Chapter V – Adrian Terrence

Adrian jumped to his feet, pulling his cousin up with him. He looked around the room at the frightened people, feeling his own fear rising.

Lord, I don’t know what’s going on. Please be with us.

“That one felt closer.” Xavier spoke close to Adrian, so that he could be heard above the noise in the room.

Adrian nodded. It did feel closer. What it actually is though, I haven’t the faintest clue.

“How could it be closer, Adrian, without coming through the walls? The last one blocked the door.”

“You got me there.”

Xavier took a deep breath. Adrian sighed.

“Surely, they had the roads cleared of civilians before the second explosion, Cousin. We don’t even know whatever it is caused any casualties. Louise and Andy are likely just fine.”

“I pray that you’re right.” Xavier swept the room with his eyes.

Indeed. Please be with them and keep them safe, wherever they are, Lord.

His cousin touched his arm. “Adrian, have you noticed the little girl over there?”

Adrian turned in the direction of the small girl with her shiny black pigtails and battered stuffed bunny. She still huddled in the far booth, her eyes wide and dark. “I’ve seen her, yes.”

“Have you seen anyone with her?”

Adrian stopped to think a moment, then shook his head. “No, I can’t say that I have. I just assumed that she belonged to someone else here.”

Xavier looked around the room again and then back at the little girl. “I don’t think that she does have anyone. I think she’s alone.”

Who would leave their child alone in a café? She can’t be more than nine-years-old.

Before Adrian could come up with anything to say aloud, Xavier strode forward in the girl’s direction. He decided to follow.

The child looked up with wide, frightened eyes as Xavier approached her booth. She hugged her bunny closer and brushed away a tear.

She does look like a child who has been left alone.

His cousin pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat across from the girl. Clasping his hands together, he smiled a bit. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”

The girl continued to look at him, her eyes glistening with more tears, but showed no signs of an answer.

Xavier tried again. “Are your daddy or mommy here in this room?”

This time the child shook her head, a tear splashing down her cheek.

“Are you with anyone in this room?”

The child seemed to hesitate again, but shook her head again.

“Did your daddy or your mommy leave you here for some reason?”

Two more tears splashed against her nose, as she shook her head and held the bunny, if possible, tighter than before.

“Can you tell me who brought you here and why?”

The child only stared at him. She pushed away a few strands of hair that clung to her wet face. Another tear raced down her nose.

Xavier waited a moment, his face furroughed in thought. When the child continued silent, he tried again. “Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?”

The child continued to gaze long and hard at him. Xavier smiled again.

“My name is Xavier, if that helps. This,” he gestured to one side, “is my cousin, Adrian.”

The girl looked up and Adrian smiled. She only looked at him a moment, before turning back to Xavier. After another long stare, she said in a very small voice, “I’m Monique. This is Mr. Pickles.” She poked her chin into the head of the bunny by way of introduction. Her eyes never lost their wide-eyed look of fear.

“It’s nice to meet you, Monique. And Mr. Pickles. He looks like a good friend.” Xavier leaned forward slightly and spoke very gently. “Are you scared, Monique?”

She didn’t blink, tears slipping down her cheeks unheeded. She sniffed and then nodded.

“Would it help if you stayed with me?”

Monique hesitated less this time, before she nodded once more. A tiny, but very decided nod.

Adrian glanced around the café, but no one seemed to be giving them any heed. Certainly no one else jumped to show concern for the child or seemed to even notice her existence.

Who leaves a child alone in a café? Why would anyone do such a thing? She’s terrified. Either just because of the explosions or also because of whoever left her here.

Mary Dill shrieked and the child jumped, tears falling at a much swifter rate. Xavier glanced up at Adrian, then moved from his chair to the booth where Monique huddled. Gently, he put an arm around the girl.

Adrian couldn’t hear what his cousin said, but Monique nodded before burying her face into her bunny’s head. Adrian took the booth seat opposite his cousin, listening to the confused noises around him and understanding very little. He checked his phone again.

No service. I didn’t really expect any, I suppose, but it doesn’t hurt to check once in awhile.

The pregnant woman who had been with Mary Dill since just after the first explosion, finally moved awkwardly to the closest table and sat down. Mary didn’t seem to notice one way or another.

