Angel in Waiting

By Blake Beckley and Al Parish

Is your family "normal"? The answer to that probably depends on who's asking and who else is within ear shot when the question is asked. As a parent of four children, I know my answer has often been "not a chance," especially when one of the kids has done something without thinking, at least from my perspective. But in reality, I have to admit my family is pretty typical. Do you believe in miracles or in a "higher power"? We all tend to have very quick yes-or-no answers to that one, even though if we thought about it, that one is much harder to honestly answer.
Would you be able to tell if your family was actually extraordinary because of a higher power? That's a much tougher one and that's the one Angel-in-Waiting is all about. A lively mixture of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery, Angel-in-Waiting is about growing up in an apparently normal family that is all of a sudden thrown into an extraordinary situation. If that's not enough, the family has to contend with a much deeper mystery concerning one of its own.
How would your family cope with the world of Angel-in-Waiting? How close is your family to this one? Could your family just maybe be not-so-normal after all?
Enjoy a fun, poignant, thought-provoking look into unexpected possibilities as you take flight in Angel-in-Waiting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781682226056

Book preview

Epilogue

Part I - Comet Fall

CHAPTER ONE

I remember the day mom and dad pulled us kids into the underworld as if it happened yesterday. At least that was what us kids called it. IT was PAX5, a decommissioned Minuteman V missile silo just north of Lewistown, Montana. It was 2:30 p.m., August 4th, 2054, a comfortable 87 degrees with our typical breeze coming from the northwest.

What I remember the most has permanently stained the backs of my eyelids. Every time I close my eyes, I see it vividly: The expression on Matty’s face. I had turned eleven on Valentine’s Day. He was going to be thirteen.

Through life experiences I had come to know the look of fear quite well. Like the time that Matty had gotten separated from Mom while shopping at the new Mega-Wal-Mart in Billings. He was young and afraid. This new look was different. This was terror!

Mom had just returned from picking up Beth who had been on a weekend camping trip with her Girl Scouts group. At fourteen, Beth was our mini-mom. Josh, my twin was with Matty and me in the back yard where we spent a lot of our time playing with autonomous match box cars, building miles and miles of roads in the dirt that went absolutely nowhere.

Josh and I looked up when we heard Matty scream. Then we too saw what he saw, an explosion off at a millennial distance over the mountains to the west. It was expanding outwards like the rings of Saturn. A split second later, we felt an earth-rattling boom that shook our house. The explosion was intensely bright, like looking directly into the sun’s corona. It was also colorful with bright shades of red, orange, green and blue. We could feel the heat radiating downward and within a minute we were sweating.

A day or two earlier, during a current events discussion in school, we talked about two near-earth-orbit comets. They were small as comets go. Composed mostly of gas, ice and rock, they were headed towards one another at thousands of miles an hour. Dad flew almost 2,000 miles an hour in his F-39, so the speed didn’t seem to register as being significant. People were concerned though, I didn’t understand why because in my slightly drain bramaged mind I kept wondering, just how much damage could two containers of kitchen cleanser really cause? Shows how much I paid attention in class. At eleven, the world was a really big place. It was about to get much smaller.

From out of nowhere dad reached down and plucked Josh and me up so swiftly that he almost separated our arms from their sockets. When he tried to grab Matty, being scared, he ran into the house to his safe spot; an old TV box turned fort hidden in the quiet darkness of the attic. Damn kid, yelled dad clearly frustrated. Dad seldom cussed.

Mom intercepted dad. He handed us off like a football in a winning play in the Super Bowl. The three of us headed for the little concrete shed a hundred yards from the house. Inside the shed was an elevator which led to the silo ten stories below ground.

Shortly after purchasing the property, dad allowed us kids down inside while he did work on the living quarters. The silo consisted of an internal launch tube which, in its day, housed a Minuteman V ICBM (missile not included). There was a control/launch room, a bathroom with shower, living area, kitchen, three sleeping quarters and storage rooms filled with food that was sustainable for twenty-five years.

Once in the elevator, mom opened a small compartment which housed a key and the elevator controls. She turned the key and pressed a button and we began our descent. I could tell we were going down because my stomach moved up into my throat! I hated elevators; this one was kind of small. Dad said it was installed during the cold war. I wondered if all wars were fought in the winter.

