Scott Williams: The Pulse

“No, I don’t think so,” Grant laughed. “I should say, not right now anyway. Of course it will eventually, when it expands and burns up every planet in our solar system, as scientists say all stars do, but that’s a few million years down the road, I believe.”

“That’s comforting. So, what are we supposed to do now? No electricity, no cell phones, no WiFi…how do we find out how bad this is?”

“All we can do is go have a look around. Hey, since we can’t go to class, do you want to go see what we can find out?”

“Sure, I guess so,” Casey tried to sound nonchalant, hoping Grant couldn’t tell there was nothing she would rather do than hang out with him for a while. “Where will we go?”

“I don’t know, maybe off campus a bit, see if the power is out in other parts of the city. You’ve got a bike, right?”

“Yeah, it’s locked up over in front of Dinwiddie Hall.” Casey knew Grant had one. She had passed him in her car a couple of times far from campus, flying down city streets, weaving in and out of traffic like a New York bike messenger. Looking at him, anyone could immediately see that he was in great shape. “I won’t be able to keep up with you, though, on my heavy mountain bike.”

“We don’t have to go fast,” Grant said. “I won’t run off and leave you, I promise.”

“Hey, can we just go by my apartment first and at least check my car? We won’t know for sure that it won’t start unless we try it.”

“Sure thing; it won’t hurt to try. Where do you live?

“It’s not far. Over on Webster Street just a couple of blocks this side of Magazine.”

Grant walked with her back to where she’d left her bike, and then she pushed it along as they walked to get his where he’d left it near the library. When they rode off the campus together and turned onto St. Charles, there were so many people standing and walking in the road and on the sidewalks that they had to slow to a near-walking pace to avoid hitting them. Stalled vehicles were still blocking the lanes everywhere, most with their hoods up and their frustrated owners talking with each other and wondering what to do next.

“These cars haven’t moved since I came by on the way to class,” Casey told Grant.

“This is unbelievable,” he said, as he scanned both ways at the first cross street they came to. There’s not a moving car in sight. Good thing we have bicycles.”

“Yeah, I never drive my car to campus anyway. It would be too crazy trying to park. But when I have to get around town, it’s nice to have it—especially since I can’t ride insane miles on a bike like you do.”

“I just like riding, especially since the weather’s so good here most of the time. And when I’m here during the semesters, I rarely leave the city anyway, there’s just no time. Grad school’s like that.”

“I can imagine,” Casey said.

They turned onto Calhoun Street, dropped a couple of blocks down from St. Charles to avoid the snarl of cars and people, and soon reached Webster Street, where Casey lived. Six blocks farther on, Casey pointed out her car parked on the street near the stairs that led up to her apartment. They pulled the bikes up beside it and Casey dismounted and rummaged through her backpack for her keys. When she found them she looked at Grant with a shrug.

“You might as well try it, at least,” he said.

Casey first tried the electronic door opener on her key, but nothing happened when she pushed the button. She had to use the key itself and manually unlock the door. When she slid behind the wheel and turned the ignition switch, it had no effect whatsoever; there was not even the click of the starter relay.

“I guess we won’t be cruising around town in this,” she said, almost apologetically.

“Yeah, too bad you didn’t get that VW Bug you wanted. I’ll bet it would still run.”

Just as he said it, as if to prove his point, they heard the sound of an engine winding out and saw a dilapidated diesel work truck weaving its way up the street around the stalled cars and their stranded drivers. It looked to be a relic from the ’60s, if not older.

“Nothing electronic under the hood,” Grant answered when Casey gave him a questioning look. “People with old vehicles like that are in luck, but the problem is, the roads are so clogged up with all the new ones that they likely won’t be able to go anywhere. We’re better off with our bikes.”

“I suppose, as long as we don’t need to go far. Hey, I need to see if my roommate Jessica came home. Do you want to come up to my apartment with me to check? Then we can go ride around some if you want.”

“Sure. There’s certainly no hurry. Not much else I can do anyway.”

Casey was grateful for this unexpected turn of events that gave her an opportunity to hang out with Grant. She hoped it didn’t show in her body language because she was embarrassed for him to know that it mattered to her. She led the way up the stairs and unlocked the door. “It’s going to be hot in here without the AC, but at least it’s not summer yet.”

“Yeah, it’s actually pretty pleasant today. Usually when the power goes out down here, it’s because of a hurricane, and in hurricane season, it’s always hot.”

“I want to hear more about what it was like here after Katrina, if you ever have time to tell me about it.”

“Sure, I’ll be glad to, but we got out ahead of the worst of it and didn’t come back for a long time.”

“I can’t imagine what it must have been like to lose your home and everything in it.”

Grant just shrugged and said that wasn’t the worst part of it. He said that growing up the way he did he was used to being uprooted and moved to new places. As a result of that lifestyle, he said, he didn’t have a lot of possessions that he was attached to, like most people did. The worst part was that all his close friends had moved out of New Orleans and even out of the state after they were displaced and none had come back. He was essentially alone on campus, and though he had new acquaintances in his graduate classes, none of them were people he spent time outside of class with. He promised to tell her more about Katrina soon, and said that what he learned in the aftermath of that storm might come in handy considering what had apparently happened now.

It was obvious that Jessica was not in the apartment, and Casey could see no sign that she’d been back. She told Grant that she must still be at her boyfriend’s place or else had gone straight to campus from there without coming by the apartment.

“What about yours?” Grant asked.

“My what?”

“Boyfriend, significant other, or whatever.”

“No, I’m afraid not. I haven’t really dated since I started classes here. I just didn’t need the drama with all the work I have to do. I thought I would end up with my high school sweetheart, but he dumped me when he went to LSU.”

“That was a dumb move on his part, I’d say.”

Casey blushed. “Thanks, but it happens to everyone, I think. That’s why I haven’t bothered again for now.”

“I know what you mean. I keep myself free too these days. If not, I couldn’t do all the traveling I do between semesters.”

Casey started to say something but reconsidered. She was lost in thought for a moment but suddenly changed the subject. “If we can’t get the news on TV or the radio, and cell phones are not working either, how are we supposed to find out more about what happened to cause this? How will we know if other places outside the city are affected?”

“We won’t know anything by staying here… unless someone makes it here from areas that were not damaged. I don’t know, but if it was what I think it was, and it was caused by whatever caused that light display last night, I can’t imagine that it only affected our region. And if it was more widespread, how would anyone send a message here or get here? This could be a very serious situation, worse than any hurricane.”