A world gone rogue - The apocalypse is a pretty normal day
-09:00 AM
The reef
Mister Danilo had taken the boat to where once his father would take him to see the reef. The clear water, the coloured fish and where he saw a horse for the first time. It was too small to ride and lived in the water. Over the years he had rarely gone there by himself. When fishing had ended or rather forced out by giant corporations and the money grabbing government, his alternate work, to show people the beauty of the reef vanished at the same rate as the reef.
The number of tourists declined slowly, who on a vacation would want to see a dying reef. The dumping of chemicals, oil spills left to wreak havoc and the constant supply of plastic being fed, had killed the reef slowly and painfully. His petitions to the government had no effect, his cries on the media forgotten after a day or two all the while, the reef continued to die.
The last ditch effort was to clean it himself. The heap of plastic he got out of the ocean was like a never ending handkerchief from a magician. Each day he worked, wading through muck and grime of the modern and sophisticated world. And each day it only grew.
His persona to the people was of the crazy, old and cranky man going off on the boat alone. His wife had died long before the reef had, his daughter, his sweet Aizel he kept away from his work and hoped for better tides in her life. Now he came here to look at what remained, listen to the chatter of all the vessels around him on a radio he had repaired a thousand times and more.
In his darkest moments he would think, that in some way it is better to die before the world you knew did, then he would feel the singe of guilt and the pain he and Aizel felt of not having her and weep.
“Take off clearance”
“Received”
The captain placed his hand on the throttle. As he did during every flight, he took in a deep breath and then pushed down on the throttles. The aircraft moved a bit more to the right, something it had never done in all its time under the command of the captain. He corrected the error in an instant. A reflex for him after all of those years. The first lesson to every pilot, follow the straight line. It turned turned a bit more again and this time the captain let the beast sway as it wanted to before correcting it.
He smiled as she lifted gracefully from the runway, unclicked his seatbelt and sat relaxed.
“Why did it turn captain.”
“I thought it may happen. The tide had reached our gear, a bit of a skid.” The last time he would take off from this airport. He reached for his headset.“Tower this is Lima 01 heavy. Thank you so much for having us, it has been a pleasure to have flown for so many years on this airport. Take care gents.”
“You are welcome Lima 01 heavy. Our pleasure. Have a safe journey captain.”
Revolution prison camp
Little Jose was not little in any manner. The short prison rubbed it that fact, mocking him like his friends did. He had slept less than the time he spent tossing in the tiny bed, cursing it but deep inside cursing himself for not laying on the ground until it was all over. If only he would have controlled the burst of his emotional dam as his wife had named it. He would at this time be in his small house, his wife and children with him. All of them hungry, tired and beaten by life’s hand dealt to them but at least they would be together and he would know that they were fine. Now he thought of them, of who the woman keeping him safe in the prison was. He did not remember to ask her name, Idiot. He kicked in the air, his foot struck the edge of the bed and he screamed out louder than he should have but did not stop himself, only continued to shout even louder. In some way it calmed him.
The guards took him from his tiny cell and led him to a hall where 3 other people sat, two he knew well, the third sat with his legs on the table munching on something. The very thought of food made him salivate uncontrollably.
The same woman walked through the door, the man got down his legs and sat up straight.
“Hello gentlemen.”
“Who are you? What is your name?” This time he had remembered.
She stared at him for a moment, “I am a friend. That is all you need to know.”
Before another question could be asked, and there were many in Little Jose’s head, she raised up her hand and continued. “Your country will have fair elections soon and a better life for you all awaits. There will be a transition period and to avoid chaos we have chosen leaders like you across the country to maintain peace. When everything is over, your country is yours.” She gestured with her hand to them all to ask questions.
“What do you mean by when it is all over?”
“I mean when the president has vacated the office.”
“And why would he?”
She paused for a moment, “Because he is very severely sick and nothing can cure him.”
“He looks fine. Did you make him sick?”
“No. This is God helping you. So let us go out there and do our jobs.
You guys look after your neighbourhoods and we will look after our stuff. Soon you will all be free.”
She walked away, thanking them for their courage. Leaving them with more doubts and more things to fear, rather than the feeling of safety.
