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THE WORLD IS RAW WITH MADNESS

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The silence is deafening.

It’s like standing with you head in a blasting speaker, you can feel the vibrations of the music, but your ears cannot catch even a single sound. Yeah, that’s what this was like, soundless vibration.

Bertha blinked rapidly; panic filling her chest as she watched her mother join the shouting crowd. This wasn’t going to end well. Things like this never ended well. They had come to the docks, hoping to be evacuated. All the news outlets said there would be boats and helicopters waiting but when they arrived all they saw was high fences and guard towers. Bertha had been to the docks enough times to know that those fences and towers hadn’t always been there. And she’d seen enough television to know exactly what was going to happen next.

The crowd surged forward, forcing her to grip her mother’s hand tighter. She didn’t want to be swept into this. She just wanted to go. To leave and find somewhere safe, where it would just be her and her mama like always.

“War… Evacuation!” shouts from the crowd came in like rushing water. Shots of fire popped above their head and then finally all sound had returned.

“We want evacuation not war! We want to live!” her mother shouted along with the crowd. At some point they had made it to the very front of the horde. She pulled her mother’s hand, hoping to pull her back into the crowd. She was too easy a target here in the front. And with the look of agitation on the face of guard in the second tower, she knew her mother could be in some real danger.

“Please return to your homes, the boats for those coming from the lower zones will be here tomorrow,” shouted guard number one.

“Tomorrow?! They may be upon us by then! The news says that they’ve already taken over most of the west bank. How long will they have us wait to be saved?!” a voice behind her rang.

Bertha looked up at the woman shouting behind her. She was tall and tan, she looked like a giant towering over almost everyone else standing in the very front of the ever growing crowd. The woman had deep green eyes, high cheek bones, and a smooth olive complexion. She was dressed in a grey sweater with a brown and white striped shirt underneath; a tan trilby hat sat atop her brown hair, Bertha assumed it was long considering the size of the bun she had pulled it into; blue jeans and brown boots completed her outfit. Something about her seemed warm and oddly masculine. And just a tad familiar.

“Please return to your homes and come back tomorrow. The boats will be here in the morning and out by nine tomorrow night!” the first guard shouted, shifting his sniper rifle in his hand. Bertha turned from looking over the woman behind her to facing her mother. They needed to get out of there. And soon.

“Ma, I wanna go. We need to go!” she whispered fiercely. Her mother, Lucianna Ro or just Ro for short, turned and looked down at her only child. She opened her mouth to speak just as a gun shot went off. In a matter of moments the frustrated crowd turned into a surging sea of panicked bodies, all scrambling to escape what was sure to be a slaughter.

“Run, Tyfah! Run like hell and don’t look back!” her mother screamed, her brown face a washed in fear. Bertha shook her head furiously; there was no way in hell she was leaving her mother behind. They were all each other had.

“I’m right behind you, baby. I’ll be right behind you. I promise,” her mother cooed softly before pushing her forward. Bertha looked back for a moment before nodding her head and taking off. She knew her mother would be right behind her; Lucianna Ro always kept her promises, especially the ones she made to her daughter.

So Bertha ran as fast as her thick thighs would take her. Even when her leg cramped, sending a shooting pain up her spine, she still kept running, trying to break through the frenzied crowd and out from the docks. She clenched her teeth and panted as people screamed around her, shots still piercing through the air.

To her left she watched as a man, Mr. Braxton whom she had known her whole life, fall face first to the ground. The whole back of his head was peeled open like a ripe orange, blood and meat and bone and brain matter oozing down the back of his shattered skull. She felt herself heave, bile climbing swiftly up her throat and to her mouth. Just a she leaned forward to expel the foul liquid she felt a push on her back. She looked back at her glaring mother and nodded once again. Now was no time for sickness or grief. They still had to yet to break the crowd.

As she continued on she tried her best to ignore the crowd around her, focusing instead on the sound of her booted feet slapping against the pavement. She had always loved running, more because she had spent most of her young life doing it more than anything else.

“We’re almost out baby! Keep going!” she heard her mother yell behind her. She looked ahead and felt her chest tighten with joy, the gates leading to the low district- where they came from- were in sight. Just a few more yards and they’d be out, home free.

Her new found hope drove her to run faster, push harder. All she wanted to do was escape with her mother. They could figure out a plan of action later, once they’d made it back to their little hovel and raided what she was sure would be empty stores for supplies.

‘Finally,’ she thought as she raced through the gate and tried to catch her breath. She turned expecting her mother to be right behind her, breathing heavily through her nose like she usually did after an exhausting run. Instead all she saw was the crowd still scrambling and screaming, her mother nowhere in sight. Others, who had obviously thought to do the same as her and her mother rushed past her and into the cold night, some baring bullet wounds and others scratches and bruises from flailing hands and arms. But there was still no sign of her mother.

