The End of an Era (The End of Everything Book 3), page 1
The End of an Era
By
Nate Johnson
Copyright 2023 Nathan Johnson
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof in any form. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means. This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Purple Herb Publishing
AuthorNateJo@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNateJo/
Dedicated to
Joe Wilkinson
An Honorable Man
Other books by Nate Johnson
Intrepid (Taurian Empire 1)
Blackthorn (Taurian Empire 2)
Discovery (Taurian Empire 3)
Drake's Rift (Taurian Empire 4)
Dauntless (Taurian Empire 5)
The End of Everything
Stolen Reality
Worth Saving
Nolan Reed
A Demon’s Nightmare
First (Short Story)
A Demon’s Nightmare
The End of an Era
Chapter One
Evan
The world as we know it coming to a screeching halt sucks. I know, sort of obvious. But it does.
It all started, or at least for my part with an incoming phone call.
“Yeah Dad,” I said after pulling my phone out of my back pocket.
“Where are you?” My dad snapped. Something that made my gut clench up. Dad never freaked. The man was an emotional rock.
“The women’s restroom on 62. You know, the last job on your list. I’m just putting the snake away, the clog is cleared.” I had a temp summer job on the maintenance staff for a Wall Street skyscraper. My dad ran the maintenance department which meant I got assigned the worst shifts and worst jobs. Just how every eighteen-year-old boy wanted to spend Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Fixing things for rich investment bankers.
“Don’t go anywhere,” Dad ordered.
“Dad, what is going on? You sound like the world’s coming to an end.”
There was a long pause then Dad said those fateful words, “I think it is.”
An awkward silence fell over the conversation as I tried to figure out if my dad had gone insane. The thing is, my dad wasn’t like that. An ex-marine, he’d seen more stuff than two dozen men. Like I said earlier, he didn’t freak.
“Okay Dad, tell me what is really going on.”
“Do you remember Jim Ericson? He worked for me when we were stationed at Pendleton?”
“Dad, I don’t know how to tell you this. But I was five. Thirteen years ago. I don’t remember Pendleton, let alone who worked for you.”
He didn’t laugh, which really bothered me. Dad was easy to make laugh. At least usually.
Dad took a deep breath. “He just called me. He works at the Pentagon. He said ‘Alas Babylon’”
I felt my forehead furrow in confusion. “So.”
“Don’t you remember that book? I made you read it when you turned fourteen. That was the code words between two brothers that the world was ending.”
A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind, including a faint memory about people surviving a nuclear war in the fifties. Of course I immediately started to come up with a rational explanation. First off, I told myself it was the eleventh of June. Not April first. Besides Dad wasn’t into April fools jokes.
Next, I wondered if maybe someone had kidnapped him, and made him say stupid things. But again, not possible. Nobody made my dad do anything he didn’t want to.
“I want you to stay there,” Dad said before I could figure out a valid reason why he’d lost his mind.
“Listen to your father,” My mom said from the background.
Now my gut tightened up like a nervous sphincter muscle. “You’ve got Mom into this?”
“Jim Ericson is no fool,” she said as if that sealed the matter.
“Mom, the worst place to be in a nuclear war is New York City, we’ve got to be third or fourth on the target list, first if they are anti-capitalist. They’d hit us until the only thing left was bouncing rubble.”
“It’s not nuclear,” My dad said with a serious tone. “I think it’s viral. There’s something weird going on in Europe.”
“Dad –“
“No,” he said with that Sergeant Major voice of his that insisted on compliance. “I want you to lock out the elevators. There on Sixty-Two, and you stay there until I tell you different.”
I balked. “I know it’s Saturday morning, but people still come into work occasionally. They are going to be pissed.”
“Tough. I’m telling you, Evan, my gut is screaming at me that this is serious. If people get upset, we’ll just blame me. It wasn’t my favorite job anyway.”
“I –”
“Evan,” My mom said. I knew instantly that she’d pulled the phone from my dad’s hand. “You do what your father tells you. Do you understand me? You stay there until we tell you it is safe to leave.”
“Mom I can’t. I’ve got that study session this morning. That was why I worked through the night. I can’t miss it.”
“Evan Lloyd Carlson,” she said with that mom voice that was even scarier than my dad’s Sergeant Major voice. “You will do as you are told. We didn’t raise you to be a fool. Everything we have ever done was to make sure you are safe. Don’t you dare throw that away?”
God, it had to be bad, she was playing the guilt card. She only pulled that out when she was really frightened. “Okay Mom,” I sighed in defeat.
Dad got back on the phone. “Lock out the elevators then call me back. You stay on 62. The place should be empty. From what I am hearing and what Jim said. Don’t be anywhere near people. This thing spreads faster than a scared rabbit and he thinks it’s deadlier than Ebola on steroids.”
I think that was when it began to sink in. This wasn’t some silly joke. “Okay. I’ll call you back in a minute.”