The two café employees stood to one side. Ginger’s eyes narrowed and her brow furroughed in strong annoyance, if not anger. Eddie just stood gawking in confusion. Two more people stood nearer the door, a man and woman, apparently talking. The woman held her arm close to her side. Another woman sat in a chair, rather a distance from any of the tables. A man, dressed in a business suit, seemed awkward and out of place as he stood near the pregnant woman, as if he wanted something to do and could think of nothing.

I see these people every week. I recognize them all. I don’t know their names or, really, anything about them, except what I can see right now. Even though I would know their faces, if I passed them on the street, I think.

He saw Ginger’s face flush a darker shade of red and her glare deepened. She dropped her arms to her sides and held her hands in fists.

Nor do I know how they would react to almost anything. Some people start to act ugly when they’re afraid. We don’t know how long we’ll be in here or what may occur in that time.

He swept the room again with his eyes, wondering who he could classify as a fuse waiting to be lit and who would be potential assistants in peace keeping. He found no certain fuse besides Ginger, nor any certain peacekeeper besides Xavier.

I literally know nothing about them, except their faces.

His eyes strayed to his cousin again with the little girl beside him, still hiding her face in the ragged stuffed animal.

Except her. I’ve never seen her anywhere before, poor child. Where did she come from and why is she here?

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Chapter IV – Timothy Teller

Timothy watched the discovery of the dead man with a growing sense of horror.

He was alive when I got here. He looked fine!

His head began to ache from the constant screaming. Ginger put her hands to her hips and marched across the room toward the wailing woman.

“Mary Dill! You get ahold of yourself! I don’t care if you’re two heads taller than me and twice as round; I don’t want to hear another shriek and neither does anyone else. Do you hear me?”

The silence that followed brought sweet relief. Timothy tried to relax the tension building in his shoulders. Lord, I don’t approve of how she did it, but I am thankful for the silence.

The conversation of the two men nearer the corpse, made Timothy forget his short-term relief.

There’s a dead man and I’m worried about my hearing.

The young woman beside him shuddered. “It’s all rather like a nightmare, isn’t it?” She spoke in a low, even voice that Timothy could barely hear.

“It does seem rather surreal.”

She shuddered again. With the dead man gently covered by the coat, the young woman turned a bit and sighed. “I suppose the explosion must have been too much for him.”

“What does it matter to you?” The stringent tones of another woman made Timothy jump. A gray-haired, gray-eyed woman had joined them, her wrinkled, oval face stamped with the lines of a permanent frown.

The young woman didn’t reply.

The gray-haired woman stared at her for a long moment, then grunted. “You’ve no call to bother your head about him, Anna. He’s dead. You can’t help him.”

“No, of course not.” Anna spoke in a barely audible tone once more. “Still, I-” Her words cut off as another explosion ripped through the café, drowning all other sounds except Mary Dill’s scream.

Timothy lost his balance, hitting the ground and narrowly missing the window. Instinctively, he shielded his head, but nothing hit him. The noise died down, the cries of those around him becoming more audible. From somewhere above him, Mary Dill kept up her cries.

Timothy opened his eyes and pushed himself upright. He rubbed his neck and looked around. Beside him Anna started to move, very slowly trying to sit up while holding onto her left arm. She bit her lip as Timothy scrambled to help her.

“Are you going to be all right?”

She didn’t look at him, but nodded, still holding onto her arm. She bit her lip so hard that it nearly bled and she made no move to stand.

“You don’t look like it.”

“She’s fine.” Timothy wanted to glare at the gray-haired woman behind him, who struggled with the legs of a chair. “I’m not all right. You could help me get disentangled.”

Timothy looked back down at Anna again. She nodded once more.

He never knew before that so few people could create such a din of noise. As he extricated the gray-haired woman from her chair, the noise hovered about the room, buzzing like a hornet’s nest.

Not everyone in here is even talking. Neither Anna nor I are currently saying anything.

Mary Dill had ceased to scream, but still made plenty of noise with her wailing exclamations. Chatter seemed to come from everywhere. Once he’d pulled the gray-haired woman to her feet, she glared in Mary’s direction.

“What a ridiculous woman! Who does she think that she’s helping? She’s not even helping herself! Everyone is going to hate her soon. Some people already do.”

