by Lilah Boone
Kyle’s mind raced with end of the world concerns as he navigated the narrow steps of the hatch.
He was pretty sure they would be underground for a while and wanted everyone to be as comfortable as possible. Clean sheets and fresh smelling towels would be a nice thing to have. Any luxury at all would help preserve their long term sanity and hopefully stave off bouts of claustrophobia.
He was still trying to figure out how to maintain access to radio and TV broadcasts while they were below the surface, but he couldn’t be sure there would be stations to pick up once it all started anyway.
Then there were the dogs Jim loved so much. Kyle fully expected they would be coming into the shelter with them and he hated to think that all of the humans would have to live in a space that smelled like dog waste for an indefinite amount of time.
Kyle was feeling overwhelmed when his thoughts unexpectedly turned to Abby. He felt a distinct wave of emotions that were anything but common to him and he found himself imagining things that he should never be thinking about his best friend’s niece. But those wayward thoughts didn’t frighten him as much as the fact that he simply wanted to be near her, take in her smile and talk with her. He could be content with that and it freaked him out immeasurably.
It’s not that he was cold hearted or void of romantic notions. Actually, his nature was just the opposite which was part of the problem. He had allowed himself to care one too many times and only gotten burned. He had learned to keep his heart neatly tucked away and out of sight. The fact that the mere sight of Abby Connelly had been able to awaken something in him he thought was long gone – that he believed he’d killed and buried – was both intriguing and terrifying.
Sure, there had been girlfriends in the past. He was no amateur at the dating game, but for the past few years or so he had done little more than carry out one brief and meaningless relationship after the other and only when the opportunities presented themselves. There hadn’t been anyone who could actually stir his heart in a very long time and love wasn’t something he consciously sought after. In fact, he usually tried to keep it as far away as possible.
He couldn’t put his finger on a reason besides the obvious, but Abby was different. It was pointless to deny that he was intensely attracted to her, even though he didn’t understand why. She wasn’t at all his type. She was more petite than he usually went for, standing just over five feet. And she wouldn’t be considered extraordinarily beautiful by most standards. Simply put, she was physically average.
But his connection with Abby went beyond anything tangible. In the first place, she was whatever he was; whatever weird type of being glowed from the inside out. Plus they both had the dreams and inside information about the things that were coming. Albeit, Kyle’s dreams had been going on for a lot longer than Abby’s.
While she confided that she had only been dreaming for the past week, he had been having the same series of recurring nightmares for close to a year and a half. There hadn’t been time to tell her the night before. Besides, he figured after the news she’d just heard, what she really needed was some rest and not more talk about Armageddon.
The whole glowing thing had left him more than a little confused. He understood that they both had personal light sources because of who or what they were, but he didn’t see the purpose to it. Not yet. Maybe it was so they could recognize each other or maybe even so they could identify others like them. He didn’t know, but he was sure there had to be a reason for it.
As he came up from the shelter he heard the sounds of people stirring within Jim’s house. Everyone was up and he realized suddenly that he was looking forward to seeing Abby again. He felt a wave of anticipation radiate from his middle and he gulped audibly.
“Morning Windstone,” Jim called as he crossed the yard and approached the entrance to the bunker.
Kyle turned from the stack of water he had slowly been moving into the shelter. “Hey, what’s up? How are things going this morning?”
“As good as can be expected I guess. I think they’re still pretty shaken up about what happened on the coasts last night. We all are.”
Kyle looked down at his hands, removed his gloves. “Yeah, it’s pretty unbelievable.” Jim looked Kyle in the eye suspiciously. There was a short pause as the two men stood in the lawn.
“You knew it would happen.” Jim’s tone was flat.
Kyle looked away briefly, smacked his gloves against one hand before facing the other man. “Yeah I knew.”
“When were you planning on telling me about this? I could’ve been helping you all this time.” The older man sighed. “Abby says you’ve been storing water and food like she has, that you two have been having the same bizarre nightmares. Why didn’t you say something?”
“Would you have believed me? Seriously Jim, think about what you’re asking. You probably would’ve let me go through the motions of hording and storing, maybe even humored me a little by helping with some of the heavy lifting, then just written it all off as the crazy delusions of a madman.”
“Okay, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I probably would’ve thought you were losing it. But Man, I’ve been your closest friend for at least four years now. We live two acres apart and share this land like brothers.” Jim put his hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “In the future, if there is a future anyway, at least give me the benefit of the doubt.”
“Yeah okay. You got a deal.” Kyle gave his friend a weak grin.
“Okay good. Now, what’s with this glowing skin thing or whatever it is and when did you upgrade the bomb shelter? I can’t believe I didn’t notice something like that.”
Kyle glanced towards the Yellow House. “Wow, your niece has been talking a lot already this morning.” He purposely didn’t use her name.
“Actually she just got up. I guess she told that Alex kid last night and he mentioned it to me this morning over coffee.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Interesting breakfast conversation. What’s going on with the two of them anyway?”
“He cheated and they split up less than a week ago. Abby doesn’t have many friends, so I guess she’s sort of hanging on to him.”
