Darkness on a Pale Blue Stone

by D. T. Peterson

  "Wait, how do you wash these?" Jake asked, inspecting his glass.

  "Don't ask what you don't want to know," the owner replied. The bar's lack of running water and the owner's laziness both contributed to the fact that none of the glasses had been cleaned in days. In the darkness of the bar, few customers noticed the dirty glasses they drank from.

  Jake grimaced, then shrugged and took a swig. Everyone except Lucas, who courteously refused his, took their drinks and made their way out of the bar. It was the first time Marie had alcohol in front of her parents, but no objections were raised. As she went to take her first sip, she noticed a mirror hanging on the wall. She sighed. Her black-dyed hair was growing out and her original blonde hair was beginning to show. Now having another reason to drink, she took a sip, then followed the others outside. For a moment, everyone awkwardly stood together, silently drinking.

  "No drink, Lucas? I thought you Christians were pretty over that by now," Jake said, breaking the silence.

  "Why do you assume I'm not drinking for moral reasons?" Lucas asked.

  "So... you're pregnant?" Jake asked, truly confused. Lucas sighed.

  "Where are you all from?" a nearby woman asked, as she and some others joined the circle.

  "Uh, all over, to be honest," Lash replied.

  "You've got quite the tattoo there," someone remarked.

  Lash put a hand up and touched the red marking on her face. She had almost forgotten it was there. She had wanted to forget it was there. Normally, questions and awkward stares were common, though surprisingly few recognized the tattoo, but for the past few days, a face tattoo was of little interest to others compared to everything else going on. That night, it seemed, some were trying to return to normalcy. Lash could not decide if she liked it.

  "Yeah, yeah, it is," Lash said, with a small chuckle. "So, are you all from around here?"

  "Born and raised," the one woman said, proudly. She introduced herself and her friends. The group followed with their own introductions. They all talked for a few minutes, sharing stories and rumors.

  "Well, before it gets too dark, we need to head over to the park. The guy inside said it has some shelter," Lash said.

  "Well, alright then. It's over that way," the woman said, pointing down the street.

  "Thanks," Lash said, beginning to head inside to drop off her empty glass.

  "Hey, when you leave there tomorrow, don't keep going south through town," the woman said with a serious look on her face.

  "Why's that?" Michael asked.

  "Just... just don't," she said, walking away with her companions.

  The group returned their glasses and walked back to Gresson.

  "No drink for me?" he asked.

  "Oh, sorry..." Lash started to apologize.

  Gresson held up a hand. "I'm kidding. So, where to?"

  Jake gave him a look. A joke? he wondered.

  Lash filled him in on the park and the group began to walk there. It wasn't far. As the sun was setting, they found a large empty tent among the others on the muddy grass. There were only seven beds, but Michael and Alice quickly offered to take a small tent nearby for themselves. Jake was about to jokingly comment about their desire for privacy, but he noticed that their kids were standing next to them and decided against it.

  "Can't say I've gotten used to these conditions," Michael moaned.

  "I'd do anything to be back home right now," Marie said.

  "You know, some people have always had to live in these 'conditions,'" Lash commented.

  "We're just not used to it, okay?" Alice said in defense of her family.

  "Oh? You're not used to it? How sad," Lash groaned.

  "What's your problem?" Adam asked.

  "My problem is that you all used to live in your rich little bubble," Lash growled. "And now that you're out of it..."

  "So, what?" Michael asked. "We were well off. Does that make us bad people?"

  "It does when there are plenty of people with nothing," Lash answered.

  "And we're responsible for them?" Alice asked. "We worked hard for..."

  "All I'm saying is that the world would be a better place if you had felt responsible for someone other than yourselves."

  Michael scoffed. "How would that have changed what's happening now?"

  "I didn't say it would have. I just think 'these conditions' are karma for you all. It's probably about time you experienced how the rest of the world lives."

  "We did experience that," Michael said, nodding toward his wife. "And we worked hard to make our lives better."

  Lash shook her head. "Not everyone gets a chance to."

  "How's that our fault?" Alice asked.

  "That's enough," Gresson said. "Everyone, get some sleep."

  Lash exchanged bitter looks with the Cases before they all headed for their tents. Michael and Alice were even happier now to have one to themselves. While still in the same tent, Adam and Marie kept to the opposite side as Lash. The others between them struggled to find comfortable positions to sleep in, but no one complained about the "conditions."

  Eight hours later, everyone woke up and made their way to the south end of the park. There, along the road, was a bike rack full of bikes.

  "Perfect," Gresson said. He scanned the row for a decent bike for himself. He found one and pulled it off the rack. The electro-magnetic locks on the rack were as useless now as anything else. The others each picked out a bike for themselves.

  "Think you're alright to ride?" Lucas asked Jake.

  Jake hopped on his bike and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." Jake pulled up his shirt, pulled off the gauze patch, and looked at his wound. It had dramatically improved over the last few days, though Jake still experienced occasional pain.

