It was early July and the buildings in Rane were covered in the moisture of those
hot, muggy, summer days.
Rane was a beautiful city, its spires and skyscrapers glinted in the sunlight like a
beacon on the edge of the Great Basin, about 400 km. from Reno. The streets were filled
with passerbys and cars. Wick Tiegre was jostled and bumped as he made his way
down the street to his office, a tall, thirty story, glass skyscraper in the heart of the city.
He could see it another block down, but it was taking him forever to navigate through this
mass. He finally broke out of the crowd and entered the large swinging doors in the lobby
of The Rane Times. He waved to the security guard who sat behind the front desk and
made his way to the elevators at the back of the room. The elevator hummed its way up
the building, stopping once or twice to pick or drop of passengers. It stopped on the
twenty-third floor and Wick got off and headed down the hallway. He entered his office
and sat down behind his desk. The day’s paperwork was stacked neatly in front of him,
and he began to prioritize the papers.
Wick worked as a journalist for the Rane Times. His secretary usually laid out the
top stories for him to work on first. He set to work, the keys of his computer clicking
furiously as he typed a report about tax cuts. The clicking stopped and Wick glanced out
the window and saw clouds building off on the horizon over Reno. He sighed and figured
he’d have to walk home in the rain.
An hour later, he stepped out of his office and headed to the coffee machine,
where two of his colleagues were standing, watching the TV.
“High guys,” he said, as he got a Styrofoam cup, “ What’re you watching?”
“ They’re getting really weird rain out in Reno. It’s like an acid. It burns people
like sunburn. The people are all inside, staying away from the rain. You should write a
report on it.”
“ Why don’t you,” Wick said as he finished filling his coffee cup.
“ Man,. I’m like your subordinate. This could be a really big story.”
“ I have too much work as it is.”
With that, wick turned and walked back to his office and turned n the TV. It
showed the last part of a car commercial, then the news came on. A news anchor was
sitting behind a desk, the channel number lit in red and blue behind and above the man.
He was staring at the camera, his face set in a stern commanding gaze. He was talking in
an even tone.
“ For the past several days, rain has been falling on parts of the western and
pacific areas of the United States. It has been releasing large amounts of rain which has
caused minor flooding in parts of the pacific area. Over the past several days, the people
in the area had been going to the hospital with burns like sunburn. They attribute this to
the rain, but researchers doubt this view. We take you now to Rane Hospital where many
of the people have been taken.”
The view changed and Wick turned back to his computer, finish the last paragraph
of his article. He stood up and headed out of the office, taking his colleagues advice. He
walked past his secretary’s desk and mentioned something to her about holding all his
calls. Then, he steppe into the elevator and it hummed its way down to the first floor. He
headed out of the building and into light pedestrian traffic. He hailed a taxi and it drove
the fifteen blocks to the Rane Hospital. He got out, paid the driver and walked through
the automatic doors. The hospital was busy and he walked up to the information desk.
“ Hello, I’m a reporter from the Rane Times and I want to interview the burn
victims. Can you tell me which rooms their in?” Wick said as politely as he could. He
was impatient and wanted to get back to his office and he didn’t want to be away to long.
The big black woman behind the desk gave him a sarcastic yeah right look and
said with great finality, “ No.”
“ Please?”
“ No, go away.”
