to
ring soon. We don't want to miss them."
Kirken still had no idea what
she was talking about. Judging by the look of her mother in the next room, she
seemed unaware as well. At this, the most difficult stage of his recent dose of
medication, he didn’t really care.
He put his black glasses back
on, took a deep breath and stepped out again into the blasting heat. He
followed Mel to the driveway curious to see what exactly she was talking about.
“We're going to have to take
your car and not the bikes this time," she told him passing quickly by the
garage. "The tires on mine melted again. I haven't had time to chip them
from the ground."
As high spirited as she was,
this time Kirken sensed some fear behind her sparkling eyes and cheery smile.
He imagined the first time she saw the tires. She probably hadn’t been back in
the garage since.
For the first time, Kirken
sensed her fright.
"No problem, Mel," he
said. "Just get in."
Kirken held the door for her.
When she was in, he walked around to the front and slid into the driver’s seat.
Neither of them looked at Deanna standing at the curb when they pulled away.
"Head to the center of
town," Mel said once they were a little further down the road. Color had
risen back to her cheeks, and she looked ready to face the world once again. No
matter how difficult a task that might prove to be.
Kirken turned away from the last
of the residential streets. Soon they were traveling down the main highway of
Beuford, Washington.
They drove by the battered
remnants of the old apartment complex where they all had once lived. He applied
more pressure to the accelerator and tried to pass it without discussion. It
was where they had lived before he had decided to return to work in the domes.
There was nothing much left of
the place. Crumbled bricks, brown dirt, and grit covered the sidewalks all
around.
An elderly couple emerged from a
decaying door near the front lugging an oversized piece of decayed furniture
between them.
"People still live out
here?" Kirken asked incredulously. "How long has it been since that
building’s been condemned?"
"Awhile," Mel answered
him evenly. "I wonder where they’ll live.”
She was silent for a minute.
“Maybe they've given up and don't plan to live at all."
Kirken kept his eyes ahead and
forced himself not to react to her change in mood.
"I know them. At least I
knew someone that died in their family," she continued. "They stayed
until the roof caved in. It was all they could do when she was finally gone.
After the funeral, they must have just given up. Sometimes it's the only thing
you can do."
Kirken had never seen her like
this. There was almost no emotion in her voice. It was all starting to happen.
It was becoming too much. The pressure of the day's events and the
ever increasing levels of radiation exposure were starting to take its
toll. He just hoped she would never hate him, even at the end, for spending his
life away from her.
Further down the road, they passed
factories, shopping centers, movie theaters, grocery stores and even a
miniature golf course. Most were still standing, and some even had some color
other than a faded tan or brown.
Kirken just continued to drive.
"Take another right,"
she told him breaking from her own thoughts.
Kirken maneuvered the car around
a crumbling curb and pulled to a stop at the end of the road.
A giant red building stood
ahead. The glare of the thickly shielded windshield partially hid its
dilapidated state. Mel looked at it for a minute before opening the door and
getting out.
They had stopped in front of a
school and a fenced-off courtyard where dozens of children ran about.
While Mel watched and Kirken
still sat in the driver's seat, they screamed, laughed and threw each other
down on the hot pavement. All seemed oblivious to the death that surrounded
them and the sad-looking girl that stared longingly from the other side of the
fence.
Kirken followed Mel's gaze to
the center of
ring soon. We don't want to miss them."
Kirken still had no idea what
she was talking about. Judging by the look of her mother in the next room, she
seemed unaware as well. At this, the most difficult stage of his recent dose of
medication, he didn’t really care.
He put his black glasses back
on, took a deep breath and stepped out again into the blasting heat. He
followed Mel to the driveway curious to see what exactly she was talking about.
“We're going to have to take
your car and not the bikes this time," she told him passing quickly by the
garage. "The tires on mine melted again. I haven't had time to chip them
from the ground."
As high spirited as she was,
this time Kirken sensed some fear behind her sparkling eyes and cheery smile.
He imagined the first time she saw the tires. She probably hadn’t been back in
the garage since.
For the first time, Kirken
sensed her fright.
"No problem, Mel," he
said. "Just get in."
Kirken held the door for her.
When she was in, he walked around to the front and slid into the driver’s seat.
Neither of them looked at Deanna standing at the curb when they pulled away.
"Head to the center of
town," Mel said once they were a little further down the road. Color had
risen back to her cheeks, and she looked ready to face the world once again. No
matter how difficult a task that might prove to be.
Kirken turned away from the last
of the residential streets. Soon they were traveling down the main highway of
Beuford, Washington.
They drove by the battered
remnants of the old apartment complex where they all had once lived. He applied
more pressure to the accelerator and tried to pass it without discussion. It
was where they had lived before he had decided to return to work in the domes.
There was nothing much left of
the place. Crumbled bricks, brown dirt, and grit covered the sidewalks all
around.
An elderly couple emerged from a
decaying door near the front lugging an oversized piece of decayed furniture
between them.
"People still live out
here?" Kirken asked incredulously. "How long has it been since that
building’s been condemned?"
"Awhile," Mel answered
him evenly. "I wonder where they’ll live.”
She was silent for a minute.
“Maybe they've given up and don't plan to live at all."
Kirken kept his eyes ahead and
forced himself not to react to her change in mood.
"I know them. At least I
knew someone that died in their family," she continued. "They stayed
until the roof caved in. It was all they could do when she was finally gone.
After the funeral, they must have just given up. Sometimes it's the only thing
you can do."
Kirken had never seen her like
this. There was almost no emotion in her voice. It was all starting to happen.
It was becoming too much. The pressure of the day's events and the
ever increasing levels of radiation exposure were starting to take its
toll. He just hoped she would never hate him, even at the end, for spending his
life away from her.
Further down the road, they passed
factories, shopping centers, movie theaters, grocery stores and even a
miniature golf course. Most were still standing, and some even had some color
other than a faded tan or brown.
Kirken just continued to drive.
"Take another right,"
she told him breaking from her own thoughts.
Kirken maneuvered the car around
a crumbling curb and pulled to a stop at the end of the road.
A giant red building stood
ahead. The glare of the thickly shielded windshield partially hid its
dilapidated state. Mel looked at it for a minute before opening the door and
getting out.
They had stopped in front of a
school and a fenced-off courtyard where dozens of children ran about.
While Mel watched and Kirken
still sat in the driver's seat, they screamed, laughed and threw each other
down on the hot pavement. All seemed oblivious to the death that surrounded
them and the sad-looking girl that stared longingly from the other side of the
fence.
Kirken followed Mel's gaze to
the center of
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