Updated Saturday 10 May, 2008 12:19 PM | Headlines | Discussion Forum | International Edition
|
Updated Saturday 10 May, 2008 12:19 PM | Headlines | Discussion Forum | International Edition |
|
Join Writer Development Section Writer Development Member Section
Thanks To Our Friends @
|
Extinction Event By Doctor What
Chapter 21 "On a large enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero." - Chuck Palahniuk ** Wednesday, August 20, 2008 – New Jersey Coast – Raritan Bay About 10 am Charles made a hmmm sound as he looked through his binoculars. "There are these massive pillars of smoke and dust scattered all over the city. It’s like 9/11 all over again." "Any of them familiar landmarks?" asked Behrouz. There was a pause as Charles scanned the city for a few seconds. "There’s definitely something big happening in Manhattan. I can’t be sure but I think Rockefeller Plaza is on fire. I wonder how that happened?" "Fire breathing T-Rexes?" replied Behrouz. Janice and Charles turned to face Behrouz, looks of total confusion and bafflement on their faces. "Hey!" protested Behrouz, "With all the crazy shit going on, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point!" Charles made a hrumph sound. "I’m sure that there’s a rational explanation for all this." "Like what?", asked Janice. "Some kind of supernova or something zapping the Earth with weird radiation or something would be my guess. What do you think it was?" "I think it’s some kind of superweapon." said Janice. "Those freaks in the military have all kinds of weird shit they’ve been experimenting and researching for years, like brain washing drugs and gay bombs and kamikaze dolphins and electromagnetic bombs and all that other fucked-up stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if some idiot was planning to use it in Iran and it blew up in their faces." Behrouz glanced back and forth between the two of them. "God—am I the only one who reads science news?" he said, shaking his head. "What do you mean?" "For the last 2 weeks everyone’s been yelling about that new particle accelerator in France that’s about to run some big experiment. They must have had seven or eight guys give speeches about how safe it was and how all the people who said that it’s dangerous were freaks and stuff. Last I checked, everything was on schedule for the test yesterday. Sounds like too much of a coincidence if you ask me. In any case—does it really matter how it happened?" Charles shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose not. But all my life I’ve been the type of person to never let a question go unanswered. Guess I’m going to have to let this one go." Behrouz shrugged his shoulders as well "For now at any rate. So—where to now?" "No freaking way am I going to go anywhere near New York if that –" Charles swept his hand to indicate all the smoke and dust clouds— "-is any indication of what’s happening in the city!" "One does get the impression that they might be having a few problems." replied Behrouz. "So—alternatives?" "Still got that radio?" "Yup—give me a sec." A moment later, Behrouz pulled out the radio and started scanning through the stations. "---stitution Park in Fort Lee is reported to be at 80% capacity, with overflow being redirected towards Flat Rock Brook Nature Center; Holy Name Hospital is no longer accepting any patients; Englewood Hospital and Hackensack University Medical Center are reported to be at 90% capacity; Bergen Community College will be converting all available buildings into emergency shelters shortly; Mountwell Park and Tavistock Country Club in Haddonfield are still accepting displaced individuals; An emergency triage center has been set up in the parking lot of the Woodcrest Shopping Center; Another emergency triage center has been set up in Fort Dix with emergency shelters set up in nearby McGuire Air Force Base; Residents are strongly advised to avoid the Double Trouble State Park—we repeat, under no circumstances attempt to enter the Double Trouble State Park; Southern Ocean County Hospital is still accepting patients; A two mile wide circle centered on Lakewood is reportedly replaced by a swamp—area residents are advised to avoid the area; A one mile wide circle in Toms River centered on the Ocean County Mall has been similarly replaced—residents are advised to avoid the area; The area between Surf City and Beach Haven are reporting extensive flooding; No information exists at this time on the status of Atlantic City. There is no additional information on the status of the rest of the state of New Jersey. This broadcast will repeat every once every five minutes. Updates on this information are expected at noon Eastern Standard Time. This broadcast will repeat in five minutes. Please stand by for an emergency broadcast in five minutes. Please stand by for an emergency broadcast in four minutes and fifty seconds. Please stand by for an emergen—" Behrouz shut the radio off with a click. "Well—that was interesting. Thoughts?" Charles frowned for a moment, deep in thought. "They mentioned Fort Dix accepting refugees. That’s only about fifty or sixty miles from here. I say we follow the coastline here until we get to Newport Harbor." "And then what?" Charles shrugged his shoulders. "Don’t know—find a truck or car or something, I guess. Failing that—I suppose we can just keep following the coastline all the way down to Toms River then cut across to Fort Dix. But that’s a good fifty or sixty miles if we follow the coastline and I’m not too eager to stay on the ocean for far too long." "Expecting trouble?" "Don’t want to run into some kind of Loch Ness monster, to be honest. Plus with all the weird currents and stuff around here, we could end up pulled halfway to Newfoundland if we wander too far into the ocean." "Just how far is this Newport place anyway?" "About ten miles or so along the coast." "Then we better get our butts in gear.", replied Behrouz, picking up a paddle. A moment later, Charles and Janice joined in.
