Jenny Moon
It isn’t always the end of the world. But sometimes it is.
It all started, as so many things do, at home, which for Jenny Moon was Elizabeth, New Jersey. Jenny’s parents were considerably conservative (they never approved of Jennifer “mutilating” her given name), and Jenny was not. She listened to music they didn’t approve of, read books they didn’t like, and went to see movies they didn’t want her to see. The final straw came a week after her fifteenth birthday. She was out late, which wasn’t unusual, and when she walked in the door they had a speech prepared. Her newly dyed purple hair stalled that speech before it could even start.
Her parents ranted at her, screamed at her, “Jennifered” at her. But the worst of it wasn’t anything they said, it was something she let slip. In the heat of the argument, Jenny shouted at them “Yeah, well my girlfriend likes it!”
You could hear a pin drop. Jenny’s eyes grew wide, her mouth dropped open. Her mother began to cry, and for almost a minute her father was silent, highly unusual for him. Finally, he quietly said, “Get out.” Jenny finally exhaled, and headed to the stairs. “Yeah, I’ll stay out of your hair tonight, we can talk about it when-”
“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Her father bellowed. His face was redder than she’d ever seen it, his eyes like fire. But his words hit her like a slap. “Wait, what do you-” “GET OUT! You are no longer my daughter and you are no longer welcome here!” Jenny looked to her mother, but she just turned away, continuing to sob. “Look, Dad-” “You will address me as Mr Moon, if I allow you to address me at all. Now, leave or I’ll call the police and have you arrested for trespassing!”
That was the last time she ever saw her parents. Her father wouldn’t let her take any of her things, claiming that they belonged to him since he paid for them. So, penniless and owning only the clothes on her back, she headed to her girlfriend Teresa’s house. When Teresa answered the door, Jenny fell into her arms, sobbing. Teresa’s mother, who was also in the living room, asked who Jenny was. Teresa told her that she was a friend. For the second time that night, she was floored. “You didn’t tell them,” she stammered out. Teresa’s mother asked, “Tell them what… wait, you and she aren’t… MY GOD Teresa!”
Teresa held her hands up, as if to hold back her mother’s words. “Mom, I can explain…” “Explain what, that you’re dating a Chinese girl?!” Teresa shook her head. “Mom, she’s not Chinese, she’s Korean!” “And that makes what difference? Couldn’t you find a nice white girl if you’re going to be a lesbian?”
The world had gone crazy. She barely heard the conversation that followed, but when Teresa looked at her with regret, Jenny knew what was coming. “Look, Jenny…” Jenny shook her head frantically. “No no no no… Teresa, please no. I have nowhere else to go!” Teresa’s mother narrowed her eyes at her. “And that’s our problem how?” Teresa took Jenny outside. “Look… maybe we should pause things for a while.” “Until when? Until your parents aren’t racist and mine aren’t homophobes?” Teresa sighed, “Look… I have to live with them. It’s… it’s just not a good time.”
That was the last time she saw Teresa. She spent two nights in a friend’s house until she was discovered by their parents. Then she was truly homeless.
Two weeks later, she was stealing food from a corner store, when she ran into a group of older teens. They started to shout at her, but then the shopkeeper ran out, chasing her. As he passed the three teens, one of them stuck his leg out, causing the man to fall forward on his face. All three of the teens began laughing at him. He began shouting at them about calling the police, but they walked away laughing. Jenny, watching from an alleyway, watched as he went back into his shop, still screaming and cursing, then she made her way down the alley, taking refuge behind a dumpster.
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She had just ripped open the bag of chips when she realized that there was someone nearby. She looked up and saw the three teens. The girl of the group crouched down and asked, “Hey, you okay? That asshole hurt you?” Jenny shook her head. “No, I’m okay, thank you for that back there.” The guy who sent the shopkeeper sprawling shrugged and laughed. “Hey, gave him something else to worry about. You’re fast though, you’da outrun him.” The girl interjected, “You got anywhere to stay?” Jenny shook her head. The girl grinned. “Well, you do now. C’mon, let’s get you something to eat and some clothes.”
As it turned out, she had been saved by a street gang called the Vikings. The oldest of them was twenty, and they all had issues with authority. They put together two changes of clothes for Jenny, and after she showered they fed her. Her speed turned out to be an asset for them… she made a useful scout, and when they stole, she was given the best stuff to carry because no one could catch her. She rarely had to fight, but she still carried a pistol just in case.
Three years passed, and they became her family. She even got into a relationship with one girl, Kate, which lasted a few months. Then, late one November, the world went crazy again. Reports out of New York said that a bad flu had broken out, and people were partying like it was 1918. Deaths were rolling in faster than news reports could count, and then they started coming in from Chicago. DC. Los Angeles. If a flight leaving La Guardia could land there, people were getting sick. It was made worse by the fact the outbreak happened the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday. Stores were crowded, and sick people were making other people sick. It was like a zombie apocalypse.
