Tatum

August 2^nd, 2018

“Why didn’t you make a reservation?” Alyssa demanded.

“I wanted to see how far we could get!” Ben said. “The more ground we cover in a day, the more time we’ll have in L.A.”

Alyssa glared at Ben, her hazel eyes like the depths of a dark forest. Danny and Molly were quietly agitated in the backseat.

“I also didn’t think it would be so hard to find somewhere to stay,” Ben quietly admitted.

“It’s a long weekend!” Alyssa snapped.

“Yeah, in Canada! Not in Texas!” Ben said.

“Technically, we’re in New Mexico now,” Molly muttered, making sure she was just loud enough to get under Ben’s skin.

Molly smirked seeing Ben go rigid behind the wheel.

Alyssa groaned. “So where to now?”

“Uh, well, I think we’ll be in Roswell in about an hour,” Ben said, peering through the impossible desert night, as though there was an answer somewhere out in the abyss.

Theirs were the only lights on the road. Overhead, the expanse of stars and galaxies wisped like snow across the sky. It was beautiful and dizzyingly infinite; the four travelers felt privately small. Everything they’d be and everything they’d want was all contained within the bounds of their sky.

“Actually, hold on,” Danny said. Everyone was suddenly aware of his phone’s glow across the car.

Alyssa looked back to her boyfriend’s crescent moon face all alight. “What is it?”

“In about twenty minutes, I think, we’ll be in Tatum,” Danny said. “Right at S…Ave…G – I don’t know how I’m supposed to read that – there’s a motel.”

“I think that’s South Avenue G,” Ben said.

“There’s no North Avenue G,” Molly said, leaning over Danny’s phone.

“Can you call them?” Alyssa asked sharply, cutting through the chatter.

“Yeah, two rooms?”

“Two rooms,” Ben confirmed. His stomach sank catching Molly’s eyes in the rearview. Her face was quiet and steely, and she was always almost smirking at him. At least he thought so.

Danny dialed the number of the motel. He pumped his fist victoriously when he got through. He secured two rooms and silently thanked the heavens before hanging up.

“So, we’re good?” Alyssa said.

“Yeah,” Danny said. “They’re just getting the rooms ready. They’ll call us.”

“Well, why don’t we pull over and just look at the stars for a bit?” Molly said.

“I’d rather we just get to town,” Ben said. “If we’re early, we can chill in a diner or something.”

Alyssa peered up through the windshield. “I wanna agree with you, Ben, but when else are we gonna get a view like this.”

Molly ostensibly nodded. “C’mon, Ben!” She kicked the back of his seat.

Ben chuckled and sighed, resigning to the fact his friends were right. “Okay, I’ll pull over up here.”

Ben eased on the brake and rolled the car gently to the shoulder, minding the little ditch down into some brush. He put on the hazards and everyone got out.

They grabbed some extra layers from the trunk, then planted themselves against the car and gazed away into space. The bitter air under the uninhibited cosmos ignited a more acute awareness that they were clinging to a rock in an iridescent, uncaring vacuum, falling somewhere. This was good for a laugh or two in spite.

Molly nestled up to Ben. He relaxed into her and they enjoyed the peaceful solitude. Danny and Alyssa were wrapped up together, draped in their zip-up hoodies and whispering about idle things and sights they were looking forward to seeing.

“You can’t see this in L.A.,” Alyssa said.

“I’d wanna come out here every night,” Danny swooned.

“My friend, the one we’re gonna be staying with,” Molly said, “makes the drive out a lot. She loves it.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame her,” Ben said. “This is amazing.”

“Hm, interesting, see what happens when you listen to me?” Molly teased.

Ben rolled his eyes and smiled, resting his face on her head.

The bitter air started to bite. The winds swept up dust and dirt into little doldrums. The gusts blew right through the four into their bones, into their blood.

“Maybe we should get going,” Ben said.

“It’s probably nothing,” Molly said. “The sky’s still clear.”

