The Return Of The Muse

(742 words)

We all cheered like crazy people when the president stepped off the stage and beat a hasty retreat amidst the strobing of camera flashes. I turned to Andy who was next to me. I knew for a fact that his family had voted for Bush last fall, but that didn’t seem to keep him from cheering for Gore. The man who had divided a nation was now a hero, and none of it was because anything he had done. It was because of what had been done to us.

The moment the president was gone the furnace room precipitated into a chaotic storm of babbling voices. Everybody had an opinion about what had just happened, and the ants in their pants were too much for them to hold back. There were over 1,500 students and faculty trapped down in the cold, stinking tunnels altogether, and it seemed that over half of them were crammed into this concrete labyrinth not much larger than a soccer field. I tried to escape it as soon as I could and made my way back to the corridor where Collin had finished setting up camp for me.

I spent the rest of the evening in relative quiet. Collin and I went to find his two friends, Sarah and Jenny. We found them in a distant hallway away from the throng. The four of us had a nice talk about life and things in general. It was obvious to me that Sarah was confident that she had Collin’s heart in her fingertips. It was also obvious to me that Jenny was checking me out.

The next morning came quicker than I had expected it would. I slept pretty well considering that it was 55 degrees in the tunnels with only one moth-eaten comforter separating me from the damp, concrete floor. I went to the furnace room where the school cook was serving a breakfast of cornflakes and water. I met Jenny there. We talked for a long time until Collin came and crashed our party. Then we didn’t have anything more to say until Sarah showed up.

Later that morning the college president announced that we would all have to remain underground until two in the afternoon. There hadn’t been any more nuclear attacks, but he wasn’t taking any chances. In the meantime we just had to chill.

At about Ten O’clock in the morning I saw Professor Somner for the first time since the bombs had gone off. To my surprise he was having a passionate and almost friendly conversation with Professor Krauss, his nemesis the classics professor. It looked like they were hatching some sort of plot together. After five minutes they left in the direction of the faculty quarters. When they came back they had the college president with them.

Professor Barnes, the college president, was a short heavy man, who always seemed to be breathing loudly. He was fifty years old and sported a rather bad-looking comb over. The first time you saw him he seemed rather stern and grumpy, but I had already learned that he had a much more friendly side to him.

“Phillip, I want to talk to you,” he said with Professors Krauss and Somner at his side. “We have a special request. Can you come with me please?”

“Sure!,” I said, bewildered and delighted to be in his confidence. Dr. Barnes put his arm over my shoulder. They led me through a few narrow tunnels away from the fallout shelter to a more secure area underneath the faculty building. It didn’t take me long to figure out where we were going: The school vault.

“Let me explain why we brought you here,” said Professor Barnes, stopping outside the gigantic safe. “One of my colleagues,” he said, nodding to professor Somner, “has an interesting—albeit improbable—theory about why the world was nuked yesterday. It has to do with the SkyPath Scrolls; scrolls which this school does not publicly admit to having. He thinks they might be linked to this catastrophe, and that they should be opened for the first time in a hundred years. Have you already heard all of this?”

I nodded.

“Good. Then you also know that the school insurance policy forbids faculty and staff members from opening the scrolls.”

“Sure. But I still don’t know why you called me here.”

“I brought you,” said the college President slowly, “Because you’re not a faculty or staff member!”

Click here to read Chapters 15-54