“Ma?!” she screamed after a moment, bouncing on her heels in anticipation, the bright lights of the street lamps illuminating her sweat drenched face. She wanted to go back in but she knew her mother wouldn’t have that.

“Ma?!” she screamed again, angry tears racing down her plump cheeks.

Just when she had decided to fuck her mother’s wishes and race back in she spotted her, the tall woman from before had Lucianna Ro slung across her back, slumped over and breathing heavily through her mouth. Something was wrong.

“MA!” she screamed in terror once they had gotten closer, she could see blood cascading from her mother’s mouth and nose, the woman from before stopped before her and took a few deep breaths before she opened her mouth to talk.

“I think a bullet punctured one of her lungs. Where’s your house?” she asked, her voice deeper than Bertha had expected.

“I… just follow me,” she muttered before quickly jogging in the direction of their shack. It wasn’t too far from the docks, just a few blocks and at the very edge of the district, surrounded by huge warehouses. She pushed the crooked door open and allowed the tall woman to step through. She watched as the woman placed her mother gently on the lumpy yellow couch situated against the wall in what they had made their living room.

“You got any alcohol?” the woman asked after a tense moment of silence. Bertha nodded her head and headed to the closet just down the hall a ways. Her mother kept her stash of booze there, under their winter clothes.

After pulling out a bottle of tequila, a few rags, and a thick duvet she made her way back to the woman. She was surprised to see the woman and her mother chatting like old friends. Well, actually, she was more surprised to see her mother conscious.

“Here,” she murmured as she rounded the corner and stepped fully into the room. The woman smiled softly down at her before taking the items from her hand. She gently threw the cover over Lucianna Ro before opening the bottle of tequila and taking a swig. She grunted at the burn and handed the bottle over to Lucianna Ro who took a deeper drink, only stopping when she felt the need to cough.

“I’m gonna die, Tyfah,” Lucianna Ro stated after a she had gotten over her coughing fit. Bertha nodded her head and sat beside her mother, taking hold of her thin hand. Her mother had beautiful hands. Long and slender like a pianist.

“Should I go to see if they really bring boats out tomorrow?” Bertha asked instead of acknowledging the fact that her mother was dying right before her eyes.

“No. There aren’t any boats coming for us. You’re gonna go with Celeste,” her mom said calmly before another fit of coughs raked her body. Bertha choked back a sob as she watch blood spray from her mother’s mouth.

“Don’t worry Lucy. I’ll take good care of lil Laty Lady here,” the woman, Celeste, said with conviction. Bertha looked between the two in confusion. How did they know each other?

“She’s an old friend, baby. A real old friend,” her mother murmured weakly, as if reading her mind. Bertha just nodded and laid her head on her mother’s chest. She could feel the warmth leaving her. She nuzzled her face against her mother and sighed contently as her mother played with a few strains of her hair.

“I love you baby,” her mother whispered softly. Bertha nodded and hid her face, she didn’t want her mother to see her cry. Her mother hated crying.

“I love you too, ma,” she whispered back softly. They stayed silent after that, the only sounds in the dark room was Lucianna Ro’s wheezing breath. And then, after five or so minutes, even that stopped and Bertha’s whole world went silent and still.

The day had started off like any other, really. Bertha had slept in again while Lucianna Ro made breakfast and cleaned up their little hole in the wall. At around noon Bertha finally got up and folded up her makeshift bed consisting of thick covers and a small mat. Once she was done she made her way down the hall and towards the kitchen, starving.

"Breakfast is in the oven," her mother said from her spot on their ugly yellow couch. They had found it in one of the abandoned warehouses along the docks and after cleaning it and letting it dry out they had finally brought it into the house. Bertha liked it, despite how lumpy it was. The color really livened up the otherwise dull sitting area.

Their little shack was more of a small wood cabin with one floor and a stuffy attic that they used only to hide their more valuable things. Usually things that Bertha had picked up whenever she went on a 'run'. The sitting area was the largest room in the hut and was connected to the small kitchenette. It was lined with green shag carpet wood paneled walls. Inside of it sat their yellow couch and a grey loveseat. They also had a small tv with antennas pointed in opposite directions. Bertha wasn't really sure how they had electricity seeing as her mother refused to work for any place that required her to have ID or give up any type of personal information. But they did and for that she was glad.

"Thanks, ma," she murmured softly with a slight smile as she made her way through the sitting area and into the kitchenette. She pulled the small oven opened and smiled at the plate that sat wrapped in foil. She pulled it out and smiled down at the tiny feast. Three stripes of bacon and four square waffles greeted her. It was the most she had had to eat in a while.

