The Things We Bury - Part 2: No Big Apocalypse [Completed]

Chapter 5: From the Ashes (Part 2 of 7)

Dawn had cracked the shell of the sky and was driving night underground for another day. Amy felt her malarial fever dissipate along with the darkness, leaving her with adrenaline strained veins filled with a sick, sluggish serum. The long inward battle was over and the moon no longer put any heart into its fight. It only pestered her, keeping its presence felt like a defeated opponent hurling insults and taunts as she deserted the field.

The world expanded beyond the borders of her skin to the boundaries of the rickety pickup truck and the wider world around them. They had driven for hours in silence.

The moon wasn't the only one she had picked a fight with last night.

They were just past Albuquerque, when Amy said, "Do we have to listen to this old man music?"

R.J.'s enthusiastic humming died abruptly on his lips. His mouth hung slightly agape as he looked at her. He recovered by turning to the empty road in front of them and saying in a teasing tone, "You're crazy. This is Tom Petty. It's great."

"Great for old men. Can't we listen to something good for a change?"

R.J. seemed to shrink a little at the rebuke. Still not looking at her, he said, "Fine, put on whatever you want."

Amy fiddled with the dial, until a familiar voice filled the truck. The singer was instantly recognizable but the she couldn't place the song. All those mornings running with Katie, Amy thought she had everyone of Taylor Swift's songs memorized. But here Tay-Tay was singing about bad blood and problems with her baby. The sentiments were all heard before but the words and the music were entirely new. Amy felt a slight thrill at catching this brand new release and she was imagining what she might say to Katie about it if through some miracle they met again. Then the DJ came on and called it last year's big hit.

"Last year?" Amy said. "Why haven't I heard this before?"

R.J. didn't answer. He seemed preoccupied with the dim lights of a semi up ahead in the distance.

"R.J.? Why don't I have this song on my playlist?" Her voice was strident to her own ears. Amy's emotions were out of sync with reality. The moon's influence was taking a toll on her psyche, but knowing that didn't stop her from feeling like missing out on this song was the absolute end of the world.

"Well..." R.J. ran two fingers over the strands of gray hair above his ear and scratched. "I didn't know you were such a fan."

"You know damn well that Katie is girl-crushing that woman something fierce. If she had a new album, Katie would have played it every day for six months. Why haven't I heard it?"

R.J. sighed and shook his head. "I guess you were bound to find out. The Agency didn't let us give you any new music. It was the same with your books and TV."

"But I got new stuff all the time. I got a stack of books at the beginning of the month. And just this week, they added Skyfall to my movie channel."

"You might not have seen it, but it isn't new."

"What? What the hell does that mean?"

"Nothing that you get was made after 2012. Someone at the Agency decided that if you saw the world moving on without you, it might make you agitated. So they dole out all the books, songs, and movies slowly so you'll always have a variety and not get bored, but so you wouldn't get anything that would...agitate you."

"Agitate me? Agitate me? You better believe I'm fucking agitated." Amy wanted to punch something. The idea of putting her fist through the side window and watching the glass crack and shred her knuckles was particularly appealing.