Arctic
Dr. Tara and her colleagues walked towards the military aircraft. The horrors of the trip seemed to have been imprinted upon their faces as they neither smiled or expressed any form of joy while knowing the fact that they would go home, away from this icy hell which now did not seem bad compared to the future they envisioned.
She turned back to face them. “It’s ok guys. We will make it through. We are humans. The number of viruses, bacteria we found in the permafrost have far surpassed our estimates.” she looked down, searching wildly in her head for things to say, and looked back at them. “But..yeah. More things to explore, right. Yeah, yes.. Right. More antibiotics to discover, stop the permafrost from melting, not let pandora's box open. If only we had more time. But I bet the oil lobbyists would have still won.” She blinked away a building tear,”So now we know how it feels like to know the end is near. Why it is better to not know it.” She paused, took in a long breath and forced a smile. “But we have worked so hard, all our colleagues around the world are too working with us. Together we will find a way. We can rest for a few days. Go on, take your seats, I will join you shortly.” She clapped her hands. “Everyone here deserves it.” A few hands reciprocated it and she walked away to look for the silver haired man to whom she had to finally tell that he has her heart. Now or never, literally.
-09:45 AM
“Tower, this is Lima 01 heavy, Descending to 20,000 feet. Over.”
“Clear, Lima 01 heavy.”
“My aircraft.” The captain strapped himself in and took over the controls. Gently dropping the bird. “Tower this is Lima 01 heavy, changing to heading 251.”
“Clear, Lima 01 heavy.”
He turned on the seat belt sign, waited for confirmation from the hostess and banked the aircraft. It was always his favorite part. To look down as the huge aircraft would bank to its side and change its heading. The view would always be something he would write about in his notebook. Today he wished he hadn’t. He hoped to be wrong, in the calm weather, the water below him was not its usual flat self. A contour jutted from the water, big enough for him to notice from his aircraft..
“Tower, this is lima 01 heavy. Please check for a massive wave at our location.”
-0948 AM
“All vessels be on alert, a wave has been reported by an aircraft. Weather satellites are down. Please report.”
The radio cracked the message over and over, Mr. Danilo did not wait for another repeat to come through. He started the engine and sped to the hotel where Aizel worked.
The boat sped towards the coast, near the end where he usually slowed down, today he did not bother to. The rocks he missed with precision only the years had taught him, the boat scraped the bottom and he wildly turned the rudder to avoid the shallower stretches, until the bottom had no more water left to support its weight and it dragged itself across for a short while. He got off the boat, taking his bag, a picture of his family and the emergency kit. Leaving a lifelong, trusted friend behind. He felt like he was betraying his friends in the sea, which provided food and money for all those years. The boat was never alive, yet it kept him alive all this while and wanted to mourn for it.
-09:58 AM
Aizel walked the length of the courtyard to find the tennis instructor for room 712. She felt a tug at her arm, her father pulling her towards the hotel docks. His hand felt cold, his grip shivered.
“Dada, what happened. I am at work. Go from here.” She never meant to yell at him, but it usually happened and she felt angry at her own self each time.
“We have to go now sweetheart.”
His soft voice and love showered at her, singed her guilt even more.
“Where? Why? Go home dada.”
“A wave is approaching, a big one. Seen from an airplane. Unlock one of those boats, I know somewhere, where we might be safe.”
“We have to warn the others. We will go to the shelters.”
“Aizel listen to me my love. The government did nothing when the water took over our land,our homes, they promised changes but nothing ever happened. We have lived like dogs in our own country. They helped us with nothing. Do you think when calamity strikes we will be the priority. We will be third class citizens, the rich will always be first. Don't fight Aizel, come, there is very little time.” He pulled her and ran towards the docks.
This time she ran with him. Swiped her pass and boarded a boat where she sometimes served food on romantic couple nights and watched them dance.
“Dada, I have to call my friends.” She held to the railing as her body shifted its weight and the yacht moved away from the dock. “Dada” she ran to the deck, the dock looked tiny already. “Dada,” her lungs let out all the air willingly.
“There is no time.”
“No time. They are my friends.”
‘You are my daughter. You..you are always first for me.”
She sat in the corner, her head too heavy to hold high, she held in her hands. To live alone without them, to stay alive while they may not was all she could never think about. Did life even exist for those with nobody.
