After Tomorrow: A CHBB Anthology

by Samantha Ketteman

  “Do you want me to carry you?” I couldn’t tell if Ryan was being serious or not as I sagged against a brick wall.

  “We’re . . . nearly there.” I attempted to regain my breath.

  Running low on energy, I struggled to straighten back up only to freeze. How could we not have seen it before? A Rapture was filling up the street. It was bigger than any I had escaped from and I didn’t even have time to scream before its wispy, pink tentacles had wrapped around my arm.

  “No!” Ryan yelled.

  “Stay back!” I cried, attempting to pull away from the Rapture. It was no use – the cloud was travelling up my arm while another tendril wrapped around my waist.

  “Bren!” Ryan stepped towards me attracting the Rapture’s attention. A hand-shaped whorl extended in his direction only to be batted away by a black see-through force field that had formed around Ryan. It was coming from the cube in his hand and the black Rapture-like cloud within.

  “Bren.” His voice broke like he was trying not to cry.

  “Don’t be sad,” I told him with a smile. “I’m happy.” I’d never felt so happy. It filled every cell of my body, making me feel like I was floating.

  Tears ran down Ryan’s cheeks as he tried to envelop me in the black cloud as well but failed. The Rapture now encasing me shied away from the black cloud but refused to release me. “I’m so sorry, Bren. There’s nothing I can do. I wish . . . I wish . . . I will stop them. They will pay for this. Maybe I’ll see you again when it’s over. . .”

  I started laughing uncontrollably, wondering how Ryan could be so sad when I was so very happy.

  Looking torn, Ryan mumbled, “Goodbye, Brenna.” Then he sprinted down the narrow street and the sound of my hysterical laughter echoed around me.

  Darkness

  H.J. Daly

  *This story is written in UK English*

  Chapter One

  Time stopped. For a moment or two the world froze around me. My peers surrounded me, their heads nodding and eyes drooping as they listened to the incessant yapping of Mr. Mellor. As usual, he was chattering about Pre-flood history. No one cared; it made no difference that once upon a time they had running water in their homes, or technology that ran everything. Nothing would change what had happened, and there was no going back.

  The lesson dragged on and on, my mind wandering to home and my rather mundane life. Feeling a finger dig into my ribs, I held in a yell. “Hey,” I whispered to Roxie. “What was that for?”

  “You zoned out again.” She shook her head and I watched her dark curls bounce around her ears. “Are you going to the park after school?”

  Glancing up, she waited for our teacher to focus on the blackboard. “Most of us are going, as well as Jonny.”

  I raised one eyebrow, something that I had been working on for weeks. It had always fascinated me how my friends did it with such ease. “I’m on work duty this week.”

  “Course. Is Jonny going to help you out?”

  Again I raised my eyebrow. “Don’t start.”

  “Oh come on, you have to forgive him.”

  “No I don’t.” I could feel others beginning to stare trying to listen in on the conversation.

  Apparently they were not the only ones. “Isobel.” Mr Mellor called across the room. “I will not have interruptions in my class.”

  “Sorry Sir. It will not happen again.” Okay, even for me it sounded insincere, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  “Yes well. This work is important.”

  I hid a smirk behind my hand and felt Roxie’s shoulders shaking next to me as she attempted to keep in the laughter.

  “We know little about the cause, but what we do see from those astute enough to collate the information is that the magma under Yellowstone Park heated to a point that it melted the ground above it, creating a super volcano.”

  The lesson change toward the disaster caught my interest. I’d heard it before and I knew what had happened, but Mr Mellor painted such a picture that I always became fascinated. Nearly 100,000 died in a matter of hours. The ash cloud covered two thirds of what was once the United States. 500,000 people died from suffocation or lack of food and contaminated water because of the cloud. “With the sulphuric acid shielding the earth from the sun, the world was plunged into a new ice age. Crops failed, clean water became scarce and as the world eventually began to warm, floods covered vast areas of land.”

