The Sabbath Read online

  “Cory, it’s too early in the morning. What’s going on?” Isabel whispered.

  Trying to preserve his newfound optimism, he decided not to mention the night of the fiery skies, and the twenty-four hours gone from their lives.

  “I’m just worried about mother, that’s all,” he replied.

  “Well, she’s sleeping…try not to wake her, will ya?”

  “I won’t - was just going to make sure she’s comfortable.”

  Cory grabbed the knob and eased the door open, trying not to startle his mother. Taking one step into the room, he froze. His head pounded like a jackhammer as his heartbeat went haywire. He took in ragged gulps of air. The time came to a complete halt, there in the doorway, and his worst fears boiled up and tormented him.

  She was not there.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He heard voices in the background, but his brain refused to process them. Giving no answer, he spun around and bolted from the room. He was now a man on a mission, methodically checking every room in the house. Finally, back in his mother’s room, he collapsed on the floor, his head and arms resting on her bed.

  No longer in control of his emotions, tears poured from his eyes, streaming down his cheeks and onto the flowery bedspread. Digging his face deeper into his mother’s bed, he noticed the bed was cold. He lifted his head to find Lana standing in the corner comforting his sobbing sister.

  Glancing at Cory, Lana saw the expression of rage on his face. Balling up his fists, he approached them, bellowing,

  “Where the fuck is she, Isabel?”

  Lana jumped to block his path.

  “Cory, stop,” Lana ordered, stretching out her arms. “This isn’t her fault.”

  She tried calming him, but it was like talking to a brick wall. She feared for Isabel as his emotions got the better of him. With one sweep of his hand, Cory brushed Lana aside and seized his sister.

  “Where is she?” he screamed, shaking Isabel like a pit-bull shakes its prey. The terrified girl was speechless, and Cory knew he was hurting her. He wanted to stop, but his out of control feelings wouldn’t let him. He was only concerned with finding his mother.

  Suddenly, his mother’s voice echoed in the back of his head. Cory, your temper will be the death of you! - Something she always said to him when he lost his cool. He took a step back from Isabel, and the anxiety left him.

  Isabel looked more scared and confused than her brother. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. Her body was shaking, and her lips trembled, making it difficult for her to speak.

  “I-I-I put her to bed. I swear!” she said, with a stutter.

  Cory grabbed her again, but this time he held her tight, overwhelmed by the guilt he felt for blaming Isabel for their mother’s disappearance. Everything had hit him all at once. He needed to process his thoughts and figure out what happened and, most specifically, what happened to his invalid mother.

  Sitting Isabel down, he told her everything that had happened to them in the past forty-eight hours. It wasn’t long before she broke down in tears again.

  “I don’t understand,” Isabel mumbled through a continuous stream of sobs. “She went to bed at eleven. She should be here.”

  As soon as Isabel was calm enough, they went downstairs.

  “Let’s see if the TV is working,” Lana suggested. “Someone must be reporting this.”

  Every channel was covering the fiery light show in the sky, followed by the mystifying twenty-four hours time gap. It had happened all over the world, and they were calling the phenomenon, “The Sabbath.” Although the news didn’t provide them with any real answers, it comforted them knowing they weren’t the only ones going through this mayhem.

  The news pleaded for people not to overload the switchboards and police stations with missing persons reports, and instead urged everyone to stay home and wait there. They suggested waiting for at least twenty-four hours before contacting authorities, and to expect long delays. Emergency personnel would be stretched thin attending to and finding the wounded, and responding to the growing reports of fatalities.

  Cory and Isabel had no choice but to wait out the time. They sat in the living room, glued to the TV, hoping to receive more information on what was happening to their world.

  4

  Initial reports from the Government claimed the meteorites were made of radioactive material, which produced a grand chemical reaction when heated with the earth’s gravitational pull. The reaction emitted unknown agents into the environment. Although not all side effects were known, scientists were working on it, or so the TV reporter said.

  “But obvious effects from the chemical reaction have been identified,” the news anchor continued. “When the meteorites exploded, they released a still unidentified agent that caused anyone exposed to it to fall into deep unconsciousness for about twenty-four hours. Another airborne agent has apparently embedded itself in the human body.” The woman paused as she cupped her hand around her ear. “I’m just receiving word that they are calling the airborne agent ATHENS.”

  Appearing at the bottom of the screen were the words: ATHENS: Aerosolized Thymine Enervating Nanoparticles. The words faded within less than a heartbeat, with no time to study them.

  Lana let out a snorting laugh.

  “It’s not funny,” Isabel scolded. “Why are you laughing?”

  “Because they’re not telling us anything. They’re just giving this tiny meteor dust a meaningless science-y name,” Lana replied.

  Isabel stood, rolled her eyes at Cory, then went into her room and slammed the door behind her.

  “Why did you have to piss her off?” Cory said, looking at Lana. “But you’re right. The Government doesn’t know what that dust is, or what it does. They just act like they do.”

  Lana had been starring at her laptop, and when she responded, it was through clenched teeth.

