Chapter 7

“This nighttime darkness is something else,” said Abby with a little giggle. “Even with these headlights, it’s just overpowering.” For the second evening in a row, this point was being driven home to her.

“We’re all used to it,” commented Essence. “We believe that the curfew is a necessary evil, so we just put up with it. We need to conserve power as much as we can. Once you’ve dealt with it for a while, it’s nothing. Who knows – maybe within a few generations, if most of us get through this crisis, we’ll evolve to obtain superior night vision.” She laughed dryly.

It was roughly twenty-four hours after Abby’s date with Laird. She and Essence had decided to make another post-curfew trip over to the observatory. They had checked out a car, and Essence was behind the wheel, with Abby beside her in the passenger seat. Essence wanted to discuss a few technical things with Mimosa. As for Abby, she had discovered that gazing through Mimosa’s telescope at the night sky was a thrilling experience, and she wanted to do it again.

“So, how was last night?” Essence inquired, daring to ask the question, trying to conceal her eagerness to find out what had transpired, as well as her dread at learning the truth.

“I’m still processing the whole thing,” Abby responded. She related most of the events of the date with Laird, up to and including the sexual encounter. She left out just one part – Laird’s personal attacks on Essence and the others. She needed to think some more about whether it would be advisable to bring that up.

When Abby was finished, there was a moment of silence. Finally, Essence spoke up. “I’m glad you didn’t have intercourse with him. Hannah was right. If you had gotten pregnant, you would have had a real dilemma on your hands.” Then again, thought Essence, that development might have forced her to stay in the present time. She quickly chided herself for that rogue selfish thought.

“Not only did he want to create a baby,” Abby went on, “he actually asked me to move up to Philadelphia with him and Jimmy.”

“He did?” replied Essence, a little too emphatically. After taking a brief moment to compose herself, she continued, “What did you tell him?”

“I reminded him of my plans to travel back to my own time. I reinforced the point that I’m happy right where I am now. And you know what? He told me that I shouldn’t count on traveling back in time. He has doubts that Taff will be able to fix the time machine.”

Inwardly, Essence breathed a sigh of relief; Abby seemed determined to stay at Delmarva for the short term. “Taff is a woman of her word,” she assured Abby. “And I have full confidence in her abilities. If she says she’ll fix the machine, she’ll fix it.”

Now it was Abby’s turn to sigh. “I hope you’re right. And going back to Laird. He is attentive and sensitive in a way that few men are. Plus, he continues to show interest in my time period. Those are rare qualities. But his overall world view is off – so different from mine, and I’m not sure that can be reconciled. So, we’ll see. Maybe he’ll end up being nothing more than a friend with benefits during my time here, although it’s obvious to me that he wants more than that. And if he does go up to Philadelphia, and it sure sounds like he intends to, that will bring it all to a quick end.”

Essence smiled, realizing that Abby had provided the perfect lead-in for something she wanted to discuss. “Friends with benefits is something I know all about,” she declared. And she proceeded to briefly tell Abby about her dalliance with Maeve.

With typical nonchalance when it came to these matters, Abby took it in stride. “Maeve? Wait a minute – I recognize that name. Is she married to Dorian, the bartender at the pub?”

“That’s her,” confirmed Essence. “You know Dorian?”

“Just met him last night at the pub. Small world, isn’t it?”

“This world is even smaller than the one you’re used to.”

“Very true,” Abby said. Then, with a twinkle in her eye that Essence couldn’t see due to the dark, she continued, “One more little secret. Do you have any more secrets, Essence?” She giggled girlishly.

Essence tried her best to hide the nervousness in her laugh. “Oh, none that I care to divulge right now.”

“Fair enough.”

The observatory was located near the southeastern edge of the community, quite a distance from both the greenhouse-research area complex and the residential area. It was the darkest part of the enclave, with excellent views of the sky almost down to the horizon in all directions. The drive over had taken roughly ten minutes, with the paved road somewhat cracked and bumpy, making for slow going in a few places. Essence parked the car on the side of the road about a hundred meters from the observatory. This was a special request from Mimosa – she didn’t want the bright headlights to disturb her night vision.

