Carnival of Time by MacRaffen Alan

Author:MacRaffen, Alan [MacRaffen, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Alan MacRaffen
Published: 2011-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

THE LONG HIGHWAY STRETCHED OUT BEFORE and behind them, quiet and empty. Here and there, the smooth ribbon of asphalt was interrupted by small clusters of cars. The motionless vehicles sat forlornly with doors opened and keys hanging in ignitions, abandoned when their New Year’s Eve journeys came to a sudden, silent end. A few vehicles lay at crazy angles in the tall grass surrounding the highway, the owners unable to hold their course in the sudden absence of headlights.

Caleb and Theresa rode down the silent road on small children’s bicycles, carrying food and other essentials in small backpacks and weaving around the occasional vehicle. Theresa had been surprised at the lack of cars, until Caleb explained that most people had probably been at home or at parties when the lights went out.

The children had fled from the ruins of San Francisco the previous day, riding their bikes out through Oakland and Berkeley. They had seen few people. Caleb reasoned that most of the survivors were probably still hiding. Many of the people they saw only watched silently as the children passed by, probably too afraid to call out or worried about sharing their scavenged food supply. As they had crossed the bridge from Martinez to Benicia, a strange man had chased after them. He had a frightening, wild expression and wore a dark raincoat streaked with sinister red stains, screaming and waving a hammer as he ran after them. Though the children had easily outpaced him on their bikes, they didn’t dare stop to rest until they had left him miles behind.

After that unnerving encounter, the children began hiding when they spotted other survivors. It was easy for them to conceal their small bodies in the tall grass on the side of the road, waiting until any wandering strangers had passed safely out of sight. As they traveled further down the empty highway, however, they encountered fewer and fewer people. The sense of solitude was both comforting and frightening.

The children had now been riding for hours, without encountering a single sign of human life. Caleb wondered to himself if this was a good omen, remembering the ravenous allosaurus that had chased them through the city. What prehistoric monsters might lie slumbering out in the wide fields around them? As the sun began sinking lower in the sky, painting the fields with gleaming golden light, Caleb’s thoughts were scattered by an excited gasp from Theresa.

“Caleb, look,” she said, pointing to the horizon. “Buildings! Maybe we can sleep inside tonight.”

Caleb nodded happily, given the alternative of sleeping out in the fields, exposed to any humans or dinosaurs that might prey on them.

“We’ll have to be careful, though,” he said, watching Theresa’s smile turn into a nervous frown. “We don’t know if there’s anybody dangerous out here.”

Theresa nodded and stared intently at the distant buildings. The two children pedaled on steadily, speeding across the silent and unfamiliar fields toward the lengthening shadows of a silent and unfamiliar town.

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