James couldn't imagine how the day could possibly get any worse. This shouldn't come as a surprise, as teenagers felt this way on most days. But to give James a little credit, things were legitimately a mess this time.
Immediately after the power went out, his mother had gotten an automated text message saying she needed to come in to work. Then the entire phone network went dead, so she couldn't call to verify that she actually needed to help. As the manager in charge of the facility, she had put herself on the automated call list for all emergencies rather than just the ones where she would be useful. She got paged no matter what, and then she would call to find out what was going on. James thought that plan was stupid, but his mom said that having ideas like that were why they had put her in charge.
Before going to work, she had helped him set up the generator for the house. Her job meant that they had better emergency preparedness than most people; whenever the rest of the city was in crisis, Dana Nelson needed to be up and running. She was, in fact, the chief engineer for Cedartop Public Utilities. When Dana Nelson finished her job, 9 times out of 10 that would end the emergency for everyone else. It also meant that when the power went out, James could still play Call of Duty or Battlefield or something. This time, though, things didn't work out.
No, the generator didn't start, but that was just the beginning. After 10 minutes of trying, it didn't just fail to start, it blew up. There was a dull thud somewhere inside the thing, the gas tank swelled up a bit, something went "pop", and it started spraying gasoline out a small tube all over the back porch. Dana ordered James to get back as she hauled the generator further away from the house, with it continuing to pee out danger-juice the whole way. It just kept dumping fuel, spraying it out with considerable force, which Dana said meant there must be something in the fuel tank that was steadily increasing the pressure in there.
The two of them stood a ways back, watching the absurd little spectacle play out, while casting nervous glances at each other. Of all the possible ways you could constantly increase the pressure in a tank of gasoline, only one option seemed likely, and it was the worst possible one.
Once the tank had mostly emptied, the tube sputtered and coughed a few times, and then a small flame spat out, igniting the fuel that now covered the whole yard. The resulting backyard hellscape was the kind of scene James would love to have shared with his friends on YouTube if someone else had recorded it. But he absolutely did not want to be there with it when it happened. The entire yard went "whooomp", and then there was only fire.
Everywhere and everything was all fire.
Gasoline, it turns out, burns quickly. Spread out like this, it burns hot and bright like your own personal backyard sun, but it also burns fast. Within just a few minutes it had all burned up, after which the only fires left were the special ones you get to take home. The fence, the shed, the porch, and the house were all quickly extinguished. But the tree -- the tree was a ninety-foot-tall bonfire. Dana really, really had to go to work. But her back yard was, for the first time ever, currently the hottest spot in the neighborhood. She paced and she agonized about it, but honestly what can you do?
Ultimately, she managed to deputize her neighbor to supervise the incineration of her favorite spruce tree. "Just watch and make sure nothing else catches fire, OK?" And then she got into the car to go to work.
James stood at the doorway watching his mother attempt to start the car. It cranked over a couple of times without starting. Dana's eyes went wide with the sudden realization of something she probably should have considered before attempting to start a second gasoline engine that afternoon. She quickly put the car into neutral and let it roll backwards most of the way down the driveway. There was a "thump" from the fuel tank, and Dana scrambled out as quickly as she could. Just like with the generator, fuel started spraying out of the fuel tank; not from any sort of tube this time, but from a newly-formed crack in the metal.
Dana hurried away back up to the house, and watched the car continue to empty itself. The slope of the driveway meant that the fuel was quickly carried away from the house into the street. Though it hadn't caught fire so far, at this point the vehicle was effectively useless. Dana was clearly furious. With her hands on her hips, she started shouting at the car what she thought about its antics. James had never in his life heard his mom swear that much. She was creative; he took notes.
Shaking her head at the ground Dana started walking back inside. With a "fwoomp" the road went up in flames. Without even turning back to look, Dana gave the road the finger and just kept walking. She filled James in on her new plans: work apparently wasn't going to happen without transportation, and her colleagues would get to supervise themselves tonight.
James sat on the couch and didn't play video games. Not because he didn't want to, but because the world was being stupid.
Ten minutes later, everything went "bang."
James heard the boom and had just enough time to drag himself to a window to see what happened before the shockwave hit the house.
This, right here, was the moment James decided that things could not possibly get any worse. And he wasn't just being dramatic about it. He was on the ground, flat on his back, and the entire front half of his body was peppered with shards of broken glass. He didn't want to move; he just waited there for someone to come find him. Nobody came. The minutes ticked by. He was bleeding from so many tiny places that he didn't want to be the one to figure it out. He didn't want to move. And still, nobody came.
