Chapter 1

May 21, 2081

The morning sunshine filtered through the drawn blinds in her humble dwelling as Essence got ready to tackle the day. Donning a plain white blouse and a simple pair of gray slacks, along with comfortable shoes, she drew her jet-black hair up into a ponytail. Unlike the head honchos up north in Philadelphia, Essence and her colleagues preferred to dress for comfort, not style. Before leaving, she took the time to water her impressive array of house plants.

She opened the front door to gauge the temperature outside, and without hesitation, elected to go without a sweater on this late spring morning. At least the weather didn’t change, Essence reflected. The world as we know it may have ended, but it’s nice to know that some things remain as they were.

Stepping outside, she locked up the door and glanced at the small garden she’d planted in the front. There were marigolds, petunias, and zinnias, all ready to bloom. It brought a faint smile to her face, but at the same time, it was another reminder of a world long gone. Then, she gave a big sigh, remembering what was on her plate for today. She wasn’t looking forward to this – not at all.

Her destination was about a half mile away. She briefly considered signing out one of the pool cars and driving over. Had the weather been less than perfect, she might have chosen that option. Instead, she elected to walk.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out what passed for a mobile phone in this time period. It was similar to an old-time walkie-talkie, complete with a retractable antenna. “Hi, Elena,” she said to the voice on the other end. “Where can I meet you?”

“I’m in the conference room, right down the hall from where we’re keeping her,” replied Elena.

“I’ll be there in about ten.” Soon, Essence was making her way across what used to be a major four-lane thoroughfare known as Delaware Route 1. But in the here and now, there was no traffic to speak of, and the road was cracked and pitted from many years of neglect. It was, however, still navigable by vehicles at moderate speed.

The conference room was inside an office building that had been fashioned from an old hangar. Essence stepped into the room, greeting her colleague with a smile. “Is it just you and me?” she queried.

“Kara will be here in a little bit,” said Elena, looking up from a notebook and affording a friendly smile of her own.

Dr. Elena Garces was a woman of 51 years who somehow managed to maintain an upbeat demeanor in these trying times. For this reason alone, Essence was fond of her. A native of Texas, Elena was an anesthesiologist by trade. She’d come to Delmarva about nine years ago, following the Third Incident. She’d been a welcome addition to the community, but her profession – as specialized as it was – was appreciated but not utilized all that often. As a result, Elena had used her spare time to hone her cooking skills; she had taken over the management of the community dining hall. She had an amazing knack for creating delicious meals from simple ingredients and scaling them up to feed large groups.

“Coffee?” offered Elena, holding up a mug. “The supply plane arrived yesterday. Among other things, they delivered fifty pounds of coffee grounds, courtesy of our friends down in South America.”

“Don’t mind if I do. And thanks,” Essence replied with sincere gratitude. Now, more than ever, there was a tendency to savor simple pleasures like a fresh, hot cup of coffee. Pouring boiling water through coffee grounds piled into a crudely fashioned paper filter, Essence got to the point of the meeting.

“What’s the status of our, um, visitor?” she queried.

“She’s sleeping right now. You heard about what happened yesterday, when we first brought her in here, right?”

“Mercy told me a little. It must not have been a pretty scene. I was busy in the lab, or I’d have been there to lend a hand.”

“It was awful. The initial anesthesia wore off faster than we expected, and Kara didn’t have time to get over here. Mercy and I had to tell her on the spot she was now about sixty years in the future, and she flipped out. Absolutely flipped out. I had to give her something – something strong – to sedate her. Luckily, she slept through the night. Now, she’s under the influence of something milder, but she is still fast asleep. Marsha is in there keeping an eye on her. I’ll have to let her wake up, though. I can’t keep her out forever. Someone will have to talk to her.”

Essence got the hint. “And that would be me, right?”

“Well,” said Elena with a giggle, “you’ve been blessed with a knack for dealing with situations like this.”

That drew a soft laugh from Essence. “A blessing, yes, but also a curse. Oh, and by the way,” she went on, an edge creeping into her voice, “where are Orval? And Taff? And Clair? Are they around to see what they’ve wrought?”

“No,” scowled Elena, her facial expression turning uncharacteristically sour. “I haven’t heard one little peep from any of them.”

“Now, why does that not surprise me?” commented Essence. “Anyway, let’s get this over with as quickly as possible. Lead me to her.”

She followed Elena out into the hall. Elena opened a door a short distance away, motioning for Essence to step inside. Marsha, the technician on duty, stepped out, nodded a greeting at Essence, and then moved on. Once inside, Essence took in the sight of a young woman fast asleep on a hospital bed.

“I already removed the IV,” said Elena, “and I thought we’d let her wake up on her own. If it takes too long, though, we might have to wake her ourselves.”

Essence nodded, then took a good look at the newcomer. “She looks so peaceful,” she commented, with a slight shake of her head.

“She had these with her,” said Elena, handing over a few small items. A set of car keys, a pair of glasses, a credit card, a driver’s license. It was the final item that held Essence’s attention.