  What interest I had finally died as the lesson started to drag. Time ticked by with such slowness that I frequently glanced at the clock and willed it to move faster.

  By midday, school had dissolved into the chaos that followed when children were leaving the confines of their restricted environment. I threaded my arm through Roxie’s as we made our way out. The building was big for the amount of students that attended, but two thirds of it was empty. The population had been decimated, the once thriving town was now a mere shadow of its former self. More of our friends joined us as we chattered about life. Roxie, on the other hand, talked nonstop about our friend Jonny.

  “You know he didn’t mean it.”

  Her insistence was beginning to seep through my skin and into my bones. It may have been an irrational reaction, but I still let my annoyance show as I replied. “Look, that’s enough. It’s between me and Jonny. I have no idea what he’s paying you, but you’re supposed to be my best friend.” Pulling my arm from hers, I stepped up my pace so I could talk to another friend.

  The group fell away as we reached our area, and people turned off to their homes. Only Roxie and I were left walking. With my head down I waited for her to pick up our conversation. It was true Jonny and I got on really well, but after a little flirting we both realised we were only ever going to be friends. Roxie had yet to learn that there was no hope for us romantically.

  “You love being in each other’s company. Sometimes I can’t pull you apart.” She squeezed my arm, obviously trying to get my attention.

  “Yes because we’re friends.”

  “There’s more.”

  “No there isn’t.” I couldn’t help smiling; this was a weekly conversation and one I had grown used to. “Please give it a rest. Tell you what. I’ll talk to him if it makes you happy.”

  “Of course it will.” A smile exploded across her face. It was rare to see anything else. I loved that Roxie could always make me feel that I could put my own petty troubles to the side and actually enjoy life.

  “I’m not saying I’ll forgive him,” I warned.

  She pulled me to a stop in front of her house. “Be nice. I’ll see you in the morning.” She raced down her garden path and disappeared inside.

  Hurrying next door, I quickly changed and headed for the allotment. The work was hard, but I had learned my lesson. Last time I tried to get out of it, I had ended up slopping out the cesspit. That was a week I wanted to forget.

  With the spade in hand, I started to work. Potatoes needed pulling and there was a patch that needed turned over. Standing up straight I felt as though a sliver of glass had wormed its way in at the base of my back. Groaning and stretching, I took a swig of water. Not a single cloud spoiled the view; there was even a little warmth from the sun. Its pale light illuminated the world around me, but nothing could shake the gloom. School lessons had taught me that the sun was once like a blazing ball of fire which could burn your skin if you stood unprotected for too long. How strange and distant that world now seemed, nothing more than a note in a history book. Shame the history book failed to mention that when the sun went down, something crawled out of the darkness. Then again, no one knew what lay waiting in the dead of night until humans were on the brink of extinction. Some people suggested that the super volcano released some form of disease. Regardless of the reason, no one could survive in the open once the sun vanished.

  “Need help?” the voice spoke close to my shoulder.

  I thought about ignoring him, then remembered the promise I gave Roxie. Still I didn’t want to forgive him, not
just yet anyway. “I’m fine.”

  “I’m not arguing that, you always look fine.” Whether he could see me or not, I rolled my eyes. “But two hands are better than one.” Without being asked Jonny grabbed the spade and started on the next row of vegetables.

  “You don’t need to do that,” anger was woven through each word, though I reigned it in almost as soon as I opened my mouth.

  “It’s the least I could do.” He kept his head down as he continued. “Can I just say how sorry I am?”

  “For?” There was no way I was going to make it easy. With my arms crossed and a scowl on my face, I waited.

  He stopped what he was doing and looked up with dark and intense eyes. “Knowing how you freak out near curfew, I should never have left you.”

  “Freak out.”

  “You know there’s something out there. It’s not just me.”

  “And you think I don’t know that?” he snapped back.

