Thick, sulfur laced smoke from the fireworks filled the air, but also the rich scent of roasting meat. Between the food shortages and rolling blackouts which could spoil all the food in a refrigerator in a day, I couldn’t remember the last time I had real BBQ. My mouth watered, and if I were on better terms with my neighbors I might have seen if they were willing to share.

Or not. I ducked as another loud bang went off not fifteen feet over my head, accompanied by loud drunken laughter.

I had to get out of here.

With one hand holding the gun steady within the front pocket of my hoodie, I broke into a jog.

My family’s small bungalow style house had originally belonged to my maternal grandfather. Luckily, we had managed to keep it through the generations because there was no way we would have been able to live three blocks from the beach on my dad’s paycheck alone.

I turned the corner at the end of the street and inhaled the sweet scent of the ocean. I wasn’t dressed to go out into the water, but I needed to hear the rushing waves and the endless churning of sea against rock. The tide was low, and big bull kelp that littered the beach added to the wild, salty smell.

I wasn’t the only one with that idea. Jogging across the street, I threaded through a line of creeping cars all hunting for open parking spots. My family lived a little north of Santa Cruz’s main boardwalk, close to the rocky coves.

Usually that meant fewer people on the beach. Right now, it was crowded as if it was the height of summer.

The wind carried shouts of high, manic laughter, overly loud and totally devoid of joy. People were trying too hard to forget that they were living life according to a countdown clock. We all were.

Several bonfires had been lit in the wide swath of sand between the street and the ocean. It used to be illegal to burn driftwood, but that was before the asteroid.

Groups clustered around, sharing beers, laughing, dancing, singing…families and young kids who were probably wondering why Mommy and Daddy were crying…

I turned and marched up the beach, away from the main drag. Just over a quarter of a mile straight north the highway turned away from the ocean, the land reverting into state park territory. Rocks littered the sand, and the shoreline became more craggy and less tourist friendly. There were small tide pools, but no one seemed to be interested in tide viewing.

Glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching, I ducked in among sharp jagged rocks dominating an area at the foot of a large cliff. Even during the off season, the beach was too popular to ever be considered “private” but I knew of a few spots where I’d likely be left alone.

Centuries of churning waves had carved out holes all through the cliff. Low tide exposed several shallow caves—basically a bare patch of sand surrounded on three sides with mussel and barnacle covered rocks.

It wasn’t pretty, and it didn’t smell great, but here no one could see me. Here, I could grieve.

I sat on a flattish rock and drew my legs up to my chest. Through the cave’s opening I watched the waves crash together over and over, just like they’d done for millions of years…just like they would continue after the last human being was gone from the earth.

Sometimes that thought comforted me. Today, I just felt empty.

Scientists and high level government officials around the world had been aware of the oncoming asteroid, named Betty 113, for around five years. They’d managed to keep it a secret until eighteen months ago when a bored Chinese programmer had hacked his way in a secure government database. The news spread far and wide.

Since that day, nothing had been the same.

Staring blankly at the ocean, I wondered what I would be doing right now if I didn’t know the asteroid was coming.

I’d be eating better, that’s for sure. Runs on every grocery store in the country had been epic, and the nation’s food supply chain hadn’t recovered. Luckily, my dad had a line to military-grade supplies. I'd become a connoisseur of freeze-dried food rations.

I’d probably be studying for my SATs or bugging Dad for a car. As of now, I didn’t know how to drive. Dad had been too busy to teach me, and with society breaking down bit-by-bit, driving instructors weren’t in high demand.

Maybe, if this hadn’t happened, I’d have a part-time job. I still could go out and get one, but what was the point?

My thoughts were entering into a dangerous, downward spiral, but I couldn’t bring myself out of it. I told myself that I hadn’t ben counting on the lottery to save me, but deep in my heart… I had.

Now that hope was squashed, I had just under a year to watch Betty’s approach. Then, if NASA's last stand failed, I'd get to look forward to a big fiery ball of doom.

The sound of the waves ebbed low for a second as the water was sucked back into the sea. In that moment as the ocean gathered itself to surge back, I heard a slight scrape of a shoe on sandy stone.

My breath caught.

Suddenly, I was aware in a way I hadn’t been before that I was completely alone and out-of-sight. Trapped within in a shelter of sharp rocks. My dad and brother had no idea where I was, and no one would be able to hear me if I screamed.

Adrenaline sang in my veins, vaporizing the depression which had been trying to sink its claws in.

To hell with Asteroid Betty. I wanted to live.