Ben noted not a single patch of sky anywhere had been lost to the sudden inclement weather.

The winds were steady and strong, flattening out the brush under the light of the car.

And then they felt the rumbling in their chests. The air they breathed was suddenly heavier and alive, juddering deep inside them.

Alyssa noted some stars succumb to a greater more massive darkness that crawled across the sky. It moved like a turtle struggling under the weight of its own shell. Like the others, her eyes got buffeted with dust and she was forced to hide her face in her hoodie, blinking away the dirt, unsure of what she just saw.

Small rocks and stones pinged off the car like hail. The wind roared with ire and grew hot with rage. It was vengeful for its peace being disturbed; if it could not enjoy slumber, nothing else would.

“Ok, now I think we should get in the car!” Ben hollered, competing with the gale.

There was no debate this time. Ben whirled around and fought the wind’s heavy hand on the doors. Danny grabbed the back door. He braced his foot on the wheel. Alyssa wrapped herself around Danny and dug into the ground, pulling and pulling. They fought the stifling heat that settled on their clothes and into their skin. The door started to lift. Danny slipped his arm inside and heaved it open.

He crawled up front to unlatch the passenger door. He put his whole body behind it as Ben pulled from the other side. The door gave way. Ben dragged it open. Danny wiggled over behind the wheel. Ben ushered Molly in. The heat chased them into the car. Molly crawled into the backseat and Ben threw himself in after her. The doors were quick to slam once everyone was inside.

“Can we go!” Alyssa barked.

“It’s not safe,” Danny said. “We just gotta wait it out.”

“Is this a common thing?” Alyssa asked Molly. “Why is it suddenly so hot out there?”

“I dunno, sometimes?”

“This is the desert in New Mexico,” Ben said, hoping to add levity. “It’s the peak of where weird shit happens.”

His words fell flat. Molly politely giggled as to not leave Ben hanging.

The car croaked and rocked under the cloudless storm. A rock smacked the windshield. A small web of cracks sprouted. Ben and Danny ducked down. Molly and Alyssa took cover against the front seats.

“Imagine if this is actually how we die,” Alyssa said.

“Um, I’d rather not,” Ben said. “Woah—shit!” A sign whipped passed the lights of the car.

The group yelped as a loose post banged into the bumper.

“Wait, I swear to god, the wind was blowing the other way!” Alyssa said.

“Well, guess not,” Ben said.

The car was suddenly inundated with light. A blazing white flash burst across the desert, eviscerating the night’s hold. The winds bellowed against the car. It shuddered and rocked under the barrage. There was not going to be a car left. They would surely be vaporized.

And then the winds settled. The car settled too. The dust gently dispersed, and darkness returned. The only sound was everyone’s breath. They had been louder than they thought.

“Holy shit,” Ben breathed.

“Holy shit,” Danny responded.

“Holy shit,” Alyssa added.

“Holy shit,” Molly concluded.

“Is it over? Can we go?” Alyssa said.

Danny blinked, his head at the moment empty.

“Babe?” Alyssa said.

Danny took a breath and shook out his head. “Yeah, yeah.” He looked to Ben. “Cool if I drive?”

“Yeah, sure,” Ben said absently.

Danny sat quietly for a second, waiting for Ben to put two and two together.

“Can I have the keys?” Danny finally said.

“Oh! Oh, shit, yeah, sorry,” Ben said, fishing the keys out of his pocket and handing them over.

Danny proceeded with caution the rest of the way to Tatum. The road was a sizzling maze of downed powerlines and poles, and warped signage. The lights of the car were milky in the dusty night, illuminating the broiling air over the road ahead. The darkness was no longer mystifying and fantastic, it was concealing secrets. It was waiting.

Houses soon shimmered into the headlights, their land sprawling off into nothing. Then there was a restaurant, then there was a gas station. The group hadn’t seen any signage coming in, but they figured this was Tatum.

