And What of Earth? Read online

  And What of Earth

  By

  Stuart Collings

  Text copyright © 2012 Stuart Collings

  Prologue

  July 17, 2013 #17 Thorn Road, Jewel Nebraska

  The gangly blonde teenage girl gingerly stepped up onto the porch and took her usual place on the swing chair. Seconds later, a slightly-balding man in his late 30s exited the house. The girl startled imperceptibly as the door opened, even though she was expecting it.

  “Hello Jennifer,” the man said, smiling. “You’re a little early this evening.”

  Jennifer smiled up at him and shrugged. “Hi Mr. Stone. War broke out early tonight. Mom normally waits about an hour after dinner before she attacks, but tonight she started as we were clearing the table.”

  David Stone took his usual spot beside her on the swing chair. They had been doing this almost every evening since she was a young girl. “My wife said the brownies will be ready in a few minutes. I see you’re wearing your homemade wackadoodle t-shirt.”

  Jennifer smiled her Cheshire cat smile. “I believe in truth in labelling, Mr. Stone.” She looked down at it and clucked in dismay. “Can’t wear it much longer. I’ve grown so much this spring, it looks more like a halter top.” There was a pause in the conversation as both of them listened to the yelling coming from next door. “I have no idea what set her off tonight. Then again, I rarely know what triggers her explosions.”

  Amelia Stone came out the front door with the usual two lemonades and a small plateful of still-warm brownies. “David dear — the fold-up tables?”

  “Sorry honey,” he said, as he quickly set up the TV dinner tables they kept on their porch for exactly this purpose.

  “Hi Mrs. Stone,” Jennifer greeted her with a different type of smile. “The brownies smell delicious as always.”

  Amelia smiled down at the teenage girl. “A baker always loves to hear compliments, Jenny. Thank you.” She deftly placed the glasses and the treats on the tables. “Now, Jenny, don’t keep my hubby out all night. I’ve got a long list of chores waiting for him bright and early tomorrow.”

  Jennifer giggled, both at the admonition and the thought of her principal having to do chores. “I’ll try and keep it short, Mrs. Stone.” She giggled again.

  Amelia turned to her husband. “David, promise me you won’t bore the girl with any lectures about medieval literature.” She laughed and popped back inside the house before he could splutter an answer.

  “Why does she think we talk about medieval literature?” Jennifer asked, puzzled.

  “She doesn’t. She debriefs me every evening just before we head to bed.” Stone waited for a response then said, “It looks like you’re in literal mode tonight.”

  “Sorry,” she sighed. Slowly, she reached for her brownie, not wanting to appear too eager. “So, what’s the topic tonight? The now-triple dip recession? Faster-than-light travel? Why Jennifer Hodges wishes she could’ve gone to Ender’s battle school?”

  Stone laughed. “That was the topic-de-jour for almost 4 months after I gave you a copy of Ender’s Game. You were 9 years old.”

  This time, Jennifer’s smile was that of a little girl. “I’m nothing, if not obsessive. And I identified so readily with Ender. And Valentine, I guess—.” The tone of the voices coming from #19 Thorn Road changed. “Sounds like they’re into Round Two already.”

  Stone hid his sad smile by covering his mouth and faking a cough. “Well, tonight, I have some good news and some not-so-good news for you. But first, do you still want to be a doctor?”

  Jennifer jerked out of her comfortable slouch. “Of course, I still want to be a doctor. When I was eleven, I wanted to be a physicist like Sheldon Cooper on Big Bang, but, about a year later, when I saw that news special on TV—.” She stopped, her eyes now far away, remembering images seen over 3 years previous. “I bawled my eyes out, Mr. Stone. The vets coming back from Afghanistan with hands and arms and legs blown off. I remember looking back at my dad, almost wailing, saying ‘I’ve got to do something for them. I’ve got to make them whole’. I still have to. I’ve got to show them that someone cares. That they will be well again.”

  Stone nodded somberly. “Then the news I have for you will be good. First, the not-so-good part.” Jennifer turned in the seat to face him.

  “You’re not going back to high school in September.”

