Chapter 4: Don't Come Knocking at My Door

Chapter 4: Don’t come knocking at my door

The day had seamlessly made its journey into night as the James family had hustled about fortifying their house. Ben had just finished new security measures and ushered his family down stairs into the repurposed storm shelter. The generator is now silent the smell off fresh cut wood hangs about the basement as Ben swings around the rear of his workbench. The Depot which had been alive less than an hour earlier now stood in utter darkness. Gingerly the husky man shuffles deeper behind the bench to retrieve a plywood front he had constructed. He dutifully slides the fake panel between the wall and workbench it fits neatly in place. Squeezing his girth sideways down the length of the passageway Ben feels his way in the dark to the recessed door. Ben's burly hand finds the metal handle in the ink black confines with tug upwards the metal door whines open. He makes a mental note to oil the hinges on the door but he’d have time to do that later. All he knew to be important at the moment was that his family was safe. He ducks his large frame down slowly before entering the cramped shelter. An orange glow illuminates the inside of the structure there sitting in the center of the subterranean metal box was the rest of the James family. The children were still in party mode giggling and eating marshmallows with their bottom halves covered by sleeping bags. Ben struggles to turn in the tiny doorway he manages to come about. Reaching forward Ben grasps the heavy door yanking hard. The shock of the noise in the shelter silences the kids. Ben pulls the two levers on the back of the door in opposite directions creating a metal cross on the back of the door. Pistons drive themselves into the wall on either side of the door and at its top and bottom. The James family is now secure and together come what may in a room with six feet of head room and not much bigger than your average prison cell. Twelve foot wide by twenty feet deep with a small enclosure in the rear on the right that contained a no frills chemical toilet and sink basin.

“Hi Dad!” Brandon chirps from the center of the gathering. “Hey son….” Ben replies moving down onto the cement floor. He pushes his body into the double sleeping bag with his wife. Anne immediately wraps herself in her husband’s heavy comforting arms. “Dad …” Chip speaks up. “Why do you think nobody wanted to join up with us?” Ben looks across the orange light in the center of the family circle to his eldest. Benjamin James thought for a moment hunching his shoulders. “I don’t know Chip I think….. Maybe.” Ben looks quickly around his family biting his lower lip. “Maybe they think I’m overreacting or that I’m crazy.” From his left an indignant “huff” rose up as Belinda vaults to her feet. “You’re not crazy daddy!” The little girl places her hands on what would one day become her hips. “My daddy’s not crazy anybody says that and I’m gonna get’em!” Ben chuckles as his heart swells with pride. “You tell’em B!” Anne exclaims reaching for her daughter. Belinda wiggles into her parent’s sleeping bag. “Do you think you’re overreacting dad?” Ben Jr. quizzes. “Son when you don’t know you prepare for the unknown. If we knew what was going on we could prepare ourselves for it.” Ben sees a lot of his wife in his oldest son totally loyal as long as they knew the plan. “I believe you dad we gotta protect our family. It’s better for us to be safe than sorry I say.” With that Chip shoves his remaining marshmallow in his mouth. He reaches out with a fist to his dad who meets it with his fist. The boy drops down off his elbows pulling his sleeping bag over his head. Ben turns down the lantern and is serenaded by the sounds of sleep echoing around him. Ben falls asleep quickly embracing his daughter and his wife.

Ben awakes to a buzzing in his pocket he tries to reach it without moving to much. His daughter is plastered to his chest sleeping peacefully. His Smartphone’s battery was dying the screen blinks 10:18 am. Ben’s miffed he never sleep this late a days work had never taken this much out of him. According to the phone it was sunny outside and he’d missed six calls all from his neighbor Carl. Perplexed Ben sits up waking his daughter Belinda. The domino effect cascades around the small shelter first Anne, then Brandon and finally Ben junior stir from their sleep. The lantern light forces everyone to shield their eyes. Brandon stands over the light and pronounces “I’m hungry!” Anne sits up swiping her hair back over her head. “Alright gather round…” she stands moving to the impressive cache of stored food. “Honey …” Ben moves in behind her “I’m going topside to check out the house.” He whispers in her ear “Carl called me a few times this morning.” She nods in agreement over her shoulder. The couple parts ways with a tender kiss. “Brandon ……” Ben shouts “I’m going up top lock the door behind me.” The gangly preteen leaps over sleeping bags “Ok dad!” Behind him Ben hears Anne prepping breakfast for the kids. Ben pats his pocket for the pistol “Hey honey I’m going to grab the laptop and our phone chargers. I’ll plug them up to the generator for a bit today. I think we need to keep up with what’s going on for ourselves.” His son runs into his back in the darkened area “sorry dad…” the boy giggles. “Ok Ben that’s fine with Me.” she tells her husband. “Can you get my GamePlay charger too daddy?!” his little humming bird asks. “Oh mine too dad … Please … Please pleeaaaase!” Brandon pleads. “Dad since you is now taking request. Can you get my MP3 player charger too?!” “My boys are skillful.” Ben thinks to himself. They knew he wouldn’t tell Belinda “no.” So since their father was real big on “fairness.” He was honor bound to consent to all three requests. “Yes… Yes” Ben mumbles in frustration. Ben goes through the door “Now Brandon let me hear you lock it. I will knock once then pause and knock twice cool?” He rustles his son’s sandy curls with meaty hand. “Yeah dad I got it.” the boys closes the door and in seconds Ben hears the locking mechanisms deploy.