After two or three eternities had passed, James finally got up. He wandered around looking for his mom, but she wasn't in the house. He checked the garage, the porch, the yard, the street, but she was nowhere to be seen. The backyard had been demolished; half of it was knocked over. The tree still burned like a torch, but it was no longer the most important problem in their life. He wandered around, confused and frightened, until he heard his mother's voice from under the collapsed shed.
His hands didn't work the way he wanted them to. They shook and trembled as he shifted the debris. Little by little he cleared out enough that she could start to wiggle herself out. She wasn't moving very fast. He kept lifting boards and planks and shingles off her as she tried to clear a path from below. A few minutes later, she was out entirely, but she didn't stand up. She couldn't walk, she couldn't even stand. She said she would be fine in a while, with help and rest, and James tried to make himself believe it. He helped her into the house and onto the couch; it took almost half an hour, just that one activity. He tried to help her with other things, bandages and such. When he was doing something, he could avoid thinking about what was happening. He picked up a towel and it fell from his hands, leaving James confused. His fingers didn't work right. It was frightening, and he didn't want to think about what it meant. There was so little he could do, but his mother suggested that he try to find them some help.
James went back to the front of the house, where the street fire had long since gone out. He saw movement over on the main road, and he focused his attention on the odd sight. There were three people on horseback, flying down the road like they were on their way to rescue someone important. Being rescued by someone like that, that would be amazing. He wondered who was important enough to have their own horseback rescue squad. Idle thoughts, but there was nobody else around, nobody else to help him, nobody else to hope for.
One of the horses looked familiar. He had only caught a glimpse, and there was only one horse in the world that James really ever knew, so he probably was just jumping to conclusions. But the horse he saw really did look like... what was his name? James was apparently having trouble with his memory now, just like his hands. His hands, he used his left hand to stop his right hand from shaking. They felt cold. He didn't want to think about it, so he tried again to place the horse from his memory. What was his name?
Apollo. Samantha had named her horse Apollo. She said something about him being fast and strong. Something like that. Sadly, it couldn't have been her, since Samantha had moved away years ago, but James wanted it to be true. It certainly felt real enough: riding out to rescue someone was exactly the kind of thing Samantha would do. The thought made him smile for a second, and he wished she really had been there. Whoever it was, though, they were long gone.
James went back to check on his mom. She had moved to the other side of the couch somehow. She asked him to grab a few things for her: water, bandages, a blanket, and towels. He waited with her and fetched little items, checking to see that she was doing OK. She was stable, she said, but needed medical attention as soon as possible. The best thing for James to do would be to find help, if he could.
He had seen only one source of possible help. He didn't know if they were coming back, but he did know which direction they had gone. Maybe he could catch up with them. He told his mom what his plan was, and started walking.
Ten minutes of walking later, he noticed three horses approaching him at a walk. The riders were talking to each other in a relaxed tone; not exactly cheerful, but not urgent either. Apparently they had solved whatever problem they had rushed away to address. In comparison to when he saw them before, this looked very much like a calm ride home from some great quest. It looked like they had even picked up a passenger. James hoped that they would be willing to at least stop and listen to his plight. He couldn't think of any other options.
He tried to make out the riders as they got closer. He was surprised at how much the second horse looked like the one he knew. Did a lot of horses look like that? Of all the horses out there, how many were black with a white mane? Even the saddle looked familiar. And the rider--
James couldn't believe his eyes. He had been sure that she didn't live here anymore, but that definitely was her. Even this far away there was no mistaking it. He waved his hands until he got their attention. Samantha and her passenger broke from the group and galloped toward him.
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"James? James, why are you-- Oh my god James you're bleeding!"
She vaulted off her horse the way he'd seen her do when she was in a hurry or just showing off, it was like she'd been ejected from a spring-loaded saddle. She landed at a run and immediately started looking over his injuries. He had hardly even thought about his own bleeding arms and chest and face once he discovered how much worse his mother's injuries were, but dozens of small cuts can look pretty gruesome if never treated, and the ten minutes of walking and crying probably didn't help.
James felt suddenly overwhelmed. Whatever Samantha was saying just washed over him like waves of words. She had his arm in her hands, looking over him carefully. Her face looked frightened and worried. He was taller than her now; the detail can't have been important, but the physicality of the situation felt unreal, like a dream. She seemed to be asking him something, but he couldn't hear it. Whatever it was, it didn't matter: his little injuries weren't the real problem, he needed to get her back to his mother. He had never been as terrified in his life as he had been for the last half hour, and he had been trying to hold it all back. It wasn't just his hands anymore; his whole body was shaking now. Everything had just been so hopeless, everything was so impossible, it was all up to him and James didn't even know where to start. But now, for the first time, it was starting to look like maybe somebody could actually help him.
"James, why are you here alone? Where's Dana?"
