Dome

by Bryan Young

  Tye looked down at the shorter yet more well-built boy and then back at his friends who were making their way towards them through the crowd. Shaking his head and motioning for them to stay put, he turned to Thad once more and calmly said, “First of all, no you wouldn’t. Second of all, I’m not gonna fight you, man. The whole point of this was to tell you this is stupid and—”

  “Aye! Yo bitch! Back up off my boy!” Brodie yelled from the sidelines, cutting off Tye. God damn it, Brodie, Tye thought to himself. “I swear to God, bro. I will whoop the white privilege out of you!” Brodie screamed, clapping his hands with each syllable for emphasis.

  “I appreciate it, Brodie. I really do. But please. Chill,” Tye said, once again calmly motioning for his friends to temper their heated emotions. The boys took a step back and Tye turned back to Thad only to see a fist heading in his direction. Once again, time seemed to slow down as he tilted his head and watched Thad’s bloodied knuckles sail past his face. Looking to his left, he saw another oncoming hook, which he again ducked with an exceptional reaction time.

  “C’mon man!” Tye said, half angry and half shocked. Sensing another swift punch coming from the right, he ducked again, sidestepping and catching Thad off-balance as he leaned under his missed punch. Tye gave Thad what he thought was a light push that sent him flying across the parking lot and to the other side of the street, where he landed hard in some thick bushes.

  Many of the onlookers stood with their mouths open in pure disbelief at the spectacle. Murmurs began in the crowd—people were wondering whether they’d actually witnessed Tye effortlessly push a well-built seventeen-year-old onto the other side of the street. The others knew they were witnessing something spectacular and resigned themselves to soak in the moment.

  Tye looked around at the faces, not quite sure of what had taken place. He looked over at Thad, who was groaning and as he felt around his body to check for broken bones and bruised limbs. Tye turned back to the crowd and spotted multiple phone cameras pointing at him, which had most likely captured the entirety of his extraordinary feat. He also noticed that Rakesh had disappeared, leaving him surrounded by cameras and questions.

  “Okay, so... For the record, I didn’t mean to do that!” Tye pleaded with the crowd. He gritted his teeth, looking back at what might be a seriously injured Thad. He noticed Brodie, Jax, Nathan, and Tony pushing through the crowd to surround their friend.

  “Alright, everyone! Get out of here!” Jax shouted, having zero effect on the crowd. He sighed and continued, “I heard someone called the cops, so if you don’t wanna explain why you witnessed assault, you better leave. Plus, I know half you people got weed and alcohol on you!”

  Like a swarm of insects reacting to light, the crowd scattered into their cars or running off in multiple directions.

  “Tye?” Nathan began. “We gotta talk.”

  “Yeah, we do...” Tye admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. The boys began walking back to Jax’s car, leaving Thad’s friends to attend to him in the bushes.

  Shutting the car door behind him, Tye finally had the chance to bring up what Gemma hold told him. “Before you guys grill me, I was talking to Gemma today and she told me something... Interesting.”

  “Interesting how?” Brodie asked.

  “Interesting as in, apparently people saw five pods leaving the crater,” Tye replied with wide eyes.

  “That sounds about right, right?” Tony asked.

  “No man!” Tye said, slightly annoyed. “Five pods left the crater in the beginning. But one of them came at me right after the other four disappeared. I think those are the four that shot up into the sky. Then, after... what happened, the one that attacked me sorta just disappeared. It didn’t shoot into the sky with the others. Apparently, that fifth light was a lot bigger than the others too.”

  “Well, that’s slightly concerning,” Nathan remarked.

  Tye scoffed. “Slightly? Guys if there was something else in that crater, people have to know, we have to...”

  Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, and a loud noise blared from the sky. Powerful soundwaves reverberated through the air, adding to the already quivering buildings. “Earthquake!” Tony shouted.

  “No!” Tye shouted back, gripping the seat in front of him tightly as his eyes remained fixed on something outside.

