heading north. They too released a huge payload on the forest just behind my house, and continued on.
“ See that!?” shouted Connor, throwing himself back into the driver’s seat. “Must be some serious forest fire causing this cloud of shit!”
“ Maybe that’s all it is,” I heard myself say. “Let’s get to my house and turn on the generator. I want to see if we can get a channel on the tube. There has to be a station covering this.” Our caravan sprang back into action, plowing through the heavy ash that had collected on the roads.
The yard looked slightly scorched but otherwise normal. But my house ! My house was burning ! Wait, no, it wasn’t. It was just steam billowing off the clay shingles. I made a mad dash for the front door. Inside, everything was as I’d left it, except for the acrid smell of smoke that pervaded the rooms. The others still assumed that the culprit was a large forest fire. Not me. I knew differently. I knew, but didn’t want to believe.
As we piled into the house, Conner rushed to the basement and immediately turned on the generator.
All of my friends lined up for the phone, as none of their cell phones had any reception. Nobody got through the first time around. Fear crept into our circle – I could see it in their eyes. I left the group at the phone and hurried to my room, where I looked out the window.
Seeing the devastation in the back woods sent my heart racing. Several large trees were stripped of their branches, naked to the soot and falling ash. I figured that the water from the planes tore the smaller branches from their trunks. While I watched, an inky darkness crawled over the sky, turning afternoon into night. What the...
Someone was calling for me from the main floor. Turning away from the alien view, I went downstairs.
“ The phone doesn’t seem to be working, Joel,” said Caroline. “I think we’ll have to go home to see what’s up.”
“ Alright.” Raising my voice, I addressed the troops. “If you guys want to head home and make sure everybody’s okay, then go. I’ll wait here, but come back tonight and let me know… so I know.”
Freddy spoke up. “Personally, I don’t think it’s very smart to go back out in this shit. Not until the smoke clears.”
“ Well, I’m worried about my family. I need to know they’re alright,” Caroline insisted.
“ It’s only a twenty-minute drive to any of our houses from here,” John added. “I think we’ll be able to get safely there and back. Then we’ll know...” His voice trailed off, his anxiety was audible.
“ Maybe, but if you want, you’re welcome to stay here. I’m going to try the t.v.” I passed through the crowd into the living room, wiping the endless stream of sweat from my face, and turned the television on. Nothing. Not even the local station was on the air. The satellite was obviously affected by the heavy ash in the atmosphere. Switching to antenna didn’t help. “Damn!” I turned to Connor. “Try the stereo.”
He fiddled with the switch. “Nope. Something’s up. I think we’d all better go to our parents’ places and see what we can see....” He pushed past Gil and Seth, and they followed. I was close behind.
“ If something bad has happened, promise me you’ll all come back here,” I pleaded. I hugged Sara tightly before sending her off with Connor and Julia. Shaking Connor’s hand, I added, “Come back before too long, either way, you know?” He nodded and the whole crew exited.
Since I was now alone, I tried the television again, leaving it on a single channel, just in case. If nothing more, it would suffice as company. It was then that I remembered the internet: odds were that it would still be functioning! But as I sprinted for my room, I realized that if the phone line was down, there would be no way of accessing the Internet. “Damn it!” My stomach tightened into a fist.
Another possible resource came to mind. The paper- perhaps there had been
“ See that!?” shouted Connor, throwing himself back into the driver’s seat. “Must be some serious forest fire causing this cloud of shit!”
“ Maybe that’s all it is,” I heard myself say. “Let’s get to my house and turn on the generator. I want to see if we can get a channel on the tube. There has to be a station covering this.” Our caravan sprang back into action, plowing through the heavy ash that had collected on the roads.
The yard looked slightly scorched but otherwise normal. But my house ! My house was burning ! Wait, no, it wasn’t. It was just steam billowing off the clay shingles. I made a mad dash for the front door. Inside, everything was as I’d left it, except for the acrid smell of smoke that pervaded the rooms. The others still assumed that the culprit was a large forest fire. Not me. I knew differently. I knew, but didn’t want to believe.
As we piled into the house, Conner rushed to the basement and immediately turned on the generator.
All of my friends lined up for the phone, as none of their cell phones had any reception. Nobody got through the first time around. Fear crept into our circle – I could see it in their eyes. I left the group at the phone and hurried to my room, where I looked out the window.
Seeing the devastation in the back woods sent my heart racing. Several large trees were stripped of their branches, naked to the soot and falling ash. I figured that the water from the planes tore the smaller branches from their trunks. While I watched, an inky darkness crawled over the sky, turning afternoon into night. What the...
Someone was calling for me from the main floor. Turning away from the alien view, I went downstairs.
“ The phone doesn’t seem to be working, Joel,” said Caroline. “I think we’ll have to go home to see what’s up.”
“ Alright.” Raising my voice, I addressed the troops. “If you guys want to head home and make sure everybody’s okay, then go. I’ll wait here, but come back tonight and let me know… so I know.”
Freddy spoke up. “Personally, I don’t think it’s very smart to go back out in this shit. Not until the smoke clears.”
“ Well, I’m worried about my family. I need to know they’re alright,” Caroline insisted.
“ It’s only a twenty-minute drive to any of our houses from here,” John added. “I think we’ll be able to get safely there and back. Then we’ll know...” His voice trailed off, his anxiety was audible.
“ Maybe, but if you want, you’re welcome to stay here. I’m going to try the t.v.” I passed through the crowd into the living room, wiping the endless stream of sweat from my face, and turned the television on. Nothing. Not even the local station was on the air. The satellite was obviously affected by the heavy ash in the atmosphere. Switching to antenna didn’t help. “Damn!” I turned to Connor. “Try the stereo.”
He fiddled with the switch. “Nope. Something’s up. I think we’d all better go to our parents’ places and see what we can see....” He pushed past Gil and Seth, and they followed. I was close behind.
“ If something bad has happened, promise me you’ll all come back here,” I pleaded. I hugged Sara tightly before sending her off with Connor and Julia. Shaking Connor’s hand, I added, “Come back before too long, either way, you know?” He nodded and the whole crew exited.
Since I was now alone, I tried the television again, leaving it on a single channel, just in case. If nothing more, it would suffice as company. It was then that I remembered the internet: odds were that it would still be functioning! But as I sprinted for my room, I realized that if the phone line was down, there would be no way of accessing the Internet. “Damn it!” My stomach tightened into a fist.
Another possible resource came to mind. The paper- perhaps there had been
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