We Who Remain

by Jacqueline Druga

  “I was curious.”

  “And were you also curious on what would cause a body to disintegrate?”

  “That …” Liv held up a finger, “Is fear. I saw that movie and with the comet coming I was worried. I also looked up ways everyone could go blind, because I started thinking about Day of the Triffids.”

  “On nine different occasions …” Bad agent pushed papers forward. “You blogged or posted on social media about ways you thought people would use the arrival of the Tripoli comets to cause mass chaos.”

  “Look,” Good Agent stepped forward. “You seem like a nice woman. You really do. Maybe you’re in over your head with Stevens and Connelly.”

  “No.” Liv shook her head. “First, I didn’t really meet Mitch until yesterday.”

  “Yet, you are neighbors.”

  “I’m not friendly,” she said. “And Mitch is nice, but you think he can create a biological weapon?”

  “Yes,” Bad Agent answered. “He has a degree in biology.”

  “Really? Well, still that doesn’t mean he made a weapon.”

  “We didn’t say anything about a biological weapon,” Bad Agent said.

  “I would assume you meant that when you said Mitch created it. Plus, you’re looking for an explanation of what happened on that plane.”

  “What happened on that plane?” Bad agent asked. “Flash fire, right?”

  “Oh, stop, you know the bodies looked like mashed Strawberry Cheesecake.”

  “How do you know that?” Bad Agent asked.

  “Bob told us.”

  Bad agent nodded. “Of course he did.”

  “I didn’t even know Bob until today,” she said.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, so there goes your theory that we were in cahoots.”

  “You and Bob have been social media friends for three years.”

  “Fuck,” Liv said. “You know, just because we’re friends on Social Media doesn’t mean we know each other.”

  “Look, why are you fighting this? We established the connection.”

  “Well, while you’re setting me up for something,” Liv said. “What’s the motive?”

  “Increased unhappiness with the government.”

  “That’s fifty percent of the country,” Liv said. “And you’re forgetting one important thing. You can establish a connection, you can establish a motive, but my twin brother died in all this. Mitch’s parents died in all this. Why would I want to kill my brother?”

  “Because you were beneficiary on his life insurance which was one million dollars.”

  Liv was speechless after that. Her mind stuck on that. Why would he do that? Why would Brandon take out such a huge policy? From that moment on her answers weren’t as quick. They repeated the questions, left, made her wait it out an hour and then came back, starting it all over again.

  She didn’t understand it. Why was she being blamed for the incident? They needed a scapegoat, was she really that easy of a target?

  Then it all just stopped.

  Good Agent came in, unlocked the door, left it open and said, “You are free to go.”

  “Did my husband post bail?” she asked. “Is there bail?”

  He didn’t answer and Liv stepped out into the hall. When she did, Bob and Mitch were also coming out of their interrogation rooms.

  “You okay?” Mitch asked.

  “Yeah,” She nodded. “You?”

  “I was good. Stayed the course. They tried to trick me. Saying that you told them I created the weapon.”

  “Those bastards. I did no such thing.”

  “I did,” Bob said. “They bribed me. They’ll never be able to make it stick. I told them what they wanted to hear.”

  “Really, Bob?” Mitch said. “Come on guys, let’s get out of here. I guess this way.” He pointed down the hall.

  “So, what is going on?” Liv asked. “Are we free to go for now, forever?”

  A voice answered from the end of the hall. It was a big figure, a man. He stepped into the hall as he said. “You are free. Period.” He moved to them. “I am General Buford Green.” He held out his hand. “And let me say I am sorry for your loss.” He shook Liv’s hand, then Mitch. “And for this.” He swung out his arm. “If you’ll allow me. We can get you home. We have a plane waiting.”

  “Thank you,” Liv said following him the rest of the way down the hall.

  “Any chance we can stop for a burger,” Mitch asked. “We haven’t eaten all day and it’s …” He looked down at his watch. “Nine.”