Ben clutches the gun tightly in both hands. He moves across the dark tomb like basement using his ears more than his eyes. There was no noise in the basement area and no footsteps from upstairs clapping the hardwood overhead. The man moves quietly up the stairs upon reaching the top. He breathlessly turns the lock on the door which opens smoothly. Ben steps out into the vacated upper part of the James home some sunlight filters in between boards on the windows. The house seems foreign to him momentarily he stands dumbfounded. Here he and his wife had lived and raised a family for almost two decades. Yet in less than a day the domicile has become sterile like a vacant hospital. He glides through the house finding the things he had been sent to retrieve. All appears quiet Ben finds himself relaxing somewhat. Soon walking back from the bedrooms his arms were full of electronics pistol dangling at his side. A thunderous racket arose from the front porch starling Ben. He drops the heavy gun on the floor with a clatter as he draws himself up against the hallway wall. Ben stands still against the wall from the corner of his eye he spies the gun on the floor as the footsteps stomp up the porch.

After some delay this week we are once again back in the world of The Living Dark. The James family has fortified their home but against what they don't know. Thus far Benjamin James the patriarch of the family feels an sense of unease about why he has abandoned his home. He has uprooted his family and they are living in their tornado shelter for the time being. Is he paranoid or just well ahead of the curve?


Check back the week of August 27th for Chapter 5 of The Living Dark



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Chapter 3: An Ounce of Prevention

Chapter 3: An Ounce of Prevention

Anne stands perched in the door way perplexed as her husband strips off his t-shirt. Conflicting emotions go from confusion to concern watching her Ben break into a jog. She steps from behind the screen door calling his name "Ben! Ben honey! What’s wrong?!" They meet on the ornate front white porch "Honey you're scaring me." Ben softly envelopes Anne in his beefy arms attempting to reassure and relay to his wife the gravity of the situation. "Right now nothing honey!" he tells her. He feels her trembling as they embrace "I woke up and you were gone babe. I panicked went checking the house for you." She stammers "The… the kids are awake and worried too and I ....." her husband interrupts "The kids are awake!" he exclaims "Good ... good excellent." He moves for the door but his wife holds tight like an anchor. "What's going on Ben!" she demands. Looking down to his wife Ben watches the men in the street disband and head home their separate ways. "Ok baby…” he concedes. “The short version of the story is this. The power is out globally to hell with EdCon at this point. Massive solar flares have left most of the world in the dark and there's no ETA as to when things will be back up. The military is mustering to step in but good luck with that. You remember Jamal …. Mohammed's son?!" Ben doesn't wait for acknowledgement as he babbles on. "Well he called home last night he told his mom and dad that there was rioting and looting in L.A. All around UCLA there is no law the entire state of California has fallen into chaos. I invited our neighbors to pool their resources with us and hunker down together but so far I got no takers which is for the better anyway. Anne by the time the sunsets I want to have this house reinforced and secured and us sleeping in the shelter downstairs." As Anne is now immobilized by Benjamin’s manic diatribe her mouth hung comically open. She nuzzles in closer to her mate feeling the warmth of his broad arms he'd always made her feel safe and it was useless for her to pretend otherwise. "Anne I'm not taking any chances..." he told his wife "you with me babe?" She’s mesmerized by his brown eyes as they stare at one another "yes" she croaks just above a whisper.

