Untitled

We had turned on the television when the call came.
It was only a few days into summer and the only thing on peoples minds was the cool weather on a weekday morning commute to work or school and the yearning to finish that, so they might enjoy the rest of the day to follow.
I had just finished washing the dishes when the ringer went off. I remember thinking to myself, -who could that be at such an early time of the morning.?- the cool summer breeze coming through the window just above the sink had me day dreaming a bit as i had nearly jumped out of my skin when the ringer went off the second time.
Strange to think now, that was the last phone call i ever received. Maybe even the last phone call on earth.
A cold chill creeps over me when i think of it. But im getting ahead of myself. After recovering from the dual shocks of the unexpected telephone call i slipped the cordless from the receiver and pressed it to my ear. I could hear the small grip of panic almost immidiately.
A shrill of a voice shrieked into my ear. I thought the shock of the ring was bad, but just listening to her hysteria was enough to set the goosebumps off all over again. A perfect way to begin a nice summer morning. "Calm down." I had told her. " Just calm down, take a deep breath and relax.".
It seemed to take her a few minutes, but then with my sister Sam, it always did. We were twins. Polar opposites though. Where she was loud and eccentric, i was quiet and self assured. After several deep breaths the note in her voice changed from the hectic shrills to almost complete and utter silence, which was so uncommon for Sam, i nearly started to panic myself.
Instead i spoke softly to her. "Whats wrong Sam?".
What i had thought was silence turned into more of a bitter sounding defeat. "Just turn on the TV," and she hung up.
I set the phone back on the receiver and just looked at it for a few moments, unsure of what to do. -Was there another terrorist attack like 9/11? Lord knows thats what the world needs. Another world trade center massacre.-
In the pit of my stomach, there was a knotting feeling. Almost like impending doom had all ready fallen on me. It was the sound of her voice i kept hearing in my head that made my bowels quiver. Not the idea of a building falling to ruins, killing hundreds of thousands, not to mention the poor folks on a hijacked plane that blew up in the initial strike. No, nothing so drastic as that. It was the tone of silence that came from my sisters voice that had me nearly peeing my pants.
I awoke from what seemed like a daze and recalled her final words, "just turn on the TV." And i did.
Aside from the brief and unsatisfying conversation with her sister, what was coming from the television seemed like a crude joke. "...just in. The President spoke these shocking words of remorse just moments ago...". At that i had wondered if his wife died and almost laughed out loud at my sisters panic.
"Good morning America. Though good may not be the best word for it. Through time and determination our race as a whole has progressed through the ages, further advancing our technology and our understanding of this majestic place we live. Earth. Through this understanding and the lives of countless others, all over the world we would not be where we are today. And today we are as one. Racism and intolerance is no longer a burden we will carry today or in any other part of the world. Today we unite as one country. One populace. One family. Indeed America, the times ahead of us will show what it is to be a family. To embrace one another without fear or consequence. Our time here on this planet has reached an interlude of sorts. Several years ago we received information that several dozen meteors are headed towards our solar system. During the course of that time, we contacted and gathered the smartest people from all over the globe in a joint attempt to save our world from certain destruction. Theories and debates rose quickly and though we knew an answer must be made and swiftly, it was not until these last few months that a real plan was finalized. Countless nations and hard work was put into project Freedom for Earth and though its not the best plan, im afraid its the only plan we have. All ready, soldiers are on their way to collect young, able bodied and well thought out individuals and their respective families. They will be led deep underground where it has been assured that human kinds continued exsistence will be fulfilled. Where does that leave the rest of us, your asking? This is the end for us. We have but days, a week at most, to cherish those things we hold dear and to remember the brilliant and everlasting accomplishments of the human race. We will remain and our suffering will be a small cost to our future children. God speed and god bless America."
The reporter came back on, her face one of shock and rightfully so. It took her a moment to speak, but i wasn't paying much attention at that point.
My mouth had been hanging open from the utter surprise of it all and it took several long deep breaths to try and get some small grip on reason.
-The world ending in a week? Unthinkable and unfathomable and quite impossible!-
I didn't even know what to do. Surely it was some of conspiracy or something less harmful like a bad joke. My senses were over flooding themselves, questioning the television, my sister and myself. The urgency of panic rang truer than any other emotion.
A brief look outside the kitchen window was enough to give her pause. The slight breeze still made the transparent curtains rock gently. The bright morning sun filled the backyard with its luminous candescence. One could even hear the birds, chirping happily away at one another. Only something had changed and as beautiful as the current scene was, the wrongness of it all assaulted her full frontal.
