Zen Rising E-Book

William L. Truax III

• Herausgeber: William L. Truax III
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

It is 2019. The Global Conveyor Belt, Earth’s natural climate regulator, has stopped and triggers many major natural disasters worldwide which forces humankind into a new beginning and spawns a new evolution of our species.

In the face of dwindling resources and possible extinction, will humankind fall to division and corruption or will they band together and live peacefully alongside their Zen brethren?

Leseprobe

ZEN RISING

By

William L. Truax III

Copyright@2020 William L. Truax III

All rights reserved

For Tiffany,

Thanks for keeping me going

Contents:

Intro

Part 1:The on Coming Storm

TheWarning Signs Have Passed

Destination Unknown?

Press Conference

S.T.A.R.S. Lab

The End House?

The Storm Approaches

Failureof a Door

Devastation

Collapse

Part 2.

The Day New York Died

Rapid Storms

The Day After Tomorrow

Ten Years Gone By

Fires by Light

Trials and Delusions

Trials and Delusions

Part 3.

Survivors

River Valley Triumph orDisaster?

A thaw or a Freeze, which is it?

New Discoveries

Final Blow?

Coming Attractions

Part 4.

Trap

The Rise of the Zen

Talks

Torn Asunder or Banding Together

Last Day on Earth

End of All?

Forward:

There are ideas touched and spoken about heavily throughout this book, some are based on a real-life occurrence. The idea or ideas that the Earth’s Global Conveyor Belt is shutting down is a real-life situation, and addressed by N.O.A.A. Some of the ideas that come along with that knowledge come from the N.O.A.A. site:https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/05conveyor2.html

As well as a History Channel Documentary called Ten Ways the Earth will End.

Due to these two important documents (one being a video), I have come up with a story based on those facts, everything inside the book is fictitious included the little beings called Zen. The people are all a farse but some of the places described in this book are real.

I hope you enjoy.

William L. Truax III

Intro

Sitting at her desk, Mira was reading the result of her latest buoy readings. She wondered why the temperature from the buoy readings was getting colder on the surface of the water. She put the data into her computer and compared it to the two months ago readings and noticed it was a significant drop. Mira then picked up the phone and called her Mother, she wanted to confirm the temperatures that she was noticing as well as the significant rise in oceanic currents that the two buoy indicators were reacting to. She hoped that there was an answer and that her Mother knew it.

The phone rang silently on her end. The beeping sounds indicated to her that she was automatically transferred to her Mother’s satellite phone. She figured that her Mother must be on the water somewhere in the Atlantic, but then the beeping switched into some regular rings that she then thought were going to her Mom’s cell phone, but when her Mom picked up the phone, she felt a relief that she missed that day at the office.

“Mom these readings are not right, they’ve dropped considerably within the last two months, you been out there so have you figured out what’s going on?” Mira asked her mother, she was concerned and expressed it in her voice. Her mother did not say anything for a couple minutes, Mira heard her typing on the keyboard as well as shuffling through papers on her desk. “Mom are you there?”

“Yes, I am here. I was just looking at my stats. See if there’s anything that I could do to help you.” Her mother replied and continue cycling through the papers on her desk.

“I’m going to email you the latest results that I have and compare them to yours in the field and let me know if there’s any differences from my machine.” Mira typed on the keyboard and sent her mother the file that she had saved to her desktop and then hung up the phone.

Mira tried to put this idea that something was wrong to the side burner in her mind and focused on some other tasks she had to do. By the end of the day, she was on her way home when her mother called on her cell phone. She answered it on the Bluetooth of her car and her mother advised her that the readings were accurate but did not go to an explanation. Mira’s mind began to wonder about the conversation, and she had thought at one point,how could this be, there is no way it is possible!

Mira passed by house after house, each one looking a little different than the one before it. The road was a little curvy at times, but she was used to it. She could drive this road in her sleep. Cars passed by her rapidly not obeying the speed limit, but that too she was used to. No one in this community drove the speed limit, except those that are not in a hurry. She slowed down her car and began staring at the drive that was coming up, she knew that a lot of people did the same thing at this house, it was a house that everyone in the neighborhood wanted but no one could afford.

The house was a two-story blue painted house built in the 1800s, it had Greek style columns out front that extended the walkway to the road. The driveway was on the right-hand side and it pulled right up front to the house. Had a total of eight columns out front, it was large enough for carriage or possibly a small car to fit underneath like an old movie would show. She imagined her and her family living in that home, and as she passed it, she smiled at the idea and laughed to herself that it would never come to be.

Pulling into her yard she was looking at her home this time, it was a brown house with a metal roof and brown siding. The front door was white with a silver doorknob that glistened in the setting sun. She bolted to the carport and turned off her car. She sat in the car for an extra couple minutes listening to the end of a song before getting out. She was not much of a singer, but she loved to sing along with the music, she was trying to sing the rest of Peace of My Heart by Janis Joplin, but she could not get the tone right. As she stood on the driver side door, she got a cold chill that came through with the bit of the breeze that started to blow. It was Midsummer, but the cold breeze that blew across her body reminded her of how it felt during winter.

She had felt the breeze was odd and out of place, but then thought it could have been a mix from the open car door and the summer breeze. She closed the car door and stepped toward her house. She climbed up the wooden steps and opened the door, her phone began to vibrate in her purse. Answering it she found it to be her husband, Greg, letting her know that he was going to be on the late side for dinner and that he would be home as quick as possible.

“That’s fine honey,” she began, “it’ll be warm by the time you get home.”

“I’m really sorry about that honey,” he said to her.

“Believe me, I understand those long days. I have had many myself. I’ll see you when you get home.”

