Chapter 1
Axel’s P.O.V
It is Evato news: “We have indicated that the radio frequencies are slowly cutting out as it gets closer and closer towards the end; scientists and NASA officials say the world might end before ‘The Dome’ is even ready.” It was cut to an official of NASA, his name in white letters on a blue border underneath his live feed; they read Jim Bridenstine.
“You are correct; as you just heard, we only have one hundred and...” The cable was cut out, and the screen turned to white noise.
Outside, the sound of beeping cars mixed with screams and the smashing of glass from shops and houses escalated the hysteria.
I looked out the window as I witnessed people setting things on fire in the wet, damp, autumn streets.
Cars were stuck in traffic jams, with drivers screaming at each other for not moving fast enough or cutting each other off.
I closed the white blinds of my small one-bedroom apartment in New York; the lights began to flicker on and off over my head.
It was 6:45, and chaos was unfolding outside. There will be nothing left here soon, even if we were to survive.
The television feed cut back in again. The screen flashed with messages: “This is serious,” then “Not a joke,” and finally, “Save yourself.” It went back to white noise afterward. I got up and turned it off. Having it on was pointless if you couldn’t understand the full message.
I sat at my white-wooded table and placed a rolled cigarette in between my lips, picking up the lighter that was placed on the windowsill.
Usually, I’d open the window since this is a smoke-free apartment, but. “Hell with it, the world is ending, right?”
Twenty-three, and I’m living in my last hours. I clicked the lighter, watching the flame light at the end of the cigarette, taking a great long inhale and exhale.
I heard a phone ringing and realized it was coming from my leather jacket, and it was, in fact, my phone.
I took another puff and got up. I wondered how my phone was ringing when we could barely get a signal.
I held my smoke in between my lips as I dug out my cell phone and hit the answer, transferring the cigarette back to my hand.
I answered, “Yeah?” It was my sister.
“Where are you?” Before answering, I walked back to where I had been sitting and peered out the window again, looking downward as I saw my sister with Demitri, her husband.
I could see her with her head of large curls as she pulled off a motorcycle helmet, placed it under her arm, and waved with her unoccupied hand for me to join her. I sighed, butte out the cigarette in the ashtray, and put on my jacket, putting the pack of cigarettes, my lighter, and my phone in its deep pockets.
I left without bothering to lock the door and ran down the stairs since the lights were still flickering.
I put a hand through my hair away from my eyes, walking out into the cool air as cars sat at a standstill.
I eyed the man as I passed the front of his car and onto the next sidewalk. “Watch where you’re going. What if I moved and hit you?”
I paused and looked from him to the car loaded street, which had no way of going anywhere anytime soon.
“That happening is very unlikely, and aren’t you driving a 1987 Beetle? I don’t think you’d do much damage.” I heard Stefanie snickering behind me.
“What did you just say, punk?” The oversized, pudgy man attempted to get out of his vehicle, and as I waited, I crossed my arms, watching him struggle.
“Sir, get back in your car,” Demitri warned.
“No, I don’t think I will. Now you listen here.” He was finally standing away from his car as the traffic moved a foot. He didn’t notice the van behind his car veered forward, and the beetle, or what was left of it, looked like a crushed tin can that had been pushed up behind the next car that was in front of it.
He turned to face his poor, destroyed car as his largely moustached face blubbered like a fish.
“M-M-My car!” He looked at the van behind him, where there were two kids and, I’m guessing, a mother who takes zero bullshit, and all I could do was nod in agreement.
“Why did you do that?” The man yelled at the woman. The woman rolled down the window just enough to hear her.
“I should have stayed in your goddamn car.” She argued that her two kids, maybe about seven and four, were sitting in their car seats, eating cookies, and watching their mother scream at this man who looked like a floating device.
I looked at Demitri and Stefanie, nodded farther down the sidewalk, and turned a corner to an ally.
I took the pack of cigarettes from my pocket and threw them each one, then took one myself and lit mine, then passed it to the others. “So I know you didn’t ask me to come out here just to argue with people and smoke all my cigarettes.”
I eyed my sister, who had her arms crossed and shivered as she puffed onto her cigarette and made eye contact with Demitri, then sighed and looked back at me.
“Okay, fine, we are going to The Dome.” Stefanie finally came out with it.
“You’re kidding.” I stared at Demitri as I took a long puff of smoke.
“No, man, she’s serious, and she made that clear too, or I wouldn’t be here.” He nodded sheepishly.
“So what? Is this goodbye? I don’t understand what you’re getting at.” I replied by gesturing for her to continue.
“I want you to come with us, Axe.” Stefanie says, placing her hand on my forearm.
I moved my arm away from her. “You can’t be serious, Stef; I thought you didn’t believe in all this with the world ending and what not.”
“Axel, look around you. Our cellphones are barely working, our television stopped working, we are standing in the dark, the street lights are out, and you can’t truly think that it’s not ending at this point.” She threw her hands in the air angrily, trying to prove a point.
