said. “I’m a nurse, I was able to stabilize the wound.”
“Santa! All the kids are on the naughty list!” A voice other than Becky’s came through the phone.
“What the fuck?” Emma said quietly.
“Oh, right. We’re hiding in the Cineplex.” Becky explained. “It’s showing some movie… Santa Claus is Goin’ to High School?”
“I’d rather take my chances with the rioters.” Emma snarked, hoping to distract herself from the reality of the situation.
“At least the songs are pretty good.” Becky said. “I hope you can trust that your brother-in-law’s in safe hands… I’d normally say your name here, but I don’t know it… you seem like a…Kelly?”
“What do you mean, I ‘seem like a Kelly?’” Emma asked.
“Sorry.” Becky said. “Whenever I try to guess the name of a sibling I always assume it starts with an adjacent letter to the sibling I know the name of.”
“Has that ever worked?” Emma asked.
Becky was quiet for a few seconds, and then answered. “It worked once.” She said in a tone that implied its single successful use justified the ridiculous technique.
Emma sighed. “Just don’t let Tom get killed.” She hung up and walked into the dining room. Tim and Paul were there, sitting. An awkward silence filled the room.
Tim saw Emma and started smiling again. “You’re back!”
Emma stood there, confused by Tim’s enthusiasm. “Uh, me and Paul need to talk alone again.”
“Oh.” Tim said, disappointed.
Emma and Paul walked back to Tom’s bedroom. “What did the news say?” Paul asked.
Emma tried to sort through the information she received in the past hour. “They didn’t know what caused the riot, but apparently other malls are rioting too.”
Paul was shocked. “Other malls? You mean this is also happening outside of Hatchetfield?”
Emma continued. “Then one of the reporters went inside the mall. He came across someone with a Wiggly and he tried to steal it from him… Do you think this is happening because of Wiggly?”
“Maybe, but why would so many malls across America riot over it?” Paul said. “I know Black Friday can be violent, but…”
“Everyone was weirdly obsessed with the thing.” Emma said. “I even heard Zoey say she’d kill for it. I thought she was joking at the time, but now…” Emma thought back to the end of the news clip, and to hearing that Tom was stabbed. God, why did she have to trust the fate of her only living adult relative to Becky Barnes ?
“Emma, why did you stop talking?” Paul said with growing concern.
“After the news report, I tried to call Tom. His phone answered, but the one holding it was Becky.” Emma said, her mention of Becky bringing a lot of scorn to her voice.
“Becky Barnes?” Paul asked, confused.
“Yeah.” Emma answered. “You know her?”
“Yeah.” Paul said. “One time I had to bring Pete to the hospital and she was the nurse that took care of him; she’s probably the nicest woman I ever met, why did you say her name like you hated her?”
“Not important.” Emma said. “She said that someone stabbed Tom.”
“What?!” Paul shouted, unknowingly echoing Emma.
“Yeah, that was my reaction. She says that she was able to stabilize the wound.” Emma said, her quoting of Becky in a suspicious tone.
“Okay, that’s good, but seriously, what’s your problem with Becky?” Paul asked.
“I said it’s not important.” Emma answered. The real question was why Paul didn’t have a problem with Becky.
“We should definitely tell Tim now.” Paul said.
“Yeah.” Emma said. “Who should tell him?”
“You.” Paul quickly answered. “He likes you.”
“What’d you do to piss him off? Aren’t you good with kids?” Emma asked.
Paul quickly replied. “I’m good with teens. Not 9-year-olds, it turns out.”
“Okay.” Emma said before returning to the dining room.
“You’re back.” Tim said, less enthusiastically than last time.
“Hey, Tim…” Emma said, her mind mostly focused on trying to figure out how the fuck to tell her 9-year-old nephew that his dad had been stabbed in a riot. “Something’s… happened at the mall. Something bad…”
“Why are you telling me this?” Tim asked, confused.
“Your dad’s at the mall?” Emma said, also confused.