Timothy followed her nod to where Ginger glared daggers at Mary.

Some people handle stress and fear in different ways than others, I suppose. Still…

Anna still held her arm close to her side, but color had come back into her face as Timothy reached down to help her stand up. She shivered and her eyes traveled around the room. Timothy followed her gaze.

Two people, a man and woman who Timothy had often seen, stood beside Mary Dill, apparently trying to calm her. The woman’s hands shook while she spoke as soothingly as her shaking voice allowed and Timothy wondered if Mary even noticed. The two men who had been near the body, stood looking around and seemed to be conversing.

There’s no doubt that those two are related. They couldn’t hide it if they tried.

Both looked distressed. One of them frowned, before hurrying across the room. Ginger and Eddie stood together, neither speaking, Ginger still glaring.

Timothy looked back toward the window and sighed. Lord, I wish I knew what on earth was going on.

“How long has it been since the first explosion?” Anna asked quietly.

Timothy thought for a moment, but shook his head. “I really don’t know.”

“Half hour? Three hours? Time doesn’t seem to be keeping track.” The gray-haired woman sighed, then lowered herself into the chair she had fought with a few minutes before. “Why are you concerned about the time?”

“I’m not concerned. It’s just…” Anna bit her lip, gently this time. “I know it’s difficult to hear what’s going on outside, but shouldn’t we hear them by now?”

A shriek from Mary Dill caused everyone in the café to jump. Again.

The gray-haired woman stood. “Someone needs to slap some sense into that woman before we all go deaf!”

“Kimberly, don’t.” Anna shook her head, a pleading look on her face.

The woman stopped in the act of moving forward.

“She’s right.” Timothy could see the determined glint still lingering in Kimberly’s eyes. “You shouldn’t. It won’t help. Not for long, anyway.”

“Even a moment of silence would be glorious relief!”

Timothy bit back a laugh that quickly dissolved as soon as he recalled the gravity of the situation.

Anna nodded toward the exit. “I don’t suppose that the second explosion would have cleared a pathway on the other side door…”

Timothy tried pushing against the door again. It didn’t even shiver under his weight. “No. If anything, it’s holding stronger than before.”

Anna nodded a bit vacantly.

“What were you saying that we should be hearing, but aren’t?” He watched Anna’s face, her bright eyes clouded with pain. She still held her arm.

“Sirens.” Anna sighed and her eyes met his. “We should be hearing sirens, shouldn’t we?”

Timothy frowned and tried to listen. He heard nothing, even though he stood by the window. Granted, the noise indoors continued on, but something as piercing as sirens ought to have cut through. So, he thought.

Anna watched him, raising her eyebrows a little. “Wouldn’t the police and emergency personnel be running their sirens as they make their way to us?”

“I would think so.” Timothy wished yet again that he could see through the windows. “You’re right though. I don’t hear anything.”

“Then…” Anna lowered her voice to a whisper. “Where are the police and why aren’t they coming?”

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Chapter III – Adrian Terrence

Adrian Terrence nearly fell to the ground as the shock of the explosion ripped through the café. He crashed into the table in front of him, barely steadying himself, and looked up at his cousin. Xavier, already seated, had jolted against the table as well, but kept in his chair.

Screams and the sounds of glass breaking mixed with the roar around them, deepening the chaos and confusion. The lights went out and a sort of gray haze enveloped the café, as the noise died down.

A woman behind Xavier began screaming, her voice almost unearthly in the near silence following the explosion. Another woman struggled to her side, despite her large and rounded stomach making it difficult to move so soon after such a jolt.

His ears still ringing, Adrian stood up and looked around the café. The entire building felt like it had been rocked to its very foundation, but as far as he could tell in a few seconds, no one appeared injured or anything beyond frightened. A little girl hugged her stuffed bunny tighter, while she huddled in the back corner and stared at the hysterical woman. A man in a business suit followed a younger one in casual dress toward the front of the café.

Is it safe to go toward the glass? Lord, keep them safe if there is danger.

“Adrian! Are you okay?”

He felt a shake on his arm and turned, focusing on Xavier’s worried face. “I’m all right. Thanks. You?”

Xavier nodded.

He smiled briefly, despite needing to raise his voice over the screaming woman, then looked toward the door again, where the two men tried shaking and pushing. “It appears to be blocked.”

