Apocalypse [Book 1]

by Matt J. Pike

9.30am: Well that was pretty useless. Johnno – asleep, Jamie – asleep, Macca – asleep, Hardo – asleep! Only Boof answered his phone... and he thought I was taking the piss. Until I made him turn the TV on and watch a news update – they’ve now got a countdown to the president’s press conference.

  The others will get the message soon enough... what a way to wake up. Still – that’s probably hours away for them!

  President’s speech – 9.40am: I was so bloody tired when I watched this I could barely take it all in. But I’ve got the feeling this will be on high-rotation on TV over the next few days.

  There were hundreds of journos at the press conference; clearly everyone knew this was serious. When the pres walked out the camera flashes went crazy. What he said was a blur for me but I got all of the basics…

  There is an asteroid heading towards Earth

  It is called 2014DM3... hmm exciting. 2014DM3? It’s got no ring to it at all. Ya kind of expect something, I dunno, epic. But 2014DM3? Really? Can’t we give it a proper name like they do with cyclones? Or like call it by the impact date... like a 9/11 kind of thing? It probably seems stupid, given I face a high chance of being pulverised into atoms, but I would’ve at least liked it to be caused by something with a cool name.

  Well, whatever you call it, it’s about 4-5km in diameter – read: freaking huge, which means it has the potential to send us the way of the dinosaurs.

  As of this moment there are 65 hours, 11 minutes ‘til touchdown! That makes it just after 2am on Saturday morning!

  A bunch of different countries (with space capabilities) are planning to intercept the rock – to either destroy it or divert its path.

  Which all sounds good, but the pres was talking about things like planning times and launch windows and... well, to be honest it sounds like they’ve all been caught with their pants around their ankles. My best guess is there’s stuff-all they can do but they want to make people feel better by thinking they are doing something. There are a few teams having a crack – NASA, The European space agency, Russia, Japan and China. I certainly won’t be counting on a last minute miracle from any of them!

  3pm: I had intended to sleep but the fact the news is out in the open changed everything. I figured every man and his dog would be lining up for food. But once the basics were covered they’d move on to survival gear. If Adelaide misses the initial impact and blast concussion and tsunamis and whatever else, then there’s the potential for complete loss of power, communications... so much I can’t even remember it all... some ‘experts’ have even predicted an ice age.

  Bottom line: Survival = self sufficiency.

  So I’ve been busy hitting camping stores, hire stores all sorts of things. I’ve got, among other things, a portable power generator (Dad’s already got a 40 amp one hooked up to the house, which we also take camping, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to have back-up), a radio transmitter/receiver (just in case normal communications fail), a bunch of knives, cold weather clothing and three can openers (I’m not getting caught short there).

  I also grabbed about 30 water cooler bottles and some resealable lids. I figured I’d better cover my arse in case access to fresh water becomes an issue.

  So I was feeling pretty good when I got home and unloaded my new toys, even though my credit card is officially maxed-out. Thank god I have access to Dad’s in-case-of-emergency card, I’m pretty sure this situation activates the card into use.

  Every TV station has gone to 24-hour asteroid coverage – that didn’t take long. I was going to watch while I figured out the radio and generator but it was all too difficult to concentrate. Clearly sleep was the No.1 option.

  I have this thing now that I can’t be wasting a second, and sleep seemed to be wasting a whole lot of seconds. When you may only have 60 hours to live, eight hours sleep seems like an indulgent waste. So before I hit the hay I sent a whole bunch of interesting stuff I found on the internet to the printer. That way I didn’t feel so guilty.

  ****

  Thursday, April 11, 2014

  6.30am: Fourteen hours! I’ve slept for 14 of my last 60-odd hours and I feel guilty as hell. But I also feel fantastic for it. As I load up on Weetbix for breakfast I flick around the networks to see what’s happened. Plenty is the short answer.

  They are counting down to the first of the rocket launches. It’s China’s attempt, due in 45 minutes, they’ve packed their ship full of kickass explosives. They hope the thing will detonate alongside the asteroid and knock it off course enough to alter its trajectory enough to miss Earth. We’ll see.

  The other missions are all locked and loaded with launch times across the next 12 or so hours. The last, and I guess the most likely to succeed, is NASA’s attempt, which is due for launch around 8pm our time. Basically they’re trying everything else they can first and if all fails the Yanks are gonna nuke the hell out of it (something tells me ego has something to do with them having the clutch play in all this).

  Back on the home front, it’s clear my luck in finding out about this thing early has already paid dividends. There are epic queues for food, drink and other supplies. I do feel slightly guilty looking at the footage of desperate people shuffling along endless lines just to get basic supplies. But then again I’m not giving up what I’ve got. I mean, I hope it doesn’t come to it but it could get down to a case of survival of the fittest – and he who is well fed is fittest. At least that’s how I justify it to myself.

  I’ve got about 30 messages on my phone but I’m struggling to get through to message-bank. I’m guessing the system is in overload. Figure I’ll try again later tonight when the demand is lower.

  I hit the internet – man oh man – that was running slow too. I could almost hear the distant sound of a dial-up modem! Anyways, there were so many emails and messages on Facebook for me. I decided to dedicate the next couple of hours catching up with what was happening in the world and getting in touch with as many friends and family as I can.

