Beyond The Collapse

by Kip Nelson

  The raccoon seemed to be interested in some nuts or berries, and was burrowing in a bush with its back turned to Adam. Knowing this was the moment to strike, Adam flexed his fingers around the spear and gripped it tightly, then spread his legs, ready to hurl the spear forward. He drew his arm back and was just about to launch it when he heard a shout nearby. He quickly turned his head. Just as he did the raccoon was startled, too, and sprinted away. Adam spun on his heels and went toward the source of the noise.

  Chapter Two

  The moment the new world began...

  Adam stared out the window after he had cleaned himself up from vomiting, barely able to believe what he just had seen. A plane filled with people had crashed into the city. He didn't know if it was the work of terrorists or something else. Outside he could hear screams, and in the distance a cloud of ash was settling. There were no lights on in the city at all. No street lights, no lamps in windows, no headlights from cars, nothing. It was entirely dark, and the only source of light at the moment was from the huge pale moon that cast everything in a silvery glow. There was more chaos and havoc around Opal City. It was something of a hub for planes, so more of them crashed down, killing untold numbers of people. If this was a terrorist attack, it was one of the worst there ever had been, and Adam was truly worried for his life. Somehow, he knew that nothing ever would be the same again.

  The fear that paralyzed him suddenly sent him into action. He staggered back and tried ignoring the nausea present in his gut. He wished he just could close the curtains and lose himself in another world again, a world that was better than this one, a world in which his life wasn't in danger. The first thing he did was to check his equipment, but he had no luck there. Everything was dead. If this was a localized terrorist attack and they had managed to knock out the electrical grid, then it would take hours, potentially days, to get everything up and running again. But even then, there should have been backups for more of the essential systems, and that wouldn't have explained the planes crashing or the cars being left for dead.

  No, it had to be something worse than that, something that potentially affected the entire country, perhaps the entire world! If that was the case, then everything had changed and Adam didn't know what was going to happen. There wasn't a procedure in place for this. How could anyone have prepared for the unthinkable? Somewhere out experts probably were working on a solution, heroes who knew exactly what to do, but Adam was not one of them. He was just an ordinary man, frightened and alone.

  The next thing he did was to gather up all his belongings, but he soon stopped himself. His most prized possessions all were worthless now. All of those DVDs, his television, his gaming consoles, everything he was, meant nothing anymore. He looked at his trophies sitting on his shelf. There would be no prizes given for the skills he had to offer, and all he had done in his life now was rendered utterly worthless. His entire apartment was a tribute to electricity, and now that was gone, and so was his life. He was empty and hollow. Everything was gone in the blink of an eye, and just like that, he was plunged into despair.

  His life hadn't prepared him for this. He always had wanted to escape life and live in another world, not be forced into reality in such a stark and unforgiving way. He only had a few moments to entertain these grim musings, however, as he soon heard a commotion outside, and he was reminded he was not entirely alone in this. There was a whole city of confused and angry people around. Adam was almost afraid to step outside, for he knew how awful people could be, especially when their lives were threatened. That's what his education of popular culture had taught him anyway.

  Tentatively, he walked to the door, trying to hear what the muffled voices were saying. What if this was an invasion and there were people – or aliens – coming into his apartment building to attack? Part of him thought the best thing he could have done was to stay quiet and hidden and wait for all this hopefully to blow over, but another part wanted to be the type of hero he always read about, the man who never shied away from danger and faced the world in all its horror. When the thought of aliens came into his head he found it difficult to shake. He always had wanted to meet an alien, and even if they were hostile, at least there was the possibility they would abduct him and take him away to another planet. At least then he would have an experience, even if they were leading him to his death. The more he thought about this the more he realized how much he was afraid of dying, of twinkling out of existence without leaving a mark on this world. He hadn't done anything of substance with his life. He had been a leech, sucking away at the teat of the Earth, and now she was having her revenge.

  Peering out of his peephole, he saw people rushing through the hallway out of the building. Some of them were carrying many things, others were carrying nothing. Some locked their doors, others left them swinging open. Some evidently were terrified, while others seemed to have a better handle on their emotions and directed others to the exit. A few of them shouted that they should get to the roof, but most of them were going downstairs to the streets. Adam was faced with a choice. He could go with the sea of people now. There was comfort in knowing he was part of the crowd and with others who were going through the same thing, but at the same time, he always had been something of a solitary man. Never afraid of his own company he rarely ventured outside his comfort zone, and although he had lived in that apartment for the better part of a decade, the neighbors were largely strangers to him. What if they were crazy and didn't like him, or somehow thought he had had something to do with this entire thing?

