Dome

by Bryan Young

  Tye went silent again. He put his phone down and cursed loudly. “How do we do it?” he then said resolutely into his phone.

  “I can buy you a ticket out of SFO, but if it’s true that all planes are gonna be grounded then you have to leave tomorrow. Text me your email and I’ll send over everything. Tickets, hotel confirmations, anything you need.”

  “What time do I leave?”

  “I’m looking at flights to L.A. on my laptop right now. There seems to be a plane leaving at 11 AM. That should give you enough time to sleep.”

  “Okay. Okay. Just...send me everything by 8.”

  “Alright... And Tye... Thank you.”

  “Yeah. I gotta go to sleep but I’ll talk to you later, Gemma. I promise.”

  “Okay. Goodnight, Tye.”

  “Night, Gemma.”

  He hung up and texted Gemma his email address. As he plugged his phone into the charger next to him, he set the alarm for 6AM. Curling up in his comforter, he finally let his body shut down completely fell into a deep slumber, expecting tomorrow to be the day that would change him forever.

  Chapter 6: Journey to the Dome

  Despite the 6 AM alarm, Tye was up by 5 and already making his breakfast of nine eggs, four slices of toast, and a mug of hot chocolate. Having already showered, packed, dressed, and received his plane and hotel confirmations, he sat watching the morning news while enjoying his breakfast. The man from the previous day’s report was on screen, once again reporting on the mysterious dome. “We are in day two since the mysterious object took up residence over the Angeles National Forest. So far, there has been no indication of a change in the object’s presence. Sightseers have flown in from around the world to view the spectacle from afar. Sources on the ground tell us that government officials have conferred with scientists and are claiming that this is a weather anomaly.”

  “Weather anomaly? Hah!” Tye screamed at the TV with his mouth half-full of eggs and toast.

  He gulped down his hot chocolate, nearly scalding his tongue, then walked to his father’s room. His dad was still asleep, but he walked up to hug him regardless. He told him that he was going to stay at a Brodie’s house for a couple days but had to leave early because they were going to spend their day off fishing with Jax, Nathan, and Tony. He then assured him that he would make sure to be at school on Tuesday. Barely awake, his dad hugged him back and made sure to say “I love you” before Tye walked out the door waving goodbye.

  He went to his room, grabbed his backpack, phone, wallet, and keys. He then walked outside into the cool morning air. As he was about to set off, he realized that he had forgotten to put on something warm. He ran back inside to grab an orange hoodie with an image of a shrugging stick figure in the front along with a caption that read “This Hoodie Doesn’t Matter.”

  He chuckled to himself at his nihilistic clothing. In a strange way, it filled him with a sense of confidence. It reminded that he shouldn’t take life too seriously and that he could ultimately find peace in the lack of objective meaning in the universe. He realized that his life and purpose were his choice and there was no reason he shouldn’t take the opportunity to do what he felt was right. Not fate, nor a God, nor the universe was conspiring against him or propelling him forward. He was, in essence, completely a product of randomness and his own subjective worldviews, and he was at peace with that.

  With this newfound confidence, he put in his headphones and strolled to the train station, catching the first train to San Francisco Airport. The ride to the airport gave Tye time to think and reflect on the events of the past few days. He reflected upon his friends, his family, and his life. He wondered if and how things might change in the future and how his recent abilities were related to the dome.

  He pulled out his phone from his hoodie and drafted a text to the group chat he shared with the other four boys: “On my way to L.A. to figure all this out. Told my dad I was staying at Brodie’s house for a couple of days, so imma need you guys to cover for me if need be. Jax, your bro can probably call in sick for me if I don’t make it back by Tuesday morning. You guys are my brothers and I love you fellas.”

  After about an hour, Tye arrived at the airport. He had always hated going through the tedious and somewhat stressful airport procedures. Moreover, never in his life had he boarded a plane by himself. Normally he would have complained about the experience. However, at this particular time, he was completely focused on the task at hand, going through all the procedures stoically and making his way to the waiting area.

