The Waterhole

by Warren Chazan

  “Yes thanks.”

  The door closed.

  “Going down,” said the smooth female voice of the elevator.

  Lionel looked around and found a mirror opposite him. He couldn’t help but admire himself surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye, making sure the two women would not notice. He prided himself on his impeccable appearance, and he wanted to be certain there were no creases or stains on his suit jacket. His hair was always neatly combed and his teeth had recently been whitened.

  The elevator began to move, but something was not quite right, and Lionel was jolted back into reality. “Hey, didn’t you say this elevator was going down?” he asked the two women.

  The older woman frowned, lowered her bifocal glasses and studied the electronic panel. The elevator was in fact going up. Not only that, but it appeared to be accelerating quickly.

  The three of them watched the numbers increase, as the car accelerated upward. Annoyance had given way to anxiety and by the fortieth floor a sense of panic had set in. There were only seventy two floors, and as they sped past the fiftieth, the elevator began to violently shake and Lionel was overcome by a sense of impending doom. All three looked at each other with dread, but no one spoke. The older woman began frantically pressing buttons at random, desperately trying to stop the elevator, but to no avail. They all knew what was about to eventuate.

  As they whizzed past the fifty-ninth floor, the younger woman let out a deathly scream, her eyes as large as golf balls, flicking around the confines of her destined-to-be coffin. Lionel briefly thought about his eight-year-old daughter, who would soon become an orphan. A tear came to his eye just as the car impacted into the ceiling of the seventy second floor at forty-nine miles per hour, crushing the elevator and all of its contents with such force that it practically disintegrated on impact.

  * * * *

  September 17, 19:00 Local Time, Durban, South Africa

  “What do you mean you forgot to bring home the soy milk, Phineas? Don’t you know that I have a book club meeting tonight? Patience Zuma has an allergy to lactose and I told you she was coming. Everything has to be perfect. If she gets sick, it’ll be all over the Azanian news in a flash.”

  Phineas looked down at his four-year-old daughter, who was tugging incessantly at his trousers. A wave of anger grew within him, but seeing his daughter in front of him, he managed to quell it.

  “Chocolate, Daddy, please get me chocolate at the shops,” she pleaded with her tiny, high-pitched voice.

  Phineas smiled. Grace was a darling and every time he saw her angelic smile, his heart melted a little more. Even though it had undoubtedly been a terrible mistake marrying Gertrude, who had become increasingly hostile and demanding over the years, he tolerated her for the sake of Grace, his only child whom he absolutely adored.

  “Of course, my darling. I’ll get you your favorite if you promise me you’ll go straight to bed after dinner.”

  “Yes, Daddy, thank you,” she squealed in delight, tottering off.

  “Have you lost your mind, Phineas?” said Gertrude. “How many times do I have to tell you she’s not to eat chocolates before bedtime? It makes her crazy, and we struggle to get her to sleep.”

  “She promised, you heard her.”

  “She’s four, she’ll promise anything. Are you a moron or just plain stupid? Sometimes I wonder why I married you. Mama Temba warned me not to, she said you’d never amount to anything and she was right. Now go and get that soy milk, the girls will be here soon.”

  Gertrude shoved Phineas aside and shuffled out of the bedroom toward the kitchen, her enormous backside waddling from side to side like an obese duck.

  Phineas was ready to explode, but he saw Grace standing in the corner and restrained himself, just as he had done numerous times in the past. Gertrude was deviously clever. She knew he would never shout or curse in front of Grace, so she carefully and cunningly chose her moments to emasculate him.

  “Daddy, don’t forget, I want the big size,” came the tiny voice.

  “Okay, honey, now run off and help Mom in the kitchen.”

  Phineas grabbed the keys to his 2031 Honda Civic and made his way outside to the car, which he had reverse-parked into the carport. He did this frequently, as it made for a quick getaway in the morning, as he wouldn’t need to reverse out into the busy traffic.

