by Harley Vex
Taking a breath, I wondered what to tell my friend. Alana still had the hope that maybe someone in Colton had made it through the disaster. Her mother and younger brother—
I wouldn’t think of it.
On the radio, the man went out completely. The quality of the static changed, and I wondered if the radio broadcast had ended for the night. Panic stabbed me in the heart, and I turned off the radio. Maybe, like us, whoever was broadcasting had to conserve power. Or their electricity had fallen to whatever damage the burst had done.
“I don’t know,” I blurted.
“Laney, think positive. If Dr. Shetlin left, the EMP must not have affected all the vehicles equally. That means we can drive out of here before our food runs out, and maybe get to help.” She let go of my arm and patted me on the shoulder instead.
“But they’re supposed to fry everything.” Dread curled in my stomach as I thought of what Alana would find at home. “Aren’t they?”
“I think older cars are more protected. They have fewer electronics, or something,” Alana said. Her voice leveled out, and I knew she was distracting herself. And I couldn’t blame her for that. It worked. “Mr. Ellis said something about what would happen if we ever had an EMP. Older cars can deal with lightning strikes and electrical fields pretty well. So maybe some older ones survived this hypernova since they’re not full of computers.”
Even though I knew we’d just find a grisly scene in Colton, I had to wonder if she had a good point. I went to ask Jerome, but only found a single figure standing just inside the front door, listening to us.
“We should try the vehicles,” David said. “There are a few in the lot, and I think there might be more back in those hangar-looking buildings we saw.”
I didn’t even mind that he was going to present it as his idea. And once we were out, I’d let everyone know it was Alana’s thinking, not his. “That might be a good idea.”
David cleared his throat. “It is a good idea.”
“Going to thump your chest next?” I couldn’t help it. Being nobody was frustrating, and David wasn’t helping that.
He lowered his voice to a dangerous level. “Laney, do you want to get out of here or not? Because you’re not helping.”
Alana seized my shoulder in warning while the others slowly filed inside, just shadows against the fading blue light. It was going to get very dark out there. Dark and cold, except for the distant fires. “Nope. I haven’t helped do anything here at all. And yes, I think we all want to get out of here.” The last thing I wanted to deal with was more death.
Already, the pressure was building up inside.
“Should we go anywhere with all these fires burning, though? It still looks like Hell out there,” Tony said, peeking out the window. “I think we should see if something starts tonight, wait for the fires to calm down, and then move. We should have enough food to last us until then.”
Tony had a good point. People muttered in agreement. David turned like he was trying to find some way to steal the glory, but he couldn’t find one, so he just added to what Tony said.
"Okay. We can't even move until tomorrow night at the earliest. We still have to figure out how to shield ourselves from the sun before we venture anywhere. And we need more time to bring those safe food and water supplies up. I’ll draft more people to go down with those packs and bring stuff back up. And when we leave, we can take that with us."
I cringed, wondering how David would punish me for my latest transgression, but he pointed out Tony and Eric as the next lucky people. “The rest of you, go outside and see if anything in the parking lot will start.”
Already, I just wanted to get out of the Visitor Center. But I also didn’t. Everywhere we went, there would be death, until we got to the middle of the country. And then, only then, would we find survivors.
But in what state?
Would we find people dying more slowly from radiation poisoning? Looting? Supply chains were going to be screwed for sure. Whatever we found, it would be the stuff of nightmares.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Laney, things might be a lot better out there,” Alana said, sitting against the reception counter with me. “We have to have some hope right now, or we will not make it.”
Full night had fallen two hours ago. Eric and Tony had brought up more of the supplies, mostly non-perishable food, and I felt less like a wimp when Eric flopped down after the hike up the ladder. We passed around batteries, candy bars, and sandwiches that Dr. Shetlin and Dr. Marson probably wouldn’t come back to eat. Or would they?
We hadn’t seen either scientist since leaving the mine, and though Dr. Marson was a mystery, Dr. Shetlin might have fallen to the day’s deadly UV radiation.
No one spoke much as we ate. We just sat in a blob around the upturned flashlight, shadows stretching under our faces.
Reality was sinking in.
Except for Alana. She was going in and out, and her hopeful episodes were getting more and more frequent now that the action had calmed down. It was a defense mechanism, and I didn’t want to break it. My friend had her own ways to get through life, and so did I.
David, of course, took the big flashlight again. “All right, everyone. We have to check the vehicles now that it’s dark and we’ve taken in calories. Move out.”
He sounded like a soldier. Of course he did.
No one argued. We got up, and I was glad I had some food to stop the shakiness. We filed outside as Alana followed me. It was black. No stars. No galaxy sweeping overhead.
“This isn’t right,” I said, a pang ripping through my chest.
Mom and Dad used to take me out into the desert at night to see the stars. We’d take a blanket and just lie there for an hour or two, enjoying the quiet. If I looked for long enough, the galaxy came into view.
Now it had gone, obscured behind the strange smog that we still hadn’t figured out. The burst must have caused some sort of chemical change in the atmosphere. The smog, I guessed, was blocking out some of the sun’s warmth, but it wasn’t enough to shield us from the UV rays.