  “Absolutely,” the General replied.

  “How about a drink?” Bob asked.

  “In the car and on the plane.”

  “I’ll take that.”

  The general stopped at a desk and handed them all a folder. “Your belongings. You’ll find your phones are back on. You can call your family. Although, I did contact your husband, Liv. I told him I would be retrieving you shortly.” He led them to the door, holding it open.

  “I appreciate it,” Liv said. “I appreciate you seeing the error of your ways with us.”

  He chuckled. “You think this was me? No, Ma’am, I am head of Nasa’s Planetary Defense, this was Homeland. Once I realized they had you and why they had you, I raised hell until they freed you.”

  “So, you told them how wrong they were about us?” Mitch asked.

  “More so how right you were,” The General said.

  Liv stopped walking. “How right?”

  “You showed a video to FAA and told them you believed the comet caused the disturbance on the plane. You are absolutely, one hundred percent, right. It did, along with damage to human life on the ground when it landed.”

  “Holy shit,” Liv said. “it seems so far fetched though.”

  “Yes, it does, but it’s not the first time it’s happened in history. I will be happy to share the stories on our way.” The General reached for the car door. “But it must remain confidential. We are hopeful that you’ll not release this to the pubic or create a viral video.”

  “Yeah, well,” Liv said, “It’s a lot harder than you think to have a video go viral. And I won’t say anything. I just want to go home, plan my brother’s funeral and try to move on with my life.”

  “Can I ask a question,” Mitch said. “You confirmed that the comet caused this. What about the other two?”

  “They aren’t coming as close to earth, they aren’t making an impact, my experts say we have no reason to worry.”

  “What do you think?” Mitch asked.

  “I think, I think we’ll be fine.” The general paused and looked up to the sky. “I hope.”

  8 – PYRRHUS

  Cleveland, OH

  There was something about cooking, trying a new recipe that took Liv’s mind off of things. Whenever she dwelled too much on any one thing, she’d search for something new. But she didn’t want to use the internet, not on this night, so she browsed the store and decided on being inventive.

  The store was a diversion as well. She kept telling herself how insane she was. That all the experts she spoke to said the night would go off without a hitch. But Liv kept going back to the day her brother died. She was pretty certain no one saw that coming.

  She had dropped off her daughter Danni at the school for the field trip that would take them over night to witness the Comet Pyrrhus slowly soar across the sky.

  Just as Alexander did.

  Only Pyrrhus wouldn’t land.

  Still.

  Liv begged and pleaded with her daughter to stay home, to not go to the observatory. To watch the comet on the television in the basement family room.

  Below ground level.

  Not that it was proven to work or to protect, but if Bob the co-pilot survived by slipping into a metal cargo structure, the basement surely would offer some protection.

  Liv felt nuts.

  Insane.

  For the first two days following the interrogation, Liv didn’t think about it. She foc
used on funeral arrangements for Brandon whenever they released his remains.

  Then something snapped.

  Suddenly she was obsessed with the pending comet. She wanted her social media accounts back and even tried to convince Danni to post about it.

  “Mom, you made them a promise. No,” she said to Liv.

  “But we need to have people be ready. To prepare,” Liv said.

  “Mom, nothing is going to happen except the comet will whiz by.”

  “What if, though, what if it drops some comet dust?”

  Danni laughed. “Comet dust?”

  “Liv,” Mark intervened. “They don’t want it out.”

  “Why?” Liv asked,

  “This, right here, you.” Mark said. “You’re going insane. Overreacting. And so will millions of others. Over what? Nothing.”

  “But the other comet …”

  “Landed,” Mark said. “It landed. It broke through our atmosphere. Big difference. Please sweetie, calm down.”

  She begged and pleaded for Danni not to go on the observatory field trip. Mark was working the night shift at the hospital, he’d be inside.

  But Danni, she’d be outside exposed.

  The simple what if was driving Liv over the edge.

