As the Light Dies

by M. D. Woodham

  Idiots will all be choked up in hospital in a few hours! he thought.

  He glanced at the laptop, it was on but flickering badly he didn’t even try logging on to the internet but on the home screen he looked at the time display, it was five past six in the evening.

  I really did sleep in didn’t I, he said to himself as he set and wound his watch. Then he tried the TV volume again, still no luck so he turned it off hoping that he’d be able to turn it back on later. Then he went in to the hall and said to Sam,“C‘mon boy, you’ll be well overdue your visit outside,”and he let Sam out in to the back garden so that he could keep an eye on him but before he let Sam out he tied his scarf around his snout to save him breathing in the ash.

  “Be quick,”he said,“it’s not gonna be good for you out there boy.”

  Sam barked his response like he understood every word Dean said and ran out as Dean opened the door. Dean closed the door quickly to stop too much ash getting in and set about spreading an old newspaper on the floor by the back door and grabbed the old towel he used for drying Sam from the cupboard beside the front door and then pulled on one of the paper dust masks he had. When he’d finished Sam was already padding back up the steps to the back door, Dean let him in on to the newspaper where Sam stood perfectly still letting Dean gently brush him down.

  “Good boy Sam, good boy, now let’s get something to eat, and decide what to do.”

  Sam barked twice in approval.

  After rustling up something to eat for himself and serving up a bowl of meaty dog food for Sam by candlelight Dean dared to try the TV again, and it worked but now the volume was on so low Dean could only just hear it. He sat in front of the fuzzy TV flicking through the channels intent on learning as much as he possibly could about the situation while he could, only a few channels were still broadcasting and three of them were broadcasting the same footage but news was news and he learned that the site in Norway was still erupting at a tremendous rate. Several drones had been sent out to gather footage after a failed attempt by the coastguard. They managed to feed back vital info before they died and crashed as each of their electrical systems failed and they fell from the skies like dead birds. The crater was estimated at a colossal one hundred miles plus, around and the coverage of the ash cloud was now reaching far across Russia! Germany was buried and France had been all but swallowed!

  The North Sea had totally disappeared as the enormous ash cloud made its way across the whole of the UK and continued spreading out across the North Atlantic Ocean!

  Dean sat back in his chair shocked. He was worried and he was scared. He looked at the house phone again, he tried it again just in case but it was dead, no dialling tone, nothing! He hung up frustrated. Where’s Gavin he wondered? What’s he doing? How’s he doing?

  At least I gave him the dust masks he thought.

  Then he thought about their mum and dad, twenty miles north in their little old converted farm house.”Oh God I hope they’re ok,” he said, and tried the house phone again just in case, but nothing had changed.“Damn it!”he said slamming the phone back down. There was no way for him to get in contact with them now.

  Should have called before I went to bed, he thought.Dad’s arthritis is bound to be playing havoc and Mums asthma won’t like this ash.

  “SHIT!” he said again,“shit, shit, shit!”

  He paced the living room.At least they’re at home,he thought. Poor Gavin on the other hand could be stranded anywhere out there in his bus, and he wouldn’t have a clue where he was!

  A few minutes passed and he turned his thoughts to work.

  He wondered if he should try and go in or just stay home. What if my team struggle in just to find no- one there and the place all locked up, he thought. They all knew Dean didn’t take time off, not ever, so they’d expect him to be there. It was likely they’d try their best to make it in as well.

  Or maybe the place has been turned in to a rescue centre.

  It’s plenty big enough. There were toilets, there were more than enough showers, there were cooking facilities and first aid rooms. The leisure centre was probably the best candidate in Inverness he thought.

  He thought for a moment trying to figure out what best to do and the TV went out with a soft pop!Great,he thought and he decided to go in.