  Biting my lip, my eyes grew wide. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.” His hands eased on the spade handle. After losing his brother last year, he knew all too well what happened if we didn’t get home on time.

  “We had half an hour before curfew, and we were only 15 minutes from home.”

  “You left me.” It came out as one word. Frustration got the better of me. The thoughts and feelings of that walk home still haunted me. “We should have gone back long before, but you wanted me to stay and talk.”

  “There was no way to know that my mum would need me. You were safe, and you saw how worried Maddie was about dad.”

  I hadn’t really thought about what was going on at home. When Jonny’s little sister had come yelling across the fields, she looked terrified. They had left immediately and all I could do was watch them go and feel sorry about myself. “Is your dad okay?”

  Dropping his head, his finger absentmindedly picked at the wooden handle. We barely touched on the subject of his home life, but I had seen the bruises. I knew exactly what his father was like once he managed to find something to drink. Any resentment vanished once I saw the lost boy in front of me.

  “It gets to me that they still haven’t worked out how to get water through the pipes in our homes, but the art of producing alcohol was never lost.” Taking a step closer I placed my hand on his. “Maddie’s okay isn’t she?” The thought of him laying a finger on her set my heart pumping.

  “What? Yes. He wouldn’t dream of hurting her.” There was a quick squeeze of my hand before he pulled the spade away. “Well, they won’t put themselves in the basket.”

  Regardless of whether he wanted to change the subject or not, I couldn’t shake the hate that sat like a stone in my stomach every time I thought about his dad. We had been close friends for years and I could count those conversations on one hand.

  We worked in silence for a while until he couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I am sorry though, I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s okay. You know how I get.” He didn’t know, but it was no use trying to explain. Every day as the sun began to disappear into the coming night, the air felt oppressive. There was something out there in the darkness waiting for me, waiting for all of us. I felt it on my tongue, slipping over my skin. Every night I hid in my room, lights blazing trying to keep it out.

  “Issy.” His hand brushed my shoulder making me jump. “Sorry. Let’s get these vegetables to the hut and get you home.”

  The hut was the distribution centre, where all manner of supplies were stored before being passed to the public. Everyone contributed, making sure that the townspeople received what they needed. “Let me just grab some spuds for mum.” Putting the potatoes in a bag, I flung the backpack over my shoulder and then helped Jonny carry the baskets.

  Wrapping his arm around me, we made our way home. Jonny lived on the other side of the habitable homes, though he always went out of his way for me. Maybe I should have been a little more appreciative of him. He was always there whenever I needed him and I simply accepted that. “Do you want to stay for tea?” The question slipped out.

  “What’s your mum cooking up?”

  “She’s doing her famous chicken casserole.” I smiled. He never refused my dinner invitation.

  “Well, in that case, how can I say no?”

  “No. Try it out, you need to form the word and out it pops.”

  “Very funny.” Slipping his arm around my waist, he playfully tickled me until a little scream escaped my lips. I turned the tables, digging my fingers into his waist and felt him squirm at my touch. Attempting to escape my grasp, he lost his footing and we both went down. The bag slipped from my shoulder and we ended up surrounded by potatoes. Laughing all the way home, I felt lighter than I had in days. I had missed that smile of his; it was so easy to be sucked into his ease and love. Sometimes I wondered why we hadn’t clicked and become a couple. Shaking my head, I threw away those thoughts and pulled Jonny into the house.

  My family always welcomed him with warmth. They knew little of his home life, though they could not avoid the rumours. Within seconds my brother had pulled him to one side and they raced upstairs.

  “It’s nice to see Jonny here.”

  Mum’s dig didn’t go unnoticed. It had only been a week since I had really spoken to him, not long enough for my family to start worrying. “Here.” I handed over the vegetables. “We’re fine and he’s just over for dinner.”

  Without another word she walked into the kitchen, leaving me alone in the hall. Knowing I wouldn’t see Jonny for the next ten minutes at least, I headed up the stairs to the bathroom. “I’m grabbing a quick shower.”