He sighed and moved over to a woman three seats over, where he repeated the
question again. He received the same answer and started badgering the woman until she
threatened to call security. He gritted his teeth in frustration and walked out. He was
going to have write up an article with not a lot of information. However, he couldn’t not
write anything at all, because it would look bad on the Rane times if they didn’t report on
the situation. He returned to his office and went back to his office, slamming the door
behind him. He collapsed into his seat and spent the rest of the work day typing up a
report on the burn incidents. Basically, he copied what the newscaster said, not knowing
what else to write. He saved it and turned of his computer monitor at five o’clock and
packed whatever papers he had into a leather satchel. He walked out into the evening
rush hour and walked to To curb, having his hands at the passing taxis. One stopped and he
got in just as the first specks of rain started to drizzle down. The rain increased on the way to
his apartment and He pulled his umbrella out of his satchel when the taxi stopped in front
of his apartment. He paid the man and got out, opening the umbrella as he stepped into
the downpour. He ran into his apartment and saw that his umbrella had stains on it. He
sighed and walked up the three flights of stairs to his apartment. He unlocked the door
and walked into his small comfortable apartment. When he opened the door, he entered
the living room. It was decorated in a vaguely European style. The high backed chairs
were decorated with gold and red leaf designs. There was a mahogany coffee table in
front of a settee decorated in the same pattern. At the back of the living room, the farthest
away from the door, The kitchen sat in a distinctive u-shape. In front of the counter, there
sat a large fish tank, its many tropical fish swimming lazily in large circles, or skimming
over the rocks. Wick moved to the fridge, dropping his satchel onto one of the chairs. He
opened the fridge and pulled out a beer, popping the metal cap, which he threw
overhanded like a pro-basketball player, into the garbage can. He took a sip and went
back into his room, to take of his tie and get a sweater. He peered out the windows, and
saw the rain falling steadily. It raised little wisps of steam from the windows and
roadway. He went into the living room and turned on the TV. As he flipped through the
channels, he found that there was only static. He finally turned the TV off with a sigh of
exasperation. He went over to the tank and opened the lid. He pulled out the little canister
of fish food from the cabinet under the tank and dropped a pinch or two of fish flakes into
the tank. Wick always enjoyed watching his fish swim around and nibble little bits of food.
He flicked off the lights and walked into his bedroom. It was getting late and he decided
to go to bed and get to work early tomorrow.
It rained all night and by morning, the gutters along the road were getting clogged up. Wick got up, showered, and got himself ready for the day. He came out and turned on the fish lights. The rain hadn’t lessened at all. In fact, it had picked up to a downright downpour. Wick pulled on his overcoat and headed out the door. He passed his neighbor on the way towards the elevator. His
neighbor, Artemis Frazzen, worked night shift and was just returning from his job. His
face and hands were red, almost as if he had a bad sunburn.
“ Hi Artie, how’s this rain?”
“ Terrible. It’s coming down so hard it stings. It’s starting to flood the gutters.
Have a nice day at work.”
Wick entered the elevator and rode it down the first floor. The sky outside was
dark and the wind had started to blow along the streets, making a low whistling sound. He
walked outside and his ears were filled with the sounds of pounding rain. He went to the
curb and waved for a taxi. One pulled up and wick got in. He pulled down the collar on
his coat and scratched his chin and face. for some reason, they itched. It was probably the
new type of shampoo he’d used this morning. The taxi trundled through lite morning
traffic and pulled up in front of the Rane Times. Wick got out and ran into the building.
Even though he wore his overcoat, Wick was soaking wet and had to go to the bathrooms
to get paper towels to dry himself off. He walked up the stairs and entered his office floor.
He walked passed his secretary who handed him his paper work and entered his office.
The rain thudded tunelessly on the windows, making Wick all the more comfortable in
his office. He spent the better part of the day in his office, typing his report about the
weather. He secretary, Deborah, came in and out throughout the day, handing him reports
of other papers. A heavy fog had swept in, making it hard to see the other side of the
street. Wick had just finished typing a report about the strange rain, when Deborah burst
into his office.
“ Whats wrong?” Wick asked, seeing the look in her eyes.
She scrambled for the TV remote and flicked on the TV. It flickered and came to
life, the screen periodically interrupted by static. The news was on and the news had just
returned from a commercial break. the news anchor was talking slightly fast and he kept
referring to his notes.
“ For those of you who have just tuned in, the unusual weather is causing more
injuries. So far, a total of 200,00 people in the Rane area have been taken to the hospital
of airlifted to Reno. Their injuries are consisting of sunburn like effects and a urning
sensation on the skin.” there was a burst of static, and the color of the TV slightly grayed.
The anchors voice came back. “ If you have to go outside, stay under cover as much as
possible.” There was more static, but the picture didn’t come back. Deborah turned
towards him, her face drained of all color.
“ Wick, what’s going on?”
