Dissonance - Book One

thirty-seven

The sky turns a bright pink, then orange, as the sun rises, spreading its reach over the cold the desert floor. It will be daylight soon and I can't help but yearn for the darkness a little while longer. Daylight brings with it another day of this mess. Another day of new challenges and obstacles. Another day that my parents have been dead. Another day of feeling lost and alone. Only the night seems to bring some peace, that is, until I fall asleep and I'm terrorized by my dreams. My mind feels restless, as images of both past and present flicker across my brain with every blink of my eyelids. There are pictures of my parents and memories of happier times intermixed with images of my aunt's decaying body and the man from my nightmares. I wish I could silence the thoughts in my head, but they're trying to tell me something, trying to help me put it all together.

"Watch out!" Lex screams, jolting me from my daze, as I slam on the brakes.

The truck comes to a screeching halt.

"Is everyone okay?" Wyler asks.

We nod in unison.

"What is that?" He stares out the window in disbelief.

I put the truck in park and we slowly open our doors and exit the vehicle. The ground is divided as if someone took a crowbar and cracked it wide open. The crack appears to stretch for miles. It must be at least 15 feet wide and endlessly deep. Was this the hole in the ground that my aunt sent me to find? Surely not. This seems...new.

"Earthquake?" Wyler asks, but it's more of a statement than a question.

"That must have been what we felt when the ground was vibrating last night," Lex replies, but there is something odd about the damage. It doesn't seem natural. It's too...perfect.

"One giant crack, split down the middle, blocking our route? It makes no sense," I say, not even realizing I'm speaking my thoughts aloud.

"None of this makes any sense!" Lex yells, throwing her arms into the air. "That's it, I'm turning on my cell phone and calling 911."

"No!" I shout.

"Why? Why can't I use my cell phone Ever? We need help. Something really strange is going on here and to be honest, I think you know what it is."

"Me?" I ask, shocked by her insinuation.

"Yeah," she folds her arms and waits for my response, to which I give her none. "There's something you're not telling us."

I look to Wyler, hoping that he'll tell her how ridiculous she's being, but I can tell by the look on his face that he's going to be of little help.

"Well?" Lex continues to pry.

"Look, I don't know much more than you do, but I don't think this is an accident. All of this feels..."

"What? Say it?"

"A little too coincidental."

"Huh?"

"A tsunami, a mystery illness that takes life rapidly and viciously, an earthquake...it's awfully odd how it's happening all at once."

"Agreed," Wyler finally steps in, sensing Lex's rising temper. "So what do you think?"

"I think there's a reason behind it."

"A reason? What are you talking about? What reason?" Lex's frustration grows.

"I can't say for sure, but these disasters can't just be a coincidence. Somethings...happening."

"Thank you Captain Obvious," she retorts. "Clearly something is happening. So what do we do? I'm tired of running, especially since I don't fully understand what we're running from, or towards."