  A look of sheer panic fell upon her face. “Why? What did I do wrong?”

  “You haven’t done anything wrong.” He violated his own unspoken no-touch rule, and patted her reassuringly on her arm. “You’re finished, Jenny. I should have graduated you in January, but when Mrs. Duckworth got injured and went on disability, I was stuck. I had no money to hire a replacement teacher.”

  “It’s okay, Mr. Stone. Teaching functions and geometry to the noobs was — well, not fun, but unique. The only awkward part was having Jimmy in the class.”

  “Because of the incident?”

  “He fell,” she stated flatly, as she always did about the incident almost 3 years earlier with Jimmy Rogers. “He was on The Rock, and he fell.”

  “No one believes that Jenny. Crushed right hand, and a spiral fracture of his upper arm. I got a copy of the report from the EMTs, and I passed it on to your dad.”

  “Dad knows?!” she exclaimed, panicked. “Oh crap!” She buried her face in her hands. She struggled to get her emotions under control, then slowly raised her head and pushed her hair back. “We were down by the creek. It was my first-ever date — I was 13 and it was my first date! And he put his hand down where he shouldn’t. I reached in with both hands. I pulled back his fingers, pulled his hand out then squeezed it as hard as I could.” Her eyes were far away again. “He yelped like a little dog that had been accidentally stepped on—.” She gulped. “I just wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to try again. I locked his elbow, pulled and twisted —. I thought maybe I could dislocate his shoulder. Instead, I heard two loud cracks and a muffled one, and his eyes rolled back in his head. I thought he was being a wuss, fainting due to a shoulder sep. I remember popping my arm out once when I thoroughly blew a dismount off the beam —. Then I realized. I grabbed his cell and called 9-1-1. When he came to, he made me promise that I would say he fell off The Rock.”

  The subsequent pause was broken by Stone. “Everyone in the school knew within a couple of weeks. Kids kept asking me why you were lying—. Why did you try and help him save face?”

  She swallowed hard again. “I was afraid that his dad would have me arrested and thrown in jail. It seemed like the smart thing to do—. Everybody knew?” Stone merely nodded. “That explains why the jocks were afraid of me. And my fellow nerds. Hell, everyone shunned me.”

  Stone waited a moment, then drew the conversation back to where he had intended it to go. “So, you’ve graduated high school.”

  Jennifer’s shoulders sagged. “What am I going to do now? There are no jobs here. And Mom and Dad can’t put me through college —.”

  “That’s the good news I have for you. I called around. Networked. I found a small college in Minnesota that will take you. Tuition, books, housing, food, allowance. All paid for. They only offer a two-year nursing diploma, but I figured it would be enough to get you started.”

  Her eyes went wide. “That would be so cool!” The smile disappeared. “What’s the catch? There’s got to be a catch somewhere.”

  “They want you on their gymnastics team. I sent them some video from this winter’s state regionals.”

  “They want me on their gymnastics team? Mr. Stone, I’m almost 5 foot 11! These legs of mine are a real hazard on the uneven bars.”

  “They liked what they saw. Make the team, get the school year paid.
They actually sounded quite eager to get you—.”

  A smile reappeared on her face, then just as quickly disappeared yet again. “But I don’t turn 16 until late September. I’ll need parental permission.”

  This time it was Stone’s turn to produce a Cheshire cat smile. “Your dad already signed.”

  “He did?! Awesome!” Suddenly, a shriek was heard from next door. The two of them looked conspiratorially at each other. “Oh crap!” she hissed. “I think he just told her!”

  Chapter 1

  July 17, 2018 The day everything changed.

  4:55am #19 Thorn Road, Jewel Nebraska

  The alarm buzzed just before her imaginary Adonis had joined her in bed. “Damn you, Marco!” she mumbled angrily. “I had told you to hurry.” Unbidden, her left hand slapped the clock and the buzzing stopped. “Why is it I can never get him into my arms before the alarm goes off?”

  She grunted, and rolled herself upright in a long-practiced move. “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Jewel.” She opened one eye then closed it again. “Yep, it’s Tuesday.”

