Acid Rane

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.