The Day the Earth Went Mad
{Part I}
Copyright 1997
ONE
THE day it happened must have been a normal day for every human in the world. Children were starving in Africa and other continents, others were dying of known or unknown diseases, people were going to work in thousands of cities around the world, and I was still sleeping and not ready at all to go to work. She called me at eight o'clock in the morning. I thought the ring of the phone was my alarm, so I reached out and slammed my bedside table. The pain and sound jarred me awake, and then I remembered that I didn't have an alarm clock. When I realized that it was the phone, I reached over again and picked it up.
"Hello?" I grumbled into the phone, stretching my long frame to its limit.
"Get up." Alix, my girlfriend, said. Her voice was also hoarse from sleep.
"What for?" I answered in a whine.
"We have to go to work, silly." She sounded a little annoyed, and also, I thought, very sexy. She was the one who usually woke me in the morning, calling me as soon as she woke. When she spent the night over at my place, she would bring her own alarm clock, because I so adamantly refused to buy one for myself. I wasn’t into times. The closest thing I had to an alarm clock was my wristwatch with the little alarm on it.
I groaned. "Look, why don't we take the day off and you can come over?" I asked her, groaning as I stretched.
I heard her sigh. "Julia, come on. Don't do this." She said. "Get up and let's go to work." She paused for a second. "I won't go over to your place tonight if you don't." The last sentence was a tease meant for seduction.
I could not resist, I was trapped. "All right! See you at work." I said, feeling defeated. "Love you."
"Love you too." She said, and hung up.
I grudgingly hung up the phone and shuffled without any animation towards the bathroom.
TWO- The Explosion
FIRST of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Julia Soto, I have green eyes and black hair, and I’m five feet nine inches and weigh about one sixty. I was born in Chicago, Illinois, in a rich neighborhood off parents that were a doctor and a lawyer. I moved to New York about eight years ago to expand my career. I was what they called a child genius, and they still refer to me as that, although I don’t see why. Anyway, I came to New York City right after my college graduation, after my twentieth birthday.
At first, my mother didn’t want to let me go, I was too young, she said. I convinced her, though, but she insisted on letting me go with a large gift. Some of it, I spent getting a car and renting an apartment. I had graduated with honors, and a job was not hard to find. My calling was computers, and my interest was a very well known company called Computer Central. The company initially did program designs, adapting them to company or private users, it upgraded itself by adding Internet page designing when the Internet hit the sky in ninety-two. They took me in right away, offering me such a high salary that it made my head spin.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bragging. The truth is that I can dismantle a computer and get it back together in half the time; I can also build computers, and programs if I want. Anyway, I worked in Computer Central for about three years before Alix was transferred from another branch of the company on a promotion.
Alix Villasenor, she’s not Spanish, she’s from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She doesn’t have an accent, unfortunately, but her voice and way of speaking still make the little hairs on my skin stand. Alix, well, she’s plain and simply gorgeous. The first time I saw her.... Well... I was a goner. I was in love with her right away, probably within seconds. She’s one of those people that are so beautiful, it hurts. Well, it hurt me all over. She’s a workaholic, and I’m an Alix-holic, though I may say that she’s pretty addicted to me too. They call Alix a genius also, and they say that is the reason she and I get along so well. I don’t think so, I think its just love. Alix is a very funny person, everyone loves her. She has the sense of humor of a natural comedian, but the stern demeanor of my mother when it comes to business.
I smiled to myself as I waited for the J train at my train station. The train would not regularly come on time, sometimes being a half and a whole hour late. It may sound like I’m exaggerating, but I’m not, this train got out of hand sometimes. That day, the train was only twenty five minutes late. The train ride was as always, stuffed and slow. It was already nine thirty am. The ride between a hundred and twenty first street in Queens and Delancey street in Manhattan always took about forty-five minutes. Today, because of the lateness, the J train was over-stuffed. More people than the usual boarded it.
I saw my everyday train ride acquaintance and shuffled my way towards her. She was pushed against the doors and I could see how uncomfortable she was through her brown eyes. "Hi, Maria." I said, reaching her side. She was a short, shapely and plump woman of about thirty years with a serious flirting problem. And she wasn't the only one with that problem, though; unfortunately, she had infected me with it, and I enjoyed it. "How are you today?" I asked, kissing her cheek. Her eyes twinkled. I believed it was all in friendly play.
"I'm fine." She replied silkily. "And you?" Maria was a tax consultant at a Manhattan firm, she’d been working there for at least six years and she was appreciated greatly. She made good enough money to get herself a car, but like me, she preferred the every day hassle of train riding.
"Oh, the usual." I said off-handedly, waving my hand a little. "Don't want to go to work."
"How's your girl?" She said, smiling. Uh-Oh, I thought, Here it comes! "I'm still wondering when she's going to start treating you like shit," She continued slowly, the smile turning mischievous. "So that I can just move in and take over for her."
