25 Hour Watch

It feels like we’ve been driving for weeks, but it couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen hours; if it weren’t for all these stops we’d have arrived by now. I still can’t believe what happened; seriously, how could that happen to us – with all the technology we have, with all the smart minds in this country, and the world? It seems like ages ago, like a distant memory – no, it’s more like a movie…or a dream that seemed so real but you can‘t quite remember. But it did happen – and only five days ago. Wow! It’s still incredible to me. I can’t believe this happened!

“Honey, will you turn up the radio, I want to hear what they’re saying.”

“Huh…what – oh…yeah sure.”

…SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE THAT THE ASTEROID SPLIT INTO SEVERAL PIECES EVEN BEFORE REACHING EARTH‘S ATMOSPHERE. THIS DIVISION CAUSED THE ASTEROID’S RAVAGING EFFECTS TO BRANCH OUT ACROSS THE GLOBE. THEN THESE FRAGMENTS AGAIN BROKE APART AS THEY HIT OUR ATMOSPHERE CAUSING THE DEBRIS TO UNFURL ITS DESTRUCTIVE TENTACLES WORLDWIDE. THE WHITE HOUSE STATES THIS AS THE REASON SO MANY COUNTRIES WERE AFFLICTED WITH SUCH DEVASTATION…

I didn’t even see it. My town was unaffected, I saw some videos on the news, however, they were all choppy and out of focus. No bright lights, no screaming rocks shattering the earth…nothing. I was looking at the sky, I was ready, waiting, like a child on Christmas Eve; with something so big and devastating you would think that I would have at least seen a bright light off in the distance or an explosion on the horizon. But nothing, just an empty sky and horrific news reports. With Columbus, even Cincinnati destroyed, and so close, you would think that I would’ve seen something. Anything.

“What if New York is full too? What then? What if we can‘t get into this city either? I told you we should‘ve left sooner. Why did we have to wait four days before I could convince you to leave? You’re too stubborn – I should‘ve just left without you.”

“Well, if New York City is full then we try Boston or Manchester. The government‘s not just going to leave us to the wolves. We’ll find our haven Mary; you‘ll see – we‘ll be just fine.”

Really, those who died in the blast were the lucky ones. They don‘t have to deal with any of this nonsense. They didn‘t have to pack up and leave everything they know behind and begin their quest for a new home. And if this drive or the cities we passed are any indication of what‘s to come, things are not getting easier anytime soon. I knew we should‘ve lived in Newark or Lancaster, I could‘ve sat on the back patio and watched as I went out in style. But no, my wife had to live by her family; like she couldn’t do without seeing them everyday.

…THE BIGGEST PORTION SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN FOCUSED OVER AFRICA. EARLY ESTIMATES REPORT THAT MANY PLACES ON THE CONTINENT WERE HIT WITH BLASTS EQUIVALENT TO THAT OF A FIFTY MEGATON WARHEAD, SIMILAR TO THE INFAMOUS TSAR BOMB. WITNESSES AS FAR AS SEVILLE SPAIN SAW THE EFFECTS OF THE IMPACT THAT HIT EAST OF CASABLANCA IN MOROCCO. WHILE MOST OF THE IMPACTS IN OUR OWN COUNTRY WERE MUCH SMALLER; AND OUR HEARTS STILL GO OUT TO ALL THOSE AFFECTED ABROAD – WE WERE NOT SPARED FROM THE DEVASTATION. THE PRESIDENT HAS ORDERED ALL SURVIVORS IN THE U.S. TO MIGRATE TO THE HAVEN CITIES THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS SET UP FOR AIDE AND MEDICAL ATTENTION. WITH THIS TRAGEDY SO WIDESPREAD IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR AIDE TO BE BROUGHT AROUND TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED, THAT IS WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO GET TO A HAVEN CITY IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY. IF RESOURCES ALLOW, THE GOVERNMENT WILL START SENDING AIDE TO OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS BUT REPORTS SAY THAT THIS AIDE COULD BE WEEKS OR MONTHS AWAY…

There are some more refugees, without a car, just ambling along like so many homeless, hoping to find their way to one of the Haven cities. It seems like we stop every few minutes to pick up more stragglers. Sometimes I wish we could just leave them and finish our journey to New York; I don’t know if we’ll ever arrive at our destination with the constant stops . But how could we be so callous; just look at them, so helpless, so feeble, without any real supplies or even possessions – they might never make it. No! Why do we have more of a right to survive, just because fate determined that our vehicles weren’t destroyed, because we still had standing gas stations and food markets to stock up on before the long journey. Just look at them; how much they must have suffered – they look terrible.

“Oh Honey, there’s more…they don’t look very good at all. We have enough room in here and many of the others in our caravan are filled to the limit. I know we’re carrying most of the supplies but I’m sure we can find room. Pull up behind the Mackey’s van and I‘ll get some sandwiches and water ready.”