After a few more words were exchanged she hung up the phone. She placed her bag down on the usual spot which was a hook on the right-hand side of the door and proceeded inward in her house. She gazed at her living room and tried to imagine it nicer. She imagined that the brown couch that was matching the wall behind it, was a leather sectional with reclining ends. New instead of used, and that there was a recliner on the right-hand side of her living room facing the TV instead of the pink beanbag chair. She imagined that the mess of the living room with all the toys scattered about would be cleaned up and looking like she was rich that there was carpeting instead of hardwood floor that was all scratched up from years of living there. She imagined that her LED TV was 4K or 10K and said of the PS2 and a GameCube sitting there on the entertainment center, she had a PlayStation 4 or an Xbox one X. But she could not afford any of that stuff and it broke her heart that she could not give the kids what they wanted.

She called out for her eldest, a young boy about to be 12 in a couple of days, he came running out of his room and stood in front of her like he was in trouble.

“Brian, how was the house while I was gone?”

Brian stared at her for a minute there before answering, Mira noticed that he was not dressed at all for the day even though it was 4 o’clock in the afternoon. He was still in his Pokémon pajamas his hair was a mess and curly on the ends, it did not look like it was brushed or combed through at all. His Pokémon pajamas T-shirt was riding up his body exposing the stomach and she had told him before that shirt was too small, his Pokémon pajama pants were 2 inches too short on his leg side and exposed his ankles and she got frustrated with the way that he was just standing there.

“Why are you still wearing those?” Mira said little aggravated, she tried her best to hold the aggravation in but ended up coming out anyway regardless of her best intentions.

“I like these pajamas Mom, these are my favorite.” He had told his mother trying to put a bit of an argument, but his mother cut him short by putting up her finger and pressing it to his lips.

“They are too short for you; I do not want to see you wearing them again.” She then thought about what she just said and decided to change her statement, “rather, go take them off now and bring them to me.”

Brian tried to put up an argument with his mother but would not have it, she began to count to three and Brian knew exactly what that meant, so, without putting up much more resistance he went and changed, then brought her the pajamas. Mira then threw them away and told him not to dig them out of the garbage. She looked at him again this time and noticed that he changed into a different pair of pajamas but at least these ones fit him.

“Brian, like I had asked before, how everything was while I was gone?”

“It was fine Mom. Beth barely cried at all today. Casey on the other hand was a handful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Casey was getting into everything. It was hard for me to keep my hands on her at times, she was running about like a mad child, I swear it.”

Mira wanted further explanation and practically forced it out of Brian, who was reluctant to give it in the first place, later explained that he was able to handle it himself, so, as she said to her: “I didn’t think I needed to give you all the details.” Mira did not hear any attitude behind not coming from Brian, though to her he normally gives it without thinking about it. She was aggravated and rather upset with him, yet she kept her composure and did not say anything afterward. She walked off to the girls’ room and checked on the two toddlers that were in there.

She found them both playing quietly with little building blocks that she had purchased about a couple of months ago and saw that they were content she decided not to bother them any further. But when the two of them saw the shadow of their mother across the floor they both looked up and smiled with their partially toothy mouth, and they both open their arms wide towards her and she could not pass up a big hug from them.

Mira made her way to the bathroom, which was down the hall and to the left, it was at this point in her usual routine where she washed off her makeup from the day. When she was done, she made her way out and headed toward the dining room area then into the kitchen. She started the prep work for dinner, then decided on something simpler. Making fish sticks and French fries in the oven was a lot easier, as she thought, versus making a tossed salad which would take incredibly good amount of work on her part. She knew that the girls would eat fish sticks and French fries without a problem, she figured she made a salad on the side and see if they would try it.

As dinner ended, she had Brian do the dishes and she took both the girls out of their highchairs and straight to the bath. She got into the bath with both, with the pretense that the girls get the splash Mommy. Giggling and splashing about they had fun in the bath. After drying off, she laid the girls down for a night with the TV on in a Disney movie playing. She went out to the living room to check on Brian and saw that he was on his phone.

“Who are you talking to?” She asked, it was not the first time he was neglecting his chores but this night it really bugged Mira.

“Haley.”

“Haley, Haley… Which one is that?”

“Haley, my girlfriend. Just leave me alone Mom, let me talk for a few then I’ll do the dishes.” He stated with a bit of an attitude behind it, his snapping was not going over well with Mira, but she let it slide. She raised her hand with five digits of the air and mouthed to him that he had five minutes to talk. Brian nodded his head and gave a thumbs up.

Mira went out to the living room and turned on the TV and flipped it over to a news channel. She was surprised to see her Mom being interviewed by an anchor that was giving her a hard time.

“So, you’re stating that the water from the ocean is on a rise and we should all be prepared for the worst?” The anchor said to her in a sarcastic tone.

“Yes, it appears that something is going on with the ocean that we are not able to see with our own eyes, but all the buoy indicators that we have been able to get our hands on tell us that the seawater is rising for no apparent reason other than it can. We have the standard global warming, the greenhouse effect that is taking hold on us currently, and that is to demands of fossil fuels being used by humankind. The greenhouse gases that emit from the cars and trucks being driven on the road, as well as power plants and other functioning plants that send out CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. They have all contributed to the warming of the planet, for example, due to these emissions the glacier poles are melting at an alarming rate as well as other plant life are dying off, certain types of fish, penguins, seals, you get the idea, right?”

“Yes, I get the idea what you’re saying, but I don’t see how it’s our fault the planet is warming,” the news anchor replied giving her mother a hard time, denying what he already knows.