“No he’s not. He said he was going to get…” Tim stopped talking, trying to remember what Tom had said. “I forgot what it was, but it would’ve been at the hardware store, that’s not at the mall!”
Right. Tom hadn't told Tim that he was going to get a Wiggly, but telling Tim that his dad was in danger was definitely a higher priority than not spoiling a Christmas surprise.
“Your dad wasn’t actually going to the hardware store to get… whatever he said he was going to get. He was going to the mall to get you a Christmas present.” Emma explained.
Concern spread over Tim’s face. “What’d you say was happening at the mall?”
“Everyone’s fighting over those Wiggly toys.” Emma said.
“Wiggly… the ugly monster from that annoying commercial?” Tim asked.
Emma was surprised. She hadn’t expected Tim of all people to be the third person Emma knew to dislike the thing. “Yeah. You don’t like Wiggly? I expected someone of your age would–”
“–I’m 9, not 4.” Tim said. “No, even a 4-year-old wouldn’t like him. He’s too creepy. He looks like one of those demons Grace always talks about.”
“Who’s Grace?” Emma asked.
“My usual babysitter.” Tim said. “Dad mentioned her earlier.” Right. Now Emma remembered. When she had realized that Tom was making her babysit Tim he tried to explain himself, but she was too annoyed at him to pay attention.
At this point Emma realized that she was extremely tired. She was working a night shift the previous day and barely had any sleep before Tom’s call woke her up. She had ordered a coffee on the way to Tom’s house, but had drunk it all by the end of the Ticket to Ride game.
“Emma, are you okay?” Paul asked.
“I’m really tired.” Emma answered yawning.
“You should probably rest.” Paul said. “Tim, does this place have a guest room?”
“Yeah.” Tim pointed to the room.
“Thanks.” Paul led Emma to the guest room. Emma laid down on the bed and began to doze off.
When Emma drifted off to sleep, she recalled a memory from 7 weeks ago. It was a Thursday, and she was sitting in Professor Hidgens’ biology class at Hatchetfield Community College listening to one of his lectures.
At the end of the lecture Prof. Hidgens said his usual goodbyes, but then he said something very unexpected. “I should warn you, in approximately one week humanity will be annihilated.”
“Professor, Mamma Mia isn’t that bad.” One of her classmates joked, laughing.
“This is no laughing matter, Hailey!” Prof. Hidgens said. “Not when you’re being puppeteered around by an alien hive mind! I have been preparing for this for 27 years, do you want to question my credentials? I’ll show you my r é sum é if you force me to!”
Some of the students began to slowly back away towards the door. “Cowards will have no place in my bunker!” Prof. Hidgens shouted.
The world obviously did not end the next week, and the lecture became a hilarious memory for the people there to witness it. But now Emma found it hard to laugh at. Now one question overtook Emma’s thoughts about it.
What if Prof. Hidgens’ prediction was a few weeks off?
Emma woke up feeling refreshed. Now that she wasn’t exhausted, she took notice of the details of the guest room. The bed was comfortable; it kind of reminded her of the bed she slept in as a teenager. The blanket on it was white with illustrations of green plants dotted all over it. The walls were covered in green wallpaper. Everything gave the room a peaceful atmosphere, everything except for the dust-covered unopened cardboard box to the left of the bed. Emma inspected the box closely. There was something written on it: Please, do not open : )
Emma laughed and opened the box. Anyone who has ever been around her in the last 20 years knows that the politer you ask her to not do something, the more likely it is that she’ll do it anyway just to piss you off. Inside the box were some old toys, a bong, two 311 albums…
This was Emma’s.
Jane had kept the things that Emma left behind when she moved to Guatemala.
Jane really wanted to see her again.
And Emma had let her down every time.
And now the closest person to Jane was trapped in the middle of a riot trying to get his son something that he didn’t even want.
Maybe he was already dead.
Bled out while his sister-in-law was asleep.
Leaving Tim all alone.
It’s almost funny, Emma thought that coming here was finally doing something to help her family.
But if she hadn’t been here to babysit Tom would’ve had to stay home.
Emma really can’t stop hurting her family, can she?
