Barbara resumed her morning routine as Danny took the walk up the stairs to the room of his oldest. He wasn’t sure about how to approach Michael this morning with all he currently knew. The kid was right; the world was ending, so what was the point of school or staying out all night or sleeping for that matter. On the other hand, Michael had disobeyed the rules and end of the world or not, he still had to be punished.
Danny tried to push the negative thoughts out of his head, as he knocked on his son’s door, deep breath, trying to control himself.
No reply.
Danny trained his ear to the door. There wasn’t a sound coming out of the room. He tried to knock again, still nothing. He reached for the handle and found it unlocked this time. “I guess he didn’t want to add that to his current list of things I screwed up on,” Danny thought, as he turned the handle and quietly opened the door.
Michael was lying on the bed sound asleep. Danny watched him for a moment, as he flashed back in time, back to the days when Michael was just a baby. When his son would be lying in the crib sound asleep and the kid seemed so perfect in every way. He couldn’t believe that little angel had turned into this current kid.
Danny walked across the room and took a seat on his son’s bed. He shook his son’s leg and waited for him to wake up. Good news of the day, Danny could smell no pot or alcohol coming off of him. So, Michael either disguised it well or he had been clean and sober all night, which probably wasn’t the case. When teens stayed out all night, they did one thing, and one thing only, party. What else was there to do at the time of night?
While Danny sat there waiting, Johnny came charging by the room, rushing to get his things, trying to beat the bus. The kid always pushed the time before he had to leave for school, but somehow Johnny always caught the bus on time.
Danny looked from the doorway to Michael’s phone on the table. That device would tell him so much about the previous night’s events, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t force himself to be one of those parents. You know the kind, the ones who invade every ounce of privacy their son or daughter has. Danny trusted his son, trusted that he had been raised right, and he just had to hope his son had enough sense to stay out of trouble.
Michael slowly came to, as Johnny raced by the door, book bag in hand. The bus could be heard chugging up the street, and Johnny was just going to make it, just like always. Danny smiled as he heard Barbara say something to the youngest about being more prepared next time and turning the TV off sooner. The front door opened, and then slammed closed.
“Dad? What are you doing in my room? I’m trying to sleep?”
“Just answer me this and you can stay home from school and sleep it off.” Michael waited. “Where were you all night? What were you doing?”
Michael lay there a moment and thought of the answer. “With friends.”
“The ones I’ve seen you hanging around with?”
“Sometimes.”
“Were you drinking?”
Michael thought of his answer. “I’m up shit creek anyways, whether I did or not, right?”
“Pretty much and don’t use that language.”
“Yes. I was.”
“Did you do anything else?”
“Just a little pot, okay,” Michael replied, sounding defeated.
Danny drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I’m going to let you stay home today and sleep it off, but this isn’t a pass. You will be punished.”
“Danny, is everything okay with Michael?” Barbara asked, from downstairs.
Danny could hear Johnny’s bus stop near the house, and a moment or two later chug on down the road while he tried to think of an answer.
“He’s not feeling good today. I’m going to let him sleep in.”
“Do you need me to come up there?”
“He’s fine. I’ve got it handled.”
“Does this make us best friends now because you covered for me?”
Danny was surprised by the tone and the words, but with Michael these days anything was liable to come out of his mouth.
“I’m doing this because I think you are in no condition to go to school. Now get some sleep. I’ll check on you later.” Danny got up and left the room. He closed the door as Michael turned over and fell back to sleep.
Barbara was watching TV when Danny found her downstairs.
“How is he?” She asked.
“He’s just feeling a little under the weather.”
“Does he need me?”
“He’s fine, Barb.”
Danny watched the TV for a moment, images of Paris as of this day and time, just after the bombs went off. It was a nightmare world in that city, twice as bad, maybe three times as bad as L.A. It looked like whole city blocks were gone with just one big explosion, and everywhere they pointed a camera something was either on fire or had burned all the way to the ground. Other images showed people crying, screaming for loved ones. Camera shots of the hospitals showed burned victims, limbless victims, dead victims, the images were just horrific. The few reporters who were able to get into the city fed their footage raw and uncut to the news; and to show the true horror, to illicit true rage, the news had no choice but to show it all.
Barbara turned off the TV so they could talk. “I think I’m going to do a half day today.”
Danny walked around the chair and knelt down in front of her. “I’m sorry if I have scared you lately, with the issues I’ve been having.”
“What’s going on, Danny? Spill the deal, remember.”
“Yeah,” Danny replied, as he drew in a deep breath and exhaled.
“Just tell me, please, don’t shut me out.”
Danny thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out where to start. After a moment or two, he found the starting spot and told her everything he knew so far. When he was done, she did something he didn’t think she would do. She laughed, and it crushed him.
Danny got up off the floor and stared at her in disbelief. “You don’t believe me.”
“Come on, Danny. Sure, these terrorist attacks are scary, but the end of the world, that this is the sign of an oncoming apocalypse that will re-arrange our entire population. I’m sorry, just not buying it. Sure, I’ve had my end of the world thoughts too, but they passed. There’s no way it is even possible.”