“If it were not for the melting of these ice sheets, glaciers at the poles and in Greenland, the seawater would not be rising to the extent that it is today, it’s only going to get worse. According to my readings, the waters around the Florida Straits have risen exponentially. A month ago, they were at one to 2 feet rising, now they are at 10 feet and rising. It is only a matter of time before they rise even higher and start taking out the Florida coastline. It is the same in the Atlantic, the waters there have risen over 10 feet in a month and inching closer to the coastline every day. We need to take this seriously; this is vitally important to us as a human species. If we do not pay attention to what the waters are doing and try to figure out what is going on, there’s going to be massive flooding on a scale that we have never seen.” Mira’s mother was stating the case very well for the anchor, and Mira could tell the anchor was trying to find some way to fight against it but unable to.

“Say what you’re saying is true, then what’s the timescale for this, quote unquote massive flooding?”

“At this point in time I don’t have an answer to that question, I just know that it is happening, happening on a scale that would be worse than what the Bible ever predicted.”

“So, you’re saying the Bible story of Noah and the flood is actually a real thing?”

“Yes. We have evidence that states that the flood was an actual event that overtook the entire earth at that point, and it seems as though it is beginning to happen again, instead of rains its rising sea waters and I do not know how far it will go. We all need to be prepared for the worst and get away from the coastline at this point in time.”

Mira thought about her buoys when she called her mother and read them off to her and what her mother was saying on the television to that anchor made sense to her. It was like everything clicked and she understood her mother perfectly though she did not want to believe it for one instant.How could the planet want to stop and flood the earth?By this point Brian was off the phone and sitting next to her on the couch watching his grandmother talk to the reporter and he grabbed his mother’s hand which jarred Mira out of her thoughts.

“What’s the matter Brian?”

“Is what grandma is saying true?” he asked with a worried tone in his voice. He understood the science behind everything that was going on, for he had helped his grandmother and his mother with their scientific studies at the lab.

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about right now Brian, have you done the dishes yet?”

“Yeah, they’re done Mom.”

“Do you want to watch the rest of this with me?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Together Mira and her son Brian watched her mother on the television screen go back and forth with the reporter who was denying all the facts that her mother was giving. She saw her mother’s tension rise and she wanted to call her to calm her down, but she knew her mother would not answer. She would not dare disrupt the chance that her mother had, just to say a few passing words. She waited for the commercial break to appear and then she called her.

“Hey Mom, I see you getting rather angry on television are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am fine, this anchor is known for giving scientists a hard time. He doesn’t like to follow science especially when they’re saying that there’s something wrong, he’s more of a skeptic and a hard-core Bible thumping pushing, pain in the ass.”

“Mom go easy on him. And be careful about what you are saying that pushes his buttons. You can always ask him if he’s a rabbit.”

“Then I would have to explain that story, I don’t think I’ll have the time to do that. But he is most definitely a rabbit, afraid of everything, afraid of change.”

“Okay Mom, I got to go, the commercials are ending, and you need to be back on the Webcam so that you can finish discussing this event, call me afterwards so we can discuss more. I love you.”

“Will do baby, love you too.”

Then hung up just in time as the commercials ended, her mother was seen pressing the end button on her phone just as the news program came back live. Brian and Mira sat back and watched as the anchor tried his best to destroy her mother, his grandmother for being on the phone during commercial break as well as her theory that water is going to claim the coastal region of the US.

Part 1:

The on Coming Storm

1. The Warning Signs Have Passed

Mira and Greg woke up to a storm raging outside of their house. They heard a sound like a bomb going off right out in their front yard. Mira tried pressing the switch on the wall of her bedroom to turn the light on, but no light was emitting. She then looked at her alarm clock and noticed that the time was flashing, like the batteries took over but were on the verge of dying. She ignored that for a Moment and tried to follow Greg outside of the bedroom to the living room. She watched Greg as he pulled the cord above his head on the ceiling fan in the center of the living room, the fan was off she noticed, and the light never flickered on. Greg walked over to the switches on the side of the door and saw that none of the breakers had been tripped. Then they smelled the smell of a deep hard smoke, like something was roasting.

She opened the front door after unlocking the deadbolt and the doorknob lock and saw the tree that was out front of their house had exploded. It was sitting there smoldering with a little bit of flames that would pop up every now and then. She also noticed a powerline down by the tree that was still connected to the pole which had also caught fire. She called Greg over to look at this and he instinctively pulled out his phone and tried calling the electric company as Mira pulled out hers to call the fire department. Their lines were busy, neither one was able to get through. He pulled her in close to him and closed the door behind her and told her to sit down on the couch. He told her that he would check on the kids and he be right back.

A few moments later he returned to the living room with the two girls on his arms and their eldest son Brian came out rubbing his eyes a few seconds later. He had asked what happened and they both said that they were not too sure, although Mira was sure she had an idea but did not want to worry them. As she looked at Brian, she said to them that she was no meteorologist just a scientist that explores the water and Brian laughed a little, Greg did not look that amused.

Just as if on cue, a torrential downpour came down. The smell of smoke faded, and Mira felt a sigh of relief coming on. She had thought that lightning had struck the tree near the power line or right there in the middle, but she was not one hundred percent sure so she could not give a definite. All that she knew right now was that the rain was extremely hard and extremely fast and did not seem like it was easing up anytime soon.

With everyone gathered in the living room, she felt this was a good time to try to call her mother to see if she could get through and let everyone get a chance to speak to her. It had been some time since the television interview and Mira worried that her Mom was still thinking about it. There had been rumors going around work and other channels that her Mother was part of something huge and no one had any idea about what it was or who it was with, just that their small science lab had gotten a huge budget increase.

Her mother answered the phone and Mira put the conversation on speaker. After everyone shouted good morning to her, Mira began to explain what had happened in the morning hours that woke them so suddenly and then the phone line disconnected, giving off a busy signal.