“–Emma?” Paul snapped Emma out of her daze. “Are you okay?”
“No.” Emma said.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Paul asked.
“It’s my fault that Tom’s in this whole mess.” Emma said.
“No it’s not.” Paul said.
“If I hadn’t come here–”
“–Emma, you didn’t even know that he wanted you to babysit Tim.” Paul interrupted. “If you hadn’t come here, he would’ve just gotten someone else to do it. The only thing that’s your fault is that Tim gets to be with his aunt instead of one of Tom’s friends that he’s probably never met.”
Emma didn’t hate herself enough to try to refute that. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Paul said.
“What time is it?” Emma asked.
Paul checked his phone. “It’s 9 P.M.”
“I've been asleep for that long?” Emma said. “I knew I was tired, but that’s like 12 hours. Where’s Tim?”
“He’s in the living room.” Paul said.
Emma went to the living room. Tim was sitting in a chair, bored out of his mind. When he saw Emma, his eyes perked up and he jumped from his chair. “You’re back!”
“You don’t have to say that every time you see me.” Emma teased.
“Are you hungry?” Tim asked, reminding Emma that she hadn’t eaten anything today.
“Shi–shoot, yeah.” Emma said. “Sorry, I have to go eat something.”
Emma went to the dining room. Most of the leftovers she brought were eaten already, but there was a salad left in its box. After eating, Emma went back to the living room.
“Thou hast returned.” Tim said dramatically. Well, he tried to say it dramatically, but the effect was lessened by him giggling through all of it. Emma laughed too. Where did he even get that from?
Paul walked into the room. “Where’s the remote? The evening news is about to start.”
Tim picked up the remote and gave it to Paul. Paul turned the TV on.
“This is Hatchetfield Action News with Dan and Donna!” The screen faded from black to reveal the same two news anchors from the morning news. The set was also the same, apart from the logo which now said Hatchetfield Action News in blue lettering.
“Why do the same people host both the morning and evening news?” Emma asked.
“I don’t know.” Paul said. “All I know about them is that everyone says they’re ‘secretly in love’.”
Emma laughed. “What?”
“I don’t get it either, but it’s the most popular relationship to gossip about here apart from like, Tom and Becky.” Paul said.
“I guess it makes sense.” Emma said. “It's kinda the only reason they would do this instead of just having one of them do the morning news and the other do the evening news.”
“That’s amazing, Donna.” Dan said in response to some puff-piece that Emma and Paul talked over. “Now’s the part you’ve all been waiting for. The update on the Lakeside Riot!”
“First, an update on the status of reporter Jerry Miller, whose investigation of the mall ended in a brawl and a broken camera.” Donna said in a cheerful, but shaky voice. “We have completely lost contact with him and junior reporter Ellen King, who was the camerawoman at the scene.”
“We have been able to confirm the cause of the riot.” Dan said. “This, and the similar riots happening across the nation, are believed to be motivated solely by the Tickle-Me-Wiggly doll released today.”
“The Tickle-Me-Wiggly doll?” Donna asked in a way that made it obvious that the question was rehearsed. “Tell me more–”
“–Ms. Daggit?” Someone came from offscreen and handed Donna some papers. She began to read them and a look of horror spread across her face.
“We have just received news that a nuclear bomb has hit Moscow.” Donna said completely seriously. “We must assume that Russia will respond with a counter-strike. We recommend that viewers at home prepare for what could be the beginning of World War III.”
Emma and Paul stared in shock. Eventually Tim broke the silence. ”What was she saying? I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Tim.” Emma said. “I need you to get your things.”
“What should I get?” Tim asked.
“What do you bring on vacations?” Emma said.
“I don’t know, I haven’t been on one in over a year.” Tim said.
“Look, just bring some things you like to the dining room, I can get the rest.” Emma said.
“Why?” Tim asked.
“We need to get somewhere safe.” Emma said.
“We’re already somewhere safe.” Tim said innocently.
“It’s not safe enough.” Emma said.
“What makes it not safe enough?” Tim asked. “Is there a monster?”