  Jennifer slept-walked her way through her morning ministrations, until the cold water from the shower head hit her square in the chest. “Oh crap!” she cursed, suddenly desperate to get done and get out from under the chilly water. Once again, practice helped her bathe and get out in just over 5 minutes. “I’ve got to fix that solar water heater” she said for at least the hundredth time. Hair up into a long ponytail, then into her red and white floral scrubs, and she stepped out of the bathroom and into the tiny kitchenette.

  “Mornin’ Tiger.”

  “Good morning, Dad. Did I wake you with my bitching?”

  He trundled over and hugged his daughter. “No honey. Just a little excited this morning. Eager.”

  Jennifer slipped out of his embrace and pulled out the fry pan, and the last egg from the fridge. “Excited about what?” The propane burner poofed into life, and the egg was cracked and cooking in seconds.

  “I ran into Henry Stevens yesterday. He offered me some work on his farm today. He’s picking me up at the abandoned Chevron station at 7:15 this morning.” He noticed there was only one egg cooking. “You have it, honey.”

  “I’ll be okay, Dad. Besides, you’ll need the food in you for doing the farm work. He normally pays with food, doesn’t he?”

  Gerry Hodges eased himself into one of the two kitchen chairs. “Yep. We should be nicely stocked after today. A couple dozen eggs, some milk, maybe even some meat.”

  Jennifer moved the fry pan off the burner and slid the pot of water onto the flame. “You’ll have to drink your chicory naked, Dad. I ended up finishing off the milk last night when I got back from my walk.” Another moment or two, and a plate with a fried egg and cup of hot brown liquid sat in front of her dad. She slid into the other chair across from him.

  “You sure you won’t need this?” he asked her, pointing to the egg.

  “It’s okay Dad. We normally get someone come into the clinic who has no money, and they pay by giving me a sandwich or some soup. I’ll be fine.”

  Sadness crossed his face, and his shoulders slumped. “I’m so sorry, Tiger. I should never have forced you back here after your mom left me. You had a job at that VA hospital in South Dakota, and you had friends, that rock band that you played drums for. Here, you have nothing.”

  Jennifer wanted to agree with what he said, but loved him too much to do so. “That’s not true. I have you, Daddy.” She smiled her little girl smile at the shell of a man who was her father. “You best eat up before it gets cold.”

  “Things will get better Tiger. I know they will. They’ll reopen the factory. I’ll get my QA job back, and we’ll actually get to buy our food instead of looking for handouts.”

  She stood, leaned over the table, and kissed him on his head. “I know they will too. Now, don’t overdo it today. I don’t want to see someone carry you into the clinic because of an injury, okay?”

  “I’ll be careful, honey. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Okay,” she said and headed to the door. As she always did before opening the door, she looked back at him and said, “I love you, Daddy.”

  “I love you too, Tiger. Have a great day.”

  The twelve hour shift at the tiny county clinic was quiet and uneventful. Barb had the log ready for her to initial for the shift change, and 11 hours and 57 minutes later came back to sign in to relieve her. Five patients — mostly scrapes and bruises. One 11 year old with an arm fracture from falling off The Rock. Jennifer made a point of chastising him, confessing that she didn’t make her first attempt at scaling the 17 foot boulder until she had turned 14. And that she, too, had fallen. The boy’s mother paid cash for the examination. If the county failed to pay the staff again this week, at least Barb, Bethy and Jennifer would be able to split the twelve dollars. For the Hodges, it would mean propane for the stove for almost a month.

  After wishing Barb a great night and a quiet shift, she stepped out of the tiny clinic out onto the corner of Twin Elm and Main, and turned left, heading to the south end of town. To her right, the late afternoon sun hovered over the western hills, ceasing its baking of the air and the streets of Jewel.

  She took in the emptiness of the town. If hope was nourishment, then Jewel was gaunt with starvation. Ignored or forgotten by three levels of government, its people struggled to survive in the absence of money, employment, or support. They were fellow travellers on a long march to nowhere — each step bringing them individually and collectively that much closer to whatever destiny had in store. As she passed the houses, she waved and smiled at each one that had people sitting on the front stoops. Waved and smiled and recognized their emptiness as being the same as her own.

