First Song

by Blaise Corvin

  When he got through the crowd, one of the security guards saluted and opened the door for him. Part of the disaster instructions for Log Cabin personnel had been a reveal of who actually owned the company, and would be calling the shots from now on.

  Noah’s neighbors shouted, confused, trying to push past the guards. He shook his head as he closed the door behind him—their frightened, panicked voices carried right through the wood. Time was crucial, and making sure his parents were safe was important. The neighbors could learn about the Shift with everyone else.

  In the hallway stood two guards, armed like ones outside had been. Both were Log Cabin officers, and one was the newly promoted Jamal. The tall black man glanced at Noah and his jaw firmed, like he understood something better now. Both guards snapped salutes.

  Past them, Clark and Lana sat at the dining room table where their family had shared countless Chinese take-outs together. Noah had gone out of his way to make good memories with his parents at this very table, but that was all in the past now. It was time to move forward or die. His parents were about to experience a side of him that they’d never seen before, and his heart sagged a little at the realization.

  Lana looked up as Noah entered before leaping from her chair, knocking it back to the tile floor. She rushed over, holding her arms out, but stopped short, gaping at his appearance. “What happened?” she whispered. Behind her, Clark stood slowly, holding a newspaper in his hand like a lifeline.

  “We don’t have time, Mom,” said Noah and sadly shook his head. He held out a hand covered in dried blood, letting his mother approach him slowly, like a frightened rabbit.

  “What is going on?” Lana repeated, slowly hugging Noah like he might break. “You have armor, and you are covered in blood,” she stated the obvious.

  Noah looked at his father, who seemed to be holding himself together fairly well except for the way he kept wetting his lips. Clark sighed and asked, “Is this what you’ve been hiding from us?”

  Lana stepped back, joining her husband side-by-side, clutching her cardigan. Clark wrapped a steady arm around his wife, holding her tight. Noah said, “I’ll explain more later. The gist of it is, this is the end of the world as we knew it. I knew it was coming, but not this early.”

  “Noah–” his mom whispered. Clark squeezed her closer, and she stopped talking.

  Grateful for the chance to continue, Noah said, “No details right now. I need to do something now or else this whole town will be more likely to fall apart. I’ve worked really hard, but a lot of people are still going to die in the next few months. I’ve been preparing my whole life for this in ways you can’t imagine.”

  “Like the millions of dollars you’ve been spending on the side,” Clark stated as a fact. “You can’t hide moving that much money from me.” His wife gave him a confused look. Noah was startled too, shocked by the revelation that at least one of his parents had been aware of some of what he’d been doing.

  “Billions of dollars, actually,” Noah responded, businesslike. He had practiced this speech a thousand times. I need to stick to the truth, but telling them about my reincarnation will just be too much for anyone to handle right now. Maybe I’ll tell them in the future…but probably not.

  Lana slowly nodded. “ I know there were more companies than we were told about.”

  “Yes,” said Noah. “But all my business efforts were just to raise money for this moment. Everything I’ve done has been to protect the community and the two of you, preparing for this day. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you anything before, but you wouldn’t have believed me, and would not have understood.”

  He paused and ran a soiled hand through his dirty hair. “I’m going downtown to Lucy’s now. Don’t worry, I’m ready for this, but I need you to do something for me.”

  Lana shook her head in disbelief. “You’re hurt! You need to go to the hospital! Why are you—Why are these people following you? Are you going to do something dangerous? Are you into crime? I knew we shouldn’t have let you go flying all around, doing who knows what!” Lana’s voice had started to climb.

  Clark adjusted his arm and held his wife’s hand. Noah’s father said, “No, look at him, Lana. He’s not a boy anymore, not that he ever really was.” The accountant shook his head and looked Noah in the eyes. “What do you need, son?”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Noah stepped forward and laid a hand on his mother’s shoulder. “Mom, I promise I will do my best to stay safe, and I also promise I will explain what is going on soon. Please, trust me. Have I ever let you down before?”

