“This hall,” Tony said. “Runs the circumference of this level. Only Floor One doesn’t have that.”
The hall was narrow and we didn’t walk for long. We arrived at a door marked with a ‘A-2’.
“This is your room.” He pushed open the door. “Everything you need is here. The clothes might be big or small. I didn’t get them. That wasn’t my domain.”
I was shocked when I stepped into a warmly lit room. It was oddly shaped, wider by the door and growing narrow like a slice of pie. And in fact it was a slice room on a circular floor.
It was pretty big, with a bed, dresser, and it looked like a hotel room, complete with chair. I faced Tony. “Are all the rooms like this?”
He chuckled once. “No. This is like the Captain’s quarters. This room was always for you. You even have…” He pointed to the picture on the wall that looked like a window. “It’s a digital picture to give the effect of day and night. You can shut it off. A couple of the others have them. There are a few double rooms but the rest are dorm style. Single bed, small dresser that your knees hit. Well except for Jack…” He cleared his throat. “Jackson’s room. It’s almost this nice. I’ll bring up your bag when we’ve finished removing the ash. They have a special…”
“Where is Jackson’s room?” I asked.
Tony pointed to a door in my room. “There and I’ll show you.” He walked out and we turned to our right. “Here.” He pointed to the door then reached for it.
“No, I don’t want to see it.”
“I understand.” He withdrew his hand.
“Did you grab your room yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Then I want you and Joie in that room.”
“Anna, that is not…”
“Please. I want you and Joie there. Ok?”
“We’ll see. Anyhow…” he exhaled. “There is no plumbing in the rooms. All facilities are community style. Two per floor, that’s it. And the showers are on a timer.” Tony led the way down the hall. “Three minutes after the time you turn the water on, it goes off. And don’t try to fake it out. There’s a ten minute delay before it will start again. It’s a way to conserve the water even though we have a processing system.”
He pushed open the bathroom door. “It’s not big, it’s not much, but it functions.”
I thanked Tony and followed him back to my room so I could get some clothes. Most of what was in the drawers was very generic. Old cargo style pants, cotton pants with an elastic waist similar to scrubs, tee shirts and sweatshirts.
I wanted the clothes and pictures I brought, but I supposed I’d get them as soon as they were de-ashed.
Brief instructions in mind, I headed to get cleaned up. I hoped that would help me some, but I knew it wouldn’t.
I washed quickly knowing my time limit, then stood in the warm water until it stopped running.
Physically the shower helped. Emotionally, I knew nothing would.
I got dressed in the tiny bathroom then returned to my room, because I honestly didn’t know what to do next. Tony mentioned to Tom that Peter wanted everyone topside, but I didn’t know what that meant. Were we going outside?
When I stepped into my room, I saw a glass. It sat on the table next to my bed. Immediately I walked to it and lifted it. I could smell the alcohol. It was too thick to be whiskey and too brown to be wine. When I took a sip, I realized it was brandy. It warmed my chest. Bringing it to my lips again, I noticed my hands were shaking.
I placed the glass down and sat on the bed. My body felt so internally heavy.
There was a single knock on the door and Tony stood there. He was cleaned up. “Hey, I know you aren’t up to it and that you did your own studying, but Peter is gonna explain what’s going on out there if you wanna come up.”
Sitting in that new room, even though it didn’t hold any memories, I found myself staring at the walls and thinking of my sadness. With my glass of brandy in hand, I joined Tony.
It wouldn’t take away what I was feeling, but for a short span of time listening to an expert like Peter Fleishmann might take my mind off of things, if only for a little while.
26 – PHASE SEVEN
No amount of time, whether short or long, and no amount of walking could prepare me for seeing everyone together for the first time in the aftermath of losing my son.
We took the steps back up and across that hall way following the arrow to Hive Two. The door had a glass panel and I could see everyone in there.
Upon entering, we passed though a large kitchen and straight to the dining hall. Unlike Hive One, this room was square and along the entire length of the wall was one of those windows. It looked like daytime with mountains behind it.
Everyone stopped their conversations and stopped what they were doing when I walked in.
If they were seated, they stood.
Everyone had cleaned up and no longer did they look dirty and desperate. They looked normal.
As I passed each one of them, they conveyed saddened and sympathetic looks, each telling me they were sorry.
I screamed inside. I wanted them to not say a word, not say anything. I had to remember they were good people who cared. I nodded my acknowledgment of their condolences and then joined the long table where Peter sat with a lap top.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Peter said, standing and bowing his head before sitting back down.
“Thank you,” I said then looked around. “Thank you, everybody.”
I still had my drink and I took a sip.
“I was just filling in everyone about phases,” Peter explained. “There are many. Impact, EMP, earthquake and ash. We had the high winds and are too far inland to experience the Tsunami that rippled over the globe, which it did. Coastal cities you knew and loved are gone.”
Melissa raised her hand. “Even the east coast?”
“Sadly, yes. From one body of water to the other, the vibration carried,” Peter explained. “The next phase is called ejecta. Phase Seven. When the object slammed into the earth…” He used his fist to demonstrate, pummeling it into his hand. “It sent debris high into the atmosphere. The ash wasn’t the ejected. That debris will fall. It will range in size and each, as they enter our atmosphere, will ignite. It’s a short phase, but very powerful. It’s a crap shoot where they will hit. We may get bombarded here or we may only get hit once. But the fact is, no matter where they hit, it will start a firestorm. In a chain reaction, the earth will be an inferno. Fires everywhere. The sky will look as if it is on fire and for days, temperatures will reach two hundred degrees… globally. Except at ground zero. There…” he exhaled causing a flutter to his lips. “A thousand, maybe more.”
Craig was the next to question. “Here too?”
Peter nodded. “Here, too. As the fire rages it will warm things up. Enjoy it. Because one, it will be the only light we have and two, the smoke and ash carry upward. When the comet struck the ocean it vaporized water and bedrock into tiny microscopic particles that will float outside our Earth. Think of the Earth as a giant cotton candy machine, spinning and gathering. Once it mixes with all that ash and smoke, the sun will be blocked out. Total darkness. Once all the fires are out, all light will be gone for a while. Four, six, eight weeks. We won’t know. We can only keep checking through our scope.”
“And we will. I will,” Tom said. “I will constantly check. Even though I am pretty confident in the scope, and it was tested for extreme heat, I’ll not leave it up constantly during the high temperatures. And I did pull it down as a safeguard now.”
I asked, “Why now? Why already?”
“That phase… what was it?” Tom snapped his finger a few times, showing he was thinking. “Seven. I think. The fire bombs? Yeah, that phase. It has started.”