  He reasoned with himself that it wouldn’t take him long to get there and back again if he wasn’t needed. He’d have his keys just in case no- one was there and he needed to get in for whatever reason, even if it was just to get in out of the weather for five minutes before heading back home again. He set to packing a bag throwing a super fast packed lunch together in case he was needed. He didn’t want to eat food that was there to feed people in a rescue situation if the centre had been converted. An extra bottle of water went in the bag, spare masks even some spare socks and gloves so he had a dry pair if needed, and then he looked out his handy tool, and finally his swimming goggles. After a quick double check he set about rigging up a dust mask for Sam. He wasn’t leaving him behind and he didn’t want him breathing in the ash.

  Dean dug out an old muzzle he’d used when Sam was a pup to stop him chewing up the house, and he set to work. He stapled a knee support bandage around the inside of the muzzle then doubled it back again on the outside, and then lengthened the straps to fit. When he was finished he held it up for Sam to see.“What you think boy?”

  Sam let out a whine and buried his nose under his front paws.

  Dean laughed.“C’mon boy it’ll be better than breathing in that ash shit, it’ll only be while we’re outside, ok,I promise.”

  Sam unburied his nose and looked up at Dean and letting out a playful growl and barked twice.

  “Yea, yea,”said Dean laughing.“I promise.”

  By seven o’clock Dean was ready to leave, he’d double checked and rechecked the rucksack, packing anything extra that he could think of given the situation outside. He left out some candles and a note for Gavin in the kitchen telling him that he’d gone in to work and taken Sam with him and told him how to work the camping stove he’d left out. Then he fitted Sam’s dust muzzle. Sam whined with embarrassment making Dean laugh again.“Right boy,”he said,“you look great. Are you ready?” Woof, woof!

  “Good, let’s go.”Dean shouldered his rucksack fixed his own dust masks in place under his scarf and pulled on his swimming goggles.

  People will think I’ve lost it, he thought.

  “See boy, you’re not the only one that looks daft!”

  Grrr WOOF!

  Dean opened the door to an enormous unnaturally loud crash of thunder overhead that was almost immediately followed by multiple veins of lightning crisscrossing all over the sky. There were so many forks of lightning and they were so bright that the cloud looked like it had caught fire for a second. Sam flinched back through the door letting out a growl.“C’mon boy,”said Dean,“we’ll get lots of that. It’s ok c’mon I won’t let it get you ok.”

  Sam whined, and then tentatively left the house.

  Dean locked up and then they were on their way.

  CHAPTER 9

  Across town Collin Right was in the changing room putting his work gear back in his locker.

  He was relieved to finally be going home, twelve and a half hours of mayhem, never stopping, on his feet constantly save for his one hour lunch break,that was cut short, and the escapades at the petrol station....He was exhausted, mentally as well as physically!

  After he heard the screams from the petrol station as the power failed he rushed back in to the supermarket to tell someone. Back inside, the lights were flickering! He ran straight through to the offices where he was sure he’d find one of the managers or a supervisor, but as he ran down the beige corridor with the lights blinking on and off he couldn’t see anyone. All the offices were empty.

  Worried about what was happening outside he ran faster passing more empty rooms. He reached the set of double doors that led in to the Managing Director’s office, the blind
was pulled over so he couldn’t see inside. Without stopping to knock he threw open the doors to find the room in darkness.“Damn!”He tried the next office that also had the blind pulled over, empty again, but the lights were on and flickering! Someone had been here. Can’t be far, he thought and hoped at the same time.

  There was one more door to try.Gotta be someone in here, he told himself. He flung it open, empty!“Shit!” he blurted.

  He stopped and thought for a second.I’ll try the canteen first then I’ll go out on to the shop floor.

  Just as he started to run towards the end of the corridor he saw blood on the carpet!

  He remembered the truck driver.

  First aid room! he thought.

  He ran down the corridor along the worn blue carpet until he came to a T junction at the end and passed through a pair of swing doors in to the main staff corridor that fed in to the canteen, changing areas, toilets and first aid room. He ran for the first aid room, he heard laughter.

  It was a horrible cackle of a laugh. Mad Maggie he thought.

