The Resurgent

by Blake Wilbanks

  “And you?” asked Andrew. “How was your day?”

  “It was good,” she said.

  “Was it now?”

  “Mmhm,” she said. “I got some things done around the house, went through some things because I’m thinking about having a garage sale, then I went grocery shopping, and after that, I came home, put everything away, and then made dinner.”

  Andrew smiled. “Would you like to order take-away tomorrow? You could have a break from cooking, and we could order a few pizzas, then have a family movie night, if you’re up for it.”

  “Okay,” said Eliza, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Sounds good to me. What about you Xavier? Are you okay with pizza tomorrow?”

  Xavier nodded and gave a little hum in response. He wasn’t really paying attention. In fact, he had tuned them out for most of their conversation.

  Even at dinner, his thoughts kept straying back to the image of what he had seen that morning. He couldn’t decide if he had imagined it or not. But he had to have imagined it because Demetria hadn’t seen it and she had looked at him as if he were crazy when he asked her about it.

  He ate the rest of his dinner in silence, listening to his mother and father speak about what they were going to do together the next day since he was off—finally—and she had nothing to do. He only heard a few words of what they were saying when he could stray far enough away from the image that was seemingly etched into his brain.

  When he was done with his dinner, he excused himself and went back up to his room. He didn’t have long before he had to go to bed, so he sat back at his desk and forced himself, though harder than it should have been, to finish the rest of his homework. And then he forced himself into a restless sleep.

  Through the night he woke up a few times. The image still stuck in his mind, and he didn’t know why.

  It just was.

  CHAPTER

  FOUR

  XANDER WOKE WITH a jolt. He bolted in an upright position. His breathing was rough and his heart was beating at a rapid pace. It was beating so fast that it felt as if it were going to burst out of his chest and onto the blankets that covered his lower half.

  His head was a pounding mess. It hurt so bad he had to close his eyes to relieve some of the pain and even that wasn't enough.

  He pushed himself out of bed and made his way downstairs to get a drink of water. When he made it to the end of the stairs; he could hear muffled voices coming from the living room.

  Confused, Xavier decided to check up on it. He expected to see his parents quietly conversing on the couch, but they weren't. The television was on, at a low volume, showing the news.

  Xavier moved to turn away but the headline at the bottom of the TV screen caught his eye and he gave it his undivided attention. He leaned against the doorway of the living room and stared at the Television with interest.

  Rare Phenomenon: Ripples in sky.

  Only happens every few thousand years.

  They then proceeded to show a few pictures.

  They looked exactly like what he had seen the morning prior. A ripple effect in the sky.

  Xavier grabbed for the remote and turned the volume up a few notches so that he could hear better.

  "This rare phenomenon only happens every few thousand years," said the News Anchor. "According to scientist, we are extremely lucky for it to have even happened in our lifetime. When I sat down with Eric Locke, he informed me that this rare phenomenon has struck us fairly early."

  "How early, Tom?" asked the female news anchor that sat beside the male news anchor.

  "Well," said Tom, an indignant smile on his face. "It is 250 years early, to be exact.”

  Xavier sighed. If it was only a rare phenomenon, then he didn’t really have anything to worry about.

  That thought put his mind at ease and he could feel himself relax for the first time in hours. He turned off the TV and then went into the kitchen to get himself something to drink—a warm glass of milk to relax even more.

  He drank it down in a few large gulps, then set it gently in the sink. He then made his way back up the stairs and tucked himself back in bed so that he could sleep for a few more hours.

  Xavier was told to stay home from school the next day. He had a mild fever, but it was enough to make his mother worry.

  He wasn’t allowed to leave his bed unless it was to use the bathroom or get himself something to drink.

  He was put on bed rest until his mother and father got back home from visiting his grandmother and grandfather in Glendale on his dads’ side.

  He shifted uncomfortably, trying to get comfortable enough to go back to sleep for a few hours, just to pass the time. It was all he could do, really.

  It didn’t take long for sleep to overcome him. He was really tired from when he woke up in the middle of the night. But he slept with peace of mind, knowing that what he had seen the day before was just a rare phenomenon that only happened every few thousand years.

  It was a real relief.

  Xavier slept well. He woke a few hours later to someone—his mother—shaking him, gently.

  “Wake up, sweetie,” she said.

  Xavier groaned, and shifted a little, trying to get comfortable again.

  There was a long moment of silence. The only sound that could be heard was his soft rhythmic breathing. He was almost back asleep when his mother spoke again.

  “Come on, sweetie,” she said. “You need to wake up. You haven’t eaten anything since this morning. I brought you some soup, but if you feel good enough to eat solids I made you a sandwich as well.”

  He opened his eyes a little, just enough to see his mother leaning over him with a small smile on her face. He sucked in a deep breath of air then turned over onto his back, looking back up at her. He felt fine, just a little tired. He wanted nothing more than to be able to sleep for the rest of the day without any interruptions.

  “I’m fine, mom. I just want to sleep for a bit more,” he said. “I’ll eat in a bit if that’s okay.”