"—an one mile wide section centered on Morganville is reported to have been replaced by a swamp—residents are advised that highways 3, 18 and 520 are impassable in that area; The fire at U.S. Naval Weapons Station Earle has been brought under control but heavy smoke and debris still remain in the area; The New Jersey Turnpike between Hightstown and Allentown is shut down due to a vehicular pile-up estimated to have involved over 100 vehicles; Ocean Avenue between Highlands and Long Branch is impassable due to flooding; An urgent need for blood donors at all available hospitals and medical centers is required; The Manasquan County Reservoir has been damaged and has flooded Freewood Acres, effectively closing down highways 9 and 195 in that area—residents are advised to seek alternate routes in that region; There is no information at this time regarding the status of Atlantic City; -"
"Land ho!" Charles looked up at Behrouz’s shout. He gave a sigh of relief as he sat back and allowed the momentum of their paddling push them forward. He had forgotten just how backbreaking strenuous rafting was—especially if one had not done it for several years, as was the case with him. As it was—he would kill right now for a good shoulder massage. As they drifted close, the trio glanced at one another, shocked and stunned looks on their faces. The ocean had advanced significantly in the last few hours. The raft drifted forward, the trio paddling to avoid the various buildings and telephone poles sticking out of the surface of the debris choked water like broken and rotted teeth.
A few moments later, the trio were walking along Main Street. Behrouz was ahead, rifle at the ready. Charles and Janice followed close behind, each uncomfortably holding their handguns. The three of them were trying—with limited success—not to let fear overwhelm them. Keyport was deserted. Completely and utterly deserted. Behrouz swung his rifle back and forth, sweat trickling down his face. "This is wrong. Very, very wrong. The water only advanced a few city blocks inland. Most of the town is still above water. So where the hell is everyone?" "Maybe they were all evacuated somewhere else?", replied Charles. "Maybe they were all eaten?" said Janice. Behrouz and Charles exchanged a look. "I really wish you hadn’t said that." said Behrouz morosely. They continued walking.