  But then there was another huge crash. He turned around and returned to the window to look out on the horror and carnage that was taking hold of Opal City, a city that had prided itself on its high standard of living and low crime rate. It quickly was being reduced to rubble. One of the planes had crashed into a skyscraper, weakening the foundations of the building. It creaked and groaned, but eventually the building’s weight was too much and it collapsed, the bricks and glass tumbling to the ground, making everything quake with terror. Adam couldn't imagine what it must have been like to be in one of those buildings or close to such abhorrent destruction, and he quickly realized that he didn't want to be in a tall building.

  As quick as a flash, he threw open his door and joined the swathes of people rushing downstairs. Some of them he recognized, others he didn't, but in all of them he saw the same uncertainty and fear that must have been etched on his own face. There was panicked chatter among all of them. Even though he was in a tight crowd he still felt alone. Some people waited for the elevators out of habit, not realizing they were not working any longer, but as soon as they realized they too joined the bustling crowd that walked down the narrow stairwell. Adam found himself crushed and bumped and squeezed. He always had hated these sorts of things, and it made his hackles rise. He was tired and irritable and now he realized he was hungry. He wished he had thought to grab some supplies out of his kitchen before he came, not that he had much in the way of fresh food. He mostly lived on take-out.

  In those moments, his mind was blazing, but he found he wasn't able to think of many things. He mostly went along with the crowd, letting the current take him along until he was outside. He tried not to think of his co-workers and, in some way, he was glad he had few ties to other humans since it meant there were fewer things to worry about. He heard other people talking about their loved ones, trying various cell phones to see if they could get through to their families and friends. Some were in the city, some in different states, but either way it felt as though there was an impassable cavern between them. But then Adam looked at the families and couples who were standing there, offering each other comfort, wrapping arms around each other and supporting each other. He thought that would be a nice feeling to have, but he turned away from them, not needing to be reminded of all that he had lost out on in life.

  He moved through the crowd toward the front, trying to get to someone who knew what was going on. The sky was clear, clearer than he ever coul
d remember it, and a blanket of stars hung in the sky. In the distance were the sounds of terrified screaming, and yet more destruction. There was so much of it that it was almost beginning to fade into the background.

  “You think we're under attack?” one of Adam's neighbors said.

  Adam thought his name was John or Jack or James, but he couldn't be sure. At first Adam didn't realize he was being spoken to, and the voice was a shock. Given everything that was happening Adam felt separate from his body, almost as though this wasn't really happening, but when James or Jack or John spoke to him he was thrust back into reality with a jolt.

  “I have no idea,” Adam said, his voice hollow.

  “I've been thinking for ages that this world was in trouble. I knew we couldn't go on like this. All those terrorist attacks. We should have struck back hard. I know people didn't want a world war, but at least we'd have put an end to all this. What's the use of us just standing by when people are attacking us like this? That's not the America I've been used to living in.”

  “There's no way this is an attack. You really think terrorists would be organized enough to take out all the electronics? Look around you, there's no way this could be a concerted effort. There has to be something else going on here. Personally, I think it's aliens,” someone else said.

  “Yeah, because aliens are way more believable than terrorists,” yet someone else scoffed.

  “It's gotta be the North Koreans surely! They have the power and always have been threatening to do something to us. I watched a documentary once--”

  “Pfft, the North Koreans just play with toys. They can't do anything to threaten America. No, it's gotta be an inside job, just like 9/11. Think about it, people aren't exactly all in favor of the government. This is some ploy to thin the herd, and when we come out of it triumphant, everyone will be singing the praises of the President, and nobody will ever be able to question him again. This is what the government does. It's just distraction. Personally, I'm going to get the hell out of here. I've had it with this county. I don't want to live in a place where they destroy their own cities just to make a point.”

  “Then go, we don't need the likes of you. If this is a way to work out the true patriots, then I'm all for it. You and your kind can get out and either go up north to Canada or go down south to Mexico. I don't care. Let all the true Americans stay and fight against whatever this is. I cannot for one second believe that the government would do this, and to even think that is treason! You're no better than the people who have carried out this attack. Do you really think this is going to be only in our city? I bet across the country the same thing is happening and people are losing their lives, and all you can talk about is how it's the government's fault. That's the problem with your generation. You think everything should be handed to you on a platter. You're so entitled it makes me sick. I'd like to see you try making it across the country because I don't think you'd last a week.”

  “Our generation is in the state it’s in because of you! You ruined everything for us and then we get the blame for it! I'm tired of hearing about the golden age of America when it was anything but. You're all clinging to some kind of illusion that this country has been great. It's all a lie and you're seeing it now. Look at what is happening. Everything is destroyed and all you care about is getting revenge.

  “You talk about me being entitled, but why do you think this is happening in the first place? Because Americans always have been so arrogant, throwing our weight around in global politics thinking we can do no wrong. Well, this is what you get when you invade other countries without provocation and pretend you're the only ones who can spread freedom around the world. You wanted a war, well, now you have it. It wouldn't surprise me if this was just the beginning.”

