High Pressure System: Part One Read Online Free

That’s because global climate change has been regulated by meteorologists for years now. Hasn’t it been ingrained in you that freak weather happenings were all in the past? We’ve lived in a weather utopia for years now with plentiful abundance of perfectly scheduled weather, no fears of famine or destruction– until now.”
    “What do you mean until now?” I patted Yodel as he took a break from chase to say hello to me by stretching up on my leg. Dread was building in my chest and tightening around my heart. I didn’t realize that the crisis was as big as it was.
    “Every one that died, died from asphyxiation. That is not just some old-fashioned stormy weather bringing planes down, out of the sky. It’s exterminating entire populations of people and animals. I don’t think the weather is being run by meteorologists or the government anymore.”
    “That’s just crazy talk.” I couldn’t look at Jim. Mainly because what he said sounded crazy, but I had the feeling deep down in my guy that he was speaking the truth.
    “You know it’s not. The storms unexpectedly roll in, the alarms go off, and we are locked in tight. We might still be in the dark as to why we were forced to evacuate here, but no one has fought it. Most of us heard on evacuation day that the numbers of the dead were astronomical. In Brandon’s archives, many of the people that tried to evacuate on the California coast didn’t make it to the bunkers. Too many people trying to leave at once were gridlocked in. I think there was something about computer glitches in the cars that added to it. You don’t want to read about that. It was awful. That’s why we had to leave on foot to get to the buses. Oh, and don’t worry too much about your family. I double checked to be sure, but the East Coast fared much better.” Jim patted my arm.
    I tried to smile. His family lived on the East Coast too. “I hate the thought of not being able to come outside to see the sun.”
    “I do too. But seeing your smiling face will work as my sunshine every day.”
    “That is so nice of you to say.” I don’t know why, but his corny words brought tears to my eyes. He was so much like my dad, it made my heart ache. If I didn’t get to see my dad again, Jim could ease that pain some. I wiped under my eyes discreetly as I bent down to grab a stick to throw for the dogs. They didn’t play fetch. It was pointless, but I got my mind off feeling sad. “Have you seen Brandon today?” I changed the subject, closing my eyes to enjoy the sun’s rays on my face and tried to appear only slightly interested in details about the elusive Brandon. I couldn’t deny that the young genius guy in charge was hot. He was also playing hard to get. Hard to see in the flesh. Hard to even find in such a confined space. I was starting to wonder if he was still around.
    “Only when he came to give me the daily rundown on new restrictions. He’s adding more every day. Pretty soon there will be no point for me to sit up here behind the desk. I suspect he might ban you from coming up too.”
    “I hope I can let the dogs out a few more times.”
    “The way the storms are rolling in now, I’m sure it’s just a matter of days.”
    “Does Brandon know what all we’re hiding from? Is it just black thunderstorm clouds?”
    “He hasn’t given me any clues, but I’m sure he knows. There are a lot of restricted files in the archives that I can’t get into.” Jim gave my shoulder a push when he remembered something. “I didn’t believe Brandon when he said that he that he designed this bunker. He looks so young I had to ask him how old he was. He’s twenty-six. In the end, they used his plans on a quarter of them. They used several different bunker designs because they didn’t want to depend on one style in case they all failed. Isn’t that disheartening? The construction crew has been busy with all his modifications since before we got here. Oh, here they come.”
    The wind