  Collin knocked once knowing who was on the other side but didn’t wait for an answer. He practically flung the door open. Mad Maggie was just finishing wrapping a bandage around the truck driver’s hand. Collin was also shocked to see that Leann in the room as well. She was holding a pair of scissors and what looked like white sticky tape. All three of them jumped and looked round at him startled!

  “Aw, shit!” yelped the truck driver as Maggie pulled on his hand as she jumped.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry Kevin,”she said with an almost real look of concern on her face. Then she turned back to Collin with a look like thunder on her face.“I’m trying to treat this poor man to tide him over until we can get him to hospital and you just made me twist his wounded hand with your careless entry. You never,EVERburst in to a first aid room, for the very reason that you might disturb a patient receiving treatment.DOyou understand?”

  Before he could say anything she blurted,“Not to mention all that ash you’re contaminating the room with, look at you, you’re absolutely filthy.WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

  Finally she let Collin get a word in.“I’m sorry, but the power has gone out over at the petrol station and....”

  Mad Maggie cut him off.“I’m not surprised. The lights are flickering in here as well, in case you haven’t noticed!”She shot a glance up at the flickering light on the ceiling.

  “The emergency generator,”she continued and Collin cut her off with his heart in his mouth as a look of shock and anger crossed Maggie’s face. No oneeverbutted in on her!

  “I heard lots of shouting, arguing, and I heard a woman screaming! She was screaming really loudly, like I mean really screaming and I heard breaking glass!”

  Maggie looked furious that Collin had cut her off, but she’d listened and the revelation of what Collin had just said was sinking in.

  “Whoa,”said the driver,“Sounds like its getting nasty out there. You know, I saw a lot of flaring tempers when I was stuck in the traffic on my way up here, even saw a vehicle recovery guy being given hell from four or five guys at the side of the road!”

  Maggie frowned and asked Collin,“Are you sure it was a scream you heard? Didn’t you see if the emergency lights came on?”

  “I didn’t see any lights come on, the place just disappeared, you know, with the weird snow out there. I could barely see the place when the lightswereon. I could just about see them flickering, but then they stopped and the place disappeared and that was it. I didn’t see it again, maybe the ash was too thick too see through or something but then I heard the breaking glass and the woman started screaming. I thought I’d better come in and tell someone.”

  Maggie said,“You didn’t think to go and check for yourself, instead of wasting time running around the shop spreading ash everywhere.”

  Just then Leann joined the conversation.“Maggie,”she said,“it’s probably best he did come in here. The news is saying that there’s looting going on, and bad violence in places, it’s all over the place. Collin might have gotten caught up in something if he’d gone out there by himself and we’d be none the wiser in here.”

  Maggie thought for a moment.“Yes Isupposeyou’re right Leann. Wewouldn’twant Collin getting caught up in anything now wouldwe?”

  She gave Collin a look as though to say, who cares as she unclipped a small radio from her belt and spoke in to it.

  “This is Maggie calling for Thom and Andy, will you both come to the first aid room?”

  A moment later she got a reply from Andy.“Yep, ok Maggie, we’ll be over right away we’re just finishing up with the generator.”

  Maggie clipped her radio back on to her belt and watched as the flickering light stabilised to a steady glow, it was much dimmer than usual but it was better than being in total darkness.

  “Well Kevin,”said Maggie,“as I was saying before our visitor barged in, it looks like I’ll be taking you to the hospital.”

  “Nah, you’re ok, I’ll easily wait for the ambulance, looks like you’ve got your work cut out here.”

  “No,”said Maggie,“they said they’d be at least two hours,maybe more.You can’t wait that long.Just look at your hand.”

  She pointed to his bandaged hand.“It’s already weeping through the bandage!”

  Everyone looked down at the bandaged hand. Collin cringed at the sight, the fresh white bandage was turning dark red.So dark it almost looked black in the middle.

