Starstruck Hero, Page 3

I’ve been worried sick about you wondering where you were. I knew you couldn’t call because all the phones are down – it must be some kind of power outage right through the city. It’s a pain, isn’t it, but I’m sure they’ll fix it soon.”

  He couldn’t bring himself to interrupt her cheerful babble with bad news.

  “Where did you sleep last night, sweetie? Where’s the car? Only we should pop down to the hospital and see that Mum’s OK, shouldn’t we? I know they have generators to keep everything going so I wasn’t worried about that, but I still want to go and check on her and make sure she’s all right. They were saying last time I went that she might be off the machine soon and able to come home in a few more weeks.”

  There was a pause when she realised he wasn’t responding. Her eyes widened at his expression.

  “Oh my God, what’s happened? Why are you looking at me like that? Tell me – whatever it is, just tell me.”

  Clint, playing himself at last, took his wife by the hand and groped for the right words.

  “Darling, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry. You’re going to have to be very brave.”

  He took her into the bedroom, speaking quietly into her ear, supporting her as she slumped against him.

  Moments later her wail of grief rang out across the silent suburb.

  THE END

  *****

  Starstruck Hero is a short spin-off story from the novel Sunstrike, where the heroine is the middle-aged woman Clint met on the harbour bridge. Her name is Averie, and Sunstrike tells her story as she learns to survive in a world where technology has been wiped out by a massive solar storm.

  The worst effect on her life is that she is separated from her son Bradley who’s stranded overseas, working as a dive instructor in Bali. (His story, Sunstrike in Paradise, is what I’m working on now.)

  Several readers have asked if I could make Clint’s story longer, perhaps even into a novel or novella. If you’d like to see more of our action hero too, perhaps you could post a quick review on and mention it?

  You’re welcome to drop by my Facebook page and say hi. https://www.facebook.com/BevRobitai

  Thank you for reading!