Abby and Essence walked in silence toward the building. Almost reflexively, not wanting to become separated from her companion in the darkness, Abby took Essence’s hand in hers. This simple action nearly caused Essence to gasp audibly. A thrill swept from her head to her toe as she realized she was walking in the dark, hand in hand with the woman she secretly loved.

As they approached the door, Abby couldn’t help but notice that Essence was gripping her hand tightly, her fingers intertwined with Abby’s. She’d detected a wistful, almost clingy aspect to Essence on the drive over, and Abby wondered what was going through her mind. Perhaps she would bring it up with her later.

They entered the observatory, a small round building no more than eight meters in diameter, and found Mimosa seated at a desk near the telescope. The entire room was bathed in dull red light, which Abby knew was for the preservation of night vision. There was a gap in the ceiling to afford a horizon-to-zenith view for the telescope, which was a large instrument containing a mirror of more than forty centimeters in diameter. It had been constructed before the Second Incident, as had the building itself. The entire facility had been meticulously maintained through the intervening years. Here, Abby saw more evidence of futuristic technology in an otherwise primitive environment. Although the telescope could be controlled by pressing buttons on a panel, it also responded to verbal commands. Similarly, the observatory building itself could be rotated through spoken commands, making any portion of the night sky easily accessible.

Mimosa wanted to know how Essence’s projects were coming along. Naturally, the number one priority was the research involving Abby’s blood sample. “That sample was a vital component, and I’ve learned a lot more about what we’re up against,” said Essence. “But I still know next to nothing about what constitutes that haze when it arrives. Some kind of vapor, perhaps? Suspended particles? And what is its chemical composition? What makes it such a potent allergen? Those are questions that must be answered before I can come up with any kind of defense.” Essence briefly updated Mimosa on the more technical aspects of the problem. Then, realizing they were excluding Abby from the conversation, Essence quickly brought it to an end and shot a knowing wink in Abby’s direction.

“I want to show you something, Abby,” said Mimosa. “Last time you were here, Cronus was below the horizon.” Mimosa stood up from her chair, and said out loud, “Find Cronus.” At once, Abby felt the room began to rotate, as the telescope began to move as well. In just a few seconds, both came to a stop.

“Take a look through the eyepiece,” Mimosa instructed, “and tell me what you see.”

Abby squinted through the eyepiece. “I see what looks like a few stars,” she replied, “but not much else.”

“You are looking directly at Cronus,” said Mimosa. “It’s right in the center of the field of view. Its exact location was pinpointed long before this crisis began. And yet – it’s currently invisible and has remained that way since back before the First Incident.”

“How do you even know it’s still there?” wondered Abby.

“Based on observations before it vanished, we know the exact path it takes through our sky as it orbits the sun. Once every couple of years or so, it passes in front of one of those faint stars you see. The star disappears for a few minutes and then reappears as Cronus moves on by. We’ve been able to predict those events, and I make it a habit to witness and record them if I’m able. One of these ‘eclipses’ just occurred two nights ago. This proves that Cronus still exists, and for some reason, it’s completely dark. It doesn’t reflect any sunlight back at us at all.”

“And that is part of the mystery,” Essence chimed in. “We’ve never seen a solid body anywhere in the observable universe with such a low reflectivity. What makes it so dark, and what brought about the sudden change many years ago? And more importantly for us, why does it seem to periodically emit these enormous allergen-laden clouds in our direction?”

“Everyone thinks it’s the work of aliens,” commented Abby, repeating a notion she’d heard over and over. That was a theory that even Laird supported.

Essence nodded, a grim expression on her face in the muted red light. “I was very skeptical of that idea at first. But it’s the only thing that seems to make sense.” Mimosa nodded in agreement.