  The group began to head south once again. It was an odd feeling for them, to be moving so fast, relative to their usual walking pace. Odder still was the thought that bikes were now the fastest means of transportation on earth. They were forced to ride their bikes slowly, however, in order to balance their heavy packs.

  No one remembered the woman at the bar's warning until they reached the south end of Richmond. Some of the buildings were still smoking from a massive explosion. The source was soon apparent. A massive piece of an airplane's tail lay charred in the middle of the road. The rest of the plane was missing, no doubt incinerated after impact. Alice guessed that the plane had hit some type of accelerant, such as a fuel tank, that caused the wide radius of the explosion.

  Marie gasped as she looked at the debris scattered around. The real reason for the woman at the bar's warning lay on the ground around them. Burnt human bodies lay only slightly hidden among the burnt remains of buildings. They had been far enough away from the explosion to still exist in varying degrees, but close enough to have had no chance of survival. The group had seen dead bodies before on their trip, but never in such a large number. The worst news came from Sean's realization. "They're children," he said somberly, seeing how small most of the bodies were.

  They all stood in horror, having dismounted from their bikes. The scene became clearer after more observation. The building next to them had been a school, possibly holding an evening event for the children. The blackout had sent them all outside, while desperate adults tried to keep them all accounted for. Only minutes later, the plane had crashed, killing everyone.

  "Let's... let's go," Michael said, trying to avert his eyes from the small figures on the road. Everyone immediately jumped back on their bikes and rode south out of Richmond.

  For the next few hours, the group rode in silence. Before now, they had been able to deny the potential destruction the blackout had caused with much of the carnage out of sight. But no more. It was clear now that the death toll of the past two weeks would have been well into the millions. All over the world, there would be crashed vehicles, uncontrollable fires, and many people trapped without access to food, water, or light, to name only a few of the terrors the supposed "frequency" had caused.

&nb
sp; Adam thought about the giant fire his family had seen in New York. He had attempted to forget what he had seen that night, but now it came haunting back to him. He was not sure how much his mind had exaggerated, but he remembered fire throughout the skyline. Adam could not help but wonder what percentage of the world had died these last two weeks. Five? Ten? Twenty? And how many more would die in the coming months? As Lash had pointed out before, food was now incredibly limited. Most farms that existed were scattered far to the west and many of those were dependent on now-defunct technology. Perhaps worst of all, few people even knew how to efficiently raise crops for large groups of people, let alone themselves. How would anyone find this information? The internet was destroyed and physical books about agriculture were undoubtedly scarce.

  Adam's parents were having similar thoughts. They tried to imagine a best case scenario, but even that was unpleasant. Assuming humanity survived this and they managed to shut off the frequency, it would be generations before global society would recover. Even then, the world would be living in the ruins of its past.

  Marie was also deep in thought, but she avoided thinking about the future. Her concern was with everyone she knew in New York, most, if not all, of them now dead. Anyone who had survived, she would probably never see again. She had desperately wanted this all to be a dream and to wake up in her luxurious house with her friends only a phone call away, but, after two weeks, she had mostly given up that hope. All she wanted now was to find a new home, and a new normal.

  The rest of the group shared fear as well. Sean, having first come along for some sense of purpose and perhaps "adventure," now felt callous to that desire. He felt guilty for his newly acquired confidence and for finally feeling not quite so alone. As much as he had wanted these things his entire life, he would give them all up for none of this to have ever happened. Jake and Lash found themselves incapable of comprehending the devastation. Jake's frustration fueled his anger, while Lash could feel only pity for the billions of others in the world now living in renewed isolation. Lucas spent his thoughts in prayer. He asked for God to guide him and to protect his new-found friends. He begged for mercy on behalf of his world, feeling akin to Abraham as he had pleaded for God's mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah. Perhaps he was asking too much. Lucas had little idea about what the future would hold, but was certain that the God of Christianity was in control.

  Of all of them, however, Gresson was the most distraught, though he hid it well. His conscience panged with feelings of anger and guilt. There was an uncertainty about him that had never been there before. As he silently led the group, he wanted nothing more than to reach home.

  It was noon when the group stopped winding through the derelict cars on the highway and sat down on the side of the road to eat. They quietly pulled out rations of food and water, sharing whatever they had with each other.

  Sean spoke first. "Why us?"

  "What do you mean?" Alice asked.

  "I mean, I was just some loser manager at a supermarket. Jake and Lash, no offense, but you were just a couple of nobodies."

  "None taken..." Jake said in a way that made it clear that offense was taken.

  "Lucas, you're just some preacher. Cases, you all are just another rich family. And Gresson, heck, you're supposed to be dead anyways. I think that ironically makes you the only one who seems meant to be living these days. But, for the rest of us, why did we make it? What makes us so special that we survived?"

  "It's God's plan," Lucas replied. Jake groaned as he continued. "He has a reason for each of us. Jake, Lashira, Sean, we all didn't have to come along, but we did anyway. We all were called for a reason. If we play our roles, God can make something good come from even this."

  Jake scoffed incredulously, then said, "So tell me something. What kind of God makes plans for good that involve the barbecuing of children? What, did he regret not letting Abraham kill Isaac or something?"

