Darkness falls by Kyle Mills

Author:Kyle Mills
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781593154592
Publisher: New York : Vanguard Press, c2007.
Published: 2009-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22.

Not surprisingly, the Tucson traffic was light, with an unusual number of bicycles weaving in and out of the cars -- some a bit unsteadily. At first, Beamon thought their erratic trajectories were caused by the heat, but more likely some of these people hadn't ridden since they were children. According to National Public Radio, virtually every bike shop in America was sold out, and used bicycles were going for more than they had new.

He slumped down in the back seat of the car and looked out the window at a hitchhiker standing on the edge of the highway. He was a clean-cut kid holding an artistically rendered sign offering five dollars for a ride to the university.

Beamon had watched the president's latest address the night before and found that the message had evolved a bit since the planning session he'd attended. The contamination data coming in continued to agree with Erin Neal's now somewhat suspicious projections, forcing the government to take a tougher stance than had at first been considered.

The basic thrust was that the world would be facing a substantial and most likely permanent drop in oil availability. The president kept the tone upbeat, talking about the adaptability of the American people, technologies that were right around the corner, and the spirit of working together. But the tone was clear -- things were going to change and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

A fuel-rationing program was being instituted, though no one was sure how it was going to work. The government was also introducing a fairly radical incentive program for conservation, along with a significant loosening of environmental regulations regarding the generation of energy. So far, there wasn't much reaction from the environmentalists on that last one. Some were still being held, despite Beamon's efforts to get them released, and the general public was in no mood to do without heat and transportation because it might get the wildlife sooty.

Of course, the president hadn't been completely honest. He'd suggested a fifteen percent drop instead of the thirty-five percent that was more likely. Even with that questionable bit of soft-pedaling, the market was down more than seven hundred points. Ultra-conservatives in the government were beginning to wonder aloud why the military wasn't being sent to secure supply from countries that had been proven "unreliable."

Beamon tipped sideways, lying down on his side in the spacious back seat and closing his eyes. He remembered the good old days when he could go for weeks on little more than excitement and caffeine. God, he hated getting old.

"Mr. Beamon? Sir?"

Beamon stirred and finally pushed himself upright in the seat. His driver, whose name he'd already forgotten, was leaning in through the open back door. "We're here."

Erin Neal's house was pretty much as he remembered it, except for the conservatively dressed and profusely sweating men and women swarming all over it.

"It's cooler inside," his driver said. "The house is generating enough power to run the air conditioner for a few minutes every hour.

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