Eclipse

Martin Quell reclined in his leather chair and spun around to look out of the observatory window. The city below was stuck as usual. The grid that had been his home since the start was as easy to read as any map. He could see the entire length of Winston Boulevard; the big houses at the foot of Observation Park abruptly ending at the gates and becoming restaurants and glimmering boutiques that then became malls and drive-thru fast-food spots that then became grey concrete car parks and then as the street faded into the haze the ghettos of the South-side could just be made out. The sun was blazing down on the city but warmed Martin’s face as he waited in his air-conditioned office. The champagne was on ice and Caroline would be with him soon enough. The eclipse was 37 minutes away, meaning Caroline would be free to take her lunch break in 12 minutes meaning she would be with him in 16 minutes, unless of course she stopped by the bathroom. He’d give her twenty, he thought, before getting anxious. He knew, though, that he was more than a little anxious already.

The other man made his way through the thick forest at the bottom of Observation Park. He pulled back his raincoat sleeve and glanced at his Casio digital watch. The shade provided by the trees was pleasant but he couldn’t see the time. He stopped for a breath and pushed the two buttons that made his Casio digital watch light up. It was 37 minutes to the eclipse. 37 minutes until the world became confused. When the birds stopped singing and the dogs started howling. When the coyotes yelped and the dumb people gazed in amazement at the power of God. He laughed to himself and trudged on over the twisted roots of the primeval wood.

Martin stood up and paced across his office to the water cooler. His throat was unbearably dry. Excitement, he told himself. He sipped at the paper cup and then drank greedily. He tossed his cup into the wastepaper basket and strode to the great window. Below, he could see only the tops of the trees that climbed the hill, and beyond that the sweating city. The eclipse had been well forecast and had been all over the morning news, the people would surely be excited too. The clock on his desk blinked forward, the only direction it knew, and told him there was no time to relax. Caroline would be here in less than 10 minutes with her grey pencil skirt hugging her bottom and the slit at the back only ever-so-slightly revealing the backs of her legs. She had seemed so excited by the prospect of watching the eclipse with him. Though he had not told her about the champagne, he felt sure she knew it was kind of a date. She had smiled knowingly at him as she agreed and she had been flirting terribly with him for weeks. They would stand hand in hand and journey through the momentary night together.

Roots and pine cones crunched under the boots of the other man as he fought the ancient land. The clayey earth moved under his feet making his every step more difficult. He was earning his reward, he thought. He stopped and took out his knife and with a swift but delicate gash he removed a piece of bark from a tree. He nibbled at the sappy, ligneous snack and looked up through the forest. The trees would grow denser the closer he would come to the white wash of the observatory. He swallowed the bark and slipped his knife back into his belt. He smiled as he thought about the anomaly he had become and how a new dawn always followed night, however momentary that night might be.

Martin opened his office door and discreetly wiped his palms on the back of his trousers. He greeted Caroline with a kiss to the cheek, which she accepted gracefully. He asked her about her morning’s work and listened with genuine interest as she told him about the latest development in the new telescope program. He asked politely for her to sit in his chair and she giggled at the chance to do so. He leaned on his desk and they both looked out over the city. She sat forward on the edge of the seat and pointed through the glass to where she said she had lived as a child. When she turned back to look at Martin he presented her with a glass of perfectly chilled champagne. She smiled a big wide smile as they chinked glasses. Martin sipped and stepped towards the window, hoping Caroline would join him. As she did so, God’s magic began and the moon nibbled at the edge of the sun.

The white walls of the observatory basement towered over him. He stood on the small patch of concrete and changed into the suit she had given him. He had stolen a small shaving set the previous night and done his best to clean up. She had sworn he looked just like his twin brother. He felt a rush of someone else’s life pass through his body as he opened the service door and entered the observatory. He walked along the narrow concrete corridor and nodded to a young mechanic. He responded tersely to an older man in blue overalls who asked what brought Mr. Quell down to these parts. The key Caroline had provided and the door she had described coupled beautifully. He entered the room, armed the bomb and left.

Caroline leaned into Martin and let him put his arm around her waist. As the moon began to eat heartily at the sun she kissed him on the cheek and apologised. She couldn’t stay, she said. She ran from the room before he could respond. She ran down the corridor and disappeared into the stairwell. Her heals clapped on the concrete stairs as she descended and she found the service door unlocked. She ran her hand along the white walls as she followed the small concrete path around the edge of the building to the top of the forest. He stood, waiting, with his hands in his suit pockets looking out of the city. Above them the man’s brother leaned on the glass of his broad office window. Below them the coyotes began to yelp and the birds became dumb. Behind them, behind a thick white-washed concrete wall, 16 kilotons of TNT waited for the darkness to absorb the city. The couple stood hand in hand and stared at the moon and waited for the new dawn.

 

All comments and criticism welcome. Thanks for reading.