Protocol One

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Everyone just stay put, we’re gonna make this fast.” I said and opened the door. We had less than an hour to impact and ninety miles to go until we reached the shelter.

  Tony and I stepped from the van. Admittedly I was excited to meet him.

  “Anna,” he said. “Nice to meet you. I see we have a police escort.”

  “It’s a party,” Tony said and began looking around as he helped Peter with his things.

  Walking to the van, Peter asked him. “What are you looking for?”

  “No brother, sister, friend, coworker, mystery lover you are gonna spring on us?”

  “It’s against the rules.” He said.

  I opened the back of the van. I gathered at that moment, Peter saw all the people.

  “This is a lot more than three people,” he said.

  “Welcome to my world.” Tony lifted the box.

  “No. No-no.” Peter shook his head. “Not that one, that has to be right by my side.” He spoke fast and in a quirky manner. “At all times. Yes, at all times.”

  “How many energy drinks have you had?” Tony asked.

  “Not enough,” He replied. “That case is vital. Very vital.”

  We moved Craig, Skyler and Duke to the squad car because Peter had to work in the van. He used the middle seat as a desk, crouching on the floor with the black box in the space next to the side van door. It was pretty big.

  “What’s the box?” Jackson asked.

  “A Faraday. In fact,” he adjusted his glasses. “I need all of you to put any electronics you want to save in the box.”

  “What about that lap top you’re using?” Jackson asked.

  “It’s a throw away. I need it to monitor. So we know.”

  “Where it will hit?” Jackson questioned. “Why did it flip flop?”

  “Only two facilities have telescopes with the capabilities to determine when and where the comet will hit. Both facilities got different results. It was asinine, very asinine. I don’t know how they did that. But last I heard the Puerto Rican telescope people changed their minds to Seattle. It’s Seattle or the ocean by it. Near enough. That is where the comet will hit.”

  His fingers clicked furiously on the keyboard.

  “That’s really smart of you to have all this,” I said.

  “I want us to be ready. I am trying to calculate the exact time, when the earthquakes will hit and where we will be when the ejecta starts. We should be there, before the bad stuff comes.”

  The bad stuff?” Tony questioned as he drove. “Bad stuff. Is that a scientific term?”

  “Tony,” I scolded. “Stop. Okay? He’s a brilliant man.” I looked back at Peter. “I’m a big fan.”

  Tony laughed. “Fan? Are you fan boying out?”

  “He was in the World Inquisitor.”

  “He was not.”

  “I was.” Peter said. “I used a photo of my father, but I wanted a guilt free conscience so I gave them the story.”

  “A ha!” I pointed to Tony. “Told you.”

  “Miles to Lillyville?” Peter asked. “Hurry. Miles to Lillyville?”

  “Um …” Tony glanced down to the dashboard. “Sixty four.”

  “Pull over. Pull over now. Right now.”

  “Why?” Tony asked.

  “Unless you want to walk sixty miles, then pull over!”

  Tony pulled over to the side of the deserted road. The car was barely in gear when Peter slid open the side door, laptop in hand.

  “Open the hood,” he said, then reached into the Faraday box. “Anything you want saved, you have a couple minutes. Tony make your last radio call to the bunker and make sure it is hatched down.”

  I stepped from the van. Peter was by the box. The officer and the Milton crew approached.

  “What’s going on?” Craig asked.

  Peter answered. “I need someone to remove the battery from this van now. As fast as possible and put it in this box. Place this blanket over the engine.”

  Duke reached for the blanket. “I can do that.”

  “And hurry,” Peter said. “And you three... anything you want protected, in this box. Now!”

  I asked. “How will we know it hit?”

  “This,” Peter pointed to the laptop. “Will die. I suggest anyone in the van who wants to see it, come out now.

  “Tony,” I said. “Get Joie.”

  “Should I?”

  “Yeah, yeah, you should. She should see it.”

  The officer questioned. “Where, where will it be?”

