Before the Glitches (Book 0)

The Beginning of the End

"This is it. The end of this whole freaking world," Lara Williamson proclaimed, turning off the dusty TV and slamming the remote down on the table.

"Come on, I'm sure it's not that bad," her younger sister Regina tried to console her. "I mean, these natural disasters happen all the time. The emergency services always make it right...eventually."

"It's not just the disasters, and you know that, Regina," Lara scowled. "The solar flares, the floods, the melting of the glaciers, global warming, the plague. All started within the past decade. You can't tell me that was just an accident. Someone or something is trying to destroy this planet, and you know it! Someone or something that's far more powerful than we are.

"Stop being paranoid," Regina rolled her eyes. "Hurricanes and floods happen all the time. And so do solar flares and power outages. And don't call it a plague, that makes it feel so much scarier and more destructive."

"Call it whatever you want," Lara's face darkened. "That doesn't change what it is. What's the government's nice little word for it, a sudden widespread illness? Call it that if it makes you feel better," she said, ice in her words.

"Lara, don't lose hope, there's still a chance this is all just-"

"But what if we don't deserve hope?" Lara hissed. "We're all idiots, all those billions of us. We sucked the planet dry and expected it to keep sustaining us, we brought this on ourselves. All this global warming, and I'm sure we somehow started the dang plague too!"

"Don't say the p-word!" Regina yelled, threatening to knock over the small coffee table in their living room.

"The p-word? Are you serious?" Lara shook her head. "You sound like a fifth grader talking about a cuss. Were you not listening to the news just now? The plague's wiping out entire cities and we've already lost most of California to the sea! Better start reflecting on your life and writing your will, Regina. Oh, wait, there won't be anyone left on this planet to inherit your junk."

"Lara! Stop it! Are you physically incapable of being positive!?" Regina's cheeks turned red as thoughts swarmed her mind. As much as she hated it, she knew her sister was right. It was time to prepare for the end. But then, she remembered something.

"Hey Lara, didn't Lucas have a backup plan to ensure the human race's survival in the event of a global catastrophe? Something about a glitch or a program... I don't know, I'm illiterate when it comes to tech."

"Ensure our survival? He said himself that there's literally a 1 in a million chance that's gonna work. He said it's barely better than zero likelihood of survival."

"How do you know he was telling you the truth?"

"I'm his wife. I know him. He wouldn't lie about something like that," Lara blew a wisp of brown hair out of her face. Brown hair that used to be neatly combed, glossy, and quite pretty. But that was before this, back when beauty actually registered on her priority list.

"Lara! Regina! I'm home!" Lucas Williamson's heavy footsteps sounded in the garage and the two women heard the sound of a car door slamming shut before they saw his bulky figure in the walkway.

His plain brown t-shirt was stained with dirt and sweat and stone dust filled his hair. He was a skilled programmer, not a construction worker; Lara could tell he had been doing something outside his usual line of work.

"Daddy!" Came a squeal from the back of the house as a tiny girl rushed into Lucas's arms.

"Hi Kitkat," Lucas smiled, tousling his oldest child's hair. Kate was only eleven, but she could still see the sadness and pain that lurked behind her father's smiling eyes.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Kate asked, grabbing Lucas's hand before he could walk away. "Nothing, Kitkat," Lucas gently pushed her away. "Why are you sad, Daddy? It's okay, you can tell me. I'm a big girl now!" She stood on her tiptoes to accentuate her point.

"Well, of course you are. Starting fifth grade next fall, you really are growing up very fast," Lucas smiled. Except he didn't mention the fact that she probably wouldn't make it to the next grade level. The school, the town, everything could be gone by then. Or this whole mess could be sorted out and they could be laughing off their fears. Only time would tell.

"Well, why don't you go talk to Aunt Regina now, huh, Kitkat?" He made eye contact with Regina and she nodded, understanding. "Come on, Kate, why don't you show me all those new games you just downloaded to your X-910? Regina chirped, leading her niece to the next room.

"What've you been doing?" Lara asked flatly as soon as the other two were out of the room. "What do you mean?" Asked Lucas with feigned innocence. "Oh, you know what I mean," Lara said. "You don't look like that after a day of programming in the office," she gestured to his sweat-soaked body.

"Listen, I know you're not going to like this, but I've been building a Module." "What!?" Lara stood up from the couch. "But I thought you said if you told your boss, he'd hire a crew to do all the manual stuff. That you'd just have to supply the ideas and the-"

"Mr. Peterson isn't buying this," Lucas shook his head. "He says we're all screwed anyhow. That my 'little project' isn't going to make a difference."

"Well, maybe you should believe him," Lara sighed.

"It's not that simple, Lara, this is the entire human race we're talking about here. I know I'm gonna die real soon if this thing keeps up, but I don't want to die without knowing I did my part. That there's still a chance. I've been working years for this, and I am going to make my Module a reality, even if I have to dig it with my bare hands!"

"But how do you know you're going to have enough people to be your Glitches?" "Trust me, when the plague hits, and it's only a matter of time, this entire town's going to be begging for a spot in the Module, and at least some of them will have young children. Kids under the age of 12= possible Glitches," Lucas smiled grimly.

"Wait...Kate is going to be a Glitch...right?" Lara asked, her smile wavering. "Of course, she's our daughter!" Lucas waved her off, his heart aching with the secret he had to keep from her.

He had counted 31 Glitch-age children on the blocks surrounding his home, and his Program only had space for 30 Glitches. Some parent was going to have to make a very, very huge sacrifice, and he knew nobody else would have the strength to do it. It had to be him. It had to be his little Kitkat.

Every second he kept the secret inside his brain, his heart hurt with the knowledge that sometime, he would have to tell Lara. How did you tell a mother that her child was going to live a short, solitary, miserable life underground counting the days until her death?

...............

On a random note, isn't Kitkat just THE MOST ADORABLE NICKNAME!!!?