-10:10 AM
Arctic
“Yes ma’am. I understand. We will be there by 1130 hours. I have the samples you require. Yes ma’am the one to use is marked as advised.”
“To whom were you talking to about the samples Cecil?” Dr. tara had taken off her ever present lab coat, tied back her hair in a bun and put on some lipstick. She smiled at him, all the hope and excitement inside of her ready, waiting to pounce out to the surface. For the first time
“The ‘me’ of another scientist. They all are waiting for their samples. What..what are you doing here Dr. Tara. You should be on the plane, no?”
“Well, the ‘you’ are very important to me, us, I meant us scientists.” She looked down for a second, laughed at her own self and looked back at him. “You are though, you are very important to me.” The last two words she trailed off, soft like when she was young and her mother would catch her eating before dinner.
“You are important to me too Dr. Tara.” He smiled back.
“Cecil, I… no, I mean I, I like you.” As soon as she said the words, she wanted to take them back. Her smile vanished as if on queue and she looked at him, unsure of what to say or do.
“I like you too Dr. Tara. From the first day I saw you.” His voice did now waiver or change like hers. He looked directly into her eyes, blinking slow, his lips stiff and his hands stuck to his sides.
Her eyes widened and her mind let out tiny fireworks. Her skin tingled as if they were hitting its surface, she let go of the lab coat and stepped on it as they held each other. Their lips interlocked for a brief moment. Then she stepped back, straightening her dress and each time she looked at him, the happiness in her would force her to look away.
He picked up her lab coat, dusting it gently and with care, “Oh I know how much this means to you Dr. Tara.”
“Just Tara.” Her smile would not stop and she gave up trying to, letting it shine upon her face.
Their hands touched as he handed it back to her, “Tara, we have to board the aircraft.”
They stood for a moment, then walked to the aircraft.”
“Will it be ok If I sit next to you. I can get someone to chang-”
He cut her off mid sentence, “Dr. I mean Tara, my seat is always next to yours.”
-1010 AM
Rogue Wave
“Dada I cannot see any wave. We should go back.”
“It is coming my love.” He put a life jacket on her, secured it and checked it twice. Then did his. Tying a rope to their life jacket straps, tugging at it from both ends to be sure it held.
“Why are we wearing this. You said we would be safe.”
“We will be safe here, surrounded by these islands, the wave will bread but we still might get hit.” He hugged her, then sat on the deck chair.
“Dada there are a lot of military helicopters in the air.”
“That is the president. The corrupt piece of shit is fleeing. They are all the same. When all those years back they spoke about global warming no one listened. When the water slowly crept up over the years, the rich and the governments suppressed it. They blamed all the other things they possible could. The high tide, excessive rain. The world just went on. When our homes were lost to the sea, when we had to move into the cities the rich had a problem. Then all of a sudden global warming was of concern. It was not sudden. It happened slowly. It could have been stopped. But they all lost to greeed. All we became was victims. Another charity for the rich. Their greed destroyed the coasts, the reefs, the trees, anything which might have given some protection. Their tiny man made protections will be blown away like dandelions. The country will be in the grip of famine and the rich will blame the poor. This time, this time nobody will be spared, for they do not answer to us, for all of us answer to the sea.
-11:15 AM
Revolution camp
“Ma’am, the bacteria sample has arrived.” A guard held up a tiny container marked with the biohazard sign.
“Where is agent Cecil?”
“He left instructions on how to use it but has flown back. He says the other samples must be delivered.”
“Ok then. Let us finish it. The media has a catastrophic wave story to cover. In a way, it is the perfect day for something like this.”
-12:30 AM
Dr. Tara sat in the airport lounge, waiting for Cecil to join her with coffee. The television on the wall showed the destruction caused by the wave. She sank in a little. The realizations hit again, of all the things she had discovered in the Arctic.
“This special report shows the destruction a wave can cause. Emergency help from all neighbouring countries is mandated by the UN.All functioning ships are to look for survivors. We have in our studio an ocean engineer who can maybe tell us how these Rogue waves are formed and why the special embankments did not work. Welcome and over to you Mr. Smith.” The T.V news reader swiveled her chair to face Mr. Smith who adjusted his glasses and his coat.