“An old State of Maryland driver’s license,” said Essence in wonder. “Her name is Abby Lynn Blevins. Born January 24, 1998.” She paused for a moment, before adding, “Unreal. That’s all I can say. Unreal.”

Essence and Elena stood there in silence for a minute or two, letting the magnitude of the situation sink in. Soon, the quiet was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and someone opened the door slightly. “Is it okay to come in?” said a voice.

“Come in, Kara,” offered Elena in a voice that was scarcely above a whisper. “We’re just waiting a few minutes longer. We’re sort of hoping that she wakes up on her own.”

Kara Eldridge, governor of the Delmarva Fragment, stepped into the room. Almost universally liked and respected by the more than three hundred residents of the community, she was dressed casually, similar to Essence and Elena. She was known for her fairness, her non-pretentiousness, and her willingness to roll up her sleeves and help out with just about any task that needed to be done. She made it a point to at least try to get to know every single person in the community, and as a result, they viewed her not as a governor, but as One Of Them.

Elena, unfortunately, had other matters to attend to at present. “I need to head over to the cafeteria and start getting lunch ready,” she said regretfully. “Is that okay, Kara? Are you able to stick around? I think there should be at least two people here, in case ... you know.”

Kara nodded. “Go ahead, Elena. We’ll be fine. I want to be here when she wakes up. I was the one who gave final approval to the damn project in the first place. It’s important that I show her my face.”

Essence detected a note of regret in Kara’s words. The normally self-assured Kara was clearly blaming herself. “See you later,” Essence said to Elena. “I don’t think I’ll be over for lunch today.”

“I’ll save some for you both,” came Elena’s reply, and then she was off.

Essence turned to face the governor. She considered her a good friend, and on occasion, acted as a behind-the-scenes advisor. “Listen, Kara. One big reason for your popularity is your willingness to delegate responsibility. You created a committee to consider that project, realizing it was outside of your expertise, and gave us authority to come to a decision. We did that, and I’m pretty sure that almost everyone realizes you needed to abide by that decision. No one is blaming you. Look at me – there was no greater opponent of that project than myself, and I certainly hold nothing against you.”

Kara gave a faint smile. “Thanks, Essence. That means a lot. I had to approve the project – I said I’d follow the committee’s recommendation. I couldn’t very well go back on my word.”

Just then, there was another knock on the door, much louder than the one before. The door once again swung open, and a head poked inside. It was Laird Edmunds, a chemist who was part of the research group led by Essence.

“Hi, Kara. Hi, Essence,” he bellowed. “Essence – do you mind if I take a peek at your lab notebook? I need to look up some reaction conditions.”

“It should be right on top of my desk. You might have to move a few papers around to find it. Just make sure everything ends up back in the same place.”

Although Laird was a fine chemist, Essence didn’t much care for him personally. He could be loud and boisterous, often displaying obnoxious alpha-male tendencies in a world where women outnumbered men by a ratio of about four to one. Laird glanced over at the bed and took in the view of the young lady who was now showing signs of stirring from her slumber. The sedative had just about worn off.

“Is this the girl from the past?” he exclaimed. The rumor mill had obviously done its job. “Isn’t she a cutie! A redhead!”

“Laird,” Kara mercifully cut in, “we might need your help for a little while. Could you close the door and wait outside? She’s waking up, we’re about to tell her what happened, and we want to make sure she handles it well. We’ll call you if we need you to come in.”

“Will do, boss,” replied Laird, retreating and closing the door behind him. Knowing Laird as she did, Essence noted the sarcasm; she hoped Kara didn’t catch it.

Breathlessly, both Kara and Essence turned to face the young woman, who was now groggily regarding them with half-open eyes. Slowly, she sat up on the bed. Not yet fully awake, there was nonetheless an aura of determination in those blue eyes.

“I freaked out earlier,” she began. “I’m not going to freak out now. But can you please tell me ... what the hell is going on here? Who are you and where am I? They were actually trying to convince me that I travelled through time.”

It was Kara who responded. “I’m Kara, and this is Essence. I’m the leader of our community here, and Essence is a medical researcher. And you’re Abby, right?”

Abby nodded, then opened her mouth to speak, seemingly about to ask how they knew her name. By way of explanation, Essence handed Abby her belongings, which included the driver’s license. Abby nodded and placed them beside her on the bed, and then faced them silently, indicating that she wanted them to continue talking.

“We’ll tell you everything you want to know,” said Kara, “but as you can imagine, it’s a long story. I want to assure you that we mean you no harm. So, here’s what we’ll do. If you allow us to speak, we’ll tell you who we are. We’ll give you a history of our community and describe the events that brought you here. We’ll give you our thoughts on how we might remedy the situation, and we’ll do our best to answer any questions you might have.” She looked over at Essence, inviting her to comment.

“I’ll confirm everything Kara said,” put in Essence, “and I do want to tell you something up front. It’s true – you have traveled through time, to the future. It is currently the year 2081.”

