The Last 3 Days (05): Even Armageddon Has an Upside

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61:48:26

Were it able to do so, the ‘No Stopping’ sign would have held its arms up in despair at the line of cars ignoring it. It cared not that the parking lot for the big box grocery store was full, only that it failed its purpose. Vehicles cruised the lanes like hungry sharks.

Shoppers struggled to push their overloaded carts, stocking up for Armageddon.

Ryan’s Cadillac sat idling in the No Stopping zone. Sitting next to him was Bobby, his muscle turning to fat but still good-looking enough for his role as wingman. Behind Ryan sat Steve, grateful for the Cadillac’s rear leg room.

The curb-side rear door opened and the last of the four ‘Messketeers’ took his seat. Of the four, Dave was the nerd, able to play football and score decent grades, and thus the least of the group.

“Slick ride, Ryan,” Dave announced. “Are you going to have to take it back?”

Bobby answered for Ryan. “Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on whether that meteor hits.”

“Asteroid,” Dave corrected. “Not meteor.”

“It won’t hit,” Ryan added. “They never do.”

“What if it does?” Steve asked. “What if this is the last weekend?”

“We squeeze a lifetime into it,” Bobby said.

Ryan growled, “Not until we squeeze a rat.”

61:21:48

Showered, dressed and with six-pack in hand, Nick pulled his door open, only to find his father standing in the hall, still in his police uniform but without his gun belt.

“Hi, Nick.”

“Hey, dad. Can’t talk. I’m late as it is.”

Nick turned to slide past his dad, but Don moved too.

“Not so fast, son. What’s this about your mom having to risk her job — her employment that provides a roof and your food — so you could flirt with a girl instead of picking up your brother? What’s in that head of yours?”

“You’re mad over nothing. I was going to get him; I was just late. He was safe, he knew I would come … what’s the big deal anyway? He knows his way home. It’s only a dozen blocks.”

Don closed the distance to his son so they were nose-to-nose. Nick had the height advantage, but Don didn’t notice.

“Big deal?” Don asked. “The big deal is you’re days away from manhood and you’re still thinking like a child. Your responsibility was to your brother, not some girl you could have spoken to anytime before now.”

“It was supposed to be quick. It wasn’t my fault.”

“You just don’t get it. You’re going nowhere. You’re grounded.”

“But — “

Don was already walking away. “But nothing. Jack will bring your supper.”

61:19:19

Daylight had yet to surrender its light, but a strange calm gripped the city, traffic sparse on streets usually more lively on a Friday night.

Ryan turned onto a side street, pulled to a stop in front of a modest brick apartment block. Most of the windows were lit. People were home, waiting for the government’s update broadcast.

“Which one is his?” Bobby asked.

Ryan knew where all his victims lived. “Basement, second from the entrance on the left.”

Dave said, “Looks like he’s not home.”

“No problem,” Ryan told him. “I know where he’s going to be. We have time to eat.”

61:12:17

Nick sat propped up on his bed playing a video game, his dinner untouched on his desk.

He occasionally glanced at but otherwise ignored the frequent buzzing of his phone. Eventually, though, the distraction was enough to cause an error that ended his game.

Tossing aside the controller, he flipped the phone open and read his messages. Older texts asked when he’d be there; more recent ones demanded a quick arrival.

One message grabbed his attention. From Barry. ‘Becky’s here. Alone.’

He looked up at his closed door, then down at the message, then again at the door. Resolve tightened his features. He stood, crossed the room and reached for the door handle.

61:11:58

Deep cushioned furniture with hand-crafted accents provided a warm and welcoming ambience at the Burns residence.

The dining room was empty, though the table was laid out with food. A half-dozen settings had portions on them. Don, Anne and their dinner guests grouped in front of the large television.

Nick descended the staircase behind them.

On the screen, a NASA spokesperson stood in front of a group of the press.

“It’s not one asteroid. It was one, once, but it has broken up into pieces — possibly due to gravitational forces as it passed the outer planets.”

As Nick waited politely for a break to ask his father to reconsider, Anne glanced at him and put her finger to her lips, then returned her attention to the screen.

Nick retreated upstairs.

A muffled question from the audience on the screen made the spokesperson stand straighter.

“It’s too close to call. Our models predict the behaviour of single artifacts; a cluster like this is more complicated to model. The bottom line is right now we don’t know. We do expect some of the pieces to enter our atmosphere, but they’ll probably burn up.”

The press erupted with shouted questions.

The NASA rep waited for his audience to quiet. “Like I said. I don’t know. We will have a clearer picture in the coming hours as more resources are tasked to it. We have also established an open link connecting the leading global research centres with the UN — “

Nick came down the stairs once more, suit jacket on, six-pack in one hand and shoes in the other.

The spokesperson was losing control. “I think it’s too early to speculate on worst-case scenarios.”

Nick turned into the kitchen and out of sight.

The TV image changed to show a local television anchor at his regular news desk, his loaner suit emphasizing his shoulders.

A digital timer appeared in the lower right corner of the screen, counting down.

61:10:24, 61:10:23 …

The anchor put on his serious face. “This is a difficult time for all of us, but it is not a time to panic. In fact, this threat may be the kick in the pants humanity needs to unite. We at KQTS will continue to scour the world’s feeds to report each and every update as they become available, starting with the countdown timer displayed at the bottom of your screen.”

61:11:02

The NASA spokesperson’s voice sounded as if the guy was in the back seat.

“ — too early to speculate on worst-case scenarios.”

Ryan popped the last bite of his burger into his mouth, scrunched the wrapper and dropped it into a paper bag in his lap. He sucked the rest of his soda, burped, and added the cup to the bag. He tossed the bag out of his window and turned the radio off.

“Don’t you get any food on my seats or you’ll lick ’em clean.’

The others checked around them.

“This is perfect,” Ryan added.

“What’s perfect?” Bobby said around a mouthful of beef. “We could be dead in three days and you’re happy?”

Dismissing Bobby with a flick of his hand, Ryan said, “You guys have no imagination. Think about it. What’s the one upside about the end of the world?”

Bobby took the bait. “There’s an upside?”

“No consequences. We can do whatever we want.”

Dave leaned forward. “What do you want, Ryan?”

“I want to be king. But first, I want to find Jay.”

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