  Adam listened to the debate, trying not to get involved. Politics never had been his specialty. As far as he was concerned, as long as he was able to work his job and earn enough money to live the rest of the world would carry on as it was, and in the grand scheme of things his life wouldn't be affected. He'd known people to get upset about the state of the world and work themselves up into a state of anguish and he hadn't seen the point. To him it was all wasted energy. But now he almost wished he had taken more of an interest in that sort of thing.

  The arguments were growing and the people beside him were getting more and more worked up. Their faces were apoplectic with rage and all he wanted to do was tell them to calm down, but how could he when they were faced with such blistering destruction? Fear turned to anger and he couldn't blame them. He had an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. For all he knew these were the last moments of his life. The air was heavy and the city was crashing down all around him. He was huddled in among strangers, all of them not knowing what to do, waiting for some kind of miracle to save them. Adam never had been a religious person, but he now found himself looking up to the heavens and praying a silent prayer to God.

  The world was ending, and the only refuge Adam had was to turn to a higher power he didn't even believe existed. When he looked around at the people surrounding him, he saw many of them clutching the crucifixes that hung around their necks, all of them joined in prayer as the world came to an end.

  Chapter Three

  Some people were locked in vicious arguments about American foreign policy, while others were trying to calm down their families and figure out what to do next. Others, such as Adam, stood there in silence with stony looks on their faces, wondering what they were going to do. He was caught in the middle of the crowd, and even though they all were going through the same thing, Adam felt alone. It was a feeling that had been with him throughout his entire life. Never had he felt like he belonged anywhere, except when he was watching fantasies on a screen. It always seemed to him that he was meant to live in another world, and secretly there had been a part of him that had hoped for something like this to happen. In his mind, the circumstances would elevate him to the level of the heroes he so admired, but the fear that seized him in reality proved to him that he was just a coward. All he really wanted now was to turn his back on the world and wait for everything to blow over.

  But it wasn't as simple as that. What was happening would change the world and humanity irrevocably. Nothing would be the same after this. It would be more devastating than the two world wars combined. None of them, at that moment, could tell how far-reaching this disaster was, but it was a complete blitz, and though the EMP blast only lasted a few moments, the damage it inflicted lingered. Ash filled the air and made its way to Adam's group. The decimated city now was feeling its wounds and the destruction was reaching them. They knew they couldn't stay there because they were in danger of being crushed. There could have been other planes in the sky or other dangers. None of them knew how long they had left to live. They started to cough and panic set in. By now they had hoped there would be some word from the police or the National Guard or someone, but it seemed as though they were alone, and had to make their own way out.

  Once they started coughing, the arguments ceased, or rather, they changed into something else. “This is stupid. We need to figure out what we're all going to do. We can't stay here, we're only putting ourselves in danger,” James or Jack or John said.

  Adam was just glad that somebody was taking the lead. It was at times like these when, in his fantasies, he stepped up and came up with a plan that led everyone to safety, when he was the one to be the hero when people needed one. Instead he stayed silent, his eyes falling to the ground, hoping nobody would ask his opinion because he didn't have the faintest idea what to do.

  “You're right, we all should head back inside and wait in our apartments for this all to blow over. If we wait there, at least we'll be ready when the relief forces come and we can be prepared to do whatever they say. I'm sure there are procedures in place for this sort of thing. There will be safe zones set up, we just have to be here so that they know.”

  “There's no way I'm going to stay here. What if somethin
g else comes down and causes this building to fall?! No way, there's gotta be somewhere else. This isn’t blowing over. You know that apocalypse that everyone has been talking about for the last few years? It's finally happening. This is it. This is the end of the world, and the sooner everyone comes to terms with that, the better. What we need to do is find somewhere underground, or get out of the city entirely. We're not safe here and there aren't going to be any relief forces. You think the government is going to care about the likes of us? They'll be saving their own skins first, and only then will they bother looking for us. We're in this for ourselves and we need to go,” another said.

  The voices formed a cacophony. There was no singular vision among any of them, and they began splintering into different groups depending on what they thought was best. It was a time when they should have been working together, but the stress of the situation forced them to see the differences among them rather than the similarities, and Adam was left adrift.

  “Well?” a woman challenged him.

  Adam couldn't use fiction to escape this reality. He had to decide. Some people were looking toward him for guidance, although he wasn't sure why. He stood there, agog, and others rolled their eyes. Once again, he felt like a failure, just as he had in his younger years. He thought he had managed to shake off those feelings of inadequacy. He had had a good career and had proved he could make a living out of his passion. He finally had reached a plateau in life where he was comfortable with himself and his place in the world, and now that all was changing. No longer could he live his comfortable life with everyone on demand at the touch of the button. No longer could he lose himself in the adventures of superheroes and warriors. No longer could he dream of what he would do in a life or death situation, because he was living it, and, so far, he wasn't making himself proud.