Chapter 9-Prepare

Chapter 9: 9-Prepare

Noel frowned and didn’t utter a word. He reclined obliquely on the chair and processed what he heard. "Flooding?"

"Possibly on a scale we’ve never experienced before. It will be disastrous."

Nathaniel pulled up another projection. The image showed coastlines disappearing beneath expanding blue areas.

Noel’s expression changed from frowning in confusion to pure horror.

Nathaniel continued. "The water levels could rise dramatically. Major coastal regions could disappear first but depending on how severe the storms become..." he zoomed out. "...the flooding could spread far beyond the coast."

Noel’s mouth went dry. "For how long will it last?"

Nathaniel looked at the models and the numbers he had run and answered. "Three to four years."

Noel let his eyes drift forward. "You’re saying the world could remain flooded for three or four years?"

"Possibly... yes."

"And the tsunamis?"

Nathaniel’s expression darkened. "That is what worries me most," he said and opened another set of calculations. "If these ocean disturbances continue increasing, the resulting tsunamis could be significantly stronger than historical events we’ve recorded."

Noel slowly stood. "So..." he looked at the map. "...the entire world could be submerged?"

Nathaniel immediately answered as best he could with the information he had. "Not necessarily every square kilometer," he paused and looked at Noel. "But enough of it will be submerged."

Noel’s mind raced with worry. His mind was full of the cities, roads, airports, factories, homes and hospitals that would be destroyed. Not to mention civilization as a whole as everything depended on land.

"What about high-rise buildings, Nate? Will they be safe to live in?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "Height alone won’t guarantee survival, Noel."

"Why?"

"Structural damage... flood pressure... long-term isolation...power failure and food shortages," he drew sharp breaths between explanations.

He tapped the screen. "A building isn’t designed to function as an isolated ecosystem for years."

Noel swallowed. A flash of panic criss-crossing his face. "W-what?"

Nathaniel’s eyes moved toward the window. "The ocean might be the best place to seek survival."

Noel stared at him blankly. When he left his office to meet Nathaniel, he hadn’t expected to receive such a heartbreaking news.

Nathaniel continued keeping him in the loop. "A properly equipped ship could be more practical."

Silence swallowed the entire room and then Noel remembered something. His eyes widened.

"Aymara..." He uttered.

Nathaniel looked at him. That name again, even though he tried not to, his heart still stirred at the mention of that name.

"The first thing she bought... was a massive ship," he spilled.

He had monitored Aymara a little closely to have the clear picture and now he worried that Aymara might not have lost her mind, she might be the sanest person in the world.

Nathaniel froze. A ship? Why would Aymara buy that? He wondered in his surprised state.

Noel slowly pulled out his phone. "She bought a luxury cruise ship. Take a look."

Nathaniel’s cool gray-blue eyes landed on Noel’s phone, one of his lackeys who keep an eye on Aymara had sent a photo over.

The photo surprised Nathaniel. The ship was massive and luxurious but it looked too grand. Something that would attract a lot of attention when the apocalypse hits.

"She bought a ship before everything else?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Almost immediately after selling her assets."

Noel’s breathing became shallow. He thought about the conversation with Aymara, the warning, her frantic selling of her assets and the ship.

Suddenly, everything fit together. "Aymara knows. Doesn’t she?"

Nathaniel’s expression remained still but his fingers tightened around the edge of his iPad.

"She knows something," Noel shook his head. "She has to. Why else would she be doing all of this or maybe she suspects something... she wouldn’t spend that much money on a cruise ship for no reason, right?"

Nathaniel looked toward the window. For some reason, he remembered the strange feeling he got a few days ago. He had been sitting there reading and suddenly felt as though someone was watching him.

He had looked toward the door and there had been nobody there. At the time, he’d dismissed it that perhaps he had imagined it but now, he was doubting himself.

His eyes narrowed. "Could it have been her?"

Noel looked at him. He dropped his phone and asked "What?" he hadn’t heard what Nathaniel said properly.

Nathaniel didn’t answer him. He was remembering Aymara’s presence or what he thought had been her presence.

The strange sensation of being watched, that soft moment he had turned around. ’If I turned around faster, would I have caught sight of you?’

Nathaniel shook his head. Impossible! Why would Aymara come to see him?

She had cut him out of her life six years ago and chosen Dylan. She had made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him.

’Even if you have insight that the world is ending. I’m sure, I’ll be the last person you’d think to warn or help...’

Noel interrupted his thoughts. "What should I do, Nate?"

Nathaniel looked at him breaking out of his daze. "You should prepare."

"That’s what I intend to do," Noel said, stern.