“Sure.” Emma said.
Tim’s eyes widened and he left the room. Emma called Tom, but he didn’t answer. She called again to no response. She called a third time, and a fourth, and a fifth. No one ever answered.
Eventually she gave up. She turned off the TV, which was no longer showing anything, and went to the dining room. Tim was there, having put a lot of toys on the table. Emma noticed the lack of anything vitally important, and left to get things that were.
When she returned she put everything into a suitcase, only to realize that she couldn’t fit everything into it. “Tim, I’m sorry but you’ll have to leave some things behind.”
“Oh.” Tim said. “Okay.” He looked at his toys and decided on 5 of them to pack in the suitcase. Emma went to her car and put the suitcase in the trunk. Emma left the garage and went to Paul. He was in Tom’s bedroom, packing some of Tom’s clothes into another suitcase. He checked his phone and a confused frown spread over his face.
“You okay, Paul?” Emma asked.
“Yeah.” Paul said. “It’s just… I’ve been checking my phone and it’s been saying that it’s 11:23 for a few minutes. I don’t even know how that happens.”
“Weird.” Emma said. “Anyway, I’ve packed Tim’s things, so we should be able to leave soon.”
Paul finished packing. “Good, I’m ready to leave.”
Paul and Emma went to the garage where Tim was waiting.
“Tim, we’re gonna leave soon, are you sure you have everything you need?” Emma asked.
“Yeah.” Tim said.
“Good, because we’re probably not coming back.” Emma said.
“Why not?” Tim asked. “Because of the monster?”
Paul was clearly confused, but he didn’t say anything.
“Yeah, sure.” Emma said.
Tim got in the car, and Paul and Emma quickly followed. Emma was about to start the ignition when Tim asked a sudden question. “Should we get Dad? He doesn’t know about it yet.”
Shit, Emma forgot about Tom. The man who was being treated for a stab wound in the middle of a riot the last time Emma heard of him. The man who Emma couldn’t get in contact with because no one was answering his phone. The man who Emma trusted Becky Barnes with the safety of.
There was no way he was still alive.
“I don’t think there’d be much point to that.” Emma said.
“Why?” Tim asked.
“Because your dad’s probably…” Emma couldn’t finish that sentence.
“Probably what?” Tim asked.
“He’s… He’s dead.” Emma said bluntly.
“N–No he’s not.” Tim said, his voice shaking.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t think of any reason he wouldn’t be.” Emma said. “I called him 5 times and he never answered, the last time I heard anything vaguely reassuring about his fate was like 15 hours ago, and that information was barely reassuring and I was getting it from Becky Barnes !”
Tim started crying. Paul winced and tried to console him before looking back up at Emma. “Emma, I know you’re worried, but I don’t think that what you said is proof that Tom is dead.” Paul said. “I mean, my phone’s been acting weird for a few minutes, maybe your phone’s broken too.”
Emma checked her phone and realized the time was stuck at 11:23.
This didn’t convince her that Tom was alive.
And yet when she backed out of the garage, she steered her car in the direction of the mall.
Emma drove closer and closer to the mall, growing more nervous by the second. When she caught sight of the mall her fears were justified.
Lakeside Mall was burning to the ground. The inferno was twice as bright as the mall’s usual lights, and seemed to engulf the entire building. If Tom hadn’t already died from the stabbing, he definitely still would’ve burned to a crisp by now.
Tom’s survival seemed impossible.
But so did most things that happened today.
And if Tom wasn’t dead, Emma had to reunite him with Tim.
So Emma drove into the parking lot and stopped her car.
“Tim.” Emma said, making Tim look up from the ball he had curled himself into. “Can you wait in the car?” Whether Tom was alive or not, Emma didn't want Tim anywhere near the fire.
“Okay.” Tim said before lowering his head back into the ball. Emma honked the horn, hoping to get Tom’s attention. “Tom?” She yelled after realizing that her first idea wasn’t very good at getting his attention specifically. She exited the car with Paul. Small groups of survivors were huddled together. She recognized some of them as regular Beanie’s customers, others she remembered from an office Halloween party Paul took her to. But Emma’s attention was drawn to a group of four standing just outside the mall.