“How did we lose signal?” she asked aloud. Greg shrugged his shoulders and the two girls just giggled as they played with Greg’s face.

A sudden knock on the door shook them all.

“Who would be knocking on our door at this hour? With the rain and all, no one can tell night from day… The nearest neighbor lives a mile away, so why would he be over here?” she had thought to herself but ended up saying it aloud.

Greg handed her the two girls and went to the door.

“Yes sir?” Greg said to the man at the door, “how can I help you?”

It was inaudible for a few Moments after that due to the girls screaming in her ear. She put the girls down on either side of her on the couch and rose to her feet. Before moving another inch, she looked over at Brian gestured to the girls and he nodded his head. Mira went to the door and stood beside her husband seeing a man in a white lab coat with glasses, hair slicked back in place into a ponytail. He had a black shirt on underneath the lab coat that said ride or die, blue jeans and black tennis shoes.

“Mira! Thank God I got the right house, we couldn’t get a hold of you, we need you at the lab.”

“Bobby is that you?”

“Yes Mira, do I look all that different?”

“Well, honestly, I didn’t recognize you with your hair pulled back, and new glasses are a lot different to. I’m used to seeing you in the military grade coke bottle glasses instead of these blackfin ones.” Mira giggled at herself for forgetting who her coworker was.

“Well Mira, get dressed, we need to go! Something major is happening!”

“Okay give me a minute.”

“Can we all go with her Bobby?” Greg had asked sounding just as concerned as Bobby was but a little more annoyed.

“You’ll have to drive yourselves, but yes. I’ll meet you all there.” Bobby said hastily and then turned and ran through the rain to his Hummer and drove off.

Mira was dressed quickly, then her and Greg got the two girls dressed while Brian was dressing. Once they were all done Mira packed the diaper bag and together the five of them made their way to the Jeep and began the drive to the lab. In the rush, Greg knocked over the mailbox as he backed out of the driveway. The rain was pouring down even harder than before, and when he shifted into first gear, the tires lost their grip on the road for a moment then Greg peeled off once he regained control.

The windshield wipers were as high as they could go, and they wiped the windshield as fast and furiously as possible. The defroster was on for both the front and the rear, but it still was not enough for Greg to see efficiently. He nearly took out another mailbox about 2 miles down the road heading north as he swerved to avoid a pothole. Mira wondered how he could see and worried for all five of their survival for as fast as Greg was starting to pick up. Greg wondered how Bobby could see so easily in his Hummer but then thought that it was just a coincidence that the rain was worse with them than it was with him. Unbeaten and not given up, Greg pushed the Jeep into the pouring rain even harder, each drop sounding like a bullet hitting the car. The wind had also picked up and that only made the Jeep swerve even more.

Upon arriving at the lab, Greg dropped Mira off at the front entrance and she ran in leaving Greg to find them a parking space close by so that he can carry in the girls with Brian following behind. Inside Mira was greeted by the security officers and rushed to her floor. She let them know that Greg and her family would be coming. The officers knew who they were, so they said they would let them through as quickly as possible. In the elevator Mira pressed the button for the second floor and the elevator did its job, it was a bit of a hum and then she felt a pull as the elevator climbed to the next floor.

Once the doors opened, she ran out and turned right heading towards her duty station. She got into her office sat down at the computer and looked at the readings from earlier that morning. Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened, she rose to her feet quickly and looked for Bobby through the open window. Bobby waved his hand when he saw her, and she went out to him.

“Bobby the stats from the buoys are not right, what’s going on they are 30 feet higher today than they were yesterday?”

“Mira, the stats are right,” Bobby began, “we triple checked them, what you have is the latest stats that came in 30 minutes ago. They are all correct and accurate I’ve already verified it with your mother and a few of the other labs at sea.” She noticed that Bobby’s face was wide-eyed and panicked. No one has ever seen anything like this before, and she feverishly was trying to figure out what was going on.

During the conversation, Bobby pulled out a map of the sea and lay down the map on top of a lit desk. He then turned to Mira and asked her to hand him the latest mapping that printed off, he overlaid the two maps on top of each other and said:

“See this is the map of the seafloor, and of the buoys that marked the top of the water. The second map that I am overlaying shows rises in the seawater from the northern coast of Greenland down to the equator. As you can see here, the normal seas have risen 30 feet and are moving inland in a rapid movement that is unprecedented.”

“Are we expecting anything higher?” Mira asked while studying the two overlaid maps. She then answered her own question and Bobby noticed that he saw that her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped even further than what it was before, and with that brief pause he looked into her eyes and said, “yes, it’s going to get worse.”

Mira placed her hand on the map and jotted her hand towards the Bahamas, then looked up at Bobby and asked him if this was right.

“Yes, ma’am it is, small islands and some of the larger ones are now underwater. It happened instantaneously and no one was aware of it until it was too late. From what the map shows we have lost a lot of life already and it is only going to get worse. The question is now, how we warn people and let them know of these rising waters and how they are going to affect the US coast. It is only a matter of time before this tsunami makes its way here. At least that is what I am speculating. We’ll have a massive wave hit that never recedes and will cover everything.”

“Are there any videos of the event coming in from the Bahama cameras?”

“No ma’am, there are not. Everything was wiped out instantly including their backup system which would have sent footage to the US. Everything was gone in a flash; it was like Atlantis all over again. The gods are angry and are taking out their wrath on us.”

Mira pulled out her phone and tried to call her mother to verify everything that was happening, to make sure that she had it right. Fear was the only response that Mira had now, as she was scared for not only her and her family but for her mother as well. She had thought thatthis could not be it, there has got to be some explanation to it but what is it? Her mother answered the phone, but Mira could barely hear her through the static.