Kyle nodded, pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. “So they’re not together then?”
“Not anymore. Anyway, are you going to answer my questions?”
Kyle blinked and tried to clear the little blonde from his mind. “Um… I have no idea what the glow is all about. Apparently Abby and I are the only ones who see it. When she looks at me she sees it and when I look at her I see the same.”
Jim took a step back, cocked his head to consider the information. “Wow man. This just keeps getting weirder by the minute. It’s got to mean something.”
“Yeah, I just haven’t figured that detail out yet. As for the shelter, remember when you went to Topeka for a week to visit that girl you were dating?”
Surprise came over Jim’s face. “Really? You said the town came by to work on a pipe and tore up the lawn. Who do you get to upgrade an old bomb shelter anyway?”
“Twenty-first Century Bomb Shelters dot com.” Kyle smirked. “As I said, I was trying to hide the crazy going on in my head.”
Jim sighed heavily. Kyle realized his friend was a simple guy who liked a simple life. All this doomsday stuff, with weird dreams and shining people, was probably a little much for him to take.
Both of the men turned their heads as the sound of voices came up from the country road that crossed through the farm. They walked up to the front of the house together to watch a trail of families, marching like a caravan minus the horses and wagons. It was like something most people only witnessed on the nightly news. They were refugees migrating from their homeland.
“Where could they be going? And where are their cars?” Jim kept his voice low.
Kyle shook his head, eyed the scene solemnly. “Something must have pushed them from their homes. Maybe they ran out of gas. Or maybe there was so much traffic on the highway they decided to hoof it off
the main roads.”
Kyle was gripped by a sudden urge to save them. His eyes fell on the women carrying babies and toddlers in their arms and his heart clenched into a knot. Someone had to help them. They would never make it alone.
As Kyle weighed the situation he saw Jim from the corner of his eye, staring at him knowingly. Kyle flinched, his body wanting to go to the travelers on the road and offer them safety.
“Don’t Kyle.” Jim gripped a hold of his friend’s arm. “We can’t save them all without killing ourselves in the process.”
Kyle looked over at him, feeling the outrage scream through his chest. He slumped down to lean on the bumper of Abby’s Jeep and tried to hold himself together. The faces of those children haunted him. They had no idea what was coming and no way to survive it. He rested his head in his hands, feeling his strength slip away.
“Damn it,” Kyle finally said, his frustration getting the best of him.
Jim joined Kyle against the Jeep, stared off into the odd sky. “I know you feel like this is all on you man, but it’s not. You might be a human night light, but I’m your right hand and I will help in any way you need me to. You’re not alone in this.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” He stood straight and ran one hand through his hair. Kyle was on the verge of saying something inspirational to his friend, but figured it would only sound forced.
He was saved from that awkwardness as Abby came out the front door. Thankfully she hadn’t heard the people walking and they were far enough down the road now to be over a hill and out of sight.
“Hey guys. What’s on the agenda for today?” Abby greeted them with a smile that didn’t register in her eyes as she plodded down the front steps.
Seeing Abby immediately improved Kyle’s mood. Her glow was faded in the sun, but it didn’t stop her from making everything seem brighter. She wore an old pair of paint splattered blue jeans, brown boots with even more paint on them, and a clean, light blue tee shirt with some sort of artsy screen print on it.
Her hair was shining and freshly blow dried, fluttering around her face to brush against her cheeks. He momentarily wished he could run his hands through that hair.
Her appearance didn’t really matter to him, which only added to his freaked out state of mind. Yes, he thought she looked adorable in her old paint stained clothes, but she could’ve been wearing an old lady muumuu for all he cared. It was the smile in her eyes that sent a sense of warmth over him and made him momentarily forget about the danger that loomed over his head.
Kyle found his voice and started giving out a few orders. “Okay. Let’s get all the stuff Abby brought into the bunker and organized. Then we have to spend some time checking out the place to make sure it’s going to hold up. I’m sure none of us want to be stuck under a few feet of earth without clean air.” Kyle stopped to look around for a second. “Where’s that Alex guy?”
“Right here.” Alex busted through the front door. “Sorry, I was just watching the news. I’m ready to get to work.”
Kyle looked him over. His hair was coated in some kind of gel, his clothes were freshly pressed and far too fancy to work in, and the cologne he wore was so strong it masked the smell of horse manure coming from the barn.
Kyle’s face was expressionless. “Right. Good. There’s a lot to be done.”
* * *
The four of them worked throughout the morning, not taking a break until lunch time mercifully rolled around. By the time the sun was high in the sky they had given every inch of the bunker a once over, checking all the systems and making sure there would be tools available for repairs in case anything broke down.
They moved the last of the large stores of water that Kyle had been keeping in the barn, of which there must’ve been hundreds of gallons that all needed to find a home inside the modest shelter. He had even included packages of drink mix to add flavor when they got bored with plain water. Either he had a lot of money or a lot of time to prepare. Abby decided maybe it was a bit of both.
