The Anvil

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Lucy Wilson backed the car out of the driveway. They’d rushed to pack and eat and had kept their minds from dwelling on what was happening. Now, as they drove away from the house, possibly for the last time, the depth of the situation became apparent.

She wanted to call Marcus. Hearing his voice would be comforting, but he was at work.

“We're never coming back, are we?” Sam asked, the grief thick in his voice.

“I don’t know. Whatever is happening might be over in a couple of weeks. We don’t know what’s going on yet.”

“The day after tomorrow, my science class is going to meet early and try to see the comet. It’s so big and close that we’d be able to see it without a telescope, even in daylight,” Sam reminded his sister.

“I know. That’s all everyone is talking about. The Menesa Comet is passing closer to us than any other on record.”

After a few seconds, he said, “Maybe it’ll hit the Earth. Maybe that’s why we’re going to shelters.”

“Maybe. I don’t know,” Lucy answered, her voice weary.

“Are all my friends going to die?” Sam’s anxiety increased as he considered this possibility.

Lucy felt inadequate to answer her brother's questions. She was struggling with the same thoughts. With tears running down her face, she said, “I’m worried about that too, but try not to think about it until we learn what the problem is. This might not be as bad as we’re imagining. Let’s call Mom and Dad. I told them we’d call when we were in the car.”

Reaching for the console above the car’s radio, Sam scrolled through the menu until he found the address book and selected his mother’s phone number. The car had automatically connected to Lucy’s phone, and in a few seconds, the ringing sounded over the car speakers.

Answering on the first ring, Marie Wilson asked, “How are things going? Any problems?” Concern was evident in her voice.

Sam replied immediately. “Hi Mom. We’re in the car.”

Lucy gave her brother a look that he was familiar with, and he stopped to let her talk.

“No, Mom, no problems. We had plenty of time, so we had dinner at home. We don’t know when we’ll get food again. We got our bags packed.”

Their father’s voice came through. “Good job. You have plenty of time, so don’t rush.”

“We packed your duffle bags and have them with us,” Lucy informed her parents.

“You do? Okay.” Alex sounded a bit confused.

Catching that, Sam said, “You said that you would try to meet us. Right?”

There was a brief pause. “Sure, son. We hope to, but we don’t know if that will work out. But we promise to do our best.”

“Well, if you do, we have your stuff, so you won’t have to stop and get it.”

“Okay. Good thinking.”

Changing the subject, Lucy asked, “Do you guys have any idea what this emergency is?”

Marie replied, “Since we got off the phone with you earlier, we went to a lounge with a bunch of TVs and have been listening to news stations. We don’t hear anything that sounds concerning. The only unusual thing is the comet that everyone is looking forward to.”

“Sam wondered if maybe the comet was going to hit us. That’s the only idea we’ve come up with,” the teenager said.

“We don’t know. If so, someone is doing an amazing job of hiding it from everyone,” Alex answered.

“So, what’s the plan when you get off the ship? How and when will you get back to the US?” Lucy asked.

“We dock in St. Maarten the day after tomorrow. First thing in the morning. We’re leaving the ship and heading to the airport. I booked a flight leaving at 10:00 AM. It lands in Miami at 1:00 PM. We then leave Miami in the afternoon and will be back in Chicago at 7:00 in the evening. Then there’s a two-hour drive home. We can be back to our house in just about 48 hours from now,” their mother explained.

There was a long silence, and Marie anxiously asked, “Are you guys there? Did that make sense?”

“Yeah, we’re still here,” Lucy answered. “That just seems way too long. After that, you’ll still need to locate us.”

“We know guys, we know,” Alex acknowledged.

“Okay. Well, I can see the mall. I need to disconnect, but we’ll text you and let you know what’s going on and try to talk to someone about your delay,” Lucy informed them.

“Okay. Watch out for each other. We love you both and are very proud of you,” Marie said, her voice full of despair.

“Love you too,” the kids said together, and Sam disconnected.

Both remained silent as they circled the mall. Halfway around the complex, they spotted three large buses sitting together away from all the buildings.

“Lucy, can we just go home?” Sam asked with a slight tremble in his voice.

“No, but I want to too.”

As she drove, she let her mind drift to Marcus. When would she see him again? Was he safe? What would he think when she disappeared? She didn't know what this situation was and didn't want to go without him.

They approached a four-way stop and needed to turn right to go down a hill and enter the lot where the buses were parked. Lucy had her mind on many things, and one of them wasn’t the stop sign.

Without stopping, she turned to the right. At the same time, a van approached from her left. That van was planning to go straight through the intersection, which it did … without stopping.