by Pamela Davis
Maria asked, "What do you mean when you say you know the dreams are connected to the disasters? How do you know that?"
Zack stared across the water that covered a town full of bodies, struggling to describe the knowledge that felt so nebulous and fleeting. "You know that verse in the Bible, First Corinthians, I think, about seeing through a glass darkly?" Maria nodded. "That's what it's like. A hazy, cloudy view of something huge that I can't grasp yet."
"Yet?" Maria asked, surprise in her voice. "You think you will be able to at some point?"
"Oh, yes," Zack answered confidently, "the feeling of knowing something about the disasters is getting stronger every day. Whatever is causing the disasters is working with a plan, of that I'm sure."
Maria took a step away from Zack, reaching out to touch his tanned, well-muscled arm, as she said, "Now, don't take this the wrong way, but you aren't, you know, hearing voices or anything are you?" As he started to smile, she continued defensively, "It's just that you're telling me something I find difficult to believe, and you're quoting the Bible and making pronouncements about a plan all the while sounding like some kind of prophet or something, and since you started growing that beard, great as it looks, it does kind of enhance the image of some Biblical character and--"
"Whoa! Maria, catch your breath and calm down," Zack said, laughing. "No, I'm not hearing voices, and I don't think I'm receiving a message from God, or that I'm the next incarnation of Christ. In fact, I feel sure this has nothing to do with God, or at least, with religion as we know it. I'm not losing it, Maria, and I do know how strange all this must sound to you."
Hesitantly, she said, "Well, okay, if you're sure." She paused and stared intently at the tops of her rust-colored hiking boots. Then, picking at a thread on her faded denim vest, she said sincerely, if somewhat shyly, "I really couldn't handle it if you went loco on me. I depend on you, you know." Needing and depending on anyone was something she didn't own up to lightly.
Zack put his arm around her shoulders as they walked back to the van. "Don't worry, it's going to be--I'm going to be okay. I just needed to talk about all of it, and when you brought up 'why,' it seemed like the appropriate time."
"Don't get me wrong," Maria said. "I'm very glad you told me--and if you start to understand more, or have any prophetic dreams you remember, please tell me." Giggling, she continued, "I may want to interview you if this continues."
"Ah, now we come to it, I'm only useful as an eyewitness. All right, I'll keep you informed," Zack said in a light tone. "So, changing the subject, you like the beard, do you?"
"You're incorrigible," Maria said, "and I refuse to comment. Now let's get out of here."
Louisville, Kentucky
Janine loved to walk through the stables early in the morning, listening to the snorting and stomping of energetic racehorses. Like most girls, she had fallen in love with horses around age eleven. However, her passion for horses had only grown stronger through the years, and now at age sixteen, she treasured any time she could spend with the beautiful creatures. This morning, however, she could not summon up any joy at seeing the horses. Yesterday, Sherry had been killed in the tornado that hit the diner. Sherry was the only person Janine had let herself feel anything for in the past two years. And now she had been taken away from her. Janine remembered how Sherry had always said, "Life sucks, and then you die." Today, Janine had to agree.
The horses and Sherry had been a major turning point in Janine's life last year. She had run away from home when she was fourteen. On the streets of Louisville she had gone from one bad situation to the next until she wandered into Jake's Diner where Sherry worked. She carried the classifieds in her hands, thinking there had to be a job she could talk her way into. Sherry and Janine were kindred spirits; both had been lost in the world. Sherry helped Janine check out the job listings and then suggested she check out the nearby stables who were always looking for stable hands and who might not be too picky about her age or credentials if she were a hard worker.
The stables were like heaven to Janine. Horses everywhere! She volunteered for the worst jobs happily and within weeks the boss was relying on her more and more. She seemed to have an affinity with the horses. Her soft, calming voice could settle any of them down, and her obvious love for them was demonstrated in the special care she gave to every one of them.
Sherry and Janine's relationship developed over the past year into the closeness of sisters. Janine's ability to trust and love again reawakened. Sherry was only a couple of years older than Janine and it seemed like something too good to be true that they had found each other in such a big world. Sherry was always afraid something bad would happen, that something would go wrong. Janine was always afraid that someday Sherry would leave...but that never happened. However, it turned out Sherry was right after all. Something bad did happen. A freaking tornado. The miracle was over. Yes, life did suck, and Sherry was dead.
New York City, New York
They had slept a good portion of another day and then gone out to eat. By now Nathan and Alex were feeling human again. She had been glued to the television, switching between news reports of devastation in various locations while Nathan was plowing through stacks of newspapers.
"Alex, turn that off. We need to talk," Nathan said abruptly. She stopped clicking the remote and hit the mute button, and then sat in a lotus position on the carpeted floor. She still didn't feel comfortable in chairs yet. Alex noticed she was obeying Nathan's demands with some docility, which made her uncomfortable, but for the life of her, she simply had no fight in her at this point.
