Nate suddenly seemed worried. He looked down at Bob, who was wrapping his hand. “Shit, I fucked that guy up...” He let his words trail.
Bob tried to calm the big man down. “Don’t you worry, Nate. I saw most of it. The guy attacked you and you defended yourself. The prick shouldn’t have entered our site in the first place.”
Keith hung back a little as the cops took statements. He got a closer look at the homeless guy when they flipped him over onto his back. Just like Nate had said, this guy had a real crazy look in his eyes.
They shut down site tor the day shortly after that.
KEITH CAUGHT AN EARLY bus home. It felt strange, catching the bus at an irregular time. Almost like he was cheating on the dozen or so passengers with whom he shared rides every day. He walked past the strangers and sat down near the back.
The familiarity of the cityscapes passing by soon lulled him back into his comfort zone, and Keith started daydreaming. He replayed the events of that day as he sat in the bus.
Keith was so preoccupied that he almost missed an incident. He faintly recalled the bus coming to a stop at a red light. The light had just turned green and the bus started rolling forward when the lady two rows in front of him shrieked. Somebody outside had slapped the window right next to her face.
The bus driver opened his little side window to yell back at the person as the bus sped off. “Get off the road, maniac!”
Keith looked back and tried to spot the person. It all happened in a split second, but he swore he saw those same crazy eyes.
The rest of the bus ride was uneventful, but Keith’s adrenaline was flowing. Something strange was happening. He wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as he heard another passenger utter the words: “What the heck is going on?” It was a question that went unanswered.
Keith got off at his stop and walked home. He walked just a bit faster than normal, and his head was on a swivel the whole way. He did not calm down until he turned the last corner and caught sight of his home. He was in for some more surprises when he turned on his TV, though. He learned about the shut-down of hospitals and the setup of safe zones. He tried to call Cindy, but she did not answer her phone. To be fair, that wasn’t unusual.
And these were far from normal circumstances.
So, Keith decided to call his parents. They were all doing fine. Yes, his younger brother and sister were also fine. No, they had not seen anything out of the ordinary. Yes, they were surprised that the hospitals were shut down. Can we talk about something more interesting, please?
They pointedly refused to talk about the strange events happening around the world, and instead seemed more concerned about the unseasonably warm weather out there on the West Coast. That, and the oft-repeated question of when he was going to marry that girlfriend of his.
Keith felt frustrated after hanging up the phone. He was very different from them. Keith was inquisitive, where they preferred to keep their heads down in indifference.
The ultimate proof of this was that he moved away. It was a shock to his parents, who believed family values meant everybody had to stay together their entire lives. Keith understood the tradition of taking care of your elders. He just wasn’t interested in carrying on that tradition.
Keith briefly thought about how things would go if his elderly parents moved in with him and Cindy at some future date.
No. That would not be a good thing.
Keith fixed himself supper and sat down in front of the TV. He ate his meal without really tasting it, preoccupied as he was. If he had really paid attention, he would have noticed that his meal tasted off again. After supper, he stood in front of his living room window and stared out into his street. He saw nothing of note in the fading light. Nevertheless, for the first time in months, Keith closed the blinds.
That night, nuclear war broke out between China and India.
His phone rang two minutes into the broadcast.
“Are you seeing this?” Cindy didn’t waste any time. “Keith, this is bad!”
“Yeah it sounds bad.” Keith was trying to listen to the president at the same time.
“I think it’s all because of this Syndrome. It’s all related. And that’s not even the worst of it, Keith. There is a gag order on the media. We have tons of footage but aren’t allowed to show it! The government wants to keep the public from panicking—”
“Hey, hold on.” Keith was struggling to hear the president’s speech. “I think I just heard the president say that we’re under martial law.”
“It’s worse than that. I heard through our contacts that the military is at DEFCON 2. ... DEFCON 2, Keith.”
Keith didn’t really understand DEFCON, so didn’t respond immediately. He heard Cindy sigh.
“Do you know what that means?” she asked.
“Not really. Isn’t that like one of the lowest levels?”
“No, Keith. That is the second highest level. They went from 5 to 2 in five days. And we’re talking all military, not just one branch.”
Keith had no idea that different branches of military could have different levels of DEFCON, but wisely kept his mouth shut.
“I think they know a lot more about what is going on than they’re telling us,” she added.
He could sense his girlfriend’s reporter juices flowing. A five-foot-two Asian princess was about to transform into a force larger than life.
Hulk smash! Keith grinned despite the seriousness of the conversation.
The president finished his speech, and Keith could see the channel eight news anchor, Tammy Jensen, struggling to come up with words to say.
“Do you still want me to come to your place?”