The was a long pause then dad said, “I love you, son. I don’t tell you enough. But I am proud of the man you have become.”
My heart broke as fear filled me. I knew Dad loved me, but we didn’t talk about it much.
“I love you too. And Mom.”
“I love you, Evan,” Mom said from the background. “Do what your dad said, and you’ll be safe.”
“Bye son,” Dad said then hung up.
I stood there for a moment in that stall staring down at my phone trying to work it all out. Nope, none of it made sense and I was going to look like an idiot when this was all over. But I also knew I wasn’t bucking Dad and Mom on this one. A job wasn’t worth disappointing them.
Putting the snake and plumbing tools away in the maintenance closet I could only shake my head. It still seemed too unreal. But I hitched my tool belt and headed for the elevators. It was like I was in a numb fog. Nothing made sense. It couldn’t be true, the world didn’t end. Not in today’s universe.
And he’d said this thing was in Europe. Why didn’t that give me time to get home? If the world ended, I wanted to be with my family. Not stuck here in the middle of the sky.
When I got to the elevators, I hesitated then pushed the button. The first one to arrive was easy to lock out. I sort of was on autopilot. I popped the service module and used the key to shut it down.
Only then could I call the next one up and lock it out. The second and third were easy. I didn’t really think it through. But when the last one arrived, I hesitated. I was cutting myself off from the rest of the world.
Okay, sure, people could use the stairs. So it wasn’t like I was trapping anyone. But no one was going to climb sixty-two flights of stairs to do some paperwork.
Sticking the key into the slot, I held off for a moment then did it. A feeling of shame filled me. I was hiding. If the world was ending. If people were dying. Then my parents would need me. I shouldn’t be here, safe, above everyone. It wasn’t fair.
As I marched to the back I couldn’t help looking into the glass-enclosed rooms where the traders worked. Each desk with three large computer monitors. Coffee cups and coke cans everywhere. These guys were fueled by caffeine. The cleaning crew would come in this afternoon. But they’d never get here with the elevators locked out.
What would the bankers and brokers do when they came in on Monday morning and couldn’t get to their office?
No way this was lasting that long. It’d be a couple of hours then Dad would realize this was ridiculous. Wow, has anyone ever been more wrong than I was at that moment?
Once I reached the end of the hall and to the left, I called up the freight elevator and locked it out as well.
I was truly cut off. But hey, I could stand on my head for a couple of hours if I had to. This wasn’t forever.
“Now what?” I said to myself. Lock the stairwell door? Could I even do that? It was an emergency exit. I don’t think I could physically lock it. But then it didn’t matter. Like I said, no one was climbing sixty-two flights.
An alone feeling filled me as I realized I had absolutely nothing to do. There were no work orders for this floor or the twelve above me.
Looking out through the offices I saw the New York skyline and shivered. Six million people were down there. Did they know what was coming?<
Or were six million people going to be laughing their butts off when the nightly news broadcast the story about the stupid boy so afraid of the boogeyman that he locked out the Wall Street’s Palmer Building and lost the company billions of dollars.
I was searching around to shake off this confused numbness when I remembered the huge television in the far conference room. There was a smaller one on the wall for each trading room where they could watch CNBC and keep up on the things outside of the market. But the big one in the conference room was used mostly for Monday Night football.
Taking a deep breath I headed that way. Besides, the break room behind it had a vending machine. When I got to the elevators, I made a detour to make sure they were still locked out. The doors remained open, waiting for me to set them free.
I was turning the corner to head down the hall when a small bundle of pretty female smacked into my chest and bounced back.
Without thinking I reached out to grab her and stop her from falling.
“Who are you?” I snapped as I did a quick inspection. Like I said, pretty. Maybe seventeen. Long blond hair parted in the middle with just enough curl to be fashionable. Blue eyes that at the moment looked both frightened and intrigued. Dressed in a business suit, white shirt, and navy-blue pencil skirt. A high school girl trying to look like a high-priced lawyer.
Her flawless forehead furrowed as she looked up at me. “None of your business,” she said as she tried to maneuver around me. “I need to get downstairs.”
I could only stare after her as she slammed to a halt and gawked at the open doors of the elevators then back at me.
“Sorry, the only way you’re getting down is by taking the stairs.”
Her frown shifted over to full anger as she looked at me like she wanted to carve me into a million pieces.
I held up my hands. “Hey, don’t blame me. Haven’t you heard, the world is ending? We’re stuck up here.”
Chapter Two
Sydney
God, I hated being lectured to by people who thought they knew more than me. Especially cute boys wearing tool belts.
“What do you mean the world is ending? I don’t know what happened to you and your girlfriend. But the world is just fine.”
He smirked. Another thing that pushed my buttons. “What’s so important downstairs?”
“Like I said, none of your business.”
Shrugging, he turned to leave, and I yelled, “Hold up. I need you to turn the elevators back on.”
