M. Banner - Stone Age

They walked barefooted, hand-in-hand on the littoral area of the beach where the sand was flat, solid, and packed enough that their footfalls didn’t displace too much ground to make their walking difficult. The sun, already set, still provided enough light for them to avoid the occasional rock or coral that would otherwise inflict pain to their unprotected feet. The soft afternoon waves of the low tide, not yet moving back inland, gently brushed the sand forward and back only a few steps from their feet. Both Bill and Lisa walked in anxious silence, lost in their own thoughts.

Lisa was apprehensive about Darla and Danny. They were flying late tonight, getting into Rocky Point Airport tomorrow morning on a puddle jumper. They would be doing lots of driving from Bill’s father’s house in Michigan and then lots of flying. She trusted Dar, who had a clear head, but was worried just the same about them leaving so late. She was always worried about Danny and his asthma. She said a little prayer to herself to calm her nerves.

Bill considered more deeply, what Max had shared with him, along with Sally’s frantic revelations about her Internet findings this morning. He asked her to not share this with Lisa until she/they could verify it with Max. It was still somewhat surreal that Max built his house to protect against… from what exactly he didn’t know. Then, he stocked up with enough guns, ammo, and supplies for the end of the world. He never really gave Max’s apocalyptic prognostications much thought, until now. He never doubted his sincerity or seriousness, but he never considered tangible the potential threats Max obviously lost sleep over. After being shown his secret office and gun, he first wondered if his friend was seriously off-the-reservation crazy or if the source of his worries were real. He so wanted to tell Lisa, but was sure she would be terrified by most of it. No wonder Max didn’t want to discuss solar flares and the “big one” that was about to hit them with Sally. Now, considering all the pieces, together the puzzle seemed clear, and with it came fear.

Bill tried to consider anything that could rebut the reasons for Max and now Sally’s worries. It just couldn’t be-

His body was jerked backward, his hand being pulled by Lisa who had stopped rigid in her tracks. Bill stopped too and looked back at his wife who was staring towards the port, in the western direction they were walking. Her face was contorted in a mask of wonderment and awe. He didn’t ask, but turned in the direction she was looking, his question answered immediately.

On the Westernmost edge of the sky, a small single green ribbon-shaped cloud hung suspended above, followed by another, and then another. Like a tsunami of green wispy clouds, that poured toward them from the horizon.

The same clouds elicited entirely different emotions in each of the Kings. Lisa thought the clouds were beautiful, even if they were unique. Bill on the other hand was terrified. “We need to go tell Max immediately,” he said, pulling his wife away from the direction of the green clouds, and they both started jogging toward Max’s home.

The loud banging finally woke Max from a vivid dream of death and destruction.

He was on a train with many passengers, all content and going about their business, unaware of what lay ahead. However, he knew that less than a mile ahead of them, a bridge they were supposed to cross was out. If they didn’t stop the train before this bridge, they would all plunge into the canyon below to their deaths, or worse. The canyon they would cross was so deep that from its bowels erupted the actual fires of hell. He could see in his mind’s eye the fire erupting from lower levels in the canyon. And they were headed right for it.

He had to warn everyone and he had to stop the train, and he knew he was the only one who could do it. Desperately, Max tried to warn every passenger on the train about their impending doom, but for some reason, he could not speak; he was rendered mute. No matter how hard he tried to speak, the words would not come out of his mouth. He tried to point and to pantomime his warning, anything to show he was serious, but everyone ignored him.

He was completely panicked now. If he could only speak, people would know what he knew. However, they were all playing with their phones, and tablets, and laptops, oblivious to the fate that awaited them. Then, he realized he couldn’t even breathe. He tried to take in air, but he was unable. The lack of oxygen made him dizzy. He stumbled to his knees. No one looked his way, or even gave him notice, as if he were invisible.

To draw attention, he tried to beat on a seat in front of him with his fists. The knocking sound of his fists on the metal frame of the seat barely pierced the din of the idle chatter around him. He tried again, this time with all his strength, making more sound, but not enough. Shockwaves of pain now started pulsating through his hands, wrists and arms.

He looked up and could now clearly see the fire out the windows on both sides of them. The flicker of the fire’s light reflected off the inside windows and ceiling of the train. It was strange mixture of red and green. The passengers were still oblivious to him, the fire and light around them, and their pending doom. They were only interested in their texting, game playing, and in whatever else they were doing on their electronic devices.

“It wouldn’t be long now,” he thought. It was inevitable. He would die and so would everyone else on this train.

Gasping for air, he felt faint. He banged on the seat again, this time with little authority. The train car swooned around him. He was suffocating. Out of focus…

Max sat up in bed, his forehead and armpits drenched in sweat. He took in deep breaths of air, relishing the feeling. His heart was racing, beating heavily in his chest, but at once, it started slowing as he realized it was only a dream. He pushed aside the panic that still wanted to hold on.

Taking another breath, he started to relax, before recognizing that his bedroom had a weird glow. An eerie green luminescence invaded through the gaps of the closed blinds on both his bedroom window and sliding glass door. The panicky feeling still had a grip on him.

There was knocking on the metal frame of the sliding glass door. A muffled voice yelled out, “Max, please get out here. You have to see this.”

It was Bill.

The knocking and voice were much louder than he would have liked. Each rap on the door felt like an icepick being pushed into his head. The pain was horrible. He felt nauseous. He was still hung over.

“What happened?” He thought to himself. He remembered telling off that miserable prick Clyde, saying way too much about his prepping consuming way too many mango margaritas and excusing himself and going right to bed. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. “Should have taken some aspirin,” he said groggily to himself while carefully holding his head. He looked at his alarm clock for some reference. It read 9:10. “Is that AM or PM?” He asked it. His head pounded some more.

“Max, are you there?” Bill continued.

Max swung his legs over the bed with much effort and stood up. The room spun, but he steadied himself on his nightstand, still knocking something over in the process. First, he took one step, then two, tripping over his boots, steading himself on the wall. He drew the vertical blinds all the way open and took a step back.

What he witnessed seemed as surreal as his dream, as if this was all still part of his dream. But, sobering reality hit him instantly. He knew this was real. The night sky was ablaze in what looked like a green fire.