  After about fifteen seconds, Tye swung open the car door, nearly forcing it off its hinges. His friends followed suit, rushing out to see Tye staring up at the sky. They looked around to assess the damage but instead saw dozens of other people standing outside, looking up at the sky with intense and shocked expressions. As their heads panned up, they saw what appeared to be a bright-blue beam of energy piercing the sky.

  Chapter 5: Prelude

  Tye’s phone buzzed violently, snapping his attention from the sky as the shaking stopped. He fished it out of his pocket. It was an emergency broadcast message reading: “Emergency Alert: MASSIVE UNKNOWN OBJECT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS. THOSE IN AREA, EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

  “Shit... it wasn’t an earthquake...” Tye whispered. He quickly switched over to social media and saw thousands of posts talking about a massive earthquake that had hit nearly the entire state of California and something that was being described as a “giant blue dome.”

  Perplexed, Tye pulled up his news app and began watching the live news from Los Angeles. A well-dressed man standing on a ledge overlooking a pulsating blue orb emitting a bright blue light was in the middle of his report, “For those just joining us, a massive dome seems to have appeared over the Angeles National Forest,” he said in a shaky voice. “So far, we have no confirmed reports of injuries, but several known hikers in the area have been reported missing. Police and government officials are on the scene and as of now, we don’t have any information regarding the origin of this object. All attempts to enter the dome have proven unsuccessful. The White House and Homeland Security have issued a statement asking local residents to evacuate the area and move as far as possible.”

  Tye pocketed his phone and looked up at the sky briefly before walking over to his friends. He asked if they had seen the news. They all stared back and nodded their heads dismally. Tye exhaled. “Okay. Just so that I know I’m not crazy. What did you see?”

  “A uh... a massive fucking dome appeared in Southern California… I... Jesus Christ, dude... What the hell...?” Nathan squeaked. His eyes were watery and he was nearly ripping the hair off his head.

  “Did everyone else see the same thing?” Again, they all nodded. “Damn,” Tye said with a nervous laugh. “I was kinda hoping I’d gone insane.”

  Tony took a step forward. “You guys don’t think... You don’t think that thing has something to do with what we saw at the hills, do you?”

  “I think it has everything to do with what we saw in the hills, dude,” Brodie responded. He pulled out his phone, which was still streaming the news reports. “This bullshit right here is because of us!”

  “And what are we gonna do about it?” Tony countered. “We’re kids, man! The United States government doesn’t know what to do about that thing. How are we supposed to address it? I swear it’s got to be the size of the whole damn forest. And we still don’t know what it is!”

  “What about you?” Jax asked turning to Tye.

  “Me? I dunno, man. I mean... I’m not even sure that this is our problem to deal with. It’s not really like we could’ve known that going on a night hike would lead to... whatever is happening, right? Seems a bit beyond the scope of five teens. I honestly don’t think there’s much we can do.”

  “That’s not exactly what I meant,” Jax clarified. “I mean, you’re involved in this. What we saw at the hills. The weird trance-like state the lights put you in, that metal pod thing... stabbing you. The weird athletic abilities. And now this giant dome? I doubt any of this is unrelated.”

  Tye raised an eyebrow. “So, just because I’m involved, we’re
deferring to me now?”

  Nathan shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”

  Tye thought for a moment and responded, “Well, that’s a bad idea because I’ve no clue what to do.” Taking a second to look around, he saw a variety of reactions in the people around, from shock to fear to people praying on the streets. Tye felt a sudden deep sense of responsibility for everyone caught in whatever was about to come. A wave of sadness washed over him while regret and anger bubbled up from below. “But, something tells me that I can fix this.”

  “Forming an idea in your head there, chief?” Brodie asked.

  “Nothing concrete yet, but I think there’s some seeds that could grow into something big,” Tye answered with a smile, tapping his temple. He looked at the anticipating faces of his friends and his smile turned into a frown. “But, this is all getting pretty heavy. Can we maybe get away from this?” he said, motioning to scores of people on the street. “We can get into what I have in mind later.”

  “Bruh you sound like a cringey virgin that can’t just say what he wants. You can’t just tell us what’s on your mind?” Brodie replied with a laugh, breaking the tension of the moment.