“What about the red haired guy and me passing out? How do you explain that?”
“Maybe you were tired or in the process of passing out and you think you saw someone. I’m not buying that he can just slip in and slip out of our house without me knowing it or you for that matter.”
“He’s made to be that way. Like I said, he’s a human cockroach.”
She stood up. “You’re tired. You need to sleep some more, and I need to get to work.”
Barbara started to leave. Danny stopped her. “Shouldn’t we talk more about this?”
“I’ll take a half day, and we can talk more when I get home.” She made her way towards the stairs and climbed them.
Danny stood there dumbfounded as the phone rang. It was Barry. They talked a moment as Danny listened to Barbara getting ready for work. Barry and Danny decided to go for a run the next day before either one of them had a class to teach. Danny hung up the phone and decided to leave Barbara to her “getting ready for work” business. What he had just told her was a lot to take in, and maybe she was just not sure how to process it. Maybe she was up there right now thinking it over; or maybe she was calling the loony bin, asking the men in white coats to put the nets over him. He shook the thoughts away and turned on the TV. He took a seat, and flipped channels. Lucky for him there was something else to watch instead of the news, because that was just too depressing.
Barbara was out the door an hour later with a promise of an early return so they could talk more. She wound up working overtime and coming home after Danny had gone on to teach his class. Barbara found only a baby sitter (someone to just kind of keep an eye on things, the boys were almost too old for o
ne) and a cold dinner waiting for her when she arrived.
Danny finished class; and, when he came home that night, Barbara was already in bed. He didn’t want to wake her, so he undressed and slipped beneath the covers beside her. She did not stir, didn’t even bat an eye, she was out cold – after dinner Barbara had polished off an entire bottle of red wine. What Danny had told her earlier had affected her all day. So when she got home, the first thing she thought of was that bottle of red. Getting drunk was the easiest decision she had made that day. Michael slept, got up to play video games, listened to some music, and watched a couple of movies. He spent most of the day in his room, barely eating anything. Johnny returned that afternoon from school, played with the kids in the neighborhood, did his homework, took his bath, and then fell asleep like he always did.
That was their day that day, and as night pushed on towards morning the world was ticking closer to its last breath. Death would come for it soon.
*
Around four o’clock the next morning, Barbara slipped out from underneath the covers in order to get a glass of water. When she returned, Danny was wide awake. This was the first real chance they had to talk since the previous morning – the morning Danny told her everything, and she had laughed at him.
“Why didn’t you take a half day yesterday?”
Barbara jumped, nearly spilling her water. “I didn’t know you were awake.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked across the room to the window. It was a thick black night, like a rich dark chocolate with only slivers of moonlight peeking through the clouds.
“Why did you let Michael stay home? I know he wasn’t sick.”
“Don’t change the subject. Tell me, why you didn’t come home early?”
Barbara thought about her answer for a moment, took a few sips of water, the cotton mouth feeling started to pass. She reached over and took Danny’s hand and held it. “You sounded like a crazy person, like one of those doomsday prophets who stand on the street corners and spout out things about the end of times. I was scared and afraid. I couldn’t face you, so when they needed someone to stay late. I jumped at the chance.”
He squeezed her hand. “There’s no reason to be afraid. I haven’t been out on the streets waving signs or blogging about it if that is what you’re worried about.”
“Your blog. I forgot about your blog.”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t written anything in it. I was told not to.”
Barbara finished her water as distant thunder rumbled. She lay down beside Danny, and he welcomed her into his arms.
“Who told you not to?”
“I told you, the red haired guy.”
“Do you just follow him blindly? Do you do just what he says to do?”
“For now, yes, he’s holding all the cards.”
“This, if it is true, and I’m not saying it is. This is so much bigger than you. Shouldn’t you tell the world about it? Warn them in some way.”
“My wife doesn’t believe me. Hell, sometimes I don’t even believe it myself, so how am I supposed to convince the world? They would just shun me like you did.”
“I didn’t shun you babe. I didn’t know how to process it. I worked late because I didn’t know what to say to you. I couldn’t have spent that much time together with all the stuff that was in my head.”
“I guess I can understand that,” Danny replied, listening to the thunder.
“Can you?”
“Did you tell anyone at work, because I told you what could happen if you did?”
“That my husband was talking about the end of days? It didn’t come up.”
They laid in silence for a moment, the thunder rumbling, drawing closer.
“Why don’t we just leave it here for now?”
“It seems unresolved,” she replied, snuggling in tight against him.
“For now I think it has to be. I’ve told you all I know, and it’s up to you to get on board with it or not.”
She let that conversation drop and moved on to another subject, her son. “Why did Michael stay home yesterday?”
The truth didn’t seem to be that important, and Danny didn’t feel like Barbara really needed to know her oldest had been out all night. So, he lied. “He was just feeling under the weather. He needed a day to sleep in.”
“Is he going to school today?”
