The Mammoth Book of Apocalyptic SF - Mike Ashley [101]
The world suddenly flooded bright orange-red, the landscape bursting apart, leaping into the sky after us. I thought I saw the metal and concrete structures of the Redoubt, rupturing as they lifted off, spilling an antlike mass of people, then they were gone, smothered in foaming lava.
Seeing the light reflected in my face, maybe even seeing the image of it in my eyes, Maryanne pressed her head fonvard in her helmet, closing her eyes, trying to push into my chest.
" There, there.
We're together now.
The rest doesn't matter.
But I could feel my heart pound.
Feel myself not want it to happen.
Not really.
Not now.
The fire was closing with us quickly, leaping smears of molten rock, like the fire fountains of Hawaii, solid bits tumbling dark within. Try not to flinch. Keep your eyes open. You don't want to miss a thing. Not when...
There was a hard impact, spinning us around. I could see Mary-anne's eyes were open again, blazing into mine. I could see her mouth open, screaming. Another impact. Something hit me in the helmet, then something else, a lot harder. The glass cracked, then blew out with a howling roar.
A fiery hand reached down my throat to grab me by the lungs.
There was just enough time for one long, ghastly burp.
Then no more time at all.
It began, as always, once upon a fucking time...
Oh, the old life sucked.
But it was what we had.
Until the Cone.
That Saturday morning had been brilliant and clear, not a cloud in the tawny sky. I got up before Connie, got dressed, drank my coffee, called Paul, waking him, and said if he wanted to hear what I'd found out, he could meet me at the south entrance to Umstead Park in half an hour.
"Can't it wait?" Another second and he'd be asleep, would stay asleep until the sun was high and the air turned to steam.
"Hey, it's the end of the world, Paulie-boy. You feel fine yet?"
I got in my car and drove away, not even tempted to go back upstairs and hump Connie awake, rolled down the windows and drove too fast, down the Freeway, on up I-40 past the airport to Umstead, getting there in seventeen minutes, maybe a little less, singing as I drove, the words to that dumb old skateboarder song, and was surprised to find Paul had beaten me there.
There was a cool wind blowing as Paul killed the antique heavy metal music blaring from his car, some Grand-Funky bullshit. "This better be fucking good," he said.
"Let's go hiking, ole buddy ole pal!"
When we got in under the trees, breathless from trying to keep up, he called out, "What the hell is this all about?"
I turned around, walking backwards, slipping once in the pine straw, letting him catch up. "It's the Cone of Annihilation, Paulie! The end of the world! And all in only eighteen years!"
"So this is your big joke, Scott?"
I stopped and waited until he was standing in front me. And told him what I'd found out, last night, with my little illegal server probe. Shovatsky's Cone, thin as a needle, swept back to no more than a few arc-seconds wide, reaching backwards into the sky, from Gliese 138 all the way to the end of creation, wiping out stars and galaxies as it came.
It was fun to watch the grin fade. Finally: "Scott. You're a mean bastard. This isn't funny."
I said, "There's a printout in my car, Paulie. I'll give it to you when we get done walking." I turned and headed down the trail.
"Wait." He said, "Scott, how the hell did you find this out?"
I told him...
Another doubtful look. "Will you let me have a copy of this ... program you wrote?"
I shook my head. "I'm using HDC's hardware and digital phone lines. You'd only get caught." I started walking down the long, steep hill toward Crabtree Creek. "Come on. Suppose it's true. Then what?"
"Well, shit, I don't know. Eighteen years? We'll be almost