I grabbed for the gun and fumbled it, cursing myself. But I managed to bring it up just in time for the stranger to round the corner.

Seeing the gun, he froze, stormy gray eyes wide in shock.

“Go away,” I said.

He was a teenager my age, seventeen or so. The first thing I noticed about him—the first thing most people probably noticed about him—was red hair so dark it looked burnished brown in the shadows. Taller than me, well built with the rough-and-ready look like he spent a lot of time outside. The brown spray of freckles across his nose and cheekbones added to the effect.

“I…hi. I didn’t mean to startle you.” His gaze flicked around, taking in the small, isolated cave. “Are you alone?”

I stiffened.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “That…that came out wrong. I only meant that I’ve never seen anyone else here before.”

It hadn't visited this spot in almost a year. “Yeah, well, I wanted to be alone.”

His mouth pulled to one side, the expression too sad to be a smile. “Got your hopes up for the lottery?”

I hesitated. “It doesn’t matter.” Which felt just the same as saying yes.

“I guess not,” he agreed, hands lowering. He probably decided I wasn't going to shoot him within the next few seconds. “It was all just for a show, you know, right? No one was really picked.”

“That’s what my brother says.”

“Who’s your brother?” the boy asked.

Again, I hesitated, years of stranger-danger warnings echoing in my head. But I was seventeen-years-old, and I could take care of myself. “Asher Butler.”

His eyes lit. “I know Asher. We have calculus together—Mrs. Donnovan’s class. I’m Shane, by the way.”

“Astrid.”

“Hi, Astrid.” Shane tried to smile again, but it came out as a grimace. “So are you going to shoot me?”

Guiltily, I glanced down. The hand holding the gun visibly trembled from a cocktail of stress and fear. The safety was still on, too. Not that he could see it.

“I…”

I couldn’t figure out what to say. I didn’t want to shoot him or anyone, but if I put the gun away and he tried something…I would be helpless.

Shane’s voice took on that special kind of calm that people got when they were trying to gentle a startled animal. “I don’t blame you for being scared. People are going insane right now, but I really don’t want to die before Big Betty takes me out.”

That made two of us, and I wasn’t sure I could even shoot the gun even if I wanted to.

The words locked up in my throat, unsaid. Here, in this isolated place, it felt like a bad idea to expose any weakness.

I managed to rasp, “Then you should leave.”

“Well, that’s just the thing.” Shane took a cautious step forward. “I’m not sure this is a good time for anyone to be alone right now. So how about this—we trade.”

“Trade what?”

“You put away the gun…” he swung his backpack around and reached into a side pocket. I stiffened, but short of pulling the trigger there was no way to stop him. Then he withdrew a can. My eyes snapped to the picture, and suddenly it had my complete attention. “And we can share this together,” he finished.

My jaw dropped. “Where did you get peaches?”

“Been saving it for a special occasion.” He wagged the can back and forth, temptingly. My eyes followed the can, not the boy. Proof enough my heart wasn’t in shooting him. “So, do we have a deal?”

Two years ago this would have been a ridiculous offer. Barely anyone had known the end of the world was coming, and there was more food—at least in my country—than people could possibly eat.

After the news broke, well…luxuries like canned sugary fruit fell by the wayside in favor of calorie packed, longer lasting products that could be stored for years.

Peaches were like candy. If candy was still being made.

Plus, Shane's offer gave me a way to save face.

“All right.” Carefully, watching him for anything weird, I slipped my finger off the trigger and stuffed the handgun back in the large front pocket of my hoodie. The gun fanatics back at the range would probably be having a heart attack, but whatever. It wasn't like I had a holster.

Shane's smile broadened—a real smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. He stepped forward to join me.

There was barely enough room on the flat stone for two people, but we managed to do it without brushing our legs. I found myself hyper-aware of the warmth of his skin, close enough to touch, but not quite.

Shane popped the lid off the can and offered a plastic fork. “Lady’s first.”

“You sure?” When he nodded, I speared the first half-peach and drew it out, dripping.

Like most of the country, I’d been living off of starchy rations. Noodles, prison grade blocks of cheese, corn, and potatoes with occasional fresh vegetables mixed in depending on whatever locals could grow and were willing to trade. We were lucky enough to live in a temperate area where we had plenty of choices.

The peach was like a sugar bomb on my tongue. I never remembered tasting anything like this before. Even the drippings of syrup were shockingly sweet.

I made an embarrassing noise as I chewed returned the spork.