  It would be over, one way or another, in a few hours, she kept telling herself.

  It still didn’t stop her from begging Danni one last time before she got on the field trip bus.

  Saying, “I love you. Please know this. You have been so special to me. My entire existence is you. I love you baby, do you know that?”

  “Mom, stop,” Danni spoke through clenched jaws. “I love you, too, but you’re embarrassing me. Go home.”

  “Maybe I’ll go with you.”

  “No.”

  “Maybe if I just …”

  “No. Go.”

  Liv looked at the kids that watched. “Make sure all of you call your moms! Say I love you.”

  “Mom,” Danni scolded. “Please.”

  Liv nodded quickly, embraced her daughter once more and got in the car. She kept telling herself she was really overreacting, but yet she had this unbearable feeling in her gut.

  So, she went to the store and decided on making Asian noodles.

  The store was empty, only a few people were in there. Most were at a Pyrrhus Party.

  Liv focused on chopping vegetables and deveining shrimp. She didn’t want to pay attention to the news, but she kept it playing in the background as she worked in the kitchen.

  Chop veggies, sip wine, hope to pass out and wake up to Mark saying, “See? Everything turned out.”

  “What should people expect to see?” The female anchor said.

  “Tonight, one hell of a light show. It’s going to look close in some areas, it will look like it is landing. But it’s not, it’s truly far away. The sky will brighten. The tail of Pyrrhus is colorful and just breathtaking.”

  “What about Olympias?” she asked.

  “Now that is epic. It will turn night into day in some areas.”

  “How big are we talking?”

  “Alexander was the size of a bus. Pyrrhus is seven miles in diameter and Olympias, they say her nucleus is seventy-three miles in diameter. Larger than any known comet.”

  Liv set down her knife.

  “How can something that large,” the newswoman said. “Pass between the earth and the moon and not have some sort of impact on the tides?”

  “Well it’s closer to the moon, yeah, sure it can have …”

  Liv shut off the television.

  Cook, Liv, cook, she told herself and returned to her task in the kitchen.

  When she had finished, Liv not only created a culinary masterpiece, she had an abundance of the masterpiece.

  She felt a tiny bit better, the wine helped and Danni had sent her a text saying, “I’m fine. Letting you know that. I love you, Mommy.”

  It was midnight.

  Two hours to Pyrrhus.

  She picked up the phone and sent a text to Mitch, asking if he was awake and home. He replied quickly that he was but was leaving shortly.

  Instantly she envied Mitch. He wasn’t scared of the comet and was probably going to some party.

  The party would love her noodles. She grabbed one of her extra large plastic containers and filled it. Lid on, handling it with a towel because it was hot, she walked next door to Mitch.

  “Hey,” Liv said. “I was cooking and I brought you food.”

  “Wow, thanks, come in.” Mitch opened the door. “It smells great.”

  “I think it’s pretty good. Are you hungry? I know it’s late …”

  “Yeah, very. I mean Bob brought chicken earlier.”

  “Bob who?” Liv asked, handing the dish over

  “Bob Stevens, the co-pilot.”

  “Why is Bob Stevens at your house?”

  “Because he wanted to be with someone just as neurotic about tonight as he is. We’ve been talking.”

  Liv heaved out a huge breath. One so big that it caused her to step back.

  “You okay?” Mitch asked.

  “I’m not the only one?”

  “You’re neurotic, too?” Mitch asked. “Mark was saying you’re fine.”

  “I’m not. Not at all,” Liv said. “I’m scared. I tried to talk Danni into not going to the observatory. I’m just scared.”

  “We all have reason to be,” Mitch said.

  “I wonder if we’re the only ones,” Liv said, “I feel insane,”

  “If it makes you feel less crazy, Buford is having a Bunker party at Mount Weather.”

  “Whose Buford?”

  “General Cane.”

  “You talk to him?” Liv asked

  “Oh, sure, several times. He’s there, staying below, just in case. Told me someone has to be around to put things back together should things go down.”