  Employed as a shop assistant, he wasn’t flush with money, but had managed to save up enough cash to purchase a fairly decent car. It had none of the fancy bells and whistles of the fully automated electric versions, but until gasoline cars were phased out completely, he was happy to keep this old faithful hybrid, which he maintained in near-perfect condition.

  As he made his way to the vehicle, he didn’t notice that he had left the kitchen backdoor unlocked and that Grace had wandered over to the carport chasing after the neighbor’s cat, Eva, who had once again found her way into their garden.

  The child located the cat, grooming itself just behind the Honda, and was making her way between the rear of the car and the carport wall when the car’s engine started.

  Phineas adjusted his rear-view mirror and selected first gear. He put his foot down on the accelerator, but instead of the car rolling forward, it unexpectedly flew back into reverse, hit something, and then smashed into the concrete wall of the carport. The force was powerful enough to give him a serious case of whiplash.

  “What the hell just happened?” he cried, rubbing his aching neck.

  As he opened the driver’s door to inspect the damage, his eyes caught a glimpse of the kitchen door, which was wide open. He knew he had closed it. It didn’t take his brain more than a second before the horror of what had just taken place struck him.

  “Oh my god!” he screamed, his heart thumping furiously, the air being squeezed out of his lungs. “Oh my god! What have I done?”

  He tentatively made his way to the rear of the car, desperately hoping he was mistaken, but knowing deep down in his fractured soul that he wasn’t.

  Gertrude had heard the noise and had left the house to investigate. At exactly the same moment, they both caught sight of their daughter’s body lying limp and lifeless under the car, blood splattered everywhere. They both shrieked, their cry a blend of pain and grief. Gertrude’s legs gave way, and the enormous woman collapsed in a heap. Phineas dropped to his knees next to his wife, sobbing uncontrollably. He gently lifted up and cradled the lifeless body of his daughter, embracing her tightly in his arms. He stared up toward the darkening sky and let out a shrieking cry, so deafening that it was heard for miles around.

  CHAPTER forty-THREE

  September 18, 02:08 Eastern Daylight Time

  Canberra, Australia

  Steve Winslow awoke shivering. It had been a cool night, so before retiring he’d turned on the reverse-cycle of the air conditioner in his room. He was sure he had set it to seventy-three degrees Fahrenheit.

  “Lights on,” he barked at the room server.

  The lights slowly brightened and he looked at the thermostat on the wall. The temperature read fifty-seven degrees.

  That’s odd, he thought. He stood up and approached the duct from where he expected the warm air would be exiting. As he got closer to it, he noticed that the air actually seemed to be getting cooler, not warmer.

  “That’s weird,” he said aloud.

  He decided to increase the setting on the thermostat to eighty-two degrees, in case there happened to be a thermostat fault.

  “Temperature increase to eighty-two degrees,” he ordered.

  He heard a noise in the ceiling as the heater kicked in. He walked back over to the vent, expecting to find warm air flowing through it now, but once again was surprised to find even colder air blowing over him.

  The phone rang. He looked at the screen. He smiled when he saw that it was Sheri.

  “Steve, Steve, are you okay?” she said with rising panic in her voice.

  “Okay? Of course I’m okay. Why are you ringing me at t
wo am to find out if I’m okay?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

  “Have you not seen what’s going on? It’s crazy, the President is talking about a national crisis and—”

  “Hey, slow down there. You’re not making any sense. What are you talking about?”

  “Switch on the TV. NOW!”

  He obeyed without delay. “NEWS CHANNEL, CNNA FROM BEGINNING,” he shouted.

  The TV sprang to life, and an attractive woman in her mid-thirties appeared in the bedroom.