“Yeah, I wrote him a note. Now, I need to get some sleep. I have a run today with Barry.” Danny closed his eyes.
“I love you,” Barbara replied, trying to end their conversation on a good note.
“I love you, too.”
They fell asleep in each other’s arms as the distant thunder continued to rumble, drawing closer with each clap.
*
The next morning, the boys made it to school, Barbara made it to work, and Danny met Barry for what would be their last run together. In fact, it would be the last time they would ever see each other.
How did the run go you may ask?
Unimportant details, sure, but for those mildly curious, Barry hung in there for more than five minutes this time during a couple of the run segments. They wound up doing thirty minutes just like this:
Segment 1 – walk 3 minutes-run 7 minutes
Segment 2 – walk 4 minutes-run 6 minutes
Segment 3 – walk 6 minutes-run 4 minutes
In the parking lot, after their run, they saw a large group of people gathered together; and the looks on their faces, their reactions, said something big was happening. Danny and Barry went over to check it out.
“What’s going on?” Danny asked a young woman who was wearing tight running clothes that showed off her muscular body.
“It’s Japan. They carpet bombed the entire island.”
“What?” Danny asked, the words barely falling out of his mouth.
“The first bomber went off in Nagasaki, and then it just spread from there. City by city, bombs just started going off from the bottom of the island to the top. No one had a chance.”
Danny and Barry both stood there, stunned from this sudden and surprising news. Neither one of them had bothered to turn on the radio or watch the TV this morning, even though they both had their chances. They had been so concerned with the run, it was all they could do to get dressed and get out to the Tobacco Trail.
The woman kept talking as the crowd huddled around the lap top in the center of the group. “Japan’s nuclear facilities are the biggest concern. Many of them are in jeopardy; and, if they melt down, not only will the island glow, but they are predicting the nuclear cloud will spread across Asia, to Europe, and eventually to the states.”
“I guess it’s starting,” Danny replied, without thinking.
“What’s starting?” Barry asked.
Danny turned to look at him, as Barry waited for an answer. Danny wanted to tell him everything. To tell him to go home and get prepared, but he didn’t. He just shook his head and left it at that.
“I can’t believe they can’t get these guys. How can they have an army of bombers big enough to do this? Enough to set alight two cities and an entire island. It is impossible in today’s technology. We monitor them way too much. I know we do. Hell, they even monitor us most of the time,” the woman replied.
“They must have deep roots,” Danny replied, as he watched images of Tokyo burning. Skyscrapers were engulfed from top to bottom; buildings had crumbled to the ground. Whole blocks, like L.A. and Paris, were completely wiped out. Homes and lives were turned into hell’s inferno, and the fire crews were doing their best to contain it. They were failing miserably.
“You know parts of Paris are still burning. The fire crews were stretched so thin that they ran out of man power, and then they ran out of water,” the woman replied, shaking her head.
“I heard yesterday that they have just now opened the L.A. airport,” Danny replied, thinking of the red haired guy, thinking how good it would feel to punch him right in the jaw. Shadow people or no shadow p
eople, he might just have to do that when he saw him again.
“Who is next, I wonder?”
Danny looked at Barry after he said this and thought about saying “the world” in response to that question, but he thought better of it. “We should get home. We both need to get to work.”
“Who wants to work after all of this?”
“I know how you feel Barry, believe me, but even if we don’t go to work, we need to get home. Our families need us now.”
The two men left the group and walked over to their respective cars. They said good bye to one another and planned to do it again soon, even though Danny knew, there wouldn’t be another time. This was it. The world was about to burn.
When they went to shake hands, Danny grabbed Barry and hugged him. Barry, in a manly way of course, returned it. Danny then slid inside his car; chucked back a couple of tears, fired up the engine, waved to a still confused Barry, and started the long drive home. While he drove, he couldn’t help it. He had to listen to just a little bit more of the news.
Radio Newscaster:
. . . The situation in Japan is the latest in what is being called Hell’s Trilogy. The Middle East Nuclear Arms Association, responsible for it, is saying that the next time they show their power the world will suffer like it has never suffered. The President, when asked why he hasn’t been doing more to stop this group, had this to say. “We are pooling all of our resources together. Nations are joining nations throughout the world in order to bring this group to justice. We are sparing no expenses; no price tag is too high for the capture and destruction of this rogue group of terrorists. We will stop at nothing to make sure this group is brought to a swift and abrupt ending.” Strong words indeed from the commander- in-chief. The Radio Newscaster paused. “This just in, one of Japan’s nuclear power plants has just exploded. Massive fallout is predicted . . .
Danny shut off the radio. That was enough news for him. He drove home in silence. This time he saw no old man or signs warning him of imminent doom.
Nuclear war was now at hand.
*
Danny pulled his car into the garage and turned it off. He sat there a moment and just cried. He cried for what he knew, for what was about to happen, for his family, friends, for the world at large, for all the lost lives, for the destruction of the very fabric of the day to day life he loved to live, and he cried, simply, because he just needed to cry.
AWOL: A Character Lost Page 19