I pointed at my reflection to punctuate my words and I rinsed out my mouth with water. I then gave myself a little shake to put on a brave face and left the bathroom.
I had to keep it together. I was a thirty-five-year-old woman with a soon-to-be college student. I could handle this, or at least I could pretend in front of her.
“There was an accident.” Piper stood by the couch as her body trembled.
The need to comfort my child chased away my illness, and strength, deep down inside me, bubbled its way to the surface. That was the thing about moms. Our superpowers could be summoned at will if our children needed us. Even glitter daisies and sparking hands and talking mice could be shoved into second place as we performed our motherly duties.
I pulled Piper down into the gray cushions of our cozy sofa with me and hugged her to my side. Like always, whatever was going on, we’d handle it together, and I’d protect her with my life if it were to come to that.
I wasn’t usually one to watch the news, since in the end I still had to go to work and pay taxes, regardless of the worldwide drama. It made me curious, though, what could be so alarming that the government would insist we turn it on to watch.
Aliens? Invaders from the ocean? People doing shit I couldn’t do anything about?
Were they paying my rent?
No?
Then I had to get to work and cook dinner.
That was my typical response. Today, though, felt different. Something big was going on and I could feel it all the way to my tingling fingertips.
The news anchor on the screen showed a construction crew scrambling to escape a glowing blue hole in the dirt. Apparently, McKenzie Enterprise had been excavating in Ireland when they hitsomethinglast night.
Okay, so nothing life-altering or alarming from what I could tell. I certainly didn’t see any of those people barfing up lovely flowers that would no doubt clog the toilet.
“We urge everyone to stay inside your homes,” the official government speaker stated into one of the many microphones at the podium. “All flights, worldwide, have been grounded.”
Reporters chose to interject with a thousand questions, all of which made the man frown in annoyance. He was annoyed? I just vomited flowers and glitter. While that wasn’t dying, I still wanted to get looked at by a doctor, and his vague statements were standing in my way of that.
As soon as the thought came to me, a government website page URL appeared on the bottom of the screen to contact if we had strange occurrences happening. Beneath the site information were the words “DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOMES” underlined in bright red.
The man held up a hand and said, “If you are feeling sick, and strange things are happening around you or to you, you are not alone.”
How did we go from “stay inside and flights are cancelled” to sickness and strange “things” happening all in the span of thirty seconds? Dread pooled in my stomach. I wondered if it was floral-scented.
“We’ll continue to keep you advised,” the man stated and then stormed away from the podium, ignoring another barrage of questions from the reporters.
The screen cut back to the newsroom where two reporters for our local channel stared into the camera with wide eyes. “Well, there you have it,” the woman said in an overly cheery tone despite the seriousness of this situation. “Refer to the website on the bottom of your television screen to report anything unusual.”
Her partner nodded and added, “Remember, stay in your homes and keep watching. We’re receiving videos and first-handaccounts of, dare I saymagical occurrencesworldwide. We’ll keep you updated here at Channel Nine News.”
They cut to a clip of a man sneezing, and a lightning bolt shot out of his nostril. The next clip showed a woman screaming at a goose, who then suddenly transformed into a goose herself.
Those first clips looked like something out of a movie, but then videos of car crashes, and a burning plane made it all too real.
“What the hell is happening?” Piper whispered as she clutched onto my hand tightly, reminding me of when she was a toddler who’d had a bad dream.
Except, there would be no waking up from this.
This alternate reality was real.
My situation felt minor compared to what I was seeing on the television, but it was still something. The government was “on it,” but I wasn’t so sure. Nothing about this was okay. My chest tightened as the cut to a reporter who rushed to go live on scene at the construction site.
“Mr. McKenzie,” the reporter called out, as he hurried to keep up with a tall, broad-shouldered man with a sharp jawline and blue hard hat on. “Do you have any word for the press about the incident that has caused worldwide pandemonium?”
Mr. McKenzie tensed at the question and then stated in a tight voice, “Our site managers have been diligent with every step of construction. These otherworldly disturbances have affected us all today. Many of my hardworking employees are under quarantine to study those strange effects.” He opened the door to a black SUV and paused. Then, he turned his stormy gray-blue eyes toward the camera, and I squirmed.
Who even stared into the camera so intensely? I felt that stare in my soul.