  “Shut the hell up, Brodie,” Tye responded, fighting back laughter. “I just... Despite the craziness, I wanna spend the day with you guys and not focus on what happened at the hills.”

  “Tough ask but fair enough,” Tony said with a shrug.

  The boys proceeded to get into Jax’s car and drive through downtown, looking for another place to eat. As they made their way through the clogged road separating the two sides of the densely populated area, they noticed that both sidewalks were packed with people who had come to see the blue streak across the sky, and those who weren’t staring at it were glued to their phones tuning in to the various new stations. Crowds huddled together, watching subtitled reports on televisions through the windows of stores and restaurants. There wasn’t a soul who could tear themselves from a device streaming the news.

  “Looks like we really messed shit up, huh?” Tye said, looking out the window.

  “We? I didn’t touch the glowing alien thingy,” Nathan said, leaning forward.

  Tye shot him a look of annoyance and shook his head. “Where are we going, Jax?” Tye asked, ignoring Nathan.

  “Just a little diner I know of. It’s one of those low-key places that I go to when I want to get away from things. Perfect for the occasion,” Jax replied, pulling out his sunglasses from the glove compartment and placing them on his forehead.

  “Cool, man.” Tye shifted his attention to his phone to distract himself. Gemma and his dad had both messaged him a few minutes ago.

  Gemma: Where are you rn? Can you call me?

  Tye: With friends right now so can’t. Is something wrong??

  Gemma: Other than what’s happening on the news? Just... When you get home, call me. Okay?

  Tye: I will. Promise

  He then switched over to read what his dad had sent him.

  Dad: Are you okay?! Where are you?

  Tye: I’m fine. I’ll be home a bit later but I’m with the guys right now

  He turned off his phone and shut his eyes for the remainder of the ride, waking up when he heard a knock on the window. He looked up at his friends waiting impatiently outside the car in a parking lot with a lone diner. He yawned and stretched as he slowly made his way outside and followed his friends into the diner. Looking around at the nearly empty parking lot beside a long road facing thick woods, he rubbed his eyes and shouted at Jax.

  “Yo! Why are we in the middle of bumfuck nowhere?”

  “Because it’s a good place!” Jax shouted back, holding the door open as Brodie, Nathan, and Tony walked in, motioning for Tye to follow suit.

  Tye yawned once again, stretching his arms above his head, and followed his friends who had already found an empty table.

  The place was small and only had a few people eating their meals. It gave Tye a retro vibe as it sported neon coloring, black and white tile floors, and an old jukebox that was playing Bill Haley. The boys were talking and joking when a perky teenage waitress walked up in a crisp blue uniform with “Shelly’s Diner” in bold cursive across the front.

  “Hey Jax! Good to see you here again!” she said enthusiastically, a wide smile on her face. Her eyes softened as she looked at Tye and her voice took on a flirtier tone. “And I see you brought some cute friends with you!”

  Tye blushed and his eyes darted back and forth between the waitress and his menu.

  “Can I get y’all started with some drinks?” she said, addressing the whole group.

  “Actually, I think we’re ready to order!” Jax announced.

  “Uh. We are?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes!” Jax answered.

  “I don’t think—”

  “We’re gonna have five of the bottomless pancakes with some hog fried sides!” Jax quickly said, cutting Nathan off.

  “Dick,” Nathan cursed, wadding up a napkin and tossing it at Jax.

  “Hey! I swear you’ll like it.”

  “Jax is right!” the waitress interjected. “The bottomless pancakes and hog fried sides are some of our bestsellers, honey!”

  “I trust her, honey,” Tye said, winking at Nathan.

  “What are y’all doing up here anyway? If y’all live around Jax, that’s a good hour or so away.” the waitress asked.

  “Yeah, but we wanted to come see your beautiful face,” Jax replied, leaning in.

  Tye gave Jax a disgusted look and threw his hands up, mouthing “Dude, what the hell?”

  Jax smiled and mouthed back, “I can’t read lips.”