I laughed heartily; people turned to look at us, trying to figure what the joke was all about in this crowded train. "But she loves me too much to treat me like shit." I said, my voice low, confidential. "Besides, if anything goes wrong, I'd tell you." I whispered into her ear. She laughed. Maria and I had been riding this train together for about two years. Alix had met her a few times when she would stay over at my place and we would leave for work the next day together.
We rode for a few minutes, and Maria had gotten suddenly quiet. "What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.
Her eyes were absently looking at me. Then she looked up into my eyes. "I don't know." She answered distractedly. I remained quiet, also feeling the pangs of worry.
We were twenty minutes into our ride when it happened. The train stopped at the Eastern Parkway train station. A lot of people were getting out of the train, while others were waiting to get inside. Maria was pushed against me, the look of worry on her face deepened.
And then came the giant explosion! Everything trembled, people screamed and cried out. The first thought that came to my mind was that the train would fall from the tracks, they seemed to rock back and forth, like a swing. Suddenly, the trembling stopped.
I could barely breathe. Sometime during the ride, Maria and I had traded places and I was now pushed against the closed doors, my back to them. Maria's face was a blank mask of horror, her hands on my arms were grasping tightly. The explosion was so loud it left me deaf for a few long moments. I couldn't actually hear the screams and the cries, but I could feel them and see the other passenger’s open mouths. I looked at Maria, whose eyes were focusing on something outside the windows. "What is it?" I demanded. I was freaking out, and the look on her face didn’t help.
The reflection in her dark eyes showed nothing of what she was seeing. I looked around and realized that she wasn't the only one looking out with panic in her eyes. "Maria, what's going on?" I asked, shaking her. "What do you see?" I couldn't turn to look.
Maria seemed to have awakened. She pushed herself back a little, and I realized it was to allow me to turn and see. And when I turned, I gasped as I saw the unexpected. Slowly, a great wave of gray-black clouds covered the sky.
This was unearthly! Everywhere that was brightened by day was suddenly covered by darkness wherever the cloud passed; it covered us now also. Everything was still trembling.
The silence that permeated through the train station was disturbing. I looked around, people were now looking at each other with disbelief. Some people exclaimed on how unbelievably loud that thunder was. They were temporarily deaf! They were sure a bad storm was coming. Damn the weathermen! They couldn’t even give a correct forecast!
I didn't think so. This did not look like the normal signs of a storm. This was more than that, I was sure.
THREE- Time Is Gone
I don't know how long it took me to get to work. My watch had stopped running sometime after the explosion. And the weird thing was that it wasn't only my watch that had stopped. Maria's also stopped working. I had looked down at my watch, it felt like we were standing in Eastern Parkway for hours. I had started to get impatient and I let out an exclamation when I saw that my watch was not working either. Well, it had not really stopped. Rather, its hands began to go in opposite directions spinning out of control.
Maria looked down at her own watch and realized that the same thing was happening to it. People heard our confused voices and looked at their own watches. Just by looking at their faces, I could tell that the same was happening with them. And suddenly, the conductor's uncertain voice informed us that the train would be moving shortly.
The train had started out slowly, as if its driver were also afraid; I'm sure he was. As I got out of the train station and up to Delancey Street, I realized that this may be very serious.
An accident had occurred. Two cars had crashed into each other, I assume when the explosion occurred. A crowd was standing around the collision, they were looking at the destroyed cars. I walked up to one of the spectators. "What's going on?" I asked the middle-aged woman. Her gray eyes turned to look at me.
"They should have been dead." She said, her voice was a monotone.
I frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"
She pointed at the two drivers, who were speaking nervously to one another. "The one on the right flew out of his car, and he landed on his dead. The other guy was smashed in there," She said, pointing to a totally destroyed car. I couldn't even tell what model or color it was. "The one who flew out just got up off the floor and helped him out. Just like that."
It was getting stranger by the minute. "They didn't get hurt at all?" I asked, not believing this.
The woman shook her head. She looked up at the dark sky. "Things look to be turning for the worst." She said and turned away, walking down the street. I couldn't help but shudder. I walked off, heading towards the World Trade Center. I always walked there, since I was allowed to go into the office at anytime I wanted.
Everything was strange and quiet. People were quietly speaking in groups, looking up at the darkened sky. Some were sitting inside bars, quietly watching the news on the giant televisions. The street lights were already on. As I walked, I noticed it was getting a little warmer. I opened my jacket and didn’t pay any more mind to this. But I just walked quickly, watching the slow-moving traffic. It was running too slow, but at least it was running. I quickly approached the building where I worked. It was a high rise building that stood a few blocks away from the World Trade Center.
I walked into the building, absently greeting the doorman, who also absently waved me in. I stepped into the large elevator and punched the fiftieth floor button, where Alix and I worked.
It seemed years passed before I reached floor number fifty. As soon as I walked out of the elevator, I realized that today was definitely not going to be a normal day. Everyone was scattered all over the office. Some were talking in groups, others were sitting by themselves, obviously deep in thought.