Greg and their three kids came into the room and immediately headed into Mira’s office where they sat and waited for her to show back up. Greg watched her from the raised blinds in Mira’s office and when Mira turned around to see them, he waved his hand and all she did was smile. Greg could see something was on her mind and it seemed bad.

After talking with Bobby for a few more moments, Mira turned, went to her office to check on her family as well as to send out a meeting schedule for all employees later that afternoon. She then turned to her landline phone and began dialing a number to someone in the Pentagon that she knew very well would understand the situation. Luckily, the line was not busy and after three rings someone picked up.

“This is Ross,” the voice on the other line said, “who do I have the pleasure speaking to?”

“Ross, this is Mira from Radiant Springs laboratory in Florida.”

“Yes Mira, go ahead.”

“Have you seen the new data?” Mira asked with a worried tone in her voice, she heard some shuffling of papers on Ross’s desk and then he replied with yes. “I’m worried that these results are inaccurate, but we ran the numbers numerous times everything is coming out that this is the result. 30 feet swells in the ocean on top of a 30-foot rise of ocean waters. The Bahamas are all underwater and it will hit the Florida coast in a matter of seconds. We have to move fast and get a message through government channels to evacuate and save as many lives as possible.”

“I’m not able to do that from here. Not this quickly anyway, it takes time and a lot of resources to announce to everyone in the US of what is going on. We do not have the time nor the resources to do that. Perhaps you should contact the state governor and from there they would have to rely on their local news.”

“Are you serious?! That is not enough time! Do you know how many people live in Florida?”

“We are aware of the situation, but there is nothing that we can do right now to prevent anything from happening. The loss of life will be catastrophic, but we don’t have a choice in the matter please understand where I’m coming from.”

The line disconnected and Mira felt that Ross had hung up on her. Mira felt helpless. She then sent out a mass email to every station possible to let them know of what is going on and what to do. She knew it was too late for most of the coast on the Atlantic side of Florida, but she had hoped that she had made enough time for those that are in the Gulf of Mexico. She not only sent out a mass email first to the state of Florida but also Alabama, Mississippi and all the way to Texas. She was happy that she got the word out but hoped that it was released in time. Then she wondered if they were safe, she then looked at everything on the map and then made an announcement over the intercom for an immediate evacuation and told them all to get to higher ground. She turned to look at Greg, but Greg already had everything in his hands including the two girls, Brian had the diaper bag and together the five of them rushed out of the door and down the stairs to the first floor where they ran out to the car.

2. Destination Unknown?

“At least the rain stopped, right Mom?” Brian asked as they jumped into the Jeep.

“I know,” she replied, her voice sunken. Her mind was on the event that was unfolding in front of her and she was just trying to get her head around it, she hoped that her sounding the alarm at the lab was good enough to warrant some action… But Ross seemed uncooperative or was he in danger as much as they were?

Mira did not know, nor did she think about it much after that till she was driving down the road with her family trying to escape from whatever was coming. Though the map showed that water was rising, it did not appear to her (while they were on the road) that it was. Just a normal flood that happens when it rains. Driving on the road they passed a person on the side of it sitting by their car with the hood open Mira asked Greg if they should stop and help but Greg said, “No.”

“With everything that’s going on,” Greg continued in a different area just passing the gentleman on the side of the road, “do you really think that stopping is the best option?” He turned his head looking at her in a quick passing glance with his eyebrow cocked up and one down then turned his attention back to the road continued saying, “or rather let his family come out to him as they are escaping?”

The water splashed against the Jeep’s windshield and bogged the vehicle down some. She heard the engine rev up as the water appeared to be clogging something that she was very unfamiliar with. Greg dropped the speed of the vehicle quite a bit as it trudged through the open lake that was forming on the road. The water caressed the grass on the side as some of it splashed as far back as the tree line ten or so feet in. Brian watched and giggled with glee as the water formed an arch overtaking the side that he was on.

“Yeah, this is great! Drive faster Dad!” he shouted from the backseat trying to get Greg to move faster on the road for a bigger splash, but Greg would have none of it and hollered back at him to shut his mouth.

Mira tried to calm the situation by explaining to Brian that if they were to go faster, then there was a chance for Greg to lose control of the car and they would spin out or crash. “Where would that leave us if we were to wreck?” she finished the answer with a question to make him think.

“We’d be stuck, probably.” He said after a few moments.

“That’s at the best end, but anyway, just refrain from provoking your father to drive faster when it’s not the best of times.”

He nodded.

She looked over to Greg who was nodding in approval. He did not say much for a while, but Mira could tell he was still upset by the time they reached the Georgia border.

They pulled up to the states’ rest stop on the highway and got out to make a bathroom run. Mira and Greg took the girls to the family room and Brian went to the men’s room. A little while later they met back up in the center of the building and looked at the map on the wall.

“We are here,” Greg pointed out showing the location on the map (which was highlighted by a red dot on the map), then stated that the hills of the northern part of the state should be safe. Mira agreed for a Moment then suggested that they go further west.

“I think maybe Chattanooga might be safer.”

“That maybe, but don’t you think that it may be too far, and we won’t have to worry that much?”

“HUH? Do you hear yourself? You are not making any sense… listen, I know you saw the map. This whole area is going to be underwater soon. We should go to a higher ground to give us the advantage.”

“And you think that Chattanooga is the best option?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I don’t. I think we need to carefully drive to Hays, Kansas. It’s near the middle of the country and I think it just might be the safest place on Earth.”