  Lana began to silently cry, but she shook her head. “No. You’ve always been a good kid, and you’ve always worked hard.”

  “Then trust me.”

  Noah’s mother sucked in ragged breath. “We already let these people in here because they said you told them to come, and Jamal was with them.” She seemed to be thinking out loud. “Are you really helping people? Are you trying to do good?”

  “Yes,” Noah answered honestly.

  “Okay. Fine. But you owe us a full explanation as soon as possible.”

  Noah nodded solemnly. “That’s fair.” He turned to his father and said, “Dad, some Log Cabin guards, good people, are going to take you to a safe location, at least for the time being. I really need to know that you are safe. But on the way there, I need to you help me by telling as many people as you can to head to Lucy’s Diner.”

  ***

  Noah arrived in downtown Steelton, a group of Log Cabin Security guards at his back. Most of the townspeople were too preoccupied, too worried to even notice the arrival of his group yet. A crowd had begun to gather in the distance, farther up the street, but plenty of people were aimlessly walking the sidewalks. If the Shift just been a power outage, people would still just be waiting it out, but everything was dead. The streets were full of stalled cars, and some kids talked excitedly about the planes they’d witnessed going down. Luckily, Noah didn’t think any planes had actually fallen on Steelton itself. However, he could still see new garbage in the streets, people packing, and other signs of unrest.

  Things hadn’t gotten anywhere near as bad as they could, but order had obviously already begun to break down. It had been hours since the Shift, but the town’s general civility was keeping most people from acting on their fears or uncertainties.

  Most people.

  Noah heard a crash, the distinctive sound of breaking glass and hurried forward. A couple men had broken the storefront of a closed sporting goods store and were busy filling bags with sporting gear. A few people from the street shouted and pointed, but none of them intervened. “Someone get the police!” shouted a woman. [Community] confirmed her name to be Sally Vernon. She owned the hair salon one block over.

  Noah doubted any police would come. After the Shift, law enforcement had cars and guns that wouldn’t work anymore. Anger about the Shift, the Aelves, his crying mother, it all exploded in Noah. The time for hiding was over. He’d worked too hard over too many years for selfish people to try ruining everything.

  The two thieves were clever to have figured out the implications of the Shift so fast, but also foolish to have acted so quickly in front of others. “Hey, stop!” Noah ordered.

  “Get lost, kid.” Neither man even really turned to look. [Community] reminded Noah that they were Michael and Raymond Carver, brothers and town ne’er-do-wells that Noah only knew from the newspapers, rumors, and police reports.

  Noah grabbed Raymond, the older brother by the arm. “Stop. Go to Lucy’s Diner,” he commanded.

  He’d been expecting some more resistance, but when Raymond suddenly turned, swinging a machete, Noah was genuinely surprised. The man noticed Noah’s appearance and his eyes widened even as the weapon hit Noah’s shoulder with a dull whack.

  The blow hurt a little, even through the quality chainmail. The attack felt like getting punched, not the cut it otherwise would have been. Noah’s eyes narrowed. If he’d been a normal person, not armored,
the blow probably would have been lethal. The man had obviously intended serious harm at the least. So be it.

  The time for hiding was over.

  Noah didn’t even draw his sword, just punched out with the edge of his shield, catching the man in the throat. As Raymond staggered back, he tried chopping again with his machete, panicking. Noah expertly slammed the full weight of his shield into his opponent’s elbow with a crunch. The scruffy man gasped a scream as Noah let his shield fall, delivering a savage chop to the side of the man’s knee. As the would-be murderer fell to the sidewalk, Noah raised his shield for a killing blow, but slowly lowered his arm.

  No. Not yet.

  The downed man, despite his injuries, kept flailing with his machete until Noah caught the man’s wrist and broke it, relieving him of his weapon. Surrounding people had begun screaming and yelling, but Noah ignored them.

