***
After twenty minutes of being awake, Emily passed out. John wasn't far behind. It had been a long day for both of them.
Outside, the sun was sinking below the horizon. The desert sky filled with pinks, blues, purples, and oranges. The remaining glow filtered through the windows as Brooke sat on the ground, still hunched over the radio circuits, trying to repair them.
The battery connectors were corroded, and there were a few circuit tracks that had come undone, but after a couple hours, she had it repaired.
Brooke plugged the battery back in and turned the power knob on. The speaker of the radio blew static, waking both her kids.
“Mom!” both of them yelled.
“Sorry,” Brooke said.
She flicked through the channels, searching for any signals within range. It was a long shot but better than anything they had right now. Another blast of static came through, and then the robotic recording of the emergency broadcast system came whispering into her ears. Brooke turned the volume up to get a better listen.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States,” a voice announced.
Emily and John both got up from their sleeping bags and walked over and crouched down with their mom on the floor. Then, in the silence of waiting for the president to speak, all of their phones started pinging. Brooke took out her cell, and text messages started to roll in, almost all of them from her sister. She had her index finger on the phone's screen when the president finally spoke.
“My fellow Americans. I speak to you all this evening with a heavy heart. Early today I informed the nation about the continuing water crisis in the Southwest. Reports confirmed that the Colorado Basin, which provides fresh water to most of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado had finally run dry. All of my attention today has been directed on coming up with solutions that benefit not just the Southwest but the entire country.”
Brooke went back to checking her messages, the president's voice still lingering in her ear. She opened the first couple of unread texts:
“I'm trying to call you. Call me back, please!”
“Where are you? Are you on the road?”
“Brooke, it's important. Please, call me.”
“Upon hearing the news of what was happening in the Southwest, I deployed forces to major cities, establishing martial law to ensure that civility and order were maintained during this trying time. Now, we're all aware that the Southwest isn't the only portion of the country suffering from water shortages. The natural resources of our nation are dwindling drastically. It is because of this that Congress proposed a new but radical bill to ensure our great nation continues to survive.”
Brooke's thumb stopped scrolling through her sister's messages. She set the phone down. The back of its case ground against the dirty concrete floor. She bent over with her knees and palms resting flat on the floor. The radio was placed on the ground, and the three of them were circled around it.