He laughed, chewing his own bite with relish. “I’m so glad I saved this can. You have no idea the lengths I went to hide it from my sister.”

I smiled. “Let me guess. Your underwear drawer?” Not that I really cared. The can was sealed.

“Naw.” He shook his head. “That would have been the first place she looked. I hid it in the attic, next to her baby pictures.”

My reply was cut short by the sputter of a motorboat, too loud and too close. I turned in time to see a speedboat rocket by, so close to the beach it was practically in the surf. Worse, it was loaded down with people, some hanging right on the edge.

“Those idiots are going to hit a rock,” Shane said, half-rising in indignation. “Or a surfer.”

I was less worried about the surfers. Asher, at least, knew how to watch out for idiots. We’d both had to dive under more than once to avoid jet-skies.

Shane strode past me to peer out the mouth of the cave. I wasn’t sure what he planned to do if the worst happened—the water was too cold to go out without a wetsuit on.

Luckily, someone on the boat must have regained sense because it turned back out to the ocean.

Shaking his head, Shane returned to our rock. Silently, I held out the can to him. I’d eaten two peach halves, but it was his food. He should have most of it.

“People are going to be acting stupider the closer the asteroid comes,” I said. “Or crueler. My dad’s in the Coast Guard and he’s already been recalled—”

I stopped. What was I doing? I didn’t know Shane at all, and now here I was practically admitting that my house was unguarded.

That was another thing which had changed in society within the last couple of years. Everyone was pulling back from one another. It was as if we all realized that there wasn’t going to be such things as friends and allies while we were all starving.

Shane didn’t quite look me in the eyes—I guessed he caught my slip-up, and didn’t want to bring attention to it.

“It’s okay. I get it, and I agree.” He let out a sound that was half a laugh, half an annoyed sigh. “School’s going to be pretty interesting tomorrow.”

I blinked, staring at him. “You’re still going to school?”

“Sure, aren’t you?”

Actually, I’d half-convinced myself that I would be finishing out my high school diploma while in a SAFEsite. God, I was stupid.

“I don’t know,” I said slowly, thinking through the words. “Is there a point anymore? It’s not like I'm going to college.”

“It’s not about college.” Shane set the can of peaches down, twisting it in the soft sand so it didn’t fall over. When he turned to me, the color of his eyes matched the churning ocean. A perfect blue-gray of the winter sea.

“It’s about keeping your life normal for as long as possible,” he continued. “It’s about—look, things are going to be bad after Big Betty hits. I don’t know if I’m going to experience decades of bad, or seconds of it. But I want my life to be as normal as possible because I know that if I don’t keep busy…I’ll go insane. Plus,” he added, perking up, “they’ll be changing the curriculum around to include survival tactics and stuff.”

I wasn’t sure I agreed with him, but I felt drawn in by his enthusiasm. “I haven’t heard that.”

He nodded, absently flicking a piece of hair from his eyes. “Principal Carter had a meeting with my aunt last week. She’s a vet at the Monterey Aquarium, but she’s going to be doing a lecture at all the schools in the district about how to harvest edible plants and fish from the ocean.”

With a sick feeling in my stomach, I realized I hadn’t truly sat down and considered any of that before. Now I was for sure not going to be in a SAFEsite, I was going to have to figure out how I was going to eat after Betty hit.

Assuming, of course, I survived the impact.

It was all so large and…frightening. Food had always just been there, in stores for the buying. Even with the shortages. I didn’t know where to begin.

Maybe school wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“I guess.” I crinkled up my nose. “But ugh, I was looking forward to not getting up early anymore.”

It was a stupid joke, but he smiled anyway. “Then just make sure the rest of your day is worth it.”

"I like that," I said softly. Optimism was hard to find these days. It was nice to find a bit of silver lining to go with all the clouds.

He gazed at me and I returned the look. We were smiling, this strange boy and I.

At that moment I felt...not exactly hopeful, but better than I had all day, even before the lottery aired.

The sun was going down, though, and I really didn’t want to get caught out at night with how crazy people were acting.

I was struck by a little inspiration. I tilted my head, considering him. “Do you have the first or second lunch period?”

Our school had a small cafeteria and so the student population was split in between two lunches.

“First,” he said.

“Me too.” I stood. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then? At lunch?”

It took him a second to get that I was asking him out on a kinda-sorta date. He beamed. “Yeah! I’ll see you.” In a burst of inspiration, he grabbed up the can of peaches. “Want the rest?”

I grinned back and wiggled my fingers in a wave. “No, it’s yours. See you around, Shane.”