Harvest, Quietus #1 (5 page)

“I'm
going to steal a
motorbike...and go joyriding.”

I force a smile on my face. Actually,
I'm borrowing it in an emergency situation, having no other choice,
but I need humor at the moment. I'm getting desperately
worried.

I spot something useful and stand
up.

A house phone. Shall I
dare to try it?

I walk over and pick it up, pressing
the buttons.

But it's d
ead. Maybe
there's no electric? That wouldn't surprise me. The drink cooler
isn't cooling anymore. I try the lights and they don't work. I stop
wasting time in the kiosk. I'd better get on with food and finding
a bike. I don't want to leave it too late. It'll be dark soon.
Maybe completely dark.

I leave the stifling hot kiosk and
after a quick visit to the bathroom, I walk across the forecourt
and out to the road.

I decide to keep a low profile.
Who knows what's gone on or who's around. I keep to the
shadows, where possible, appreciating all might not be that great
in my current lonesome situation. There could be risks and dangers.
But what those may be I have no idea.

The bright colors of the sky are still
blazing on the horizon although the blue parts are now getting
noticeably deeper blue. And the heat seems more intense than ever.
Sweat is pouring from me and my energy is waning fast, the life
being sucked from me like a soft fruit baking in an oven. After
five boiling minutes, which seem a lot longer, I reach the center
of town. The street is full of crashed cars, but I barely notice
them anymore, it's becoming such a normal part of the scenery. The
food store is of course empty of customers, and it's very evident,
from the heat inside, that the freezers and coolers are no longer
functioning. It's also very dark. Definitely no electric flowing in
here for sure. I gather a basket full of essential provisions. A
couple more drinks, cookies, cereal bars, and some bananas. Then I
cross over the street and enter the little diner I'd spotted
earlier. Four burger meals lay untouched, by the kitchen hatch,
ready to be delivered to the tables. My mouth produces a rush of
saliva.

“Thank you God.” I say with a sigh,
rushing over to grab a plate and stuffing a burger into my mouth
greedily. I'm more than grateful as I sit down and eat it, and even
though the food is greasy and cold, I actually think that nothing
could taste better. And I don't even like burgers much. I laugh at
myself as I close my eyes in bliss.

Cold burger and cold
fries...mm mm.

I finish my meal fast, following it down
with an orange juice which I help myself to from the glazed-doored
cooler sitting on the counter. “
Right. Let's find
us a bike shall we?” I tell myself. Definitely a sign of madness.
I'm now, referring to myself as us and we. Maybe it's the
heat.

I hope so. Although this situation is
enough to give anyone the crazies.

Chapter 3

I strain my eyes into the distance
from my vantage point on the roof of an abandoned truck. I'm
drinking the bottle of Pepsi I've found at the gas station I've
just stopped at. Although the bike had a half tank, I planned to
fill her up with fuel. But all the pumps were dead. The absence of
a current the cause, I assume. I stare for quite a while, looking
for any sign of movement along the interstate as I sip slowly,
enjoying my drink like I've never had one before. I look first in
one direction and then the other. Not only is the main road a
nonnegotiable mess, the minor routes are proving to be more of a
hazard than I imagined. Even on a bike. In fact every route I've
tried is a nightmare. And it would take me a while to get anywhere,
weaving my way around all that.

Shit, this is just so, so
bad...

I'm beginning to feel very alarmed at
my predicament. I should have stayed with James and his sister.
There was comfort and safety in numbers; three minds were better
than one. Normally I love my own company, when I choose it, but now
that it has been forced upon me in such a forbidding situation as
this, I want someone to talk to. Even him.

But despite all the vitriol that I
hold inside for Joe and his type, I'd really like to hear James's
voice at the moment. And, I reconsider, maybe he wasn't all that
bad. He had a pleasant manner of speaking that suggested a good
upbringing and education, and he seemed to be very caring and
protective toward his sister. That was a sweet and very positive
attribute. I generally like to associate with people who have a
deeper, caring side to their nature. And perhaps he has other
hobbies, besides cave diving, that are character
redeeming.

I drag my thoughts back to my
situation. Basically I just want some company, that's all, whoever
it is. And the only whoever roundabout these parts, is
him.

I wonder how they're both coping at
the moment. I guess his sister must be really freaked out by all
this. But at least she has her big brother to look after her. I'm
all alone.

I have to admit, right now, I'd find a
big manly hug very comforting.

The intensely radiant heat rising up
from the truck roof suddenly overwhelms me and I take a long drink
from my bottle, quenching my raging thirst.

Hell, I seem to be
dehydrating faster than I can drink!

I wonder why he hasn't he called me
back? I was very specific about stressing my point. That we need to
keep in contact. And he'd agreed. In a flirty style, granted, but
he understood the gravity of the situation, surely? Well he must do
by now, if his situation is anything like mine. I'm torn between
hoping it was and hoping it wasn't. If he'd found people,
civilization and normality, that was great for him, but he may not
think I'm in need of a call. And on the other hand, if he's still
alone, he'll be more likely to keep in contact, but being alone
isn't so great for him. Either way, I'm getting so damn lonely
here.

I've called and text him three times
in the last hour. I try to reason with myself. His cell phone could
be dead. Maybe he's in a bad area for reception? Atmospheric
interference, perhaps? There are a number of reasons why he might
not be able to reach me.

At this moment, I'm standing at a
crossroads, either I head back to Ocala, all alone, and possibly
find myself all alone there too, or I go where I know they'll be
heading; The Holiday Inn at Spring Hill. I make a quick decision.
I'll go to them. I'm sure I can find them. If he's not around, I
can leave a message under his door or somewhere he'll be likely to
see it. I can stay there. There's nothing I need but clothes and my
laptop at Ocala. I can do without those for a few days. This is an
emergency. I don't like my situation one little bit. The whole
thing is odd and quite frankly it's really scaring me.