  7.15am: Four words: China. Rocket. Epic. Fail.

  Holy explosion, Batman. The first attempt to intercept 2014DM3 ended in catastrophe when the Chinese rocket made it about 2/3rds of its own length into the air before stopping and descending to the ground. It all looked pretty harmless and slow-motion until the rocket started to collapse in on itself. Then there was the most almighty of explosions as rocket fuel and explosives ignited everything. Wow. They’ve shown it from several different angles now and, well, nothing else to say but, wow.

  I don’t think anyone within 20kms of the blast has eyebrows anymore.

  One down four to go, I guess.

  The boys are meeting up tonight at seven to watch the European space agency launch then have a few drinks until midnight when the NASA rocket blasts off. I think I’ll join them, I’m going a little crazy with my own company.

  Also, there are a bunch of parties happening on Friday night to count down the final hours.

  I’ve spent so much of my time working out what I need if I’m to survive I hadn’t thought about what will probably be the most important part – what I’m actually going to be doing at impact time. I figure spending the moment with people I know and like is as good a way as any. I mean, I could hide in the cellar but I’m not entirely sure how much that will increase my survival chances. If impact is anywhere near Adelaide, I’m screwed anyway. And, as time goes by, the idea of spending the final moments with people you know becomes more attractive.

  I’ve already got nine options on the table through friends and family. I’m leaning towards the party at the Jameson’s. Mr Jameson said he thinks my folks would probably prefer I went there anyway, and he’s right, they’ve been good friends for years. A bunch of the usual families will be going, so I’ll know a heap of the kids there too. Plus, the Jameson’s place is kickass, it’s got awesome views of the city and they always throw sweet parties. Lock.

  My bro sent me a message too. We’ve hooked up a Skype call for 2pm – I think that’s before dawn in
London! It’ll be bloody good to talk to him again.

  Still nothing from Mum and Dad though.

  10.30am: The human race is now one from two as Japan successfully launched their rocket. It’s pretty much going with the same tactic as the China one (minus the whole launch fail), hoping to deflect the asteroid from its Earth-bound course. Contact with 2014DM3 is due just after lunchtime tomorrow, about 12 hours before the asteroid hits Earth. Some experts are saying even if the mission delivers, 2014DM3 will be too close to the Earth to affect its trajectory enough to miss. The Japanese team think it will work.

  It’s kind of annoying not really knowing who or what to believe. It’s not like I can do the sums myself – they don’t teach space maths at school. I choose to go with the ‘believe it when I see it’ strategy and keep planning for the worst-case scenario. Having said that, the Japanese scientists looked far more credible than the professor speaking out against them – if that’s anything to go by. I mean, I back white lab coat over brown cardigan any day.

  They’ve also trained some telescopes on the asteroid and are getting a better picture about why it may have eluded detection. For a start, it’s not an asteroid but a comet, and then it’s not even a comet but a dark comet. They all sound the same to me, but asteroids basically lurk in the inner solar system and are more predictable, with shorter orbits. Comets can come from way, way into the outer solar system and have orbits of tens of thousands of years, maybe more. Trickier to spot, but comets usually carry plenty of ice, and when they get closer to the sun, they heat up and produce a big tail – easy to spot.

  But, of course, this bad boy is a dark comet. It’s pretty much burnt off all of its ice from a previous orbit (or orbits) of the sun and it’s just left with a dark, lifeless nucleus.

  So, they reckon this thing would’ve been spotted a while ago, but – here’s the thing, they measure asteroid/comet size by the amount of light they reflect. I thought they just zoomed in on a big telescope or something! Sneaky dark comet hardly reflects any light at all, which would’ve massively affected how big they thought it was, it’s orbit – everything.

  But it gets better, well worse really. They’ve got a couple of potential findings that MAY have been 2014DM3 in their database but none of the trajectories add up. They now think there’s a big chance there was something that altered its direction. The main theories are a collision with another object or, as it came closer to the sun, an internal well of ice heated and exploded, causing a reaction and a change of direction.

  These theories are both backed-up by the recent visual of the asteroid (erm, comet). It looks almost peanut shaped – penny farthing even. There’s a big chunk out of the middle. It’s also spinning around on itself, which is unusual.

  When they finally identified it and realised how big it was and where it was headed – then it became DEFCON1. Apparently there were a number of days between discovery and the official announcements – and the announcement only came as those scientists in the know started telling family and friends and the word was getting out.

  So basically, the whole thing is a series of ridiculously unlucky events and political balls-ups. Sounds like another day in life really.

  Uncle Mark Facebooked me, he’s insisting I join the extended family on crash night. I think he feels responsible for me now that Mum and Dad aren’t here. He’s contacted me three times already, so I don’t think he’s gonna take no for an answer. I tell him I’ll be there and I don’t even feel slightly guilty that I lied.