Danny slowed, sticking to the inside lane. They noticed the seared buildings, hollowed and gutted by the blast. The farther they got, the more the buildings were barren; the walls and roofs had crumbled or were blown away.

Danny swerved to miss a pickup truck stuck in the road. The paint had bubbled and blackened, and the lights caught the tires that had melted into the pavement. The truck sat too high to see if anyone was inside.

“Man, it’s like this place was through an oven,” Ben said.

“Yeah, really good thing we didn’t listen to you,” Alyssa said, her face up against the window.

“Oh—okay, alright,” Ben snipped.

“We need to turn around,” Alyssa commanded.

“No—no, we’re not far,” Danny said.

“You really think there’ll be anyone there?”

No one wanted to answer that. Alyssa immediately regretted her words.

The Sands Motel came up on their left. They turned in, casting light over the lot. Two cars were cooked right through, fused in place to the ground. The motel had been stripped and singed like the leftovers of a firepit.

Danny parked at the office.

“We can’t stay here,” Ben said.

“I wanna look around,” Danny said.

Everyone’s heads swiveled to him in complete disbelief.

“No,” Alyssa firmly stated.

“Well, what if someone in there needs help!” Danny argued. “The sprinklers didn’t even go off!”

Ben sighed despite himself. “Okay, let’s see if anyone’s home.”

“Oh, good, the damsels will just wait here,” Molly said.

Ben and Danny exchanged a sheepish glance.

“I’m kidding,” Molly said. “You two go, Alyssa and I’ll keep the engine running.”

“Okay,” Danny said.

He and Ben climbed out and Molly crawled in behind the wheel.

The boys used their phone lights to find the few steps to the door. It was warped off its hinges and the metal sagged like spaghetti noodles. Inside, the furniture was reduced to kindling; the roof had been opened up to the infinite sky.

“Hello?” Danny called in. “Hello? Anyone here?”

There wasn’t a word. There wasn’t a sound. The night was still; it had been a while since they’d even passed anyone on the road.

Danny entered and swept his light over to the front desk. “Oh, shit—oh, god.”

Ben stepped in and saw Danny back against the wall, a hand clasped over his mouth. He was positively green. Ben turned his light to the desk and saw the body. The extent of the burns left the person unrecognizable beyond human. Any soft tissue had bubbled and charred nearly down to the bone. They were still in their chair attending the front desk. Ben went green as well.

“C’mon, let’s go,” he said, taking Danny by the arm.

Ben climbed back in the front seat of the car next to Molly and Danny crawled in next to Alyssa, tucking his head into her neck.

“What is it?” Molly asked gently.

Ben shook his head, composing himself. “There was a body.”

“They never even had a chance,” Danny said, quite fragile.

Molly put the car in reverse. “Roswell it is then.”

No one spoke, no one reacted; anything more than a breath was too much. Morose listlessness set in upon the four like a dew. They left the razed town behind, sequestered in the dark.

“Do…do we call someone?” Alyssa said.

The question rang like a bell.

“Who do we call?” Ben said.

Silence again.

“I—Homeland Security?” Alyssa said.

“The Fire Department?” Danny said.

Ben dumped his phone in the cup holder. “I don’t even have a signal.”

“Oh, shit, I see lights ahead,” Molly said.

A pair of headlights twinkled down the road like the north star.

“Whoa—what are you doing?” Ben said as the car shifted to the shoulder.

Molly put on the flashers. “I’m gonna get help. Or at least warn these poor people to turn around.”

As the lights neared, Molly set the car in park and stepped out. Unsure of what else to do, the other three followed her. They tucked themselves behind folded arms as Molly waved.

The engines soon filled in behind the lights. They were machines that inhaled great breaths and exhaled great grumbles. The lights closed in and the four could see that the vehicles they guided were immense.

A pair of armoured Humvees rushed to a halt next to the lone car, while another two whooshed passed.