Just directly behind her house, she could see her neighbors frantically piling things on top of their brown sedan. The trunk was all ready bursting at the seems and piling more junk on the back was all they could do to keep it closed. Beside that house, between the fence posts she thought she saw what looked like a middle age man with a shotgun in hand, hustling two youngsters into the back of his sporty bmw. Seeing what looked like a man going off to war with his kids in tow, snapped her back to the reality of the situation.
What should i do? Of course the only thing she could do. -Call Jared-
My husband had been a geologist. He was everything to me and i miss him so.
Ringing him up at work on that dreadful day was easier said then done. I guess i hadn't been the only one calling in, for it took well over an hour for the receptionist to bother answering and even then, she was a pain in the ass to deal with.
"Hi! I need to speak with Ja-"
"Have you seen the news?" She coldly interrupted with.
"Im looking for my husband Jared McGillabaro." I replied rather flatly. All ready i could tell this was going no where and quickly.
"The meteors! They are coming and its all our fault. War and famine and sacreligiousness. This is what we get, you hear me!? As ye reap, so shall ye sew. God has called upon the forces of heavens to cleanse this wicked earth and wipe out our wrong doings from the histori-"
Even among the chaos in growing evidence all around me, i couldn't help but be glad with the small victory i won by cutting her off then and there. "And tying up the phone lines to tell people of their impending doom is helpful how? Why dont you be a good girl and put me through to my husband, or you might be considered a heathen in gods eyes aswell for preventing so many from helping their loved ones." I said it with so much charm and conviction i was nearly convinced of it myself.
The receptionist squeaked ever so satisfactory at me an proceeded to put me through to my husband. A few rings later. "Hello? Lisa?" Another small victory amidst all the defeat, but it made me smile all the same.
"Jared! Thank god! Have you seen the news?". I felt silly asking it immidiatly. Who hadn't seen it? Something of that significance spreads like wildfire.
"Of course I have. I've all ready called the school. The kids have all ready been made aware of the situation as it seems relevant and are incredibly frightened as i hear it. Is this true?". He left it open, as if expecting some answer from me that could give some kind of explanation for all this madness. I simply went into mother mode at that point I suppose. Protecting my offspring seemed like the only thing left to do at that point. A plan was what we needed.
"I'll pick up the kids and come get you and we'll just drive."
"Now, wait a moment. Your forgetting those of us with some higher learnings so to speak will be invited to Freedom for planets or some such thing. We will be saved on my knowledge alone, huzzah!". He said it with as much determination as i had used earlier on the receptionist and i believed him, despite the cockiness. I dont know what i was thinking, but the assurance in his voice coerced me through that day.
The next day even, he took off and helped me relax through it. Our kids Sam(our youngest boy) and his older brother Vince were let off school aswell and we waited, thinking at any moment government soldiers were on there way to our house to pick us up and bring us off to a dream...a dream that was not to be.
No helicopter or jeep brigade came to us at our disposal, ready to dash us off to safety and solace. No such luck. And as time passed, panic rose and grew. We knew it was too late. Our desolate street was the most obvious source of evidences.
The once busy suburban street laid empty aside from the endless and various objects littering the roadside and driveways alike, forgotten in the haste of that initial race to where i often wondered in those first few days. Obviously they couldn't save everyone. So where exactly were all those people rushing off to like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off?
Family was the likely answer i had established in my mind, but the news reports which were still broadcasting at that point during the end of our second night confirmed where most people had actually gone.
"Over the past 24 hours we have been receiving significant increase in crime through out all major cities. Police have all but fled most parts and the riotous crowds have pushed their way across almost every city from the east coast of america to the west coast of australia. In other news, the location of Freedom for Earth was discovered early yesterday. We can now confirm that its starting point is in Chicago. Illinois in the Indie mountains. Past the throngs of people all ready pushing at the front gates, one can barely make out what seems to be a large reinforced steel door that leads into the base of the mountain. We go now live to Freedom for Earth with Trish Tokanawa."
"Are we rolli-". The news reporter stumbled briefly, before shouting out over the tumult of noise and confusion.. "We are here live in Chicago where it is said that this is where humanity will be saved. As you can see, hundreds of thousands have gathered at the gates begging for some form of entry, but the armed guards keep them well at bay from the doors. Its not confirmed yet, but there have been reports of gunfire, both from the ever growing crowd, aswell as the diminishing guard presence. It looks as if the front gate will be over run at any minute, but that hasn't stopped the military from continuing their efforts. As you can see, helicopters are coming from all over and disappearing behind those mountains."
