By Way of Autumn by Jacqueline Druga

By Way of Autumn by Jacqueline Druga

Author:Jacqueline Druga
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781517684808
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2016-02-22T23:00:00+00:00


TWENTY-ONE – NOVA SCOTIA

The Mount Graham International Observatory in Arizona saw them coming about thirty minutes before they first arrived. Enough time to power down but not before sending out an emergency notification to anyone and everyone who needed to know. Government officials, FEMA, NASA. They even hit the prepper sites. A warning they believed fell upon deaf ears.

That was exactly how Sam started the conversation, my mind immediately thought alien invasion.

The observatory and a couple of observatories and centers were able to spare their electronics from the impending EMP, but they didn’t think any of the big government places were so lucky. It took a few days but communication had rekindle and radio chatter was making its rounds.

Sam made contact. He was diligent about trying and I was grateful.

We went into Jeff’s office so he could explain to me. I didn’t want to scare the kids. I would explain to them once I knew what was going on.

Sam brought out a map of the world and drew a circle that encompassed the entire Pacific Ocean; the center of it seemed to be the Marshall Islands. North, the edge of the circle extended to the Bering Sea, east across to the west coast of the United States and west, it went as far inland as Beijing. South it hit Australia.

“We were fortunate the Pacific took the brunt of it,” Sam said. “This is based on the coordinates I got. This was the part of earth facing them. Everything in that circle was instantly and immediately obliterated.”

“Them? What obliterated parts of the earth.”

“Two,” Sam said. “They call them the deadly twins. Gamma ray bursts. A long and short one. Happens when either two dead stars collide or a hypernova explodes. That’s like a giant star. The short ones cause less damage, the big ones, well …” he whistled. “Like getting hit with all the power of the sun in one spot.”

“Oh my God, you were right.” I said.

“Now’s not the time to brag. I wouldn’t have guessed this. What I’m showing you is where it hit. The man I spoke to said they are communicating with satellites that are sending images. They expect the fires to stop close to Phoenix.”

“So we need to get passed Phoenix?” I asked.

Sam shook his head. “There’s a lot more, kid, a lot more. See, not only did these burst kill our electronics for most of the world, they punched a hole right in our ozone layer. We got not only fire, but the radiation that is seeping through.”

“Is that what those people from the highway have? Radiation sickness?”

“I’m guessing so…”

“Is there radiation here now?” I asked.

“I checked. Nothing yet. But I assume it will be here in a few days.”

“Then we need to get moving.”

“We do,” Sam said. “And far. That hole will spread. Eventually it will stop, be a giant open spot for the sun to just burn us out. In time, long after you and I are gone, it will close up. Hopefully.



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