Yesterday's Gone: Season One

for Desmond.  
    “Yee-haw. Me too.” Jimmy opened his door and hit the concrete. John and Jimmy were just shy of Desmond when Paola opened the door and ran past the boys, in front of Desmond, then face first into a scream.  
    Desmond pulled Paola back, already hysterical. Mary rushed to her daughter. In front of the van, Mary saw what caused her daughter to shriek. It was all she could do not to follow suit.
    The twitching creature on the highway was human — mostly. Its face was pale black, with bright white balls of light pulsating under the glistening, mottled flesh. It had no mouth, eyes, or nose, and its legs were longer than they should’ve been. The body was moving, gasping in its death throes.  
    The sky got ashy and the twitcher started twitching more. As the sky grew darker, the thing’s jaw began to push out, stretching its head until a slash ripped horizontally above its jaw — forming a rudimentary mouth. From its newfound orifice, it gasped and groaned, as if trying to form words.  
    Desmond stepped toward the creature, and turned to Mary, “Cover her eyes.”
    Paola buried her face in her mother’s shoulder as Desmond aimed a pistol, a Glock, Mary believed, at the twitcher.  
    “What are you doing?” John screamed, knocking his hand away.
    Desmond lowered the gun, then turned to John with a glare, “You won’t be touching me when I’m aiming a loaded gun.”  
    “He needs help. You can’t just kill whoever you want. None of us agree to that.”
    Desmond raised the Glock and pulled the trigger. Twice. The light in the creature’s body seemed to flicker just before its head exploded in gore. Then, the lights went out and its body went limp and still.
    The shot sounded like a rolling detonation as it caromed across the emptiness.  
    “This is the Apocalypse, not a democracy,” Desmond said, “Let’s go.”  
    Desmond got back in the van and drove around the body without another word.  

    **

    Nothing but silence in the Suburban for several minutes. Mary wondered what Desmond knew that he wasn’t telling anyone else.  
    Sure, people had vanished, and an entire town wiped off the planet, but who said anything about an Apocalypse? There was no way to know how far spread this event was. No reason not to think that once they reached the Army base, they’d be transported somewhere where everything was still normal.
    Apocalypse?
    As much as she wanted to believe her hopes, something told her she was wrong, that Desmond was right, and everything had indeed changed. Forever.  
    She wanted to cry too, but she had to be strong for Paola. And for Jimmy, to an extent. Though he was practically an adult, so much about him was still a child. An orphan.
    “Where do you think everyone is?” Jimmy asked, breaking the silence.
    “I dunno,” Mary said. “I’m thinking of some sort of evacuation or something.”
    “No,” John said, “I mean, maybe if everyone from the same homes were gone. But my wife is gone, Jimmy’s family is gone. There’s no way the Army or anyone would be able to evacuate half of a family without waking the others. It doesn’t make any sense.”
    “Maybe they all raptured?” Paola offered. “God called all the believers home?”
    “That’s all bullshit make believe,” Jimmy said, “And besides, if there was a heaven, no fu... friggin’ way my dad was on the list. Believe you, me.”
    “Maybe aliens?” Paola said.
    Jimmy thought on that for a moment. “Now, that, I wouldn’t rule out. Though, that would be an awful lot of UFO’s to take all those people away.”
    “Maybe they didn’t take them away?” Paola countered. “Maybe they just killed everyone.”
    Mary flinched, catching a look from John. She made an “I’m sorry” face and his expression changed from scorn to understanding.
    “Let’s change the subject, huh? Why don’t we talk about ... I dunno, you all pick a topic.”
    Before they picked a topic, John slowed the Suburban. Desmond had stopped again, in the middle of a bridge, which ran maybe fifty yards, a few hundred feet above ground.
    “Why’s he stopping here? We’re nowhere near Fort Leonard Wood.”
    Desmond got out of the van and was looking up at the sky. And that’s when they saw them — birds. Lots of them, swarming and diving overhead and to the river below. Desmond walked toward the guardrail and looked down, then turned back to the Suburban and held up a hand, telling the others to stay put.
    Jimmy ignored