…AS SCIENTISTS ARE STILL TRYING TO DECIPHER ALL THE POSSIBLE RAMIFICATIONS OF THE ASTEROID‘S IMPACT AND ANY POTENTIAL LONG-TERM EFFECTS. FOR NOW, ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SYMPTOMS OF RADIATION POISONING ARE ASKED TO REPORT TO A DECONTAMINATION FACILITY IMMEDIATELY FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT. BECAUSE RESOURCES ARE SCARCE THESE HUBS WILL MAKE THEIR BEST EFFORTS TO GET EVERYONE TREATED IN A TIMELY MANNER, BUT PRIORITY IS BEING GIVEN TO THOSE WHO CAN RECOVER MOST QUICKLY AND HELP IN THE RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS. HOWEVER, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ANYONE SHOWING SYMPTOMS IS ASKED TO REPORT FOR DECONTAMINATION TO THE NEAREST FACILITY. YOU CAN FIND THESE LOCATIONS BY…

“Hi there, I‘m Mary and this is my husband Steve. Are you heading for New York City too? Well if you want a ride we can fit you in the back of our truck, there‘s no seats but the topper will give you some shelter from the wind and dust. There are some blankets in the back too and here’s something for you to eat and drink. You guys look like your starving. What did you say your name was?”

Wow, they don’t look well at all. I can’t believe they’re still standing, let alone walking. How far have they come? What have they been through? Look at that kid tear through the sandwich in his tiny paws and his little sister drinking the water like her lips are glued to the bottle. I can’t imagine to have experienced what they have – to have seen the destruction, to have so many friends and family affected by this tragedy. Forget it, I’m glad I didn’t see any piece of that asteroid; we were so lucky not to have witnessed that – to be far enough away that it doesn’t seem real. But seeing them…wow…it was real. It did really happen. We’ve picked up plenty of stragglers along the way but none as destitute as these. And two of them have even lost their sight; I wonder how close they were to an impact zone for that to occur? I am so lucky I didn’t see that horrible rock tumble to the earth – unbelievable – and to imagine I was looking for it.

“There we go! With the back window open it doesn’t feel so lonely back there – and now we have a chance to get to know each other. Steve and I are from Canton, Ohio. Where is your lovely family from, Loraine?”

“We’re from Athens, in Virginia. There was a huge blast south of us, in Richmond; I didn‘t see it, I only saw the huge cloud of smoke afterward – but the sound was deafening. And the dust in the air afterwards – we could barely breath. Poor Tommy and Lily here were unfortunate enough to see the impact and…well you can see what it’s done to them. Their brother and sister have been a big help but it’s still an adjustment for everyone. We can only hope it‘s not permanent, but…”

“Don’t worry Loraine, I‘m sure the doctors can help them once we get to New York. I can‘t believe how fast the government got these Haven cities set up. It just goes to show what a great job they do for their citizens. Aren’t we so lucky to have such an amazing government that will take care of us?”

…AND THE PRESIDENT IS ADDRESSING THE PEOPLE NOW; WE’LL LISTEN IN ON WHAT HE HAS TO SAY, “…AND I HAVEN‘T ASKED MUCH OF YOU UP TO THIS POINT, BUT I‘M GOING TO NEED YOUR HELP NOW IF WE ARE GOING TO MAKE OUR NATION STRONG AGAIN. IT‘S GOING TO TAKE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU IF WE HOPE TO OVERCOME THESE TRAGEDIES THAT WERE IMPOSED UPON US. I KNOW IT‘S GOING TO BE HARD, SACRIFICES WILL HAVE TO BE MADE; BY ALL OF US, I‘M MAKING SACRIFICES TOO – BUT IF WE COME TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE IT THROUGH THIS. NOW, OF COURSE YOU KNOW, WE CAN‘T DO THIS ON OUR OWN. WE‘RE GOING TO HAVE TO BAND TOGETHER WITH THE OTHER NATIONS OF THE WORLD; NOT QUIBBLE OVER POLITICS AND SEMANTICS – AND DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO OVERCOME THIS CRISIS. NOW AS I SAID, THERE’S GOING TO BE SOME INITIAL SACRIFICES, BUT I‘M SURE YOU‘LL COME TO SEE…

It shouldn’t be long now, we’re almost there. I wonder what it’s gonna look like inside; so many people gathered in one place – it’s got to be better than what we saw at Pittsburgh or Philly. So chaotic, so many people, but yet it still seemed rather orderly. The military had everything running smoothly as if they’d been trained for just this purpose. But they were filled past capacity, neither city was taking anymore people. It’s like a sick game of musical chairs, where the winners are crammed into over packed cities and the losers are cast off hoping to find a chair that hasn’t yet been filled. I can see the cityscape now; traffic is getting pretty thick – it looks like they’re funneling everyone into different areas. This may take a while, but at least it doesn’t look like they’re turning people away just yet.

“Why’d you turn off the radio Honey? I wanted to hear what the President had to say.”

“Sorry Mary, I have to hear this. I think that soldier’s saying something.”