Jubilee Year: A Novel (Erelong Trilogy Book I) - An Extended Sample

Chapter 6: EARLY MORNING RUN

The clock above the oven gave him a good two hours before sunup. It was time enough for ten minutes of leg stretches before he set off. A half hour of light jogging would take him through the town, and in another fifteen minutes, he would reach the signboard.

The large sign greeted travelers before they crossed the bridge over the river that marked a town boundary line. There was a large grassy verge behind the signboard.

It was an excellent observation point that allowed him to see the entire night sky free from the glare from street lights. He would do the rest of his stretch routine while he waited to see—well—whatever might show up before dawn.

Under the glow of street lamps, on empty streets and surrounded by darkened houses and shop fronts he imagined he was the last human alive. He felt like he owned the place. His private universe where all the people had vanished along with the Sun and their property was now his to do with as he pleased. In this imaginary world, there would only be room for those he personally selected.

He ran off the sidewalk and onto the road, and down the centerline. He weaved to and fro. In the distance, he saw the lights of a worker driving home after the end of a night shift. The car turned into a side road.

For a few short blocks, a stray mongrel trotted beside him until it caught the scent of something more interesting and skittered off to investigate the source.

He crossed the bridge and in a few minutes reached the large signboard with its garish yellow greeting lit up under a row of bright spotlights.

'Welcome to Coonabarabran the Astronomy Capital of Australia'.

To his side stood a cluster of tall trees that blocked his view of the horizon. But otherwise, he was able to scan virtually all the velvet black. His gaze settled on a cord of luminescent clouds. He leaned against the post of an old stock fence and begun to stretch out the tightness in his legs.

A pale light shone through the gathering cloud mass. The Moon emerged and like the headlamp of an approaching train, its brightness steadily increased.

He was working through Penny's stretch program, but he was finding it harder than he thought yoga ought to be. He looked about him.

It was as if a giant spotlight illuminated the landscape.

Cumulus clouds moved overhead and all along the edge of the cloud stack there was a dull red glow.

He touched his toes and began a slow circular movement, swinging his hands over his head, his fingers following the rim of an imaginary giant disk. Now darkness surrounded him once again. Had he imagined the strength of the moonlight?

He completed a set of twists and when he straightened up the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.