Mira thought about it for a Moment and agreed that that is where they need to go. She said it was not that far from her sister lab and she would be able to work as soon as they arrived. She advised that she would be calling that office to let them know that she and the family were on the way. Once Greg nodded and Brian said excitedly, “Let’s go!” they loaded up and buckled in for a long drive.

Mira pulled out her phone and began searching for the number to S.T.A.R.S. Lab in her contacts. It took some time; it was not under the S’s but rather as Ass Whole’s Work. She giggled loudly and almost dropped the phone because she thought she was so funny. She had never relied on them before, sending information, yes, but never received any from them. Now she was about to call them to state that she and her family were on the way and should be there ASAP. Pressing the talk icon on her phone she was sent to a ringer that went on for a few rings, then the phone was connected on the other end:

“Star Labs – Marie speaking. How can I help you?”

“Marie, it’s Mira from Radiant Springs.”

“Yes, Ross said you’d be calling.”

“Really?”

“He’s here now, do you want me to patch you through?”

“Yes, please.” Mira spoke before she thought about it. She looked over to Greg and whispered that Ross was there, and they were expecting her to call. All he did was nod. The girls in the back began hitting each other and Mira asked Brian to quiet them down by playing with them.

“Go for Ross.”

“Ross, Mira. We are…”

“I already figured that you and yours were on the way here. From the map you sent I thought this was the safest area. Many of our employees are on their way here now with their families in tow. It is fine. We need you here as soon as you can. Drive safe.” The click at the end notified her of the end of the call. She hated how short Ross was on the phone and longwinded in person. It drove her nuts, not able to get anything in otherwise unless she asks everything first before giving him a chance to speak.

The tricky creature known as Ross.

3. Press Conference

Mira picked up her vibrating phone. She did not remember leaving it on vibrate but nonetheless, it was vibrating. She looked at the number and answered it quickly.

“Hey! How are you?”

“I’m fine, we’re driving toward STAR Labs, in Hays, where are you? Do you know what’s going on?”

“I do, that’s why I called. There has been a major update and you may want to pull over for this.”

“Greg, pull over at the next rest stop please, I may need to put this on speaker so that you and Brian can hear this.” Mira said talking to her husband.

“Who are you talking to Hun?” Greg replied.

“Mom.”

“Okay, let her know that we’ll be at a rest stop in a few miles.”

Once he saw the offramp toward the rest area, he pulled in and brought the vehicle to a stop.

“Mom, we’re stopped.”

“I … chic…click.”

“Mom?”

No answer.

“Mom!”

Still no answer. Mira’s connection then dropped on her phone on its own.

They waited there for a few minutes before driving again, they also took the time to change pullups as well as go to the bathroom. They bought drinks from the vending machine, then they got back into the Jeep and began to drive off.

Crossing into Tennessee, things seemed to be normal, like nothing was happening. As well as through most of Georgia, nothing was visible like it was in Florida. It could have just been the rain, that is what Mira was thinking. That maybe she sounded the alarm on something that was not actually happening. That nothing was wrong.

She was worried about her mother, so while they were driving, she tried her repeatedly with no answer. She thought that it may have been possible that her mother was still out on the water and her satellite phone was not getting service for some odd reason, but the number she called in on was her landline, and that line, she was not answering… nor the cell or satellite. What was going on with her was unknown and had Mira worried, but while talking about this to Greg, he advised her to relax and wait for her Mom to call her back.

They arrived in Kentucky and pulled off into a hotel where they spent the night. The hotel was small and homely, but still no word from Mira’s mother, she tried again.

“Mom?” Mira asked when the line connected.

“Hey baby,” her Mom replied, “sorry about earlier, there was something that came up and I needed to take care of it. So, I put all my devices in airplane mode, so I was not bothered.”

“What happened? By the way, we are in Kentucky. We’re at a hotel just off the interstate.”

“That’s good. But I have new news for you. This is a bit alarming and I had to spread the word just as soon as I found out. So, bear with me as I tell you this, you need to be prepared. So, sit down and let me know when you are.”

Mira went to the chair in the corner and sat down placing her legs over the arms of it. She sunk into the cushion which ended up giving her just enough room to stretch out slightly, where she was extremely comfortable.

“I’m seated.”

“Great, I am not too sure how well versed you are in history of our planet but, let me start at the beginning.”

“Okay, I am pretty well versed to the ancient Egyptians, but farther back, I am not. Why?”

“Let me explain. About 12 thousand years ago, around the end of the Ice Age, there was something that happened with the planet that sent it and the animals there, yes including all mammals to sea creatures, onto the verge of extinction. To be honest with you, scientist like myself have been looking into this for some time and were not a hundred percent sure about the whole nine yards. But due to my research, we have placed the final additions on it to have the complete story.

"The currents of the world back then, I am meaning the ocean currents mind you, all stopped abruptly. What we are figuring is that the dynamic eruptions of volcanos that were melting the ice sheets that covered the globe, were the main cause of this abrupt stoppage. It appeared to me and the team working on this, that there was in no way, a human cause to this disaster. It all came from nature since the human population was not strong enough at this point to carry the burden as we do now.

“Furthermore, with the melting of the ice sheets, it flooded the oceans with fresh water that had nowhere to go. This diluted the salt in the ocean and began shifting the plain from a salty ocean that began carrying the warm waters of the equator toward the frozen north, to a grinding halt.

“You understand so far baby?”

“Yes Mom, I do. What you are saying is that twelve-thousand years ago, the currents stopped due to this process of thawing out the earth.”

“Precisely. Now, it is happening again.”

“What?”

“Yes. Except it is mostly mans’ fault. The global warming that has been undertaking for some time has only made this process happen faster.”

“Meaning that the Global Conveyor Belt has stopped again?” Mira asked with an elevated tone and the tone got the attention of her family who immediately silenced their tongues and tuned into the conversation that Mira was having.

