Jacqueline Druga - Protocol One

Tony would flip on the van radio; go back and forth between any stations we picked up. We didn’t need to hear what was being said, only that it was being said.

We had our course.

Then just under two hundred miles to our first destination, we called Melissa to tell her we’d be there in less than three hours. Our arrival was way ahead of schedule.

She said she was waiting and ready and then she said something else. “I thought you would be listening to the news conference. Things are different.”

After blurting out a ‘what?’ I thanked her and immediately turned on the radio.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked.

“News conference.” My heart sank to my stomach. They were announcing it. “She said something is different.”

“What could be different? A comet is coming.”

‘ Local authorities are urging citizens to remain calm and focused.” The man’s voice said, who was it? It wasn’t the President. “Experts will be releasing important survival information to aid you and your family in making it through this global catastrophe.’

An eruption of voices, obviously reporters.

“Dan.”

“Why did the government wait so long to announce this news?”

“As you heard, the comet was completely hidden until it started its final approach, then we believed at first it would miss us. After that, no one could give a definitive impact time and point. They were going from one end of the spectrum to the other. We couldn’t prepare until we knew. We are now one hundred percent positive.”

“But you’ve obviously known longer than today.”

“If we released the news say last week or the week before, what could have been done? Would you be able to go to the store right now and get bread or water? Gas? No. Essential services and deliveries would have stopped. Instead of focusing on helping people, our military and police would be focusing on riots. Our experts believe families can stock and prepare enough until a central core of the government can return.”

I looked at Tony. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Contrary to belief and popular fiction.” The man said. “There is no way to prepare on a grand scale for continuity of life. There is no Noah’s Ark, no way to make one. “

Another eruption of voices, cameras clicking, and a voice rose above the others asking, ‘ What about evacuation?’

‘Evacuation of all coastal cities will commence immediately. Experts estimate a hundred miles inland with the exception of the impact site and a one thousand mile radius of it. We are focusing on creating, as best as we can, an orderly mass exodus of Washington and Oregan states, starting with Seattle….’

Immediately, I looked at Tony. “Seattle. That’s wrong.”

“They got the wrong information.”

“How can they have the wrong information?” I asked. “They’re the government.”

“Guys,” Jackson said. “Maybe we got the wrong information. I mean, wasn’t the original projection Seattle on August third? That would give us more time, right?”

I was going to say something, and that was when I noticed traffic flying by us. Cars were honking their horns at us. “Tony, did you slow down?’

“No they sped up.”

“Where are they going?”

“Home.” He said. “Give me your phone.”

“Where’s yours?”

“Wrapped in a make shift Faraday in my bag.” He held out his hand.

I gave him my phone and he began to dial, eyes shifting from the phone to the road.

“Watch where you’re driving.”

“I am.” He placed the phone to his ear. “Hey, it’s me,” he said. “Why am I hearing Seattle? Talk to me.”

I watched his facial expressions. Over the past month I had gotten to know him. Tony always kept his cool but I saw his brow furrow in concern.

“How can that happen?” He growled. “Well, we’ll find out, won’t we?” He hung up and handed me the phone.

“Well?” I asked.

He shuffled in his seat, looked to the rear view mirror, I suppose at his daughter and said. “Good thing I didn’t go north. Seattle. Impact. August first. Seven AM.”

“What? What happened to Manto, Impact, August first 2 PM our time? That’s a hell of a mistake, a half a world away.”

Tony repeated, “NASA says Seattle. Impact. Seven AM.”

I sat back with a feeling of defeat. “We should have been in Germany.”

“Well, we’re not. If it helps, Puerto Rico is still saying Manto. But then, this isn’t the super bowl and bad predictions in this instance cost lives.”

“A lot more people in this country will die.”

“Yeah, well, you can look at the bright side,” Tony said. “A lot more people in the Equator will live. Look, it could have been worse. They could have said it was hitting New York and we would be at the North Bunker now. Right? Lillyville is the best place to be. Granted it is a lot closer than Germany, but its better.”

“If Puerto Rico is still predicting the Equator, what do you think? Who do you think is right?”

Tony looked at me as if I were joking.

“Mom.” Jackson spoke up. “You can’t be serious, right? A private facility or NASA? I’m gonna say if they made it public and are evacuating, NASA has it right. Puerto Rico flip flopped the entire time. My only concern is that we lost almost seven hours.”

I took a moment, got my bearings and lifted my hand. “Ok, we’re gonna be fine. We’ll still make it. We’ll still get to the shelter before impact. We stay the course, stick to the plan and move forward. What else can we do? Right Tony?”

Tony was focused, and he only partially turned to me and gave me a non verbal answer to my question.

What else could we do? He replied to that with a slam of his foot on the gas pedal.

We’d drive faster.

Little Rock, Arkansas

“I have to go potty,” Joie called from the back of the van.

Her request brought a break of tension. What I was feeling was unbelievable. My body was tense, hand always extended to the dashboard as if I were holding on for dear life. Traffic went from moving fast, to bottle necking on more occasions than not.

“In a minute, sweetie,” Tony said then looked at me. “Any word from Melissa?”

“She’s ready. She has an alternate route mapped. She’s at the trailer, but she said people are rushing to the farm to steal food.”

“Are you kidding?” Tony said in disbelief. “It’s only been two hours.”

“Think about it, Tony. If you didn’t know about it, heard it on the news, what would you be doing?”

Tony nodded. “Rushing to the store or to any place I could get food.”

“Exactly.” I said. “People are doing what they need to do to survive.” I exhaled. “I just hope they take the time to learn. Knowledge is key.”

“Yeah, but is it key to surviving when you’re not a hundred feet below the surface?”

“Wow.” I lowered my head. “Way to make me feel guilty.”

“What? What are you talking about? You feel guilt? You feel guilty because you’re going to live? You can’t feel guilty. Now is not the time for guilt. Now is the time to focus on surviving and you have the means. You leave guilt behind you and keep going. Your son is what is important.”

“You’re right.”

“Daddy,” Joie whined. “I really have to go potty.”

“Sweetie, we’ll be there soon. I really don’t want to stop.”

I didn’t blame him. In the course of two hours, traffic had increased and the entire feel of life just changed. It changed.