“What the—” exclaimed Abby, as Kara held up her hand in a “stop” gesture. Abby caught herself, electing to switch back into listening mode for the moment.

“Abby,” said Kara, “I can’t even guess at what must be going through your mind right now. Please listen to everything we have to say, and you’ll at least have some context. That might make it easier to handle.”

Essence spoke up. “You handle the history part, Kara, and I’ll handle the other things that are probably more up my alley.”

“Good enough,” Kara agreed. “Abby, your driver’s license reads Centreville, Maryland. I assume that’s where you live?”

“Umm – yes,” Abby replied, her tone still indicating a high degree of distrust.

“Have you ever visited the Dover Air Force Base?”

“You mean in Delaware? I haven’t gotten up that way very often. I passed by it maybe a few times. Wait a minute – is that where I am now?”

“Exactly ... although it’s no longer a military base. We’ll explain that in a little bit. But let’s talk about our group here, and the difficulties we are facing. Right now, our group consists of three hundred and sixteen people, at last count, and we occupy what used to be the Dover Air Force Base.”

“What do you mean by ‘occupy’?” Abby asked pointedly. “That sounds kind of ominous.”

Kara looked over at Essence. “I think the ball’s in your court.”

Essence nodded. “Abby, the entire world is in the midst of an unimaginable crisis right now, and your being here is actually connected to that. I know that you come to us from the year 2023. I won’t mince words here. At that point in time, the world population was approaching eight billion. Now, in 2081, we don’t have an exact figure. But as best we can tell, the population of the planet Earth is roughly one-tenth of that.”

Stunned, Abby gasped and placed both of her hands on the side of her face, with mouth wide open.

Essence decided the best course of action was to keep talking. “In the year 2049, a strange, enormous cloud, coming from a dwarf planet at the outer edge of the solar system, suddenly appeared and surrounded the entire Planet Earth. On that occasion, not a single member of the human race was harmed. It just came and went. As a result, when the mysterious cloud reappeared twelve years later, no one paid it any mind. But during its second appearance, the cloud caused the majority of the human race to have fatal allergic reactions. About eighty percent of the people on the planet Earth perished.”

Abby gasped once again. Both Kara and Essence noticed a tear escaping from the corner of Abby’s eye.

“Do you want some water, Abby? Or some coffee?” offered Kara, motioning towards the coffee pot that Elena had left behind.

“Coffee – please,” Abby choked out. Kara quickly poured her a cup. Essence, meanwhile, continued her tale.

“Ten years later, in 2071, a similar cloud paid us another visit. It wasn’t quite as deadly as the first one, but it was plenty horrific enough – the remaining world population was reduced by about half. If you do the math, you’ll come up with the estimate I gave you earlier – our population is about ten percent of what it was before the crisis. At this point, I should mention a rather curious aspect of this. Females appear to be somewhat more resistant to the allergen than males. As a result, about eighty percent of the remaining adult population is female. This creates issues you can’t even imagine.

“We don’t know if the cloud will make a return visit, but no matter how optimistic we may be, we’ve all been assuming it will. Everyone on the planet is living with that over our heads. Even after three decades, we know very little about these clouds – I use the word ‘cloud’ for lack of a better term. This thing is simply on too large of a scale. The prevailing theory is that it’s the work of an extraterrestrial civilization who means us harm in some way.”

By now, Abby was crying in earnest, retreating within herself, unable to process what she was hearing. Essence walked over to Abby, squatted down and put her arms around her, and let her cry on her shoulder. Damn you, Orval, Clair, and the others, she said to herself. She let Abby cry it out for a few minutes.

Suddenly, Abby pulled away, somehow latching onto a source of strength. “Enough of that. I won’t cry anymore,” she declared, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Then, she looked at both Essence and Kara. “You’re telling me the truth, aren’t you,” she said. Her tone indicated that it was a statement of fact and not a question.

“We are, Abby,” replied Kara. “This must be hard for you to believe, but it’s the truth.”

“I’m thinking that I do believe you. There’s no reason for you to invent a story like that. And don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the kindness you’ve both shown me so far. This is all so ... overwhelming. I have a question. Do you know why the first cloud didn’t harm anyone, but the second one did? That seems very strange.”

Essence smiled a little, pleased at the question. This young lady is very sharp, she thought. “It has to do with the way allergens work,” she explained. “First of all, we are talking about the strongest allergen known, far more powerful than allergens we’ve seen of terrestrial origin. Typically, sensitive individuals have no response to their first exposure to an allergen, whether it’s a bee sting, a peanut, or something from outer space. That’s why no one was affected by the first incident. The second time around, the population had become sensitized, and the result was extremely severe anaphylactic shock in about eighty percent of the population. The remaining twenty percent was unaffected. As far as we know, there have been no individuals who had reactions to the cloud and survived. It seems to be uniformly fatal to affected individuals.” Essence hesitated for a moment, giving Abby and her thought process a chance to catch up, before adding, “Sometimes, with allergens, it takes more than two exposures for an allergic reaction to occur, and that is why some people survived the second incident, but not the third.”