What Comes After | ✔️

Chapter 4

June 1

There was an earthquake today. We were all lounging in the house: me at the table trying not to die of boredom, May on the couch eating some canned something, Mira sitting in the backyard watching the solar panels and sunbathing.

There was a slight tremor, almost unnoticeable. "Did you feel that?" I asked May.

She rolled her head towards me. "You're hallucinating."

I went outside to Mira. "Did you feel that?"

"No. It was probably the wind or something."

"Okay. Whatever you guys say," I replied and went back to staring at the ceiling from the table. I wasn't really convinced, but I thought that maybe I was imagining things because I was so bored.

But then the ground began to shake real hard. The dishes in the dish rack clattered and some cans we dumped in our recycling bin began rolling around crazily. "Earthquake," I shouted at Mira and May.

After those words left my mouth, it's funny that no one moved— not even me. I know California is supposed to be the center of earthquakes in America, but most of us have never experienced a serious earthquake. Sure, there are a couple of smaller tremors, but never at this scale.

The only thing that brought us out of our paralysis was when a dish clattered to the edge of the counter, falling and shattering into a million little pieces.

"Go under the table!" Mira yelled and we dove under it. Me, Mira, and May cramped under the dining table as the world fell apart around us. I could feel my heart fluttering, rising up to my throat and trying to escape as I hung on to the table leg for my life. Mira placed her hands on the underside of the table to hold it up just in case it collapsed on us while May gazed at the cans rolling across the floor with a small smile, for some reason.

The tremors stopped after a minute, but the house was a mess. Can piles toppled over in the pantry and broken dishes lay scattered across the floor. Luckily, Mira had put all the jars in the back of the pantry, so none of them broke apart. Otherwise, that'd have been a big mess.

"I wonder what caused the earthquake," I said.

"Maybe it's the big one," Mira suggested.

"Or maybe earthquakes just happen," May said.

"I think it might be something to do with the Moon," I said. "You know, like how the tides and everything is getting messed up."

"Neal," Mira said. "You can't blame everything on the Moon."

"Yeah," I said. "I guess."

Mira and May swept up all the glass shards on the floor and piled them into a plastic bag. I re-stacked the cans in the pantry. Mira helped put together a collection of cans, bottled water, and some flashlights and batteries as a small earthquake kit, just in case the big one came. I guess the earthquake gave us something to do on this pretty boring day. I wish I had the internet.

June 4

The tremors continued today, but no one frantically dived underneath tables. The dishes clattered and the house trembled like a train was passing by, but it only lasted a couple of seconds. I guess everyone has gotten used to this new normal. I think I'm getting closer there.

It turns out that my theory about the moon affecting the earthquakes was correct. On the radio, I heard that scientists were talking about how the Moon was pulling on the crust of Earth, so there is going to be heightened tectonic activity. Already, in Hawaii, the volcano on the big island is erupting more often and spewing out tons of lava. It'd be pretty cool to watch.