“With this world being as crazy as it is, I never had the nerve to ask this question until now,” said Abby. “But is there any real, actual evidence in 2081 that life exists beyond Earth?”

“Well, we know that there is life on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, in oceans under their icy surfaces,” replied Essence. “I believe that was speculated upon even in your time. Before the Second Incident, probes were sent up to drill through the ice on the moons and capture a few of the creatures that live in the oceans. They were studied extensively – my father was actually involved in that project. There are a variety of non-intelligent creatures, large and small, and it turns out that they are similar to our fish in some ways. They even have some analogous genetic characteristics, which hints at some kind of common origin with life here on Earth. Perhaps the building blocks for that life were somehow transferred via a stray asteroid or two. That, of course, makes their ‘alien’ status somewhat dubious.”

“We’ve also picked up signals – electromagnetic waves – that just about everyone in the scientific community believes are caused by alien civilizations,” Mimosa put in. “Our ‘listening devices’ are a lot more sophisticated than the ones that existed in your time. The problem is, the signals are the type that raise more questions than they answer. We know they are saying something, but it’s all gibberish. We have no way of deciphering the signals, let alone speculate about whether some of them are directed toward us. Right now, it’s beyond our reach, and this worldwide crisis has pretty much put a stop to any research in that area over the last twenty years. We do have a receiving apparatus here at Delmarva, and I’ve set it up over at Noah’s com center. He stays on the lookout for any interesting transmissions, but so far, none have occurred other than the typical noise.”

Abby took one more peek through the telescope eyepiece, and she shuddered slightly as she contemplated the fact that she was staring right into the face of evil – the very source of the entity which had brought death and suffering upon the human race on an unprecedented scale.

Essence took note of Abby’s reaction, and stepped forward, placing one hand comfortingly on her shoulder. “I’m about to give voice to the fact that no one around here wants to think about,” Essence began. “But the time span from the First Incident to the Second Incident was twelve years. And then, the Third Incident occurred ten years later. And now ... we’re just a few months away from the tenth anniversary of the Third Incident.”

“Believe me,” said Abby, taking in those chilling words, “I’ve done the math in my head many times since I arrived here. What a strange, disturbing world this is. Literally at any moment, the next round of death could be on its way. And in the meantime, there’s all kinds of smaller hazards to worry about.”

Two evenings later, Abby was standing outside the home she shared with Essence, chatting with Hannah. It was shortly before curfew, and the two of them had just finished up their evening run. More often than not, Hannah joined Abby these days when she went out for her jog, and on occasion, Essence joined them as well. However, on this evening, Essence was working late, but she had assured Abby that she’d be home before curfew.

Abby was discussing her pilot training with Hannah. “I went up with Noah for the third time today,” she said. “I’m getting more and more comfortable working the controls. The first time, I’ll admit, I was scared. Now, I’m only half scared,” she said, giggling, perhaps a little facetiously. Abby was, in fact, greatly enjoying her first experiences of piloting an airplane.

“You’ll be an old pro in no time,” said Hannah with a smile.

“Just like you. Hell, you’ve graduated to flying a helicopter.”

At that moment, Essence arrived. No sooner had she greeted them both when a scream could be heard in the distance, coming in the direction of the southwestern guard stand, a few hundred yards away. They picked up a faint snarling sound as well.

“That ... doesn’t sound good,” said an alarmed Abby, but Essence was already in motion. “Let’s grab our weapons and investigate,” she said to the two younger women, moving toward the house.

Hannah ran into her own house to fetch a weapon; Abby followed Essence inside. Essence produced a pump-action shotgun and handed it to Abby along with a shell. Abby loaded the shell; she could sense that the time had arrived for her to put all of that weapons training to good use. Essence, with no wasted motion, grabbed another shotgun and a backpack, which Abby knew contained ammunition and a spare handgun. Essence kept it ready for exactly this situation. Putting on the backpack, she said to Abby with a serious expression, “Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”

“What do you think that was?” Abby said to Essence as Hannah joined them, and the three armed women moved at a brisk pace toward the gate.