  Eliza sighed. She stood up straighter and nodded her head. “Okay,” she said. “In an hour I’ll come wake you up, and then you can eat. Sound good?”

  Xavier gave a lazy nod, and then his mother left the room and made her way back downstairs.

  Xavier stared up at the ceiling for a good while. He was almost fully awake now, and no matter how hard he tried to get to sleep, he couldn’t. His mind wouldn’t shut off now that it was awake.

  He heaved an almost annoyed sigh, and pushed himself forward, and onto his feet. He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where his parents were seated eating a very simple meal—a sandwich with a side of potato chips. It was simple, but it was good enough for when someone was really hungry and they didn’t feel like cooking. Which had to have been the case, because Xavier’s mother hated simple meals that required minimal effort, she prided herself in almost always cooking a big hearty meal that would be sure to fill them up.

  It made sense though. She was a Chef and loved cooking almost anything and everything.

  Whenever she wasn’t working, she was either taking care of things around the house, taking care of Xavier, or running errands.

  Xavier wondered how she did it sometimes. How she could stand cooking all day at work and then coming home just to cook for them. It seemed like something that one would easily get tired of.

  “Hi, kiddo,” said Xavier’s father—Andrew, staring up at him, with a large smile, from where he sat at the table. “Are you feeling a little better?”

  “Yes, sir,” he replied, taking a seat at the table beside his mother. “I’ll take that sandwich now.”

  Eliza smiled and went to grab him his food. She came back a few moments later with a plate of original potato chips, and a ham sandwich with cheese on it.

  He took the top loaf off of the sandwich and placed a few chips on it, then took a reasonably sized bite and hummed at the taste. It was good
. He hadn’t had a plain ham sandwich in a while. He was used to eating extravagant meals that could be served in a four-star restaurant.

  It was simple, but to him, it was the best thing he had ever had. He took a few more bites of his sandwich, then washed it down with some water.

  Like any other time, he ate in silence and listened to his mother and father’s ongoing conversation. When the conversation was boring, or he just didn’t feel like listening, he would tune them out, and focus on anything else that he found interesting.

  But their conversation tonight wasn’t boring. In fact, it interested him quite a bit. It was about the phenomenon that the news was going crazy over.

  “I don’t think it’s a phenomenon at all,” said Andrew.

  “What do you think it is, then?” interjected Xavier.

  “Well,” said Andrew. “I don’t really know. But I don’t think that it’s some rare phenomenon. There aren’t any documents or anything to justify that it has ever happened. Where is the proof?”

  Xavier shrugged his shoulders. He had no clue where the proof was. He stuck to himself for the rest of the meal, eating the rest of what was on his plate slowly, and then washed it down with the rest of his water.

  When he was done, he put his plate in the sink and then excused himself. But before he could leave the room, his mother stopped him.

  “I got you everything that you missed from school, including tonight’s homework. It’s lying on your desk.”

  Xavier nodded. He made his way back to his room and plopped himself down at his desk and started on the work that he had missed that day.

  He was finished in an hour and a half. Before he went to bed, his mother and father stopped by his room to say good night. Xavier said it back, hugged them, and then they left to their own room.

  CHAPTER

  FIVE

  WAKE UP, XAVIER.”

  Xavier groaned, stretching his arms above his head, and slowly opened his eyes. “I’m awake,” he said in a groggy, sleep filled voice. “W – What’s wrong?”

  "Get up, Xavier. We need to go," said his mother with an almost frantic tone of voice.

  He groaned and pushed himself up into a sitting position, lazily. "Is it time for school?" he asked. "I didn't hear the alarm."

  "No. But you need to get up, come on hurry."

  He pushed himself to his feet. He was tired and couldn't think straight. He stood, swaying from side to side on his feet. He was practically dead to the world. His eyes felt heavy and with each passing moment, he could feel them growing heavier and heavier. "What's going on, mom?"

  "I don't know!" she exclaimed. "We just need to go. Something is happening out there."

  "What what’s happening," he said, sounding a little more alert. He didn’t wait for an answer. He made his way toward his bedroom window and threw the curtains open and a beam of pale light from outside gleamed through the window.

  The sky, that was once so blue and full of puffy gray-white clouds, was now just a dark blue-black mass of ripples that looked like ocean waves. Down below on the streets, there were people rushing their families into their cars, and then speeding off. The sound of screeching tires and the prickling feeling of fear left behind in their wake.

  Xavier sucked in a shuddering breath of air. “Mom?” he said, turning around to face her. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, her voice raising a couple octaves. “We just need to go. Your father is waiting for us in the car, come on let’s go.” She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him downstairs, and then out into the garage where the family car—a white Ford F150—sat idling. The lights were on their brightest setting, and in the driver’s seat, Andrew sat beating his hands frantically against the steering wheel.

  Despite his wanting to protest, Xavier pulled himself into the back of the truck and buckled himself in. He mentally prepared himself, even though he didn’t know what for, he wanted to be prepared for when he found out.