“These waves are caused when waves pile up, constructive interference. But these last only for a few minutes. I don’t think it was a rogue wave but I am not sure what this wave would be called or what caused it. Could be global warming or something else. More investigation will be needed. What we have seen is that waves are increasing in height and we should all be careful but do not panic. The embankments did their job but the waves was too big for it to stop. The cost of the embankments is always the reason why they are not made to cover the entire coastline. I am sure after this most countries will adopt a more open attitude.”
The tv news reader smiled, “So do not panic is the main idea. And longer embankments. Now some people are saying that we destroyed the reefs and the coasts, the trees which line it were uprooted and that these were natural defences around us. Is this true.”
“Well they did provide defences but not enough for a wave like this. Yes the water level has risen by a lot more because of global warming but that is still up for-”
“Mr. Smith, I am sorry to interrupt you, but there is more news unfolding today. President Sanchez has been put into the ICU. Symptoms of headache, nausea, chest pain, vomiting and shortness of breath. We do know that he was fine this morning and was to address a large crowd about the state of his country. His opponents have declared that he will not survive and that free elections can finally be held. President Sanchez is the long term president of..”
Dr. Tara left her chair. Her heart which all this while beat out butterflies which had been collecting in her stomach now was pushing out magma. Her highly suspicious mind, tuned from childhood where she met many bullies and friends who never really were, was shut off by her. The signs which she would have caught on to long before she ignored, giving in to love, to friendship and the hope that for once in her life someone wanted to be with her. She grabbed him by his hand and pulled him from the line. Her nails wanting to dig deep into his skin and never stop.
“What did you do.”
“What happened Tara.” His face lost its smile, his eyes widened.
“To whom did you give the samples to?.”
“What are you talking about.”
“Do not fucking lie to me.” Rage had accumulated in her, shouting at him was something she did not want to do but it relieved some of her anger. A valve delaying the explosion.
“I do not know what you are talking about.” He stepped away, freeing his arm from her grip.
“You think I am an idiot. The symptoms which President Sanchez has are of the mutated anthrax. I know this because I discovered them, it shows symptoms of all forms of anthrax, touch, air, injected and is far more deadly than all. It has immunity to all current antibiotics.”
He stared at her. HIs eyes meeting hers, his lips not moving. In that moment of silence all that needed to be answered was and Dr. Tara stepped back. It always ended the same way for her, in any relationship.
“I do not want to lie to you Tara.” His voice took a sudden plunge into darkness, he pulled her closer to him, “I was doing my job. I work for the secret service. I was to deliver the samples and I did.I never meant to hurt you. I meant what I said.”
She pulled away. Her eyes streaking tears, she looked around to find all eyes on her. The valve burst.
“You were doing you job. You do not get it. This is how it ends. They are killing each other for food and water. My research is first to be used by the government and then for finding a cure. Do you know what we discovered. Why I have been worried, or why I have been working when all my body wanted to do was sleep? The permafrost is melting. All the things which were frozen are thawing, water levels are rising and the bacteria which lay dormant in the permafrost is awakening. Which means more co2. The worst part, some of them are immune to antibiotics, like the anthrax I discovered. These will trickle through the water, come down as rain, enter our food and soon the world will not be filled with humans. Overpopulation will become a worry of the past. Billions will die. All of this, all of this was avoidable. If the oil companies would have warned and helped prevent climate change instead of lining their wallets and spreading lies about how true it really is. If the governments gave a fuck about the world or the poor to stop it all. If the fucking people would have bothered about where they live, instead of more money, more fucking useless things to buy, to eat more, just because it is cheap. To stream more songs, to watch more movies on their countless number of computing devices which nobody ever fucking needs. The billions of servers around the world serving trillions of advertisements , one giant life sucking loop, all for paper. For paper and nothing more. They traded their lives, their children's lives, their countrymen and now the Earth takes back. It has been slowly coming and 10 billion people have awakened from their age of computing, from their self imposed shackles to find that life is on the earth. It is difficult and deadly, it takes strength to go on for just another day and to grow food is to have been working for God, not something to be laughed at. They are pushed into the dark age where love was rare, tribes were family and going to a different continent took years and cost lives. That is the future now.” She stood as people filmed her, a crowd gathered to see the crazy woman spelling doom.
The End.
all images are pixabay or mine.