They packed canned goods, dry foods, boxes of MRE’s that Kyle had purchased at a local army surplus, toiletries, medical supplies, and other necessities into the storage spaces inside their soon to be underground home.
“I need to get some food in me.” Abby stopped stacking cans as her stomach groaned. “I’m so hungry I’m about to start eating our emergency rations. Spaghetti and meatballs with a shelf life of fifty years is starting to look like a banquet.”
Kyle smiled in her direction and the small gesture made her heart beat a notch faster. “I think we could all use a little break.”
Food in hand, the group went out onto the porch to eat their various types of sandwiches. There was no real discussion, only the distinct sound of crunching and chewing. Jim passed around a bag of potato chips, everyone taking a handful to accompany their modest meals.
As Abby took a bite of her peanut butter and jelly she noticed that she was being watched. Through dark sunglasses her eyes landed on Kyle only to see him quickly avert his gaze.
He didn’t glow as much in the daylight, she noticed, letting her stare trail up his forearm and over his sleeve. Or perhaps it just wasn’t as obvious. Instead his body gave off a faint shimmer of light that simply looked like the sun was hitting his skin even as he sat in the shade of the porch.
She took another bite, continuing to gawk at him. Her eyes wandered to his neck, to the tendons that ran under the skin below his Adam’s apple. He was the opposite of bulky, his frame long and lean. She decided this guy didn’t carry a gym membership in his wallet but working on the farm probably more than filled his quota of exercise.
He turned to look at her then. Their eyes met in a quick instant making Abby jump slightly. For a long moment they held the stare, neither of them feeling the need to look away. Abby stopped chewing and Kyle simply looked into her like he was now the painter and her portrait was his next project.
Abruptly Alex coughed a little too loudly, breaking the peace of their lunch and the spell between Abby and Kyle. Abby knew that her ex-boyfriend was irritated by what he’d seen moving between her and someone he saw as his competition. Obviously, he wasn’t really trying to hide it. It was his not so discrete way of letting her know that he was still planning on making another go at their relationship. Abby knew there was no hope of that now.
There was a connection between her and Kyle that Abby couldn’t deny. She didn’t know yet if it went beyond sharing dreams and iridescent skin, but she knew that she wanted to find out. She wanted to get to know Kyle inside and out; find out what his passions were, learn about what and who he loved. She wanted to know him with a certain desperation that she wasn’t used to feeling. She wondered if this was what being off her meds was like. Was this what everyone else felt like all the time?
After lunch the four of them worked into the night. It was well past prime time before they stopped for a late supper.
During this meal they all spoke to each other, but none of them wanted to ponder any more ways to survive disaster. Instead they talked about mundane things; little things that normal people talked about at normal meals.
There was discussion of Abby’s work, where she had recently been showing and who her latest clients were. The everyday workings of Alex’s gallery came up as well. None of them mentioned that all of that was now lost and buried beneath miles of ocean. For the moment they preferred to pretend all was right in the world.
Kyle and Jim told stories about the farm, about birthing foals and dealing with a recently deceased blind rooster who never stopped crowing. They all laughed when Kyle insinuated Jim had sent one of his dogs after it late one summer night, saying Jim had draped the poor bird in a raw meat necklace to entice the lazy hounds.
Abby let out an uncharacteristic giggle. “Oh, that’s so awful. Please tell me that didn’t really happen.”
Kyle set his napkin on the table with a shake of his head and a smile. “No, of course not. Honestly, we loved that bird. Jim especi
ally. I assure you poor blind Gary was a very old chicken who died naturally and peacefully.”
For all intents and purposes they were four people getting to know each other or catching up as was the case of Abby and her uncle. The only real negative tension in the room came from Alex. Occasionally he would shoot a look to Abby when she talked or laughed with Kyle or glower at Kyle over a fork full of food. Abby did her best to ignore her former lover and enjoyed the lightness of the evening.
When the meal was over no one moved to clear the table or do the dishes. Leftovers went to the dogs and Jim pulled beers for each of them from the fridge. Beers led to tequila shots and before any of them realized it they were all a little tipsy and enjoying what seemed to be an endless amount of friendly conversation.
The men talked about cars and other stereotypically male things while Abby listened and interjected where she could. She tried to be polite but honestly had no knowledge of engine blocks or trade deadlines.
There was a silent agreement between the group to not turn on the television or even think about what the future may hold. They had created a temporary world where they could merely take pleasure in what it was to simply be human and remember what they were working so hard to preserve in the first place.
With midnight rolling by, Jim stood up to stretch his legs and announced that he was going to bed.
Alex was very drunk and was nearly falling asleep at the table, with his head rested firmly in his hand. “That sounds like a great idea.” He slurred a bit on his words before turning to Abby. “You ready Babe?”
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. Everyone seemed to be waiting on Abby for a response. Alex had forgotten himself and the status of their relationship within a puddle of beer and tequila.
“Actually, I was thinking since you’ve been stuck on a couch for a week that maybe I should stay in Kyle’s spare room so you could have the extra bed here. As long as that’s okay with you Kyle?”