Nova, Part Eight
by ted2112, HSM team writer
Sam awoke in the Spot. The small concrete room was dark and quiet. The rest of the Misfits lay sleeping. Even Seiphie had succumbed sleeping soundly with her head propped up on the couch. These were his friends. The only people who ever believed in him, and they were scared and looking for answers. What was he going to tell them, that worlds blew up sometimes and that this was all perfectly normal? That soon they’d all be part of some tree?
No. He wouldn’t allow that to happen. Sam saw a glimpse of the world as it really was, and he knew that this comet wasn’t Frehley’s comet at all. No, this was Nova’s comet, and that they were connected somehow. If Sam had the power to warn Nova, and in turn she had warned him, then there was no telling what they were capable of. Sam had the power, he was sure of it, and he was going to save his friends.
Tac was the first to wake up. He sat up, ran his hand through his matted long hair, and sleepily looking around. He looked confused for a moment, but then realizing where and why he was there.
“Sam,” barked Tac with a hoarse voice. “You’re awake.” Tac got up and moved over to Sam on the couch, knocking over several plastic cups on the floor in the process. “Did you see her?” The words reverberated in the quiet room waking up Seiphie and Pence.
“Sam, old buddy,” said Pence as he sat up knocking over even more plastic cups.
“What did you guys do when I was asleep, have a party?” asked Sam looking around.
“Well this crappy beer isn’t going to drink itself Sam, and you know, how long do we got?”
Sam got the image of the rest of the Misfits drinking around his sleeping body.
“Was I here the whole time?” wondered Sam, as he got up and poured himself a beer, and tried to get his wits about him. The rest of the Misfits held out their cup, and he poured a round.
“The end is near,” he rased his cup and toasted, but the words fell hollow somehow.
“Is it Sam,” interjected Seiphie. “Is the end near?”
“They evacuated the city three days ago, and they are calling for mass evacuations all along the coast, they’re afraid of some tidal wave if this thing hits in the ocean. It’s mandatory Sam; people can’t get out of here fast enough,” rambled Pence.
“We were watching it all on the news and the freeways were are all jammed up, this place is a ghost town now,” Tac informed him.
“How long have I been asleep?” Sam wondered aloud, having the feeling it wasn’t just a quick nap.
“Five days,” divulged Seiphie. “We’ve been hiding out down here.”
“Five days,” echoed Sam, letting the words seep in. Looking at the faces of his friends, they were tired and worried.
“We’re going to be okay,” Sam said simply. “I wish I could tell you some magic revelation, but I can tell you we are all going to be okay. The comet isn’t going to hit. I’m not sure how I know that, but I do.” Sam could see the relief in their faces.
“Did comet girl tell you that,” fretted Tac.
“No, a tree did, I think,” explained Sam.
“A tree?” Pence questioned dubiously.
“Yes, and you’re just going to have to trust me. The comet isn’t going to hit, I have a feeling it’s going to come really, really close, but were going to be okay. We don’t have to go anywhere, in fact I think I need to be by the water,” preached Sam with a finger in the air.
“We are all going to be alright.” Sam felt at one with his friends. He felt they would all be okay, but wondered when the comet came, if they would all be together again.
“So, you say the city deserted huh,” chuckled Sam, almost trying to change the subject.
∞
It started innocently enough; they just wanted to see the abandoned city. Central City was always so full of people, and now it was just so empty. There weren’t any signs of panic or looting, it was simply the same city, minus the people. The sky trains weren’t running, several just hung on their tracks high above, like someone suddenly just turned off the power. The Misfits walked as a group through the Hub. Message boards still flashed the evacuation notice, and a calm recorded voice every few minutes gave instructions to take a change of clothes, a days worth of food, lock up your home and take mass transportation out of the city for 24 hours. It all sounded so reasonable and orderly.
“Man this isn’t what it looks like in the movies,” admitted Pence.
“Yeah, where’s the over turned cars and fires?” Tac seconded.
Isn’t there supposed to be aliens or something,” observed Seiphie. With that, the Misfits all looked at Sam.