They had walked for about ten minutes when Behrouz suddenly stopped and jerked his head to the right, his rifle swinging up. Janice and Charles followed clumsily a moment later with their handguns. "What did you hear?", whispered Charles. "There’s something moving in the bushes near that building." whispered Behrouz back. Now all three of them could hear it. Something was definitely rustling in the bushes. Something big. Something close. The bushes shifted and moved to reveal… …a person. He was tall—almost six feet tall-- and overweight. He was nearly bald except for a ‘monk fringe’ along the sides of his head and a scraggly ‘Mirror Spock’ goatee. For one brief instant, Charles had the random thought that the man looked exactly like some kind of cheesy 1930’s Serial Republic Space Villain a la Ming the Merciless. Unfortunately the image was ruined by the fact that the man was wearing the remnants of what appeared to be a Hawaiian shirt, jeans and sunglasses. He stood there, staring at the trio, his jaw opening and closing. "It’s ok, buddy…" said Janice soothingly. "Nobody’s going to hurt you…" "Yeah", said Behrouz, lowering his gun, "We’re just passing through. " "Do you know what happened here, buddy?" asked Charles. The man stared at Charles for a few seconds—then broke into a weird grin. "What happened here? Death happened here! It’s the end of the world! We’re all doomed! Doomed! The time of the Retribution is here! We humans have had our time here but now the age of the animals is here!" The man started laughing --a high pitched laugh that went on for far too long then necessary. Charles was the first to reply. "Uh—look, things are going to be okay. Why don’t you—" "No! Not okay! We’re doomed! We are all dead! Dead I tell you! You’re dead! He’s dead! She’s dead! I’m dead! We are all dead! All of us! I have become Death itself!" The man screamed again and, now literally cackling, ran back into the bushes. He disappeared from view a few seconds. For a full ten seconds they heard his cackling until his voice slowly faded from hearing. The trio stood there, staring at one another. "Well—that wasn’t insane or anything at all. Not in the slightest!", said Behrouz, rolling his eyes. The three shrugged their shoulders and moved down the street.
About 15 minutes later The trio had just turned a corner when Behrouz suddenly did a double take and turned to look at something to his left. Charles and Janice followed his gaze to a nearby building. The sign on the building proclaimed the place to be the ‘First Impressions Vintage Cars’. A smaller sign underneath it said ‘For all your wedding memories’. The signs were not the source of Behrouz’s interest, however. It was the car parked in front of the building. "Oh my….", said Charles, a note of awe creeping into his voice. "Is that…a Terraplane?" Behrouz nodded his head, a look of avarice on his face. "I think that’s a 1933 Sedan.", continued Charles. Behrouz violently shook his head. "No! It’s a 1934 Sedan!" "Series KU?" "No—series K! You can tell by the lack of outside horns!" "I stand corrected, Behrouz.", said Charles nodding his head in appreciation. Janice stared at Charles and Behrouz, a look of equal parts incomprehension and frustration on her face. "God! Just like a guy! Pick up absolutely insanely minor details about a car that was made 40 years before they were even born but don’t even notice the color of the shoes their girlfriend wears!" Charles and Behrouz turned their gaze towards Janice. She noticed them pondering for a few seconds and then saw Charles’ eyes slowly beginning to drift downwards… "They’re blue!" "Oh right! I knew that! We both did! Right Behrouz?" "Hmmm?", said Behrouz distractedly, as his gaze went back to the car. "Oh! Yeah! Yes we did! Uh-huh!" Janice let out a deep sigh and muttered something under her breath. "If you two guys are quite over your little circle jerk with the car, can we get a move on? Mister Death back there is freaking me out and I want to get out of this place as soon as possible! Behrouz—use that crowbar of yours to bust open the window and hotwire the car." Behrouz and Charles twisted their heads towards Janice. They looked at her as if she had calmly suggested that the two of them commit some kind of obscene sex act in a holy temple involving a live sheep while standing in front of 1000 worshippers. On national TV. "What?! It’s just a car?! Break the damn window already!" "Just….a….car….?", said Behrouz, in near shock. "Oh for fuck’s sake—" Janice picked up the crowbar from Behrouz’s backpack, walked to the car and smashed out a window. She hopped into the car a second later. There were a few seconds of grunting…followed by a full minute of cursing…and then finally—with a roar –the engine started. Janice stuck her head out the door—and noticed the looks on the two males. "You can light a candle in its memory later. Get in the damn car already!" Charles sidled into the passenger seat next to her. Behrouz sat in the back seat, looking vastly amused. "What the hell are you grinning about?", asked Charles. Behrouz leaned back, still grinning. "I’m getting chauffeured in a vintage car by two white people while I sit in the back and wave at all the plebes. And people said dreams don’t come true." Charles rolled his eyes but there was just the hint of a grin on his face. "Where shall we take you, Sayyiduna?" "On to Fort Dix!"
A few moments later, they were heading east on Route 35—and arguing over which of the surviving roads will take them to their destination quicker. ~~ Please Comment In The Discussion Forum
|