They had shown several and indeed disappear they did. "It is said their are several openings in the mountain itself, but no one has taken it upon themselves to start climbing. While humanity may be saved, this scene is one of the most inhuman things i've seen in-" the anchor woman snapped back into picture then and said "thank you for that stunning report Trish."
I turned off the TV then and there and decided that this was it. We need to leave, now.
Panic set in all over again in those early hours and it was all i could do to get the kids roused, dressed and packed into the car in the seemingly brief moments it took to abandon everything we hold dear.
Signs of life on that journey had dropped significantly. Occasionally we would see groups of what now looked like war ravaged refugees. Families wandering down roads with all of their worldly possessions rolling along behind them in crude carts made of wheel chairs or little red wagons. Anything that can roll would serve. But these groups were the lesser of two types. The other groups seemed to be roving gangs. Going down the main street of our small little town, we spotted about 5 males. One was standing out front of a shattered window, the lookout, not that one was needed. Three of them were hopping in and out of that self made entrance, to load up a van just ahead of their watchman. The driver sat impatiently, looking into his review every few moments to see what was taking so long.
This was the best of what we saw from those gangs. A woman was being raped by 3 or 4 men just off the side of the road that led to the highway. I wanted out. Someone had to do something, but Jared kept on going. Past that and any other monstrosity on the road. How i hated him so much in those moments and how i would come to regret those feelings.
Leaving later then the throngs of people left the roads open aside from those stragglers. Which gave Jared all the more recourse to just drive on through.
We were making amazing timing through the desolate streets when a call came through the driver cell. Jared picked it up immidiatly as he was expecting to hear back from his parents out on the west coast. I dont know exactly who it was, or exactly what was said in that conversation but as i watched him, you could almost see the strain of the past few days fall away to be replaced with a sudden relief. Like everything was going to be all right.
He hung up the phone and just grinned at her like a moron.
"What? Who was that? Why do you have such a stupid smile on your face, in a time like this?"
"We have angels looking out for us afterall. We are saved!". His grin looking so stupid and so loving. I dont think i ever loved him more then in that moment.
"Wha..?" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"That was a call from a good friend of mine. It seems this event was foreseen by others not of government standings. Not only was it foreseen, but they too constructed a safe haven right under the very noses of the government. This compound just outside of delaware even might be meager in comparison to the F.F.E. but its been under work for almost 3 years. Why the government took so long to inform everyone, i dont know, but it doesn't matter anymore. We-" His last words.
Painful as they are to relive them in this diary, that was it.
In his excitement, in our excitement no one saw the white ford pickup truck barreling towards us until it was too late. The truck was speeding through the intersection and caught the side of our front end. I hadn't thought we were traveling fast at all, but our car flipped right over on impact, cartwheeling in the air as if it were styrofoam, rather than the tons of metal it actually was.
How i knew we were flipping is beyond me, as it happened in a matter of seconds. We were this close to relative safety only to have it dashed away in the twisted metal of car on car destruction.
What happened to that truck, i dont know. When all was still and just before consciousness slipped away, i had time to look upon my family. The pain in my neck was very severe, but nothing was to stop me from checking on the kids. Sam had a bloody nose and was shaking badly, but he appeared to be all right. Vince on the other hand who happened to be sitting on the same side that was struck, lay crumpled like a ragdoll at his brothers side. A tear formed at the corner of my eye, hoping the very best for Vince, but the tears came profusely at the sight of my husband.
What was left of him. His head was snapped to the side at a very crude angel. He was still strapped into his seat belt, so what was left of his torso hung suspended, allowing the blood running from from his mouth and into his nose and eyes. Not that much of his features remained distinguishable. What had been the left side of our car, was now open air and the remainder of Jared body looked mashed up, his left arm and leg seemed like they had disappeared with the rest of the car And that was it.
The world was ending and we were busy dying before it happened. I slipped into unconsciousness. Much has happened since then. Our saviors had been coming down the road, not long after the crash. They assured me even they took the time to bury my beloved Jared, but i imagine that was to humor an old stubborn lady.
My own injuries were nothing surprisingly so and of my children, only Vince was harmed. The poor boy is in a wheel chair and is likely to be there for life. What little of life remains to us. We travel with our saviors towards Delaware. They were all too happy to hear of the possibility to further exsistence and made it their prerogative to make sure we got to where we needed to go.