As soon as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, Mom rushed Josh and I into the control room and ordered us to take a seat. We copped a squat in these really cool chairs that were mounted on rails, like a train. They moved left and right if your feet touched the floor, that is.

Most of the cool Air Force stuff had been removed by the government when the old missile program ended in 2042. There were still controls for doors, air and heating systems and video monitors for the cameras in the elevator and some that were topside. The silo also contained a sophisticated radio that could be used to speak with people all over the world.

Vlad, turn that knob to the right, yelled mom. She was sweating profusely. There were at least thirty five knobs, twenty or so switches and five sliding thingies in front of me. Then, to make matters worse, for some reason I couldn’t remember my left from my right.

Look at your shoes dummy, yelled Josh. When we were younger we both had shoes that had colored toes; red for right which also had a stop sign and green for left which of course had a green go sign on it.

Still confused I yelled Mom? hoping for more information as to which of the plethora of knobs she intended for me to turn.

The small green knob that says ‘radio’ next to it, Vlad, said mom without redirecting her gaze.

In front of Josh, several feet away, was another control panel that had a bunch of ten inch monitors showing different camera views. A blue light lit up and started flashing. Beside it was a label that read elevator.

Mom, I think I just found dad, Matty, and Beth, whispered Josh. A second later he yelled Mom! She ran over and looked at the monitor. Our missing family was huddled together in the center of the elevator. Shit, she said softly under her breath.

Do not move! yelled mom as she exited the room. As kids often do, we took her literally; we froze all movement, even blinking.

From out in the hallway, we could hear the faint sounds of whimpering and crying. Jesus! exclaimed mom loudly when she saw their condition.

Josh sat upright. Did you hear that? Jesus is here! yelled Josh not really understanding that she did not mean Jesus the person. Of course with the light show up above us it was possible he had returned like it said he would in the book of Revelation.

Josh and I both jumped down from our seats and ran to the doorway to see for ourselves what was going on. At the end of a short hallway stood dad, Matty and Beth. Their clothing had been removed or burnt off, one of the two; and mom was spraying them down with this burn gel stuff trying to cool them off.

Dad looked the worst, the skin on his arms, face, and chest was peeling off in places like a snake shedding last year’s outfit. Beth and Matty had burns on their faces and arms and their hair was singed a little. Dad had done his best to keep them covered so they didn’t get burned as bad as he did.

From behind us, in the control room, came a broadcast from the radio:

This is a message from the Emergency Broadcast System. This is not a test. At 1430 hours Mountain Standard Time NOAA reported a low atmosphere explosion approximately 100 miles east of Seattle, Washington broadcasting rock and debris over a wide path from BC to Mexico City. Do not go outside, if you are in a vehicle you should seek shelter immediately…

Then the radio went silent.

I was looking at the large screen when a piece of rock landed several miles from our house, within seconds our little home collapsed and blew apart. The entire area was on fire. Josh, who was standing near me, had pee running down his leg!

Over the next four or five minutes or so thousands of pieces of rock pummeled the UNAS from Kimberly, BC all the way to Mexico City. It was believed that the two potato-shaped rocks would miss each other by miles. Someone miscalculated!

After seeing to the others, mom checked in on Josh and me. Mom, we’re gonna die just like Chuck, aren’t we? asked Josh. Chuck was our pet wood chuck that didn’t chuck wood. Beth’s friend Helen renamed him Flat Rat after he got hit by a septic truck.

No baby we’re not going to die. We are going to be down here a while though, said mom reassuringly.

Dad walked in covered with burn gel and bandages. He was looking at a digital display that said surface temperature 158°F There’s no way anything can survive that, said dad. That’s an increase of 70° in a little over an hour. I have to turn off the ventilation system for a while so the outside temperature doesn’t cause the temperature inside to climb, said dad while turning dials and flipping switches.

We’ll be ok in the common areas, they have their own separate air scrubbers, said mom as she lead Josh and me out of the room. I had visions of two maids in those little uniforms scrubbing the air with scrubbing bubbles.

The living area was surprisingly large. Of course at that age everything was big. The toy section at the new Mega-Wal-Mart was like the biggest thing in the whole universe. Until of course we got stuck in the women’s section with mom and Beth……ugh!

