Apathy

 

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Introduction

Is it a simple glitch caused by climate change or something much more sinister?

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Chapter 1

He knew it'd finally happened. There were no loud crashes or blaring announcements, nor would there be. All it took was the click of a radio to tell him that what he'd been both dreading and anticipating had finally happened. He worried most for his family. With a wife and four children who needed his protection, the white noise on every radio station was just the first sign of the terrible future to come. He'd read the same warning signs that everyone else had seen, although sometimes he often thought he was starkly and very much alone. Still, he couldn't bury his head in the sand just because signs of the end were blaring in his ears. He had to take action and it started right now.

The static increased and decreased, fluctuating as he drove through the hills and valley’s that had been home for nearly his whole life. His children sat huddled together in the backseat and his wife was next to him her eyes closed. He could see her lips moving but couldn’t hear what she was saying. He assumed she was praying, not that it’d do much more than help her cope he supposed. He knew the time for praying for peace and understanding was over. It was time for action now and he hoped, prayed he was doing the right thing.

He’d always had faith. You didn’t grow up in the Midwest without it, but lately he’d felt his faith waver. He hated admitting his own failure, especially with a family to protect. It was a constant burden and even as he drove his family to what he hoped was a safer shelter there was a part of him that wondered if what he was doing was fruitless. Times were bad, the economy had tanked, literally. There wasn’t talk of a recession because it was so much worse than that. There was no buying food or drinks, there was no bargaining now. There was the haves and the have nots. He and his family were part of those who didn’t have and the pain on the faces of the ones he loved was a burden that almost weighed him down. Last night they’d split a can of chili beans and all he could think of was the part in A Christmas Carol, where Tiny Tim counts our bean for his family  because that’s all they had. He’d given as equal a portion to his children and wife as he could afford to. He’d gone hungry and hoped God would forgive him for lying to his wife about it. Isn’t that what a husband and father did to care for their family? He’d sacrifice his life to care for them.

As they continued to drive the static was on every station they tried until they got closer to their shelter. It broke up occasionally as someone tried to get a message through. Then he slammed on his brakes as the message said finally came through: “Daniel.”

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