When Tomorrow Comes: A What Used To Be Prequel - Chapter 1
with audio
Chapter 1
Chief of police, Micheal Berns, sat at his desk, a hand to his head. He stared at the two printed emails in his hand and felt the blood drain from his face. His fingers tightened on the hard copies, wrinkling the messages.
His gaze darted to the same correspondence still on his computer screen. He’d read them numerous times—but he still couldn’t accept what they said.
This couldn’t be happening! Yet he’d known it was inevitable.
How many times had he argued that this exact thing could happen—would happen if no one stood up and did something about it?
He reread the first email he’d received—the one from the mayor.
Hazardous weather outlook: Probable catastrophic weather conditions. Normal patrols will be suspended during the event.
Dispatch will broadcast after the crisis. During the event, email and text will be used for as long as possible.
Clearly, he could believe this email. The mayor had sent it personally, and she didn’t fool around.
But he’d watched the weather channel this morning, as he did every day before work. And upon receiving this email, he’d double-checked his phone.
The weather station predicted clear skies for the entire day. He glanced outside his fourth-story office window. From here, this suburb of Dallas, Silver Springs, looked like it enjoyed a perfect summer day.
Micheal shuffled the papers, directing his attention to the second email.
While the first one worried him, the second terrified him—because this email told a different story. It stated the event wasn’t a superstrong storm or tornado or anything like that. It claimed it was an end-of-the-world event.
One Micheal had worried about for a long time.
He imagined the chaos about to ensue—the injuries, the deaths. The weight in his stomach grew heavier.
Their department would need to be prepared, be ready to help the survivors. If there were survivors . . .
Micheal stared at the address of the second email. He didn’t recognize the sender, but they seemed to know him. His heart drummed as he read it again.
What’s coming isn’t weather. It’s what you’ve feared. It’s all coming down—all of it. It’s falling to earth—
today.