A Trip to Walmart

An unexpected trip to Walmart on Xmas eve after curfew. Greg just can't disappoint little Jesse.

Greg took off his helmet to meet her eyes and gave his wife the 16 ounces of steak he'd nearly risked his life for, hijacking a meat truck on it's way into the Commander's palace. Even being seen out there was a statement that you wanted to get your head blown clean off. Now Sheila had the nerve to ask the unthinkable. 

“Sheila you must be as crazy as you look to think that i'm going to go to the Walmart at this time of night. It takes preparation. The grid is up, and it's way past curfew. We'd need men,” explained Greg. He went to put his helmet and goggles in the wooden case next to the fireplace. 

“Well you'll be the one to explain to Jesse what happened to Santa this year.”

It was then that Greg noticed the face peeping around the doorjam to the kitchen. He froze and coughed. “How long have you been standing there?” he asked the little figure.

Jesse walked towards his father in slippered pajamas,clutching a stuffed penguin. The look on his son's face made Greg feel like he just kicked his favorite puppy.

“What happened to Santa, daddy?” Greg hesitated and held his breath for a second trying to feel around inside his head for an answer. Was there any way possible to get out of this alive? It was either dying out there on the streets and abandoned buildings, or dying inside at home knowing that he was the one to break his son's heart. He couldn't do it.

“Why, nothing at all Jess!” exclaimed Greg. He smiled as big as he could trying not to look like a raving lunatic. Sheila stared at him as if he'd just pulled a rabbit out of his mouth. “I was just on my way out to schedule an appointment for his visit,” smiled Greg as he tried to make it look like he was just getting his helmet and goggles to put them on, and then did so. “He's taking appointments this year.” Jesse's face converted to smile mode. 

“Well, be back in a while! I look forward to seeing what Santa brought you!” Greg grinned at his son while backing out the door. The image of Jesse waving good-bye was the last thing he saw as the door shut. “I'd like to see these presents too,” he said to himself. Nowhere to go but up.

Greg climbed up the steel rungs of the ladder fastened to the wall and rotated the crank to open the lid into the open air above. He could see his breath in the cold December air glistening upon the search lights that spanned the sky. He retrieved a pair of binoculars from his pack and scanned the area for options. 

He started to run, stopping in rhythm with the searchlights to keep to the cover of the buildings. He knew they weren't searching for him, but any movement would attract fire. Friendly fire or otherwise, it didn't matter. 

He stopped behind the bank parallel to Walmart. Peering around the corner he caught a glimpse of a large cadre of men keeping vigilant watch over their post. Through his binoculars Greg was made aware of the fact that these men had several pairs of arms and legs each. “Damn,” he cursed, “Why couldn't buying presents be as easy as when I was growing up? Now I have to face mutants. Great.”

Returning back behind the corner he started to calculate how many he could fight off before he was overwhelmed. He suddenly could imagine how painful being punched by 4 hands at once was. It made for a convincing argument to go back home. Greg leaned back against the wall and sighed. 

With a gravelly whisper like the sound sand makes when walked upon, fragments of wall came crumbling down his back and on to the floor. He turned around to find a barely visible groove set into the concrete of the wall. Taking a small knife from the back of his belt he continued to search for any depressions in the wall. After a few minutes of playing “Find the Recess,” Greg saw that he had made a makeshift stepladder in the wall with grooves large enough for someone's hands and feet to fit in. 

“Now if this ain't one of those Christmas miracles they talk about in the movies,” Greg marveled. He made a silent 'thank you' to whatever lone bank robber made his way onto the roof possible. In an instant, he effortlessly climbed up the wall, hoisting himself onto the roof of the bank. Standing at the edge of the roof, he took his grappling gun and aimed for an air vent on top of the Walmart. He made his shot. Bullseye. The hook landed inside the mouth of the vent and ever so quietly he made his way across. He suddenly felt a newfound spirit of Christmas cheer as he realized Santa would come through for Jesse after all.