Our silo was the biggest of its kind built during the cold war. Dad said that it was actually designed to accommodate high ranking officials in the event of a nuclear war. Then they built a larger one somewhere else…go figure!

There were three sleeping quarters off of the main living area. One was for mom and dad, one was for storage and the other was for us kids. Since Josh and I were both prone to seizures, mom had us share a bed so we didn’t risk falling off of an upper bunk if we had a seizure. I would be ok with it until Josh farted under the covers. He’d blame it on me, but I never fart!

The living area had two sofas, a couple of desks, a lamp stand and a big Active Vision TV hanging on the wall with a stereo below.

Dad spent so much time and money on the place that us kids were beginning to think he planned on us living in here, like, full time one day. Little did we know that one day we would!

If we have it up in the house, we should have it down here, said dad as he was installing the same make and model of kitchen appliances as we had topside.

Beth’s eyes lit up, Really? Are you going to build like, a big shopping mall down here too? she asked facetiously.

One thing Beth did like was the bathroom. It was huge with three stalls, three sinks and a large shower with a pole in the center of it that had six shower heads on it. Dad said it reminded him of the shower in the gym at his high school in Bozeman.

The utility room had another shower which was much smaller. It also had five freezers which were full, water heaters, washer and dryer, storage for veggies and tons of shelves with extra parts for the equipment.

The infirmary was like a small clinic. It had three stretchers, oxygen built into the wall and cabinets filled with medical supplies. At the end of the room was a three foot by three foot pull out drawer containing a stainless steel table big enough to hold my dad. Beth said that if you died while down here, that’s where they put you.

When I saw the tiny morgue, I asked dad if we had to come down here and live, could we bring Chuck with us. He wrinkled his nose and said no. I don’t think I like the morgue that much!

We were all nervous and visibly upset, mom and dad included, so they called us kids into the living area for a hug and to pray.

We stood together as a family, holding hands in a circle. Matty was between Josh and I. He stood motionless and stared at the floor. Matty never stands still.

When Matty was born, mom and dad thought he was deaf or something. He never laughed and hardly ever cried. As he grew older he would not express his emotions or he would get them mixed up. He would laugh when he should have cried, cried when he should have laughed. He would burn himself and say nothing at all. The doctors said he was severely autistic.

Dad opened the prayer by asking God to forgive our sins and by confessing that we were all sinners.

Josh looked up at dad with a disgusted look of annoyance and said Dad, you must be talkin ‘bout you and mom, cause us kids NEVER sin, ever We’re not old enough yet.

With both eyes on Josh dad continued. And thank you Lord for giving us four perfect children, especially Josh, who never sins. Unless of course you count this morning when he told me, promised even, that he had fed the dog and taken out the garbage, when in fact, I did those chores. Why? Because Josh, who never sins, was outside playing in the back yard.

With a slumped posture, Josh looked at dad with resignation and sighed, Ok dad but that’s the only time I promise!

Dad continued by praying for those topside who did not have their own decommissioned missile silo, for Grandma Kathy who was God only knows where, and for an end to the current situation. After prayer, mom fed us kids our first meal in the silo and then told us to take a nap.

I protested! Mom, I’m eleven, and at eleven years old we don’t take naps anymore. There is a law against it, I think. Why I’m not even sleepy…. I was out like a light.

Matty hung up a blanket over his bed then crawled inside. The darkness had a calming effect on him.

Beth made sure we were ok, and then went to sleep herself. Within minutes we were oblivious to the death and destruction going on a hundred feet above us.

CHAPTER 2

Mom and Dad walked into the control room to see if they could raise anyone on the radio. Somehow the cameras still worked. The camera pointing in the direction of the house showed an empty, foreign looking landscape still smoldering or on fire. At 4:00 p.m., it was as dark as midnight. The ambient air temperature was 127°.

Dad flipped a couple of switches to elevate what is called a VLF antenna. VLF stands for Very Low Frequency. This increases our radio reception and transmitting strength. At the same time he raised a new Ultra High Definition Infrared camera which, mounted on a pole and elevated a hundred feet in the air, would allow him to see clearly for miles.