  Scrolling through his phone waiting for the plane to arrive, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He looked behind, confused, but saw nothing out of the ordinary, so he shrugged it off and returned to browing the internet.

  About five minutes later, he got the same sense and looked around. Again, no one. He moved to a different spot for the rest of the wait time and listened to music, occasionally looking back to see if he could spot anyone suspicious in the crowd. After over an hour of waiting, it was time for the plane to start boarding. He promptly got up to have his ticket checked, forgetting about the strange sense of being watched.

  On the plane, he quickly found his seat and slid his backpack between his legs and the seat in front of him. He stared out the window, waiting for the plane to take off when a large sweaty man, scarfing down a bag of chips, took the seat next to him. The man smelled of cheap cologne that hid pungent body odor and had strange stains all over his clothes. The man frantically reached inside his jacket’s pocket and took out a packet of ranch to dip his chips in but before he could indulge in his snack, he sneezed and accidentally poured a good amount on the sleeve of Tye’s hoodie.

  Tye looked over, gagged, and softly muttered, “Aw! C’mon man!”

  The man leaned in asked, “Did you say something, boy?!” the foul smell coming from his mouth immediately stung Tye’s nose, forcing him to hold his breath and shake his head, tears forming in his eyes. The large unsightly man shrugged and began emphatically snacking on his chips again, chewing loud enough for the entire cabin to hear.

  Just as Tye was about to turn his music up to a level that would surely make him deaf to distract himself, a young girl walked up and began speaking to the man.

  The two conversed for a few seconds before the man got up and walked to the front of the plane and the girl took his place. Tye did a quick mental fist pump and was about to look back out the window when he had the now-familiar feeling of someone staring at him.

  He turned to meet her gaze. She was studying his every feature, probably contemplating if she had recognized him. He pulled out his earbuds and raised his eyebrows in question. “Hi...? Is there something wrong?” he asked slowly.

  She shook her head as if she had been broken from a stupor and a wide smile formed on her face. “You’re him!” she said excitedly. “You’re the guy!”

  Tye’s eyes widened and he looked around confused before pointing to himself. “Me? I’m the guy? What guy?”

  “Yes!” she cried, nodding furiously. “You know! The guy from that viral video!”

  Tye scoffed and nervously laughed. “Viral video? As much as this beautiful face deserves to be plastered all over the internet, I don’t think I have that type of allure.” he said feigning ignorance, trying to diffuse the attention he was getting.

  She rolled her eyes and quickly pulled out her phone from her bag. She found the video of him pushing Thad, pausing at a clear shot of his face. “There!” she exclaimed triumphantly, pointing to Tye in the video. “You’re literally the same guy!”

  Tye exhaled deeply in defeat, pushing the girl’s phone down into her lap and asking her to keep quiet. He whispered to her, “Okay, okay. You’re right! That’s me. Just... Please keep quiet.”

  “I knew it!” she howled. “Oh! By the way, my name is Bhavna! Ah this is so cool! A real viral star is sitting right next to me! So many people have tried to prove that the video is fake but even the best of the experts haven’t been able
to do it yet! You know what I think?”

  “What do you think? And remember...” Tye put one finger to his lips and lowered his palm to indicate low volume.

  She awkwardly winked at him and said, “I think you really pushed that guy. I think you may have...” She then leaned into Tye’s ear and whispered, “I think you have a gift...”

  Tye let out another nervous laugh and said, “Yeah, I guess you could say that. A lot has happened of late and trust me, I’m still trying to figure out what the hell is going on.”

  “Do you mean that big thing that's showed up? Is that why you’re going to L.A.? Aw. I totally thought you got a movie deal or something!” she said with disappointment.

  “Movie deal? I think it takes more than one viral video to get a movie deal. Or at least, it should in theory. What about you?”

  “I just have some friends there. If there’s anything you ever need, feel free to hit me up! Oh and if you need to rent a car down there—because between you and me, Uber is just not worth it—look up ‘ASAP Cars.’ Trust me, you’ll get a good deal,” she said with a wink.