  "Seems like you know a bit about the scripture, yet..." Lucas started.

  "Oh, I know plenty about that crap. My parents brainwashed me everyday with it. So, don't give me that 'God is good and everything will be okay' nonsense! Your god is a bastard and..."

  "Jake, calm down," Lash said, sternly. Jake shook his head in frustration.

  "I'm sorry you feel that way, Jake. But God isn't..." Lucas said

  "Hey, maybe save the preaching for your congregation and leave those who don't want it alone," Lash said.

  "It's those who don't want it that need it the most," Lucas said.

  Lash turned to Gresson for help, but found him staring off into the distance, entirely detached from the conversation.

  "Alright, Luke, how the hell do you still believe this stuff? It's the twenty-first century! Where's your evidence, huh?" Jake asked.

  "Once you experience the Lord firsthand, you will realize how trivial that question is," Lucas replied.

  Jake threw up his arms and laughed. "Wow! Seriously? That's your response? You Christians will say whatever you need to so you can keep believing in your imaginary friend." Jake turned to Sean. "Look, Sean. We aren't all here for a 'purpose.' We're just here. That's it. No need to get all sappy about it."

  "And yet he asks about a 'purpose.' What makes people think to ask that if there isn't one?" Lucas said.

  "What makes me think to ask 'What color is ghost piss?' or 'What type of cheese is the moon made of?' Just because I ask a question doesn't make it a good one. Humans are just stupid, plain and simple. Our thoughts and feelings don't make any difference on reality."

  "That's quite a depressing worldview."

  "It's better than your false hope."

  "Enough!" Sean yelled. It was enough to startle Gresson and garner everyone's attention. "Damn, remind me never to ask either of you any more questions. I'm just looking to make some sense of all this, not a new life philosophy." Both Jake and Lucas started to speak, but Sean curtly told them to shut up.

  "Look, who knows why we're all here," Marie said. "But we are and we have to work together if we are gonna survive the week, let alone figure out how to start fixing things. We're all we've got now."

  The group looked surprised at the young girl's emboldened face. Hearing her speak was shocking enough, let alone with such force. Without pause, Marie returned to silently eating her sandwich, leaving the others almost unsure of whether her statement had really occurred.

  No one spoke for the rest of their lunch break. They eventually returned to their bikes and continued south along I-95. They soon crossed the border into North Carolina and continued to ride until sunset. The only building nearby was a fusion power plant.

  Gresson kicked open the front door and stepped inside. It was cramped, but there was enough room in the lobby for everyone to lay out. As everyone prepared their sleeping bags, Lucas approached Jake.

  "I apologize for before. Perhaps we can talk more sometime, just not on a day when our emotions are so raw?" Lucas suggested.

  "Fine," Jake said with a shrug.

  With that, the night ended. Everyone silently began to fall asleep, unprepared for the inevitable nightmares that would follow once they closed their eyes, let alone in the weeks ahead.

  Chapter 21

  North Carolina - August 15, 2072

  The next day, they returned to biking along the highway. A few times they had to get off their bikes in order to navigate past car pile ups that blocked the road, but otherwise the day was uneventful.

  They reached Fayetteville that afternoon. The city had become well organized since the blackout. Armed civilians and police kept watch on the streets. They protected an active market and maintained some semblance of order. It seemed, for the most part, that the city had managed to avoid the chaos and anarchy that plagued the larger metropolitan areas the group had already seen, while being large enough to protect itself and be, at least temporarily, self-sufficient. It was a relative haven from the hell of the surrounding areas.

  The group kept to the outskirts of the city durin
g the rest of the day, staying clear of the more populated areas to avoid too much unwanted attention toward Gresson. There were the usual comments and curious stares, but the group went mostly unnoticed as they found a hotel to rest.

  A police officer stood outside, handing out glow-sticks and urging anyone staying there to keep to the first floor. The group took the glow-sticks, thanked the officer, and began to search for empty rooms.

  "Two more days until we reach Charleston," Gresson said, as they walked down the halls, which were surprisingly well lit from the windows and candles set throughout on small end tables.

  "All we need to do is grab Project Blackout and leave?" Michael asked.

  "Yes," Gresson said.

  "Sounds easy enough," said Alice.

  "Do you think anyone will be there?" Lash asked.

  Michael shrugged. "Those places always had security stationed twenty-four seven. But I don't see why they would still be there."

  They found a few adjacent unoccupied rooms and dropped off their packs. The room was pitch black, so they all returned to the well-lit lobby and sat down together. They talked for a while and eventually Sean suggested they play poker, pulling out the cards he kept from the gas station many days ago. They played well into the evening, forgetting about the world around them until the sun set.

  The next two days were as uneventful as the previous one had been. They crossed into South Carolina and spent the night at a small farm, whose residents, an elderly couple, were happily providing shelter to wanderers in one of their barns. The farm was one of the few places left with running water, coming from a nearby well. They took some time to talk to the owners before heading to the barn to sleep.

  "Seems like you both are doing pretty well, all things considered," Alice said.