Descent into the Abyss

Chapter 2

          "Ya know, Chris, I was kinda surprised none of the teachers said anything about James not being there yesterday."

          "Why's that? Yesterday was 4/20. I wouldn't be surprised if they knew where and what he was up to."

          "Yeah, probably," Byron replied, leaning back in the gaming chair, and looking up at the ceiling.

          "No probably about it, man. He comes in half the time... no, scratch that... comes in almost always high as hell. Last week, no fucking joke, James had a bag with him. In class. Like, how fucking stupid do you have to be to bring weed to school?" Chris continued with his rant, glancing between the other boy and the ceiling above his bed.

           Byron sat in silence for a few moments before looking back over at the tanned and lean muscles that ran up Chris's legs and under the baggy athletic shorts that he had on. His mind began to race and his heart tried to play catch up, as he struggled to change what was going on in his thoughts. 

           "Dumbass or not, he does get some good smoke though." Byron chuckled, remembering the last time the two of them smoked and drank some of his father's liquor.

          "True, but that doesn't change anything. Oh, by the way," Chris suddenly sat up, his leg muscles tightening, sending a jolt of anxious exhilaration through Byron's hidden thoughts.  

         "Yeah?" His friend asked, hoping that the conversation was going elsewhere.

          "Have you thought about who you were going to ask out for Senior dance? Figured we could double up, and I could get my dad to pay for a limo for us." Chris asked, laying back down on his bed.

          "Oh... I don't know yet. Dances aren't my thing, ya know?" Byron tried to play off the pain of his torturous reality.

          "You know, if you ever want to talk, I am here. What are best friends for?" Chris asked softly, leaning up on his elbows,  and looking over at his desk, where Bryon sat, avoiding his gaze.

          Byron spun slightly in the chair, debating on asking Chris if he ever thought about that night when they had gotten drunk when the corner of his eye caught the scrolling text on the muted television. 

          "Chris, check this out! The news is saying something about a nuke going off!" He exclaimed, spinning back around to see the other boy rise up off his bed.

          "What? Where?"

          "Apparently in... Eastern Kentucky? Why there?" Byron asked in disbelief.

          "Are ya sure it's not a hoax? I mean, honestly, what are the odds of a nuke going off in Kentucky? You'd end up taking out more trees than people." Chris speculated, trying to reason away the images on the screen.

          Seconds later, a muted buzz began to emit from both their pockets. As they checked their cell phones, the truth couldn't be argued anymore. This was real.

          "A National Emergency has been declared. All travel across the borders is suspended until further notice..." Byron read aloud the text, suddenly stopping as his phone began to vibrate again.

          "Yeah, Mom?" He asked, answering the phone call that had yet to ring.

          Byron glanced over to Chris, still standing and staring at the text in his hand, all the while his mother begged him to return home.

           "Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes. I promise. Love ya too, Mom." He said quickly, hanging up immediately afterward.

          As he pocketed his phone, he looked back to Chris, realizing that terror had consumed his best friend's face. As he reached out to console him though, Chris stiffened and pulled away, recoiling from the touch. Byron grimaced at his friend's reaction, lowering his arm slowly, and began to turn away.