Xavier nodded again, but he had already looked down. “I noticed.”

Adrian strained to hear any other sounds; follow up explosions, screams, sirens. He couldn’t, however, hear anything from the outside, much as he wanted to.

Then again, why did I expect to hear anything with the noise in here? It’s foolish of me, really.

Xavier stood up. “Adrian, check your cell, will you? Mine isn’t working.”

“You’re already worried about your phone?” Adrian recognized the middle-aged woman who stopped in her tracks beside them, her gray eyes narrowed. He didn’t know her name. “There’s an explosion, screaming people, and an obvious emergency, and you’re worried about your phone?”

“My wife and her brother were planning to meet us here.” Xavier used the tone that Adrian recognized as the one he employed when attempting to hide his annoyance in court. “I need to know if she’s all right.”

The woman pursed her lips and moved away with a glare toward the wailing woman.

Adrian tried his phone one more time, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, Cousin. Mine isn’t working either.”

Xavier closed his eyes. If he hadn’t gone pale before, he did now. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to.

Adrian put a hand on his shoulder. “God will take care of them, Cousin.”

“Five minutes, Adrian. She said that they would be here within five minutes. Whatever it was, that explosion shook the ground in a wide radius, I’m sure.”

“God will still take care of them.”

Xavier took a deep breath. “You’re right. I know.” He sighed this time. “I know.”

Others began trying their phones, apparently coming up with the same answer as Adrian and Xavier. Adrian saw the little girl hug her bunny tighter as the clamor around her thickened with exclamations of fear and distress.

“That man! That man in the corner! He’s dead!”

Adrian spun around. Instant and utter silence filled the café. For a moment, everyone froze, except to move where they could follow the woman’s pointing finger. Even her wails had ceased after her exclamation.

Xavier, pushing aside his distress of a moment before, walked forward and Adrian followed him. A middle-aged man sat in the corner booth by the window, still upright and leaning against the wall, but not moving.

“He’s dead!” The renewed and piercing wail earned a hushing sound from somewhere.

Adrian held back as Xavier approached the man’s side. He watched his cousin try for a pulse and listen for a sign of breathing. After a brief moment, he shook his head.

“He’s gone.”

Wails ricocheted through the café again, ripping through the air and shredding every ear drum.

Did she know the man? She didn’t sound like she did a moment ago.

“Mary Dill!” The young waitress planted herself in front of the other woman and stamped her foot. “You get ahold of yourself! I don’t care if you’re two heads taller than me and twice as round; I don’t want to hear another shriek and neither does anyone else! Do you hear me?”

Adrian grimaced and several other people stared. Mary stood, mouth agape, the scream dead in her shock.

“We are locked in?” Xavier’s voice sounded quiet. “No back entrance? Anything?”

Another employee stepped forward, his carrot hair on end. His nametag declared his name to be Eddie. “No other entrance. The only other room is a break room and there’s no way out of there, except by way of the café.”

Xavier sighed, then gently shut the man’s eyes. He began pulling off his coat. Adrian watched him in silence.

“Should we move him?” Eddie spoke again.

“Not if we can help it.” Xavier laid the coat over the man’s face as he reclined against the wall.

Eddie looked at Adrian.

“Common procedure. We don’t really have anywhere to put him, anyway,” Adrian answered the look. He didn’t like the sound in Xavier’s voice.

Eddie shrugged, turning away.

Xavier watched him join the others, then stepped closer to his cousin.

Adrian glanced around the rest of the café. People exchanged worried glances or spoke in hushed tones. Mary Dill still remained silent. He looked over at Xavier. “What’s wrong?”

Xavier shook his head just barely, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I don’t want to say anything in front of everyone just yet. At the moment, it will only rile everyone up all the more.” He glanced around and lowered his voice even more. “Adrian, that man-”

He didn’t get to finish. Another explosion, stronger and, if possible, louder than the last, threw both men to the ground. Nearly everyone in the café joined them.

Mary Dill screamed.

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Chapter II – Ginger Thomas

Ginger Thomas had been employed at Café Chocolaté for over a year. When the explosion occurred, she had been trying to please her most persnickety customer. Again. The complaining woman jolted with everyone else, then spun away from the counter, screaming over and over at the top of her lungs.