  “Good morning, viewers. This is Susan Moore reporting to you from downtown LA from a scene of utter chaos. As you are all by now well aware, we are currently in a state of emergency, the likes of which have never been seen since war time. To summarize again, the main points so far:

  “It all began roughly two hours ago with reports coming in globally at almost exactly the same moment with scenes of major traffic accidents occurring around the world. It seems as if millions of vehicles, mostly newer, electric or hybrid models, have been behaving most erratically, reversing when being placed in forward gears and moving forward when placed in reverse. This has resulted in hundreds of thousands of accidents across the planet.

  “As I said earlier, it seems to be mostly affecting vehicles manufactured post 2030, but it is having a knock-on effect on everyone.

  “The President has advised everyone not to drive or use the ACE system if at all possible, and if one must, to only do so in a vehicle registered pre-2030.

  “Furthermore, there are worldwide reports coming in of elevator accidents, this time in mostly pre-2020 buildings. The elevators seem to be traveling in the reverse direction to the norm and have resulted in many deaths and injuries, especially since they have not been programmed with the correct speeds for the directions in which they are now traveling.

  “Again, the President is appealing to everyone not to use elevators, but to make use of stairs. And yes, we know that some of you live in high-rises, but it’s simply not safe until we know more about this phenomenon and why it is happening.

  “Lastly, there have been reports of coolers and freezers operating in reverse, causing severe burns to many people who have been caught off guard by this bizarre situation. Reports of fans and air conditioners operating in reverse have also been received, and there is a fear that disease may break out if a solution to the refrigeration problem is not promptly found. You are all advised to boil all water before drinking, and to eat from canned and processed foods only at this stage.

  “Scientists around the world are at work frantically investigating this strange phenomenon, but at this stage they are just as puzzled as we are as to what’s taking place. Terrorism appears to be an unlikely but possible cause. The President, who will be making a statement shortly, has appealed for calm and restraint in this time of international crisis. The National Guard has been activated, and all emergency services personnel have been placed on high alert. The military has been called in to every major city in the US in order to prevent panic and looting. All leave by all emergency service personnel has been canceled, effective immediately. We will be updating you with information as …”

  Steve ordered the TV off, stared blankly at the dark screen before bringing the phone back to his ear.

  “Steve, are you there? Steve?”

  He shook his head and remained silent for a good ten seconds, trying to digest the incredible information his brain had just taken in. Had he been dreaming? Could this all just be part of a nightmare?

  “Steve, are you there, hon?” asked Sheri, her voice etched with desperation.

  “Yes … I am … Oh my god, Sheri, what have we done?”

  He felt sick to his stomach. “My god, what have we done?”

  CHAPTER forty-FOUR

  Janine awoke to the sound of metal impacting behind her. She sat up, struggled to consciousness and tried to make sense of what had just occurred. As she rubbed her eyes, Jack bolted into the room, his trusty rifle clutched in his right hand.

  “Best get up. Sounds like someone’s trying to break in,” he said with authority. He was dressed in just his boxer shorts and a white T-shirt.

  Janine looked at her watch. It was 6:07. “Shit, what the hell’s going on?” she asked, hastily grabbing her dressing gown and slipping into it. The two of them cautiously ventured to the back of the house.

  “Wait here,” said Jack as he placed his left arm across the doorway, effectively blocking Janine from entering the kitchen.

  He released the safety catch on the gun so that he was ready to fire if necessary. Dawn was breaking, but it was still too dark to ascertain exactly what was going on. He saw a few shadows that seemed to be dancing in the cool breeze, the only thing audible being the tweets from the dawn chorus. He peered through the window, moved his head slowly from side to side and then placed the weapon on the kitchen table. The stench of burnt rubber permeated through the air.

  “It’s okay. Looks like my neighbor, Mrs. Dawson, has just inadvertently parked her car into my kitchen wall.”

  Janine, unbothered by the threat of any potential danger, marched brazenly into the kitchen, unlocked the door and ventured outside in her pink floral dressing gown.