I instantly felt compelled to find Alix. If she was as worried as these people seemed, I was sure she was going to need me badly. After looking through some offices and in the restroom, I asked Morton, a co-worker, if he'd seen Alix. He looked up at me, his eyes distracted. "She's by the windows Mighty worried about you." He muttered, and then went back to his writing.
I gave my thanks to his lowered balding having head and walked towards the windows. The sky looked eerier from our floor. The city looked dark and gloomy under this cloud. I said This Cloud because it looked like one giant cloud, there was no over-lapping of clouds, no clearings. It was as if a giant grayish-black cape was covering New York City. I shivered.
I looked up and down the length of the windows. Alix was standing on my left, a few feet away from me. She was leaning against the wall perpendicular to the windows. Her brown hair looked darker, from the absence of the light of the sun. Her full lips quivered as she tightly wrapped her arms around herself. Her baby blue eyes moved over the city and up to the sky. Despite it all, she was still beautiful.
"Alix," I whispered, a feeling of protectiveness overtook my body. She turned to look at me. "Are you okay?" I asked her softly, feeling that she would shatter if I spoke any louder.
She immediately walked into my outstretched arms, shivering violently. "I was so worried about you." She gasped into my chest. "What happened? What was that out there?" She didn't even pause between questions. "Are you okay?" She asked, touching and looking me over, as if to see if I had any wounds.
I pushed her away and held her at arm's length. My eyes looked into hers. "I'm fine, baby." I reassured her. I pulled her back into my embrace. "I don't know what happened out there. But it must have been something very serious, I've never seen the sky look this way." I looked out at the city. "The strangest things happened." I looked at my watch, realizing that its hands were still running haywire. I took it off and slipped it into my pocket. There was no use for it now.
More people walked towards the windows, including the office manager, Paul Sergei, who walked to our side. Alix still hung on to me as if for dear life. Paul looked at her and frowned. "Is she okay?" He asked me from the side of his mouth.
I shrugged, feeling wary. "I have no idea. She was very worried about me." I replied.
"I don't like this." Alix said, lucidity returned to her eyes. I began to feel relief. She did not let go of me though. She looked up into my eyes for a long time. I wanted to kiss her so badly! I think she read it in my eyes, because she stood on tiptoe and kissed me softly and briefly, probably knowing that I'd crave for more. She looked into my eyes again and I caught the slight glimmer of humor that usually permeated in them. "I don't think I should let this bother me. You're fine, that's what matters." She whispered into my ear.
Paul smiled. "You know, under other circumstances, I would reprimand you two. But right now, everyone needs comfort." He said.
"My God!" The cry jolted us. Alix's hand tightened its grip upon my blazer. We all turned to the source. Caroline wasn't the only one gaping at the sky through the buildings outside our window. We followed their gazes. I heard gasps escape Alix and Paul’s mouths just as mine did.
I couldn't believe my eyes! I closed them for a few seconds and opened them again. I shook my head slowly as I saw through the buildings and darkness a plane flying across the air. The lights that would signal its presence in the darkness were at the top. No, I had realized with shock, it was upside down! Alix's hands shook as she pulled at me.
"Julia!" She gasped. "It's upside down!" She was a nervous wreck again. "It's going to crash." The plane's top was facing the ground, it was going towards the ground at high speed. I figured it was just a mistake of the pilot. Maybe when the explosion happened, he had been shocked. I told them my theory.
Paul shook his head. His eyes still followed the plane's descent. "That happened probably hours ago. Too long ago." He said.
I thought about it. It was true, it seemed hours had passed since `The Explosion.' Plus, my eyes now caught the sight of a few other planes in the distance. More gasps arose from the people around us. I was sure that these people were going to die. All these people in these planes were going to die because no one could land a plane that was flying upside down. A sense of doom overcame me and I pulled Alix tightly into my embrace. "Oh God," I whispered. "Help them."
**********
WE had all walked blindly to our desks. Alix's desk faced mine, but she wanted to sit on my lap. She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, cradling my head on her full chest. I wrapped my arms around her waist and we sat there, not speaking, our trembling bodies saying everything there was to say. We were afraid for those thousands of humans on those doomed planes.
Everyone remained at their desks, deep in thought; you could almost hear a pin drop. Lucas, another computer programmer, threw everyone out of their reverie. He walked in- actually, stumbled in- drenched. His hands shakily tore at his tie and he pulled off his jacket.
Everyone was staring at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I exclaimed, standing up. Alix was so shocked that she clung to me for a second or two. Then she put her feet on the floor, but still clung to me.
Lucas stumbled to the water fountain and gulped down some water. There was confusion in his wide eyes. "I don't understand!" He exclaimed. "It’s boiling hot out there!" And that’s when I realized that his shirt was soaked with sweat. Beads of sweat ran down his round face. His brown hair was matted to his face.
"What are you talking about? It's twenty degrees out there!" I said. "It's the middle of winter."
His eyes brightened. "The Weather Channel!" He said, running towards the recreation room. I followed, and so did everyone else. When I walked into the recreation room, Lucas had already put the weather channel on the TV. The visibility was blurry.