Tom Houston was standing there, next to a redhead in a nurse’s outfit who Emma assumed was Becky, and two teenage girls that Emma didn’t recognize. “Tom!” Emma yelled, running towards him. “Oh my god, you’re alive!”
“Emma?” Tom said, surprised. When Paul caught up with Emma, Tom also said his name… or at least tried to. “Pat?”
“Paul.” He corrected.
“Uh huh.” Tom said. “What are you guys doing here, where’s Tim?”
Emma and Paul explained what had happened to Tom.
“Emma.” Tom said. “I’ve been avoiding it for too long. I think it’s time we finally sit down as a family…” Tom put a hand on Emma’s shoulder. “And talk about Jane.”
Before Emma could respond, Paul put his hand on Emma’s other shoulder. “That sounds great, Tom.” He said. “Let’s talk on the move.”
“Well, where can we go?” Becky asked. “Is any place safe?”
Emma hadn’t really thought about that yet. Her original plan was just to leave town and think of a plan once she had gotten past Clivesdale. But now it’s probably too risky to go anywhere outside of Hatchetfield. (Okay, she could probably still get to Clivesdale but that means she would die in Clivesdale.) Where in Hatchetfield could she go? It’s not like anyone would’ve expected this…
Wait, no.
There was someone who would’ve expected this.
Professor Hidgens!
He probably wouldn’t hate some company at the end of the world, and he called Emma his favorite student once, she could go there and ask for shelter.
Emma explained the plan to everyone. “That’s a great idea, Emma.” Tom said.
“Well, I hope he doesn’t mind us showing up unannounced.” Paul said. That was a good point, but it’ll probably be fine. It’s not like he’s some mad scientist or anything.
Paul continued expressing his worries. “We can’t call him, the phones stopped working. I don’t even know what time it is! What am I supposed to do without my iPhone?”
“Wear a watch?” The younger teenager spoke up. The older one smiled and held her hand.
Tom checked his watch. “It’s 11:57. Black Friday’s almost over.” He said. “I feel like if we can survive today, we can survive anything.” Emma found that hard to believe, but to be fair she hadn’t just survived a riot.
“Let’s get Tim.” Emma said.
“Yeah.” Tom said. “Wait, uh, Becky, can you check if my car’s still here?”
“Okay.” Becky said. “What should I be looking for specifically?”
“A black sedan.” Tom said. Becky gave a thumbs up and started walking away. Emma and Paul led Tom in the opposite direction. The teenagers followed them.
When Emma reached her car, she unlocked it and Tom quickly opened the passenger door. Tim looked up, smiled, and hugged his father. After about a minute, Tom pulled away and placed his hands on his son’s shoulders. “Tim, I’m sorry for leaving you and Emma and… Pete.” Paul facepalmed. “I promise that I’ll try to be there, physically and emotionally, for you.” Tim smiled even harder, and he hugged him again.
“Tom!” Becky shouted. “I found your car!” Tom punched the air in satisfaction before sitting in a passenger’s seat with Paul. Emma drove her car towards the sedan, parking next to it.
Everyone exited Emma’s car. Emma had come up with more of a plan at this point and began to tell it. “Okay, we have two cars, and 7 people. We’ll have to split up into two groups for each car. I’m assuming the best plan is for Tom, Becky, and Tim to get in Tom’s car, and me, Paul, and… the rest to get in my car.” The older teenager rolled her eyes and flipped Emma the bird. “I know the way to Professor Hidgens’ house, so I’ll be driving in front.” No one objected to the plan itself, the older teenager’s issue being with how Emma said it, so everyone got in their respective cars.
Emma looked around the car. Paul was sitting next to her, smiling. She looked at Tom’s car. Everyone there was smiling too. She looked at the back, where the teenagers sat. The elder smiled softly at the younger, who looked kinda out of it. Emma smiled, inserted the key in the ignition, turned it, and drove off into the dark.