It begins with a fading odor and darkness. Lights out, dark as night. Outside the college building, there are flames, lumps of metal and flesh, and no one moving. When Asher finds his car, he's surprised it works and he drives aimlessly, trying in vain for a radio station, any sign of life. Recovering his wits, he parks at a truck stop and loads up with things that might be useful. In the dark, someone runs into him and urges him to flee. The thought of maybe having to repopulate the world doesn't appeal to either of them -- Asher is gay, and Sandy isn't sure what she/he/they are. Sandy knows a place they might hole up while the world dies around them. It's a cabin that belongs to a friend who might be there. Sandy's friend Wade turns up the next day when there's light, again. Are Wade and Sandy an item or just friends? Asher feels like odd man out, but survival is their first priority. Can relationships be sorted out, later?

Night Scenery

Sandy let go of him, and I almost dropped the poor old man. She said, “If I remember right, there’s a fire place…ah, here it is; shine the light over here, please.”


Everything needed for a fire was right there, tongs, matches, wood. I said a silent thank you to the owner of this cabin, our shelter, or to his spirit if he—or she—were dead.


“There weren’t any horses,” I said, after a full minute.


The old man just sat where we’d basically dropped him, and the two of us got some food together, snacks, mostly. We sat down in front of the fireplace and shared out the food, just staring into the warmth of the flames. I wished I could fall into them for the warmth and light. With a long sigh, the old man spoke, “Thank you for bringing me in here. I’m going to die, and that’s as it should be. My name is Mitchell Evans, and I didn’t mean for this to happen.”


Chapter 6