The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn Read Free Book Online Page A

neighbourhood to see how everyone’s doing with the power out. Your mum or dad home?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘No?’
    She was young with a kindergarten-teacher smile. The guy was putting on a serious ‘I’m a cop, you’re not’ face. He was older than her but not by much.
    ‘Our dad went out Wednesday night. Hasn’t come back. I reckon he must be stuck because of the ice.’
    Practice was making it easier to say, almost. Constable Lund nodded.
    ‘There’s been road closures. We’ve got a lot of people stuck on the freeway, they’ve been taken to shelter until we can open the roads again. I’m guessing you haven’t had any phone contact with your dad? Most of the servers are down.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Hmm.’ She took out a notebook. ‘What’s your dad’s name?’
    ‘Greg Heath.’
    The guy turned away and said something into his radio. I heard Dad’s name.
    ‘Why is the power down? When will it be on again?’
    ‘Apparently it’s because of the amount of carbon in the air. We really don’t know when it will be back up. I’m sorry we can’t give you better news. Are there any adults in the house?’
    ‘Just me and my brother.’
    ‘How old are you?’
    ‘Eighteen,’ I lied.
    Constable Lund looked concerned. It suited her. Her partner was clearly trying to come over all CSI . It wasn’t really working out for him. He finished talking on his radio and joined us again.
    ‘I’ve put a call out to try and get some info on the whereabouts of your dad,’ he said.
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘Is there a neighbour you can stay with, so you’re not on your own?’ Constable Lund asked.
    ‘We’re doing okay.’
    ‘Do you have enough food for the moment?’
    ‘Yeah, we’re pretty stocked up.’
    ‘Good. We’re advising people to stay inside as much as possible.’
    ‘Is the snow radioactive?’
    She glanced at CSI. ‘We really don’t know yet. We don’t have that equipment; the defence force is taking care of those investigations. Just try to stay inside, okay? Do you have bottled water?’
    ‘Some.’
    ‘Good. Probably best to stick to drinking that for now. Maybe ration it and only drink what you need to. We’ll pop back in if we get any news on your dad. Try not to worry. Either way, we’ll be back in a few days to check up on how you’re doing.’
    ‘Okay, thanks.’
    ‘Take care.’ Constable Lund smiled and her partner gave me a curt nod. They trudged up the driveway and I closed the wooden door, resenting the warm air that had escaped.

Five
    I continued to send failing text messages to Mum, Dad and Lokey. And Lucy. I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened with us that afternoon if it hadn’t been for the missiles. Having so much time on my hands only intensified my endless conjecture about the whole thing. So I decided to go see her. Don’t get me wrong, my purpose wasn’t to go to her house and jump her, I just wanted to see how she was doing. Maybe it was because she was the only person I cared about who I could go and physically find, Lokey lived too far away to walk.
    I told Max I was going to see Mr and Mrs White – he would have been unbearable if he’d known I was going to see a girl.
    It had been days since I’d been outside. I expected to step out, go up the drive and onto the street, breathe in the space, look out over the valley and see that my world was still here. I didn’t expect to feel the claustrophobia of a world faded to grey. The pressing wall of the sky. Air that may or may not kill me. A deadened, suffocated still. The silence was oppressive. The only movement was my own breath. I made my way up the hill, looking at each house as I passed, each lawn smothered in grey, curtains drawn against the cold. The Ketterlys at number nine had their roller shutters down. Their house was one of those places that seemed designed to make all the other houses in the street look inadequate – roughly the size of a hotel with a fountain out the front. I mean, a fountain –