Megan felt her right butt cheek vibrate and after a momentary pause, it vibrated again. Someone was calling her.
“I thought we said no phones.”
“We did, we did. Let me just see who it is.”
Megan flipped the addictive black glass rectangle from her pocket. Calling: Shawn Fuller. Shawn. She hadn’t thought about him in a while.
“Who is it?”
“Shawn.”
“I thought you said you don’t talk anymore.”
“We don’t. And we haven’t. It’s been like a year since we’ve spoken. And even then, we just…. Should I answer it?”
“Absolutely not. He should know better. He can text you if it’s important.”
Megan felt her stomach drop. Why would he call her?
“Megan, don’t.”
Megan turned away. “Hello?” She heard a grunt and a constant stream of clicking coming in pairs. Click-click, click-click, click-click…. “Shawn? Are you there?”
“Megan? Can you hear me?”
“Yeah, I can hear you. It’s been a while.”
“Oh god, it’s so good to hear your voice. I—” Shawn grunted, “I need you to talk to me for the next little bit, okay?”
“Sure, Shawn. What’s going on? You’re starting to worry me.”
“I, uh… I’m going to die soon.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Shawn.”
“I crashed my car. I must have fallen asleep. I’m—I can’t feel anything and there’s a rod going through me and I’m just, like, woozy or something.”
Megan’s legs went limp. “Megan, is everything okay? What’s going on? What’s he saying?”
“No, no, no Shawn, you’re not going to die. Hang up and call the police or whatever. Shawn. Where are you? I can—”
“Onstar says they’re coming, but I’m 70 miles between Needles and Barstow. The won’t make it.”
“Shawn, stop. You, you—”
“I just don’t want to die alone. Can you help me?”
Megan’s heart dropped. “I… I…”
“Please.”
“Yes, Shawn. I’m—I’m here.”
“Thank you.”
“Shawn?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember the solar eclipse in Wyoming?”
“Of course.”
“Do you remember what you said to me? About what it was going to be like.”
“Yes….”
“You told me that everything would seem normal at first. That the birds would be chirping. The sky would bright. That you wouldn’t even know the moon was blocking the sun until if you weren’t paying attention. Then it’d happen all at once. Things would start to go dark all quick. The wind would go still. The birds would stop chirping. And then it’d be dark as night with just a screaming white halo above us. You said that halo was for us: a sharp silver ring that was the most beautiful thing ever seen on Earth. Our ring. Harmony. But soon, the ring would break. And the sky would go white again. And the birds would start chirping again. And in a few minutes, you’d never know what just happened, that we were just touched by darkness for those seven short minutes. And—Shawn—that was the moment I fell for you.”
“I think it’s time now….”
“Shawn?”