Chapter 2

He shook his head. “He didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.”

Suddenly I found myself wanting to comfort this massive man, and not just to use it as an excuse to cop a feel of some sort. But as I moved, I gave a small cry as pain lanced through my side.

“You in pain?” he said.

There was concern in the guy’s voice, but notthat gentle, attentive concern that had been there in the man’s initial words. Being aware of this made me irritable.

“Of course!” I snapped.

In the aftermath of this remark, I felt a kind of chill from the guy. Then, frightened of him leaving me alone, I reached out and clutched the man’s arm.

“I’m sorry!” I said. “It’s just—well, yes, I am in pain. A lot of pain actually.”

He regarded me expressionlessly, and then nodded slowly. Finally he turned and rummaged in a pack that was behind him. When he turned back he was holding a pill-box.

“I visited a pharmacy,” he said, “in the underground here. Take one of these. They might help.”

“What are they?”

“Demerol.”

“What’s that?”

“Like codeine, a narcotic. Takes away pain.”

“Oh,” said. “Thanks!”

I took one from him, and with his help washed it down with more water from his canteen.

“Now, let’s sit for a while, while it takes effect.”

“It won’t knock me out?”

He shook his head. “It numbs pain. It might make you a little stupid.”

I barely bit back the comment, Like you?And I felt a sense of mortification. Where had that come from? I considered, and decided it must be the pain, and perhaps the fact that this guy was so obviously superior to me in so many ways—except perhaps in intelligence. I chided myself. Quite apart from a question of manners, there was the realization that this guy was a resource.

As we sat and waited, we talked.

“Do you know what happened?” I asked, opening the conversation.

He shook his head. “Not all of it. But some. What about you?”

I shook my head. “Naw, I was working overtime tonight, in one of the office towers. Then the power went out. I saw the lights go out all across the city. Then came the earthquake. I went down the stairs and had just got to the underground passages when the second quake struck. Then I got hit by the falling concrete.”

My companion nodded.

“What about you?”

“Me? Oh,” he said and pointed to his uniform crest. “I’m security. I was on my beat when it struck. I came down to the passages as well. I hit one or two of the stores: the pharmacy and—”

“Looting?” I interrupted. “A security guard?”

The man’s face tightened and he looked at me quizzically.

“Don’t you know?”

“Know what?”

“Why the power went off.”

I shrugged. “Something to do with the power station. It’s happened before.”

The man gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. “Naw. I heard on the company radio, emergency channel—when the internet and phones went down. We were hit.”

“Hit?”

“You didn’t see? There was a big explosion east of the city. A bigexplosion. Lasted quite a few minutes, but it must have been miles away.”

“You saw that?”

“Yeah. So did that friend of mine.” The man shook his head sadly.

“What was it? A blow-up at the power plant?”

The man gave an incredulous laugh. “We were hit, man! Nuclear warheads.”

“What?”

He nodded and then shrugged. “What else? And the power grid went out then. Everything’s gone, all power, all communication.”

I stared at him while he continued to nod significantly. “Armageddon, my friend.”

“Oh—my God!” I whispered.

The man looked at me. “I don’t get it,” he said. “You said you wished you’d been killed. How could you have said that if you didn’tknow?”

I massaged my temples and considered. “I—I’m not sure. I guess I must have—well—I’m not sure.” It touched my head gingerly at the back. “Concussion, maybe.”

The man nodded. “Better check and see if there are any breaks or deep cuts. I don’t see anything obvious—but I have medical supplies—from lootingthe pharmacy as you put it.”

Strangely, what struck me most in this utterance was the idea that this guy had checked me over to the extent of discovering whether I was obviously injured. It was something, I thought, and it felt nice.

I began to move my limbs, even, with the help of his strong hand, got to my feet—though that made my head swim for a minute or so, so that I clutched onto him a bit. There did not seem to be anything broken, no limb that would not move. He checked the back of my head, feeling with gentle fingers.