  “Jack come quick, there’s blood on the dash and it looks as if she’s unconscious.” She was shocked by the extent of the woman’s injuries. She had never got used to the sight of blood, even while reporting in the war-torn Middle East. Jack bolted to her side and pried open the car door. The car was a write-off. A loud female voice came to life.

  “Intruder, intruder. Activate auto-police call in two minutes. Intruder, intruder. Activate auto-police call in two minutes.”

  “Oh shut up,” yelled Janine. Automated chauffeurs were not particularly popular with her of late.

  Jack felt for the woman’s pulse, while Janine raced back inside in search of her phone.

  “She’s still alive, I’ll call the ambulance,” shouted Jack a minute later.

  “Don’t worry, I already have,” said Janine, as she returned to the car. “They said they’ll be at least an hour.” She rolled her eyes. “Apparently for some reason they’re quite busy at six am.”

  “You mean you haven’t heard yet?” said Jack.

  “Heard what? I just woke up to this explosion in my room!”

  “You’d better sit down. You’re not going to believe this. I’ll tell you all about it after I’ve canceled the automated police call from the car. I woke up early, so I put on the news. It seems the world has turned upside down while we’ve been sleeping.”

  The elderly woman seemed to be regaining consciousness and muttered something softly under her breath, which the two of them failed to understand. She slowly regained her senses.

  “What happened?” she asked in a daze, wiping the blood off her cut face.

  “You crashed your car into my wall. Are you okay?” asked Jack.

  “I think so,” she replied, rubbing her left temple.

  * * * *

  “I want to organize a conference call now, Major! I want Professor Hart, Steve Winslow, and Sheri Johnson on the mainframe screen in five. The President is on my back demanding to know what’s going on.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ve just arrived at Stromlo and there’s chaos outside. One of the scientists, a Mr. Drew Murrey, is about to hold a press conference.”

  “Stall him until I’ve spoken with the team. I don’t want another loose cannon going off. One more is more than I can handle at the moment. Speaking of which, what’s the lovely Nancy Drew up to right now?” Denny said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “I have my men tailing her. She’s taken up board with a Jack Keegan, ex-SAS soldier and decorated war hero. He served in Afghanistan during the Kabul siege by ISIS in thirty-five. He was quite the James Bond. Intelligence tells me he saved a school and a hundred kids from an ISIS attack. Apparently he’s an expert marksman and is multitalented in the use of military technology amongst … other things.”

  “Why did th
ey retire him?”

  “He retired himself. Something personal. I haven’t managed to get that far yet.”

  “See to it that Janine stays out of sight of the cameras for now. You know what you have to do.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “Major? Don’t get soft on me. I’m headed for the multimedia screen, so you have four minutes. Make the required calls. Get to it!”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Denny hung up, then pulled on his uniform jacket, buttoned it up, straightened his tie and marched along the corridor of NASA headquarters to the main control room.

  * * * *

  September 18, 07:00 Eastern Daylight Time

  Canberra, Australia

  “Are we online yet, lads?” asked the professor.

  “Almost,” replied Drew, peeling back the skin of a banana he was about to devour. “Wait for it, going live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and-”

  The giant screen in the main auditorium linked up and sprang to life at both Stromlo and NASA Headquarters. Sheri appeared to be out of breath, while the general, dressed in full ceremonial uniform, had a face the color of a blood moon, his upper lip raised like that of a snarling dog ready to defend its territory.

  A separate link had President O’Brien seated at his desk in the Oval Office. “What in hell’s name is going on down there, people?” asked the President.

  “We aren’t sure yet, Mr. President, but we have a few theories,” said Steve.

  The general said, “Let’s hear them then. I want to know why the world has suddenly gone crazy?”

  Drew swallowed what was left of his banana. “I reckon it’s something to do with the Earth’s reversal of the magnetic poles. Such a change in the magnetic field can influence machinery and cause hiccups in the computer chips which weren’t designed to function in such fields.”