KNGQ 259 to anyone listening, If you can hear me please pick up, over, Mom said into the mic. She looked at Dad clearly worried. Dad adjusted the RF gain to clear it up and get rid of some of the static. Try again, said Dad.

KNGQ 259 to any available radio. If you can hear me please respond … over, said Mom with increasing anxiety. God, are we the only people left? asked Mom while running her fingers through her hair.

KNGQ 259, this is Captain Duboise, North American Air Defense Command, Cheyenne Mountain, please identify yourself, over. The response was quick and crystal clear. Mom later said it was music to her ears.

KNGQ 259 - Cheyenne Mountain this is Joanne Hartman and family reporting from the decommissioned missile silo PAX 5, Lewistown, Montana. We have four children and two adults, three with minor injuries … over.

259 are you able to see outside? What does it look like where you are? Over. said Captain DuBoise.

Dad rotated the camera to get a view of Lewistown. It’s all gone, said Dad quietly into the microphone.

259, what’s gone? … come back … I repeat what’s gone? said the Captain with greater urgency.

Everything is gone. The city. Our farm. Everywhere I look I see flames and smoke. Even using forward looking infrared there are no signs of life. Over. said Dad in disbelief. He rested his forehead against Mom’s temple and said What are we going to do, Joanne? What are we going to tell the kids?

The truth, replied Mom.

Moments passed without any communication with the outside, then came a new voice. Uh … Hello? … Hello? I’m not sure how to work this damn thing. I can hear you. If you can hear me, say something … Hello?

Mom quickly responded, This is KNGQ 259, we can hear you. Where are you calling from? Over.

Thank God, came the reply. We’re in an old shelter a few blocks from MSU in Bozeman. It’s so hot in here we can hardly breathe. Did Yellowstone finally blow its top or what? The man’s voice sounded old and tired.

No. Yellowstone’s fine. We actually saw the whole thing. Those comets collided just east of Seattle, lit up the sky like the Fourth of July. How many people are with you? Over. asked Mom surprised that they had no clue about what was going on.

Well let’s see … there’s my wife and three adult kids and … well … we stand at thirty eight heads. A couple aren’t too well off though. I don’t suppose the Schwan’s man delivers in emergencies does he? I’m afraid we don’t have much in the way of provisions…Over.

Cheyenne Mountain keyed backup. Bozeman, this Captain DuBoise at NORAD. Be advised, we’re aware of your situation. We’ll do our best to get you out of there or at the very least drop you off some supplies. Word is that the Seattle area is still functional. We’ll see what we can do, over.

We appreciate that, said Bozeman. Any idea when that could be? We don’t have much food, not for this many people … over. The man’s voice sounded desperate.

All I can say at this point is we’re aware and will do our best. 259, Mrs. Hartman you still with us? Over.

Go ahead, said Dad.

My apologies Mr. Hartman. If possible, could one of you monitor the radio for flash traffic and help us coordinate activities and communications for your area? We could sure use your assistance … over, said Captain DuBoise.

Copy that. We’d be happy to assist you. Just be aware that should the two of us be occupied you may be talking to any one of our kids until an adult can get to the radio … over, said Dad with a soft laugh.

Roger 259 we all have a job to do in this situation even the kids. Put ‘em to work. Cheyenne Mountain out.

Dad left for a minute and returned with a cot, sleeping bag and pillow. I’ll take the first shift, Joanne. You go get some rest, okay? Mom took a shower then crawled into bed with Matty and cuddled up to him. With the emergency lighting everywhere else, Matty’s safe haven was the only truly dark place

CHAPTER 3

One by one we kids crawled out of bed completely disoriented. Nothing was where it was supposed to be, most notably the bathroom, which, in the house was in between us boys room and Beth’s room. Now it was out the door and to the right and, of course, it was occupied.

How in the world could a bathroom that big be full? I thought to myself.

Matty, Josh and I collectively crossed our legs, squeezed our willies to stem the flow and hopped around like Native Americans at a Pow-Wow, minus the singing.

After a few minutes I couldn’t wait any longer. Follow me, I said as I hopped down the hall to the utility room to the shower. I turned on the water, took off my clothes and jumped in followed closely by Josh and Matty. Oooh, we said in unison as we expressed our relief.

