Tevun-Krus #35 - Best of '16

Mr. Atom - A Short Story by @OutrageousOllo

"Is it true?" Tommy asked. "Does radiation give you superpowers?"

"Um." Anthony wasn't quite sure how to answer his son's question. He didn't want to say no and ruin the boy's dreams, but he didn't want to say yes, it was possible, and give him false ones, either. "I don't know," he finally answered. "There are many mysteries of science and atoms that we don't yet understand."

There was an excited bark, followed by the scratching-clicking of paws as their dog Nuke came sprinting into the room and jumped up onto the bed, playfully leaping onto Tommy and licking his arms and face.

Anthony carefully put the comic book away and watched Tommy and Nuke.

"Let's be superheroes!" Tommy suggested to Nuke. "I can be Mr. Atom and you can be Nuke, the nuclear-dog sidekick!"

Nuke barked in agreement, which made Anthony smile.

2.

Two weeks later, the first bomb was dropped. The damage it did was devastating, and the radiation released into the atmosphere was even worse. More bombs followed—all over the country. Some hit closer to the home of Anthony and his family than others, though none directly damaged it.

They were lucky in that way. The radio told them to stay indoors and close all windows and doors. Not to go outside without a breathing mask. But at least they were alive.

At first, everything looked normal, so they found it hard to follow these instructions. But then the dust began to fall. It looked like a very white and fine ash, like a strange snow. It covered the ground and floated in the air, filtering out the sun's rays.

Tommy was faring much worse than his parents. The change scared him. Like most people, they'd known a nuclear war had been possible—with international relations being what they were—so they had months of food stockpiled and also the gear in their government-issued fallout supply kits. Tommy, however, didn't understand all this. He didn't understand his parents and what they meant when they said it wasn't snowing outside. He wanted to go out and look for himself, but they wouldn't let him.

Most of all, he was upset and worried about his dog, Nuke. He was outside, sleeping in his kennel when the snow started to fall. They hadn't seen or heard from him since. At least once an hour, he asked his parents if he could go outside and look for Nuke. The answer was always no.

But Tommy kept on asking. Finally, Maria gave in.

"I'm going outside," she said.

"No, you're not." Anthony tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen.

"I'm sick of being cooped-up inside." She dug through their government-issued fallout supplies and found a full-face breathing mask. "I'm going to look for Nuke. And see how the neighbours are."

Anthony's lips formed a tight line in response.

"Can I come, too?" Tommy asked, bouncing around.

"No," they both answered.

Maria went and got changed, donning the same attire worn in real snow. Thick boots, pants, and a waterproof jacket with a hood and fleece lining. She gently kissed Anthony goodbye, before slipping the breathing mask over her head.

He watched in horror with Tommy beside, as she slowly vanished into the not-snow.

"How long will Mummy take?"

"Not long," Anthony replied. His face was pale. He barely breathed until an hour later, when she returned, stumbling up to the back door, knocking her boots against the mat like a clumsy sleepwalker. He watched her as she shook off the white powder the best she could and then came inside.

"I don't feel well," was the first thing she said after taking off the mask. Her eyes looked sunken, like she had aged a decade in an hour. "I'm going to have a shower."

"Did you find Nuke?" Tommy asked, running up to Mommy.

Pain crossed her face. "No."

His face fell.

Anthony followed her back into their bedroom. She closed the door behind them.

"Yes," she said, once they were alone.

Anthony felt his guts twist. "Yes what?"

"I found Nuke."

"Oh."

3.

Their first attempt to tell their son his dog had died of radiation poisoning failed terribly.

"Cool!" Tommy exclaimed, much to their horror. "So he's coming back with superpowers? Will he fly and do flips in the air?"

Anthony winced and tried to explain that wasn't how it worked.

Maria said nothing, still feeling sick from earlier.

"But Mr. Atom died of radiation poisoning, too," Tommy argued. "But then he came back as an atomic superhero! Like Nuke will!"

Anthony didn't know what to say, or even if there was a right thing to say, so he said nothing.

"Who is Mr. Atom?" Maria asked, her voice weak.

Anthony began to answer, but then Tommy cut him off.

"He's a superhero in one of Daddy's comic books. Radiation gave him superpowers!"

Maria looked at her husband. For what felt like a long second, their eyes met and never left.

"Nuke isn't coming back," she told Tommy.

He looked at her with confusion, clearly not understanding.

"Things don't come back to life in the real world. Nuke is dead and Mr. Atom isn't real."