Julius was shocked to learn that his nine year old son was one of those that the device discovered to possess pyrokite, thus making him one of the few who could open the Taj Mahal portal.
CHAPTER SIX
Julius was in his office in the laboratory when the earth first shook. He had just worked sixteen hours straight and he was exhausted.
When Julius was at home, he could think of little else but his work. In fact, he went home so little that the psychologists were growing concerned (they analyzed him monthly because of the stress in which he worked). His wife understood his obsession with his work but his son was a different story. Liam missed his father fiercely. It was in those first moments of shaking that the initial regret about time spent away from his family crept into his mind.
An earthquake in southern Louisiana was very rare. He turned on the television and found that the news channels were already covering the story. But then, fifteen minutes into the broadcast, they were knocked off the air. Just before the screen went black, Julius heard something about North Korea. After that there was nothing. He tried the radio and found only static. The internet was down as well.
Julius tried to call his wife but his cell phone wouldn’t connect. The landline in his office wouldn’t connect. He began to panic. “I’m going home.” he told his assistant, who in the shock of what had happened only nodded absent-mindedly.
What Julius saw outside of the facility was worse than he could have imagined. There was little left. The buildings surrounding the facility had collapsed. He was able to make it a mile from his facility when the roads were blocked by debris and abandoned cars. He would have to make the ten mile trip to his house on foot.
The people were hysterical. No one knew what was going on. The looting and crime that often went with such events had already begun. Twice he had been on the receiving side of attempted violence but he had the foresight to remove his handgun from his glove box before abandoning his vehicle. When pulled free and aimed at the face of the attackers, Julius was left unmolested.
An hour and a half later (the longest hour and a half of his life), Julius made his way to his front door. The door was ajar. Fear instantly gripped him.
Gun drawn, he entered the entered the house. His wife was dead on the floor. Her face was covered in blood which also pooled from her abdomen on the floor. Julius cried out and went to her side but then another horrifying realization entered. “Where is Liam?”
“Liam! Liam!” he screamed his son’s name.
There was no answer. He ran upstairs and after going through each room frantically, he found his son hiding in a closet. “Liam!” he cried out in relief and clutched his son to him. “Are you hurt?”
Liam looked up at his father. He was visibly shaken and he burst into tears once he saw his dad. “Are you hurt?” Julius repeated. Liam shook his head.
After several minutes of holding his son, Julius felt Liam begin to gain control of himself. “What happened?” he asked his son.
It took a few moments for Liam to answer. When he did answer, he spoke softly. The pain of what he had witnessed strained his voice. “There were some men. Mom answered the door. They pushed their way in and hurt her. She fought them but she couldn’t stop them. It tried to help her but I wasn’t strong enough. I heard police sirens and so did the men. They started to leave but then Mom ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. She attacked them but they grabbed the knife. They killed her. The sirens got closer and the men got scared and left. I tried to help her but I couldn’t. There was so much blood. I came up here because I didn’t know what else to do.”
Julius looked down at his son. The wretched monotone of his son’s voice after telling the story of his mother’s death ripped his heart out. He fought back the tears. “Liam, did they hurt you?” Liam shook his head. “You were very brave. There was nothing you could do. You did your best and tried to help your mother. I’m very proud of you for doing that. I’m sorry you had to be there and see that. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
They stayed in the house for three days. Julius kept expecting help to come but it never did. He wrapped his wife’s body in a blanket until they could get her to a mortuary.
The earth shook for all three of those days. On the fourth day, the world was still. Too still. There was no power and no water. Communications were gone. Julius realized for the first time that they may be on their own.
After a week, he buried his wife in the back yard. He didn’t know what else to do. The July Louisiana heat had begun to decompose her body. The smell of decaying flesh and sound of buzzing flies became unbearable and Julius was ashamed that his wife’s body had become a burden.
Three days after burying his wife, Liam and he left their home and walked to the facility. He didn’t know where else to go.
Five