  The other Carver brother, Michael, stepped out of the store and gaped. Like his older brother, he wore a dirty flannel and a pair of holey jeans. He took one look at the bloody, armored, very angry Noah and ran away. From the other direction, Greg Stanton, one of Steelton’s police offers rounded a corner, heading toward the commotion.

  “Arrest that man!” shouted Noah, pointing.

  “What? Noah?” The cop mimed a hand around his ear, and Michael Carver breezed past, sprinting for all he was worth.

  Noah sighed. The officer jogged up the rest of the way and looked Noah up and down. He glanced at Raymond on the ground and raising his eyes at the approaching Log Cabin Security guards. “You wanna explain all this?”

  “Not really. I don’t have time, either.”

  The cop glanced around at all the yelling, pointing people. A crowd had started to form. “Normally, I’d be arresting both of you and trying to make sense of everything, but this is just going to be one of those days, isn’t it?”

  The man’s unflappable calm made Noah’s lip twitch–even through his irritation–but he kept his face expressionless. “‘Fraid so.”

  “Did you kill him?” The cop gestured down.

  “I think he’ll live. He might not be happy, though.”

  Officer Stanton spat to the side. “You really should come with me, Noah.”

  “I’m afraid not, Officer. In fact, I need you to do something for me.”

  The cop blinked. “Say what now?”

  “You heard me. I’m really sorry that I can’t explain right now, but I promise you’ll understand soon. I know what is happening right now, and I want to help everyone.”

  “It’s not a power outage?”

  “Nope”

  “I was afraid so. Okay, I’m listening.”

  Noah nodded. “Okay. Please help round up everyone and send them to Lucy’s Diner, everyone you can find. If you see any other officers, please ask them to do the same thing and eventually join everyone there.”

  “You sure about this? You know if you’re pulling my chain, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble, right?”

  Noah sadly shook his head. “Officer, we’re all already in a lot of trouble.”

  ***

  The area around Lucy’s was packed, full of people shoulder to shoulder.

  A Log Cabin guard stepped away from a ladder he’d just leaned against the wall of the Diner. The guards all knew about the Shift now. Noah had given them a quick class and instruction to help him with the townspeople. The guards, all being well-trained professionals, had been performing admirably.

  It had taken all the guards and a half-dozen uniformed cops to quiet down the crowd, turning their frightened shouts to quiet murmurs. [Listen] picked up their words. Right now, they’re scared and a little panicked. I don’t blame them, thought Noah.

  Most of the surrounding people stared at him. He wasn’t trying to hide his battered, bruised, bloody appearance. A few boxes sat at his feet where he’d placed them visiting a nearby apartment, yet another of his safe houses.

  His armor clinked as he moved up the ladder, a cone in his left hand to help amplify his voice. Noah had consistently made an effort with his Charisma and [Community] for nearly everyone in Steelton to know who he was. Today was the day that effort was going to pay off…or so he hoped.

  At the top of the ladder, he gingerly climbed to the roof of the diner. It had been a long, horrible day, and even walking was beginning to feel like torture. The wounds in his arm had opened again and blood ran down his arm to this wrist.

  Standing on top of the building, he could see the familiar faces of everyone he had grown up with. Lucy Perkins held her daughter Danielle protectively. Venu and his wife. Jamal Hendricks. Krystal and her family.

  Johnny was notably absent.

  Noah swallowed a fresh, savage avalanche of grief, letting the focus he had built over the years take over.

  At his feet lay an acoustic six-string guitar that a Log Cabin guard had placed for him as per his instructions. If the next ten minutes went well, he’d need it.

  Noah didn’t ask everyone to quiet, he waited for the crowd to hush. Charisma had told him it was better this way.

  All my life, I’ve been prepared for this. Noah thought. Before I was reborn, I had no strength to speak out. Yet now, here I am speaking to my entire town. He remembered Doc, and imagined his friend giving him a proud smile.