He started talking, "There is too much happening, too many disasters of too great a magnitude, to ignore what the old woman said. I think they are all connected. She called the earthquake in California a 'beginning,' and now that I've looked at what has happened since then, I'm really getting scared. So many lives have been lost! Not just in Los Angeles--which in itself was horrific--but all over the place. And these disasters...they aren't right."
Alex tilted her head and her shining brown hair fell like a curtain over her right shoulder. "What do you mean they aren't right?"
"Okay, let's take them in order. First the earthquake in L.A. Nobody's ever seen one that big! Over three and a half million people lived in Los Angeles. They give casualty reports of 15,000 dead in such and such suburb, but they aren't telling us the whole story there. I don't think they've begun to scratch the surface on the huge numbers of dead in L.A. Then came the most bizarre one -- Las Vegas. It's a pyramid of ice that has melted a bit, but was so huge that it's still out there. Do you know how many people lived in Las Vegas? 1.3 million. It was one of the fastest growing cities in the past decade. 1.3 million, Alex! Think of it! All dead...and yet, reading the papers and listening to the news...it's like nobody's really paying attention to how many people have actually died! Or maybe everyone is in shock." Nathan stood and began pacing around the room. His blond hair, lightened even more by the sun, flopped over one eye as he looked down at Alex.
"Then there were the F5 tornadoes in Kentucky. Out of nowhere, no weather systems around to fuel such tornadoes, they just appear out of nowhere and wreak havoc and claim more lives across the state of Kentucky. And that's another thing," he said, whirling around and stopping his pacing suddenly. "These disasters seem to jump from state to state and seem confined within the borders of each specific state! Now when have you ever heard of a weather phenomenon respecting state borders?" He paused for a moment and then resumed.
"Next, hardly noticed, was a dam that broke in Allenville that took out a town of 6,000 or so. A so-called 'sunny day' dam failure. Nothing strange about that...according to the papers anyway."
Nathan paused again and then squatted down beside Alex and looked seriously in her face. "Now you tell me--do you really think all this is just coincidence? Or, do you think something otherworldly, strange, or unnatural is going on here? Something planned--not by us, not by humans. But by...something else. Was
the old woman right?"
Alex thought hard about what he'd said. She knew she was the more impulsive of the two of them. She also knew she had an intuitive strength that led her to gather bits of knowledge and then make a leap to connect them together and come up with new theories and ideas in ways others never would--ideas that worked and made sense. Nathan was the calmer, steadier one, who examined all possibilities and took his time coming to conclusions--it was one of the reasons she liked working with him. This however, would be a pretty big leap, even for her. On the other hand, she thought resolutely, what did she have to lose sticking with Nathan? She really did have nothing left to go home to, no one waiting anywhere for her.
She looked directly into his eyes and said, "What the hell--let's go with it as a working theory."
Nathan smiled in relief. Winning Alex over was the first step. He had no idea what the next step was, or where to even start to look for it.
Houston, Texas
Houston was a nightmare of humidity and unseasonable heat that never ended. Sheffield Hutton (the third) was incredibly annoyed at having to spend yet another day in what he considered the worst place on the planet. As the President's science advisor, he was obligated to attend the most significant scientific conferences and was unlucky enough to be chosen to speak on the last day of this one. Now what we ought to be working on, he thought, was how to put a dome over places like this hell-hole so we could keep the temperature at a steady sixty-four degrees every day of the year. Crossing the busy downtown street, he could see the heat rising off the black asphalt and cursed NASA for having chosen Houston as its home. Entering the high-rise office building, he relished the blast of frigid air from the air vents as he took the elevator down to the tunnel system that would allow him to traverse most of downtown in underground air-conditioned comfort.
Dr. Sheffield Hutton had climbed to the top on the backs of a dozen naive research assistants whose original ideas he had appropriated and published as his own. He was fully capable of generating original ideas, having an IQ in the upper five percent of the population, but had been raised in extreme wealth that left him expecting other people to do his work for him. Tall, six-feet-two-inches, and thin, he presented a hawk-like appearance to the world with his beaked nose and jet-black hair swept off his broad forehead in perfectly positioned waves held in place with a styling mousse designed specifically for him by an exclusive salon. The day's heat had left his normally crisp, white tailored shirt wilted and clinging to his bony torso.
The conference was a waste of time. All these NASA types pontificating about weather changes observed from space grated on his nerves.
Cape Fair, Mrs. Philpott's House
Mrs. Philpott, Jessica, and John were sitting in the living room of Mrs. Philpott's house drawing up lists of what they needed to buy and what needed to be done. Perceval the cat and Harry the dog were also in attendance. The laptop computer was plugged in and placed on the floor for easy cat access. Samantha was curled up on the sofa reading a book--another development of her communication with the animals that Jessica was still stunned by. Her daughter was quite suddenly reading proficiently.
"John, did you come up with any ideas on what to do about food?" Mrs. Philpott asked.