  “Whatever it is, it’s spreading everywhere. We’re breathing it in. And if these guys are right,” she tapped the screen, “it might even be affecting us at a cellular level.” Seeing Cory’s confused face, she added, “It might change or affect our DNA, and even our nervous systems.”

  Lana then suggested to Cory that they gather as much food and water as possible. If this was the beginning of the end of the world, they wanted to be prepared for it. If they pooled their resources, they could buy enough supplies to last them at least through a year if they rationed it right.

  The next day, Cory and Isabel went to file a missing person’s report, but returned home angry. After hours of waiting, they were handed sheets to fill out and told to mail them to a regional center being set up for missing persons. Neither of them believed the police could help find their mother.

  Lana finally contacted her grandmother, who was packing to move to the inner city where Giovanni said they would be protected. Her grandmother insisted she come stay with her, and wanted to arrange a charter flight to pick her up, but Lana thanked her and refused. For now at least, she would stay with Cory and Isabel.

  A week later, Cory’s mother still had not returned, and Isabel’s emails and calls to the regional center went unanswered. The Government had promised answers, but people were losing faith in the Government’s ability to handle the crisis. It didn’t take long before folks ignored the authority’s warnings to stay indoors and wait for the dust to settle down.

  Political leaders appeared on television to announce the world’s food and water supplies had been contaminated, and the consumption of contaminated foods would cause internal damage. To avoid unimaginable pain, people were advised to throw away all food and water supplies that weren’t verified by the Government. Furthermore, the World Government declared, they had secured a limited amount of uncontaminated food and water, and actions were being taken to replace the contaminated supplies with these.

  The majority of the world’s population took heed of the warnings and tossed away any supplies that the Government hadn’t verified. However, the price of food and wa
ter rose to a point where low-income earners could no longer afford to feed their families; even middle-class families found it difficult to provide the basic necessities for their homes. Looting and riots increased.

  The Government pleaded with people to move to the new regional food distribution centers. Many left for the camps, never to return. Companies closed down, and the majority of jobs left were government jobs. The world plummeted into great depression, and with no stable economy, combined with the lack of food and water, crime rates rose overnight.

  With the substantial rise in crime, the Government nationalized the food and water industry and deployed armed militia to safeguard their resources.

  Weeks turned into months. Things had deteriorated so much that larger cities were placed under martial law. That’s the time the major effects of ATHENS began to show.

  The death rate dropped to almost zero. ATHENS had rendered humans immune to death. Everybody on the planet appeared to have become immortal. Even animals were affected.

  It did not, however, affect immunity to disease and pain. Any illness people had before The Sabbath, continued to torment them after it. Even more shocking, ATHENS seemed to have increased the amount of time the human body needed to heal. The symptoms of illness and pain increased ten fold. If a person got a simple cut, it felt like a razor-sharp blade being pierced into his skin. If he caught a simple cold, it felt like a high fever until his body had healed.

  Childbirth was ATHENS’ biggest irony. It did a wonderful job of sustaining life, but made the human body toxic. Almost all pregnancies resulted in miscarriage.

  With no offspring, the world became a dark and gloomy place. The thought of living forever once brought joy to people’s hearts, over time it became clear that ATHENS was a curse destroying the very essence of humanity.

  The passing of months turned into a year since the night of the Sabbath. The only businesses still operational were government agencies and a few corporations. Financial and commercial transactions continued to be available, but only for the very rich. Surprisingly, electricity and communications remained intact, for the most part. The corruption of Government officials was also at an all-time high. At the right price, police officers could be bought at ease and persuaded to do whatever was needed of them. There weren’t enough prison cells to detain everyone, let alone resources to feed them, and the Government was desperately trying to come up with a solution. Hospitals were crowded with patients without insurance, so doctors did only the bare minimum. They would patch them up then send them back onto the streets to fend for themselves.

  The world Cory and Lana knew was no longer. ATHENS turned society into a two-class system: the elites and the “others.” While Cory’s neighbors made an exodus to the south for warmer weather, the elites migrated into the inner city under the protection of armed militia. Government agencies began building walls and barricading the entrance for the others. Cory and Lana never got access to the inner city, but from what Lana’s grandmother told them, the rich lived as they always did. Nothing had changed.

  “Hi, Grandma,” Lana said, gazing out the window.

  “Hey, baby. I was hoping you’d call. How are you?”

  Lana gripped the phone and murmured to herself.

  “Huh,” her grandmother’s voice rang. “Lana, is everything all right?”

  “Sorry, Grandma,” Lana said, reverting her attention back to her phone call. “I just saw two guys outside robbing this homeless old man.”

  “Good lord. Call the police.”

  Lana put her hand to her forehead, and let out a small laugh. She had been careful, up to now, to pretend she was living a normal life when talking with her grandmother. Too late to take it back now. Lana took a deep breath, resigned to her grandmother’s predictable reaction.

  “Grandma, around here the police and the thugs are the same people.”

  “That’s awful. Lana, what kind of place are you living?”

  “Same place, just on the opposite side of the wall,” Lana answered.