The couple burst through the door into the sparsely lit house and the rambunctious kids stop bickering immediately. Much like in any other species the young of the James clan knew when there parents are serious and they’re dead serious now. "Babies daddy needs you to pay attention!" Ben calls his family to attention. Unexpectedly he pauses consumed with the fear of losing them but from within his gut surges a geyser of pride. He knows his family is the reason why he’s paranoid. Why he takes unknown so serious because he couldn’t be without them. Belinda stands closest to her father a lean stringy nine year or with sandy brown curls tucked delicately behind her ears. She stares at "her daddy" in wonderment as she does most days. Anne had told Ben he'd needed to be firmer with her and learn to say “no” to her. He knew then and as he knows now that was legally impossible for him to do. Brandon leans on Ben Junior’s wheelchair his dusty locks of hair wildly frazzled after having suffered a headlock at the hands of his big brother. Ben speaks "We have work to do guys and we are up against the clock by the time the sunsets we need to be locked up tight downstairs. I have talked to your mother and she agrees with me. There is no time to talk to I'm going to be moving with a purpose guys and so will you. Once we're done tonight we can talk about what's going on but for now everybody has an assignment." Ben draws in a breath to continue when he notices Belinda's hand raised in the air as if she has a question. He smiles there’s no hiding his affections for "his baby girl." Pointing to the bubbly nine year old he acknowledges her dancing about "Yes Belinda." Placing her hands at her side she asks in a melodic tone just short of singing "even me daddy? Do I have a job too?" Ben had always imagined if a humming bird could talk it would sound like Belinda. "Yes my love even you have a job." he told her watching a smile broaden across her face.

Turning to his wife Ben's plan starts to unfold. "Honey I need you and Belinda to grab all the perishables you can find and cook them up or preserve them. I will turn the generator in the basement on today because we will need the power. We will work quickly to conserve power and hide the fact that we have electricity. Brandon I need you to get all the camping gear, clothes and supplies down into the storm shelter. Then I want you to find anything we can use as a weapon baseball bats, axes, sledge hammers anything." Ben counts off on his fingers "Chip you need to go to my room ...." Ben cast a guilty glance at his wife. "Uh …..Scratch that son you, me in the basement we are going to seal off the windows and doors in the house." Chip nods curtly to his father as he sets his wheelchair in motion passing the dinning room tables snatching up a lantern as he passes by. The boy moves easily through the house letting the chair roll as he too removes his shirt revealing a sculpted torso that would make any teenage boy envious. At the top of the stairs to the houses sub level he powers on the beacon sitting in his lap he expertly pops the front of his chair into a "wheelie." Cautiously in the dark he takes the stairs one at a time until he reaches what his father calls "The Depot." This from all appearances looks like a “Home Depot store” except one twentieth the size.

Benjamin James had a knack for purchasing in bulk and with no warehouse to store his tools and raw materials. He left them at home taking the tools and building materials he needed for the day or for the job. The boy rolls over to a tiny red LED hanging in the darkness. Clumsily his hand finds the switch and with a "pop" the generator his father had installed rumbles to life. A set of professionally strung auxiliary lights power up and Chip sets about readying his dad's tools on his bench. Chip hears his Dad come pounding down the stairs "I turned off all the light that can be seen from outside." He says breathlessly. "They're off and running upstairs son..." the two meet at the long workbench over half the basement wall. “Me and you we have the toughest job Junior." Chip agrees with his father's assessment. "We are going to board reinforce every door then board all the windows. Here's the trick though from the outside....." Benjamin pauses tapping his chin. "..From the outside the house has to look as normal as possible." "Got it!" Ben Jr. says pivoting his chair to a stack of fresh lumber at one end of "The Depot." Ben watches his son as he goes then turns his attention to the task at hand. The James Family moves about the house the rest of the daylight hours like worker ants about their nest. The faint sounds of the James men working can barely be heard on the dead end street. It rouses no attention as the house is slowly fortified. They labor against the fear of the unknown that comes with the darkness.

The James family has set in motion a plan to survive the coming storm thanks to Benjamin. A devoted father and loving husband who a deep seed fear of the unknown. What will the night bring?!


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Come back the week of August 19th and see.