Mom walked in. What are you … uh … three up to? She asked as she pulled some dry cereal down from a shelf. I like this sudden interest in cleanliness, she said looking around for our clean clothes and towels.

We had to pee, said Matty as we all burst out laughing. Oookay, wow! said Mom shaking her head as she walked out of the room.

A few minutes later Beth showed up with clean clothes and towels. You could have come in you know, she said as we stepped out and dried off. That bathroom is huge. Josh looked at me and said, I thought you said it was full. I shrugged and walked away.

Breakfast was bran cereal that tasted like cardboard, not that I ever ate cardboard, but you know. The milk was powered stuff, but it wasn’t bad. To that we added dried fruit and had some toast. Not a bad meal.

Vlad, honey, go tell your dad that breakfast is ready please said Mom. I was a man on a mission. It wasn’t a long walk, but for some reason I went by way of our bedroom, the bathroom for a quick pee, medical for some anti-germ stuff and finally, the control room.

Hey Dad, Mom said…

Hi Vlad said Mom interrupting me.

Hi Mom! Dad, Mom said it’s time for … wait a minute. Mom what are you doing here? I asked wondering why she sent me if she was going to get him herself.

I got tired of waiting Vlad said Mom.

Oh well! I’m gonna go challenge Beth to a wrestling match, I said as I turned to leave.

Hold it Vlad, said Dad. You listen for the radio while I eat and your Mom takes her shower. She’ll be back in a few minutes. If anyone radios, click this button and say, ‘KNGQ 259, stand by, then let go of the button and get your Mom, okay? If you forget, our call letters are written on this label, Dad said as he pointed to the radio.

Ok! Got it, I said confidently. Dad and Mom no sooner walked out and the radio came to life. Cheyenne Mountain 259, do you read? Come in, said Captain DuBoise.

It took a second to realize that he was calling us. I keyed up the mic. Yo! This is Vlad in the missile thingy. Dad’s sleeping, Mom’s showering. I think Beth and Josh are doing dishes. Matty, that’s my older brother, he’s auspistic" or whatever, he don’t say much so you have to talk to me, ok?" I said forgetting my instructions.

With a slight giggle the man on the other end said, How was your first night in an old missile silo? Over.

Over? It ain’t over! Mom said we’ll be here for a while, I said confused about the use of the word over.

Over means I’m done and it’s your turn to talk, 10-4? said Captain DuBoise.

Ok - but it’s only 8:40 not 10:04. You need to set your watch, I said looking at my own watch.

Roger that, came the man again.

I told you my name’s Vlad not Roger. Old people sure forget stuff easy, I said facetiously.

Old?! Hey little man I’m only thirty, please don’t make me any older than I am, he said.

Just then Mom walked in. That guy called me Roger and he said its 10:04 too. I think he’s confused Mom, I said as she sat down in a folding chair beside me.

Vlad you were supposed to call me if anyone radioed, remember? Mom said staring at me down here nose.

Oops! I couldn’t remember all that stuff Dad said, I told her pleading my case.

You still there little man? asked Captain DuBoise.

This is ‘little man’s’ Momma, go ahead Captain.

How was your night Joanne? Did you get some sleep?

Yeah, actually I cuddled up to my son and slept like a baby. How about yourself, Captain?

Well, let’s just say I rested. Not sure where my son is or if he is even alive. I can’t get out of here yet. Over.

Sorry to hear about that, we’ll keep him in our prayers. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Captain, is there any word on how bad this actually is?

Early satellite photos suggest that roughly forty percent of the country has been severely damaged. Some parts are 100% destroyed. The debris blazed several paths. There was just too much of it. Most of the world is under cloud cover. Joanne, the initial blast with the heat and wind was actually worse than the rocks. Little Rock Arkansas reported pieces of rock the size of cars destroyed the entire area. You know what a nuclear winter is?

I have an idea; basically the sun is blocked out by dust and debris clouds causing the temperature to drop on a global scale, bringing on winter conditions. Am I close? Over.

That’s correct, and that’s what’s going to happen. It could be months or years before we see the sun again. Also, looks like D.C. is pretty much a waste land. We’ll let you know more as info is made available 10-4?