  “Crap, Jenn!” she swore at herself. “You’re getting too fricking maudlin. Things will get better before much longer. Some company will swoop in, buy the abandoned electronics factory and bring jobs and comparative prosperity back to this forlorn little hick town.” Then she added, “Yeah, and maybe we’ll finally send men back to the moon. Dream on, Cupcake.”

  Past Amethyst Road, then Turquoise, then Ruby. Coming up to her turn towards home.

  “That’s what you’re here for Jenn,” she told herself. “You’re here to rebuild your father — get him able to hope again. To smile at everyone you come across. To brighten their days, if only for a moment.” She sadly shook her head. “How do I spread hope to others when I don’t have any for myself? ‘Physician, heal thyself!’ Like I’ll ever be able to become a doctor—.”

  Left on Emerald. Three blocks ahead lay the football field, then a seemingly precipitous drop of the road to the high school. Then the creek, and The Rock — the one place where kids and teens would hang out. She walked diagonally across Emerald, now heading southeast. Past Briar, then Thicket, and approaching Thorn.

  As she turned the corner from Emerald onto Thorn, she smelled something wonderful cooking. Seconds later, she saw that her dad was cooking something on the Stone’s barbecue. He almost looked like his old self.

  “Smells wonderful, Dad,” she commented, hugging him from the side.

  “They were really generous this time — three dozen eggs, two quarts of milk and two pounds of ground beef. I traded a dozen eggs at the store for a loaf of bread, some day-old buns and some honest-to-goodness relish. I harvested one of our tomatoes to add to the burgers. And we have enough meat for at least another 4 meals, I figure.” In another moment or two, the meat was cooked, the burgers assembled, and they went down the slope to their backyard to eat.

  Jennifer made a point of looking attentive while her father related the work he had done on the Stevens’ farm. The story of her day was, of a necessity, much briefer and with no highlights to speak of. They sat quietly on the two beat-up garden chairs for awhile after eating.

  “Do you want any help with cleanup, Dad?” she asked, breaking the silence.

  “No honey. Go for your walk. You need some fresh air. You may run i
nto someone you know from high school.”

  Jennifer hoped not, but didn’t say so. “I won’t be out late. Think I’ll hop the fence and wander around the grounds of the school. I’ll be back before dark.” With that, she stood, kissed him on his head and side-vaulted over the backyard fence onto the pile of compacted gravel that sat behind their backyard.

  She walked down the scrub-covered gravel slope that emptied into the southern endzone of the dilapidated little high school stadium. To her left, the sun was easing itself behind the rooflines of the houses on Thorn. Ahead, a group of three boys stood around midfield, looking eastward up into the sky. Up on Emerald, above and behind the north endzone, two more people were staring up in an easterly direction, one of whom was pointing.

  Jennifer looked up in that direction. In the distance, she could make out some sort of black dot. Not something that should attract any attention. She almost stumbled after her toes hit a divot in the slope. “Crap!” she said under her breath, and took her eyes off the dot and looked where she was walking. Once she got down to field level, her gaze went skyward again.

  The dot was bigger. It was descending, seemingly heading straight for the stadium. She quickly glanced over at the boys at midfield. One of them had started backing away. With her attention once again placed on the object, she saw that it had acquired a definite shape. Triangular. Like a lifting-body type of aircraft, except it was descending almost straight down. One of the boys let loose a barrage of expletives. Jennifer winced at the curse words. Looking in their direction, she saw that they were running for the stairs that ran from field level up the 100 feet to Emerald Street. The two people on Emerald had started slowly backing away.

  The object was clearly making a controlled descent. It wasn’t a helicopter, or any sort of VTOL aircraft. No exhaust plumes — scarcely any noise at all. And it was getting bigger. Much much bigger.

  Jennifer backed up to the western sidelines to give the object more room in which to land. The others were now out of sight. And still the vessel, because quite clearly it was some sort of vessel, grew ever larger.