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

‎Chapter 1: The Beginning of The End

"Man this shit is irritating." Benjamin James grumbles aloud to himself. "What'd you say honey?" his wife asks in passing as she enters the pitch black garage skillfully carrying a lit candle in her left hand. "Nothing Annie... don't worry about it. Watch out for the ladders hanging on the van." Anne James could read her husband's moods like an open book and he was pissed. He watches as she deftly maneuvers around the white paneled van parked before her and the past boxes he'd strewn across the floor. Slowly her beautiful face draws closer illuminated by the soft cone of light from the burning candle. There in his hand he felt it the massive flashlight he used during his days as a gravedigger. One of his many careers before finding his calling as a small business man. "James and Sons construction" was his life blood now and it had made things better for him and his family. He depresses the switch on the portable lantern's handle. In a brilliant flash comforting white light pushes the dark back into the musty corners of garage. "Found it!" He exclaims unintentionally shining the blinding beam at his wife . "Ah my eyes........ " the tall slender woman yelps shielding her face with her free hand. "Sorry babe" he blurts turning the light away just in time to see his wife tumble forward. With the grace of a man younger than his 40 years Benjamin vaults over boxes to catch his wife. While she struggles to keep the candle upright. Pressing in close to his wife "gotcha" he whispers into her ear.

With no power running the garage is a dusty dank sauna. She wipes the sweat from his brow then leans in gently to kiss his bronze cheek. "What's wrong Ben seriously?" She prods her husband of the last eighteen years. The husky man sighs deeply "Its just that the powers been out for over an hour now and EdCon has no eta on when it will be restored. I mean the kids are all over the place like this is a big game and all we can do is sit hear and watch several hundred dollars worth of food go to waste." Shaking his ample head in frustration he relaxes his grip on his wife but she doesn't move. "Babe this is exciting to the kids they don't realize the financial implications of a power outage they're kids honey! Relax our home owners policy will take care of us you saw to that." She smiles pushing a lock of blond hair from her face. Finally she sees a smile cracking the corners of his mouth. "Come on Jr. Wants to play a board game."

Together the couple heads back into the main house to a symphony of children laughing and tumbling about. Together they make their way to the front of the expansive house. Upon entering the living room Benjamin James brings the offending beam of light down upon his children. "Aw dad! Come on!" Shouts a preteen boy diving behind a love seat. He catches a pair of sock covered feet pulling themselves behind the sofa. The only child left is his eldest "Jr. Or Chip" as he was known in the James household. The boy held one hand up to his eyes using his remaining hand to steady his wheelchair. "Come on old man put down that beacon get over here and take this Monopoly butt kickin' like a man!" He chuckles rolling carelessly to the table. The entire house was set up to make it easier for Chip to glide through freely. Several hours and multiple jovial accusations of "cheating" later. The James children were sound asleep surrounded by their camping gear on the hardwood living room floor.

Ben and Anne sat on the couch snuggled together as Anne again took notice of her husbands inability to relax. His head seemed to be on a swivel all night which only served to increase the children's anxiety level. "Those were some bad storms weren't they honey?" Ben asked "yes babe but you have got to get over your irrational fear of tornadoes Ben. We have a solid storm shelter you built downstairs." She whispers rubbing his smooth bald head. "you want me to take your mind off of the weather babe?!" Pushing herself up on her husband's muscular lap. "No Anne.." he fumbles nervously "but I do think I should grab a gun from the safe just in case." Easing his wife gently off his lap back down onto the couch. He stands snatching up a small flashlight cautiously making his way down a long dark hallway to their bedroom. Emerging minutes later black revolver in hand.

Anne calls from the couch just above a whisper "honey why do you need a gun?! You're declaring war on twisters tonight?!" The tone in her voice made him awkwardly aware she was not happy with his rejection of her overt advances. "No Anne.. " he answered sheepishly "I checked the news on my phone earlier and the power is out to everything west of the Mississippi even in places where there was no storm." He leans forward using the guns muzzle to part the curtains on the large front bay window. The street was silent devoid of any life it seemed an unnatural shade of black. It appears foreign nothing like the street that had been their home for the past decade. Ben didn't like not knowing in fact he hated it. In his mind Phil Collins played on repeat reminding Ben that he too could "feel it coming in the air tonight." He withdrew the guns barrel letting the curtains close once more.

With our first post on "The Living Dark Facebook Page." We meet the James family our main characters in this ongoing Facebook serial. The family is in their home somewhere west of The Mississippi. They are suffering through a mid summer power outage thanks to some powerful "storms." So far we have met Benjamin James an African American forty year old self employed General Contractor. Ben has done physical labor his whole life so as a result he has considerable muscle mass on his husky frame. His wife Anne James who is in her late 30's and a native of Vermont. Benjamin James Jr.(Jr. Or Chip) is seventeen and wheelchair bound but still very much like his father. There are two yet introduced James children whom we shall meet in our next installment on Saturday August 4th!


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Sincerely



The Living Dark