"Yes, I think our best bet is to take our savings and buy some good farm land as near to our two houses as possible. Basically, we are talking about establishing an enclave of safety in the midst of the coming chaos. We need to make sure we can grow whatever we will need to eat because the transportation system will break down, and besides, the disasters are already affecting some of the agricultural crops and that will only get worse. And we've all pretty much agreed that money will become worthless by the end of this year, so we might as well use it to get what we need now."
"But John," Jessica began and then stopped, biting her lip.
"What is it, hon?" he replied.
"It's just that the savings include the money for Samantha's college fund. If we use it to buy land and other things...I mean we don't even really know if this is all going to happen. How can we just wipe out our savings on the word of a few animals?" Jessica took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair.
Mrs. Philpott interjected, "Jessica, dear, I thought we had all agreed that it is not just the animals that are getting information, but also Samantha and myself. And haven't we proved the dreams or predictions are accurate? What about Allenville? That flooding occurred exactly as Samantha, Harry, and myself saw it in our dreams."
"I know, I know," Jessica said in frustration. "It just seems so surreal. Look out the window. Nice blue sky, a bright sunny day, no disastrous storms in sight. Turn on the TV--no warnings of coming disasters. Sure, the earthquake in California, the increase in tornadoes, and Allenville have all made the news, but nobody is saying it's the end of the world as we know it!"
John said, "Jessica, how much more proof do you want? Do you want to wait until it is too late to prepare? You are concerned about money for Sam to go to college. Well, I am worried about Sam having enough to eat next year! If this doesn't happen, you know darn well you and I are capable of going out and making enough to send Sam to college. I think you are reacting like this because you don't want to face what is coming."
Harry and the cat looked at each other and shook their heads. Although it was unusual for Perceval, he had found that communicating with Harry was relatively easy, a kind of telepathy. He'd never known about it because he had never wanted to talk with a dog before. And he had begrudgingly accepted that Harry was smarter than he'd originally thought. Listening to the humans now, he and Harry agreed that too much time was being spent on dealing with these humans' feelings. Yet the cat also knew that if the humans were to respond efficiently, they needed to work out their emotional reactions. What a species! He turned his attention back as Mrs. Philpott finished what she was saying.
"--so the bottom line is whether or not you have enough trust in your daughter, your husband, Harry, Perceval, and me to go on faith. We'll know tomorrow about the hurricane, so that will be more verification for you, Jessica. In the meantime, can we at least continue with the planning? Then if the hurricane doesn't occur, we can re-evaluate where we stand. And if it does occur, we will know what steps we need to take immediately."
Jessica sighed and smiled ruefully at Mrs. Philpott. "All right. That sounds good. I do trust all of you--I guess I don't want to believe it is all really happening. So, we need to buy farm land." She turned to John and said sardonically, "You know, darling, I've always longed to be a farmer's wife," and gave him an ironic grin.
"Hey, who said anything about me being the farmer?" he replied, laughing. Then his face got serious as he continued, "I guess we'll all be farmers, or hunters and gatherers, before it's done. Growing food or searching for food may end up taking all our time in the future."
"You may be right, John," said Mrs. Philpott. "I'd like to think, though, that we can hold on to more than that. I don't think losing the basis of our culture, our so-called civilization, would be a bad thing. But I think we have to always strive to do more than survive. We can't forget about educating the children, about the importance of the arts, about keeping what science and technology we can. I think we have to incorporate these things into the new way of life. Do it differently than our culture has done it. Anyway, let's get on with the lists."
John reviewed his notes and said, "Here's what I think. I'll call a realtor and try to buy some property this week. Then we need to buy some animals--mules, maybe, to pull plows and horses for transportation...pigs, chickens...I don't know if we will have enough grazing land to raise cattle. Jessica, you need to get your hands on any books you can find on farming and gardening. Maybe you can download some of it off the internet."
Jessica interrupted, "We also need books on medicinal herbs--oh, my god, no more hospitals and pharmacies. Mrs. P, do you have anything on how to make antibiotics?"
"I know we'll need more information than what I have. I
'll look into that one. But that brings up a question--do we need to invite people we know to come here? For instance, do we know any doctors, dentists, or other specialized professions that we can ask to join us?"
"And what about our families?" Jessica asked. "John, do you think you could get your mother and sister to come out here--maybe tell them we want them to come since Samantha was sick, or for a vacation? Because you know New York will not last. And for that matter, I should call my parents, as well, get them out of San Francisco. No major city will be a good place to be if all this happens."
Perceval typed into the computer:
BIG SF QUAKE WILL HAPPEN
"Oh, my god," Jessica said.
Chapter 5
Biloxi, Mississippi
"...and that's the weather for this afternoon, folks, lots of sun and temperatures hovering around the eighty-five degree mark. Don't forget your sunblock!"
Andy Jordan smiled as he ended his noonday weather broadcast. The news anchor, Matt Sullivan, turned to him after signing off and continued a conversation the two had been engaged in during commercial breaks.