  Peter, cradling the lap top walked around the front of the van to the road.

  Duke lifted the battery. “It’s out. Blanket is on.”

  Not even looking at him, Peter said, “Put it in the Faraday box and lock it.” He looked to the sky. “There.”

  My heart stopped when he said the word and I grabbed for my son’s hand.

  Tony held Joie on his hip and we all stood in the road, peering up at the sky.

  “Forty miles per second,” Peter said. “Don’t blink. It’ll impact at a sixty degree angle.”

  There was no talking, no movement. My hand moved up to clench Jackson’s arm. Despite the preparing, the learning, the violence and sadness, the shot of reality hit as the sky brightened. The noise of it was almost deafening. It seemed so close, but only because of its size. I held firmly to my child as the ground rumbled slightly and I didn’t breathe or blink. I just watch the huge fireball of the comet soar over our heads on its final destination out west.

  20 – POP

  We watched the sky until the comet was no longer visible. The smoke from it's tail remained it the sky. Melissa released a single sob and lowered her head. Tony cradled his daughter. The only person who seemed unaffected was the officer. He stood alone.

  “This really just happened mom, didn’t’ it?”

  “Yeah.” I felt my jaws tighten and my throat swell. I wanted to cry, to break down. After embracing my son one more time, I walked over to the officer.

  “I’m glad you came with us.”

  His eyes met mine. “Me, too.”

  I looked at his name tag on his uniform. ‘S. Price’, “Officer Price what does the S stand for?”

  “Spencer. Just call me Price.”

  “Will do.”

  “Just thinking, you know. All those people who didn’t get out. All those people who watched it come. We watched it go, but they... they watched it come. How scared they had to be and brave as well.”

  We were silent, quiet, all of us.

  We didn’t need Peter to tell us his laptop died. Price had left the squad car running and the motor cut out leaving even more of a silence.

  “Impact.” Peter closed the lid to the laptop. “7:01”.

  “Son of a bitch,” Tony said with a soft edge. “I left my watch on.” He removed it and tossed it. “I loved that watch.”

  I guess as we stood there we were all wondering the same thing, but Craig spoke up and asked, “What now? Can we put the battery back in the van?”

  “No. Not yet. We have to wait,” Peter explained. “We just experienced Phase two. Phase one was impact, Phase two is that …” He pointed to the sky.

  I wasn’t facing that way and spun. Dim greenish lights swirled high and fast in the sky. “What is that?”

  Tony asked. “Are those Northern Lights?”

  “No,” Peter answered. “That is energy. So much energy that not even the sun dims it. The impact generates a wave of energy, which in turn creates a energy pulse. That is what caused the EMP. Anything not protected and running will never run again. Anything with a computer chip, unprotected will fry out. That squad car has a computer chip. This Van does not.” He exhaled as if speaking dreamlike. “Yes, right now as we speak, that pulse is moving across the globe. Power grids are zapping out, electricity is popping.”

  Tony approached him. Joie was still perched on his hip and the child was clearly frightened. I could see that. Her tiny arms were wrapped around Tony’s nec
k and she had become an extension of his body. “So how long?” Tony asked. “How long do we wait?”

  “While they are still swirling, I wouldn’t take a chance on removing anything from the Faraday box,” Peter answered. “Not at that speed. When they diminish, we can try. Ten, fifteen minutes maybe. Hopefully. In our life time this has never happened. I am going on theory here.”

  Tony looked to the sky then back to Peter. “And the van isn’t affected?”

  Peter shrugged. “I hope not. The battery is in the Faraday box, the blanket I made is over the electrical components. The metal hood is another conductor. I didn’t see any sparks from the van. So if we follow theory it should start once we replace the battery.”

  “If it doesn’t?” Tony questioned.

  “If it doesn’t.” Peter exhaled and looked around at all of us. “Then we have a long walk ahead of us.”

  21 – The Last Leg

  My phone powered up and stayed on, although there wasn’t a signal, I wasn’t expecting one, that told us to try the battery.