  Yusef came to mind, too. Noah still had never successfully located him in this life, but he was sure that the kind man was still alive. He’d hopefully live more than another two years, not die at the hands of a scared, lost, pathetic young man who’d be named Worm.

  I’ve come so far, Noah realized. Now it was time to put all of his lessons, his entire journey to the test.

  He put the cone to his mouth and spoke loudly, confidently. “Most of you already know who I am. My name is Noah Henson. I know you have questions.”

  “You bet we do!” said one man, but his wife elbowed him the ribs, shushing him.

  Noah could feel his Charisma at work, helping him control his tempo, his breathing, hinting when and how he should speak. He let his words flow. “I have answers for you, but please, just wait a second.”

  He nodded to Jamal who gave a signal to the Log Cabin guards and a number of emergency response personnel. All of them held stacks of paper, bound neatly together, taken from the boxes that Noah had fetched. The front page of each pamphlet was titled, “The Shift: A Guide to Our New World”. The confused townspeople took them hesitantly and began rifling through.

  Noah explained, “These are pamphlets for common questions you will have. For example, if you want to know why no electronics work and guns won’t fire bullets, turn to page six. I’ll give you a hint, though—nobody really knows and we just have to learn to live with it.

  “Page eight will explain how to deal with garbage from now on. Page eleven will explain what I will be doing soon to try keeping the water running. Of course, the second page is everything I hope you all do to be good neighbors, like conserving water so we can postpone a crisis. The faster you use city water right now, the faster it is going to run out. Please use the instructions on page eight to flush your toilets, and do not use your home’s running water for that.

  “The entire pamphlet has infographic and notes that will guide you along.”

  The crowd stared at the paper in their hands, stunned by the words and pictures inside. Whenever someone raised their voice to ask a question, one of the Noah’s security detail helpfully gave them a page to turn to which held the appropriate answer.

  Noah let time pass without saying anything, allowing the people to process everything he’d just said. A lot of them would be in shock. He wanted them to move forward on their own. This was important–he couldn’t, wouldn’t be their savior. Steelton needed to be a shining example of hope, a unified humanity during the Shift. The people needed to work together, with or without him.

  Noah’s sight landed on Krystal. Her expression was much more complex than most others, confused, yes, but also shocked, sad, and maybe even a litt
le awed. Noah looked away, unable to think about what was possibly going through her head. He pulled up the cone again and spoke, “Now that you have answers, this next step is crucial. If you could all please flip to page fourteen.”

  Rustles filled the entire area as paper turned.

  Noah continued, “You will see a map of Steelton with several stars. These are aid locations where you can request supplies for survival. Page fifteen has a list of available resources like water purifiers, salt, and other items. Requisition officers will keep a list of Steelton residents, and we will be tracking everything closely. Over the next few days, town officials will also be moving resources from other places like businesses to centralized locations for safekeeping.”

  And weapons, he thought, keeping it to himself. It’s best that we focus on working as a town first, and then we can prepare for militarization and weapons training.

  “You mean you are going to steal all my stuff?” shouted James Red, a store owner.

  “No,” said Noah, shaking his head. “I believe in the goodness and community of Steelton. All donations by business owners and individuals will be voluntary.”

  Lucy Perkins, the owner of the diner, shouted, “What the heck is all of this for?”

  Noah sighed. Of course Lucy hadn’t even tried to read the pamphlet.

  He said loudly, “It is important that we, the people of Steelton, work together to build a fort. Before you ask me what a fort is and why we are building it, feel free to turn to page twenty-one. You all need to remember that everything happening isn’t just here, but all around the world.” This was the part where he needed to tell a white lie. “I have suspected for a while now that this might happen, the Shift, and I tried to tell people in charge, but nobody would listen. But I did what I could, and now we need to work together to prepare for the terrible things to come.”