`Something atrocious is occurring!' The weatherman exclaimed. The computerized map and weather grid of the world was on the giant screen behind him. His face revealed shock. `The temperatures of the world are changing!' As he was saying this, we watched the temperatures from basically the Tropic of Cancer of the world up to the Arctic Circle rise simultaneously. At the same time, the temperatures between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator went down to freezing temperatures. From the line of the Equator down to the Antarctic circle the temperatures rose also. I looked for the temperature of New York City, and realized with a gasp that the temperature had risen to one hundred and twenty degrees!
Everyone was watching, mouths agape. In countries like Mexico, the temperatures went down even to below zero degrees. "Maybe this is a mistake. Maybe their satellites are out of line." I said, trying to reason all of this out.
Paul quickly stood, looking at Amanda, the human resources director. "Call Carlos Rivero in California!" He said. "Ask him how their temperature is."
A few minutes later, Amanda returned, worry deepened the age lines around her eyes. We threw thousands of questions at her before she answered. "It's freezing down there!" She said, breaking through the din of our voices. "It's even snowing!" Her eyes widened.
Alix looked at me; her eyes were a dark blue. This only happened when she was afraid. I took her hand and squeezed it. Paul stood, looking at all of us solemnly with dark brown eyes. "Everyone," He said. "Just go home." He dismissed us with a wave of his plump hands.
FOUR- Heat!
ALIX and I walked out of the elevator. We still didn't feel the supposed heat. But as soon as we walked past the front doors, the heat hit us like a slap in the face! Jesus! Immediately, I felt the sweat break out of me. I blindly tugged at my jacket, tearing it off my shoulders. It was an intense heat, like none I’d ever experienced. Alix removed her own jacket and threw it to the ground. People around us were experiencing the heat just the same as we were.
I looked around, tugging at my blazer, and saw that it was still very dark. Alix was gasping for air, the heat was too intense for her and the air was unmercifully thin. I took her hand, after removing my blazer and opening my shirt, and pulled her down the street in the direction of the train station.
We were exhausted by the time we reached Delancey Street train station. Just as I was about to pull Alix down the stairs with me, she pulled back and shook her head. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead and were now thick drops running down her face.
I questioned her with my eyes. "I rather take a cab," She said, her voice was low, her breathing was shallow. "I'm too tired. We should have thought of this before."
I hailed a cab and gave the driver my address and directions. After I had paid the driver and we were standing in front of my place, Alix threw herself in my arms and cried. Everything was too quiet, all I heard was Alix's sobs. "I'm afraid," She gasped. "So afraid!"
I pulled her into my place and made her sit on the couch. I left her so that I could open all the windows. Then, I was quickly by her side again. Alix doubled over, putting her head on my lap. I felt that surge of protectiveness again, letting my fingers run through her hair. "Alix," I whispered. "Everything will be fine."
Alix looked up at me and sat up. The beads of sweat were on her forehead and neck. I looked down at her plump chest, which was covered with a now soaked stylish silk button-down shirt, licking my lips slowly. My eyes traveled up to meet her eyes. "Let's take a shower." I said. She nodded and allowed me to pull her along with me.
THE fear we now possessed made us hold on to each other tightly. I wrapped my arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around my neck, our legs were entwined. Our tongues searched each other's mouths; slowly, passionately. I really didn't know how long we stood under the cold shower. I pulled back slightly, wanting to continue to kiss her. "Alix," I whispered against her lips. "Let's go to bed."
She nodded and we went to my bed, still holding each other. She wrapped her arms around me again. Her small, soft hands shakily caressed my back. I shuddered as she planted feather light kisses on my shoulders. I let my hands caress her. I felt the sweat breaking out of our bodies again, but it didn't matter. The heat was increasing our arousal. I felt Alix's fingers digging fiercely into my back. God, this felt so good! "Alix," I whispered into her ear as I kissed her neck softly. "It's always like the first time," Passion overtook me. "You're so beautiful! You feel so good!" I knew she was afraid, but I also knew that she wanted me. When she was afraid, worried, or sad, she liked to make love; to feel the closeness of our bodies and my strength, she said. I felt her want in her hands; when they grabbed my shoulders, when she pulled me down over her on the bed.
"Julia," She whispered, kissing me softly on the lips. "I love you! The way you make me feel!" She was tearing.
I grabbed her face with my hands. I kissed her face all over. "I know you're afraid." I whispered between kisses. "I want to make you forget what's happening out there." I gestured towards the window. Then I looked into her eyes again. "Do you think I can?" I asked her; my voice was hoarse.
She nodded; her eyes were two sensuous slits that showed me her arousal. "I need you!" She whispered, tightening her grip on me. "I need you to take me, Julia!" She almost whimpered. "Please, baby!"
Those words propelled me. I felt her move against me, begging me with her body. I took a deep breath as I moved lower along her beautiful body. She spread her legs for me, enticing me with the slow movement of her hips. I felt a strong tingling sensation between my own thighs. "God, Alix! You are so beautiful." I whispered, my lips pressing against her abdomen. And then my eyes took in her beauty, my nose took in her beautiful scent. I was all I could do to not succumb to my already fierce desire. As I looked at her pink folds, I kissed her inner thighs softly, letting my tongue trace the spots my lips touched.
Alix gasped, grabbing my head with her hands. She tried to push my lips to her, but I held back. "Julia, please!" She cried out. "Please..." Her voice shook; she moaned with a fervor that was driving me to insanity. As my tongue went inside her moist folds, tasting and exploring, I felt her hands shakily release my head. I felt her pushing herself against my erect tongue. Her body shuddered, and I felt the bed shaking from her passion. She wrapped her legs around my head, pulling me tighter against her. Her breath came in short gasps and I could feel her walls tightening around my tongue.
I felt a surge of passion overcome my body.
And then suddenly, she reached orgasm. Her body tensed and she lifted her hips from the bed, holding herself tightly against my mouth. Her wet walls contracted and expanded with ecstasy around my tongue. She cried out again and again as one orgasm after another shook her from inside. I kissed her one last time before I looked up at her. Her hands were gripping the edges of my bed, tugging at them as her back arched in passion, her eyes closed tightly. What a beautiful sight!
I lay on top of her, kissing her neck softly. She wrapped her legs tightly around my waist. I felt her shivering under me. I kissed her lips, slipping my tongue gently inside her mouth. She took me in, answering with as much heat as I was giving her. "I love you." She whispered against my lips; her breath was still short. "You make me feel so good, so protected."
"I love you too." I answered, smoothing back her wet hair from her forehead. I laid my head down on her chest, then I felt her small hands caressing my back. They traveled down to my buttocks, squeezing them. I pushed myself against her, making her squirm with pleasure.
"It's not fair." She said softly. I lifted my head up and looked at her with confused eyes. She smiled softly. "I want to make love to you too." She whispered huskily into my ear.
I shivered. "You don't have to." I said to her, my voice shook.
"But I want to!" She said. And suddenly, too quick for me to react, she pushed us so that she was now sitting astride me. She looked deeply into my eyes and whispered: "Now it my turn."
FIVE- It Shakes!
WHAT woke me the first time was some sort of jolt. It was a strong shake. I looked at Alix's sleeping face. She didn't seem to feel what I had just felt. I closed my eyes again, deciding that it was just my imagination. But a few seconds later, the same tremors shook me. Only this time, they didn't stop. My sleepy brain took its time to register that what we were experiencing was an earthquake. An earthquake?! It felt as if we were swinging to and fro, as if the world were a swing. There was a loud, crumpling sound, which increased in volume as the shaking gained strength.
Alix woke up, her eyes flickered open. Fear overtook her beautiful features. She looked into my eyes. "Julia!" She gasped. I scrambled off the bed. I stood but I was as soon thrown to the floor. Alix followed me off the bed and fell also. "Ouch!" She cried out. I pulled her up to her feet. She ran past me, but I pulled her back. She cried out as my things fell off the dresser, as pictures fell of the walls, at the sound of breaking glass from the kitchen. I grabbed my pants and quickly slipped them on. I grabbed the bed covers and threw them over her. I pulled her out of the bedroom. The floor still shook violently. We fell again and I quickly stood and pulled her up, I could feel . We ran across the living room and out the front door. We fell again on the sidewalk.
We looked around, realizing that weren't the only ones who had struggled out of our houses. There were people running up and down the streets, screaming, and some cowering in terror. One hundred and twenty fourth street looked like a circus night gone horribly wrong, when maybe an elephant went mad, ran to the audience and everyone would scatter, running for their lives. The tremors suddenly stopped; a few seconds later, an after-shock came. I looked at Alix's fear stricken face. He fingers sunk into my naked shoulders. "It's New York!" She gasped. "There's no earthquakes in New York!" She tried to shake me. I saw the tears gather in her eyes and spill down her cheeks. She sobbed now. "Not in New York!" She said again, she was shaking violently.
"Alix," I tried to get her to stop. She was starting to loose it; and if she didn't stop, I'd loose it also. I grabbed her arms and shook her violently. "Alix!" I yelled at her, she was still crying loudly. I don't know what came over me, but I slapped her! Before I even realized it, my hand was on her face. She shut up then. Her frightened eyes looked up at me in surprise. I started crying also. "I'm so sorry." I gasped, pulling her into my embrace. She hugged me fiercely. We remained there for what seemed like hours. When I assumed that the earth wasn't going to shake anymore, at least for now, I pulled her up with me.
When she realized that I was pulling her back into my apartment, she cried out and pulled back. "No!" She said.
"At least lets go put some clothes on!" I said.
She looked down at my chest and complied. Inside, we sat on the couch. I turned on the TV to channel seven. The visibility was bad, but it was enough. Alix sat beside me, wrapping the covers tighter around herself. I put my arm around her shoulders as we watched.
‘It seems that we have just experienced an earthquake. Reports say in the Ritcher's scale of six point one.’ The news caster informed us. ‘Reports also say that the earthquake has affected only the areas of Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island.’ A computerized map of the island came out on the TV. I sat forward, narrowing my eyes in realization. `There are yet no reports of deaths.' His face was drawn and shocked. `This is one shocking situation: There have never been earthquakes in New York!'
`It seems that since The Explosion today.... Or… yesterday, for that matter- we are not sure of the times- strange things have been happening,' The other news-caster joined, confusion etched his forehead, it was obvious that he was as flustered as every human being in this world. A strange feeling started to bother my stomach. `For those of you who have missed us, in our times of special news casting, there have been reports of numerous plane crashes all over the world. Almost thirty thousand people have been killed today.' I looked at Alix. A thought was occurring to me.
"We have to get out of here." I said, standing up and pulling her to the bedroom with me.
"Where?" She asked, dropping the covers from her shoulders and grabbing for her clothes.
"Put on one of my shorts," I said, pointing to my dresser. She went to it and pulled out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.
Within a couple of minutes, she was dressed. "They're too big on me." She said, smiling. Being twenty pounds smaller and five inches shorter than my stocky five foot nine, anything of mine that she wore would be too big on her.
I smiled,-because just the sight of her always managed to get my mind off trouble- and took her into my arms. "You're still beautiful." I remembered, and let her go. "Anyway, you can change in your place. That's where we are going."
"We're taking your car?" She asked.
I looked at her. "Of course, there's no time for train." I said, buttoning up my shirt. Then I slipped into my sneakers and went to my drawers, from which I took a few boxer shorts and shirts. From the next set of drawers, I took some socks and some shorts. I took those things to my bed and pulled my travel bag from under it. Pushing my things into the bag, I looked up at Alix, who had just gasped.
She was looking out the window through the shades. That's when I realized that there was some commotion going on outside. I quickly walked towards the window and looked through the shades also. "My God!" I murmured, watching as one of my neighbors ran after a man dressed all in black. What shocked me was that Mr. London, the neighbor, had a shot-gun pointed at the man.
The man had something hidden in his embrace. He ran down the block, frantically looking back now and then. And then just as he was passing my house, Mr. London shot him in the back. The man in black fell on his face. The blood pooled around him.
Alix cried out. I immediately pulled her away from the window, taking her away in my arms. She was shaking, looking up at me. Tears gathered in her eyes. I knew she couldn't say a thing; she was in shock. I pulled her towards the bed and sat her down on the bed. I quickly ran towards my dresser and kneeled to reach under it. I pulled out a medium sized box and opened it.
I heard Alix gasp. "What are you doing?" She whispered. "What is this?" She was looking down at my guns. I bought one every year since I had turned twenty three. I’d always had a fixation on guns, and I enjoyed shooting them at the shooting range, but now this was a matter of self-defense and keeping Alix safe.
I calmly studied them, explaining to her: "I never told you I have a license to carry weapons." I looked up at her frightened blue eyes. "I never used them; at least not to kill anybody."
Her eyes relaxed a little. "Why would we need them now?" She asked, her voice shaking.
I sighed, standing and sitting next to her on the bed. "Did you see what happened out there?" There was nothing else I needed to say, she understood fully.
SIX- The Trip Begins
WE walked out of my apartment and walked quickly towards my garage. I had loaded one of my handguns, a .9mm, and given the box with the others to Alix to carry. I had placed my gun in my pocket and picked up my travel bag.
Everything was so dark and confusing; at least the streetlights were on. Alix held tightly to my arm, keeping pace with me. We were shocked when a shadow stopped in front of us. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties and was craggy and dirty looking. There was a smirk in his dirt smudged face. His teeth needed a good cleaning job. "Gimme your things." He said; I winced at his alcohol drenched breath slapped my face. I could feel Alix's disgust spasms.
"No." I said; Alix pulled at my arm, her fingers digging painfully. I ignored it. I reached into my pocket and wrapped my hand around my gun's handle.
The man snorted with anger. He reached out and grabbed my bag. Before I knew what was happening, I pulled out my gun and pointed it at his chest. "Give me my bag back." I said calmly. I could feel Alix’s single intake of breath.
He looked into my eyes and smiled. I could tell he wasn't going to give me my bag back. I felt my flesh heat up with anger. I balled my free hand into a fist and swung at him with all my strength. He fell to the ground and I kicked him hard in the face; he was unconscious.
I put my gun back into my pocket and picked up my travel bag. And then I remembered something. I turned around and walked back into my house. Alix ran after me, confused. "Julia, what are you doing?" She started pulling on my arm in the opposite direction.
I pulled my arm free of her grasp, and she followed me. I quickly ran into my bathroom and kneeled down to pull at a loose board from the wooden floor next to the toilet. Alix watched me as I reached deep into the whole and pulled out a stuffed brown shopping paper bag. "What is that?" She asked me.
I smiled in triumph. "Almost forgot." I said, standing and pulling Alix back out of the house. "I'll tell you in the car."
Craggy was still lying on the floor, he was groaning with pain. Alix and I started running towards the garage, I was praying he wouldn't wake up yet. I opened the garage door and pulled Alix in. I pulled her up the passenger's side of my Nissan-sentra and reached into my pocket for my keys. "Julia!" She cried out. I glanced at her and followed her frightened stare.
Craggy was standing by the garage door, wiping at his blood soaked face. He was scaring Alix and I didn't like that. He ran towards me, his mouth a snarl. I pulled out my gun, quicker than I thought I could and unconsciously pulled the trigger. He staggered, clutching at his stomach wound. He growled, falling to his knees, and then on his face. I quickly unlocked the passenger side door and pulled it open, throwing my travel bag on the back seat. I practically threw Alix into the car also, but she didn’t complain and sat quietly.
I slammed the door and ran to the other side, climbing in also. I turned on my seat, throwing my arm over the passenger’s seat and started to back down the driveway, when craggy appeared on Alix’s side and pounded angrily on her window. She screamed out and practically climbed over me. I was becoming impatient with Craggy. I floored the accelerator and screeched out of my driveway, dragging Craggy, who held on to my car and shouted curses at us. He pulled himself on top of the car’s hood and started punching my windshield. I suddenly hit the brakes and he flew off my car. I hit the accelerator again, he was stupid enough to jump in front of us and I ran him over.
Alix screamed as we felt the bumps. I almost threw up. I looked into my rear-view mirror to find that he was completely downed, not moving. I didn’t feel the necessity to stop and see if he was okay. I reached over to grab Alix's hand to reassure her. She took my hand in both of hers and let me know she trusted me. Her eyes were wide and tears had formed in her eyes. I felt angry and confused. I didn't know what was happening, I had killed a man, nothing like this had ever happened and it was scaring me. And not at all less, Alix.
"That bag that I went back for," I said, trying to drive her thoughts away from craggy back there. "Is some money I had saved as time passed."
Alix looked at me, grateful I had trained her thoughts on something else. "But you have a bank account." She said, perplexed.
I smiled. "Yes, but you never know what might happen." I said.
She nodded slowly. "True," She whispered. "How much?"
"Over three thousand dollars." I laughed when her eyes widened in shock. "Plus, we're going to go get the rest of my money in the bank." I drove down Atlantic Avenue until Woodhaven Boulevard and turned right towards Jamaica Avenue. Columbia Savings Bank was, very fortunately, open. I opened my door, pausing and looking at Alix. "Lock the door after me; if anyone tries to get in, drive away. Okay?" I looked at her.
"What about you?" She asked, doubtful.
"I have the gun," I patted my pocket, getting out of the car. The heat slapped me in the face as hard as it did the first time. I walked into the empty bank, its air conditioners were blasting. The teller, a tall light skinned beauty with green eyes, stood behind the glass. Behind her, some other tellers sat chatting. "I'd like to close an account." I said to her.
The teller looked at me as if I were crazy. "Passport, or license and bank card, please." She said, her voice sounded bored.
I handed her what she asked for and waited for her to consult with one of the chatting tellers, apparently her supervisor. She came back to the window, the supervisor at her side. She began working with the computer, sliding my card through the scanner. Their eyes widened, and they stared at me. "That's over twenty five thousand dollars!" She breathed. "Cash?!"
I shrugged. "You never know what might happen," I said, pointing behind me to the street. She nodded, obviously satisfied with my answer. She grabbed a bag from under the table and proceeded to grab stacks of bills, throwing them into the bag. She was in deep concentration as she threw them in one by one.
"Here you go." She said, after tying the bag up and sliding them through the medium sized box under the windows. "Thank you, have a nice-" She laughed. "I don't know what it is."
I laughed also. "Honey, I recommend you leave Queens." I whispered to her, she looked at me with confusion etched into her features. "Leave, or you’ll regret it." I said softly, looking meaningfully into her eyes. I turned around and reached into my pocket for my gun, ready to shoot anybody's head off if they tried anything.
I got outside, realizing there was somebody leaning against my car, looking through my windshield at Alix, who had pushed herself against the passenger door, frightened. "Dammit! I told you to drive away!" I muttered as I quickened my pace. "Excuse me," I said, tapping on the guy's shoulder. He turned, very slowly, to look at me. "This is my car, would you please step away?" Was I stupid or something, the only way I would have gotten this guy away from my car was if I shot him.
His red, alcoholic’s eyes scanned me from head to toe. "No," He said shortly. "Its a nice little car," He smiled, his teeth were a nasty pasty color green. He was a huge guy, his hair was greasy and short, and his eyebrows connected in the center in a way that made it seem he was scowling. He looked like he hadn’t shaven in a long time, and his breath was bitter and nasty. "And it has a nice little girl inside..." He continued. "I'm afraid I can't step away." He moved towards me, his hand grabbing my shoulder.
Before I could stop myself, my gun was digging on his crotch. He groaned in pain, his eyes looking down at my gun in surprise, his hand let go of its tight hold on my shoulder. "Let me tell you something," I snarled angrily, digging my gun deeper into his crotch. "Don't you ever touch me! Now, get away from my car!" He complied, slowly moving away, his eyes were wide with fear. He kept moving away from me. I still had my gun trained on him. I knocked on the car window behind me and Alix unlocked the door and opened it.
I slipped into the car and turned it on. I drove away as if for dear life, the wheels screeching loudly on the tar.
Alix threw herself on me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Thank God you came!" She gasped into my neck.
I pushed my gun into my pocket and patted her arm, the only thing I could do being trapped in her death grip and driving at the same time. Later, her grip relaxed and she sat back on her seat. "Did they give you trouble?" She asked.
I shook my head. "Not really, which surprised me. It was over twenty five thousand dollars."
She gasped. "My God!" She whispered, brushing her hair away from her forehead. "I didn’t know you had that much money on your account!"
I didn't answer. I just simply drove onto the highway and eventually to Manhattan.
**********
WE walked down the halls silently. Alix's building in Greenwich Village was unusually quiet. She produced her keys from her purse and let us into her apartment. She turned on the lights in the living room and threw herself on the couch. I sat down beside her, throwing my bags on the floor. I let my head fall back and closed my eyes. I felt her move towards me and put her head on my chest.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. I could feel the sweat through her clothes. I pulled up her sweat soaked shirt and caressed her sweaty skin. She sat up and lifted her arms, clearly willing to let me take off her shirt and look at her beautiful body. I threw the shirt on the floor and looked hungrily at her breasts. I groaned, feeling the area between my legs clench and grow moist. My mouth watered. I looked up at her face; she had been studying my reaction to the sight of her breasts.
I moved my hand to touch her breasts. My fingers traced her nipples, which engorged under my touch. Alix let out a long, low sigh and shuddered, her eyes were tightly shut. I groaned again, wrapping my arm around her thin waist and pulling her towards me. My mouth encircled an engorged nipple; Alix shivered with pleasure. I gently bit her breasts and then I encircled the other nipple with my mouth. She moaned, cradling my head with her hands. She moved so that her legs were now around my waist.
I reached between us and opened my shorts that were on her. I wanted to pull them down, so I pushed her off me and she stood, her knees visibly shook. I pulled the shorts down and she kicked them away. She bent and pulled my shirt off me. She went down to her knees and fumbled with my shorts. I pulled her to me and our lips met with a desire and heat that almost hurt. I slipped my tongue into her mouth and she moaned against me. He fingers caressed my back, her nails gently scratching me. I pushed her away, making her stand. Her eyes were looking down at me with obvious desire.
I looked down at the spot between her thighs and I saw her large, swollen clitoris sticking out from between her lips. With my hand, I made her open her legs a little for me. And then I slipped my finger into her wetness. She gasped, moaning with such heat that I had to moan in return. I slowly pulled my finger in and out of her warmth as I kissed her quivering stomach, her thighs shook. "Julia!" She gasped. Her hands grabbed my shoulders for support. Her stomach heaved as I kissed it.
I slipped another finger inside her hot wetness and she cried out, falling onto my lap. I pushed her backwards on the couch, so that she lay on her back. Her back arched as I gently and slowly slipped my fingers in and out of her. "Julia," She moaned. "Harder, please!" I did as she desired, adding more strength to my love making. She cried out as my fingers pumped harder into her. Tears welled in her eyes. She looked at me through her unfocused eyes, caressing my face with her soft small hands. She moaned even louder as I increased my speed, her breathing was short.
As I slipped another finger inside, she came with a violence and heat I had never seen. She gripped my hand and held my fingers deep inside her violently quivering self as she cried out time and time again.
She relaxed her hold and I pulled my fingers out. I moved down and put my head in between her thighs. I teased her with my tongue. She cried out again and pulled my head harder against her, rubbing herself fervently against my mouth. Suddenly, she arched again and came again, this time into my mouth.
By the time she relaxed, she was exhausted. She pulled me up on top of her and kissed my lips softly. "I love you." She whispered against my lips. She pushed her hips up against me as she slipped her tongue into my mouth.
I responded, pushing my own hips against hers. She opened her legs wider to allow me to rub my heat against hers. I moaned as she moaned, I kissed her neck softly as she kissed mine. Then I pushed myself up on my arms as she opened her legs even wider for me.
I was so turned on by the heat and the smell of her desire that it was a short time before I came. I cried out and rubbed myself harder against her as ecstasy gripped my body in a hold I couldn't control. "Oh, God! Ohhhh!" I moaned. "Alix!" I felt another wave of passion take a hold of her at the same time as it took me.
My arms weakened as I experienced another orgasm and I fell on top of her. She wrapped her arms and legs tightly around me and didn't soften their hold until we both fell asleep, feeling safe, in each other's arms.