“It’s just a bad solar flare. It’s like when they said the world was going to end, or when that asteroid was supposed to hit in 2021, its 2030, why would it end now?” At that moment, as if by a bad omen, if I were superstitious, which I’m not, I’d say that would be a bad sign, the sky became immensely darker, forcing us to look up.
The sun was directly in front of the once dimly lit moon. “Axel, please, I’m scared.”
I looked at her. All I could see was the reflection of the red lights from the cars in her watery eyes. I sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll come with you.”
She sniffled and hugged me. I stood rigid. Hugging isn’t my thing. She let go and wiped her tear-scattering mascara off her face.
“How are we going to get there? The world is going to end before any of these cars move.” I questioned myself as I stomped out my cigarette.
“The motorcycles. We can take those a lot faster than the cars.” She says this, thinking out loud.
“How do you figure that the streets are at a standstill? Did you not hear me the first time?” I was getting irritable, not because I think my sister wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but also because I don’t even want to go.
“On the sidewalks, barely anyone is out, and the ones who have already given up, we just have to drive to the first car in the line.” She explains as her cigarette burns down to her fingers. She hisses and throws it to the ground.
“Are you agreeing with her plan?” I eyed my brother-in-law who had already put his own out moments ago.
He looks back at his wife. “Whatever to get this over with, man.”
I couldn’t agree with him more. “Okay, now that we have a plan, where are we going to get more than one motorcycle?”
Demitri patted me on the shoulder and nodded his way to the opening of the alley. “Ever hot-wired something before?”
“I’m the one who taught you how to hot-wire anything; yeah, okay, let’s go.” We ran through the streets.
There were people throwing molotovs in liquor shops and corner stores.
We turned around Main Street and headed towards the large parking lot with more space than cars or much else, but in the far corner I could see handlebars and the light of a motorcycle.
‘At least if the world doesn’t end, I’ll have fun.’ I thought to myself as I bent down to get a better view of tracing the wires through the handlebars.
I confiscated the plastic socket. I then pulled out the speaker wire and attached it to the socket, placing it all back together.
I pressed on the ignition. I looked away as I waited to hear the beautiful purr of the ignition coming to life.
“Alright, we are on the move now.” Demitri clapped his hands in victory.
“All we have to do is go back and get yours.” I laughed, stood up, and mounted the bike. I revved the engine a few times for fun.
“Alright, I’m right behind you.” Demitri says, giving me a thumbs up.
“Get on, Stefanie; I’ll drive you back.” I called behind me to my sister. She smiled and got on the bike behind me.
“Hold tight.” I said that and took off in a loud rumble, leaving nothing but smoke behind me.
“Woo!” she hooted, lifting her arms in the air behind me.
“Stefanie, hold on. You’re going to make me lose control.” I told her as the handles began to get clunky on the road.
“Okay, okay, lighten up, little brother; the world is ending. We have to have some fun!” She hollered over the wind.
“First of all, do you ever hear yourself speak?” I stopped the motorcycle next to hers.
“No,” Stefanie says as she gets off from behind me.
“Well, at least you’re honest.” I shook my head at her and waited for her to get off my stolen motorcycle.
“And second, you’re only older than me by two minutes.”
She got off the bike with a big smile on her face. “Two minutes are still two minutes.”
She ruffled up my hair, messing it up. I didn’t move away or try to fix it; I just rolled my eyes.
We took off down the sidewalk, veering side to side as people purposely stepped in the way.
I could see the disdain on people’s faces as they watched us pass by them, one car after another.
About a quarter mile ahead, the cars could hear us coming, and they began to leave their long line of traffic, squealing the tires to drive ahead of us, and it didn’t look good. The rest of the cars began to follow. “Shit.” I muttered under my breath.
We veered in and out between the cars, but they began to quicken their speed. It was like a race to the finish line, and we were in tenth place.
I leaned into my bars as I pressed harder on the gas. In the distance, I could see a dump truck colliding with a fire hydrant, forcing the truck to stop with full force as it sprayed water everywhere and the planks of wood falling out, making it possible to drive up with a large wooden plank leaning up and over.
“Demitri!” I yelled over the wind and the beeping cars. He looked over at me for a second. “Let’s jump it!” I yelled.
“Are you crazy? Are you trying to get us killed?” My sister yelled at me from behind as I revved the engine to go faster, driving up the plank and high into the sky and sailing through the air. For a moment, the world felt quiet.
I felt like screaming, ‘Look, ma, no hands!’ but that joke was overused in the early 20s.
I landed hard on the concrete, trying to stabilize the bike before I wiped out.
Once it was safe enough to slow down and stop, I waited for them.
I felt a sudden smack on the back of my head, hard enough to hurt. “Ow, what the-.”
“You’re so stupid.” She yelled at me on the back of Demitri’s motocross motorcycle and sped off. I shook my head and then sped off after my sister and brother-in-law.
