Candidate of the Apocalypse

Episode 1: Year: AD 2036 Late September

"All right class: that will do for math today." The three students who stood at the blackboard now walked back to their seats while the teacher continued talking. "I can tell from the shadow on our floor sundial it is almost time for dismissal." The students signaled their approval at this. "We don't have time for history right now (Again, sounds of approval.) but in review, who can recall what we talked about in our last lesson."

One student near the back offered: "We were discussing the last days of the United States of America, before the Great Darkness."

"But it is forbidden to talk about the Great Darkness!" Another student, a girl piped up.

The teacher shook his head. "I know it is forbidden and we will respect that law. However, there are many people who say the USA fell because of the Great Darkness. This is incorrect. I am going to show it fell before these events began, and it may have precipitated the descent." He smiled. "And I am going to teach this part of the history in narrative form!"

"What?" A younger student said.

"I am going to tell you the story, a true one, and we will discuss its relationship to the events of that era. OK? We can even ask some hypothetical, 'What would you have done' types of questions." Heads were nodding all over. "This might be a lot of fun." He thought to himself.

Just then the bell started ringing. It was not actually a bell. More like a piece of iron pipe that one of the townspeople was hitting with a mallet. This was the signal for school to end. The students were needed for chores. All twenty of them jumped up and started chattering at once as they filed through the opening that served as a door.

The teacher watched his charges leave with a slight smile on his face. He admired them to no end. Exceptional students were they every one. His depth of feeling rested more than in the mere fact of academic accomplishments. He loved them too. Oh, they could be exasperating! (They were teenagers.) All the same, he felt the same kind of joy any diligent parent would feel. He sighed deeply and started coughing. The fit lasted only a few seconds but it was enough to leave him slightly light-headed. In a moment the dizziness passed and he bent over to soak a rag in the small bucket of water on the floor near the board. There were no erasers, and the board had to be washed several times a day. It was impossible to get completely clean. The best he could do is reduce the writing into swirls of yellow streaks.

Finishing that task, he closed the shutters on the windows and wiped the students' desks down. He took his time performing this. There was a lot going on in his mind and he needed to calm it down a little. "You've only got so much time left." He told himself. If anything drastic were to happen then no one would ever know. It really wasn't much of a big secret, but he felt compelled to tell the story one time, even if no one would care in this new age. The old had passed away for sure. But he determined these students would know some small part of what once was.

From habit he reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. It was very old and creased. Five people could be seen in the fore while others were milling about behind. In the center was a much younger version of himself with his arm around another guy who was smiling broadly. They were in the midst of a celebration. Two women, also smiling were standing on either side of them. The woman next to him had one hand on his shoulder and the other on the shoulder of a blond-haired boy. The boys head was tilted slightly to one side as he looked up at the others.

He stared at the photo and felt the pain of remembrance while blinking away tears. Then, the picture was returned to the safekeeping of his pocket. Stepping outside he slid the gray sheet of plywood across the opening. After securely fastening it in place he turned toward his one-room abode, walking briskly for someone of his age and showing only a faint limp.