Soldiers in body armour brandishing large rifles studded with all sorts of tech swarmed the civilians. More than half a dozen caught the four travelers in a pincer. They shined lights in their faces.

“Hands in the air!”

“Step away from the vehicle!”

“On your knees!”

“Keep your goddamn hands up!”

They seized their wrists. They bound them in ties. They lay them flat on the road. One made a call on a radio.

“We were gonna call someone! We were gonna call someone!” Danny pleaded.

“Do not speak! Do not move!”

The travelers’ faces were pressed to the road. Ben and Molly stared at each other; Danny and Alyssa stared at each other. They couldn’t speak if they wanted to. The fear swallowed up any words they could think of. Were they being taken? Were they gonna die? Who would even know?

New light flooded the road. An engine larger and hungrier than the rest settled on the scene. The soldiers yanked the prisoners to their feet. An armoured truck sat tall above the Humvees on massive wheels that ate and churned earth. The soldiers hauled the captives around the back of the rig. They were tossed inside and secured to benches with restraints. The doors swung shut. Someone gave a firm knock. The truck growled and geared up.

July 9^th, 2028

Mary had been at Rhonda’s going on fifteen years, and had been coming to the restaurant with her family for most of her life prior. She knew every regular that filtered in in the morning looking for a warm cup of coffee and some eggs before getting a start on the day, and likewise she was the familiar, warm face the patrons all looked forward to seeing. And if they missed her in the morning, she was back in the evening to have a beer and help close.

Mary was also the one to take care of new faces in the diner, often travelers passing through Roswell exhausted from the road and the heat, low on patience. She had met two such faces that morning, young women – one in her early twenties and one in her late twenties – who just arrived from Los Angeles. They were pleasant and inquisitive – about the town, about the diner, about the new gas station across the street – but otherwise kept to themselves.

As the chairs were going up, those two women were back at the front door.

Mary noted the exasperated staff that dreaded having to take a table two minutes to close.

“I got this,” she said. “Just finish up.”

Mary stepped outside to greet the women. “Sorry, girls, we’re just about to close.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” the older woman said, “we’re not here to eat. My name’s Katie Winter.” She gestured to the younger woman. “This is Chantal Blairowitz. We’re from the Paracast Podcast Network in Los Angeles and were hoping to interview you for our show.”

Mary folded her arms and her eyes tightened, but her face never lost its warmth. “Your show, huh? What’s it about?”

Katie and Chantal glanced at each other.

“We’re doing a series on the Tatum Event. We understand you were working here at Rhonda’s at that time,” Katie explained.

“That’s right.”

Katie gestured across the road. “What was there before that gas station, in 2018?”

“It was just an empty lot.” Mary shifted her stance and cocked her head. “I don’t understand—I already talked to someone from your network a few years ago about Tatum.”

“Yeah,” Chantal said, “about a low altitude meteor explosion. But we don’t think that’s the real story.”

Mary nodded sagely. “Right, what with it coming up on the tenth anniversary and all.”

Katie ignored the dig. “You and some others from the area said that a few days after the event, an unmarked van dropped off four people in that lot. All white, about 24-26 years of age—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know what I said,” Mary said, trying to nudge this along. “What about them?”

“We believe they’re the sole survivors of the Tatum Event,” Katie said soberly. “We’re trying to track them down. We know people around here saw them, maybe even talked to them – gave them directions or something.”

Mary’s arms unfolded and settled at her side. “Are they in trouble?”

“They’re the only people alive who could provide eyewitness accounts that it was not a meteor that leveled that entire town and killed all 726 residents,” Chantal stated.

There was a pit in Mary’s stomach: the burden of duty. Roswell and Tatum had always exchanged friends and family. She was no exception This was a personal tragedy before a national tragedy.

Mary threw a quick look inside to check on the staff. “They’ll be gone soon. Why don’t you come in, have a beer, and I’ll tell you everything I can.”

Katie and Chantal smiled graciously.

“Yes, ma’am, that would be great,” Katie said.