  “Is it a government plan?” Liv asked.

  “No, his idea. Now Mallory is facing divorce over this and it’s only been a couple of days.”

  “Okay … who is Mallory?”

  “Oh, sorry,” Mitch snapped his finger. “You didn’t meet her. She was the one calling us. The CDC lady. We chat all the time on social media.”

  “All the time? It’s been four days.”

  “I make friends fast,” Mitch said. “Seems she is hunkering down in her building’s sub garage while her husband is in the Bahamas watching. They had plans to go there for a year, she blew it off. He’s pissed.”

  “Wow.”

  “Buford even told me how to reach him by radio. You know, Liv, nothing is gonna happen. We’ll all feel like fools and angry that we missed the light show.”

  A few sounds of stumbling, then Bob said. “Not me. Better safe than sorry. Hey, look who it is. The anti-social gal. Who by the way tried to be social by opening up a fake social media account and posting that video.”

  Mitch turned fast to her. “Did you really?”

  “It didn’t work.” Liv shrugged

  “Liv, you promised,” Mitch said.

  “I know. I know.”

  “Hey, got the booze,” Bob lifted a book bag. “We headed out now?”

  “Yeah. Liv brought us food.” Mitch said

  “We’ll add it to the snacks,” Bob replied, “We’ll be there six hours at least.”

  “Where are you going?” Liv asked.

  “I have the coolest, below ground hang out. You wanna come?” Mitch asked.

  She told Mark she wouldn’t do anything crazy, like hide in the basement. But it was either sitting alone at the house in a constant state of panic or go with Mitch and Bob.

  She opted to join them and called her husband.

  <><><><>

  Mark laughed. “Go on,” he said. “Have fun. I know how much that guy Bob annoys you. Tell you what, I’ll video call you when it’s time.”

  “You’re not going out to watch, are you?” Liv asked.

  “Liv, I’m going out so you can see how silly yo
u’re being.”

  “The General told us it’s happened before,” Liv said. “I even looked up those places. They didn’t say anything about a meteor or comet, but the towns definitely disappeared.”

  “And, nothing has happened on a grand scale. I don’t want you to miss it, so I’ll call.”

  Liv agreed, but doubted that Mitch had the ‘coolest’ place for them to go. Until they arrived.

  Mitch called it, ‘Paulie’s Poker Room’ and at first Liv thought they were going to some guy’s house, then they arrived downtown to Cleveland at the City office building where Mitch worked. It was a three story building, no security guard, Mitch unlocked the front door and disabled the alarm.

  The building was vaguely lit by small lights and the three of them carried their food and beverages as they walked in.

  “Are you going to lose your job?” Liv asked.

  “Absolutely not. No. I asked if I could come here.”

  “Did you tell them why?”

  Mitch shook his head. “They didn’t ask. Anyhow … this way.” He led them down a hall, his voice echoed as he spoke. “Did you know that back in the cold war era, Cleveland was one of the top prepared cities in the country?”

  “No,” Bob replied. “I did not.”

  “You did,” Mitch replied with a laugh. “I told you all this. You’re funny Bob. Anyway, tens of thousands of civil defense employees. The shelters were always stocked and plans were in effect. Then again, the winds of radiation would not have been kind to Cleveland. Not with the jet streams.”

  “Of course not,” Liv said.

  Mitch stopped at a stairwell, “Most buildings constructed before 1969 had a fallout shelter. This one included.” He pushed the door open. “Most were abandoned or disabled, not this one. The director always was convinced nuclear war was coming and kept it up until he retired in the eighties. It’s been a tradition to keep it up. It’s used for parties, meetings and stuff. I don’t think it would survive a direct hit, but for this, I think it will work.”

  “If something happens,” Liv said.

  “If.” Mitch lifted a finger. “I think tonight, we’re going to be fine.”

  They began their decent down the stairs. “Why is it called Paulie’s Poker room?” Liv asked