Chapter 34 - Luna
We’re unloading the last of Gigi’s things into my house when the ground shifts under our feet.
I’ve never been in an earthquake before, it’s not something that happens in the area we live.
I scream and drop to the ground as it rocks and rolls under my hands and knees.
I stare at Gigi with wild eyes as she clutches the side of the Jeep.
Her steady gaze of reassurance backs the beast of terror off and I let myself believe her when she calls out that it’s only temporary.
She lived in California for a while with husband number three, so she’s probably been through this before and knows what she’s talking about.
But then again, earthquakes are supposed to happen in California, NOT in freaking landlocked Alberta!
I’m seconds from rushing into a full-blown panic when the ground settles and things stop moving.
My head hangs down and my ponytail slaps across my face as I take deep shuddering breaths and forget the no swearing thing because… what the fuck?
Gigi comes over and pulls me back up onto my feet and shoves another heavy suitcase at me. “Inside, Luna. Take this inside.”
I sway on my feet but do as she says and haul the heavy case in through the garage door.
Penny is a quivering, whiny mess and has left a puddle on the floor in her fear.
I drop down beside her and pull her into my lap even though she’s too big for that because - same girl, same.
I desperately wish for my mom and dad to be here right now so I could curl up on their laps.
Gigi brings in the last of her stuff, patting both of us on the head as she goes by and starts unpacking the food.
I kiss Penny between her furry ears and get up to help after I wipe up the puddle of pee on the floor.
My feet change direction halfway there as I grab for the remote and turn on the TV to search for the news but all I get is a static filled screen on every channel. I snap it off and go to the kitchen.
“The TV isn’t working,” I tell her in frustration. Her hand freezes as she’s reaching to put a can of coffee in the cupboard.
“Wait, you guys have Starlink satellite, right?” When I nod, she blows out a breath.
“Yeah, okay, that makes sense, then. I imagine most of the satellites are either gone or knocked off course. That means you won’t have any internet here either, will you?
What about your phone? Can you get internet on it? ”
I drag it from my back pocket and swipe it open with a groan.
“No Wi-Fi at all and no service for some reason. I go to toss it on the counter when a text notification comes through. I snatch it back to my face and see one measly bar of service has shown up. I’ll take it.
The text is from Torrin asking if I’m alright.
I breathe a sigh of relief and dial his number.
All I get is dead air until a recorded message comes through saying all circuits are busy.
I huff out a sigh and text him that I’m home with Gigi and I hope he’s coming home soon.
My shoulders slump when the message comes back undeliverable.
Even with one bar of service, I can’t get any internet pages to load so I set my phone down gently on the counter so I don’t throw it against the wall like I want to and turn to Gigi.
“Nothing. Nothing is working.”
I look at the clock on the microwave and see it’s only been an hour since this all started.
It feels like my heart has been racing for hours now.
We need news, we need to know what the hell is happening.
There has to be some kind of news by now, some experts giving their opinion, something from the government.
With the TV out and my cell phone dead, that leaves… radio!
“Come out to the garage. We can listen to the radio in the Escalade and maybe find out what’s happening.
” I tell her as I dig the keys out of the junk drawer.
I rarely drive the Escalade so I have to search for them.
It was my parents’ car and we only really use it now if we are all going somewhere at the same time.
Gigi follows me out to the garage and hits the automatic opener to open the door a few feet and then fires up a smoke as I turn the SUV on to auxiliary and crank the volume on the radio.
“…the Roche limit so it shouldn’t come any closer. But that doesn’t mean we’re in the clear. Not counting the debris that will hit Earth, there’s the tidal issue. We are going to be seeing massive tidal surges on all coastlines as well as tsunamis as the gravitational pull causes earthquakes.”
“Wait, wait, wait! Debris? Like what? Moon missiles are going to hit us?”
“Well, yes. As everyone can see, the moon was cracked by something, so everything that was knocked loose is headed our way. Now, most will burn up on entry but I’m sure there will be some big enough pieces that will make it through and cause damage and fires depending on where they land.”
“Jesus! How can it get any worse?”
“Actually, it’s going to get a lot worse in the days to come. We haven’t even talked about what the gravitational pull will do to volcanoes. They’re going to be popping off like…”
Whoever was speaking is cut off mid-sentence when the emergency broadcast tone goes off.
It’s loud and piercing so I dial back the volume until an automated voice comes through the speakers telling us…
a whole lot of nothing. It’s the canned “stay in your homes, move away from bodies of water and wait for further instructions” from the government message.
Nothing that tells us what…is…happening!
But honestly, after hearing what the first guy had to say, I’m not sure I want to know anything more.
My eyes lift to Gigi’s incredibly pale face as I turn the car back off and shut the door.
“Jules and Reid, they’re in Vancouver and their hotel? It’s right on the water. What if…” I can’t bring myself to complete the sentence.
Gigi takes my arm and pulls me back into the house, hitting the garage door button to close it again.
“You can’t think the worst, Luna. I’m sure that whole area is being evacuated.
Besides, remember who you’re talking about.
Julian Stillwell the third will have bought a helicopter by now to fly them out of any possible danger.
” A small whimper leaks from between my lips as she steers me to the couch.
“It’s Jules, Luna. He’s way too rich, beautiful, and mean to die.
Remember that. Now, I need a minute to think.
I’m going to take Penny out in the backyard.
