[ D-day 0 ] [ 00 : 00 : 00 ] [ USA ]
Aamod predicted many things, but what's happening in front of him is not what he could imagine in any reality possible.
They parked on the long beach. They stayed in a relatively plain area, in the camping ground.
The land moved.
It literally moved right from under their feet.
The landscape started transforming, as the already vast vista became even more vast.
They were stopped by the side of the river, but the river was nowhere to be seen.
It is like every inch of land has expanded into ten inches of land.
When it happens on a large scale, the waterbody that was right next to them was nowhere to be seen.
The road however, was intact.
It was as if the land expanded, but all the structures that were added to the land are intact.
He dearly hoped the same is true for their home in Jersey, as well as their cars now resting in the garage of the bank, having been used as collateral for the personal loan.
The GPS is going to be out of service, he knew, as he looked at the horizon.
He is not even sure that the internet will work.
Their only hope is that they could go north, following the little key chain they have and pray that the gasoline will last till they get to a place where they could refill it.
Once the expansion stopped, he started the RV, and the radio along with it.
Perhaps the Radio is the only communication device working as of now.
" I-heart Live from newyork. This is a national wide communication channel, and we will be updating the current status of each state periodically. Currently, I am flying over the empire state building in a hot air balloon. The beasts started emerging from all the portals surrounding the city. WTC-one, the tallest building in the city, which used to be but a mile away from the empire state, is over eleven points five miles away from me now. The military has started clearing out beasts starting with raptors. I can see in the east we have black bears, in the west, antelopes, and those.. Those look like prehistoric moose different from bison.
If you are in the city, please close your doors, keep your radios handy. We will be announcing the evacuation zones as the disaster continues.
The expansion has separated the road network from the buildings. If it's possible, please take pictures of the location you are at, and report / upload to google earth.
Currently, the CEO of Google has promised the president they will work with the defense for the rescue operations.
The gun laws has been granted a temporary reprieve in the states of new england, new jersey, new york, pennsylvania, maryland and Virginia. You are now allowed to arm yourself with semi automatic and automatic weapons, however, you need to report your name, gun license number and the location to homeland security. It is strongly advised that you keep your phone fully charged and allow tracking of your location while being armed.
For those of you with gun licenses, homeland security has released an app, in conjunction with the state governments highling locations where there are breeches among defense against the beasts from the portal. Please head to these locations if you wish to help the police.
For those of you who have evacuated the city prior to the crisis, Please, stay away. Allow the Army and patriots to clear the beasts, give them some room to work with.
A safe shelter perimeter is being set up by volunteers. Currently, the companies Walmart, Giant and Sams club have volunteered to fund the operation new-bie village, which creates a temporary safe shelter with no more than a thousand people population around the cities. Please reserve a place in safe shelter for yourself, by calling number 1800- xxx-xxxx.
On a side note, Companies Google, amazon, face book, Tesla and AT&T have created consortium to solve the communication problem presented by the current expansion of the land. On the other side of the US, Verizon, and a series of network companies partnered with microsoft and apple, each with their own solution to get the internet up and running again.
Once again, this is I-heart live from new york … "
Aamod changed channels, while talking to his wife.
" Rano! See if you could connect to the network on your phone. I think we are on the outskirts of virginia. It's best if we could go home, if not, we will stay in one of the shelters for a few days. We won't want to get estranged in the mountains ! " Aamod urged his wife.
" Ah ! Daughter ! Look, Aamod is asking you something ! " his mother prompted in true mother-in-law style, despite his wife already being on the mobile, searching for the nearest safe shelter.
" We don't have a signal. Which way is Jersey? " Rano wondered.
Ideally, they could have just followed the interstate.
But when they parked the car, the road vanished, along with the river. Now, they are stuck in the mountains, with the least number of beasts, but also the least amount of help from the government.
They need to find either the road or the river to get back.
They need to go up the river, or find pieces of that road.
" Maybe it's better to go to Virginia. " Rano opined.
Aamod stopped the RV after a mile, slowly coming to a stop.
" To virginia ? " he wondered.
" Wouldn't that be right ? We already crossed appalachian. Even if we find the interstate, once the interstate breaks up over the mountain, we have to start from scratch. God forbid, if something else also breaks and we get stranded in the mountains, even the rescue won't come fast enough. " Rano said.
Aamod stopped and wondered.
" It's going to be plains, when we go to virginia. Road has fewer chances of breaking, and even if it breaks, I am sure we would be able to find another road one way or another. It won't be the same if we get stranded on the route between Maine and Newyork. " Aamod mused.
" Yep! Who knows ! America is no better than other countries when it comes to politicians being selfish. So more help would be around Washington than other states. " Rano added.
" Okay. Let's turn back. We will go to virginia. " Aamod said, starting the RV once again.
His wife is right. When push comes to shove, almost all countries behave the same way. The people on top protect themselves and their interests. Sure, being 'oh, so civilized', USA will later hold most people who committed any sort of crimes, but that day will not come until the initial crisis has passed.
Aamod does not want to become the news cover story, he just wanted to live his life as one of the rule-abiding masses.
Washington will be better protected, along with all the people around it. On top of it, as long as he could connect to internet, he can make his next plan.
Out here, stranded in mountains, they could not do shit.
They carry no guns with them. Yes, there are few survival supplies, such as ropes, awls and basic saw, etc.. but these are not enough to survive a new england winter. They will need sustenance, they will need protection.
After driving on plain land which was becoming less and less mountainous, Aamod reached the first sign of civilization.
A detached road.
As he drove on the road, he finally figured where he was. Washington is a hundred miles away, this road is a piece of interstate.
Aamod continued, only to hear his wife and parents exclaim.
He doesn't have to wonder for a long time. As soon as he passed, he could see the reason in the side mirror.
There were velociraptors running in a herd on the left side of the road. They definitely came from the portals.
In sync with the raptors, the news arrived on radio.
" Severe defense breach on north of raptor portal, Severe defense breach on southern maine portal, releasing bears three meters tall. All civilians are advised to head to chantilly safe shelters.
Allentown safe shelters are over capacity. Please head to Lewes, Floyd or Harve de grace. Charles town is setting up a perimeter of its' own, as do both most cape areas. … cape … "
The radio is announcing the safe shelters.
" Auntie, Uncle, you guys should take a nap. We are to drive at least a hundred miles, up to three hundred miles if we don't find any shelters. Take a nap. It will be a while. " Rano convinced her in-laws.
His mother and father may not know that tone, but Aamod did.
Rano just guessed something very bad, and she didn't want to involve the elders before she discussed it with him.
After fifteen minutes, she returned to her husband.
" Aamod ! I think I hear the sea. We may be near one of the capes. "
She opened her map and showed him.
This is the wrong way to drive. This way, they will go to the bridge on the sea, which may be broken at any point.
Just at that time, they heard a terrible rumble, like a planet swallowing beasts from avengers had descended on the earth.
They have driven straight into the T-rex portal zone.