Forrest patted him on the shoulder as he passed. “Take good care of her, Doc. She’s the life of the party.”
“Shame on you, Jack Forrest,” Taylor said.
Forrest followed them out on his way to check the missile silos for damage. He went to the end of blast tunnel number one and slowly cracked the blast door, shining a flashlight into the chasm before stepping in. When he turned on the lights, everything seemed to be in order, but he walked every level to make sure, seeing that a few boxes of food had fallen over but nothing more. As he was about to leave the silo, the door opened and Veronica stepped onto the deck, pushing the door closed behind her but not sealing it.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
She stepped into him and began to kiss him. Forrest allowed himself to be backed up against a stack of boxes and sank his fingers into her hair, opening his mouth to let their tongues intertwine as they sucked hungrily at one another. He turned her around and pressed her up against the boxes, giving her one last long kiss and backing away.
“Okay!” he said, breathing deep and straightening his shirt. “Now that we’ve both gotten that out of our systems…”
“You didn’t look at me once the entire time!”
“What did you want me to do, shout, ‘Baby, I love you?’”
She looked at him and put her hands on her hips. “What are we going to do?”
“What are you talking about?”
“About us?”
“What us?”
“Jack, you’re not funny.”
“Hey, you know what?” he said. “The fucking world hasn’t even been dead half an hour. Let’s see if we can get through the first twenty-four before we start acting like we’ve lost our goddamn minds.”
“I need to know if you want me.”
“We’re not having this conversation right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because my wife was just killed by a fucking meteor! How’s that for starters?”
“Oh, Christ,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry, Jack. You’re right. I didn’t even…” She covered her mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Aw, shit.” He jacked one leg back against the wall and fired up a cigarette. “This mission already isn’t going according to plan.”
“I disagree,” she said quietly. “But you’re right. We should wait and talk about this later. I’m sorry I’ve made you angry.”
“You haven’t made me angry, Veronica. I’m hopped up on Benzedrine.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“We all are, in case there’s an emergency.” He took a long drag from the cigarette. “And what do you mean you disagree? You can’t tell me we just acted normally.”
“This is by no means a normal social dynamic. The world just ended. I think we’re entitled to let our inhibitions drop for a minute.”
“You are, but I’m not,” he replied. “What’s Michael going to think about you being gone?”
“Honestly? He’s probably talking to Karen.”
“Oh, okay. So that’s what sent you chasing after—”
“I didn’t chase you anyplace, Jack! You chased me, remember?”
Forrest took another drag and smiled. “Yes, I do.”
“So what happens if I choose wrong?” she wanted to know. “Suppose Michael decides he loves Karen a few weeks from now—which will be my fault, admittedly. Andie is hot on your butt! I could end up alone in this brave new world of ours.”
“Take the time to figure out what you want,” he said. “Either way, you’re not going to end up alone. I promise.”
“You promise?”
“I don’t break promises and I don’t repeat them.”
“I’m gonna hold you to it,” she said, pointing a finger at him before opening the door and slipping back out.
Forrest found an excuse to spend another couple of minutes in the missile silo, then went back to Launch Control, where he found Ulrich smirking in front of the console, watching the grass fires above.
“What the fuck are you smirking at?”
“She didn’t seal either door,” Ulrich replied. “That tunnel’s like a megaphone.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” Forrest said, checking one of the many charts on the wall behind Ulrich to see if the toilet paper count matched the one he’d just taken. “We should probably go ahead and rig some sort of a bidet. Or at least have a plan drawn up for one. There’s no way all these women and children are going to conserve enough toilet paper.”
Ulrich laughed quietly to himself.
“What’s so fuckin’ funny, snickers?”
Ulrich chuckled again, saying in an overly manly voice, “‘I don’t break my promises, little lady, and I don’t repeat them either.’” Then he broke himself up laughing, slapping his hand on the counter. “Fucking priceless!”
Forrest stood looking at the back of Wayne’s head, chewing his cheek. “Break yourself up, don’t you, Stumpy?”
Ulrich continued to laugh. “Oh, man, wait till Erin hears that one.”
Forrest put his finger in his mouth and got it good and wet before sticking into Ulrich’s ear.
“You motherfucker!” Ulrich said, grabbing the side of his head and springing from the chair, wiping fruitlessly at the offended ear. “You fuckin’ cocksucker!”
“Kinda felt like a monkey’s dick, didn’t it?”
Ulrich used the tail of his shirt to dry the inside of his ear, chuckling some more. “I’m still telling Erin.”
“She’d better keep her mouth shut about it too,” Forrest warned, “or I’ll stick my finger someplace else.”
Ulrich stood tucking his shirt back in, assuming a more serious expression. “You know how goddamn sorry I am about Monica, right?”
Forrest nodded. “She’s not hurting anymore, Wayne. And who knows? Maybe they’re really together again.”
“What a party we’ll all have one day, huh? All of us back together?”
“That would be quite a party,” Forrest agreed, heading for the other door. “I’m going down to check number two silo. Try not to stir up any more shit while I’m gone.”
“Hey, Jack?”
Forrest paused.
“I promise, man.”
“Fuck you.”
Later, Forrest returned to Launch Control to find Kane and Ulrich listening to the shortwave radio. “Getting anything?”
“Plenty,” Kane said. “You should hear some of this.”
Andie came into the room and Ulrich quickly switched off the set. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, masking her curiosity about what was being said on the radio. “Some of us are gathering in the cafeteria for a prayer session. Would you guys like to join us?”
The men shook their heads.
“Are you sure, Jack? You’re the leader. It might be nice if you said a few words.”
“I’m not exactly God’s best representative,” Forrest said with a wink. “Besides, I’ll be saying plenty in the days and months to come.”
“Well, it’s never too soon to—”
“Thank you again for the offer,” Ulrich said, stepping forward to put his hand on the door. “Be sure to put in a good word for us, will you?”
“Um… yeah,” she said, backing out of the doorway. “Sure.”
“Thank you.” He smiled and closed the door, signaling for Kane to switch the radio back on.
“… but it looks like the Dakotas are gone! The sky is black and there’s shit raining down on everything! The entire neighborhood is catching on fire! This is the end of the fucking world… God’s wrath, man… Armageddon!”
“Loon,” Forrest remarked, casually lighting a cigarette.
“Should I go get Linus and Oscar?” Kane asked.
Forrest shook his head. “You can fill them in later. I’ve already told them where I want them and why. Keep the dial moving. We can skip the hyperbole.”