Angry Moon

Chapter 10b

     There were still problems, of course. The world was heating up, even though the use of fossil fuels had all but ended. Sea levels were rising, with all coastal cities suffering as a result. Extremes of weather were more common and storms were more violent as the warmer atmosphere was able to hold more water. Finally, there seemed to be a global increase in right wing politics and an intolerance towards minorities, although political commentators seemed to think that this was just a short term trend and that it would sort itself out in time.

     All in all, therefore, this seemed to be a bad time to be having an apocalypse. Probably it won't happen, she told herself as her car drove itself out of the city centre and into the suburbs. If something mysterious was passing through the solar system, it would probably pass far enough away from the Earth that the vast majority of people would never know anything about it, and if it was the end of everything, then at least humanity was going out on an upward beat as if to say to the Universe see? We’re not so bad after all.

     The sight of the people of Bristol going about their normal lives began to give her a strange feeling of nostalgia, as if the world had already ended and the windows of her car were television screens showing a way of life that was already over. She saw children in sports clothing chasing a football across a frozen field in which patches of last week's snow could still be seen. For a moment the crazy notion came over her to stop the car and help them in some way. What could she do, though? Tell them to hoard food as well? Tell them to get out of the city and find a farmhouse to live in while the cities convulsed in their death spasms?

     The brutal fact was, though, that to give herself and her daughter the best possible chance, the aftermath had to settle down again as fast as possible, and for that to happen, the great bulk of humanity, including those children, had to die as fast as possible. A wave of guilt and shame washed over her, and she forced it down with an effort. It won't happen, she told herself. I'm just a stupid woman getting all worked up over nothing. There may not be another Scatter Cloud, and even if there is, it probably won't come anywhere near us. I'm just taking some prudent precautions. It helped, and she was able to push the guilt to the back of her mind, but she still found it painful to look at the children, playing innocently and happily in their field.

     The trip home seemed to take far longer than it normally did, but eventually the garage door was opening and the car was easing itself inside. “Thank you, Parker,” she said as she undid her seat belt. “You may take the rest of the day off.”

     That was the phrase that told the car to power itself down for the night, but the humorous phrase now felt stupid and ridiculous and for a moment she thought about wiping the voice interface and restoring it to its factory settings. To have humorous exchanges with her car while the world might be on the brink of disaster, with thousands of children about to die... No!  she told herself angrily. Stop getting upset and emotional. There is no disaster coming. Now get a grip on yourself.

     She barely heard the car responding in its fake aristocratic voice. She got out, the door closing behind her, paused a moment to make sure it locked itself, and then went through the door into the main part of the house. She found Lily and Tracy, the babysitter, in the living room watching cartoons together. Tracy, a neighbour with no children of her own yet, working for some extra housekeeping money, had picked the girl up from school an hour before, as she did every day.

     “Mummy!” cried the girl joyously, jumping out of Tracy's lap and running over to throw her arms around her mother. Sam hugged her back, a sudden deep, powerful love welling up inside her. The feel of her daughter’s small, warm body, the smell of her hair, filled her awareness, driving away everything else. She forgot where she was, she forgot who she was. All she knew in that moment was that her daughter was safe. Safe and healthy and happy. She tightened her arms around the small girl, lowered her face to kiss the top of her head. She was safe! Her daughter was safe!