"Food, water, medicine, fuel, tools and a proper ship," Nathaniel counted but a few things he needs to stock up on. His gaze hardened. "Don’t focus only on luxury. Focus on things that can keep you alive."

Noel nodded. "What about you?"

Nathaniel glanced at the hospital room. "Secure yourself first, Noel. Don’t worry too much about me."

"I can take you with me," Noel offered, it was no problem for him. After all, other than his younger brother, he only had Nathaniel in his life who mattered.

"No, you concentrate on yourself first. We’ll talk about me later."

Noel frowned. "Nathaniel..."

"Ambrose comes first," Nathaniel cut him off. The mention of his younger brother softened Noel’s expression."Make sure you and Ambrose survive."

Noel stared at him. The fact that he took a minute to prioritize him and his brother warmer his heart. "You’re really staying here?"

"For now."

"You’re sick but not stupid. If the world is ending then don’t you think you should find a vessel and stock up on medicine and a few doctors?"

"I know, Noel," Nathaniel released a soft sigh.

"Then you need to leave this place."

Nathaniel smiled faintly. "I’ll figure something out."

Noel didn’t look convinced by his answer but he knew Nathaniel well enough to know when an argument was useless.

"Fine," he threw in the towel. "I’ll start buying everything I can."

Nathaniel nodded. "Don’t attract attention or survivors will target you when they become desperate."

"I won’t."

"And Noel?" Nathaniel stopped him as he turned to leave.

Noel glanced over his shoulder. "Yes?"

Nathaniel looked directly at him. "If you find something that confirms my calculations or run into any trouble..." he paused. "Call me."

Noel nodded. "I will. I’ll call you when I am done so that I can take you with me."

He walked toward the door without waiting for Nathaniel to dismiss the idea but then stopped by the door. "Nathaniel," he called, his hand freezing on the door knob.

"Hmm?"

"If Aymara really knows what’s coming..."

Nathaniel looked up at the mention of her name. He couldn’t help it, it was reflex response that his body, heart and mind had gotten used to. Especially since he’d been starved of that name for six years.

Noel hesitated before asking, "Why didn’t she tell me or you directly?"

Nathaniel lowered his gaze to the iPad. "I don’t know."

Neither of them noticed the uncertainty in his voice. He didn’t want to admit that it was because she didn’t care about whether they lived or died, especially him.

---

Noel left the hospital. The moment he entered his car, he called Ambrose. "We’re changing our plans. I need you to get leave from campus and meet me at home."

His younger brother sounded confused. "Why? And a leave of how long?"

"Because we’re going shopping," Noel said, he thought of Nathaniel’s warning and figured it didn’t matter how long. Schools won’t exist anymore in the future for a long time. "Just come home. Now!"

"Shopping? For what?"

"Everything."

---

Back inside the hospital room, Nathaniel remained beside the window.

He opened another document and then another. He continued calculating the weather patterns, ocean movement, storm frequency and atmospheric pressure.

He wanted to be wrong, he desperately wanted to be wrong but the numbers continued pointing toward the same conclusion.

Something was coming, it was enormous and could change the entire planet.

Nathaniel leaned back, his mind returned to Aymara. He remembered seeing her once or thinking he’d seen her at a shopping mall a few months before. It was the last he’d seen her face to face.

The feeling of being watched earlier returned. Could it really have been her?

His fingers hovered over the screen. "Why would you come here? And even if she did, why didn’t she come in?" He whispered.

He knew Aymara or at least, he had known the woman she used to be. She would never approach him after what happened six years ago.

Yet somehow, he had felt as though something might be wrong this time and now she had suddenly sold everything, bought a ship and warned Noel to prepare for something. Would she call to warn him too?

Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed. His calculative mind felt there was a connection there, he could feel it. He just couldn’t see it yet.

"What do you know, Aymara?"

Outside, the sky was turning strangely dark. Nathaniel slowly turned toward the window. The clouds were unlike anything he’d seen before.

Heavy, dense and almost unnaturally low. He watched them silently and then looked back at his calculations.

For the first time, a disturbing thought entered his mind. That perhaps the question wasn’t whether Aymara knew what was coming but how she knew.

How did she know? Where was she getting her prior warning and what was he missing?

Nathaniel picked up his iPad again. He began another calculation, determined to find the answer even if it took him all night.

"We have become strangers... enemies even but against what is coming, Aymara... I pray that you stay safe and survive," he mumbled.

Somewhere across the city, Aymara had no idea that the one person she had been trying so desperately to protect had already begun uncovering the truth and was sending her good wishes.