When I come back, I’ll have a plan for us, so let out all those big emotions because once we start…
there won’t be time for them. Understand? ”
I nod a few times, so she drops a kiss on top of my head and calls Penny to the deck door.
Once it closes behind them, I let the tears I’ve been holding back flow until a river is pouring down my face.
I stopped believing in God when my family died, but for just this moment, I pray to him and ask him to protect my best friends.
While I wait for Gigi to come back with a plan, I go get my phone and open our group chat. I know the message won’t go through but I type it anyway.
***
Group Chat
Luna: Gigi and I are at the house. I wish you were all here. I wish I could talk to you right now. I’m scared.
***
I text Kara that I hope she’s okay and heading home too.
She goes to school in the States and I know that Reid will be worrying about his sister just as much as I am.
She was supposed to be back for summer break next week.
When no one texts me back, I go back through our past group chat messages and read over them.
It’s a small comfort that makes them feel closer than they all are right now.
After half an hour, Gigi comes back smelling like Chanel and cigarette smoke and sits on the couch facing me with a serious look in her eyes.
“I have not a single doubt that your men will make it back here, Luna. Getting back to you will be their number one priority. They love you even if you can’t see it.
” I duck my head as heat fills my face. Gigi has been trying to set us all up in some kind of harem situation for the last six months.
I blame her smutty romance obsession. She carries on, ignoring my reaction.
“We can’t sit around waiting until they get here to start preparing.
We need to move quickly if we want to beat the herd.
This will be a worldwide disaster that no one will be spared from and a lot of people will die.
We. Will. Not. Be. One. Of. Them.” She takes a deep breath.
“So, we are going to go to Savemart right now before they close and buy as much food and supplies as we can. Then tomorrow, we will hit as many other stores as we can as soon as they open. We need to be ready for what I think will happen soon and we don’t have a lot of time. ”
My brows crinkle in confusion. “How do you know what’s going to happen and how are you so calm about all of this?”
She laughs. “I might look calm, but believe me when I say, I’m freaking the hell out.
However, I’ve survived four husbands up and dying on me, so the apocalypse should be manageable.
As for how I think I know what’s going to happen?
Well, my second husband was a bit of a kook.
He was what people now call a prepper or a survivalist. In my day, we just called them tinfoil hat wearing crazies.
” She pauses and her eyes go dreamy for a moment.
“God, I loved that crazy psycho. He could really throw a girl around in bed and he had the biggest…”
“Gigi! Please! TMI!”
She shrugs one slim shoulder and rolls her eyes at me.
“Anyway… besides his bedroom prowess, he also had contingency plans for all kinds of disasters. One of which was if Yellowstone blew. There’s a massive volcano just sitting there, long overdue to erupt.
With the moon dragging on the earth the way it is now, there’s a good chance that will happen.
That means ash. Ash will be everywhere. All the crops will die and most of the animals too.
So…food, food and clean water, will be in short supply around the world.
” She pushes to her feet and motions for me to stand but my knees feel weak and unsteady at the picture she’s just painted of a possible hellish future.
“Up, Luna, up! We need to go shopping before Savemart closes. Hopefully, we can get what we need before the rest of the town figures this out.” She grabs the keys to both the Escalade and Jeep and I follow her out to the garage in a bit of a daze.
“We’ll take both vehicles so we can fit more. Help me put the back seats down.”
She lifts the hatch on the big SUV but I just stand there staring at her, completely overwhelmed until I finally find my voice.
“It w-won’t be enough. If what you said happens, it won’t be enough, Gigi. If the guys make it back, that’s six people to feed. We could never buy enough food from Savemart for that many people to survive for very long. It just wouldn’t be enough.”
She sighs and then comes back to me and rubs up and down my arms, making me realize that my whole body is trembling.
“You’re right. That alone wouldn’t be enough, so we will need an even bigger plan to go further. I have an idea for that. But right now, we need to take this in steps, and the first step is to buy as much as we can before it’s too late. Okay?”
I slowly nod my head in agreement so she drags me over to the back end of the SUV to help her lay the seats flat. She asks me questions while we work.
“Do you remember when your mom wanted to have that hiking food supply store?”
I laugh and nod as I flip the third-row seats flat.
My mom was what you would call a free spirit, or in not so kind words…
a flake. She would come up with these big plans to start a business or a hobby, go crazy about them for a few months and then lose interest. Thankfully, my dad was so in love with her that he always supported her every single time.
“Those two big freeze-dryer machines she bought? Do you still have them?”
I move to the second row seats and start flipping them down as I reply.
“Yup, they’re in the basement along with all the other failed hobby supplies. Why do you ask? Do you think they’ll help with all this?”
“Absolutely, they will! When we get back, we need to slice up as much of the meat as we can and get it going in the freeze-dryers. Actually, go run inside and pull all the frozen meat from your freezers and set it out to thaw while we’re gone.
I can do the Jeep’s seats myself. Hurry, though, we need to get going! ”
I run into the house to do as she says, taking a quick look at my watch and wince.
Savemart closes in just over an hour, if it’s even still open after the whole moon thing today.
I mean, if I were making minimum wage as a retail worker, I sure as heck wouldn’t be sticking around to finish my shift right now.
I shake my head at how surreal all this is and dump all the frozen meat from the fridge freezer on the counter and in the sink, and then grab a laundry basket and fill it with the frozen meat in the stand-up freezer we have in the laundry room and leave it all on the kitchen counters before running back to the garage.