Flicker

Chapter One – Flicker

Annabelle chuckled at the anime playing on her iPhone. Normally very responsible about walking while watching, this time she was distracted by a bizarre flashing on her screen. She didn’t even notice the city bus that flattened her seconds later.

Wade needed a smoke. He knew better but it had been a stressful day. I’ll just pop in and buy a pack, smoke one and throw the rest away. He opened the glass door to the 7-11 and walked up to the clerk. “Hey buddy, give me a pack of Marlborough Reds”. Wade looked around the store, curious why everyone was standing still. They all seemed transfixed to their device screens. “Hey buddy,” Wade began before noticing the clerk was not paying him any attention. “Dude! Can you hear me?” No response from the clerk. Wade flashed back to September 11th when everyone was watching planes fly into the Twin Towers. Shit. What’s going on? “Mister? What’s up? Hey!” His heart pounding, Wade pulled out his cell and tapped the news icon. As soon as the screen fully woke it began to flash in a really weird way. Wade forgot about his need for a cigarette. As a matter of fact, all Wade could think about was the screen in front of his eyes.

In a matter of hours people across the globe stopped what they were doing and stared into the blue light of their device’s screen. Anything connected to the internet now held the rapt attention of 62% of the world’s population.

Officer Mike Halliday was scared. People all around him were standing still or sitting on benches. Some had just stopped in the middle of whatever they had been doing. Everyone was concentrating on their phones. A woman on a park bench began to twitch and then she let out a shriek. She threw her phone to the ground, lurched up to the street, and lounged at a man in a suit who had an expensive late-model iPhone. She pawed at his phone, breaking the man’s concentration. Mike was already in motion when the man let out a shriek of his own. Before Mike could intervene, the man was on the woman, beating her face in with his ring infested fist. Mike drew his service revolver and shouted for the man to stop. The businessman had wrested control of his phone from the now unconscious, bleeding woman and lifted it to his eyes. He immediately went slack, settling down in a seated sprawl on the sidewalk. He paid no attention to the police officer standing over him, gun drawn and shouting commands.

Those not taken in the first hours of what was later called “The Flicker” soon fell as people turned to their trusted source of information. When mobile device batteries began to fail and power off, people began tearing into their neighbors. Later, scientists discovered a single screen could hold multiple people transfixed, just as long as their view was unimpeded. The scientists were quick to react, setting up large screens to draw in the maddened masses. Despite their best efforts, many scientists fell prey to the flickering screen. VR goggles were introduced to the afflicted and those scientists and doctors and physical therapist that remained, worked tirelessly to connect the enraptured humans to a life supporting IV drip. And so began the long wait.

Chapter Two – The Locket

Say what you will about the post-apocalyptic world, the air had never been cleaner, the birds had never been so happy, and Kelli was whistling Dixie.

She had a load in her wagon and was heading off to the Crusher. Kelli had dug up 132 cell phones, 23 tablets, and a dozen laptops. She’d lucked out when she found that Verizon store untouched. How does that even happen? she wondered. Running the numbers in her head she figured she’d get around 2,315 credits. Not a bad day’s work at all. Her hand drifted up to the heart-shaped locket she’d worn for as long as she could remember. Almost there, Mom. I’m coming soon.

Startled from her deep reverie, Kelli barely caught a glimpse of the boy as he dropped from the trees. In a blur of motion, he landed next to the wagon and drove a branch between the front wagon wheel spokes. The sudden stoppage jolted Kelli mid-step and threw her back to the ground. The boy swiftly attacked, knocking Kelli out with a blow to the head.

Kelli came to with a pounding headache and rage in her heart. Not again, she fumed. When will I learn? The problem with working alone is you were always alone and vulnerable to this kind of shit. She opened her eyes.

Turns out it wasn’t a boy after all. Just sort of a, short man. A short, really handsome man. Kelli shook her head. I am definitely not OK, she thought as she tried to lift her hand to the wound on the back of her head. I’m tied up? What the hell?

“No need to struggle, you’re safe as long as you tell me where you got that locket” The little man’s voice was surprisingly deep. “My name’s Sean. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Why am I tied up? Why not just grab the screens and leave me be?” Kelli fidgeted against what felt like a plastic zip tie. Great, no way I’m going to be able to saw that against a stone. She started thinking of ways to twist the tie without cutting into her wrists.

“What’s your name?” Where did you get that necklace?” Sean seemed almost distraught.

“Kelli, I don’t know, why do you care? Why are my wrists bound? What do you want from me!”

Kelli could feel a mix of frustration and desperation and she was quickly getting tired of this bullshit.

“Look,” Sean growled, “just tell me where you stole the necklace.”

Kelli could tell this guy wasn’t going to let it go. “It’s from my mother.”