  Tye nodded and replied, “Aight then. Watch this.” He then turned to the waitress and said, “Yeah. We came up here to see your beautiful face, but Jax can only think about his girlfriend.”

  Jax glared at Tye, flipping him off next to the table.

  “Oh? You have a girlfriend, Jax? How cute! Funny. The way you’ve talked to me, one would’ve assumed you were flirtin’. Boy, I sure am glad I found out you’re not single. I was fixin’ to ask you on a date.”

  This made Jax grit his teeth and let out a fake laugh. “Hah! Yeah. It sure is good to be in a lovely... committed... relationship.”

  As she collected their menus, she said, “Ya know, I would think you’d wanna be with her during... whatever the hell is going on right now.”

  “Yeah. Jax isn’t the greatest boyfriend,” Tye commented with a chuckle. “As you can see.”

  “Oh I’m sure he’s just fine,” she replied. Her eye quickly caught the news report on a small TV suspended over the kitchen. “Gosh, I just... I wonder what’s going on down there you know? When I saw the news, I dang near broke down. It’s just so scary... If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s a sign from God himself.”

  “Eh. I don’t think so,” Tye responded, shaking his head.

  “Oh? So what’s your take on it then, cutie?” she asked, leaning in.

  “I dunno. I just think that if a god was going to give a sign, it would be more straightforward than a giant dome. I don’t think it’s meant to be a sign of anything.”

  “What do you think it’s meant to be?” Tony asked.

  Tye thought for a moment and said, “Hah... Well I don’t know. Who does? But, part of me thinks it’s less of a ‘sign’ and more its own thing, ya know? I think it exists because it has a purpose in and of itself. Not because it’s warning us about something else, if that makes sense.”

  “Wow! That’s a really smart guess! I like the way you think!” the waitress gushed.

  “Thank you!” Tye said coyly.

  She looked down at the menus for a second. As she began to walk away, she bit her lower lip, turned around suddenly, and briskly walked back to the table. She leaned over, motioning for the boys to lean in. She spoke in a whisper despite the nearly empty diner, “Okay so, I know I’m a bit of a gossip and I shouldn’t be sharing this but... Aunt Shelly has a really close cousin that w
orks for some high-up government people. He called us about thirty minutes ago. Kinda debriefing us on what’s been going on because lord knows Aunt Shelly is a bit of a worry wart.”

  “Holy freakin’ shit!” Tye said, his mouth dropping open.

  “Yeah. Holy freakin’ shit,” she said, laughing. “Apparently, whatever that thing is, it isn’t from any human society, which... duh. But he said they think it’s some really advanced tech... We can’t even get near the thing. Any technology that comes within 15 miles of it dies out. Not only that, but people who come within the same radius start getting sick.”

  “Sick how?” Brodie asked.

  “Sick like they start convulsing. At best? Hot flashes, throwing up, extreme fatigue, passing out. At worst? Full-on seizures. It’s like that thing has its own barrier protecting it.”

  “And they have no idea what it is?” Tye followed up.

  “Nope. Not at all,” she answered, shaking her head.

  “So, why not call a state of emergency? Isn’t it dangerous to just have everyone go on living their normal lives while this unknown thing is just... there?” Tye asked, pointing to the still-noticeable blue streak across the sky that shone through the glass panel windows.

  Her eyes darted to where Tye was pointing and she held her gaze there for a moment, fear washing over her face. She looked back and said, “Again, this just hearsay, but... what I heard from Aunt Shelly’s cousin is that none of the higher-ups wants to call a state of emergency because they dunno what the heck that thing is. I reckon they don’t wanna deal with mass hysteria before they know for a fact that they can’t contain that... thing.” She shrugged and continued, “Honestly, I think they’re just waiting for more information before an official decision is made on whether they’re gonna try and explain it all away or enforce martial law. Supposedly after tomorrow, they might be grounding all flights into Los Angeles. He was saying how they felt this thing showing up with them grounding all flights on the same day would make people freak out so take from that what you will.”

  Tye leaned back and put his fingers to his temple, making the “mind blown” motion, before thanking the waitress for her time.