  “Um, sure? I’ll do that!” he replied, bemused.

  The two exchanged contact information and then Tye decided to sleep for the rest of the plane ride, trying to avoid further conversation. He woke up to Bhavna tapping his arm, telling him that they had landed. With a yawn, he made his way off the plane and out of the airport.

  Outside, he immediately noticed the bright blue light in the sky and the top of the dome it emanated from. He also noticed nearly every single person leaving the airport and the many bystanders standing in awe of the sight, taking pictures and excitedly talking over the phone. You guys really don’t know what you’re posting to your social media. That thing could be our deaths, he thought to himself.

  He flagged down a taxi and as they made their way to his hotel, he awkwardly nodded through the taxi driver’s rant about how much he hated ride sharing. Once he was in his room, he immediately dropped his bags onto the floor and flopped on the bed.

  He lay there face down for about five minutes, not moving, until he heard his phone buzz. He slowly reached for it and saw it was a text from Gemma.

  Gemma: Hey!

  Tye: Yo!

  Gemma: Did you make it there safe?

  Tye: Yes, ma’am

  Gemma: Great! So do you know how you’re going to get to the dome?

  Tye thought for a moment, realizing he had no idea. Until now, the biggest obstacle had been getting to L.A. He hadn’t really planned out what was next. Bhavna and her suggestion came to his mind and with it, the seeds of a plan.

  Tye: Actually. I may have a way of doing it

  Gemma: Oh? Is this a way that’s going to get you killed?

  Tye: Maybe, but so could a giant alien dome, right?

  Tye quickly searched ‘ASAP Cars’ and found that the shop was within walking distance of his hotel. He unpacked his backpack, leaving nothing inside except an external charger, his toothbrush and toothpaste, his wallet, and a small collapsable sleeping pad. “But before I go. I probably can’t be exploring around with this nasty ass thing.” Looking around at the clothes he had thrown on the floor, one piece caught his eye in particular. He pulled out a red hoodie with a lemniscate overlapping a lightning bolt in the center, “Not as fun but it’ll do.” He gave the room a final look-over for anything else he might need and walked out the door and out of the building.

  Outside, scores of people were standing and observing the strange phenomenon looming over them from the sky. A deep feeling of worry and discomfort came over him. He shook his head and began briskly walking towards the rental shop, putting in his earbuds to distract himself from the sight.

  He stopped at a convenience store on the way to grab some snacks and a soda along with a lighter and a flashlight in case he needed a source of heat and light inside the dome. He took out his earbuds and hung them around his neck to look for the items he needed.

  In the candy aisle, he heard a couple nearby discussing the dome. The wife spoke with fear in her voice as she clung to her husband’s arm, almost as if the dome itself was listening to her. “I just... I don’t know, babe. Maybe we should get out of L.A. We can stay with my sister in Florida. I just don’t feel comfortable around that thing.”

  The man laughed at his wife’s suggestion and said, “Babe, we’ll be fine. The military has that thing contained. Hell, most of Pasadena is blocked off. I’m sure they’ve got it all under control. We just have to give it time.”

  “They told us to evacuate for a reason, Manuel!”

  “They said people in the area should evacuate. Doesn’t necessarily mean us! We’re far enough away. We’ll be fine, I promise,” he said, kissing her forehead.

  She buried her head in his arms, not calmed in the slightest by her husband’s reassurance and they continued to argue as they walked out of the store.

  Intrigued by her statement, Tye quickly went to the news app on his phone to see if there was more information. He saw the same well-dressed man giving his update, “We are now in day two of this mysterious dome taking up residence over the Angeles National Forest! From our sources on the ground, temporary barricades have been set up around Pasadena and all entrance into the area is being restricted. Though the military is spread thin around the dome, many people have already been stopped from making mad dashes towards to object. More to come at...” he switched to his maps app and saw that Pasadena was only a 10 mile drive from the Angeles National Forest.