“ I’ve no idea. This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”
<><><><><>
The fog had thickened slowly and the acrid smell of burning car tires had filled
the street. Wick hurried along, heading in the direction of the rain hospital. He was
determined to get an interview with one of the burn victims. His neck was burning, and
his nose was filled the burnt rubber smell. The streets were clogged with cars, their
horns going, people shouting out their windows.
Wicks neck was burning so bad, that Wick started scratching his neck. He pulled
his hand away. It burned more and more, and wick finally started running towards the
hospital. There was a bicycle resting against a lamp post. Wick grabbed it and began
pedaling like mad for the hospital. He arrived with his hands face, neck, and head peeling
and burning. He practically leapt off the bike and raced into the building.
The noise in the lobby was terrible and it was jammed packed with people. Many
were on stretchers, while others were standing. All of them were burnt badly. Wick pulled
out his cell phone and tried to call Deborah, but the call wouldn’t go through.
He waited in the hospital lobby the entire rest of the day and well into the night.
There were so many people behind him that Wick couldn’t have left even if he’d wanted
to. It was close to midnight when he finally made it to the front desk. there, he confronted
the same woman who had kicked him out the day before. She looked up at him tiredly,
then frowned at him.
“ I thought that I told you to stay away from here.” She said, her voice rising
menacingly.
“ I want to see a doctor. It feels like I’m on fire.”
“ forth floor, room 370. Now move. Next!
Wick got back in line and waited another two ours until he finally reached the
elevators. He and twelve people crammed into the elevator and rode it up to the first
floor. It opened into even more pandemonium. The hallways were crowded and it took the
rest of the night to reach room 370. He and at least ten others moved into the room and
took up seats wherever they could find them. There, they waited. It was late the next
morning, when a doctor finally came into the room. He was an old man, or it may have
just looked that way because of the long hours he was working. Wick whipped out his
notepad ans a pen and began to rattle off questions. The doctor l;ooked at him for a
moment and the started talking to everybody else. he basically just told them that they
should flush their buns out with water to help sooth the skin. With that, the doctor turned
and trudged out of the room. Wick and the others took turns in the bathroom washing the
burned areas of skin.
So far, Wicks plan had totally backfired. He had hoped to go to the hospital and
act like he was burnt, to get close to the other more seriously injured patients. Once he
got into the hospital however, he realized that it would be impossible with all the people
that were there. By the time he got to the reception desk, Wick figured out that he really
did need to be here, though not because of his job. The burns on his neck, face and hands
where burning so bad, it was unbearable. He was glad that he’d come. Really, he wasn’t
doing anything different than he could do at his house, but the company of the other
people made his stay more comfortable.
<><><><><>
It was three days until the rain ended and there were at least thirteen people in
Wicks room by the time the rain ended. It was late on the third day when one of the
nurses came into the room, bring their bowls of soup. The entire time they’d been in the
hospital, they’d live off three bowls of soup and packs of saltine crackers. Wick was
feeling better, the burning in his neck had subsided and the sun was shining brightly in
the windows. Wick looked out of the windows and saw the damage that the rain had done
to the streets and the vehicles. wisps of steam still rose from parts of the street. Most of
the paint had peeled off the cars and the glass was misted with hairline cracks. The rest of
the city was in ruins. There were deep pock marks on all of the buildings and there was
no electricity any of the buildings. Even the elevators in the hospital had stopped
working the morning before. The sky was clear and the heavy rain clouds that had
covered the sky from horizon to horizon were just a dark strip of black on the horizon
line.
The burns on Wick’s neck were going away and he felt comfortable enough to
leave the hospital. The lobby and hallways were almost empty, and he reached the front
doors in a couple of minutes. He walked out on the street and made his way down the
uneven sidewalk. He finally reached the Rane times, meeting almost no one. Most of the
people in the building were gone. There were a couple of security guards to protect from
looters. He went up to his office and tried to type up a report on the events of the l;ast
several days. He couldn’t concentrate and finally shut down his computer and headed
home, hoping to rest and find out about when they were starting up work again. His
apartment was bright with sunlight, and all of Wick’s fish were dead, probably from a
short in the wiring. He went into his room and decided to write up a report on the reasons
behind the acid rain. First though, He needed to rest a while.
Wick fell asleep and didn’t wake up until relief crews were already in the city.
Gender:
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