“Mira, this is no joke. No time for you to sit and worry either. You need to think things through. STAR Labs will have this report for you to look at when you get there, but remember time is shortening on us and we may not have long before the worst happens.”

“How long are we looking at before they completely shut down?”

“They already have. We’re going to be going through HELL in all senses of the word for about God knows how long, but at minimum a thousand years, I ballpark.” Her Mom was surprisingly calm while delivering the bad news, but Mira, she was up on her feet pacing the floor, kicking toys out of her way while she walked and tapping Greg and Brian on the chest and shoulders as she moved about the hotel room.

“Is there any way to reverse this and get the Conveyor Belt working again?” she asked.

“Not that I am aware of, last time, it reset on its own. Think that this is way it must be. We have destroyed our planet and now we are going to pay the price.

“Look baby, I have to go, gotta be on the TV in the morning, along with the rest of our crew that has figured this out. We’ll be on the NASA channel, so if you get that in the hotel room, tune in.”

“Alright Mom, I love you and will talk later.”

“Bye babe love you too. Kiss everyone for me.”

“Will do.”

Then Mira hung up the phone and looked at Greg and jumped into his arm crying tears that she had never cried before. Her mind was wrapped in so much frustration and now this, as she thought, it was too much, and the stress was getting to her. She did the only thing she had ever done, cry it out.

Once she was done crying, she looked up at Greg and told him what she and her mother were talking about and the look on his face only gave her a graver warning.How am I to keep my family alive?Then it was:What are we to do if she is right? What if she is wrong? What do we do?

Thousands of questions only flooded her mind as she looked into Greg’s forgiving eyes. He took all the stress for her with a simple kiss on her lips and Mira felt like the world could wait while her family had this night to themselves. She picked up Beth and cuddled with her on one of the twin beds and soon, Casey was crawling up onto the bed and snuggled on her mother’s other open arm. Mira did not mean that she was picking a favorite, but she just wanted one of the babies to cuddle, now she had both cuddling with her. Her smile widened as they both fell asleep in her arms.

Greg pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the three of them and saved it to his gallery. Placing his phone back in his back pocket, he laid down next to them and kissed all three on their foreheads and told Brian to lay on the other bed and get some rest.

“We have a big day tomorrow, lots of driving. We should all get some rest. We have to be out of here by ten at the latest to get to Hays before nightfall,” he said to Mira and Brian. They both nodded and laid there till they fell asleep.

In the morning they packed up the Jeep for another long day on the road. The morning air was fresh and smelled sweet. The scent flooded their nostrils like nothing before and made them not want to leave as quickly as they had to. They knew they had to leave and so finished.

“Kids – check, clothes, diaper bag, etc. – check, looks like we’re all set honey.” Mira advised.

“Good, let’s get in and go.”

“Yes sir,” Brian said reluctantly, who was still sniffing the air, “but the air is so nice here, can’t we just stay here?”

“No, we have a place to be and I need to be there rapidly.” Mira said slightly elevated.

Without further delay, Brian got into the car and they drove off toward Hays. She tuned the radio to a station that she found on the web that said it was going to be hosting a broadcast from NASA later in the morning, she and the rest of the family listened intently to the radio. They played country songs and some pop as well. It was a good mix of music that they were listening to. It was not until they began playing Dear Agony that the broadcast from NASA began:

“Good morning everyone,” the speaker began, “I hope this finds you well. We have with us a group of NOAA Sea Explorers with us here who are going to be explaining some detrimental circumstances that have arrived as of late. Before diving headlong into it, allow me to introduce today’s speakers: Malina Draffy, Gored Folger, Marie Flowers, and George Stiner. They are all experts in their field of study, which is in Deep Oceanic Study and Surface Flows. I turn this over to the speaker of the group Marie Flowers.

“Thank you and hello to all watching and listening, I am Marie Flowers and the lead on this mission. The results are in no way a good one, but we can get to that in a minute or two. My team consists of numerous scientists who found these issues with the same result as I, to get to the point of this directly, the planet as we know it is shutting down. The Global Conveyor Belt has shut down without warning. Though we have a good idea why, to this I explain:

“Heat from the Green House Gases that have been on the rise have led to the excessive melting of Ice flows in Greenland. The Glaciers there have begun to melt at a more alarming rate then the years prior. Which in turn has sent tons of fresh water into the Atlantic Ocean, where the Belt is. The Global Conveyor Belt is extremely important to us, not only does it regulate the hot and cold temperatures of our planet, but it regulates the way the sea behaves. To this degree, as warm water from the Equator rides North on this Belt, it gets to the colder Northern area by Greenland and Northern Europe and sinks below the sea to near the bottom of the ocean where it drifts Southward. Once it reaches the Equator it turns warm and rises once again and repeats this cycle.

“It has been doing so since the beginning of Oceanic Times. There was a period where this had stopped, and in doing so, it flooded the earth with terrible force. A force that we have no idea what exactly took place. The records indicate that a great flood occurred about twelve thousand years ago, and inland devastation was approximately 300 miles in all directions. This was due to the melting of ice and the heating of earth by the volcanos that were erupting at the end of the Ice Age. This in turn polluted our atmosphere and green housed the planet back then, leading to a quicker thaw of the ice that covered our planet. Fresh water dumped into the oceans, rivers, and lakes, this freshwater flow slowed down the ocean currents and disrupted the way they work, sending cold water to the south pole.

