Hell Happened Read Online Free PDF Page A

scrambled for a card.
    Monica drew the three of hearts, Mike the five of spades. They’d take the first two shifts. Randy and Eddie both drew sevens and instead of arguing they said they’d both sit the watch together which would be in the middle of the night. Terrill drew the nine of spades and he’d be relieved by Kellie who drew the 10 of clubs. She’d wake Jerry for the morning shift because of his King of hearts.
    To Jerry, it seemed the card draw worked out well because he was always an early riser and no one else complained because maybe everyone was hoping Jeff and Tony would make it back yet tonight, meaning they wouldn’t have to pull their shift.
    That decision made, everyone finished off the food on their plates, leaving enough leftovers for the wayward two just in case, and took their plates and silverware to the kitchen. It was Jerry’s turn to wash dishes, Kellie’s turn to dry and stack. The others finished up any house cleaning chores they had.
    Terrill vacuum-sealed the leftovers and put them in the freezer. He knew the adage of wasting not.
    Monica had climbed the spiral staircase and Jerry could hear her grunting while lifting the manhole cover. He thought about going up to help her, but Mike put his hand out and whispered “She can do it. Let her do it,” then gave a little nod. Several grunts later, the hatch opened and Jerry could look all the way up and out to the stars above his hole in the hill.
    Monica looked down at him, sitting on the rim of the exit after squeezing her teenaged fat ass through the hatchway. Even from 30 feet below he could sense the accomplishment in her smile. Maybe for the first time in her life she was proud of herself for accomplishing something...even if it was just opening a hatch cover.
    Jerry waved and went to finish the dishes.
    Randy and Eddie had already put the night’s movie in the DVD and turned on the TV, but Jerry was pretty sure no one was going to watch the movie tonight. The boys plopped down on a pair of beanbag chairs and pulled out the hand held electronic games. They’d worked hard today and he was sure they’d not play long before going to bed.
    Mike picked up his Galaxy Tablet to read from, Terrill a book to read, while Kellie and Jerry finished the dishes and cleaned the table and kitchen. There was little talk at all.
    With the night’s chores done, Kellie said she was retiring because she’d have to be up early for her watch. She bade everyone a good night. She even climbed all the way to the top of the shelter to say good night to Monica.
    Jerry took the towels to the cellar and threw them in the dryer with a load of laundry Kellie had started earlier. He grabbed a pair of 10x42mm Trailblazer binoculars for the lookouts to use. Coming out of the cellar, he was thinking of what Jeff and Tony must be going through and it made him shiver a little. He knew he had to do something.
    “Boys,” he said to Randy and Eddie, “make sure you get some sleep tonight before your shift on watch.”
    “Okay, dad,” and “Sure thing, boss,” came the acknowledgements from the boys. He then climbed the spiral staircase, not for the first time thinking he should have put more effort into making the stairs wider and easier to climb. He passed by Kellie’s door and heard her humming a Reba song and it made him smile.
    Finishing his climb, Monica moved her big legs out of the way so he could exit through the hatch. He excused himself as he climbed through and stood atop his hill, his shelter, his world.
    He looked up to see the stars. Without mercury and sodium vapor lights glaring around his farm, the view of the sky was unusually clear. Stars were sharper than anytime he could remember as a child and he never tired of looking upward.
    He could see Venus, the bright, shiny blue planet, a hand’s breadth above the horizon, unblinking but brighter than anything in the sky. The moon, which would be near full tonight had yet to come across the horizon and