Again he shrugged then shook his head. “Nope. Not going to happen. Like I told you the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Some virus is sweeping everywhere.”
Gritting my teeth I forced myself to remain calm. Getting into an argument with a troglodyte never worked. Taking a moment to calm my angry heart I looked him over. Tall, handsome, with a tool belt. A killer combination. His name Evan was sown above the pocket of his chambray shirt. Obviously, a maintenance worker. A man with the power of the key.
He’d decided to mess with my plans and was enjoying himself making my life even more miserable.
“Please,” I said, thinking it would be better to try honey instead of vinegar even though it went against my nature. “I need to get downstairs and find Mr. Kennedy.”
“Who’s Mr. Kennedy.”
“Our teacher. He –“
“OUR? Who else is up here.” The look of surprise was mixed with a hint of worry.
I sighed, he was going to make me tell him everything before he let me downstairs. But really, I didn’t have much choice. He was a pumped-up tyrant who thought he was more important than he was.
“There are four of us. We’re on a field trip, visiting Mr. Jamison. Our Investment club.”
He frowned in obvious confusion.
“At school, in Albany, Mr. Kennedy started an investment club. You know. We make mock investments and see who makes the most.” I felt my anger grow when I saw that familiar look of disdain. People always thought it was silly. But it wasn’t.
“Hey,” I continued. “It looks good on a college application to Harvard. Add it to straight A’s, a high SAT score, Volleyball to show that I am competitive and volunteer work at the Bayside old person care facility to show I am compassionate. I should have no problem getting in.”
He laughed. “Let me guess, Daddy went to Harvard and will be paying for it.”
My anger jumped three points, the fact that he was right was totally beside the point. “Just let me downstairs, please. Mr. Kennedy went down to find Mr. Jamison. They should have been back twenty minutes ago.”
“No.”
I swear the idiot enjoyed being a jerk. I was getting ready to abandon the whole honey approach and unload a ton of vinegar when my phone rang. Glancing down I saw Mr. Kennedy was calling and let out a long sigh.
“Where are you?” I asked as I turned my back on tall and handsome.
“Sydney, tell me you and the others are still upstairs.”
“Yes sir,” I said as my stomach clenched up. I could hear the sound of traffic in the background which meant he was outside, probably still waiting for Mr. Jamison.
“Good. Stay there. Something is going on. I don’t understand it yet. But I think it’s bad.”
I glanced over my shoulder. The jerk was still there watching me. I lifted an eyebrow to let him know I wanted to be given some privacy, but he totally ignored me. Instead, he folded his arms across his broad chest and waited.
“Mr. Kennedy –“
“Sydney. People are dying. I saw one. On the street. He just fell down. Coughed up half a lung then stopped breathing.”
“Sir, this is New York City.”
He sighed on the other end then said, “Sydney, I called 911. The phone just rang and rang. Finally when someone answered they were coughing and sneezing then they told me to call back. That they were swamped.”
Now my heart jumped as I turned to look at the idiot behind me. He had said something about the world coming to an end. What did he mean? Suddenly I had an uneasy feeling that he might not have been insane.
“What should we do?” I asked my teacher.
“Stay upstairs. I’ll be ….” Suddenly I heard him point the phone away as he started coughing. That deep heavy cough that filled me with fear.
“Mr. Kennedy?”
“Stay there.” More coughing. “Don’t come down. Not until I figure a way to get you and the others out of the city without being near anyone.”
“Mr. K –“
“Just do it Sydney,” he said then the connection was broken.
I stared down at the phone in my hand then up at the maintenance guy. I had to hurry to catch up as maintenance guy started down the hall. That was the thing about tall boys, their steps were longer. And I despised running after people. It was unseemly, especially in heels.
“Stop,” I said as I reached out to grab his arm.
He looked down at my hand then at me and I felt a spark of something. A serious boy girl type thing that I quickly snuffed out. “What do you think is going on?”
He simply smiled then started down the hall. Man how I hate being ignored.
He halted a moment when he saw my three other teammates sitting in the conference room. Liz was playing Stardew Valley on her phone. Kevin had his head buried in a paperback, probably some ancient Sci-Fi thing or some Brandon Sanderson epic fantasy. And Justin of course was surfing TikTok with a focus on pretty girls shuffle dancing.
All three of them looked up when we opened the door to the conference room.
“Justin,” I told the maintenance guy for some unknown reason. Justin was the top of the food chain so of course he got introduced first. Handsome, rich, a hero on the basketball court, and a father in the state senate.
“And this is Liz and Kevin,” I added. The four of us made up the East Albany Prep inaugural Investment club.
“Did you find Mr. Kennedy?” Justin asked as he shot the maintenance guy a curious look.
I ignored him as Maintenance guy grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV, flipping it over to the local news station. But there was nothing but a weather report saying that it would hit the high eighties later that afternoon.