  He looked up and stole a glance at Leann feeling privileged she’d defended him.

  She was looking at Kevin’s hand biting her bottom lip. He liked the way she cared.

  Andy and Thom arrived looking stressed. Thom ran a hand over his smooth head and said,“It’s getting mad out there now!”

  “Yea,”added Andy. Andy reminded Collin of the typical surfer type, with his shoulder length curly blonde hair and laid back attitude.

  Andy looked at Maggie and said,“We’ve had to put Jimmy on the doors permanently....”

  “What!Why?”exclaimed Maggie.

  “The people are going ape shit out there”

  “They really are,”added Thom.

  Andy nodded at what Thom said and continued,“We’ve got two more tills out of action now after the power started playing up, and people are gettingreallyagitated now. It’s just taking so long to get them through the tills, and the others won’t be working for much longer either and they can all see the weather’s getting worse, so with our power problems and all the street lights out they’re all on edge, they just wanna get out and get home. Who can blame them?”

  Maggie was shaking her head.

  “Anyway,”he carried on,“we’ve had several reports from costumers saying people are just walking out without paying.”

  “Aren’t the door alarm’s working?”snapped Maggie.

  “No. They stopped working with the power playing up. That’s why we’ve put jimmy on the doors. You know how it goes, once one person does it they all think they can do it. Especially with the mood they’re all in out there, thank God we’re passed our busiest!”

  “Ok, I see,”said Maggie nodding.“Well, it seems like we’ve got another problem that needs your attention.”

  “Oh what now?”said Thom taking a deep breath, he ran a hand over his smooth head again.

  “The petrol station seems to have lost power, and it sounds like there’s a commotion going on out there.According to Collin at least!”

  Andy looked at Collin.“What’s up Coll?”

  Collin told them what had happened as quickly as he could literally running out of breath as he did. When he finished Andy looked at Thom and asked him to run and get the spare jackets and gloves from the management store and meet him and Collin at the front doors in five. Thom nodded and took off.

  Andy said to Maggie,“We’ll go over and check it out and see what’s happening. We’ll take our radios to keep in touch but I don’t know how long they’ll work once were out there, it’s a
lmost like everything that comes in to contact with the ash just gives up.Godknows how long the emergency generator will hold out. It’s shutting everything down, damn stuff gets everywhere.”

  Maggie nodded,“Ok,”she said, and Andy nodded towards the wounded driver,“What’s happening with this guy?”

  Maggie told him the story how he badly cut his hand and that she’d called the hospital and they’d said they were swamped with calls and that the ambulance was going to take anything from two hours or more. Probably more!

  Andy thought for a moment.“Ok”, he said,“well whatever you do one of you two,”he nodded at Leann,“need to get to a till and start cranking through the customers.”

  “I’m quite capable of arranging this situation Andy,”Maggie quipped.

  ”Yea yea. Sure. I’m just saying. Keep an ear out for your radio ok but remember they might stop working.”He turned to Collin but then looked back and asked Maggie,“Who’s on shift over there?”Maggie frowned for a second thinking then shook her head.“I’m not sure, there was a shift change and I don’t know who went over!”

  Andy nodded and turned to Collin,“Ok Collin, let’s go.”

  Collin followed Andy’s quick trot along the corridor and out on to the shop floor. It wasn’t as packed out as it was earlier but it was still busy, and just as loud as people complained about how long they were having to wait, and Collin was sure he could feel a bad atmosphere in the air.

  He hadn’t noticed it earlier. Sure people had been worried earlier, but this was different, they were on edge, angry even! People stared at them as they passed approaching the main doors and Thom came running up behind them with two spare freezer jackets and a bundle of dust masks. He threw a jacket to Andy who pulled it on quickly and then the gloves still walking. As they started pulling on their dust masks Thom asked Andy,“What exactly are we doing going out there Andy?”

  “We’re going to check on the petrol station after what Collin heard, and we’ll take it from there.” “Can’t we just call over on the phone?”