  That last time the ripple occurred, it only lasted a moment. Now, it stayed. Flowing through the sky like waves in the ocean. It was like a river current, pulling everything that couldn’t fight against the current, like the clouds, with it. The stars stayed, twinkling just as bright as ever.

  They pulled out of the driveway and made their way down the street, with no apparent destination in mind. They had to be careful not to run into other cars, cars that were going faster than the speed limit that was traditionally permitted, but that didn’t seem to matter to anyone, except for Xavier’s father.

  He drove cautiously, trying not to run into anything or anyone, even though there were people that were practically running into anything and everything to get to wherever they were headed with no regards for anyone’s safety but their own.

  Through all the commotion and the blur of various blinding headlights, Xavier could see that there was a wreck not too far ahead of them.

  "Dad, be careful," he said.

  "I will," he replied. "Are you buckled, though?"

  "Yes, sir. But, what's going on? I'm confused."

  “We don't know," said Eliza. "There was an alert sent to our phones that said to find shelter."

  Xavier nodded his head, even though they couldn't see it. "Where are we going then?"

  There was silence for a moment and they Eliza spoke, breaking the quiet tension that sizzled hot, suffocating, and claustrophobic in the air. Xavier felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

  "Demetria's mother Denya said that we could go over there and stay with them in their underground storm shelter."

  "Okay, good," he said, sucking in a deep breath of air. He could feel a trickle of anxiety flooding his body and it overcame him. He took in a few deep breaths of air and let them out slowly. He needed to calm himself down before he threw himself into a full blown panic attack. And he didn't want that, especially not while he was in the backseat of a car.

  If he thought about the small space too much, that too would probably throw him down deeper, and cause a panic attack to hit him at full force. He closed his eyes, trying to muffle his thoughts, block out the world and everything that was happening, and tried to calm himself down. He took in a few more deep breaths. He did that for a few minutes and he could feel himself relax. His body, that was rigid just a few moments prior, was now relaxed and flaccid.

  All of a sudden he felt tired and wanted nothing more than to just lie down until they made it to Demetria and her parents’ house. Which wouldn't be too long, they only lived half an hour away from them.

  He lowered himself onto his side, curled himself into a ball, and closed his eyes. His mind went blank and he could feel the dark depths of sleep creeping up on him. Then all at once, it took him and he fell into a land of restless sleep, dreaming of nothing. The canvas of his mind that was normally filled with bright colorful imagery was now blank and begging to be painted with color.

  But it never came.

  He was woken a little while later, by his father this time, telling him that they had arrived at Demetria's house and that it was time for him to wake up. He pushed himself upright and let his father take him by the hand, to lead him to the front door of the house that was already opened with two people—Demetria and her mother—standing in the doorway of it.

  When he was only a few feet away from the porch Demetria ran down the steps and grabbed him by the hand, much like his mother had, when they were rushing downstairs to get to the garage.

  “Come on!” said Demetria. “My dad is waiting for us!” she yelled it loud enough for everyone to hear.

  Xavier and everyone followed after her to the backyard and descended carefully down the stairs of the shelter one-by-one.

  The shelter was thrown into pitch black darkness when the door was closed. Then a few moments later Demetria’s father—Legan—lit up an oil lamp and hung it on a small hook that was mounted to the ceiling.

  Now Xavier could see every detail, every
line, corner, and crevice of the room that they were in. He could see the blankets that were folded into makeshift sleeping bags and pillows that covered the floor. There were enough for all of them.

  Xavier and Demetria huddled into a corner of the shelter chamber and clambered away, talking about random things to try and take their minds off of what was happening, even though neither of them knew exactly what that was.

  The grownups did the same. They talked in whispers so that Xavier and Demetria couldn’t hear, about what the alert could have meant. At first, Denya had thought that it was nothing but an Amber Alert, but it wasn’t. The alert had read four simple, very unspecific but precise words:

  WARNING! Seek shelter now.

  They didn’t question the warning. They acted on it as fast as they could. As soon as the alert flashed across their phone screens, they set into action. Eliza and Andrew rushed to get their things, start the car, and wake Xavier as fast as they could so that they could get the hell to safety.

  Only thing was that they didn’t know what they were trying to stay safe from. They had no idea what was going on. They thought it had something to do with what was happening in the sky.

  They had no idea, but in the end, without any ounce of information, they concluded that it had had to have been the weather. It must be getting ready to get really bad if an alert was sent out this early ahead of the storm. They didn’t seem to mind that that theory completely disregarded the ripple in the sky.

  Eliza looked over to her son and Demetria. They sat side by side against the shelter wall. Xavier had his head leaned on Demetria’s shoulder as she looked down at her phone reading an eBook like always.

  “Okay,” said Legan. “I think we should all try and get some sleep. Do y’all want the lamp on or off?”

  “On,” replied Demetria. “It’s a little too dark in here when the lights out.”

  Legan nodded his head in answer. Then everyone tucked themselves into their own respectable make-shift sleeping bag and went to sleep.