Revelation

Chapter 1

Maya woke up at 6 AM sharp and lumbered up the stairs to her kitchen. She pulled a jar of overnight oatmeal from her fridge and brewed a pot of coffee and sat in front of the TV. Her dog, Dino, hopped up on the ottoman by her feet and stared at her with love and a twinge of begging. Maya smiled at Dino. "Later, bud." She said, leaning forward and scratching his head. Another news alert came up across the screen and the alert buzz shot out through the speakers.

"Attention: mass riots break out across the country following a particularly violent string of storms. Famine continues creeping across the country. The people are rioting for something to be done about climate change, however, lawmakers remain silent. As of this morning, 537 are dead. Police and emergency responders are working to prevent any more deaths. This has been the largest death as a result of riots since the threshold point was reached last May. We are warning residents to stay indoors." The robot voice droned. Maya felt suddenly sick and swallowed. She looked out the back window stained a blue-green in the early sun. She almost wouldn't be surprised to see a zombie limping across her back lawn.

At 6:30, Maya brushed her teeth and returned back downstairs, and checked her phone while feeding Dino. At 6:23 her boss sent out a text, "We are requesting all employees to not report today due to riots in close proximity to the workplace as well as temperatures reaching 140." It read. Maya bit her lip uncertainly. A big storm knocked out power and damaged the A/C just the other day at work. She could only hope a cold spell would strike soon.

As the threshold drowned farther and farther into the past, the consequences began piling up, appearing with exponentially increasing intensity and frequency. She shook her head and the thoughts away, and walked down the hall to her computer, carrying her coffee pot with her, half full. She glanced at it and for a moment realized she'd have to cut back on how much she consumed, before shaking that thought too. She started writing while taking sips from the coffee pot, looking out the window every now and again to watch the sun rise. The leaves had pretty much all left the trees around here, she realized. She looked down at Dino on the floor. Her house was warm still-- 85 degrees. But it was worlds cooler than the outside air.

At noon, Maya halved a pepper and filled it with leftover ground beef and cheese and set them in the solar box on the window sill. She then quickly set it outside and set a timer for 20 minutes. She sat and waited, nursing a tall glass of ice water in the comfort of her living room. After the timer went off, Maya went out to retrieve the box and ate for 5 minutes before her cell rang.

"Maya," A voice began. It was her brother's, and he never called. Not after the car accident.

"What is it?" She asked, her heart sinking.

"Mom, dad, the whole damn town. The famine hit hard here, and it's so damn hot and-" He began to sob. Maya sat at the table and looked at her food with a terrible guilt washing over her. She suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"Are you in the hospital?" She asked. Her throat ached as a lump formed and her voice came out strange and mangled.

"I was hospitalized too, yeah. You should come home. We all don't have long here, the doctors say. None of us do." He said.

"But mom and dad and you and Jenny are all still mad at me."

"So what. We're dying, Maya. Get off your high horse for a few days and please visit. Mom and dad will forgive you. Jenny may not, but she's been gone since long before the threshold. I forgive you, even."

Maya paused a long moment and thought. She inhaled shakily, and as she exhaled she felt her tears slip from the corners of her eyes. She sobbed once into the phone, and then quickly covered her mouth.