“This in turn made the Global Conveyor Belt shut down. Forcing the Great Flood that rocked our planet to its core. For approximately one thousand years the earth did not have a functioning ocean like how we have to this day, once it regained its strength and restarted the planets end was close by. Now the Global Conveyor Belt has stopped once more, this as I said was in turn to the Greenhouse gasses that we currently produce. It has begun a massive melt of the Ice Sheets in the North. Dumping fresh water once again into the sea and reversing the flow as well as now, completely halting its progress.

“We’re expecting a lot of new and dangerous issues to arise from this. For example: Deep freezes and dangerously low temperatures for starters. We know that it is an idea that has a real possibility, but when this happened the first time, we have no hard proof record to indicate what the climate was like on an animal scale. We know from fossil records that it froze deeply for a good period, as plant life was just about extinct as well as animals dropping off the face of the earth and never to be seen again…

“We worry that this maybe the fate of humankind. There were preparations in place all over the world, but how long those said resources are too last is unknown. We are expecting a huge loss of life but if we keep our heads straight, we should not be all dying by human hands. We can only hope that we can get out all the equipment we have to battle this if the freeze comes. We are not exactly sure what to expect but preparations are in place to battle a few of the elements. Be prepared all of you. I will now turn this over to Milina who will direct you on where to go for evacuations.”

“Can this be real Mom?” Brian asked, “Was this what you and grandma were speaking about last night?”

“Yes,” Mira began, “This is what we were talking about and it is all real. This is not a false report. I saw the buoys rising myself, so I know that the sea water is rising, but I had no idea that we were in this much trouble. If there was only a way to stop it from happening. I do not know what we are going to be able to do exactly, but we will survive. I have no doubts about that. Life will go on, might be small, but there’s a way for us to keep going and keep the family afloat.”

The radio clicked off as the woman came up to the mic and Mira looked at Greg thinking that he did something. But he stared at the road and the radio at the same time wondering the same thing.What happened to the feed?

The radio went to static, they drove for a few more feet behind a gray sedan when suddenly that car began to swerve, and Greg tried to slam on the brakes. Greg began to yell at the driver ahead of him until he realized that his vehicle too shut off and the brakes were not working as well. All the vehicles on the road shut off at once like a giant EMP was set off and no one had any control of anything anymore. The radio died; Mira tried to use her phone to call her mother but that too was not working.

“But this was at full charge! What the hell?”

“Mine too Mom.” Brian called out loudly.

Greg pushed the brakes down as far as they would go with a lot of resistance and suddenly, they came to a stop as he forced the Jeep into the grass on the left-hand side of the road. A lot of drivers were doing the same thing, pulling off into the grass and some purposefully smashed theirs into trees to stop them, but luckily most of them were driving so slow by that point that nothing happened to anyone. People were getting out of their cars and began looking around, looking at each other and calling out for answers.

4. S.T.A.R.S. Lab

Mira found herself and her family walking to Hays, luckily, they apparently were not that far from it. Greg thought earlier that they were, but when they got out of the Jeep and began walking, they saw a sign that said Hays – 5. She knew that the lab was hidden in the forest and only known to those who were supposed to know. It was one of those types of government owned buildings that were kept secret. The two-seater stroller was being pulled through the mud of the forest and Mira felt the strain of the drag. They had left their belongings in the Jeep and thought that it was the better plan, get to STAR Labs first, then see if they could recruit someone to help grab the remaining items.

The trudge through the woods kept the family’s attention heightened, there were sounds from all over of birds and insects, as well as a rattle that came from a bush nearby. They all stopped and stared at the bush, and once the rattling ceased, they began to move once again. Feeling like their world was ending, they listened to everything that was calling out in the woods like it was their best friend.

Coming to a huge concrete structure in the middle of the forest, which happened to be surrounded by a barbed-wire fence, led them to believe that they were in the right spot. Mira knew where the building was, but not what it looked like. At first, she thought to be in the wrong place, but as they approached a man pacing the grounds hollered toward them.

“Hey, you!” the man in the gray uniform shouted. He ran toward them, his flashlight dangling on his hip, his hat nearly falling off the top of his head. Placing his hand on top held it into place. He came up panting trying to catch his breath as he leaned over placing his hands on his knees. “Who…who…are you guys.”

“I’m looking for Star Labs?” Mira responded.

“You found it,” he said catching his breath, “And you are?”

“Mira, and this is my family.”

“Ah! You are expected. Follow me and I will lead you in.”

To Mira and her family, it did not look like the building was all that old, they kept it well-groomed from what Greg had stated to her as the guard was walking them up to the entrance. The concrete sort of glistened in the daylight that was penetrating through the high canopy of treetops and the lights that were on all sides of it allowed for great nighttime viewing.The wildlife, as Greg thought,had to be at a disadvantage if those lights were on all night.

“So,” Greg began talking to the guard that was leading them around the far-left corner, “how is the nighttime here? A lot of animals come by?”

“No sir, not really. Outside of the normal, like raccoons or snakes, we don’t have any here.” The guard paused as they reached the door, he then turned to him and said, “There’s a giant fence around back that keeps all the bigger animals away. A few miles up the way, there’s a dam that is holding back a lot of water as well.” The guard then opened the door and gestured to them to enter, “Here you five are, have a great stay.”

“Thank you, sir,” Mira said as the five of them entered the building.

Inside the building it was brightly colored, not just white, but an array of colors spanning the entire hallway that they could tell. Brian said the neon colors were giving him a bit of a headache, but that was the only complaint from him for that moment. Mira looked right and noticed a sign by the first door that read, “Committee” there was another sign near a door on the left that held a red arrow pointing further down the left side, under the red arrow was the words “Weather Center”. Turning left they trudged down the hallway like a herd of elephants making stomping noises with their squeaky shoes as they walked. Though not meant, but the floors were incredibly slick and looked new, very shiny against the light that bounced off it.