by Kevin George
a table next to it was. For the first time in months, Lucas was able to think of anything besides his sickness.
“Is that what I think it is?” he whispered.
“Welcome to movie night,” Alexandra Franklin said, snuggling close to her Australian husband.
A smattering of applause rose from the crowd, even from the McKay family in the front row, where husband and wife looked none too pleased while the twin boys were too busy hitting each other.
“My dad just found it,” Zander said over the sound of clapping. “All the plugs fit and we checked the power cord; everything turned on. Now it’s only missing one thing.”
The DVD player – once so common – was now the most incredible thing Lucas ever saw. Without hesitation, he reached into his bag and removed the cases for a dozen DVDs.
“May as well start from the beginning,” Lucas said, handing over the one labeled: IMPACT.
The crowd silenced as Colin carefully the DVD into the tray. Suddenly, one voice was heard above all others.
“It was my idea to hire him to make this,” Peter Mansfield said near the back of the crowd.
Lucas turned and saw Mansfield sitting with their respective wives near the back of the crowd. Their placement in the crowd was fitting; neither man had taken on serious leadership role since arriving at the compound years ago. But that didn’t mean Mansfield didn’t like to remind people of the important role he once played…
On screen, an icon of a loading DVD appeared, creating another burst of applause. But Lucas didn’t feel truly relieved until the first images appeared, credits for the first of a twelve-part movie series chronicling the survival story of the greatest calamity in humankind’s history. Colin rushed to his front-row seat next to Heather Sanders-McKay; Lucas thought she was somehow more beautiful in her mid-30s than she’d even been in her early 20s. The two held hands, still clearly in love after so many years.
Zander sat in the final empty seat, just next to Lucas Stevens. The look of excitement on the boy’s face took Lucas’ breath away. But he didn’t want Zander to know of his trouble breathing. He quickly thrust the bag into the boy’s hands.
“You hold onto the rest of these,” the sick man wheezed. “I know there won’t be time to watch them all tonight but I know you’ll keep them safe.”
“I will,” Zander said. “Now stop talking and let’s finally watch your movie.”
Lucas smiled as someone lowered the lights as the movie started. But the director never got the chance to see the first images of Comet Clement striking Earth. He was so tired that he closed his eyes, never to open them again, finally able to rest knowing his legacy would never die…