At that, James collapsed right there in the street and sobbed.
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Samantha called out as the other two riders approached:
"Hey David, can Evelyn ride with you? I'm going to hold James on the way to his house."
"You want Ev to have a look at him? He looks pretty cut up."
"Eventually, yeah, but it sounds like he would prefer that we just hurry."
They switched around and got all five of them riding. When they approached the house that Samantha remembered visiting every afternoon for years, the scene that greeted them was unimaginable. The blast devastation was similar to the rest of the city, but the part that got her attention was the huge flaming tree in the backyard of Dana's house. Nothing else was burning in the whole area, just that one tree. Samantha couldn't come up with a single reason, not even one justification for why that one single tree would be on fire right now. It practically demanded explanation.
"What the hell happened?" she asked.
"There was a fire," said James.
"I mean, there still is, right?"
"Yeah."
Samantha paused for a moment; talking to James always required you to recalibrate your expectations. He was plenty smart, but communication wasn't ever one of the kid's top priorities. So she tried again, a bit more clear this time:
"So, what exactly happened with the tree?" she asked.
"It caught fire."
"Ah. Right. Any particular reason?"
"Well, probably because of how hot it was."
"Yeah." She gave up, "That would do it."
Once inside, Samantha handled the introductions. "Everyone, this is Dana; I used to help out with James after school while she was at work. Dana, you know Evelyn. And this is Gary her father, and David her... um... friend, I guess? Gary's friend? Evelyn's babysitter? I don't know."
"I still am her babysitt-- uumpf."
Evelyn smiled sweetly; pay no attention to the friendly elbow buried in her friend's stomach.
The atmosphere was cheerful, but it felt forced. It was as though the quiet laughter was an effort to summon happiness to a room where it was desperately needed. Clearly something was seriously wrong with Dana but nobody wanted to say anything. Samantha decided to move things along.
"OK Ev, work your magic."
Dana clearly had no idea what was going on, but presumably that wouldn't be a problem. Evelyn just knelt down next to her and took her hand. After half a minute in complete silence, Evelyn spoke quietly.
"So, Mrs. Nelson, can you tell me what happened?" Perhaps she needed some sort of clarification, or perhaps she just wanted to get someone talking. But the low conversation was much better than the concerned silence.
"Oh, please just call me Dana. I was out back when the explosion came, and it knocked that stupid shed down on top of me. I think that it might have-- oh, ow! Oh, what was that?"
"Oh, sorry about that," said Evelyn, "I think I might be able to block the pain but I'm worried about using up too much mana. I'm reconnecting some bundles of nerves, so you'll probably feel a sort of zinging sensation in your legs."
"Mana?" That got James's attention.
"That's what we've decided to call it," Samantha chipped in. "David hates the name."
"It's just that," David started, "ugh, nevermind."
"Mana, like magic?" James clarified.
"Yup!" Samantha gave him a wink.
"Another backpack, please," Evelyn interrupted, holding out the one she was wearing. "Just open it up and set it next to me."
David set backpack number two down next to where Evelyn was kneeling, and she stuffed her free hand down into where the pilfered jewelry was kept.
After another quiet minute, Samantha set her backpack down next to the others and tapped David on the arm.
"We should tend the horses. They at least need water. Plus there's that damn flaming tree. Apollo's bright enough to know he can ignore it, but I don't think Peanuts and Chocolate have his discipline."
"If you need water from the faucet, get it now," said Dana, "It probably won't last more than another hour or two. There are buckets in the garage."
"Come with us, James," Samantha said, "You can show us where the buckets are."
Evelyn continued her work for another half-hour, using up the mana from the gems in all four backpacks, and then cycling through them all again a second time. Samantha came back inside with James, while David stayed out with the horses.
Upon seeing James, Evelyn waved him over, and took his hand. After a few seconds, James's eyes went wide.
"There you go!" she said with a cheerful smile. "I don't have enough mana to patch you up entirely yet, but it shouldn't sting so much anymore now."
"How did you do that?"
"Magic!" she said. "At least, we might as well call it magic. I don't know if there's a different word for it when it's real."
Evelyn then addressed Dana and the room in general:
"OK, I've gotten the nerves entirely reattached, so your legs will work again now. I think that was the most critical part. I've also checked to make sure there is no internal bleeding or other immediate emergencies. But this was my first time doing a lot of this stuff, and I'll probably need to redo some parts to fix any mistakes, just like I did with my own leg."
Dana's face was a mess of different emotions; gratitude, shock, confusion, surprise, and a dozen other things all thrown together. She looked like she wanted to say something, but Evelyn wasn't done.
"You've still got a few nasty breaks on your hip and two more on your legs. I don't have the mana to do anything about those right now, and these gems will take a while to recharge. So I'll stay here with you tonight to manage pain and keep healing."