  Through all the heaviness and fear, the baby cooed and that gave us all incentive to keep going. He was doing better and when Tony heard that, he smiled.

  Melissa took special interest in that baby. The bag that Tony took from the father contained baby supplies. She was the one that handled him and named him Baby John after her father. Craig said he was doing well, but he still doubted he would be able to save the arm.

  It was something we’d deal with when we got to the bunker. But for the moment, we had to focus on moving ahead.

  Tony put the last of the gas into the tank, as Duke replaced the battery. We organized the van because we had to squeeze twelve people in there. It would work. It had to. We had sixty miles to go. Moving at a good pace, forty five minutes tops.

  Duke gave the ‘go ahead’ to start the van and we call kept our fingers crossed. The ‘dinging’ when Tony put the key in the ignition was a good sign.

  I was standing outside the van waiting for the engine to turn over, when Joie said, “My ears feel funny.”

  “What do you mean, sweetie?” I asked hunching down.

  “They feel funny. Like they’re buzzing.”

  It struck me as odd, and when I went to question her further, I felt it. A tingling and fullness in my ears. I pulled my earlobe. “Anyone else feel that?”

  “Don’t’ start the car!” Peter instructed. “Wait.” He crouched down and placed his hand on the ground. “Phase three.”

  I didn’t even have to ask what Phase three was. Immediately, the ground vibrated. A hum filled the air followed by a rumbling, and the ground beneath our feet began to shake.

  It shook violently as the van rocked back and forth. I lifted Joie when she started to scream, while I tried to keep my balance. Melissa held tightly to the baby, stumbling. I didn’t know what to do. Everyone was trying to grab for something. I watched Nelly, calmly make her way to the side door of the van and sit. I saw what she was doing. She held onto the doorway bracing herself as the van rocked.

  Holding Joie, I made my way to the van. Nelly held out her hand and I gripped it. Once I had my balance, I too, held on to the van and then turned to look for my son.

  “Jackson!” I called him.

  He stumbled to the ground, and desperately tried to regain his footing. I clenched Joie for dear life as well as the door to the van. My son looked so helpless, his thin body flailing back and forth as he tried as well to make it to the van.

  Peter rolled on the ground, Craig reached for Skyler.

  Jackson was almost to the van, almost in my reach. His hand extended as he swayed and as the ground rocked once more violently, I fell down with Joie and Jackson sailed forward.

  Despite the noise of the earthquake, I heard it. I heard as his head connected with the side of the van. Jackson sprang up and then fell down.

  “Jackson!”

  Then it all stopped.

  “Try the van,” Peter ordered.

  “Is my daughter okay?” Tony called from the van. “Is Joie ok?”

  Melissa answered, “She’s fine.”

  And I rushed to my son at the same time as Craig.

  “I’m okay, I’m okay,” Jackson sat up. “I’m …” his eyes rolled back in his head and blood poured from his temple. It was almost as if he had no control. His head wobbled back and forth.

  I heard the van start.

  “Let’s get him in the van,” Craig said. “I’ll check him out there.”

  “I’m fine.” Jackson repeated groggily. “I’m fine.”

  Skyler and Duke helped get Jackson in the van, as Peter insisted we 'move it'. We had to move, he said, to gain as much ground as we could and as quickly as possible.

  He didn’t say why, but I knew we’d find out.

  <><><><>

  We were jammed packed in that van and I didn’t want to know how fast Tony was going. We zipped across the Pennsylvania border before I realized it. We were close, very close.

  Peter sat up front, asking Tony over and over if he knew the exact location of the bunker.

  “I’ve been there several times over the years,” Tony said. “I could go there blindfolded.”

  “Good. You may need to.”

  I wanted to ask him why he said that but I was too concerned with Jackson. Craig had placed a quick bandage on his head and stated that Jackson definitely had a concussion. His eyes were blood shot and his pupils not responding properly.

