Tom thought of his sons and sister and nodded.
“If you guys need a lift out to the airport tomorrow, just let me know. The trains might be running, but in case they’re not, I’ll give you my number. There was something on the news before about taxi driver’s charging crazy expensive fares already… I hope it doesn’t get too bad.”
“Yeah me too.” They drove out of the underground car park and into the traffic. It was fairly busy. People were rushing around, but it didn’t really look all that different from normal rush hour.
Emma must have been thinking the same thing. “It looks the same. But everything’s changed.”
“Yep. Well. They’ll probably figure something out. Let’s not give up just yet. It is the twenty-first century after all. We’re not like the dinosaurs.”
“They said on the news that it’s bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs,” Emma said in a small voice.
“Yeah, I know.”
They were both silent as Emma navigated the busy streets.
“I hope the bridge isn’t too clogged. Apparently the Lion’s Gate isn’t moving,” Emma said after a while.
That was the trouble with the North Shore. Only two bridges to get in and out.
“Where do you live?” Tom asked, in an attempt to make conversation that wasn’t about their impending doom.
“Blueridge. By the Seymour River?”
“Nice, yeah I know it,” Tom said. “I used to go swimming there in the summers with my cousins.”
“Cliff-jumping?” Emma glanced sideways at him. Tom laughed.
“Once. I was a pretty wussy kid. My cousins dared me.”
Emma grinned. “I love it. You’re not meant to, of course, but it’s so exhilarating. I really want to go bungy jumping. Amelia and I are planning to do it in Australia when I go visit her… I mean. Well. If I go visit her…” Emma stopped, confusion in her voice and face.
“Let’s try not to think about it too much right now, eh? At least until we know more.” Tom suggested.
“Yeah, good idea. They’ll figure something out. I don’t exactly know who ‘they’ are though to be honest…” Emma trailed off.
It was fully dark by the time they made it to the Ironworkers Bridge. Traffic crawled across. The lights on Grouse Mountain sparkled. Tom wondered if anyone was still up there. Imagine that — spend your day skiing and come off the mountain to the news that the world might end in a couple of months.
Emma had turned the radio off when her attempt to find some light-hearted music had failed. All of the stations were talking about the asteroid, except for one station that was playing death metal, which Emma quickly skipped over.
The traffic improved a bit once they got over the bridge and off the highway. Tom tried calling his grandparents again, but there was still no answer. He left a message on their answering machine and wondered when they’d get around to getting cell phones. His Gran in Ontario even had her own blog, which she updated with her gardening progress and preserving tips. She had a bigger following than he did. His B.C. grandparents, his mother’s parents, on the other hand were complete technophobes. He marvelled that they even had a computer, until he remembered that Uncle Sam had given it to them ten years ago as a Christmas present. He didn’t think it had been turned on since then.
When they got closer to Deep Cove, Tom directed Emma to his grandparents’ house until they pulled up into the familiar driveway.
“Thanks again so much for doing this,” he said. “Can I just ask one more favour? Wait a moment until I make sure they’re here? I haven’t been able to get through to them.”
“Yeah, sure. Just give me a wave. Here, wait,” Emma scrambled around to find a pen and a scrap of paper. “Here’s my number.”
“Thanks,” Tom said as she handed him the paper.
He put the piece of paper in his wallet and climbed out of the car. He huddled down into his scarf as the cold, damp night air bit his nose, and wished he’d grabbed his toque.
Tom smiled at Emma who sat watching him intently from the car, and strode up the path to the front door. Their car was there. That was a good sign.
He knocked.
CHAPTER TWO
Claire
THE first thing Claire did was check the date. February 12th. Definitely not April Fools Day. Maybe the website had been hacked. She closed it and opened the CNN and BBC websites, as well as CBC, The Age, and the Toronto Star. They all said variations of the same thing.
Asteroid. Unstoppable. The end of the world.
Impossible.
The second thing she did was pinch herself. Hard. She wondered for a moment if she’d dozed off at her desk and if this was all just a dream. How can the world suddenly be ending between lunch and dinner? There’d been nothing out of the ordinary when she’d checked the news this morning. Just your usual celebrity melt-downs, political scandals and media beat-ups. She’d turned her phone and internet connection off for a few hours to take advantage of the boys being at their aunt’s house, and to concentrate on getting the article she was working on finished, and now this.
Claire morbidly clicked on one after another of the articles. Phrases jumped out at her.
“…it is being reported that the asteroid is even bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs…”
“…the asteroid was first discovered almost a year ago by amateur South African astronomer, Frank Langdale, and named for his youngest daughter, Cecelia…”
“…“I urge all Americans, and people around the globe, to attempt to remain calm”…”
“…the President has confirmed that all known methods to attempt to divert the asteroid have been attempted and were unsuccessful…”
“…“This is God’s punishment for all of our sinful, greedy, blasphemous ways. The end is nigh.”…”
“…This is catastrophic. This is what happens when funding is cut from research and development, and we have a Prime Minister who doesn’t believe in science. This thing should have been spotted months or even years ago, but thanks to all the funding cuts both here and overseas…”
“…Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst…”
Claire started to feel dizzy. She put her head down on the table and reached blindly for her phone and switched it back on. She waited impatiently for the damn thing to start up, and then stared at the last two numbers called: her husband and her parents. They’d have to wait, she needed to make sure her boys were okay. She pressed Lisa’s name.
Her sister-in-law answered on the first ring.
“Claire, are you seeing this?”
“Yeah. What the hell?”
“I don’t know, it’s nuts. I tried to call you…”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I had my phone off. Are the boys okay?” Claire asked.
“Yeah, they’re fine. I haven’t told them anything. Tristan’s a bit cranky and asking for Tom.”
“I’ll be right over.” Tom. She wished Tom was here.
Claire hung up and grabbed her coat, scarf and car keys. She refreshed the news feed, hoping to see a report about it all being a false alarm and not to worry. No such luck.
Claire pulled on her boots and tried not to slip as she dashed to the car. Fresh snow was tumbling down. She started the engine and let it sit idle for a minute, warming up. Pulling out her phone, she dialled her husband and put him on speaker phone.
“Claire, baby! Are you okay? Are the boys okay?”
“Hi, yeah, they’re fine. They’re at Lisa’s. I’m on my way there now. Are you okay?”
“This is crazy.”
“I know. I don’t know what to think, Tom.”
“Me either, baby.”
“Asteroid? Is this some big practical joke that’s got out of hand?” she said more shrilly than she intended.