I've noticed more oddities in the last
hour. There are no birds in the sky. Not one. No people, not a body
anywhere. No police. No troop vehicles patrolling or any sign of
life. It isn't right. People and animals have simply been erased
from this part of the world. I've already discounted military
maneuvers, and am starting to think along other lines. Technical
terrorism targeting personnel; weapons of living destruction; sub
particle nuclear research gone badly wrong. Not that I know
anything at all about any of that kind of developmental science,
but it fits the current situation very well.

What the hell went down
when I was diving in that cave?

Whatever it is or was, it was fast,
powerful, and probably massive, based on the evidence I've seen so
far. And my location, deep in the cave, protected me from it. And
protected James and his sister too. Likely there are a lot of other
people in similar underground places who had been
protected.

I climb off the roof of the truck,
jumping to the ground and slip my leg over the bike. I call him
again and then send another text message. Then I try my mom and dad
again, but still, no reply. After that I try every single one of my
contacts, one after the other with no response. These people are
spread all over the US, so either my cell phone network is down, or
theirs is. And as they are probably on several different networks,
it is more likely that mine is to blame, or else it could be
something farther reaching than network issues.

I cannot stop my questioning and
curious mind going where it shouldn't, and dare to wonder if they
are there any more? Any of the people I know? Nothing could be that
massive, could it? The whole of the United States? Or even worse
still...

No, not
possible.

My mind quickly discounts that
ridiculous notion. But my heart pounds fast with fear. My parents
and my gran and grandpa...Lucy, Andy and Anna my friend, could they
all be gone? My parents live just a hundred and fifty miles away.
It's so close to all this, whatever all this is...

My eyes fill with hot tears, as
another wave of fear, distress and loneliness rolls through
me.

No. It couldn't be. Not my
whole family. Gone. Just like that?

Then I tick myself off sternly. I
mustn't think that way. I'm a scientist and I need to think
logically, not jump to conclusions without any of the facts at my
disposal. I take a deep breath and wipe my wet eyes with my wrist.
Then I set the GPS app on my phone, which seems to be functioning
just fine, and I'm thankful for that small mercy, at least. Kicking
the bike stand up, I set off down the interstate, weaving my way
around the maze of cars. From time to time I gaze up at the sky,
which is darkening rapidly. Hopefully I'll get there before
nightfall.

*

I continue on the bike through the
center of town and to the other side, through the suburbs of Spring
Hill. I trail through eerily silent, empty roads, stopping here and
there and looking around, mentally begging for a sign of life. My
heart grows heavier and heavier with every moment that
passes.

Before, I was unsure. I was
conjecturing and assuming, but now I am positive that what I'm
seeing, and what I'm experiencing is a major catastrophe. I can't
explain it or understand it. It's beyond all comprehension. But
somehow people have been taken away. Removed from the surface of
the earth. The timing of my dive meant I was spared, and not only
me, I know there are at least two others spared too. Being
underground, beneath tons of rock and water, at a depth of two
hundred feet meant we were unreachable.

I am so grateful for that, but also
very scared. I'm only twenty six years old, and not ready to face
this. But then again...who the hell would be...ever?

I'm swamped with fear. Petrified
inside at what the present situation means and what the future
holds. I'm beginning to realize, that this is a very, very big
deal.

As I look around me, at the dark rows
of houses I'm passing by, I'm raging with inner helplessness. What
I feel like doing, is venting my anger; screaming until I am hoarse
and can't scream another word; sinking to the ground and thumping
the earth, until my angry frustration is assuaged, and my fists are
bloodied and numb. Anything to take away the sense of acute anxiety
that's building so fast and hard inside.

But I need to be strong, whatever
happens. I'm a survivor and I'm going to cope, whatever comes my
way. I have to.

I stop and hug myself comfortingly,
looking at the skyline. The pulsating, reddest of after-sunsets
I've ever seen, is blazing above the buildings ahead. It's not
natural. Nothing about this seems natural. This freak event that
has wiped people out. This horrendous thing that has happened.
Maybe it is still happening? A worldwide Armageddon? And it could
well be that I am at the very epicenter of this event; this strange
disappearance of humanity. I have no idea what it was or is or how
widespread, and that worries me most of all.

It seems so unbelievable, like a weird
dream.

If only it was. But I know I'm very
much awake and this is only too real.

My shorts and t-shirt are soaked
through to the skin with the overwhelming humidity. I can almost
see the steam hanging in the air around me. As well as that, an
unusual smell has arisen and it stings my nostrils and affects the
taste buds in my mouth, assaulting them with a strong metallic
flavor.

I've had more than enough of being
outside.

I ride the bike to the hotel, my mind
far away. I'm worrying myself sick, thinking about my family and my
friends...

The hot breeze whips around me as I
dodge in and out of the cars, mindlessly, and finally park up
outside the hotel. I notice another bike parked nearby and I hope
and pray it's his.

I trudge inside, mentally and
physically overloaded, exhausted by events.

Oh God, which
room?

It seems like a monumental task to
solve. I don't know what to do. Do I run around the corridors
screaming? Then I have an idea. I go outside and sit on the bike
and press the horn. I press it again and again and
again.

“James...it's me. Wynter.
Are you in there?” I call out in a tearful voice.
“James...James...” I shout loudly. I press the horn like a mad
woman.
”Oh please...”
I feel myself start to break down, panic arising in my
stomach and chest. I'm about to go nuclear fallout here.