Fiction1

She leaned into the room where her two boys were planted in front of the television, clutching the controllers and hammering on buttons.  She had waited until she heard the gloomy group of notes that signified the death of their digital character.

"Hey guys, you said you would come with me when your lives were up."

"Mom can we have one more game please?" asked John her oldest boy

"One game" she replied. Noticing Tommy her youngest boys mouth beginning to open into a scream she interjected, "EACH. ONE. Game. EACH. Then meet me in the car"

"Thanks Mom" said John "THANKS MOM" yelled Tommy.

 -----

She felt the vibrating phone in her hand and was staring directly at the screen but not answering the call, the buzzing stopped and the Missed Call number blinked from four to five. 

"No cell phone while driving Mom" she heard from the back seat, and before she could answer "Put on your seatbelt MOM" and she realized that she was losing grip on the facade she was trying to create.

"I'm sorry sweetie" she gently offered with a half turned glance, keeping her eyes on the road, but before she could even grab the seatbelt her pocket began vibrating again. Before she could press the IGNORE key young Tommy shouted "DADS ON THE PHONE" and John pressed the CONNECT button from the integrated system in the backseat. She had forgotten to turn off the damn bluetooth. She felt as though she was wearing sneakers on a frozen pond as the deep voice came through the many speakers throughout the car.

"Hello?" 

"HI DAD" both boys yelled in unison. 

"Jesus... John? Are you ok, is Tommy with you?" 

"I'm good Dad and so is Tommy and so is Mom and we're in the car going to the beach" 

"THE BEACH" the younger boy repeated with an excited scream. 

"Clara.  Take me off speaker phone." 

"It's ok Phil we're talking as a family right now" she replied calmly

"I tried so hard to get there.  We had so little time once the news came. The highways all jammed..." his voice trailed off. 

"It's ok Phil we've talked about this" 

"We were wrong. It's crazy. Just come to me instead" he offered. He sounded frightened. 

She felt a kick on her seat.  "Mom usually the traffic is on this road when we go to the beach but look today it's all on the other side we must be sooooo lucky"

"Where's everybody going MOM" the youngest boy shouted. 

"Goodbye Phil" she said aloud, but she had hung up long before. 

-----------------------

30 minutes back they had passed the POINT OF NO RETURN sign her nephews metal band had used as an album cover. For a while now she could see the nuclear power plant itself. There was smoke billowing not just from the top but from the edges. Dark smoke. The kids only noticed the dunes as she pulled into a parking space and turned off the motor.  

"THE BEACH!" they shouted. "LETS GO" the older boy began to reach for the door but she grabbed his arm. "John can you recite a poem for your brother and I first" she asked gently. 

"Peanut Butter Sandwhich by Shel Silverstein?" he asked holding back a mischievous smile. 

"No. Anything but that. Which one is your favorite right now?" 

"Fire and Ice by Robert Frost."

"What. Really? No. Did you learn that in class?"

"No Mom that's not a poem for kids. Dad taught me." 

She sighed. "And it's your favorite right now." 

"Yes. You asked me to pick my favorite." 

The black smoke was getting thicker from around the circular dome. She and her friends had always referred to it as the Boob of Death but being correct did not ease her apprehension as the destruction approached. She wondered if their bodies would incinerate or melt and she was praying to Saint Mary that it wouldn't hurt. John began to speak in the back. Slowly and calmly, with a big smile. 

"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice."

"I don't like this one" Tommy whined.

"From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire."

"I said I DONT LIKE THIS ONE" Tommy shouted

John looked directly at his brother and spoke a little louder "But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of HATE" 

"STOP IT JOHNNY. MOM make him STOP" 

"Let him finish Tommy he's doing great" she whispered to herself in a quivering voice, her eyes tearing up as they witnessed the plant in front of her explode, a mushroom cloud rising...

"To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice"