Pulse: When Gravity Fails (Pulse Science Fiction Series Book 1) (7 page)

13

Michael Strove and Roman Nikitin – Russia

Michael moved back from the mouth of the cave farther back on the damp, muddy floor in the dark. The opening was covered, but not enough and the search parties were getting closer. Their pattern was meticulous and he couldn’t imagine them missing the hiding spot once they got close enough. If he tried to flee now though, they would be on him for sure.

Michael had tried to sleep, but couldn’t stay out for more than a few minutes at a time. Pain and stress were robbing him of the ability and he knew it would catch up with him soon and at the worst moment.

Roman’s eyes were open across from him.

Michael fished out a protein bar from his pocket and broke it in half. Roman accepted the half he was offered. “Yum. The breakfast of an American champion, no?”

Michael took a bite and unlatched the canteen from his belt. “You need to stay off the Internet, Roman.”

“I have for years now,” he said between bites.

Michael nodded. “So your family got you into this trouble?”

Roman shrugged. “Not so bad a place until the invisible tiger started crushing towers with me inside.”

Michael smiled. “It would be a beautiful place if the Russian army wasn’t hunting me and the trees would stop falling down on us.”

Michael offered Roman the canteen, but Roman waved him off. Michael knew Roman needed to drink, but he did not have the energy to try to force him, so Michael just took another swallow for himself.

Roman said, “You know family names are new in Russia?”

Michael narrowed his eyes. He thought this was the opening for a joke, but Roman wasn’t smiling. Michael said, “You didn’t used to have a last name?”

“Less than a hundred years,” Roman said. “Most families made them up during the census after the czars and the communists. Russia needed them to track the people, so we made them. If not for the census, I would just be another Roman with no family name to be punished for. Most Russian names mean ‘belongs to.’ So, we all belong to someone and all the trouble that family brings.”

Michael nodded. “I guess that is true of all families.”

“Does Captain Michael and Brother Carter come with trouble?”

“Sometimes.” Michael smiled. “Our father was a religious man, a part time preacher.”

“He would have liked my mother, no?”

Michael nodded. “Probably. It was a strict house. Lots of demands. Carter and I spent a lot of time trying to do better than the other so that our dad would ride the other about doing better. It made us competitive for our parents’ approval.”

“That is how most brothers work, I think.” Roman smiled and finished his power bar.

“I love him, but we both cast shadows that make life hard for the other one. It made things tense sometimes. It made it hard for people outside our families to love us, I think. Neither of us is married or has kids. I think that made our parents sad while they were still around. Just another time we disappointed them. We spend a lot of our lives chasing something, but what exactly, I don’t know.”

Roman pointed at the entrance of the cave. “Now you are being chased.”

“True.”

“So Captain Michael becomes US Airforce fighter pilot and Brother Carter becomes American hero firefighter and that is not good enough for either one of you to think you made it?”

“That about sums is up, Roman.”

Roman nodded. “I’m in exile for my mother’s dreams of a better Russia. You and Brother Carter exile yourselves when you already live in an awesome democracy.”

“It sounds bad when you say it like that.”

Roman laughed. “Don’t pay attention to me. I learned all my English from movies on the Internet.”

An explosion outside vibrated the ground under them. They looked at each other and crawled to the mouth of the cave together. Smoke rose up, but then raced back down and crawled along the ground. Soldiers collapsed and lay on their bellies about a quarter mile away.

“We need to go for the station now,” Roman said.

“The sun is still up,” Michael said.

Roman pointed. “The invisible tiger is over there, but not here. We need to move now while they are held down.”

“The gravity might travel over us here. It has happened the other times.”

“It might not,” Roman said. “We should go now. Trust me.”

Michael looked at Roman and nodded. He looped Roman’s arm over his shoulder and they limped out of the cover of the cave together.

14

Dr. Paulo Restrepo – Colombia

He held his cellphone out at arm’s length so he could see it as the woman dabbed make-up on his cheeks. “I’m announcing a global disaster. Why does it matter if I have shine on my nose?”

She said, “You will be seen all over the world in a few minutes.”

“Still doesn’t answer my question.”

She continued her work without responding.

The lights flared on bright and he blinked against the glare. Someone rolled a video monitor showing a star chart into Paulo’s line of sight. Someone put a clicker on the arm of his chair.

He held his phone out in the light. He had a signal, but it was weak. He pulled up the number and selected it before bringing the phone to his ear.

“Jenny … no, stop talking a moment. I need to talk quickly. Are you near a television? … Yes, turn it on … Now. It doesn’t matter which one … Is that firefighter boy with you … I’m not making fun. Is he? … Okay good. Stay in your house. Listen to the broadcast and do everything I tell you … I don’t have time to explain now … Do you have it on? … Jenny? Jenny, are you there?”

He held the phone out and cursed. Paulo scrolled to the number again. Someone took the phone from his hand and disappeared out of the light. The make-up artist vanished too. Someone put the clicker in his hand.

A voice from out of the darkness said, “You’ll be able to hear the others through your earpiece. The red light will come on in a moment. Do not start until we say though. The others will talk first. I’ll count you in and point when you are to begin. Okay?”

Paulo nodded and looked at the star chart on his screen. Green spots danced in his vision from the bright studio lights. He could not remember what he was supposed to say.

He looked back forward and the red light was on. He took a deep breath and got ready to speak. Then, he remembered they were going to count him in and point. He couldn’t see though. He wondered if he had missed the signal. He stared forward without saying anything.

15

Sean Grayson and Jenny Restrepo – West Memphis, Arkansas

Jenny scrolled through her contacts and tried more than one, but she was getting no signal on calls or data. “Is your phone working, Sean?”

“I have power.” Sean turned the phone where it sat on the side table. “I’m getting no signal though. Did your father say what channel?”

“No. He sounded frantic though. I’m scared, Sean.”

Sean stopped flipping channels. “Looks like it doesn’t matter.”

“Why?” Jenny set down her phone.

“The same broadcast is on every one.” Sean leaned forward and pointed with the remote. “Isn’t that your father?”

“Where?” Jenny sat down next to him.

He waved the remote. “On the split screen. On the left.”

“Turn it up.”

“It is up.”

“Turn it up more and stop talking.”

Sean looked at her, but did what she said.

The screen switched to the group of men in suits and lab coats and Jenny’s dad vanished from view. Camera bulbs flashed and the man held up a hand as he began to speak. “It is vital that the following information be given out to the world, so no interruptions or questions, please, until we have said everything that needs to be said.”

Sean swallowed and glanced at Jenny. She was wringing her hands and sitting out on the edge of the sofa.

Sean switched hands for the remote and put a hand on her shoulder. “Is this what your father was trying to tell us about before the cellphone cut out?”

“I don’t know. Let’s listen.”

The man on the screen continued. “Strange phenomenon involving fluctuations in gravity, normally considered a constant, have been experienced at various parts of the world. A few astronomers have noticed anomalies in the appearance of the stars due to these gravitational waves. Due to the regularity of the gravitational waves traveling through our solar system, the revolution of the Earth has taken us between these waves of distortion. As the Earth’s path encounters one, it travels through our planet. Movement in the Earth’s core and shifting in tectonic plates has caused seismic events of various intensities. It has also changed our perception of gravity within the sometimes narrow path of the waves. With a few exceptions, the Eastern Hemisphere has experienced the entering waves as heavier gravity. The Western Hemisphere has experienced the exiting waves as lighter than normal gravity.”

Reporters began shouting questions and the man waved his hands calling for them to quiet.

Jenny whispered. “This is crazy.”

“I saw it,” Sean said.

“What? When?”

“During the fire,” Sean licked his lips and closed his eyes. “Objects were floating in the building. I lifted a beam off that boy because it weighed nothing in that moment. I floated with him up the hallway like we were weightless in space. Then, gravity came back and it all crashed down.”

She rubbed his back. “Why didn’t you say something? That was a couple days ago. Have you been holding this all in?”

“I didn’t think I could be believed. Admitting hallucinations is not the best move in my line of work or with my … history.”

Jenny hugged him. “It was all real. You could have told me. You can tell me anything.”

“I know. I was scared.”

The man on television said, “Please, everyone quiet. Time is short. Einstein had predicted that exploding stars would create gravitational distortions in spacetime. This theory was proven years ago by LIGO, a gravitational wave detection laboratory.

The recent strange phenomena we have seen around the globe were created by strong gravitational waves. These waves were created by the collapse of Alpha Centauri, one of our closest neighbors in the galactic neighborhood. This collapse occurred some time ago and its waves were periodically going toward our sun and earth sometimes crossed its path. One physicist and astronomer, Dr. Paulo Restrepo of the Marlo-Pitts observatory in South America, was able to quantify the effect and clue the rest of the scientific community in on it. What he discovered though was that the collapse of Alpha Centauri was actually the third in a cascade of three stars. The net effect of that triple collapse and the last cumulative wave pulse will pass through the Earth in a few hours from now.”

“Some global satellites have been knocked out of orbit by the waves so far and very likely there will be many more lost soon, so we need to get all of this information out as quickly as possible. Please, listen closely.”

“It will again enter through the Eastern Hemisphere and exit through the West, but the effect will be far more intense. People in the Eastern Hemisphere should stay low to the ground away from water, hard surfaces, stay outside of vehicles of any kind, and away from loose structures or other objects that might fall. The G forces will be intense and may result in unconsciousness or injury. Do not hold other people under you during the effect. This includes adults or children.”

“In the Western Hemisphere, the effect will be more than weightlessness experienced by some in the path of previous waves. People should be inside stable structures. Remove all loose objects including heavy furniture. Tie down to something solid if possible to limit injury. Objects as large as cars may be lifted high in the atmosphere. Some objects may actually leave Earth’s atmosphere or come crashing back down from a great height. You must get inside now and prepare. There will still be danger from falling debris after the wave has passed.”

“Governments all over the world are now grounding flights, preparing shelters, and clearing highways. Do not delay. Do not try to travel to relatives that are not in your immediate area as this will just put you and them at risk.”

“Lastly, Dr. Restrepo has done meticulous calculations. I and others have carefully checked his work. We are confident in the information we have just told you and world governments are acting on it for your safety as we speak. Dr. Restrepo also believes that while this event will have devastating surface effects as I have just described to you, he assures us that the Earth’s core, Earth’s orbit, and our own sun will be spared from the destruction that overtook less stable stars that sent these waves in our direction.”

“We as a planet and as a global community will survive. We will rebuild. Please, follow my instructions and the instructions of your local authorities so that you will be a part of that rebuilding.”

“Dr. Restrepo will now share his findings from the Marlo-Pitts Observatory in Colombia before we take questions.”

The screen shifted and Jenny’s father stared into the camera on a split screen with a star chart. “I will make this simple so that it is easy to understand and the facts are before you. You will see Alpha Centauri here in proximity of our solar system. The other two stars in question are …”

The screen went blue.

Jenny say up. “Turn it back on.”

Sean poked at the buttons on the remote. “We have no signal. Check online. I’m sure it’s streaming there.”

Jenny ran and opened her laptop. “Internet is down.”

She clicked on the radio on the shelf and hit search/scan. The radio sounded off a hiss of static and the digital numbers rolled through the channels over and over finding nothing.

“Everything is down,” she said.

“The boys.” Sean’s face went pale.

“What are you talking about?”

He shook his head. “Tabitha and Carter took Holden and Grant camping. They are out there in the open. They are probably already out there.”

“I’m sure they heard,” Jenny said. “They’ll find shelter.”

“How? They are in the Ouachita National Forest. There is nothing there. They’ll have their cellphones off. Even if they check now, everything is down. There is not even any radio. They won’t know it’s coming. They’ll die.”

Jenny took hold of Sean’s shoulders as the static from the radio hissed in the room. “How far away are they?”

Sean swallowed. “All the way across the state. The Black Fork Mountain Wilderness is remote. There are no cars and no one is even supposed to camp up there. They are all alone.”

“That is really far,” she said dropping her hands. “We have less than seven hours.”

“I have to try,” Sean said. “They are my sons. Carter is my friend. Tabby is their mother. We have to try.”

Jenny nodded and grabbed her keys. “We’ll take my jeep. It has four wheel drive if we need to drive where cars aren’t supposed to drive.”

“I’ll go,” Sean said. “You stay here and stay inside like they said on TV.”

She kissed him on the mouth and ran for the door. “Thank you, but not a chance. Let’s go, redneck hero. We have to cross the entire state.”

Sean thought he should probably gather some supplies. He wasn’t sure what and he couldn’t think clearly. Time was running out and his boys were in danger. He ran for the door after Jenny. They left the radio searching for a signal and hissing static at the empty house.