Chapter Text
It had been sometime since her dad had told her that they weren’t going to Alpha Centauri anymore. She didn’t know what was going on or what was going to happen. She had considered texting him again but his answer had been pretty short, so she assumed they’re was a reason that she just didn’t know yet.
After some worrying and confusion she had resigned herself to reading. It had always helped her calm down, just focusing on a good book. Besides she wasn’t going to have the chance to read for much longer.
At some point her phone buzzed and she looked up. It was dark out, ‘how long have I been reading? Shouldn’t Armageddon have started by now?’ She looked down and saw that she got a text from her father.
From Dad
I have a friend coming over for the night so stay in your room.
She had plenty of questions. One, her dad had a friend? Two, he was bringing said friend over? Three, he was bringing the friend over at the END of the world!? But most importantly, what about Armageddon? She wanted a detailed answer for each question but she felt she should probably start with the most important question.
To Dad
Ok but what about Armageddon, it’s late isn’t it?
From Dad
It’s been canceled.
That’s all he was gonna say? That’s ALL!? She was about to ask a whole host of questions, like how? Why? When? Did he have something to do with it? What did Heaven think about this, or Hell for that matter?........She paused for a moment.....What would Heaven and Hell be doing? They’d probably be doing paperwork and council meetings to call the thing off. They wouldn’t be paying attention to earth at all. And her father did say he was bringing a friend over. She’d have to stay quietly in her room for who knows how long.
She had been looking out the widow in thought when she noticed the people shopping and walking around in the distance. Then another thought came to her, when was the last time she’d been out? They’d always been cautious, but since Armageddon had begun some 11 years ago, going out of the house had been almost nonexistent for her. What if she just popped out for the night? No one would notice. It would even help keep her out of her dad’s way.
With that in mind, now she just had to convince her dad. It wouldn’t been too difficult, but using a slightly convoluted plan would probably be easier in the long run.
To Dad
So Armageddon has been canceled?.... Does that mean Heaven and Hell will be busy with paperwork and stuff?
From Dad
Probably, yes.
To Dad
Could I go out then? Since they’re busy, they’ll hardly notice me out and about. Anyways, they’ll be someone at the house right? So it’ll be safer if I’m not there.
Now she just had to wait a few minutes for a response. She wasn’t fully sure how he’d respond. Depending on what had happened he could conceivably go either way.
From Dad
.....Fine, but you have to ‘miracle’ yourself to your room when you come back, instead of using the front door. Also, try not to stand out too much.
Apparently she had been convincing. His request made sense, she was just happy he agreed.
To Dad
Ok
She put her phone in her pocket and put on a jean jacket. She thought about just walking out but since she didn’t know how far her dad and his “friend” were, she opted to miracle herself to a dark part of the street by an alley next to the apartment, so she was less noticeable.
She started walking towards the center of the city where they’re was more hustle and bustle. As she walked away a bus pulled up to the apartment. She looked back and saw two figures get off. A man wearing all black with red hair, obviously her father, and a man wearing all white and tan with blond hair. ‘Must be the ‘friend’.
She realized that the Bentley was nowhere around and made a mental note to ask later. Both men’s backs were to her and she decided it would probably be best if she got going, just incase they turned around.
As she walked into the busier part of London, it got a lot brighter. It was relatively early in the evening still and it was a Saturday so it’d still be busy for a while yet.
Tons of shops were open and people were walking and talking to each other. Abigail was just basking in the excitement and life of it. ‘If Armageddon had happened this would all be gone.’ She was quite sure that she was happy Armageddon hadn’t happened.
Abigail walked into a couple shops, listened to people talk, just enjoying it. Eventually she came to the corner of the street where the book shop her dad liked so much stood. She stopped in front of it for a moment.
Instead of the cozy looking bookshop that she had seen a thousand times from a far, there was just ashes. It looked like a terrible fire had raged through there very recently. The frame of the building still stood, but the rest wasn’t so lucky.
There were burnt pages but most were completely ashes. You could still tell where bookshelves stood, even though they were burnt to a crisp. A desk to the side had been scorched, but it was still mostly intact, surprisingly.
All those books lost.... She’d always wanted to go in, but now it seemed like she wouldn’t get the chance. There weren’t many people around this area, not even fireman, since they had put it out earlier.
She knew she wasn’t supposed to, but she wanted to go in. This was the only chance she’d get, most likely. And was it really breaking the rules her father had set if it had been stripped of most everything that made it a book shop?
The glass in the windows was completely melted so she was able to walk right in. You couldn’t really tell just how much ashes there was from outside. “There must have been at least a hundred books in this shop.”
As she walked through she thought about whether someone was hurt or not. It didn’t seem like it. The place smelled like burning books not burning flesh. A smell she only vaguely knew from her childhood, since she had grown up at the end of WWII. It wasn’t a smell she ever wanted to smell again.
As she got to the back there was a burnt sofa and arm chair. From what she could tell, which wasn’t much considering their melted state, they had been sat in a thousand times. When she had entered the place she had felt strong love and happiness, but back there was where it was strongest.
She started to walk out of the building, unsure how she should really feel. Whoever owned it was going to miss it though.
As she walked out of the building she looked back and realized, ‘is this what the world would have looked like if Armageddon had happened? I don’t know if I’d ever want to see that.’
She went to cross the road but just as she stepped of the sidewalk she heard a CrAck under her shoe. What she found there was a pair of her father’s glasses, ever so slightly melted from heat.
‘So he had been here...’ She didn’t know the full extent of his attachment to the place, but seeing it burnt must have hurt.
There was nothing to be done, so she walked off. ‘It would probably be a good idea to stay out of the house till morning, so I might as well go to the park or something.’