“Worst case scenario, and I think this is what actually happened,” said Essence, “the gate was breached by wild animals, probably wolves, coyotes or wild dogs.”

Confirmation of this theory came quickly, as Essence’s com device began to buzz. She answered immediately.

“Hi, Essence,” came the voice of Lars. “It looks like a pack of wolves – a lot of them – just broke through the southwestern gate. They overpowered the guards and ran into the community. Lucinda, one of the guards, managed to call us. The other guard, Jael Redson, is injured – we don’t know how badly he’s hurt. We need you to assist.”

“On our way,” replied Essence. “Abby and Hannah are with me, and we’re armed. Should be there in less than five minutes. Where’s Kara?”

“She called Mercy right away and told her an injured person is on the way. She’s headed over to the med unit as we speak, to help out. I’m getting a few people together, and we’re coming your way to reinforce the gate. Noah is also headed in your direction. Oh, and by the way ... you know that curfew is in a few minutes. Kara put in a call to keep the community lights on, but they might go out for a little bit until the security people get there. So be prepared for a short period of darkness.”

After ending the call, Essence turned to Abby and Hannah. “Okay, ladies. You heard Lars. We’re on our own here until the cavalry arrives. Let’s take control of this situation. You know that these weapons are older – they were manufactured before the Second Incident. We inspect them regularly, and they should be in good order, but there is an increased likelihood of misfiring or jamming. So, watch out for that. Also, and I’m sure Noah told you this, but let me reiterate. Be careful with ammunition – we have to get all of ours from Philadelphia where they have manufacturing capabilities. Our supply is limited, so if you have to take any shots, make them count.”

It was a somewhat hazy and humid summer evening, with no wind to speak of. Abby could feel herself beginning to perspire, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of the weather or the adrenaline that was beginning to surge through her system. They moved forward in a triangle pattern, with Essence toward the rear, Abby to the left, and Hannah to the right. Their path to the gate took them through a small, dark wooded area. As soon as they arrived back in the open, they received an unwelcome surprise. Four snarling, angry wolves were charging right at them.

Essence, by far the most experienced of the three in these situations, didn’t waste a split second. She charged right between Abby and Hannah and drilled one of the wolves in the face with a shotgun blast, leaving a bloody carcass on the rutted pavement.

One of the remaining wolves made a beeline for Abby. She had always loved animals. Her paltry income as a call center worker precluded her from shouldering the cost of owning a pet, but she loved dogs and cats and all kinds of furry critters. But she didn’t view this charging wolf as a cute and cuddly thing. She saw it as an evil menace – one which meant to cause harm to her and the ones she was coming to love. Without hesitation, she lifted her shotgun and fired at short range, leaving another dead wolf on the ground.

Meanwhile, Hannah had taken care of another one of the trespassers. The fourth wolf, apparently motivated by the fate of his three companions, decided to flee. Essence was having none of that. Sprinting in pursuit, faster than Abby had ever seen her move, Essence fired from about twenty meters and downed the last wolf.

As Essence rejoined them, Abby could still feel her heart beating wildly. “You both handled that perfectly,” Essence said, managing a smile. “Neither one of you hesitated. Good shooting. Now let’s get over to the gate and see what the situation is.”

No sooner had Essence spoken those words when the community lights went off. “Oh shit,” exclaimed Hannah.

“Now what do we do?” Abby wondered helplessly as they stood there in the dark.

“Never mind what I just said,” Essence advised them. “We hold right here and wait for the lights to come back on.”

Darkness reigned for about three minutes. It was the longest three minutes of Abby’s life. They all knew that there were likely to be more wolves within the wall. They also knew that wolves had night vision that was far superior to that of humans. At any moment, another pack could descend upon them, and this time the wolves would have a huge advantage.

It didn’t happen. The lights came back on, returning blessed illumination to their midst. “Let there be light,” uttered Hannah.