“On her way?” joked Sam.
In the sky through the huge roof windows, the comet dominated the sky. It didn’t matter if it was day or night anymore; the comet was close enough to see clearly. Its ghostly light was strangely beautiful, and the Misfits realized they had stopped walking and were just staring up at it.
“They say it will be here tomorrow, most estimates say it will hit somewhere in the middle of the ocean,” informed Pence as he vaguely pointed a thumb over the city.
“It’s not going to hit Pence,” asserted Sam. “I’m telling you it’s not. I really understand if you guys want to get out and head inland.”
“No,” said Seiphie softly. “We voted and were staying with you Sam.”
“You voted? When?” Asked Sam.
“Yesterday,” she replied, “While you were sleeping.”
“Yeah, Sam, we’re not just going to leave you here,” said Tac as he slapped Sam on the back. “This little club of ours needs four people.”
Sam felt the weight of what the rest of the Misfits were saying. They choose to stay here with him, while everyone was evacuating, even before he woke up and told them everything was going to be alright. Sam strained his eyes looking up at the comet. Looking for Nova.
“Tomorrow huh?” Sam asked.
“Yeah,” agreed Tac.
“That’s a lot of time, concluded Sam, did I mention I’m starving?”
∞
The Misfits took their time and slowly walked among the empty streets and buildings from the Hub down to the Sports Walk, where it was only a few days ago they spray painted The End is Near on the wall of Home Field. All of the district’s shops and bars were deserted. Many of the doors were shut up, but a few weren’t, like they were just going to step out for a minute.
They passed the wall, and The End is Near still was clearly visible. Pence took a picture of it with the comet in the background, and then made the rest stand in front of it holding the camera out as far as he could to get them all and the comet in the shot. In spite of everything, they were together and having fun. After exploring the area, they followed the boardwalk down to one of the sports bars whose doors weren’t locked up and went inside. It was a place they had been to many times, but this visit was different; this time all the awkwardness they had in social places like this were gone. The bar was theirs. Seiphie put a few dollars into the juke box, while Tac rummaged around in the kitchen. Sam and Pence jumped behind the bar.
“How do you make a margarita,” Sam yelled to Tac, who was still in the kitchen.
“No idea,” he yelled back through the small window that the bar sent food out through. “Look for a green bottle or something.”
Pence accidentally dropped a bottle of some kind of liquor, smashing it on the floor. “Maybe we should just stick to beer,” he said after a moment and stepping around the mess. Tac emerged from the kitchen with a tray of chips and salsa.
“Just like mom used to make,” he said putting it on a table. Sam quickly poured two pitchers of beer and tried to scoop out some of the foam.
“Man, are we rookies,” Sam said, gathering up some glasses and brought them over to the table, joining Tac and Seiphie. Pence poured a round of beer.
“To the laughing prophets of doom,” toasted Tac holding up a glass. The Misfits clinked their glasses together.
“I tell ya,” mumbled Pence, as he took a swig of beer, “this city is going to hate us when they come back.”
“Why,” said Seiphie, “we were just reminding them that the end is near, you know, just a simple public service, and it turned out we were wrong.”
“That’s what we need to do!” Barked Tac, pointing a finger at the rest. “We’ll spray paint a big welcome back message, like ‘welcome back to Central City, the end isn’t as near as we thought.’”
“What time is the comet going to be here tomorrow?” Seiphie asked.
“’Bout noon,” answered Pence.
“So a little over fourteen hours,” Seiphie calculated.
“Better drink up,” said Tac raising his glass again. “The end is near.”
“The end is near,” laughed the rest of the Misfits, raising their glasses.
August 5th, 2012 by ted2112 | 2 comments
ted2112 is a writer and a Bass player that has been both inspired and takes to heart Kurt Vonnegut words...."we are here on planet Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different."
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Another great chapter! With 2 more parts to go, “the end is near!” Cant wait to hear how this awesome story plays out! Hope all the chapters can be linked up so anyone who missed out can read it all!
Good job again Ted, I can’t wait to see how this all ends. This is a very interesting concept and I think many are enjoying this.