  Jackson was defiant. He insisted he was fine. That he just had a headache.

  However, my son was talking funny, as if he were drunk. His words were slurred and times hard to understand.

  “What does this mean?” I asked Craig. “Will he be okay?”

  “He will be as long as he doesn’t overdo it or sustain another injury. He needs to rest.”

  “I’m fine,” Jackson said.

  “So we heard.” Craig retorted.

  I was focused on my son, and finally looked up when I heard a sound coming from the roof of the van.

  The sky had increasingly darkened and to me, it only made sense that it was rain. But the rain sounded funny, heavy and it smacked hard like hail against the van.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  Tony replied, “Mud. It looks like mud.”

  “Watch your speed now,” Peter said. “How far out are we?”

  “We have to leave the main road.” Tony replied.

  “Be careful. This is ash.”

  “Ash?” Tony asked. “It’s wet.”

  “It is right now, but it won’t be for long. Keep a steady pace.” Peter said. “No quick turns, treat it like snow.”

  Staying close to my son, I watched as we drove. Everyone grew silent, as if we were riding in a snow storm and within minutes it seemed as if we were.

  The dark, black, wet ash became lighter and it came down worse than any blizzard I had ever seen. The windshield wipers did little to clear the ash and the road was barely visible.

  We looked as if we were driving into a thick gray wall. It fell fast and furiously.

  “I can’t see anything,” Tony said.

  “Keep it steady,” Peter said.

  “It’s ahead on this road,” Tony said. “About seven miles.”

  The van jolted.

  “Are you absolutely sure it is on this road?” Peter asked.

  “Positive.”

  “Push it, Tony.”

  The van choked and jolted. “What the hell?” Tony asked.

  “Push it as far as you can.” Then Peter turned and faced us. “Listen. The air filter is clogging; it won’t be long before this van dies. We will have to walk. There’s no doubt about it. Doctor, did you bring any face masks?”

  “I did.” Craig replied.

  “Enough for us all?”

  “Yes.”

  “Get them.”

  Craig reached over Skyler for his bag.

  “Woman with the baby,” Peter said. “Keep that child cover
ed. The little one too. The ash may look big but there are tiny particles that are easily inhaled.”

  “She’s heating up,” Tony announced.

  Peter kept instructing. “The final thing. That ash may look harmless, but it carries a high acid content and is hot to the touch.”

  I snapped my fingers. “The thermal emergency blankets. I have eight.”

  “That will have to do,” Peter said. “We’ll share. We’ll walk in pairs and keep covered. It will not be easy to walk in. And when this van stops we will need to go. Hopefully, God willing, we will be able to see this place.”

  “Come on, come on, please. Not much further.” Tony begged the van, as if it would make a difference.

  Our vehicle sputtered and jolted and coughed like a sick animal.

  Calmly, Craig passed out the masks and I knew there was nothing I could do about the blankets until we stopped.

  “Mom,” Jackson looked at me. “I’m not feeling so good.”

  “We’re almost there.” I told him.

  Tony let out a victorious laugh. “Yes. The drug store. Finally I saw something. The turn is right ahead. As soon as we turn we’re …”

  The van stopped.

  “No.” Tony beat his hand against the steering wheel. “No.”

  The insulation of the falling ash caused a deadened silence in the van similar to any blizzard or snow storm.

  It looked like snow, but I knew it wasn’t.

  A new world emerged outside the van. Ash piled up quickly, and while we placed on our face masks, we charted a plan.

  Tony told us we were close. We had made it to the road and the bunker was less than three miles up the road. Three miles. It didn’t seem like much, but without any visibility, it could have been a hundred miles.

  Would we even see the road?

  Before leaving the van, the masks were on our faces and I was able to get blankets to everyone.

  Spencer Price toted Melissa’s things, wrapped the blanket around her and Nelly and they paired off.

  I opted to leave our rations and water. It was too heavy to carry. Without it, we had only two small bags.