The locket had seen many chains. Shimmering gold gave way to sturdy silver followed by the simple silver-colored chain now wired to stay around Kelli’s neck. It had always been there. Her earliest memory was of her mom fondling the locket and smiling the tiniest smile. And a scent. Kellie remembered her mom’s scent. It was floral with just a hint of lemon.

Kelli snapped out of her reverie, eyes flashing, “Now, undo my hands! I have had enough of this game!”

Sean stood.

Whoa, he’s not short at all. Kelli shook her head to clear the fog that kept creeping into her mind. Dude must have hit me harder than I thought.

He shrugged off his backpack and reached inside.

Shit! He’s going for a weapon! Almost like a levitation act, Kelli leapt to her feet and charged head-first into the bulk that was Sean.

Sean was caught totally off guard and they both went down in a cloud of dust. Kelli managed to spin herself around and was driving her legs down like pistons wherever she could reach his body. Sean swatted her aside and hopped away.

“What the hell are you doing?” He roared. “Are you daft?”

“Leave me alone you big ape! Take the screens, hell, take the wagon. Just. Leave. Me. Alone!”

Sean looked at her quizzically, and then began to chuckle. “You think I want to rob you…” "Listen kid, I don’t want your screens. I only need to know about the locket”

“I don’t get it. Why jump me, why knock me out and tie me up? Why leave me trussed up like this?” Kelli tried to sit up, to regain some tiny spot of dignity while she figured this guy out.

Sean gave her a sideward glance, “If I take off the binding, will you calm down and listen to what I have to say?”

“Depends on what you say, I guess.” Kelli huffed.

“Fine with me, stay bound. I don’t care” Sean started to turn away.

“Ok, OK, yes, I’ll listen, just get these things off of me!”

“And you’ll calm down, right?” Sean asked with a hint of a smile forming on his impossibly rugged face.

This guy’s really getting to me… Kelli nodded her head, “Yes, yes, I’ll calm down, just get them off!”

Sean stepped behind Kelli and lifted her to her feet. She could feel him give the tie a little twist and then she felt freedom coursing through her veins.

“Wait, it was that easy?” She cried.

“Yup, just kinda twisted the ends together. Any sane person would have gotten out them in an instant.” He stepped back and away from her suddenly flailing arms.

“Hey! You promised to calm down!” He was laughing now. Man, he had a great laugh…

Kelli hid her fluster with more bluster. “Well? I’m waiting. What’s so important that you have to jump me and tie me up just so I’ll listen?”

The smile left his face. He picked up his pack, opened a side pouch and pulled out something that looked like a piece of twine. He held it up for Kelli to see.

Kelli’s eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. On the twisted string was a red heart-shaped locket, identical to hers.

“Where did you get that?” she asked, her eyes glued to the locket.

“I’ve always had it” I don’t know why I have it, I don’t know where it came from. I just know it’s important to me and I know I need answers.” His face filled with deep sadness as he looked for a place to sit.

“I saw your locket.” He said softly. “I knew you’d never talk to me, a complete stranger, especially since you were hauling screens.” “I over acted.” I never should have jumped you and I especially never should have hit you so hard.” He looked so forlorn Kelli felt herself melting.

“I’m sorry.” He said, dropping his head.

“Yeah well, what about fake tying me up, are you sorry for that too?” She said with rapidly dissipating bravado.

Sean looked up, their eyes met, and they both began to laugh, just a little.

Kelli plopped to the ground across from Sean.

“I have this locket because they gave all of us kids a locket. My mother is, was, one of the physical therapists on the ward.” Kelli touched the locket. “It identifies which ward we belong to. It’s where our parents wait to be saved.”

Sean looked her, his eyes keen and bright. “Our parents?” he asked.

“Yes. You must have left right after the lockets were handed out. What do you remember?” Kelli’s eyes probed his, her voice soft.

“I don’t remember much at all. I remember playing football at school and then everything just stopped. I remember running home and finding my mom sitting at her desk in a trance, my dad was shouting. Next thing I remember was being in a hospital, but it was dark and weirdly quiet. I don’t know where my dad was, but my mom was in a chair with this thing on her face. I needed to find my dad, so I ran out to look for him. I had the locket then. They must have given it to me at the hospital.” Sean was staring at the ground, seeing but not seeing, his eyes crossing the years as he re-absorbed his grief.

“Sean, I know where the ward is. The hospital. I can take you there. Maybe your mom is still there, waiting like my mom is.”

“What are they waiting for?” Sean asked quietly.

“They’re waiting for someone to turn off the Flicker.” Kelli said. “This is why I scavenge screens and sell them to the Crusher. Every credit I earn goes to keeping my mom on the ward, alive yet waiting.”

“And you can take me there? To the ward?” There was a glimmer of something foreign in Sean’s eyes.

Hope.

The End