  Tye contemplated their words. He left the aisle and brought the items to the counter, thinking to himself, So, apparently, there isn’t much protecting the dome right now except for maybe some guys with guns and a few barricades? Hypothetically... I wonder if I could sneak past and drive all the way through? He paused to consider it for a moment. I think I gotta do it either way, right? Best chance I have. After buying his items, he made the short walk to ASAP Cars.

  As he strolled past the cars in the parking lot of a small car rental shop, his nose picked up a distinct smell that immediately registered as familiar from back home.

  “Why the hell does this place smell like weed?” he asked himself, confused. “These guys are smoking while operating vehicles in a professional environment? That’s... uh... Not the smartest thing for a person to do.

  Inside, a scraggly young man was leaning back in a chair. He quickly blew out smoke and stood to attention as Tye walked in. “Hello! Welcome to Cars ASAP!”

  “Cars ASAP? Oh, this must be a different place. I’m looking for ASAP Cars?” Tye asked, confused.

  “No, this is ASAP Cars! I'm Chad! What do I need from you today?”

  Tye chuckled and shook his head. “Yo, Chad. I’m Tye. Well, what I need from you is a car rental. Something without electronics. That work for you, man?”

  “Yeah! Sounds perfect!” Chad said walking out from behind the counter, dropping something in the process. He turned his head to look at the small, nearly used up blunt on the ground and smiled. He turned back to Tye and laughed, “Wild!”

  The two walked over to the lot and Tye inspected the cars thoroughly. “These are nice. Where are the non-electric ones?”

  “Non-electric? None of these are electric, bro. We can’t afford electric cars.”

  “No, I mean cars with no electronic components. Something that could say... Survive an EMP?”

  Chad scratched the back of his head. EMP survival? Nah, we don’t have those here. I think you’d struggle to find a car like that to rent by the hour. They don’t make ’em like my girl anymore.”

  “Wait, your girl?” Tye asked, stepping forward.

  “Oh yeah, bro. My car is totally survival proof. I don’t really trust the government or automation. Robots and hackers are gonna be the end of us, little bro. If they can hack your house and transportation? Game over, man. Game over. Mine is an oldie but a beauty.”

  Fighting back the urge to walk away from what seemed to be an extremely paran
oid and unhinged individual, an idea popped into Tye’s head. “Hey, man. I couldn’t tell, but you smoke, right?”

  “Bro, I blaze for real. 24/7, no joke. But the only reason I could smoke today was because I guess my boss is freaked out about the dome, so he left the shop to good ol’ responsible Chad. Sucks that I smoked all my shit and now I’m coming down a bit though.”

  The gears in Tye’s head began to turn. “Yo, man. What if you could get more weed?”

  “I would bro, but I lost my phone and I can’t just leave the shop. I told you, bro. I’m responsible!”

  “Yeah, super responsible!” Tye said with a chuckle. “But dude... What if I told you I’m on my way to get some weed, and I could bring some here?”

  “Oh dude... No way. How much would I owe you?”

  “Don’t worry about that. I just need transportation.”

  “Hmm. Oh! I see what you’re doing...”

  “What’s that?”

  “You want to use one of my rental cars for free! No sir! That’d be irresponsible! Plus what if you stole one of them and wrecked it! Or even worse, lost the product in the car? RIP to the ganja and RIP to me, bro. But what if...”

  “What if...”

  “What if you used my car to bring the weed here? At least you won’t be using one of the rentals that way. As long as you pay a deposit.”

  Tye’s eyebrows dropped and his arms hung low when Chad had mentioned paying money to take his car out. “High enough to let a stranger use your car but coherent enough to make him pay for it? Aight, Chad.” He mumbled, reaching into his wallet and pulling out $50. “This good enough?”

  “Muy gracias!” Chad said, grabbing the money.

  Tye rolled his eyes and asked, “Where are your keys? I’ll be right back!”

  Chad nodded furiously, giddy with excitement. He fumbled for the keys in his pocket before handing them to Tye. “It’s the light blue beauty parked on the sidewalk. You know the one!”