Less than three weeks later, and society was breaking down. It turned out it wasn’t the flu, it was a bio-engineered strain of smallpox, and it was spread on paper money. So, anyone who came into contact with money was contagious. Which meant not just shoppers, but cops, firefighters, EMTs, everyone. A week after the beginning, Manhattan was completely quarantined, but by that time the poisoned cash was everywhere money could go. Not that anyone knew yet that money was the patient zero. Just that everyone was getting sick and New York was the epicenter. Which meant that Elizabeth, NJ (and the Vikings) were a stone’s throw away from the outbreak of the worst biological attack in human history.
With no emergency response left in the city, it became a prime target for looting, which meant that in the absence of law, gang rule was becoming law. The Vikings were at the top of Elizabeth’s food chain, which made most of them happy. Jenny was not one of them. When people had started dying, she had gone back home to check on her family, whether they wanted her to or not. The house was cordoned off with police tape, and sealed with thick plastic. Her mother made it a yearly habit to do all of their holiday shopping on Black Friday, and this year the cost was greater than the savings.
So it was that Jenny was on a supply run with Max and Blade (she knew his real name was Edwin. She also knew that he tended to attack anyone who called him that.) They were about to head back with a couple of bags full of items, when they saw movement down the street. Max said, “Hey, two donators down the street!” Blade said, “The word is fucking donors, man. Donators ain‘t a word.” Max snapped back, “Like I give a shit? They probably got stuff, right? Let’s go get it!” The two young men headed down the street, and Jenny followed along.
The young couple were making their way through the streets, heading south and likely, out of town. The roadways were impassible, and a working car was just a huge target anyway. When the pair spotted them, Max called out “Season’s greetings, friends. We’re collecting for the Salvation Army. How much can we put you down for?” The man of the couple said “Look, all we have is clothes and things, we’re just trying to leave the city.” Blade then said, “That sounds like a diss against our lovely city. I’m a civic minded young man, and I think I’d like to hear an apology.” He leveled his 9mm automatic at the man’s head. Max quickly pointed his at the woman. Both cowered, and the man started pleading. “No, look, I’m sorry okay? Here… take my backpack. It’s yours!”
Jenny’s heart sank. They had robbed people before, but it was always stores and such, and they had insurance. This… this was just people trying to escape a shit sandwich of a situation. Max, though, grinned and pushed forward. “Yeah, man, it’s ours. So’s everything! This city belongs to us, now. So we’ll be taking everything… including the stuff you’re wearing. Waste not, want not.” He looked to Blade, and then they both took more careful aim. The young couple huddled together. They knew their fate was unavoidable, now they just wanted their last moments to be together. Two shots rang out in the cold, still air. The couple looked up from each other, and saw Max and Blade lying on the ground, and Jenny with her pistol drawn, pointed at no one.
The young woman began sobbing, and the man said, “Oh my god, thank you! Thank you so much!” Jenny lowered her pistol and her head, and said, “Just leave.” The woman said, “Excuse me?” Jenny looked at them, and screamed, “LEAVE! Get out of here!” The pair screamed in shock, and started running south. Jenny dropped into the snow and leaned against a car. She was alone again. And then she realized she wasn’t. A man in a dark brown leather coat was walking toward her. He was dressed for the weather, but more than that, he had an assault rifle in his hands. She should have been scared, Jenny knew. Instead, she shook her head, dropped her pistol into the snow, and started laughing. “Man, you’ve got some great timing. Just fuckin’ do it. I don’t even care anymore.”
The man pulled the scarf down from his face and said, “I was going to, actually. I had all three of you, but you took out your two buddies. Why?” She took in a deep breath, feeling the cold for the first time since they found the couple. “Why? Because they were gonna kill those two and they hadn’t done anything to us. I mean, if someone hurts you then you hurt them, but they just wanted to get out of this shit. I can’t blame them.” There was a moment’s pause, and she figured that was the end of it. Then a gloved hand came into her view, open and extended. She looked up at him, and he was smiling down at her. “Girl, that’s about the best thing I’ve heard someone say since this shit started going down. Come on, let’s get you some food and water. I got a good feeling about you.”
Jenny took his hand, and he hoisted her easily to her feet. “Who the fuck are you, dude?” she finally asked. “Name’s Rick Davis. I’m with Homeland. I was part of a four man unit heading to Manhattan to aid in relief efforts, I’m the only one left. Seems to me you know what that’s like.” She nodded at him. “Yeah. But that shit you’re doing, I think I need some of that in my life. Mind if I come with?” He grinned, and tugged the scarf back over his mouth. “I was gonna ask if you hadn’t. So come on, let’s go. Daylight’s fading, and we’ve got work to do.”
