1. When Nature Gives its Final Cry and the Horn of Ivory is Sounded
Jane knew it wasn’t a coincidence that nothing was wrong with the car. Every shiny tube and wire looked flawless, just like modern Electricars were supposed to. They were guaranteed to function perfectly until their assigned expiration date, yet this vehicle had decided to stop working.
Jane pursed her lips and looked up from the engine, meeting the eyes of the stranger she was trying to help. It was a man, maybe four years older than her. He was short, and his thick brows made his commonplace face attractive.
Why did this have to happen? The universe must’ve been conspiring against her, trying to make Jane change her mind and head back home. But she couldn’t. No, Jane had made a promise, and she wouldn’t return to the small town of Dodge until she fulfilled it. Not even if she’d forgotten her most important tool of all--the engine trouble-code reader.
“I don’t know what to say,” Jane muttered to the stranger. “Everything looks like it’s supposed to. The only thing I can think of is the computer. Maybe there’s a glitch, or…”
Jane trailed off, her brows furrowing.
They were in a slightly wooded area about twenty miles outside of southeast St. Louis. The back road was empty, peaceful, and the leaves were turning gold as autumn approached. The sky was relatively clear, and where there were once flocking birds, the blue expanse was now empty. An eerie silence settled across the area.
Jane returned her gaze to the stranger, who was staring at something behind her with wide eyes and an open mouth. She couldn’t discern if this expression was one of horror or stunned admiration.
She turned around and her frown deepened. When she saw what the man stared at, her heart nearly stopped beating.
What was once the great city of St. Louis had been consumed by a bright, celestial light. It was quick to fade, but only to be replaced by an enormous cloud of smoke shooting up into the air. Right before her eyes, the black towers were blown away, incinerated into dust, and a great burst of white smoke blew out in all directions. Buildings crumbled, trees bent at their waists, and everything that the smoke touched was scorched to black.
Jane took a step back, her knees trembling as sheer terror took control of her. But backing away wouldn’t save her, and she knew this. The smoke was approaching at an unfathomable speed, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. As her expiration date neared, time seemed to slow.
Jane watched as the mushroom cloud languidly tumbled higher into the air. Then, out of nowhere, gentle hands took hold of her shoulders and pushed her onto the ground.
She could feel the skin tear from her palms as they scraped against the blacktop, and she heard her tailbone cry out in pain. The wind picked up speed. She pried open her eyes, and there was the stranger standing before her with his arms held out, as if that would be enough to keep the smoke from blackening their skin.
We’re going to die, she thought. We’re going to die, we’re going to die, we’re going to die…
But they didn’t die.
The white wall of smoke crashed into the stranger, but rather than passing through his arms and attacking Jane, it was forced to the side as if an invisible shield was protecting them. There was the sound of a loud explosion, and even though Jane’s body was sheltered, the wind was still powerful. Her body was jerked backwards and her hands scraped even deeper into the now scorching blacktop as this great force pressed against her body.
She gritted her teeth, fighting to remain upright, and after a few seconds passed and she still had yet to be incinerated into a radioactive crisp, she pried open her eyes and watched.
The invisible shield was about ten feet wide and ten feet tall, protecting Jane and the stranger completely. To the right and left, and even above her, the opaque white substance that’d threatened their lives soared past them. Her mouth fell open, and the hairs stood up on the back of her neck. She risked glancing over her shoulder, and it was like watching the waves collide behind her when boating, only much, much fiercer. The torrent of smoke crashed together at the end of a conical formation, causing white plumes to slowly curl back towards Jane.
This isn’t smoke, she thought, feeling some of the white matter settle onto her burning skin. She lifted her right hand and blew. The fine substance flew away like dust.
“They’re atoms,” she whispered. This white powder was what remained of buildings, plants and people after they were disintegrated from the nuclear blast.
Jane’s eyes returned to the stranger, and it seemed as though the outburst had weakened in ferocity. He wasn’t as stiff as before, standing more upright and relaxed rather than leaning forward as if he was holding back gravity. The wind that’d once attacked her had also stopped blowing, making her little alcove the only area of peace in at least a ten mile radius.
Jane looked up, and the sky was now visible. As the seconds passed, the wall of white powder lowered, until finally, it was just as tall as Jane was when sitting.
Her mouth fell open.
Black, unnamable things poked out from the white cloud, all surrounding the giant mushroom at the center of what used to be St. Louis. Jane rose to her feet so she could get a better view, ignoring the pain of her trembling knees and the desire to flee to safety. In the distance, the mushroom cloud towered at least three times higher than the Gateway Arch, and it kept rising and expanding until the ebony blanket engulfed the last tower.
Jane looked away, her body and mind numb.
How could any of this be real? There were once millions of people inside that city, millions of lives and life-forms, and now they were just gone? What pained her the most was that she was still standing, and all because she’d stopped and helped a stranger fix his car.
Jane looked around her. Her lips quivered as she breathed.
The wind was coming from behind her now, and the temperature had risen drastically. All around her at waist level, plumes of white powder tumbled back towards ground zero, majestic and condescending. It was like standing in the clouds, except everything beneath her was scorching and black.
Jane took a deep breath and slowly released it.
Everywhere she looked, there was destruction and chaos. The St. Louis towers had been grinded down to a fair height, houses were destroyed and trees were snapped in half and roasted. The stranger’s Electricar along with Jane’s jeep had been spared, most likely in the same way that Jane’s life had been, while in the next town over--which was now visible--vehicles were torn apart and blackened. There was absolutely no sign of life. No birds, no animals, no people… all except Jane and the stranger.
She turned her eyes back to ground zero. The mushroom cloud was inching towards dispersion. It was no longer black, but a dark gray, and the clouds were drifting off as the dust settled.
Jane picked up her heavy feet, the soles nearly melting into the ground, and she moved to stand beside the stranger.
“They’re all gone,” she whispered. “Everybody. There’s no way even my family survived. They … they only live an hour from here.
Jane’s heart ached at the thought, but she swallowed her sobs and tried to hold back the tears. She didn’t succeed, of course. The dams collapsed and the tears flowed down her cheeks.
Her voice was the first sound after what felt like an eternity of silence, and it was painstaking. The man didn’t speak. His arms hung limp at his sides, and he stared at St. Louis with an expression of dismay.
“This is the end, isn’t it?” she finally whispered.
He pursed his lips and looked back at her, his dark brows pushed together. “No, it isn’t. Not as long as I can help it.”
Jane frowned. “What do you…?”
That was when she remembered what exactly had happened. Somehow, just by merely holding out his hands, this stranger had managed to create some form of invisible shield that protected himself, Jane and the vehicles. It was like magic, yet it wasn’t. But what exactly did he do? Was he like a superhero, then? Jane was confused, and in a way, somewhat amused.
The man feigned a small smile. “My name’s Rin,” he said. “You?”