Chapter 5

 

Kevin's POV

I can't even begin to describe the feelings that washed over me as I heard the terrible news.  In about 31 days, 4 hours, and 40 minutes, everybody I ever knew and loved could be dead, including myself.  Dead.  The word sent chills through my spine, and I automatically reached for my cell phone to call my wife Kristin.  Even though she was many miles away, just hearing her voice usually brought me comfort, as I hoped it would now.  

 

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Nick quickly got up from his seat and walked out of the room.  I felt bad for the kid, but as selfish as it may seem, my
main concern at that moment was to talk to my wife.  Just as I was getting ready to hang up after the sixth ring in defeat, a sleepy voice answered the phone.

"Kris!" I exclaimed a little more louder than I had anticipated it to come out.

"Kevin, what is it?  Is something wrong?" she asked with slight panic in her voice.  I imagined her chewing on her bottom lip as she did was she was nervous or concerned.

"Kris, have you seen the news?"

"No.  Why?" she asked in a confused voice.

"Well you may want to turn the TV on now," I told her as I watched highlights of the press conference being re-aired.

I waited silently as I heard what sounded like Kris getting out of bed and turning on the TV.  I knew she had found the right channel when I heard her gasp out loud and it sounded like the phone had been dropped to the floor.

"Kris?  Kristen?" I yelled into the phone after several moments of silence from the other end of the phone; earning me strange and concerned looks from the other guys.

"Kevy, is this some kind of sick joke?  How could something so horrible happen?"  Kristen sobbed into the phone.  As I whispered comforting words to my wife over the phone, I silently promised myself and her that I would be there until the very end; no matter what it would take for me to be there.

 

***

 

Julie’s POV

 

It was about nine at night, and I was sitting by myself in the living room, absently flipping through the TV channels.  It seemed like every channel was showing footage of the press conference and talking about the “Comet Catastrophe”, as one network was calling it.  I shook my head in disgust.  This was no time for catchy headlines. 

 

I flipped to the Disney Channel and set the remote down.  Good old Disney wouldn’t be talking about the comet and the end of the world.  It would just go on as it always did, showing its cheesy movies and shows for all the kids of the world.   At least something still seemed normal.

 

Suddenly, the phone rang, startling me.

 

“Who the hell would be calling at a time like this?” I cried to no one in particular.  But, realizing it was probably my grandparents or maybe one of my aunts or uncles, I dragged myself off the couch and out to the kitchen, where the nearest phone was.

 

Turning on the kitchen light, I squinted at the caller ID on the phone.   It was an unknown caller.  I picked it up anyway.

 

“Hello?” came a panicked sounding voice.  I realized it was my mother’s.   She had picked up before I had. 

 

I was about to hang up the phone when the person on the other line spoke.

 

 “Hi, Mom.”

 

I gasped.   I knew that voice.  

 

It was my sister Sammy.

 

 

***

 

Brian’s POV

 

As I slowly followed Nick into our tour bus, my cell phone rang, startling me.  Hurriedly, I dug it out of my backpack and turned it on, stepping back out into the night air.

 

“Hello?” I answered anxiously, praying that it was Leighanne.  I had tried calling her earlier, right after we had heard the news, but there had been no answer.

 

“Brian!” came Leighanne’s worried sounding voice. 

 

I sagged with relief.  “Oh, Leigh, baby,” I murmured, knowing that she had heard the same news I had. 

 

“You heard the news, I take it,” she said glumly.

 

“Yeah, honey,” I replied.   I wanted to think of something comforting to say to her, knowing that she was there in our house all alone, without her husband there for her, but what could I say?  Most of the world’s population would be dead in a month; there wasn’t much that could comfort a person when they had just heard that.

 

“When are you coming home?” Leighanne asked, sniffling.

 

“Soon, baby,” I replied.   It had only taken a minute for management to announce that the rest of the tour was cancelled, that we could all go home to our families.   They were in the process of booking us flights back to the States.   “Management’s working out flight arrangements right now.”

 

“Okay,” she said, sounding a little bit better.  “Bri, I love you so much.”  Her voice cracked on the last few words.

 

I swallowed hard, blinking back tears.  “I love you too, baby, more than anything.   Don’t you worry, I’m gonna be home real soon.”

 

“Okay,” she said again.  Her voice started to crackle with static.

 

“Dang, my cell phone’s acting up again,” I said loudly, over the increasing static.  “I have to go.  I’ll call you later, okay, baby?”

 

“Okay!” she shouted.  “Love you!”

 

“I love you too!” I called back, and shut off the phone.   Then I trudged slowly up the steps leading into the bus. 

 

***

 

Julie’s POV

 

“Oh my God, is that you Sammy?” my mother cried tearfully. 

 

“Yeah, it’s me, Mom,” Sammy replied warily. 

 

“Honey, where are you calling from?” Mom demanded.   I think she was worried that Sammy would hang up or something, and we wouldn’t even know where she was.

 

“I’m in New York,” she replied.

 

My eyes widened.  In a normal situation, I could imagine my mom exploding at that, at the thought of her daughter by herself in New York City, which was as different as could be from the small Illinois town that we lived in.   But things were much different now, and I knew Sammy was not going to get yelled at.

 

“I heard the news,” Sammy said flatly. 

 

“So did we,” my mother replied, sounding oddly calm.  “Samantha, honey, you’re coming home now, aren’t you?”   Her voice wavered slightly on the last two words, and I could tell then that she was on the verge of tears, struggling to keep herself together.

 

There was a pause, and I silently prayed that Sammy would make the right choice and come home to us. 

 

“Yes,” she said finally, and I let out a relieved sigh. 

 

“Thank God,” my mother said.  “Sweetie, you have no idea how hard it’s been around here.  We missed you so much, and we had no idea where you’d gone!”

 

“I… I thought you’d disowned me,” Sammy said, her voice sounding small.

 

“Disowned you?  Samantha Lewis, I am your mother, and I love you, no matter what you do.   You may make me mad sometimes, but you’re my little girl, and I could never ‘disown you’!”

 

“I love you too, Mom,” she said, shakily.

 

“How are you getting home?  Do you need a plane ticket?  When are you coming?”  My mom started firing questions at Sammy, obviously anxious to have her home. 

 

I quietly hung up the phone, just glad that Sammy was coming back.  At least that much of my prayers had been answered.

 

***