  Lana and the rest of the others lived in the trenches. Outside the inner cities, you were on your own. How far out you lived from the inner city determined the amount of public services you received from the Government. Cory’s house was just on the outskirts and the only public service Lana ever saw was a garbage truck driving through their neighborhood and a few corrupt police officers.

  “Anyways, Grandma, tell me about what’s happening in the inner city.”

  “Nothing really. They just reopened the schools.”

  “Schools? You guys are getting schools?” Mounting frustration crept into Lana’s voice.

  “Yes, aren’t you?” her grandmother asked.

  “No,” Lana barked. “My gosh, wake up.”

  “Lana,” her grandmother shrieked.

  “Sorry, Grandma. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.”

  Lana hung up without waiting for a response. Her grandmother’s ignorance annoyed her beyond belief, but it wasn’t her grandmother’s fault. The Government went to great length to ensure the inner city was disconnected from the outside world. Of course, Lana could fly out to be with her grandmother, but she wouldn’t leave Cory. The chaos brought out a consolation prize: Love.

  And Cory was devoted to her. Lana and Isabel were his world, and every decision he made was for the girls’ survival. With no job or schooling, they had to be resourceful. Their home was their first project.

  The house had a storm cellar, which they dedicated for supply stock. One room was lined with deep freezers, and the other resembled a grocery, hardware and appliance store all in one. Their weapons were also kept in there. For security, they built a wall-to-wall bookshelf to conceal the cellar’s entrance and updated the security of their home to reduce the possibility of break-ins and to maintain their safety.

  They also made their own greywater recycling system so waste water from the bath, shower or sink, was collected into two soil pipes fixed to the side of the house, then pumped up into the loft to be stored in a tank. The water could then be filtered and reused.

  As more time went by, food and water became even scarcer. Government trucks were always being raided for supplies. With no future income, it wasn’t long before Cory convinced both Lana and Isabel that they needed to join in on the raids.

  At first, Cory went alone and did the same as everyone else, running toward the armed trucks, while at the same time competing with other raiders for limited resources.

  Then, they got smarter - Lana called and persuaded her grandmother to arrange funds, which they used to bribe a man in charge of protecting the convoys. After that, during raids, Cory and Lana waited for the first and second wave of looters to hit the truck. Then, amidst the chaos, they headed for the designated rendezvous point to meet their confidant and retrieve their supplies.

  The man often showed a fondness toward Lana, so Cory’s eyes never wavered from his sight, even though the guy had proven time and time again that he was trustworthy in other ways. Routinely, they stole food, appliances, solar-powered tools and such. They were prepared for anything and everything.

  5

  “Good morning,” Lana greeted a half-asleep Isabel as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Good morning,” Isabel replied with a shy smile before returning to her room.

  It had been over a year, and Isabel still blamed herself for her mother’s disappearance. She tried to avoid Lana and Cory when she was at home and mostly, she was never home. She left the house before they woke up on most days and came home after they went to sleep.

  Lana wished she could help her, but Cory hadn’t made it easy for either of them; there was so much tension in the household. Although he had apologized for attacking Isabel, every day their mother was missing, another layer of tension and blame grew between the siblings.

  Lana shook her head, not wanting to think about it anymore, and removed a bowl and spoon from the cupboard. She slept without eating dinner last night and woke
up to a growling stomach. She poured herself her favorite cereal with milk, and instead of watching the news and hearing the same-old story about The Sabbath, she called her grandmother. Grabbing her phone, she dialed the number she knew so well.

  “Hello, darling, why are you awake so early?” her grandmother asked, sounding preoccupied.

  “I went to sleep hungry last night, and my stomach woke me up…what are you doing?” Lana snapped. It always annoyed her when her grandmother didn’t give her undivided attention during their phone calls.

  “Oh, relax darling,” her grandmother was used to this, “I’m just doing my morning stretches. With all this disease in the world, I need to stay healthy - not only for me, but also for you - not to mention I need to keep these middle-aged women in check. Anyways, you sound like something is bothering you. What’s wrong?”

  Lana hesitated, not wanting to complain to her grandmother. She wanted her grandmother to deem her a brave young woman, but she needed someone to confide in -someone who supported her and gave her the advice she needed.

  “Lana?” her grandmother called, uncertain if she was still on the phone.

  “I’m still here. I have no idea where to start.”

  “Anywhere, honey,” her grandmother said.

  “Okay…well,” the words rushed out, “Cory’s mom is still missing - it’s been over a year, and she is just nowhere to be found. She’s sick, but she can’t die, so, that means she might still be in excruciating pain, and her family wouldn’t know where.”

  She took a breath before she collapsed.

  “I can’t even talk to Cory about it. It’s like she’s a forbidden topic in the house, and it’s getting on my nerves. It’s frustrating, but she’s not the only one missing. So many other people’s family members are missing. We need to try and figure this thing out. We’re smart people, but we’re at a standstill.

  “What needs to happen now?” her grandmother asked, encouraging her thoughts just as she had done when Lana was a child.

  “I want to figure out what’s going on - why people can’t die, why people are missing…why the whole world has stopped, and society has fallen apart. Everyone is living for themselves. No one works; no one does anything at all.