  “Can I join you?”

  “Now Jonny, you’ll have mum up here,” I called out with laughter in my voice.

  The rest of the afternoon disappeared too fast and the night began calling. An hour before curfew Jonny said his goodbyes and I started my night time routine. My room was lit up like Christmas, candles blazed as I waited for the darkness to envelope the house.

  Chapter Two

  I knew something was wrong the moment I saw Jonny’s face. He gave little away, but it had become a mask. The same mask he hid behind when there was trouble at home. Heartbreakingly, I was unable to get to him before class started, which I suspected was by design. How am I supposed to concentrate on lessons? My mind raced through the scenarios that would cause such a reaction and my gut twisted in response. Waiting only compounded my anxiety, making it feel as though a weight pressed down on my chest. It was hard to hear a word from anyone around me. My fingers tapped out an impatient rhythm on the desk and my eyes constantly glanced at the clock. I had to find out what had happened and couldn’t wait until the end of school. The wait was torture as ice ran down my spine, soaking through to every part of me. My mind in overdrive.

  “Are you okay?” a classmate whispered in my ear. I wondered if my worries had made their way to my features. Giving him a quick nod I went back to my fretting.

  “You’re white,” he insisted.

  “I’m fine,” I snapped back, wanting the conversation to end.

  The second the teacher called for the end of the lesson, I was on my feet and heading out of the room. Of course I knew which class he would be in, and practically bowled people over in an attempt to get there before he had a chance to escape.

  He stopped dead when he saw me panting against the opposite wall to his classroom. In his eyes I could see the indecision.

  “Don’t even think about running.” I pulled my lips into what I hoped was a friendly smile.

  “I’ve got to get to my next class.”

  “Jonny please.” His shoulders dropped on hearing the pleading in my tone.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Like hell it is. What’s going on? What happened? Is everyone okay?” There were so many questions I wanted to ask and my mind was full of different scenarios, none of which ended well.

  “Oh no it’s not ...” In one swift movement he was by my side, his hand wrapped around my shou
lder. “You’ve been worrying about this all morning haven’t you?”

  I shrugged him off. “What’s going on?”

  “My dad has to go to Hayton for business.”

  “And,” I pushed when he started to find something interesting on the floor.

  “He has to go tomorrow and is in no state to go anywhere.”

  My hands grabbed his arms. “No!” I knew what he would say, what he would have to do. The village had to keep going, it came before anything else and Jonny had been training under his dad for a few years. “There must be someone else.” With my heart pounding in my chest I tried to take in gulps of air. This cannot be happening. We had to trade for supplies, I understood that, but there were always a few people that never made it back. “I won’t let you do this.”

  “Calm down. People are going to think we’re having a lovers tiff.”

  “Don’t make fun of me. Please don’t go,” I couldn’t help the panic in my voice.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll set off at first light and be there well before curfew.”

  “I’ll come with you, to keep you company.” I didn’t want to let him go. Every fibre, every nerve in me wanted to hold him and force him to stay.

  “We’ll talk about this later. We’ve got to get to class.” Anger ran through my system because he wasn’t taking me seriously. “Issy I promise we will talk about it later.” Gently taking me in his arms, he kissed my forehead and rushed away.

  Though my heart was heavy, my mind was full of rage. If I could sneak out of my last lesson, I could make it to his house to insist that his dad go instead of risking his son. No one would miss me and even if they did, I didn’t care.

  “What’s going on?” A friend nudged me from my reverie. She’d obviously seen the scene between me and Jonny.

  “That waste of a father he has can’t make his trip to Hayton, so guess who has to go in his place?”

  “Can’t it wait?” There was no alarm in her voice. Does no one else feel it like I do? They knew there was a threat, and while years had passed since someone was foolish enough to go out after curfew, the danger was still very real. No one ever came back once they were stuck outside after dark.