  In local news: Apparently people went crazy in the city last night. There were people out partying everywhere – taking their last chance, I guess. Police were struggling to keep control as things got really wild. There were 12 people killed in fights. Twelve! That’s three years’ worth of violence... in one night. There’s also been at least that many murders in the suburbs. Police say they’re doing their best to cope and have told everyone to remain calm. What is wrong with people? Are people settling scores or just getting too far out of control? Either way I’m not going into the city between now and Friday night – that’s for sure.

  I’ve dropped the security shutters and made sure all the gates are locked – just to be on the safe side.

  12.30pm: So, I figure I have five meals left between now and impact so I’d better make the most of them. I mean, people who get sent to the electric chair get one last meal... and they’ve usually killed someone. I figure I’ve done nothing wrong so I deserve at least five last meals.

  My first last meal was a no-brainer. Indian. From the little takeaway place at the Black Forest shops – it’s a bit of a hike from Trinity Gardens but it’s the best takeaway in town. Plus, the first four places I tried weren’t open. They do awesome Indian! We used to live near there and I was a regular. Dad doesn’t like it so much as he says he can almost taste the cholesterol, which was kind of a selling point for me. I completely skipped the entree and went straight for double mains. Lamb Vindi and Rogan Josh with a token serving of rice and two cheese and garlic naans. Bliss.

  Shops are shutting left, right and centre – but those that are staying open are making a fortune! I realise this could well be the last take out I get so I’m gonna savour it even more.

  God, it was good. It took me half an hour of eating to get three quarters of the way through.

  I figured I deserved it as I’d spent the last couple of hours hauling Dad’s wine collection out of the cellar to make room for the last of the food cans. I’ve also converted Dad’s study into the water room. I’ve moved his desk up against the wall and filled up and capped all of the water bottles.

  Jason’s bedroom will be converted into my war room. I’ve had the printer working overtime pumping out everything and anything that I think might be handy or relevant should I survive impact. I’m using the scattergun approach here as I have absolutely no idea what I could be facing – conditions, communications, anything. So as ideas pop into my head I jump on the net and print out any information I can find.

  I’m also torrenting like a mad man. I’m downloading a bunch of survival TV shows in the hope I might get some useful information out of them. Man v Wild, Surviving Disaster, Doomsday Preppers and Dual Survival – wow, there’s far more out there than I thought.

  Fiona J facebooked me earlier. She wants to give me something so she’s coming around at 4pm. Weird, it’s not like I talk to her that much at school, I’ve got no idea what it’s about but it’s a bit of a pain because I’ll have to hide all of the supplies I’ve acquired – so that means double time on getting everything into the cellar.

  On the news front the army have been called in to monitor crowds queuing for food. Apparently, things are getting ugly since they decided to limit the amount of items people can purchase. They’ve also announced a midnight curfew in the city tonight so there’s not a repeat of last night. The army will be patrolling there as well.

  Apparently a few trucks carrying food to the shops have been hijacked, so the army are also riding shotgun on all food transport. It’s going to slow the distribution process down, they say, but the shops will stay open to the last minute to make sure as much as possible gets out.

  It sure doesn’t feel like Adelaide any more. Everything’s going crazy. People are going crazy. Murders, riots, army intervention – it’s like everything that made us civil is starting to unravel, and quick. It doesn’t take much to project forward to how things could get after impact, if we make it that far.

  Maybe I need a weapon?

  2pm: Finally got to chat with my bro on Skype – awesome meets sad wrapped in weird. Poor bugger has tried to get a flight back from London since the news broke, which has proved pretty much impossible. Time’s run out now so he’s stuck there. We just chatted about stupid stuff we did as kids – I laughed so hard. Until the end that was. When it was time to say goodbye I couldn’t help myself I blabbered like a baby, so did he. I hadn’t seen Jason cry since Grandpa died.

  When it was over I just
sat there with my head in my hands wondering if I was ever gonna see him again. That thought’s not easy to deal with... in fact I’m not sure I even can deal with it. It’s just too... monumental. And don’t even get me started on Mum and Dad. I kinda just sat there and let it all overwhelm me for a few minutes, then I slapped myself in the face a couple of times and got on with things.

  I’m not sure whether being in a big city like London is a good thing or a bad thing for Jase. Obviously nowhere’s good if it’s ground zero! But a massive city like London; with so many more people competing for resources. What happens if the food dries up? What happens in winter? London winter... eww.

  I think I’ll take Adelaide. My figuring is that it’s big enough to have ample supplies of everything you need but not too big that it’s removed from the environment around it. Even where I live you can be in farm country within 15 minutes. That’s gotta be good, doesn’t it? Yep, I’ll keep telling myself Adelaide is not too big and not too small... it’s just Goldilocks right for an epic catastrophe.

  There are real doubts emerging about the chances of a successful rocket intervention of 2014DM3. I can’t say I’m totally shocked. It’s really interesting. Though – if you watched the mainstream media, you’d think we have 80% chance of success, but if you do any decent research on the web I reckon you think those chances are more like 10%... at best.

  2.30pm: So, Russia successfully launched their rocket, making it 2 of 3 for humanity. I wonder how many people around the world watched the launch? Probably everyone who has access to a TV. If collective willpower could contribute, these rockets would take off without the need for fuel. You could actually hear cheers from the neighbours when it got airborne. I even gave a fist-pump.