As she poured syrup over the hot waffles she wondered if her mother had had any thing to eat. Sometimes when they went through harder times her mother tended to starve herself so that her only daughter could have something in her stomach.

"Ma, you ate?" she asked as she walked out into the sitting room and sat on the gray loveseat. Lucianna Ro rolled her eyes at her daughter and nodded as she continued to watch the news. Bertha raised a brow at this. Her mother hated the news. And media in general. They only had the tv because when Bertha was smaller it was the only thing that could make her go to sleep.

"Something happen?" Bertha asked as she began to stuff her face. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until she took her first bit of waffle.

"I went to the market today and some ladies were talking about an outbreak. Some virus or something. I want to see if the news will say anything about it. You know how they like to keep things like this from us type of folks," her mother replied, her gaze still fixed on the televison screen.

Bertha nodded her head and watched along with her mother.

A half an hour later and the news still hadn't said anything about any type of outbreak. Bertha just shrugged and went back to the kitchen and cleaned her plate. Just as she was getting ready to put all the dishes away she heard her mother suck in her breath and raise the volume.

She turned and looked back to the tv where a blond woman sat behind a big gray desk, a map of the west bank and lower districts behind her.

"This just in; We have just recieved some rather distrubing news. It seems that there has been an outbreak of some type of airborn virus in the West Bank. Authorities are quaratining the area as we speak. Eye witness reports say that the scale of destruction and sickness in the West Bank is astounding. Authorities have yet to make a statement. However Mayor Rudolpho has issued an evacuation notice to all citizens in the Upper and Lower districts.

Residents of the 704 areas suggested to stay in the homes and wait until an evacuation notice is posted for them. Any citizens without transportation should head to the docks in Lower District 17. Boats and helicopters will be onsite to relocate all citizens.

We have been told that the virus is fast spreading and that their may have been a few citizens who escaped quarantine in the West Bank. It may very well be upon the Lower Districts by tomorrow," the news anchor stated before the screen went black. Bertha turned to look at her mother in shock. A virus was headed towards them?! How could that be?

"Go to the attic and get those two emergency duffles. Bring them down here and then get whatever you want that you can carry from your room. I'm going back to the market. Wait for me here," Lucianna Ro told her daughter. Bertha waited for her mother to exit their house before jumping into action. She knew protocol. They had prepared for this. Well not this exact situation but some like it. Her mother always thought a head and made sure to as prepared as she could.

Ever since Bertha was a small child she could remember her mother teaching her lessons and rules on survival. She didn't know exactly what her mother had done before she was born but she was sure it had something to do with the military or something like that. Lucianna Ro was a strong strict woman, though she had eased up on Bertha over the years. But she was always logical and calculative, rarely letting her emotions get the best of her. Hell, she'd probably only ever said 'I love you' once to Bertha before in her whole life.

In a blur Bertha went about her business. the duffles weren't too heavy, they were actually lighter than she had expected, so she figured it would be no harm in filling her's up a bit. Not with anything trivial, mind you. If she put something like her favorite teddy bear her mother would have her ass. Instead she put in things she knew she would want on a long journey. Soap, tooth paste, three new tooth burshes, a few oils for her hair, a wide tooth comb, two head bands, and a picture of her mother when she was young.

Of all the things she had packed that was probably the most important. In the pictured her mother sat with her blue jean clad legs spread wide, her elbows probed up on each thigh. She wore a black tank over her small torso and had her spread out around her like a green halo. Her dark skin glowed in the sunlight and she had a big smile on her face. Her mother looked happier in the picture than she had ever seen her before.

In all her twelve years she had never seen her mother smile like that.

Just as she finished her mother stepped through the door with a bag of what Bertha assumed were groceries. Her mother dumped the bag on the bed and opened it for Bertha to see what was inside. What she saw surprised her.

"Seeds?" she questioned, a little perplexed.

"Wherever we end up we're going to need to be self sufficient. You know they'll make promises and just as soon turn their backs to us," Lucianna Ro stated, scowling. Bertha just put the bag of seeds into her own duffle and looked to her mother expectantly.

"So when are we going to the docks?"

"I don't know that we should. I'm thinking maybe we see if we can charter a little boat for ourselves," her mother thought out loud.

"We don't have enough and I can't sneak and steal a boat for us. Not with how many people will be trying to do the same," Bertha concluded, thinking of the people coming from the Upper Drictricts to be evacuated. Most of them were rich or at least well off and would probably want to have private accomidations. Accomidations that government boats probably wouldn't be well suited for.

"Thsssk," her mother sucked her teeth," I guess we have no choice. We'd better leave soon so we can get a good spot on one of those boats."

"And if anything... if anything goes wrong we meet back here, okay?" Bertha sighed and nodded, hoping that things would go smoothly despite the feeling of dread building up inside her.