“It probably won’t stay this way forever,” Alana said. “I bet things will settle down.”
I didn’t answer.
“Okay. The cars,” David said. “Start busting windows if you have to. I got the keys from the receptionist, so that and the bus are our only options.”
There were three cars in the parking lot. One for each staff member. And none of them had left. How did Dr. Shetlin get out of here, then? And where had Dr. Marson gone off to?
And had they survived the sun? If not, the two had abandoned us. Fury rose in my chest. I could understand Dr. Shetlin going to check on her kids, but not Dr. Marson.
I voiced my questions, and everyone turned to look at me.
"Dr. Shetlin's got to be hurt," Tony said. "I agree with what Laney just said. That was killer sun out there. Even if she drove, she might be in trouble."
"If she felt the burning, she would have come back," Jerome said. "I know I would."
"Unless she found shelter," Alana said.
I looked at the surrounding void. Distant fires still burned, stretching like ragged, orange worms on the horizon. Other than that, there was no other light. I wrapped my arms around myself, desperate to stay warm. The smog still let the desert heat escape at night.
David swung his flashlight around in the vain hope that the scientist had come back. Nothing. The beam fell on dust, sand, rocks, and the driveway. A fourth car, a little sedan, stood behind the shack we had passed on the way inside.
"Maybe we can find something out here. There's the exit gate," David said, walking forward. We all followed like a herd. I didn't want to, but right now we had no choice. "The guard. Oh, crap. You guys forgot about him."
The flashlight beam fell on the shack. The guard was lying inside, slumped over with his hand pressed against the glass. Only a few flies buzzed around inside, and even they struggled to climb up the glass.
I averted my gaze from the
newest body. But next to the shack, the chain-link gate had broken open as if someone had rammed it from the inside. It swung in the breeze.
“Someone hit that with something big,” Jerome said, running to the gate and giving the guard shack a wide berth. “The chain. It’s broken.”
“Dr. Shetlin,” Alana said. “She must have found something that still runs. What about those garages back there? Behind the Visitor Center? They’re metal and they’re probably grounded.” She said that last part as if it were important.
David walked through the smashed gate, not listening to her. "I think someone drove out of here. That means at least some vehicles are still working. Someone needs to check and see if the bus will start."
"She abandoned us," Mina said.
"We don't know that for sure," Alana said. "She might come back."
"Are you kidding? Dr. Shetlin didn't want to be down there with us. She wanted to go check on her own family," I said, gulping. I knew about what she’d found.
"Can you blame her?" Alana asked.
I thought about Dad. New York had missed being on the wrong side of the planet by maybe two thousand miles, but with the atmosphere this messed up, there was still plenty of danger. The ozone would spread out over the world, cutting everyone down to half.
"I'll check and see if the bus will start," I offered.
Dad was all I had left.
David handed me the flashlight. "I don't know where the keys are. Find them." He nodded.
"I'll come with you," Alana offered.
The two of us walked towards the bus. I shined the flashlight on it. A few crickets chirped as the night deepened. There was still a bit of life out here, at least. A few of the insects had made it, or maybe they just died more slowly than we did. Radiation must have a thing for more complex creatures. I’d heard that before.
“I’m sorry I didn’t go down with you earlier,” Alana said. “I should have said something.”
“David would have turned on you, too,” I whispered. “I’m glad you stayed quiet. I had Jerome. He was cool. And I was on a ladder, not in the elevator. There’s a difference.” Thankfully, I didn’t have a fear of heights and Alana knew that. I’d gone hiking with Mom and Dad on mountain trails throughout my life.
But the descent and the climb had still been unnerving. And I didn’t want Alana to feel bad.
“He did that after he found out you hated going down the shaft.” Alana looked at the dust as we approached the other end of the big parking lot. “I stayed quiet because, well, if David gets out of control and divides us, it would be best to have one of us on each side.”
I snapped my gaze to her. Alana was full of crazy hope, but she was planning. And quietly.
“You’re saying we’re in for the Lord of the Flies?”
“It’s possible. It’s best to be prepared,” she said as we reached the bus. The smell hit me, and I realized the driver was still underneath, having died after trying to shield himself from the sky. The bus hadn’t been enough to protect him from the cosmic particles.
I found the bus door open, which made boarding a lot easier. The dying driver hadn't bothered to close it behind him. I hopped onto the bus and shined the flashlight all over the seat. Something crusty stuck to the steering wheel that might be vomit. I almost threw up the chips I had eaten, along with whatever fizzy drink I'd sucked down. Coke. The taste of it burned at the back of my throat.
"I see no keys," Alana said behind me. "Wow. The driver got sick."
"I don't want to touch that without a Hazmat suit," I said. "You're right. They're not here. We know what that means." I faced Alana, and she grimaced.
"The keys are with the driver," she said.
"Yep. And David’s too much of a wimp to deal with it.”
Alana forced a smile. “I’ve noticed. But we aren’t. I always said we’d get out of Colton, together. Now we’re going to get out of here.”