"It's probably not a good idea to stay here tonight," said David, who had just walked in during Evelyn's speech. "The windows are all blown to pieces, the house doesn't have any heating, there are fires throughout the city, and someone would definitely steal the horses. We should go back to the cabin."
Evelyn paused with her mouth open, trying to figure out how to respond to that. But Dana saved her: "I would prefer that James and I sleep somewhere other than here tonight. If you have an alternative then I would be very grateful."
That only left the subject of how to transport everyone. The sun had already started to dip below the horizon, so they wanted to make it all in one trip. And there was also the matter of pain management for Dana; she still had multiple broken bones, so riding horseback was not going to be a happy experience.
After musing about options for a few minutes, Samantha suddenly grinned. "Are you still into crystals, Dana?" she asked.
Evelyn's eyes lit up. "Are you serious?"
It was almost better than the entire jewelry store, and the whole collection cost less than the smallest diamond that they had "borrowed." It turned out that certain cheap crystals were just as good as expensive gemstones if you knew what you were looking for.
In no time they were loaded up. Samantha insisted that she, Dana, and Evelyn all ride together on her horse. That way Dana could ride side-saddle and Samantha would keep her from falling, while Evelyn could use her magic to keep Dana comfortable and uninjured.
Gary rode with James up in front to look out for obstacles, with Apollo The Ambulance in the middle, and David, laden with all the packs, stayed in the rear to offer assistance and guard against surprises.
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The sun had set and the sky was beginning to darken when they arrived at the bend in the road overlooking the river valley, the same spot where the three original riders had caught their first glimpse of the city in flames. It was there that they had watched the blast from the chemical plant demolish a huge swath of Cedartop and turn this disaster into a crisis. The riders all stopped here, for a moment, just to watch the scene below and take in the day that has undone their whole world.
Below them the city continued to burn, now possibly worse than ever. Black and gray smoke billowed from hundreds of individual points throughout the city. There were fewer fires now than the first time they had seen it, but those that still burned now raged. The only sources of light within the town were the fires themselves: flickering, dancing conflagrations that both caused and illuminated the destruction.
In the distance, all of the other cities in view had suffered a similar fate, glowing with the flames of their own demise. One notable location to the far south and west had been host to a level of devastation that these six refugees could scarcely comprehend. It blazed with towering flames, even still, as if the entire land were a single, massive pyre.
"This is bigger than I thought," said Dana. Her tone was hushed, pensive, perhaps a bit mournful.
"I believe that this is bigger even than what we see," responded Gary. His typically detached and analytical air was gone, as though he'd been working on a problem for a long time and had simply given up. "I think I understand now where the fires came from. If I'm right, then every modern city in the world is fighting this same battle. Just like we see here, some better and some worse. But for the life of me I can't think of any solution other than to just wait for it all to burn itself out."
It was quiet watching from here; just the breeze whistling through the pine trees and the calls of small creatures. The last vestiges of daylight cast the ubiquitous billowing smoke in the blues and purples of evening, as though they were merely clouds to be seen against the starlight. And in the lowlands and along the river, the fog that was typical here of autumn began to rise and dimly shine with the reflected light of the stars.
This strange juxtaposition of tranquility and destruction seemed to speak to something, seemed to typify and shadow the gradual shift from one world to the next. The tranquility of the evening mist would not overcome the raging flames of the cities tonight, nor perhaps even tomorrow. But no fire can burn forever, and in the end all will eventually become still.
This same interplay, this same push and pull had played out thousands of times or more in human history as a new dawn brought a new age, smothering the dying embers of the old with a fresh canvas on which to paint the new. But this time was different, this time for real. This time as the sun set, the lights that lit the world were no longer man-made. Amid the stars there were no satellites, in the skies no planes, nor ships in the sea, no cars nor street lamps nor porch lamps nor traffic lights. In the night the world glowed with only the lights of its own, and no more.
The artifice of man had ended. But it did not go peacefully. The slate upon which the new world would be built, the quiet promised by this new reality would come eventually. It just would not come tonight.
"When is the power supposed to come back on?" James finally broke the silence and asked, his voice uncertain, the world too broken.
"Never," said Gary.
"Never? Like, not ever?"
"Not likely, no."
"But," James sputtered, "What are we... How are... How can we..." The question was just too big to be spoken.
"Apparently the world really did end," David mused with dour severity, "Just like everyone said it would. Who would have guessed." He sighed before continuing, "Welcome to the first day of the new world."
"I give it a solid four out of ten," laughed Samantha, "Love the magic, too much fire."
Turning their backs now to the spectacle of distant flames, the six rode away into the dark.