Ginger couldn’t move. Her feet froze in place, yet her legs shook like jelly. “What was it? Louder than anything I’ve ever heard. What was it?” No one paid any attention to her mutterings or her shaking hands. She leaned against the counter in an attempt to steady her limbs.

The other woman changed from mere screaming to wailing a repeat of the same sentence over and over, bringing Ginger out of her haze. She glared at the woman, her normal dislike reaching new heights.

“You’re not the only one startled and frightened, Mary Dill. Stop acting so self-centered.” She crossed her shaking arms. “Too bad I won’t say it loud enough that she can hear me.”

Instantly self-conscious, Ginger looked around to see if anyone had heard her. No one seemed to have even looked her direction, much less noticed her speaking. Eddie, her fellow employee, had bolted from behind the counter to help a gray-haired woman on the other side to her feet. No one else stood anywhere near her. Ginger pouted a bit in the direction of the young man by the window, but he didn’t notice her either.

She sighed and glanced around at the café patrons. A few had phones out, chatter arising as the phones appeared to lack service. Ginger raised an eyebrow.

She could just hear bits of the conversation by the door. Not enough to satisfy her, but enough to assure her that they wouldn’t be getting out for help.

She watched the young auburn-haired woman with the puppy dog eyes head toward the window. Ginger uncrossed her arms and tucked a brown straggler into her ponytail.

If she can go talk to him, so can I. She hurried around the counter.

It took her longer to reach the two than she anticipated. When she did reach them, neither the man nor the woman seemed to notice her until she stood directly behind them. Timothy and Anna. Ginger knew everyone’s names.

No two people could look more different; he with his caramel-chocolate hair and pale blue eyes, and she with her auburn curls and bright green ones. Even Ginger couldn’t help noticing the contrast.

Anna’s voice shook just a little. “Mine wouldn’t go through. It didn’t even ring.”

“Mine doesn’t work either.”

Ginger crossed her arms again. “It doesn’t sound like anyone has a phone that’s working!”

She saw Timothy’s eyes widen just a bit. “Landline?”

Ginger shrugged, enjoying just a little of what she could see of the growing panic in Anna’s bright eyes. “It quit working yesterday.”

Anna took a shaky breath. “We have no phones at all?”

That’s pretty much what we just said, dearie. She silenced her internal dialogue before it could make its way to her tongue.

“The electricity appears to be out as well.” Timothy didn’t look at Ginger when he spoke, and it annoyed her.

“Which means all of our communication is cut off and we can’t leave with the door blocked either.” Anna’s voice still shook, but not as much. “What are we going to do?”

Ginger shook her head, dropping her arms. “No one got hurt. So, what do we need to call out for?”

Anna fully turned around this time, her eyebrows raised in astonishment. “To find out what is going on? To let others know that we’re all right?”

“We’ll find out soon enough, I imagine.”

The young man looked at her this time. Ginger smiled.

I know that his name is Timothy. Though I doubt that he knows my name. He’s never asked. She almost frowned at a new thought. Suppose he could have read my nametag though.

Timothy turned back to Anna. “Do you know of anyone that’s hurt?”

Why did he ask her? I just told him.

She shook her head. “No. It’s just that my father will want to know that I’m all right. I’m supposed to be heading over to meet him. If I don’t show up and I don’t answer my phone, he won’t know what has happened to me.”

“Does he know where you are?” Timothy asked.

Ginger frowned, but hurried to hide it when Timothy glanced her direction.

“Probably.” Anna shrugged, glancing back at Ginger and then up at Timothy again. “I’m usually here on Tuesday mornings, while he’s at his Bible Study.”

Ginger sniffed. Weird time of day for a Bible study.

“Then, he’ll probably figure some of it out.” Timothy sounded reassuring. His eyes strayed toward the useless windows. “We’re not the only ones who heard and felt that explosion. We’re probably not the only ones affected by it. It’s on the news or will be soon. Someone will figure out that we’re here and get us out.”

“Dad might get more worried, if he hears about the café. I’m sure there are others who have anxious family members on the outside too.”

Ginger opened her mouth to speak, but Mary Dill’s wails reached an ear-splitting decibel.

“That man! That man in the corner! He’s dead!”

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