Yes. Alana had always promised that she and I would be roomies in whatever university we chose once we graduated. We’d travel once we finished whatever STEM program she dreamed of being in. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do STEM, as I wasn’t a huge computer nerd, but she assured me I’d do well in any math-based program, provided we navigated the male-dominated waters.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good at that. And we’d gone from Mr. Connors to David.
“And we’ll do it again,” she promised, holding out her pinky.
I took it, wanting to share in that feeling, but I couldn’t. For all I knew, college might not exist pretty soon. If the whole ozone layer was going to be halved around the planet, thanks to one side’s half spreading out, then no one would go to college for who knew how long.
It would all be about survival.
Just getting to the next day.
And then what? Life turned meaningless when it got to that point.
We scrambled out of the bus and out of the putrid smell. I shined the flashlight on the ground and found nothing except a few dots of what was probably blood. Or bloody puke. I didn't want to think about it, so I got on my knees and sucked in a breath of fresh air to hold in my lungs. I thought about Dad and the uselessness of staying out here. We had to get the bus started. The EMP hadn't wiped every single vehicle if that chain had broken. There was hope.
The monster was back.
I pushed it away and moved, crawling under the bus while Alana held the flashlight. At least, I would gain some respect from the others and have a shot at not having David become the new deity around here. The driver was face-down, with his pockets exposed. The point of a key stuck out of one.
"Found them!" I reached in and his dead body pushed against my hand. I had to breathe in. I coughed and dropped the keys, then grabbed them again and crawled out from under the bus. I handed them to Alana and stood, sucking in fresh air. At least that wasn't poisoned.
I sucked in another breath. David and the others stood at the gate, waiting in silence for the verdict. I climbed onto the bus, put the keys in the ignition, and turned them.
There was a horrible click and then nothing.
I tried again, and again, but the same click followed, and nothing happened.
My heart sank, and I swallowed, trying to hold down my panic. The bus was fried, and it was the only thing capable of transporting us all at once.
That was great.
"Sorry," I told Alana.
"It's not your fault," she told me, climbing onto the bus. "Come down. We'll figure something out. There has to be another way."
I did. I wanted to fall to the dust. “At least we won’t have to clean the puke?”
“Now you’re thinking positive.” She clapped me on the back.
I took the flashlight back from her.
The nearest town, a little retirement community, was thirty miles away. We passed it on the way here. And Colton was fifty to the north.
It was too far to walk before the sun came up. Unless another survivor came by in a working vehicle, we were all going to stay here for quite a while. The horror of our situation rose inside of me, and I pushed that hope monster aside. We had to face the truth, sooner rather than later.
"Are there any other vehicles?" I asked everyone who still stood near the gate. It was a dumb question as there were four cars here, one for each employee. I shined the flashlight on them and the windows reflected it right back at me. They were empty. There was a newer sedan, a rusty truck, and a minivan with one of those stick figure families on the back. My heart ached when the light fell on that. I thought of Dr. Shetlin, or maybe the receptionist lady. There was a woman, a man, and three kids. And a dog.
If that was Dr. Shetlin's, it was no wonder she hadn't come back.
And if she’d left her van, it was because it didn’t start.
“Laney?” Jerome asked.
I ran up to it, flashlight bobbing, just to see, and opened the driver side door. The keys were in the ignition, like she had tried and failed. I got in and turned the
m again anyway, with no results.
She had left, abandoning us to vehicles that didn't start.
"Well?" David asked from outside. He had followed me.
"It's all fried," I told him, climbing out of the van. "I don't know how our guide got out of here or how that gate got smashed. Did she find a big work truck or something? Alana said something about the garages."
David shrugged. For the leader, he knew little. "Maybe," he said. He turned in a circle. "I see no work trucks out here. Do you?"
I shook my head.
"I saw nothing when we pulled in," David said as the rest of the group came up behind him. "I looked at the whole place just as the bus was pulling in.”
"Did you know something would happen?" I blurted. Mr. Ellis had. I keep my tone as innocent as possible, just so I wouldn’t set him off. “Is that why you staked out the area?”
David, to my shock, softened. "My dad served in some special forces before I was born. He always told me to know about an escape from any situation. He kind of drilled that into me when I was little, so it's automatic. Whenever I'm in a new place, I look for the exits. He'd grill me if I didn't. You did not relax around him. I’m shocked he never choked my mother in her sleep."
"That's rough on a kid," I admitted, shocked he was letting this out. David, however, had missed what Alana hadn’t. And if I brought that up to him, he would not react well. Maybe we could keep his temper under control.
"David,” Christina said behind him. “Look, we need to get out of here, vehicle or no vehicle. The closest town was Rocky Falls, and it was about twenty-five miles behind us. Maybe we can walk there and reach it by morning. It takes fifteen minutes to walk one mile. How long would that take us to get there? We’re nerds. We can figure this out."
"I think it was farther away than that," I said, glad that she had calmed down. Christina wasn’t my favorite person, but we were all in this together.
"It's just an estimate," David said.
"Guys," Alana said towards the back of the group. I had forgotten she was standing there. "We have another building to check out. It’s tucked behind the Visitor Center, so I don’t think anyone saw it.”